#intrpolympics

As far as Reese was concerned, she had two advantages over the rest the chumps she’d be skating against. Number one, she did skate competitions every time Yen Sid’s held one, she was used to performing in front of a crowd and the feeling of countless eyes on her just didn’t phase her anymore. Number two was her natural lack of shame. If she ate shit, she ate shit. She get up, laugh it off, then go see if anyone wanted to grab a drink. Sure, she’d be disappointed, but not embarrassed.

Looking around, there were a couple here or there that might have one or the other, but she was liking her chances. There was a face or two she recognized from other competitions, but they were all too damned serious. Took all the fun out of it. She’d rather spend her time waiting by bothering the skinny fucker sitting off by himself. After all, they were repping the same place, didn’t that kind of make them teammates?

“Sup, loser?” Plopping down on her board, hands over her knees, Reese grinned up at him as she wait for her ‘teammate’ to acknowledge her presence.

Looking around at his competition, Baran didn’t even bother trying to hold back the snort of derision. This was the best the universe had to offer? These were the poor, condemned souls that were supposed to try to wrestle him into submission? The thought of any of them lasting more than a minute was laughable alone, he didn’t think his mind even capable of considering a loss to one of them.

Like the woman to his left. Sure, she looked tough enough. The close-cropped hair was smart for CQC, and she had that resting bitch face on lock, but she was just so small! He knew she must’ve earned her spot, but she was at least a foot, maybe a foot and a half, shorter than him, and he had a feeling she’d be similarly outclassed muscle-wise. Even with years of anecdotal evidence that the small ones could still be threat, mainly from Jinx, this was wrestling.

He couldn’t stop the laugh as he watched her stretch, thinking just how easily she’d break if they fought.

It had taken time, tears, and more cookies than most people would know what to do with, but eventually Ruby had come to terms with the fact that two of her teammates, nae, closest friends were no good, dirty rotten traitors! She was over it, really she was! They’d made their mistake, chosen their side, and she was determined to show there were no hard feelings as she did her best to crush them.

Fortunately, she still had one loyal friend.

“Pyrrha!!” Leaping up from the bench, Ruby barely wobbled as she made her way across the locker room, wrapping her fellow redhead in a quick hug. If she were being honest, out of all her teammates she was glad to have Pyrrha on her side. The only person she’d have preferred would be Weiss, and she was big enough to admit that that had nothing to do with winning. Pyrrha was the best of them, and they all knew it.

“Are you excited?”

Nothing could top the euphoric feeling Ruby was experiencing in this moment. At the second intermission of their first round match, the Yen Sid team was currently in the lead, and the redhead hadn’t been this excited since Weiss had barged into her apartment and told her they were dating. She wasn’t sure if it was allowed, but with seventeen minutes until the game started back up, Ruby wanted to be with her girlfriend.

Gliding over to where she’d last seen her friends and family, Ruby shared a quick nod and a smile with Pyrrha before scanning over the familiar faces in the audience; Yang, uncle Qrow, Penny, Jaune, even Ironwood! But no Weiss. She knew she’d seen her before, she’d purposely looked for the older girl after scoring in the first period, they’d made eye contact! So where was she now?

Just as she was about to resign herself to the thought that the blonde must have gone for a snack or bathroom break her attention was captured by a banging on the glass directly in front of her.

“Weiss!! Didja see us out there? We’re kicking butt!”

To be completely honest, Ruby didn’t really understand fencing. Like at all. She’d tried, really she had! The previous night had been spent almost entirely on reading up on it and watching matches online in an attempt at comprehension. As it stood, she understood it probably about as well as she did football. Which was only slightly more than rugby or croquet, which were not at all.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to cheer louder than everybody else! Even if she thought it was fancier than a sword fight needed to be.

Fighting her way through the crowd as they’ll made their way towards the restrooms or concessions, Ruby was determined to wish her girlfriend good luck one more time while the games took a brief intermission or seventh inning stretch or halftime break. Whatever you called it for fencing! She didn’t stop pushing until she’d finally made it down to the barrier separating the crowd from the athletes, standing as close to the blonde as the officials would let her.

“Weiss! Weiiiisss!!”

Ruby liked to think she’d come pretty far when it came to dealing with people watching her play. After all, she’d been playing on the Rangers for a while now, and all those eyes focusing on her, counting on her to score or waiting for her to slip up, were hardly a passing thought anymore. The Olympics would be different though. It wouldn’t just be the their fans or the opponents’ watching her this time. All of Yen Sid’s could be watching, the whole galaxy could be watching!

What if she screwed up?

Stopping just shy of the back entrance meant for participants, Ruby could feel the beginnings of a panic attack setting in, growing more and more light headed as her breath came harder and harder. She didn’t want to let her teammates down, disappoint Ironwood, or make Weiss embarrassed to be seen with her just to be seen with her. What had she been thinking, acting like she was good enough to represent an entire society at the most important sporting event of the year?

A strong arm caught her around the waist, just shy of curling up into a panicked ball of fear and self-loathing, pulling her into a firm but gentle hug. Collapsing into the comforting embrace, the redhead gripped tightly at her sister’s shirt as she attempting to get back to a somewhat normal breathing pattern, mumbling into her shoulder when she finally found the breath to speak.

“I’m scared.”

Breathing a sigh of relief as the scores came in, Faybelle was content with how she’d done, even with the additional complications she’d faced. It wasn’t anything to do with her routine that had been the problem, she’d been flawless. It wasn’t even technical difficulties with the music or the pressure of having millions of eyes on her. Those she could deal with.

What she couldn’t deal with was that blonde idiot Darlene making good on her promise ‘glittery sign and all.’ All apparently meaning just about her entire friend group, a who’s who of people that Faybelle would rather forget existed, and Kitty, all holding glittering purple signs. It was a miracle that she’d been able to concentrate at all, never mind well enough to perform, when she hadn’t had enough time to make sure none of them read ‘Faybae.’

Hurriedly making her way to the locker room, Faybelle wasn’t surprised in the slightest to find Darlene waiting for her by the entrance.

“Go ahead, get it over with.”

To say Faybelle was pleased with her level of competition was an understatement. Oh there was talent, to be sure, but so many of them were competing in the artistic gymnastics as well, or with multiple props. There were so few people who chose to specialize as she had, to devote every second of practice to a single format. Not only would they be behind in that regard, but every extra moment spent competing or practicing anything other than the ribbons was another moment spent tiring themselves out.

Combine that with her natural talent and how could she lose?

Waiting just outside the competition area for the rhythm segment to start, Faybelle had to admit the diminutive woman currently performing was good. Good enough that she was glad her name hadn’t been on the roster for her own event. With the athlete posing no threat to her own standing, Faybelle let herself enjoy watching the way the woman’s muscles and curves moved with each motion, only shaking her head of lingering thoughts once the routine was over and the subject of her day dream was walking her way.