Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this god awful long fic! I keep forgetting to do this at the end of chapters so here it is at the beginning instead! But seriously thanks for all the support considering how long this darn fic is taking.
Seijuro could never say he was a very excogitate person. Sure, he did put a lot of work and thought into his training, into his swimming, into his dieting, into his leading, but that was different. Those were things that needed to be done. Seijuro wanted to win and he wanted his team to win. Because winning was everything. The fastest swimmer always wins. That's all.
And that's what Seijuro did. He got things done. He was a jock and like most jocks he was a doer, not a thinker. Thinking was for the math club, not the swimming club. You lead by your body, by your instincts. You found what you needed to do to make yourself stronger and you did it. Simple as that. You didn't sit there pondering it for hours on end. That was useless and wasted time that would be better spent practicing. Well, except for Rei. He had a long way to go but that weirdo was somehow managing to balance intense math club type thinking with his swimming. Honestly if Seijuro had just met Rei he would have assumed he was a math club member who just happened to be obsessed with keeping in shape than a swimmer who was obsessed with studying.
Seijruo's own knowledge was impressive but that was still doing and not thinking. He didn't sit and ponder different strategies to make himself better. He learned what he needed and then he applied it and pushed himself through practice again and again. There was no better method of improving then through practice.
So Seijuro wasn't much of a thinker. He was not much of a brooder. He was more of 'let's punch our way through the fence' rather than a 'let's find a way around it'. And maybe that was why he was having such a problem now.
He frowned down at the amber colored beer in his glass. Around him the bar was filled with what looked like mostly foreign high school teenagers and maybe some local college students. Swimmers dotted here and there but unlike the last time Seijuro had been to this bar there were other clubs from schools that had come in too so it wasn't full of just sweaty muscle packed swimmers. There was actually a fair amount of girls running around this time.
It was the night after their fourth day of the training camp. Normally Seijuro would have protested going to the bar but after the training camp had wrapped up Noro had practically begged him, tears and everything, and Nakagawa had compelled him as well. So Seijuro had come along. He hadn't been spending much time with his swimming members and getting out of the house for a bit had sounded like a nice idea. He had kind of looked forward to getting a drink in order to take his mind off things, and had thought being away from Gou would allow him to clear his head and think about something else.
Except it seemed to be having the opposite effect. When he was away from her all he could think about was her. What she was doing, if he should text her, trying to think up reasons to text her. For someone who wasn't much of a brooder he had been doing an awful lot of lately and all of it about her. It was awfully pathetic.
This was the problem. Gou was a hard egg to crack. No matter what he did he didn't seem to be getting anywhere. He had tried making jokes. He made physical contact when he could that couldn't be taken as lustful but sweet instead; like patting her head or standing close to her. Well, he thought it was sweet anyway. He didn't have a lot of basis to work off of, mostly just teen dramas he had seen a few times on TV and his sister's girly magazines he had flicked through when he had been on the toilet back home. Not exactly the best places to take advice from but he wasn't about to go asking anyone. That would be not only embarrassing but dangerous with Matsuoka sniffing about. It wouldn't take the red head long to connect the dots if he caught wind of Seijuro doing that.
He had even purposely gotten way closer than necessary to wipe that marinara off her face. He had kissed her. He had thought about kissing her again in the kitchen that day but when Gou had not given any sign that she wanted him to kiss her he had bailed out of that thought.
What else was there left for him to do other than to throw himself at her feet and confess to her like some sort of emotionally overflowing sap? No, no, that's not an option. Not only would Gou likely be turned off faster than a candle in a hurricane but his swim team would lose all respect they had for him. He'd never hear the end of it. He'd be known as the sad sorry sap who couldn't get girls. No, he'd rather commit seppuke than be forced to do that.
So what do you do when an egg just won't crack? That was the question of the night and so without any other option Seijuro turned it over to his trusty second-in-command sitting next to him.
"Break an egg?" Nakagawa blinked owlishly back at him. "You mean like because you want to eat it?"
Something like that. Seijuro wisely kept that thought to himself. "Yeah."
The other boy scratched the top of his head. "You…hit it harder?" His suggestion sounded more like a question than anything and that made Seijuro really not want to take his advice.
"I know what you do!" Noro draped himself over Seijuro's shoulder like a human sized scarf. He was utterly wasted and Seijuro quickly moved his knee before the beer sloshing over Noro's cup got onto him. "When that sunuvabitch won't crack you just-" Noro made a throwing gesture with his arm towards the floor with such an exuberance he almost knocked himself over. "-smash that shit!"
Smash it, huh? But…smashing an egg like that only wasted the egg, didn't it? It would be utterly unsalvageable. Not exactly what Seijuro was aiming for. He patted Noro's hand. "Thanks, Noro."
"Anytime, man." Noro teetered into a nearby stool, clutching it like it was a long lost friend of his, and then muttered something about wanting Cheetos.
So maybe asking a bunch of single swimming obsessed boys for advice about girls wasn't the best route to take. Neither was it for cracking eggs either apparently…
Seijuro didn't stay long. After the training camp he was tired and he wasn't finding the bar all that fun. It was loud and crowded, and despite wanting to get out now that he was here all he was finding was that he'd rather be somewhere else. After a beer or two he was ready to go. As he rose from his stool Noro called out to him. "Are you leaving already, Captain?" The other boy was standing amidst a gaggle of pretty girls at the end of the bar. Being a not so bad looking guy, it wasn't all that surprising Noro would attract such company, although from the sounds of it he never got very far with them.
"Yeah, I'm going to head out. Don't stay out too late. We have a hosted event tomorrow."
"Yes, sir!" Noro saluted smartly but Seijuro knew him better than that. Noro may say all the 'yes, sir' in the world but both of them knew he wasn't going to listen
"What is our hosted event tomorrow?" asked Nakagawa.
"Golfing." Seijuro knew that because Gou had told him earlier today. Truthfully he hadn't looked at the schedule in quite some time. Gou always knew what was planned for them, whether it be Samezuka or Iwatobi or both, and he had come to rely on her for that. "It'll be outside so you'll be in the sun. Try not to drink too much."
"I don't think I'm the one you'll need to worry about." Nakagawa glanced back over to the drunk Noro and the girls surrounding him. "Sure you don't want to stay and talk to those girls?"
They were pretty cute. Still Seijuro shook his head. "Nah, that's alright. I'll see you tomorrow."
After all there was a girl he was going home too. And somehow that felt way more fulfilling.
The lights were still on in the house as Seijuro walked up the steps and he almost paused in surprise at seeing their golden glow. He hadn't texted with Gou much - the last one being when he had told her he was going out - and with him being absent he had expected for her to stay at Iwatobi's place like she normally did whenever he was out. For her to be at the house was surprising.
Maybe she came back to sleep and forgot to turn off the lights. Or she had left them on for his sake. That was sort of sweet to think about.
But even more surprisingly was that Gou was not asleep, and when he opened the door she jumped slightly as if he had caught her in the midst of some deep thought.
"H-hey." For some reason her face was a little red.
"Hey, I didn't think you'd still be up. You didn't go to bed?" He didn't say he hadn't expected her to be there. She might think he was trying to say he didn't want her there, which was the last thing Seijuro wanted. Well maybe that was actually Matsuoka finding out and punching him in the face, or losing his race – yes, yes definitely that - but giving Gou the wrong impression that he didn't want her around was certainly up there too.
"N-no." The red on her face seemed to have only deepened. "I was…" She looked around the room as if searching for an answer. "Reading."
"Oh." Reading, really? There wasn't even a book within her vicinity on the couch. "Swimming stuff?" he guessed.
"Yes," she said slowly. "Swimming stuff."
He couldn't help but be a little amused by her utter lie. What had she truly been up to, he wondered. From the looks of it when he had first opened the door she had been staring into space. That seems oddly familiar for some reason…
He sat on the other side of the couch from her and flicked on the TV, turning it to the weather channel. It was the only station he could kind of guess what was going on without knowing the language. Out of the corner of his eye he could vaguely see Gou moving about in something close to fidgeting.
"D-did you have fun at the bar?"
He shrugged, his gaze locked on the gray clouds with sparks of lightning flickering on the screen that he could only assume meant thunderstorms. "I had a drink or two and left. It wasn't all that exciting."
She blinked. "You left after only a drink or two?"
Was she surprised by that? "Yeah. I was tired. I'd rather be here."
He watched her discreetly out of his peripheral vision for her reaction. Her cheeks, which had returned to white, turned a hint of red once more. She looked away but he still caught the small smile on her lips. She settled further down into the couch, her arms wrapped around his pillow that she cradled to her chest with her head resting atop it as she watched the TV along with him.
So maybe Seijuro was making some headway. Slowly but surely. Because when it comes to cracking an egg sometimes you just have to gently tap it again and again.
It was lucky for the Iwatobi boys that they had a break from the training camp for a day. After two days of it they were fairly worn out, although over those two days Gou had seen hints of improvement from them. Nagisa hadn't puked again and Makoto had been less sweaty than usual. Slowly but surely they were getting better, and whatever improvements they could make now would help them to be more successful in their races. Slowly but surely.
Speaking of races...The day before yesterday the boys had briefly discussed what events they would be entering. Gou had not been present but Makoto had spoken to her afterwards about it. All of them planned to enter their preferred strokes for the individual races, with Nagisa and Makoto entering both the 100m and 200m for breast and backstroke, and Rei and Haru sticking to the 100m. In Rei's case it was a lack of expertise and endurance while in Haru's case Gou could only assume he wanted to focus strictly on the race where he would be competing against her brother.
It had been she who had informed Haru of her brother's choice of race shortly after their ocean training camp and the quiet teen had nearly burned a hole through the picture she had taken of Rin during her visit to Samezuka's practice. For someone who was normally not concerned about winning it certainly seemed like Rin had the uncanny ability to drag out Haru's competitive side. Why that was Gou did not know, but she still recalled that conversation she had overheard between Makoto and Haru outside on that balcony and she was careful not to ask. She didn't want to create anymore tension than was already there between the two boys.
There was also the question of participating in the relay, but as soon as Gou had asked Makoto about that he had responded they would decide later and that it was likely a no. The decision of what event they were to enter was not Gou's to make but despite that she couldn't help but wonder why they weren't trying for the relay. Three of the boys had swum in one together before and they had done excellent at it, not to mention how well the four worked together now. There was no doubt in her mind they could do great in a relay and she was rather disappointed that they hadn't decided to participate in it. Maybe I can try and change their mind's later.
Anyway that could wait. They still had a little over three weeks before the competition. They had time to decide. Besides today was golfing, one of the furthest practices you could get from swimming.
They stood in front of the window where they were to get their gear from. A list of golf club handles faced Gou, an array of different colors. Were they supposed to pick their club by color? She really didn't know.
She wasn't the only one confused either. "Is this what we're supposed to be using to hit the ball with?" Nagisa held up the metal golf club like he wasn't sure what to make of it. "It doesn't seem very wide at the bottom."
"It's called a golf club and it's not supposed to be wide." Rei pushed his glasses further onto his face. "Golf is a sport of precision and calculation. It requires following proper theory and formulas that one must-" Nagisa swung his club in a high arc with such a force he nearly fell over. "D-don't swing it like that!"
"I'm practicing, Rei-chan!"
"That is not the proper way to swing it! Your angle is 20 degrees off and you're holding it all wrong!"
Gou ended up selecting her club via the length and color of the handle. Her first choice was pink but Nagisa had already nabbed that color so she went with red as her second choice. To the side she noticed Seijuro had selected that color as well but after half a second of hesitation she shrugged it off. Even if they had the same color there was no way the two of them would get their clubs confused. Seijuro's club had to be double the length of her own.
They had been split into groups of six via the bus seating in order to fit into the golf carts they were being given and therefore it was the whole of Iwatobi and Seijuro in their own group. Not a bad set up for them and Rin was in a group far enough back that hopefully he wouldn't see them too much.
They moved off to their golf cart once everyone had selected their club, the host encouraging them to get started so there wouldn't be too much of a backup of students waiting for others to finish before them. The golf cart consisted of two seats in the front – one of them being the driver's seat - two in the middle, and two on the backend facing the opposite way.
Seijuro wasted no time in declaring himself the driver. "I'll drive!" He immediately clambered into the driver seat.
Rei frowned at the other's exuberance. "Do you even have the proper driver license to be operating such a vehicle, Mikoshiba-san?"
"It's a golf cart!" the Samezuka captain exclaimed. "What kind of license would you even need to operate it? It's just like pushing around one of those carts at the grocery store or driving one of those mini hot wheels things."
"I don't see how that is similar at all-" The rest of Rei's sentence was disrupted by Nagisa pushing him into the middle seat.
"Let's go, Rei-chan!"
"I-I'm sure it will be fine." Makoto smiled. "Mikoshiba-san must know how to drive, right?"
Seijuro turned the key in the ignition. He revved the tiny engine like he was about to enter into a drag race. Makoto's smile slipped a little bit like water off glass.
Guess I'll take shot gun. Gou did a double take for where her brother was. He had been glaring over earlier as they had been walking to the golf cart, but now he was substantially distracted with the golf equipment and Nitori. Regardless Makoto still stood in the way just in case and Gou flashed him a smile of thanks before sliding into the seat next to Seijuro. Behind her Nagisa and Rei had already piled into the middle, with Rei directly behind her. Hopefully if Rin did look back over Rei's height would hide her. Makoto and Haru were left to the backseat and once she saw them situated she turned back to the front.
She peered at the wheel in front of Seijuro dubiously. "You really do know how to drive, don't you?" She really didn't want to crash into something in a golf cart of all things. Going to the hospital because of an injury due to that would be mildly embarrassing. Come to think of it did golf carts even go that fast? Maybe if a crash was inevitable she would have enough time to just step out of the blasted thing.
"Of course I do!" He moved his foot somewhere below where she couldn't see and the little vehicle started serenely forward, Seijuro turning the wheel to guide it down the path they were to follow. "My dad taught me."
Gou's gaze flickered up to his face in surprise. She couldn't recall a time before when he had mentioned his family and now that she thought about it she knew absolutely nothing about them. The two of them had never talked about it and while he knew a little bit about hers that was only because her brother was on his swim team and what she had said about her mother when he had questioned her about the pearl ring. Other than that they knew absolutely nothing.
Married and they knew hardly a thing about each other's families. Such a messed up situation.
"Do you have any siblings?" she asked him, genuinely curious. "A brother?" For some reason she could just imagine him having a brother. They likely wrestled all the time and picked on each other good naturedly.
But Seijuro shook his head. "I have a younger sister."
"Oh really? What grade is she in?"
"She's a freshman in high school."
"O-oh." In that case his sister must be around her age. Was it creepy he had married someone the same age as his younger sister even if it was accidental? Gou honestly didn't know and for some reason she kind of wanted to meet this younger sister now too, wanted to see what the younger sibling of Seijuro was like. Unfortunately it was unlikely she would ever get the chance to. Once they got back to Japan they would be divorced right away. It would be weird for her to meet his sibling after that. She was almost disappointed at the thought.
They arrived at the first hole. It was no surprise that most of them knew hardly anything about golf, only having played mini golf in the past. The only one who knew anything about it was Rei, who had studied it once he had found out what they were doing and whose father was quite a golfer himself.
"The goal of golf involves a fine execution of precise timing and mechanics that enables you to achieve the ball's final destination in as few strokes as possible." He spread his legs slightly apart in a stance, the golf club in his hands as he prepared to give a demonstration. "The goal of the golf swing is to direct as much kinetic energy as possible into the club head. That way when it comes into contact with the ball all of that energy will transfer to-"
"Timber!" Nagisa suddenly swung his club in a wide wild arc. By some miracle he somehow managed to connect with the golf ball and it flew straight into the air. Gou watched as the little ball bounced on the turf and came to rest about thirty feet from them.
Rei squawked like an indignant crow. "It's fore! And don't swing your club like a pick axe! Golf swings require great strategy and preparation!"
"But I'm terrible at that sort of stuff, Rei-chan! And besides I hit the ball anyway!" Nagisa beamed proudly.
"That isn't how golf is intended to be played!"
"My turn!" Seijuro looked like a kid in a candy store as he made his way to the tee, swinging his club a little precariously.
"Now remember," Rei began, "the swing starts with the arms moving back in a straight line-"
"Fore!" Seijuro swung his club. It was a hefty swing and after a split second sparkle of muscle ogling Gou looked up for the ball but it was nowhere to be seen. He had missed completely. "Mulligan!" Seijuro swung his club again.
"Golf doesn't work like that!" Rei burst. "You can't just say mulligan and keep swinging!"
Not that that stopped Seijuro of course. It took him three swings before he was able to hit the ball. "Well!" He slapped his club against his shoulder like he was carrying a pick axe. "The higher the score the better, right?"
"It's the exact opposite!"
As it turned out Rei took golf…pretty seriously. Anytime he went to swing it took him nearly five minutes to do so, mouthing calculations and running numbers before proceeding every single time. Nagisa kept chasing after and smacking his ball while the others were trying to tee off, and Seijuro kept calling mulligan anytime he missed, which was a lot.
"That counts as a stroke!" Rei proclaimed when the older male lightly tapped his ball.
"I just tapped my ball!"
"By that logic you could tap your ball all the way to the hole and not count a single stroke!"
The others weren't doing so well either. Gou was generally terrible at golf, not that she really cared, and while Makoto did alright he got his ball stuck in a sand pit that took nearly fifteen minutes for him to excavate (Haru ended up picking the ball up and carrying it out despite Makoto's protests that was illegal, the dark haired boy having grown tired of waiting on him). Things only got worse when they came upon a lake next to one of the driving areas. Haru headed for the body of water like it possessed a gravitational pull he was unable to resist and Makoto barely managed to tackle him before he managed to take off his pants.
"Does he always feel the need to get naked around water?" Seijuro asked wonderingly of the two teenage boys grappling on the pristine golf grass.
"W-well, he typically always has his swimming jammers on." Gou coughed. "He pretty much uses them for underwear." Come to think of it did Haru own any normal underwear? She didn't think he did but then again she wasn't exactly looking. She'd have to ask Makoto later.
Behind them at the holes they had already done were other Samezuka members. Rin was there and Gou caught him more than once watching, a bit of a scowl on his face. That scowl she could only assume was due to the antics of the boys rather than anything she was doing. Seijruo and her weren't separating themselves from the others, the six of them keeping to a relative group.
Until they got behind a hill that hid them from Rin's view anyway…
"You know," said Seijuro in a strangely suggestive tone as he watched Gou struggle to hit her ball. "If you want I can teach you how to swing better."
Gou's face reddened. If he did that he would be hovering over her, arms over hers, hands entwined with hers, their bodies practically aligned against each other. "I-I don't need something like that." She struggled to retain her normal complexion. "A-and besides haven't you been calling mulligan every other swing anyway?"
His face fell as if he had completely forgotten about that. "Oh yeah." He frowned in consideration and then brightened. "But if I'm only missing half the time then I can still teach you to be half better!"
"I don't think that's how it works…"
She managed to get her ball in after what seemed like twenty swings, a pretty pathetic number considering it was supposed to be a Par 4. Not that it mattered. They had quickly given up try to keep track of any score whatsoever. The only one who had any idea about that was Rei about his own score. "Do you have any other siblings besides your brother?" Seijuro asked as they finished at that hole and headed back to the golf cart.
She shook her head. "No. It was just brother and I."
"Did you ever want a sister?"
She laughed a little at the thought. "Maybe one time when brother wouldn't allow me to put bows in his hair but no, not really." Rin had been all she had needed when she was younger. He always used to reach out a hand to her. Not anymore though. "Do you have any other siblings other than your sister?"
"Nope, she's the only one. And more than enough. She keeps me busy when she wants to."
"Did you ever want a brother?"
He made a noise that sounded almost like a guffaw. "Funny thing about Samezuka. The swim team, we all live together, we eat together, fight together, do stupid things together. We cheer each other on, cry together when we lose, celebrate when we win." The corner of his mouth twitched. "If that doesn't count as brothers than I don't know what does."
His answer surprised her a bit although it was not all that hard to imagine now that she thought about it. Samezuka was a boarding school. The boys were essentially around each other twenty-four seven. It was no shock they would form such close bonds especially in the absence of their blood families.
Was that what Rin had been seeking when he had decided to attend Samezuka shortly after his arrival home from Australia? Seeking something he couldn't find at home, something he had lost perhaps. Something he didn't know how to get back.
"Something wrong?" asked Seijuro.
"N-no, sorry. I was just…thinking." She studied the golf course stretched out before them. By the looks of it they still had several more holes to go and she had lost all desire to keep playing. She looked towards Seijuro. "Do you want to go get a soda?"
He raised his eyebrows and Gou instantly regretted the invitation, thinking he was going to snub her so he could keep playing mulligan golf. She was about to take it back when he exclaimed, "Do I?!" He threw his club in the air, allowing it to clatter to the ground in a gesture of total abandonment. "Let's go!"
"Y-you can't just leave that here!" She dashed over to retrieve the thing. Knowing her luck the host would think it was her club and Gou would end up having to pay for it. I'd make him pay for it. They were married after all. Any fiscal responsibilities or errors had to be shared between the both of them. Or at least that's how she assumed it worked.
Seijuro opted to take the golf cart and proceeded to do so by simply announcing to the others he was taking it. Haru and Nagisa were ready to go, the former being uninterested in golf since the get go and the latter ready to move on to something else to enjoy with everyone. Makoto was reluctant to leave their hosted event simply due to the possibility of them getting in trouble for it but caved in fairly easily. The only one who really wanted to stay was Rei who was quickly overruled.
"You take golf way too seriously," Seijuro informed him, starting up the little golf cart. "You might get an aneurysm if we let you play any longer."
"Do you even know what an aneurysm is?"
"Something bad I imagine."
Rei spluttered but Nagisa solved the situation by pulling the taller boy into the seat and practically into his lap. "Let's go, Rei-chan!"
Seijuro started the golf cart and moved onto the pavement path, speeding past the next hole.
"This is dangerous!" Rei complained of the present…seating arrangement Nagisa and him were in. Nagisa meanwhile looked as happy as a clam. "What if we crash! The velocity at the speed we are going at will cause-"
"I'll hold onto you, Rei-chan!" Nagisa wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist to demonstrate.
Rei's face turned as red as his glasses. "T-that isn't what I meant!"
Gou pushed her hair out of her face and leaned back into her seat, enjoying the feel of the wind against her. They may get in trouble for doing this. They weren't going to leave the golf property so they weren't technically stealing the golf cart but they certainly weren't using it for its intended purpose. Then again…she glanced at the faces around her. Rei was red as a rose and his face scrunched up like he had eaten something sour trying to fight his smile. Nagisa looked so happy he might start drooling and beyond them she could faintly see Makoto smiling gently whilst chatting with Haru. Seijuro's smile was so big she might have thought it had just been announced he had won the swimming competition before it had even happened if she didn't know any better.
And maybe Seijuro did have a point. You couldn't choose your blood family but there was another type of family you could choose. Their happiness and excitement made any trouble they might get into worthwhile.
But anytime she had a good thought like that it was instantly shattered by the fact Rin was absent when he should be here. She didn't understand what he was doing by excluding himself or why. For the time all she could do was provide support to the boys in the hopes they would be able to change her brother back. They were the only ones who could. She had always thought and to this day she still believed that.
Surely they would be able to.
Surely.
Back at the house Seijuro scowled mildly down at the sheet of paper in his lap. It was his swim team members' statistics compiled by Nakagawa. Numbers that his vice captain had painfully spent time calculating and assembling to give to him, and Seijuro couldn't even concentrate on it enough to give it the effort it deserved. He still had to choose the relay team and time was ticking, but he just couldn't focus. He was way too enthusiastic, too animate to concentrate properly.
In the end after their little escapade with the golf cart they scarcely managed to not get into trouble or caught for their little joyride. To get back to the meeting place on time for departure had involved some sketchy driving on Seijuro's part and the bumpy ride had everyone bouncing crazily in their seats like popcorn in a hot pot. Gou and Nagisa laughed uncontrollably at the jerking and jolting and Makoto and Haru had to cling desperately to the golf cart lest they get bucked off, although they too seemed to have enjoyed their haywire adventure once they stopped. Haru didn't laugh, not that he ever did, but there was a small smile on his face the likes of which Seijuro didn't think he had seen on the stoic teen before.
Going off on their own had been a good idea in more ways than one it seemed. Just the fact Gou had extended the invitation to him – to him and not one of the Iwatobi boys with him coming along just like some sort of add on – had his mind wandering to other more exciting things than swimmer numbers.
I really don't want to work right now. But he had to. He was the captain of the swim team. If he didn't have his act together than the whole swim team would suffer. Sighing he forced himself to focus on the paper like he was about to set it on fire.
Not that it mattered. A few moments later, right as Seijuro was finally getting his mind to focus correctly, Gou plopped down on the couch next to him, so close her knees brushed against his thighs. "You're not busy are you?" she asked innocently.
"Nope!" He said the word automatically. Damn. Well, his decision for the relay could wait. There were more important things going on. Not that he even knew what she wanted to ask him about. "What is it?"
"I had a few questions about the training camp for the days coming up." She held up two papers that must be their schedules. "I've been looking over the schedules. For the next two days we have swimming days and free days interchangeably. We have a swimming day tomorrow and then yours is the day after that." She lowered the papers. "So did you want to wait those two days before going ahead with the training camp? That'll be three days without it including today. If you want to do it on your free day we won't be doing it together of course…"
As if. Seijuro shook his head. "We'll just wait. It's fine if we miss a day or two."
"A-are you sure? I mean if you want to do it on your free day-"
"No, it's fine. We thought it up together, right? Half and half." Something flashed across her face he was unable to identify. "So we'll do it together. That's the way it should be."
She digested that for a moment and then she smiled. A full, thankful smile. Like earlier when he had paid for her soda. "Okay." She flopped down on the other side of the couch, across his pillow, and pawed at a nearby magazine to go through.
Seijuro watched her out of the corner of his eye, smiling a little himself. Having her nearby was nice. Lately they had been closer physically to each other than they had been since that night at the bar. It was a nice sign to see, something that signified they were back to square one, and perhaps could continue forward. It was a far cry from just a few weeks ago after their accidental marriage anyway. Seijuro may have shot himself in his own foot but at least now it looked like it was healing.
Slowly but surely.
Surely.
Rei's golf play inspired by Quagmire from Family Guy who tends to lose it when he plays golf (a short video can be found on youtube if anyone is curious). He just seems like the kind of guy who would take golf super seriously.
Responses!
Bearythebear - All of Amakata's quotes are real quotes! It's pretty sad sometimes as I'll spend like an hour trying to find the right quote and there's been several instances when I end up not even using it. But yes all are real!
Alison - *blushes* Ah, jeez. I-I love you too.