Ruby darted through the crowds of people all clamouring to get into the gym. She muttered 'excuse me's' and apologies as she wove through the crowd. Granted her uniform helped. When most of the school saw the cheerleaders they got out of the way. In most cases out of fear. But in Ruby's case it was because she was so well liked.
Eventually she broke free of the crowd and sprinted down a side corridor skidding to a halt in from of the girl's locker room she yanked the door open and slipped inside. The girl's basketball team was changing into their home jerseys. A few gave her a hello and some waved. Pyrrha nikos smiled and waved and ruby waved back. Her eyes sought out onyx tresses. Where was Blake?
"Ruby!" She was tackled in a bear hug seconds later. She squirmed and gasped for breath.
"Yang...can't...breath" she wheezed. Yang laughed but released her. Hunching over she took large gulps of air.
"Yang I know your protective but do you really need to kill my girlfriend?" Ruby perked up instantly. Blake was leaning up against the lockers, already fully dressed in her uniform. Her dark tresses cascaded down her back and ruby laughed. Yang rolled her eyes but smiled anyways. If she were being honest (and she'd never ever admit it out loud) but she was glad Blake was dating ruby. Blake was her best friend and there was no one better to look out for her younger sister.
Dodging around the blonde ruby darted forward wrapping Blake in an enthusiastic hug. Blake smiled and returned the embrace. "Oh Blake, here let me get your ponytail, you always complain you can't get it right and yang does it too tightly." They could hear yang shouting a protest but they both ignored her.
"Sure." Taking a seat on one of the benches Blake unwound a hair elastic from her wrist and handed it to Ruby. Carefully gathering all the dark hair and combing her fingers through it ruby meticulously and gently gathered her hair and tied it neatly into a ponytail. Kissing her on the temple ruby stepped back.
"Feel okay?" She asked. Blake twisted around and gave a tug on her hips, bringing her between her legs. Looking up at the cheerleader she grinned and hooked two fingers in the collar of her uniform and pulled her down for a kiss.
"It feels great pup." Ruby light up at the use of her nickname and beamed. There was a muffled shout through the door that ruby recognized as her coach.
"Oh crap I gotta go coach will kill me if I'm late. Good luck, I love you!" Blake couldn't even reply before ruby was out the door and dashing for the gym. Careening around a corner ruby sprinted into the gym and to the rest of the squad, panting she took her place beside Weiss who gave her an irate look.
"You're late."
"Not really we haven't even started stretching sooo" Weiss scoffed but let it slide this time. Their coach sent them off to warm up and the two paired up and started their regular warm up.
As the gym started to fill girls from both teams emerged from the locker rooms and started their warm up. Once Blake emerged Weiss had to keep shouting at her redheaded companion to pay attention and keep her eyes of her girlfriend. Ruby would blush and turn her attention back to her icy teammate only to lose interest and go back to staring at Blake.
Soon enough it was time for the game to start. With all the students and parents safely in their seats and the cheer squad on their bench, the teams sent out their five starters.
Yang being the tallest took point and flexed her muscles, winking at the other girl as they took position to leap for the ball. The referee held the ball up and with a sharp whistle blow launched it upwards.
Game on.
Halftime rolled around and the score was tight. 23 for beacon and 20 for Haven high. The lead beacon had was thanks to the three point Blake had scored just seconds prior. The beacon team sat on their bench sucking greedily from water bottles, all of them sweaty and determined. Ruby stood on the sidelines, dancing from foot to foot. She wanted to go talk to Blake but Weiss held her back, telling ruby the game would be starting again soon and they had their routine to perform.
Their coach blew the whistle and Weiss smirked, silently saying 'I told you so' Ruby rolled her eyes but took the gym floor with the rest of the squad. Their routine involved a lot of flip and throwing several of the smaller girls around. Ruby was arguable the smallest girl on the squad. While she had a few inches on Weiss, she was simply more petit looking. The routine finale was the classic pyramid, with Ruby at the very top.
The girls assembled flawlessly and Ruby was flung to the top, sticking the landing perfectly. The girls supporting her groaned a bit at the added weight but said nothing. Ruby ginned and waved at the crowd flashing her brilliant smile.
The girls under her started wobbling and Ruby's eyes widened and she shouted Weiss name, Weiss being the only girl on the squad not participating in the pyramid due to a shoulder injury that prevented her from supporting weight on it. The wobbling got worse and Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. "Catch!" She screamed as she took fate into her own hands as she leant forward, throwing herself off the pyramid.
The world rushed past her and all Ruby was aware of was the rushing or air past her ears, then, arms at her back and knees and the gym floor. Gasping her eyes flew open, Yang's terrified violet eyes staring at her. With a sob Ruby curled up against her sister and started to cry softly, yang holding her tightly. Weiss stood a few feet away holding onto Blake who was shouting her name and trying to get to Ruby.
"Give her a moment! Don't overwhelm her you dolt!" She barked at Blake, who ignored her and strained against the smaller girl.
"It's okay Ruby, it's okay, big sister Yang's got you, Yang's got you." Yang shushed her, stroking her hair out of her face and rocking her gently.
"Blake." She whimpered clutching tighter at her sisters jersey. Yang looked up and met desperate Amber eyes and motioned her over. Weiss let go and Blake rushed over, dropping to her knees and immediately reaching out. She held Ruby from the other side, effectively sandwiching her between them. She leant down and kissed her forehead and wiped her tears away.
"Hey, its okay you're okay. We've got you." Ruby nodded and started to slow her breathing. Blake held the hand that wasn't twisted in Yang's jersey and rubbed her thumb soothingly along her knuckles, occasionally pressing kisses to her cheeks and forehead. Eventually Ruby stopped crying and Blake and yang helped her stand. Blake wrapped her up in a large hug which she returned albeit slightly weaker. She smiled though and Blake recognized it as genuine.
"I'm okay now. Thanks Blake." She peered over her shoulder and met Yang's eyes. "Thanks for catching me yang."
"I promised I'd never let anything happen to you. I plan to keep that promise. I love you Ruby."
"I love you too." The moment was ruined by the referee blowing his whistle. The three turned and noticed havens players all on the court, ready to play. Yang smiled and gave her sister a thumbs up before trotting over and taking up her place. Blake hesitated before Ruby have her a gentle push. "Go, I'm okay, I promise. Go kick some ass and win. For me." Blake steeled her gaze and nodded.
Following yang onto the court she took up her position. She cast one last worried glance at the smaller girl. She relaxed slightly when Weiss brought her a water bottle which she took gratefully and they both have her a thumbs up.
Weiss and Ruby sat on the bench, Weiss making Ruby drink her water. They watched the game and chatted Ruby slowly stopped shaking and jumping at every bench wobble. The game was coming to a close, only five minutes left on the clock with the score tied. The crowd got rowdier and louder, the game heating up as all player tried to outplay each other.
Suddenly there was a sickening crack and Blake fell to her knees, clutching at her face, blood dripping from between her fingers. The gym went dead silent. Blake's breathing was loud and ragged. Ruby was frozen for a split second before she charged onto the court, intent upon destroying the player that had just punched Blake in the face. Yang grabbed her shouting at her to calm down.
"You monster! I'm going to wreck you! How dare you!" She struggled uselessly in Yang's arms, legs wiggling uselessly in the air. Slowly Ruby relaxed and yang set her back down. "I'm calm, I'm calm." Yang kept a wary eye on her but let her go. Ruby slowly relaxed.
Yang turned her attention to Blake, kneeling next to her she gently pulled her hands from her face.
"Screw you!"
"RUBY!" It was too late. Ruby had bolted forward and slapped the girl across the face hard. Panting she bolted back to Blake and yang. She knelt next to Blake.
"You shouldn't have done that." Blake said softly but a small smile tugged at her lips. The referees were busy pulling the girl who had punched Blake off court. She was screaming curses at both Blake and Ruby. Both coaches were shouting at each other. It was utter chaos.
Ruby cupped Blake's face gently and leaned in to examine her face. She had a broken nose and a split lip. "We're going to give yang a heart attack." Ruby giggled. Reaching up she tenderly ran her thumb along Blake's lower lip.
"Are you okay? You're not too hurt?" Blake smiled a little bit and shook her head. "Okay let's get you up." Placing her hands on her hips, Blake wrapped her arms around Ruby's shoulders and slowly they stood. Blake wobbled but Ruby pulled her closer until she had her balance. Blood began to drop down her face again. "Tip your head back! It helps stop the bleeding." Doing as suggested Blake tipped her head backwards. Taking the taller girls hands she led her carefully outside the gym. Outside the gym it was silent save for the squeaking of their shoes and Blake's sniffles.
They reached the nurses office and Ruby pushed her way through and Blake followed, slowly lowering her head. Ruby explained the situation as Blake sat down tenderly rubbing her nose.
The nurse came over and attended to Blake while Ruby sat and held her hand. There wasn't much the nurse could do about her lip and Blake simply shrugged. She told both of them to sit tight for the next fifteen minutes before they were allowed to leave.
The nurse left and Ruby wasted no time in twisting sideways and drawing Blake into a tender kiss. Blake hummed and leaned closer, drawing Ruby closer by her hips. Ruby shifted so she straddled Blake, still kissing her incredibly softly. Her hands knotted in her sweaty jersey. She trailed kisses down her neck, careful to not leave any marks. Blake hummed in appreciation.
"Not that I'm complaining but what's this for?"
Ruby paused and grinned, kissing her nose. "I'm kissing it better."
Blake laughed and recaptured the smaller girl's lips. "Much appreciated pup" Ruby smiled into their next kiss. They passed the entire 15 minute wait sharing soft kisses. The nurse came back and Ruby nimbly hopped off Blake's lap. They were dismissed and Ruby skipped out of the room, leading Blake by the hand.
"Do you need a ride home?" Blake asked. Ruby turned and took her other hand standing on her tip toes and kissing her yet again.
"Can we make out in the car for a bit?" Blake laughed loudly.
"Sure." She said smiling. Ruby smiled and dragged her enthusiastically towards the exit. Blake shook her head and smiled. Following after her adorable girlfriend muttering "dork" under hear breath.
Despite the injuries and scares of the night Ruby's enthusiasm and kisses definitely more than made up for it.