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Sunlight refracts through the water as Renjun looks up towards the dancing blue sky from the bottom of the pool. The light scatters, turns everything glittering green and gold. He breathes out and bubbles race up to the surface, blinks and the sting of the water against his eyes dulls. He twists, feels his hair float around his head, looks at his ghostly limbs, fuzzy like something out of a dream.
Renjun thinks he could stay like this forever, just floating, suspended in a hazy world of cool blue. But before long, his chest tightens and his lungs burn, and he has to unfold his legs to push against the slippery tile ground and rise back to open air.
As his head breaks the surface and water streaks down his face, he drags in a deep breath. He blinks water out of his eyes and pushes back his dripping hair, inhales again. He can taste the water slipping into his mouth as air rushes into his lungs.
"That was the longest one yet."
Renjun's lips curl into a smile of their own accord. He spins, on the tips of his toes to keep his head above the water, and it feels like dancing. "Yeah?" His own voice sounds strange after the soft rush and swirl of water running through his ears, but it doesn't seem to matter.
Donghyuck smiles too, satisfied like Renjun's victory is his own. He's sitting on the edge of the pool, loose white shirt hanging off one of his shoulders so the sunlight catches on his collar and makes him shine. His swim trunks are still dry, hugging his thighs as he kicks his legs lazily through the water. "That was just over two and a half minutes."
"I feel like I could have stayed longer," Renjun says, treading carefully through the water towards Donghyuck.
"We've got plenty of time for you to try again," Donghyuck says. "Maybe wait until you've gotten a bit more actual breathing done, though. If you pass out under there and drown, I think it'd be my head on the chopping block."
Renjun laughs through his nose. "I think you'd love it if you got to tell people you saved me from drowning."
Donghyuck tilts his head to the side, the smile playing on his lips turning cheeky. "Well... it's true I wouldn't hate the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation part. You got a hot lifeguard fantasy or something?"
Renjun rolls his eyes, but plays along—he started this, after all. He pretends to consider the question as he makes his way through the water, towards the wall where Donghyuck sits. "Maybe," he says with a shrug. "Shame you're not a lifeguard, though, isn't it?"
"Hey," Donghyuck protests, kicking one of his feet at Renjun and sending a splash of water his way. "I've got the red shorts and I'm sitting here looking hot as hell while I make sure you don't dive six feet under and stay there. That's good enough."
Renjun slips under the water to avoid the splash, but when he pops back up, Donghyuck splashes him again. Renjun blinks through the rivers running down his face and sends a splash right back Donghyuck's way.
Donghyuck lifts his hands to try and block it, but glittering droplets land all over him, spotting his shirt and skin. He lets out a half shriek that quickly dissolves into giggles. The sun on Renjun's skin is warm, but the sound of Donghyuck's laughter is warmer. Renjun swims the rest of the way to him and folds his arms over the edge of the pool, right next to where Donghyuck sits. He looks up at Donghyuck, sprinkled with water and golden in the afternoon light.
"I guess you make a decent point," he muses.
Donghyuck leans to the side, putting a palm on the ground in front of Renjun and letting his weight fall onto it. He grins. "Which part? All of it, right?"
Renjun purses his lips. "The hot as hell part for sure, at least." He pauses before adding, "The rest too, I suppose."
Donghyuck's cheeks flush, but he grins wider. "Oh yeah? Well, thanks. You're not so bad yourself."
Renjun rolls his eyes again, like that will distract from the heat he feels crawling over his skin. "I know," he says, because he's never backed down from the bright challenge in Donghyuck's eyes. "So?"
"So?" Donghyuck echoes, not because he doesn't understand the question of so what are you going to do about it? but because he wants to make Renjun work for it just a little bit.
And this is Renjun's favorite part—this is a challenge he doesn't just get to meet, but one that he can out-do. "So," he says slowly, looking up at Donghyuck with too much innocence, "that hot lifeguard fantasy, you wanna hear about it?"
Renjun watches as the rosy flush brushed over Donghyuck's face deepens, sees the excitement spark in his eyes, and then relishes in the moment that Donghyuck realizes Renjun's tone is just a little too saccharine to mean anything good for him. It all happens in a few seconds - Donghyuck figuring out what's in store for him just a beat too late to stop it, Renjun pulling away from the pool wall so he can catch Donghyuck's arms in a vice grip and tug him off his safe perch and right into the water.
Donghyuck's eyes widen as Renjun flashes too many teeth in his smile, and he lets out another small yelp as Renjun pulls him forward. It's lost quickly in the crash of water as he falls in chest-first, as is Renjun's laughter when Donghyuck's downward momentum sends him sinking under the surface as well.
Water rushes up over Renjun and the world blurs before his eyes, all fizzing bubbles and blue light moving like fire caught in the wind. Donghyuck is little more than a blurred splash of color in front of Renjun until he braces his feet on the pool floor and pushes himself up so his head breaks the surface again. He takes too long steps back into the shallower end of the pool, pulling Donghyuck along with him, and a moment later, Donghyuck comes up spluttering.
Donghyuck grabs onto Renjun, clutching at his chest, and hangs on like they're lost at sea and not just five feet deep in a clean, tiled pool. Fingers dig into Renjun's skin until Donghyuck finds his footing and opens his eyes to glare at Renjun. His chest heaves as he catches his breath.
"I think we need to have a talk about your fantasies," he says hotly.
"What?" Renjun says with a laugh, "I've always thought it would be sexy to turn the tables on a lifeguard and save them instead. Subverting expectations is what fun's all about."
Donghyuck appears unmoved by this, holding his glare and his tight grip on Renjun. "You didn't even save me. You just tried to drown me. That's literally the opposite of your whole dream."
"Oh, come on. If I'd actually tried to drown you, you wouldn't be breathing right now," Renjun tells him, voice still overly sweet.
Donghyuck scoffs. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"
"Mhm," Renjun hums. "That's what you like about me."
"Unfortunately," Donghyuck says with a groan. He eases his grip on Renjun's shoulders. "You're just too cute when you're scheming. What am I supposed to do?"
Renjun grins. "Let me dunk you so I can resuscitate you after."
"That is literally the least sexy way you've ever asked to kiss me," Donghyuck says flatly.
"That didn't sound like a no," Renjun points out instead of acknowledging Donghyuck's complaint. He slides his hands up Donghyuck's arms to grip his biceps, right where the ends of his sleeves are plastered to his skin.
Donghyuck shakes his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you want to drown me so badly. I guess there really is a fine line between love and hate, isn’t there?” He sighs. “What were you, a siren in another life? Just luring hot pieces of ass to their deaths for fun?"
Renjun shakes his head right back. "There's just one hot piece of ass I'm interested in," he says, and some of the teasing drains from his voice. He hopes Donghyuck can tell he's being sincere, and if the way Donghyuck's face changes is any proof, he does.
The water laps lazily around them, cool on Renjun's bare skin, making Donghyuck's shirt flutter under the surface. The sunlight glints off the little waves made by their movement, and it shines in Donghyuck's eyes.
Renjun can see the moment Donghyuck makes up his mind. "Fine," he sighs, though his lips are ticked up at the corners. "I guess it would be heartless of me to deny you your weird not-sex fantasy of dunking me like a basketball. But -" he lifts a hand from Renjun's skin to jab a finger right into his chest "-if you fuck this up and kill me, I will haunt your ass for the rest of time. I'll be annoying too, I promise. Knock shit off of counters like a cat, make weird noises at night when you're trying to sleep, open windows in the wintertime, all that."
Renjun laughs. "I'm not going to down you, dork. You'd be underwater longer if you just did a cannonball into the deep end of a pool."
Donghyuck pretends not to hear. "My life is in your hands here," he sighs, relinquishing his hold on Renjun. "Do your worst, but your mouth to mouth better be damn good after this."
Renjun laughs again, tightens his grip on Donghyuck’s arms as he walks them back a single step further into the deep end. "It will be," he promises.
And then he dives, takes Donghyuck down with him. A whirlwind of bubbles swirls around them as they hang suspended under the water for one, two, three seconds. Renjun keeps his eyes open despite the dull sting, keeps his gaze locked on Donghyuck's floating hair glowing gold, his billowing shirt, all his smooth, silky skin. It feels like something out of a dream with the sunlight cutting through the water to illuminate every inch of Donghyuck right there in front of him. It's not just his hair that's golden, it's all of him.
Renjun thinks that even if he were a siren, even if it were in his DNA to steal lost souls for the sea... if he saw Donghyuck in the water like this, even in the depths of the ocean, he'd have no choice but to haul him back to the surface and make sure he lived another day, outlasted another storm. Some things are just too beautiful to let slip away. Donghyuck certainly is—treasure that should never sink, should never be locked away from the sun or drained of life and light.
Maybe Renjun's just thinking nonsense. Maybe Donghyuck just has an achingly strong hold on him.
Maybe Renjun's just in love.
He's okay with that.
Four, five, six seconds pass. The bubbles fade away and it's just Donghyuck and the clear water, the rippling beams of sunlight washing over him. Renjun wants to drink in the sight as long as possible, but he made a promise. He made a promise, and he really wants to kiss Donghyuck now anyway.
So he tugs Donghyuck into his arms and plants his feet on the pool floor, pushing himself up again, bringing Donghyuck with him.
The surface breaks for them at the same time. Water cascades down Renjun's face, blurring his vision, and he blinks furiously to clear it. Donghyuck comes into view again, soaking wet, skin glistening, hair plastered to his forehead. His eyes are open, focused on Renjun. His lips are already parted as he sucks in breath after breath, and Renjun can barely hold himself back from surging forward and stealing all that air right back out of Donghyuck's lungs.
"Okay?" Renjun asks before moving.
Donghyuck nods, wraps his arms around Renjun's shoulders.
Renjun winds his arms tighter around Donghyuck's middle and pulls him closer and closer until he can't anymore. Until the fabric of Donghyuck's shirt is pressed into Renjun's chest and the heat of his body seeps into Renjun's chilled skin. He looks at Donghyuck a moment longer, eyes sweeping over his face like he needs to paint it into his memory. He doesn't need to, but he wants to.
"Well," Donghyuck breathes, "you gonna save me or what?"
Donghyuck doesn't need to ask twice. Renjun closes the last sliver of distance between them without another beat of hesitation, and kisses Donghyuck. He tastes like pool water at first, but Renjun can't even find it in himself to care once Donghyuck parts his lips and squeezes Renjun's shoulder as he deepens the kiss.
The water is cool all around them, keeps Renjun from burning up against the heat of Donghyuck's body as he kisses him, pulls away to catch his breath, and kisses him again. So it goes, again and again: Donghyuck running his hands all over Renjun's bare skin, Renjun's fingers tangling in the material of Donghyuck's shirt until he gives up and settles for just holding him close as can be, Donghyuck nipping at Renjun's lip, Renjun running his tongue over Donghyuck's.
They kiss until Renjun's lips ache, until his lungs burn and he can't breathe. He draws back and inhales shakily, focuses on Donghyuck, painting the image of him into his mind again.
Donghyuck's lips look wine-stained, and his eyes are dark and glassy, pupils blown wide. He looks at Renjun, dazed and a little entranced, and it's utterly captivating. Renjun couldn't look away even if he wanted to. The sun catches on the high points of Donghyuck's face, casts him in shades of gold that Renjun will never tire of. He blinks, and there's still water stuck to his lashes.
And then Donghyuck smiles, a soft little thing, as delicate as a spring blossom. He smiles at Renjun and he's absolutely beautiful.
And Renjun has never been more in love.
( "You didn't even really have a hot lifeguard fantasy, did you?" Donghyuck says, once they've tired of swimming circles around each other, splashing and kicking and splashing some more. Once the sun has dipped low enough to paint streaks of pink and gold across the blue of the sky, once they've climbed out of the pool and laid on their backs to watch the clouds drift in the wind and let the air dry their skin. Donghyuck shifts, curling into Renjun's side to rest his head on Renjun's shoulder, looking up at him through his lashes. "You just wanted to get me in the water and kiss me."
A soft smile plays at Renjun's lips. He'll never confess to this, but the look on his face tells Donghyuck all he needs to know. Donghyuck's right; Renjun only has one fantasy, and it’s already right here with him. )