Across The Field And Back (ch7)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!!

Day 7: Trust.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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														Chapter 7.

It had been an exciting and interesting soccer season for Weiss and Ruby that year.

That was the year they'd first kissed under the stars and had nervously, though very happily, continued to share kisses in secret at school or hidden behind the restroom building or supply shed before or after a game.

They'd gone through wins and losses respectfully, always commending one another on the field in front of the others in that playfully condescending and challenging way of theirs, and then would hurriedly steal a quick moment alone together to kiss and embrace.

Of course it didn't take long for their friends and sisters to find out. They'd all suspected something between the two for years now, but only in recent weeks had their bond seemed to become stronger somehow.

Yang and Winter had their inklings about why their little sisters would come home so ecstatic from games they'd lost, but both had kept their theories to themselves.

Somehow Ruby and Weiss had managed to officially keep their relationship a secret throughout the season. It had been a good one, and as of now their teams were tied in wins and would be moving on to the final playoffs against each other.

That evening, all of the players got to the field early to practice their dribbling and tricks and blocks and kicks. And of course no one was earlier than Weiss.

When Ruby arrived she spotted her girlfriend on the other side of the field practicing her defense, having her teammates shoot at the goal behind Weiss with multiple balls at a time. Ruby whistled softly as she watched Weiss block each and every shot as she assessed which person would kick first and what the angle of their hit would be even before they made it.

It was going to be a tough final game, but Ruby wouldn't have it any other way. Watching Weiss like that only had her falling more and more in love with her, and Ruby quickly made herself look away before she started spacing out too much. She needed to focus on her own techniques today for the final game.

So she asked her own teammates to play as the offending team and try to block her path to the goal. She took the ball and zipped around them, spinning and dodging, kicking the ball a foot or so ahead of herself to clear it from an opponent, and then following it up quickly and continuing forward. She made it to the goal swiftly and took her shot, then repeated the process.

Jaune only managed to block half of them with his luck, and that was more than most people got past him, so Ruby took it as a victory.

By the time the game was about to start all members of both teams were warmed up thoroughly. The coaches blew their whistles and called their teams over to give pep talks.

"We've come very far!" Oobleck was saying. "Now is no time to get conceited, my children, oh no! Don't think we've won this game before it's even started! Don't let it get to your heads! All right now here's our formation..."

He read it off, and Ruby waited for her name. But he never said it, not until the end.

"And Miss Rose, you'll be sitting out the first quarter."

"What?! But it's the final game!"

"I am well-aware," he said. "And that is precisely why I need you to save your energy until the end. Understood?"

Ruby was itching to play, but she accepted her coach's call.

"Yes, sir..."

"Good girl. Now go take the bench."

So as all of her teammates got ready on the field, Ruby limped over to the sidelines and plopped down. But to her surprise, she saw Weiss heading her way as well, looking equally as miffed. Ruby made room for her on the bench.

"You're sitting out?"

"I'm surprised you are," Weiss said. "Coach Port wants me to-"

"Save your energy for the end, right?"

"Indeed. It's quite frustrating."

"Yeah..."

As the game commenced all eyes were on the players. Ruby and Weiss were eagerly invested as well, watching the ball intently as if they could run out and get it, muttering comments to their teammates under their breath.

Their hands came together without them even realizing it, and they'd squeeze each other in anticipation or relief depending on the gameplay.

It felt like such a long first quarter, especially since they couldn't interfere with it beyond shouting and squealing.

By the time Glynda blew the whistle Ruby and Weiss were both almost sweating with how invested they'd both gotten from the bench. They helped each other up and let go of each other's hands, now relieved to be able to actually join in on the action.

"Let's do our best out there, Weiss!" Ruby grinned. "Doesn't matter if we're girlfriends or whatever! I trust you not to go easy on me! Give it your all no matter what!"

"Of course I will, you dolt. Giving anything less would be insulting."

They performed their handshake, then locked their pinkie fingers together in a familiar fashion and chanted together.

"No mercy!"

They pulled their fingers apart, their contract sealed once again. Only this time Weiss dove in for a very brief kiss to Ruby's cheek to help reinforce it. Ruby blushed and tried to get a chance to kiss her back, but Weiss was already strutting off to her side of the field. Ruby smirked and watched her go, then took off in the opposite direction.

The whistle blew and the second quarter began. It was heated, as you'd imagine for a final game of the season.

The first quarter had left the teams at one-to-one, and in the second quarter no new points were made.

Ruby did her best to move up and score, dribbling the ball back and forth with Sun or Coco, but Weiss' defense was impeccable. She'd learned all of Ruby's techniques by now, knew how to predict her movements and the angle of her kick.

Whenever the ball got to Ruby's end of the field, if Nora didn't clear it then Jaune would make a miraculous save by blocking with his gut or face.

So no points were made in the second quarter.

Or the third.

And halfway through the fourth they were still tied one-to-one.

With the final minutes winding down everyone was giving it their absolute best. Even the goalies had been invited to come out onto the field to try and join the attack.

The ball went back and forth across the field as if it were ping pong, not soccer, sending the players running continuously.

Ruby was the only one on her team not entirely exhausted by this point.

And of course Weiss wasn't either. Her goalie had run out to try and score himself, but she remained rooted to her defensive spot, playing both that and the role of goalie now essentially, only with fewer liberties allowed of the official position.

Ruby kept managing to get the ball up close, but Weiss deflected her every time. Sometimes someone would make a hard desperate kick from half-field and try to get it in, but Weiss would jump and block it with her shoulder and send it right back.

It wasn't to anyone's surprise when the final whistle blew and Glynda called for overtime. It was the final game after all. No one could settle for a tie.

Everyone walked off the field for a drink, and the excitement was palpable through the audience in the bleachers and the players themselves. Ruby and Weiss somehow found themselves at the center of all the compliments.

"That Ruby keeps getting the ball every time!"

"I know! She's so good! And she nearly gets it to the goal!"

"But Weiss is just as good at defense as Ruby is at offense!"

"She never lets anything by!"

The two of them blushed as if they hadn't heard and turn to one another.

"Not half bad," Weiss said with snarky affection, ruffling Ruby's messy hair. "Let's see if you'll be able to get past me in overtime."

"Not bad yourself!" Ruby elbowed Weiss' ribs playfully. "Let's see if you can keep up that perfect defense!"

Glynda blew the whistle and everyone got back onto the field. Only this time both Coach Oobleck and Port had agreed to make things interesting by having both of their goalies sit out. It was only offense and defense players now, and without goalies everyone was all the more willing to give it their all.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the overtime began. Just a single goal would decide the winners of the entire season.

As expected, Ruby got ahold of the ball fairly quickly. Weiss kept an eye on her as she weaved through the blue team's players and tried to make a shot.

Weiss lunged forward to intercept, quickly getting control of the ball and passing it off to Neptune. She gave an impish smile to Ruby before waving her off. Ruby stuck out her tongue and raced away.

Weiss doubted her team would score yet, so she decided on a tactic that would throw everyone off the next time the ball came to her.

Surely enough, Ren cleared the ball Pyrrha had shot, and it soon came back into Ruby's possession. Weiss waited patiently for her time to strike, so to speak.

As soon as Ruby thought she'd gotten around Weiss to shoot, Weiss jumped back to stop the ball. But she didn't simply kick and clear it this time. Instead, Weiss did something she'd never done before.

She left her post at the defense line of the goalie box and took the ball up across the field.

She was no offense player, so her actions baffled everyone momentarily. Of course Ruby was on her in seconds, but Weiss managed to take the ball across the half-field line and send it back to Pyrrha before making a retreat back to her own goal.

And it almost worked. Everyone was so surprised to have seen Weiss take an offensive position that Pyrrha very nearly scored them the winning point.

But then something just as surprising happened. Ruby fell back to the defense position and blocked the ball, then cleared it to Nora.

The role reversal of each team's best respective players amazed everyone.

It was a very suspenseful and exciting overtime indeed. It went on for over ten minutes, and the coaches were beginning to entertain thoughts of a shoot-out.

The audience was intensely invested. Ruby could hear Yang and her father cheering for her, and she even heard Weiss' more refined sister Winter calling out.

By this point Ruby was at a loss. She'd used every technique she knew against Weiss to try and get past her, but nothing had worked; not her trick shots or her fancy footwork or her twists and fakes. She couldn't keep using her old techniques. She needed something new. But what? What-

"Ruby!" Sun called to her and the ball was at her feet the next second. Ruby took off with it instinctively.

Weiss already had eyes on her and was prepared.

/What are you going to try this time, Ruby? A side-step? A full spin with the ball? A light tap or a powerful push? Whatever it is I'll stop it./

She crouched low and got into her stance as Ruby approached, whizzing past Weiss' enervated teammates with ease.

Weiss kept her eye on Ruby's feet and on the ball as she neared. She paid attention to the slight movements that would give away what Ruby intended to do next.

And Weiss could tell she was about to try a plough-through, to just keep running head-on and try to get past Weiss.

Weiss wasn't foolish enough to fall back closer to the goal. She'd have to charge Ruby as always and steal the ball.

So she waited for the right time and then rushed forward, waiting for Ruby's attempt to shoot.

But then Ruby did something she'd never done before, something not even Weiss had anticipated.

She stopped.

Without warning or any kind of indication, she came to a complete halt.

And Weiss couldn't stop her own charge in time.

Ruby waited until the last possible second before Weiss crashed into her to kick the ball.

In this manner she effectively eliminated Weiss as an obstacle as they collided and fell to the ground - though at the very least when Ruby caught her, it was in a hug.

The ball rolled forward over the white line, and the whistle blew.

Weiss found herself on top of a giggling squealing Ruby as the crowds erupted in applause.

And Weiss understood she'd lost. She let out a long, long sigh, one that wasn't miffed so much as it was relieved and amused. Ruby was still giggling with both arms locked around her back.

"Got'cha, got'cha!"

And Weiss knew she didn't mean it in a mean way. Ruby didn't mean to brag that she'd succeeded in tricking Weiss, but rather she simply meant she'd caught her from the fall and spared her more grass stains. Weiss smiled helplessly and ducked her face into Ruby's shoulder.

"Yes," she sighed. "I suppose you did get me. Good job, Ruby."

Ruby continued giggling and started peppering kisses all over Weiss, who threw her inhibitions to the cool evening wind and kissed back.

Their teammates and sisters rushed to surround and congratulate them, less on the game and more on their now-official romance.

Eventually Ruby and Weiss sat themselves and each other up before getting to their feet. Weiss dusted her girlfriend off, plucking grass and wiping dirt away. Ruby just hugged her.

"That was an awesome season, Weiss!"

"It was indeed. I learned a lot, especially from you. But don't think I'll let you beat me next year."

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Ruby sat back and offered her pinkie, which Weiss accepted with her own.

"No mercy!"

And then they pulled each other in for another kiss, which earned more applause than the winning goal ever could.

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A/N: I had a lot of fun with this chapter! Next one is just a very small epilogue/wrap-up.