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Tango hadn't expected just how loud indoor pools are, even when they're empty– especially when they're empty. He's unsure how much anyone can really hear when water is rushing past their ears, let alone someone who's entirely focused on the movement of their own body, but he cringes at the loud echo of the door's squeaky hinges, anyway.
It's late. Later than anyone should reasonably be up and exercising, but here Jimmy is, cutting through the water like a knife, back and forth through the lane closest to the edge of the pool. He's the only one in the water, but he's just as easily identified by the ridiculous Captain America swim cap stretched over his head, his bright yellow goggles flashing even in the low late-night lighting. It brings a smile to Tango's face, seeing Jimmy wearing his good luck charms even for a few laps at fuckoff-o'clock in the morning.
Jimmy reaches the far end of the lane, flipping and kicking off the wall to swim back the way he came with hardly a pause in his rhythm at all. Tango crosses his arms and resigns himself to watching Jimmy as he goes. He's not a swimmer like Jimmy, so he isn't familiar with all the fancy-schmancy terminology, but he's sure there's some very elaborate way to describe the way Jimmy's muscles shift under his skin and ripple with every smooth stroke of his arms, long legs kicking strongly behind him. As of right now, Tango– being ever the wordsmith he is– can only think, oh wow buff holy void fuck and other eloquent verbiage.
Tango doesn't know why Jimmy snuck out in the middle of the night to swim of all things, but he can guess that he's been at it for a while. He'd been woken up by Jimmy's shuffling an hour or so ago– not because Jimmy had been loud or anything, he was actually unnervingly quiet, but Tango had been a light sleeper since Etho and Bdubs had somehow picked him up and left him on their professor's desk in their freshman year without waking him up. He'd only gotten worried when he didn't come back in a few minutes still calming his breathing like after one of his runs. If he hadn't noticed Jimmy's missing swim bag, he likely would've checked the dorm lounge or cafeteria, but Jimmy always keeps his swimming gear fully packed by the door in case he wakes up late for an early swim meet. Tango has sent him sprinting around the apartment half-asleep, frantically packing his stuff together on one-too-many occasions for his coach's liking.
As Jimmy finishes his lap, Tango lets out a small sigh of relief when he slows to grip onto the lip of the pool rather than switch directions to go again. He pulls himself up a little, shaking the water off his face and breathing heavily. His goggles are peeled off his face, leaving them strapped to his forehead as he rubs at his eyes, the motions mechanic and familiar- almost mindless, in a way.
"So," Jimmy pants alongside his words, staring a hole into the concrete under his hands. "You found me, eh?"
The words have a hint of humor around them, so Tango laughs a little, sitting down at the edge of the pool and pointedly ignoring the wet spot that seeps into his dark jeans. "Where else would you be, bud? If your name wasn't on the lease of our apartment, I'd assume you live in the locker rooms." The corners of Jimmy's lips turn up, but he doesn't laugh. Tango's brows twitch, and he leans to the side to try and catch those ever-elusive honey brown eyes. "Soo…whatcha doin' down here?"
Jimmy seems to collect himself a little, pushing off from the wall he's hanging on to latch on to the one in front of Tango, hauling himself up to lean on his crossed arms. The extra ends of his goggles' band flap by his temples like little wings as he tilts his head, staring up at Tango slyly.
"I could ask you the same question," he wheedles, tacking on, "Stalker," just because he's Jimmy, and that's what he does when he doesn't want to admit something.
Tango rolls his eyes. "Don't think I don't see that deflectification you're doing," he says, and Jimmy bites his lip, averting his eyes again. Tango sighs. "C'mon, man, talk to me."
Jimmy groans, dropping his head onto his arms. "Fine," he grumbles, "I couldn't sleep. My brain just wouldn't stop running in circles, it was driving me mad." The words come muffled, but the annoyance in his tone is glaring and sudden, and it's Tango's turn to tilt his head.
"So you came down here to shut it up?" He can sort of understand– sometimes his own thoughts can get so loud that it almost feels like he can't think around the endless inner monologue, ironic as it sounds. Whenever it gets that bad, usually he just plops himself on the couch in their living room and demands that Jimmy play videogames with him.
From his spot face-down in the concrete, Jimmy snorts and shakes his head. "Nah, it's not like that." He turns his face to the side, eyes distant and tired-looking. "If my mind feels stuck, sometimes getting my body moving helps move it along and I can actually think for once. Like playing a song to get it out of your head, or something."
Tango hums. "Did it work?"
His eyes flick up to Tango's, then dart away just as fast. He flushes a little, and Tango wonders how warm they keep the pools at night this time of year. "Er, not really. It got my thoughts moving, just in… wider circles around the same topic. S'why I'm still out here." Jimmy's brows furrow, and he lifts his head to look at Tango again. "Why? Have I been gone long?"
Tango checks his phone like he didn't keep track of every minute his roommate was missing from their dorm. "Meh, only an hour. Thinkin' pretty hard, huh?" It's mostly sarcasm, but if Tango's being honest, he's a little worried. An hour of nonstop swimming and thinking, and little to barely any progress? Tango doesn't even know how long he'd been silently spiraling in his room before he came out here to try and fix it. He's a little disappointed in himself that he didn't notice sooner how badly Jimmy had been struggling.
The other huffs a laugh, and reaches a hand up to wrangle off his swimcap and goggles, placing them on the tile next to Tango and running his hand through his wet hair. Tango definitely does not notice the way his arms flex, or how the strands, darkened with moisture, fall into his eyes handsomely.
"Yeah, I guess…" He trails off, avoiding eye contact, and Tango's concern comes back, along with the furrow in Jimmy's brow.
"So…" he prompts when it's clear he's intent on not revealing any more.
"So… you can't sleep either?" It's a cheap attempt at diverting the conversation from what Tango knows Jimmy knows Tango wants to know. Tango knows him like that.
"Dude."
"What?" His face is pink again, and he's starting to guess it's not just the water temperature that colors his complexion. His eyes jump around, darting from the water to the tile to the nonexistent dirt under his fingernails, anywhere but meeting Tango's searching stare.
"Deflectification," he says, and Jimmy does his whole groan-and-hide-his-face antic, running his hand through his hair again. Tango rolls his eyes fondly, tapping Jimmy's hand to get him to release its death grip on his scalp. "No, no, no, you're not getting out of this, come on. Tell me what's got those neurons of yours all busy-buzzin'."
Jimmy goes quiet, but it doesn't feel like avoiding-the-topic-again-quiet, more like finding-the-words-quiet.
"It's…" Tango waits, giving Jimmy the room to say whatever he needs to say. "I'm– ugh, I just– don't want you to think I'm weird or anything."
"Whaat?" His voice goes all funny, high pitched and squeaking through his perpetual rasp. "Why would I think that? Maybe worst case I'll laugh, but really! I won't judge!" He sits up, placing one hand on his heart and the other in the air, arm bent at the elbow. "Swear it. Scout's honor."
Jimmy laughs, shoulders shaking as he picks his head up. "You're not a scout, Tango, you have no honour."
"Yeah, but I can swear it and you can trust that I mean it!" Jimmy just shakes his head, but he's smiling now, and that's all that matters. "Dude, when I bought you that swim cap, you were so excited you ran three– yes I counted– three laps around the apartment. Did I laugh? Yes. Did I run off to tell everyone how weird you were and demand to move out?"
Jimmy deadpans at him.
"...Well, I didn't move out!"
Jimmy cracks and for a blissful moment, the room is filled with nothing but their echoing laughter, hushed and bubbling between them and smoothing away the remaining tension in Jimmy's shoulders.
"Alright," Jimmy says, his face all soft and mirthful and relaxed and void, Tango's staring– "Okay, but the thing on my mind isn't exactly a what, it's… more of a who?"
Tango raises a brow. "A who?" He gasps dramatically, eyes widening as he leans forward in giddily. "Does SlimJim have a crush?!" He's grinning, and he knows his eyes might as well be sparkling with mischief when Jimmy's blush returns with a vengeance.
"Well– it's not– it's just–" He flubs for a minute, shying away from the sheer excitement in Tango's expression. "I wouldn't say crush–"
"Oh, shit, is it…?" Tango sobers up quickly, leaning back and starting to worry he'd gone too far.
Somehow Jimmy's blush deepens as he looks anywhere but at his roommate in front of him. "Er– not… exactly…" Tango tilts his head when Jimmy doesn't elaborate, picking at the grout between the tiles at Tango's feet.
The silence that stretches is only minutely interrupted by the quiet hum of the pool's filters and the water softly rising and falling against the pool walls. Jimmy glances back up and bites his lip.
"It's– well, the person on my mind, that is– er…" Jimmy sucks in a quick breath, and squeezes his eyes shut. "It's you."
…
Huh?
"Huh?"
Jimmy huffs and repeats himself, louder this time. "It's you, Tango. I can't stop thinking about you day and night and I can't sleep knowing you're just on the other side of the wall– you're always so close and I can't have you and it just kills me"
For a moment, Tango can't say anything. For a moment, he's sure he heard him wrong, that it wasn't him Jimmy so sweetly admitted he can't stop thinking about, all flushed cheeks and averted eyes and bitten lips worried between his teeth. But here he is, and here Jimmy is, holding onto pool walls and nervously sinking himself lower into the water the longer Tango takes to react. He swallows, and reminds himself to be cool.
Despite how fast his heart is suddenly beating, he allows himself a cheeky little grin and leans forward to catch his roommate's gaze.
"You're thinkin' about li'l ole me?"
He sees Jimmy's eyes dart downwards for half a second, before he whispers, "Yeah," and flushes a shade darker. Tango wrangles in his smile so he doesn't scare the poor guy in his teasing.
"What if I told you I think about you, too?"
Something like hope shines in Jimmy's eyes as he pulls himself back up so he's somewhat level with Tango.
"You do?" His lips tick up in a nervous half-smile.
"I do." Tango leans in further, and he sees the moment Jimmy realizes exactly how close they've gotten. His gaze dips down again, and his lips part almost unconsciously. Tango finally lets his smile grow, stretching nearly ear-to-ear in what feels like teenage excitement all over again. "Want me to show you?"
He watches Jimmy swallow, watches the gears in his head struggle to turn around what are probably some pretty big obtrusive thoughts. Jimmy's brows furrow again, and concern flickers through those beautiful honey-browns. "Are you sure?"
"Are you?"
"Yes." Jimmy doesn't hesitate. One of his hands shoots away from the pool's edge, coming up to slip behind Tango's head and pull him in surprisingly gently, wetting his hair a little, and then they're kissing.
Tango's smile doesn't dim, and he brings his own hand to hold Jimmy's jaw, ignoring the wetness that immediately clings to his hand in favor of tasting the last remains of Jimmy's toothpaste on his lips. His neck aches from the awkward angle, and his back is twinging dangerously, but he ignores that, too.
He sinks into the feeling, letting the joy of finally wash over him in waves. It occurs to Tango, suddenly, that they aren't quite close enough, and he leans in more to close whatever gap remains between them.
For whatever reason, Jimmy laughs into the kiss, and his other hand comes up to fist the collar of Tango's stupid Redstoners t-shirt. The hand behind his head presses harder, and Tango briefly tries to break the kiss to tease him– something about being eager, he doesn't really know yet– but he quickly finds that Jimmy has other plans for him.
Tango gasps as he's suddenly yanked forward, Jimmy kicking off the wall to land them both in the pool, soaking Tango through to the bone. He definitely does not freak out. He absolutely keeps his cool while trying to remember how to tread water, and Jimmy certainly does not laugh at him while pulling him in by his arms around Tango's waist, easily keeping the both of them afloat.
"Dude!" Jimmy's still softly laughing as Tango collects himself to yell at him. If he weren't clinging onto Jimmy, he'd smack him, but for now he settles on just screaming the guy's ear off and smacking him later as payback. "What was that for?! I thought we were having a moment!"
Jimmy only laughs harder, and he looks so happy Tango almost forgives him– almost.
"I thought you wanted to be closer!"
"Yeah, but it'd be nice if I could stay dry, at least!" The situation is so ridiculous that Jimmy's laughter becomes contagious, and Tango finds himself fighting chuckles of his own as he tucks his head against Jimmy's broad chest.
The brief lull that follows is warm and Tango is content to bask in the new closeness between them, looping his arms around Jimmy's neck and idly toying with the baby hairs at his nape.
"So," Jimmy whispers after a while, like he's afraid of bursting whatever bubble they've formed. "Did…you really mean that..? About– y'know– thinking of me, too?"
Timidness doesn't sound right in Jimmy's tone, Tango thinks, and resolves to work it out of him– kiss by kiss, if he has to.
"Of course I mean it. Just like you meant all you said about me livin' in your brain rent-free, right?" He doesn't look up from his spot tucked into Jimmy's shoulder, turning his face just enough so the words are heard over the din of the pool.
"Definitely," Jimmy says, all hesitance vanished from his voice.
"Then it's settled. I like you, you like me, and we already share a dorm so we're one step ahead of the dating game," he smirks to himself, and he can feel the moment Jimmy's breath hitches.
"D-dating?"
It gives Tango pause, the way he sounds so unsure. He lifts his head, somewhat relieved to see Jimmy looking more flustered than confused. "Yeah, he says. "Dating. Is that okay, Jim? Us being boyfriends?"
His face grows red again, and Tango wonders somewhere quietly how he doesn't feel faint with all that blood rushing to his face over and over again. Idly, he hopes Jimmy doesn't pass out while he's pretty much holding the two of them above water single-handedly.
Instead of losing consciousness, Jimmy smiles, blindingly bright. "Yes! Yeah, I'd– I'd really like that, actually. I just– didn't expect you to say it so soon, is all, but I'm not complaining, like– at all, that'd be brilliant!"
Tango smiles back, tugging him closer as best he can with what little leverage he has. "Good, good. Kiss me again?"
"Gladly."
Kissing Jimmy is nice, Tango's realized. Their matching stubble rubs and scratches with each small movement, but he relishes it when it means he gets to feel the warm thing bubbling up his stomach to his throat with every press of their lips. Strangely, he finds himself slightly disappointed when Jimmy has to pull back so he can guide them over to the wall and give his legs a break.
He doesn't tug them out of the water just yet, though, instead his hold on Tango's waist is shifted to one arm as the other hangs onto the edge again. Tango's back pressing against the wall a little uncomfortably, but he can't care when Jimmy's chasing kisses from Tango like they're the air he breathes.
And if something in Tango's chest purrs at the way he leans back in, all heavy breathing and flushed cheeks and needy, pouting lips, well– that's nobody's business but Tango's, isn't it?