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“And that’s another three points on the board for Britannic Panic,” the announcer’s voice boomed overhead. “The Midnight Brawlers are going to need to pull out all the stops if they hope to leave this one with their undefeated streak intact.”
It was official. Una had lost her focus. It wasn’t something that happened often. Or, well…ever. But Una was nothing if not honest with herself. And in the spirit of honesty, she had to admit that she’d been thrown. Big time.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see that some of her teammates were exchanging wary glances before pointedly looking in her direction. She gritted her teeth and ignored them as she lined up for the next jam.
“You good?” Daisy Demon asked in Una’s ear.
Una bobbed her head once, curtly, not bothering to answer. She was busy trying not to think about the other team’s jammer and the tinkling sound of her laughter. In an effort to ground herself, she fixed her eyes on the track ahead of her and concentrated on listening for the short whistle from the ref to start the jam.
Even though she’d been listening for it, the whistle still took Una a little bit by surprise, and she was about half a second slow getting off the line. She cursed under her breath and took off, conscious that this mistake – like so many others she’d already made today – had the potential to cost her team some much needed points.
Una reminded herself that her nickname was Number One for a reason, and she allowed some of her overall frustration to bleed through and colour her actions as she jostled, shoved, and elbowed anyone within reach.
The sound of skates clattering against concrete was loud as the pack vied for position. Una turned her head back and forth, searching for the other team’s jammer, praying that this time, she would be able to throw a convincing enough block to slow her down. She’d kind of given up on stopping her altogether at this point.
La’an had moves. Una had to give her that. She didn’t have to like it. Particularly as it had put her own team in a bit of a spot, and it was making Una look bad. But she recognised talent when she saw it, and La’an had it in spades.
The pack had spread out a bit now – a result of the forward momentum of the group coupled with the pushing – and Una’s heart stuttered as she got a whiff of lavender from over her left shoulder. From La’an.
She shook her head. She had to be imagining that, right? Surely, she couldn’t pick out La’an’s signature scent in this madness. But no sooner had the thought flitted through her mind than La’an was rocketing past her again. Dammit!
La’an skated like her arse was on fire, and when she’d gotten more than an arm’s length away, she did a little hop and landed so that she was facing Una, skating backwards for a few seconds before blowing Una a kiss and a cheeky wink. Then she flipped back around and took off.
Una’s brain short circuited, and the image of La’an’s eyes sparkling as she looked at her with her lips puckered, played on a sped up loop in her mind. She blinked and was surprised when her hips connected with the hard metal of the outer railing.
The jolt rattled her and almost knocked the wind out of her. She took a deep breath and pushed off, turning just in time to see La’an slamming the sides of her fists down repeatedly onto her hips to call off the jam.
Their team captain called a time out, and they all came together in the middle of the rink.
“Mystique!” her teammate, BiFurious, shouted at her, clearly frustrated. “What the fuck?”
“Sorry,” Una mumbled through gritted teeth, wincing at the pain in her now-tender stomach.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Obliviator asked, her expression concerned.
Una shook her head. She wasn’t unwell. Not exactly. Though she wasn’t quite herself, either. She tried to stop herself but was ultimately unable to help glancing briefly over at the other team. La’an was frowning in her direction, her expression bordering on worried.
“Well, then, get your shit together,” Helena Handbasket snapped.
“Oh, calm yourself down,” Obliviator said. “It’s only a friendly.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want to lose. Not even during a Cordial Clash.”
Obliviator rolled her eyes. “And that is why you’re single.”
The captain, Renegade Rage-her, held up a hand. “Stop it. Both of you.” She levelled an intense stare at Una, who stared back.
Time stretched between them, and the sound of the crowd faded to a low, almost background hum as they engaged in their non-verbal standoff. Una endured the judgmental look for as long as she was able, but in the end, her on-the-rink, badass Mystique persona failed her, and her rule-following, nerdy, bookshop owner, Kara-Danvers nature won out. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth to speak –
– And was saved by the whistle.
Una breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for a reason to avert her eyes. She pushed off to glide easily back over to the line, and met Obliviator’s eyes. She favoured Una with an encouraging smile and a gentle pat on the arm. Una was thankful for the gesture.
The two teams lined up, engaged in some perfunctory pushing and shoving, and the jam was underway. Una was determined to save face, so she forced herself to both literally and figuratively get her head back into the game.
It worked. For a bit. She’d gotten her mojo back, and with it, the Midnight Brawlers were back in the zone. Una blocked like she had never blocked before, partly to impress La’an, and partly to stop her. It was a confusing few minutes, but the team was able to extend their lead to something a little bit more comfortable, and Una was able to breathe again.
Obliviator called off the jam after scoring an actual grand slam and flashed the cheering spectators a toothy grin. Una gave her an enthusiastic high five before slapping her lightly on her panty-covered helmet.
She turned to line up for the next jam, feeling the momentum of the game shift beneath her the way a wave swells beneath a surf board, and just like a wave crashing against the shore, Una’s world was upended when she turned and realised that La’an was on the ground. And she wasn’t getting up.
Una frowned. That certainly explained how Obliviator had been able to score a grand slam. But the reality really asked more questions than it answered.
Una skated over to where La’an was lying on the rink, passing Helena Handbasket on the way. Helena met her eyes, and her expression was one of faked innocence that Una had seen countless times when Helena had done something against the rules. Normally, it made Una huff and roll her eyes, as she didn’t want to resort to dirty tricks to win. Occasionally, Una would tell Helena off, at which Helena always scoffed. Today, however, Una’s blood boiled.
She knelt down next to La’an and tentatively put a gentle hand on her shoulder, heart fluttering at the gentle whiff of lavender that tickled her nose. “La’an? I mean, Mary Queen of Skates. Are you okay?”
La’an groaned and blinked her eyes rapidly a few times. She prodded her lower lip with her tongue, and Una couldn’t help but notice the rapidly rising welt just on the outside of La’an’s left eyebrow. She struggled to sit up, and Una narrowed her eyes and glanced over her shoulder at Helena, who was watching her.
La’an rested a gentle hand on Una’s knee, shifting her focus. “Hey. I’m okay. Just a little shaken, that’s all.”
Una pursed her lips. “Are you sure? Don’t you need to go sit out for a bit?”
La’an used Una’s knee as leverage to push herself up onto her knees. For an instant, Una was hyper aware of how close they were to one another, and she thought back to their date the previous evening and how much fun they’d had. And how she was still kicking herself for not kissing La’an, despite how much she’d wanted to.
La’an grinned at her, and Una shook her head to clear her thoughts. She got to her feet and held out a hand to help La’an regain hers. The brush of their palms was electric, and Una shivered.
“And miss the chance to score on you again?” La’an teased with a grin. “Not a chance.”
La’an raised her eyebrows once in a playful gesture and skated back over to her team. Una stared blankly after her, the applause from the audience at La’an’s recovery ringing in her ears. It took Una far too long to put La’an’s parting words together with the question she’d asked earlier, and she shook her head at herself as she rejoined her team on the line.
Una took her stance, ready for this bout to be over already. She glanced at the clock and was relieved and dismayed in equal measure to realise that there was still plenty of time for several more jams. She sighed, waited for the first whistle, and took off.
Maybe it was the fact that the end of the bout was rapidly approaching. Maybe it was each team wanting to win. Maybe it was a full moon. Una wasn’t sure. But somehow, things on the rink had escalated to a fever pitch, and the pushing, jostling, and elbowing now seemed borderline out of control.
Una was equally comfortable skating both forward and backward, and she used those skills interchangeably and to her advantage quite often. Sure, she could look over her shoulder in an attempt to keep her eye on the action – and she did – but she felt that some situations called for a fuller type of attention.
Today, for instance, in addition to keeping one eye on La’an and one eye on her own jammer, she was keenly aware of where Helena Handbasket was and what she was up to. La’an and Obliviator were both attempting to push through the pack, both eager to break ahead and try to score. Una moved so she was positioned closer to where La’an was headed, and the two of them engaged in a little bit of back and forth where La’an tried to feint one way and deke the other as she tried to fake Una out to get past her. The grin on her face was infectious, and Una couldn’t help grinning back.
Just over La’an’s shoulder, Una spotted Helena Handbasket charging toward them, full steam ahead, her eyes glinting with a dark malevolence that made Una’s insides crawl. Her heart skipped a beat, and the way Helena was moving as she brought her arms up in front of her, made Una realise that she was prepping for one of the illegal moves that Una had blasted her for multiple times: she was going to barrel into La’an from behind as hard as she could and use both of her hands to try to shove La’an over onto her face.
Maybe it was partly La’an’s fault for playing with Una and not being completely aware of her surroundings. But then that would make this partly Una’s fault, too. And she couldn’t bear to see La’an get flattened. So she made a decision.
She did a little hop turn so that she was facing forward once more, reached back her hand, grabbed onto La’an’s and whipped her forward.
Una barely had time to register the look of surprise on La’an’s face before Helena slammed into her own back with a jarring thud that made her teeth clack and knocked the wind from her lungs. Then she went down. But as she fell, she made sure to tangle herself around Helena so that Helena tripped and came down with her.
Everything after that was more or less a blur. Wheels thundered by Una’s head, and she held her breath for a few seconds, and as soon as the track had quieted, she scrambled to get back to her feet. Helena shot her a murderous glare as she struggled to get back up as well, and Una, having had enough of her attitude, pushed her right back down as she skated by to join the rest of the pack. She’d only just caught up when the whistle sounded to end the jam.
Una was breathing hard, and she cast around to catch a glimpse of La’an needing to see that she was okay. La’an’s face was red and glistening with sweat, but she was grinning, and her teammates were slapping her on the back. Una couldn’t help but smile inwardly herself. Well, she actually scored on me again after all.
Renegade Rage-Her came up next to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Una didn’t even need to wait to hear the words. She knew what Rage was going to say. “You’re out, Mystique.”
Una nodded. “Fair enough.” She hated being benched, but she hated letting her team down even more, so maybe this was for the best. Besides, the bout was almost over anyway. There was a very slim chance they would lose, even after that last jam. Una wasn’t worried.
Renegade Rage-Her bobbed her head once and gestured toward, Ally McSteel to come off the bench and take Una’s place.
For an instant, Una was worried. She knew that Rage – and some of her other teammates – felt the same way she did about many of Helena’s rough hits, but she doubted any of them would go out of their way to protect La’an. She feared that her actions might’ve made La’an even more of a target. Her chest felt tight. She opened her mouth – to protest? to plead? she wasn’t even sure – but Rage was already gone.
Una stood next to the track trying to decide what to do. But then, as she watched, Rage went over to Helena Handbasket and said something to her. Helena’s face darkened, and she narrowed her eyes and glared at Una for a long moment before stalking off in the direction of the locker room.
Una breathed a sigh of relief, and skated slowly over to her teams bench and joined her other teammates, exchanging a nod with Rita Rocket, who was going in for the now-ejected Helena, on the way.
She only half watched the rest of the bout. It was only a Cordial Clash, after all. It had no bearing on their standing in the league. And though their lead wasn’t as large as they normally enjoyed against Brittanic Panic, it should be enough to see them through.
For the last remaining minutes of the game, Una’s attention was focused on La’an, and her thoughts wandered back and forth between appreciation for her skill on the track and replaying bits of their previous dates. Like herself, La’an was a completely different person outside of derby, and Una was really enjoying getting to know her.
She thought back to the first time La’an had wandered into her book shop. It couldn’t have been on purpose to see her, Una knew, because La’an had definitely not recognised her initially. Which was not a surprise, considering how much makeup Una wore when on the track coupled with her glasses. And when Una had explained how they knew one another, La’an had seem genuinely stunned. But they’d soon gotten talking about derby and movies and the book La’an had special ordered, and right away, Una had felt a connection.
She and La’an had been out twice now, and she suspected that La’an felt the same. Which is why she was still trying to figure out why she’d chickened out and hadn’t kissed La’an on their last date.
The sound of the bout-ending whistle brought Una out of her daydream and back to the present. She blinked and glanced up at the scoreboard, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw that they’d won. Then, feeling guilty, she glanced to La’an, who was grinning at her. Tension that Una hadn’t realised she’d been holding seeped out of her body. La’an wasn’t upset with her.
Una had to force herself not to look over at La’an too often as she walked with her teammates into the locker room. But it was a struggle.
The mood among the group was mostly high. Even Helena Handbasket seemed to be in good spirits, the prospect of drinks buoying her mood. Una declined the invitation. While she normally enjoyed going out with the group to celebrate, she feared running into anyone from Britannic Panic. She was a little too out of sorts to try to converse with any of them. And she was almost terrified of running into La’an herself while surrounded by an audience.
So Una endured the good-natured cajoling until the team left to go drink the rest of the night away at the local bar, and then she set about taking a long, luxurious shower to wash out her temporary red hair and wash off the blue makeup she always donned as part of her on-track persona. The alone time did her a world of good, and she felt she’d almost shaken her regret for not kissing La’an before and turned it into resolve to kiss her next time. Assuming La’an was amenable.
Feeling hopeful, Una slung her gear bag over her shoulder and headed outside. She was even humming under her breath as she rounded the corner of the building to the parking lot, but the song died on her lips and her heart ker-thunked hard inside her chest when she realised that someone was leaning against the driver’s side door.
La’an.
Una swallowed hard and tried to play it cool as she approached. But judging by La’an’s slight smirk, she suspected she hadn’t quite managed to pull it off.
“Does it always take you this long to come out after a bout?” La’an asked, pushing herself off the truck and standing as tall as she could.
Una chuckled. “Well, it takes a lot of work to transform from Mystique back into me.”
“Hmm,” La’an hummed. “I like you better with brown hair.”
Una felt her cheeks flush and her heart soar. “Thanks.”
“So, would you say this counts as our third date, then?” La’an asked.
Feeling emboldened by the question, Una stepped into La’an’s personal space so they were standing scant inches apart, breathing the same air. Una brought up her right hand and gently brushed a stray wisp of hair off La’an’s forehead before allowing it to drift down to rest at the spot just below and behind La’an’s ear. Una heard La’an’s breathing hitch, and she was close enough to see La’an’s pupils dilate. Still, she wanted to be sure that La’an was okay with this, so she leaned forward very slowly, giving La’an ample time to speak up or pull away if this wasn’t what she wanted. She even stopped altogether just before their lips brushed. La’an swallowed hard and let out a tiny little whimper.
And then Una leaned in to kiss her.
It was slow and soft and sweet, and made Una’s head spin and her pulse race. She didn't know what she had expected La'an to taste like, but it wasn't bubblegum. Una wondered whether she’d been chewing a piece while she’d been waiting for her, but then La’an’s lips parted, and the tip of her tongue lightly grazed Una’s bottom lip, and Una stopped thinking about anything at all.
When they finally pulled back, Una was a little breathless and favoured La’an with a shaky smile.
La’an smiled back. “Finally. I’ve been waiting for you to do that since our first date. For future reference, I really do not like to be kept waiting.”
Una laughed and threaded their fingers together. “Duly noted.”