I should be working on my resume but I worked on this instead. I clearly have my priorities straight.

It was getting late.

Seijuro rubbed his hand over his face, blinking his eyes rapidly. Despite his best efforts he was starting to get tired. Even the couch was looking incredibly inviting and it was taking all his will power to not lay down. If he lay down he would fall asleep.

He glanced at the clock for the third time in fifteen minutes. He had texted Gou about thirty minutes ago but she had responded she was still at Iwatobi, although she had given no indication she was planning on staying there like she normally did when she didn't come back home. So Seijuro could only assume she still planned on coming back to the house and so he waited.

And if she was still at Iwatobi that must mean they were still looking for Haru…

They had been looking for him ever since the end of the competition. At least that's what Gou's texts had indicated. What exactly was going on Seijuro wasn't entirely privy too, only that Iwatobi was looking for the teen and that he was 'sort of' missing according to Gou. The situation was more puzzling than concerning. Had Haru been that upset about losing to Matsuoka that he had wandered off? Seijuro wouldn't have pegged him as that sort of type.

Thinking about that race made him think of Matsuoka. The boy had been awfully quiet during dinner when Seijuro had treated his swimmers as a reward. The red head had only spoke when someone else, typically Nitori, addressed him. His responses had been notably short, even when others had congratulated him on his win and for some unexplainable reason he would twitch whenever they did so. It was a sharp contrast to his initial reaction when he had first won his race, when he had practically thrown himself a mini celebration. Had something happened between then and when they had left the pool to so drastically change his mood?

It made Seijuro think about what Nitori had said earlier. About Matsouka's father. Had something bad happened? Something to do with the ocean? Well, according to Nitori at least something had, which sort of explained Matsouka's reaction after he had found out about that boat incident concerning his sister. If he had somehow lost his father to the ocean than the thought that he had come close to losing his sister to it as well would make anyone lose their head. And maybe that was why Matsuoka had bowed so deeply to him in thanks for saving Gou.

He wished Gou had said something earlier. It was understandably not something you just told anyone but he wished she felt comfortable enough to share that sort of thing with him. They were married after all.

Not really married, he reminded himself. And he hadn't told her everything about his family either…

A scream sounded from the TV and he looked dully over at it. He had put in one of those horror movies he had rented to pass the time but without Gou here it wasn't nearly as fun. All the screaming was annoying rather than entertaining, and he couldn't muster the energy to be even remotely annoyed at the stupid decisions the characters in the movie were making. He turned it off and leaned his head back to stare up at the blank ceiling.

He really should go to bed. It would help clear his head but he didn't want to go to sleep without seeing Gou either. To make sure everything was okay with Nanase if nothing else.

He sighed. At least he didn't have a race to compete in nor practice tomorrow so he could stay up. Tomorrow was the second day of the competition, consisting of the individual medley and the relay. He would be going but only to watch, to make sure his swim team advanced. He knew they would. The relay team consisted of some of the absolute best Samezuka had to offer. There was no conceivable way he could see them losing.

As if the heavens had finally heard his wish, the door suddenly opened. Seijuro sat up like like an eager puppy whose master had finally returned. "Hey!" Too much, too much, need to tone it down some. "I mean, ha-hey." Why did I say 'I mean'?! Idiot!

"Hey," Gou returned the greeting listlessly. By the sounds of it she was dragging her feet and one look at her face indicated things had not gone well.

"Did you not find Nanase-kun?"

She sat down next to him with a shake of her head. "No, we're not sure where he went. We waited at the lodge but he didn't show up." She leaned down to untie her shoes.

"Where could he have gone?"

Gou shrugged as she kicked off her sneakers. "With Haruka-senpai there's no telling, especially in this country. Makoto wasn't even sure where to look and he'd know better than anybody."

"Did you try calling him?"

"We did but he left his phone at the lodge. He hardly ever carries it around with him apparently." She frowned. "I don't know how someone in this day and age cannot carry a phone around with them. When I don't have mine I feel like I'm naked."

Naked? Seijuro raised his eyebrow. His thoughts were becoming way too focused on that last part and he shook his head to try and get back on track. "W-what were you trying to find him for?" He coughed a little on the words.

Gou stared down at her sock covered feet. "I entered them into the relay," she said quietly.

Seijuro raised his eyebrow for an entirely different reason this time. The relay? None of the Iwatobi members had mentioned the relay at all to him. He had figured it was a race they simply weren't interested in and for a brand new swim team that wasn't all that unusual. There was a lot more that went into a relay than an individual race. A lot more people would be disappointed if a relay failed.

"But they haven't practiced for it at all, have they?"

"I know, I know. They never intended to participate in the relay but I was…desperate. We lost all our other races. I didn't want to let it end like that." She bit her lip."I entered them without telling them."

"You entered them into the relay without telling them?" Now both eyebrows shot up into his hair line.

"Y-yeah."

For a long second Seijuro wasn't sure how to react. Gou was more devious than he had thought. Or just really, really desperate. He knew how much Iwatobi had wanted to win, needed to win, and he had been disappointed to hear none of them had progressed.

But that was just how racing was. The fastest swimmer wins. That's all.

"What happened when you told them?"

"Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei all agreed to it." Her eyebrows lowered. "Haruka-senpai though…"

Seijuro looked over to the clock. It wasn't that many hours until the competition but maybe Nanase-kun would come through if they managed to locate him. It was hard to tell with a boy like Nanase. But if he had participated in that relay in elementary school then why wouldn't he now?

"I'm sure he'll come around," he tried to speak encouragingly. "He has no reason not to swim in the relay, right?"

Gou's mouth twitched, like she didn't think that was true. Or more accurately knew it wasn't. She curled herself around his pillow. "I hope so," she said. "But I doubt it."

Seijuro was awoken by the sound of Gou's phone going off the next morning. Gou sometimes got texts early but those were short sounds that only pulled him from slumber for a brief half second if at all. But today her phone was ringing. Incessantly.

He groaned and flipped over onto his stomach. It was too early for phones to be going off. Who in God's name would be calling this early?

From the other room he heard some moving and Gou's sleepy scratched voice answering the phone. "Hello?" There was a brief moment of silence. "He did what?!" There was the sound of the springs of the bed and in his mind's eye Seijuro could picture Gou propelling herself to a sitting position. "He did?!" Another moment of silence. "That's great! I'll get up right away! I'll be there in fifteen!"

There was a bit of clatter from the other room, then hurried footsteps and suddenly a vigorous shaking between his shoulder blades. "Haru agreed to the relay! Haru agreed to the relay!" In her excitement it seemed she had forgotten to add the honorific to Nanase's name and had also failed to notice their close proximity to each other. She was practically leaning halfway onto him.

"W-what?" Seijuro's brain was still struggling to wake up fully and was presently getting a little distracted by the feel of her palms against his skin. He was glad he was lying on his stomach. Mornings could be…a little hard sometimes.

"We're going to be in the relay!" Gou gave him one more shake then straightened. "Haruka-senpai agreed to it last night!"

"O-oh, good!" He shifted a bit to take some pressure off a…certain something but was mindful to not change positions. If she saw that it would be mortifying. She might run screaming and then Seiuro's ego would never recover. "I knew he'd come around."

Gou beamed a smile. She clapped her hands together. "I'm going to go get ready!"

She headed back into the bedroom and Seijuro exhaled a sigh of relief. He flipped onto his back and straightened out his clothing so things would look less obvious if Gou walked back in. He rubbed a hand against his forehead.

Iwatobi in the relay, huh? He hadn't expected them to actually enter. Not at such short notice and not with the way it had come about. But Haru had changed his mind for whatever reason apparently.

That amazing relay Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa had swam with Rin in elementary school he could still remember quite vividly, although Iwatobi were not the swimmers they had once been. He had seen that for himself watching their events yesterday and furthermore they hadn't practiced for the relay at all.

It was unlikely they would place.

Still, regardless of his thoughts, Seijuro couldn't shake the sudden uneasy feeling he had gotten.

He watched from the stands rather than going below to the side of the pool. Below was generally reserved for swimmers competing that day and the stands presented a much better view besides. Not that it had anything to do with the fact Gou stood in the stands directly across the way from him with Amakata and Sasabe. Not at all.

"The relay is coming up," said Nakagawa. The swimmers were gathering at their spots and Seijuro was slightly surprised to see in the lane next to Samezuka was none other than – "Iwatobi?" Nakagawa stared at the screen. "Isn't that the school that's been paired with us for all those hosted events? I didn't know they were in the relay."

Seijuro didn't respond. If he said too much Nakagawa might become suspicious, especially if he caught on to Seijuro being privy to Iwatobi's inner workings. Sometimes omitting information was best.

"Well, hopefully they don't get killed too bad. Their times weren't so good in the individual races yesterday. I'm amazed they're even trying for the relay." Nakagawa stretched his arms over his head. "There are a lot of really strong teams participating. Not that I have any doubt in our placing."

Neither did Seijuro. They would undoubtedly progress.

A movement down below caught his attention and he spotted a familiar red head by the pool. Despite not having a race today Matsuoka had not joined the rest of his team in the stands to cheer on his comrades and had instead remained down below near the locker rooms. Seijuro didn't like such a lack of camaraderie but he had let it slide. He might have chocked up such behavior to the boy simply being a loner but his intense interest in the Iwatobi swim team seemed to belie that notion. He was staring at their relay team like they were a dream he had once had and was only now starting to recall.

The bell sounded off and Seijuro raised his gaze back to the main event. The backstroke swimmers had started out the relay and as they came out of the turn, the one in Iwatobi's lane pulled ahead.

"Makoto Tachibana," Nakagawa read aloud from the pamphlet for today's program. "That's Iwatobi's captain, isn't it? He's pretty good."

That he was. His stroke was rough but somehow it seemed to suit the tall boy. He had even managed to pull ahead of Samezuka and Seijuro watched with a strange sort of anxiety as Nagisa entered the water before Samezuka's swimmer did.

"The little guy isn't so bad either," commented Nakagawa after a moment. "He's the one who's always loud, right? He dropped that pizza on the head of that tall guy with glasses during that cooking lesson if I remember correctly. What's his name?"

"Nagisa," Seijuro responded automatically. His attention was on the race and he didn't realize he had given Nagisa's first name rather than his last. Iwatobi had lost some of their lead at the start of the breaststoke lap but Nagisa managed to gain it back right before the end. Once again Iwatobi entered the water before any of the other teams.

Beside him Nakagawa had become morbidly quiet. The other boy's hand had tightened slightly on the pamphlet.

But this, Seijuro knew, was where things would get tough for Iwatobi. Despite Rei's higher than average physical condition and his stupendous drive, he was still a new swimmer. For someone who had only been swimming for a few months versus someone who had been doing it for years, it was no big surprise they would fall behind. Slowly but surely Seijuro watched as Rei slid back, passing into fifth place, and Iwatobi lost its grasp on the lead.

"Their butterfly swimmer isn't so great, is he?" said Nakagawa.

Seijuro's arm twitched. "Don't be so negative," he admonished. "He hasn't been swimming long."

Why Seijuro felt the need to defend the other swimmer was a mystery even to himself. Maybe it was because of his involvement with Rei's education in the other boy's quest to improve his swimming capabilities in whatever way possible. Or maybe it was because he knew how hard Rei tried so he wouldn't be the weak one on the team. For Rei to have gone so far as to ask him, the captain of a competing swim team, for help was pretty admirable. Seijuro couldn't think of many in Samezuka who would go that far and for that Rei deserved a lot of respect.

Even if he does take golf way, way too seriously.

The race wasn't over yet though and Seijuro's muscles tensed as the free swimmers prepared to dive in. Iwatobi was still behind but Nanase was up now.

Fifth place. That was a lot of distance to cover. If their places had been reversed Seijuro would have already been swallowing defeat. To recover from being in fifth place was a slim chance to none.

His hands tightened on his forearms. Fourth place, third place. Nanase was speeding by the competition like the other swimmers were simply out for a leisurely summer swim.

Seijuro held his breath. Incredible. Nanase had caught up to Samezuka, closing the gap almost like it was nothing. The two were neck and neck and the finish was growing closer.

"You have got to be kidding me," muttered Nakagawa.

Around them the seats had erupted into cheers and shouting, and across the way Seijuro could faintly hearing the excited screaming of a certain red haired girl and her teacher.

When the finish came it was too close for him to tell and he glanced at the large board.

The number one appeared.

But it was not next to Samezuka's name that it flashed. It was Iwatobi's.

We lost.

"I can't believe it." Nakagawa words were so low Seijuro barely heard them and his vice captain was still staring at the huge board with its declaration of placements as if they were in a foreign language he was having a hard time understanding.

Seijuro sat back in his seat, having not realized when he had started leaning forward. A feral grin curved his mouth.

This was the amazing swimmer Nanase was. Not the one from yesterday. That one had been impressive but nothing special. The way he swam today proved he was still the incredible swimmer who had beaten Seijuro all those years ago. The one who had taught him that golden rule he governed all his swimming by.

The fastest swimmer always wins.

"Well." Nakagawa shifted. "We've still placed in the top eight regardless so we're still in the running anyway. What an incredible finish. I still can't believe it." He glanced over at Seijuro. "What's that look about?"

Seijuro almost couldn't suppress his chuckle. "Nothing in particular."

In the stands across from him Gou was screaming in celebration along with Amakata and Sasabe. In fact the coach and teacher were hugging each other.

Iwatobi had beaten them.

Seijuro's grin widened. "I just have a feeling this competition has become a lot more interesting."

He was delayed getting home that night. After the competition there were things that had to be gone over. Namely the relay after their stupendous loss.

"If we lost in the first round, there's a good chance we'll lose in the second too." Nakagawa's eyebrows were pinched in that way of his when he was thinking too hard, but that was one of the things Seijuro liked about him. Nagisa would overanalyze and over think things for the both of them combined, and Seijuro would balance it back out with his easygoing demeanor and kept things steady. If Nakagawa became captain, he would likely give himself a nervous breakdown within the first three weeks.

"It might be best to look over new candidates to place into there," Nakagawa finished and Seijuro knew he had a good point. If those in the relay had lost today then replacements may have to be made. They may not be happy about getting bumped but when it came to competing personal feelings had to be set aside when necessary.

Even after spending all that time around the Iwatobi boys Seijuro had been taken by surprise by their phenomenal win today. They had proven themselves to be a real dark horse; a force to be reckoned with and while Seijuro had faith in his swimmers, if they weren't careful they'd get swallowed up again.

Those who he placed into the relay for the final round would have to be those who were in their best condition. Nothing less would do if they wanted to win.

And Seijuro did. Badly. Winning was what was most important after all.

Not that that meant he couldn't give regards where it was warranted however. Winning may be what was most important but Seijuro wasn't a sore loser either. If someone else won it was simply because that swimmer was faster. That's all.

"Congratulations on your win!" It was the first time he had spoken to Gou since this morning and the first time he had seen her since this competition. He was glad to find her home.

"Thanks!" Gou's voice came oddly from the bathroom and Seijuro approached to see she had left the door ajar and was presently getting ready.

"Are you going out with Iwatobi?"

She shook her head. She aimed a scowl at the mirror as she messed up her eyeliner. "Goro and Ama-chan can't afford it; they went out yesterday for a…celebratory dinner." She laughed in an uncomfortable way. "They didn't expect us to lose and then Goro couldn't cancel the reservations. Haruka-senpai disappeared after the competition anyway. The others wouldn't want to go out celebrating without him."

"Oh." That was too bad. Iwatobi should be wallowing in their win, not sweeping it in under the rug.

But then suddenly that gave Seijuro an idea. If Iwatobi wasn't going out then…then he could invite Gou to dinner! To celebrate their win!

Their win over us. Jeez that sounded bad.

But it was a perfect opportunity! He couldn't miss it, even if he was practically rubbing his own face in his swim team's untimely defeat. The dinner could be sort of like a date but not! He could cover for himself if need be. 'This isn't a date, it's a celebration!' Yes it was perfect!

"W-what are you doing later tonight then?!" Seijuro's voice was way too loud. It echoed in the small bathroom and he coughed into his fist.

Gou turned away from the mirror. Her purse was in her hands and a smile beamed across her face. "I'm going to dinner with Hana-chan to celebrate!"

Seijuro felt his excitement wilt like a dying plant. "…O-oh." Damnit! His brilliant idea had been snuffed out before he had even gotten a chance! He made up a few more colorful curses in his head. "W-well, tell her I said hi then!"

"I will!" She waved to him as she went out the door.

Seijuro waited until the door was fully closed. "Damnit!" he cursed at the empty house.

It seemed like no matter what he did he just couldn't win at anything today whatsoever.

"Congratulations on your win!"

"Thanks!" Gou slid into the seat across from Hana with a tired sigh. It had been a long day. A very, very good day, but after staying up late and getting up early and now that the excitement from their success was fading Gou was finding herself rather exhausted. A nice quiet dinner with just Hana and then home would be a great way to end the day.

Home. Odd to think of it like that. She kind of hoped Seijuro would still be awake when she got back. Maybe they could watch one of those awful horror movies before she went to sleep. Now that would be the perfect ending to an already perfect day.

"I can't believe how well you guys did!" Hana gushed. "Especially considering you guys are a new swim team! I wish I had been there to see it!"

"Well, you better come to the final round! That's the one that's most important!"

"Oh I will! Yuka and Yuko said they'd come along too."

Gou blinked. "Really? Them too?"

"Of course! It's amazing you guys did so well! We'll definitely come cheer for you!"

Gou hid a smile behind a hand, a little embarrassed. Yuko and Yuka had shown next to no interest in the swim team's activities. She hadn't expected this sort of support. It was sweet of them.

"I heard Mikoshiba-san's team did very well too."

Gou nodded. "They did. Their relay team got past the preliminaries and Seijuro broke a record in the 200m free."

"Did he really?! Did you cheer for him?"

"Uhh y-yeah." Gou tried to hide her grimace. Looking back now she really regretted not being as enthusiastic or cheerful for Seijuro's win yesterday. He had performed exceptionally well and she had been too busy moping over her brother to appreciate his success. It was making her feel kind of guilty.

"What about your brother?" asked Hana as if reading her thoughts. "Did he do well?"

"Uhhh, yes. He…did." She lowered her gaze to her water glass. "He got past the preliminaries for the 100m free." Unlike Haru.

"Oh good!" Hana cheered, completely oblivious.

"Yeah." Gou faked a smile. She didn't want to talk about her brother's race. All she could recall from that was that jagged smile of his, like a piece of paper that had been ripped in half over his face. She had thought Rin needed the Iwatobi boys to become his old self again. But now she wasn't so sure what he needed.

"Did you give Mikoshiba-san a kiss after he did so well?" asked Hana slyly and Gou glared at her.

"No!" She decided not to mention the good luck kiss she had given him before the competition. That hadn't been a real kiss. Just a…spur of the moment thing. Didn't count at all.

"You still haven't? Even after all that stuff you thought about him?"

Gou pressed her lips together, eyebrows lowering. Upon returning from their trip to the sawgrass park Gou had told Hana about her little nighttime adventure in the hotel. She had needed to talk to someone about her mixed feelings regarding that fantasy she had imagined about Seijuro and who better than her best friend? Talking to the Iwatobi boys was definitely out of the question. Rei and Nagisa would only annoy her about it, Haru wouldn't care, and Makoto's face might burst into flame if he knew where her mind had gone concerning the Samezuka captain. Except at the time Hana had mostly just wanted to hear about the porno rather than discuss Gou's issues. ("I can't believe you watched it before me!")

"Just because I find someone attractive and thought about that sort of stuff doesn't mean I'm going to actually do it!" she protested. It hadn't meant anything anyway…

"But you like him, don't you?" Hana prodded. "You married him after all. That has to mean something."

Gou frowned down at her salad. "I don't know why I got married."

Hana hummed in her throat, chewing thoughtfully on her fork. "Maybe subconsciously you liked him," she said after a moment. "Maybe that's why you decided to marry him."

Gou snorted. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

But…what if Hana did have a point? Could it be that she had felt something for Seijuro that night at the bar? Could it be that was why she had married him while she had been too drunk to realize the consequences of such an action at that time? She had enjoyed spending time with him that night. That much she remembered at least.

And how warm he had been.

She glared down at her half eaten salad. Talking about these sorts of things was supposed to make them easier to figure out but all it was doing for her was making her more confused it seemed.

How different would their relationship be if they hadn't done that stupid mistake, she couldn't help but wonder. A lot different maybe. It could have been something they eased into rather than getting thrown into their current situation. The accidental marriage had scared Gou and rightfully so. It had been the same for Seijuro. She could still remember that flicker of panic on his face when she had first told him they couldn't get a divorce.

But if that hadn't happened? Gou wasn't so sure.

"Maybe you should try kissing him again and see how you feel?" Hana suggested.

Gou's lip twitched. She had only kissed him once. One real true kiss anyway. Kissing him again though…

She tried to imagine what it would feel like to kiss someone else instead, like Makoto or Nagisa. She shuddered. Kissing Makoto would almost feel like kissing her own brother and Nagisa…ugh. Rei was just…no. The only one she could think of out of the group that didn't gross her out and felt somewhat exciting was Haru, but even just imagining kissing him made her feel very confused and anxious as well, like somehow her whole world had completely shifted and she didn't know how to balance on it anymore.

But Seijuro. Kissing him - well again anyway – didn't make her feel that way. In a strange way it made her feel secure. There was no flush of panic like her whole world had suddenly been rattled like how it would feel if she kissed Haru. Imagining kissing Seijuro again felt almost…natural? She didn't know how to categorize it.

Not to mention her less than pristine thoughts about him at the hotel. While it was true she ogled men a lot she had never thought about actually touching them. Seijuro had been the first where she had thought of going further past simple ogling. Like touching. And him touching her. And her liking it.

She blushed a little. Okay so she was most assuredly attracted to him but liking him? That was a different beast entirely.

Desire, after all, didn't always equate to something more than simply that.

She took a deep breath to try and quell her tumult thoughts. After Iwatobi's monumental win this morning the last thing she should be thinking about was Seijuro. They had miraculously succeeded at the relay and gotten past the first round, but the second and final round was right around the corner. They only had a month and they had lots to do in the meantime to insure their victory. They needed those achievements in order to improve their swim club. She couldn't afford to be distracted by…other things.

"There's going to be a festival here in a few days," said Hana once they had finished and stepped out into the street. "Have you heard about it?"

Gou had. It was a summer festival for one of the country's gods although she couldn't remember which one.

"We should go!" said Hana. "It's centered around squid so there's supposed to be a lot of squid food and different squid events like a squid ink calligraphy contest. We could wear our yukata!"

That did sound like a lot of fun. And Gou had brought a yukata along with her, just in case of course. The festival would be a good excuse to wear it and get all done up for a night. It would be a nice way to have fun after the stress of the last few days. "Okay, let's definitely go!"

Hana's lodge was halfway on the way back to Gou's so they departed there and Gou walked the rest of the way alone. Despite the country's violent past there had been no present crime Gou had heard of and she felt safe walking the streets at night by herself. She had done it so many times, walking between Iwatobi and Seijuro's place that it had become a path her feet knew by instinct by now, a way that had become familiar and routine to the point she didn't even think about where she was going, her feet guiding her like homing pigeons.

She was glad to see the lights were on when she arrived at the door. "I'm home."

"Welcome home!" Seijuro was seated on the floor in front of the couch. The controller was in his hand and on the screen flashed that age old racing game. Seijuro approached his video gaming with the same sort of intensity as his swimming apparently. After the Iwatobi boys had returned the rental Seijuro had turned right back around and rented it for himself, intent on beating the thing it seemed.

"Have you been here the whole time?"

Seijuro shook his head, gaze locked on the screen. "I was over at the other lodges for a bit. I wanted to check they're keeping the place clean so we don't get charged for it."

"Are they?"

Seijuro grunted. "When there's a bunch of teenage boys living together the definition of clean becomes a lot more lax. Nitori alone is a menace."

Nitori? Her brother's roommate? She wouldn't have expected him to be that messy. He was so prim and proper in person.

"I spoke to my mother today too," Seijuro said softly.

Gou raised her eyebrows. The way he said that made it very noteworthy and she wondered if he, like her, been avoiding calling back home because of their accidental marriage. It didn't take that big of a stretch of the imagination to believe so. Despite Seijuro's boisterous personality there was no reason he wouldn't be just as reluctant as Gou to divulge to his family the mistake he had made. They would surely be disappointed in him.

"How did…that go?"

Seijuro shrugged. "Alright. She likes to hear about our competitions. Too bad I couldn't deliver better news." He flashed her a grin.

She made a small sound of amusement. Like her he kept the topics to safe ones when speaking to his family. Calling his mother right after the first round of competition had been a smart. It gave him a topic to stay focused on without deterring into possibly dangerous territory. Like who he was living with for example. Or the fact he was now a married man.

Gou sat on the couch's arm and slid lazily down into the crook. She was tired and while she knew she should just go to bed she was too tired to move right at this second and didn't feel ready to turn in just yet besides. She watched the screen for a few moments but her gaze wandered to something that was more interesting to look at. With Seijuro's back to her and with his attention utterly focused on the game she was able to stare at him unabashedly. She studied the curve of his shoulders, the muscles of his back she could see outlined underneath the fabric of his shirt, his long muscular arms and the darker tone of his skin. She wondered what it would feel like to run her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

She shook her head in an effort to refocus. Desire didn't always equate to something more than that. That was true. But desire more often than not could also be the byproduct of something else entirely.

She started talking before she realized she was doing so, as if these words had come naturally to her, an act that was the same as breathing. "You know there's a festival coming up in the next few days."

"Oh yeah?" Seijuro's racer curved across the screen. He was in third place.

"It's the country's celebration of the god of summer I think. They celebrate it by eating a bunch of squid and doing all these competitions focused around squid." She paused for a second. "You should come."

Her heartbeat sped up a little after asking that. The only other time she had asked him to come along anywhere was during golfing when she had wanted to get away for a bit. This was the first time she was inviting him elsewhere and more importantly him in specific. Oddly she found herself really wanting him there over anyone else, even Iwatobi.

The question must have shocked Seijuro too for he looked at her over his shoulder. On the screen his racer proceeded to smack into a wall. Third place dropped quickly into sixth. "I-is Gou-kun inviting me on a date?!"

Gou blinked. "Huh?"

The smile that spread across his face was criminal. "Of course I'll go on a date with you, Gou-kun!"

"W-wait what?!" She hadn't meant it to be a date at all! "I-I didn't say anything about it being a date!" Her face was heating up hotter than an oven. "I was talking about the entire Samezuka swim club!" That was a lie but she wasn't going to tell him otherwise. "And don't use Gou and kun together!"

Seijuro wasn't listening to her in the least. In fact he seemed to be wiping away a tear. "I'm so happy!"

"I-its not a date!" Gou protested. "I meant the entire Samezuka swim team should come along! There's going to be a shrine there for the water god so you can pray for victory! All the swim teams are doing it!"

"Gou-kun is so kind! Looking out for us!"

She debated throwing his pillow at his head. "Are you even listening to me?!"

He was too busy sniffling into his palms, mewling how happy he was.

Gou sighed and raised her eyes to the ceiling. Good grief. Boys were impossible.

But…despite her embarrassment and racing heartbeat what had her intentions been inviting him along? She wanted to spend time with him, in a setting that didn't have to do with their hosted events or swimming. Something that two normal teenagers would do together under normal circumstances. She hadn't intended it to be a date at all.

Or had she?

Whatever. She didn't want to examine that right now.

She sat up and held out a hand. "Give me that controller."

"Huh?" Seijuro looked up from his over dramatized snuffling.

"Give me the other controller." She moved her hand imploringly. "I'm going to beat you into the ground."

Seijuro stared at her in confusion for a moment then he smirked. "Alright, but don't be mistaken! I won't go easy on you even if we are going on a date!"

Gou's cheeks flamed. "It's not a date!"

He conveniently ignored that. He handed the controller to her and as he did so his fingertips brushed against her own. Gou tried to ignore the slight touch, despite how her whole body seemed to focus on it. How often had she touched him that didn't involve a life threatening situation or panic because her brother was around? Touching simply to touch and be touched.

Not very often. She ground her teeth.

Seijuro flung himself back so his back was against the couch mere inches from Gou's legs. "I won't go down so easily!" he said.

Gou punched at the buttons on her controller. "You already lost to us once today," she said. "Now I'll make sure you lose again."

"Gou-kun is so cruel! My feelings are hurt!" From the look on his face his feelings were anything but hurt. There was a feral glint to his eye, a glint of enlivened challenge, the same sort of look he must wear right before diving into a race, like it was something he needed to conquer. It was strangely thrilling seeing him look like that. Gou wondered what it would be like if he looked at her in that way.

"S-stop using Gou and kun together!" she yelled at him on reflex, desperately trying to empty her mind of other thoughts. It had been going into very dangerous territory as of late.

"I'll accept your challenge!" His voice was much too loud for their small living room.

"Prepare to lose then!" Gou selected her racer. She leaned forward to get into a better position and tried to ignore the soft warmth of his shoulder brushing against her calf.

It was late by the time they stopped playing. Gou disappeared into the other room and Seijuro settled back onto the couch. He waited to hear the sound of Gou sliding into the sheets then he smirked into the darkness.

Pulling that move about the date had been a bold one. A very bold one but the opportunity had presented itself and Seijuro had seized it.

Things could have gone wrong. Horribly wrong but Seijuro had been sitting idly by for far too long. He was a doer not a thinker, and he had been beating around the bush and being wishy washy for way, way too long. Docile wasn't really part of his personality.

Seijuro went after the things he wanted after all.

And maybe sometimes in order to crack an egg you really did have to smash it.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed!

I will be moving across half the country at the end of this month so my free time is going to shrink quite a bit. I am hoping to get out at least one more chapter before then but if not it will likely be delayed quite a bit. Sorry!

Responses to some things!

JustJolola - Thank you so much! I'm glad you like that I kept it along the same storyline as the anime! I debated on that when I first thought up the idea for this fic and decided to go for it with the hope of it being different enough that its not like reading the episode. Hopefully I pulled it off! And I'm so glad you like the teeth sharpening line! I was patting myself on the back when I thought up that one haha!

Joy-Girl - This fic is sort of AUish and is based roughly off the anime. So there will be scenes from the anime that appear in here but will be different from the actual episode. I have plans for Gou and Rin but I don't want to say too much that will spoil anything. But yes hopefully there will be closure!

Demon Flame - I'll admit I was grinning like an idiot when they brought up the swimmers diet in season 2. But honestly that's so basic! They should have talked about their diet in the first season!

RebelYeller - Thank you very much for your kind words! This website unfortunately doesn't allow tags like Ao3 so it's harder to express certain things about this fic and I've been bad about placing a warning. This fic was always intended to be AUish and be roughly based on the first season of the anime. That's why I did incorporate a lot of the major events into it. I did think about making it straight AU but I generally dislike AUs so I decided to stick with the anime rather than creating something completely different as I wanted to preserve the (mostly) canon relationships. Unfortunately Seijuro/Gou is no where close to canon haha.