(Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.)

Grell Sutcliff is the perfect combination of the kind of club member you want to keep for an eternity and the kind you want to kick out instantly.

Ambitious, bold and most importantly, extremely fast, she's basically the face of the swim club now. Everybody on campus, even the most aquaphobic ones who wouldn't even jump across a puddle, knows that you don't mess with the Crimson Sailfish in water.

Unless you are the captain of the swim club.

Famous as Grell is in the university, her bitter rivalry with the club captain is just equally well-known.

Everybody knows that Sutcliff and Captain Spears don't see eye to eye. But because of all the prizes the redhead helps secure in the league, the captain tries to avoid conflict whenever possible. It's a plausible tactic, if Sutcliff were the kind to cooperate.

As the tournaments drew near, their tension inevitably escalated.

"William T. Spears!" Grell stormed into the locker room with the heats schedule in her hands, "Why in the world are you swimming freestyle?"

Without moving his eyes away from the inside of the locker, William replied, "Why can't I?"

"You always swim backstroke! Why freestyle now?"

William shut his locker and turned to look at his teammate, "Maybe I want to see if I can secure a medal for the team."

Grell sneered in despise, "You're kidding me. You can't even make it to the semi-finals, forget about the medal. Plus," she stepped forward to point to her name on the list, "the medal is safe with me, pretty boy."

"Honestly, if you are trying to insult me by complimenting my appearances, it's not working." William sighed. "Check my records. I'm fully qualified for freestyle."

"Barely so. You're just gonna embarrass yourself in front of everyone."

"Still not a good enough reason for me to not compete in freestyle."

Grell snarled, "Are you playing with me?"

William looked up in surprise, "Why would I do that?"

"Everybody knows you don't like having me around. Not that I mind what you think about me."

William couldn't tell from the way she said it whether she was disappointed or thrilled by such a fact.

"You just want to swim freestyle to mess with me. To show that you are the Mighty Captain who rules the pool! And that lousy Sutcliff ain't gonna get all the spotlight for herself! Am I right?"

William turned around to put his swim cap on, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Of course you do because that's exactly what you are planning, Captain. You can't stand me because I am a better athlete than you!"

"Sutcliff, I have no intention to-"

"Let's see who's faster then." Grell crumpled the schedule into a ball and threw it in a bin, "I'll see you at the pool."

William watched the red swimmer exit the locker room as he adjusted his goggles, "Honestly…"

"You know how being a swimmer hurts your relationships?" Ronald asked as he popped out of the water.

"I'm not interested." Eric answered from the adjacent lane, "Continue with your laps, Freshman. You know what happens when William catches you slacking off."

The young swimmer continued nonetheless, "It's that when you hang around topless on a daily basis, girls aren't really impressed by your abs anymore."

"I said I'm not interested, especially in your abs. Save that for the next new girl you meet."

"I tried that once, but they kept saying the Captain has better abs."

"He does."

"That's why I don't do that joke anymore…" Ronald sighed as he wiped his goggles.

A brunette approached from behind, "Why aren't you two swimming?"

"Shit, the manager is here." Ronald quickly dove back into the water.

But Eric remained, "Good afternoon, Alan."

"Don't be lazy, Eric. The tournament is getting closer." Alan walked up to him and leaned next to the hand rails. "I have faith in you."

Eric shied away from Alan's eyes before putting his goggles back on, "How I miss having you in the pool, Alan."

"You know that's not going to happen." Alan smiled sadly.

"I guess I shall win a medal for both of us then." and back into the water he went.

Alan watched as the senior swimmer headed for the other end of the pool, slightly blushing. A former member of the club who unfortunately was forced to quit due to health reasons, Alan returned as the team manager after his recovery. Though unwilling to separate himself from the pool, he knew very clearly what intense activity could do to his heart. At least he still gets to see his teammates every day.

Eric soon made it back after a round trip, "Where are Grell and the Captain? They are usually here by now."

Just then, an angry redhead dashed from the locker room. "Clear the pool!" she demanded, "The Captain and I have an argument to settle. Also," she glared at Eric when she rushed by, "stop flirting with the manager, Mr Slingby."

"But I didn't say anything!" Eric retorted, and Alan shook his head in agreement.

Grell paused before snapping her fingers, "Double negatives make a positive. Don't let this scum do things to your heart, Alan Dear."

"Why, thank you for your conce-"

"And why haven't you signed Ronald up for doggy style yet?" Grell laughed as Ronald tried to get out of the pool.

"Oh boy not this again…" Ronald protested, "I'm on the team for almost a year now. If you still want to make fun of me, at least invent a new joke."

But Grell ignored him and walked straight to the starting place.

"That's why I don't want to be captain." Eric hastily exited the pool, apparently annoyed, "Not when I have to deal with people like her. William must be on some sedative drugs or something to be able to put up with this shit on a daily basis."

"No, Eric, no drug jokes." Alan warned, "Not in the pool. Not in front of me."

Eric immediately apologized, "My bad."

When William made it to the pool, Grell was already standing on the starting place.

"We're going to do 100m freestyle. Time it for us, Humphries."

"Yes, Captain."

Eric watched William walk away and asked, "What are they doing?"

Alan answered softly, "The Captain signed himself up for both 100m and 200m freestyle. I don't think Grell likes that arrangement."

"He did? Why would he do that?"

Alan only shook his head.

Eric gazed across the empty pool, "I told you it's a better idea to get Grell to the women's team. We'd all be happier."

"Shh, we're not supposed to talk about this when she's present, Eric."

"What about it?" Eric asked curiously.

Alan whispered, "The Captain is working on transferring her, but the negotiation has not been easy. Her case is unprecedented, after all. But he told me a couple of days ago that there has been a breakthrough. If he's very lucky, she can swim on the women's team after the tour-"

"And you are keeping all of this from Grell?" Eric gasped in amazement.

Alan shrugged, "I guess the Captain wants this to be a surprise for her."

Eric squinted his eyes at William from afar, "Does he…?"

"Does 100m suit you?" William asked as he approached Grell.

"Doesn't matter. You're going to lose anyway and leave me and freestyle the fuck alone."

And so the race began.

"I don't know what the Captain is trying to accomplish here." Ronald muttered, "She's always been the Queen of Freestyle. There is no way…wait."

It appeared that William had been leading ever since the beginning.

"The Captain has very powerful limbs, and longer arms." Alan said, "He's actually ahead."

"I didn't know he could go this fast…" Eric gasped, "Outstanding."

Ronald closed his eyes when they hit 50m, "I don't want to see how this ends."

But there is always an end to everything.

When Grell emerged from the water, she found out, much to her dismay, that William was already there.

Alan stood next to the pool with the timer in his hand, speechless.

"How did I do, Humphries?" William asked, panting.

Alan answered in astonishment, "You just broke the team record."

"And the record was held by?"

"Grell Sutcliff." Alan showed them the number on the timer, still not over the shock.

William turned to Grell and said flatly, "I guess that qualifies me to swim alongside you in the heats."

Grell stared at the water and was silent for a very long time. She kept her head down so nobody saw what expression she had on her face.

William gestured Alan to leave her alone before asking, "Do you still have objections over my decision?"

With a violent splash, Grell pulled herself out of the pool and ran all the way back into the locker room, followed by a loud bang on the door.

Ronald blinked, "Why is she so red? I mean her face."

Eric was quick to cover the boy's mouth with his hand, "Do not ask questions, Freshman, just feel the water."

Ronald mumbled between Eric's fingers, "That is not…how you use…the club slogan…"

"Whatever, we need a new one for next year's orientation day anyway. Not everyone is as easy to fool as you were."

The sun has already set and everyone else has left the pool. But William stayed behind to finish his routine laps. There is no shortcut to becoming the captain of the club, you just have to work harder than everyone else and stay in good shape, even when an earlier and probably unnecessary race had consumed much of your energy.

Unlikely he'd swim as fast as today again. William thought to himself. But it must be done.

He diligently began another round trip when he suddenly felt something was pulling his left leg from behind.

Crap…No, cramps.

His whole body became tense as his muscles stretched violently, triggering unbearable pain that alerted every nerve under his skin.

No, it can't be…

He, after all, accepted Grell's challenge before properly warming-up. And the race exhausted him so much that even the most habitual exercise has proven to be too much for his muscles.

He was in the middle of the pool and no one else was there.

"No…" he tried to scream for help but even his vocal cords have stopped functioning due to the influx of water.

But he can't drown here… He's the Captain.

"Help…"

William opened his eyes and quickly closed them again to avoid the sharp white lights beaming from the ceiling.

"Thank God you're finally awake." said a familiar voice.

William turned to his side and reopened his eyes, "Sutcliff?"

"So you haven't forgotten my name yet, Prince Eric."

"Eric?"

"Oh forget it. You've probably never seen a single Disney movie in your life." Grell looked down at him and asked again, "How are you feeling now?"

William slowly regained his breath and asked, "What happened?"

"You almost drowned in your natural habitat, Captain." Grell sat up and that was when William noticed that she didn't have her swimwear on, her long red hair wet against her drenched T-shirt. "So I got you out of the pool as soon as I heard your call…I was going to perform mouth-to-mouth but then you're already awake. I guessed my hair tickled you." she smiled briefly before glaring at the pool, "If you drowned there, I'd dye this damn pool red."

"You can't do that." William frowned.

"Well, if you were dead you couldn't stop me."

William paused for a while before murmuring, "I thought you left already."

Grell shook her head, "I stayed behind to have a word with you."

"Oh…" William struggled to sit up and leaned against the chilly tiles of the stadium wall, "Thank you."

Grell looked at him and let out a laugh, "Oh, William…" she reached out to pull his tilted goggles off from his head and tucked them in his palm, "Take good care of your goggles."

William breathed silently for a while before asking, "What is it that you want to say to me?"

Grell stared at the quiet pool and said, "Alan told me about it."

"About what?"

"The transfer."

"Oh." William lowered his head, "I didn't want to give you any false hope before I gained any progre-" his words were cut short by Grell's grateful embrace.

"Thank you, Will." Grell held his bare shoulders tight, her eyes watery, "I have no idea you have done so much for me."

William blinked before returning the hug, "Well, you have always wanted to compete on the women's team. And given how long I have known you, I just don't see why you can't. You belong to a place where nobody would frown upon your choice of swimwear or blame your hair for clotting the shower."

Grell buried her teary face in William's shoulder, "And I was being so mean to you…"

"That…was understandable." William patted her back, trying to give a little comfort, "I'm sure you'd do great in the tournaments, especially in 200m. You know how to utilize your strength for the whole race. I'd probably use it all up in the first 100m and lose. Kind of like what happened today."

"But you just beat me and broke my record!"

"And look what I got in retribution." he chuckled tiredly.

Grell unwrapped her arms from William's neck and asked, "Then why did you do it? You barely ever swam freestyle."

William looked at her, his hands fell to her waist but he was reluctant to let go, "If Professor Anderson is as charismatic as he claims to be and everything goes smoothly, you could be transferred to the women's team after the tournaments. And we'll never be able to swim on the same team again. I just thought it would be nice if I can grasp this chance to swim next to you for one last time."

Grell felt her cheeks heating up as she joined William in a loving stare, "Why didn't you ever tell me, Will?"

"I don't know." William replied, "It didn't feel right."

Grell giggled before pulling William into a long, tender kiss. Their moist torsos gently rubbing against each other as they gradually fell onto the slippery floor next to the pool. Their breaths smelled of chlorine but neither seemed to be bothered by it.

"Did that feel right, my dear?" Grell asked.

William coughed again before answering, "I guess…"

"And don't you worry, Will." Grell poked his solid abs, "Even if I got transferred to another team, I can still come back and do more laps with you, or kick Ronald into the pool when he's texting one of his thirty girlfriends and not paying attention." she rolled her eyes playfully before leaning forward to press another kiss on William's lips. "Why are you so good to me, Will?" she asked softly, "Are you in love with me?"

William blinked for a while without saying a word. There was a curious reddish shade on his cheeks that might have been the result of exhaustion.

Grell hummed as she brushed his dripping bangs aside to kiss his forehead, "God you must be freezing. Let's get you warmed up with a nice hot shower." she hurried William to get on his feet.

William hesitated but held her hand nonetheless, "Wait, are you coming as well?"

Grell grinned, "We won't get to do that for very long, will we, darling?"

For very selfish reasons, William almost wanted to call Professor Anderson immediately to cancel tomorrow's meeting and forget about the whole transfer thing once and for all.