Title: recreational swim
Rating: G
Fandom: Lkyt.
Relationship: Takeru/Tasuku
Wordcount: 2076
Short summary: As a recreational activity, Takeru teaches Tasuku some swimming basics.
When Takeru’s white heron had appeared before Tasuku, Tasuku couldn’t help his excitement as spending the past few days on standby was honestly hard for him. Training activities could only do so much to take his mind off the upcoming big battle, especially after experiencing some real situations, and especially after starting this relationship with Takeru. He had hoped that maybe Takeru would ask for a spar or a drinking session or something…possibly more physically intimate. Instead, Takeru’s question takes Tasuku completely by surprise.
“Have you ever gone swimming?”
“Huh?” Tasuku knows what the word means, and he knows that all creatures who traverse through water do it. But as for how humans would swim… “You mean, like a fish?”
“People don’t swim like fish.” Takeru frowns. Perhaps he is offput by Tasuku’s ignorance. But then his expression morphs into one of contemplation. “Hmm, it will be a good exercise.”
Tasuku’s eyes light up. The word “exercise” catches his attention. Anything that could improve his physical abilities and serve him better in a fight always does. “You are going to teach me?”
Takeru smiles. “I wonder how well you will take to it.” He looks down at Tasuku’s legs. “Hmm…”
“Uh…” Tasuku shifts nervously. “Is something wrong with…”
Takeru shakes his head. “Never mind. It’s nothing.” He smiles. “Shall we get going?”
Tasuku nods. They had met right outside the castle likely so Tasuku wouldn’t get lost, for he has no clue which place inside of the city would have enough water for swimming. At least, he suspects it is not a place available to people like him…
Takeru doesn’t lead him into the castle but instead to an unexpected place: the Mitsurugi manor. There is no reason for Tasuku to have visited the Mitsurugi manor before. He may be acquainted with members of said family, but not close enough to be a friend. And he certainly hadn’t engaged in any intimate relations with anyone there…except for now. He supposes Takeru counts…
“Welcome, Prince Takeru. Is there some way we can be of assistance?”
“Just leave us some towels by the pond.”
“Understood.”
Tasuku’s eyes flit between the attendant and Takeru, wondering if this is a normal occurrence. Perhaps part of Takeru’s physical conditioning comes from regular visits to this pond? Now Tasuku is even more intrigued.
As for this pond… It takes a bit of navigation through the manor before they exit to a rock garden with a few shrubs. Whether it is for color or to simulate the greenery of the past, Tasuku doesn’t know. Halfway through the garden path, Tasuku senses the pond before he sees it, due to the sound of a duck landing on water. Wildlife is unusual in the city, but perhaps some of it manages to exist inside this manor due to human intervention…
“Here we are.”
Tasuku shakes himself out of his thoughts upon hearing Takeru speak. He can think upon these observations some other time.
“Now let us strip.”
Tasuku blinks. “Isn’t it better not to…” Not take off clothes? If Tasuku were ever to encounter water he must swim through while on an expedition, surely he would need his clothes on the other side?
Takeru chuckles. He seems to know what Tasuku is thinking and has found it amusing. “It is bothersome to wait for wet clothes to dry. Today is for recreation.”
Recreation? “Does that mean you and…?” Tasuku thinks about Makoto and Misao also stripping to swim in this pond. Well, they probably last did so together when they were much younger…
Takeru nods. “I suppose this is a luxury for the nobility, at least here.” His lips press into a slight frown. “I apologize for my insensitivity.”
“No need!” Tasuku immediately replies, his hands flailing. “It’s not that we didn’t have recreation either, just…”
Tasuku loses his train of thought when Takeru takes hold of his hands, stopping their movement. “Just relax with me.”
Tasuku blushes, realizing he’s gotten quite worked up. He’s just…excited and nervous and still awkward around Takeru, even if he has shown Takeru multiple embarrassing sides already…
“If you want, I can take off your clothes.”
“Ah, no!” Tasuku’s blush deepens, especially seeing that glint in Takeru’s eyes. “We’re here to swim! Right!”
Takeru laughs. “Alright. I will focus on myself then.” He finally lets go of Tasuku’s hands and moves them to his own sash. “Just the outer clothes. Leave your fundoshi on.”
Tasuku nods and proceeds to strip his own clothes off quickly. He can’t help but feel embarrassed to be doing so outside, even if no one but Takeru is around. Although stripping in front of Takeru also causes his skin to flush, because…
“W-water, right…?” Tasuku stutters once he has finished stripping. The other concern Tasuku has about being mostly naked is the inability to hide his arousal. Before Takeru can have a good look, Tasuku runs into the pond. If he hadn’t been overwhelmed with heat from embarrassment, he would have flinched from how cold the water felt in contrast to the air, but instead it’s a relief that the water cools his flushed body immediately. He stops when he finds himself waist deep in the water.
Takeru, meanwhile, takes his time ambling towards the water, a wide smile across his face. He flinches slightly upon first contact but soon stands at Tasuku’s side, also waist deep in the water.
“We need to move a bit further in.” Takeru takes Tasuku’s hands once more. “Yes, shoulder deep should be fine.”
Tasuku starts to feel nervous as water crests close to his mouth. He knows if he swallows too much water and sinks, he will die, so…
“I…suppose I should demonstrate a little.”
Before Tasuku can react, Takeru pushes with his legs off the pond floor and tilts forward, assuming a more horizontal position. Takeru makes some motions that Tasuku does not know how to classify at first – a scooping motion with his hands, as if cupping water into his hands and then pushing it back, and some kind of rapid kicking movement with the legs. Takeru’s head bobs in and out of the water, which suggests that breathing is done above water, which quells Tasuku’s worry about whether he would have to be swallowing water to swim. It seems to make sense, all these movements, when paired together. But when trying to reach out and mimic the arm movements, he is rather…
“Let us try one part at a time.” Takeru, upon returning to Tasuku’s side, reaches out to put his hands on Tasuku’s waist. “I’ll hold you while you practice kicking.”
“I’m supposed to…?” Tasuku sputters as Takeru guides him onto his back. Which is nice because his face doesn’t have to go into the water yet. Takeru’s arms are under Tasuku’s back at first, but eventually move up and then disappear?
“You’re floating.”
“Floating?” Tasuku hadn’t known he could just lay back in the water and not sink? But apparently only if he keeps his head back enough in the water to maintain a back arch and his legs extended and relatively close to the surface.
“Yes. But let me help guide your path once you start kicking.”
Takeru shuffles his position until he takes hold of Tasuku’s hands and guides Tasuku’s arms back. The movement causes some water to skim over Tasuku’s face, which causes him to instinctively flinch, but Takeru manages to pull Tasuku back into position before he starts sinking.
“Keep kicking up and down. Legs close together is better.”
“Like this?”
A few minutes of kicking later, Tasuku finds himself not just acclimating to the position on his back but to the feel of the water’s resistance. It’s quite different from running against a strong wind; sometimes it feels as if the water is trying to caress his limbs. He has little sense of where he is going and just keeps kicking until he gets a bit bored. Only upon standing on his two feet again does he realize just how far he has traveled.
“Wow.”
“You are picking this up well.” Takeru smiles. “As I would expect.”
“But…you were holding me the entire time?” Tasuku flushes at the compliment though. “And what do I do with my arms?”
“Whatever you feel like.” Takeru shrugs. “I prefer making a rotating and scooping motion. Misao just makes side circles.”
“Side circles?”
“I can demonstrate.” Takeru flips onto his front and it looks to Tasuku that he really is pushing the water aside, his arms making small circular motions with his hands pushing water out, away from his face. He also seems to be doing a similar type of circular motion with his legs. The motions seem strange; Tasuku can’t help but laugh.
“Yes, it is hard for me to do the sideways arm movements without doing the same with the legs.” Takeru smiles sheepishly. “It was how I was taught.”
Tasuku nods. There must be multiple ways to swim that have been perfected and passed down through the noble families, or at least those who regularly have need of or access to swimming. Growing up by the ocean, Tasuku thinks his father was probably a good swimmer…
“Anyway, if you would like to try swimming a little on your own, or if you would like me to help by holding you…” Takeru pauses, fidgeting with his bandanna as he awaits Tasuku’s reply.
Tasuku takes a moment to think. All of this has been so new, and while he enjoys learning new skills, he does like to base them on a solid foundation. Perhaps it is his martial training experience that holds his enthusiasm back.
“I think I just want to…float?” Tasuku smiles sheepishly. “I’m not quite confident in…” In looking anywhere close to as graceful as you do.
Takeru gives a reassuring smile. “Of course.” He pushes off the pond floor and into a back float. He turns his head a bit sideways and looks at Tasuku, his expression suggesting Tasuku try the same.
It takes Tasuku a few tries to time the push off the pond floor with the back arching movement. He ends up swallowing a few cups of pond water before success, but when he finally makes it, and Takeru reaches out with his right hand to join with Tasuku’s left, well… Tasuku can’t help but smile widely.
He’s not quite relaxed enough to shut his eyes, even though floating like this sort of reminds him of the moments he’s laid on his back on the grass and could see the sky above. They say that bodies of water reflect the sky; the clouds up there don’t show in the water, though. Probably because this is only a pond, which means when Tasuku gets tired of floating, he can stop and safely plant his feet on the ground with his head still above water.
“Shall we head out of the water now?”
Tasuku nods. He feels more tired than he would expect from today’s activities, but his nerves likely contributed to draining his energy. He’s quite ready for a nap, actually.
“If you are too tired, I can dry you and put your clothes back on.”
Tasuku blushes deeply at Takeru’s teasing. “N-no, I-I’m alright!” He grabs for his towel and buries his face inside it. Ah, the towel feels good against his skin.
By the time he has finished drying his skin and reducing the dampness of his fundoshi, Takeru is already fully dressed. Tasuku blushes once more as he quickly pulls on his outer clothes. Once all his clothes are back on, Tasuku looks over at Takeru who has an amused smile, probably enjoying Tasuku’s fluster.
“After swimming, we typically have some light refreshments. If you still have time to join me for those…?”
Tasuku’s stomach grumbling answers before he can use words. “Yes…” he mumbles as Takeru laughs. And then blinks in surprise when his left hand is grabbed.
“Let’s go.”
Takeru’s cheeks have the slightest pink to them as he leads them inside. It is a sign of Takeru’s consideration that he takes Tasuku’s hand so boldly, Tasuku thinks to himself as he enjoys the feel of their joined hands. As much as any time spent with Takeru has become precious to Tasuku, this moment…this whole day so far… Tasuku could easily put it too on the top of his favorite moments with Takeru. Hopefully one of many more in the future…