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It felt weird.
Entering the Stadium Of Progress from the guest team’s access just felt… wrong.
As Vi walked through the well known hallways and corridors towards the locker rooms, she greeted people she had known for years, and she was happy to see them, but something was still off.
Being let go from the Piltover’s Premiere Women Football League team after nine years had stung. Saying goodbye to her teammates had felt wrong, and now being back in the same stadium, to play against them on the very first match of the new season, now playing for the twin city’s team in a very heartfelt local derby felt like a cruel joke put up by some higher power in the Runeterra Women’s Football League played at her expenses.
Her whole professional career had unfolded under the blue and golden insignia of the Piltover Women Team, on the deep green field at the center of that brand new stadium, and now…
She sighed, pulling her hair away from her face, the noise from the people quickly filling seats upstairs almost drowning the thoughts in her head as she remembered the first time she had ever walked on that turf, nearly ten years prior.
A talent scout from the Piltover Youth Women team had plucked Vi from Zaun’s youth division at a very young age, in the middle of high school. The blue and gold team had trained her and allowed her to harbor her talent in ways that, at the time, her hometown’s team couldn’t afford. At eighteen, less than a year after she had been signed, she was already a rising star with ten goals scored in the second half of the season of the junior league, but she had also played a couple times in the Premier League team as a bench player and even scored her first goal in one of those matches, barely minutes before the end of the match, breaking the seemingly impossible-to-crack defense of Ionia City’s team and allowing Piltover to win the match.
It took a bad ankle sprain to ruin everything. A stupid misstep during a training session on a muddy field had ruined her latest season, after she had undergone surgery and rehab to fix the ligament. She had to sit out a good chunk of the first half and underperformed during the second half. Her contract came to an end right when the team had needed her, and she couldn’t be there for them. Of course, the CEOs hadn’t found reasons to renew her contract and she was just… let go.
After nearly a decade spent doing everything she could, giving everything she had, to the team. Carrying the team to unheard heights, breaking records left and right.
Building a life on the other side of the river, forming meaningful relationships, even buying a house… only to nearly being completely uprooted by a fucking sprained ankle and an unforgiving administration.
It wasn’t fair.
The new team was amazing of course, her mates were spectacular and one even had been traded two seasons back from Piltover too so she was very well acquainted with her. And she was playing for her own hometown of Zaun and that could only make her happy, from a very personal point of view, but professionally, she couldn’t really shake off the feeling that she had been screwed over.
As she usually did before entering the locker rooms, she filled her water bottle at a fountain nearby and absentmindedly made her way towards the locker rooms, until right as her hand reached for the handle of the heavy door, lithe, long fingers with perfectly manicured nails grabbed her wrist and gently pulled it away from the handle.
“Wrong door.”
Pulled out of her train of thought, Vi looked up and saw Caitlyn, Piltover attacking midfielder and former team mate, smiling at her, nothing but kindness in her bright blue eyes.
Vi swallowed, suddenly awkward as she pulled her hand away as if she had touched a hot surface. “Uhm, yeah… sorry,” she mumbled. “Force of habit.”
Caitlyn gently shook her head. “It’s fine, you’re still welcome here, you know that.”
Vi nodded. “Yeah, I know.” Then she sighed. “Play safe, okay?”
“You too. Dinner later?” Caitlyn asked. “Or maybe tea?”
“Yeah, tea would be grand. See you on the field?”
“See you on the field!”
Vi turned around and pulled the door of the guest locker room open with way too much force than necessary, the heavy metallic door banging against the door with a very loud, dull thud that scared her new teammates.
Vi turned around and pulled the door of the guest locker room open with way too much force than necessary, the heavy metallic door banging against the door with a very loud, dull thud that scared her new teammates.
“Fuck’s sake Vi!” Akali yelled. “No need to uproot the fucking door!”
“Sorry…” Vi snapped in return, not feeling sorry at all, as she headed towards one of the benches in the far corner of the room, as per her habit. There, she threw her bag onto the lacquered wooden surface and started getting changed in silence.
“Rough, uh?” At her left, Shyvana asked. She was the teammate that had been traded a couple of years back, after years at Piltover. “First match in the guest team, and it’s the first of the season…”
“Yeah you can say that,” Vi muttered. She pulled her kit out and laid it onto the bench, before she started taking off her mandatory pre-match clothes - a sponsored tracksuit made to match the colors of the official kit in bright red with gold and green details - and don the kit. It looked foreign, so used she was to the deep blue and golden of Piltover’s colors. When she was done with that, she sat on the bench and started manipulating her injured ankle to warm the joint up before she went through the official warm up routine with the rest of the team. Her old physio at Piltover’s medical team had been adamant that she needed to prepare her ankle properly before she even wore the shinpads, and the new one that was currently making sure her ankle was properly taken care of had agreed with the series of exercises she had been given, only adding a new one that she needed to do more on the regular, rather than just before matches and training sessions.
“Does that hurt?” Shyvana asked while observing Vi as she stretched her calf with the aid of a rolled up towel. In the corner of her vision, Vi noticed that Shyvana was eyeing the large surgical scar on the outside of her ankle where they had to slice her open to fix her mistakes.
Vi shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “Not more than a normal stretch,” she explained. “It’s not too bad, just a little more rigid than before the sprain and the surgery.”
“Is that why you were let go?”
“Yeah… I’ve been assured that it wasn’t the case, that it was just because they needed to trim down the roster and my contract had come to its end, but it was this that got me kicked out.”
And it wasn’t just a sprain. It was a series of sprains she had ignored until the big one had come and had ruined her season. She kind of went looking for it, if she had to be honest with herself, but the deed was done now. With the wisdom of hindsight, sitting out of a couple of matches would have been a better outcome, but her damn pride had gotten in the way and she had needed surgery to repair the ligament.
“Typical… well, you’re here now. It’s not too bad. Commute aside.”
“It’s not even an hour from home, I can manage,” Vi replied.
“Have you thought about moving back to Zaun? You have family here after all.”
Vi sighed. “I also have family in Piltover. I can’t uproot everyone just because I was hired by the team on the other side of the river. It’s fine, we can manage.”
It was Shyvana’s turn to shrug. “If you say so… I’ve been in your cleats, Vi, moving here was the best for me.”
“I don’t think it will be the best for me though,” Vi replied. “For us. We’re fine Shyv, no worries.”
“Uhm, suit yourself. Just don’t let your heart get between you and the goal posts.”
They warmed up together as a team and went through the whole classic pre-match routine. Pep talk from the coach, referee inspection to check for kits compliance to rules, lining up for the pitch entrance and standing in line for photo ops and shit like that. All things and actions Vi had performed she had zero idea of how many times she was used to doing it, it was part of being a pro. And for the first time in her life, she found everything depressing as fuck.
She couldn’t bring herself to smile, even when her name was called in the roster announcement and the whole stadium erupted in thunderous applause. Supporters of both teams loved her, and she’d give them the best play she could of course, but in reality, she wanted to be anywhere but there, on that field.
She knew she should have been grateful. She was let go, out of contract, basically worthless on the market, but still, barely hours after the news that she had been let go had broken, she had received a phone call from the agent handling new acquisitions for Zaun, who had just won the Premier Women League after three years of total Piltover domination, and was asked to join their ranks. It was a no brainer, she accepted right away, even without consulting a lawyer to go through the contract. She was back to practicing on the old turf she used to play as a child in less than a week after being let go.
Rumors had it that the owners of the Piltover’s club were furious about how fast she had got a new contract and how good that contract was.
She was back home, with a lot of money in her bank account and more incoming in the form of monthly stipend and bonuses if the team performed well enough in the tournament, even more if they won again at the end. Some of her old team mates from the youth team still played there, her own little sister played there and was known as the Gatling Gun due to how fast she could run, allowing her to chase after those that were in control of the ball faster than anyone else. Powder, known by most by the nick name of Jinx she had earned years prior when she had helped turn Zaun’s club fortune around, as if breaking a spell that only brought them bad luck, had won numerous awards for her incredible defensive game, noting how she compensated her short stature and thin frame with agility and sheer speed.
Vi was at home at Zaun, not only because she was born and had been raised in Zaun, that stadium was where she had first played a real match when she had entered Zaun’s football academy at age twelve.
She was back at home, hailed as a hero.
And yet, despite everything, she felt like she still belonged to the ranks of the Piltovan club.
The team captains were called by the referee for the kickoff draw while the rest took their positions in their half of the field. Vi’s already sour mood didn’t improve when her team won the draw and proceeded to kick the ball off, starting the game at the referee’s loud whistle.
From the moment on, Vi’s mind was solely concentrated on the game, constantly tracking the position of the ball, where the defensive players were, where she could run in order to get to an advantageous position without triggering an offside foul. She knew the defensive tactics of her former team very well, she knew its weaknesses and strengths, and how to get through to them.
Known for her aggressive and explosive gameplay, Vi did her best to be an absolute pain in the ass to her old team, and it worked. Lissandra, widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in the whole league together with Vi’s sister, quickly grew frustrated with Vi’s constant hopping and changing direction, even when the ball wasn’t in her control, and started cussing loudly at her, calling all possible names aside homophobic slurs. Lissandra would sometimes let her mouth run faster than her feet, but she was always fair in her insults.
“Hey Undercut McQueer!” Lissandra yelled as she made a gesture to push her away. Vi snickered, entertained by the nickname assigned to her years prior in the locker room, due to her hair style choices. “Why don’t you get the fuck out of my zone!”
Chuckling, Vi trotted a few feet away from the former team mate, still keeping an eye on the ball, still in Zaun’s half of the field, currently being controlled by Powder who was running a few meters away from the side line towards the middle of the pitch, taking the ball away from their goalposts.
Come on Powpow… work your magic…
As if Vi had yelled out loud, Pow did her thing and managed to get the ball very far away from the danger zone and between the feet of Taliyah, who in turn kicked it to the other side of the field with a long cross right towards Vi. Before she jumped to control the ball with her chest and let it fall between her red and black cleats to turn towards the far end of the field, she noticed Caitlyn’s long hair tied in a ponytail whip around as the former team mate muttered a curse under her breath and started falling back into her half of the field to do her best to try to stop her from getting too close to be a danger.
But Vi had caught a hole in the defense of her former teammates and had taken a great advantage of it, sprinting towards the goalposts from the the right, with the ball as close to her feet as possible for better control, she rushed towards the goal and once about the same distance of the penalty spot, still coming from the right, she planted her right foot into the soft, grassy ground, paying close attention to her balance in order not to sprain it again and never keeping her eyes off the goalkeeper she readied her shot.
Everyone thought she’d kick right the door straight into the far corner of the posts, aiming for an easy attempt at scoring the first point of the match, but instead she angled the shot so it would do a small parable over the goalkeeper towards the closest corner. The ball bounced over the grass and rolled behind the line.
The referee's high pitched whistle echoed in the stadium, and Zaun’s fans from the guest supporters' stand erupted in a raucous cheer, soon joined, weirdly, by Piltover’s supporters that also cheered.
The first goal was scored.
Vi had scored the first goal of the season for Zaun.
And the whole stadium was cheering for her, even the supporters of Piltover were chanting for Vi’s success, although she had just scored against them for the first time in nearly a decade of scoring for them.
On the other hand though, Vi wasn’t cheering at all. Her teammates rushed to her to congratulate her, high fives and a bear hug from her younger sister followed, but all she cared in that moment was just to return to playing as fast as she could. She shrugged off the compliments and waved off the celebrations, only showing a hint of a smile to her own little sister when she had come to hug her after the score.
To be fair, Vi wasn’t completely unhappy she had scored. About fifteen minutes into the first match of her first season at Zaun FC, she had already unlocked the match, and it could be very well the first goal of the season in general. That would make fantasy football enthusiasts over the moon, if they had purchased her for their teams. Still, there was something bittersweet about it.
Vi was glad she had scored, and at the same time, seeing her old team mates disheartened made her heart sink in her chest.
As she returned to her half of the field, she passed by Caitlyn.
Her former team mate and second top scorer in Piltover when Vi was in their ranks, companion of countless of incredible plays on pitches all over the world, looked at Vi and gave her a quick, curt nod. A blink and you’ll miss it motion, but at the same time, it was exactly what Vi had needed, and she allowed herself to actually smile, having scored.
She pushed her hair away from her face, already feeling the gritty texture of salty sweat clinging to the red strands, and picked a faster trot to get back to the field.
Why is it always her that turns my mood around…
Ever since their first training session, back when they were both in high school and Vi was the latest addition to the Piltover Football Academy, Caitlyn had been the first she had bonded with. At first it was kind of a rivalry, on and off the pitch, because they both played in similar roles and positions, often having to interact in order to play their respective games and at times, pure teenage stubbornness and pride got in the way of that interaction in ways that had hindered their game.
It took quite a bit of bench time, sidelined as a punishment from being too cocky for their own good and that of the team, for them to come to terms with the fact that two people could score and be good at it in the same team.
From that moment on, they had turned into a goal machine, growing as people and as players together, inseparable and unstoppable. Piltover’s Finest, they were called by the fans and the press, and together they had carried Piltover’s to the near total domination of the Women League for close to a decade and two Runeterra Cups with the national team. Fans of even other teams loved them because of their insane chemistry on the pitch and many were heartbroken and protested very loudly when Vi was let go at the end of the past season.
When Vi had received the notice that her contract wouldn’t be renewed, negotiations wouldn’t even be taken into consideration, she had genuinely thought that her professional career had come to an end. It was made public only days later and soon after Zaun FC had contacted her to propose a new contract, but between when she had been told and that phone call, Vi had genuinely thought that she was done for good.
Now, playing again, still at a pro level, for the team that had snatched the championship title from Piltover after ages of supreme domination, Vi felt a huge sense of relief mixed with all her doubts and disappointments. But she was still playing.
And that was the important part.
The match resumed, the Piltover’s team feeling the heat now that they were at a disadvantage. They still had most of the game to play and many more things could happen.
Time to get back in the game.
As Vi had expected, Piltover’s gameplay became a lot more aggressive and they started pressing harder against Zaun midfield and defense lines, and for a long while they managed to hold, until a couple minutes before the halftime break, Caitlyn was handed a perfect cross and she managed to use her towering height to jump and direct the ball towards the door with a sniper accurate header, too far and too high for the goalkeeper to reach.
They were now back to a draw, and without thinking, Vi raised her fists and shouted “Great job Cupcake!” before she realized they didn’t play for the same team anymore.
The deadly glare she got from her own sister made Vi awkwardly apologize before quickly retreating back to their half of the field for the reset of the game.
During half time, they got another scathing pep talk from their coach, a former pro player that had dedicated her whole life to Zaun Football Club and that now had become one of the best regarded coaches in the League. Sevika was brash and straight to the point, but her training methods worked well enough that since she had started coaching them, Zaun FC had risen from mid-tier team to champions in two seasons. She was amazing, and Vi had always admired her style of play, basically mimicking her footwork in order to use her imposing musculature in order to project speed into her game, and not just brawn.
As they were walking down the corridor towards the exit into the pitch for the second half of the game, Vi felt a large hand on her shoulder, squeezing hard, but surprisingly gently at the same time.
“You got your head in the game Kid,” the coach said, holding Vi back from the rest of the girls for a moment. “But where’s your heart?”
Vi frowned. “The fuck does that mean?”
Sevika chuckled, a brief smile crooking her lips. “You know what I mean.” And with that, she let Vi’s shoulder go and shoved her forward towards the exit, so she would join the rest of the team.
There, her sister was waiting for her, just inside the tunnel. “You alright?”
Vi nodded and picked up her pace. “Yeah…”
“What was that thing when Caitlyn scored?” Pow asked.
Vi shrugged, defensively. “Habit, just that. I played with them for almost ten years. I’ve celebrated every goal, is it so hard to believe that I’m happy for my friends when they score.”
“So if any other beside her would have scored you would have celebrated the same way?”
“Yes!” Vi snapped. “Now shut up and get back on the field. We’ve got a match to win.”
Second half was more of a war than a football match. Neither team wanted to lose, that much was sure, and they battled for the ball like enemy armies on the battlefield. Things got rough when Piltover scored another goal, this time by a crazy free kick managed like ass by Zaun’s defense line that handed Sivir the perfect chance to score a goal that unlocked the score in Piltover’s favor.
“Shit…” Vi muttered to herself, running both hands through her hair as she watched the ball pass the line and heard the referee breathe hard into the whistle, validating the goal.
At the same time, she noticed her own sister shaking her head, a sardonic smirk twisting her face in a silent but at the same time unbearably loud I told you so .
Well fuck…
From that moment on, Vi did her best to get the ball in her own control as often as she could, pressing Piltover’s defences with a lot more vehemence than before, tainting her gameplay with more roughness than necessary. She’d throw herself in the midfields too, chasing her former teammates to steal the ball. That allowed her to create more than one chance to score a goal, but either she missed, or the goalkeeper caught the ball.
That made her incredibly frustrated, which only led her to become even more aggressive in the way she played, and in turn she received a much more aggressive defence from her former teammates when the ball was in her control, and for a good while Vi managed to avoid being tackled, until she was a couple steps away from the penalty area and suddenly, she was caught by surprise by a blue and white boot appearing right in front of her injured ankle, shoving the ball away from her own feet and colliding with her own boot, the little spikes under the sole pressing into the side of her foot and her ankle, just where the shinpad extended to protect the side of the ankle, softening the blow. She tumbled forward, face first into the wet grass, and hit the ground with a dull thud with all her weight, barely managing to turn on her side to break the fall and not risking breaking her arms by planting them in front of her by instinct. She hadn’t even stopped sliding, green now staining her red jersey and white shorts, when she turned around on her back and jumped back on her feet to confront the overzealous defender that had tripped her.
It wasn’t a defender.
It was Caitlyn.
“What the fuck!” Vi screamed as she stomped right into her former teammate’s personal space, looking up at her to make up for the height difference. “Did you have to do that?!”
“I’m sorry I…”
“You’re sorry?! You’re sorry?!” she repeated, arms flailing in anger. “That’s my injured foot you fucking…”
Akali came to Caitlyn’s rescue, grabbing Vi by the short sleeve of her grass stained jersey.
“I’m sorry Vi I timed it wrong!”
“Well, time it better next time!” Vi screamed as she was dragged away from the commotion, as the referee was setting up the free kick.
Slightly on the left side of the penalty area, just behind the line, it was a tricky but achievable shot straight to the goalposts. If Vi managed to keep her cool, she could score right there and then, evening the score and give her team a chance to win. They still have fifteen minutes to score a third goal. They could do it. If they didn’t lose their minds, the could make it and win the very first match of the season against their historic rival.
Vi took her position a few steps away from the ball and waited for the referee to give her the signal that she could take her shot. When it came, Vi gave one last look at the positions of her teammates and adversaries, and stepped towards the ball, ready to kick.
The trajectory that went over the three person barrier between her and the goalposts, which turned left midair and slipped undisturbed behind the goalkeeper and right into the net.
A perfect shot for a neat score.
Back to draw, two goals each.
The game was still open.
Open, yes. But it still ended in a draw.
No team was able to unlock the score after Vi’s perfect free kick, the end result locked on a 2-2.
They all went to the locker rooms glad that they at least managed to get a point for the championship scoreboard, which wasn’t exactly bad, given the calibre of the two teams that had faced off that day, but at the same time, it was clear that both teams considered this a defeat, rather than a draw between equally strong players.
Talks were somber and hushed in the locker, on both sides.
Vi should have been at least satisfied that she had scored not once, but twice, and deep down she was. She just hoped that her efforts would have brought her new team to a win.
Apparently, it wasn’t meant to be.
Coach Sevika was merciful in her post game talk, praising their efforts while highlighting their errors with kindness, much to Vi’s surprise, before she let them go to the showers. Vi made her best to get over it quickly so she could go home and elevate her ankle. Maybe even icing it.
When she removed the shinpad beneath the sock, she found some round bruises where Caitlyn’s spikes had collided with her foot. They were faint, but that didn’t mean they didn’t hurt.
She was among the firsts to be done with the shower and changing back into their mandatory customized tracksuits, and she said goodbye to the rest of the team, wishing them a good evening and return home, before she walked out of the locker, bag slung around her shoulder. On the way to the parking lot, she found a small crowd of fans waiting for the players to come out to ask for photos and autographs, and she happily stopped to oblige them. There were many young girls, but also some boys and adults, sporting her old jersey from when she played in the Piltover’s team, but some had the new one already. She signed a couple, took many selfies and even consoled a very young girl that was crying because Zaun’s team didn’t win.
“Oh come here girl…” Vi said, extending her arms and picking the girl up. She couldn’t have been older than six years old. “What’s your name?”
“That’s Isha!” Vi heard her sister’s voice behind her. “And she’s our most adorable fan out here.” Pow made a few gestures with her hands and the girl smiled, waving her hands in ways Vi couldn’t really understand. “We’ll get better Isha, don’t worry! We’ll beat them next time.”
The girl looked up at Vi, teary eyed but smiling, and brought her hands up as if she was scribbling in the air. “You want me to sign something?” The girl nodded and giggled, silently. “Everything for you, Isha. My sister told me a lot about you, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”
The fans were quiet and polite, and they quickly disbanded when Vi made known that she needed to get to her car so she could go home. They waved their goodbyes and let her go. Pow went with her towards the same side of the parking lot. “So?”
“So what?” Vi asked.
“How is it to get on the guests side of the stadium?”
Vi shrugged. “I’ll get used to it. I’m fine, don’t worry.”
“Yeah yeah…” Her sister didn’t look convinced in the slightest. “Whatever. Will this thing ruin your life? You know, with her? Things got pretty rough on the field.”
“I’ll apologize,” Vi shrugged again. “It wouldn’t be the first time we fight over the ball.”
“Just don’t let this thing get over your head. It’s just a game in the end. She was just playing.”
Vi nodded. “I know.” She wrapped her free arm around her little sister and hugged her. “Thank you, Pow.”
“Someone must be the levelheaded one in the family… Go home now. See you tomorrow at training.”
They separated with one last one armed hug and Powder reached her own little car, while Vi walked a little longer towards the other side of the parking lot reserved for the workers and the players that would come to the stadium with their own means of transportations. There, she found Caitlyn already waiting for her at their car, trunk door open, her own bag resting inside the booth while she typed away on her phone. Most likely chatting with her mother about the match.
“Hey Cupcake!”
Caitlyn raised her head from her phone and smiled. “Hey Handsome!”
Vi chuckled and threw her back in the trunk of the car, before she pulled the door down and shut it with a bang. “Listen I… I'm sorry for yelling, earlier. I was… I actually have no excuses, I let it go to my head and I blew it. I’m sorry. For real. I know you didn’t do it on purpose.”
Smiling, Caitlyn shook her head gently. “Don’t worry Vi. It’s the past. You took your revenge by scoring that goal. It was amazing, by the way. As usual.”
“Thank you.” Vi sighed. “So… how about we go home so I can ice the ankle?”
“I think that’s an amazing idea, Darling,” she leaned forward and stole a quick kiss from Vi’s lips. “I’m counting on that cup of tea, you know?”
They walked around the car and climbed inside. “And I intend to brew that cup of tea for you, my dear wife!”