The Diver
Title: The Diver
Pairing: Elijah/Dom
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: No I don’t own them, yes this is made up.
Feedback: As always, any is appreciated.
Notes: Lifeguard AU for moffel83 , who requested an E/D with the prompt word ‘pool’.
“Hey! Excuse me! No diving, please!” Elijah gets up quickly and heads for the other side of the pool, but the swimmer has ignored him and already dived head-first into the deep end. Elijah hesitates for a moment, only relaxing when the swimmer reappears above the surface of the water. He shakes his head, sending water droplets flying, and swims over to the edge where Elijah is standing.
“What d’you say, mate?” he asks, in an accent Elijah can’t quite place due to the echo-y acoustics.
“I said, ‘no diving’,” Elijah repeats, pointing to a sign by the side of the pool. His eyes wander idly over the toned torso of the swimmer - strong shoulders, pebbled nipples, and a small indistinct tattoo on his right bicep. “It’s not allowed in this pool.”
The swimmer removes his goggles and tips his head back to look at Elijah. His eyes are a funny shade of grey-blue.
“Sorry,” Elijah says. “This pool’s just not deep enough to legally allow it.”
“Alright,” the swimmer says, with as much of a shrug as one can do when they’re treading water.
“Thank you,” Elijah adds, although he doesn’t really know what he’s thanking him for. He retreats back to his seat at the other side of the pool, and, as the diver is the only person in the pool, continues watching him as he swims in long smooth strokes with a neat turn at the end of each length.
***
The swimmer turns up again the next day, near closing time. Elijah has the late shift again, and recognises the figure instantly.
The announcement that it’s closing time comes over the tannoy system when the swimmer is underwater. Elijah doubts he’s heard it, so he goes over to the edge and waits for him to resurface.
“Excuse me, it’s closing time,” he says simply.
The swimmer looks up and takes off his goggles.
“Cheers, mate,” he says, and swims languidly to the ladder at the side of the pool. Elijah watches as he pulls himself out of the water. He’s wearing tight Speedos in a shade of vivid green which conceal absolutely nothing. Elijah feels his eyes widen slightly and he quickly looks away before the swimmer notices.
***
Elijah starts his shift the next evening speculating inwardly whether or not the diver will turn up today. He’s definitely the kind of guy who makes Elijah’s job more interesting - he’s a very nice change from overweight women and over-excited children making an ear-splitting amount of noise.
Sure enough, the diver comes out of the changing rooms about fifteen minutes before closing time. He walks past Elijah’s chair on the way to the pool, and throws him a quick grin. Elijah returns it, and gets a secret thrill out of it.
The diver twists his head slightly as he walks to catch the end of Elijah’s smile, and slips on the wet floor tiles, landing on his hands and knees with a rather sickening crunch.
Elijah automatically leaps up and is beside him in a second, before the diver can even register his pain.
“Hey, are you OK?” he asks, kneeling.
The diver shifts on to his arse. Blood seeps from a large gash in his left knee. It mingles with the water on the floor, creating a pale red puddle.
“Ouch,” the diver says, wincing.
“Just keep the leg still, lay it out flat, that’s it,” Elijah says, keeping his voice calm, while hopping up and heading back to his chair at the side of the pool. He uses the key on a rubber band around his wrist to open the first aid box on the wall behind it, and takes out a roll of bandage, cotton wool balls and an antiseptic cream.
“Ok, hold still a moment,” he says, returning to the diver. “I’ll just clean this up and wrap it, but it’s probably for the best if you get to hospital. I think you might need a couple of stitches.” He unscrews the lid of the antiseptic. “This’ll sting a bit, sorry.”
The diver gives him another grin. Elijah quickly swabs the area with the cream and the diver grits his teeth and lets out his breath in a hiss.
“My name’s Elijah,” Elijah says, by way of conversation, dabbing at the gash.
“Dominic - call me Dom.”
Elijah finds the end of the bandage and starts winding it tightly round Dom’s knee. It’s only when it’s done to his satisfaction that he notices how close to Dom he is, and that his fingers are almost grazing Dom’s crotch on each pull of the bandage. He clears his throat as he tears the bandage and ties it, and as he looks up, he sees that Dom is wearing a cheeky grin, and he winks at Elijah as he helps Dom up.
***
It’s two weeks before Elijah sees Dom again. He’s just finished his shift and is leaving the pool, his bag slung over one shoulder, when he spots Dom, leaning on the railings outside the pool.
“Hello,” he says, stopping and giving Dom a smile. “How’s your knee?”
“Much better,” Dom says, a grin spreading over his face. “You were right, it needed a few stitches, but they’re all out now. I just have to be a bit careful on it.”
Elijah nods. “That’s good to hear.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Dom pauses for a moment, and licks his lips. Elijah tries not to watch his tongue as it snakes across the flesh. “Hey, listen, mate. You wanna go out sometime?”
Elijah raises his eyebrows at how unsubtle Dom is, and how confident he seems. But he’s still smiling, and he nods again.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” he says, and Dom pulls out his phone and lets Elijah tap in his number, and they part, with Elijah throwing a glance over his shoulder at Dom’s retreating figure, the limp in his left leg and his tight jeans highlighting the curves of a very nice arse.