Rated G. Somewhat fluffy gen -- and maybe a hint of TezuFuji if you look closer. 593 words. Please note I have totally given up on grammar as of late.

Poolside

Tezuka was not scowling.

If it was too loud, crowded, and hot in here, well, that was just how indoor pools were supposed to be. Even if his mouth did have a slight upturned look, that was just the expression his face habitually took when he was not thinking, and had nothing to do with having to reread the same sentence fifteen times amidst the high pitched shrieks from the girls twenty feet away.

Tezuka was most definitely not scowling.

"Tezuka." Tezuka counted full two seconds before he raised his eyes to Fuji's smiling face. "Are you sure you don't want to come in? The water's cool." Fuji's mouth quirked. "If you can find an empty spot."

Tezuka did not close his book. "It's fine."

"It'd have been a nice day at the beach, wouldn't it?" Fuji remarked, and sat down on an empty lounge chair next to Tezuka. "Shame we already had the tickets reserved for this place. I guess there's no helping the weather."

It had been raining for a whole week, so for their end of season outing, Oishi and Ryuzaki-sensei had reserved tickets for an indoor water park. It was just their luck the weather cleared up a day before their scheduled trip. For his part, Tezuka would have far preferred an actual beach. A real beach was quieter, for one, and smelled less like chlorine.

Although, the crowded indoor pools did stop Oishi from implementing the group bonding exercises he had originally planned for their beachside trip. He'd drawn the line at trust falls.

"Why don't you go join them?" Tezuka asked, indicating the rest of Seigaku Regulars engaged in a heated bout of splash war on the other side of the pool. Echizen and Momoshiro had teamed up against Kikumaru and Inui, and they were gaining the upper hand until Oishi joined the Inui-Kikumaru team.

"BUUUURNING!!" Tezuka stared -- when had Echizen snuck in a tennis racquet? -- at Kawamura brandishing a racquet, instantly clearing the crowd around him. Kaidoh, who sat perched on the edge of the pool, ducked just in time to avoid the swing, but lost his balance and fell headfirst into the water with a hiss.

Fuji smiled and gave a small shrug. "Watching can be fun, too." Momoshiro's laughter was loud and rambunctious as Kaidoh surfaced, sputtering, then Kaidoh's angry voice drowned out the laughter, and the splash war began anew.

"They won't kill each other, you know," Fuji commented, voice rich with amusement as both Momoshiro and Kaidoh went down in a splash of tangled limbs. Tezuka raised an eyebrow, closing his book.

"I didn't think they would," he said dryly. "Why don't you go and swim?" Earlier, he'd glimpsed Fuji gliding in the water, all unhurried grace and fluid movement even with twenty-something people blocking his path.

"Saa," Fuji leaned back on the chair, giving him a sidelong glance. "Maybe I prefer it here."

There was something unidentifiable in Fuji's voice that made Tezuka look at him. Another serve, a subtle change in the pattern of his play. Fuji looked back, eyes sparkling. "Why don't you?"

Tezuka looked away a moment later than was probably necessary. "Because I prefer it here." He could feel Fuji's eyes studying him, but did not look back.

After a long pause, Fuji turned away his gaze, back to his teammates, settling comfortably in his chair. "Aah."

Tezuka's book was untouched for the rest of their time at the park. On the bus home, Fuji said to him, "Next time, don't bring the book."

"Aah."

Fin

Note: So what I said about this project being closed? I LIED. There will be one more -- possibly two -- ficlet for this series, and probably more after Christmas, depending. In the meantime, Et Cetera is eating up too much of my brainspace for me to work on anything else.

I usually don't say this, because I figure it's the reader's prerogative whether to comment or not, but -- I really do like receiving comments. Please do leave a review if you can, even just to say you hate what I did. Thanks!