Aly woke to a start at the sharp beep of her watch. 5.45 AM. She groaned. She had dreamt the sweetest dream the previous night; one filled of laughter and smiles, not from her, but from someone who gives her the reason to – Aliya Mustafina. She groaned again at the fact that it was a mere dream.

As her eyes adjusted to her surroundings, she realised that she wasn't laying in her white bed, nor was she in room 132. She tried to sit up, but realised that there was something pressing her back to the bed. She drew her face closer to her neck and looked down. Holy hell.

On her chest lay a head of soft, brown hair that was rising and falling in rhythm with her breath. Across her belly stretched a fair, firm arm. Aly held her breath to listen to the girl's. Deciding she was alive and very real, Aly sank further into her pillow with a daft smile. Stupid girl, only you can me look like a damned fool and smile this smile.

She remembered the first time her mother had caught her with another girl in the exact same position as she was in now.

"Hello gi- Oh. Hello, Alexandra, Cora." She then retreated as quietly as she approached. Aly knew her mother still wished to pursue the topic the moment she used 'Alexandra' instead of just 'Aly'. Ushering her 'friend' out of the house, she paced her room and thought about how to deal with the situation. She never anticipated for something like this to ever happen to her. She always locked the door and made sure her mum was out before having any girls over. That time, she'd miscalculated. It wasn't a very smart move to say the least.

She thought of ways she could defend herself. She couldn't say 'Mum, she's just a friend', because honestly, who lies in bed with a friend like that and in nothing more than their underwear? 'Mum, this is a social experiment' sounded stupid even in her head. After a while, the facts hit her. She couldn't say anything at all. She just had to accept whatever came.

A thought had come to Aly. Her mother could never bear to kick her star athlete daughter out over something as trivial as that. How could her mother walk out and face her neighbours, friends, and relatives? Besides, Aly lived the life that her mother wished she did. She was a world-class gymnast with plenty of guys and girls falling at her feet. She didn't have stellar grades, but she definitely had a number of other achievements to make up for it. Having been nudged out from the national gymnastics team by a hair, Mrs Raisman had a bitter seed in her that she tried to get rid of through her daughter.

Armed with that knowledge, Aly walked into the den with a conviction that had surprised even her.

"Mum, before you say anything, I-"

"No, before you say anything, I have something to say."

Her mother had always been pushy and demanding, but Aly had never heard that much concern in her voice. Since that day, she never has again.

"I know what's happening, don't make excuses," she had said, "I want you to know that I have no issue with who you choose to be, because no matter what, you're still my precious Rose. I still love you. Also, you made a good choice with that Cora, she's a nice girl. Sweetheart, if you need anything, anything at all, I want you to tell me, and I'll try to get it done within the best of my ability, okay?"

Then, Aly had done the stupid thing of asking what 'anything' meant.

"Oh, I know how you… Girls do it with each other, and I also know you're not old enough to go into one of those shops, so I th-"

Aly had cut her off there with a flip of her hand and an embarrassed 'Mum!'. She gave her mother a hug and a 'thanks, mum, I love you' and that was that. Neither of them brought it up again, and her mother returned to pushing her.

Aly wasn't sure if that was what she wanted.

—

Aliya stirred awake at the sound of a loud and fast thumping in her ears. She opened her eyes to discover that her head was still on Aly's chest as it was the night before. The loud and fast thumping just happened to be Aly's heart. God knows what that girl is thinking about. She rubbed her hand on Aly's belly and smiled up at her.

"Good morning, starshine. The earth says hello."

"Why would the earth say hello?"

Aly paused to think.

"I have no idea actually, that was a quote."

"Whoever thought of that quote is a dumb fuck."

Aly had taught her that insult.

"Geez, someone's a little cranky in the morning. I thought you Russians were like these emotionless fembots, waking up early and strapping on your running shoes to start exercising without a second thought. You guys are terrifying. Cranky Aliya's a little terrifying too, I'd rather have you emotionless."

"How do you think we manage to stay in such good shape? Russian government created a group of robots to bring sports up in Russia. I actually have a computer code that makes me kill my competitors. That is you, Raisman. Too bad I've fallen in love with your stupid face and I can't bring myself to."

"'Tis the problem with the plague of love. It breeds sickness in heart and mind, and apparently, computer codes. It could also be because I'm simply too gorgeous to kill."

"You make me want to kill you now."

"Ivan the Terrible, Aliya the fembot. There is no difference."

Aliya smacked Aly's rib.

"Shut up."

The two girls settled into a long silence.

"Alexandra, when I said I fell in love with your face," Aliya started, "it's just your face. You know that, right?"

A silence descended upon them once more.

"Yeah, I know."

Aliya buried her face into Aly's dress and rubbed circles on her belly. She knew she couldn't pursue this relationship, no matter how much she knew she really loved Aly and her face. Her parents wouldn't approve.

The day Aliya discovered she preferred girls to boys was when both her and Maria had taken a shower together after training. 'We're just friends, Aliya, don't be so shy,' Bee had said. At that point, Aliya had just started the relationship that broke her. Throughout the shower, she found her eyes wandering down to Maria's behind as water and soap trickled down. Each time, she had caught herself and snapped her eyes up, but that never stopped her from doing it again and again.

From that point, Aliya found herself ogling Vika's abs through her leotard, Ksenia's fingers drawing graceful patterns during her floor exercise and Maria's bum in her tight training briefs. When she took walks in the city square, she would look at girls' chests unknowingly, pulling together a shabby excuse of 'oh, nice shirt' whenever she got caught. At first, she felt disgusted with herself for looking at girls as pieces of meat. That was until she found herself staring at one girl for a much longer time than the others, not as a piece of meat, but a delectable human being nonetheless.

That girl was Ivana Alexandrov, her coach's niece. She would drop by during training occasionally to pass her uncle some titbits her mum had baked. She had a blond pixie cut and emerald-green eyes. Although she was barely taller than Aliya, her strong figure walked with the same confidence Aliya saw in no one other than herself. The number of times Aliya seethed every time she placed her heart-shaped lips on Aleksandr's rosy cheek was far too large. Ivana's cold, green gaze was evened out by her warm, toothy grin that appeared every time one of the girls cracked a joke. Of course, Aliya always stood on the outskirts of their circle smiling along lest she say something she might regret.

At that point, Ivana had a girlfriend who would drop her off at Round Lake at times. However, Aliya never missed a single lingering gaze Ivana sneaked in her direction. She figured that if her boyfriend and Ivana's very strong-looking girlfriend didn't know that she was interested in her, she wouldn't be in any trouble. So, she kept her crush a secret.

Of course, she remembered the day that her parents' stance on sexuality came to light. It happened during one dinner after Aliya's father bumped into Ivana in town.

"That girl," he boomed, "should be more lady-like. With her boy haircut and boy clothes, how is she going to find a good husband? I don't even know if I should call her a boy or girl. No assets, no class, no elegance. Why does her family even bother with her?"

Aliya hadn't said anything; she'd just gripped her fork and knife a little harder than usual.

"Darling, maybe she's just going through a phase," her mother had offered.

"So what? Fondling girls and not going on dates with boys isn't a phase, it's a way of life that should be eradicated from our society. It's these people that are the problem with the world - robbers, murderers, the Americans and gays. These youngsters and their newer westernised minds. Sickening."

He then went on talking about something to do with how movies are turning youngsters' brains into mash, and theorised that 'that lesbian TV person Ellen and that singer Alvin John' were starting a gay revolution.

Aliya had just pushed the food around her plate, and swallowed her retorts.

—

The next morning started fairly well for Aliya. After nodding a hello to Aly at the canteen and receiving a wink in return, she started her morning routine. She could hardly eat her breakfast and she only did so to calm the butterflies in her tummy. That day was the day of the all-around finals, and Aliya had to put whatever thought of Aly out of her head if she wanted to bag the gold.

Aliya knew that she should be placing her love for Aly far before her desire to win, but she couldn't possibly change that bit about her. She's been brought up with the thought 'winning is everything' inside of her head. Her athlete father had drilled that mentality into her head.

She knew that she should not let that affect her love for Aly, but it has. So that afternoon until five o' clock, they were once again America and Russia, Raisman and Mustafina. With her mind properly psyched and her blue leotard on, Aliya grabbed Viktoria's hand and the two lined up to go into the Arena.

In the line-up, Aliya felt a tap on her arm and heard a 'Mustafina' with a familiar French twang. She tried to shut it out at first, but received a tap again, and then another. It's as though the girl wouldn't give up. She took ten deep breaths before turning to face those icy blue eyes she'd admittedly missed a little.

"Yes, Girard."

"I need to talk to you."

"Now? Just before we go into the Arena?"

Aliya ventured a glance at Aly who was standing in front of Viktoria.

"Yes, now."

"Can you not wait?"

"No, I cannot. Look, I've been thinking about what I did on that day, and I'm really sorry for that. I didn't mean for you to run off like that, I thought you would, I don't know, appreciate the gesture?"

The line started to move and Aliya started to get angry.

"Appreciate the gesture?"

"For God's sake, Aliya, don't be angry. It's not good for competition. Anyway, as I was-"

"Now you're telling me that anger is not good for competition?"

"Just listen, okay? I just wanted to say I'm sorry, and that what happened wasn't intended. I thought you felt the same for me."

"So you decided to strip naked and-"

"Nearly naked."

"Okay, nearly naked and give me a panic attack."

"It's just a panic attack, Aliya. You're fine now, aren't you?"

What the fuck?

Her anger rose tenfold at Nichole's words and she made a sudden turn in Nichole's direction.

"You take me for a joke? What you did was a fucking sex crime!"

The line had stopped moving abruptly and everyone had turned to look at Aliya and Nichole. Aly had her usual curious puppy look and Vika looked nothing short of concerned. The other competitors stood wide-eyed in shock. Aliya didn't want this sort of attention on the day of her big competition. She wanted lights flashing in her direction while she stood on the podium with a gold medal around her neck, not because she swore and accused a fellow athlete for committing a sex crime. She spun back towards the front and took deep breaths. It was to be an incredibly long day.

—

Aly had left the Arena with nothing but measly fourth place. Upon the announcement of the results, she bit her tongue and held back hot, angry tears. Of course, Gabby had clinched the gold, and she was definitely going to return to the USA with nothing but praises to her name. Aly, on the other hand, was going to return forgotten.

To make matters worse, the person who had barely nudged her out of the standings was her Russian beauty. Honestly, she felt raw and betrayed, but when she saw that Aliya couldn't even celebrate her bronze medal because of her teammate's hairline loss and thus, slight breakdown, she felt more for Aliya than herself.

After all, Aliya had fought harder than any athlete she'd seen. Her bronze medal was initially thought unattainable for someone who had suffered such a drastic injury barely two years before. Now that it was her time to shine, she couldn't even enjoy being in the spotlight and it broke Aly's heart. Aliya stood by a weeping Viktoria and uttered what Aly assumed were either encouragements or death threats in her ear. Deciding that what her girl needed was a little pick-me-up, Aly did the unthinkable.

"Hey, Aliya, Viktoria," she said hesitantly, knowing that Viktoria was in a fragile state.

"Hi, Alexandra," Aliya replied with a suppressed smile. Viktoria just nodded and tried to shield her wet eyes.

"Congrats on your bronze! And your silver, Viktoria!"

Viktoria's quiet sobs turned into loud whimpers. Aliya widened her eyes to signal to Aly to stop talking.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean- Look, it hasn't been a very good day for a lot of us. Why don't we all go out for dinner tonight? Team Russia and USA? I mean, it would be fun, and it would cheer us all up! I'm sure my girls won't mind, what about you guys?"

Viktoria looked up at Aly as though she had started speaking in Japanese. Aliya gave a surprised smile. She knew Aly liked to take the initiative to do things, but something like this?

"Sounds… Good, Raisman. We see all at the restaurant at the basement, the, uh, the Food For Olympians? At 8?"

Viktoria's head snapped towards Aliya with an open-mouthed stare she didn't bother hiding.

"Aliya…" she choked out through gritted teeth.

Aliya whispered something in Russian to Viktoria and gave her a reassuring smile. Viktoria looked up at Aly with a suspicious gaze, "Okay. See you tonight, Raisman. No funny business."

Aly grabbed Aliya's hand as she started to walk away and pulled her in for a hug. "Great job today, sweetheart. I missed you, and I can't wait to see you tonight. Do me a favour and wear nothing but your dress."

Aliya pulled away from the embrace and stared at Aly. She had the look that Aliya had only seen that day Aly'd pounced on her in the locker room. Aliya kissed the side of Aly's head.

"Okay, sweetheart."