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The Beach, Monday morning

With no classes and no cheer camp to keep her busy, River decided to seek distraction in the waves. Parker's phonecall yesterday had left her thoughtful, and although not necessarily in a bad way she found that these days it was better not to dwell on things. The waves washed around her legs as she waded out into the sea until it was deep enough to let herself fall backwards. She kicked, splashing water and watched spray against the backdrop of the cloudy sky. Waiting for her on the beach was a thermos full of warm coffee and a packed breakfast.

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A.J.? Up in the morning when he didn't have to be? Jogging?

Hard to believe, really, but there he was, all the same, hair flopping with each step as he passed by the beach in a route he was trying out. Shhhh. Don't tell Troy.

He caught something splashing around in the corner of his eye that made him stop for a second; it was only a moment and the noticing of the thermos and other things on the beach that made him realize it was a person. He, finding this a good place to stop and catch his breath because jogging was haaaard, lifted a hand to shield his eyes from what sunlight was coming out for a better look at who it was.

"River!" he waved. "Hi!"

"A.J.!" River waved by splashing water with one foot. "Swimming is better than jogging!" And company was better than being alone.

A.J. laughed a little, letting a huge breath of air, tiredly shaking his head. "I'd have to agree with you there, but I don't have my swim trunks. I didn't think anyone would be crazy enough to be up this morning since there's no classes or anything, much less swimming."

"Clothes will dry on your way home. I have coffee to keep you warm." River floated comfortably on the water. "I like mornings. Silence makes you hear things." Sometimes too much of the background noise of her own mind though, but company chased that away.

Well, the jog had left him sweaty and warm and a cool down would be nice. "You sure you don't mind?"

"Wouldn't have suggested it if I had," River said with a laugh, splashing water in A.J.'s direction.

A.J.'s head tilted to the side slightly. "Good point," he nodded, and, shucking off his tanktop with a small amount of difficulty because the sweat made it stick a little, he jogged into the water until it was deep enough to go under a bit and he could swim over to where River was. He straighted out of the water, giving his head a shake before running his hands through his wet hair to slick it back and out of his eyes.

"Feels good," he said with a crooked grin.

"I know," River said, grinning back. Then, with a sudden move, she disappeared under the surface.

A.J.'s lips pursed for a second when River disappeared, and then he realized he should watch his ankles. Hopefully, the thought didn't come too late before someone might be trying to pull them out from under him.

That was the sort of thing he'd be going under for, anyway.

It was generally the sort of thing River would go for too, but as he was expecting it, it was less fun. She ended up swimming in a semi-circle around him and poking his shoulder.

"Oof." With all his attention at his ankles, the poke took A.J. by surprised and he chuckle a little, looking over his shoulder at River as his arms idly moved in the water. "I'd watch it," he told her. "I might begin to think that you're starting something, River, and then it's on."

River just giggled, confident that she'd win anything started, having an unfair advantage. She dived away from him, deliberately splashing water with her feet.

And A.J., completely unaware of any such advantage, laughed and decided to make a good honest attempt for victory. "Hey!" His arms went up as if that would help block the water, and then he gave an overdramatic sigh, shaking his head. "Well, you were warned." Diving in, he went after River, trying to catch up with her while avoiding the kicking splashes.

For a while River made her best to avoid him, always being one step ahead. But that was unfair, and in the long run not so much fun. She slowed down, letting A.J. catch up with her.

Catching up with River was proving to be almost as much of a workout as the jogging. A.J. laughed a little triumphantly when he finally did, celebrating with a good firm splash of water toward her. "You're really good at this," he complimented. And splashed more.

"Thank you," River said and splashed back. "Better than jogging."

"A lot cooler, at any rate," A.J. agreed, turning futilely against River's splashing. "And fun. I can't do this jogging." And, after a brief moment of waggling eyebrows, A.J. drew in a breath and dived under to go as quickly as he could for River's ankles.

She could have moved, but that would have spoiled the fun so she didn't. As A.J. grabbed her ankles she sank underneath the surface, however, and blew bubbles of air at him, letting out all the air in her lungs.

As soon as he'd managed to get her under, A.J. let go of River's ankles and swam back up to the surface himself, taking in a deep breath of air before letting out another laugh. And he realized that he couldn't see because his hair was in his eyes.

Once again above the surface, River tried to laugh too, her hair even more of a mess. It didn't seem to bother her however, and she shook her head. "I'm hungry," she said. "Want breakfast?"

"There's breakfast?" A.J. asked with a tone of hope, eyebrows darting up although hidden behind the wet hair plastered to his forehead. "Uh, I mean..." He started feeling like maybe he shouldn't mooch off of whatever River might have, but then a small little grumble from his empty stomach made him realize that any attempt to pretend to not be hungry would be futile.

"Wouldn't have offered if I'd planned to say no," River said, almost repeating what she'd said earlier. She saw towards the shore, then as the water got shallow enough, waded closer. Wrapping herself in her towel, she then opened her bag and pulled out a thermos of coffee, a jar of cookies, some apples and chunks of bread.

A.J. wasn't far behind River; once on the shore, he bent over a little, shaking his head, to get some of the water out of his hair before straightening, running a hand through it to slick it back. He smiled at her as he went to join her. "Thanks, River. If I'd have known I could get breakfast out of it, I would go jogging more often."

"Can't surprise you every time," River replied, grinning. "Have to share the coffee cup since I didn't expect company." She made a gesture towards the food, inviting him to help himself.

The best way to avoid nasty things like phone calls from your mother regarding her demands for your education was to not be present in a room that contained a phone. Of this, Jeff was certain.

Also, in comparison to the many other threats to his life that Fandom provided (such as women and closets and Andrews and angry German cooks) the sand was relatively benign, he'd found yesterday.

Hence, he arrived at the beach only a short while after waking up. He was fully intending to be here all day. He stood on the sand, staring at the sky. He was finding some, er, interesting shapes in them.

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The Beach, Monday morning

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