A/N:

Decided to skip over the holidays. Since this is pretty much all Piper's point of view and her parents are pretty absent I didn't have much to write about.

Also someone mentioned (rightfully) that this isn't really rated M. Things are progressing much slower than I had intended but it seems to work somewhat well for this story (correct me if I'm wrong) so yeah, it's getting there.

Anyways, thank you thank you thank you for the feedback!

The holidays came and went quickly. Piper spent most of her time with Alex studying for school and playing soccer for the winter months. They had found what Piper was and wasn't comfortable with and Alex never pushed those boundaries. Piper only felt guilty a few times when she could see Alex's jaw clenching as she looked at her or when she bit her knuckles to stop herself during a particularly steamy makeout session. Piper's parents were still oblivious to their relationship and were becoming extremely absent in Piper's life. She was very thankful for that.

Their team was 19-0-3 and headed to the championship. The game was in Oregon so they flew there as a team. Somehow all of the away games had been within driving distance until now, but it had to happen eventually. The plane was leaving at 10pm but Piper was asleep by 6pm after the all day practice the team had endured in preparation for the championship.

Alex must had stayed awake the whole time because Piper woke up to find a half full pizza box on her stomach. She lifted her head up in confusion when she realized that Alex was sitting on her bed playing FIFA and had used her as a table. She had a piece of crust in her mouth and she glanced at Piper out of the corner of her eye while still playing the game.

"Hey babe," She mumbled through the food. "I got you pizza."

"Alex it kind of looks like you got you pizza." She was a little bit grumpy from being so tired but could see the humor in the situation anyways.

Alex just shrugged with a crooked grin and went back to her game. Piper looked around the room and noticed that her suitcase was sitting by the door. She watched Alex concentrating on the game, facial expression perfectly giving away when she stole or lost the ball to the person she was playing against online.

"Mmm... I don't want to finish packing..." The blonde complained quietly to herself.

"You're good to go. I was bored." Piper's eyebrows raised. Alex always hated packing and made sure to complain before every away game. Alex was still concentrating on her game but continued talking to Piper between curses at her opponent. "Your passport is in your purse... motherfucker... and uhh... god damn it... Kerr still has our tickets."

Piper relaxed back onto the bed with a smile and started eating the lukewarm pizza. She watched as Alex struggled but managed to win the game. She sat the controller down and scooted back next to Piper on the bed.

"So you ready for the big game?" Alex nudged Piper's side. Her stomach flipped at the thought of the game. She had been trying to hide her anxiousness but Alex could see right through it. She groaned and buried her head in Alex's neck.

"But seriously, you have to be more confident. You're really good. Our team is really good." Piper just nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore. The alarm on Alex's phone went off and she stood to grab Piper's suitcase and head down to the taxi that was patiently waiting for them. When Piper got downstairs the brunette told her to wait in the car and loaded their bags into the trunk. She was shivering uncontrollably since the driver seemed to be totally fine with freeing to death with the heat turned off on the cold night. Alex got into the car shortly after and looked at Piper before throwing her arms up and speaking to the driver.

"Does the sound of teeth chattering mean nothing to you? She's fucking freezing back here dude." He rolled his eyes and Alex scoffed before wrapping her arms around Piper to keep her warm.

When they arrived Alex strong armed all of the luggage ignoring Piper's complaints that she wanted to help. She stood to the side and spoke to Kerr and Peck for a little while as Piper messed around on her phone and checked her Facebook. When Alex returned she had 2 tickets and a smirk on her face. Apparently she convinced Kerr and Peck that she and Piper should sit in the isolated seats instead of the coaches since the blonde was afraid of flying.

They ended up with a window and middle seat and Piper refused to sit next to the window. She was practically in Alex's lap anyways, though. She made it through takeoff by scrunching up her face and grabbing Alex's hand.

Once they were in the air Alex distracted the young girl with kisses that were maybe a little too long considering all of the teammates on the plane. The guy next to them seemed to be fine, even enjoying the extra leg room due to the snuggling teens. The lights were off and Piper eventually dozed back off on Alex's shoulder and when she was woken up they had just landed.

She was barely conscious as they piled into taxis. They shared a taxi with both of the coaches, Piper in the middle between Alex and Coach Peck while Coach Kerr sat in the passenger seat. Piper was fighting hard not to rest her head back on Alex's shoulder but she made it through the short cab ride without falling asleep. The hotel was surprisingly nice - apparently making it to the championship earned them a luxurious hotel stay for their 2 nights away from home.

Of course Alex had pulled her strings and gotten them a room together. It was kind of strange that she was able to control everyone around her with such ease, but at the same time it made perfect sense.

Their room was pretty small with one queen sized bed and a bathroom being pretty much the entire contents. They both immediately fell into the bed, leaving their bags forgotten by the door as they fell asleep in jeans and tee shirts half way under the covers.

The wakeup call from the coaches was abrupt, 3 loud knocks and a couple mornings greetings tore Piper from her sleep. Alex was still passed out having not slept after practice or on the plane. Piper shook her awake and the arm around her waist tightened, effectively trapping her against the brunette.

"Al! We have to go warm up. The game is in a few hours." This worked and they both changed into their jerseys and shorts, grabbing their bags of cleats and socks and kneepads as they lazily walked down to the breakfast buffet.

If Piper and Alex managed to make a dent in a buffet alone, an entire team and two coaches was a pure slaughtering. They ate a little more conservatively since the game was in a few hours, but to them conservatively meant double the size of a breakfast of a normal person.

They piled into the rented bus and all of the girls were surprised when Kerr put one of the more inappropriate popular songs at the time. Apparently going to a championship earned them a fun bus ride. The girls all danced and sang as they got pumped up for the big game, and Piper couldn't help but think this was not even close to what she expected her first year in high school would be like. She thought she would be eating alone in the bathroom and spending her nights at home alone, but she couldn't think of a time she was happier than she was right now.

They arrived to the large field and circled up in the locker room. They began their stretches and listened as Kerr and Peck each gave a little speech about how far they'd come and how proud they were. Then Piper was surprised to see Alex stand up to address the team. Yeah, most team captains probably did this kind of stuff, but Alex always had a different way of going about things. She was like a silent motivator of the girls, usually communicating with smiles, head nods, or hand gestures. She spoke for less than 30 seconds but all the girls cheered after her quick speech about how they were going to kick ass and even if they didn't they were the best team.

The game was in Oregon at a neutral field and the fan base was mixed pretty equally. They jogged out onto the field and did a warmup lap. They huddled once more before meeting the rival team in the center of the field. Alex shook the other captains hand with a head nod and jogged back to join Piper, who was a nervous wreck at this point, in the middle of the field.

The game was long and challenging and Piper was just feeling completely off her game. She had missed out on multiple opportunities to score and botched a few passes meant for her teammates resulting in a loss of possession. They were yet to score and the other team had one goal with 10 minutes left in the game. When one of the players on the other team sprained an ankle Alex pulled Piper aside.

"Pipes, you can do this. I know you can." Alex put her hands on Piper's shoulders. "You can do it, babe."

The whistle blew and they ran back to the center of the field. One goal. It only takes one goal to tie the game. That's all they need. Piper took a deep breath and took control of the ball as soon as the second whistle blew. She saw nothing but the goal, rushing past defenders and midfielders as fast as possible. She found herself cornered and passed the ball to Alex who immediately passed it back, forcing her to take the shot. Just as she was closing in on the goal to make the shot she was suddenly on the ground with a shooting pain through her left foot. She blinked hard and opened her eyes again to see Alex hovering over her. She rotated her foot and it still hurt but it was nothing she couldn't handle for a few more minutes. Alex made sure she was okay before towering over the defender that had apparently tripped Piper. The blonde watched from the ground as Alex nearly lost her cool but managed to intimidate the girl enough to her liking without getting red carded for punching her in the mouth. Piper got up and walked around for a few seconds and slowly jogged back to the spot of the foul. She now had a free kick. She and Alex had practiced free kicks for hours, setting up behind trees and other obstacles to practice curving the ball between the cones and backpacks used to mark the goals. She took a deep breath and made eye contact with Alex, receiving a short nod and focusing on the goal again. She raised her arm and dropped it before kicking the ball and watched in slow motion as it curved right around the defenders and into the top right corner of the goal, the swoosh of the ball making contact with the net being the only sound she could hear before she was snatched up by the team and carried back to the center of the field with loud cheers from her teammates.

"I told you," Alex whispered into the girls hair before running back to center field. 4 more minutes. 4 more minutes to determine the outcome of the game. Piper could feel her heartbeat in her face in a mix of excitement and nervousness as she watched Alex steal the ball from the other team. Good start. She wiped a sweaty strand of hair out of her face with the back of her hand and sprinted toward the goal when she noticed how much space Alex had. It might have been pure speed and skill but she couldn't help but notice the other team looking a little intimidated by Alex. Piper couldn't feel any pain in her left ankle anymore, but whether it was uninjured or numb from the adrenaline she wasn't sure.

Alex passed the ball to another teammate who quickly passed it to Piper when she became trapped by the opposing team's players. The blonde made her way to the goal and passed the ball toward Alex but it was intercepted by the defender that had tripped the blonde. Alex came up behind the girl with a swift, sneaky tug to her jersey and stole the ball back, ignoring the shouts of complaint as the ref didn't catch the move she had pulled. Alex to herself and while the girl was complaining she was left completely open, successfully shooting the ball past the goalie into the net.

The entire team rushed over and celebrated for a few seconds before returning to the center of the field. They maintained possession of the ball for the rest of the 78 seconds that remained and quickly ran to the sidelines to celebrate. They did the cliché dumping-of-the-Gatorade-on-the-coach move and moved into their post game huddle to celebrate some more.

The excitement on the bus ride back was palpable, the sweaty girls constantly whooping and cheering and laughing at the drenched Coach Kerr. They rushed up to their rooms and changed into their favorite outfits that they would wear to the team dinner where they would walk to - of course - a buffet. With the season being over and having earned the glorious trophy for their school, the girls ate themselves into severe food comas. They shared a large table and chatted in smaller groups. Piper was ecstatic. She had been so worried that her performance during the first part of the game would have lost them the game that she was still struggling to comprehend the win. Alex seemed so cool about everything but the look in her eyes gave her away. They were all smiling huge smiles as they stuffed their faces with mashed potatoes and steak and chicken and bread - all of the things that they avoided before the big game.

They left in small groups to head back to their rooms and "go to bed" but Piper remembered that everyone would be sneaking out tonight to celebrate. She and Alex took a stroll through Portland before the shops close and visited Powell's Books to browse through the huge bookstore. They sat in the aisle while Alex read Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero to the blonde - they were both in a postmodern book phase. They found a copy of Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Fienberg which they bought of course - the book was out of print now and nearly impossible to find.

Of course they also had to stop at Voodoo Donuts where Piper bought something called the Gay Bar donut (it was topped with a line of rainbow fruit loops) and Alex got a bacon maple bar. They ate as they walked back even though they were still stuffed from dinner.

Alex bolted the door knowing that the coaches had master keys and they both fell onto the bed of the hotel room. Piper turned on the TV for some background noise and then straddled Alex. They were both stuffed but they were still so happy from the game that they couldn't keep their hands off each other. It was only 7 so some of the girls were at the pool before they pretended to go to bed and snuck back out for another swim. Piper and Alex were more than happy with the alone time. Alex's hands snaked down the back of Pipers skinny jeans and squeezed her ass cheeks while they kissed lazily. Piper's hands were tangled in Alex's hair and gently tugged with each squeeze of the brunettes hands. Piper ground her hips and they moaned into each other's mouths at the same time, welcoming the new feeling together. The blonde knew she needed to be the one to take these steps because Alex was just too respectful to try anything she thought might make her uncomfortable. She was simultaneous grateful and nervous about that. She put those thoughts behind her though, as Alex's hands pushed her down gently, hip bones and chests rubbing together slowly. The hands slid up Piper's shirt and slowly lifted it off her, getting caught in her hair for a second but still not ruining the moment. The blonde drew one of her hands up and snapped her bra strap hoping to get the point across that she wanted Alex to remove it. The brunette didn't make a move so Piper grabbed her hand and placed it on the clasp to make herself unmistakably clear. Slowly, infuriatingly slowly, Alex undid the clasp skillfully with one hand.

The bra remained hanging from her shoulders until Alex pulled it from her body, putting her hands on Piper's shoulders and gently guiding her to sit up. A small moan escaped her lips as she stared directly at Piper's chest. Piper bit her lip and looked down at the brunette but she didn't seem to notice. All of her attention was focused on her breasts. There probably could have been an earthquake and she wouldn't have noticed.

Her hands moved to Piper's hips and slowly slid up until her thumbs were just underneath her breasts. She visibly bit her cheeks and looked up at Piper for the first time in minutes. The blonde slowly nodded to give her permission.

Smooth thumbs gently traced up between her breasts and outward, slowly brushing against her hardened nipples. Both of them moaned, or one of them, Piper wasn't sure anymore. Her focus was on how good she felt right now. She would have been self conscious in any other situation but Alex was being so careful and gentle and she was clearly enjoying herself as much as Piper... Or more, if that was possible.

She could feel a knot building in her stomach, but it was different than the nervous feeling that she expected. She played with the hem of Alex's shirt as the brunette began to squeeze her breasts and they broke contact to remove the garment. Right when the shirt was covering Alex's face there was a knock at the door. Piper attempted to roll to the side and off of Alex but she lost her balance and fell onto the floor.

"What the fuck?!" Alex pulled the shirt back down over herself and down at Piper who was wrapped in a sheet on the floor. "Hold on!" She called to the door while handing the blonde her shirt and bra and sneaking over to look through the peephole. She mouthed "Kerr" and Piper's eyes widened as she struggled to dress herself. Alex tiptoed back over and pulled Piper's shirt over her head for her before opening the door, completely forgetting that Piper was still on the floor. Kerr looked right past Alex to the blonde who's hair was sticking out in places and her cheeks were flushed. Alex's eyes closed for a second as she realized her mistake in opening the door too soon and she went outside to talk to him, shutting the door behind her.

Piper tried to listen through the door but she couldn't hear anything. She was terrified that Kerr would call her parents and she wouldn't be allowed to play soccer or see Alex anymore. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be this happy for such a short time and return to her old life.

But after what felt like hours Alex returned and she didn't look worried or upset whatsoever.

"What happened?" Piper immediately asked with a loud whisper.

Alex smiled and shook her head.

"I just told him you fell asleep on the floor and he didn't even doubt me at all. They're going to bed and he was just asking me to keep an eye on everyone when we go to the pool." Piper sighed with relief.

"I liked where that was going, though." Alex mumbled with a smirk as Piper's cheeks turned light pink. She liked where it was going too.