Aphrodite had positioned herself just beyond the bottom of the bus steps with her camera. "Please do something, sweeties," she called as the team started exiting the bus three days before their final CONCACAF group stage game against Jamaica. They were at LAFC's training facility at the local Cal State campus. Athena was the first off the bus and shot a casual glare at Aphrodite.
"Very on brand," her old teammate stated with a nod. "Thank you."
Paulina and Minya both excited charged and cheered at the camera, Ephiny stopped at the bottom of the stairs and flexed, Eve and Varia both awkwardly waved, Gabrielle gave a shy smile, while Xena just shook her head seemingly annoyed.
"Perfect," Aphrodite called after Xena, who was the last off the bus.
Each day Athena ran them through conditioning drills, set piece plays, and 5 v. 5 scrimmages. Multiple times she tested the offense and defense in breakaway situations. During one, Xena had outpaced Ephiny and found herself going one-on-one with Gabrielle with Satrina in goal behind her. Xena faked left, cut back right and managed to get around Gabrielle but as Xena was squaring up for the shot Gabrielle managed to jump in front of her. Xena had rocketed the ball and heard it collide with Gabrielle's ribs.
The young blonde exhaled painfully and barely managed to stop herself from falling face-first onto the ground.
"Oh fuck," Xena called as she watched her fall.
She sprinted up to her as Athena, one of the trainers, and Ephiny did the same. She coughed and struggled for breath as Xena knelt beside her and helped her turn on her back.
"Ah kid," Xena called down at her compassionately. "Good block, but I'm so sorry."
"Hippocrates," Athena called to the veteran trainer. "Take her to the lockers and figure out if anything is amidst."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied as he helped Xena help Gabrielle to her feet.
"You take good care of her," Xena called at trainer, who had started with the national team about the same time Xena did.
"Have I ever given you reason to doubt my care, Xena?" Hippocrates asked with an understanding expression.
About an hour later, Gabrielle huffed up at the ceiling. She did not want to admit it, but the huffing hurt more than it should have. She was getting frustrated about how long this was taking and that she was missing practice.
"How many more tests are you going to put me through?" she complained at Hippocrates. She had meet him a handful of times before her call up to the national team because her sister, Lilla, had always respected him. So much so that she invited him to the family winery, and he accepted. He seemed incredibly close to Xena, but then she remembered reading in a book about the history of the national team that he had started with the team just out of school. Gabrielle assumed that must have been when Xena was the teenaged prodigy of the team.
"It is protocol, Gabrielle," he said without looking away from her x-rays that he had hung up. "I can't change it. Not even for you."
Gabrielle grumbled. "I am not missing the Jamaica game because Xena kicked me in the ribs."
Hippocrates scoffed in amusement. "You could be because one of your ribs is possibly cracked. But, you'd probably be sitting it anyway. For either injury prevention or player rotation."
"Really?" Gabrielle asked. She was still annoyed sometimes about how little she seemed to actual know about her team.
"Bob Marley's daughter has done a lot for the team, but Athena is still not going to be viewing them as a threat," Hippocrates explained. "I'm sure you'll be on the bench with your new friend Xena beside you," he told her with a knowing smiling.
Gabrielle scoffed in awkward confusion.
He warmly laughed. "Everyone always forgets that Xena and I are pretty good friends. I've known her for almost 15 years."
After promising Hippocrates that she would go back to the hotel to rest and ice her ribs, he let her go after getting approval from Athena. Gabrielle had barely made it out of the medical examine room when Xena spotted her. She seemed to have been waiting on the bench in the hallway.
"Hey," she called at her with a strange tone as she awkwardly stood up. "You okay? I'm really so fucking sorry about that."
Gabrielle blushed and laughed as she walked toward her. "I'm fine, Xena. Hippocrates thinks a rib might be cracked, but I'm fine. Probably benched for the Jamaica game, but it seems everyone knew that would be the case expect me."
"You're too good. Better to keep you rested for the semi-final," Xena replied anxiously with a nod down at the bench. "I…uh…I got your bag and the stuff from your locker.
Gabrielle stopped herself from audibly reacting to how cute and awkward the superstar before her was being.
"I figure ya would just wanna shower and stuff back at the hotel. I've got a rental car, so I can give ya a ride back," Xena told her quickly as she ran her hand through her hair.
"Yeah," Gabrielle replied. "That sounds great. Thanks, Xena."
She shrugged. "No, problem."
Once they reached the hotel, Xena insisted on carry Gabrielle's bags up to her room that was only a few doors down from her. She eventually was forced to take the bag off her shoulder and hand it to Gabrielle outside her door. She attempted to lift it onto her shoulder, but her arm gave out as she got distracted by the pain in her rib that drew her other hand to it.
"Alright, give me your room key," Xena demanded.
"What? Xena, why?" Gabrielle questioned.
"Because it seems like you're too injured to be carin' for yourself and that's my fuckin' fault, so like just let me help," Xena grumbled annoyed as she almost lovingly opened the door, took Gabrielle's bag off the floor where she had dropped it, and ushered her teammate inside.
Gabrielle causally flipped on the lights in the hotel room and laid back on the bed. She placed her hand over her ribs and groaned in pain.
"Ice and rest?" Xena grumbled, already holding Gabrielle's ice bucket.
Gabrielle craned her neck to look at the veteran striker. "Yeah, that's what Hippocrates said."
Xena nodded. "I'm gonna go fill this," she told her lifting up the plastic bucket for a brief moment before exiting the room.
Gabrielle turned her head to look at Xena when she returned to the room. She was looking so awkward and uncertain about all her movements and actions that Gabrielle felt utterly absurd that she had so admired the poster on her on her shitty college house bedroom wall for years. This dork? This uncertain, nervous woman? How had she looked up to her for so long without knowing what she was really like? She realized millions of girls probably had but it was so strange to realize while she was fussing with ice in her bedroom. She had wrapped a good amount of the ice in a hand towel from the bathroom.
"Here," Xena told her softly as she gentle pressed the towel wrapped ice against her ribcage as she continued to lay on her back. "I didn't wrap it too much, did I? Can you feel the ice?"
Gabrielle nodded. "I can feel it."
Xena nodded and uncomfortably smiled in approval. She then seemed to sink into herself for a moment before rolling her shoulders and peering down at Gabrielle. "I really am so fuckin' sorry."
"You already apologized, Xena," Gabrielle toward her with raised eyebrows.
Xena ran a hand down her face as she huffed in annoyance. "Yeah. Yeah."
"What? You've never injured some young defender before?" Gabrielle joked.
Xena scoffed to herself. "Ya ain't just some young defender. You best know better than that, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle peered up at her quizzically. She really hadn't realized that before that moment and it seemed Xena was realizing it at the same time.
"Aw, Gabrielle," Xena replied, shaking her head slightly as she leaned down and kissed her lightly as she placed one hand on the side of her face and the other on the back of her neck. "I have thought about doing that since the moment I walked away from you in that park in Stanford."
Gabrielle nervously laughed. "No," she replied in disbelief. "You can't be serious. You're Xena and I'm just—I mean, I'm nobody."
Xena cupped Gabrielle's face and stared down at her seriously. "You stop sellin' yourself short, Gabrielle. It seems you ain't got no idea now great you are. And I ain't gonna stand for that."
Gabrielle wrapped her arms around Xena's shoulders and pulled her into a kiss. The forward managed to pull herself away for a brief moment.
"You yell at me if I start hurtin' ya, yeah?" Xena questioned softly.
Gabrielle nodded.
"Okay," Xena grinned down at her.
Despite what Xena had said earlier, she had not actually given Gabrielle enough time to shower. So, she ran her hand down her team issued practice shirt and then softly up against the slightly sweat coated skin of her abdomen. She held her hand just above Gabrielle's bra for a moment. Xena had meant it more as an opportunity to ask for consent but Gabrielle had seemingly only viewed it as teasing.
She heaved for breath and buck up against Xena. The striker grinned as she pushed herself down against Gabrielle, while keeping one hand on her breasts and tracing the other down her abdomen and paused slightly as she reached the hem of her practice shorts.
Gabrielle nodded vigorously as she seemed to struggle for breath. Xena smirked as she slid her hand under her shorts and felt the wetness seeping through her underwear. Xena snapped her hand away as her touch created a whimper of discomfort instead of pleasure from the young defender.
Gabrielle called out in pain. "Ah, fuck!" she spit angrily. "Fuck, I'm sorry," she stated as she lifted her head up against Xena's shoulders.
Xena groaned as she pressed her lips together and huffed away her frustration. "Yeah, no. Yeah, you're right." Xena rolled off her and laid on her back beside her. "We shouldn't right now. Last thing I wanna do is hurt you…again."
Gabrielle reached over to place her hand on Xena's shoulder. Xena turned to look at her with vulnerability and softness Gabrielle would have not thought was possible for her only a few months ago. "Will you still stay?" Gabrielle uttered nervously.
"Yeah," Xena instantly replied.
Gabrielle shook her head as she nervously looked away from her for a moment but then turned her eyes to her again. "Not to look after me because of your guilt over injuring me. Wherever this night was about to go, I wanted that. I mean, I want that. So, I want you to stay."
Xena smirked as she twisted her body and leaned in to kiss her. "Okay, Gabrielle. I'll stay then."
