Leo joins the swim team

[Guest billyinri]

The chlorine in the Northwood Community Pool was a scent Leo had come to associate with heaven. It was the smell of his new beginning. At nineteen, he was a latecomer to competitive swimming, all lean limbs and nervous energy, but he had a natural, effortless grace in the water that turned heads. He’d been scouted by Coach Marcus, a man whose presence filled the humid air of the natatorium, a man with a voice like smooth stones rubbing together and an unnervingly intense gaze.

The team, the Northwood Tritons, welcomed him with an easy camaraderie that Leo had never experienced. They were a tight-knit group, a brotherhood forged in shared exhaustion and the silent, blue world of the pool. There was Rafael, the team captain, whose powerful strokes cut through the water like a knife; Liam, the sprinter, all explosive energy and quick laughter; and Sam, the quiet one, whose endurance was legendary. They shared everything: gels, towels, water bottles, and a particular set of small, daily pills they all took with a synchronicity that Leo found curious.

"They're just vitamins," Rafael had said with a dismissive wave when Leo finally asked. "For energy. Keeps us healthy. You'll get yours soon enough."

Leo accepted this. He was the new guy, the innocent. He wanted to belong, to be part of this elite, beautiful family. He idolized Coach Marcus, who saw a raw potential in him that no one else had. The coach’s private sessions were grueling but transformative. Marcus would stand on the deck, his eyes tracing Leo’s every movement, his voice a constant, low murmur of instruction. "You're holding back, Leo. You need to let go completely. Trust me. Trust the process."

The first crack in the idyllic facade appeared during a late-night training session. Leo had forgotten his towel and went to the coach's office to borrow one. The door was slightly ajar. Inside, he saw Marcus and Rafael, their voices low and serious. He heard the words he wasn't supposed to hear. "His numbers are perfect," Marcus was saying. "He's ready. The initiation needs to happen soon."

"What if he says no?" Rafael asked, a rare note of concern in his voice.

"He won't," Marcus said, his voice full of absolute certainty. "He wants this as much as we do. He wants to be one of us. He just doesn't know what 'one of us' means yet."

Leo backed away, his heart hammering against his ribs. Initiation? Vitamins? The pieces began to click into place with a horrifying, sickening certainty. He went home and, with trembling fingers, searched online for the names on the pill bottles he'd glimpsed in their bags. The results were a punch to the gut: antiretroviral therapy. For HIV.

He spent the next day in a daze, watching his teammates through a new lens. They weren't just healthy, strong athletes; they were living with a virus, managing it daily. And they were happy. They were thriving. The camaraderie wasn't just friendship; it was a shared secret, a shared existence. They weren't dying from it; they were living with it, and it seemed to bind them together even more tightly.

That evening, Coach Marcus asked him to stay after practice. The pool was empty, the water still and reflecting the dim lights. They sat on the bleachers, the chlorine scent thick between them.

"You know, don't you?" Marcus said, not as a question, but as a statement.

Leo could only nod, his throat too tight to speak.

"It's not what you think," Marcus continued, his voice gentle. "We don't see it as a curse. We see it as a gift. It’s a filter. It weeds out the weak, the uncommitted. To be a Triton, you have to be willing to sacrifice everything for the team, for this life. You have to be willing to carry the same burden, the same fire, that we all carry. It makes us stronger. It makes us family."

He looked at Leo, his gaze unwavering. "We are all positive, Leo. Rafael, Liam, Sam... me. And we want you to join us. Completely."

The world tilted on its axis. Every instinct, every bit of societal programming screamed at him to run, to get away, to call the police. This was madness. This was a death sentence. But as he looked into the coach's eyes, he didn't see malice. He saw a profound, twisted sense of love and belonging. He thought of the laughter in the locker room, the shared victories, the feeling of being part of something monumental. He was tired of being on the outside, tired of being the innocent one who didn't understand the secret jokes and the private rituals. He wanted in. He wanted to be one of them, no matter the cost.

The fear was still there, a cold knot in his stomach, but beneath it was a terrifying, exhilarating wave of desire. To be accepted. To be transformed. To truly belong.

"What do I have to do?" Leo whispered, the words barely audible.

Coach Marcus smiled, a slow, knowing smile. "Trust me. Let go."

They went to the coach's private apartment above the community center. It was spartan, clean. Marcus told him to undress and wait. Leo did, his body trembling with a mixture of terror and anticipation. When Marcus returned, he was naked too, his body solid and powerful. There was no aggression in his movements, only a sense of purpose, of ceremony.

He guided Leo to the bed, positioning him on his hands and knees. Leo felt utterly exposed, vulnerable. He was offering himself, his innocence, his very future. He was offering his rectum freely, as a vessel for this new, terrifying life.

"This is the bond," Marcus murmured, his hands warm on Leo's hips. "This is how you become one of us."

There was a sharp, intimate pain as Marcus entered him, a sensation of being breached, claimed. It was overwhelming, a violation and a consecration all at once. Leo buried his face in the pillow, tears streaming down his face, but he didn't pull away. He pushed back, accepting the intrusion, accepting the virus that was being passed into his body, sealing his place in the brotherhood. It was an act of total surrender, the price of admission.

In the weeks that followed, Leo was initiated into the full reality of being a Triton. He was given his own bottle of pills. The first time he took them, his hands shook, but he looked around at his teammates, who all watched him with knowing, welcoming smiles. He was no longer an outsider. He was part of the secret.

His swimming transformed. The hesitation was gone. He moved through the water with a new, fierce power, a sense of purpose that burned away all his doubt. He was no longer just Leo, the kid with potential. He was a Triton. He was one of them.

They all lived happily ever after. They trained together, competed together, and managed their shared condition together. The virus was the dark, glittering thread that ran through the tapestry of their lives, a constant reminder of the sacrifice and the bond that made them more than just a team. They were a family, bound by blood, by water, and by the sacred, secret fire they all carried within them. And Leo, the once-innocent boy, had never felt more complete, more alive, or more loved.

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[Jimmi]

Hey there. I think this is in the wrong forum? I think it should be in the back room.