Notes: this came about because haizaki with his hair slicked back is incredibly distracting. but also because swim club!miragen is a must. and i was due some nijihai anyway.

Warnings: haizaki's everything and nijimura being smug and insufferable

The title is from "Glad You Came" by The Wanted.

He breaks through the water with a gasp, seconds after his palm slaps decidedly against the wall, and as he blinks into awareness outside of the sparkling, surreal blue-tinted world of the pool, a hand comes into focus.

Beyond said hand is his captain, smirking down at him. Shougo gratefully accepts the help and allows Nijimura to pull him up and out of the pool.

"Did I do it?" He asks, running a hand through his hair and pushing it out of his face. Thoroughly soaked, it stays slicked back.

In answer, Nijimura holds up the stopwatch, and its frozen numbers - lower than they've ever been - make him grin, helplessly.

"I fucking did it!" He crows, exhilarated. "I beat that asshole's best time! Fucking take that, Kise, you smug bitch!" He pumps a fist in the air, already imagining rubbing this victory in Ryouta's stupid, smiling face.

"Good job," Nijimura tells him, and startled, Shougo glances up at him, having forgotten he was even there. "You worked hard. Could work on your sportsmanship, though," he adds with an exasperated shake of the head.

Shougo flushes, ridiculously pleased. Praise from Nijimura is rare, especially for him. "...Thanks. For the help," he mutters, gruffly.

A week ago, pretty, perfect Ryouta bested not only his own time but everyone else's by about five whole seconds, and it hadn't taken long for Shougo to storm over to their captain and demand extra training just so he could knock Ryouta down a peg.

They both swim butterfly, after all, making Ryouta his sworn enemy and rival in the club - even if he's reluctantly friends with him outside of it. (He blames Tetsuya entirely.)

It's not like it's one-sided either. Ryouta is just as competitive as the rest of them. He just hides it a little better behind laughter and smiles and skinship. But there's no mistaking the fiery determination in his eyes when he and Shougo are paired against one another (or god forbid, against Daiki,) and Shougo's damn sure that as soon as he knows his time has been bested, he'll work even harder to reclaim his spot as number one.

"S'what a captain does. Even if his underlings have shitty attitudes and give him lip." Nijimura shrugs, thumping Shougo's forward when he scowls at him. "Oh wait, that's just you."

"Whatever. If you didn't have me as your damn punching bag, you'd probably fucking terrorize the rest of the club," Shougo huffs, walking over to the bench and grabbing a towel to dry off with.

"Well, you're right about that."

He snorts, quickly drying his upper body and hair and then draping the towel over his neck. "Lucky me then. I get you all to myself!" He grumbles, sarcastically.

"Only if I can have all of you," Nijimura quips, a thread of seriousness in his voice that makes Shougo whip his head around in surprise.

And Nijimura is right there, leaning forward and kissing him, hand moving to grip the back of Shougo's neck and arm curling around his lower back.

Shougo just. Stops, bewildered, but it doesn't take long for him to return the kiss, heart hammering in his chest and something like joy blooming at this revelation, as he grips Nijimura's waist with both hands, as he opens his mouth, and Nijimura licks into it.

Nijimura doesn't taste like much of anything, just warm and soft and wet, but Shougo is heady and electrified and already addicted to the not-taste of him anyway.

An eternity later, they break apart, both of them flushed and breathing hard, matching smiles on their faces.

"You fucking crushing on me, shitty captain?" Shougo asks, voice rough, delighted and still sort of disbelieving. "What the fuck."

Rolling his eyes, Nijimura gently headbutts him. "Shut the hell up. You've been thirsting after me all year."

"What?!" Shougo squawks, mortified. "You knew?!"

Nijimura laughs, smirking. "Yeah, I knew. I don't think there's a person in the whole club who doesn't know." At Shougo's unbridled horror, he laughs again and goes on, "Let's see... How many times have I caught you staring at me? Or smiling dopily any time I say you did a good job? Or getting jealous when I give extra attention to anyone who isn't you? Or-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Shougo slaps a hand over his mouth, blushing so hard he's probably gonna fucking turn into a human tomato and furiously contemplating how feasible an idea it is to jump in the pool and fucking drown to escape this embarrassment.

Then Nijimura tugs his hand away and kisses him again, and he's utterly distracted for a minute.

"Don't worry about it. I think it's cute," Nijimura admits with a shit-eating grin. "Besides, if you weren't so obvious, I probably wouldn't have thought about you as anything other than another underclassmen."

"Fucking kill me now," Shougo groans, and he mostly means it. Nijimura's thumb is rubbing little circles on his neck, and that's distracting too. "Put me out of my fucking misery."

"No. What would Kise think? Or Kuroko? I can't handle his big, sad eyes any more than you can."

"I'm quitting the club," he says, resolutely and ignores Nijimura's tangible amusement. "My captain's taking advantage of me, and my friends are dicks."

That gets him a laugh. "Resignation denied. Your captain is quite happy to keep taking advantage, though." With that, he wraps his arms around Shougo and pulls him forward into an embrace, resting his chin on Shougo's head, apparently content to just stay like that.

Shougo scrunches his nose in disgust but doesn't otherwise make any move to get away. "...My captain can fucking shove it up his-"

"'I like you too, Nijimura! I'm so happy you feel the same way!' is what you meant to say, I'm sure," Nijimura cuts him off happily.

Shougo bristles. "You fucking wish-!"

"Hey, Shougo, let's go out."

That shuts him up real quick.

He scowls, glaring down at Nijimura's smooth, toned skin, which is all that's filling his vision, they're so pressed so close together. "...Fuck. Fine, okay."

Nijimura chuckles. "You're so adorable."

Shougo slumps against him, cheeks hot and spirit utterly defeated. "You're a fucking shitty boyfriend."

"And yet, you're infatuated with me anyway."

"No one ever said I had good judgement."

Nijimura laughs, and Shougo smiles, small and pleased and real.

(Neither of them notice the two boys hidden around the side of the school, nor the money that exchanges hands.

"Why couldn't he have waited 'til our next match," one of them whines, wallet sadly lighter now.

"You know how impatient Nijimura-san is when he really wants something," the other one reminds him in a monotone that still somehow clearly conveys his satisfaction at the result of their bet.

He glances back at the happy couple and offers, "...I bet Haizaki-kun tries to hide their relationship when we see him tomorrow."

The first boy snorts. "Do I look like a sucker to you?")