Chapter Text
“Go baby! Take that ball from them!” Toni screams at the top of her voice from the stands, surrounded by her friends and the black and yellow signs scattered across the crowd.
“Kill them! Kill. Them. All.” Nora screams from next to Martha who jerks up to her in shock. Toni even spares a glance over, away from Shelby currently running up the massive pitch closing in on the opposition's goal.
“Nora!” Martha yells over the raging crowd.
“Aggressive language has been proven to increase one’s competitive nature.”
“Really?” Fatin asked from Toni’s other side before jumping to her feet almost knocking Leah’s drink and screaming “hunt them down and murder their families!”
Jesus Christ. She's pretty sure this is not the type of support Shelby is looking for. Rachel would probably love it though.
The crowd starts to buzz more excitedly as Shelby closes in on the other teams defenders, a few crazy-fast foot manoeuvres and she’s around the first player with ease, she suddenly passes to the other side of the pitch to Rachel and away for the three players closing in on her from all sides all while Emily drives right though the middle ready to receive the ball from Rachel and seamlessly passes back to Shelby who has used those seconds to place herself close to the goals.
“YEEEEEEAAAAA!” Toni screams as their side of the crowd goes fucking off when Shelby slams the ball in the back of the net easily. All the players in yellow and black charge Shelby with their own cheers, piling on top of her and Toni can see the absolute disappointment on the other teams faces, they’re clearly stunned by how they’re getting their asses handed to them. Especially against a team that hasn’t won a single match for a few years now.
The rest of the match in no different, the other team try desperately to recover but it’s like watching a well oiled machine as Shelby and Rachel pass and attack relentlessly, they don't give the other team a chance to breath and as soon as Shelby has the ball even remotely close to the goal it ends up zipping past the posts within minutes.
Thankfully it’s a home game so Toni and the others wait outside the gym doors with a few of the other players' friends. Most people have left when the team starts filtering out, freshly showered and ready to celebrate their win. Shelby is laughing with Rachel and Emily as she walks out but when she looks up to see Toni, the immediate smile is intoxicating. Shelby jogs the last few feet and Toni sweeps her up with a kiss.
“You were amazing! You didn't tell me you were so good.” Toni praises when they break apart.
“I’m ok, they were just a really bad team.” Shelby excuses as Toni puts her back on her feet.
“Bullshit, that was the best soccer game I’ve seen in years, you were like lightning.” A light blush crosses Shelby’s face and she decides not to respond but to lean in and brush her lips softly over Toni’s instead. The rest of her teammates appear soon enough and they all walk to a local Italian restaurant.
One of their teammates cousin’s owns the place, so they're cool with a group of thirteen plus people turning up without a reservation. Toni hasn’t spent much time with the soccer team like this, sure she’s been helping out during their practice, had too, since she messed up Andrews face but this was more social.
She sits next to Shelby at the table and relaxes back listening to the hum of chatter surrounding them in the warm atmosphere of the restaurant, her eyes drift to her girlfriend frequently as she’s her typical extroverted self. Shelby excitedly talks with a few others about a particular moment she thought she was going to screw up during the game when the waiter comes for their order.
Toni already knows what she’s going to have so orders first, Shelby though is suddenly quiet and looks between the menu and the waiter anxiously when she tells him with a bright smile “I’m still deciding can you come back to me?”
Toni leans into her side, whispers “can’t decide?” She doesn’t want to be overbearing but with the way her Shelby is biting her bottom lip and glancing around the group while pinching the corner of the menu leaves her a little worried.
Shelby looks at Toni as her bottom lip pops out from between her teeth, replying in her own hushed tone as the other girls talk around them “Yeah, no, it’s just been a little while since I’ve eaten out anywhere.”
“Is anything calling out to you?” She asks leaning a little further into Shelby’s side and looking over the menu with her.
“Maybe the four cheese pasta?” It strikes Toni as strange, how her answer is quick but also posed as a question.
“Done, four cheese it is.” She shrugs and offers a smile but Shelby’s still picking at the corner or the menu. “You don’t want the pasta?” Shelby doesn’t reply but she frowns as green eyes dart all around her. Toni takes a guess, it doesn’t feel right but it’s the only one she can think of “if it’s the cost don’t worry about that, it’s my treat.”
Shelby smiles finally but shakes her head a little looking back to the menu as the waiter takes Emily’s order next to Toni. “I just think maybe It’s a little heavy on carbs, right? The salad is definitely healthier. Oh and then we can split a desert?”
Ah ok, Toni sees what this is now, Shelby is feeling shame, this isn’t like when they sat in her room and snacked all night just the two of them, this is Shelby feeling the pressure to eat a certain way especially around others. Toni can tell from the way her eyes jump around the table as if everyone is judging her despite the other girls all being distracted by their own conversations.
Toni leans in a little closer as the waiter turns back to Shelby, her hand landing on Shelby’s knee with a little squeeze “we’re celebrating Shelbs, get the pasta and the dessert. You deserve it.” It’s met with a little sigh and the knee under her hand jumping a few times but Shelby does.
She orders pasta and a cheesecake and releases an excited little hum when she does, handing the menu over. They all fall back into typical banter around the table and Toni’s content to listen for the most part, her hand resting on Shelby’s knee the entire time.
When the food comes out Shelby hesitates a little before she notices no one’s watching her. The pasta is tasty stuff as Toni finds out when Shelby insists on feeding her a small fork full because it’s so good.
Desert is even better, Shelby has a passion fruit cheesecake and Toni a Tiramisu, it’s halfway through when Rachel starts banging her glass.
She doesn’t stand but everyone goes quiet looking at their friend and teammate. “Yeah that’s right, I’m gonna speech right now, get over it” she gets a few giggles and Emily shakes her head next to her “we’re fucking winners now guys let that sink in cause who knows how long it’ll last. So here…” she raises her glass and everyone follows “is to practice, dedication and our secret weapon… Shebald!” The whole table cheers as Rachel points her glass at Shelby.
“Yeah this is probably a shitty thing to say-“ Emily starts with a grin and most of the table simmer down turning to her now “but I’m super happy you got kicked out.”
Rachel snorts next to her and Toni feels a little like she shouldn’t agree but she totally does. Shelby laughs at the comment though and Toni feels a hand slide onto her thigh as Shelby agrees “Me too Emily, me too.”
Rachel drives them home after and asks what their plans for Saturday are so Toni confesses she wants to take Shelby out separately to celebrate just the two of them. But when they're in bed Shelby tells her she thinks it’s too much for just a lucky game, that the cost of the meal was more than she wants Toni to spend.
“What if we do something free, like go for a walk together.”
“A walk! Shelby that sounds dull as fuck. It’s basically just exercise, I wanna do something fun with you.”
“Going for a walk is fun, fresh air, beautiful views, beautiful company…” She punctuates her point by pinching Toni’s chin and pressing her lips firmly to her own and Toni melts into it.
“Fine we‘ll go for a walk but if I figure out something else that’s free and more fun, we’re doing it.”
Toni figures she can do better than just a walk so after they wander the park during the day, eating ice cream and relaxing under the shade of a tree while talking about classes or what they're going to do for break Toni takes Shelby to a shop to pick up some snacks. They get back to the trailer where Toni already has a backpack filled with blankets and two pillows, she puts the bag of treats in a second bag with another blanket as she tells Shelby to grab them both a hoodie each.
Toni takes her bag out to a bike she’s borrowed off one of their neighbours and straps it to the front as Shelby exits the trailer, an extra hoodie in her hands and the other bag on her shoulders. “Where are we going? It’s going to be dark soon.”
Toni grins at her, throws on the hoodie and jumps on the bike holding out her hand “that’s kinda the point, come on, you're gonna love it.” Shelby’s left eyebrow lifts with a slant of her head and a smile as she climbs onto the bike seat. Toni kicks them off and rides hard for a good forty minutes, Shelby clutches her waist and tells her she should take a break after only twenty but Toni is running out of sunlight to get them to their destination.
They pull off the main road and head down a small dirt path with fields on either side, she keeps riding till she sees a recognisable hilltop with an abandoned truck at its peak. They pull over, jump the small wooden fence with the bike, she pushes it up the hill, rests it against the old vehicle and tugs off the backpack while Shelby looks out over the view in awe.
Toni climbs up on the back of the truck and pulls out the covers, laying them down on top of one another, she pulls out the snacks and places them in the corner before turning back to Shelby who is still watching the horizon. “Hey, can you pass me your bag?”
Shelby rushes over to the edge of the truck pulling herself up “Toni, it’s gorgeous.” She swings off her bag emptying it quickly, tosses the pillows to Toni who sets them up against the back of the truck, as she places the many extra covers in the same way Toni did. Toni sits down first bringing one blanket over herself and holding it up for Shelby to climb in on her left. Who, of course, is next to her in seconds pushing herself into Toni’s side and relaxing against the pillows. Toni sets up her phone next to her, starts a playlist she worked on this morning, it's mostly music she thought Shelby would like (a lot of Taylor Swift) but keeps the volume relatively low.
Their feet point off the end of the truck and out over several fields towards the horizon where the sun is just beginning to set, the sky illuminated in warm hues of vibrant orange, red, and purple as the night slowly creeps in. Shelby's eyes skate across the horizon, the bright colours reflecting in their shine as Toni stares unashamedly at their girlfriend. “I told you'd like it.” She whispers, a little smug with herself.
When Shelby meets her eyes Toni bites her bottom lip with a cheeky smile and hikes a brow at the other girl as green eyes stare back with a sparkle of amusement “I concede, you’re right, this is a lot more fun than a walk… Come on then, how many girls have you brought back here?”
Toni feels herself getting a little nervous now, “you're the first actually.”
“Oh really? I’m the first?” Toni shifts her eyes around till they land on the horizon with a nod. “What did you find this place over the summer?”
“The opposite actually, I used to run away here all the time when I was little. And I ran away a lot.” Now it’s usually her mother that does the running. She feels Shelby shift next to her, possibly looking for more eye contact.
“You never brought Regan here?” She turns back to her girlfriend who's looking down at their entwined hands above the covers.
“Guess I never had the urge.” Toni shrugs, it’s not like she didn't have strong feelings for Regan she really did but things are different with Shelby, it’s more… Intense. “It just felt right to do it now, to show you .” Green eyes meet her own and Toni feels a shock wave hit her so suddenly with the warmth they hold, it’s nerve wracking so she quickly adds “and I checked the weather tonight. It's supposed to be clear so you’ll get to see all the stars, you’re gonna love it.”
Shelby leans into her softly, her lips grazing over Toni’s with a feather light tough before very quickly turning firm as a hand finds the back of her head and Toni leans into it eagerly. She likes Shelby like this, confident and taking what she wants. When she pulls away she smiles wide, places a quick soft peck one more time then settles back against Toni to watch the sun now setting on the horizon.
Toni can’t help herself, she presses another kiss into her right temple then another on the pink star behind her ear before resting her head against Shelby's and joining her in watching the sunset with the faint tune of Taylor Swift in the background. They lie in comfortable silence just taking in moment after moment as the sun makes its descent, Shelby's hands clutching her own, rubbing the pads of her fingers into Toni’s palm in a slow rhythm as the last warm wisps of sunlight are washed away by deep shades of blue pushing them into the horizon.
“Thank you, Toni.”
“Shelby we’re celebrating you , you don’t need to thank me.” Toni laughs back as the dark of the night truly takes over, though it's just a little too light to see the stars yet.
“Not just for this Toni,” Shelby sits back a little twisting round to face Toni fully, her eyes glistening slightly as she continues “for everything. I don’t know where I’d be without you. You gave me a chance to really find out who I am. You made me feel safe when I was… Truly the most terrified I’ve ever been.” Shelby blinks away any tears and bites her bottom lip for a second before seeking out Toni’s eyes with a deep breath. “I think I love you. No I… I know I love you. Toni, I love you.”
Toni’s heart slams in her chest, the air in her lungs evaporates, she fights the overload to her senses but everything is fuzzy and warm, her face hurts from the smile pulling so sharply at her cheeks. Shelby’s eyes twitch from Toni’s to her hands and back again as she waits for a response. Toni doesn't leave her hanging for long, reaching out and pulls Shelby's against her, her lips smother nervous ones that respond gratefully until Toni pulls away seconds later.
“I love you too, Shelby.”