TITLE: Assist

SERIES: Whip It

AUTHOR: Dreiser

EMAIL: dreiser7@yahoo.com

YAHOO ID: dreiser7

MY WEBSITE: http://www.dreiser.org/

CONTENT: F/F romance. F/F sex. Babe Ruthless/Iron Maven. Fourth fic in the Versus, Pace Line, and Hip Check series.

SUMMARY: Babe Ruthless knew that sometimes even the best player needs an assist.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my excitement about my vacation in San Francisco.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This might have some errors because I haven't completely gone over it but I wanted to post it before I leave for Wondercon. Please enjoy!

Assist

By: Dreiser

“Stop pouting,” Bliss instructed, using her best I’m a nurse listen to what I have to say voice as she unlocked the front door to their loft. Even after living with Maven for over a year, she still got a silly feeling of happiness whenever she thought of it as their place instead of just Maven’s. It was worse when she actually heard other people say it out loud and her fellow Hurl Scouts had teased her mercilessly over this for months. Looking over her shoulder, she grinned at Maven’s disgruntled expression.

“I’m not pouting,” said Maven with a dark look on her features. “I just don’t know why you made me get glasses.”

“I didn’t make you get anything,” said Bliss, shutting the front door, taking note of the way Maven clutched the case for her new glasses in an rigid grip. Almost as if she was trying to crush them. “Ronnie told me that you had a funny look on your face when you were doing tattoos and were leaning in closer to work so I made an appointment with my optometrist. He’s the one who says you need glasses for being far sighted. Anyway,” Bliss said in bemused tones, “you should be happy! Wearing them is going to help you do your work. Isn’t seeing properly kind of important for a visually based artist?”

Maven just snorted in reply and took the Target bag from Bliss and wandered into their bedroom. While they waited for her lenses to be made they had taken the opportunity to buy a new set of sheets for their bed as the ones they had currently ended up with a gigantic rip after an especially enthusiastic night of sex.

Following after Maven, a grin still on her face, Bliss continued, “I think you look sexy with them.” When Maven just looked over her shoulder, a look of total disdain on her features, Bliss laughed. “You remember that I wear glasses, right? How you’re acting is going to give a complex about what you think I look like in them.”

“Your mom says you’ve had glasses since you were a kid,” Maven said, removing the ripped sheets and tossing them in the corner. “That means you were pretty much born with defective eyes. I had to get mine because I’m getting fucking old.”

“You’re not old, forty is the new thirty, whatever that means,” said Bliss as she helped Maven put on the new sheets. “And you’re lucky I’m your girlfriend, you know. Some women might be insulted by their girlfriend calling them defective.”

“I said your eyes were defective, not you,” corrected Maven, utterly blasé in her response. Once the sheets were on the bed, she sauntered over to Bliss, lifting an eyebrow and wearing a smirk on her features. “Besides,” she drawled, reaching out and hooking her fingers into the belt loops of Bliss’ cargo pants. “The fact you don’t give a shit shows you’re perfect for me.”

“That or I’m not easily insulted,” said Bliss dryly, allowing Maven to pull their bodies into close contact.

“I say it’s both,” Maven remarked, grinning as she dipped her head down for a kiss.

Per usual, Bliss felt herself immediately respond to the older woman’s embrace, moaning when the kiss deepened and Maven’s hands went down to hold her ass, giving it a squeeze for good measure. Still, she managed to maintain enough of her wits to reach for the glasses case that Maven had shoved into the front pocket of her leather pants. When they parted, she snapped it open and removed them, perching the glasses on Maven’s nose and grinning at the befuddled look on Maven’s face at the black plastic frames that she was suddenly wearing. To say the other woman had a complete disregard for the type of glasses she wore would be an understatement and with great weariness, she let Bliss put frame after frame on her. Of course, this went on for a mere ten minutes before Maven nearly exploded with impatience and Bliss decided the black Ray-Ban’s suited her best.

“There,” Bliss murmured, standing on her tip toes, kissing the line of Maven’s jaw and cupping her cheek. “Very sexy.”

“Whatever,” muttered Maven, rolling her eyes, but allowing Bliss to continue her explorations which included unbuttoning her top and slipping it off her shoulders. “I’m starting to think you’ve got a fetish, Bliss.”

Laughing as she unzipped Maven’s leather pants, tugging them down her hips along with the black silk panties, Bliss looked at the other woman, grinning as she moved in close, kissing her before she said, “My only fetish is for you.”

“Yeah?” Maven questioned, maintaining her calm stance despite the fact Bliss’ hand was playing at the entrance of her pussy. Sometimes the older woman’s talent for control was utterly frustrating for Bliss but at moments like this she mostly just found it an impossible turn on. Maybe because when she finally did manage to make Maven lose her control it made the moment so much sweeter and rather triumphant as well. “They sell toys for that?”

“Custom made,” offered Bliss, grinning at the burst of laughter Maven released, and it was a grin that widened when she circled the older woman’s clit with her thumb and watched her face contract with surprise and pleasure. Rising up on her toes again, she sucked on Maven’s neck, tasting lightly of salt as she slipped one finger then two inside of Maven. “Do you want to try and keep standing?” she teased. “Or should we give the new sheets a test run?”

Jerking her head at the bed and smirking when Bliss pushed her down on it, Maven pulled the smaller woman on top of her and replied, “You just want to see if you can make me rip them again.”

“It was awesome,” admitted Bliss, sliding up Maven’s body, her kisses going down Maven’s neck to her chest, her free hand undoing her bra while the other remained in place inside the other woman, neither retreating nor going forward.

“Totally awesome, dude,” Maven chuckled, causing Bliss to glower, knowing it was a subtle poke at her supposedly immature word choice. Sometimes Maven could be worse than her mother about things like that though she had no idea why.

Kissing Maven hard and fast, grinning at the groan the other woman released, Bliss resumed her explorations. Her fingers making a casual retreat before thrusting forward, thumb lightly pressing down then circling Maven’s clit. She felt Maven’s hips rise off the bed and her legs bending at the knees, placing her booted feet firmly on the bed. This was part of why the sheets were ruined the last time but Bliss couldn’t find it in her to remove Maven’s feet, not when it increased the closeness between them. One of Maven’s hands tangled in her hair, fingers caressing her scalp, while the other grasped her ass in a tight hold and Bliss grinned again. She didn’t have much of an ass to speak of but what she did have Maven seemed to like quite a bit.

They continued to kiss as she traced patterns on Maven’s clit and when she pulled away, Bliss laughed when she noticed Maven’s glasses starting to steam up. The older woman’s eyes popped open and she scowled at this, moving her hand from Bliss’ ass to yank them off, flinging them carelessly onto the floor and making Bliss pout. “You better not have broken them,” commented Bliss, kissing Maven’s cheek and adding another finger as she continued to thrust inside the older woman.

“Fuck the glasses,” Maven retorted, her hands going back to Bliss’ ass, pulling her forward and causing Bliss to release a cry of surprise before Maven surged upwards to capture her lips for a fierce kiss. After a few moments, Bliss felt a familiar constriction around her fingers and the other woman came in a silent orgasm. It was one of the things that Bliss found unusual but loved about her girlfriend, how she was strangely quiet in her release, and Maven’s wordless cries when she came always served to excite Bliss. She rested her head on Maven’s shoulder, slowly removing her fingers and placing her hand on Maven’s stomach. Regaining her breath, Maven looked at her then asked, “What’s the verdict? They ripped?”

“No,” said Bliss with a laugh, studying the in tact but thoroughly rumpled and now dirty sheets thanks to having Maven’s boots on them. Peering up at the older woman and wearing an impish look on her features, she said, “We could always go again.”

Chuckling at this suggestion, Maven pulled Bliss up her body, putting them nose to nose as she said, “The color is ugly as hell anyway. I dunno why I let you talk me into buying them.”

Before Bliss could respond, Maven was kissing her then she was removing her clothes and then they were naked and Bliss was gasping as Maven went down on her and suddenly it didn’t matter her girlfriend thought she had horrible taste in sheets. Not when she was capable of making her feel this way and when Bliss came, shuddering and shouting, Maven noted with a good deal of ire that she had failed to make Bliss tear up the sheets. Maven immediately set about giving Bliss an orgasm that would cause this to happen and in the process left Bliss feeling incredibly grateful for her competitive nature.

——

Josh tended to be fairly predictable with her days off at the clinic. Unless she asked for a day off specifically he gave her every Sunday and Monday off, something that Bliss was altogether pleased about. Not only was it nice having two days off in a row they were on both a weekend and a weekday which allowed her to hang out with friends and somehow feel strangely productive in her time off as she spent Mondays doing chores and running errands.

She had a fairly late start this Monday, rising a little after eleven in the morning, and she was puttering around the loft in her pajamas. Currently Bliss was staring at their refrigerator trying to decide what leftovers she should have for breakfast after having a selfish moment where she wished she could drag Maven out of the tattoo shop to make her food. Bliss had determined that Chinese food was probably a better choice than vegetarian lasagna when a knock at the door startled her.

Putting the box of chicken fried rice down on the counter, Bliss opened the door and was met with the sight of a lanky blonde with her shoulder length hair pulled back in a ponytail and a shy smile on her tanned features. Blinking in surprise and wondering if maybe sleeping in had effected her mental faculties, Bliss said, “Grace?”

“Hi,” Grace offered sheepishly, lifting a hand in greeting, and causing Bliss to laugh before dragging her into the loft.

“What are you doing here? Emily didn’t tell me you were coming!” exclaimed Bliss, hugging the younger woman. She had only gotten to spend time with Maven’s younger sister a few times on and off over the years but they corresponded constantly over the phone and through instant messaging and because of this, Bliss felt a certain closeness with her.

“That’s because I didn’t tell her,” said Grace in explanation. “She thinks I’m at school for the summer but instead I’m volunteering at the Humane Society here in Austin. I wanted to get some real life experience and… well,” Grace blushed, looking down at her shoes as she continued, “I guess I got sort of homesick too.” Looking up at Bliss, a blush still tingeing her cheeks, she said, “I wanted to surprise her. You think she’ll be happy?”

“Happy?” laughed Bliss, shaking her head. “She’ll be ecstatic. We have to go see her.” Bliss started to head out the door but stopped when she felt a soft hand gripping her wrist and she looked back to see Grace wearing that sweet but embarrassed look on her features that always served to make Maven dote over her like she was the most adorable thing in the world. “What’s up?”

“Uhm,” Grace bit her lip, looking like she was trying very hard not to smile. “You’re wearing PJs.”

Blinking at this and realizing she was indeed still in her pajamas, Bliss laughed again. “She’d tease me forever if I went down there like this, wouldn’t she?” Bliss remarked. Grace nodded solemnly and Bliss grinned as she turned on her heel, making a quick dash into their bedroom. “Hold up a sec and I’ll change into something halfway decent.”

Moments later, Bliss emerged in a pair of jeans and her poison control t-shirt. Hastily putting on her flip flops, she grabbed Grace’s hand and dragged her out the door. Going down the steps two at a time, she ran around to the front of Atomic Tattoo, vaguely aware of Grace trying to keep up with her and flung the front door open. Maven was sitting at the counter, her sketch book in front of her and wearing her new glasses which she hadn’t managed to destroy during their sexual activities despite her best efforts. Looking up, her eyes went wide on seeing Grace and she was immediately going around the counter with a huge smile on her features. Bliss returned the smile automatically although she knew it was for Grace and not her, which is why she thrust the younger woman in front of her who had that bashful look on her features that Maven adored.

“Grace!” Maven laughed, that huge smile somehow becoming larger as she wrapped her younger sister up in a hug. Grace laughed along, batting at Maven’s shoulders when she lifted her off the ground.

“Put me down,” insisted Grace, trying to look stern and failing horribly.

“Not until you tell me what you’re doing here,” drawled Maven, an easy smirk forming on her features. “I though you were staying at school. Trying to get your Pharmacology and Toxicology classes out of the way. You said that, didn’t you?”

Heaving an expressive sigh, Grace looked around the tattoo shop, deciding after a moment the best way to remove herself from being the center of attention would to be just telling the truth. “I wanted to surprise you,” she revealed. Maven grinned on hearing this and placed Grace on the ground. Shaking her head, Grace said ruefully, “I’m almost taller than you. I don’t know how you can always manage to lift me up like that. You should really stop doing it. I don’t think it’s good for your back.”

“My back is fine,” Maven dismissed, leaning against the counter, a perpetually happy look on her features. She tilted her head to look around Grace and at Bliss. Raising an eyebrow, she questioned, “Were you in on this?”

“Nope,” said Bliss, grinning wide and strolling over to Maven, her grin getting bigger as Maven slid an arm around her waist and pulled them into closer contact. “I hear a knock on the door so I open it up and there’s little sister.”

Besides scoffing fondly, Maven didn’t say anything. She just continued to beam and look happier than Bliss could recall seeing her in quite some time. Having Grace around always did manage to do that to Maven though and it was a large reason why Bliss was so fond of the younger woman. Although her genuinely kind nature was a big part of it too.

“How long are you here?” asked Maven and while she said this in casual tones, Bliss could practically feel the excitement bouncing off her girlfriend as she continued to smile at her sibling. “For the whole summer?”

“The whole summer,” Grace echoed, returning Maven’s smile and nodding. She blinked then tilted her head in a manner all too similar to Maven’s, charming Bliss in the process, and she asked, “When did you get glasses? They look good on you.” Upon hearing this Bliss formed an triumphant expression while Maven rolled her eyes. “What is it?” Grace laughed at their reactions.

“I made her see the eye doctor and even worse, I picked out the glasses,” supplied Bliss, still looking smug about this victory.

“Well, they look good,” said Grace, wearing that sweet smile and if Bliss looked close enough she could swear Maven was reddening at her sister’s words. Of course, she wouldn’t dare bring it up for the sake of saving Maven’s pride.

“Enough about me being a four eyes,” Maven declared, clapping her hands and giving Grace an expectant look. Stepping forward, she grinned and ruffled Grace’s hair, peering into her eyes as she said, “I know you haven’t been eating right at that college of yours. We’re either going out for dinner tonight or I’m cooking for you, whatever you want.”

“I eat fine!” protested Grace, folding her arms over her chest and forming something of a scowl. If Bliss had to compare it to anything it would the cute baby version of the expression that Maven often wore when she was in a foul mood.

“Ramen and pancakes isn’t eating fine,” said Maven in droll tones.

“You sound just like Mom,” Grace huffed and just a moment passed before her eyes went wide at the awkward silence that followed. “Emily,” she began quickly, reaching for her sister’s hands. “I’m sorry, I—”

“Forget it,” Maven dismissed, waving it off and giving a lopsided grin, though her eyes had noticeably lost a portion of the happy gleam that was there earlier. “We’re having dinner, right?”

“Of course,” said Grace quickly, anxious to make up for causing any tension. She paused and wore that sheepish look on her face again, then with large and hopeful eyes, she asked, “Can we go to Taco Xpress?”

Chuckling in response, Maven turned to Bliss with a sardonic expression as she jerked her thumb at Grace. “You two have the same unhealthy taste in food,” she declared.

“Maybe that’s why you love us,” Bliss offered with a cheeky smile, laughing when Maven snorted and put an arm around her shoulders while Grace just grinned at them both, clearly pleased with the fact she would be eating genuine Austin tacos tonight.

——

“It’s amazing,” Bliss whispered in Maven’s ear, watching as Grace tore into her picadillo enchiladas. “She doesn’t stop to breathe.”

Fixing Bliss with an affectionate look of warning, though there was clear humor in her gaze, Maven turned back to her sister. Grace had already gone through an al pastor taco and the fish dinner platter along with their fajita nachos appetizer. “You sure you weren’t lying when you said you’re eating fine down there in College Station?” she questioned with dry humor.

Waving her fork as she finished chewing her mouthful of enchiladas, Grace said with exasperation, “I do! It’s just I don’t eat anything as good as this. You said I could get whatever I wanted.”

“I did say that,” Maven chuckled, leaning back in her chair. “I just didn’t think it’d be the whole menu.”

“At least it’s Taco Xpress so we won’t go into bankruptcy,” said Bliss with a grin, laughing when the siblings fixed matching glares at her. Shaking her head, she kissed Maven’s cheek and murmured, “You’re so cute.”

Maven just rolled her eyes and pushed her chair back, rising to her feet and saying she was going to the bathroom, thoroughly avoiding Bliss’ claims to her cuteness in the process, and making Bliss grin widely. Soon as they were alone though, she found Grace staring at her with an unexpectedly solemn look on her features.

“Can I tell you something?” asked Grace, maintaining her serious expression, and worrying Bliss in the process.

“Sure,” said Bliss with a nod.

“I didn’t come home just to volunteer,” Grace said, scooting her chair closer to Bliss. She grimaced and then leaned in and said, “I’ve tried talking to Emily about this but she never lets me get anywhere. I really want to try and fix things with her and the rest of the family. We just found out a few months ago that Dad has diabetes and I know he’ll be okay in the long run but… what if he wasn’t? It’s not right, things going on like they are, and I want to do something about it.”

“She won’t like it,” said Bliss, frowning as she thought about Maven’s reaction. “I think she’s given up on all her family but you.”

“I know and it’s not right,” said Grace fiercely, an angry look forming on her features. “I don’t want to go behind Emily’s back with this but I sort of have to if I want anything to happen. I just need to know if you’re with me. I could use your help.”

Thinking back to the Christmases she spent with Maven, Bliss recalled all the times she watched her go through that same horrible routine of sending out the Christmas cards only to know they’ll be returned. Bliss often wondered why Maven did it and she thought perhaps some part of Maven was hoping that this year would be the time that it wouldn’t happen. That maybe she would get a card in return, something to acknowledge her existence, if not an actual invitation to spend time with the family. But it never happened and watching her girlfriend go through this torturous pattern year after year wore on Bliss so she couldn’t imagine how hard it had to be for Maven. She was certain that was why she found herself thinking Grace’s idea was a good one despite knowing that Maven wouldn’t like it. Things simply shouldn’t go on this way. It had to be stopped for Maven’s sake.

“Okay,” said Bliss finally, nodding her head slowly. “I’m with you.”

Grace formed a huge smile in response, thanking Bliss, and she was about to say more but Maven’s hand came down on her head in an affectionate gesture. The older woman was grinning as she asked Grace if she was finally full and well aware they couldn’t continue this line of discussion with Maven there, Grace puffed out her cheeks and said Maven was mean and she was indeed still hungry. Something that caused Maven to chuckle as she sat down and watched the blonde resume her meal. Bliss in the meantime was contemplating the fact that this was the first time she kept a secret from the older woman in the entire length of their relationship that wasn’t something small and silly like planning a surprise birthday party.

Which is why Bliss had a nagging feeling that maybe doing this wasn’t such a good idea.

——

The TXRD had been steadily increasing in popularity throughout the years and that was a wonderful thing but now the number of viable recruits had reached the amount that the league was considering adding another team. They just had so many people showing up at try outs and while there was always far more who weren’t suited for derby and simply wanted to be in it for the cool rollergirl name and the supposed glamour and glory there were a rising number of recruits who were just perfect for the sport. People like Bliss and Malice and more surprisingly, the Hot Tamales recruit from a year ago, Duchess of Torque, who just needed a little bit of time to get adjusted to playing the game. But once she did? She led the Tamales on a winning streak all the way to the championship, something Mazel was still gloating over, especially since the final bout was the Black Widows vs. Hot Tamales, leaving the fan favorites, the Holy Rollers and Hurl Scouts, out in the cold for a change.

“This isn’t going to be like our usual votes,” Razor explained as Alonso went up and down the stands handing out double sided pieces of paper for everyone to read. “It would take way too long to explain and I know some of you like to pretend like you’ve got the attention span of a bunny rabbit on crack—” Smashley’s distinct laughter broke into on his speech at this point, causing Razor to sigh heavily. “That paper Alonso is giving you details all the work and the cost involved with getting a new team started up in the league. It’s not going to be cheap and it’s not going to be easy and of course, we can’t have a team that’s nothing but new recruits. At least two players are going to have be taken from other teams, we need a solid team captain and a good jammer to start them off and we’re not about to force people to leave their teams but it’s the truth.”

“We’re also going to need a lot of commitment from everyone in the league, all the committees would have to get involved with getting the new team up and running, not just the executive,” Razor continued. “I’m not saying that we shouldn’t do this or it’s not a good idea. It is but I think everyone should be really aware of how much work is going to be involved. That’s why we’re giving you this handy piece of paper,” he paused to lift it into the air, “it has all the information about all that work and then we’re letting you have a week to read over it and really think before you come back here and vote.”

“Before I drop the topic, one good thing about this is the new team wouldn’t be starting up until the season after this. That gives us over a year to have fundraisers and get the right people into place before crunch time arrives. It’s not like we’re springing this on you out of nowhere,” Razor finished before turning to Mickey, the team captain for the Hot Tamales.

“Right!” Mickey clapped his hands and gave a huge smile. “The other news we have is we’ve been approached by the documentary filmmaker, Christina Ortiz. I’ve never heard of her but I guess she’s pretty well known, Razor says she’s gone to Cannes a few times, and her thing is doing films about subcultures. I don’t know. Deal is, she wants to film everyone in the league over the course of a season. Next week, when we take your votes for starting up a new team, we’ll do a viewing for her last film and she’ll give a talk explaining everything involved with her making a movie about the league.”

The instant that Mickey stopped talking and even before that, the warehouse was filled with excited murmurs about the possibility of being in a movie. Bliss turned to Maven who had a sullen look on her face that Bliss was far too familiar with and instead of asking, she just poked the older woman in the side, who rolled her eyes in response.

“It’s stupid,” was all that Maven would say as she rose to her feet and pulled Bliss up with her.

“The new team or the movie?” Bliss prodded, although she already knew which Maven was referring to.

“The movie,” Maven retorted, looking at Bliss with an expression that said she knew exactly what Bliss was up to. As they walked through the stands the crowd of people increased and Maven reached for Bliss’ hand, ensuring they stayed together as they made their way out of the warehouse. “I didn’t get into derby to be some kind of fake bullshit actress.”

Bliss started to respond to this when Smashley suddenly appeared, her expression all smiles as she slung an arm over Bliss' shoulder. “Hollywood, man,” she declared wisely. “This movie could pay for the new team.”

“How does that work, Smash? It probably won’t be out by the time the new team gets started,” said Maven dryly. “And it’s a documentary. Since when do they make any money?”

“Mavennnn,” Smashley formed an exaggerated pout, moving from Bliss and going over to the taller woman. “You’re always such a drag. Doesn’t it ever bug you? Come on,” she grinned mischievously, reaching out to touch Maven’s face. “Let’s turn that frown upside down!” When Maven whapped her hands away, Smashley sulked. “Totally not fun.”

“Stop pretending like you’re a moron,” Maven remarked in droll tones, though a fond smile tugged at her lips as she flicked her index finger against Smashley’s forehead. Smashley scowled at Maven before turning on her heel and stomping off and Maven looked to Bliss who wore a perplexed but amused expression at this interchange. “What?”

“Nothing,” Bliss laughed, shaking her head. “I just never quite get your relationship with Smashley, that’s all.”

“Maybe because there’s nothing to get,” replied Maven, sliding an arm around Bliss’ waist as they walked out of the warehouse. “I mess with her, she messes with me, she says stupid shit, I call her on it. That’s pretty much it.”

Privately Bliss thought it was more than that. If only because she knew how Maven was around people she held affection for and she displayed all those signs when with Smashley. Then there was the incident with Blanche and out of everyone she talked to at the time it was Smashley who was the most adamant about not betraying Maven’s confidence. Still, the curiosity was lingering at best and she never cared enough to find out the why’s and the how’s behind the relationship, though it often entertained her.

“The movie could be good publicity for the league though,” said Bliss as they neared Maven’s Triumph Thunderbird. “Bring in more fans and maybe justify adding that extra row of bleachers that Maggie’s been wanting since forever.”

“Yeah,” Maven admitted reluctantly, opening the saddlebag and handing Bliss her helmet. Tilting her head to one side, a slow smile curved on her lips and she said, “How did you get so fucking good at finding the bright side to everything?”

“It’s easy when you spend years doing something you didn’t really want to,” said Bliss sardonically, pulling the helmet on and grinning when Maven snorted and got on the motorcycle. Climbing on behind her, Bliss wrapped her arms around Maven’s waist and leaned forward. “Besides,” Bliss’ said playfully, “I like the idea of you being immortalized in film. All sexy and bad ass in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform.” She could practically see Maven rolling her eyes in response and Bliss laughed as the motorcycle started up and they sped off to meet Grace for another lunch date where she’d no doubt consume half the menu.

——

Wednesdays were always a late shift for Bliss, she would go into work at five p.m. and leave at three a.m. Grace happened to have the day off at the Humane Society and she came over to talk with Bliss before going to a hairdressing appointment. The two women were sitting on the couch, Bliss still in her pajamas and Grace sitting on the floor, looking at the scrap books Bliss had been making of her time in the TXRD.

“If these are your scrap books then how come Emily is in them more than you are?” Grace asked, a wry smile on her lips.

Yawning and lying down on the couch, Bliss put a pillow over her eyes and replied, “You know how some people in relationships think they’re soul mates and say they have this weird mystical connection to the person they’re with?”

“Maybe,” said Grace slowly, turning around to look at Bliss who still had the pillow covering her eyes.

“I don’t believe in that stuff and neither does your sister,” Bliss said, pushing the pillow up to peer at Grace and offering a mischievous grin. “But I do believe she’s the person I’ll be with long term and I know she feels the same about me. I just like the idea of keeping track of the both of us, you know? Having documented memories of when we played together because I know someday we’re going to have to quit. I just think it’s nice… having that to look back on.” She paused to form an impish smile then said, “Plus she gets embarrassed when I dedicate pages to her like that. She likes to pretend she doesn’t but she does.”

“It’s cute when she gets like that,” offered Grace with a chuckle.

“Incredibly cute,” Bliss agreed, nodding her head and lying back down. “Also,” she continued after a moment, “Emily doesn’t do that stuff for herself, you know? I mean, other than her portfolio she doesn’t keep track of things she does in her life and that’s all about her work, not her personal life. It made me sort of sad to realize that because of how my family is. My mom must have at least thirty photo albums of the family in the house and her not having any photos was sort of lonely to me somehow.”

“I never told you how I found out about her, did I?” murmured Grace, turning to look at Bliss.

“I thought you used Zaba Search,” said Bliss, shifting her gaze to the younger woman.

“No, I mean, yes, that’s how I found out where she lived and her phone number,” Grace said, shaking her head and scooting closer to the couch. “But I didn’t even really know I had an eldest sister. When I was little I thought Isaac was the oldest out of all of us and Rebecca was the oldest girl. Sometimes I’d hear things, they wouldn’t say her name, but people would talk about her but soon as they noticed one of the younger kids was around, they’d stop talking.” A frown formed on Grace’s features as she continued, “I was probably thirteen when it happened. There was this project I was doing for history class, something on genealogy and trying to trace your family back to the pioneer times, I think. I don’t know. I just went into the attic looking for all these photo albums I knew our mom had stashed away. I saw her looking at them once and my dad yelled at her, told her to throw them out, said something about how it wasn’t part of our family. And I was just a kid, so I figured it had to be something cool for my project so I went up into the attic and found the albums she was looking at.”

“There were four of them filled with photos of Emily,” Grace said, confirming Bliss’ suspicions. “The first one was her as a baby with my mom and dad, our grandparents, all the way up until she was maybe four years old.” Shaking her head, Grace murmured, “I didn’t remember her at all. When they…” Grace frowned severely and stared at her hands. “I don’t know what to call it. She was living on her own when she came out so they didn’t kick her out but they… they said they didn’t want anything to do with her anymore once she told them she was a lesbian. I was only two and I never remembered anything about her but I looked through those photo albums and I saw all these pictures of her and me as a baby and a toddler. Ones with me sitting on her shoulders and riding on a merry go round and I got so mad that I had a sister and they hid her from me. Of course,” Grace said this with just a hint of the derision Maven often expressed when she was angry. “That was before I knew why they did it. When I confronted my mom and she told me that, it just made everything worse. I never agreed with my parents and the church’s beliefs about gay people then I find out what they did to my sister? Pretending like she didn’t even exist just because she was gay? I hated my parents for that and I tried to find her but I never had any luck, not until I was fifteen.”

“I’ve always wanted to ask you about the others,” said Bliss, sitting up and looking at Grace with a serious expression. “Your parents don’t know you’re in contact with Emily but what about your brothers and sisters?”

“Isaac knows, he helped me find her,” said Grace quietly. “He feels guilty for going along with mom and dad. I guess they were really close growing up, being the oldest, plus they’re just two years apart in age. Sometimes I try and get him to come see Emily with me but I think he’s afraid of what she’ll say to him so he stays away.”

“She’d want to see him,” Bliss offered. Maven wouldn’t talk about her family with Bliss, no matter how hard she tried and how often she broached the subject. Only saying that Grace was worth her while because Grace was the only one that gave a shit about her and that always effectively ended the conversation because of how awful it made Bliss feel for Maven. But despite that, she knew in her heart Maven wanted it to be different. Sometimes Grace would slip and she’d talk about Maven’s siblings and the older woman would get this look on her face, sad and longing, then her mask would go back up and Grace would apologize and change the subject and the moment was over but Bliss had seen all she needed. “As long as it’s mutual.”

While Grace mulled over this, the front door to the loft opened and Maven walked in. Raising an eyebrow and grinning, she shut the door and questioned, “You been here this whole time?”

“We started talking,” said Grace sheepishly, looking up at Maven who ruffled her hair before sitting down on the couch. Her eyes suddenly went wide and she asked, “What time is it?”

“Three o’clock,” said Maven languidly, lifting Bliss’ legs up and putting them on her lap.

“I’m going to be late for my appointment!” Grace exclaimed, jumping to her feet and hastily gathering up her purse. She dashed for the door only to pause and wave at them both. “I’ll see you later!”

The couple watched the door shut before their gazes met. Maven’s lips quirked as she studied Bliss then she remarked, “How come you never bother changing out of your pajamas when Josh puts you on the late shift?”

“What’s the point if I don’t leave the loft?” said Bliss plainly. “Besides,” she groaned, shifting on her side. “My back hurts from that hit I took from Kami Kaze during practice. She should come with a warning label or something.”

Maven continued to look at Bliss for a long moment then she suddenly scooped Bliss into her arms, making the younger woman feel something like a heroine in a bad romance novel. Before she could protest, Maven said in hard tones, “Don’t bitch. I’m about to do you a favor.” Thoroughly intrigued, Bliss’ mouth snapped shut and she watched attentively as Maven carried her into the bedroom and carefully placed her on their bed. Forming a slow smile and pulling Bliss’ shirt over her head, Maven tossed it into the corner, then she moved her index finger in a circle and drawled, “Lie down your stomach.” Obeying out of sheer curiosity, Bliss watched Maven open the bedside dresser drawer and root around. “Stay there,” Maven ordered.

There was the sound of running water and after a minute or so, Maven returned and Bliss felt the light pressure of the older woman kneeling over her, barely resting her weight on Bliss’ ass. Then there was the sensation of warm lotion on her backside and Maven’s fingers moving in a gentle but firm touch. Unable to help herself, Bliss groaned in satisfaction and Maven chuckled in response before she said, “I told you I was doing you a favor.” Maven continued to work and Bliss buried her face in her arms, relishing the other woman’s touch. “Sometimes I wish you could get tan,” murmured Maven. “Not that you’re not sexy as fuck as you are but being so pale, your bruises always look worse than what they are. I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

“You’re sweet,” Bliss managed to say, releasing another groan as Maven worked through the knots in her shoulders.

No response came from Maven, her hands just kept up their steady work on Bliss’ aching muscles, making her feel better than she had in weeks. Slowly Maven’s hands moved down her shoulders and concentrated on her back, Bliss squirmed as she felt herself becoming wet. Fingertips barely brushed over the sides of her breasts and she moaned as they trailed downward in a light caress. Then Maven’s hands went back to work, firm and knowing in their touch, the massage moving lower until her hands slipped beneath her pajama pants, dancing along the top of her ass and Bliss tried to lift her hips off the bed, encouraging this exploration, but was hampered by Maven’s position.

“Baby,” Maven’s voice was a throaty whisper in her ear that caused a familiar warmth to pool in the pit of her stomach. “If you want the massage to have a happy ending, all you have to do is say so.”

Sometimes Bliss loved and hated Maven’s habit of playing with her. It was a perpetual game that they went through, Maven delighting in having Bliss tell her things that she already knew. Hearing Bliss say the words was something of a turn on for Maven and Bliss was more than happy to go along because she honestly enjoyed it as much as Maven in the end. Although she would be a liar if she said it didn’t ever frustrate her. Which was probably the point of it from Maven’s perspective, increasing Bliss’ irritation aided the rising anticipation for her touch and by the time she got what she wanted she was always humming with desire and the orgasm was that much more intense. This time was no exception as she bucked her hips, jolting Maven, causing the older woman to chuckle as she turned to glare at Maven who raised an eyebrow in a silent demand.

“Eat me out,” Bliss said this in a rough command, bucking her hips again, and Maven rode with the motion, chuckling again before she slid down Bliss’ legs, pulling off the younger woman’s panties and pajama pants with her as she went. Shivering as Maven’s hand faintly caressed the small of her back, Bliss felt the older woman pressing into her then there was that honeyed instruction telling her to get on her hands and knees and she obeyed because it was all that she could do. Maven’s hands were at her hips, pushing her legs further apart and then Maven’s tongue was flicking against her clit and she felt her knees waver but the older woman’s arms wrapped around her stomach, supporting her weight. “More,” Bliss insisted, pushing her hips back only to groan and lower her head when Maven flattened her tongue and licked the length of her pussy.

It seemed to Bliss there was little she could do when it came to how her body responded to Maven. Even after three years of being together, she couldn’t control herself when they had sex. Her orgasms very rarely came as anything other than hard and fast and she knew it was because she was like a teenage boy with the other woman. When it involved Maven and sex, her body and mind seemed to lose all semblance of restraint and sometimes Bliss wanted to try and hold out, to make it last, but Maven would give her a look or she would speak and that was all it would take for her to come undone.

This was no exception as Maven continued to lick at her pussy, stopping only to suck on her clit. Bliss wasn’t sure what Maven was saying, she could only hear a rushing in her ears, but she could feel the other woman’s breath on her pussy then her tongue returned, thrusting inside her and Bliss couldn’t hold on any longer. She came with a muffled cry, legs collapsing and body held up entirely by Maven’s arms before the older woman gently lowered her to the bed, resting at her side. Regaining her breath, Bliss turned her head, peering at Maven through her mess of hair which the older woman gently pushed aside.

“Feel better?” asked Maven, wearing an altogether smug look on her features.

Instead of replying or trying to get payback just because she really lacked the energy, Bliss simply scooted over, situating herself on top of the other woman and preparing for a much needed nap. As she drifted off, her head tucked into the crook of Maven’s shoulder, she heard a soft chuckle and felt an even softer kiss as a pair of arms held her closer still. While Maven would probably never realize it, this was definitely part of the happy ending she had been promised.

——

It was with some degree of reluctance that Maven went with Bliss to the showing of Christina Ortiz’s movie at the warehouse. They had barely settled into their seats in the stands when Smashley’s hand appeared holding a box of JuJu Bee’s. She shook it back and forth then stuck her head in between them as she said, “Want some? You can’t watch a movie without snacks.”

“This is all you got? I’m surprised, Smash,” Maven replied, arching an eyebrow and smirking.

“You want Junior Mints instead?” Smashley inquired, thrusting another box forward. Maven just chuckled and held out her palm, letting Smashley dump several candies onto it before focusing on Bliss. “How about you, Ruthless?”

“No thanks,” Bliss shook her head, laughing.

“Maggie stole my Twizzlers,” said Smashley somewhat bitterly, scowling as she looked at their team captain. She rested her elbows on their shoulders, peering at Maven as she said, “You really think this movie won’t do the league any good?”

Popping several Junior Mints in her mouth, Maven chewed on them then eyed Bliss who was grinning at her. “I don’t think it’s going to make us a ton of money but maybe it’d be good publicity,” she admitted.

“Ruthless,” Smashley drew her name out in deliriously happy tones, shoving her hard in the side. “You changed her mind, didn’t you?” Turning to Maven, she grinned and declared, “You’re totally whipped.”

Maven flipped Smashley off in response and before Smashley could respond, the warehouse lights dimmed and Razor was announcing they would be starting the movie. A large screen had been brought in and Bliss could see a projector in the distance. A few timing reels ran then the credits appeared for Ortiz’s latest film, a documentary on polyamorous relationships.

The movie was presented in an entertaining but even handed manner and for Bliss it was what a documentary should be, an unbiased presentation of the subject material that’s not overshadowed by the director’s opinions on the matter. From the glances she gave Maven she could tell her girlfriend felt the same, however grudging it might be, from how attentive she was to the movie as it went on. Even Smashley had stopped bothering them fifteen minutes into it, remaining quiet except for the occasional eating related noise and even that ceased towards the end of the viewing. When the movie ended, Razor announced Christina Ortiz to a healthy amount of applause and Bliss was surprised to find she was probably just a few years older than herself.

“First of all,” Christina began, offering a bright smile. “I want to thank everyone here for giving me their time. I really hoped you enjoyed the film and it gave you some idea of what I try to do as a filmmaker. Mickey and Razor explained a little of what I focus on but I’d like to go into that some more…”

Over the next hour, Christina described her methods and intentions behind making documentaries on different subcultures in American society and how she felt that making one on roller derby could not only highlight the sports rising popularity but reveal the grassroots effort that goes into a running a league. She wanted to study why the players loved the sport and devoted so much of their time to helping keep the league going as well as the hours spent practicing and playing the game itself. In the end, after the question and answer session was over, they had a league vote in a more formal manner on both the movie and establishing a new team for their next season. Writing their decisions down and handing the ballots over to Alonso who was collecting them.

Votes gathered, everyone began exiting the warehouse en masse, several stopping to talk to Christina and ask more questions about her ideas for the movie about the league and its players. Maven had no interest in speaking to the director and Bliss wasn’t particularly invested in fighting her way through the crowd which left them heading outside until they heard someone shout Bliss’ rollergirl name and turned to see Christina heading towards them.

“You’re Babe Ruthless,” Christina said this almost breathlessly, her eyes wide and questioning.

“That’s me,” said Bliss slowly, looking over at Maven who wasn’t much help, smirking at the attention Bliss was getting. Sighing at her girlfriend’s antics, Bliss turned back to Christina. “Can I help you with something? I’m not on a committee but…”

“No, no,” said Christina quickly, waving her hands and forming a huge grin. “I just wanted to talk with you. I don’t know if Razor told you this but you’re part of the reason I chose to work with the TXRD instead of the Derby Dolls or the Rat City Rollergirls for this project. I don’t want to embarrass you but you’ve got a great presence on the track I think will translate really well on screen.”

Bliss was sure she had to have the most disbelieving expression on her face because that’s exactly what it felt like. “Me?” she said uncertainly, wondering if maybe Christina had gotten her mixed up with someone else. She was confident in her skills as a jammer but she didn’t think she had an impressive personality when skating. Not like some of the other players and especially not compared to her own teammates like Smashley and Rosa who had long established fan clubs dedicated to them.

“Yes, you,” Christina laughed and she looked almost incredulous that Bliss wouldn’t believe her. “I know you didn’t get to the championships but that last jam you had against the Duchess of Torque… it was some of the best skating I’ve ever seen. And I’m saying this after spending most of last year traveling and watching bouts as I tried to decide which league to work with.”

“Hear that, baby?” Maven’s voice was a husky murmur in her ear and Bliss shivered at the hot breath on her skin as Maven wound an arm around her waist, pulling them closer together. “You’re a star.”

Scowling and blushing despite herself, Bliss whapped Maven on her stomach, though she smiled when she felt Maven chuckle and kiss the top of her head. Focusing back on Christina who had watched this exchange with interested eyes, she said, “I don’t know what to say really. I mean, thanks,” Bliss looked entirely bemused now, “it’s great you like my skating.”

“If the project goes through, I’m going be filming everyone but a movie needs to have focus subjects or else it’s going to be spread too thin. I’d love it if you’d agree to be one of those subjects for me,” said Christina, continuing to study them, moving her gaze over to Maven whose attention had drifted to her teammates pushing their way through the crowd and towards the couple. “And you’re Iron Maven, right? Team captain of the Holy Rollers?”

Lazily drawing her focus to Christina as her hand traced circles on Bliss’ back, Maven said, “For eight years. But if you want to talk to someone that’s got a real history you’re better off with Smash,” Maven nodded towards Bliss’ teammate who was fighting with Maggie over the half eaten bag of Twizzlers. “She’s been here from the very start.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Christina and she looked like she wanted to say something more but she was suddenly met with Mazel Tough and the Hot Tamales. Looking back at Bliss and Maven, she smiled and said, “It was nice speaking with you both. I really hope I’ll be working with you in the future, Ruthless.”

“Okay,” said Bliss dimly, watching as Christina walked off with Mazel. Upon hearing Maven chuckling, she scowled again and bumped her hip hard against Maven’s. “You’re not funny,” she stated, pointing a finger at the older woman.

“What’s up?” Smother Theresa asked as the Holy Rollers emerged on the scene with several Hurl Scouts.

“Nothing much,” drawled Maven, wearing a large shit eating grin, and utterly ignoring Bliss’ glare of warning. “Just my girl becoming a genuine movie star.” When she was met with a flurry of demanding questions, Maven added, “Seems the director chose our league thanks to seeing somebody’s jamming skills. Apparently she’s going to translate well on screen.”

The Hurl Scouts and Holy Rollers became a mob of congratulations and Bliss found her hair ruffled and back hurting from the slaps she was getting and meanwhile, Maven just kept grinning, as if it was the best thing in the world. She wasn’t exactly sure when it happened in their relationship, somewhere around the end of the first year perhaps, but Maven had become just as proud of Bliss’ roller derby accomplishments as her own. Sometimes it even seemed like she was prouder of Bliss than herself and while Bliss loved this it made her wonder if it had more to do with Maven liking how she looked when she was embarrassed.

——

“Bliss,” Grace’s voice was an excited whisper and the brunette barely had time to react before her companion clasped her arm and dragged her along. It was in moments like these that Bliss was distinctly reminded of how Grace was Maven’s sister.

They shared the same uncanny enthusiasm and strength and their looks were somewhat deceitful on both matters. Tall and slender, it didn’t appear as if they could drag a one hundred and ten pound person easily across a room but they could and in Maven’s case, she could outright lift her up like she was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. It was early in the afternoon on Friday and Bliss had the day off in a strange turn of scheduling, so she was spending it with Grace who wanted to indulge in her love of thrift store shopping before heading to the league meeting about the decision on participating in Christina Ortiz’s movie.

Treasure City Thrift was something of an Austin landmark and every time Grace was in town she insisted on visiting them. The younger woman had a penchant for buying strange items that most normal people would abhor. This time she was fixated on a small pink plastic purse that was sparkly and had a doll head glued to the side of it. Holding it up for Bliss’ inspection, Grace had a huge smile on her features as she declared, “It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

“Sure is,” said Bliss slowly, not particularly wanting to give her opinion on the monstrosity. “What would you use it for?”

“I don’t know but it’s only three dollars,” said Grace, smiling and looking entirely pleased with her planned purchase. She formed a solemn expression and murmured, “I spoke to my brothers and sisters yesterday.”

“What did they say?” asked Bliss and she wasn’t sure why but her chest was suddenly tight, giving her an anxious feeling.

“Rebecca and Seth agree with Mom and Dad,” Grace said, frowning severely, her hands clutching onto the ugly purse in a harsh grip. “But Isaac, Caleb, and Naomi want to see her again. Isaac and Naomi especially. Naomi was talking about ways we could try to get and our parents to change their minds. Caleb managed to get Rebecca and Seth to agree not to say anything but I don’t know if they’ll really do it. I mean, Rebecca always likes to interfere with things like that, she’d tell on me all the time as a kid because she thought what she was doing was best. I wouldn’t put it past her.”

“Emily’s not going to like it if she finds out this caused problems in the family,” said Bliss, already picturing Maven’s reaction in her mind, outright rejecting any contact rather than be confronted with the fact she still wasn’t wanted. “She’s only going to want to meet with your brothers and sisters if that’s what they want. You know she’ll never be happy with it otherwise.”

“I know and they do want to see her, I promise,” said Grace quickly.

“Are they fine with her being gay though?” asked Bliss seriously. “If they aren’t there’s not much point in them meeting again.”

“I’m not going to say it’s perfect,” said Grace with a frown. “You have to understand how we were raised, Bliss, and the things our parents and the church told us about being gay. It’s not easy to just dismiss all of that in a day but they love Emily and they miss her and they didn’t like what our parents did to her when she came out. They want to see her again and they know about you and they want to meet you too.” Grace paused and looked almost desperate for reassurance. “Isn’t that enough?”

“Yeah,” said Bliss with a soft smile. “It’s more than enough.” They began a walk to the register so Grace could buy the pink plastic purse and Bliss added, “She’s going to be so happy to see them again.”

“Isaac is going bald,” Grace confessed, wearing a sheepish grin and leaning towards Bliss like this was a great secret. “I saw all the pictures of them together before she left and he doesn’t look anything like he used to. Emily’s going to be shocked.”

Bliss remained silent as Grace bought the purse and it wasn’t until they were outside on the street that she turned to the younger woman and said, “I know you want to fix things with your parents and Emily but it might not be possible.” When Grace turned to her with wide eyes and a somewhat hurt expression, Bliss sighed. “What you’re trying to do is fantastic and if it works out it will make her so happy but this could go wrong in a lot of ways and you need to realize that, Grace. There’s a reason why Emily has avoided her family for so long, she didn’t think it was possible to fix things, and knowing her there’s got to be logic behind that.”

“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try,” said Grace stubbornly, her jaw setting in a way that reminded Bliss utterly of Maven.

“You’re right,” Bliss smiled, hooking her arm in Grace’s and heading down the street. “It doesn’t.”

She wasn’t entirely convinced that Grace’s plan was the best one and that things would turn out all right in the end but it didn’t dismiss the younger woman’s point. That they shouldn’t at least try to repair the relationship between Maven and the rest of her family. Certainly it was something that was worth doing and even if it all went wrong at least they would know they tried.

——

There was very little surprise behind the announcement at the next league meeting that the votes were overwhelmingly in favor of allowing Christina Ortiz to film her documentary. Approval had also been given to starting up another team in the league which meant they had to begin the fund raising and planning process to get it up and running in time for the next season. In the meantime, try outs for the current season were in progress and were busy being filmed by Christina.

Bliss was sitting in the stands, observing Maven who agreed to help Axles of Evil test the rookies with a few jams and was attempting to get them to mimic her maneuvers the best they could. The Fight Attendants were the only team needing any new recruits and the massive amount of women that came to the try outs was overwhelming to say the least.

“They only care about the name,” Jackie remarked, plopping down next to Bliss and offering her a bottle of water which Bliss accepted with a smile. As one of the best blockers in the league, she extended her help to see if any of the recruits could manage to get past her in a jam. Thus far, they only had two out of over forty people actually have any success. When Bliss looked at Jackie with a perplexed expression, she elaborated, “Don’t you notice, Ruthless? They come with their fucking names picked out. It’s like they got everything figured already. Their track personality, skating skills, all that. Except you can’t pick that stuff out ahead of time, you know? It has to come naturally.” Jackie snorted with derision. “Fucking posers.”

“I still like Jaba The Slut,” offered Bliss, grinning at the disgruntled look Jackie gave her. Sometimes Jackie was really so much like Maven that it amused Bliss endlessly. Bumping shoulders with the blonde, she said, “I get it can be annoying but it’s not like they mean any harm, Jackie. And usually those types never make the cut anyway.”

“They’d never make it if it was up to me,” groused Jackie, leaning back in the stands and putting her feet up. She squinted as Christina neared them with her camera and sighed. “Here comes Real World,” she muttered.

Laughing at this, Bliss focused on Christina who settled near them and if the director heard what Jackie said it didn’t seem as if she was insulted by it from the altogether inquisitive look she had on her features. “How do you pick your rollergirl names?” Christina questioned.

“I didn’t pick mine,” revealed Bliss a bit sheepishly. “Razor and the other Hurl Scouts came up with it.” Looking over to Jackie who had a thoroughly grumpy look on her face, she remarked, “Jackie has named a lot of Holy Rollers though.”

“Where do you come up with the names?” prompted Christina and Jackie looked at the director with a bored expression until Bliss elbowed her, making the other woman grumble and scowl before reluctantly focusing on Christina.

“Personality and team theme usually,” Jackie said and she looked thoughtful as she scratched her cheek. “Smother Theresa is actually Catholic and she does all this charity work so that’s where I got her name. Malice In Wonderland is just because she showed up at practice looking like the kid from those books in a bow and that blue dress.”

“What about Iron Maven?” asked Christina.

Snorting at this and forming a slow grin, Jackie said, “She likes metal and she’s pretty expert in a lot of things.” Turning to Bliss, she arched an eyebrow and added, “Isn’t that right, Ruthless?”

“Right,” agreed Bliss quickly, not wanting that line of conversation to go any further.

“It seems like everyone in the league uses each others rollergirl names,” Christina remarked and Bliss blinked before looking to Jackie who shrugged and looked bored at this observation. “Why do you think that is?”

“Don’t know the real one,” Jackie replied, pushing herself up on her elbows.

“That can’t be how it is for everyone though, even your teammates?” Christina pursued curiously.

“I don’t think it matters to a lot of us,” said Bliss and Christina focused on her. “The great thing about playing derby is it lets you express another side to your personality and you get a new name to go with it. Of course,” she muttered, trying not to blush and sure she was failing. “It would be weird to call people by their rollergirl name in certain situations.”

“Certain situations,” echoed Christina humorously.

“Nice, Ruthless,” Jackie chuckled, standing up and heading towards the track as Axles of Evil was calling for her. As she passed Christina, she leaned down and said, “She’s talking about shouting out Maven’s rollergirl name in bed.”

“Jackie!” Bliss exclaimed, scowling as Jackie laughed and ran away.

The director focused back on Bliss who smiled nervously but before she could say anything about Jackie’s remarks, Maven shouted her name, telling her to get her ass on the track and show the recruits how a real jam was done. Feeling relieved at the interruption, Bliss rose to her feet and ran down to her girlfriend who had a shrewd look about her and immediately Bliss knew that Jackie had confessed what she said to Maven the instant she hit the track. Not for the first time, Bliss found herself grateful for Maven’s protective nature when it came to their relationship because Bliss wasn’t sure how much she really wanted to say.

Particularly when it was being recorded for public consumption.

——

As the season began, Bliss noticed that out of everyone in the league, Maven was the most adept at avoiding Christina and her video camera. She had a penchant for disappearing and taking Bliss along with her when she saw Christina heading their way and Bliss honestly thought the older woman hadn’t said more than ten words on camera. This wasn’t a particularly surprising turn of events when Bliss stopped to think about it though. Despite the fact that Maven was one of their most popular players she never participated in any of the league’s publicity events that entailed appearing on local television and radio shows to advertise their bouts and fundraising events. In fact, she always managed to get out of it and sent Jackie or Princess Slaya in her place. When it came to hiding from Christina it had more to do with the director’s focus on their romance, something that Maven was none too pleased about, but couldn’t do much when it came to what other people in the league said.

The Holy Rollers followed their captain’s example for the most part, not saying anything beyond teasing remarks but everyone else had an open door policy with Christina which meant quite a bit of gossip about their relationship being spread. Bliss had managed to avoid the topic out of respect for Maven, not wanting to speak about anything that clearly bothered her girlfriend but it was somewhat difficult as Christina seemed to favor filming her over everyone else in the league.

For the most part Bliss had gotten used to Christina’s filming and usually forgot she was there whenever they were in league practices and meetings and when it came to bouts, she was always far too focused on her playing to notice the director. The third bout of the season was the Hot Tamales vs. the Holy Rollers and it was highly anticipated within the league if only for Mazel’s competitive streak when it came to Maven and her overconfidence thanks to the Duchess of Torque’s talent.

Unfortunately for Mazel, the Holy Rollers were in top form, Malice and Maven winning jam after jam and when the final whistle was blown the score was eighty five to seventy with the Holy Roller firmly placed as the victors. They retired to ‘Bout Time for the traditional after party and it was one of the few times Maven found herself trapped by Christina’s video camera. She sat amongst a crowd of Holy Rollers and Hurl Scouts with Bliss perched on her lap. As her relationship with Maven continued the attitude between the two teams slowly changed to one where they were friendly off the track despite remaining the utmost of enemies when skating against one another. Rosa claimed the term was frenemies but Bliss could care less what they were called. Bliss was just happy to see Maven revealing her true personality around her teammates. It helped end any questions about what she saw in the older woman because now they saw the same person that Bliss did.

Bliss shivered as she felt Maven’s hands slide underneath her t-shirt to caress her stomach. Although the after party was always a tradition she enjoyed sometimes she wanted to skip it whenever a Holy Rollers victory was involved. Playing in a bout, especially one that her team had just won, always put Maven in an incredibly amorous mood. All of that pent up energy from the track came spilling out into their bed and there was never a time when Bliss didn’t enjoy sex with Maven but she had to admit it was always exceptionally good after the Holy Rollers won a bout. Attending victory parties with Maven and the Holy Rollers was nothing more than a torturous display of subtle foreplay that never failed to leave Bliss wet and wanting. She really ought to demand they stop going but then she’d have to explain to the rest of the Holy Rollers why their captain wouldn’t be attending and the nonstop teasing that would result just wasn’t worth it.

Plus some masochistic part of her enjoyed the attention she would always receive. How Maven would pull her onto her lap, resting her chin on Bliss’ shoulder, and wrapping her arms possessively around her waist before her hands began their slow wandering journey across her body, moving in a gentle and loving caress. Tonight was no exception and Bliss took in a shuddering breath as Maven’s hands slid higher, caressing the underside of her breasts through the thin material of her bra. Unable to take it anymore, she twisted around and tried her level best to form a stern expression.

“Be good,” Bliss commanded.

Raising an eyebrow, a smirk tugged at Maven’s lips and she drawled, “I thought I was.”

“Maybe if we were at home,” said Bliss with a chuckle, resting her palm flat against Maven’s cheek and leaning her forehead against the other woman’s. “You know I don’t like doing it in public.” Maven wore a skeptical expression at this and Bliss laughed just because she knew it came from all of the escapades that they had in various bathrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms. Scooting closer to whisper in Maven’s ear, she said, “You know what I mean. Besides, it will just make them jealous.”

“Not my problem, baby,” murmured Maven, pulling Bliss down by the collar of her t-shirt, grinning as she captured the younger woman’s lips in a detailed kiss that had Bliss moaning into her mouth and left her pale skin flushed. They only parted when met with the familiar sound of Smashley’s off key singing which continued even as Maven leveled the Hurl Scout with a hard glare.

“And sometimes when we touch, the honesty’s too much,” Smashley warbled, laughing uproariously at their perturbed expressions until Maven flung an onion ring in her direction. Smashley started to respond in kind but was stopped by Holly and Maggie and she pouted before turning back to Maven with a gleam in her eyes. “I’ll get you back eventually.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Smash,” replied Maven, smirking and pulling Bliss closer to her. Maven’s good mood dimmed when Christina made herself more noticeable as she asked Smashley about the song and Smashley’s remark that only the sappiest romantic ballad was suitable for the couple. Observing Maven’s veiled gaze and the sullen look she immediately had, Bliss was strangely charmed and it must have shown because the older woman’s eyes narrowed as she demanded, “What?”

“You’re just cute,” Bliss remarked, twisting a lock of Maven’s hair around her finger. “With how you hate the camera.”

“It’s not the camera I hate, Bliss,” Maven muttered and when Bliss looked at her inquisitively, she sighed, moving forward, her hands firm on the small of the other woman’s back. Her breath was warm on Bliss’ skin as she said, “I don’t like people nosing around in our relationship. Especially not if it’s for some kind of fucking entertainment. This is our life, you know?”

“I know,” said Bliss unable to help the bright smile spreading on her features that only grew wider when Maven scowled. Chuckling and shaking her head, she cupped Maven’s cheek and said, “I can’t help it. You really are too cute.”

Snorting at this, Maven averted her eyes and was met with Christina and her camera. The director had the same look of perpetual curiosity that drove her a little bit crazy. “Hey,” Maven called out to Christina, her expression laconic as she leaned back in her seat and pulled Bliss along with her. “You get one question.”

“Really?” Christina responded, her surprise at this clearly shown through her voice and body language.

“Better make it quick, I might change my mind,” said Maven humorously, tapping her fingers on Bliss’ stomach, and offering the reckless grin that always served to turn on the younger woman.

Christina frowned at this before wearing an expression of utter determination. “All right,” she said, moving closer to the couple. “Isn’t it difficult to compete against someone you’re in a romantic relationship with in such a physically brutal sport? It’s possible you could seriously hurt one another in a bout. Doesn’t that make you hesitate when you’re jamming against each other?”

“That’s two questions,” Maven observed and when Christina just maintained her determined face, she chuckled and tilted her head before rocking back in the chair, causing it rest on the back legs. Bliss sighed as she felt herself sink further into Maven’s embrace and the older woman smirked then said, “It’d only be hard if I couldn’t kiss it and make it all better.” Bliss immediately whapped Maven in the stomach, causing Maven to drop the chair down on all four legs as she chuckled. Seeing Christina’s irate look at her response, Maven said, “Sorry, I was just messing with you. Serious answer is, I know what Ruthless can do on the track. I’d be pissed if she was holding back on me instead of giving it her all. If we go all out against each other, I figure it shows more respect and helps improve the skills we got. After all,” Maven looked at the director expectantly, “how the fuck do you get better if you’re not competing against the best? And the best in this league sure as hell has my girl at the top of the list.”

“Why did you call her Ruthless instead of her real name?” pursued Christina, unable to help herself.

“That’s three now,” said Maven dryly. When Christina wore what some would consider a pleading expression, Maven snorted and rolled her eyes. Then she formed a slow smile as her eyes glinted with mischief. “Ruthless is what she is,” drawled Maven, her hands moving back underneath the younger woman’s shirt, her breath warm on Bliss’ neck. She softly kissed the pale skin before she continued, “Especially in bed.”

Mere seconds passed then the table erupted into chaotic laughter and crude remarks at this and Bliss turned dark red, twisting to face her girlfriend, scowling and ready to chastise her but stopped by the passionate kiss Maven caught her in. Bliss quickly lost herself in the taste and the touch of the older woman, her anger dissipating the longer the embrace continued, and she didn’t know or care if Christina was still filming them and apparently neither did Maven. Maybe, Bliss managed to think, sighing as Maven’s tongue slid against her own and warm hands rested firmly on her hips, it was only talking about their relationship that annoyed Maven. But that realization wasn’t such a shock, Maven was always more about actions than words.

Something that, at the moment, Bliss was extremely grateful for.

——

Monday was the default meeting day for Bliss and Grace and this was no different. They sat on the couch in the loft, Grace explaining how the rest of her siblings wanted to meet with Maven over the weekend. The younger woman was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement but Bliss was more subdued, worried about how they would broach Maven with the news.

“Can’t we surprise her?” asked Grace plaintively, something of a whine in her voice, and in that moment Bliss was distinctly aware of Grace’s age. Maven adored her sister but now she understood why her girlfriend found Grace’s naiveté worrisome just as much as charming because it certainly could lead to a fair share of problems. “She likes surprises.”

“No, she doesn’t,” said Bliss wryly. “And she’d really wouldn’t like this one. Seeing you was different, Grace,” Bliss explained slowly, thinking back to the few short conversations Maven had with her about her family. “You were so little when she left but Isaac and Naomi… they were old enough to say something, to do something. They could have stayed in contact, told her they thought your parents were wrong but instead they just went along. She needs to know they’re going to be there.”

“But Caleb was only ten—” Grace protested.

“I didn’t say anything about Caleb,” Bliss reminded, using the gently scolding tone she’d learned to apply for her more difficult patients in nursing school. “I was talking about Isaac and Naomi. Just because you’ll be there with Caleb doesn’t change the fact that so will Isaac and Naomi and Emily needs to know about that if this is going to work.”

“What do I need to know?” Maven’s voice broke into the conversation and both women whipped around to see her standing in the entrance to the loft, a frown forming on her features and her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“Emily,” began Grace furtively, rising to her feet and crossing to her older sister who closed the front door.

“Grace,” Maven echoed, the frown still on her face, and a silent demand in her gaze. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Hating to see tension between the normally happy siblings, Bliss moved towards her girlfriend, taking her hand and when Maven focused a steely gaze on her she swallowed. “Grace just wanted to help,” she offered.

“With what?” asked Maven in flat tones as if she already knew the answer.

“Your family,” Bliss said and immediately Maven’s expression darkened and she tried to pull her hands away from Bliss’ grip only to have the brunette hold firm. “No,” Bliss whispered, moving closer, wearing a solemn look on her features. “We’re going to deal with this. No running away this time, Emily.”

“Deal with the fact they don’t give a shit about me?” retorted Maven, her face settling into an expression of sullen anger. “I’ve been dealing with that for years, Bliss. What I don’t get is why the fuck you’re both bringing it up now.”

“They want to see you,” said Grace anxiously and Maven turned to her sister who looked hopeful at this attention. “I’ve talked to them and Isaac, Naomi, and Caleb want to see you again. Isaac and Naomi feel horrible for how they treated you…”

“What about Rebecca and Seth?” asked Maven, raising an eyebrow. When Grace squirmed uncomfortably, Maven snorted then continued, “I won’t even ask about Mom and Dad. That’s a fucking lost cause just like all this is.” Focusing her gaze between Bliss and Grace she said, “You both need to just give up on this. I’m fine with how things are. I got all the people I need in my life. Ones that actually give a shit about me. I don’t need the ones that suddenly grow a conscious and feel guilty for tossing me out.”

“But they want to see you,” insisted Grace, moving closer, her eyes pleading.

“They know where I am,” said Maven, her expression unwavering. “I send those Christmas cards every year and it’s got my address on them plain as day. You can’t tell me they haven’t seen it after all these years.”

“That’s Mom and Dad, it’s not the same with the others, they were afraid when it happened but it’s different now. They want to see you, they want to apologize,” said Grace with increasing determination. Maven looked away from her sister and Grace moved closer, her hands soft on the older woman’s face, turning them until they were face to face. “It’s not right what happened to our family and I’m going to fix it,” her voice had a quiet ferocity. Before Maven could reply, she kissed her on the cheek and walked out the door, leaving Maven and Bliss in uncomfortable silence.

Without saying a word, Maven turned on her heel and walked to the refrigerator, pulling out a beer and popping off the cap. She took a long drink then lowered it, picking at its label then lifting her gaze to look at Bliss. “I thought we had a deal,” she said in soft but accusing tones. “You know, the one where I tell you shit and you do the same. No more secrets and shut mouths.”

“I know,” said Bliss in a murmur, cautiously approaching the other woman.

“I’ve been keeping up my end, haven’t I?” asked Maven, putting the beer down on the counter and folding her arms across her chest. “Been a goddamn chatty Cathy with all the stuff I’ve been telling you. So what the fuck, Bliss?”

“I’m sorry,” Bliss said because that was all she could say and she stopped in front of Maven, ducking her head so their eyes would meet and putting her hands lightly on the other woman’s hips. “Grace just wants to help. I thought it was a good idea.”

“They don’t want me,” said Maven harshly, her jaw set in a line and her eyes glinting. “I know they don’t, I’ve known it for years. There’s no point on drudging it up now because my kid sister has a thing for storybook endings that just won’t happen.”

“What about your brothers and sister though?” asked Bliss gently. “She wasn’t lying when she said they want to see you.”

Shaking her head, Maven walked over to the couch and slumped down on it and Bliss observed her for a moment then followed after, sitting next to her girlfriend and feeling relieved when Maven slipped an arm over her shoulder. “You know why I hate Christina’s camera?” Maven said finally, her gaze shadowed and her jaw still set in a hard line. “It’s the same reason I push off those radio show and tv appearances on Jackie. I don’t want to chance my parents seeing me. The way I figure it, they kicked me out of their lives so they don’t deserve to see me. Not unless it’s something they arrange themselves.”

“I’m sorry,” Bliss whispered, tears gathering in her eyes.

Facing her girlfriend, Maven’s expression softened as she wiped the tears away and said, “It doesn’t matter. None of that shit does because I got you, Grace, my team, and everybody else in the league. That’s my family. If what you’re saying is true and the others really want to see me again, then that’s fine, but I don’t need them, baby. Not when I have you.”

The tears returning, Bliss rose up to kiss Maven, trying to express all the love and want she had for the older woman in the touch of their lips and soon Maven was groaning and holding her closer. Taking Maven’s hand, Bliss tugged her along, moving into the bedroom where she carefully undressed the other woman, pausing along the way to kiss and caress, and Bliss saw the subtle tremble of Maven’s body before she lay down on the bed. Making quick work of her own clothes, Bliss crawled towards Maven, laughing when she was tugged forward impatiently, causing her to fall on top of the older woman.

“I love you,” Bliss breathed, kissing Maven tenderly, her hands exploring the length of her girlfriend’s body.

Smiling with satisfaction as Maven arched into her touch, Bliss slid downwards, licking and sucking a path with her lips and tongue, tasting the curve of Maven’s breasts and the sweat on her defined abdomen, her hands settling on Maven’s hips before she nudged them apart, head lowering for a taste of what she loved best. Maven was wet and ready and glistening for her and Bliss knew there were times where she had been more turned on but never when she felt this much love and tenderness for the other woman. Especially at the soft cry Maven released as her tongue licked the length of her pussy before her lips sucked on her clit and strong fingers tangled in her hair encouraging her on as Maven’s hips bucked. When Maven came, Bliss remained where she was, continuing in her caresses and exploration until Maven groaned and tugged at her hair. Moving up the other woman’s body that was covered with a fine sheen of sweat, Bliss smiled sweetly as she was pulled into a kiss.

“You turn,” drawled Maven, a wicked gleam in her eyes when they parted and Bliss could only moan at the slow and teasing touch of her girlfriend’s hands. Maven always moved fast, that was how she was, on and off the track. She made decisions at a split second and went with them and Bliss knew it was that part of Maven’s personality that kept her from being truly angry with Bliss and Grace. Once she understood and accepted their motives, she got past it and moved on. Not seeing sulking over it as anything being worth her while. And as Maven’s fingers slid into her wet pussy, moving in firm and knowing strokes, Bliss couldn’t really think of anything she was happier about. Except perhaps being with Maven.

——

The Holy Rollers made it to the championship bout with ease, thanks to Malice having an incredible season that many thought would win her the Best Jammer award at the Whammy’s for sure. However, the Hurl Scouts had a little more difficulty due to a temporary injury on the part of Bloody Holly. Nevertheless, they found themselves at the second to the last bout for the season, once again facing off against the Hot Tamales and the Duchess of Torque. Not wanting a repeat of last year and have to deal with more of Mazel Tough's boasting, they were unwavering in their determination to win.

A sure sign of this was Maggie’s speech before the bout, filled with words of encouragement and an emphasis on how they were clearly the superior team and should therefore win. Also included was the incentive of revenge and shutting Mazel the fuck up. When Maggie was done talking, Smashley shouted her hell yeah’s and punched Bliss in the shoulder in some odd form of agreement.

“Hear that, Ruthless?” Smashley crowed, raising her bottle of Boone’s Farm Blue Hawaiian that she had been drinking for the past hour as if it was soda. “Don’t get your ass hurt again that way we can make it to the championship and face your girlfriend.” Scowling at this, Bliss gave into her urges and punched Smashley right back, and the other woman shouted in exaggerated pain before crying out, “The first rule of fight club is nobody talks about fight club!” Then she promptly punched Rosa in the shoulder.

This led to Rosa punching Holly, who punched Manson Sister #2, who punched Maggie, who punched Smashley, who punched Manson Sister #1, who tried to punch Bliss but stopped when Razor insinuated himself into their impromptu team assault. He was in danger of getting punched by Smashley but Manson Sister #1 blocked her path and Smashley promptly backed down, wearing something of a pout while Razor looked at his team with narrowed eyes.

“Save it for the Hot Tamales,” Razor instructed. “They’re the ones you want to be abusing, not each other.”

“Yeah,” declared Smashley, drinking her Boone’s Farm and raising the bottle that was immediately seized by Razor.

“Smashley, are you seriously drinking alcohol before a bout?” asked Razor, frowning severely and glaring at her.

“No,” said Smashley with exasperation, rolling her eyes. “It’s just Boone’s.”

“It’s wine!” Razor exclaimed, wondering what the hell he was going to do without one of their best jammers now.

“It’s Boone’s!” Smashley exclaimed right back.

“It’s alcoholic, you can’t be drinking alcohol before a bout, we have rules,” said Razor, completely aggravated. “Goddammit, Smashley, first you get high before practice and now you’re getting drunk before a bout. Do you even want to play?”

“I don’t get high before practice anymore and it’s just Boone’s!” Smashley wailed, skating around Razor and scowling.

This continued for another minute until Maggie caught her teammates attention and jerked her thumb to the exit of the locker room and they skated out into the arena, leaving Smashley and Razor to their circular argument. When Razor emerged several minutes later with a severely pouting Smashley, he announced she couldn’t play the first half of the bout, leaving Bliss and Holly as their main jammers until Smashley was up and running again.

Despite losing Smashley for most of the bout, the Hurl Scouts maintained a lead over the Hot Tamales, and when they went into the second half, being kept on the bench had irritated Smashley to such a degree she was plowing through the pack, leaving them no chance to stop her. Razor, though still disgruntled over the Boone’s Farm incident, had to admit she was in top form and when it came to the final jam of the night, Smashley gave Mazel a hard hit, sending her crashing into the barrier while she moved into the lead and a wide grin on her features, she called off the jam, putting the Hurl Scouts as the winners by twenty points.

The first thing Smashley did was initiate the traditional congratulations pile and Bliss groaned as she found herself buried under her teammates but grinning wide, she realized it would be the first time in three years she would be playing against Maven in the championship bout. Her gaze immediately landed on her girlfriend in the stands who wore a proud smile on her features and noticing Bliss’ attention, she raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hips, canting them one side. It was a subtle but telling movement and Bliss grinned, seeing the unspoken challenge and knowing that she would naturally have to meet it.

——

At Smashley’s insistence, they had their victory party at her house where she had apparently accumulated several cases of Boone’s Farm and MD 20/20. Maven’s derision at the Hurl Scout’s choice in liquor was announced often throughout the evening but it did little to spoil the mood and the excitement humming through Bliss’ body. They had been at the party for just over an hour when she hooked her fingers into the back of Maven’s leather pants and gave them a hard tug. Her girlfriend turned to face her and raised a questioning eyebrow and Bliss formed what she hoped was a coy smile and nodded to the inside of the house.

Moving through the house on a mission, Bliss was relieved to find the bathroom unoccupied and she pulled Maven in with her, grinning as she locked the door. The moment the lock was set, Bliss pushed Maven up against it, kissing her hard and fast and smiling at the groan the older woman released at her attention. Grinding her hips into Maven’s, delighting in the friction it caused against her already throbbing clit, Bliss muttered, “I want to fuck you so bad.”

“I thought you didn’t like doing it in public,” Maven chuckled, her husky voice almost breathless.

“The door’s locked,” Bliss pointed out, her lips on Maven’s neck, tasting her skin. Her hands moved with a certain urgency, unbuttoning Maven’s leather pants and Bliss wore a triumphant smile as they slipped underneath the soft material and toyed at the entrance of the other woman’s pussy. “That means it’s private.”

“Is that what it means?” said Maven with a chortle and she was the picture of control but when Bliss’ fingers moved inside her, lightly dipping into her pussy in a gentle stroke, her eyes shut and her body visibly shuddered. “Baby,” she groaned. “Don’t play.”

“How come?” asked Bliss innocently, kissing Maven’s chin and grinning. She removed her fingers slowly then stroked the tip of her index finger over Maven’s clit then palmed her mons, delighting in the wet evidence of Maven’s desire on her hand. “I thought we liked playing. Isn’t that why we’re in derby?”

“This isn’t the same and you know it,” Maven practically growled, her eyes flashing.

Bliss smiled and she would have responded but she didn’t want to talk, she wanted to fuck Maven and she wanted to kiss those delightfully full lips that could sulk far more attractively than anyone else in the league. Capturing Maven’s lips, she slid her tongue into her girlfriend’s mouth, sighing when she felt Maven respond in kind and as they kissed, Bliss plunged one finger then two and three into Maven, smiling at the groan and jerk of the hips that greeted this action. Her fingers moved in a relentless thrust, a brutal rhythm that the older woman matched with her own hips, and her hands gripped Bliss ass, encouraging her to move closer. She was wetter than she ever had been and her clit was still throbbing against the soaked material of her panties as she straddled Maven’s thigh, delighting in the friction as she rubbed against her girlfriend.

“Let me,” Maven said in a rasp when they stopped kissing and in seconds her hands were down Bliss’ pants and she cried out as Maven entered her with a strong and knowing touch. They moved together now, in a ferocious dance, and Bliss quivered as she felt herself orgasm and Maven kissed her, drinking in her cries, as she climaxed with the younger woman. “Fuck,” Maven muttered and Bliss felt her grin as a soft lips pressed against her forehead.

“We just did that,” said Bliss, wearing a goofy smile and laughing as Maven rolled her eyes. Slipping her fingers from the older woman with reluctance, she sighed as she felt Maven do the same before wrapping her up in an embrace. They remained like that, resting against the bathroom door and Bliss remarked, “It’s been three years since we played each other for the championship.”

Snorting at this, Maven said, “Christina’s going to make it into a drama.” Her voice becoming noticeably higher pitched, she said in mocking tones, “How can you play each other for the championship when you fuck? Isn’t it hard?”

“Hey,” Bliss said, forming something of a pout and poking Maven in the side. “We do more than fuck.”

“Nothing as good though,” drawled Maven, grinning and chuckling as Bliss’ pout increased. Leaning down to kiss Bliss softly, she murmured against her lips, “Doesn’t mean I don’t love you, Bliss. But you got to admit the truth when I tell it.”

“We are good at it,” admitted Bliss, flushing and laughing. She moved into Maven’s touch, her girlfriend’s fingers lightly trailing over her abdomen and tickling her skin. Feeling herself becoming wet again, Bliss’ voice lowered as she said, “Maybe we should—”

“Piss or poop or get off the pot, I only got one bathroom!” Smashley’s voice declared on the other side of the door, banging loudly on it. “No fair monopolizing the toilet. This is America! We have laws against that!”

Maven shifted her position, pushing off the doorframe and buttoning her leather pants before opening the door and sliding an arm around Bliss’ waist who was sure she was red in the face and showing the effects of her recent orgasm. “This is America?” she repeated in droll tones, lifting an eyebrow and ignoring the crowd of anxious people obviously needing to use the facilities. “What the hell is that supposed to mean, Smash?”

“That this is America,” said Smashley simply, lifting her bottle of MD 20/20 in salute to their homeland. She squinted at the couple then poked her head into the bathroom, sniffing the air then turning to them with an entirely lecherous expression. “You were both totally getting it on in my john, weren’t you?” Bursting into mad laughter, she clapped her hands and ran into the party. “Princess! You owe me twenty bucks! I bet you they’d do it before midnight and it’s only eleven twenty three right now!”

Walking out of the bathroom and ignoring the people battling to get in after them, Bliss frowned. “They’re betting on our sex life? I think I liked it better when our teams didn’t get along,” she remarked.

“Your team’s a bad influence on mine,” Maven resolved, watching as Princess handed her money over to a gloating Smashley. “They would’ve never bet on this kind of thing before. In fact, I think Princess would’ve laid Smash out over it.”

“I’m starting to miss the old days,” said Bliss a little wistfully. “They could be cute when they bickered.”

“I dunno about cute but they were less of a pain in the ass,” said Maven. Silence reigned for a moment, then Maven slipped her hand into Bliss’ hair, caressing her scalp and leaning down to murmur in her ear, “Whatever happens with this next bout, nothing changes between us. No matter how much that director wants to make it into something.”

“I know,” Bliss breathed, smiling sweetly at Maven, her heart swelling as she kissed the older woman.

Any absent wondering she had about why Maven brought up Christina was ceased by the appearance of the director, video camera in hand, and questions spilling from her about the logistics of them competing against each other for the championship. Maven wore a sullen expression and looked off to one side while Bliss laughed and smiled and answered Christina’s questions, knowing that everything Maven said was true. Win or lose, it wouldn’t change them as a couple.

——

The next morning they woke to loud knocking and Maven grumbled as she rolled out of bed and put on her tank top and shorts. Bliss stayed in bed, half asleep and blinking at the clock on the bedside dresser, wanting to know who would wake them at eight in the morning since most of their friends had been at the same party. She eventually gathered her wits and pulled on a t-shirt and jeans, wandering out in the living room where Maven sat on the couch with a teary eyed Grace. Both sisters lifted their eyes at Bliss’ entrance and she frowned at Grace’s upset expression.

Focusing back on her sister, Maven’s voice was gentler than she ever heard it as she said, “There’s nothing you could’ve done, Grace. They think what they think and it’s not going change. Don’t let it upset you.”

“It’s not right,” said Grace fiercely, shaking her head and clinging to a stack of photo albums in her lap. “I told them it’s not right. You’re their daughter! They shouldn’t treat you like a stranger or a criminal. Not for being who you are.” Wiping at her eyes and forming resolved expression, she continued, “If they don’t need you then I don’t need them. I can pay for college on my own—”

“Stop it,” said Maven, her voice flinty as her gaze and Grace turned to look at her in surprise. Shaking her head, Maven rose to her feet and said, “I’m not going to let you ruin things with them for my sake. I’d sooner stop seeing you then do that, Grace.”

“Emily,” Grace whispered, her eyes going wide. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do mean it,” said Maven in unflinching tones, staring her younger sister down. “Just because I lost them doesn’t mean you should. It’s enough for me that I got you.” She paused, her jaw clenching as she looked off to one side. “What did they say about you seeing me? They’re not happy about it, are they?”

“No,” admitted Grace quietly.

Nodding her head slowly, Maven asked, “Dad?”

“Emily,” Grace said her name in a plea, standing up and taking a step towards her.

“Tell me what he said,” Maven commanded harshly.

“He said it was my mistake to make,” said Grace, sounding disgusted with having to say the words. "He found out Mom still had the photo albums of you. I took them… he was going to throw them out."

“Sounds like him,” said Maven bitterly, a tinge of humor clinging to her voice. Rubbing her forehead, she stared at the floor then asked, “What about the others? Isaac and them? Do they still want to see me?”

“Yes,” said Grace, trying to keep the eagerness from her voice and failing completely.

“And they know about Bliss,” said Maven, staring at Grace and Bliss stepped forward, taking Maven’s hand and smiling when she felt the older woman squeeze it in reassurance. “They accept it.”

“Isaac really wants to meet her,” Grace said. “Almost as much as he wants to hear you sing again.”

Looking to her girlfriend who appeared almost embarrassed at Grace’s words, Bliss couldn’t help the curiosity seizing her and before she could question Maven about Grace’s remark, the older woman turned to her. “I used to sing in the church choir when I was a kid,” Maven revealed in a mutter. “Me and Isaac did it together. I was better though.”

“Of course you were,” said Bliss with a laugh, smiling wide at Maven’s answering scowl.

They settled into a quiet breakfast, Maven discussing plans with Grace to meet her other siblings for lunch a week after the championship bout and taking in the quiet happiness that clung to her girlfriend, Bliss thought that even though their plan wasn’t entirely successful it had been worth it. Because now Maven had just a little more family and little more happiness than she did before which, for Bliss, was all that truly mattered.

——

In spite of all her years playing roller derby, Bliss never could predict how a bout between the Hurl Scouts and Holy Rollers would turn out. They were always too close, too competitive, and the championship bout was no exception. From the moment the whistle sounded for the first jam they were neck in neck for points, the leader changing every other jam and when they took their break before the second half of the bout the Holy Rollers were winning but only by a slim margin of eight points.

Returning to the bout, bruised from Smashley punches of encouragement, Bliss was the picture of concentration and quickly they regained the lead. It didn’t last for long though and by the time they came to the final jam of the night it was the same as it always was, whoever won it would win the bout and the championship along with it. Something in Bliss was fiercely happy to see Maven skating up to face off against her instead of Malice because Maven always brought an extra feeling of competitiveness in Bliss that no one else in the league ever could. As hard as she knew she would have skated against Malice she knew she would skate twice as hard against Maven and maybe that would be enough for them to win.

There was the shrill call of the whistle and the blockers were off and Bliss darted her gaze to Maven who met her eyes and offered that reckless grin which Bliss returned and then their whistle sounded and they took off like a shot, forcing their way through the pack with Maven in the lead. Bliss was right after her though, zig zagging her way through the blockers and they both emerged from the pack neck in neck and maintained their pace as they went around the track, Johnny’s voice an incredulous shout as he relayed their actions. Sensing what Maven was about to do, somehow just knowing she was about to take a hit, Bliss decided to respond in kind and the women crashed into one another, effectively ending up in a pile of limbs with Bliss on top.

Breathing hard and realizing absently neither one of them had won the jam, Bliss found it hard to concentrate with Maven underneath her, chest rising and falling with each sharp breath and her body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. There was something impossibly attractive about Maven when she skated in Bliss’ opinion, something wild and untamed, and a feeling of desire sweeping over her, she gave into her impulses and kissed the older woman. Maven groaned and responded in kind and she could hear Johnny distantly freaking out over their actions and when they separated Maven offered a sly grin.

“I’m still not gonna let you win, baby,” Maven drawled.

“I know,” Bliss responded, smiling and looking the picture of confidence. “Me either.”

“No romancing the enemy!” announced Smashley, dragging Bliss up from Maven’s body while Jackie responded in kind with the older woman. “We got a bout to win or did you forget, Ruthless?”

When she faced a line of very amused teammates wearing questioning expressions, Bliss just shrugged by way of an explanation. As if to say, I couldn’t help it. She’s hot.

Once again, they lined up for the final jam and if Bliss had been humming with excitement before now she was practically rattling. This feeling was why she loved playing roller derby. Nothing made her feel more alive other than making love to Maven and after any bout that’s what she always felt compelled to do, the energy building up into such a crescendo it had to be released in some manner and that being the most preferable. But it was different when they played the Holy Rollers, stronger in a way, and she knew it was because to her and the rest of the Hurl Scouts beating them counted more somehow. Even when they didn’t get along with the other team they respected them for their skills. Bliss knew them, she knew how hard they worked, and how hard they tried and if she beat the Holy Rollers it was because she was fucking good and worked her ass off and for that reason it just seemed to count more and the victory was much sweeter due to the effort she knew was behind it.

Johnny announced the bout was going into sudden death and Bliss turned to one side, surprised to see Malice replacing Maven at the jam line. The petite blonde offered a wide grin then said, “Don’t go kissing me, Ruthless. It won’t help you win.”

Blushing dark red and wondering if Maven had replaced herself in some effort to mess with her, Bliss shook her head and focused on the line of blockers ahead and when the second whistle blew she didn’t think, she just skated. Instinct was on her side as she weaved her way through the pack and she could sense Malice following close behind but it didn’t matter, she was ahead and she knew that as she passed one Holy Roller after another and when she was finally clear she called off the jam, hands on her hips and grinning wide as she heard Johnny declare the Hurl Scouts the champions.

Though she tried to avoid it, she ended up at the bottom of another victory pile incited by Smashley, and when it came time for the traditional handshake between teams, Bliss was aching and very badly wanting another massage from Maven. The older woman raised an eyebrow and grinned when Bliss held onto her hand, pulling her forward until barely a breath was between them. Her hair was disheveled and there was that devil may care look in her eyes that always sucked Bliss in. She honestly didn’t know what she was going to say, if anything at all, Bliss just knew she wanted to kiss her again and so she did, her hands tangling in Maven’s long hair, and she vaguely realized all of this was being filmed by Christina. The bout, the first kiss she initiated in the middle of the jam, and now this kiss which was quickly escalating as Maven sucked on her tongue and Bliss’ hands slid down to cup Maven’s ass over the short plaid skirt she wore.

The cheers and hoots of their teammates and the crowd and Johnny’s commentary was a roaring din in the background but none of that mattered. Nothing mattered but Maven and this kiss and their relationship and how it made them feel and suddenly Bliss could care less if this was captured on film for all time because at least it would make for a nice end to the movie.

It was storybook even.

End