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“And that’s why…Ai! You will be the new captain. Take care of them.”
Rin’s words rang through Nitori’s head on an almost constant loop since the end of the last school year. Captain was a great honor, but with that honor came the crushing pressure to succeed. All of the swimmers of the prestigious Samezuka Academy swim team now looked to Nitori to be a leader. They had faith in him. Now if Nitori could just find that faith in himself.
The sound of splashing water echoed throughout the empty pool area as Nitori powered through his sixth lap. His muscles ached from the strain, but the water was the only thing calming his racing mind. The coolness of the water enveloped him as his arms plowed forward with great urgency. Rin-senpai told him once that his friend Haru swam because it made him feel “free”. Nitori was starting to understand what that meant.
With one final stroke he touched the wall and pulled his face out of the water, breathing heavily. Light gray strands of wet hair clung to his forehead. Nitori smoothed back his hair as he leaned against the side of the pool to catch his breath. Swimming laps in the empty pool reminded him of all the time he spent last year doing extra training with Yamazaki-senpai. He wouldn’t have improved his times had it not been for Yamazki-senpai’s patience and encouragement. Nitori’s heart ached just thinking about the teammate who graduated last year.
The clock on the wall said six a.m. He had shown up to swim about thirty minutes ago after a restless night. Today was the first day of swim practices, and Nitori was a nervous wreck. Sure, his swimming had improved since his first year days, but he still had a long way to go. How was he supposed to lead and be example for the team when he struggled so much with his own times? Rin-senpai and Mikoshiba-senpai had both been incredible swimmers and inspiring leaders. How was Nitori going to live up to their legacy?
“Captain Nitori!”
The sudden exclamation startled the grey-haired boy, causing him to flail and almost slip back under the water. No one was supposed to be here this early. After recovering from shock, Nitori pulled himself out of the pool and found himself face to face with the energetic redhead that he shared his dorm with all last year.
“Momo-kun? What’re you doing here? I didn’t know you could wake up this early.” He asked as he stood up and smoothed his wet hair back again.
“I was so excited to swim again this year I thought I’d come early to get some laps in. Japan be ready for the Legendary Sea Otter!” Momo struck a pose, one hand on his hip while he shot his other hand into the air.
Nitori put a hand to his mouth to try and hide his laughter. Momo always had a way of making him loosen up and laugh. When they shared a room together last year Momo would whisper funny stories from his daily life to Nitori while they were trying to fall asleep at night. At first it bothered him, but eventually it became a nightly ritual that Nitori looked forward to every day.
“Captain Nitori, what are you doing here so early? Are you excited too?”
“Well, uh…” Nitori bit his lip and glanced back at the pool.
Momo noticed something was off about his team captain. He cocked his head to the side and tried to read Nitori’s expression. He had never seen him look so distraught.
“Nitori-senpai…?”
“I-I’m sorry Momo-kun. I just don’t know what I’m going to do about being captain this year… Rin-senpai was so wonderful last year,” Tears of frustration began to roll down Nitori’s cheeks, “I’m not as strong. I will just disappoint everyone on the team…I-I just don’t think that I could be a good captain.”
Momo silently watched Nitori as he spilled his feelings. It broke his heart to see his friend hurting like this, but in that moment he did not know what to say to comfort him. After a few moments Nitori fell quiet with tears still rolling down his face. He stared down at his feet because he was too ashamed to look Momo in the face.
Suddenly Nitori felt warm arms wrap around him, and his face was pressed into the sleek fabric of a swim team jacket. The faint smell of cologne filled his nose. At first Nitori wanted to protest - to pull away and put on a brave face. However, he decided to let himself relax into Momo’s chest. His heart fluttered like when he was racing, but he found that he would rather be enveloped by the redhead’s arms than the water.
The two boys stood together for a few minutes until Nitori pulled away enough to look up at Momo without completely freeing himself from his arms. Nitori’s cheeks were flushed pink, and his eyes stung from crying.
“Momo-kun…”
Momo cupped Nitori’s cheek and gently pressed their foreheads together. He stared into the grey haired boy’s eyes trying to communicate all of the admiration and affection that he couldn’t find the words to express.
“Nitori-senpai, you’re going to be great… And I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Momo whispered before kissing Nitori’s forehead gently and releasing him, “Now, come on. Let’s swim.”
With a charming grin, Momo turned and began to strip down to his swim trunks. Nitori watched the redhead jump into the pool, a smile forming on his face. For the first time in the past few months, he felt like things really were going to be okay.
A/N: This oneshot is dedicated to my friend Randi since this is her OTP from the Free! fandom. Hope everyone enjoyed!