Night Swim

Yoshino sighed deeply as they lowered themselves down the pool ladder and sank into the water. They didn’t actually spend all that much time in the complex where they rented a unit; despite appearances and their overall demeanor, they led a busy life. If they weren’t out with clients or other escorts at business and social events, they often ended up crashing at a littermate’s place. They’d drifted between a few different apartments over time, and this was just the latest one. Between that and their schedule, the complex’s facilities were still relatively unfamiliar to them.

While not one for rigorous activity when they could help it, Yoshino did have a figure to maintain, and since it was nearly midnight, the apartment complex pool was deserted. Perfect.

Turning onto their back so that they were floating face up, Yoshino admired the dark smudge of night sky visible through the frosted glass roof of the pool building and the distant, faint glow of crystals lighting the night. They enjoyed the feeling of floating and drifting aimlessly for a few minutes before turning again and diving beneath the surface. The cool water closing over their head muffled all ambient sound aside from the noise of their own movements.

When they felt their hooves touch the tiled bottom of the pool, Yoshino pushed against it to propel themselves back up, breaking the surface again to suck in a deep breath. They started making lazy laps of the pool, alternating between backstrokes one way and then flipping back over to dive down and swim underwater back the other way. 

They couldn’t have said how much time passed, and they didn’t care. For a while, it was just them and the water, gliding back and forth in a slow rhythm. They could have kept at it until their muscles started feeling fatigued if not for the sudden squeak from the edge of the pool that intruded on their near-trance, shattering the zen that had enveloped them.

Yoshino’s eyes snapped open, and they found themselves looking at a pale pink bun whom they didn’t recognize, and who appeared to have been in the process of readying themselves for a dip, judging by the folded towel in their arms. They looked far more spooked than they ought to have been to see Yoshino, which was almost a little insulting; Yoshino lived here and was allowed to be in the pool, regardless of the hour.

“Ah- hi,” Lian stammered as the black-furred bun in the pool gave them a quizzical and somewhat disapproving look. “Sorry, I didn’t expect anybody else to be out here so late. Don’t mind me.” They vaguely recognized this bun as one of their neighbors, but not one who spent much time hanging around the complex during Lian’s off-hours. Lian themselves wasn’t normally out roaming this late unless they had gone to a show or out for the rare bar crawl with friends. The summer heat and long hours sitting at their desk in the office just had them craving for some kind of physical activity, and a late-night swim, when they expected nobody else to be around, sounded fantastic.

Evidently they hadn’t been the only one with that idea. Great minds thinking alike?

Yoshino huffed and turned onto their back to float once more, momentum lost. It was all well and good to say “don’t mind me,” but it was a bit hard not to mind when they’d previously been the only occupant. Still they waved one arm a little dismissively towards the newcomer. “I don’t own the pool,” they said bluntly. It was obviously not an invitation, rather just a statement that they couldn’t stop anybody else from showing up and deciding to use the facilities.

“Right, sorry,” Lian awkwardly apologized again. They set their towel down on one of the poolside chairs and made their way in, acutely aware of the presence of someone else nearby but trying not to look in Yoshino’s direction. Yoshino did look up at them as they entered the water, mostly out of mild curiosity on how the aqueous layer on their ears would interact with the pool water.

Instead of mingling together like typical liquids, the water covering Lian’s ears remained clearly distinct, retaining its different color and shape contouring their ear fur. It was almost like looking at two layers of differently colored gelatin next to each other. Fascinating. Lian glanced up once they too sank into the water, catching Yoshino watching them.

“Um…” They hadn’t been prepared for company, either of them. That much was evident. Lian searched for the right words to make things less awkward - surely they existed, somewhere. “Would you like to, uh… race?”

“Race?” Yoshino repeated, raising an eyebrow at them.

Lian chuckled uncomfortably, preparing to retract the offer, but Yoshino spoke again before they could.

“Sure.” Yoshino kicked their feet, pushing themselves back to the end of the pool and grasping the edge. They hung on there, looking expectantly at Lian until Lian joined them. Lian blinked at them a couple of times before a grin broke out across their face, and they hurried over.

“Go on three?” They asked.

“Sure.”

“Okay! One… two… three!” They both pushed off from the wall and made for the opposite end of the pool with quick strokes. Warmed up from their earlier laps, Yoshino pulled ahead early, but Lian had gotten into the rhythm and was gaining on them by the time they reached the other side.

“I win,” they said, not bothering to hide their smugness. It wasn’t that often that they got to show off any athletic prowess. Athletic prowess tended to be sweaty, so they tried to avoid it.

“It was close,” Lian protested, their awkward tension from before seeping away. “What do you say to best two out of three?”

Yoshino made a show of considering it. “Well… I guess,” they said, with more reluctance than they felt. The two of them assumed starting positions again, and Lian counted down once more.

“One… two… three!”

This time, Lian took Yoshino by surprise with a sudden burst of speed starting off. They pushed off the wall in hot pursuit, but that lap was more or less already won when it started; Lian was almost a full body-length ahead of Yoshino when they touched the opposite wall.

“When did you get fast?” They asked indignantly, gasping to catch their breath.

“Aha… I guess I’m just good in the water,” Lian said, more bashful than proud. “One more?”

“One more,” Yoshino agreed. They were getting tired though, and Lian was just getting warmed up. They could already guess how this one was going to go, even if Lian seemed intent on giving it a proper try.

Accordingly, Yoshino didn’t push themselves too hard. They didn’t give up, but they weren’t exactly digging deep into their reserves of strength and energy. Lian beat them to the wall easily once again.

“It was a good effort,” Lian said, trying to soften a disappointment that Yoshino didn’t actually feel. They shrugged it off.

“You’re obviously better in the water than I am,” they said with a hint of amusement. “I’m just here to relax. Speaking of…” They trailed off into a yawn and then stretched, tapping their hooves on the bottom of the pool. “I think I’m actually done for tonight. Enjoy your swim.” With that, they made their way back to the pool’s ladder and climbed out to towel off.

“Oh, okay! Um, also- I’m Lian, by the way,” Lian called after them.

Yoshino grunted in acknowledgement as they vigorously rubbed the towel over their fur before wrapping it around themselves. “Yoshino,” they said simply. They didn’t really socialize with their neighbors much, but they weren’t totally unfriendly. Just mostly.

“Have a good night, Yoshino!” Lian called as they exited the pool building. Left alone in the water, Lian turned onto their back to drift much like Yoshino had been doing before they showed up. They floated until their heart rate had settled from the exertion of racing; then, with a smile on their face, they dove under. As far as unexpected encounters went, that wasn’t bad at all.