the people yearn for more wilo content (i’m ppl)
but srsly mia your fics are so so good im obsessed with you and i hope this didn’t come across as like rushing you to write for him it was appreciation 🥹🥹
jealousy — # william saliba
synopsis — william gets jealous when another footballer shows interest in the y/n, forcing the two to finally confront their feelings.
# warnings: fluff. jealous wilo.
# mia’s note: i’m so glad you’re enjoying your reads!! this means so much to me, so here’s a request/idea from my lovely @mariejuli cause she’s so amazing and we share a brain cell and i love her. i really hope i did it justice like you wanted to, i altered the draft a bit because rico being the one interested just makes so much sense. reqs are open!!! with sooo much love, mia.
there was never a conversation about what they were.
they never sat down over coffee and decided they were exclusive and never had the awkward “so what are we?” talk.
never even admitted that whatever existed between them had quietly stopped resembling friendship several weeks ago. months.
instead, it happened in the strange little ways neither of them acknowledged.
william stopped checking his phone whenever she was around because she’d somehow become the person he naturally looked for whenever something funny happened.
she learned that he hated the crusts on little tea sandwiches, so she’d absentmindedly steal them off his plate before he even had to complain.
he remembered how she took her coffee without asking. she remembered which shoulder he’d injured last season and always walked on his other side in crowded places.
the sex was amazing. the sex when william was tired and frustrated from training. when she was happy about her success at school. when he won a game. when they just felt like it.
if she was cold, his jacket somehow ended up around her shoulders before either of them really processed how it got there.
if he had a particularly miserable training session, she’d appear at the training ground café twenty minutes later with the exact pastry he liked, claiming she’d “just happened to be nearby.”
they never called them dates, but everyone else did.
“you’re going to dinner tonight?” gabriel had asked after training one afternoon.
william shrugged while tying his boots. “yeah.”
he replied simply. “yeah.”
gabriel stared. “you’re taking one woman to dinner.”
william sighed, looking up at him. “mr. obvious over here.”
“wilo, that’s literally the definition of a date.”
william looked genuinely confused. “i thought dates were more…” he gestured vaguely. “…official.”
gabriel had laughed so hard he nearly dropped his water bottle. because william was sooooo far off that his seat was nowhere near the table.
it became something of a running joke amongst the squad. every monday, someone would ask; “how was your not-date?”
most of the time it was declan, and if it wasn’t gabriel would join in on the teasing anyways.
william would answer with complete sincerity. “it was good.”
he shrugged. “walked around hampstead.”
they all blinked, staring at him hoping he’d say something and admit those were things people did on a date. but william didn’t budge.
“and you’re still saying it’s not a date?”
william frowned. “we’re… seeing each other.”
declan nearly spilt his drink. “mate.”
kai pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. everyone knew and saw what was going on except them. for no reason because it was so obvious they were into each other.
y/n wasn’t much better. she’d insist they were taking things slow, which sounded incredibly reasonable until people realized “taking things slow” included:
sleepy phone calls that lasted two hours, good luck hugs and kisses before every home match, little handwritten notes she’d leave in the pockets of his jackets because she knew he’d eventually find them, standing in the family section after games because she’d become close with his parents almost by accident.
she once caught herself introducing him as—
he looked at her and she looked at him. both of them with a familiar glint on their eyes.
there had been the tiniest pause. long enough that both of them knew she’d almost said something else, but neither mentioned it.
they continued walking slowly. their minds both full of that moment that had just happened. because calling what they had a friendship felt wrong, and they still didn’t do anything to change it.
their hands brushed ever so slightly as they crossed a street. and a few seconds later, he reached over and intertwined his fingers with hers.
didn’t look at her. didn’t say a word. he just kept walking as if he’d been holding her hand the entire time.
she felt warmth spread on her chest. the gesture had been so meaningful to her she smiled to herself for the next ten minutes.
which was exactly why everyone found tonight so entertaining. because the annual team summer party wasn’t technically for random partners.
it was for teammates, family, friends. people important enough to bring.
william hadn’t even asked. he hadn’t though he needed to. he just texted her three days earlier.
she frowned with a faint smile at his message.
that’s not even asking me
you’re coming, aren’t you?
passed as she typed and deleted the message over and over again. then finally:
when they arrived together, nobody reacted. because, of course they had.
the only people surprised were william and her, who still believed they were being subtle. when it was so incredibly clear they weren’t.
it was so natural to them and it looked like pure love to everyone else.
they walked in side by side. she immediately reached up to straighten the slightly crooked collar of his linen shirt without thinking and he thanked her just as absentmindedly.
ben watched the interaction from across the room.
looked at declan raising his brows and then looked back.
“they’re actually unbelievable.”
declan nodded. “it’s like watching two people accidentally date. for six months. without realizing.”
gabriel sighed into his drink. “just wait.”
he watched william naturally drift toward her after being pulled away into a conversation. without even looking, he rested one hand lightly against the small of her back as he squeezed past several people.
not possessive or even intentional. it looked like they had done it a million times and they had. it was just instinct at this point.
she leaned into the touch for barely a second before continuing her conversation, but neither of them seemed to notice.
gabriel smiled while shaking his head. “give it an hour.”
gabriel glanced toward the front door just as another teammate stepped inside. “because riccardo’s here.”
riccardo calafiori had an unfortunate habit of talking to absolutely everyone. he’d walk into a room, grin at the first person he recognized, and by the end of the night he’d somehow learned where they grew up, what music they liked, and what they ordered from cafés.
it wasn’t flirting. most of the time it wasn’t at least. that’s what he told himself.
he was just painfully italian. animated hands, warm smiles with charm, stood a little too close without realizing and laughed loudly when a joke had been slightly funny.
he would touch people’s shoulders when he spoke without overthinking it because it was simply how he existed.
which, under normal circumstances, wasn’t a problem.
tonight, however, it became a very, very big problem.
the party had settled into that comfortable stage where everyone had split into little groups. music hummed through the house without overpowering conversation.
someone had started a game of pool in the back room while gabriel and ben were arguing over whether pineapple belonged on pizza.
kai was pretending he wasn’t listening while very obviously listening and rolling his eyes every five seconds as declan had become trapped in a twenty minute conversation with one of the coaching staff about golf.
william, meanwhile, was standing in the kitchen opening a bottle of sparkling water.
he looked across the room, his eyes naturally searching for her while he noticed she wasn’t where she’d been thirty seconds ago.
“looking for someone?” gabriel asked, appearing beside him like he’d been summoned by instinct.
“i’m just…” his eyes continued scanning the room. “…looking around.”
gabriel followed his line of sight. “right,” he spotted her almost immediately. “she’s over there.”
william looked over. she was standing near the piano, laughing with a few people. among them, was riccardo.
gabriel took a very slow sip of his drink. “he’s right there, huh?”
william looked at him. “i don’t have competition.”
gabriel pointed. “then why are you staring like that?”
he shrugged. “i’m observing.”
“he talks with his hands a lot.”
gabriel blinked. “sorry?”
“did you just criticize the way he gestures?”
gabriel had to look away to hide his smile, because his friend was an idiot.
across the room, she had absolutely no idea any of this was happening.
“…and then i completely missed the ball,” riccardo was saying, laughing at himself.
her eyes widened with a smile. “no.”
“aren’t you supposed to be coordinated?”
she laughed. “that’s more real.”
she shrugged. “william acts like none of you ever make mistakes.”
there was really no need to bring up william in that conversation, but she did anyway. which was one of the things that happened so naturally to her that she forgot people didn’t find it natural.
riccardo laughed. “oh, trust me,” he leaned in. “he once passed me the ball so badly during training that i almost ended up in another postcode.”
she burst into laughter. “i’m telling him you said that.”
he placed one hand dramatically over his heart. “betrayed.”
their conversation was easy and light. nothing more than two people joking around.
but they were laughing. a lot.
gabriel watched william watching them. “how’s the water?”
“you’ve been holding that bottle for ten minutes.”
he looked down at the bottle. “have i?”
“haven’t actually seen you drink it.”
willow stayed quiet for a few seconds while he looked at them. “he’s making her laugh again.”
he didn’t even realize he’d said it out loud.
gabriel looked at him. “wilo,” he sighed. “listen to yourself.”
william rolled his eyes. as if tired that the same thing kept being said. “i’m just looking.”
gabriel sighed again and looked around. when he spotted declan, he called him over.
declan wandered over. “yeah?”
gabriel pointed discreetly. “look at him.”
declan looked at william, and then at y/n, and then at gabriel.
william scoffed. “i’m not jealous.”
both of them looked at him like they didnt believe him. because they didn’t.
declan nodded too. “absolutely.”
then fate decided to make things infinitely worse.
a collective groan echoed through the room.
teams were made with absolutely no logic whatsoever. william had decided that when she ended up on riccardo’s team while he ended up on the other.
five minutes later, she had guessed the lion king from what looked like interpretive dance.
she shrugged with a smile. that same smile wilo loved to wake up to. the smile that he was usually the reason for and right now was being directed to someone else.
riccardo pointed enthusiastically. “see? she gets me.”
they high-fived and william’s jaw tightened. because why were they having fun? why were they acting like a team?
gabriel noticed because of course he noticed.
“did the high five upset you?”
william was growing more and more irritated by the second, and gabriel was just pushing him relentlessly like he wanted him to snap. “i wasn’t.”
“my eyebrow doesn’t twitch.”
gabriel turned. “declan.”
“did his eyebrow twitch?”
declan looked at william. “yeah.”
william couldn’t believe how ridiculous they were being. because he didn’t know that gabriel and declan were only getting on his nerves to make him realize what he should’ve realized months ago.
the game ended and everyone wandered back toward the drinks right away.
as music started up again she excused herself to grab another lemonade, with riccardo following a moment later.
she giggled. “i think i can manage pouring lemonade.”
“you seem very confident.”
she shrugged. “it’s one of my greatest talents.”
he smiled with his usual charm. “i’ll be the judge of that.”
she handed him a glass. “there.”
“see? remarkable technique. years of practice.”
they laughed again. animatedly like they’d done all night while william was pretending to be deeply invested in the bowl of tortilla chips.
gabriel sighed. this was becoming painful for no absolute reason. william literally had her and y/n had him, so why were they so difficult?
he wandered over and stood beside william. “you know…”
the chip on his hand crushed under his grip. “i suppose.”
“nice hair. good smile. very charming.”
william didn’t say anything.
“funny. seems interested.”
he finally looked at him. “gabriel.”
“i liked you more five minutes ago.”
gabriel grinned. “because five minutes ago you hadn’t admitted to yourself that you’re jealous.”
“then go ask her to dance.”
“because if you don’t,” he glanced toward riccardo. “someone else might.”
william followed his gaze. riccardo had just laughed at something she’d whispered. and then he reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
it was absentminded and it was gentle. the kind of thing he would do to her.
another man was touching her like he did.
he set his untouched bottle of sparkling water down very carefully and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up twice.
gabriel watched the entire sequence. “what are you doing?”
william started walking. “i’m going to say hello.”
gabriel blinked. “you’ve said hello.”
“i’m saying hello again.”
“will, you’re about to embarrass yourself.”
william didn’t answer. he didn’t really care anymore. every ounce of self control seemed to be slipping from his fingers and he’d had enough, so he just continued walking.
william had absolutely no plan. which was unfortunate, because he crossed the room with the calm, measured stride of a man who looked as though he’d rehearsed this exact moment in his head a hundred times.
the only thing going through his mind was to get there. then he’d figure the rest out when he arrived.
behind him, gabriel watched with the sort of fascination people reserved for documentaries where you already knew something disastrous was about to happen.
he nudged ben with his elbow. “don’t look now.”
ben immediately looked. “what?”
declan followed their line of sight. “oh, this’ll be good.”
the conversation by the drinks had settled into something light and effortless. riccardo was halfway through telling an animated story with his hands moving almost as much as the words themselves.
“…and then the referee looks at me—“ he demonstrated the referee’s expression with exaggerated disbelief. “—like i’m the problem.”
“at least you’re honest.”
another laugh. the kind that escaped before she could stop it.
william heard it before he reached them. and he hated that it tugged at something uncomfortable in his chest.
he loved hearing her laugh. he could confidently say it was his favorite thing in the world. but he wasn’t the reason for it.
the thought annoyed him far more than he’d ever admit aloud.
“…there you are,” the words left him before he’d really decided to speak.
both of them turned and her reaction was immediate.
her entire face softened. her eyes brightened with easy familiarity, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile that seemed to arrive without permission.
like seeing him had quietly improved the evening.
most people probably wouldn’t have noticed, but william did.
she said it so naturally as though she’d been expecting him. waiting for him, maybe.
something in his shoulders relaxed. “hi.”
riccardo looked between them with a polite smile. “will.”
they shook hands, but neither of them quite let go as quickly as they normally would. they stayed long enough for an awkward silence to bloom.
she looked between them. “are you two buffering?”
riccardo laughed first, breaking whatever strange little stand off had formed.
william couldn’t help smiling too. “maybe.”
“you’ve both suddenly forgotten how conversations work.”
“temporary system failure,” riccardo said.
she picked up the second glass of lemonade she’d poured a few moments earlier.
without thinking, she offered it to william instead. “here.”
their fingers met around the glass. his hand was warm and hers lingered for the briefest second before she let go.
it wasn’t intentional. none of the little things between them ever were. that was the problem.
they’d accumulated so many unconscious habits that neither of them noticed them anymore.
she was already turning back toward william. because, without realizing it, her body had angled slightly in his direction. enough that william naturally became the centre of the little circle they’d been standing in.
“what were you talking about?” william asked.
she looked entirely too pleased with herself. “your greatest athletic achievement.”
“that doesn’t sound promising.”
“she told me about the duck.”
william immediately looked at her. “you told him about the duck?”
she pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.
“that was classified information.”
she couldn’t hold it together anymore. laughter bubbled out of her, bright and unrestrained, and she instinctively reached for his arm as though steadying herself.
her fingers curled around his sleeve absentmindedly.
william looked down at them and smiled despite every intention not to.
“you’re enjoying this far too much.”
y/n looked at him for a few beats with that soft smile on her face. “…a lot.”
riccardo watched the exchange quietly. the way william didn’t move his arm away and the way she hadn’t even seemed to think before touching him.
the ease between them. the tiny pauses and the private rhythm they’d fallen into without realizing.
he’d seen couples with less chemistry than this.
riccardo cleared his throat. “well…” both of them looked over. “…i think ben challenged me to pool.”
“i don’t remember seeing that.”
william looked at him. there was the tiniest hint of amusement in his eyes now.
riccardo smiled. “good seeing you.”
he took two steps and then turned back toward william.
riccardo leaned in just enough that she couldn’t hear. “for what it’s worth…”
he glanced toward her. she was absentmindedly tracing circles in the condensation on her lemonade glass while waiting for them.
“…she’s looked for you every few minutes since she got here.”
william blinked as riccardo smiled knowingly.
“don’t waste too much time.”
then he clapped william lightly on the shoulder before disappearing toward the pool table.
she looked over at him. “what did he say?”
william rubbed the back of his neck. “nothing.”
she tilted her head. “that’s a terrible lie.”
william nodded. “i know.”
he looked away toward the garden doors for a moment.
his ears felt warm. “he just…” he exhaled through his nose. “…never mind.”
he let out a breath. “that’s unfortunate.”
they drifted away from the kitchen without really deciding to. their steps naturally matched until they found themselves standing beside the open french doors leading into the garden.
the cooler evening air slipped inside, carrying the scent of freshly cut grass and somewhere in the distance, rain that hadn’t arrived yet.
they stood there. shoulders almost touching. watching people dance terribly in the living room.
“you’ve been acting strange tonight,” her voice was gentle. more curious than accusing.
william looked down at the bottle of sparkling water he’d been carrying for nearly twenty minutes. “have i?”
she smiled to herself before answering. “every time i turned around…” she looked up at him. “…you were already looking.”
his expression betrayed him before his mouth could. “i wasn’t.”
she laughed. “you checked on me at least six times.”
“i accidentally counted.”
he groaned quietly. “this conversation is going terribly.”
she studied him for another moment.
his hands tucked into his pockets, the way he refused to meet her eyes for more than a second at a time, the tiny twitch in his eyebrow she’d noticed half an hour ago.
and suddenly everything clicked.
she smiled. “you were jealous.”
his head dropped immediately. “no.”
she couldn’t stop smiling. “of riccardo?”
“because he was talking to me?”
he shrugged awkwardly. looking almost irritated with himself. “you were laughing.”
she stared and she actually laughed again.
not at him. but the admission was so painfully, unbelievably william.
he sighed. “you’re making it worse.”
he leaned back against the doorframe. eyes fixed somewhere out in the dark garden. “i know we’re not…” he searched for the words. “…together.”
the word felt strange in his mouth. “…so i know i don’t actually have any right to feel like that.”
his voice had grown quieter. “but every time i looked over…” he smiled to himself. small. “…i wanted you to be laughing with me instead.”
her heart melted and she stepped closer without thinking. close enough that there was barely any space left between them.
he finally looked at her.
“we’re definitely something.”
she reached up absentmindedly. her fingers smoothing the front of his shirt where it had creased near the collar. she’d done it dozens of times before. never thinking about it because they had decided it came along with the whatever they were package they’d purchased.
he watched her hand carefully straighten the fabric. “you always do that.”
his smile softened. “i like when you do.”
her hand stilled against his chest. for a few quiet seconds, all they could hear was the muffled music behind them and each other’s breathing.
“can i tell you something?”
“gabriel and ben told me you were hiding behind the snack table.”
he shut his eyes. “i’m going to have to stop speaking to them.”
she laughed. “apparently you were strategically observing.”
willi shook his head. “those were not my exact words.”
“they were, weren’t they?”
she shook her head, smiling so brightly it almost hurt to look at. “you’re ridiculous.”
he hesitated. then slowly lifted one hand.
his fingertips brushed a strand of hair away from her face, tucking it gently behind her ear.
the movement was almost tentative. like he was still checking that these little moments belonged to him.
she leaned into the touch before she even realized she’d done it.
she didn’t answer with words, she just closed the tiny distance between them.
their lips met softly. with no urgency and no audience. just a quiet kiss that lingered for a heartbeat longer than the last one they’d shared.
when they pulled apart, neither of them moved very far. their foreheads almost brushed.
he laughed quietly under his breath. “i got jealous over absolutely nothing.”
she smiled. “you got jealous because riccardo complimented my lemonade.”
“he also tucked your hair behind your ear.”
“see? you didn’t even notice.”
“because i wasn’t paying attention to him.”
his eyes lifted to hers. “no?”
she smiled. “i kept wondering why the boy i actually liked was pretending tortilla chips were fascinating.”
he laughed a proper laugh this time.
“they were a good hiding place.”
“they absolutely weren’t.”
before he could answer they heard,
“OI!” gabriel’s voice cut cleanly through the music.
both of them froze. half the room was looking at them.
gabriel stood in the middle of the living room with both hands triumphantly thrown into the air like he’d just watched his team score a last-minute winner.
declan was bent over laughing so hard he had one hand on the wall. ben had tears in his eyes. kai looked genuinely exhausted.
y/n buried her face against william’s shoulder, laughing so hard her whole body shook. he wrapped an arm around her almost instinctively, shaking his head with a helpless smile.
“they’re never going to let this go.”
she looked up at him. “probably not. but it was worth it.”
he looked down at her hand already comfortably tucked into his. then at the smile she hadn’t stopped wearing since he’d admitted the truth.
“yeah,” his thumb brushed gently over her knuckles. “definitely worth it.”
they didn’t know exactly what they were, but they knew that, they were enough to belong
to each other. and that was enough.
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