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Revali Skye was an archer. The greatest archer in Castle Town High, he’d often brag. Truth be told, everyone else agreed, although they’d rather keep their mouths shut with his already loud ego screaming in their faces. With his constant haughtiness bolstered by his impressive skill, it was difficult for anyone to deny his greatness when it came to the art of the bow—and this greatness didn’t come with nothing. Years of undying dedication and hard work came with the package of achieving his self given title and reputation, all his spare time spent committed to practicing by the archery grounds and nothing else. His tenacity was his best bet when it came to maintaining that title, and he had no plans of achieving anything less than what he already had. If that was the case, why, then, did he find himself by the swimming arena in the midst of his supposed training time?
Well, frankly, he did not know. The first archery competition of the school year left him with the mark of a new acquaintance (and a new enemy…), and he was set on calming down his raging curiosity about the swimmer girl he met that day. Why he was curious? He had no idea, although he did recall how charmed he was as he replayed in his head the past conversation they had…
Hold up.
Charmed? Charmed?
No. Revali is out of his mind. He should be training, not wasting his time distracted by some stupid swimmer girl competing in some stupid swimming tournament. He said so himself that day! They were most definitely not worth his time, even more so because of the tingly sensation he felt when he thought about that swimmer he came to see—
Snap out of it, Revali!
He was out of his daydream once he found himself almost running into the glass door of the pool’s entrance. It would’ve been a silly sight for anyone watching to see, now deeming himself lucky for dodging not only the door, but the humiliation.
As he entered the spacious, sunlit building, Revali could already spot one of the swimmers practicing in the pool. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he almost felt mesmerized watching how graceful she glided through the water, with each stroke emitting ripples and splashes that trailed off as she swam. The water was at the mercy of her every move, illuminated by the sunbeams shining through the massive windows that integrated one side of the enclosure. The swimmer reminded him of a goldfish and its graceful, billowing fins as her arms and legs moved with such elegance, yet gaining strength and speed althroughout.
After minutes of awe-struck wonder, Revali made his way towards the midsection of the bleachers where he was soon sat upon, marvelling at the expanse of the arena and the sight of the swimmer before him. He was glad he chose to come early, indulging in the peace and quiet of the almost empty arena brought to life by the swimmer’s rhythmic splashes of water. It wasn’t like he expected the loneliness too much though, being more anxious about the possibility of the good seats getting taken. Revali wanted his first swimming competition to be visible enough, after all, and absolutely not to get a good view of Mipha—
I swear by Hylia.
He was thinking about her again. And again. And again and again and again. When did he ever stop? Revali didn’t even try to deny it anymore. With her incessantly on his mind within the past few months, nothing could mask the fact that he was completely enamored by the girl ever since they met—albeit their first meeting being, well, less than ideal. The perfect combination of witty, awkward, timid, and cute flowing in her veins was enough to capture his attention, even so causing her to become a song stuck in his head. It was irritating, to say the least, but at least he got to see her once again today.
In action.
And only the Goddesses knew how much he was looking forward to seeing her swim.
Completely trapped in his thoughts, he didn’t realize her in front of him standing by the pool, a glint of recognition in her honey-hued eyes. It was only until she spoke his name that he was pulled back from his own pool of reveries.
“Revali? Is that you?”
The boy in question glanced down to see the whole embodiment of the broken record that was his thoughts—the swimmer who captured his attention when he walked in, identity unbeknownst to him due to her swim cap. Revali’s eyes immediately took in Mipha Lightscale’s swimsuit-clad figure and instinctively turned away, flushing at how… bare she looked in front of him with her arms and legs exposed. How ironic.
“I-I’ll get a towel!” he then heard her quickly say, immediately sensing his discomfort. It was almost endearing to him, how perceptive she was.
A while later, she came back shuffling with a towel around her torso, leaving only her arms bare. That was enough to satisfy Revali’s decency, memories of their last meeting suddenly flashing in his mind.
“Lightscale,” he finally addressed, “you do not know how much deja vu I got from that.”
Mipha suddenly blushed. He thought it was cute, the way red would slowly creep up her cheeks when she was flustered.
“Oh Hylia,” she sighed, bringing a hand up to her face, “I never want to remember that incident ever again.”
Revali feigned shock and offense.
“You never want to remember the very first day we met? How cruel!” he gasped dramatically. Mipha giggled—Goddess above help him, was he in heaven hearing an angel’s laugh?
“I don’t particularly like remembering the day I humiliated myself in front of a stranger,” she retaliated, face scrunching up at the memory. “But in all honesty, I do treasure the day we met.”
At those words, Revali’s insides froze, then fluttered at the possibly unintentional compliment. He caught sight of Mipha’s eyes widening at what she had just said, looking down adorably with another blush dusting her face.
“I-I mean—”
“I’m glad you do,” Revali cut her off with a tiny smile. I’m glad you do, because I do too. A placid smile then graced Mipha’s lips as she looked down once more.
A little silence ensued, before Mipha broke it with that soft voice of hers.
“So,” she began timidly, “were you watching me earlier?”
It was now Revali’s turn to blush. He caught Mipha’s cheeky smile as his eyes averted her gaze.
“W-well—what’d you expect?” he stammered, suddenly all defensive. “You were the only swimmer here, of course I’d be watching!”
That only seemed to backfire for him, however, as Mipha’s smile grew. She caught on.
“Why so defensive, Skye?” she teased.
“D-defense—I’m not defensive!”
“Was I good then?”
Mipha was testing his pride—and Hylia, was she succeeding. She already seemed to know that, though.
“Fine, you were.” You were magnificent. Revali sighed before returning his gaze to the swimmer, who beamed with pride.
“Awfully confident now, are we?” he then quipped with a smirk, teasingly cocking his head to the side. Mipha briefly rolled her eyes.
“Look who’s talking,” she deadpanned. yet still retaining that wide grin of hers.
“Oh, please—” Revali shot back, until he was interrupted by an abrupt yell.
“PRIDEFUL IDIOT! NEVER THOUGHT I’D SEE YOU AGAIN!”
He turned his head only to scoff at the sight of his newfound enemy. Mipha, at the sound of her best friend’s voice, briskly walked over with a flushed expression.
“Kodah I swear,” she chastised her, “any louder and the whole universe would hear!”
“And?” Kodah shrugged, smiling teasingly. “The whole world itself deserves to know how much of a prideful idiot he is!”
Mipha swatted her arm, rolling her eyes and chuckling at her perception of the poor archer. Said archer merely let out an exasperated exhale.
“Well hello to you too, unbearable nurse,” Revali huffed, rolling his eyes as well. Then Kodah abruptly gasped, much like he did with Mipha mere minutes ago.
“You think you’re funny? You called Mipha an unbearable nurse that day too!” she gravely noted, pointing a finger at the boy with a look of disbelief and accusation plastered on her face. Revali scrunched his face at the repulsive idea. Did he really call her that? In his blind, self-absorbed anger and hatred?
“As if!”
“Ya did! Denial denied,” Kodah sang, childishly sticking her tongue out at the boy.
Oh it is on.
“Well I didn’t mean it then.” Revali could’ve sworn a small smile crept up Mipha’s face by his peripheral vision.
“How very sweet of you! Isn’t your loverboy sweet, Miph?” He then caught sight of Mipha’s smile widening as she laughed.
“Hey I’m just saying, she wasn’t being as unbearable as you were!”
“Oh! So she was being unbearable to some extent?”
“Wha—that’s not what I meant at all!” Goddess above was he failing miserably, crushed in his second debate of the day.
“Then what did you mean?” Kodah retorted in mocking speculation. She was no doubt cackling internally.
“I—you know what? Forget it.”
It was now Kodah’s turn to pridefully grin, while Mipha giggled by her side. At the sound of her angelic laugh, all tension within Revali’s nerves seemed to dissipate as if on cue. He hid a tiny smile, green eyes resorting to admiring her once more.
At least I made her giggle again.
~
The dawn of the competition did nothing but put Revali in awe of Mipha’s prowess as an accomplished swimmer. Just seeing her stationed at the start of the centermost lane already had his heart in its own race for her, but no sight could compete with her in real, live action.
No matter how hard he tried, Revali couldn’t stray his eyes away from her as she freestyled her way to victory in the first two rounds, cutting through the water like a knife and portraying grandiosity in speed. It was quite a scene to take in, with Mipha taking the lead by the middle lane and the other swimmers catching up in the sidelines. He noticed she was swimming much faster than she did when he first entered, no doubt catching him off-guard at the sound of the whistle when she proved her unmatched gift as a swimmer. She really was magnificent.
As the competitors narrowed and the final round ensued, Mipha found herself tied with another skilled swimmer named Gruve. They were to face in a “swim-off,” or a swimming death match of sorts to determine the champion of the first swimming tournament of the season. Revali’s heart beat with adrenaline once more, already witnessing Gruve’s skill in the past rounds wherein Mipha would win by a mere second. He managed to catch up this time, evoking thrill and anticipation within the already noisy crowd.
“Take your mark!”
With the referee’s acknowledgement, time seemed to stop for the audience as their voices died down in their silent rush of excitement. Revali spotted Mipha taking deep, heavy breaths as her eyebrows furrowed in determination. Gruve looked confident as well, lips pursed in concentration. With the sound of the buzzer, it all resumed—people were standing, cheering, yelling in support of the competitors, who swam with utmost speed.
Gruve seemed to be in the lead by a hair’s width, already gaining remarkable speed within seconds. Revali’s heart throbbed, nervousness for Gruve’s competitor seeping through each exhale. His eyes were on Mipha, trusting that she had it in her to catch up with her sure movements. Halfway through and Gruve was still in the lead by a bare inch, until his movements began to slow.
He was tired.
All of a sudden Revali felt his adrenaline pump, eyes darting to Mipha’s quick yet consistent figure as he let a smile split his anxious expression. Sure enough, the tides turned in her favor, energy rushing through Mipha’s veins as she pushed herself harder, faster, her body a blade cutting through the water once more. The crowd was stunned, shouting louder and louder as if their support would propel her towards the finish line.
And it did.
Catching sight of her slender hand hitting the wall, Revali joined the crowd in their rowdy hurrahs with a fist to the air. Mipha immediately removed her goggles, beaming triumphantly—only this time, she showed her teeth. Revali grinned as well, meeting her gaze with a proud expression. He spotted Mipha push herself to the side where Gruve was at already smiling, hugging him earnestly. For some unknown reason, Revali felt his insides bubble in annoyance, although he couldn’t quite place a finger on it. His thoughts were only interrupted by the announcer’s ear-splitting shout, pride evident in his voice as he praised the champion.
“First swim tournament of the season and Mipha Lightscale blows them all away!”
For Revali, this would only be the first of many.
~
“Hey, Revali!”
The sound of her soft voice stopped him in his tracks. The boy in question turned around to see Mipha in her slightly big tracksuit (which Revali found adorable), wet hair down as she gripped her sports bag. It was the first time he saw her hair damp and untied, Revali noted in his head.
“Lightscale,” he acknowledged. “You were great out there.”
Mipha smiled shyly. “Thanks.”
“You wanted to tell me something?” Revali then asked.
“Oh, yes!” Mipha replied, eyes suddenly sparkling. “I wanted to thank you for taking up my offer. You know, spectating the swim tournament?”
Revali nodded, lips pursing. Mipha continued.
“You said yourself that they weren’t really worth your time and I thought you agreed out of pity so I didn’t really expect you to come but—well, here you are,” she expressed, her golden eyes glistening in the sunlight.
“Thank you. Really.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know, I’m a man of my word,” Revali tutted. “I said I’d go and I did. And it wasn’t all bad.”
“I’m glad.”
After exchanging smiles, a short, awkward silence filled the air. Revali glanced at Mipha, and to him she looked like a few words were still left unsaid on her account. Nevertheless, he took his leave.
“Well, I suppose I’ll get going—”
“Hold on!”
He turned his gaze towards Mipha once more, this time a sense of urgency in her features.
“Don’t beat around the bush,” Revali sighed. Mipha chuckled weakly.
“I’m sorry,” she began. “It’s just that—well—I'd just like to ask..."
She then wrung her wrists, taking in a seemingly nervous breath.
"W-would you like to head out and grab a coffee with me sometime today?”
Caught off-guard at the sudden request, Revali’s eyes widened in the tiniest bit. The resulting silence seemed to prey on the now-flustered Mipha, however, as she rambled on.
“Y-you don’t have to, though! I’m sure you’re really busy and I’m kind of a mess right now and—oh Hylia your archery training! How stupid of me to forget your training—”
“Mipha!”
She stopped as soon as he said her name—her first name. Revali was surprised with himself as well, stunned with the use of her first name rather than her last. When he sensed the silence too much to bear for the poor girl, he uttered his reply.
“I’d like that.”