~Videl~

Videl enjoyed watching Kane lift weights a little too much. The concentration on his face was almost as sexy as his rippling muscles that glistened with sweat. She was working up a sweat watching him, but for completely different reasons. After about an hour, she decided that she had better excuse herself, so she could cool off. He had just finished a set at the squat rack when she walked over to him. He smiled when he noticed her approaching, and she lifted to her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. She licked her lips, enjoying the salty taste of his sweat, and his silver eyes zeroed in on the flick of her tongue, darkening slightly to the tempest-storm she now knew signaled his desire.

"I'm gonna go change, and head to the pool," Videl told him, her tone a little more sugary sweet than usual.

Kane nodded, flitting a glance down to the bag in her hand that held her bathing suit. The lavender color of it was visible through the plastic. There was a strange flash in his eyes that resembled a bolt of lightning streaking through - some emotion she couldn't read. Then, it was gone, like he was steeling himself against it.

"Have fun," he responded, with a slight edge in his voice. "We'll be done in an hour. We'll hit the showers, and swim with you after."

He gave her a half-smile that seemed a little forced, as he tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear affectionately. Then he turned to start another set. Videl headed to the women's locker rooms, feeling perplexed and apprehensive. What was that flash she had seen? Had she upset him by wanting to go swim? No, that didn't make sense - he had told her to bring a swimsuit. It happened when he had looked at her bag. Something about that moment, and his forced smile, made her uneasy. She rinsed off under the weak shower head, feeling glad that there weren't any girls in there to see her naked. Then, she slipped into her bikini bottoms, before fastening the clip on the back of her top, and tying the strings at her neck.

She somehow felt more exposed walking down the hall to the pool room in her bikini than when she was showering. She was glad for the towel rack by the door, and quickly wrapped herself in it, before entering the area where the pools were. Fortunately, there wasn't a soul in there at just after 7 a.m. , so she had the place to herself, much to her relief. Probably not for long though, she knew. The room echoed every sound, and the light that reflected off the water cast the imitations of the ripples on the walls and ceiling. She thought it was as magical as it was eerie. She made her way to the swimming pool for sane  people, as Dare had so eloquently referred to it the other day.

She was conscious of her every step, worried that her wet feet might slip against the tile. She would hate for Kane and Dare to show up, only to find her lifeless, with her head cracked open. Once she was standing at the top of the stairs that led into the shallow end, she felt a wave of niggling trepidation. There was no lifeguard. What if she drowned? She imagined another morbid scene of Kane and Dare finding her dead at the bottom of the pool, lungs filled with pool water. Videl made a sound that was half-childish-whine, half-fearful-moan. With the towel still wrapped around her, she sat on the concrete and eased her feet in. Maybe she would just wade today. There was no need to rush. The water was surprisingly warm. Not as warm as a bath, but definitely not as cold as she had expected. The pool must be the heated kind. She hummed, trying to relax. After a few minutes, she looked around to make sure that no one else had come in yet, before removing her towel. She took a deep, steadying breath and stood on the first step. The water level was at her ankles. She bit her lip, and took one more step down. The water was at the middle of her shins.

She shook her hands out, making that pitiful sound again, hoping to dispel her anxiety with the movement. She took another step. The water was at her knees. Another step. Mid-thighs. The last step made her tremble.

"I can do this. I can do this," Videl whispered to herself frantically. "Baby steps, V. Babies can do this."

Talking to herself was just making her feel more nervous, but the hysterical babbling wouldn't stop and her words echoed, taunting her.

"Are you a baby? No. Stop being a baby. Why are you talking to yourself? Stop talking to yourself. You're being crazy. You're crazy, and you're scared to swim. Why are you just standing there!? Oh my Stars - stop  talking to yourself!"

Videl's words ran together, she was talking so fast. She pursed her lips, willing herself to shut up, but her breathing through her nose was rapid and shallow. She was practically hyper-ventilating on the edge of an anxiety attack. She opened her mouth and choked down a gasp of air. Then another. As she heaved out a long, shaky exhale, she felt the urge to cry. She really was  a baby.

"I can't do this," she finally admitted to herself, brokenly.

Giving up, she carefully walked back up the stairs. Then, she sat down on the concrete where she had been minutes before, only allowing her feet to swish in tiny circles above the first step. Her shoulders sank. She felt like a failure. She couldn't even take the last step to allow the water to hit her waist.

Suddenly, the sound of male voices coming from the hallway echoed off of the pool room walls. With a yelp, she hurried to wrap the towel around herself again. She was relieved in the next moment, when she recognized the voices were Kane's and Dare's, rather than strangers.' Then, she flinched. Had she been beating around the bush for an hour?  She didn't think so - it hadn't felt that long. She checked the clock on her holo-menu - it had only been 30 minutes since she had gone to the locker room to shower and change.

"V?" Kane's voice echoed as he walked into the pool room. "Why aren't you swimming?"

He was wearing electric-blue swim trunks with a white waistband and drawstrings. And he was shirtless, with a towel thrown over one shoulder - his hair dripping wet from the shower. Shirtless Kane!  She had been dying to see what was under his shirt after the glimpses through his tank top, and the fleeting moment she had grazed his body with her hands under his T-shirt the night he bolted on her. She was finally getting a true eyeful - and for a second, she forgot all about her failure and her fears. Then, he reiterated the question as he got closer, and it all came rushing back.

"V." Kane waved his hand slightly as if she were in a trance. "Why aren't you in the pool?"

Just then, Dare came running up behind Kane, yelling, "Cannonball!"

He leapt into the air, tucking his knees into his chest and barreled into the water with a magnificent splash - sending droplets raining down on them.

"Did you guys finish early?" Videl asked, hoping to avoid his question, but knowing that there was a low chance that he would let it slide.

"Yeah," Kane nodded, squatting down slightly to look her in the eyes a little easier. "We decided to cut it short today, so we could swim with you longer."

Cut it short for her?

Meanwhile, Dare was doing laps in the pool like it was nothing. Show-off.

"I'm just making a habit of messing up your schedule, aren't I?" Videl joked, but it came out more self-deprecating than cheeky.

Kane raised an eyebrow at her coolly, clearly not amused by her "joke," or her evading his question.

"Hey," his tone was clipped. He reached out to feel the tips of her hair that was already becoming dry. "You don't mess anything up."

His brows furrowed as he let her hair fall limply from his fingers.

"Why aren't you in the pool?" Kane repeated his question more firmly, sounding like a father questioning his child why their homework wasn't done yet. Videl gulped.

~Kane~

V clutched her towel like a security blanket, casting her gaze to where her feet dangled in the water. Her voice came out small and hushed, like a little girl who had just been scolded.

"I'm . . . scared."

Kane lowered himself slowly from his squatting position to sit beside her on the edge of the pool.

"Why are you scared, princess?"

Dare was doing laps in front of them, seemingly unaware of their conversation, or just trying not to be.

"I don't think I remember how," she mumbled meekly.

That made sense. Cryo stole any memory she would have had. The old Videl had known how to swim. That thought brought up a memory from back when she hated him.

Kane had just climbed out of the pool, and he was

reaching for the towel that he had tossed to the side,

when he noticed Videl was staring at him. When

they locked eyes, she seemed to flinch as if she'd

been caught with her hand in a cookie jar. She

glared and looked away, but if he didn't know any

better, he would have thought she was blushing.

"Were you just checking me out?" Kane called out to

her, a little too loudly. Sienna was sitting beside Videl,

and after hearing his question, she turned to look at him

and then at her friend, who scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You wish!" Videl snapped dismissively, but she looked

embarrassed. Kane shrugged at her dismissal. Videl was wearing

a lavender bikini, lounging in one of the pool chairs, drying

off. He hadn't noticed her there when he came in, but now

that he was looking at her . . . He thought to himself that

she would be pretty sexy - if she wasn't such a bitch.

"Okaaay . . . ?" Kane drawled in a disbelieving tone, as

he shook his head at her. Then, he headed back

to the locker rooms, rolling his eyes.

Back in the present, Kane nodded slowly.

"You might not, V." Kane placed a hand on her bare shoulder, after brushing away a droplet that splashed on her when Dare cannon-balled. "But your muscle memory might kick in."

His words must have encouraged her, because she looked up at him then, with a little glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Really?"

Kane smiled at her, nodding again. "Like riding a bike." Kane told her, "You never really forget how. And if not, I can teach you."

People didn't ride bikes anymore - that was a thing that people did when they lived on the Ground, but the saying never died. V returned his smile.

"You want to give it a try?" Kane's attempt at sounding encouraging reminded him of when he was showing Kiana how to tie her shoelaces. He inwardly winced at the reminder. "I won't let you drown, I promise."

"Okay," V seemed hesitant, but she agreed.

Kane stood and waded down the stairs, until he was at the bottom of them with the water up to his hips. He held out his arms, like he was waiting for a hug and said,

"Come on in - the water's fine."

He was full of ancient sayings, today. Most days, actually. V pulled off the towel and let it fall by her feet. Seeing that lavender bikini oddly felt like someone punched him in the stomach. He remembered the twinge of possessiveness he had felt earlier when he had eyed her bag - when he had imagined someone looking at her in it and fantasizing about her, while he wasn't next to her. It was the real reason he had talked Dare into cutting out early - he needed to be with her if she was wearing it. It was a cloying, heavy pang of need, and he couldn't think straight. For twenty minutes, he tried to focus on his work out, but he couldn't get away from the mental image of her in the pool room without him - possibly exposed to other men. Twenty minutes of the gnawing feeling that every second was a second too long.

He broke too easily. And seeing her covered by a towel, and completely alone, gave him a heady flush of relief. He immediately knew that he was worrying more than he should have been. No one really used the pool room that early, and his insecurity had been a tad overzealous. Still, he couldn't help the tight clench inside him at the sight of her beautiful body, accentuated by her pretty little swimsuit.

Mine.

His inner beast growled vehemently. V took the steps one at a time, seeming to take a breath as she counted each one. On the last one, she paused, biting her lip. Kane opened his arms wider. She went to him, letting out a gasp as the water lapped up to her waist, and she clung tightly to his body for a moment. He wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her off her feet an inch or two. He spun her around, making her squeal in a mixture of fear and delight. He brushed a quick, soft kiss against her lips, and let her back down. He pulled his arms away, and walked backwards a step, causing her hands to slip off of him.

"Kane," V whined, wrestling with her want to stay where she was, and her want to hold onto his body for safety.

Behind him, Dare was floating on his back, relaxing.

"V, come here and give me a kiss," Kane teased, taking yet another couple steps back - to where the water rose to just under his chest. Where she would have to be on her tiptoes to keep her head above water.

"Oh Stars!" V cursed, her voice quivering, but she moved forward with her arms spread out, fingertips skimming the surface of the water that rose to the bottoms of her breasts, as she ventured deeper into the pool. "Oh Stars!" V cursed again, when the water was almost to her collarbones.

"Kane!" V squeaked, reaching for him, desperate for her life line, but scared to move any further - for fear of not being able to touch the bottom with her feet.

The pleading look in her honey-gold eyes was almost enough for him to relent and appease her by meeting her in the shallower place in the pool where she was standing. But he knew if he did, he would be coddling her fear, letting it remain where it didn't belong.

"V, I might die if you don't kiss me," He tried to sound earnest, but a smile was tugging at the corners of his lips.

Her eyes widened. He could tell that she was scared to go that deep, but she was more afraid of not holding onto him where she was. She inched closer - the water was at her neck, now. She was almost to him. She let out a tiny whimper and the sound gnawed at his heart as she struggled to keep her chin up. She reached out her hand, and he reached his toward her. She had to tiptoe to grasp it and when she did, she squeezed his fingers tightly. He gave her a small tug and she cried out in terror - her feet no longer able to touch the bottom. For a heart-wrenching moment, he was worried that she might let herself sink. An image flashed in his mind of her head going under, and her mouth filling with pool water. It almost made him snatch her up, but then, like he had told her might happen, her muscle memory kicked in, and her body was moving naturally to keep her afloat. She was holding onto one of his hands, and using her other limbs to swim.

"I'm swimming!" V gasped, unable to believe what her body was doing.

"You're swimming," Kane grinned at her, and she started giggling - nervous and excited and proud of herself. His heart almost exploded.

He finally allowed himself to grab her and he pulled her body against his, enjoying the feeling of her soft curves pressing against his hard lines.

"I'll take that kiss, now," Kane growled, hungrily capturing her mouth with his. She melted against him, her body stilling in the water, trusting that he wasn't going to let her sink while she was wrapped in the safety of his arms.

Mine.

. . .

It wasn't long before V was comfortable in the water, swimming and laughing like she had never been afraid. They even played Marco-Polo. Dare was caught three times being a fish-out-of-water. Once they all decided that they were as pruney as raisins, they got out and started drying off. V wrung out her long hair and hurriedly wrapped herself in her towel, just as some gym guys were coming into the pool room. Kane appreciated that she appeared to value her modesty. It soothed that wounded part of him that Darcy had twisted a knife into. V didn't want random guys ogling what was his.

The three of them walked down the hallway, until they got to the fork that separated the men's and women's locker rooms. Dare continued on, whistling as he went, while Kane caught V's hand and pulled her close. His other hand reached up to caress her soft cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, V."

The way her eyes lit up made his heart feel like it was going to explode all over again.