Chapter Text
The Emperor’s team is huge. Lots of their members came on different days whenever they visited the facility, so it was hard to envision how big their team is exactly.
Now, Luz definitely has her answer. Each of them have different logos on their caps to show their status on the team, and it reeks of favoritism. They walk onto the deck like they own the place, and she suppresses an eye roll.
Hunter shows up, cap off, and gloves still on. He’ll have to take them off eventually, but for now, they’re clung to them, and he fidgets with them, looking around. When he spots her, he…waves. It’s awkward and his face is unsure, but he waves nonetheless.
Wow, looks like the Golden Guard isn’t super grumpy on a Saturday morning practice.
Willow and Amity come out of the changeroom, chatting amongst themselves as they approach. It’s about 6:30, so they still have a bit of time before practice begins, and Luz decides to take the time to pull out her stuff and do a bit of stretching.
“Hey Luz! Mind if we join you?” Willow asks, and Luz looks over at her, arm outstretched as she links her other arm around it, nodding with a bright smile.
“Of course!” Together, the three of them stretch, and right when they get to leg swings, Gus runs out on the deck, earning the stern glance of a lifeguard, which prompts him to a slow walk. When he approaches, Luz waves him over, and they do leg swings together.
“Gus! My main man! It’s not like you to sleep in.” He glances up at her with a shrug. Squinting at him, she notices it. Eye bags. The one thing Gustopher swore to never get (they made an oath about it together and when Luz obviously and very quickly failed he swore to continue their legacy).
“You were up late last night!” She gasps, stopping their leg swings to point at him. “Is everything alright?”
“I was just thinking about the season this year. The Emperor’s team is really gonna be hard to beat…” They all knew swimming was about their personal improvement, but…everyone wanted to be able to beat the Emperor’s Team. It’s nice when you’re able to stand up there with a shiny medal, knowing you’ve given it your all and climbed above the rest. Luz, like Gus, like Willow, like Amity, like Hunter, wants to win.
The most important thing to her isn’t winning though, it’s improving herself and her skill, and growing as a person, because that is what makes this worthwhile.
“Gus, even if we don’t beat them, as long as you keep trying and improving, you’re doing the right thing! We’ll all be proud of that, right?” Amity and Willow nod in agreement, sharing a look between the two as they smile.
“Yeah! Plus, you’re an excellent swimmer, Gus. You’re gonna show them what’s what, and even if you don’t win, you’re always improving and we’re very proud of you.” Amity pats his shoulder, and he beams at them, the spark in his eyes reigniting. That’s my main man!
“Thanks, you guys.” Willow pulls him into a hug, and the others join in. Luz jumps into them, and sends them all crashing to the ground in a fit of laughter.
“Of course, Gus! You’re awesome and we’ll never stop reminding you. We’ll be the most annoying friends ever, running around and telling you how cool you are” She messes up his hair as he swats her hand away, and Luz smiles at Amity. As she looks away and begins to stand up, she catches Hunter’s eyes on them, a small smile on his face, staring thoughtfully at them. When he meets her gaze, he turns away, crossing his arms and listening to whatever crap Kikimora, a butterflier on their team who was one of the nastiest people Luz has ever met, was yapping about.
Before Luz can think about it, or try to go up to Hunter to say, Hey! I can see how sad you look over there, you should come hang with us, wait maybe you shouldn’t because your scary uncle will just come over and pull you away but please hang out with us at school you silly goober! , Principal Bump emerges, having been side by side with Belos talking amongst themselves.
“Hello Hexside and Emperor swimmers! The Glandus team was unable to make it today, and so we will send out emails on the news that we’re going to discuss here today.” Everyone turns to listen, any excited or otherwise individual chatter dying down. Principal Bump has always been good at getting people to listen, but with Belos staring everyone down with cold, calculated distaste, it wasn’t hard to shut up.
“As you all know, this is a new season for our swimmers. A lot of changes have been made for the meets to ensure more…opportunites for our swimmers. First, a quick introduction of some of these adjustments from the mayor and the coach of the Emperor’s team, Mayor Belos.” The Emperor’s team immediately erupts in applause, and Hexside’s swimmers maintain a slow clap. Luz resists the urge to roll her eyes, it wouldn’t look very good if Belos saw someone from the team that he’s rivals with scoffing at him.
Belos steps forward, his confidence and attempt to appear humble radiating off of him in waves. Hunter stands taller, his gaze not leaving his uncle’s. He clears his throat, the noise sharp and piercing, he speaks.
“Thank you for the introduction, Coach Bump. Last season was an incredible season for the Boiling Isles, with many victories, and as expected, my wonderful swimmers emerged victorious. However, as I am sure you are all aware of the rumours, the former Golden Guard had to step down due to an injury. He will be replaced by my nephew, and a talented swimmer at that, Hunter Wittebane.” He gestures to Hunter, who awkwardly walks closer to him and waves to everyone around him. Some people smile (including the four of them), some people barely react, and a few on the team scowl at him with distaste. Yikes.
“Hunter has shown incredible dedication to events we are all familiar with, and ones that we are not. He has competed in many events, including difficult ones such as the 800IM and 400 fly. Because of his dedication and the dedication of my swimmers, I have decided to introduce these events widescale at all meets in the region. You are all encouraged to compete in these challenges to improve your repertoire of events, but be warned, if you want an easy win against our team in these events and in all, you will not find one.” Is he threatening us? Exchanging a look with everyone else, her friends all share the same sentiment. New events that Hunter favours? No offense to Hunter, but his opinions are horrible when it comes to these events being enjoyable.
“With that out of the way, I will leave it to Coach Bump to explain the meet schedule and review regulations for the season. Thank you.” With that, he bows his head and everyone begins to applaud him. Hunter is guided away by Belos' hand and the two stand side by side, quietly chatting amongst themselves.
“Thank you, Coach Belos. Now, to get into the thing you've all been waiting for, the meet schedule.” Pulling out a stack of papers, he begins to hand out printed out copies of the schedule while he talks. Luz thanks him quietly, glancing down at the schedule.
There’s at least a meet every three weekends, and a championship meet at the end of the month, with qualifiers taking place at the end of January, and the progressing levels going up to March, and the same pattern repeating starting in May to July. It’s exciting to see how many opportunities she’ll have to give her all. Bump begins to speak once more, and she forcefully drags her eyes away from the schedule to look at him.
“As you see, we have quite a few meets this season and plenty of exciting championship meets to go! I encourage you all to work hard and practice well in order to compete in these wonderful opportunities.” There were way more Championship meets compared to last year on the schedule, and after training more extensively, she was ready to finally prove herself against more swimmers.
“And as for the regulations, it's the same deal as last year, and we will be sure to inform you of any changes depending on the regulations established at other meets. With that, we wish you luck on a great season, and let's have a civil practice together.” Everyone applauds once more, and as people, Luz included, begin to walk away, Belos clears his throat.
“One more note before you all get ready. I wanted to inform you all that every Saturday morning, as often as our team is able, we will be practicing with you, as a way to get more familiar with the competition and challenge each other. This will be an exciting opportunity for you as well, so take advantage of it. That is all. Thank you for your time.” With one final applause, he walks away, him and Bump both heading over to grab a whiteboard and markers to write their respective sets.
If Luz could use only one word to describe that situation, she’d say Wow.
There’s no time to ponder it though, and so, as the lanes begin to get full, and the Emperor’s team glances at her with snobby distaste, she books it to her stuff, putting on her cap and goggles, before carrying her swim bag to her lane. Placing it down, she pushes the goggles against her eyes, the familiar purple hue painting the exterior of the pool.
“Hey…um…Luz?” It’s a familiar voice, and as she considers jumping right into the water to avoid it, she turns around, meeting Hunter’s gaze. His cap is on now, his gloves now revealing scarred hands that hold his golden goggles.
“Can I join you?” The way he says it is cautious. A million eggshells threatening to break beneath his feet if she snaps back at him. But she wouldn’t, no matter how annoying he can be.
“Of course! Do you want to go first?” He’d jump at the opportunity to go first,she’s seen him get in right as Belos was done speaking, a surefire way to get ahead and impress him. Yet, as he turns to look at Belos, who’s distracted talking to Bump and looking at the water, he shakes his head.
“You can lead. I don’t mind.”
Okay, who replaced him and where’s the real Hunter?
“Are you sure? I-”
“Just go before I change my mind.” There it is. With a sigh, Luz jumps into the water, the buzz of the cold familiarly stinging her skin. She pushes off the wall, and begins her warmup, steady hands dipping into the water.
The practice goes as it normally does. Feeling tired, whining when Bump tells her her rest is over, trying not to throw up a few times, looking at the clock and going God, why isn’t this practice over? Y’know. The usual.
But there’s two things that are different.
One. Hunter is talking to them. He makes quiet conversation with Luz, as she challenges him to beat her a few times during their sprints. He does, but she makes no complaints. It was for fun anyways.
He talks with Gus about his backstroke technique and how to improve his own. Gus helps with enthusiasm, and a small smile sneaks onto his face, but disappears once Luz points it out.
He talks with Willow about what she likes about breaststroke, and reveals it’s never been a huge fan of breaststroke. She hypes him up, and Luz swears his cheeks light up right before he pushes off the wall.
He talks with Amity, and although their discussion is awkward, and mildly competitive, as they both challenge each other with glares, he compliments her butterfly, and she looks to the stands, then back at him, offering a curt thanks between laboured breaths.
The second difference is how on edge Amity is. Normally, she’s focused and ready to go, but always laughs at Luz’s jokes, or encourages Willow, or fixes Gus’ goggles for the five hundredth time. Today, she’s not.
She keeps looking back and forth between the Emperor and the stands, and during a break in between sets, Luz cleans off her goggles and looks to the stands. She sees the familiar green-haired woman, and understands all too well why Amity is behaving this way.
Odalia Blight is in the stands, watching her daughter intently with scowled eyes.
Luz has half the mind to shoot her a dirty look, but when Odalia makes eye contact with her, she turns away. Odalia never liked her, and still isn’t aware that she and Amity are dating. They don’t hide it, per se, but they certainly don’t express it around her.
She offers Amity a quick hand squeeze when they have a moment. “Are you okay, sweet potato?”
“Yeah…yeah. I’m just - I don’t like it when I know she’s watching. If I don’t work my hardest then…then she gets angry.” Amity presses her goggles further into her face out of frustration, water dripping down her face.
“I know, Ams. I’m sorry that she puts that pressure on you. …That’s not the only reason why you’re frustrated right now though. Am I right?” Luz has always been good at reading Amity. She hides her emotions well, but for her? It’s like looking through a wall made of glass.
“...You’re right. It’s just…I can tell Belos is watching us too. Hunter knows how good we are and Belos does too, and I’m worried that he’s just…in this lane to compete with us, rather than actually get to know us, y’know? I know the benefit of the doubt is important and all, but I just…can’t shake the feeling something is wrong. Especially with my mother watching. I’m worried he’s competing with me just to be validated by his uncle, and that…I’m doing the same thing to be validated by my mother.” Luz understands the suspicion. Hunter’s behaviour is…new, and the competitive spirit isn’t anything uncommon from him. But the fact he’s here, in their lane, could possibly reek of something else.
But like Amity said, Luz wants to have faith in Hunter, no matter how harsh he can be.
“I understand, hermosa. I think we just…need to give him time and treat him kindly. It’ll reveal his true colours…at least, I think so. If he’s reaching out to try and become friends…well…then we welcome him. If he’s just using this opportunity to compete with us, then we kick Mr. Grumpy Pants’ butt, alright?” That gets a laugh out of her, and Amity nods.
“Sounds like a plan, Luz. Thank you.” Luz squeezes her hand one more time, before letting go to tuck a stray strand of brown hair in Amity’s cap.
“Of course! We got this! And Ams, you don’t owe your mother any progress. The only person you owe progress to is yourself. Do it for you, not for her.” Amity nods at that, her cheeks flushing pink. Luz feels her face, and she’s certain it’s just as bright, if not brighter, than Amity’s.
“Now, let's go show Belos and your mom who’s boss!”
With that, Amity takes one final glance at the clock, then at Luz, nodding with a determined grin as she pushes off the wall. Her butterfly glides through the water, holding the same fire and urgency it always holds. God, Luz loves that girl.
…Right. Swim practice. She should do that.
And so she pushes off too, feeling the water glide beneath her feet, as she speeds up.
She really hopes she’s right about Hunter.
Because if not, she’s gonna kick his butt.
Well, she’s gonna kick his butt anyways, but the gesture remains the same.
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