100 challenge
Prompt 050: Breaking the rules
Title: Swim
Kathleen knelt in the darkness, remaining as quiet as she could. The patrol passed without noticing where she was hidden. She waited until they were around the corner before she darted across the road to the fence. Kathleen checked over the metal, finding where she had cut it some time ago.
Someone bumped Kathleen and she glared over her shoulder at the other trainee. "Watch where you're going, and stop making so much noise. You'll attract the guards."
Fred scowled at her. "Sorry that I'm not as good at breaking out as you are. I've never done this before."
"Well, the rest of us aren't wet blankets like you and John. The both of you are total killjoys." Kathleen carefully pulled the fence back so that they could crawl under. "No sense of adventure like Will or me."
"Wait, you took Will out here?" Fred crawled under the fence and waited on the other side for her to come through. "When?"
"A few weeks ago." Kathleen followed, easing the fence back into place. "He agreed to go stargazing with me." She smiled at the memory.
"But…you didn't ask me to go." Fred looked dejected as he followed Kathleen in to the trees. "Why did you take Will?"
Kathleen shook her head. She couldn't believe how childish he was being. "First, you so wouldn't have gone. Like I said before, you're a wet blanket. Second, Will saw me sneaking out and asked to join me. I didn't ask anyone to come with me."
"Would you stop calling me that? I'm not a wet anything." Fred quickened his pace to catch up to her. "And I would have come. I'm not like John."
Kathleen stopped and turned to him. "No, you aren't like John. Kelly told me when they last went stargazing it was his idea. You would never suggest anything like that."
Kathleen moved on, leaving Fred once more to follow her. She led them to a lake that was very familiar to them. They'd been there several times during their training for various reasons. The area was beautiful in the night. The water was calm and the moon hung in the air, perfectly reflected off the glassy surface of the lake. Kathleen sat down in the sand, looking out at the water.
Fred shifted nervously and Kathleen was about to tell him to sit down and stop but the words died in her mouth. Fred stripped off his shirt and tossed it to the side. "What are you doing?" She frowned as he removed his pants but stopped at his underwear. "If you're making a move, this is not the right time."
"A move? What kind of move?" Kathleen groaned at his ignorance. He tilted his head to the side, confused. He shook his head, ignoring it. "I'm going to go swimming."
Kathleen groaned again. "This is because I said you were a killjoy, isn't it? Now you're trying to be adventurous." Fred didn't reply but Kathleen spotted the slight blush on his cheeks. "Sometimes you are so pathetic, Fred." She stood up and stripped off her own clothing.
Fred stood, stunned, as Kathleen ran forward into the water. He snapped out of it and ran in after her. The two of them splashed around, dunked each other, and had a few races in the following hour. Fred was forced into most of the activities, Kathleen pressuring him and calling him a chicken. By the time they had made their way back to shore, Fred had started to relax. He was laughing and happy, and even Kathleen was smiling happily.
When they got out the two lay on the sand, staring up at the moon as they dried off. "John never would have done that." Fred was grinning happily, until Kathleen's fist hit his shoulder.
"Yeah, he would have. You two are so much alike, though he'd be a better leader. You don't have the guts for it." Kathleen put her hands behind her head, surprised at how much sand was still sticking to her.
Fred sat up quickly. "We are not alike. I would be a good leader, I could handle it."
"Really? You could watch your soldiers get mangled, bleed, and even die?" Fred flinched at her question. "See, you aren't cut out for it. You wouldn't even break the rules for one night without me pressing you to do it. John could, would, can, and probably has." Kathleen sat up. "Come to think of it, I wonder if I could steal John from Kelly."
Fred looked at her, stunned. "You can't be serious." Kathleen shrugged, indicating that she was considering it. This seemed to upset Fred. "How can you be considering that? What about…"
"What about what?" Kathleen scowled as she brushed some of the sand off of her skin. She was satisfied with how dry she was so she grabbed her clothing.
"What about…me?" Fred looked toward the ground, nervous. "I mean, what about us?"
"What us? There is no us. You don't have the guts to even make a move on me and I am not willing to settle for a spineless weakling." Kathleen slipped on her clothing. This had started out so pleasant but now it was going downhill, fast.
"I'm not spineless." Fred scrambled to his fee. "I'm strong, like all the others. I'm not weak."
"Physical strength doesn't mean you have a spine. You can be physically strong but a coward. I'm just not interested in a relationship where I have to be the man." Kathleen frowned at Fred. "Face it, you wouldn't be able to handle me."
Fred didn't say anything at first. He opened his mouth several times to speak but closed it again, thinking better of trying to argue. The male trainee looked down, ashamed that he couldn't fight the claim.
"That's what I thought." Kathleen grabbed Fred's clothing and handed them to him. "Honestly, the only reason I haven't completely dropped you for John is I don't want to deal with an angry Kelly and you have a slightly better body."
Fred didn't hide his surprise, or the bit of joy the information gave him. A look of determination crossed Fred's face. "Well, then I'm going to give you a reason to choose me."
Kathleen raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?" Kathleen frowned as she realized Fred was shaking slightly and the determination was wavering. "You all right?"
Fred nodded, taking a deep breath. Kathleen shrugged, deciding to leave it alone. She turned and started to walk toward base. "I love you." The words were quick as he blurted them out. Kathleen looked back at him, surprised by the words.
"What?" She was sure she had heard wrong. There was no way the Fred she knew would say those words.
"I said…I love you." Fred's cheeks were burning as he moved forward. He pulled her to him, bringing their lips together. It was rough, and in later years Kathleen would admit, the worse kiss of her life, but at that moment she didn't care.
Kathleen wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. She only broke away when she ran out of air. "That is a good way to set yourself apart."
"John wouldn't have done that." Fred was smirking as he tightened his grip on her waist.
He let go as Kathleen punched him in the shoulder. "Yeah, he would have, though he probably would have done it before I'd put my clothes back on." Kathleen smirked at the unhappy look on Fred's face. "Oh, at least you proved you have a few vertebrae." She turned and started to walk back to base. Fred struggled to get on his clothing and catch up to her.
