water never sees the ground, USA/swimming, Phelps/Lochte 1/5
This . . . is not the tattoo porn I set out to write. It's a little more melancholy than I usually go for. But worth a try I guess. Title from Kings of Leon - Cold Desert.The thing about relationships is this - everyone comes into a relationship with their own set of perspectives. A lifetime of formative experiences that color how each individual views love
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water never sees the ground, USA/swimming, Phelps/Lochte 2/5Ryan goes back to Gainesville, despite his claims he's actually unable to fight with Gregg for long periods of time. But by the time he's gone Michael has adjusted to running his hands across acres of golden skin whenever he wants and to waking up unceremoniously curled around someone else in a bed that's been his alone for most of his life and the brilliance of someone to order takeout while he's showering after practice
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water never sees the ground, USA/swimming, Phelps/Lochte 3/5Ryan says I love you for the first time over post-practice Count Chocula in Debbie Phelps' kitchen. And then it's like a waterfall, once he's started he says it all the time. He tells Michael after great races and before brutal practices. He accompanies it with a wink and a lopsided grin when Michael hands him the shampoo. He tells him when he gives up touchdowns in Madden and when he pays the blowjob toll for headshots in Halo. He mumbles it in his sleep and shouts it as he explodes under Michael's hands. He writes it in the fog on the mirror in Gainesville and in the frost on the sliding glass door in Baltimore. He's as unashamed of the words as he is of his hot pink briefs, and Michael struggles to understand how the words come so easily
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water never sees the ground, USA/swimming, Phelps/Lochte 4/5It's different. Ryan's heart is broken. Ryan's family is broken. And when Michael doesn't know what to do he goes to his mom. Because there's no way to watch Debbie Phelps in the stands at a swim meet and not know just how unwavering her love for her youngest child is. She's a rock, his mom, she's the woman who refuses to hear the word can't. She's the one who taught him hard work and perseverance and getting his ass out of bed every morning to do whatever it takes to get the job done
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water never sees the ground, USA/swimming, Phelps/Lochte 5/5What's not expected is how easily they manage to leave it in the pool. There's no denying their competitive spirit but somehow love manages to allow them to compete tooth and nail in the pool and shed that rivalry before they've left the showers. And when they're done at the pool they drive home. They’re friends, best friends probably, boyfriends too. At home Ryan’s different, quieter, more withdrawn. Privately Michael finds it really fucking freaky to see his personality shift when he’s alone
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This . . . is not the tattoo porn I set out to write. It's a little more melancholy than I usually go for. But worth a try I guess. Title from Kings of Leon - Cold Desert.The thing about relationships is this - everyone comes into a relationship with their own set of perspectives. A lifetime of formative experiences that color how each individual views love ( ... )
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