2024 PARIS OLYMPICS ONE SHOTS

Always Leads Back To You

So this one is about a Czech couple who broke up before the Olympics. They are tennis players. Yeah, that's all the background info you need so...

(A LOT OF THIS STORY IS MADE UP!!!!)

I stare at Thomas without a word, watching him look into his lap. He hasn’t noticed me yet, and I’d like to keep it that way. We said we’d put our differences aside, but neither of us really did.

After the breakup, we had no desire to even see each other, much less compete as a duo. But here we are, in the stands of an Olympic stadium, waiting to be called out to play a match.

-Two Weeks Earlier-

My eyes bore into Thomas with enough distaste to fill a garbage truck. Red spreads to my cheeks and tears boil in my eyes, ready to spill out. It takes all my will to keep a straight face.

“Katarina, just give me a chance,” Thomas slurs. This is the third time he’s come home drunk this week, and God knows who he’s drinking with. “I’ll be better, I’ve just had a tough time lately.”

“Oh, you’ve been having a tough time? I’ve been worried to death about you. We have the Olympics in mere weeks! You can’t keep doing this if we want to win!” My voice breaks as a scream at him.

“Winning? This is what it’s about. Do you even know what’s been happening to me lately? How can I think about winning when my mother is dead!?”

I huff. Thomas can be so Ignorant sometimes that it’s infuriating. “You know what, Thomas? If you don’t care about winning, just leave. I have issues, too.”

“I might just do that!” He jiggles the door that he had walked though minutes ago and steps into the warm July night. The door slams behind him and snaps me into reality.

He’s gone. Who knows if he’ll come back. Our dream of winning gold together shatters before me, and I feel something hot cascade down my cheek and realize I’m crying.

I sink to the floor, letting the tears overtake me. What did I just do?

-Present-

He exhales, then turns his head towards me. I quickly lower my eyes, but it’s too late. He noticed me staring at him. “Katarina,” Thomas begins. “Remember what I said about differences?”

I continue to look at the tennis racket resting in my lap as he talks, but after a few seconds of silence I realize his question was not rhetorical. “Yes Thomas,” I mutter under my breath. How could I not remember? The fight was harsh, and it was so stupid of us to assume that our relationship would last all the way to the Olympics. We have to compete as a team when we can’t even look each other in the eye.

Thomas stops looking at me, and instead he turns his head toward the current match. He bounces a tennis ball on the ground as he talks. “After we win the gold, you don’t even have to look at me. We can go back to the lives we had before, but right now we need to focus on winning, or else we won’t. Look, Katarina, even if I could choose another partner, I wouldn’t. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Let’s put that to our advantage.”

His last few words hit me like an arrow, sharp to the heart. The truth is, I would do all that for him, too. I look up from my lap and straight into his eyes, nodding my head. A smile lights up Thomas’s face, and the smile quickly spreads to mine.

The moment is short-lived. “NEXT MATCH,” An announcer declares over the intercom.

Thomas and I stand up, and I feel unsteady. I remember what he told me as I made my way to the court, ready to Team China.

The match starts, and Thomas and I completely butcher the Chinese. We hit the ball over the net at an exhilarating speed, but the ball still gets returned even faster. A good volley sprouted between the two teams, the ball taking several trips over the net before landing on one side. We lost a few points, but the first set goes to us at an overwhelming 6-2.

I carry myself over to my coach for a water break, Thomas following suit. “Awesome work,” The Coach begins. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the two of you were still together from the way you played out there.”

Thomas glances over at me after the coach leaves. “Good work out there, Katrina,” He comments. 

“Same to you, Tom,”

We start the next set, feverishly hitting the ball over the net. We lose this set by two, but are not discouraged. Thomas and I take a water break and then get back out there ready to play some more. 

The tie breaker set comes, and it’s neck and neck for a while. The Chinese earn a point, then we earn a point. “Katarina,” Thomas whispers to me as he hits the ball. “I believe we can win.” I smirk to myself and continue to keep the volley. I know we can win, we always do. Even through our differences, Tom and I make the dream team. 

It’s game point, and the mood in the room has shifted. The world seems to be in slow motion. I breathe deep breaths and prepare myself. We’re going to win. 

The ball is set into play, and is smacked continuously. We keep going, desperate to get the gold, when it happens. The ball bounces once on the opposing side, then twice. WE WON!

I stare in shock, and the crowd cheers as loud as a freight train. Thomas comes running toward me and engulfs me in an embrace. For a second I just stood in his arms, not sure what to do. I hug him back, but then the impossible happens. He pulls away just enough to look at my face, and then he kisses me. My heart explodes into a million pieces. The crowd behind us screams and hollers. 

Set aside our differences. He pulls away with a smile, and I look at him the same way. None of us say anything, we just try to live in the moment.

-Time Skip-

We walk the streets of Paris, the evening light setting a romantic mood. Ever since he kissed me I’ve felt light and free, like I could do anything. He’d never made me feel like that before—

“Katarina, did you hear what I asked you?” I’m whip my head left, where Thomas stands with a quizzical expression on his face.

“What?” I ask. I was so caught in my thoughts that I didn’t notice he had asked me anything.

“I was wondering if you—if we— could ever work again.” He sucks in a breath before continuing. “Our fallout was stupid, and I still have feelings for you, but if you don’t that’s—“

Instead of answering, I shut him up with a kiss. His lips are soft and inviting; they taste of a new beginning.

“I think all roads lead back to us, Thomas.”

THIS ONES LONGER!!! TYSM for reading! Don't forget to vote and comment on ur favorite part!