You will find here the list of my fictions in order to be able to access them more easily. I have not written a lot yet, but I intend to write regularly if you guys are interested :-)
You may find syntax or conjugation errors in my writings, my main language is not English⌠But I do the best :-)
Reviews and likes are always appreciated!
Player x Reader Masterlist
Player x Player Masterlist
Work In Progress
Alessia Russo : Feeling (6)
Alessia Russo : Skiing together
Alexia Putellas : Comfort
Alexia Putellas : Motherhood 3
Alexia Putellas : Part of me 2
Jana Fernandez : From Hurt to Pride
Jana Fernandez : Slow burn homophobia
Lia Wälti : Hot Calendar
Ona Batlle : F1 driver
Luna : From date to love 2 3
Luna : ADHD
Luna : Lucy surprising Ona by coming in Barca
Luna : Jealousy
Luna : Futur 2 3 (Fidji)
Luna : Teasing
McFoord : One time they each realize they fall in love
McFoord : Engagement fic 2
McFoord : After Australian's lost 2 3
McFoord : Sneaky Caitlin
Lol, its okay. That's why i answered for both. But yeah it would probably make Most Sense If Reader is Like irenes Teenage sister. :) thank you for wanting to write it.
Hey..i was the one requesting the Irene Story/Stories :) i really don't mind an age Gap as Long as for a Lovestory it's legal and for siblings i don't mind anyways. :)
Oh right I forgot to say it was for the siblings side đ
Hi, would it be possible to write Irene Paredes x reader? Either something as siblings (Like Reader is the Younger sister) and asks Irene for Advice on either Football or her First Love?
Or Irene x reader are Dating but Reader doesn't have to Play for the Same Team and during a Game Reader gets Hurt and their usually so private love gets on the outside for everyone to See cause Irene is so worried.
the first sign that something was wrong should have been how clingy you had been that morning.
and maybe leah would have picked up on it straight away however, today she was running on little sleep after three days of solo-parenting while alessia was away on ella's hen do.
not unusual clingy. not the kind where you needed help finding your shoes or wanted leah to fix your wonky ponytail. this was different.
every time leah moved, you seemed to appear beside her. when leah wandered into the kitchen to make breakfast, you climbed onto a stool at the island and watched her crack eggs into a bowl.
when leah crossed the room to grab something from the fridge, you hopped down and followed. by the time breakfast was ready, you were practically leaning against leah's leg.
leah glanced down as she stirred the eggs. "morning, shadow."
you wrapped both arms around her knee without hesitation. "mornin'."
"what're you doing down there?" leah asked with a small laugh.
"huggin'."
"clearly."
"'cause i wanted to." you said quietly, the answer was simple enough, but it made leah smile.
normally you would have been chatting non-stop by now, telling your mama about a dream you'd had or asking a hundred random questions before nine in the morning.
instead you seemed perfectly content just being close.
the pattern continued throughout the morning. leah disappeared upstairs to get dressed and heard little footsteps following her a few seconds later.
by the time she'd reached her bedroom, you were standing in the doorway watching her pull clothes from her wardrobe.
"you okay, angel?" leah asked, tugging a jumper over her head.
"yep." you answered in the same quiet tone as you leant against the doorway.
"you're staring at me."
"no i'm not."
"you definitely are."
a tiny smile tugged at your lips before disappearing almost as quickly as it arrived. leah noticed it. she also noticed how quickly the smile faded.
usually once you started giggling it snowballed into full-blown chaos. today, though, you simply stayed where you were, lingering quietly in the doorway.
even when leah brushed her teeth, she caught sight of your little blonde head in the mirror. you sat cross-legged on the bathroom floor, chin resting on her knees as you swung esme the elephant around in circles.
leah pulled the toothbrush from her mouth. "you know this is weird, right?"
"a little bit." you said quietly, continuing throwing your esme the elephant in the air.
"a little bit?" leah echoed as you hummed.
"maybe a lot." that earned a proper laugh from both of you, but once again the moment passed quickly. the giggle faded and you settled back into silence, still hovering nearby as though you couldn't quite bear being in another room.
the thing was, you had seemed absolutely fine all weekend. alessia had left on friday morning just before you were going to school, for ella's hen.
after many hugs, kisses, many promises to facetime, one dramatic declaration from you that's you'd miss your mummy forever and not to forgot alessia's ramble of do's and don'ts for the weekend - alessia finally made it on her way for her weekend away.
since then there had been movie nights, pancakes, facetime's before bed and enough sweets to make alessia question leah's parenting choices when she got home.
but despite all of that, something felt different today.
but by the time they were getting ready to leave for sunday dinner at leah's parents' house, you had managed to remain within arm's reach for almost the entire morning.
leah was sitting on the sofa pulling on her trainers when she felt a familiar weight press against her side. looking down, she found you once again attached to her arm.
"what am i going to do with you?" leah asked fondly, pressing a kiss to your hair which had spent her too long doing
you just shrugged. "keep me."
"oh, is that the plan?" leah laughed lightly at your innocent response.
"yep."
"just keep you?"
"yep, forever."
leah laughed and crouched down in front of her, brushing a stray loose strand of blonde hair back into place. "sounds expensive."
that finally earned a proper grin.
"you excited for your sunday dinner?" leah asked, knowing you quite like the odd sunday when football games didn't fall on those days where you'd just be surrounded by family, a trait which you definitely got from your mummy.
you nodded immediately. "yeah!"
"see grandma and grandad?"
another nod.
"the cousins?"
"yep."
leah smiled. "going to see henry."
the reaction was tiny. so small most people would have missed it entirely. the smile faltered for a split second, you shoulders drooping before you quickly straightened again. "yeah."
leah frowned slightly. "everything okay, angel?"
you nodded so quickly it was almost suspicious. "yep."
"you sure? you can tell mama if somethings wrong"
"i sure."
this time you wouldn't meet leah's eyes, focusing instead on the zip of your jacket. leah had the distinct feeling she was missing something important, but before she could ask again, you reached out and grabbed her hand.
"we go now?"
leah looked down at the little fingers wrapped tightly around hers and squeezed gently.
"come on then angel"
you immediately brightened and followed her out to the car, still holding onto leah's hand. neither of you realised that by the end of the day, leah would finally understand why her little shadow hadn't wanted to let her out of sight all morning.
â
sunday dinners with the williamson's were rarely quiet.
the house was already buzzing by the time leah pulled onto the driveway. even from outside she could see movement through the windows and hear the faint sound of voices carrying out every time the front door opened.
it was the same every sunday; loud, chaotic and completely impossible to escape a conversation for more than five minutes.
the moment leah opened the front door, the familiar warmth hit her. the smell of roast potatoes, gravy and freshly baked yorkshire puddings drifted from the kitchen, mixing with the sounds of laughter coming from what seemed like every room in the house.
her dad was carrying a stack of plates towards the dining room while attempting to have a conversation over his shoulder. amanda was standing in the kitchen doorway directing people around despite nobody actually listening to her instructions.
leah's grandmother was settled comfortably in her favourite armchair, issuing orders from afar with the confidence of somebody who knew everyone would eventually do what she wanted anyway.
you stepped inside beside leah, your hand still tucked securely in leah's. usually you'd already be halfway through the house by now with alessia calling ahead for you to slow down as you would race off to find someone to play with or investigating whatever snacks were sitting unattended on the kitchen counter.
today you lingered close, letting leah hang her coat up before slowly following her further inside.
"there's my girls!" amanda appeared almost instantly, pulling leah into a quick hug before crouching down to greet you properly.
"hello, sweetheart."
"hi, nana." you said quietly as you hugged her, the smell of home cooking surrounding you.
amanda smiled immediately but even she seemed to notice the quieter-than-usual greeting, but before she could comment, a familiar voice echoed from somewhere deeper in the house.
"leah!"
the next thing leah knew, her five-year-old cousin henry came hurtling around the corner at alarming speed.
"woah buddy!" leah barely had time to brace herself before he crashed into her legs. she laughed, steadying him with both hands before he sent himself sprawling onto the floor. "there he is."
henry grinned up at her proudly. "guess what le!"
"should i be worried?" leah asked as you sat quietly on the floor taking your shoes off, pulling lightly at the laces.
"no!" the answer came far too quickly.
leah narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "that wasn't convincing." as an excited giggle came from henry.
but then, finally, he spotted you sat not far from leah. his face lit up immediately. "y/n!"
usually that was all it took. usually the two children would disappear before any adult could stop the two of you. you'd both spend the afternoon building dens, making up games or getting yourselves into enough mischief that somebody inevitably ended up apologising for the two of you later.
today, though, you didn't run forward. didn't throw your arms around him. didn't immediately start asking questions.
instead you offered a small smile. "hi, henry" henry just blinked. the greeting wasn't rude. just... quiet. different an even leah noticed it.
for a second henry seemed unsure what to do with that response then his excitement took over again. "come see my lego!"
before leah could answer, henry had already grabbed her hand. "made loads of new stuff."
"oh yeah?" leah laughed lightly as henry rambled on about his lego creations, you hanging by leah quietly.
henry simply laughed and started tugging her towards the living room. "come on!"
and because leah hadn't seen him properly in weeks, leah allowed herself to be dragged along. family gatherings were one of the few places she got to see some of her younger cousins and extended family regularly, and henry had always had a habit of making sure she saw every single one of his latest creations.
"alright, alright," leah laughed. "show me then." henry took off immediately and leah followed behind him and a few steps behind leah came you, quiet. silent almost as if you wouldn't know you were there unless you seen her.
your small trainers padded softly against the floorboards as you trailed after them while henry excitedly chattered away about dinosaurs and spaceships you simple listened.
watching henry cling to leah's arm. watching leah laugh at whatever story he was telling. watching him pull her attention away over and over again.
at first nobody noticed: not henry, not leah, not any of the adults who were busy preparing dinner.
but you noticed and you followed them into the living room, something uncomfortable settled quietly in her chest. a feeling you didn't quite understand yet.
only that every time henry made leah smile, you seemed to feel it a little bit more. at first nobody noticed, not really.
there were too many people in the house and too much noise for anyone to pay attention to the fact that one little girl wasn't quite herself.
the living room was full of overlapping conversations, the kitchen even louder as people drifted in and out stealing roast potatoes before dinner was ready.
every surface seemed occupied by a family member, and somewhere in the middle of it all henry was enthusiastically showing leah every single lego creation he'd built since she'd last visited.
to everyone else, it probably looked completely normal. henry was excited, leah was catching up with family.
the house was loud, busy and full of people who all wanted a piece of her attention. so nobody thought twice about it. you tried not to either.
you followed them into the living room and sat quietly while henry launched into an explanation about a complicated lego spaceship. leah listened with a smile, asking questions and making the appropriate impressed noises whenever he pointed out a feature he was particularly proud of.
you sat nearby on the sofa, eyes drifting between leah and henry and the programme on the tv which you couldn't really understand as it wasn't your usual cartoon watch.
every now and then you'd think about joining the conversation, opening you mouth only to close it again when henry immediately started talking over the top of whatever leah had been about to say.
it happened once, then twice and then again. eventually you stopped trying.
when henry proudly placed the spaceship in leah's hands, leah gasped dramatically. "that's actually brilliant."
"i know." he smiled proudly as leah inspected the small lego creation.
"you built all this yourself?" henry nodded so enthusiastically leah thought his head might fall off. you watched the exchange from your seat on the sofa.
normally you'd be climbing all over leah by now. normally you'd be sitting pressed against her side, helping examine the lego or proudly showing off whatever youâd built too.
instead you remained where you were. quiet and almost invisible as you held your esme the elephant just that little bit tighter.
as the afternoon continued, the feeling sitting inside your chest started growing. not enough to make you cry. not enough to make a fuss.
just enough to make everything feel a little bit wrong.
when henry climbed onto the sofa beside leah, you settled herself on the other side of the sofa, still close enough to be near her. not close enough to compete
you pulled at the sleeve of your jumper while listening to henry chatter away beside you. every few minutes he'd grab leah's arm to show her something else, and every single time leah's attention immediately shifted back to him.
not because she was doing anything wrong. not because she was ignoring you.
but because henry was four years old and excited and desperate to show somebody all the things he'd been waiting weeks to share.
still, you noticed. you noticed every time.
when henry made leah laugh, you found yourself staring at the carpet. when henry leaned against her shoulder, you shuffled slightly further away. when henry demanded her attention again, you looked down at her hands.
nobody noticed; not henry, not leah. not even you fully understood why you felt the way you did. you just knew there was a strange ache sitting beneath her ribs.
but because it wasn't really about henry. not entirely anyways. henry was your friend, your cousin. most days you adored him and most times you saw him the two of you were inseparable.
this ache feeling had started before you left your house with your mama. it had started when you'd woken up that morning and realised your mummy still wasn't home two days ago.
to most people that wasn't very long but to a five year old it was enormous. the house had felt different without alessia there. bedtime was different, breakfast had felt different.
even facetiming your mummy hadn't quite fixed the problem because every call ended the same way, with alessia saying goodbye and promising she'd be home soon as you sat with a pout and sad eyes.
soon felt like forever when you were five. you'd tried to be brave about it, you smiled during the facetime calls. you'd tell mummy about your day, you'd laugh when your mummy showed the ridiculous costumes she'd convinced ella to wear.
but every time the call ended, you felt that little empty space all over again. the place where your mummy should have been. and now, sitting in a crowded living room full of people, that feeling seemed even bigger.
because usually when you missed your mummy, your mama was there. leah would be the person you curled up beside, the person you followed around the house, the person who always seemed to know when something was wrong.
but only leah was busy, not on purpose and definitely not because she didn't care. just because henry wanted her attention too.
and for the first time all weekend, you found yourself wondering whether there was enough of leah to go around and that thought made your stomach twist.
so instead of saying anything, you simply sat quietly now with a colouring book and some pencils glancing over every time henry made leah laugh again. the ache in your chest growing just a little heavier each time.
by lunchtime, leah's mum, amanda had started to notice something was off. not enough to say anything at first. just the little things.
the way you weren't running around causing chaos with henry like you usually would be, the way you sat quietly colouring in longer than you usually would be. the way you seemed to be watching leah more than participating in whatever was going on around her.
amanda had spent enough years raising children to know when one was carrying around feelings they didn't quite know how to explain. still, she kept an eye on things and waited.
by dinner, leah's grandma had noticed too. the entire family was squeezed around the dining table, conversations overlapping from one end to the other.
plates were being passed around, somebody was arguing about football, and amanda was trying unsuccessfully to stop people stealing roast potatoes before everyone had been served.
through all of it, leah's granmda sat quietly observing. she'd always been good at that. while everyone else got caught up in the noise, she noticed the things people missed.
and right now, she was watching two children sitting at opposite ends of the table or more specifically, she was watching one child and one very distracted adult.
henry was halfway through explaining something incredibly important about dinosaurs. at least, incredibly important according to him. "and then the t-rex bites him," he announced dramatically.
leah nodded with complete seriousness. "seems a bit rude."
"it wasn't rude." henry said as he pushed more food onto his fork.
"no?" leah asked as henry shook his head finished what was in his mouth before speaking.
"he was hungry."
"fair enough."
henry grinned triumphantly before immediately launching into another explanation. leah listened patiently, occasionally asking questions or pretending to be shocked by whatever twist the story took next.
the entire exchange was harmless. sweet, even but sitting three seats away was you and leah's grandma could see exactly what nobody else could.
every time henry spoke, you looked towards your mama. every time leah laughed, your eyes followed. every time henry tugged on leah's sleeve to get her attention, you seemed to sink a little further into her chair.
you werenât throwing a tantrum, wasn't sulking. wasn't demanding attention. that was what made it so obvious. you were trying very hard not to let anyone know you were upset.
leah's grandma's heart immediately softened. she glanced across the table towards amanda. "you seeing what i'm seeing?"
amanda followed her gaze and at first she looked confused. but then her eyes landed on you and suddenly she saw it too. "oh."
"exactly." for a moment neither woman spoke, they simply watched.
watched as you pushed a pea around your plate without eating it. watched you force polite little smiles whenever someone spoke to you. watched you glance towards leah every few seconds without even seeming to realise she was doing it.
most importantly, they watched what happened whenever henry got leah's attention. because every single time, your shoulders seemed to droop, just a little. just enough.
enough for two mothers to spot it immediately. "bless her," amanda murmured quietly as leah's grandma hummed in agreement.
thea older woman took a sip of tea before speaking again. "she's jealous."
amanda considered it for a second and normally she would've laughed at the idea. you adored henry. the two children spent most family gatherings joined at the hip.
but looking at you now...
watching the way you kept staring towards leah...
watching the way you looked so much smaller than usual...
amanda slowly nodded. "yeah maybe." leah's grandma continued watching. "not really of henry"
"no."
"just what he has." amanda's expression softened. because she understood exactly what the other women meant.
henry had leah's attention, not all of it. as leah had continuously tried to involve you but you just seemed so sullen.
but henry had enough of leah's attention and today, that mattered. especially for a little girl who'd spent the entire weekend missing her mummy.
amanda glanced towards the empty chair alessia usually occupied whenever they came for dinner then back towards you. the pieces clicked together almost instantly. "and she's missing her mum."
that made leah's grandma sigh because of course she was.
alessia had only been gone a couple of days, but to a five-year-old those couple of days probably felt enormous. the facetime calls helped, the reassurances helped.
but they weren't the same as having your mum there to cuddle into at bedtime. they weren't the same as hearing her laugh from the next room.
amanda looked back at you again. you were now staring down at her yorkshire pudding, absentmindedly poking at it with your fork. not eating. not joining the conversation. not asking your usual questions. not being herself.
the contrast was impossible to miss once you saw it.
"both," amanda agreed quietly and for a few moments they simply watching you. neither of them liking the sadness they saw there.
because underneath the jealousy and the clinginess and the quietness was something much simpler. you weren't angry. you weren't being difficult. you were just a little girl who missed her mummy.
and who, for the first time all day, was starting to wonder if you might be losing some of leah's attention too.
amanda's gaze shifted towards her daughter. completely oblivious. still listening to henry explain dinosaurs as though it was the most fascinating conversation she'd ever had.
amanda shook her head affectionately. "that girl hasn't got a clue, has she?"
leah's grandma snorted into her tea. "not a single clue."
"think we should mention it?"
leah's grandma looked back towards you. the little girl chose that exact moment to glance towards leah again. a tiny, hopeful look crossing your face before henry immediately demanded her attention once more.the hope disappeared just as quickly.
leah's grandma expression softened. "oh i think we'd better."
â
leah was helping clear plates when amanda finally decided enough was enough.
dinner had mostly finished, people beginning to drift back towards the living room with cups of tea and half-finished conversations. you were back colouring in, concentrating on staying perfectly in the line.
leah was standing at the kitchen counter stacking plates when she felt her mum appear beside her. amanda didn't say anything at first. just nodded towards the doorway. "you need to go talk to tiny."
leah blinked. "what?"
amanda simply gave her a look and tilted her head towards the living room again. leah followed her gaze automatically and immediately her stomach dropped.
you lying by yourself in the far corner, colouring but not talking, not following henry around, not doing much of anything really. instead just a shell of yourself sitting there small and quiet
the sight hit leah harder than she expected. "what's wrong?"
amanda folded her arms. "you tell me."
leah frowned and looked again. really looked this time and suddenly she saw everything she'd somehow managed to miss all day.
the way your shoulders seemed permanently slumped. the way you'd barely spoken throughout dinner. the way your eyes kept drifting towards leah every few minutes before quickly looking away again. the way you'd spent the entire afternoon hovering nearby without ever actually joining in.
waiting and watching.
leah groaned softly and scrubbed a hand across her face. "oh no." amanda just nodded knowingly.
"i've been an idiot." leah whispered a wave of guilt spreading across her immediately.
amanda's expression softened immediately. "no, you've been distracted."
leah still looked guilty. "same thing."
amanda squeezed her arm. "then fix it." and leah she didn't need telling twice.
she found you exactly where she'd been left. lying in the corner with your colouring but you were colouring slow as if your mind was not really in it.
the television was on in the background, everyone was talking around you moving in and out to go and get dessert but somehow you seemed completely separate from all of it.
lost in your own little world, leah's chest tightened. "hey angel"
you looked up immediately. the sad expression disappeared so quickly leah almost thought she'd imagined it.
"hi." you said quietly dropping the blue pencil that was previously in your hand on the page and sitting up.
leah sat beside you. close enough that her shoulders touched yours. neither of you spoke for a moment. leah simply sat there quietly, letting you settle into her presence.
eventually she nudged you gently with her shoulder. "you alright?" you just shrugged, the kind of shrug that wasn't actually an answer.
leah smiled softly. "wanna tell me what's going on?"
for a few moments you simply stared at the carpet and leah waited patiently. she'd learned a long time ago that rushing children rarely got you anywhere.
eventually, in a voice so quiet leah almost missed it;
"when's mummy coming home?"
the question caught her completely off guard but for a second all the pieces clicked together. the clinginess that morning. the quietness all afternoon. the sadness. the jealousy.
it wasn't just henry. it had never just been henry.
leah's expression immediately softened. "oh, angel." you kept your eyes fixed firmly on the floor as though you were embarrassed you'd even asked.
"tonight."
the reaction was instant, your head snapped up. "as in tonight, tonight?"
leah couldn't help smiling. "yeah."
"what time?"
"i'm not actually sure."
you frowned immediately. "that's not a time."
leah laughed, as she held you just that little bit tighter, "no, i suppose it isn't."
you considered leah's answer carefully, "will it be dark?"
"probably."
"really dark?"
"probably really dark."
you let out the most dramatic sigh leah had ever heard. the kind of sigh only a five-year-old could manage. leah reached over and smoothed a hand through your blonde hair. "you miss her?"
a tiny nod.
"i just wanted mummy."
the words shattered leah's heart. not because they were dramatic. not because you were crying but because of how simple they were. honest and raw. the kind of truth children delivered without even trying.
leah immediately opened her arms. "c'mere angel." you practically climbed into her lap as though you'd been waiting for permission all day.
leah wrapped both arms around you and immediately felt the little girl melt against her chest. there it was. the thing you'd been looking for all afternoon.
comfort and safety.
the place you always ended up whenever something felt too big. leah rested her cheek against soft blonde hair. "you know she misses you too, right?"
"yeah."
"she probably talked about you every five minutes." leah said as she rubbed a hand against your back a tiny smile appeared on your face, "really?"
"oh definitely."
"even with auntie ella?"
leah laughed quietly. "especially with auntie ella."
that finally earned a proper giggle. small but real. the first one leah heard in hours. for a moment she thought that might be the end of it.
then she looked down and noticed something still lingering behind your eyes. a hesitation, a worry. something you hadn't quite said out loud yet and suddenly leah understood.
"angel." you looked up. "did you think i was spending more time with henry than you today?"
the silence answered before you did. you immediately looked away chewing slightly on your bottom lip.
"oh angel." leah cooed, she felt awful, absolutely awful. because now she could see it from your perspective.
missing your mum all weekend. coming somewhere familiar looking for comfort then watching henry monopolise leah's attention for most of the day. of course you'd felt pushed aside.
"you know i love henry, don't you?" leah spoke quietly but with a sense of rawness. you gave a small nod. "he's family."
you nodded again and leah gently lifted your chin until those familiar blue eyes met hers. "but so are you."
you blinked and leah smiled softly. "actually." she brushed a piece of blonde hair behind your ear. "you're my girl, my angel."
instantly your lip wobbled and leah felt her own chest ache because somehow those five words always seemed to mean everything.
a tear threatened to spill from the corner of your eye. leah your her forehead immediately. "you don't have to compete with henry." another kiss. "you don't have to compete with anybody."
and another. "i've got enough love for all of you."
that was all it took. you buried your face in leah's shoulder and wrapped both arms tightly around her waist. leah held you just as tightly back.
holding you close. holding you safely. holding you exactly where you should have been all day.
â
the difference afterwards was immediate. the heaviness seemed to disappear from you almost entirely.
you smiled more. talked more.even joined in when henry came over to show everyone another dinosaur fact he'd apparently learned.
most importantly, you stopped watching leah from across the room because now she was right beside you. where she wanted to be.
when the family migrated back into the living room, you followed. when leah sat down, you immediately tucked herself against her side.
when henry wandered over carrying another toy dinosaur, you simply leaned into leah's shoulder and listened rather than retreating into yourself.
much happier, much lighter.
to his credit, even henry eventually noticed. "tiny tired."
leah looked down at the young practically draped across her side. "aren't we all buddy?"
by eight o'clock, you were barely functioning. your eyes kept drifting shut mid-conversation. every few minutes your head would slowly droop onto leah's shoulder before jerking awake again.
the entire family found it endlessly entertaining. "she's fighting for her life over there," holly, leah's cousin whispered.
leah laughed quietly, you glared at them all then yawned so hard your eyes watered but five minutes later you'd lost the battle completely.
curled underneath a blanket against leah's side. one tiny hand wrapped firmly around the sleeve of leah's jumper as though you needed physical proof that leah wasn't going anywhere.
leah glanced down, you were already asleep. long eyelashes resting against flushed cheeks. mouth slightly open, breathing slow and steady. completely out cold.
across the room amanda smiled knowingly. "there she is."
leah looked up. "what?" amanda nodded towards the sleeping child. "our tiny."
leah followed her gaze back down. at you who trusted her enough to fall asleep wrapped around her side. you who had spent the entire weekend missing your mum. you who had worried there wasn't enough room for you in leahâs heart.
and you who had finally fallen asleep feeling safe again. something warm settled in leah's chest.
leah leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head. "always has been."
almost as if you'd heard her, you made a sleepy little noise and immediately snuggled even closer. the entire room laughed softly, leah just smiled then settled deeper into the sofa.
because there was absolutely no chance she was moving now, she'd think about how to get you in the car later on. but she wasn't moving, not right now. not when a sleepy little girl had chosen her as the safest place in the room.
and not when, in a few hours, alessia would finally walk through the front door and find both of her favourite people exactly where she'd expect them to be curled up together on a sofa, waiting for her to come home.
Maybe I Got It Wrong (Leah Williamson x Reader x Steph Catley)
âItâs been going wellâ you nodded.
You were sat across from your colleague and mate, Freddie, grabbing lunch and a coffee and talking about both of your dating lives. He had just started seeing a girl and so had you.
âYeah, itâs going good for me tooâ he smiled. âWhatâs her name again?â He asked before taking a bite of his sandwich.
âLeahâ you reminded him. âDate number three tonightâ you chuckled.
âAnd have you?â Freddie raised an eyebrow.
âNoâ you shook your head with a laugh. âHave you?â You threw his question back at him.
âWeâve kissed but nothing elseâ he shrugged. âBut Iâm trying not to rush into anythingâ he added.
âMe tooâ you agreed.
Youâd been seeing Leah now for a few weeks. Phone calls, text messages and two dates had you both fairly smitten. But you promised yourself you were not rushing into anything. Youâd rushed into several relationships before and most of them hadnât made it past the first week and the ones that did never saw out the month. So you took some time out of dating to work out what you wanted in a relationship. And it was great, because the week you put yourself back out there, you met Leah.
Dating for you hadnât really worked in the past. Girlâs got suspicious of you keeping elements of your job from them and always presumed you were cheating, when that was never the case. Other girls were just not into the tall, nerdy thing, which was completely fine.
You were a harmless person, highly intelligent, but you enjoyed playing video games with Freddie more so than hooking up with girls. You and Freddie were similar in that sense. You were both naturally awkward with girls. He was with a girl for a long time but they had broken up last year.
Leah had presented herself to you with a squeaky clean reputation, which was impressive when you found out she was a celebrity. Sheâd only ever had one serious relationship and with a new contract with Arsenal, her childhood club, she was planning to settle down with someone forever in London. And maybe in another life, that would have been you.
-
That evening, you met Leah outside the restaurant sheâd picked for tonightâs date. She smiled when she saw you and you pressed a kiss to her cheek.
âLovely to see youâ Leah said as she backed up to take you in.
âAnd youâ you smiled. âWill we go in then?â You asked and the footballer nodded.
You and Leah always talked with ease. Sheâd tell you about football, which before Leah you werenât exactly interested in. Youâd tell her about your job, in little details, which she found fascinating.
You worked for the government in cybersecurity and Leah thought that was the coolest thing sheâd ever heard someone say, even though you left the government word out of that sentence. You never met someone who thought that about your job, until their laptop or phone got hacked and suddenly they became interested.
Everything was going good on the date, like usual. The conversation had shifted to a slightly different tone tonight than on your other dates. You were both flirting, well, you were trying, and neither of you were shying away from the fact you were hungry for something other than the food. But then, the strangest thing ever in your history of dating happened.
A group of people walked in, celebrating a birthday by the seems of things. They sounded American, well at least one of them did. One of the most stunning women youâd ever seen sat down facing your table, facing Leah, and she made immediate eye contact with your date. Leah was drawn to her straight away, and from the second their eyes met, Leah could not focus on anything other than that girl. She felt a spark, and while sheâd felt something with you, this one had the capability to burn the entire building down.
âYou seem distractedâ you chuckled, as Leah finally flicked her eyes back to you.
âYeah, sorry. What were you saying?â Leah asked, taking a drink of her wine.
âDoesnât matterâ you shook your head and watched Leahâs eyes settle back on that girl.
âSheâs prettyâ you eventually mumbled before you took a large gulp of your own wine.
âIâm sorry if this sounds weirdâ Leah began, eyes flicking briefly back to you. âI think sheâs my soulmateâ Leah said.
âYour soulmate?â You asked, looking back at the girl Leah had been staring at. It was how fast the girlâs eyes went down that you realised sheâd been staring at Leah too.
âDoes that sound mad?â Leah asked.
âA bitâ you chuckled.
âIâm a bit of an idiot, amnât I?â Leah laughed and you nodded.
âWell, go talk to her thenâ you pushed the girlâs arm.
âWhat?â Leah frowned.
âCome on, weâre not serious and it may sound stupid but if you think sheâs your soulmate, you need to speak to herâ you urged her on.
âAre you sure?â Leah asked.
âDefinitely. But you can pay for this because itâs the last meal weâll ever have togetherâ you stuck your hand out and Leah slotted hers into it.
âDealâ Leah nodded with a smile.
You finished off your drink and left the restaurant and to Leahâs surprise, once you left, the girl sheâd been practically drooling over came and stood beside the seat youâd just vacated.
âIs she coming back?â The girl, who was American, asked your date.
âNoâ Leah shook her head. âDo you want to join me?â Leah gestured towards the seat and the girl slid into it.
âElleâ she smiled and placed her hand out for Leah to take.
âLeahâ the English girl grinned and squeezed Elleâs hand.
You couldnât even be angry with Leah, because she ended up marrying Elle a few years later. But how you ended up at the girl youâd went on 3 dates with wedding? Well, thatâs a whole different story that began not long after Elle and Leahâs first meeting and your and Leahâs last date.
-
You werenât overly upset things ended with Leah. In all honesty, you and Leah were probably too similar for it to work out between you, but the way it ended was a better story than just for things to filter out. Things just didnât work out and despite Leah being a nice person, and her values aligning with yours, you werenât letting that hold you back from trying again. You were just glad that you didnât rush into anything and stayed true to yourself.
You went back to work Monday morning, the tale of the most bizarre date anyone had ever heard of was the gossip of the office. Your colleagues found it hilarious, and it was great to have something to laugh about on the usually dull office floor.
Your job was no laughing matter, so in the moments when you all could have a laugh, you took them. You were top dog of your department. Head hunted from a tech company that didnât test you or your knowledge at all. While your job was quite secretive, due to the nature of it being at government level, you couldnât see yourself doing anything else ever again.
Youâd usually start at 7:30am and finish up around 5:30pm, which was why you were never truly pushed yourself to rush back into the dating scene. You had been quiet in work recently, but there was always things that needed to be done. The world changed so quickly and the cyber world? Even quicker.
âHeyâ Freddie mumbled over to you. You liked Freddie, but he got easily distracted.
âWhat?â You sighed back, knowing full well that he was about to annoy you for the next few minutes.
âIâm picking something up on my screen, any ideas?â He asked, pointing to his screen as you made your way over.
You squinted your eyes at what he was trying to show you.
âYeah, itâs nothingâ you said as the peering eyes of your other colleagues turned and went back to work. Only, as you said it, you pulled open a notes tab on Freddieâs computer and wrote him a note.
Either itâs nothing, or weâre catastrophically fucked
That does not comfort me Freddie typed back
You and Freddie worked in tandem and complete silence for the next few hours. Once you realised the threat had the potential to leave the British government catastrophically fucked, as suspected, you subtly alerted the higher ups of a vicious attempt of a software attack. These types of things always played out that only certain people needed to know all the details to avoid any important details being leaked.
You and Freddie worked for hours and with no sign of either of you leaving this office, even now at 1am. So you both decided to camp out for the night. It was a thing youâd both had to do several times since you started working here, but you both got on with each other and enjoyed the nights you stayed up late chatting about one thing or another while trying to not let the British governmentâs entire online entity be hacked.
âFancy running to the 24/7 and getting some snacks?â Freddie asked with a yawn.
Youâd both taken to the bean bags on the floor with your laptops sat on your laps. Endless coffee mugs and a few pizza boxes had started to scatter around the pair of you on the floor.
âMy eyes could do with a breakâ you nodded and rubbed them with your fists. âText me what you wantâ you added as you placed your laptop on the desk and managed to get yourself up off the beanbag.
Freddie text you his list and sent you over some money with this stupid GIF.
You strolled through the aisles of the nearest 24/7 shop and you thanked the heavens above that London had these types of shops. Youâd picked up all the things Freddie said he wanted and grabbed a couple of bits for yourself. You were struggling to hold everything due to this very convenient shop not having baskets of any kind. You were making your way back up the aisle when you came across the only other person here, apart from the staff, looking at the international section.
The girl was a good bit smaller than you, brunette and currently hunkered down in this 24/7 shop at 1:15am looking at the sweets on the shelf labelled Australia.
âLooking for suggestions?â Your over tired self decided to ask this girl.
She spun around and stood up straight to face you, with a smile that you felt like youâd earned with your line.
âDo you think you know Australian lollies better than an Australian person?â The clearly Australian girl asked.
âIn my defenceâ you began. âI didnât know you were Australianâ you chuckled.
âI would ask if you wanted a suggestion but I can see youâve already got your hands fullâ the girl smirked as you looked down at your very full arms and then shot your eyes back up to look at her.
âWorking late, we needed a breakâ you explained.
âWhat do you do thatâs got you still working at 1am?â She asked.
âUhâ you hesitated. You always had to be careful declaring what you did. Even though youâd told Leah what you did, a lot of the details of your job went undisclosed.
âI work in cyber security. Itâs mostly threat analysis and incident responseâ you explained.
âI understood maybe two of those wordsâ Steph laughed.
âThatâs alrightâ you chuckled. âJust an emergency at work tonightâ you said.
âSeems seriousâ the Australian girl smirked as she looked at the numerous items in your hands.
âSomething like thatâ you nodded and chuckled. âWhat are you looking for?â You asked the empty handed girl.
âI was just looking for Milo, but they donât have anyâ she said.
âWhatâs Milo?â You hummed.
âChocolate powder, the nicest hot chocolate everâ she replied, almost like she was embarrassed for you that you didnât know.
âMakes me think of homeâ she admitted before turning red.
âHave you been living in London long?â You quickly inputted and the girl didnât say it, but she appreciated you did that.
âA couple of years, around sixâ she nodded. âI just got back from Australia, I go back a few times a year. But I can never shift the jet lag quicklyâ she explained.
âMakes sense why youâre here at 1:30amâ you chuckled and the girl smiled. âOh, Iâm Y/n by the wayâ
âStephâ she replied. âIâd shake your hand, but I donât think you canâ she giggled.
âIf you give me a hand, Iâll buy you whatever you want on that shelfâ you nodded towards the Australian snack shelf.
The Aussie turned and grabbed something before taking some items out of your hands and helping you over to the till. The shop keeper packed them all in a bag for you and when you got to the shop door, you rooted out Stephâs chocolate bar and gave it to her.
âThank youâ she smiled.
âI best head back to the officeâ you mumbled and nodded your head towards the way of your building.
âIt was nice meeting youâ the girl said and subtly nodded the other way to indicate this was where she was leaving you.
âYou tooâ you smiled. âGood nightâ you said as you made your way back and the girl started walking her own way too.
âCould I get your number?â Steph shouted after a few seconds of walking in opposite directions. âOr are you too cyber safety conscious to give it to a complete stranger?â She chuckled.
âI think I can make an exceptionâ you grinned and walked back to the girl to input your numbers into the opposite phone. âIâll call youâ you added before saying your goodnights again and heading off.
You wondered if she asked for your number in a flirty way or just in a friendly way, but you didnât have time to properly think because you needed to get back to the office.
When you got back to the office, you wanted to tell Freddie about this amazing girl youâd just met. But when he updated you on the level of threat, you didnât have time. You split the snacks and got straight back to work.
-
Days passed, you and Freddie eventually got everything under control and back to normal. But the days were long and draining and you forgot about the girlâs number that was sat idle on your phone. Steph wanted to message you, but youâd said you would call her and she didnât want to seem eager. Or desperate.
What you didnât know about Steph, well actually there was a lot you didnât know, but she was newly single. She had recently split up with her long term partner and they had been engaged and living together in London. Steph was a professional footballer and lived with her teammate, Beth, and their dogs Calvin and Myle since the break up.
And maybe if you would have paid attention to anything Leah was telling you on your dates about football, or taken her up on coming to a match, you would have known Stephâs professional football career had led her to play for Arsenal too.
Donât worry, you eventually came to your senses and remembered the conversation with Steph in the shop that night/morning. Your brain had been so fried by work that you couldnât believe you still hadnât called her.
What got your attention was the shiny green hot chocolate powder tin in the shop youâd stopped into on your way home from the gym. On the front of it read Milo
It had been about a week since you met Steph. And you thought that was seven days too many that had gone by without calling her. So you bought a couple of tins of Milo hot chocolate powder, and called the girl when you were back in your car.
âHello?â Steph said when she answered. You called. She couldnât believe you actually called.
âHeyâ you smiled at the sound. âAre you busy?â You asked.
âSorry, who is this?â Steph mumbled into the phone.
âOh, uh, itâs Y/n. We met the other night at the-â
âIâm just messing with youâ Steph giggled and you let out a sigh of relief.
âHere I was buying you this Milo stuff and then thinking you didnât even remember meâ you chuckled.
âHoly shit, where did you find it?â Steph gasped.
âIt was in the shop close to my gym, I got you a couple of tins that should do you until you go back to Australia againâ you said.
âYou did?â Steph asked, trying not to let her brain melt at that.
âWhere can I drop them to?â You quizzed.
âIâm home right now, do you want to come over?â
âYeah sure, send me your addressâ and within seconds the girl had texted you her address.
You arrived at Stephâs door a little while later, not thinking too much about how her place was on your route to and from work. You got to the apartment building and a blonde girl with a small black fluffy dog held the door open for you.
âThanksâ you said to her.
She looked down at the bag full of hot chocolate tins in your hand before looking back up to you and smiled.
âNo problemâ she nodded, placed her dog on the ground and walked off.
You got to Stephâs front door and knocked on it. You were expecting the door to fully open when you heard the handle start to rattle, before you realised sheâd opened it with the latch still attached.
âUh, heyâ you stuttered out.
âHeyâ the Aussie said through the small crack in the door.
âDo you want me to just pass it through?â You asked, holding the bag up and through the gap.
âNo, you idiotâ Steph laughed. âDo you mind big dogs?â She asked and you realised the girl was currently holding back a giant ball of fluff behind her.
âNot at allâ you shook your head and she took a breath of relief.
She undid the door latch and fully opened it for you to step inside, continuing to hold back this massive fluffy dog who was practically running on air to try and get to you. Once you shut the door, Steph let him go and he immediately jumped on top of you, almost knocking you over.
âCalvin Catleyâ Steph shouted.
âHeâs alrightâ you reassured her as you fully embraced the dog.
Steph couldnât believe that you were stood in her apartment, playing with her dog, holding onto a bag full of Milo that youâd spontaneously picked up for her and rushed over to give it to her.
âDo you have time to stick around? I can make you a cupâ Steph gestured towards the bag as you looked up at her and away from the dog.
âIâve got timeâ you nodded. âI was expecting a cup of the best hot chocolate in the world to be made by a proper Aussieâ you chuckled and handed her the bag.
âWell, youâre in luckâ Steph smiled.
She walked off towards the kitchen with the bag and her dog pottered in after her, leaving you stood in the hall. The night you met Steph, you remembered on the walk back to your office building thinking that for someone suffering from jet lag, she still looked good. But now seeing her again when your brain wasnât fried, you realised good was an understatement. She was beautiful.
âAre you good?â Steph asked, a mug in each hand at the top of the hall.
âYeahâ you nodded. âI didnât know where to goâ you shrugged.
âHereâ Steph gestured you with her head to the door and you walked into her living room.
She handed you your cup of hot chocolate and she sat in anticipation waiting for your reaction. The Australian woman was overjoyed when your reaction was positive.
âThat is incredibleâ you hummed.
âI told youâ she shrugged playfully. âIâm really glad you calledâ Steph admitted.
âIâm sorry I didnât call soonerâ you said. âWork goes through stages of being crazy and you just caught me at a bad timeâ you explained.
âWhat did you say you did again?â Steph asked.
âCyber securityâ you reminded her as she nodded.
âOh yes, I remember nowâ she nodded. âThreat and responseâ she added.
âExactlyâ you chuckled. âWhat do you do?â You mumbled as you picked up the mug again and took a sip from it.
âI play footballâ Steph answered.
âThatâs coolâ you nodded. You felt bad for Steph and even Leah in that moment that their big job reveal was completed wasted on someone like you.
âThatâs why I go back to Australia so many times, in case youâre able to track my whereabouts on your computerâ Steph laughed and you rolled your eyes playfully.
âYou know, I dated a footballer very briefly beforeâ you chuckled as Steph giggled.
âOh yeah?â The Aussie asked, sipping from her mug.
âYeah, it was going really well and then one evening we were out for dinner and she told me that her soulmate was sitting at the table across from usâ you explained as Stephâs jaw dropped to the floor.
âOh my god, what did you say?â Steph gasped.
âI told her to go for itâ you shrugged. âIt was only our third dateâ
âIâd never be able to live down that embarrassmentâ Steph said before realising what sheâd said. âThat was shit of me to say, sorryâ she apologised.
âI think I got over it about five minutes after it happenedâ you smiled and Steph smiled back at you.
You were a very relaxed person, and in whatever context this was going to be, Steph needed someone like you in her life.
âWell, Iâm sorry that happened to youâ Steph reassured you. âYou are a good personâ she said.
âYou hardly know meâ you reminded her.
âWell, letâs change thatâ Steph smiled and you glanced down at your watch.
âI could do another cupâ you said, shaking your empty cup around as the girl willingly took it off you and went to make another cup for you both.
You found out that Steph had been engaged, she lived in this apartment with her friend and colleague, Beth and her dog. Steph had family all back in Australia, but nobody properly here except her Australian friends who also played football and her colleagues.
Steph told you about herself with very little prompting, but she really had to drag information out of you. It was due to you being a factual person and not speaking more than needed when explaining something. You also were sceptical of handing out personal details that could be used against you for ransom. Not that you were stupid enough to have anything personal in your passwords.
You could already take a guess that Stephâs passwords all consisted of the world Calvin.
Steph found out about you, about your friends, family, more about your job and your past relationships. She also came to the conclusion you were an awkward over explainer and you knew every fact there was to know about computers. You were terrible at flirting when your intentions were to flirt, but somehow you managed to pull it off. She found you charming and awkward, and fortunately for you, that was just her type.
âSo, is your party trick that you know weird facts about computers?â Steph teased.
âNot weird facts. Important factsâ You corrected her with a chuckle.
âYouâre such a nerdâ Steph grinned into her mug.
You couldnât get over how easy it was to talk to her. She was like this breath of fresh air that you felt you really needed in your life right now. On top of that, she was hot.
Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you politely apologised as you pulled it out. You were about to prove Steph even more correct on that nerd comment.
Freddie
Jumping on?
Mate?
Hello?
Hey man, this is tradition you are ruining
âShitâ you mumbled.
âEverything good?â Steph asked.
âI just completely lost track of time and blew my friend offâ you explained. âOur schedules are the same and we usually watch a movie or play vid-â you began before you stopped yourself.
âYou can say video gamesâ Steph grinned cheekily.
âVideo gamesâ you chuckled.
âWell, goâ Steph said. âI donât want to keep you from saving the world or stopping a zombie apocalypseâ
âThis was nice thoughâ you said and the girl nodded. âLet me take you out this weekend, are you free?â You asked.
âAfter my game on Saturday, Iâm free thenâ Steph replied.
âIâll pick you up from here around 6:30, howâs that?â You said.
âSounds greatâ Steph nodded.
âItâs a date thenâ you smiled.
-
Steph had told Beth about your date. Your words. Youâd labelled it as a date. Steph was excited about it, and so were you. It was exciting to be able to think about seeing Steph again and actually having a plan put together and not just hoping it would happen.
-
Unfortunately for Steph, Beth could never keep her mouth shut about anything. The team usually went out after every game day to celebrate or drink their sorrows, but Beth decided to tell everyone in the changing room post game about Stephâs absence.
âWhat time will I be expecting you two over then?â Leah asked the housemates as she swung an arm around each of their shoulder.
The team were meeting at Leahâs house for a few drinks before hitting the local nightclub. The usual spot where things would always get messy. It seemed as though everyone was carrying something on the squad, be it relationship problems, bad match results or contract issues. Some of the contract issues were so bad that Kim Little, the club captain, had to call in her sister who specialises in that area of law.
âOh Steffy wonât be joining usâ Beth fake pouted. âShes got a dateâ
âA date?â Leah smirked. âWho is he?â She asked.
âSheâ Beth corrected her as Leah raised an eyebrow in approval.
âItâs very newâ Steph explained. âWe met the day I came home from Australiaâ
âHappy for you, Catleyâ Leah grinned. âWhatâs she like?â Leah asked.
âVery sweetâ Steph hummed.
âTurned up at our door with Australian hot chocolate because the day they met Steph was crying the shop didnât have anyâ Beth chuckled.
âI was not cryingâ Steph clarified.
âIf it works out, bring her to my birthday in a few weeks. You still need to meet Elleâ Leah said, punching the Australian girl softly in the arm.
âIâll let you know if I need a plus oneâ Steph winked.
-
You and Steph met that Saturday evening. You picked her up at 6:30pm as agreed and told her it wouldnât be anything too fancy.
âHow was your match?â You asked.
âFineâ Steph mumbled. Theyâd drawn 1-1 with Everton. âI donât want to talk about it if thatâs okayâ she added. You were completely fine not talking about football.
âAbsolutelyâ you nodded. âI hate talking about work tooâ you said and she mumbled a response that was almost like she was grateful you didnât push her.
You took Steph bowling and after taking the hint that Steph wasnât too happy with the result of her football match, you let Steph win.
âAt least I can say I lost to a professional athleteâ you grinned, still sat on the chair as Steph stood in front of you.
âAnd the athlete you lost to doesnât even use their hands for her sportâ she teased, poking your nose.
âOuch, my egoâ you sighed playfully, putting your hand across your chest to indicate your heart hurt.
You didnât have an ego and you werenât competitive, at bowling. Steph liked that about you more than you realised in that moment.
The next time you and Steph went out, which was only a few days later, you went for breakfast on a morning she had off and you were starting late.
And a few days later, you and Steph caught a film at a cinema near your houses and you dropped Steph back to hers. Youâd been tempted throughout the very boring film to lean over and kiss her, but you didnât want your first kiss to be in the back of a cinema screen like you were teenagers. But Steph rested her head on your shoulder while you both watched the movie.
âBethâs away in Manchesterâ she informed you as you parked in Bethâs empty parking spot. âCome up, if you wantâ Steph challenged as she swiftly got out of the car and closed the passenger door.
Youâve never unbuckled your seatbelt so fast and scrambled out of your car so quickly before. But if you were honest, the past few weeks getting to know Steph had left you completely in awe of her. So you followed her to her apartment and to her living room where you both got lost in a steamy kiss. You were thankful you let this be your first kiss.
You spent that night in Stephâs place, but nothing further than that kiss and a cuddle happened. You and Steph were happy in your bubble, and were aware that your bubble was only big enough for the two of you. But you were both happy to not rush anything.
-
Within weeks, Steph and you made your relationship official. Steph wanted to be your girlfriend and you were more than happy to be the one to ask so you could both take that jump. You were regularly spending the night in each otherâs places. She would finally get to see your competitive nature when sheâd watch you play video games with Freddie, shouting down the headset at him which had Steph almost crying laughing.
Sheâd met Freddie in person too and youâd properly met Beth. You had to fix the footballerâs laptop after it stopped turning on and the two of them watched you at work, Steph enjoying it more than Beth, obviously. Beth just wanted her laptop back working, which you sorted for her.
You even ended up dragging Freddie to an Arsenal game. You thought Steph was great, even with your limited knowledge of the sport, which you were anxiously trying to improve to talk to her more about. All this time, you didnât think twice, or even once about the blonde youâd briefly dated also playing for Arsenal, because she was nowhere to be seen. Leah had picked up an injury and hadnât been training with the squad, so in Stephâs daily rambles about work, Leah never came up.
Maybe you should have remembered Leah told you Arsenal was the team she played for, but you barely remember anything about Leah. You were too hyper focused on Steph. The way it was always meant to be.
Steph had gone back to Australia to play football and you agreed to work on the night shift for the next two weeks for no reason in particular. Definitely not because it was easier to talk to her as your body clocks were running on the same time. It was the first time and you and Freddie had ever worked on different shifts, but he understood why he was being dumped.
You would split your work screens to have Stephâs match playing on one of them so you could talk to her about her game on your call that would come later that day. You noticed she was really happy when she was in Australia, and you figured if she ever wanted to move home that Australia would beat you in Stephâs mind.
You met a couple of Stephâs family on FaceTime and gave awkward conversation. You were just a nerd at heart and always had been, so even the fact you could talk to Steph was impressive for you. Her family liked you, and you would talk Steph through fixing her parentâs IT issues which they seemed to have a lot of in a 12 day period. You sometimes thought Steph made it up just to hear you speak smart tech jargon.
Steph loved being home in Australia and being close to her family and friends, her home. But she was shocked at how much she missed you. She couldnât concentrate on enjoying her time in Australia because she was anxious to get home to you and Calvin. The home she found away from home.
-
When Steph returned from Australia, you decided to surprise her by picking her up from the airport, with Calvin, who you had been watching in your house. Beth was away on international duty too, but Myle was with her other mum who was out injured.
Steph greeted you with a kiss and then dropped to the ground to greet her overexcited son. He had been good as gold for you while Steph was gone, fully aware of his surroundings in your house from multiple visits in the last while. He also knew you very well now and he was very comfortable with you.
âI missed youâ you happily admitted as the Aussie rose to face you again.
âI missed you moreâ she smiled, kissing you again.
âCalvinâ a collective group of girls shouted and ran over to play with Stephâs big dog. They all looked equally as tired as Steph did so you presumed they were her Australian teammates that also played club football in London.
âGuys, this is Y/nâ Steph introduced you to the group of seven girls.
They introduced themselves as Alanna, Caitlin, Charli, Ellie, Katrina, Kyra, and Sam. Four girls left very quickly and then another girl, Katie, arrived to collect Caitlin. Katie also played with Steph at Arsenal.
You were being quizzed by this Irish girl about an issue she was having on her computer, while Caitlin was questioning Steph about you. Caitlin and Katie had both known Steph a long time, and they were just glad that Steph had met someone that made her happy. They hadnât seen her happy in a very long time.
âMake sure you invite her out this weekend for Leahâs birthdayâ Caitlin reminded your girlfriend as the couple went to their car, bidding you, Steph and Calvin farewell.
âI know I already told you, but I really missed youâ you told the girl when you got in the car.
âWouldnât hurt to hear it a couple more timesâ Steph giggled and kissed you.
âI missed youâ you repeated. âNow all my other girlfriends are on their own trips away Iâm glad youâre backâ you teased.
âHey, donât tease. You know I get sensitiveâ Steph pouted, wrapping her arms around your neck.
âIâm sorryâ you mumbled and kissed her like you wanted to make sure she knew it was only her for you. âYou know itâs only youâ you added softly and the girl melted against you.
Things hadnât even shifted fast with you and Steph, it had just flowed naturally and easily. This was what people were talking about when they said relationships shouldnât be hard, because being with Steph was like heaven.
âStay with me tonight?â She asked and you nodded before continuing to kiss her.
Eventually Calvin had enough and poked his head between you both so you would start driving home. You drove to your house because Calvinâs bed was there as was the flowers youâd gotten Steph.
You and Steph got caught up, and you left her in bed to go to the kitchen. Steph had two days off until she was due back at work, so you took two days off to spend them purely doing nothing with her. While you were making her a cup of hot chocolate, she snuck up behind you and wrapped her arms around your waist, resting her head against your back.
âWhat did you think of my friends?â She asked.
âThey seemed niceâ you shrugged. âIâd trust your judgment of characterâ you added.
âItâs one of their birthdays this weekend and sheâs having a party. Would you want to come with me?â She queried as you turned and handed her the mug.
âWeâre getting quite serious arenât we?â You chuckled as the girl smiled before giggling.
âI guess we areâ she nodded before kissing you softly.
âIâm happy to go if thatâs what you wantâ you replied, stroking her cheek with your thumb and pressing a kiss to her forehead. âDid I make it right?â You asked, nodding to the mug.
âItâs perfectâ Steph said.
âLike youâ you added.
âGod, you can be such a dorkâ Steph laughed before she jumped up onto the countertop and wrapped her legs around your waist.
-
The weekend rolled around and you found yourself in a taxi on the way to Stephâs friends birthday party. If you were honest, you didnât think to ask Steph whose birthday party it was because the way she phrased the question, made it sound like it was one of the girls that youâd met in the airportâs party.
âHere, give me your jacket. Iâll go put it in the cloakroomâ you mumbled to your girlfriend as she handed it off to you.
âCome and find me when youâve finished, donât wander off trying to buy people drinksâ she pressed a kiss to your cheek and headed off in the opposite direction to you.
She located her friends and made her way to them, keeping her eyes firmly planted on the door that sheâd came through so she could spot you.
âI thought you were bringing Y/nâ Caitlin hummed as she shoved Stephâs arm.
âI didâ Steph shoved her back. âSheâs sorting my jacketâ she explained.
âSteffyâ Leah shouted and swept her up in a hug. âThanks for comingâ the England captain grinned.
âYou know I was left with no choice. You only reminded everyone a thousand timesâ Steph giggled.
âCome on, let me introduce you to Ellenâ Leah said, pulling Steph towards her girlfriend.
You came into the main bar and looked around, not being able to spot Steph anywhere. You got quite anxious then, you never really liked nightclubs or bars. But then Caitlin waved at you and you relaxed a bit, knowing Steph must be over there.
âGuys, this is Y/n, Stephâs girlfriendâ Caitlin introduced you to a group of girls sitting and standing around the table.
You greeted them with a nod of your head and a smile before turning back to Caitlin.
âDo you know where Steph is?â You asked, quietly.
âJust over there with the birthday girlâ Caitlin replied, pointing you over to a darker area of this place where Steph was stood. You could make her out but not the two people she was talking to.
âOh there she is nowâ Steph beamed as you walked towards them and both Elle and Leah turned to catch a glimpse of you.
âNo wayâ Elle gasped quietly.
You were too busy staring at the ground before you finally got to Stephâs side and slipped your arm around her waist for some sense of comfort. Only when you looked up to be eye to eye with Elle and Leah you almost could have collapsed, so you gripped Steph tighter.
âY/n, this is Leah and her girlfriend, Elle. Guys this is Y/n, my girlfriendâ Steph smiled and waited for a handshake, a hug, a hello, a breath. Nothing.
âWellâ Leah eventually said.
âAm I missing something?â Steph asked.
âMe or you?â Leah asked, eyes firmly on you as you sighed.
âDo you remember the story I told you about the footballer-â
âNoâ Steph breathed out. âLeah was that date? And Elle was that girl?â She frowned.
âYeahâ you nodded.
âSo you dated?â Steph asked.
âDid we even?â Leah said with a chuckle.
âNot reallyâ you smirked. âI see you were right, anywayâ you glanced at Elle.
Despite Leah coming with a squeaky clean reputation when you were dating, Leah could get anybody she wanted. Steph knew that, hell, everybody knew that. But how could you find her and Leah attractive when they were so different to each other?
âNo hard feelings, yeah?â Leah stuck her hand out.
âOf course notâ you shook your head and shook her hand. âI think we both ended up better offâ you said quietly to the girl, both of you still gripping your own partnerâs waists.
After the brief encounter, you got on with your night. You and Steph had a good time, drinking, dancing and you were getting to know her friends more. But Steph seemed awkward since the conversation with Leah. Her eyes drifted towards the English girl a lot during the night, even though Leah was too busy looking at her own girlfriend.
âEverything alright?â You asked, fingertips gripping Stephâs hips.
âIâm a bit tiredâ Steph mumbled. âCan we go?â
âCourse we canâ you nodded.
Both of you said goodbye to the group and you and Leah shared another laugh before Stephâs hand slid into yours. You grabbed your coats and jumped straight into a taxi back to Stephâs house.
Steph headed straight for her bedroom when you got home, starting to take her makeup off and get ready for bed. You went to the kitchen and waited for a few minutes for Steph to come out to you, but she never did. You made her the usual hot chocolate before bed and brought it into the bedroom. She was tucked into bed, wearing a baggy t-shirt that you recognised as a t-shirt that had went missing from your wardrobe a few weeks ago.
âUh, I made you thisâ you mumbled as the girl looked up from her phone.
âThanksâ she said and flicked her eyes to her bedside table to let you know thatâs where she wanted you to put it.
âDo you want me to go home?â You asked.
âWhat?â The girl frowned, pulling the covers off of her and standing up out of bed.
âIs it too weird for you? With Leah?â You sighed. âI genuinely just didnât put it all together because-â
âItâs not weirdâ Steph shook her head. âBut sheâs Leah, you know? I donât get how you would think Iâm better than herâ she sniffled.
âAre you joking?â You asked, slipping your hand into hers and cupping her cheek with your free hand. âIâm in love with you, Stephâ
âWhat?â The girl said and her eyes went wide.
âI went on a on a few dates with her, and never thought twice about her when we finished. We never even kissed let alone anything else. I knew from the second I met you that I wanted you in my life and the way I have you in my life, as my girlfriend, is something I thought was only going to be in my imagination at first. You are the most beautiful woman Iâve ever met and the kindest person I know. And thatâs why I am in love with youâ you blurted out.
âI love you tooâ Steph cried and smiled simultaneously. âYouâve made a thing I was so afraid to do again be so easyâ she added.
âDo me a favour?â You asked and the girl nodded. âNever feel like youâre going to have to start over again, because youâre it for meâ you pressed your lips against hers before eventually getting into bed.
-
A little under four years later, you and Steph settled into a booth at the restaurant she had picked for your four year anniversary dinner. You ordered a bottle of wine, Stephâs favourite, to the table and then began to scan the menus. The waiter came, took your order and scooted off to leave you and Steph be with your wine.
âSo Leahâs wedding?â Steph asked.
âI applied for our visas yesterdayâ you nodded.
Leah and Elle were getting married in New York and you and Steph had been invited to attend. You had become very friendly with the couple, often going out on double dates when Elle was in England. Youâd booked time off work to go to New York for the wedding and then to Australia to see Stephâs family. You and Steph had been happily dating for exactly four years and you couldnât have been happier. She moved out of Bethâs place and in with you a few weeks after Leahâs birthday party. She retired from football last year and was doing a lot of media work now.
Steph, of course, knew everything about your job now and the sensitive nature that came with it. So, you kept your relationship very low key on social media. You didnât have any social media apart from WhatsApp and Steph would argue that WhatsApp wasnât even included in that.
The waiter came back with your food and your New York planning came to a halt for a few brief seconds. You tucked into the food and got straight back to planning, moving on now to what you were going to do in Australia, and who you had to meet. Steph always had a long list of people to meet when sheâd go back to Australia.
You spoke to Stephâs family just a few weeks ago, giving her parentâs a call one late night at work which was their morning time.
âHey, I have a weird one for youâ you said just after the waiter took away the plates and youâd ordered desserts.
âGo onâ Steph smiled.
âI know this might sound madâ you began. âBut I think my soulmate is sitting over thereâ you finished, nodding your head in Stephâs direction but your eyes were going beyond her.
Steph frowned at you before turning her body to catch a glimpse of this girl that you believed was your soulmate. But when Steph turned back towards you, you were still sat in your seat, your index finger pinning a small black box to the table.
âAs I was sayingâ you smiled. âI think my soulmate is sitting over there and I wanted to know if she wanted me to continue what Iâm about to do in this very public placeâ you chuckled anxiously.
âSheâd want you to continueâ Steph nodded and wiped her eye with a tear that was threatening to escape.
âI spent a long time thinking soulmates were stupid. But everything with you has always just felt easy. You know I love you and our life together. And I choose you, in this life and in every life. So, in saying thatâ you said, popping open the box and slipping out of your seat and onto one knee. âWill you marry me?â
âOf course I willâ she cried and pulled you to your feet. You slipped the ring on to her finger and she pressed a hard kiss to your lips.
âNow, as requestedâ the waiter said. âTwo cups of Milo hot chocolateâ he added, sliding a cup in front of you both.
âIâm so lucky that youâre mineâ Steph said, holding your hand.
Patri Guijarro x Female!Reader (Marichalar y BorbĂłn)
Word: ~6,1k
The transition from a life of ancient, suffocating Castilian protocol to the high-intensity, sweaty locker rooms of the Joan Gamper Training Ground had been the hardest achievement of your life.
At twenty-four, you had the silhouette of an absolute warriorâtall, broad-shouldered, exceptionally athletic, and carrying an intricate tapestry of modern tattoos that stretched down both of your arms and across the expanse of your back. In the glossy pages of ÂĄHola! or Vanity Fair, you were officially registered with a long, unyielding string of historical names that ended in Marichalar y BorbĂłn. You were the younger sister of Victoria Federica and FroilĂĄn, a direct grandchild of the King Emeritus, and a resident of the upper stairs of the Spanish aristocracy.
But on the pitch for Barcelona FemenĂ, none of that existed. You had dropped the heavy, grand titles the moment you signed your senior contract. The back of your blue-and-purple kit simply read Y/N. The girls called you by various uncreative locker room nicknamesâLa Flaca, Tatuada, or just Petita (catalan slang for baby). To them, you were just a remarkably talented, silent, and incredibly humble utility midfielder who had spent three years fighting through the youth academy before finally securing a spot in Pere Romeuâs first-team squad.
The squad had welcomed you with open arms. Mapi LeĂłn had instantly taken you to her favorite tattoo parlor in GrĂ cia; Alexia Putellas had given you a quiet, nod of structural approval after your first training session; and Engen had already invited you to three different coffee shops in the city center.
Everyone was perfect. Except for Patricia Guijarro.
For some utterly inexplicable reason, the vice-captain had treated you like a personal infection from the moment you walked through the door. If you made a sharp, clean pass during a rondo, Patri would cross her arms and complain about the trajectory. If you sat next to her at the breakfast bar, she would suddenly discover she was finished with her oatmeal and walk away. She was cold, intensely hostile, and treated you with a sharp, biting antipathy that made your first three months with the senior team feel like a psychological military drill.
"Don't take it personally, Petita " Mariona had told you back in September, leaning against the ice bath. "Patri is just... protective of the midfield rhythm. She thinks the new generation lacks the tactical patience. Sheâll warm up to you."
But she didn't warm up. If anything, her silence grew heavier as the autumn rains rolled into Catalonia.
The shift happened on a miserable, dark Tuesday evening in November.
Two days prior, you had suffered a remarkably embarrassing incident in the underground car park of your private house. Distracted by a phone call from your sister Victoria (just for gossiping about the next it girl drama. Boring I know) you had reversed your heavy Audi RS Q8 directly into a solid concrete structural pillar. The impact hadn't shattered the car, but it had completely obliterated the right wing-mirror and left a massive, screeching scrape down the passenger door that required it to be towed to a specialized workshop in Sant Cugat for the week.
Which meant, for the first time in your adult life, you were entirely dependent on the Barcelona metropolitan transport network.
"You look like a burglar," Ingrid Engen chuckled as you pulled a black woollen beanie low over your eyes and wrapped a heavy scarf around your throat in the changing room after evening training.
"I have a cold face, Ingrid," you mumbled, slipping your heavy backpack over your shoulders.
You walked out of the training ground gates, your hands shoved deep into the pockets of your oversized streetwear coat. The rain was spitting against the pavement as you began the long, wet fifteen-minute walk toward the Sant Feliu de Llobregat tram station, planning to transfer to the underground Metro line at Zona UniversitĂ ria.
Suddenly, the sharp, aggressive beep of a car horn cut through the sound of the rain.
A sleek, grey Cupra Formentor pulled up smoothly against the kerb beside you. The passenger window rolled down, revealing the sharp, dark profile of Patri Guijarro. She had her training jacket zipped to her chin, her dark eyes looking at you through the rain with her typical, unyielding squint.
"Where is your car?" Patri asked, her tone flat, business-like, and thoroughly devoid of warmth.
"In the shop," you replied, stopping on the pavement. "Mirror took a hit."
Patri stared at you for three long seconds. She looked at the rain bouncing off your beanie, then at the empty, dark stretch of the road ahead. With a soft, irritated sigh, she leaned over and pushed the passenger door open. "Get in. Iâm not having the medical team complain that la petita caught pneumonia because she doesn't know how to call an Uber."
You hesitated for a second before sliding into the warm, leather interior. The car smelled beautifully of expensive vanilla air freshener and high-quality espresso leather. "Thanks."
"Whatever," Patri muttered, clicking the car into drive and pulling back onto the main road. "Where am I dropping you? Sant Feliu? Most of the academy kids have apartments near the park."
Everyone in the team assumed you lived a perfectly standard, comfortable life. Your salary as a newly promoted first-year senior player wasn't the highest on the squad, but it certainly wasn't poorâit was more than enough to afford a nice, modern two-bedroom flat in the suburban football bubble of Sant Feliu or Les Corts.
"No," you said softly, adjusting your seatbelt. "Pedralbes, please. Near the old monastery."
Patriâs foot practically stuttered on the accelerator pedal. She glanced at you, her eyebrows shooting up beneath her dark fringe. Pedralbes was the most expensive, exclusive, and historically aristocratic neighborhood in the entire cityâa place where old Spanish fortunes and international diplomats lived behind massive, high-security stone walls.
"Pedralbes?" Patri repeated, her tone dripping with suspicion. "You're renting a room there?"
"Something like that," you murmured, keeping your eyes fixed on the rain-streaked windshield.
Ten minutes later, Patriâs Cupra cleared the winding, tree-lined avenue of the upper district. Following your quiet directions, she pulled up in front of a massive, modern two-story chalet hidden behind automated iron gates. The property was spectacularâa minimalist architectural marvel of white stone, expansive glass panels, a massive visible outdoor swimming pool illuminated in soft blue light, and a manicured garden that required a professional crew to maintain.
Patri stopped the car completely, her jaw dropping open slightly as she looked through the iron bars at the luxury estate. "This is your... room?"
"Itâs my house," you said, offering a small, polite smile as you grabbed your backpack. "Thanks for the lift, Patri. See you at tomorrowâs session."
You slipped out into the rain before she could utter a single word, the heavy iron gates clicking shut behind you. Patri sat in her idling car for five full minutes, staring at the luxury chalet, her mind violently attempting to calculate how a twenty-four-year-old backup midfielder on a basic senior contract could afford a multi-million-euro estate in the richest postcode of Catalonia.
The calculation didn't take long.
The next evening, sitting on her sofa with a cup of chamomile tea, Patriâs intense curiosity finally broke her discipline. She opened her laptop and typed your full, registered legal name into the advanced search engineâthe name she had seen on the official club insurance documents during pre-season screening.
Y/N de Marichalar y BorbĂłn.
The screen instantly exploded with thousands of high-definition society photographs.
There you were at age fifteen, standing on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Madrid next to the King of Spain. There you were at age eighteen, wearing a pristine, custom-tailored equestrian outfit alongside your mother, the Infanta Elena. There you were in dozens of paparazzi shots in Marbella, standing on luxury yachts with your sister Victoria Federica, looking effortlessly wealthy, tanned, and elite.
Patri completely froze, her tea cooling in her hands as her brain short-circuited. You weren't just a rich girl from uptown. You were literal Spanish royalty. You were a member of La Casa de BorbĂłn.
From that day onward, Patriâs hostility vanished, replaced by an entirely new, incredibly irritating brand of psychological warfare. She realized why you never used your surnames and why you cringed whenever the media tried to dig into your personal lifeâyou just wanted to be normal. So, naturally, she decided to tease you mercilessly.
"Hey, Alteza" Patri whispered with a wicked, teasing grin the following Friday, leaning against your locker as you adjusted your shin guards. "Do I need to bow before we start the rondo, or can we just stick to a royal handshake?"
You stiffened, your jaw clenching as you pulled your socks up. "Shut up, Patri."
"Come on, Petita" she laughed, her tone light and comically mischievous as she nudged your shoulder with her elbow. "Should we ask the kitchen staff to prepare some caviar for your post-training recovery? I wouldn't want your aristocratic palate to suffer from the standard protein shakes."
"I said drop it, Guijarro," you muttered, your voice tight as you stood up and walked out to the pitch, your blood boiling. You absolutely loathed when people treated you like a porcelain doll or a political statement. You had worked yourself to the bone to earn your place on this grass, and her endless royal jokes felt like a mockery of your effort.
The explosion occurred three weeks later, in the dead of December.
You had woken up on the wrong side of the bed entirely. Your sister Victoria had leaked a private family argument to the press, your bruised rib from a tackle against Madrid CFF was screaming in pain, and the weather was a bleak, freezing grey. You walked onto the training pitch looking like a thundercloud, your usual quiet, polite demeanor completely replaced by a tense, volatile silence.
During the tactical half-pitch match, you intercepted a loose ball, your footwork clean as you turned out of pressure. Patri came flying in, a bit too fast, her shoulder checking yours with an uncharacteristic roughness that sent you sprawling onto the wet grass.
The whistle blew.
"Careful there, Princesa" Patri chuckled, extending a hand to pull you up, her dark eyes sparkling with what she thought was harmless banter. "Don't want to stain the royal linen."
Something inside your brain snapped.
You ignored her hand, pushing yourself up from the grass with a terrifying, athletic fluidness. You stepped directly into her personal space, your tall, broad frame completely towering over her as you glared down into her face. Your hazel eyes were dark with a raw, unadulterated fury that instantly silenced the entire training pitch.
"Listen to me, Patricia," you siseed, your voice low, steady, and vibrating with a lethal intensity that made Patriâs smile instantly vanish. "I have spent five years bleeding for this badge. I take the same hits, I run the same kilometers, and I earn a fraction of what you make. My family is not my fault, and I am sick to death of you using my life as a punchline because you don't have the decency to respect me as a teammate. If you have a problem with my football, tell me to my face. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut and keep your stupid jokes away from my name. Am I making myself clear?"
The silence on the pitch was deafening. Alexia froze with a ball under her foot; Mapi stared with her mouth wide open; and Patri looked as if she had just been struck by a physical bolt of lightning. Her cheeks flushed a deep, ashamed crimson, her dark eyes widening in absolute shock as she stared up at your furious expression.
You didn't wait for a response. You turned around, walked directly off the pitch, and disappeared into the tunnel.
At the end of the day, after everyone had left the facility, you were sitting alone on the wooden bench of the empty locker room, slowly wrapping a bandage around your swollen ankle. The silence of the room was broken by the soft click of the door.
Patri walked in. She had changed into her civilian clothesâa simple black jumper and jeansâand she looked remarkably small, her usual confident, vice-captain swagger completely gone. She stopped a few feet away from your bench, her hands tucked into her pockets, her head tilted down.
"Y/N," she said softly, her voice thick with a genuine, profound sincerity. "I'm sorry."
You didn't look up from your ankle. "Go home, Patri."
"No, please, look at me Petita" she pleaded, taking a small step closer.
You sighed, raising your eyes to meet hers.
"I was an idiot," Patri said, her dark eyes holding yours with a raw, vulnerable honesty. "I didn't... I didn't realize how much it was hurting you. I thought we were just banting. The truth is... I was hostile to you at the start because you were so perfect, so disciplined, and so naturally good that it intimidated me. And then, when I found out who you were, I used the jokes as a shield because... because when youâre near me, I lose my focus. Iâm genuinely sorry, Y/N. I respect you more than anyone on this pitch. Please don't hate me."
The honesty of her confession caught you completely off guard. The hard, icy defense around your chest softened slightly, your breath leaving you in a long, quiet sigh. "I don't hate you, Patri. I just want to be your teammate. Not a BorbĂłn or some kind of joke of the Royalty."
"You're my teammate," Patri smiled faintly, a soft, incredibly tender expression washing over her features. "And... you're a very beautiful and hot teammate, if I'm allowed to say that Petita"
You blinked, a sudden, unfamiliar heat rising to your cheeks. "What?"
"Nothing," Patri squeaked quickly, her face turning pink as she adjusted her collar. "Just... see you tomorrow Petita"
From that day on, Patriâs behavior shifted entirely. She stopped the jokes completely, but her attempts to be a better person invariably degenerated into the most intense, obvious flirting you had ever witnessedâexcept you were entirely, comically clueless to it.
When she would bring you a premium cup of specialty coffee in the mornings, lingering by your locker to compliment the new line of tattoos on your forearm, you would simply assume she was being an exceptionally polite vice-captain. When she would touch your waist to guide you through the corridor, her fingers lingering against your skin, you would think it was just her standard, touchy Mallorca upbringing.
It didn't help that the entire worldâand the teamâassumed you were fiercely straight. Because your sister Victoria was constantly dragging you to high-society events where paparazzi photographed you standing next to wealthy young Dukes or aristocratic horse-riders, the locker room gossip always revolved around which handsome Spanish billionaire you were going to marry.
You never corrected them. You just let them talk, completely content to keep your private preferences behind your high stone walls.
The underlying tension finally cracked during a team dinner at La CĂşpula Garraf, a stunning restaurant perched high on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean sea, about thirty minutes outside the city.
The dinner had been beautiful, filled with seafood and laughter, but as the squad began to leave the venue at midnight, Patri discovered a catastrophic problem. The front right tyre of her Cupra had struck a sharp piece of slate on the coastal road, leaving it completely flat and hissed out against the gravel.
"Bloody hell," Patri groaned, kicking the rubber tyre in frustration under the dim yellow streetlights. "I don't even know where the jack is in this model."
"Call the insurance, Guijarro," Mapi laughed from her own car window, pulling away. "We have training at ten tomorrow!"
The other cars filed out one by one, assuming Patri would handle it. You stood by the passenger side of your newly repaired Audi, watching Patri look thoroughly lost as she stared at the wheel. With a soft chuckle, you pulled off your expensive leather jacket, tossed it into your front seat, and walked over to her car.
"Move over, Patri," you teased gently, rolling up the sleeves of your white linen shirt, revealing the dark, intricate tattoos wrapping around your powerful biceps. "Get the spare out of the boot."
For the next fifteen minutes, Patri stood completely frozen against the bonnet, her breath catching in her throat as she watched you work. There was something intensely, violently attractive about the way you handled the heavy iron tools. Your muscles rippled under the thin linen shirt as you easily loosened the lug nuts, lifted the heavy chassis of the car with the jack, and swung the spare tyre into place with a fluid, athletic strength that looked entirely effortless. The soft coastal breeze lifted the strands of your hair, your sharp profile illuminated by the car headlights.
"Done," you said, tightening the last nut with a sharp twist of the wrench before standing up, wiping a streak of black grease from your forearm. "You're good to go."
Patri didn't move. She was staring at you, her dark eyes wide, her chest heaving slightly as a powerful, dangerous wave of attraction crashed through her core. She is hetero, Patriâs brain screamed at her in warning. She is a royal princess who marries Dukes. Do not do this to yourself.
"Y/N," Patri whispered, her voice uncharacteristically thick as she stepped closer into your space, her fingers reaching out to gently wipe a speck of dirt from your jawline. Her touch was warm, lingering against your skin for a fraction of a second too long. "Thank you. Really."
"No worries," you smiled clumsily, entirely missing the thick, romantic gravity of the moment as you turned to grab your jacket. "Drive safe."
The delusion that you were heterosexual met a very sudden, comical death two weeks later in the Joan Gamper changing rooms.
The girls were sitting around the central island after a strenuous tactical analysis session. Cata Coll was scrolling through her phone, looking at a celebrity gossip page.
"Hey, Petita" Cata called out, holding up a picture of you at a charity gala in Madrid, standing next to a very handsome, blonde-haired polo player in a pristine tuxedo. "Is this the new boyfriend? The media says heâs the heir to a banking fortune in Seville. He looks remarkably posh."
You glanced at the screen while pulling a fresh training shirt over your head. You let out a loud, snorting laugh. "What? Ălvaro? Bloody hell, no. Thatâs my first cousin. We literally shared a sandbox in San SebastiĂĄn when we were five. Heâs like a brother to me."
"Ah, the royal incest rumors begin," Alexia teased from the corner.
"Heâs not my type anyway," you murmured casually, walking over to your locker to grab your hair tie.
"What is your type then, Princesa?" Mariona asked with a smirk. "A Duke? A Count? A tennis player?"
You paused, leaning your shoulder against the metal locker. You looked across the room, your eyes scanning the space until they accidentally landed on a poster of a famous international women's fashion campaign on the wall, featuring a stunning, dark-haired model in an open suit jacket.
"Honestly?" you said, your voice perfectly casual, calm, and thoroughly unbothered. "If a girl doesn't have enough edge to look good in a tailored leather harness or a sharp tuxedo, Iâm probably not going to look twice. And she needs to be able to handle a proper coastal drive without panicking over a flat tyre."
The entire locker room went completely, utterly silent.
Cata Coll froze mid-bite into her protein bar; Alexiaâs eyebrows shot into her hairline; and Patri Guijarro literally stopped breathing, her brain experiencing a violent, catastrophic short-circuit as the words processed through her system.
She isn't hetero.
Patri stared at you, her face going through four different shades of crimson as her heart began to hammer against her ribs like a manic percussionist. You were queer. You liked women. You liked girls with edge. And you had just explicitly referenced the flat tyre incident from Garraf.
Before anyone could utter a syllable, you tied your hair into a neat bun, grabbed your water bottle, and walked out to the medical room, entirely oblivious to the absolute emotional nuclear bomb you had just dropped in the changing quarters.
The catalyst for the actual domestic shift arrived via a premium household appliance.
You had a profound, borderline clinical dependency on high-quality morning espresso. To satisfy this, you had spent an absurd amount of money on a limited-edition, cast-iron KitchenAid artisan espresso machine in a stunning imperial red, which had been delivered to your Pedralbes chalet that Thursday.
Patri, who was a notorious coffee fanatic, had seen a brief, five-second video you posted on your private Instagram story showing the machine pulling a perfect, velvety shot of crema.
"Oye," Patri whispered that afternoon, cornering you by the hydration station after training. Her voice was slightly nervous, her fingers playing with the edge of her training shirt. "That... that kitchen setup you posted. The red iron machine. Is that the dual-boiler artisan model?"
"Yeah," you smiled proudly, your eyes lighting up. "Imported it last week. The pressure stability is unbelievable."
"Can you... I mean, would you show it to me?" Patri asked, her dark eyes looking up at you through her lashes with a sudden, intense vulnerability. "I've been thinking about upgrading my kitchen and I want to see how the steam wand handles texturing."
You blinked, completely clueless. "Oh, sure! I can take some high-definition photos of the internal group head and text them to you tonight if you want?"
Patri let out a soft, defeated groan, burying her face in her hands for a brief second before looking back up at you with an expression of pure, unadulterated exasperation. "Y/N. I don't want photos of the group head. I am asking you to invite me to your house to drink coffee with you. Idiota."
You froze, the gears in your brain finally turning as the realization hit you. A slow, warm, and remarkably shy smile spread across your face, your cheeks turning a beautiful shade of pink. "Oh. Right. Well... my afternoon is completely free. If you want to follow my car now?"
"Yes," Patri said instantly, her voice firm. "Letâs go."
The afternoon at the Pedralbes chalet was the quietest, most comfortable hours you had experienced all year.
You had pulled two flawless double-shots of a specialized Ethiopian roast, and the two of you had moved from the modern kitchen to the massive, plush L-shaped sofa in the living room. The thick glass windows looked out over the blue water of the pool, the winter sun creating a soft, silver light across the hardwood floors.
You had been talking about tactical transitions for an hour, but the sheer, overwhelming exhaustion of three consecutive match-weeks finally caught up to both of you. The conversation slowed down to quiet, sleepy murmurs.
"Iâm just... five minutes," Patri yawned, her head dropping heavily against the soft cushions of the sofa, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Mmm," you agreed, your own eyelids feeling like lead as you pulled a heavy, grey cashmere blanket over both of your legs.
When Patri woke up two hours later, the room had gone completely dark, the only illumination coming from the blue lights of the garden pool outside.
She didn't move. She couldn't.
You had shifted during your sleep, your tall, athletic frame completely curled around her side. Your long arms were wrapped securely around Patriâs waist, pulling her back firmly against your chest in a heavy, protective lock. Patri was tucked against you like a little bearâcompletely enveloped in your warmth, her head nestled perfectly right beneath your chin, the faint scent of your expensive woodsmoke perfume filling her lungs.
Patriâs heart did a slow, beautiful flip in her chest. She carefully turned her head within your embrace, looking at your sleeping face in the dim light. You looked so soft, so entirely detached from the heavy titles and the royal expectations. Slowly, deliberately, Patri reached out and let her fingers rest against your tattooed wrist, holding onto you in the quiet dark.
After that evening, the atmosphere between the two of you turned thoroughly suspicious.
Patri became intensely attentive. She would arrive at training early just to walk into the facility with you; she would instinctively touch your lower back whenever you were standing in the tactical circle; and her eyes followed you across the pitch with a fierce, protective focus that didn't escape the rest of the squad. You, in turn, had grown remarkably close to her, always ensuring her favorite snacks were saved in the dining hall and leaving space for her next to you on the team bus.
The girls definitely noticed. Intensely suggestive looks were exchanged between Alexia and Irene Paredes whenever you two walked past, but out of respect for your privacy, nobody said a single word aloud.
The confrontation happened a week later, after a tense training session where Patri had been strangely cold and snapping at you during the defensive drills.
You had stayed late, waiting until the locker room was completely empty before cornering her by the medical ice machines. You blocked her exit with your tall frame, your arms crossed over your chest, your face stern.
"What is your problem today, Nena?" you demanded, your hazel eyes narrowing. "You've been throwing daggers at me since eight this morning. What did I do?"
"Nothing!" Patri snapped, trying to brush past you, but you didn't move an inch. She let out an frustrated breath, her dark eyes flashing with a sudden, volatile heat. "Fine! You want to know? I was annoyed because I had to spend the entire morning listening to Ona talk about how her brother wants an introduction to you at the Christmas gala. She was talking about how perfect you two would look together because heâs a 'proper gentleman' from Vilassar de Mar. It irritated me, okay?"
You stared at her, completely dumbfounded, before a sudden, beautiful realization washed over your brain. "Patri... are you jealous?"
"Yes, I am bloody jealous!" Patri shouted, her voice echoing slightly against the tiled walls. She stepped closer, her chest heaving as she looked up into your face, all her defenses completely collapsing. "I am jealous because I am completely, utterly in love with you, Y/N. I spend every single day trying to pretend that I don't want to hold your hand in front of the cameras, or that I don't want to spend every weekend sleeping on your sofa. I am crazy about you, and it drives me insane when people think you belong to some posh Madrid world that doesn't see how incredible you actually are."
The raw, passionate honesty of her words sent a violent shockwave straight through your core. You didn't hesitate. You reached out, your long, tattooed fingers gently catching her jawline, halting her breath.
"Patri," you whispered, your voice incredibly soft, full of a deep, emotional warmth. "Ona's brother means absolutely nothing to me. I told you... I only look at girls who can handle the coastal road."
Patriâs breath hitched. Before she could process the words, you leaned down, your mouth catching hers in a deep, extraordinarily sweet, and tender kiss.
Her lips were soft, parting instantly under yours with a quiet, desperate gasp as her arms flew around your neck, pulling you down until her body was completely flush against yours. The kiss tasted of old hostility turned into pure, consuming devotion, a quiet promise made in the empty corners of the training ground. When you finally pulled back, Patriâs eyes were dark, a beautiful, completely dazed smile touching her lips.
"I want something serious with you, Petita" she murmured, her fingers tangling in the hairs at the nape of your neck. "No games."
"Good," you whispered, kissing her nose. "Because I don't do games."
From that day forward, the two of you became entirely inseparable, though you maintained a highly disciplined level of discretion for the media.
You developed a private lifestyle that belonged only to the two of you. You would go for late-night seafood dinners in small, hidden restaurants along the Costa Brava; you took long, quiet afternoon siestas (nap) wrapped in cashmere blankets at the Pedralbes chalet; and you spent your weekends escaping to small, isolated rural hotels in the mountains of Girona where no paparazzi could follow.
The domestic integration happened quickly. You had already taken Patri to a quiet, highly secured private lunch in Madrid to meet your mother, the Infanta Elena, and your sister Victoria. To Patriâs absolute shock, the royal family had been remarkably casualâVictoria had spent two hours asking Patri for hair product recommendations, and your mother had simply been thrilled that you had found someone who kept you grounded and happy.
In November, Patri returned the gesture, flying you to Mallorca for a long weekend to meet her family. Sitting on the sun-drenched terrace of her parents' home, drinking local wine and eating homemade ensaimadas, you felt a sense of belonging that no royal palace could ever replicate.
"They like you," Patri whispered, her hand slipping into yours under the wooden table as her father laughed at a joke you made about your Audiâs suspension.
"I like them too," you smiled, kissing her cheek. "Theyâre real."
As December rolled around, the reality of the Christmas holidays brought a significant, highly complicated conversation.
"Come to Madrid for Christmas Eve," you said one evening, lying across the bed in your chalet, your head resting on Patriâs stomach as she stroked your hair. "My family is hosting the private dinner at the house. I want you there."
Patri paused, her fingers freezing in your hair. "Baby... thatâs... thatâs the Royal Palace circle. The King will be there. Your grandfather will be there. Thatâs too much protocol. My parents would lose their minds if they knew I was eating turkey next to the crown princesses."
"Then invite them too," you said simply, turning around to look up at her face. "The dinner is entirely private, Patri. No press, no foreign dignitaries. Just family. If your parents and your brother want to fly in from Mallorca, Iâve already cleared five rooms in the guest wing. I want our people together."
The sheer, staggering generosity of the offerâthe fact that a member of the Bourbon dynasty was casually inviting a standard working-class family from Mallorca to the private royal Christmas Eve dinnerâmade Patriâs eyes fill with tears. She leaned down, burying her face in your neck, whispering her agreement against your skin.
The dinner in Madrid was a spectacular, historical success. The atmosphere within the grand dining hall was surprisingly warm, the heavy silver candelabras illuminating a room filled with laughter. Patriâs father spent an hour discussing sailing routes with the King Emeritus, while Patri sat next to you, her hand firmly locked with yours beneath the heavy linen tablecloth, her heart full to the absolute brim.
That night, Patri posted a small, sutil dump of photos to her public Instagram account. She didn't geotag the location, and she didn't tag any royal namesâmaintaining the fierce wall of privacy you both cherished.
The first few photos were simple shots of the heavy, historic Christmas tree and a plate of traditional Spanish sweets. But the final slide was a beautiful, incredibly romantic mirror photo taken in the dim, dark light of the grand drawing-room. The only illumination came from the soft, golden fairy lights of the massive pine tree. In the glass, you can see two tall silhouettes wrapped tightly in each otherâs arms. You were wearing a sharp, custom-tailored black tuxedo jacket, your long arms holding Patri securely against your hip, while she leaned into you, her lips pressed against your cheek in a soft, sweet kiss. Because of the dark contrast and the golden glare, neither of your faces were explicitly visibleâit was a private, beautiful secret disguised as a holiday post.
On Christmas morning, back in the privacy of your Madrid suite, the gifts were exchanged.
Patri handed you a small, beautifully bound leather scrapbook filled with polaroid photos of your road trips, your coffee afternoons, and your quietest moments over the last six months. It was simple, priceless, and made you choke up instantly.
In return, you handed her a small, elegant white envelope embossed with a simple silver compass logo.
Patri opened it, pulling out four first-class flight tickets and a luxury resort confirmation voucher. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as she read the destination: Amanyara Resort, Turks and Caicos Islands.
"Y/N..." Patri gasped, looking up at you in absolute shock. "This... this resort costs more than my car. We can't do this."
"We are doing it," you laughed, pulling her into your lap. "And weâre not going alone. My cousins, Pablo and Irene and my troublemaker Victoria are flying out with us. Theyâre hosting a private villa on the north beach. Itâs going to be a proper family holiday."
The trip to the Caribbean was an absolute whirlwind of sun, turquoise water, and high-society chaos. Your family were the absolute definition of international it-girlsâremarkably wealthy, undeniably stunning, and carrying a natural, hereditary streak of aristocratic pride that made them look slightly conceited at first glance. They traveled with thirty pieces of custom Louis Vuitton luggage and spent two hours ensuring the beach lighting was mathematically correct for their social media feeds.
But despite their wealthy exterior, they were fiercely loyal, warm, and thoroughly obsessed with Patri from the moment the plane touched down.
"Patri, darling," Irene had laughed on the second afternoon, throwing a designer silk sarong into Patriâs lap as they prepared to board a private yacht. "You are absolutely not wearing that standard training cap on our boat. Put this on. We are doing a proper linen look today, and youâre joining the family aesthetic."
They included Patri in every single joke, every private beach dinner, and every late-night cocktail session by the infinity pool, treating her not like a football guest, but like your permanent, protected partner.
The return to Barcelona in January brought an immediate wave of intense, hilarious locker room suspicion.
On the first morning back at the Joan Gamper facility, you and Patri walked into the changing room at the exact same time, carrying your respective training bags. As you both reached into your lockers to pull out your kits, you simultaneously produced two identical, hand-woven palm-leaf souvenir beach bags containing the exact same luxury tortoiseshell sunglasses from a niche boutique in Grace Bay.
Cata Coll stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes darting from your bag to Patriâs bag, then back to your face. "Oye... thatâs an interesting coincidence. Did the Barcelona fan shop start selling Caribbean beach merchandise over the holidays?"
"Itâs a standard design, Cata," Patri said smoothly, her face perfectly calm as she slid the glasses into her locker, though her eyes flashed with a secret, amused spark.
"Right," Alexia muttered from the corner, a massive, knowing grin spreading across her face as she looked at the identical gold bracelets wrapping around both of your wristsâgifts from the Turks and Caicos market. "A standard design. Of course."
That evening, you officially put the rumors to rest with a massive photo dump on your private Instagram account, which the entire team followed.
The carousel was a beautiful, unfiltered archive of your winter. The first slide was a sunny photo of your mother and Eli laughing together at the Christmas Eve table. The second was a gorgeous shot of Victoria Federica and Irene posing on the yacht in Turks and Caicos. The third was a candid, high-definition photo of Patri sitting on the edge of your Pedralbes swimming pool, her skin beautifully tanned, her dark hair wet, holding a fresh cup of espresso from your red KitchenAid machine while looking directly into the camera with a look of pure, unconditional love.
The final slide was a simple, close-up photo of your hands locked together against the white sand of the Caribbean beach, the silver and gold rings catching the tropical sun.
Beneath the post, the comment section exploded with fire emojis from Mapi, heart emojis from Engen, and a single, authoritative comment from the captain, Alexia Putellas: Finally. The midfield rhythm is perfectly secured. Protect the guard, Guijarro.
You leaned back against the headboard of your bed in the Pedralbes chalet, your long arm wrapped securely around Patriâs shoulders as she snuggled closely into your side, her phone resting against her thigh. The rain was drumming softly against the glass windows of your sanctuary, but inside, the house was warm, smelling beautifully of fresh coffee and expensive vanilla.
"They know," Patri whispered, a soft, incredibly content smile touching her lips as she leaned up to kiss your jawline.
"Let them know," you murmured, turning your head to catch her lips in a deep, warm, and thoroughly domestic kiss that carried the weight of palaces, beaches, and a love that had successfully torn down every single stone wall. "The guard is never stepping down anyway."
Hi, my lovelies. So this is the final of these three suggestions and OMG they were so good I loved writing them all. I hope you enjoy. ( @2truthsand1lie I love ur brain and please send any more ideas my way if you would like)
Interruptions
Cata Coll x Reader
Description: Youâre getting stressed and Cata thinks she has the perfect remedy
How would you describe Cata? Loud, silly, sweet, goofy, crazy, adorable. She laughed too loudly, spoke with her hands, tripped over nothing, and somehow managed to make even the most mundane moments feel like an event.
How would you describe yourself? Sensible, mature, kind, respectable, level-headed, nice. The kind of person who double-checked locks, remembered birthdays, and thought before speaking. You liked structure. You liked plans. You liked knowing where you stood, what came next, and how things were supposed to go.
How the two of you ended up together was anyoneâs guess.
You had been best friends since your youth age group days. Back then, Cata had been the one sneaking sweets into your bag, tugging at your ponytail when you were trying to focus, inventing stupid games to pass the time. Youâd been the one reminding her of schedules, making sure she ate properly, telling her to take things seriously for once.
Somewhere between adolescence and adulthood, between injuries and recoveries, between late nights and early mornings, something shifted. The teasing lingered a little longer. The touches became more intentional. The laughter softened into something warmer, heavier, harder to ignore.
Even now, years later, it felt like a constant battle to remind yourself that you truly did love her annoying arse.
She knew exactly which button to push, exactly how to wind you up and get on your very last nerve, and she took a special kind of pride in it. It wasnât accidental. It was calculated, precise, like she had an internal map of your patience levels and made it her personal mission to test their limits daily.
But at the end of the day, you loved her wholeheartedly.
You loved the way she filled every quiet space with noise, every serious moment with a joke, every heavy thought with something light and ridiculous. You loved how she danced around the kitchen while you cooked, how she sang off-key in the shower, how she narrated her own life like she was in some badly written sitcom.
She used her pranks and unserious nature to get you to loosen up, to let go of the little worries in your head and let you enjoy life a little more, even when you pretended to hate every second of it.
And Cata thoroughly, utterly, completely relished in the way your cheeks would redden, your eyebrow would raise, and your teeth would grind together as you tried, and failed, to keep your composure.
She lived for the moment you finally snapped, turning on her with mock outrage, often leaving a few hefty smacks to her arms or torso before you were both laughing your heads off, breathless and tangled, and she was kissing you deeply like it was her victory prize.
It appeared that tonight was one of those nights. It was a team bonding night, hosted by Alexia (as always); a mid-season game night that was usually tamer than some of the more⌠outlandish⌠celebratory nights out that could occur. There were no clubs, no music, no tequila shots lined up on some sticky bar counter. Just food, board games, and the vague promise of ârelaxing.â
You and Alexia were clearly debating something, a frown etched onto your face as you took in the Catalanâs words. Cata noticed immediately. She always did. The narrowing of your eyes, the way your shoulders squared, the subtle biting of your lower lip like you were trying to hold something back. You were taking whatever Alexia was saying seriously. Too seriously, if Cata had anything to say about it.
âOi,â Cata muttered, spinning around and whacking Patri in the arm.
âOw,â Patri complained, rubbing the red mark Cata had left behind. âWhat the hell?â
âWhatâs Putellas saying to Y/N?â Cata demanded, jerking her head in your direction.
The two of them turned back to look at you, just in time to see you nod at something Alexia had said, pulling your phone out to type a note.
âHow am I meant to know?â Patri said.
ââCos Ale has her Capitana face on and my girlfriend looks like sheâs trying not to cry,â Cata shot back. âShe better not be criticising her.â
There it was. That familiar protective surge, warm and sharp in Cataâs chest. She knew you. Knew how sensitive you were, how deeply you internalised feedback, even when it was constructive, even when it came from someone who cared about you as much as Alexia did.
âI dunno, chica,â Patri replied, a little too casually for Cataâs liking.
âBullshit and you know it,â Cata cut her off, eyes still fixed on the back of Alexiaâs head like she could will the conversation to stop. âPere kept the captains behind to talk, and now Ale is using team bonding, where we are not supposed to talk about work, to talk about work. So, what is she saying?â
Patri sighed, rolling her eyes at the version of Cata that only came out when you were involved. âPere mentioned we might be trying a new system and some new pairings in upcoming games. Itâll mean some adaptations. And it might be tricky for her, since she might not get that much game time for a few weeks.â
Cata whipped around to face her. âFuckers,â she muttered, throwing her hands up in frustration.
Patri tried to explain it properly. Injuries, tactical adjustments, different styles for different opponents. All logical, all reasonable. But Cata wasnât really listening anymore. Her mind had already wandered back to you.
She knew exactly what this would do to you. You always took rotation personally. Even when everyone told you not to. Even when you understood, rationally, that it wasnât a reflection of your ability. There was still that little voice in your head that whispered not good enough, try harder, prove yourself. And you listened to it. Every time.
Youâd push yourself in training, stay later, arrive earlier, demand more from yourself until you felt like youâd âearnedâ your place again. It was one of the things Cata loved about you, your drive, your discipline. It was also one of the things that scared her the most.
As her thoughts spiralled, her eyes drifted across the room, eventually landing on Pina, who was standing next to Marta and Caro, clearly half-bored with whatever conversation they were having. Pina felt someone staring and turned, catching Cataâs eye.
Cata smiled.
Pina froze. That smile. That was not a normal smile. That was a dangerous smile. The kind that usually meant chaos, laughter, and at least one person getting into trouble. (And, great sex, although Pina didnât know that particular consequence).
âOh no,â Pina muttered under her breath.
The evening had worn on, your conversation with Alexia had ended and the meal had been eaten as you all settled into Alexiaâs living room. You had taken a seat in between to MapĂ and Kika, Cata settling opposite you with Pina to her left and Ona on the right. Tonight, you had settled on a murder mystery game; all of you playing detectives as you tried to solve the death of some poor fictional character.Â
Alexia, of course, took charge immediately. You, Marta, and Aitana fell naturally into supporting roles. You were already scribbling notes, drawing arrows, underlining names, completely absorbed.
Cata leaned towards Pina, lowering her voice. âI got something.â
âHuh?â Pina whispered.
âI got something,â Cata repeated, reaching behind her and pulling out a bright yellow rubber chicken.
Pina stared at it. âWhere the fuck did you get that?â
âGlovo,â Cata said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world. âY/Nâs got that stressed-out look again. I only just got rid of the last one and Alexiaâs slapped it right back on her face. So Iâm gonna squawk this every time she talks and see how long it takes her to break.â
Pina blinked. âI think that sounds like a stupid decision that ends with your girlfriend mad at you.â
Cata stared at her, unimpressed. âShe knows what she got into when she started dating me.â
âYour funeral.â
âYeah, well. When sheâs mad, we usually end up having great sex. Worth it.â
âEw,â Pina grimaced. âI was thinking more that sheâll shove the chicken down your throat until you suffocate.â
Cata shrugged. âGuess weâll find out.â
It was maybe an hour into the game, and you had narrowed it down to one of three characters.Â
âAre we sure itâs not Miguel?â Vicky asked, reaching over to look at one of the pictures on the coffee table.
You were already shaking your head, âNo, it canât be. See heâs-â
HONK.Â
A screeching, whining noise blasted through the room, cutting you off from what you were about to say.Â
There was a beat of silence, every trying to recover their heart rates. âWhat was that?â Caro asked. Everyone was looking around, trying to find the source.Â
âIt came from the couch,â Kika added, an amused smile playing on her lips. âSo Pina, Ona or Cata.â
âNot me,â Ona said, lifting her hands innocently.Â
âNot me either,â Pina chimed in, holding her hands out.Â
Your eyes settled on Cata, narrowing suspiciously at her perfectly serene face. âCata?â Alexia asked.
âSĂ?â She beamed back.
âWhat was that noise?â
âI dunno know.â Cata shrugged again, although her eyes never left you, telling a completely different story.Â
âMmm-hmmm.â Alexia was unconvinced. âAnyways,â she turned back to the game.Â
You didnât speak for another five minutes or so, too absorbed in listening to Esmeeâs theory about who the murderer might be and writing down the reasonings.Â
âClara, whatâs the-â you asked, pointing at the map you had pinned to the wall behind where Clara was sitting.Â
HONK.Â
The same obnoxious shrill sound cut you off again. You turned, your lips pursed and nostrils flared as you looked at your girlfriend. She smiled widely back at you, her round cheeks almost shiny with the intensity of her grin. You took a steadying breath.Â
âCata, mi amor, what are you-âÂ
HONK.
You blinked, grinding your teeth and setting your jaw. Nobody moved, the whole team freezing as you stared at your girlfriend. You pushed down the irritation. You love her, you love her, you love her. The mantra repeated on your head in a loop.Â
Again, it took a little while for you to speak again, although you felt Cataâs eyes on you the whole time as if you were the most captivating thing in the world.Â
âI just want to open the envelope,â Kika whined, her eyes flitting to the bright green paper than had who the murderer was written inside, cutting Vicky off.
âWe canât do that.â Alexia scolded the Portuguese player gently.
You rolled your eyes. âThat would be cheat-â
HONK.Â
âCheating,â you continued, opting to not even look Cataâs way. You knew her far to well not to catch onto her little game. Although you didnât know why she was choosing right now to push your buttons in such an over the top way. âAnd we are not cheater-â
HONK.
You closed your eyes, biting your lip and taking a steadying breath. When you opened your eyes again, you could see Pina and Patri starting to laugh, egging Cata on and boosting her ego as she tormented you.
You swallowed, indicating to Vicky for to continue with whatever she was about to say before Kika had starting whining.Â
âSo, weâre 100% sure itâs MarĂa.â Alexia said, glancing around the room.Â
âItâs got to be.â Ewa said.
You flipped through your notebook. âSheâs got the motive, she-â
HONK.Â
That was it.
âCatalina TomĂ s Coll Lluch,â you snapped, standing up. âWill you fucking-â
HONK.
You lunged, ripping the chicken from her hand and smacking her with it.
âYou absolute menace. You are the worst person I have ever met.â
She laughed so hard she nearly fell off the couch.
With ease, she stood and hoisted you over her shoulder.
âPut me down,â you said, hitting her back.
âThanks for the night, Ale!â she called, already heading for the door.
She finally set you down in the hallway.
âWhat the fuck was that?â you demanded, breathless.
âYou needed to destress.â
âYou annoyed me.â
âNo,â she said, softening, hands on your waist. âI distracted you. I de-stressed you.â
âYou decided to destress me by irritating me?â
âNo, Iâm going to destress you by fucking the living daylights out of you when we get home.â She said bluntly.Â
âAnd what ⌠pissing me off was your idea of foreplay?â
She smiled amiably at you, shrugging slightly. âSomething like that.â
âDid you know?â Leah asked, pulling your eyes away from your phone as you looked at her. âI know you donât really talk, but Jesus Mac, you could have at least told meâ Leah moaned.
âWhat are ye talkinâ about?â You frowned at the English girl, who was stood over your table that you were the only one sitting at.
She nodded her head towards the window where Caitlin and Katie were sitting. Katie was talking about something which seemed to be hilarious and was running her fingertips along Caitlinâs thigh, who wasnât making any effort to move her hand away.
âYou could have told-â
âI didnât knowâ you shook your head, eyes glued to the two of them as your thoughts went wild. âI didnât even know her and Ruesha split upâ you shrugged.
âWell, if it makes you feel any better, Lia didnât know her and Caitlin had split up eitherâ Leah whispered and you immediately understood what Leah was hinting at.
You couldnât believe it. Lia and Caitlin always seemed so happy, yet here they were, not sitting together. Caitlin with your sister and Lia was sitting with- Wait.
âWhere is Lia?â You asked.
âSheâs put in for time offâ Leah explained. âI suggested going back to Switzerland but she didnât seem too pushedâ
âDo ye want me to have a word?â You raised your eyebrow.
âWith Lia? Have you two ever spoken before?â Leah chuckled.
âNoâ you frowned. âI mean with herâ you nodded your head over towards your older sister.
âDonât put yourself outâ Leah shook her head. âThank you thoughâ she smiled.
âCan I join you?â
âDonât push itâ you mumbled, going back to your phone as she girl swung the chair out and sat down anyway.
Leah had always had a habit of forcing a friendship with you. If anything, this situation with Katie was great for her because whether you liked it or not, you were involved. And therefore, you had something to talk to her about.
You really had never spoken more than a âHelloâ to Lia before. It wasnât an unusual thing for you, because you barely spoke to anybody. If you had the choice, Leah would be included on that list. You were the quiet and intimidating person on the Arsenal team that girls went feral for. You were different than your sister, she loved being in a relationship, but you were much better on your own.
You got through the rest of the day, deciding it would be funny to put in a fairly hard shoulder on Katie that caused her to fall onto the ground as you ran a particular drill.
âWhat the fuck was that?â She grunted, standing straight back up and squaring up to you, although you were nearly a foot taller than her.
âWon the ballâ you argued back, as multiple people rolled their eyes that Katie was starting yet another argument.
âStop arguingâ Caitlin inputted, pulling Katie back by the hand.
âGo on, your girlfriendâs callinââ you challenged, feeling your own hand being pulled backwards by Leah as Katieâs face dropped.
âI told you it wasnât worth itâ Leah mumbled.
âSheâs a foolâ you grunted, watching as Leah was slowly inhaling and exhaling and quickly realising she wanted you to copy her.
When she got you calm, the two of you went back beside each other and play continued. You and Katie continued at each other for the entire drill before Kim intervened and moved you away from each other to stop another fight breaking out.
You took a shower at the end of training before getting changed. You werenât really ever one for goodbyes, so you quickly nipped out the front door and took off home in your car.
On the entire drive you couldnât help but feel angry about the situation. How could you go from saying you love one person one day to the next day leaving them for someone else? You didnât get it. And if you felt like this, you couldnât even begin to imagine how Lia felt.
Most people didnât really know you. They took you for what was on the cover, and knew very little about you personally. Your family and your teammates all included in that. You didnât really mind though, you liked your own company and didnât like wasting your social battery.
So, how you ended up outside Liaâs house on your drive home is a mystery, even to you. There had been a few occasions Lia had been in a taxi with you going home from wherever you had been, so you knew where the Swiss girl lived.
Youâd stopped at a shop on the way there, and picked up something small to give to her, making it look like you had an excuse to come over.
You walked up to her front door and knocked on it, waiting for around a minute until she swung the door open. She was wearing a maroon matching tracksuit, hair tossed up in a messy bun. She had a real look about her that sheâd just been lazing around the house all day. And you donât really understand why, but you found her attractive as hell.
âWhat do you want?â Lia frowned, just as confused as you were as to why you were standing at her door.
âUhâ
âDid they send you to get her stuff?â She growled.
âNo, noâ you shook your head. âSorry, I, uh, I just came to check on ye to see if ye were alrightâ you mumbled.
âDid they put you up to it?â
âNoâ you sighed, realising this was way too out of character and a massive mistake.
âHere, I got ye theseâ you said, handing her a box of mini Toblerone chocolates. âIâm real sorry about my sisterâ you added, before turning on your heels and walking off.
âWait, Y/nâ Lia shouted after you, forcing you to stop. âDo you want to come in?â
âYeah, okayâ you nodded, turning back to her door and stepping into the house.
You allowed Lia to talk for hours, never once showing any sign of boredom or disinterest on your face. Lia was a bit shocked at how easy you were to open up to. She felt a bit guilty that sheâd never made a proper effort with you before, kind of falling into the group that seemed to have this prejudgment of you. Which to be fair, everyone but Leah seemed to have.
âSorry, Iâve kept you for way too long, you should probably goâ Lia sighed, realising it was just after 10pm and youâd gotten here at around 4pm.
âYeah, sureâ you nodded, standing up and heading to the hall to get your shoes. âIf ye need anythinâ or just want someone to talk to, Iâm here, alright?â.
Liaâs not really sure what came over her, maybe because you were being nice, or possibly because you were the perfect person to piss Caitlin and Katie off, but she swung her arm around your neck and pulled you in for a kiss.
âLia, come on. Ye donât want to kiss meâ you shook your head as you pulled back.
âYes I doâ she nodded. âPlease, just kiss meâ she whispered as you let her tug you forward back into her lips. Youâd always found Lia hot, but Lia had always been your sisterâs best friendâs girlfriend.
The tracksuit Lia had been wearing that you admired when she came into view at the door, was now lying on the floor, along with your own bottoms and t-shirt.
âWas that alright?â You asked as Lia giggled.
âJust what I neededâ she nodded. Sheâd made a mess of your neck, which was now completely covered in dark marks.
âI should probably go homeâ you said, hours after Lia had originally told you that.
âWould you want to make this a casual thing?â Lia blurted out, tugging your arm back towards her as you attempted to push back out of bed.
âIs it because it was good or because of who my sister is with?â You hummed quietly.
âIt did cross my mindâ Lia admitted, not wanting to start whatever this was off by lying to you.
âBut that isnât why I would want to do it againâ she added, interlocking your fingers with hers.
âIâm happy to keep it casualâ you confirmed, letting her squeeze your hand before you pulled back, got changed and left.
-
Thatâs how it began with Lia. Meaningless, casual sex almost every day. Youâd drive to her after work or sheâd swing by your place. It slowly became more intimate, and the two of you started connecting on a way deeper level than either of you would have ever anticipated.
Which is why when Lia came back to work, you tried your best to make her feel as comfortable as possible.
Due to Jen leaving a few months ago, the locker beside yours was free, so you suggested Lia move her stuff in beside you. The Swiss girl took you up on the offer, and youâd spent all morning helping her transfer everything from her old locker to the one beside yours, before everyone else even got to the training ground. Lia was a bit taken aback that you were actually quite a chatty person, but in front of one particular individual, you were almost completely silent.
âCominâ to the gym?â Katie asked, interrupting your conversation with Lia, almost like she didnât even care that Lia was there . You nodded, letting her head out before you as you changed into your shorts and runners.
âIâll see ye later on?â You said quietly, looking around to make sure no one was around before pressing your lips to Liaâs.
âSee you later, you want to come back to mine?â She smiled.
âYeah. We get dinner?â You suggested as Lia squeezed your hand to let you know that was a good idea.
âMac, Katieâs looking for youâ Caitlin said, as you pulled your hand quickly back from Lia.
âYeah, Iâm goinââ you huffed, walking out of the changing room doors and bumping into Leah who burned your ears off on the walk to the gym.
âHow are you?â Caitlin asked.
âLetâs not do thisâ Lia sighed.
âYou canât stay mad forever. I thought you took time off to get over itâ Caitlin shrugged.
âIâm happy for you, so letâs just agree to not speakâ Lia sighed, standing up from the bench and brushing past her and trying to head out the changing room door.
âI just thought when you moved on, youâd go further afield than Mac.â Caitlin chuckled.
âAt least I was single when I moved onâ Lia shouted.
âMy new girlfriendâs sister is really stooping the bottom of the barrelâ Caitlin scoffed.
âLia, are ye ready?â You asked, coming back in the door and sticking your hand out for Lia to take.
You had forgot your phone, but that was less important now than getting Lia out of there.
âCan I help ye with somethinâ?â You asked Caitlin, standing directly in front of her and looking down at her.
âNoâ she shook her head, gulping slightly at how you towered over her.
âDonât speak to her like that ever againâ you grunted as Caitlin stuttered before you turned off away from her.
Lia stepped out of the changing rooms ahead of you, so you followed her down the corridor until you caught up to her.
âIâm- Iâm sorry if I overstepped. I just-â you were cut off when Lia pressed a kiss to your lips.
âYou didnât overstepâ Lia shook her head.
âI just donât think itâs fair for her to be at yeâ you shrugged.
âWell thank you for coming to my rescueâ Lia giggled, and continued to walk towards the gym.
âLia?â You shouted as she stopped again. âCan I take ye out? Properly? I know we said we are casual so if ye donât want to itâs grand. But I just really would like to take ye out and we could just do dinner or go see a movie or somethinâ. Itâs just-â
âYesâ Lia nodded, cutting off your nervous rambling you had been doing with her a lot more lately. âIâd love thatâ she kissed your cheek quickly as the two of you headed off to the gym.
Leah quickly picked up where she left off and ignored the fact you were putting headphones on. You noticed Katieâs jaw drop when Caitlin came in and whispered something to her, and you knew exactly what the Aussie had said, because Katieâs eyes kept flicking between you and Lia.
You didnât really care though. It wasnât as if you liked your older sister that much in the first place.
-
Date one with Lia was dinner at a nice, swanky London restaurant that had been recommended by Leah, despite not knowing who Liaâs dinner date was. Date two, you caught a movie. One Lia had picked out that almost put the both of you to sleep, but gave you something to laugh about on the drive home. Date three, you spent the entire day in Liaâs sheets, getting a bit caught up in her kisses. Yet, by the time the season had came to a close, you still hadnât made it properly officially that you two were dating.
On the team night out, celebrating the end of the season, before you were all heading to the World Cup, you were sat alone on a couch, sipping a drink with a stoic look on your face as Lia was being chatted up.
âWhy does Mac look all angry?â Leah teased, as she squeezed your chin between her pointer finger and thumb, sitting down beside you.
âIâm notâ you huffed, throwing your eyes away from Lia and the girl she was talking to.
âIs there a girl youâre interested in here?â Leah asked, looking over in the direction youâd just had your eyes glued to.
âYeahâ you nodded. âBut sheâs talkinâ to someone else, so doesnât matterâ you said, taking an aggressive gulp from your drink.
Leahâs eyes scanned that corner of the room, and she could only find one girl that was chatting to someone in a flirty looking way.
âAre you talking about Lia?â Leah frowned, darting her eyes between you and her. Your silence was enough for her to realise that Lia was exactly who you were talking about. âHoly shitâ
âIt started just casual, and then we went on a few dates. Clearly sheâs not interested or I did somethinââ you moaned.
âIâm goinâ to go home. Best of luck in Australiaâ you said, finishing your drink quickly and getting up to leave. Leah tried to call you back, but it was no use. You had always been severely stubborn when someone upset you because you had no idea how to handle your emotions properly.
You knew the situation was always going to be messy, but you never thought Lia would mess you around. You really had tried with Lia, so much so, youâd sacrificed your relationship with Katie just to try and make things work with the Swiss girl.
And for what? Nothing.
You and Katieâs relationship has never been strong, but now, it was barely existent. Youâd only recently started talking to her because you realised you were about to be spending a lot of downtime together while you were at the World Cup.
The night before you were set to fly back to Ireland to head into camp for the World Cup, you were interrupted by a knock on your door. You thought it might have been Katie, who had found it more funny than Caitlin had about you sleeping with Lia and then you ghosting her. Instead, it was the Swiss girl herself who was stood outside.
âCan I come in?â She asked, as you stood backwards and she stepped inside.
âIâm just packinââ you informed her, trying to hurry this situation up and make it short and sweet.
âI talked to Leahâ she began. âI just wanted you to know, that I was not flirting with that girl on the night we went out. She was someone I did a photoshoot with a while ago, and we were just talking. Sheâs married, to a manâ Lia explained.
âOhâ you sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed.
âIf you got that jealous, you could have just came over. I thought you would had realised by now that Iâm yoursâ Lia said.
âMine?â You frowned.
âI thought we were dating?â Lia shouted, a little bit frustrated at the fact youâd been ignoring her for the last few days and not even given her so much as an explanation.
âWell, so did Iâ you shrugged, your voiced also raised slightly.
âWell, maybe we should beâ Lia stated.
âFineâ you shrugged.
âFineâ Lia repeated, before jumping into your arms and kissing you so hard that you almost toppled over. When you found the rhythm of the kiss, your hands went under her thighs to keep her comfortably up in your arms.
âTake me upstairsâ Lia whispered.
-
Throughout the World Cup, you and Lia spoke every single day. Due to you being in Australia and her being in New Zealand, you couldnât spend any of your downtime physically together, so most of it was spent on the phone.
So, you both couldnât wait to see each other again. Youâd looked into staying after you got knocked out, but you were obliged to fly home with the team while she was staying a little longer at the tournament. When she did eventually arrive back in London, you were there to pick her up from the airport.
You pulled out all the stops. Flowers, balloons, wearing her Switzerland jersey and also buying her a cake, her favourite one, to congratulate her on the World Cup. Sheâd also returned the favour once sheâd gotten over her jet lag and had a chance to head to the shops to buy decorations and do up her own house to surprise you.
Youâd finally found a girl who put all your worries at ease and was interested in you for you. Which is something you never thought youâd find, let alone someone who had been right infront of your eyes for years.
-
When you started back at Arsenal, Jonas called a team meeting to introduce the new group of girls to the squad. He always assigned a mentor to the new squad members, to help them settle in. Leah was assigned the new England striker, Alessia, who the England captain obviously knew extremely well.
âThis is Liaâs girlfriend, Mac. And this is Alessiaâ Leah smiled, while Lia was off talking to another one of the new girls and a group of other players. You knew Alessia from playing against her. She was a decent player. Thatâs all you thought of her.
âHiâ you said as you shook Alessiaâs hand.
âHi Mac, nice to meet you properlyâ Alessia shook your hand quickly, before Leah brought her off to the next person.
âHi, babyâ Lia giggled. âYou want to come meet some of the new girls?â Lia asked.
âYeah, sure darlinââ you nodded, taking her hand and heading over to the group sheâd been just talking to and rejoining them, only now with her arms wrapped around you as you soothed your way into the conversation.
