Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club It's Just an Art Project That's It That is All It Is

_Knock knock_

"Who is it?" Seijuurou called from his mattress, setting the magazine down.

"It's me, Sei!" A small voice called happily through the door, still knocking.

Seijuurou hopped up, pulling the door open and leaning against the entryway. "And what brings you here, darling? What can I do you for?"

Ai smiled shyly, pulling a bag from behind his back. "I come bearing color theory homework."

His face dropped. "Really, Ai? Really."

"Yes really. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's _wrong_." Seijuurou shrugged, turning to walk back inside. "It's just, you know, I thought that _maybe_ you were actually coming to visit me. Just to see me."

This had become a regular occurrence. It had all happened because _one time_ Seijuurou stumbled across Aiichirou while he was passing the art building. And, he didn't know that the kid took art classes. He was, _technically_, a jock. And usually, the jock's sport was their _life_, but plot twist – Aiichirou Nitori was an artist. So he struck up a conversation about it, and it turned out that he needed a model ("But not like, a model, model!") and he really felt most comfortable asking Seijuurou to do it, so it was a funny coincidence that he just so _happened_ that they bumped into each other...

"Well, I'm doing that too." He replied, entering behind the older boy as he shut the door.

"You only want me for my body."

"True." Aiichirou nodded, dropping his bag on Seijuurou's bed. "Now, make yourself available."

Seijuurou shook his head. "I don't think I want to do that. What are your plans this time? I don't know what you're going to do to me."

But he had already pulled himself a chair and taken a seat, facing Ai as he rummaged through his bag.

"At least tell me what body part you need." Sei rolled his eyes. "How naked do I need to be for this experiment?"

"You don't _need_ to be naked at all." Ai mumbled, carrying some paint tubes and a palette over to Seijuurou's desk. "But feel free to ditch the shirt. I'm going for the face."

"My dashing good looks have finally gotten to you, huh?"

He was reviewing a list, carefully squirting a few selected colors into the palette's wells. "No. Shut up. I need to get this right."

"Sorry I'm bothering you."

"Also, I'm going to need you to blindfold yourself."

"Kinky."

"Again, shut up."

Seijuurou sat quietly, patting his knees and whistling for a while.

"Almost done."

"So, is this blindfold like, _provided_? Or am I supposed to produce my own?"

"Do you have one?"

"Yes."

Ai turned around, gesturing for Seijuurou to move closer to him as he spoke. "Why does that not even surprise me?"

"Do I need to get my blindfold, or no?" Seijuurou asked, pulling his chair towards the desk.

"_No_. We don't need that yet. Take your shirt off."

"I thought I didn't have to."

Aiichirou made a face at him. One that said 'move'. And so, Seijuurou removed his shirt without any further protest.

"You happy now?"

"Thank you." Ai smiled brightly, dipping a brush into the paints. "Okay. Ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

"Great!" Aiichirou giggled, stepping to Seijuurou's right. "Okay. Here we go."

"Here we go."

"I'm gonna do it."

"Why are you so nervous?"

Ai groaned, putting the brush down. "I'm nervous."

Seijuurou shrugged, leaning back in the chair. "Come on, you'll do fine." Ai remained silent, so he tried again, whining this time. "Come _on_, talk to me, I'm bored."

Aiichirou huffed, grabbing the top of the captain's head, as he lifted the brush to his temple. "What do you _want_?"

"So what's this project?"

"Would you understand if I told you?"

"No." Seijuurou responded happily. "I don't get art. It's too hard."

Ai grinned. "Well, okay, long story short – I'm going to have to paint your face."

"Incredible."

He dipped the brush back into the palette. "Four times, actually. I hope that's okay." He smiled sheepishly, adding another stroke to Sei's face.

Seijuurou rolled his eyes. "Four? Fine. Fine, whatever."

"Maybe six." Ai added quietly.

"_Six_?"

"Is that a problem? I'm sorry I didn't really ask."

"No, no." Seijuurou shook his head. Ai yelped. Sei quickly grew rigid. "I'm sorry. Sorry."

"I-it's okay. Please don't ever do that again."

"Right." He had to resist the urge to nod. "I just thought, that seems like a lot of work for _you_."

Ai nodded, biting his lip. "I mean, hopefully I _won't_ have to do that. That's just in case these few don't turn out so great, really. Then I can put quantity over quality."

"You should never put quantity over quality."

"I _know_." Ai groaned. "But I've already told my teacher what my project would be, and if it turns out that I suck at it, I at least want her to know that I _tried_."

"You won't suck. You won't have to do this six times."

Ai screwed his face up. "If you say so."

"Believe me."

Ai reasserted his grip on Seijuurou's head. "Um, can you tilt your head a bit? No, other way. Yep. Yeah. Thanks."

"Am I doing a good job?"

"Just fine."

Seijuurou smiled, letting Ai work in silence. This was nice. Having his face painted quietly by one of his best friends. This was nice. He kinda liked it. Aiichirou was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Sei asked, adjusting his eyes to try and peek at the boy.

Ai covered his mouth with the hand holding his paintbrush. "Nothing. You just looked so peaceful for a second there."

"And that's funny?"

"Chin down." Ai nodded as Seijuurou adjusted. "It's funny because you usually look goofy, you know?"

"_Goofy_? You think I'm _goofy_?"

"I didn't say that. I said that you _look_ goofy."

Seijuurou was actually distraught about this. "I mean, I do my best to be _amiable_, but goofy? No. I'm your big, scary, buchou. You should be terrified by m-" At which point, Sei let out the most childish giggle known to man, followed immediately by a scream.

Ai was laughing so hard he had to stop painting and lean against the desk. "Scary! So, _so_ scary."

Sei threw his hands up, instinctively reaching to cover his ears. But he stopped himself – all hell would break loose if he fucked up Ai's paint job.

"You should've warned me!" He shouted. "My ears are _sensitive_."

But Ai was still cackling. "I know, _I know_. That's exactly why – oh god – that's why I did it. Why did you scream."

Seijuurou was trying his best to look angry, but he was embarrassed, and it was only funnier because half of his face was blushing red, and the other half was painted entirely blue. Ai could not breathe.

"Could you hurry up?!" Sei commanded anxiously.

Ai nodded, closing his eyes as he tried to stop laughing. "I have to finish this ear."

"You suck." Sei pouted.

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

Ai took a deep breath, readying his brush. "I'm not.."

Seijuurou jumped again when the brush touched his ear. Ai definitely grinned. Seijuurou is certain. He saw it through his peripherals.

A few strokes later, and Ai nodded, stepping back. "Okay. One third of paint job one is done."

"Fantastic!"

"Okay, okay." Ai muttered, maneuvering around Seijuurou in the chair and dipping the brush into the paint again. "Okay."

"O_kay_."

"_Ummmm_..." Ai tweaked his head to the side, stepping in front of his model. "Okay. I'm doing the front now."

"Do I need to close my eyes? Do I need to stop talking?"

"Nah. You're okay for a few minutes." Ai replied, leaning forward to reach Sei's face over his legs.

Sei was quiet again, able to watch Ai work head on, now. And he was pretty cute like that – he had his mouth half open, and was super focused on his forehead. Every now and then he'd squint a little bit, trying to land every brush stroke perfectly. Then he'd make this contorted face, like it _pained_ him when the paint wasn't perfectly even, and when he thought he'd done a particularly good job, he totally did the 'painter thing' and stuck his tongue out as he marveled at his work.

This was a regular occurrence. Seijuurou knew every face and look that Ai made, and something about that was very comforting.

He could also tell when Aiichirou looked ridiculously tired.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sei asked, trying to make eye contact.

The shorter boy stood up straight, arching his back a bit. "Yeah! I'm good. Just let me – I gotta – you know, you should _really_ stretch before doing art. Really loosen up that body."

"Or maybe you shouldn't bend over someone who is way taller than you?"

Ai's face turned into a glare. "You're not _way_ taller than me."

"I kind of am."

"Shut up." He snapped, staring at Seijuurou. "Okay so, is it okay if I like, can I, uh,"

"_What_?"

He rolled his eyes, pointing to Seijuurou's legs. "Can I like, can I sit there?"

"Can you sit on my lap?"

Ai flushed a bit, nodding as he dipped into the paint again.

"Well, yeah? Don't make such a big deal out of it. It's not weird."

"Really?" His eyes flashed, finally looking at the captain.

"Yeah?"

"Okay, okay." Ai stood in front of him. "Spread your legs."

"Now you're making it weird." Seijuurou said slowly, but totally did it anyway.

Ai shook his head. "Shut up, shut up." He muttered, straddling Seijuurou's right leg. "This just works better."

For another few moments, it was really quiet. Because, one, Ai felt totally awkward just _sitting on _his captain like that. But it really was easier to reach him like that, and it really was more comfortable to sit down instead of standing for the next few hours, so it was _totally_ a logical thing. And on Sei's part – well, it was really making him feel _some type of way_ to have this outrageously cute, blushing _kid_ sitting on him. He did not particularly want to dwell on the thought, because it might produce very interesting results, and he definitely needed to get the conversation going again.

"How come you never ask Rin to do this stuff?"

Ai huffed, grabbing Sei's head again. "Like Rin would have the time to take out of his day for this? Besides, you're generally more cooperative."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Ai did not respond, and he was definitely still sitting in Seijuurou's lap, and he _definitely_ needed to keep this going.

"So what kind of paint is this?"

Aiichirou looked surprised for a second, that he'd even ask. "Uh, it's gouache?"

"...Quash?"

Ai grinned. "_No_. Gouache."

"Oh." _Don't let it die, Seijuurou. Your life and dignity depend on not letting this conversation die_. "Wait a second."

"Hm?" Ai asked, pulling at Sei's hair to coerce him into lifting his chin.

"Gouache. Paint."

"Yes?"

"It's not the kind that stains, is it?" Sei asked, looking down the bridge of his nose at his teammate.

Ai pulled Sei's hair again (with the actual intent of inflicting pain this time), forcing the older boy's eyes to level with his. "_No_. It's basically opaque water color paint. Water soluble."

"Hey don't get angry, I'm just checking."

Ai inched up his captain's leg, closer to his face. "One time, Mikoshiba. That was one time."

"That one time _being_ the first time." Sei rolled his eyes, though his breath hitched.

"Oh whatever."

"I was scarred."

"You're being dramatic."

"My entire torso was green for a week and a half."

Aiichirou pouted, sagging a bit. "Okay, fine, I messed up. Let it go."

But Seijuurou was grinning now. "I mean, it might not have been a big deal if I wasn't swimming every day. And everybody could see."

"It wasn't _that_ bad!" Ai tried, pressing against the captain. "I didn't _know_."

"I had to enter a competition like that." Sei chuckled, pushing his forehead against Ai's.

"And I told you a million times that _I'm sorry_." He was pouting again, wriggling his fingers through Sei's hair. "Please don't pick on me."

"I don't mean to hurt your feelings." And Seijuurou was totally guilty of absently wrapping his arm around Aiichirou's waist, and when he noticed it, he knew he couldn't pull away. It would be too awkward to suddenly back out, and his teammate hadn't complained, anyway.

In fact, Ai was smiling as he pressed a palm to his chest. "Thank you for still trusting me with your body _after_ that event."

"You are very welcome." Sei replied, staring Ai dead in the eyes. Like, shit. Was this happening right now? Well nothing was happening, obviously. Just – Aiichirou was _extremely_ close, and their foreheads were pressed together, and he had his arms wrapped around the guy, and really, if either of them leaned in even a _little bit_, they could've -

"Boop."

Aiichirou Nitori had lifted the brush, and dabbed blue paint on the bridge of Seijuurou Mikoshiba's nose. It just so happened, that right in the instant that Seijuurou Mikoshiba was considering kissing him, Aiichirou Nitori managed to completely destroy the atmosphere.

"_Damn it, _Ai!" Seijuurou shouted. He wanted to drop his head in his hands, but he couldn't because, again, if anything happened to the semi-dry paint on his face, all of Aiichirou's inner demons would be unleashed. He had to settle for staring into his palms instead.

"Captain?" He asked. Sei looked up just in time to see Ai tilt his head to the side, those big _big so so so so so cute_ blue eyes staring at him – maybe actually a little concerned that he'd made his friend angry. "What's wrong? What'd I do?"

In his head, Seijuurou was thinking shit like: _First of all, how dare you. How dare you be that cute, when you just foiled my attempts at romance. That is probably the only time I will have had enough _courage_ to try to pull something like that for the next _month_. How _dare_ you. Who even uses contractions like '_What'd'_? Nobody. Nobody ever uses that contraction. Who do you think you are_.

"You ruined the mood."

"What mood?" Ai asked, turning to dip the brush back into the paint as he finished painting the bridge of his nose. He grabbed Sei's hair again, checking under his chin to ensure that he'd covered the area thoroughly.

"You didn't _feel_ that?"

"Hn?"

"It was _really tense_ just now."

"Oh. Yeah!" He added a few more strokes to his forehead where the paint seemed uneven. "I did! That's why I had to lighten things up a bit."

_You understand nothing_, Seijuurou thought. He was miserable. This was a miserable existence. Why couldn't he just have a bigger crush on Kou Matsuoka. That would solve everything.

"Okay." Ai nodded, switching to seat himself on Seijuurou's other leg. "Two thirds of face one, done! You doing okay?"

"I'm fine." Seijuurou lied. "Please blindfold me."

"Not yet."

"I don't even want to look at you."

"I said not yet." He did the hair thing again.

"At least don't watch me while I cry."

Ai snickered. "Oh, you're so cute."

Seijuurou wanted to scream. Instead he kind of whined. "No, you are."

Aiichirou stared at Seijuurou. Seijuurou stared back. Shit. Ai was being sarcastic. _Ai was being sarcastic_. Sei was not. Shit, shit, oh god, oh no.

Sei nearly said something to try to cover it up, but Ai simply pushed his face down via hair force.

"You know how you asked me earlier if you needed to stop talking?"

"Y-yeah?" Sei stammered.

"That starts now." And Seijuurou managed to seal his mouth shut just in time for Ai to swipe the brush across his lips.

Seijuurou blinked.

Yeah, the kid knew how to read the atmosphere. He knew how to handle him. Too damn well, at that.


End file.

Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club, Friendship, Romance