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Mid-semester comes the annual training camp slash bonding exercise weekend and the whole team has been stuffed in a bus and shipped off to a small mountain resort an hour or so from the city. It’s nothing fancy, because the club budget doesn’t allow for any extravagances, but there are decent sports facilities, a dining hall large enough to fit all of them and neat double bunk rooms.
It’s when they come out of the locker rooms after changing for the first practice session that Jaehyun sees it.
“Hey, look,” he says, turning around to them with eyes twinkling like a kid on his birthday. Sicheng follows his extended finger towards a sign on the wall with an arrow and the words swimming pool.
Jaehyun jogs over to the door at the far end of the corridor. He peeks his head in and then comes back with a big grin on his face.
“I didn’t know there was a pool,” he says. “I have to go for a swim later.”
“It might be late before we’re done,” Yuta says as they start moving in the opposite direction. “And after a day of bootcamp you’ll be pooped.”
Jaehyun shrugs. “Maybe I can do it in the morning. I’ll get up early if I have to.”
After dinner the coaches kindly retreat, meaning free time for the rest of the evening. Some head off to their rooms but most linger around the dinner table, and beer bottles start coming out. Ten offers Sicheng but Sicheng shakes his head, starting to get up from his seat.
“Where are you going?” Yuta asks.
“Bathroom.”
When Sicheng comes back he finds Jaehyun leaned against the hallway wall. He has his legs crossed and his hands in his pockets, seemingly studying a painting on the opposite side. When spots Sicheng coming, he lights up and straightens.
“Hey,” he says, reaching out to circle his fingers around Sicheng’s wrist, pulling him away from the doorway. Sicheng looks from Jaehyun to the door and back, confused. Laughter and voices leak out into the empty corridor.
“You wanna come?” Jaehyun asks quietly.
“Where?”
Jaehyun grins. “Swimming.”
Sicheng’s eyebrows move up, and then down again. “I don’t have any swimsuit.”
“Just wear your training shorts.”
Sicheng purses his lips. He already showered and everything, and he’s a bit tired.
Jaehyun turns and takes a step backwards, still tugging softly on Sicheng’s hand. “Come on.”
His grin slowly spreads to Sicheng’s face as well. He never has much resistance to put up when it comes to Jaehyun. He sends a last glance into the room, but nobody’s looking their way.
“Okay.”
They walk quickly to the corridor with their rooms, Jaehyun slipping into the first and Sicheng the second across. It’s empty, which makes Sicheng feel strangely relieved. He finds his shorts and his towel hanging over a chair, still a little damp. He stands holding them for a moment, realizing he’s not sure whether Jaehyun meant to change here or in the locker rooms, but doesn’t get further before Jaehyun appears in the doorway, still in his jeans and with his towel bundled under his arm.
“You ready?”
Sicheng nods.
The locker room is empty as well. Jaehyun kicks his shoes off and tugs his shirt over his head. Sicheng is a couple of steps behind him, pausing for a second before standing by the opposite bench, back turned. The sounds of fabric are surprisingly strong in the quiet room. Sicheng sends a glance backwards, despite himself. Jaehyun’s already down to his underwear.
It’s different when it’s just the two of them, he realizes. It doesn’t feel weird when you’re sweaty and tired and surrounded by loud teammates. He quickly pulls off his underwear and tugs the shorts up his legs.
When he turns around he finds Jaehyun standing with his towel thrown over his shoulder, watching him. When their eyes meet Jaehyun seems to almost jolt a little, and looks away.
“Let’s go?”
“Yeah.”
They sneak out and down the corridor, and Sicheng tries to shake the feeling of doing something they shouldn’t. When Jaehyun pushes through the door, damp warmth meets them.
The pool is the simple, rectangular kind - long but narrow, one end deeper than the other with two starting blocks. The room is also plain, not much bigger than the pool itself, with a couple of benches along the wall and large windows at the far end. It’s pretty dark in there, the only source of light being the large circular lamps embedded in the pool walls under the water, sending a ghostly glow towards the ceiling. The surface is almost completely still, the water so clear it’s like it’s barely there at all.
Sicheng glances around for a light switch, but Jaehyun has already dropped his towel on the nearest bench and is all but jogging towards the poolside. Sicheng grins at him. He half expects Jaehyun to cannonball, but isn’t surprised when Jaehyun slows and stops, leaning on the railings of the ladder and looking down into the water before starting to climb in. There is something slow about his movements, something careful, something that Sicheng feels in himself as well. Felt already in the locker room.
Jaehyun sinks into the water, immediately dipping down under the surface. He comes back up a moment later with his hair slicked back and a deep breath, almost like a sigh, even if he wasn’t under for long.
“Is it cold?” Sicheng asks.
Jaehyun shakes his head. “It’s just right.”
Sicheng sits down on the edge, dipping his legs into the water.
Jaehyun grins, coming a little closer. “Come on.”
Sicheng pushes himself off with his hands and jumps in. His shorts balloon in the water, sending big bubbles of air up towards the surface. Jaehyun laughs loudly, but Sicheng doesn’t feel embarrassed. Jaehyun’s laughter is soothing, relaxing, makes him laugh too.
He sinks underneath, blinking at the water stinging in his eyes. The embrace was lukewarm at first, but his skin soon gets used to the temperature. Jaehyun’s legs look extra skinny and pale in the blue light. It’s even more quiet under the surface. He emerges again with a snort of a breath, pushing his bangs back with his hands. When he stands, the water reaches him to the chest.
Jaehyun has set off towards the deep end, his strokes long and smooth. His movements stir the surface into soft little waves. Their reflections are mirrored on the white ceiling, moving and squiggling in his wake.
Sicheng stays in his spot, soaking, watching Jaehyun flip around at the far end and slowly return to him. His breathing is a little heavier when he comes back, but he doesn’t rest. He swims around Sicheng and rolls over to his back, flapping to stay afloat. Sicheng laughs at him, the sound echoing softly between the walls. Jaehyun snorts, spurting water. When he sets off again, Sicheng follows him.
They swim a couple of laps, side by side, as much as their long arms allow them. It’s been a while since Sicheng swam like this, but he falls into it easily. His muscles are tired from the day’s exercises but it feels good to stretch out, let his arms work a little. Feeling the resistance of the water, how it both lifts and restricts him. Pushing through it, using it.
A couple of times he tries to race, but as soon as Jaehyun catches on to him he can’t keep up. He uses the wall to kick off with his feet, shooting like a torpedo through the water before starting to paddle furiously. He hears Jaehyun’s breathless laughter just behind him, but he doesn’t look back.
He makes about half the length before he tires. His arms are starting to ache, his breathing struggling, and the water suddenly feels much thicker. It’s not long before Jaehyun comes into his peripheral view, his strong, steady strokes bringing him past him.
They’re both panting and laughing when they finally reach the end of the pool, Jaehyun tapping the wall with his palm. Sicheng is a couple of meters behind, walking the last bit before collapsing over the pool edge. He rests his chin on his hand, chest heaving. His arms feel even more heavy out of the water.
“Good match,” Jaehyun pants, leaning his back against the tiles. Sicheng resists the urge to splash at him for always being such a graceful winner. Jaehyun isn’t much bigger than him, but he has broad swimmer’s shoulders and an upper body strength that Sicheng’s scrawny limbs can’t compete with. But at least he also seems spent, closing his eyes and pulling in deep breaths.
“Hey,” he says after a couple of minutes.
Sicheng turns and slides down next to him, back against the wall.
Jaehyun gives him a smile. “Thanks for coming with me.”
Sicheng’s heart suddenly jolts a little in his chest. He reminds himself that Jaehyun only asked him because he knows Sicheng likes water, because Sicheng swims well, because Yuta and Doyoung and Ten at best could splash around enough to save themselves, if they had to.
“I thought you wanted to go alone.”
Jaehyun shrugs, looking out over the surface. “Yeah, maybe. But it’s better with you.”
Sicheng bites his lip, trying to ignore the warm feeling spreading in his chest. He’s running out of excuses not to read into things.
Jaehyun clears his throat. “I’m gonna take another round,” he says. It doesn’t sound like an invitation.
Sicheng nods. He’s tired anyway, suddenly even more so.
Jaehyun shoots off, quickly disappearing down the pool.
Sicheng turns around, tips back and tries to float. It takes some balancing but then he manages to relax, lying limp at the surface, closing his eyes. Suddenly it’s been reversed - the air cools his skin where it touches, his face and knees and the top of his chest, and the water is warm and inviting. Little waves cluck against his ears, shutting out the sounds of above.
He shifts around and dives, taking a couple of strokes to get to the bottom. He runs his fingers over the smooth tiles as he sails above them like a whale, listening to the muted underwater world - a soft clicking from somewhere, the light clucking of water, and the sound of his own heartbeat. There is something calm about it, something soothing, even with your air running out.
His head is starting to press and he’s just about to kick back up when he feels a hand around his ankle, startling him even though he knows who it is. He shoots up and spins around, breathing greedily through the water dripping from his face. Jaehyun breaks the surface just next to him, laughing.
“I’m sorry,” he says, a little out of breath. “Did I scare you?”
“No,” Sicheng lies poorly, getting an annoying grin in return.
“You were under so long,” Jaehyun says, his voice falling into an almost whiny tone. “What were you doing?”
“Nothing,” Sicheng says, hovering with his nose just above the surface. “Swimming.”
He breathes in and goes under again, swimming out along the length of the pool, but doesn’t get far before he feels fingers over his leg again. He twists around under the water, seeing Jaehyun’s blurry grin, and has to pinch his own nose to not pull in water in giggles.
“Get off,” he laughs when they’re both in the air again, giving Jaehyun a splash for good measure. Jaehyun only grins at him. He tries going deeper, but Jaehyun isn’t far behind, hovering above and brushing his hands along Sicheng’s sides. They emerge half tangled. Sicheng splashes at him some more.
Soon it’s getting deep, and he can’t reach the bottom anymore. Turning, he sees Jaehyun looming like a shark in the deep blue, just out of reach, blocking the way back.
Staying above, he tries to circle around, taking a large turn to escape Jaehyun who chases him back, tugging at his feet and grabbing his waist, making him kick and twist instinctively. When he finds footing again he’s breathless with exhaustion and held back laughter, artlessly waving his arms to help him get to higher ground. Jaehyun’s still latched to his back, arms tied around his waist, panting and chuckling against his neck. Like some limp four-legged creature they stumble through the water until both have heads and shoulders comfortably above the surface.
“I’m sorry,” Jaehyun says again, finally letting go so Sicheng can turn around. Sicheng pants, wiping the water and hair out of his face. When he looks at Jaehyun, he bursts out laughing again.
“You didn’t drown or anything, right?” Jaehyun asks sweetly. He comes near again, grinning, and strokes a hand over Sicheng’s cheek. The other hand comes up as well, fingers fitting around the back of Sicheng’s neck, thumbs softly running over his jaw.
His grin is small, just enough to show a hint of dimple, and as they start breathing more calmly Sicheng realizes how very close he is. His hair hanging in wet strands, his eyes focused on Sicheng, the droplets of water slowly travelling down his blue-tinted skin. Sicheng breathes in hard and something tightens in his chest, the way it does when Jaehyun is so gorgeous it makes his head spin, and he can’t shield himself from it, can’t look away.
Now Jaehyun’s smile has faded, and he looks at Sicheng as if Sicheng isn’t really there, eyes flitting over his face, his fingers burning silently on Sicheng’s skin.
Sicheng thinks about the inches between them.
How easy it would be to lean in and kiss him.
Suddenly Jaehyun pinches his lips together and swallows. He removes his hands and turns away.
“Maybe we should head back. They might be wondering where we are.”
Sicheng has to just breathe for a moment, because it suddenly feels like there’s no air in his lungs. As if he’s been under for too long. Jaehyun is already on his way up the ladder.
“Yeah,” Sicheng says. “Okay.”