Literature - BY THE POOLSIDE

"What sounds do whale sharks make?" they ask, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the pool.

He pauses and lifts his head from the shallow waters, the top of his head down to his chin being the only visible parts of him. He contemplates the question while watching their fingers trace nonsensical patterns on the cold floor. The perfect response comes to him and a small smirk makes its way to his face.

"I don't know. But since you're curious," he pauses to get closer to them, "wanna take one night to figure that out?"

They halt drawing patterns on he floor for a while, trying to interpret that answer. They squeak a little, though, when they catch his drift.

"Not like that, you dummy!" the screech, embarrassed. They flick some water at his face which makes him laugh.

"I'm already drenched in water, you know," he says with a teasing smile. "Know who isn't? You. Well, not yet, at least.

They scoot away from the pool, causing a hearty laugh to leave his throat.

"If you do anything to change my state of dryness, I swear to whatever is up there that I will-"

"I won't!" he exclaims with a soft laugh, hands up in the air. "I won't, I promise."

They start nearing the edge once again, still cautious and wary. "Pinky promise?"

He loops his pinky finger around theirs. "Pink promise."

He pulls them in by their finger and for a second, they yelp, thinking they're going to get dragged in the water. And so they're surprised when they feel a pair of lips press against their forehead.

And then comes the rise of blood to their face up to their ears.

"You little... what the hell was that?" they ask with their arms crossed, putting up a tough exterior to attempt to hide their blush. He only laughs and worsens their condition, to which they react to by turning their head to the side.

"You were just really cute," he explains. "You're also really cute when you bl-"

"Alright!" they yell, making his smile widen. "I'm cute, you're cute- I get it, I get it."

"Never did I say I was cute, though." his teasing continues.

Cue that awful blush. "Drown in piss, Yamazaki."

Just as he opens his mouth to no doubt fire a comeback, their phone beeps. They send him an apologetic smile accompanied by a meek 'sorry' to which he responds to with a small smile and a wave of a hand.

"Who was that?" he asks after they pocket their phone.

"My brother," they reply as they stand up and stretch. "He texted me saying they want me back home."

He lowers himself until his mouth is underwater and makes a sound of disapproval, making them laugh. "Oh, boo," he says childishly with a pout.

"It's past seven in the evening, you dork," they teases, giving him an affectionate flick to the forehead.

"I guess so." He gets out of the pool and starts drying himself off. "Thanks for hanging around," he says with a smile sent in their direction.

They puff their cheeks and blow out a steam of air to hide their once again reddening cheeks, making him chuckle. "Thanks for not getting sick of me hanging around, or whatever."

He smiles and walks over to the changing rooms, no forgetting to ruffle their hair before doing so.

"Have you decided which uni you're going to attend?" they ask while packing up their things.

"Not yet," he simply replies.

They sit on the nearby benches, their bag now on their lap. "This term's about to end, Sou-kun. You should at least have a couple in mind."

"Well, have you decided yet?"

A short silence takes over.

"Well, I'm a a hundred percent sure."

"See?" he teasingly asks, poking his head out of the changing rooms.

"Psh. Why should that matter?" they mumble under their breath, eyes focused on the titles beneath their feet.

"Because you're one of the things I'm considering in picking which uni I'm going to attend," he coolly explains. "I mean, not to sound clingy and all, but you're one of the most important people in my laugh and I just don't want to be fa-"

"I don't think that's a good idea," they butt in.

He immediately pauses drying off his hair with a tower and steps out, now fully dressed. "Excuse me?"

"Not like that!" they yelp defensively. "I love you a lot- you know that. I just don't want you to feel like you need to make decisions that would benefit me but would hold you back from doing what you want to do. You have dreams you need to achieve," they slowly explain. "I don't want you to be held back."

There are rare moments when silence would join their conversation. Tonight seems to be one of those rare moments.

"I get what you mean," he says, his voice rarely above a whisper.

They feel a small smile beginning to form on their face. "But you aren't gonna listen, are you?"

"Nope," he replies, feeling a similar smile make its way onto his face. He comes closer to them until they're only inches apart, his eyes seemingly focused n theirs. "Because even if I do have dreams I have yet to achieve, you're a dream come true and I'm not that daft of a fool to let you go."

"Stubborn little Sousuke," they muse. "That's what got your shoulder fucked up in the first place, right?"

Eerie silence.

"Right. Too soon. Sorry."

But the swimmer only rolls his eyes and smiles before taking their hand in his, causing their bag to almost fall off their lap. "It's getting really late."

"Yeah, duh," they reply, a silly grin on their face.

"I'm walking you home."

"I didn't ask you to walk me home."

"I didn't ask you to let me walk you home."

"But I-"

"Love you."

"You're a dweeb."

---

"I feel bad for letting you walk me home," they whisper more to themselves than to him.

He hears this, of course, and opts to lace their fingers tighter together. "There's no need to feel bad," he says with a small smile. "I wanted to do it, so I did. Plus, I wanted to make sure you got home safely. I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself if something were to happen to you. And lastly, I-"

"Alright!" they say with a laugh that makes his stomach churn, resting their head on their shoulder after. "Damn, just when I thought I couldn't love you more than I already do."

Unable to speak, he turns his head to the side and watches the houses they pass by, not wanting them to see the stupid grin plastered on his face.

"Thanks for today, again," they say as they lift their head from his shoulder and face him.

He places his hands in his pockets. "It's fine, really. I'm just glad you enjoyed today as much as I did."

"God, I'm in love with you."

Before he can respond, he's surprised to feel a pressure on his lips, later realizing they had kissed him. Instinctively, his arms wrap themselves around their waist and pull them flush against his frame.

"That's unfair!" he exclaims when they break apart. "I was supposed to be the one to kiss you, not the other way around!"

"Whatever," they say with a playful roll of the eyes. They stand on their toes and press a gentle kiss to his nose.

"Goodnight, Sousuke."

"Goodnight, then," he replies with a smile.

They laugh, though, when he's a couple of meters away, mumbling about how he's gonna get them next time.

"I love kids."

They're startled when they notice and hear the voice of their neighbour who's surprisingly outside, smiling warmly, nonetheless.

They blink once. Then twice. Then thrice. "Pardon me, I didn't quite get that," they tell the old man.

"Do you two have any kids I can look after?"

"We're third-years!"

"And?"

"Yoshimura-san!"