An omega variant would be one of the last covid variants and the trend is that covid is slowly becoming more infectious and less severe with each mutation. This would mean that the omega variant would spread and multiply extremely easily, but would also be weak and mild in symptoms.
Therefore we can consider the omega variant submissive and breedable.
Maybe Love Isn't Enough Anymore (Christen Press x Reader)
A/N: This is a bit angsty...
“I can’t do this anymore Chris.” you say in defeat, sinking into the couch with your phone in your hand.
You’ve been arguing over facetime for almost an hour about Christen blowing you off yet again so she could go out with Tobin. This has been happening for weeks. You’d try to get her to come out to Manchester for her day off, but she’d already have plans with Tobin, plans that she apparently couldn’t cancel, especially after Tobin injured her ankle.
You don’t understand why it has to be an argument. You just want to see your girlfriend, especially since she's only about an hour away.
Before she went to Man Utd on loan you had to settle for seeing each other at national camps or when you were on your off season and you were able to go back to the US. Even then, you wouldn’t spend too much time together because she had training and away games.
Now that she's actually in the same country and more or less same city as you, you just wanted to spend more time with her. You weren’t asking for a lot, just some time to be together with your girlfriend, but of course Tobin was more important than you.
It was honestly starting to feel like they’re in a relationship and you’re the third wheel.
It’s not that you think Christen and Tobin would do that to you, you trust Christen 100%, but you feel like you aren’t in a relationship anymore and it’s getting to you.
Seeing them together and spending time with each other just reminded you of what you could be doing with Christen but instead she was doing it with Tobin. It was like watching your relationship play out in front of you but someone else is playing your part.
“What do you mean, you can’t do this anymore?” Christen asks, the previous anger in her voice gone and instead replaced by what sounds like fear.
“This, you and me. It doesn’t even feel like there’s a you and me anymore, it’s more like you and Tobin are together and I’m the bloke trying to break you up.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that there’s nothing going on between me and Tobin. She’s my best friend and we would never do that to you. I would never do that to you.” Christen says earnestly.
“I know there’s nothing going on between the two of you, but she gets to spend so much time with you and I barely see you. It just feels like I’m alone and I can’t handle it anymore. I love you Chris, but I don’t know if love is enough anymore.” you say honestly, tears running down your face now at the realisation that this just might be the end.
“Don’t do this Y/N.” Christen says, her voice thick with the tears that are running down her face too.
She didn’t think it had gotten this bad or that you would even consider breaking up. Yes, she knows you haven’t seen each other in a while because she was going out and exploring with Tobin, but that was because they were both new here and she didn’t want to trouble you. She knew that you were working hard with your team and you probably had your hands full showing Sam, Rose and Abby around.
“I don’t know what else to do Chris. I don’t want to break up…”
“Then don’t. We can work through this and we’ll find a way to make it better baby. I promise you I’ll make time to come and visit you and we can spend time together alone and fix whatever needs to be fixed. Just please don’t break up with me. I love you Y/N and I don’t want to lose you.” Christen begs, tears falling freely down her face.
The image on your phone breaks your heart. You hate seeing Christen cry and you hate the fact that you’re the reason she’s crying. You always wanted to make sure that she was happy and had that beautiful smile on her face as well as that glint of happiness in her gorgeous green eyes, but now she’s crying, and her eyes are filled with nothing but sadness and pain.
You know in that moment that you can’t break up with her. You can’t imagine causing her even more pain. She said you would work on it and she’ll come and see you more often so maybe you should take the chance and see what happens.
“Ok, I’m not gonna break up with you, but Chris, we really need to work on things, please.” you say and Christen nods her head frantically, whispering promises that you let comfort you and chase away any thoughts of leaving Christen.
˳˳˳˳
Promises are meant to broken, that seemed to be the theme of the month after your almost breakup with Christen.
The first few weeks were fine, you spent most of your free time together, Christen even staying over a couple of nights, but then Tobin hurt her knee and it was back to square one. Christen wouldn’t leave anywhere without Tobin and she was more than ready to cancel plans with you to make sure Tobin was okay and didn’t feel too alone.
There were promises to meet for lunch that were forgotten, even promises to facetime were broken. You were tired of the same old cycle and the final nail in the coffin came when Christen told you that Tobin was going back to the US for rehab and that she would join her after the end of the season.
Now that wouldn’t have been a problem if not for the fact that you had planned a small little vacation for the first week of the off season with Christen in The Lake District, which wasn’t too far from Manchester.
After that, you decided that you were done. There was an opportunity for you to go and play for Barcelona for the rest of the season and you needed an escape, so you said yes.
That’s how you find yourself arguing with Christen on a Thursday night while half of your belongings are laying across your room or are already in their respective suitcases.
“How could you decide to leave without even talking to me?” Christen asks, the anger and hurt clear in her voice.
“How could you decide to go back with Tobin without even telling me?” you answer back, your anger clear as well.
“I told you that you could come with. It’s during the off season.” Christen says.
“Well I’m sorry that I planned a small vacation with my girlfriend so I could take her to visit my family. You knew I wanted to take you to my mum’s house while we were at The Lake District, but you want to go back to the US to be with Tobin.”
“I don’t want to be with Tobin, I just want to help her because she’s my best friend. Why can’t you understand that!” Christen asks, her voice rising as she becomes more frustrated.
“Well I want to have some alone time with you! Why can’t you understand that?!” you ask and Christen physically recoils at the loudness of your voice.
“Me going to Barcelona is a great opportunity that I took because I need to get out of Manchester and away from all of this. I could have the chance at winning the Spanish league and possibly the Champions League. It’s a good opportunity and I didn’t want to lose it, especially considering that you’ll be gone in just over a month.” you continue when Christen remains quiet.
“You need to get away from all of this? From me?” Christen asks and the vulnerability in her voice is enough to make your heart ache.
“There’s nothing healthy about our relationship anymore Chris. You barely make time for me and clearly your mind is somewhere else. We need a break to figure shit out and maybe you need to figure out if you really want to be with me because it hasn’t felt like it these past few months.” you confess, trying to keep the tears pricking the corners of your eyes at bay.
Christen can’t hold her tears back when she hears your admission and the pain in your voice. She hadn’t realised that she was neglecting you or your relationship. She was trying to be a good best friend to Tobin, and she forgot that she wasn’t being the greatest girlfriend to you.
“I’m tired of coming second to Tobin, Chris. I can’t do it anymore.” you say, your tears falling no matter how hard you try to stop them.
Christen immediately reaches out to you and tries to wipe your tears away with the pads of her thumbs.
“I’m so sorry Y/N.” she whispers, leaning her forehead against yours before pressing her lips softly against your own, trying to convey just how sorry she is.
“I love you.” she whispers when you part and you’re sure that you can actually hear your heart break when she whispers those words.
“I don’t think love is enough anymore.” you say, trying to escape Christen’s hold as the forward sobs when she hears your words.
“I’m sorry Christen.” you say before walking out of your flat and calling Sam and Rose to come and comfort Christen because you know you can’t see her like that, knowing that you’re the cause for the pain in her eyes and the tears staining her beautiful face.
˳˳˳˳
It’s been three months since Christen was left sobbing in your flat in Manchester after what would be the last time the two of you verbally spoke to one another in person. You left three days after that argument and from what little she knew; you were doing great in Barcelona.
She on the other hand, was doing terribly. She came back to help Tobin with rehab after her last game with Man Utd and she’d hoped that helping Tobin would be a distraction to everything that happened with you.
It wasn’t.
She couldn’t stop thinking about you, about the heartache in your eyes after your last argument. She couldn’t help thinking about watching you walk out of your own flat, tears streaming down your face as you closed the door of the flat and your relationship.
She tried not to stalk you on Instagram or google your name too much and it helped, not seeing you or hearing about you. It also reminded her that your relationship was over. It was over and there was nothing she could do about it until she saw you again at the June training camp for the Summer Series.
At least that’s what she thought.
“What do you mean, Y/N’s name isn’t on the roster? She’s one of the best damn players on this team. Why isn’t she on the roster?” Christen asks Vlatko, trying to be calm but her frustration is seeping through. Not just her frustration at the thought of Vlatko not thinking you were good enough to be called up, but frustration because her opportunity to talk to you and make things right is essentially gone.
“I know Y/N is one of the best players on the team…”
“Then why isn’t she here?” Christen asks, cutting off Vlatko, who just remains calm.
“She isn’t here because she’s injured. Don’t you watch her matches?” Abby says, answering for Vlatko.
“What do you mean?” Christen asks Abby.
“She suffered a grade 3 MCL tear in the Copa de la Reina semi-final a few days ago. Nothing has been officially announced yet because all the clubs and US Soccer were waiting for her MRIs and all the other medical tests as well as rehab plans so that we can draft a proper announcement.” this time Vlatko answers.
“Because of this injury Y/N won’t be able to play with us until after the Olympics and that’s why she isn’t on the roster.” he continues.
“She didn’t tell me.” Christen mutters as Tobin guides her to sit next to her. Normally you told Christen everything, you had done it even before you started dating. Any injuries or anything interesting from your matches you would tell Christen.
“She always tells me when she’s hurt.” Christen whispers, already feeling the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Tobin immediately wraps her arms around Christen, pulling the forward into her arms.
Your breakup had been particularly hard on her best friend. Tobin didn’t know how many times she had to comfort Christen when she cried herself to sleep.
Tobin knows that Christen blames herself for the breakup, she had said as much. She also knows how much Christen was looking forward to this training camp so she could finally work things out with you. She can only imagine the heartbreak Christen must is feeling right now with not being able to fix things between the two of you and with you not actively telling her that you suffered a very serious injury.
“How long is she going to be out for?” Alex asks.
“Right now we’re not sure. She’s going into surgery in a few days and the physio at Man City will be working with us to formulate a rehabilitation plan. At the moment it looks like she will be out until September, maybe October.” Vlatko explains.
“Oh my god.” Christen gasps when she hears that you’ll be going into surgery.
“It’s my fault.” she whispers, Tobin and Alex the only ones who hear her.
“No, don’t say that. It isn’t your fault.” Tobin says, sharing a worried glance with Alex.
“It is. I’m the reason she went to Barcelona.” Christen mutters, guilt slowly starting to creep up.
“Hey, stop that. Injuries happen. Y/N will be ok, she’s a fighter.” Alex says, also wrapping her arms around Christen.
“Hey, is she ok?” Emily asks, looking over to where Tobin and Alex are trying to comfort Christen.
“No. She hasn’t been ok since they broke up.” Megan answers.
“They broke up?” Emily asks and everyone around her groans.
˳˳˳˳
As much as Christen wanted to go and see you, she couldn’t. She had to stay in the US to prepare for the Olympics and to stay in the USWNT bubble. But as soon as the Olympics were over, she booked her flight to Manchester straight from Tokyo and now she finds herself staring at your door trying to build up the courage to knock.
After a few deep breaths she brings her hand up and knocks on the door, praying that you won’t slam it into her face when you see her.
When you hear a knocking on your door you groan, wondering who could be at your flat. You grab your crutches and hobble to the door, being careful not to put any strain on your injured leg.
When you open the door your heart drops at the sight of Christen, who is nervously chewing on the corner of her bottom lip.
“Hi.” she says softly, her eyes immediately travelling to the bulky brace on your injured leg.
“Hi.” you say, watching the forward carefully.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be celebrating with Tobin and the rest of the team?” you ask, Christen flinching at the slight bite in your words.
“Can I come in? I’m sure you shouldn’t be standing on your leg this long.” she says ignoring your question when she sees visible signs of your discomfort. You reluctantly let her in, knowing that she’s right.
“Why are you here Christen?” you ask after the two of you have settled in your living room.
“I miss you. I miss us. All I could think about in Tokyo was you. You don’t know how many times I wanted to call you because I knew you were the only one who would make me feel better after our bad games. You were the only person I wanted to celebrate my bronze medal with, but I couldn’t, and it killed me because I knew it was all my fault.” Christen says and you listen intently.
“I came here because I want to be with you. I love you Y/N and I can’t continue living without you. You’re my entire world and I know I messed up before, but just give me another chance and I promise you that I will do everything I can to make you feel like the most important person in my life. No more cancelled dates or video calls. I won’t make the same mistakes again Y/N. Please just take me back and we can work this out” Christen says and you’re left speechless.
“Please say something.” Christen says after almost a minute of you just looking at her.
“I’ve heard you make these promises before Christen and every single time I was left hurt and heartbroken. I meant it when I said that maybe love isn’t enough anymore. I need more than love, I need proof, I need you to show me that you actually want to be with me. It’s easy to say something, doing it is the hard part.”
You want to just say yes and have Christen move back to Manchester so you can try again but you’ve heard those words too many times and you can’t risk getting hurt again. As much as you want to get back together with Christen, you need her to show you that she’s as invested in your relationship as you were.
“That’s what I’m trying to do. I just need you to give me another chance so I can show you. I love you Y/N.” Christen says, almost pleading with you.
“I want to Chris. I want to say yes and be with you, but I can’t put myself in the same position as last time. I want to believe you, but you haven’t proven why I should take you back or that you’ll make me a priority. Chris, we’re not even going to be in the same continent and with my injury, I probably won’t be at any US camps for a while. Right now, I don’t see us working.” you say honestly, trying to stay strong when you see the hurt on Christen’s face.
“You’re wrong. We can work Y/N. We’ll figure it out.” Christen says, strong conviction behind her words.
“If you’re so convinced, then show me. Show me why we should try again and then maybe we can, but now, I just can’t.”
Christen takes a deep breath before nodding her head, a determination in her eyes that you only saw on the pitch.
“Ok. Then I’ll show you. I’ll show you why we should try again, and I’ll prove to you that what happened last time won’t happen again. I promise you that Y/N.” Christen says, looking you dead in your eyes before walking out of your flat, leaving you to wonder just how she plans on doing what she said.
˳˳˳˳
It’s been almost two weeks since your talk with Christen, and you haven’t heard anything from the forward. You were curious as to what she had planned, but you were also a little worried that she might’ve decided that you weren’t worth the effort.
“Why do you look so down?” Janine asks from across the table, pulling you away from your thoughts about Christen.
“No reason, just tired. Rehab was a bitch today.” you say.
“Rehab’s always a bitch.” Alex pipes in from her seat next to Janine.
“Have you heard anything from Christen?” Janine asks. She was your best friend, next to Abby, so of course you told them about Christen’s visit to your apartment and the promise she made.
Abby told you to be patient and see what Christen would do because she was absolutely sure that Christen would devise a plan to get you back no matter what. Apparently, you were the only thing the green-eyed forward could talk about during camp and the Olympics.
Janine said almost the same thing, but she threw in a warning for you to be careful with Christen. She was so used to being your shoulder to cry on after something happened between you and Christen, that she’s become very weary of your relationship. She just doesn’t want to see you hurt again.
“Christen? I thought you’re not together anymore?” Alex asks, looking at you.
“We aren’t.” you mutter but Alex’s brows just furrow deeper.
“Then why you waiting to hear something from her?” Alex asks.
“It’s stupid.” you say, shaking your head a bit dejectedly.
“It’s not stupid.” Janine says sternly.
“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Alex asks, looking at you and Janine.
“Christen came to see her after the Olympics and told her that she was going to prove that they should be together. Y/N’s waiting to see if she actually meant it.” Janine explains, giving Alex the condensed version.
“Oh god. Do you want her to prove it to you? You know, after everything that’s happened?” Alex asks. She knows quite a bit about your breakup and how you felt about Christen and how she treated you in the last months of your relationship.
“I don’t know.” you answer truthfully. Sure, you want to be with Christen and you want to see how she's going to prove to you that you should be with her, but you're also apprehensive.
As much as you love Christen, you’re scared that she’ll hurt you again and you don’t think you’d come back from another heartbreak at the hands of the woman you’re so hopelessly in love with.
“Well, I think you might want to figure that out pretty quickly.” Janine says, looking up from her phone.
“What do you mean?” you ask, staring pointedly at the Canadian woman.
Instead of saying anything Janine hands you her phone and what you see makes your heart stop for a second before it starts racing. On Janine’s news feed is the headline, ‘Christen Press Shocks Women’s Soccer World By Re-signing With Manchester United Women Instead of Hometown Club Angel City FC’.
“Oh my god.” you gasp, before going into the article and reading it.
Christen apparently said no to a massive deal with Angel City, instead joining Man Utd for another season. You’re confused, you know Christen always wanted to play in LA, in front of her home crowd. Why would she sign with Man Utd, unless…?
You quickly grab your phone, fingers going to a familiar number. You pause and take a breath before pressing the call button. You really hope Christen didn’t do what you think she did, although you’re pretty sure she did.
You take another deep breath, ignoring the concerned looks of Alex and Janine before pressing the call button and waiting for an answer. You have no idea what the time is back in the US, it's afternoon in Manchester, so it has to be early morning in LA, if she is even in LA.
“Hello.” Christen answers the phone, surprise evident in her voice, but you can also hear the rasp in her voice that she gets when she just wakes up.
“Please tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.” you say as Janine and Alex watch you with worried looks.
“What did I do?” Christen asks.
“Give up playing in LA just so you can come back to Manchester, for me.” you clarify. You know it’s a bit presumptuous to assume that she was moving for you, but why else would she be moving? She has no ties in Manchester except for you.
“Oh.” Christen mutters, realising what you're talking about.
“You saw the news?” she asks.
“Yeah. Please tell me you didn’t give up on a lifelong dream just for me.” you say, scared to hear Christen’s answer because you don’t know if you should feel guilty or happy and excited. You know you asked her to prove her love to you, but giving up her lifelong dream for you? That's kind of insane.
“You’re my lifelong dream. So, no I didn’t give up on a lifelong dream just for you, I chose my lifelong dream and if that means that I don’t play in LA then so be it. I told you Y/N, I love you and I’m going to prove it to you, even if it means coming to play in rainy Manchester for the rest of my career. You’re my priority and I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you know that.” Christen says and you’re speechless. You actually have no words.
“Y/N? Are you still there?” Christen asks when she doesn’t hear you on the phone for a few seconds.
“I-I’m here. I just, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I’ll see you soon.”
“Goodbye Y/N… I love you.” Christen says, hanging up before you can even think of answering.
“What just happened?” Janine asks.
“She’s coming back to Manchester for me.” you say softly, still trying to come to terms with the whole thing.
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