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It's his first day of swimming lessons, and six-year-old Astarion Ancunín-Szarr is already scowling at the water.
What's the use, anyway? It's not like his dad will ever take him to the pool, or to the beach, or anywhere else where he might need to swim. Plus, the water smells funny, and not in a good way. He'd much rather hide in his classroom with a book than splash around with a bunch of kids he didn't even like, but Ms. Jaheira says it's a part of the cur… currik… the stuff they've gotta study.
This sucks.
There's another boy beside him, wearing bright purple swim trunks and bouncing around like he'd eaten a whole bag of M&Ms. Come on, Astarion! It'll be fun!" Gale says, adjusting the oversized goggles that make his eyes look even bigger. He seems completely unconcerned by the way the elastic makes his brown hair stick out in all directions. "We're gonna learn how to swim like dolphins!"
His own hair is neatly combed and falls around his face in gentle curls, the way his nanny had left it this morning and the same way it’s expected to look when he gets home. Gale’s mom is probably gonna be so mad if he goes home looking like that.
Astarion rolls his eyes. "Who the heck wants to be a fish?"
"Well, actually, dolphins aren't really–"
The piercing shriek of a whistle rings out through the pool house, and Astarion flinches so hard that he almost falls into the water.
He hates loud noises even more than dumb pools and stupid classmates who never stop talking.
"Alright, children, I want everyone to gather around me." A man standing by the lifeguard chair calls out, beckoning the class over with a friendly smile on his broad face. "That includes you, Karlach!"
"Yes, sir!" the tiny tiefling squeals, throwing up what looks like some sort of salute before scampering over with her tail fluttering wildly behind her.
Karlach is even more hyper than Gale. Astarion isn’t sure how that’s possible, but it's true. Don’t her parents teach her to be ‘seen and not heard’?
Astarion hangs at the back of the crowd, his little arms folded across his chest while he does his best to appear grumpy. Grumpy is better than nervous, or scared, or any number of other big feelings that always seem to get him into trouble. And maybe if he acts cranky enough, the others will just leave him alone.
Being alone is easier.
"My name is Halsin, and I want to welcome everyone to their first day here at the Rivington Community Pool," the man said in a loud, deep voice that somehow didn't manage to be too scary. Up close, he's even bigger than he looked from the other side of the pool, maybe as big as an actual bear.
Some kids from the other classes say that he's nice, but they could be lying. They probably are. Anybody can be mean if they want to be.
"I know you’re all eager to start your lessons, but today, we're just going to spend some time in the shallow end to get a feel for the water. Nature has given us all many gifts, but none of you were born knowing how to swim.” A few disappointed sounds rose at this, but Halsin powers through them. “I'm sure that Ms. Jaheira already went over the rules, but before we start, let’s go over them again so that nothing is forgotten. Do you recall what the first rule is?"
"Safety first!" the class of six-year-olds obediently parrot their teacher's words back to him.
Well, everybody except Astarion. He never likes being told what to do, especially by grown-ups he doesn’t know.
Halsin quickly summarizes the pool house’s rules and what they should do in case of an emergency before shifting to the next phase of the lesson. "Now, before we get in the water, I want everyone to break off into pairs. This person will be your swim buddy, and you'll be an extra set of eyes and ears to help keep each other safe."
Astarion rolls his eyes again, clearly unimpressed. This sounds stupid. "A swim buddy? Really?"
Gale, on the other hand, is practically vibrating with excitement. He grabs Astarion's hand and pins him with a huge grin. "Come on, it'll be fine! You'll be my swim buddy, right? We can stick together and help each other learn stuff and everything!"
The young elf lets out what is possibly the world's longest sigh. Does he really want to have Gale glued to his side, where he can see Astarion’s every mistake and flash of discomfort? The thought leaves an uneasy feeling squirming deep in his belly. "I don't know…"
"Please? Please please please?"
Gods, why does Gale have to look like a freaking puppy when he really wants something? It's so unfair, because hardly anybody outside of Ms. Jaheira can ever say no to him.
But maybe it won’t be that bad. Gale has never been mean to him, not even when the other kids are. The knot in his tummy eases a little, but he still huffs and plays up his irritation so that Gale doesn't get any ideas about them actually being friends. Astarion doesn't need friends. "Ugh, fine, if it means you'll shut up."
The human boy crows and does a weird little dance of joy, clearly pleased.
Astarion does his best to ignore him.
They wait while the rest of the class finishes sorting into partners, though Jen and Lae'zel nearly come to blows before it's done. Halsin breaks them up and offers to help them find other people to work with, but they both turn on him with such immediate, pint-sized fury at the suggestion that he gives up and lets the two stay together.
The young elf almost laughs. Almost.
They’re so weird.
The next thing he knows, Gale is dragging him toward the pool. His toes reluctantly dip into the cool water, and despite the anxiety still fluttering around in his tummy, Astarion knows he can't back out now — not when faced with Gale's dazzlingly hopeful smile and the small, warm hand clutching his.
“Just be careful stepping in, like the rules say,” Gale warns, though his grin is still wide enough to show off several gaps in his baby teeth. “It can be a little slippery sometimes. One time I fell real hard and got a big bruise right on my butt!”
“Why are you talking about your stupid butt,” Astarion hisses, even though part of him wants to laugh. Butts are always funny.
But despite the young elf’s unease about the water and the lessons and all the other stuff, everything actually turns out to be fine. Astarion manages to spend a few minutes testing the waist-deep water and just enjoying the pool, while Gale babbles on about whales or seals or something– when he’s not sticking his face in the water to blow bubbles.
Well, at least it's good until Gale decides to strike a pose, shout something about dolphins again, and flop belly-first into the shallow water. The resulting splash is comically oversized and soaks Astarion from head to toe.
"GALE!" Astarion shrieks, blinded by the sopping wet hair that's now pasted over his face.
"Astarion!" Gale yells back, laughing hysterically.
The young elf sputters and manages to swipe off the worst of the water, half-heartedly scowling at the other boy through a deluge of soggy pale curls. He should be angry, should want to pummel him with his tiny fists, but Gale makes it so freaking hard to stay mad at him with that stupidly cheerful face of his. "You... you're lucky Halsin's watching. Otherwise, I'd make you regret that!"
But his threat bounces off the human's skin like it's made of marshmallow, and Gale grins impishly, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "It's just water! Besides, it's fun, and it made you smile, didn't it?"
Astarion stares him down in exasperation, but he realizes that his lips are curling despite himself. Silly Gale and his silly teasing always make him forget that he's supposed to be grumpy.
Heck, he almost makes Astarion feel happy.
"Shut up," the elf pouts, though there's no sharp edge to his words.
"Mom says I am 'in-cape-able' of shutting up," Gale responds matter-of-factly, beaming at Astarion like he's the best thing ever, better even than pizza for lunch or Jen's puppy, Scratch. “So I guess you’ll just have to deal with it.”
That look makes Astarion feel… special. Like he’s not ugly, or a mistake, or even an idiot, like his dad sometimes says when he’s having a bad day.
Maybe having a friend wouldn't be as bad as Astarion thought. Someone doesn’t care when he’s prickly and who’s not scared of Astarion’s big feelings. Perhaps there’s a little room for Gale's dorkiness in his young life—as long as the jerk stops splashing him with water.
Knowing Gale, that’s probably a lost cause.
But maybe that'll be okay, too, as long as he keeps giving Astarion that bright, sunny smile.