Chapter Text
Tobin’s first shot was a nine. She had a snarl on her face as she turned back to the bench. She wanted to get a ten and put the pressure on her competition.
The girl got a perfect score and Tobin hung her head, looking up when she felt Alex’s hand on her shoulder.
Shootouts were rare, but Tobin and other archer got the same points and the same amount of tens.
The brunette took a deep breath and got on her feet again.
This was archery. This was something she excelled at. This was something she was better at than most people. She cleared her mind of every thought except one. I have no peers. I am in a league of my own, competing against myself. Always.
She got a bullseye and the home crowd cheered. She took a few steps back and watched the other girl shoot a nine. She still had a chance at winning this thing.
Tobin walked up again, confidence at a new high. She shot another ten and smiled at her competition. The girl looked confused but walked up and took her last shot.
Tobin had her back turned to the targets and the scoreboard, but when she heard the cheer and saw Alex jumping up and running towards her, she raised her arm up in celebration. They would be representing the Academy at the Collegiate championships in the new year.
“Tobin fucking Heath!”, the Violet prefect called out as she wrapped her arms around the brunette. “You are a legend”.
“Thanks, Al”, Tobin said. She looked around, the moment was sweet but there was something missing. She was happy, of course – her hard work had once again paid off – the story of her life. But there was still a piece of the puzzle missing.
She turned to the stands, craned her neck to see if she could spot a familiar face in the crowd. She spotted Lindsey, who had come to watch her. She smiled in her direction and gave a wave.
Lindsey and about three other girls waved back.
“Your fangirls are waiting for you”, Alex teased. “Go on, I’ll pack up your things”.
Tobin had been on her way to the stands – she wanted to thank Lindsey for coming - but before she could reach the blonde, Alice and a friend jumped into view.
“Congratulations, Tobin. You were amazing”, Alice said with a bright smile. “I baked these for you”, she said and handed the brunette a pastry box. “Goodluck cookies. They’re oatmeal chocolate”.
“Oh, err, thank you so much”, Tobin said because she wasn’t sure what else to say. She quite liked the free gifts and free drinks whenever she set foot in a bar, but she always felt a little awkward about taking stuff from girls she knew liked her. She had been trying her best not to lead anyone on, but not by being too mean either. “They definitely worked, cos I won”, she added with a smile. “Hey, I just wanna say hi to my friend over there, so—”
“Of course”, Alice said. “Um, are you gonna celebrate your victory at the Apo or Arcadia tonight?”
“I don’t know”, Tobin answered honestly. “I have a lot of work to get to, so I don’t think I’m gonna be celebrating tonight”. She really wanted to go to talk to Lindsey, but Alice and her friends just kept going on and on about how great she was at archery. The compliments were nice, but it was getting tedious.
Lindsey eventually saw that Tobin wasn’t going to get away from them anytime soon, so she walked up and joined the conversation.
“Hey, Tobin. God, you’re always in such high demand”, she said with a smile.
“I’m the last slice of pizza in the box”, she joked. “Thanks for coming today”.
“I wouldn’t miss it”, Lindsey said and confidently moved a hand around Tobin’s waist.
Tobin looked down to hide her knowing smile. Alice and her friend caught the hint and left with a few mumbled goodbyes.
Once they were out of earshot, the blonde prefect chuckled lowly and pulled her arm away. “Wow, you really are the last slice of pizza – everybody wants you”.
“Thanks for saving me”, Tobin laughed and ran a hand through her hair. “They’re nice girls and all”, she held up the box of cookies. “…but I’m just here to shoot arrows into that target over there”.
“Anytime”, she said and grabbed the box from Tobin’s hand. “I’ll take these off your hands”.
“Fair enough”, Tobin said with a chuckle. “But seriously, thanks for coming today. It means a lot”.
“You were brilliant today. I mean, I know virtually nothing about archery, but I know you’re really good”.
“Thank you”, Tobin said and then gestured towards the bleachers. “Wanna sit?”
“Wish I could, but I’m working at the infirmary this week. There’s a bit of a bug going around, so I’m helping out”, Lindsey explained. “I have to get back there now actually”.
“I get it”, Tobin said with a smile. “Saving lives and all that. I really appreciate you coming today, Lindsey. It was nice knowing I had someone in the crowd for me”.
Lindsey gave a smile and nodded eagerly. “Of course, but you had a few people in the crowd for you”. She turned to leave but looked over her shoulder at the physicist. “I’ll see you around, Tobs”.
She raised her hand to wave at the blonde.
Most of the crowd had gone. Alex and Servando weren’t there anymore, the rivals left, the crowd dispersed. Tobin walked back to fetch her bow and her bag and thank the groundskeeper for picking out her arrows from the target.
She sat herself down in the middle of the lane in which she stood for the tournament and looked up the heavy grey sky. She was tired and her shoulder really hurt. But then she carefully laid back on the grass, arms and legs outstretched as she breathed in the cool air. She closed her eyes and saw nothing but fields of wild violets in front of her. A golden sunset, a gentle breeze that cooled her tanning skin. And when she heard Christen call her name, she was convinced that she was just a part of her visions, too.
When she opened her eyes, the Californian stood over her with a bemused look on her face.
“What are you doing?”
“Christen… hey”, Tobin said carefully, as if she wasn’t sure if the woman was really there. She sat up slowly and realised that she was, in fact, real. “What are you doing here?”
“I knew you had a very important meet today and I wanted to show my support—for the team”.
“You came?”
The younger women bit back a smile. “I did”.
Tobin managed to lazily smirk at the woman she once called her girlfriend. “Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it”. She looked away shyly, and she didn’t know why she was shy in front of Christen – they had been together for such a long time. “Now I know why I won today- my good luck charm was here”.
Christen could feel her face flush red, and she didn’t know why she was blushing at that. She decided it was because she was dressed warm. “You once told me you’d teach me how to shoot with the bow”.
“I remember, yeah”, Tobin said, slowly rising to her feet. “Want me to show you now?”
“Yes please”, Christen said and walked over to the bench, not waiting on the brunette any longer. “I’m ready”.
-
Tobin was a very patient instructor. She first explained all the safety rules to Christen. Then she put all of her protective gear on her. She had to admit that the younger woman looked really good in her chest compressor and arm guard.
She corrected Christen’s stance a few times, and when the Latin major was unsure of how to hold the bow, Tobin asked if she could guide her. With Christen’s go ahead, the brunette moved behind her and placed her arms on her biceps, having her raise the bow slightly.
“Don’t be intimidated”, she whispered lowly against the nape of Christen’s neck.
“I’m not intimidated by the bow”, Christen said back shakily. She had felt Tobin’s breath against her skin and it sent a chill through her whole body. Or maybe that was just the weather, she reckoned. She had been experiencing chills all day, so it had to be the weather.
“Wasn’t talking about the bow”, Tobin said and her hands dropped to Christen’s waist as she turned her into the right position and her fingertips pressed into the fabric of her dress. “I meant don’t be intimidated by the distance”. She reluctantly let go of Christen and stood to the side. “Alright, I think you’re ready. Keep your eyes on the target, keep your arms straight and don’t be scared, okay?”
“I’m never scared”, Christen said in a quiet but determined voice.
“Atta girl”, Tobin said with a smirk. She loved when Christen leaned into that arrogant side of her. It was incredibly attractive – all that confidence. Of course, she also loved when she showed her other side – her vulnerable side, that soft side she hardly ever showed the world.
Tobin watched as Christen shot an impressive eight on her first ever try. Her hands raised in victory and she called out, “That was so freaking cool!”
Christen turned to her with a bemused smile. “I just did that”.
The older woman nodded as she walked over. “Yeah, you did”. She was careful when she took the bow from Christen. “You’re a natural – you got an eight”.
“An eight is good, yes?”
“An eight is excellent”, Tobin promised. She ran over to pick the arrow from the target. Once she was back with Christen, she handed the woman the alloy rod. “This is yours now. The first arrow you ever shot”.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”, she asked, smiling so hard that her eyes were narrow.
“Frame and hang it? Use it as a back-scratcher, I don’t know. Whatever you want”.
“I’ve never been given an arrow before”. Christen inspected the arrow carefully as her fingertip grazed over the sharp arrowhead. “Do you know the story of Cupid and Psyche?”
Tobin shook her head in the negative. “Tell me”.
“Well, it’s a long story – most of them are”. She laughed softly.
Tobin shrugged, then easily sat herself down on the manicured lawns. “I have time”.
Christen shook her head in a sort of lovable exasperation – she had almost forgotten how spontaneous and silly Tobin could be. She used to love that duality – how someone so smart could be playful at the same time.
She sat down next to her, the time they made out by these lanes and Tobin’s strong, callous hand moving up her thigh was still very vividly replaying in her mind.
“Cupid was the son of Venus, and he had arrows that, if the dart pierced your skin you would fall hopelessly in love with the first thing you saw. Psyche was a princess, a mortal, but she was beautiful like a goddess and Venus had become jealous of her. She tasked her son Cupid, to find Psyche and shoot her so that she may fall in love with someone hideous. But Cupid scratched his skin with the arrow and fell in love with Psyche instead. Needless to say there were a lot of ups and downs, trials and tribulations as one expects from such an odyssey and the lovers had to be apart for a little while”. She looked to the brunette and smiled. “But they found their way back to each other. And when Venus put Psyche in a near comatose sleep, Cupid woke Psyche up from her torpor, and with his wings he flew her to Jupiter, King of the Gods, and asked if they could finally be wedded. Jupiter was inspired by their profound love for one another and approved their union. He gave Psyche ambrosia to drink so that she would become immortal and live in love with her mate forever”.
“So, their story is one of finding their way back to each other?”, Tobin asked.
“I’ve always thought that it was an allegory for true love being eternal. Psyche, if she had not fallen in love with Cupid, would die because she was mere flesh and blood. But in her love for him, her soul became immortal”. Christen shrugged and pursed her lips together. “But that’s just what I think”.
“You could be right”, Tobin said. “I like to think that you’re right”.
“Out of all the old Roman myths, I quite like that one”.
“I thought you didn’t like love stories”, Tobin said with a lazy smile. “Something about all of them being so derivative. Jane Austen being boring—”
“I did say that, yes. That’s all true”, Christen admitted with a soft giggle. “But this one, I don’t know – it stays with me”.
Tobin nodded. She wished they could talk like this forever. But then she looked to her wristwatch and offered Christen an apologetic smile. “I’d love to stay here and talk, but I really should get going. I have a lot of work to catch up on – training took away some crucial study time this week”.
Christen nodded, ever gracious and courteous. She knew that Tobin’s academics were extremely important to her. That was what attracted her to the woman in the first place – her excellence in everything she ever did.
“Thank you for coming to my meet today”, Tobin said, eyes carefully searching for Christen’s.
“I enjoy watching you—”
“Oh, right”, Tobin laughed. “Because you like this uniform”.
“That’s not what I meant”.
“Well…”, Tobin said and shrugged. “That’s what you said once, so…”
Christen rolled her eyes and tucked her purse closer to her chest. “I have to go now” She got to her feet and offered a smile. “Congratulations again, Tobin. You were outstand—” Her compliment was cut off by a coughing fit. She turned away, coughing into the bend of her elbow.
Tobin was quick to rub her back, soothing her until the coughing stopped.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what… Must be allergies”, Christen said, smoothing over her crinkled dress.
“Are you okay? You getting sick?”, Tobin asked, brow furrowed in concern.
Christen seemed annoyed by the questions, her frown showing just how ridiculous she though Tobin was being.
“You know I don’t get sick”, she said, voice a little hoarse from the earlier coughs. “Haven’t gotten sick in years, Tobin”.
The brunette held her hands up in concession. “Alright, I was just checking”.
“There’s no need, I’m fine”, Christen said and offered a smile. “I’ll see you at Irides tomorrow”.
-
Tobin had booked some time in the observatory – she liked the peace and quiet there, and she could sit and watch the planetarium move around all day. Today she was reading through her notes while the milky way swivelled in front of her. When she looked up and saw the beautiful imagery, she wished that she had brought Christen here.
“There you are”, Lynn then called out from behind her. “Dude, I’ve been looking all over for you. I saw your name on the sign-up sheet, but you weren’t in the control room”.
“I just came here to study”, Tobin mumbled. “I’m tired of my room, the study hall is crowded—”
“The library’s got a sexy assistant that keeps distracting you with her beauty”, Lynn thought she’d finish the sentence.
Tobin rolled her eyes, but didn’t protest at all.
“Alright, alright. I get it – I’m annoying. I won’t talk about Christen anymore”.
“You can talk about her as much you like”, Tobin said, looking down at her textbook. She turned in her seat to look at Lynn, but then she felt her phone puzzling in her front pocket. “Saved by the bell”, Tobin quipped. She answered without looking at the number.
“What’s up?”
“Is this Tobin Heath?”
“Yeah? How can I help you?”
“I’m calling from the Gronen Centre. It’s about Miss Press. She fell faint earlier and she’s been admitted to the clinic. You’re her emergency con—”
“What happened? Is she okay? Is she hurt? Wha—”
“She’s fine. We’re monitoring her—”
“I’m on my way”, Tobin said quickly, heart beating as if though she had just ran a mile in a minute. She hung up and started stuffing her books in her bag and climbed over the chairs. “I have to go, Lynn. Christen’s at the medical centre”.
“Why? What happened?”, Lynn asked concerned.
“She fainted. I knew she was sick”, the brunette said and rushed past her friend. “I have to go to her. I’ll keep you updated”, she called out as she ran towards the exit.