Photos

By Starzki

-x-

A flip-flopping stomach and sweat prickling at his hairline betrayed Seijuurou's nerves as he sat down at his desk. A defiant shake of his head helped tamp down his anxieties as he selected his favorite pen and selected a sheet of stationary his sister had given him for his birthday. It was cute, sepia-toned, and subtly lined. Perfect for a love letter. He was going to do this. He had always prided himself that he was direct and said what he felt. He was going to tell Gou his true feelings.

There were 30 minutes before the joint practice with the Iwatobi Swim Club and he'd be seeing Gou. Seijuurou wanted to deliver this letter to her after practice. The only problem is that he had no idea what to say.

Seijuurou stood and began pacing. He wasn't even sure how to start it. "Greetings Gou-san?" Was that too formal for someone asking for a date? "Dearest Gou-chan?" That just seemed too informal and cutesy for Gou. He normally preferred to call her Gou-kun because even though she was in charge of a rival team, there were enough connections though old rivalries, friendships, and even family, that he sometimes felt that they were one big team.

"To Gou-kun" it was, then.

Then what?

Seijuurou kept up his pacing. He was definitely going to need inspiration. He picked up the framed portrait on his desk. He'd won the picture off of Rin in a bet. She was just so cute. He loved her enthusiasm and the fact she had no problem bossing around the boys on her team. He liked women who weren't afraid of authority.

He set the framed photo back down on his bed stand, knowing it would piss Rin off whenever he saw it. Let it be a lesson though. While Rin was a talented swimmer, Seijuurou hadn't been voted captain on his good looks and enthusiasm, alone. Rin may have had the edge in the 200 meter free, but Seijuurou was an endurance athlete and knew no one could even come close at the 1600 meter. Rin had learned a valuable lesson on hubris that day.

Gou's soft, cheerful smile next to his alarm clock made Seijuurou blush, but reminded him of the other photos he had of her. Looking at those would definitely give him the needed courage to actually write his letter.

He sat at his desk and went into the top drawer to pull out the pictures he'd printed off his phone. He smiled in memory as he studied the first three. They were from the summer training camp.

He had been glad to let Gou come in and observe his team. First, it gave him an opportunity to be around her, to see her passion and knowledge when it came to the dynamics of swimming. Second, he liked that Iwatobi would be prepared. He wanted his team to have real competition. He didn't doubt Samezuka would win, but to truly be the best, you have to compete against the best.

Gou had taken a number of pictures of his team, so Seijuurou asked to take some of her. She had given her assent, but cautiously. He had one candid picture of her. She was standing on the edge of the pool, notebook and pencil poised, intently studying a swimmer's technique. He liked the way he mouth set in concentration and her brow furrowed ever so slightly. Even though the picture was static, he could see the gears turning in her head. It was one of his favorites.

The other two from that day were posed. In the first, she stood stiffly with her hands behind her back, an uncomfortable smile on her face. As lovely as she was, she was uncomfortable being the center of attention. That aspect of her personality was really endearing. In the last picture, snapped mere seconds after the first, she was laughing, shoulders relaxed. Seijuurou, cajoling her, had asked her to remember Rei's first dive into the pool. She had covered relatively quickly after her first bark of laughter and tsked at Seijuurou for poking fun at a new swimmer's technique, but he had still managed to capture her laugh.

The last two pictures always made his heart flutter. They were from the squid festival in Iwatobi. He had been surprised to see Gou there because he had been so focused on keeping up with his own team, making sure that everyone was staying out of trouble. Suddenly she was there with her friend standing in front of him and greeting him somewhat awkwardly. He hadn't even been able to speak when confronted with her. In her yukata, she was breathtaking. She was more than cute. She may have even been more than beautiful, but he didn't know of a better word than that to describe her. Exquisite? That didn't capture how down-to-earth she was. She was perfect, especially in all the ways that she was flawed. He loved the fleck of sauce on her chin. The way her hair was falling from its bun after a long night.

He had recovered soon enough after to make some small talk. Gou's friend reminded him a lot of his sister, so he joked around with her a little. Then he had asked to take a picture. The first was of the two of them. Gou smiled sweetly while Hana had thrown an arm around her shoulders and thrown up a peace sign. It was adorable.

In the second, Hana had backed away and ordered Seijuurou to take one of Gou alone. The picture was stunning. Her smile wasn't quite gone, but her expression was more of surprise. Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were slightly wider. Her eyes. He loved them. In this picture, she had really been looking at Seijuurou as he stood behind the camera. There was something so clear and open about the way she looked at him that he felt drawn in.

He pushed the photos away and regarded the blank page in front of him. He knew that Gou wasn't in love with him. She respected him as the captain of her brother's team, and it was a start.

He would just have to tell her how she made him feel. He would tell her that he thought they would make a good match. He would tell her that he would wait until she was ready to start dating, however long that would take. She was worth it and he would do anything he could to deserve her.

-x-

Fifteen minutes later, the letter was half finished. He would not be making his deadline. He would just have to find her address to send it to her. He put the letter in an envelope and chuckled as he found a heart sticker to decorate it.

He grabbed his jacket at hurried out of the room. Seijuurou didn't want to be late to practice, especially if Gou was going to be there.

END.

Author's Notes: I don't know why the Sei/Gou ship has come to fascinate me, but it has. This fic is based on the CD drama where the Iwatobi team finds all the photos of Gou in Sei's room. I wanted to make it sweeter, less... creepy. I hope I've succeeded.

AN2: I spent some time having Sei think about the honorifics and not about how she wants to be called. For whatever reason (trust me, I have head canon on the subject), I just don't think it registers with Sei that Gou prefers "Kou," so that's not part of his thought process.