Wave Of Surprise

Shul was blindly following the directions google maps was telling him and occasionally glamced up to he wouldn't collide with anyone. He had lived in the island for few months now but all the adresses still eluded him. Maybe he should just memorize them all. Shul opened his hoodie a bit, it was his favourite time of the year when he didn't have to fear hypothermia. Shul was wearing black t-shirt with wide neckline, forest green jeans and white hoodie, which was one of his most thin ones. The outfit was very casual, since Shul thought the occasion wasn't that serious.
Shul had gotten a strange text message from Sark to come a a certain address and it had only taken a hyper intelligent dragon a second to figure out what was going on. The thing reeked of Sark planning something. Shul had squinted at his phone but at the same time grinned. He hadn't looked the address up, of course. Shul had to let Sark have his fun.
Shul smiled with anticipation as he neared his destination. Because if it was Sark Shul was happy to see him anytime. Well, thankfully today was also a free day for him. Even if it was Sark Shul wouldn't leave work.
Shul was still seeing nightmares now and then but they had mostly disappeared after his talk with Sark. Ever since that talk Shul had repeatedly nagged Sark about therapy. But that damn robot was so stubborn. Well, that was just another reason why Shul loved him. But seriously, Shul was partly glad that Sark now had a human charm to he could grab his ear.
That human charm. Damn, that human charm. Shul wasn't usually one to get flustered over looks but just the fact that it was Sark was enough to make Shul blush over how handsome his human form was. Obviously Shul didn't give a damn even if Sark decided to never used the human charm again. But...it was nice to be able to ruffle his hair, see his eyes. And kiss him.
Shul shook his head slightly, blushing just from the memory. Sark said it should've been illegal for Shul to be so cute but it sure as hell should've been illegal for Sark to be so charming despite being a brat. Well, Shul was kind of a brat sometimes too. Came with the ability to understand kids, he supposed.
When the destination was just around the corner and Shul grinned a bit and stopped. He looked around, seemed like a normal city central area. Let's see what Sark had in mind. Shul closed his phone and walked around the corner. In the given address Shul found a normal enough looking coffee shop. Shul had his normal small smile on his face, his resting face, as he observed the place, hands tucked in pockets. And completely unguarded.

@WuffyWuff

Shul didn't actually hear Sark, he smelled him first. Shul could smell his hero anywhere, even over the smell of terrible coffee and pastries. But since he wasn't used to Sark's human charm Shul didn't spot Sark until he basically jumped on him from behind.
Shul laughed and turned his head enough to beam back at Sark.
"Hey my hero."
Shul answered and returned the hug the best he could by wrapping his hands around Sark's arms that were wrapped around him. He enjoyed the feeling of Sark's head on top of his, it was such a safe, comfy feeling. With or without the human charm. Although with human charm it was much softer.

Shul listened amused as Sark launched into a monologue without leaving any room for Shul to actually say he never intended to google the address. But it was Sark's surprise so when he took Shul's hand and pulled him along Shul let him. He indeed did not see the sneaky look in his eyes, but did make a note that the shades reminded him of Sark's vizor in robot form.
"I'm not sure how much better than coffee it can get. Hope you didn't try too much."
Shul was obviously joking and chuckled, answering Sark's grin.

Shul really could smell the chlorine from a mile away and turned to look at Sark wide-eyed when he pulled him inside a building with a public pool. As Sark explained a grin slowly spread on Shul's face and he crossed his arms loosely, cocking a brow at Sark.
"And here I thought your super memory had failed you. But you remembered."
Shul picked up the bag and looked inside, whistling a bit.
"Woah, you really did buy a bunch. For the future, my size is S. Now let's go! I'm ready to learn how to swim!"
Shul beamed at Sark as he slipped his arm to Sark's elbow.
"Lead the way, teach."

@WuffyWuff

Shul listened patiently as Sark explained how the whole thing worked. The last time Shul had been to a pool was during his college times, when he had been a teacher trainee. He had been a chaperone on a field trip and the kids had pushed him into the cold water pool. That had not been pleasant in the slightest. But Shul was sure Sark wouldn't do anything of the such, knowing it could kill Shul.

Shul slipped on the bracelet and took on a sorrowful expression.
"We shall not be apart for long, my love."
Shul cracked a smile immediately after and returned Sark's kiss on his cheek. He looked after him and chuckled at the spring in his step. Was it so exciting to teach Shul to swim?
Well, Shul surely was excited to get taught by Sark.
Shul stepped into the changing room, carrying the bag, and quickly found his locker. He began to change and somewhere in the middle Shul realized something.
Sark without a shirt.
Shul turned pretty red and covered his face with his shirt. Shul wasn't interested in seeing other men topless or naked, not in the way he used to. But it was Sark. That was a whole different issue. More embarrassing than anything else. Sark surely wouldn't care about Shul being topless, he was a noodle and Shul was pretty sure Sark didn't have a libido in the first place.
Shul calmed down after a moment, and his face turned back to its normal colour. He finished changing and followed the rest of the instructions Sark had given him.

Few minutes later Shul stepped out into the pool area, a bit chilly but not badly. He looked around and was grateful that there weren't many people around. Shul was pretty sure a grown man learning to swim was a bit of an unusual sight even on Manta Carlos.
Shul immediately saw Sark and smiled. He was floating on the water. Shul walked to the edge of the pool and sat down crosslegged, watching him.
"Having fun without me?"
Shul grinned and glanced at the water, wondering how cold it was.

Shul watched as Sark walked to him and was grateful that the impact of him shirtless was lessened by being submerged in water. But nevertheless Shul blushed a bit when he grinned back at Sark.
"Everything is a lot more fun with you, to be honest."
Shul chuckled and did wonder how it felt like for Sark to be swimming in human form. If Shul understood right Sark's sense of touch was whole different in his robot mode. But Sark seemed fine enough as he waded to a more shallow part of the pool.

Shul did get a bit uncertain when Sark offered his hand, just a bit. But he also wanted to share this new experience with Sark, and wanted to learn from him. Shul pondered should he just jump in or gradually ease himself in. He chose easing and sat on the edge of the pool, submerging his legs in the water up to knees. The water was lukewarm and Shul barely felt it against his skin. That gave him his last push and he took Sark's hand and relied on it pretty heavily as he lowered himself into the water. It felt warm on his upper body and Shul beamed at Sark happily.

Shul was almost disappointed to let go of Sark's hand when he moved little farther away. He also let out a small laugh when Sark said teacher-ish things. Shul wouldn't say it didn't suit him, he liked every side of Sark, but it was such a big difference from normal it was funny.
"Okay teach."
Shul tried to sound all enthusiastic and childlike but ended up cracking again. Then Shul just watched Sark swim. He seemed to be in his element, and it was a pleasure to watch Sark swim. But a strange thing happened. When Shul tried to activate his intelligence he noticed it was already in place. Shul's brains analyzed Sark's movements, trajectory and speed and ran mental simulations them correlating with Shul's own body.
Shul presumed this was another power change, similar to his aura disappearing.

Shul felt genuinely happier when Sark ended his demonstration and stopped where he began. Then it was Shul's turn.
"Sure thing. But first let me just..."
Shul tried floating for a bit in case something went wrong and he had to stop at the deep end. Then he did a couple of stretches. And then Shul started to mimic Sark's movements and he actually moved forward. His movement were hesitant and experimental but served him well in moving forward.
Shul didn't go far and stopped at a place where his feet barely touched the bottom. He turned to beam at Sark, only his head above water.
"How was that for a first try, teach?"

Shul wouldn't admit to himself that he had kinda hoped for a hair ruffle. Sark was the child in this relationship so Shul had to keep at least some of his dignity. Shul reached up to swipe some wet hair out of his eyes and smiled at Sark.
"What can I say? I'm a natural."
Shul chuckled a bit and waded the water a bit to stay put

Shul's fast learning ability worked much more efficiently with academic knowledge and theory. But learning practical skills still took a lot shorter time. So when Shul watched Sark demonstrate the movements he was already getting the hang of it. Shul was also serious, because he took learning as seriously as teaching. He loved both.
Shul mirrored Sark's movements in place and he wanted to try them in action. He knew Sark was so protective that even if Shul lost control he would be there to help in seconds or faster.
"I think I got it. Let's see..."
Shul kicked the bottom a little to gain momentum and started swimming. Even he could feel his movements were a lot better now as he treated the water. Obviously he was nowhere near Sark's level and Shul's swimming stopped when he accidentally bumped his head to the edge of the pool. He had went a bit off course.
Shul took hold on the ledge, since his feet wouldn't reach bottom anymore, and rubbed his head a bit, grinning at Sark.
"I might be a natural but not a miracle worker."
Shul laughed a bit, the small dull pain in his head subsiding.