Requested by ChaosGamer214 a while ago. Sorry about the wait, I'm trying to get better about updating and completing requests more regularly. They pointed out that I've never done a one shot for Wendy....which is true. They requested that the reader be a shy male, but nothing particularly gendered happens in the story, so girls, enbys, and others are welcome to read as well! Hope ya'll like! Make sure to leave and vote and a comment if you do.
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You took a slow, deep breath and put on your [fav color] goggles, pulling them so tight they felt as if they were tugging on your face. At the high-pitched scream of the whistle, you stepped onto the starting block and bent over, placing the palms of your hands on the very front and placing your feet on the platform.

You let your eyes wander to your side, where Wendy was waiting in the same position. She didn't look back at you, her concentration completely fixed on the cold pool water below.

When you heard the fateful beep, you both cleanly dove into the water and the race began. You circled your arms and flutter kicked as fast as you possibly could in hopes of winning. You were so close to Wendy, you were sure you had a chance.

Well...that is until she did a swift, odd tumble you had never seen before, her legs pushing off the wall with so much power there was virtually no way for you to catch up now.

When you finally finished your 2 laps, you lifted your body out of the pool, desperately gasping for air like a fish out of water.

"Wow, [Y/N], you almost got me there! You're really improving, all that extra practice is really paying off!" Wendy exclaimed enthusiastically, before taking a long swig from her polka-dotted water bottle.

"What...the heck...was that?" You panted, pointing to the other end of the pool.

"Oh, the bit at the end? That's called a flip turn. Pretty cool, isn't it?" Wendy replied.

"Yeah, it really is, actually....why haven't I learned that yet?" You asked.

"Because you're still new. Don't worry, you'll be ready soon." Wendy assured you.

She did have a point, actually. You had only recently joined the Moopa Prep Swim Club a few weeks ago. It wasn't like you were a total novice, but it's been quite a while since you've swam competitively.

Wendy, on the other hand, was pretty much the best swimmer in the club. She was even an Olympic medalist, which made you wonder why she even wasted her time swimming on this little swim team.

One thing was for sure, you kinda...maybe...had a little crush on Wendy. Ok, it was bigger than that but it didn't matter. Wendy was the coolest girl you knew. Even though she was more infamous than famous around the school, she was still popular, well-known, and successful. Why in the world would she even give a normal quiet, shy guy like you the time of day. Like people were always telling you: shy guys finish last when it comes to the dating game.

Even though she had more experience than you, you were determined to beat her at least once in your life. Maybe then, she would begin to notice you and see you as much more of an equal.

Or...you could always just ask her out right now. Yeah, you would. You were feeling a sudden wave of confidence, so why not ride it? Sure, she could possibly reject you in front of the rest of the swim team (which admittedly was not a lot of people) but there was also the one-to-a million chance she could accept.

You took a deep breath. "Hey Wendy, I was wondering--"

"Hey, Wendy, are you ready to go yet?! If we don't leave now, the rest'a those savages are gonna eat all the food! It's pizza night!" A voice boomed from the sidelines, startling you more than it should have. You turned to see her older brother, Roy, sitting on the bleachers playing on his custom Switch. He played on the school's volleyball team, so he would always stay after practice to drive Wendy home. He was also an Olympic medalist--in beach volleyball, not swimming--but did it really matter? Was everyone in her family the coolest person ever?

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Could you wait a minute?! I haven't even changed yet!"

"Well if all the pizza is gone when we get there, n' we starve to death, it's gonna be all your fault, sis!" Roy replied.

"Shut up and be patient!" Wendy yelled back, more aggressively than she wanted to. She wished he would stop embarrassing her in front of her teammates.

Wendy sighed deeply. "I'm so sorry about that. Volleyball practice let out early because one of the athletes suffered a quote-unquote 'mysterious injury', " She said, glaring at Roy, "And his friend, Derek, has this new girlfriend or whatever so he wanted to give them some alone time at Derek's house n' he didn't want to leave me here all alone so, yeah, sorry, I promise I'm not like this all the ti--"

"No worries, it's okay. I can't imagine what it's like having 7 brothers, especially considering they are the Koopalings, after all." You replied.

Wendy nodded slowly. "...Oh! What was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Well--"

"You guys! You won't believe this, but I've found something amazing!" Kaoru exclaimed, interrupting you yet again. Why did everyone suddenly have something to say? Perhaps the universe was trying to tell you to be patient, that it wasn't your time yet.

"Moopa Prep School Swim Club Summer Training Camp from Hell on Isle Delfino!" She read from the old, tattered pamphlet in her hands.

"Try saying that 5 times fast." You joked.

"Isle Delfino? Isn't that, like, really far?" Kouji asked.

"That sounds so cool!" Katsuro exclaimed energetically.

"I know, right?! It took place several decades ago, when Moopa Prep was still an all-Koopa school." Kaoru explained.

"So...what's your point?" Wendy asked.

"So....we should totally steal their training regimen and hold a summer training camp on Isle Delfino to prepare for prefecturals!" Kaoru exclaimed triumphantly.

The prefectural tournament, or simply prefecturals, was certainly coming up soon--too soon, it seemed. Wendy was entering the 100m and 200m freestyle, of course, and you had decided to swim butterfly. Even though that was the one you were best at, you had never swam 100m or 200m, so stamina was a big issue for you. Honestly, you just didn't feel like you were ready for any sort of competition right now. Nevertheless, it wasn't your decision so you would just have to work harder.

"It's too much work." Kouji said blatantly as he sat down on the edge of the pool, idly kicking his legs in the cold water.

"This is no time for complaining! If we want to be the best, we should totally do it! It would give us a much needed advantage over the other teams," Kaoru said, glancing at you, "Before you go quitting, just look at the training regimen they used:

They swam and ran long distances around the Isle, from one checkpoint to the next. This training would be perfect for building stamina! We should use the same regimen that our ancestors used!" Kaoru explained.

"No one said they were our ancestors...." Kouji mumbled.

"Does it say if this regimen even worked?" Wendy asked.

"Yep! It says they won sixth place in the tournament." Kaoru read.

"So...it didn't work." You concluded.

"That's besides the point! Right now, the Moopa Prep Swim Club needs stamina! And summer is the perfect time to hold a training camp. The weather should be nice and we don't have to worry about school or anything." Kaoru insisted.

The team members mumbled amongst themselves before turning to Wendy, the team captain.

"Hm...I guess it's a good idea. We all need all the practice we can get, and we would become closer as a club. Besides, I'd love to spend my summer far away from my family for a change...." Wendy agreed.

"Hurray! It's settled, then!" Kaoru exclaimed triumphantly. "Isle Delfino, here we come!"

~~~~~

"Hey, hold on a minute!" Kouji exclaimed after the club members had changed and prepared to go home.

"The old club did this regimen when Moopa Prep was an all-Koopa school." He pointed out.

"Um...yeah? I already said that, were you even listening, Kouji?" Kaoru asked.

"My point is: When Moopa Prep was an all-Koopa school, the swim club had way more members and therefore way more funding! How the heck are we going to find the money to pay for this trip? There's the plane, the lodging, and so many fees we haven't thought about."

"Oh....I never really thought of that...."Kaoru admitted quietly.

"Man! And I really wanted to go to Isle Delfino!" Katsuro whined.

"We weren't going there to have fun anyway, we were going there to train! Maybe this is for the best, you know, wouldn't wanna get distracted." Wendy mumbled.

"If the school won't pay for it, we could always try and pay for it ourselves." Kaoru suggested.

Wendy sighed. "Well...maybe...I dunno...I could pay for it? I could get us a private jet, and supplies and whatnot."

"You'd really do that for us, Team Captain?" You asked, astonished at how much that would all cost. You knew Wendy was a princess and all, but you thought that money was her father's, not hers.

Wendy nodded. "Of course, It's for the good of the club! Besides, [Y/N], you of all people, could really use the extra training." She said, playfully hip bumping you.

"Good luck askin' Bowser for that kinda dough, he's not gonna give you all that just for some stupid club trip." Roy mumbled from behind the group.

"Don't worry, everyone. I'll try my best to find a way."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

You didn't know what Wendy had to do to convince her father, but whatever she did worked! Before you knew it, you and the rest of the swim team were headed to Isle Delfino on a private jet!

Once unboarded, you rode a bus to Sirena Beach on the south coast of the island. Your chaperone teacher, Ms. K, promised that's where your living accommodations would be. You'd read online that the beach was the home of the luxurious Hotel Delfino, a four-star hotel and seaside resort. Chatter of massages, manicures, and relaxing in the pool buzzed amongst your excited classmates. On the other hand, Wendy told you a tall-tale about how the hotel was apparently infested with Boos at one point in time. Even though Mario successfully dealt with the infestation, she was sure there were still some Boos floating around here and there.

Finally, you arrived at Sirena Beach.

"Alright, guys! You need to set up your tents before it gets dark out." Ms. K told you.

"Tents?! I thought we were gonna stay at the Hotel?!" You whined.

"I'm staying at the hotel, you're staying outside."

"But--"

"Come on guys, we came to the island for one reason and reason alone: to train." Wendy reminded all of you, "we don't need to be getting distracted by fancy schmancy hotels!"

Kaoru, Kouji, and Katsuro grumbled in disagreement.

"Y-yeah guys, roughing it outside could be fun!" You said, trying to back Wendy up. She smiled at you.

"Yeah...you guys can rough it if you want but I'm going with the air-conditioned hotel!" Kaoru said before running after Ms. K.

"Any other wimps wanna back out?" Wendy checked.

Kouji and Katsuro glanced at each other before shaking their heads. While Ms. K and Kaoru the Coward walked over to the hotel, you and your other team members pitched up your tents on the beach. The other two boys were going to share a tent while you shared with Wendy. You'd never shared any sort of living space with a girl before, but considering Wendy had 7 brothers, you were sure it wasn't her first rodeo. She didn't make a big deal out of it so neither did you.

After you all finished settling in, you changed into your swimsuits in order to start training as soon as possible.

"Ok everybody, listen up: if you look at the map, you'll notice the different locations on the island. We'll be using 5 of them for our training: Pinna Park, Ricco Harbor, Bianco Hills, Gelato Beach and of course, Sirena Beach. We'll be running and swimming between all of them. The distance between each of them is about 1 km, so if you're able to complete the whole circuit that's 3 km of running and 2 km of swimming. I think our team goal should be to complete 3 full circuits today." Wendynexplained.

"WHAT?!" Everyone on the team gasped.

"Is...there a problem?"

"It's just...that sounds really hard," Katsuro explained, "and--no offense--[Y/N]'s still a newbie. You really think he'll be able to handle all that?"

"Don't worry about [Y/N], I have him on a different training regi--"

"I appreciate that but I prefer to do what the rest of the team is doing!" You blurted out.

Wendy stared at you as if your face had turned blue. "You sure about that? It's not gonna be easy."

"U-um yeah."

"Well, in that case I'll at least have you use a kickboard to prevent any mishaps."

Before Wendy could even tell anyone to start, your teammates ran into the ocean, hoping to get a head start over the others. You stayed behind, a queasy feeling suddenly overtaking your stomach. As you focused on the sheer thought of running and swimming 5 km, your legs began to feel weak.

"Hey, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Wendy asked, "You know you don't have to do this regimen because the others are doing it, right? I know it may be embarrassing, but an embarrassed teammate is much more useful than a drowned one."

You swallowed the lump in your throat. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Let's...go catch up with the others." You suggested, starting towards the ocean.

For the most part, everyone was able to keep up with each other on land and in the water. Well...except for you. You didn't lag that far behind, but....you were still at the back of the herd. It seemed like these people could just keep pushing and pushing and never run out of energy. You were fairly sure Wendy had barely broken a sweat.

When the torture was finally over, you felt like your lungs were going to burst out of your chest.

"For a first-timer, you did really well, [Y/N]." Wendy said warmly as you were hunched over, desperately gasping for air.

"Yeah, I thought you would have drowned a long time ago." Kouji added unhelpfully, earning him a nudge from Wendy.

"It feels great to be working out like this!" Katsuro exclaimed, "After this whole training thing is over we're gonna be the best swimmers in the kingdom!"

"It all seems so far away right now, but I'm really excited to see how it all turns out." Wendy smiled.

"It seems the training regimen was a little too hard, if my map is correct you guys only completed half." Ms. K reported.

"Cut us some slack, wouldja!? It's only the first day; we have the whole summer to complete it!" Kaoru whined.

"I-I'm sorry everyone, I'll make sure to keep up next time!" You apologized.

"Don't be so hard on yourself [Y/N], you did great!" Katsuro complimented you.

"Thanks for the encouragement you guys, but I really need to improve....."

"And that's why we're here." Wendy smiled, resting her hands on her hips.

"I think that's enough swimming for today kiddos, let's eat dinner while we can still watch the sunset!" Ms. K suggested, placing plastic grocery bags on the picnic table.

The delicious aroma was enough for everyone to agree to call it quits.

***

The 5 of you dined on pizza for din-din. You wondered where Ms. K got it from; did Pizza Hut have delivery planes now?

Wendy sat down beside you at the picnic table, her thighs doing that "squash" thing girls' thighs do when they sit down.

"Hey, you've been awfully quiet since the swim. You doin' okay?" She inquired.

"Y-yeah, it's nothing I'm just thinking." You answered quickly.

"[Y/N], I know you must be worried but I have no doubt in my mind that you're going to finish this regimen; just like the rest of us." She assured you calmly.

"Just take it one step at a time. I know I said we were here to train but it is summer vacation. Just because you're training doesn't mean you can't have fun!" She said, taking a bite of her pizza slice.

You couldn't help but smile. "Yeah...you're right."

After your dinner, you all decided it was about time to hit the hay. Kaoru and Ms. K went back to the lodge while the rest of you all settled down in your tents on the beach.

****

You couldn't really sleep, not after what happened today. You knew everyone told you not to worry about it, but they were just saying that to be nice. You didn't need anyone to tell you that you were lagging behind the rest of the group all day. You were sure they'd all been swimming for much longer than you have, it was going to take more than that to get on their level.

You gingerly turned to face Wendy. She seemed to be asleep, her polka-dotted sleep mask concealing her eyes. She was drooling a little too; it was a little gross but strangely intimate.

You crawled over to the front of the tent and peaked out of the opening. It was a little windy, but the dark night was clear with a beautiful moon that illuminated the sky and the blue ocean below.

You slipped out of the tent and sneakily put your swim gear back on. You grabbed your kickboard before returning to the sea. As you trained exceptionally hard, you paused to admire the beautiful sky above. You could never see the stars so clearly back in the Koopa Kingdom. You thought the scenery would've been perfect for a date, if only you'd asked Wendy out back home....no matter, there was still time to ask her out while on the island.

Just as you were starting to get the hang of it, the wind decided to pick up. Quickly, strong waves began to form, pushing you off course. Your foam kickboard slipped out of your grasp, but when you tried to grab it, you only launched it further away. You started panicking, desperately trying to stay afloat. It began to pour, as if things weren't already going bad enough.

Guess this is it, you thought as you struggled to stay afloat, guess I'll die. This wasn't at all how you'd thought you'd leave the earth. Suddenly, you saw a flash of pink on the shore.

It was Wendy, getting soaking wet in the rain.

"[Y/N]? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE?!" She shouted to you.

"HELP! HELP ME!" Was all you could manage to scream. You didn't even care if you looked like a wimp, you just didn't want to drown.

Without another word, she rushed into the raging sea. She swam over to you, her legs thrusting her forward with all the power you'd witnessed in her flip kick back at the school's swimming pool.

But even though she was strong, the waves were strong too; perhaps stronger, even. They pushed against her as she tried to reach you, pushing the two of you farther and farther apart. You had faith in her, but you didn't think you'd be able to hold on for much longer.

****

[Y/N]....

[Y/N].....

"[Y/N]!"

You came back abruptly, erupting into a coughing fit.

"[Y/N]!" Wendy exclaimed. She was kneeling beside your lifeless body, the rain still beating down o her.

"W-wendy?"

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"W-where are we?"

"Sirena Beach. We came here for our training camp, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that."

"I'm glad you finally woke up when you did. A few seconds later and I would've had to give you mouth-to-mouth! Hehe, no offense." She said.

Of course you missed out on the chance to kiss her, even though it wasn't really a kiss. Couldn't you do anything right, today?

Wendy took you to Ms. K in the hotel so she could deal with you. Even though you apologized profusely, the two of them agreed your punishment would be to rest for the day; and that meant NO SWIMMING. Your other teammates were annoyed when they found out about the stupid thing you'd done, but Wendy told them not to be so hard on you because we all do stupid shit sometimes.

While everyone else was training and getting better, you had to sit on the beach and listen to Ms. K rant about her relationship problems.

Ultimately, you learned your lesson. You promised you'd train responsibly for the rest of the camp.