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Nufuli dove into the lake, a bit too theatrically for such shallow waters, his head poking out after a few seconds. His fins bioluminescence was a guiding light in the darkness of the night, illuminating the waters. "Your turn now," he encouraged from below.
"I can't do whatever backflip-360 you just pulled, so don't expect much now," Loonac looked down at him from the ledge. It wasn't a particularly far drop down, but something in them still felt queasy.
Nufuli snickered at them, "Well I already expected that, bro, you're like a little baby compared to me."
Oh, so that's how it's going to be. Loonac stared daggers back at the other. It's fucking on.
From sheer stubborn will, they narrowed their eyes, abruptly taking two steps back and then charging towards the edge. At the last possible moment, they leaped off, attempting some sort of dramatic spin— at least that's what they thought they were doing.
The last thing Loonac heard before they were submerged in water was a yelp of some kind, and then it finally hit them that they were in the water, and the pressure of it was now soothing instead of unbearable. It wasn't as bad with less clothing obstructing their movement, the water rather complimented the swim dress; they could also handle their reflection now, so they didn't freeze up like a deer in headlights getting a glimpse of themself.
Nufuli suddenly tapped their back, and they turned around, met with a concerned look on the other's face. Only then did Loonac realize they had sunken down a bit too far— oh, they had forgotten to actually start swimming. Nufuli took ahold of them and dragged them back to the surface.
"So, you're actually stupid," were the first words they heard, "did you forget how to swim? Don't scare me like that, holy shit."
Loonac raised their eyebrows. "Excuse you, I was just checking the vibes."
"Checking the vibes by sinking to the bottom of the lake like a statue, yeah no, you didn't check shit," Nufuli splashed water at their face, "are you actually okay?"
"Yeah— I'm better than okay, that's why I got distracted in the first place, actually." Loonac let themself drift away from Nufuli, letting the water carry them, "oh my Lord, I love how flowy it is. It seems practical, honestly."
Nufuli looked at them with a wary expression, before relaxing again. "Hey, I might need to invest," he fully splayed his fins out, enjoying the water to its fullest.
It felt so relieving, finally being able to feel like they fit into the puzzle, instead of having to ostracize themself. They grinned, "Would you be able to rock it like this, though?"
Nufuli took a good, calculating look at them, "Well, yeah. Don't try me."
"I dare you," Loonac laughed, and it earned them another splash of water towards their face.
"Fuck you too." That, and Nufuli's glare at them just made them laugh harder, nearly causing them to swallow water in the process, "I'm never swimming with you again. You've lost your chance."
Loonac shrugged, "If you could handle swimming alone for so long, then I think I can handle being alone too. Don't think you're so tough, now."
"Okay, you've lost any remaining chances to redeem yourself. I'm actually never swimming again, period." Nufuli dramatically dipped into the water, leaving Loonac to watch as the very visible bioluminescence gradually sank to the bottom of the lake.
"If this isn't swimming to you, then I don't know what is, dude," they chuckled lightheartedly, watching the light go further and further down steadily. It just kept going.
Just when Loonac was about to complain about the bit getting old, the bioluminescent light went out, the glow in the lake disappearing into the darkness.
Oh, shit.
They stared towards the spot where the light had gone out, panic festering in their gut.
Loonac wasn't strong enough to carry him back to shore if something happened, Loonac didn't have any healing potions or golden apples on them and there sure as hell wasn't anyone nearby.
Loonac really couldn't do anything, if that was the case.
Yet, before they knew it, they found themselves diving down, adrenaline kicking in. The thought of not being able to do anything in the worst case scenario only made them more stubbornly set on checking on Nufuli. The algae in the lake was a nuisance, getting in their face and obscuring their path, but they kept going, powering through it.
Somehow, much to Loonac's dismay, the lake seemed so bottomless for what had seemed like such a shallow lake beforehand. They couldn't tell if it was from their speed or if they had been sorely mistaken. Seconds felt like minutes in the hassle, and it only served to make them fear the worst even more.
Determined, Loonac tried going faster, their legs almost numb from the force. The algae was getting worse and worse, and moments later—
Loonac swam arms-head first into the bottom of the lake, getting a face full of sand, no Nufuli in sight.
Disorientated, they raised their head and let their lower body sink to the bottom as well, all the while trying to keep their eyes open for any signs of Nufuli. There was nothing but more algae, besides small fish and tadpoles scurrying away from them.
Then, somewhere in their confusion, Loonac felt a familiar hand around their left bicep, and they wished they could turn around and punch him.
The swim back up was a lot faster than the swim down, with Nufuli practically torpedoing up and Loonac being dragged along, holding on for dear life even as Nufuli's grip felt like it could dislocate their arm. Once they resurfaced, Loonac was speechless, despite all the things they had wanted to say moments prior.
"Didn't do so well alone now, did you?" Nufuli said, with something Loonac could only have described as mocking awe in his voice.
Finally, Loonac got to fulfill their wish; leaving a reddening mark on Nufuli's face with a heavy slap, "You don't just pretend to be in a life-threatening situation just for a joke, oh my– don't pull that shit again, you—"
"Okay, okay I'm sorry— I didn't know you'd actually follow me straight down, like—"
"I thought we've been allies long enough for you to know I don't tolerate you getting into danger for no reason," Loonac frowned.
Somehow, Nufuli looked hurt from their words, wide eyes narrowing as his eyebrows furrowed, "and I thought we've been teamed up long enough for you to know I'm very capable of swimming without you looking out for me 24/7."
Loonac paused, unable to fire anything back immediately. They attempted to open their mouth, only to shut it again just a moment later.
He sighed, "I just really don't know how to prove it to you that I'm actually capable and worthy of your trust, Loonac."
Loonac had a few words to say to that, but they really, really didn't want to get into that territory right now; this wasn't what they meant at all. "I just saw your fins lights go out and freaked out. I thought that meant you were in danger or something, I'm sorry," Loonac stammered, "I didn't mean it that way. Maybe if I wasn't such a coward about swimming beforehand and had more experience swimming with you then—"
Before Loonac could finish, Nufuli grabbed them by the bicep again. "Shut up, actually shut up. Let's go back to shore for this."
Then, Loonac was promptly dragged back, again, in uncomfortable silence. They didn't know what to say.
They weren't sure what to make of Nufuli's words.
"So, now we both know it was a mutual misunderstanding, right?" Nufuli asked rhetorically once they arrived, settling on the mud by the lake, but refusing to actually let go of Loonac.
".. Right," Loonac confirmed, hesitantly. They followed Nufuli's lead and sat down as well.
"Now listen, I couldn't care less about how little you swam back then," Nufuli said, sharply, "what I do care about is the reason why you didn't."
The change in topic dazed them, mind going back to the day they had come out. They swallowed dryly thinking of the memories surrounding it. "Right," they repeated again.
Nufuli's stare didn't seem to be softening, on the contrary, it somehow looked even more lit up than before. "So don't come at me with any of that 'if only' bullshit, right? Because we can't change that. And I don't want to change who you are or what you're like."
Loonac grimaced.
They felt oddly cornered, even though there was nothing to fear or face. All Nufuli was doing was affirming them. Why was their mind being so difficult?
Loonac slowly nodded in acknowledgement, "Right," they responded, after a deep breath. "Thank you."
Nufuli looked like he wanted to say a thousand more words, but was biting his tongue. A strange, unfamiliar fury was in his eyes, and despite Loonac being used to anger in his expression during fights, this look unsettled them to their core, a cold sweat on their back. Somehow, Loonac felt like most of the words left unsaid weren't even related to their past fear.
Loonac looked to the side for a moment, unable to physically shift away due to Nufuli's grip.
"Anyways," Nufuli calmly said, his expression finally relaxing, and he let go of their bicep, "you swam really well, dude."
"Oh, thanks, don't expect that level everytime though," Loonac chuckled awkwardly, "I think I was carried by adrenaline and adrenaline alone. I genuinely don't know how I did that."
Nufuli grinned lopsidedly, familiar mischief in his eyes again, "Yeah sure, are there any other skills or secrets you're hiding from me?"
Loonac had to physically stop their face from contorting in the worst way imaginable. "What? No. Now you're just making stuff up."
"Next you'll turn out to be better at combat than me. Start hitting crazy mace kills or something."
"Sure, bro, with what mace? The one that I gave you?" They rolled their eyes.
The transition to casual conversation was almost too easy, for Loonac's liking.
Everything felt so, so wrong, despite the tension seemingly evaporating.
And everything was as it should be.