Severa huffs as she wipes the sweat from her eyes. Her lungs hurt.
Lucina stands in the middle of the grass field, watching her carefully. She taps on the soccer ball in front of her with her foot. "Can you continue?"
"Of course," Severa scoffs and straightens up. "I could do this all day." She's dying.
Lucina smiles, dribbling the ball almost lazily between her feet. "Good. We'll have to train hard to get you up to speed with the others. Maybe every day for the next month or so."
Severa thinks about Lucina's prediction. She seriously contemplates dying. "You know, I have a life outside of your soccer club."
"Which I wouldn't want to infringe upon, but you were the one who approached me about joining the team."
The redhead huffs. She was. Damn, that principal was so good at manipulating her. She should take lessons. "Yeah, but I said that Noire and I wanted to join." She wipes at her forehead. "Where is she anyway?"
"Ah. I thought it would be easier to give personalized lessons before the trials if we taught one-on-one. Noire is working with Kjelle." Lucina smiles at her, something soft in her expression. "And I took you."
Joy. "Whatever. Let's just get to practice."
A small frown crosses Lucina's face, but she nods. "As you wish."
Lucina ruins her. By the end of the practice, Severa has run so many laps back and forth across the field that she barely made it out to her car without collapsing on her wobby legs.
She pants against the top of her car, not bothering to get in yet. And of course Lucina shows up on the side of her car, looking not exhausted whatsoever.
"Are you okay? You took off so quickly, I had to come after you to check on you," Lucina says. There's a slight tinge of red to her cheeks, but it fades so rapidly that Severa wonders if she imagined it. "Was it something I said that made you leave?"
"No." Severa ducks her head and reaches into her pocket to find her keys. "I'm just starving." Which she is, but the real reason happened in the locker room where she turned her head to ask Lucina something, only to catch a glimpse of the long, lean muscles of the soccer star's back as she pulled off of her shirt. Severa was out of there faster than Yarne faced with homework.
Lucina's eyes scan her face. They almost seem to be searching for something before the captain nods and gestures to Severa's car. "Then may I suggest that we stop at Donnie's to grab something to eat? It's on the way to both of our homes." A growl emanates from Lucina's stomach. "And...you may not be the only one who is hungry."
Severa catches herself between a scoff and a snort. "I can drop you off there if you want." Really, she has no intention of being seen eating with Lucina. She didn't want rumours to follow the taller girl like they did her.
Lucina's expression falters slightly, but there's a determined glint in her eyes. "As your captain, I insist you eat. Especially when you barely have the energy to walk off the fields after training."
Severa flinches. So, she did see that. "You're not my mother." Though honestly, Severa listens to Lucina more than her anyway. "And look, I already said no. Either take the ride or walk home." She hates how harsh she sounds. There's not a small amount of relief when Lucina doesn't seem to take offence at her tone and merely nods in response.
They get in Severa's car, and she backs out of the parking lot before swerving onto the main road leading to the centre of town. Lucina glances at her before fidgeting with the hem of her shirt for some reason. "What did you think of the training?"
Severa thinks of the drills. "Does everyone train like that?"
"No, but I was asked to evaluate your fitness level for the team." She coughs, and a slight flush courses across her cheeks. "You passed, by the way."
"Oh, good. At least, all that suffering counted for something." Severa checks her side mirror before pulling over to the right lane. "Are we going to train in those uniforms too?"
"What's wrong with the uniforms?"
Severa looks at her out of the corner of her eye. "They're kind of...skimpy. Like they don't cover enough skin."
Lucina glances at Severa before planting her gaze firmly on her feet. "The shorts did seem a bit small on you." The tips of her ears have gone red, and Severa has no idea why. "Were you cold in them?"
The tight, black spandex of the soccer team's shorts barely covered the tops of Severa's thighs. She was freezing. "I managed, but longer shorts would be nice." And warm. Sheesh.
"I'll ask our coach to order some new ones for the season." Lucina swallows, and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. Her voice drops to a whisper. "Though I thought you looked good in our current one."
Severa glances sharply at her passenger, who suddenly finds her dashboard fascinating. Was she...?
The large windows and bright blue walls of Donnie's Diner comes into view, and the pair lapse into silence as Severa parks the car in the quiet lot behind the restaurant. Severa kills the engine and waits for Lucina to leave while the tall soccer star stares at her knees as if trying to muster something from them.
Severa's about to ask if she is all right when her captain blurts out, "Would you like to join me for dinner? I know you already said that you wouldn't, but it would be a pleasure to have your company."
Lucina talks so strangely sometimes. "Sorry, I got homework to do." Which she doesn't plan to finish. "And I don't think it's a good idea to spend more time together than necessary. You don't want people to think—"
There's an expression on Lucina's face that catches Severa off-guard and makes the redhead's body flush with guilt. It looks almost as heartbroken as the time Lucina's family found out that Owain wasn't coming home.
"Oh, all right. But only if there's no one else there. And because you're forcing me," Severa grumbles. She pretends her stomach isn't flipping from the happiness in Lucina's eyes.
The taller girl scrambles out of the car and makes it to Severa's side to open it for her. Her cheeks flush, and her voice has a breathless quality to it that has the redhead feel like something in her chest is the one doing flips now. "Sorry, I just...I'm just really excited to eat with you."
Severa gives her an odd look before shrugging off the comment. "Yeah, sure." She fails to see what's so exhilarating about eating at Donnie's. "Let's just grab a seat in the corner somewhere."
To Severa's relief, the diner is quiet with a few patrons lazily finishing off the crumbs of their meals.
The diner's owner and head chef greets a startled Lucina with a giant hug. He turns to give the same greeting to Severa, catches the redhead's expression, and settles for a smile instead. He doesn't seem intimidated by her. "You gals just missed the dinner rush, but I reckon there's still some grub left in the kitchen." He glances up at Lucina and whistles while she blushes. "And you've grown so big, Luci. How come you don't come around here no more?"
He glances at Severa. "Or are you too busy meeting ladies to catch up with old Donnie?"
"She's a prospective teammate for the school's soccer team," Lucina says, quickly. "And I'm sorry, Donnie. School and sports have been crazy, and I forgot to visit."
Donnie waves her explanation. "It's fine. I know you're at that age where you've got other interests to pursuit." He winks at the other girl, and Lucina turns as red as Severa's hair. "Tell your ma and pa that I said hi, and especially tell that mother of yours to visit me more. She's nearly as bad as you," he laughs as he leads them to a secluded corner of the diner. He bids them goodnight to Severa's relief, and several minutes later, Yarne's mother comes up to them to take their orders with a scowl.
Severa crosses her arms and taps her fingers along her biceps as she waits for their orders. She's not sure what to say to the girl across from her now that they're out of school and practice. Lucina's eyes follow her fingers before darting up to Severa's face, her eyes roaming as if searching for something. It gets on Severa's nerves, and she snaps without thinking. "What?"
Lucina flushes slightly, but she meets Severa's gaze. "You're uncomfortable around me."
"I'm uncomfortable around everyone," Severa mutters, though she's not sure if Lucina heard her. "It's a free country. I can act however I want."
"I don't dispute that, but if we are going to be on the same team, I want you to be okay when you're talking to me. I'm just...I'm just a girl like the others."
Severa scoffs. "You? Miss Perfect?" The redhead would consider herself lucky if she was half as skilled as the dirt on Lucina's high-tops. "I don't think you've noticed, but you're kind of like the top student in the school. You're a big deal."
Lucina winces. She looks sad. "You're quite smart yourself, Severa. I don't know why you act like you're not."
The redhead's eyebrows shoot into her hairline. "What would you know about that?"
"I hear my mother talk about you sometimes. She sees a lot in you and says that you're the kind of girl who'll make a big impact one day."
The principal thinks that about her? Severa has trouble believing that, but there's something about Lucina's expression that has the redhead trusting that her words are true. "Her expectations might be too high." She glances away as she said, unable to bring about her typical sharpness. "But thanks for telling me."
There's a quiet that settles between them that almost feels comfortable. Lucina breaks it. "I am interested in hearing about why you'd suddenly decided to join the soccer team." Lucina's gaze meets hers, and Severa finds herself sitting up straighter. "I've heard you say that you'll never join any club, so I'm wondering about the change of heart."
Severa rubs her neck. She feels heat rise to her cheeks. "It's nothing to make a big deal out of. Your mom just pointed out that if the soccer team makes the nationals, there's a good chance that the members will get scouted by some good colleges and offered a scholarship." She doesn't tell her that she's not the person wanting one. "So, might as well try for the team or something like that."
Lucina looks stunned. Her voice goes quiet. "So, you're looking to leave here."
It's not something that hasn't crossed Severa's mind. "Do you want to stay in the middle-of-nowhere?"
"I suppose not." Lucina glances down at her fingers. That heartbroken expression comes back onto her face, and Severa's not even sure what she did. "Where were you thinking of going?"
"I'm not sure yet. I just..." Severa looks out the window. "It's nothing. Really."
They are interrupted by a grumpy Panne slamming down two plates of the house's special in front of them, and Lucina digs into her food without looking at Severa. The redhead joins in, feeling as if she's messed up terribly but not really knowing why.
They finish the meal in silence, pay in silence, and somehow, Severa ends up driving Lucina home, though she doesn't know why or how. It just feels like she did something to hurt Lucina, and she needed to do something to make up for it. She glances at her passenger, who seems determined to stare out the window and avoid conversation. It's only when they arrive in front of Lucina's house that Severa finally gets the nerve to grab Lucina's arm before she's out the car. She has to say something to make that sad look go away.
"Hey, look. Just keep what I said between us. It's not public knowledge quite yet, if you know what I mean." At Lucina's nod and blank stare, Severa continues on. "And thanks for coaching me. I'm not the easiest—I like talking to you. You're not an idiot and—" Oh gods, Severa, how are you messing this up so fast? "—and I'd to spend more time with you. Outside of school, I mean."
"Before you leave, you mean?" Lucina's expression is unreadable, but her tone is soft. "I'd like that too." She glances at where Severa is touching her arm and sighs. She slips back into the car and leans towards Severa, whose breath catches. "But you should know that I like you more than just as a possible teammate and friend."
What?
Oh.
Severa's mind goes blank. She's absolutely useless, and all she can focus on is the thought that Noire was right.
She doesn't know if Lucina catches on that she's nonplussed, but her former passenger shakes her head and brushes her lips against Severa's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."
The redhead can only nod dumbly in response while Lucina leans back out and closes the car door, crossing her paved driveway to make it into her house. She glances back for a long while at Severa before closing her front door.
All that Severa can do is sit in her car and wonder what she's gotten herself into.