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“Woohoo! Go Ruby!” Penny leapt to her feet, clapping enthusiastically as her girlfriend snapped her lacrosse stick, whipping the ball past the other team’s goalie and into their net. She barely knew anything about lacrosse, this was the first game she’d ever even attended, but even Penny’s limited understanding of sportsball things included the knowledge that putting the ball in the other team’s goal was usually a good thing.
As Ruby’s teammates piled onto her with congratulatory hugs, Penny felt a pang of jealousy in her chest. Hey! That is MY girlfriend! I am the one who gets to hug her! She of course recognized that this sentiment was very silly, but she couldn’t help but feel a little insecure about all the other incredible female athletes Ruby played and hung out with. Especially when the softball team’s star pitcher, Coco Adel, legendary ladykiller, made eyes at her girlfriend. Penny was a nerd, through and through. And while Ruby was also a nerd, they’d had their first kiss in the library after robotics club for crying out loud, Penny sometimes couldn’t help but wonder why Ruby had chosen her, when there were so many other sporty, fit girls who would be thrilled to be on her arm.
By way of consoling herself, Penny pushed Ruby’s hoodie up around her face, warming her cheeks against the autumn chill, and inhaled deeply. The scent of roses and sugar cookies, a distinctly Ruby smell, filled her nostrils. That is right bitches, Ruby did choose me! I am her girl, I get to wear her varsity sweatshirt and make out with her! The hard edges of the silver rose pendant Ruby had given her for homecoming pressed into the skin of her chest as yet another reminder that while she may be the “weird robots girl”, she was Ruby’s weird robots girl.
Someone tapped her shoulder, and Penny turned around to see Ruby’s mom handing her a cup of hot cocoa. “You looked cold, Penny dear,” Summer smiled.
“Oh… thank you, Mrs. Rose!” Penny accepted the drink gratefully. “I had no idea it would be this chilly at these things!”
“Please, Summer is fine,” her girlfriend’s mom laughed lightly before digging in her bag. “Would you like marshmallows as well? Ruby has me dig them out of Lucky Charms for her, says nothing tastes quite like them.”
“Ummm… sure?” Penny watched suspiciously as Summer sprinkled multicolored marshmallow shapes into her cocoa. “Why am I not surprised that she likes that?”
Summer rolled her eyes. “I see you do actually know my daughter, then. I try to feed her healthily, but I swear that girl runs on pure sugar and caffeine most days.” Shaking her head, she chuckled. “If you can get her to eat a vegetable that isn’t pizza sauce, you’ll be welcome in the family forever!” Penny must have had a frightened look on her face, because Summer hastily continued. “Oh don’t worry, I’m just teasing! You’re welcome regardless of Ruby’s vegetable intake, Penny.” Her bright silver eyes, glowing like the sun behind the overcast fall clouds, softened. “I know Ruby is really excited you came to see her game. She was so worried that you wouldn’t be interested in any of her sports stuff.”
The comment made Penny sputter. Her? Not interested in something of Ruby’s? Preposterous! “Oh! Of course I am, Mrs- Summer-” her tongue began tying itself up in awkward knots. “I may not play any sports myself, but I am very happy to be here cheering for Ruby.” As they spoke, something happened out on the field that had the Patch Pirates section of the bleachers cheering. It looked to Penny like Ruby had successfully taken the ball from a much bigger girl on the opposing team and passed it to her teammate, Nora Valkyrie, who was moving it down the field. Even when Nora didn’t end up scoring, it was still what Penny understood to be ‘a good play’.
As the clapping and cheering died back down, Summer continued. “Well, that’s awfully sweet of you, Penny. And like I said, I know she appreciates it. Her sports friends don’t always give her the easiest time about being a ‘brain’”. That truly surprised Penny. Obviously, the sporty girls would give someone like her, who could trip over her own feet just walking down the hallway, a hard time, but… Ruby? Ruby is good at everything, and she is a total sweetheart who is nice to everyone! How could anyone ever think she is not ‘cool’? Penny could tell from how warm her cheeks felt that she was blushing. “Well, I am- it is a pleasure to support Ruby! She is very talented, and deserves to have someone cheering for her!”
Summer smiled brightly. “I couldn’t agree more, Penny.” She paused for a moment, clearly thinking about something. “Say, my husband Tai is grilling out after the game today, sort of a ‘tailgating at home’ kind of thing. Brats and burgers and potatoes, nothing fancy. It’d be wonderful if you could join us!”
Oh my, meeting her family already! Penny and Ruby had only been going out for two weeks, that felt very fast! And was a little intimidating! But as she pondered, Penny noticed Ruby look over at the bleachers and spot her. Her look of gritty determination, of ‘serious sporting’, dropped instantly, and Ruby bounced in the air waving happily with a huge smile on her face. In that instant, Penny knew that it could have been as cold as the northern reaches of Solitas, and she still would’ve felt warm and mushy inside. That was her Ruby, star athlete, who loved to see little old her show up at her games for her.
“Okay… Summer, I would love to!”