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In hindsight, trying to match Kazuha jump for jump after an intense workout wasn’t Beidou’s brightest idea. The kid could jump.
Observers helpfully added weight plates, increasing the height after each successful jump while egging on the two competitors and taking bets on who would crack first. Matching Kazuha’s last jump would be a challenge, especially on tired legs, but Beidou wasn’t the best CrossFit athlete on the team because she backed down from a challenge.
She made the jump, if barely, legs wobbling as she straightened up and turned a cocky grin in Kazuha’s direction. Beidou jumped backward - let Kazuha try to top that - when suddenly her ankle rolled with an audible pop, and she was on the ground. There was a moment of disbelief that lasted about a breath, then sudden, piercing pain.
No CrossFit for six months, minimum.
The doctor delivered the verdict with all the nonchalance of somebody who didn’t understand that Beidou needed to participate like she needed to breathe. The Inazuma team took the title of Best in Teyvat from them last year by two measly points. Ningguang had been riding them hard ever since, Beidou riding herself even harder. She had lost by seconds in the final event to their purple-haired captain, and Beidou doesn’t lose twice.
Despite her impassioned – and highly convincing - pleas, the doctor remained unmoved.
Ningguang, when Beidou broke the news, was furious. Thirty minutes of lecturing about irresponsible actions and stupid athletes furious. The only consolation Beidou can offer her team captain was if she was dedicated to cross-training and her physical therapy regimen, she might be able to return earlier. Early enough to be competitive at the annual match.
Ningguang looked pensive for a few minutes, then she smiled, which usually spelled trouble for Beidou. Without asking, she grabbed Beidou’s phone from her bag, ignoring her outraged yelp.
“Go here at least three times a week,” Ningguang ordered, handing back the device. “It’ll help you maintain your strength enough that you won’t be a liability when you return.”
Liability? Beidou bristled at the implication, but she was the one who got injured, so she looked down at the business Ningguang had helpfully pulled up.
“Yoga?” Beidou asked, wincing at the whine she could hear in her own voice. From the unimpressed look on Ningguang’s face, she’d heard it, too. “Isn’t that for vegans and people who believe rocks have energy?”
“No.” Ningguang’s voice was a whip. “Yoga is for people irresponsible enough to get injured doing sloppy dismounts on box jumps. It’s also for people who want to keep their strength and mobility, so their return is smoother. Yoga-“
Ningguang slipped back into lecture mode, and Beidou knew better than to stick around. She’d heard it all the first time. Irresponsible, blah, blah. Bad example, blah, blah. It wasn’t fleeing, she told herself as she hobbled away as fast as she was able. Just a tactical retreat.
Beidou didn’t consider herself a yoga person. Her personal philosophy was more along the lines of, if she couldn’t physically help somebody complete a workout, she’d contribute her support with vocal encouragement alone. She wasn’t a deep breathing while making shapes with her body type of girl. But if there was one person who hated losing more than Beidou, it was Ningguang, so Saturday found Beidou walking through the door of an unassuming little studio.
A wave of heady fragrance hit her as soon as Beidou strode through the door. Her nose wrinkled. It wasn’t bad, per se, certainly better than the smell of her usual gym, but it was strong. Four cushions sat in a neat row by the window, two of them occupied by ladies on their cell phones, and next to them was a wall displaying an array of yoga gadgets with tiny, eyebrow-raising price tags attached. Soft music featuring gongs and water noises played in the background, making Beidou feel like she’d stepped into another world.
“Hello,” a sweet voice drew Beidou’s attention toward the corner. “Is this your first time here?”
Next to a small desk in the corner stood a woman about Beidou’s age. Her hair was a soft blue, tied back into a high ponytail with a few strands falling towards her face. As she reached up to tuck an errant strand back, Beidou’s eye was drawn to the line of her shoulder. She wasn’t muscular in the way Beidou was, but there was an obvious poise and strength in her actions.
The woman’s head tilted, obviously waiting for a response, and Beidou cleared her throat. Right, she’d asked a question.
“Umm, yeah. It’s my first time. I’m Beidou.” She extended her hand, smiling when the woman returned the gesture with a soft smile. She had gorgeous eyes, Beidou observed as she stepped closer.
“Ganyu.”
Beidou was about to ask if she was also taking the beginner class. An unnecessary question given the leggings and matching bra sporting a mandala pattern Ganyu was wearing, but a door opened, emitting a string of sweaty, barefoot patrons carrying brightly colored mats. Now that she was looking, Beidou noticed Ganyu also had a mat. Was she supposed to bring one of those?
“Come on in,” Ganyu said, reading her mind. “We have extra mats if you need one.”
Wordlessly, Beidou followed her into a brightly lit room with hardwood floors and the familiar scent of public workout spaces everywhere. Ganyu led her to a pile of uniformly colored mats, and Beidou grabbed one, then found herself a space on the floor. Other students entered the room, filling it with the chatter of people who saw each other every week.
At nine o’clock on the dot, Ganyu cleared her throat, and the room quieted. “Good morning, everyone,” she said. “Welcome to Intro to Yoga. For anybody new here, my name is Ganyu.”
Her voice was melodic, soothing, and sweet, and Beidou found herself charmed. Ganyu stepped to the center of her mat, and Beidou dutifully copied, listening to Ganyu guide the class through some breathing exercises.
Beidou decided right then that she’d have to watch Ganyu carefully for the entire class, she didn’t want to miss any steps after all. Beidou smiled, this, this she could handle.
It took approximately fifteen minutes and as many sun salutations later for Beidou to realize her optimism had been misplaced. As Ganyu and the rest of the regulars floated from pose to pose like water navigating around rocks, Beidou was lucky to even figure out what pose she was supposed to be doing.
Her arms shook, sweat dripped off her brow, and only the thought of Ganyu’s eyes glancing in her direction kept Beidou muscling through another downward dog. Beidou wasn’t the type of person who would settle for nine reps when the set said ten, and she wasn’t about to be defeated by some poses even if her spine seemed reluctant to twist.
When Ganyu finally brought the class to a close, thankfully in a fully reclined position Beidou was more than capable of achieving, Beidou let out a sigh of relief.
“Did you enjoy the class?”
Beidou opened her eyes to see Ganyu standing over her, not a hair out of place despite doing all the poses with them. Beidou was even more impressed; she’d always had a thing for strong women. Flexible ones, too.
“Yes,” she lied.
Ganyu covered her mouth, but not fast enough to hide a giggle. “The first time can be challenging,” she said, nodding sagely.
Beidou groaned, unable to control the heat she could feel rushing to her cheeks. She thought her efforts had been passable, and she certainly hadn’t surrendered to laying in child’s pose for the rest of the class like the one husband in the back. Obviously not. Despite the embarrassment, she couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy at Ganyu’s smile. Giddy, but resolved. She’d get Ganyu to compliment her if it was the last thing she did.
The next few weeks found Beidou splitting her time between jealously watching her teammates run and jump while she worked on only doctor-approved lifts, doing her prescribed physical therapy exercises, and attending as many of Ganyu’s classes as she could. She had tried another instructor that first week but quickly decided she preferred Ganyu’s gentle voice. Beidou even found herself attending the intermediate class, not because her skills had vastly improved, although she certainly felt more comfortable in the poses, but because Ganyu would walk past to adjust her form or slip a block under her hips.
The only class of Ganyu’s that Beidou elected not to take was the prenatal class she taught after the intro class on Saturdays, although she considered it for a minute or two before deciding it was too embarrassing. Instead, Beidou would sit on one of those waiting room cushions until that class was finished under the guise of questioning Ganyu about specific poses.
It was a thin guise at best, but if anything, Ganyu encouraged it. She would bring Beidou back into the studio and give her a hands-on demonstration, guiding her limbs into the correct positions with gentle touches and even gentler words. Sometimes she would demonstrate advanced flows, and Beidou indulged in the luxury of watching the sinuous movement of her muscles while not being expected to copy them.
Needless to say, Beidou loved Saturday mornings.
It was one such Saturday after Ganyu finished folding Beidou into a twisty position that looked nothing like an eagle that Ganyu took one of Beidou’s barbell-calloused hands between hers.
“Would you like to get lunch together?”
Beidou swallowed, prayed she wasn’t misreading this, and asked, “like a date?”
Ganyu beamed at her. “Exactly like a date.”
Three weeks and three dates later, Beidou had learned three things. First, Ganyu was prone to saying the most romantic things in her matter-of-fact tone. Second, Ganyu was fond of chaste PDAs with the people she was dating. And third, Beidou had no defense against her. Ganyu would press a kiss into her knuckles, maintain eye contact while leaning closer, and tell Beidou how much she loved her hair today. Or how proud she was of Beidou’s progress in class. Or how much she enjoyed spending time together.
Beidou, having absolutely no experience dating anybody she liked as much as she liked Ganyu, found herself blushing and stuttering, all her bravado abandoning her in the face of such earnest appreciation. All in all, Beidou thought she couldn’t be happier.
Until her doctor cleared her to go back to CrossFit.
The first person she told after skipping out of the office was Ningguang because Beidou didn’t have a death wish, and Ningguang would certainly murder her if Beidou forgot to mention something as critically important as this.
Ganyu was obviously second.
Unlike Ningguang, who made a few comments about needing to rearrange the schedule, threatened Beidou not to do anything else to jeopardize their chances, and hung up without saying goodbye, Ganyu spent five minutes gushing about her hard work. Gushing, in this instance, meant Ganyu praised Beidou’s work ethic, dedication, strength, mental fortitude, and overall general state of being in that voice she used to praise students in the studio, and Beidou squirmed as the words washed over her.
She was perfect. The most perfect woman Beidou has ever met, strong and sweet and wise, and would she please, please be Beidou’s girlfriend?
Ganyu’s laugh drags Beidou’s attention back to her phone. “How about this-“ Ganyu began, and Beidou could hear the smile in her voice. “If you win your competition, I’ll be your girlfriend.”
What? Had she said all that mushy stuff out loud? Beidou would have been more embarrassed if she could think around the static ringing in her ears. Ganyu was interested in being her girlfriend. Her girlfriend. That meant more dates than just one a week. Maybe nightly phone calls and more private lessons.
“Beidou? –“ Ganyu’s voice sounded far away, and Beidou pressed her phone back to her ear with a jolt.
“I’m here,” she croaked, then cleared her throat. “I’m here.”
Ganyu’s laugh was louder this time. “I’m glad. I’d hate to have scared you away.”
“Never.” The word is out of Beidou’s mouth before Ganyu can even finish her sentence. “But why the condition?”
“I’ve seen how well you do with goals,” Ganyu says sweetly. “Consider it a little motivation.”
And, well. Beidou was certainly motivated.
The day of the competition to determine the Best in Teyvat arrived both too quickly and far too slowly for Beidou’s taste. Too quickly, because there were always more reps to be done or workouts to master, but mostly too slowly because Ganyu refused to go beyond kissing before they were officially dating and remained resolute despite Beidou’s best efforts at seduction.
Beidou used the frustration to fuel her work ethic to the point where even Ningguang looked pleased with the rate she regained her strength. The only thing that kept Beidou sane some days was at least Ganyu seemed equally frustrated, although she handled it more gracefully than Beidou did.
But none of that mattered anymore because today, Beidou would crush her competition. Starting with her rival from Inazuma, who was standing directly to her right, calmly applying chalk to her hands. They were lined up to start the first event, pull-up bars mounted overhead, waiting for the athletes to jump up and begin.
Beidou hadn’t seen Ganyu yet today, busy with preparing for the competition, and found herself scanning the audience. She found her quickly. Ganyu was sitting in the fourth row, an old jersey of Beidou’s falling off one shoulder and a large bunch of flowers in her hand. Noticing Beidou’s attention, she smiled and blew a kiss.
Beidou raised her hand to return it but was thwarted by a smack to her arm.
“Don’t get distracted,” Ningguang said icily. “You can have your moment after we win.”
Beidou rolled her eyes but did as commanded. She took a deep breath, letting it out when the referee called for the athletes to step to their stations. A hush fell over the room, and Beidou reached upwards, chalk dust falling from her fingers as she waited, muscles tense in anticipation. The starting buzzer sent her flying upward towards the bar, victory, and a girlfriend.