Xena was leaning back in her office chair around the large conference table in the United State Soccer Federation's Chicago headquarters. She could feel the sweat beginning to dry on her arms, which she had tightly crossed against her chest. She had decided to run to the last minute disciplinary/conduct review meeting that had been called the day after the China friendly. Athena had previously deemed the day an optional training day. Xena decided to stick with that as a small act of protest.
She was not the only one to seemingly opt for small acts of protest. Eve and Varia were both wearing shirts from the Chinese clubs been on loan to before their call ups to the national team. Ephiny was wearing a pride Iron Front shirt, while Amirace was wearing a sweatshirt with cutoff sleeves that simply said "Bitch" across the front.
Xena was forcing all her attention to peering at the water bottle in front of her and not making eye contact with anyone.
Athena huffed loudly and ran her hand over her face. "Do you have a point, Caesar?" she questioned the federation president, whose video link was projected on the wall.
"The conduct of many of the players was…unprofessional," he landed on, through it clearly sounded like he was thinking another word.
"We didn't get the red card," Athena shot back.
"That was only luck," Caesar replied.
Ephiny scoffed and shook her head.
"No, it wasn't," Varia added angrily.
"Varia," Aphrodite said quietly from her seat by Athena at the head of the table. She shook her head once she got the winger's attention. "I am forced to agree with Athena, Julius. Our players got nothing more than a yellow card. You do not usually call us for a yellow card. So, I think you are trying to pin the blame for this on the main person responsible for this not escalating beyond a yellow card."
Xena looked up from her water toward Aphrodite. She kept her eyes on Caesar. Xena peered to Minya beside her, who gave her a pleased shrug.
"Yes, well," he answered, sounding defeated. "What about the search for Terries' replacement?"
"Like you give a shit," Ephiny grumbled under her breath.
Xena stopped listening. Athena had already had this conversation with all of them after the China game. Terries' left ankle was fractured. She'd most likely be back and healed by the World Cup, but she was certainly out for the qualifiers and they had less than a month to fill the position. Xena trusted the combined recruiting power of Athena and Aphrodite. The new right back would not be the mainstay Terreis had been on the team for so long, but whoever she was she'd be enough to see them through to the World Cup.
As terrible as it had all been, Xena was glad that the game had at least been played in Chicago, so she was just able to go home to her own apartment after all of it. She was unsure what she would have done if she had been put up in the hotel with the rest of the team. She had offered her guest bedroom as an escape for Eve and Varia but they seemed fine rooming together at the hotel. She had offered it to Ephiny too since it was closer to the hospital Terries had been taken to than the team hotel, but Ephiny had refused. Though she was probably her closest friend, Xena did not blame her for rejecting it.
That night, Xena set her beer on her coffee table as she turned on her TV. She almost instantly muted the sports commentary show when she saw Hercules' face.
"That dissolved into an un-American display of sportsmanship pretty quickly," Hercules said.
The camera panned out to show all four of the commentators in the studio. Iolaus was shaking his head and the retired Canadian national team player leaned back in her chair and groaned.
"No, it did not," Melosa replied. "This is stupid that we are even talking about this. If that was a men's game, you would not have brought this up."
"It was a common, heat of the moment mistake," Iolaus added. "Sometimes there is just too much pressure on this team to reach perfection on every level."
Xena jumped at the knock of her door and instinctively turned off the television. She huffed annoyed at her own actions and set the remote on the table. She walked over to her door and opened it without looking to see who it was.
"L-Lao Ma?" Xena replied confused.
They peered at each other for a moment, both unsure what to do or say. Lao Ma began to shake her head.
"I'm sorry, Xena," she stated as she began to walk back toward the elevator.
"No," Xena called as she reached out and grasped her arm. Xena instantly pulled her hand away. "Sorry," she told her. "Come on in."
Lao Ma looked sheepishly down at the hallway floor and nodded before she crossed the threshold into Xena's apartment.
Xena nervously went for the light switches in the living room and kitchen, since she had been sitting in darkness again. "Um…do you want a drink? I have a bottle of baijiu and some of that Jing A IPA that you like."
Lao Ma peered at her in silence for a moment and seemed to stop herself from smiling. She spotted the filled pint glass on the coffee table. "What are you drinking?"
"Oh, uh, the Revolution IPA," Xena answered.
Lao Ma nodded. "I will have on of those. I have missed those."
Xena smiled. "Yeah, okay." As she grabbed a can from the fridge and a glass from the cabinet Lao Ma had lowered herself into a seat at the dining room table. Xena's heart raced in familiarity for a moment. She always used to sit their when they were about to have serious conversations. They weren't always bad and sometimes they would end in the bedroom.
Xena forced that thought of her head as she placed Lao Ma's drink in front of her and went to retrieve hers from the coffee table. Lao Ma's eyes seemed to follow her and then drifted beyond her to the fireplace. She eyebrows raised in curiosity.
Xena sighed as she collapsed into the chair across the table from her.
"You have not taken those photos down," Lao Ma stated.
Xena covered her face with her hand for a moment, took a deep breath, and looked at her again. "What you doin' here, Lao Ma?"
"I want to talk to you about that game, away from all the pundits and the cameras," she started and Xena noticed she was beginning to tear up.
"Hey," Xena said softly leaning over the table to be closer to her.
Lao Ma meet eyes with her and covered the lower half of her face in a fain attempt to stop her emotions. "It was a stupid accident. I have studied so many films of Terries. She was there with us for two years at the Red Stars. She clears with her right. She usually clears with her right. I-I know it and I saw it in the moment, how awkward Amirace's punch was. But-but it did not cross my mind that Terries would be clearing with her left. That her left ankle would be there when I went for the tackle."
"Hey," Xena breathed at her softly. She got up and walked to her side of the table, placing her hands comfortingly on her shoulder. "Ah, shit," Xena uttered pulling her hands away. She huffed and shook her head to herself. "Nah, fuck it."
She knelt beside Lao Ma's chair and peered up at her.
"Xena," Lao Ma sighed in reluctant disappointment.
She placed her heads on her ex-wife's knees and peered up at her confidently. "No," Xena told her sternly. "Don't ya do this to yourself. It was a mistake. Everyone knows that. Women soccer's queen of class and grace doesn't break people's ankles on purpose."
Lao Ma gave a teary laugh. She placed her hands on the sides of her face. "I know I should not, but I've missed you, Xena."
"Yeah?" she questioned stretching her head up to her.
Lao Ma nodded. "Yes," she replied as she bent down, calling her sweetheart in Chinese as she always had.
Xena kissed her across jawline and then down her neck. "You've had a bad time in Chicago so far," she whispered to her. "Will you let me make it better?"
"Oh Xena," she breathed onto the side of her face.
Xena scoffed. "That a yes or a no?" she asked a husky tone.
Lao Ma turned Xena's face toward her and began passionately kissing her. "Yes," she whispered. "It's a yes."
Xena pulled her off the chair and Lao Ma secured her legs around her waist. She carried her toward the bedroom. Once she got them to the doorway, she paused, kissed her, and then paused again. "I've missed you too."
