Suushiiii

Suu l 21 years old Please send in requests and ideas :)

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[suushiiii]

Hi could you write a dutch reader x Victoria Pelova one?

Reader moves to St. Albans to study Data Science / mathematics. She eventually meets Victoria and they hit it off really well. Eventual relationship.

Would love moments like; jealousy/miscommunication, vic’s friends/teammates teasing her and being close with reader etc.

Would love that it possible!

Hiya!

Here is the fic, but I did change the course Reader is following, I hope you don't mind and still like the fic!

And thank you for the request❤️

Post by @suushiiii · 1 image

💬 0  🔁 0  ❤️ 0 · Somewhere in the crowd Victoria Pelova x Reader Summary: You just moved to a new city for school, and you definitely don'

[suushiiii]

Somewhere in the crowd

Victoria Pelova x Reader

Summary: You just moved to a new city for school, and you definitely don't need distractions, but then you meet a woman that peeks your interest.

Word count: 12.2k

A/N: I'm wishing Vicky and rest of the family all my thoughts after the passing of her mom🙏❤️

(The text between brackets and in red is the translation from Dutch to English.)

The cold morning air of St. Albans hit your face the minute you stepped out of your halls of residence. It was still early, so you had enough time to start your day with a good cup of coffee and work on your homework. It was so cold outside, even though it's spring. Luckily, you have enough experience with cold weather. You moved from the Netherlands 3 months ago to study Arts in music here in England.

It isn't that a school in the Netherlands didn't offer the same study, because it did. It was more like you wanted to see a new culture and figure out which genre you want to invest in. And if you had to be honest with yourself, you always had loved England. When you were around 17, you told your parents that once you were old enough and had enough money, you would move to England.

So, here you were, in England, on a cold morning. The quad this early in the mornings was usually empty, but you had left quite late, so there were already a few students walking around. Your first class starts in an hour, so you still have time to work on some stuff. 2 months ago, your teacher announced a whole new concept, something your university hadn't done before. He announced that everyone in class needed to write their own song and would perform it at a small bar. 

You were so excited back then when you heard the news, but as the night drew closer, you started to feel nervous. The only times you had performed were in front of family, and there were only like ten people; now, you didn't know how many people would be there. You told yourself you didn't have stage fright, but you started really to doubt that. It was fine, you're going to be fine, what's the worst that could happen?

Nope, you didn't let your mind go there; you didn't want to jinx it. You walked off campus through the university gates. There was a small cafe located just a few buildings away. It was a coffee shop you walked into the first day you arrived here, after you had moved all your stuff. "Good morning, y/n," The barista greeted you. The barista, Belle, was your first real friend here. She already finished school and opened her own coffee shop.

"Hi," You greeted her back, shrugging your jacket from your shoulders. You looked around. The shop was still empty; it usually was when you were there. No normal person would be at a coffee shop this early. "The usual, please," You said with a smile, walking up to the counter. "Yes, m'am." Belle saluted you and got to work. "So, excited for the open night thingy?" You shrugged lightly with your shoulders. 

"Excited? Yes," You said, leaning against the counter, "nervous as hell? Heck yeah." Belle chuckled softly, pouring you coffee in a mug. "And here I thought that you loved to perform," Belle said, handing you the coffee. "I do, but I never–" You cut yourself off with a sigh, shaking your head lightly. "You had never what?" Belle asked, her eyes intrigued when they met yours. "I just have never performed for a big crowd," You admitted, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Oh," was all Belle said. "Yeah, oh," You groaned. "But, you do love to perform, right?" You nodded with your head. You loved writing about what had happened in your life; heck, you even wrote a song when you found out you'd been accepted into St. Albans University. "I'm just afraid that I'll mess things up, and I'll be the laughing stock of the school, especially when my professor had said that he had high expectations from me," you groaned, dropping your head on the counter, and Belle patting the back of your head.

"How is your song coming along?" You lifted your head, standing up. "I have a song," You muttered, looking quickly at your bag where your notebook was. Belle raised an eyebrow, leaning back against the counter. 

"I have a song, but nobody has heard it yet," You said, fidgeting with your ring. It was a nervous habit of yours, but it helped you calm down. You looked back at Belle when she stayed quiet. You gave Belle a suspicious look because she was deep in thought, which is very dangerous. After all, it's Belle. "I need you to hear me out, because I have an idea," Belle said cautiously as you eyed her some more. "I don't like that sentence coming from your mouth, not one bit," You muttered, but stayed quiet, giving Belle the green light to continue.

"We have this open mic evening, people can perform just for fun, so maybe you can perform." You opened your mouth to say no, but this wasn't a bad idea. Your shoulders dropped as you let out a defeated sigh. "When is it?" Belle smiled victoriously, as if she had just won the lottery. "In two nights, at 8 PM," Belle informed you, handing you a pamphlet of the event.

"It's a yearly thing. It attracts a lot of people." You looked at the pamphlet, everything in your body screamed that you should say no, but instead, "I'm in," You said, still not really sure, but couldn't help the slight smile. Belle came from behind the counter, pulling you into a hug. "Oh my god!" Belle shrieked in your ear, hugging you tighter.

After you finished your coffee, you walked back to school. The nerves in your system are going through the roof right now. What had you agreed to? Who in their right mind would agree to what you just agreed to? There was this nagging feeling in you that this was going to blow up right in your face, and you would end up still being the laughing stock of the school for the next century. You walked through the hallways, more students filling the paths to classes.

"y/n!" Spinning around, your eyes met green eyes. Lily was one of your first friends you made here. The weird thing was, she studied something entirely different. The university was big, so it had different sections of the school where different subjects were taught. Lily has blonde hair that just reached her shoulders. She always has headphones around her neck, and her computer is either in her hands or in her school bag.

Lily studies data science. You didn't know much about it, only that you needed a computer and worked with numbers. "Whoa, Lily, what's the hurry?" You asked with a smile, balancing Lily by her arms when she stopped right in front of you, almost colliding with you. Lily pushed her glasses up. You had told Lily many times that her glasses were too big for her, but she never listened and never got new ones. 

"Remember the Python test that I had last week?" You stared at her, the what? "I'm sorry, but the what?" Lily looked at you incredulously, like you just offended her entire bloodline. "Python," Lily stated again, like that alone would clear the confusion, "analyzing large datasets and building artificial intelligence, and much more," Lily explained. You just nodded, even though you had no idea what all of that meant.

"So, I'm guessing you got the result back?" You asked, tilting your head slightly. "Yes! I got 89% on my test!" Lily shrieked, happiness radiating off her. Your face softened. Lily had been rambling nonstop to you ever since she made the test. It drove you insane sometimes, but the girl loved what she was doing, so who were you to take away that joy? "Wow! That's so good to hear, I knew you could do it!" You beamed in excitement.

"You're one of the best in your class!" Lily glared at you. "What?" You asked, your eyes turning to confusion. "I'm not one of the best''. I am the best!" Lily said proudly. You just shook your head, laughing softly. "Of course, how could I forget?" You teased, earning a small slap to the shoulder. Lily glared at you for another second before she was smiling again. "It just sucks that this score doesn't count for the exams for the end of the year," Lily muttered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. 

You gave her a sympathetic look, silently telling her that she would pass this year. "Enough about me, how is your assignment for the song contest thingy coming along?" You shook your head, smiling. "It's not a contest," You clarified as the two of you started walking to your locker. "It's not?" Lily frowned, confusion clearly visible. "No, it isn't. It's more like a test," You said, gesturing to Lily, because of the test she just talked about. "A test?" Lily echoed.

"Yes, just like your test on paper gets a grade, my song will get a grade." Lily finally started to catch on as she nodded her head in understanding. "Oh, I see." The two of you reached your locker and unlocked it with the key. Lily leaned against the locker next to yours while you put your books into the locker. "I have a song," You said, answering Lily's previous question. "Why do I feel like there's going to be a but?" Lily muttered, giving you a flat look.

"Because there is," You groaned, dragging both hands down your face. You stared into your locker as if it personally offended you. In all fairness, your locker had offended you in your first week. "It's just, nobody has heard it yet, and-" You tried to say, but Lily's voice cut you off. "Isn't that the whole point of a new song? That nobody has heard it yet?" 

You gave Lily a flat look. You love Lily, you really do, but she never really listens, like really listens. "Yes, that's the whole point of a new song." You gave Lily that. "But, I just never performed for a big crowd," you explained, closing your locker and locking it. You waited for Lily to tease you. She always did, but now? Nothing. No teasing comment, no laughter, no nothing. You turned your head, your eyes locking with Lily's.

"I know I always tease you, but from the stuff you forced me to listen to, I'm sure you'll pass the assignment," Lily said honestly, giving you a reassuring look. "Thanks, and for the record," You said with a soft smile, "I never forced you to listen to the stuff I wrote." Lily laughed at that, and so did you. "If you want, you can perform the song for me first, and I can give it a fake rating." Your lips twitched. That was really sweet, and you will probably take Lily up on that offer.

"How does tonight sound?" You asked. Lilly looked a bit startled; she didn't think you would actually agree on it. "Oh my god, I'm getting to hear your song first," Lily beamed, hugging you tightly. You already felt the nerves going through you, but you just needed to rip the band-aid clean off, no hesitation, not anymore. You were going to this, even if it scared you to death.

Later that day, after all your classes were done, you were in your room. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, your guitar in your lap, as you were just plucking out melodies out of thin air. Your notebook lay open in front of you on the bed. The pages were filled with crossed-out lyrics, scribbled notes in the margins, and fresh lines written beneath the ruined ones. You hummed softly as you read the lyrics. This was the song you were going to perform at the open-mic night at Belle's cafe, and you could turn this in as the song for your assignment, but you weren't sure of that yet. You cleared your throat and strummed the guitar.

"It's something unpredictable, but in the end, it's right."

"I hope you had the time of your life."

Letting out a heavy sigh, you tapped your guitar nervously with your nails, a beat instantly forming. It's a good song, at least, that's what you thought of it, but what if your professor didn't? What if he thinks it sucks? What if you don't pass this assignment? The grade for this assignment counts as half if you want to pass this year. A knock on your door dragged you out of your spiraling. You placed your guitar on the bed and walked to the door.

"Hi," Lily said, an excited smile on her face. You stepped aside so Lily could enter. Your room was nothing special. It was just a single bed in the corner, a desk on the opposite wall, your closet next to your desk, and your guitar stand stood at the foot of the bed. You sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh, rubbing your hands against your thighs. Shaking your head, you took your guitar and gestured for Lily to take a seat.

"So, what's the song about?" Lily asked, taking a seat on your desk chair, spinning in it. "Just about when I would leave the Netherlands and move to England," You answered, as you finetuned the guitar. "Ready?" You asked, glancing at Lilly. "Yes," Lilly said, nodding her head and straightening herself. You started, but your hands were shaking so violently that you needed to stop, muttering under your breath, "fuck," before forcing yourself to start over.

"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road."

Your voice was shaking, but you forced yourself to keep going. You needed to do this. You wanted to do this. This was your dream, ever since you were little; now you just needed to take the final step. 

"Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go."

"So make the best of this test, and don't ask why."

You were finally settling into it now, the nerves shrinking into small waves instead of the violent currents from earlier. You had forced your eyes shut, afraid to look at Lily's face. Afraid that you would crumble when you did, so you did what you have seen multiple artists do: close your eyes and do what you do best.

Lily was in complete shock. She had heard you whisper-sing in her presence, but never fully like now. Your voice was so clear, pouring every emotion you had into words. Tears filled her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. 

When you sang the last part of the song, Lily's tears were fully falling now as she wiped them away. The song was beautiful, and your voice fitted it so perfectly. Your fingers shook as you played the final notes, so you went off-key slightly, but Lily didn't notice; she couldn't, she was so in awe of what you were doing. 

"It's something unpredictable."

"But in the end, it's right."

"I hope you had the time of your life."

"Oh my god," Lily breathed out, "That was beautiful, y/n." Pride swelled in your chest. Lily's reaction was exactly what you wanted from your songs. Let people feel the song as if they were experiencing it themselves so that they can put their feelings into words. You wanted people to hear your songs and finally feel understood, even if you were the one putting those feelings into words for them.

"Are you okay, Lily?" You asked softly, because Lily was clearly not okay. "I'm fine, I'm totally fine," Lily said quickly, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks. You just chuckled lightly, deciding not to go into it further.

The night of the open-mic event came sooner than you thought, because here you were, setting things up together with Belle and Lily. You stood behind the counter, your back resting against it, your eyes staring at nothing in particular. "Lily, please, just move the table!" Belle yelled from across the shop, her brown hair falling into her face. Belle had informed you that this was always the biggest night for her shop. Belle glared at Lily, who was doing something on the shop's laptop.

You assumed that Lily was updating the laptop. She had grilled you once when your laptop was two updates behind, so from that moment on, you did the updates immediately so that you wouldn't be met with a storm called Lily. "Belle, your laptop was six updates behind, and your laptop is very old," Lily informed the bar owner, who was giving dagger eyes at the tiny blonde, who finally set the laptop down.

"Noted, now can you help me move these tables?" Belle asked, gesturing at three tables in the middle of the room. "Ay yay, captain!" Lily beamed, quickly moving to where Belle was waiting. You were still standing at the counter, your fingers tapping nervously on the surface. Shaking your head, you took your notebook and went over the lyrics again. By now, you probably know the lyrics like the back of your hand, because it was your own damn song that you wrote. 

You sucked your lip between your teeth, tearing some of the skin in the process. It was a very bad nervous habit of yours, something you needed to quit doing, otherwise you would ruin your lips. You wrote down in your notebook to buy a nervous ring or something, because tearing your lip until it bleeds isn't a good nervous habit. You placed your notebook back on the counter and finally turned your head to the chaos that was happening to your right.

If it were a cartoon, Belle would have steam coming from her ears because Lily was not listening to Belle at all. Poor Belle, she doesn't know that Lily only listens when it comes to numbers. A sigh left your lips as you pushed yourself off the counter and walked toward the duo. "How's it going here?" You asked in a teasing tone, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips. "She's not listening to my instructions, like at all," Belle muttered under her breath, loud enough for you to hear, but low enough that Lily didn't notice.

"Okay," you said, clasping your hands together, "what can I do? Before you start strangling Lily in your mind." Belle let out a sigh and muttered, " Too late for that." Your shoulders shook when you tried to hold your laughter, pressing your lips together. "Don't," Belle warned you, giving you a flat look. Immediately, you raised your hands in surrender. 

"Can you–just set up the mics, please?" You saluted Belle dramatically and headed to the stage, but heard Belle mutter under her breath, "Why am I friends with two idiots?" There was no real bite behind it. Belle was just stressed, granted, this event was always the busiest evening of the shop. As you stepped on stage, you plugged everything in with wires, tested the mics and boxes, and, at last, turned on the radio to see if everything was connected correctly.

You just put on a random playlist and made sure the wires weren't all across the stage. Knowing yourself, you would trip over them, so to prevent disaster, you made sure the stage was clear of any wires. When the last things were in place, the three of you stood at the counter, looking at how everything was set up. "So," Belle started, setting her mug down, "are you excited for tonight?" Belle couldn't stop smiling. She was so happy that you finally decided to let everyone hear how amazing you are.

"Yes, but also fucking terrified," You admitted, staring down at your mug. "That's understandable," Lily said lightly, smiling at you. "As you said, this is your test. People are always nervous before a test, at least, I was pretty nervous for my Python test." Belle stared at Lily but then back at you, mouthing, "Python?" You just shook your head, mouthing back, "Long story."

"Yeah, Lily's right," Belle quickly said before Lily could get suspicious of the silence after she spoke. "But, honestly?" You looked at Belle, waiting for what she was going to say as you fidgeted with your fingers. "You should just be yourself. I've heard you sing before, and you absolutely rock!" Belle beamed, nudging you with her shoulder. "You could always close your eyes, you know? And when you feel comfortable enough, you open them," Lily stated.

Both you and Belle looked at Lily. That was actually really good advice. "I'll keep that in mind," You muttered as your eyes wandered to the stage that was set. "Or if you're nervous, look at Belle." You gave Lily a look. "Belle is the calm friend between her and me. If you would look at me, you would probably crumble from the nerves," Lily said before taking a sip from her drink. "Fair point," You said with a smile, bringing your mug to your lips. As the clock ticked closer to 8 PM, you felt the nerves low in your stomach, but not from fear; it was from excitement to perform in front of a big crowd for the first time.

The coffee shop was already crowded when Victoria and a few other teammates entered. "This looks cozy," Kyra beamed, her eyes going over the room. "It's not bad," Leah hummed in agreement. "Is there some open-mic night?" Alessia asked, gesturing to the stage that stood against the opposite wall. Everyone followed Alessia's hand, and in fact, there was a stage. "In fact, there is," Steph said, holding out a paper to the rest. Vic took the paper and read what was on it.

"This is a yearly event, and the people performing are from St. Albans University," Vic explained, placing the paper on the nearest table. "So, we want to spend the evening here?" Leah asked the others, who all nodded. The group walked to a table with a clear view of the stage, people muttering as they passed. The group had just come back from a match. It was the North London Derby. Arsenal had won 5-2, so they wanted to celebrate.

"Beers?" Vic asked, and the others nodded. Vic walked through the crowd, people chattering about school stuff. Vic had gathered that most people were students, not all of them. There was no line at the counter, so Vic could order right away. "Good evening," A brunette greeted Victoria with a bright smile. The woman wiped her hands dry on a towel.

"What can I get you?" Victoria ordered seven beers and told the barista where they were sitting. Vic didn't immediately turn around; she just turned her head to the stage, where a group of boys was setting up their instruments. "What's this open-mic night all about?" The barista returned with the first two beers and placed them on the tab. "Sorry?" She asked. "This," Vic said again, gesturing to the stage. "Oh, yeah, some students from the university had an assignment, and they asked if they could perform here." Vic nodded in understanding.

"Oh wow." Vic turned her attention back to the woman, but she was looking over Vic's shoulder. "Arsenal women are here?" A small smile tugged at Vic's lips, nodding with her head. "Yep," Vic said, popping out the 'p'. "And you are?" Belle smiled lightly. "I'm  Belle, the owner of the shop." Vic nodded in understanding, looking back at the room. "Nice place you got here." Belle gave Vic a thankful smile. "Where are you from?" Vic laughed softly, shaking her head.

"It's the accent, isn't it?" Belle nodded with a smile and said, "Yeah, you don't really have a British accent." Vic groaned slightly. She really thought she had improved with her English. "I'm from the Netherlands." Belle's eyebrows shot up, earning a confused look from Vic. "What?" Belle just shook her head, saying, "Nothing." Vic eyed her for a second longer, but decided not to go further into it.  

"Well, thanks for the drinks," Vic said, taking the pints from the counter. As she walked back to their table, the mic was tested on stage, someone tapping it with their hand. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" Belle said through the mic, her eyes going over the biggest crowd so far for this event. Vic reached their table and set the pints down. "Yesss, beer!" Katie cheered as she, of course, took the first glass.

"Katie, we didn't win the Champions League, please, don't drink as much as you did back then," Leah said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "No way, we just won the North London Derby, I'm digging in," Katie replied with a grin, taking a big sip from her beer. Kyra laughed loudly; Alessia and Steph shook their heads; Caitlin gave Katie a loving look; Vic tried to hold her laughter, but her shoulders shook; while Leah dropped her head on the table, giving up on all that's holy.

"Okay, please give her a round of applause. Here is Cecily," Belle announced, clapping in her hands as she put the mic on the mic-holder. Vic and the others clapped in their hands, all their eyes on the stage as a black-haired girl stepped on the podium, her smile as bright as the sun. 

After an hour, most of the performances were done. They all had been good, even though Katie had covered her ears when a guy performed with a violin. Vic wasn't a specialist, but even she could tell that the violin wasn't tuned, if that even was a thing for violins. "How much more do we have to endure?" Katie mumbled into her hands. "C'mon, Katie, they weren't all that bad," Alessia said. Katie glared at the English striker because that was a total lie.

"You can't tell me that those last two performances were music to your ears," Katie grumbled, giving Alessia a flat look. "Technically speaking, it was music to my ears, but not really good music," Alessia said, muttering the last part under her breath. "Guys, please tell me you aren't criticizing students," Leah said, shaking her head lightly. "They're students, they're still learning," Steph now said, agreeing with Leah on this.

"Fine, fine, but if the next one is just as bad as the other two just now, we're leaving," Kyra grumbled from where she was sitting. Both Leah and Steph shook their heads as they looked back at the stage where you were setting everything up.

You were the last one to perform. When you heard Belle tell you that you wanted to strangle her, she knew that when the last person would perform, the cafe was filled more than when the first people would perform. You were setting up your guitar for the hundredth time, fine-tuning it until your fingertips hurt. You dared to look at the crowd. Most people slumped in their seats.

You had noticed by the third act that most people weren't paying attention anymore. You shook your head. There was no point in dwelling on that. It was your turn in a few minutes, and you were already dreading the thought that people would only half listen to you. As you were adjusting the strap of your guitar, Belle walked back onto the stage, giving you a reassuring look before taking the mic from the stand. "Alrighty! The last performance is already here! Make some noise, everybody!" Belle yelled into the mic. Yeah, you definitely wanted to strangle her now.

You also noted to yourself that if you ever needed a wingwoman to hype the crowd before a performance, you knew who to call. Some people in the crowd cheered, while others stayed quiet. You let out a heavy sigh and hung your guitar around your neck, checking again if you tuned it right. "Give a round of Applause for, y/n!" Belle announced. You walked up to the mic, giving Belle a small glare, but she just blew a kiss and walked off the stage. 

You stood in the middle of the stage, breathing hard into the mic, accidentally making it squeak. "Sorry," you immediately said, stepping slightly back from the mic as you saw people wince from the sound. "Hello, everyone." You started. Your usually decent English accent had apparently abandoned you completely. Great.

"I wrote this song when I left home to start a new challenge in a different country." You swallowed the lump in your throat, looking down at your guitar. "I hope you enjoy it." You strummed the guitar once, but winced when you had your fingers completely on the wrong chords. "Fuck," You muttered, forgetting there was a mic in front of you, so a few people in the crowd snickered. Well, you had their attention now.  You started again, having found the right chords.  

"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road."

"Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go."

"So make the best of this test, and don't ask why."

Your voice was shaky, so you did what Lily told you earlier. You closed your eyes, strumming your guitar. You took a breath before continuing. 

"It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.""It's something unpredictable, but in the end, it's right."

"I hope you had the time of your life."

Your nerves had settled as seconds passed. Your fingers weren't shaking that much anymore; you were almost at ease. Doing the things that you loved the most and for the first time, in front of a crowd that wasn't your own family. Across the room, Vic was totally mesmerized by you. It wasn't because of your voice, well, partly, but mostly because of how you recovered so quickly from your mistake in the beginning.

She saw that you didn't crumble. She saw someone take a deep breath, close their eyes, and start again. "You're staring," Vic whipped her head toward the voice. Alessia's eyes had something mischievous in them, a knowing smirk on her lips. "I am not," Vic shot back, her cheeks reddening just slightly. 

Your voice dragged Vic's eyes back to the stage. All the people who had been slumping into their seats were now giving you their full attention, even Katie sat up straight, her eyes soft. Vic related to the lyrics. It was hard for her when she left the Netherlands for England, moving to a completely new country where she barely knew anyone.

"Sure you're not," Alessia replied, deciding not to go into it further as she shifted her attention back to you. You sang the last lyrics, strumming your guitar one final time, before stopping. The cafe erupted into cheering. You saw people at the far end of the cafe whistling through their fingers. A swell of pride bloomed in your chest. You did it, you performed your song, and people liked it. It was overwhelming, but in a good way.

You couldn't have dreamed that people were cheering, and for you no less. As the crowd settled down, you walked off the stage, only to be wrapped in the arms of Lily and Belle, who both were shrieking, Lily mostly just shrieked because Belle was.

"You were amazing," Belle shrieked, hugging you tighter. You knew that Belle was excited for you, but if she ever wanted to hear you perform again, then she really needed to loosen her hold because she was practically cutting off all your circulation points. "Belle," you wheezed out, "I'm getting no air here." Belle immediately loosened her hold, giving you an apologetic look.

"Sorry," She muttered, letting you go immediately. "You were absolutely amazing, like, so good." Your cheeks turned pink at the praise. "Okay, you're getting a beer, it's on the house," Belle announced, dragging both you and Lily to the tab.  "No, no, it's fine," You said. "Let me just help with the orders at the bar." Both Belle and Lily gave you an incredulous look. Belle, because you deserved a drink, and Lily, because who would want to work voluntarily? You just stared at them, not giving in. "Look, I just did something terrifying, I don't need alcohol to calm my nerves, alright? I left those on stage," You told your two friends, rolling up your sleeves up to your elbows.

Belle let out a sigh, finally giving in. "Fine," she muttered, still not agreeing with you. "Lily, could you get the orders of the couple in the back?" Lily scrunched her nose. Belle just gave her a flat look, and Lily eventually moved her feet, muttering something about "couples suck," before she walked through the crowd. 

You stood behind the counter, your eyes scanning the room. You still couldn't believe that you performed in front of them all. Your mind was still catching up with that fact. The pride you felt earlier is still going through your body. Belle approached you with a tray of snacks and held it out. "Could you give these to the group of girls there?" Belle asked as you took the tray, your eyes following Belle's gaze. You saw a group of women wearing tracksuits with a logo you recognized, but you couldn't quite place where you'd seen it before.

"Sure," You said and moved your feet. When you were within hearing range, you heard one of the women say. "Vic, you were totally staring at her," followed by laughter from the table. Your cheeks turned pink. You could tell that they were talking about you. Shaking your head, you cleared your throat, and the group immediately turned to you. You saw that a few were pressing their lips together, trying very hard not to laugh.

Your attention shifted to a shorter woman with dark-blonde hair, her eyes already locked on you. "Eumh, you guys ordered snacks?" You managed to say, still feeling the eyes of the woman on your left on you. "Yes, I'm starving," the woman sitting in one of the corners said, her Irish accent slipping through.

"Congratulations, you were very good out there." You turned your head to where the voice was coming from. You could tell that the woman wasn't from England, but from Australia. "Thanks," you said with a shy smile, glancing at the badge on one of the tracksuits. Then it dawned on you, the cannon, the red and white tracksuits. You were talking to Arsenal women.

You followed the league for a bit when you moved to England, because ever since you came here, the city had been promoting the Women's Champions League. "You had such an amazing voice!" You jumped at the volume when someone said that, turning to the woman with freckles, her hair in a low bun. "Kyra, you don't need to yell," another Australian accent said. "What, she has an amazing voice," The woman, Kyra, you assumed said.

"Thanks," You said again. You looked again at the woman who hadn't taken her eyes off you. You gave her an awkward smile, but she quickly tore her eyes off you. "Sorry about her." Your eyes now landed on a blonde woman. You knew her: Leah Williamson, captain of the Lionesses and vice-captain of Arsenal. "It's okay," you assured the blonde defender. 

"Here are your snacks," you quickly added, setting the tray down on the table, "enjoy." You turned on your heel and walked back to where Belle was standing, raising an eyebrow at you.  "What was that about?" Belle asked when you were close enough, warily looking at you. "Nothing," You said quickly, too quickly. "That's Victoria Pelova," Belle told you casually, no context. You drummed with your fingers on the edge of the counter, giving Belle a confused look.

"Who?" Belle just pointed subtly to the woman who had been looking at you the whole time when you were at the Arsenal table. "How do you know her?" You asked, your voice lower than usual. Okay, that was new. Why did you sound like that? Belle turned to you, her back leaning against the counter, raising an eyebrow at you. "Oh, wow," Belle said, letting out a low whistle. You frowned at her, not liking that whistle at all.

"What?" Belle just shook her head, a small teasing smirk playing on her lips. "Nothing, absolutely nothing," Belle said, pressing her lips together. You narrowed your eyes at her, and Belle just couldn't hold her laughter anymore, holding her stomach, as she doubled over. "Oh, girl," Was all Belle said, wiping the tears from the laughter away from under her eyes. You just shook your head because Belle wasn't giving you any reason why she was acting like this.

As the evening continued, music blasted from the stereos, people danced on the dance floor, and some played drinking games. Lily had wandered off to a quiet corner, typing aggressively on her laptop. "Oh, for the love of god," Belle groaned, pushing herself off the counter, ready to drag Lily back to help around, but you quickly took Belle's wrist, pulling her back.

"Don't," You simply said, releasing Belle's wrist. "She promised to help," Belle reminded you. "No, correction, she begged to help us tonight," Belle corrected, folding her arms across her chest, and let out a puff. You just shook your head, smiling lightly. "Belle, you do know that Lily only suggested that to see people perform and not literally approach people, asking them what they wanted to order?" Belle stayed silent, and that was an answer enough for you.

"Look, just let Lily be. She isn't as extroverted as you," You said softly, glancing at Lily for a second, and saw her still typing on her laptop. "I swear, if she types any harder, keys are going to fly off that thing," you hummed in amusement. Belle turned around to look at Lily. "Okay…that looks intense," Belle agreed, spinning around to face you again. Belle's eyebrows rose, earning a confused look from you. "What?" Belle didn't say anything; she just bolted away from the counter, heading to a table that was far away from the counter. 

You just shook your head, turning around, but froze when one of the players from Arsenal stood in front of you, the same woman who had stared at you when you brought the snacks over. "Eumhh…hello?" You greeted the woman. You hadn't caught her name when you were over there, but not greeting her at all would be rude.

"Hi." You raised an eyebrow. The woman's voice was hoarse, but she quickly cleared her throat and tried again. "Hi." You observed the woman. She was nervous; you could tell that much about how her shoulders were tense, her fingers tapping nervously on the counter. "Can I help you?" Startled, the woman met your eyes. "No–yes, I mean, of course, why else would I be standing at the counter?" The woman said, rambling all her words together.

You watched her in amusement. You looked over the woman's shoulder, seeing her teammates snickering from where they were sitting, but when they saw you watching them, the menu became the most interesting thing in the world. "You were really good up there." The woman's voice drew your attention back to her, leaving you with a puzzled look. "Your performance," the woman clarified, nodding toward the stage. Right. "Thanks," You said with a smile. 

"I kind of related to the song." The statement threw you off. You didn't expect her to say that, or anyone for that matter, but now you were intrigued by why she related to the song. Your shoulders sagged as you leaned against the counter. You didn't know what to do. Ask the woman why she related to the song? Let her continue? "It's scary to move abroad." The woman's voice brought you back to the present. "Yeah," you breathed out, looking down for a second, "it really is," you confessed.

For you, moving abroad was the scariest thing in the world. Going to a country where you knew no one. Making new friends, fitting in with the right people, and keeping up with homework and assignments. "You aren't from here?" The woman looked up. "From England, I mean. You weren't born here?" The woman let out a soft laugh, the sound filling your ears. It was the most beautiful sound you'd ever heard. "No, I'm not from here," The woman clarified. "I moved here from the Netherlands." Your eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Je komt uit Nederland?" ("You're from the Netherlands?") You asked, your Dutch slipping from your mouth by accident. The woman was caught off guard when she heard her native language from you. "You speak–jij spreekt Nederlands?" ("You speak Dutch?") The woman asked, quickly changing from English to Dutch. 

"Ja, ik kom ook uit Nederland." ("Yes, I'm from the Netherlands too.") You said, giving the woman a reassuring smile. "Ik ben–god, do we speak Dutch to each other or English?" ("I'm–") The woman asked. You just gave her a light shrug and said, "Whatever you're comfortable with." The woman nodded before speaking again, "I'm Vic, I mean, Victoria. Pelova, Victoria Pelova, that's who I am," Vic said, her cheeks turning pink when she realized that she apparently couldn't introduce herself to someone new anymore.

Was the conversation awkward? Yes. Yes, it was. Did you find it adorable that Victoria was stuttering over her words? Yes. Yes, you did. "Nice to meet you, Vic, Victoria Pelova. I'm y/n y/l/n." You introduced yourself to the flustered woman. Your eyes landed on Belle briefly, but you quickly looked away when she started to kiss the air, pushing her lips out. You give her the middle finger just out of view from Victoria.

Honest to god, you were really going to strangle Belle one day. Shaking your head, you turned your attention back to Victoria, whose cheeks were still pink. You almost said that she was cute when she blushed, but quickly swallowed the words, because that would be weird to tell someone you had just met.

You quickly recovered from the thought, shaking your head. "So, why did you choose Arsenal?" Victoria met your eyes. "What do you mean?" You laughed softly. "The club. Why Arsenal?" You clarified, tapping the badge on Victoria's tracksuit before you could stop yourself. When you realized what you'd done, you quickly pulled your hand back as if the tracksuit had burned you. "I don't know," Victoria said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I always followed Arsenal men, but started to follow the women when I found out that they existed, and mostly, I followed Arsenal because one of the best strikers played there. The same striker that I play with my national team," Victoria clarified. You nodded in understanding. "You follow football?" The question caught you off guard. "I usually only watch when the men's or women's national team plays during tournaments, but I'm not that invested that I would be sitting in front of the TV trying to watch games, but I've been following the WSL for a while now too," You said honestly.

"That's fair, but can I give you a recommendation for something to do?" You gestured lightly with your hand, telling Vic to continue. "Next week, we play Chelsea at home." You frowned at that, because you had heard on the news that Arsenal had won their second match against Chelsea in the league. "Don't you like–play the same opponent twice?" Victoria nodded with her head. 

"Yes, but this is the second leg of the quarter-final of the Champions League. We won the first leg 0-1 at Stamford Bridge," Vic clarified your earlier question. "Oh, wow, that's good," You said, giving her a shy smile. "We play next Wednesday, the second leg at a full sold-out Emirates." You let out an impressive whistle. You knew that women's football was improving, but so much that they sold out stadiums midweek was impressive on another level; not even men's teams managed to do that.

You felt something flutter in your stomach. What was she asking? "If you want, I can send you some tickets, maybe even for your friends as well." The offer shocked you to the core. It was sweet of Victoria to offer this to you, but there was absolutely no need. "As nice as that offer is, you don't have–" Victoria's voice cut you off, "I want to." Her voice was soft, her eyes warm. You tilted your head lightly. Why was Victoria really offering you this?

"You just didn't come here to compliment me on my performance, did you?" Vic's face reddened. "I–eummh, j-just wanted to be friendly," Vic sputtered, her brain failing to form any coherent word. The answer left you oddly disappointed. "B-but your performance was good as well, it was really good–I mean, m-more than good," Vic stuttered on, afraid that she had offended you. 

"Vic." Her nickname slipped out before you could think about it, but you quickly cleared your throat and corrected yourself. "Victoria, I was just messing with you," You teased, a teasing smile playing on your lips. You didn't know where the teasing came from; it was almost like you felt so at ease with her that you allowed yourself to tease without being judged. 

"How late is the match?" You eventually asked, wondering whether Victoria really meant the offer or if it was just a way to keep talking to you. "At 20:00, but the stadium opens at 18:30." Your eyebrows shot up. "Why so early?" Victoria shrugged. "So fans can watch us warm up and stuff," Vic explained.

"Hey, you." You closed your eyes when the voice you absolutely didn't want to hear came when you were talking to Victoria. "Belle, hi," You muttered in a hiss, giving her your best glare. "Aren't there any tables you need to serve?" Belle just shrugged with her shoulders as she leaned against the counter, having no intention of leaving. 

"We will accept the offer, Victoria," Belle said, ignoring your question. "We what now?" You hissed under your breath, because what the hell! Had she eavesdropped on your conversation just now? Belle ignored you again as she took a napkin and wrote something on it. You eyed her suspiciously. "Here," Belle said, slipping the napkin to Victoria, "you can call her when you have the tickets." You snapped your head so fast toward Belle as if you were an owl.

"Thanks? I guess," Victoria said hesitantly. "Vic! C'mon!" Victoria turned around, but not before giving you a quick smile. When you saw Victoria and her teammates leave, you turned your attention back to Belle. "What was that? Why did you give her my number?" You hissed, slapping Belle on her arm. "What? She offered to see you again. In no universe would I not give her your number," Belle said easily, rubbing her arm with her hand where you had slapped her.

"You should thank me." You laughed without humor. "Thank you? I should yell at you!" Belle just smiled, patting you on the arm. "Then, just thank me when the two of you are married and have a dog." You gaped at her. Your words have officially failed you because when you didn't say anything, Belle just walked away with an evil laugh.

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Victoria sat at her locker, staring at her phone as if she didn't know how to use it. She had added you to her contacts, but hadn't messaged you yet. What was she supposed to say? 'Hey, it's me. You know? The stranger you met at the coffee shop and handed your phone number to.' It sounded so stupid. "What are you doing?" The voice brought Vic back to the present. "Nothing," Vic muttered, putting her phone into her bag. "Vic," Alessia said, looking at her friend who was about to have a meltdown.

"What's going on?" Vic let out a heavy sigh, dropping back on the bench. Alessia didn't push her; she never did when something was on someone else's shoulders. Victoria let out a heavy sigh and handed her phone to Alessia. "Who-who's number is this?" Alessia asked and turned her head back to the Dutch midfielder, only to see that her cheeks had gone slightly pink. "It's nobody," Victoria muttered, snatching her phone back.

"Vic, you added a 'nobody' to your contacts?" Victoria groaned when she heard the teasing tone in Alessia's voice, one she didn't like at all. Alessia looked at the contact name again, but Victoria had literally put 'nobody' as their name. "You know, usually people give contacts nicknames because it's either they're having an affair or are mad at them," Alessia stated, giving Victoria an amused look. 

"Wait? Are you having an affair?" Alessia asked, shocked when Victoria didn't answer. "What? No!" Victoria said immediately, giving Alessia an offended look. "How could you even think that I'm like that!" Alessia quickly raised both hands, getting confirmation of her question from Victoria's reaction. Victoria let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head.

"It's the singer from the coffee shop," Victoria muttered, her cheeks turning pink once more. "The one you had been staring at when she was performing?" Victoria gave Alessia a flat look. "I was not staring at her." Alessia laughed at that, dramatically wiping the tears from her eyes. "Vic, please, you were definitely staring," Alessia said, still laughing as Victoria kept glaring at her. "I did something really stupid." Alessia's eyebrows rose, clearly intrigued.

"Oh, what did you do?" Victoria stared at the floor, hoping that it would open so she could hide in there. "Vic, it can be that bad," Alessia said with a laugh. "If you mean not bad as in I just didn't offer her and her friends tickets to our second leg match against Chelsea in two days, then no, it isn't that bad," Victoria said, rubbing both hands down her face, groaning in her hands. "Oh, my god, you did not," Alessia laughed, her head tilting back. "I-I didn't know why I offered it, I just did," Victoria said, groaning once more in her hands. 

"Now you're just figuring out how to text her," Alessia stated, her laughter subsiding a little. Victoria just nodded, staring at her phone again. "What if she doesn't want to go?" Victoria asked, making Alessia frown slightly. "She already said yes to the offer, no?" Victoria shook her head. "She didn't, her friend did," Victoria muttered, her thumb hovering over the keyboard of her phone. "Oooff, how did–what's her name again?" Alessia asked. "y/n." Alessia nodded. "

So, how did y/n react when her friend accepted the offer?" Victoria shook her head. It was all kind of vague. Victoria was close to them, but they had turned their heads back and had whispered, so she didn't hear anything. "I don't know, y/n's friend gave me y/n's number, but I haven't texted her yet," Victoria said, looking at Alessia for help. "What should I text her? I have never done this before." Alessia's eyes softened, placing a comforting hand on the Dutch midfielder's shoulder.

"Okay, do you have the tickets?" Victoria nodded. "What kind of tickets did you buy?" Victoria stayed quiet because, in the excitement, she had bought tickets that included a meet-and-greet with the players afterward. "Vic, what kind of tickets did you buy?" Alessia asked again.

"In my excitement, I accidentally bought the meet and greet tickets." Alessia froze. She pressed her lips together, trying but failing not to laugh. Victoria glared at her as Alessia doubled over, holding her stomach, and wiped tears from her eye with her free hand.

"You can laugh later at how stupid I've been, but you need to help me with what I need to text her," Victoria grumbled, shoving Alessia lightly. "Okay, give me your phone," Alessia said, still laughing a little, her shoulders shaking. 

Victoria: Hey, it's me, the girl you met at the coffee shop two nights ago, and the one who offered you tickets. Here they are. All the information you need is in the tickets. I'm excited to see you again😉.

"There, done," Alessia said, giving Victoria her phone back. Victoria stared at the message. "You send a message with an emoji?" Victoria yelled, but Alessia had already bolted out the door.

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It was in the afternoon, when you were sitting in the cafeteria with Lily, that your phone pinged. You pulled out your phone to see who had messaged you, but you frowned when you saw it was an anonymous person. Hesitantly, you opened the message and let out a relieved sigh when you read that Victoria had texted you. But the relief quickly vanished, leaving nerves.

You saw the PDF documents added to the message. You knew it was the tickets, but now it felt more real. "You look like you just got a message that you failed a test." Lily's voice dragged you back to the present. "I'm sorry, what?" You asked, shaking your head, meeting Lily's green eyes. "Your face, when you read the message you just received," Lily clarified, pointing to your phone in your hand. "I-it's nothing," You muttered, putting your phone away.

"If you say so," Lily hummed, turning her full attention back to her computer in front of her. "So," you started, earning a hum from Lily, "do you maybe want to go to a football match on Wednesday?" Lily startled, looked up, giving you a confused look. "That's not really my thing," Lily said, gesturing to her computer, that that's more of her thing, instead of sitting in a cold stadium and watching 22 people running after a ball. "Yeah, I should've guessed," You said with a laugh, popping a fry in your mouth. 

After a while, you left the university and headed to Belle's shop. You entered the shop. It was very quiet. good. You really needed Belle's full attention. "Good afternoon," Belle greeted you with a smile as she was cleaning up the last few tables. "Hi," You greeted, taking a seat at a table. "Okay, what happened?" Belle asked, taking a seat across from you. "Victoria sent the tickets through an hour ago," You muttered.

"Did she now?" Belle hummed, a teasing smirk playing on her lips. "Don't," You warned her, pointing a finger at her. "You did this." Belle laughed lightly, not even phased about your tone. "Girl, please," Belle laughed, shaking her head, "I only did what you were too afraid to do. To say yes to Victoria's offer." You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but closed it just as quickly, because Belle was right. You wanted to say yes to the offer, but your brain short-circuited when Victoria offered it.

"What kind of ticket did she give you?" You frowned, confusion written all over your face. "There are different kinds of tickets?" Belle chuckled again, holding out her hand. You pulled your phone out and handed it to Belle. "Yes, there are different kinds, dummy," Belle teased, unlocking your phone. "You have club members' tickets, season tickets, meet and greet tickets, and just normal tickets," Belle explained, her thumb going over your phone. 

"You haven't put her in your contacts yet?" Belle asked, shocked, turning the phone to you, so you could see that there was still a phone number at the top instead of a name. "I'm sorry, but I was a bit shocked that she actually meant her offer," You muttered, crossing your arms in front of your chest. "Sure," Belle replied, turning the phone again. "Okay, let's see what kind of tickets we have." You just shook your head, reconsidering all your life choices.

"Oh, my god," Belle said, putting you on high alert. "What?" Belle only met your eyes, her mouth open. "Give me that," You snapped, snatching your phone from Belle's hand. You read the text on the screen. You stilled when you read, 'Meet and greet tickets'. "She did not," You groaned, dropping your phone on the table. "I think a certain Arsenal player has a crush on you," Belle teased, her face all smug. "W-what? N-no, s-she doesn't! She–god, she barely knows me! I-we met once-" You sputtered, your cheeks flushing pink at what Belle said.

"And you gave her your number that same evening," Belle added, casually looking at her nails. You glared at Belle because she gave Victoria your number, not you. "No, you did!" You said, throwing your arms in the air. Belle just shrugged, taking your phone again. "What are you doing?" You asked, seeing Belle type something. 

You: Thanks for the tickets, can't wait to see you again!🤭😌

Belle handed you your phone, and you immediately looked at what she had done. "You texted her back? With emojis?" You asked, shocked, your mouth wide open. "You're welcome," Belle replied, giving you a mischievous smile. "I should hate you," You muttered, your voice lacking the usual spite when you actually meant something like that.

"But you don't, especially, because I'm coming with you on Wednesday and let you burrow one of my Arsenal shirts, and I'll make you a coffee, it's on the house," Belle said confidently, giving you a wink before standing up and walking to the counter. "It better be good coffee," You muttered, staring at the message again. Your eyes drifted back to the wink emoji. Surely she didn't mean anything by it. Right?. "I only make good coffee," Belle replied with a laugh. Shaking your head, you closed your phone. Wednesday was going to be an interesting night, for sure.

Time flies when you're nervous as hell because you are now in Belle's apartment. You sat on her bed while Belle was going through her closet. "What exactly are you looking for?" You eventually asked when Belle was still going through her closet aggressively. "Just," Belle muttered, "hold on, I think I almost found it." You frowned.

"Found what?" You asked, and at that moment, Belle spun around, holding a red and white jersey victoriously up. You raised an eyebrow, eyeing the shirt she had in her hands. "This, my sweet friend, is the jersey you're going to wear tonight," Belle announced, throwing the jersey your way. You caught it easily with one hand. You held the jersey in both hands to inspect it better. "Let me guess, Alessia Russo is your favorite player." It wasn't a question; you were simply stating a fact.

"How'd you guess?" Belle asked, but she didn't really need an answer, since all her Arsenal jerseys had Russo on the back. You just shook your head and put on the shirt. "Look at that, proper Gunner right there," Belle teased as she was putting on her perfume. "I'm sorry, a proper what now?" You asked as you stood up to look in the mirror. "A Gunner. You know? That's the nickname Arsenal fans have." You just stared at her. You had never heard that word in your life. 

"OMG, I really need to teach you a lot about football, don't I?" Belle groaned, taking your hand and pulling you out of the room. "You don't need to teach me anything," You muttered, pulling your hand free from Belle's hold. "I know how football works," You stated, giving Belle a flat look when you reached the kitchen. "Do you know what offside is?" Belle asked with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Yes, the striker can't pass the last defender when the ball is played or needs to be behind the ball when both the player with the ball and the striker are past the last defender," You explained. Belle gaped at you; she really didn't expect that you knew what the offside rule was. "Told you, I know my stuff," You huffed, an amused smile playing on your lips. "Alright, alright," Belle said as she held both hands up in defense, "you know your stuff indeed." You smiled proudly, taking a sip from the water that Belle had handed to you.

"How do you know so much about football anyway?" You eventually asked, placing your glass on the table. "By watching it, dummy," Belle said quickly, too quickly. You saw her cheeks flushing lightly, making you raise a single eyebrow. You only tilted your head lightly when Belle groaned. "You aren't just a fan of Alessia Russo, are you?" You teased. 

Belle glared at you, but you saw that her cheeks turned from pink to bright red. "OMG, you have a crush on Alessia Russo," You said with a gasp, smiling from ear to ear. "No, no, shut up," Belle said quickly, pointing a finger at you. "We are going to an Arsenal match because you are totally wipt on Victoria Pelova. Don't change this outing to me," Belle said, the accusing finger still pointed at you, and smiled when it was your turn for your cheeks to burn bright red.

"Okay, how late do we need to head to the stadium?" Belle glared at you. She knew you were changing the subject, but she didn't comment. Instead, Belle looked at her watch. "Right about now. Let's go!" Belle said as she jumped off the counter. You drank the last bit of water before placing the glass by the sink. "Let's cheer your girlfriend on," Belle said, giving you a wink and a mischievous look.

"She is not my girlfriend," You muttered, following Belle out the front door. "Not yet." Belle was quick to correct you as she closed the door and locked it. You just rolled your eyes, no energy to go into this again. Belle can be delusional all she wants. You are going to a match because a FRIEND invited you. Nothing more and nothing less, or at least, that's what you told yourself. 

"Let's go, slow poke," Belle said and hopped down the stairs, her brown hair going from left to right. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," You said, walking down the stairs. "Your first Arsenal match!" Belle shrieked from excitement, wrapping her arm around you. "First live match," you corrected her, hugging her back tightly.

"Oh, potato potahto," Belle said, waving a dismissive hand in front of her. You let out a chuckle, shaking your head lightly. "That's not how the saying works," You told Belle, bumping your shoulder with hers. "Yeah, yeah," Belle said, waving a dismissive hand in the air. "Okay, what do you think the score will be?" Belle asked eventually. "I don't know, they're both good," You stated.

"But Arsenal have a 2-0 advantage because of their first leg match." You nodded in understanding. "Can I just say, Arsenal will go through, but I don't know the score." Belle considered that for a few seconds before giving in. "Yeah, that will do," Belle said as the two of you continued to walk, the top of the Emirates Stadium already visible from over the buildings of the street you were walking through.

The minute you stepped down the stairs inside the stadium, you were in complete awe. The atmosphere inside the Emirates was amazing. From your section, you could see everything clearly. You were high enough to see everything around, but low enough that you could at least see who was playing the ball. The match started with Chelsea pressing high because they needed to score first to be in the race for the semi-finals.

Belle couldn't sit still next to you, even if it were the 40th minute, and it was still 0-0 in this match. Victoria wasn't starting, but Belle had told you that she would definitely get subbed on in the second half and score a goal for you. You had rolled your eyes at that, but couldn't deny that your stomach fluttered at the thought. "Hello, ladies." Both you and Belle turn your heads.  A man with an Arsenal suit stood next to you, an earpiece in his ear.

"I just wanted to ask what players you wanted to meet after the match," He clarified. Before you could say anything, Belle's voice filled the space around you. "Alessia Russo and Victoria Pelova." The man nodded and said something through the earpiece. "Thank you and enjoy the match," The man said with a nod, and walked back up the stairs. You turned your attention back to the field and just in time to see Katie McCabe kicking a free kick into Chelsea's penalty area, and Stina heading it into the back of the net. 

Both you and Belle jumped up from your seats together with the other fans in the stadium. "Your goal scorer is Stina Blackstenius!" The speakers loudly announced it, earning another loud cheer from the fans around the stadium. You clapped in your hands, cheering from the top of your lungs. "We have this in the bag," Belle puffed, smiling from ear to ear. "You do know that we still need to play 65 minutes?" You stated, giving Belle a flat look.

"I think I need to teach you some football rules," You teased, coming back to what Belle had said to you before you left her apartment. "Very funny, but I'm manifesting," Belle stated as she sat back down. Shaking your head, you sat down as well. Your eyes drifted to the sidelines, where players were warming up. Victoria was one of them, laughing at something her teammate said. As if Victoria knew you were staring, she looked up in your direction, her smile widening when her eyes landed on you as your cheeks turned pink.

As the match neared half-time, Arsenal got a counter. Caitlin sprinted down the line, passing the ball to the middle, where Alessia was completely free. She gave the ball a nudge to the right and took the shot. The ball was low and bounced right in front of the Chelsea keeper, but the strike was so hard and fast that the keeper couldn't get a hand on it.

"Yes!" Belle screamed, jumping from her seat again. She turned with her back to the field so that she could show off her Russo jersey. You just smiled and cheered along, clapping in your hands once more while the whole stadium celebrated the goal. Your eyes drifted to the sideline again. Victoria jumped into her teammate's arms, her hands up in the air as if she were on a rollercoaster. To be fair, this match was a rollercoaster.

When Chelsea kicked off again, the match continued for a few minutes, but then the referee whistled for half-time. "What are your thoughts so far?" Belle asked, stretching lightly. "It's so cool," You said, looking around the stadium. The fans continued to chant, singing along to the music from the stadium speakers. After 15 minutes, both teams returned to the field.

You looked down, and a smile appeared when you saw that Victoria got subbed on. "Substitution for Arsenal, number 12, Frida Maanum." The crowd cheered at the announcement. "Number 21, Victoria Pelova will replace her!" Now you cheered as well, rising from your seat, clapping in your hands. 

The referee blew for the second half to begin. Chelsea pressed more and more. They needed to play all-or-nothing. You sat on the edge of your seat the entire second half. Arsenal are defending for their lives. Chelsea got a corner, but through a scrimmage, Arsenal managed to clear it. The ball landed directly at Victoria's feet, her teammate gesturing to her to run.

Chelsea's goalkeeper had come to the opposite side of the field for the corner, so Victoria ran. Two Chelsea players are hot on her tail. All the Arsenal fans in the stand rose from their seat, you and Belle included. When Victoria reached the edge of Chelsea's penalty box, she shot the ball in the goal. The crowd erupted, Arsenal's bench emptied, and Chelsea players fell to the ground when the final whistle followed after Victoria had scored.

"Let's fucking go!" Belle cheered in your ear as she hugged you tightly. "Yess!" You yelled, jumping along with Belle. "They did it!" Belle shrieked, hugging you even tighter. "Yeah, she did it," You said softly to yourself, looking down where Victoria got jumped by her teammates, warmth spreading through your chest at the sight. You saw Victoria look up briefly before teammates jumped in front of her, blocking her view of you.

The changing room was an absolute party. Music blasting from the speaker, teammates jumping to the music. Victoria sat at her cubby, putting the last few things in her bag. "Alessia, Vic," A man said. "You two have been picked for a meet and greet." Victoria stilled. Right. She had accidentally bought you meet and greet tickets. She didn't know whether she'd actually bought them by accident or just wanted to see you again, and that was the first thing that came to your mind.

Either way, Victoria was all of a sudden a nervous wreck. When she saw you in the stands, smiling at you, she thought she would evaporate. "Vic!" Alessia said, snapping her fingers in front of the eyes of the Dutch midfielder. "Yes, I'm coming," Victoria quickly said as she stood up and picked up her bag. "So," Alessia hummed, her voice teasing, "are you excited to see her again?" Victoria just gave a nonchalant shrug, even though inside, she was screaming like a kid.

She had been waiting for this moment, to see you again, to talk to you again, and now the moment was there. "Yeah," Victoria replied. Alessia stared at her. That was it? Only a yeah? "Wow, no need to sound excited," Alessia teased, bumping her shoulder with Victoria's. Victoria glared at Alessia, earning a laugh from the striker. Alessia held her hands up in defense, choosing wisely not to tease any further. 

The two of them walked into the room, but Victoria stopped in the doorway when her eyes landed on you. "Of course," Victoria muttered when she saw that you were wearing an Alessia Russo jersey. Alessia frowned and followed her teammate's gaze, her eyes landing as well on the name on the back of your jersey.

Alessia's eyes flicked to the name on the back of the shirt before landing on Victoria. "Oh." Alessia shook her head before speaking, "c'mon." Victoria didn't move at first, but eventually made herself move toward you and Belle. As if on cue, you turned around, meeting Victoria's eyes. "OMG, Alessia, I'm your biggest fan!" Belle shrieked beside you. Alessia laughed softly, subtly guiding Belle away from you, so you and Victoria had some privacy. "Hi," you said with a smile, but your smile faltered when Victoria didn't greet you back or meet your eye. You didn't know what was happening.

Did you do something? What could you have done to get greeted like this? "You played really well," you told her, but Victoria barely reacted. You turned your head to look behind you when you saw Victoria look over your shoulder. Belle was still all over Alessia. "Thanks." You turned your head back at the short answer. You frowned again. 

"D-did I do something?" You asked softly, tapping your fingers nervously against your thigh. Your question hadn't even fully left your mouth when Victoria answered, "No." The answer was too quick, too short again. "Then why are you looking at me like–that?" You asked, gesturing vaguely with your hand. "Like what?" Victoria said again too quickly. "Like I did something to insult you," you answered with a sigh.

"I just thought…" She rubbed the back of her neck. "Never mind," Victoria muttered, dropping her hand. "Vic." Her nickname slipped past your lips before you could overthink it. You saw the softening of Vic's eyes at that. Vic let out a heavy sigh. "I thought you asked for Alessia," Vic stated, looking everywhere except for your eyes. "What?" You frowned, confusion written all over your face. Victoria nodded to the shirt you were wearing.

You looked down at the jersey. Right, the shirt Belle had given you with Russo on the back, realization hit you at once. "This?" You laughed, shaking your head. "It's not even mine," You clarified, seeing Victoria's shoulders finally relax. "It's not?" You shook your head and pointed to the brunette behind you. "No. Belle shoved it in my hands when we were heading to the stadium. I needed to wear at least something Arsenal related." Victoria laughed, finally. "So, she gave you a jersey from Russo?" 

"She's obsessed, you have no idea," You said, finally relaxing. "If I had a jersey of yours, I would've worn that." Victoria looked up at that, her eyes lighting up. "You would?" Vic asked, surprised, her heart beating hard against her ribcage.

"Yes," you said with a nod. "Sorry that I acted like that just now, I was just–" You smiled lightly, and finishing for her, "jealous?" Vic's cheeks turned bright red, like she had been sunbathing without putting on sunscreen. "Yeah, that," Vic muttered, rubbing the back of her neck once more.

"I'll forgive you," You started, a teasing smile on your lips when Vic met your eyes, "only if you decide to get some coffee with me sometimes and not in Belle's shop," you finished, reassuring Vic on the last part. "You mean a date?" Vic asked carefully, not really believing that you were actually asking her. "I never said date, but now that you mentioned it," You teased, and any retort Vic had ready was out the window. 

[daphwritesworld]

#11 A. Putellas— Force of Nature.

(a/n: hiiii guys!! I'll do a big update post later, but I'm finally starting to feel well enough to write. It's been a wild ride of emotions, but with these newfound experiences I was inspired to write something less sexy and more from the heart. A little more raw than I usually allow on this account. Hope you all like it! As always— happy reading and feedback is always appreciated and welcome! Thank you for sticking around if you did lol. Can't wait to make some more amazing stories with yall <3)

pairing: Alexia Putellas x Fem!Reader 

content: angst, healing from the past, moving on, themes of intense regret, themes of past infidelity, brief talks of therapy, mentions of children & pregnancy

warnings: cheating, toxic relationship, language, brief talks of sex

synopsis: After a few setbacks, your wedding day has finally arrived. 

word count: 4.6k 

!! 18+ MINORS DNI !!

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The atmosphere is so charged with love it’s kind of nauseating. The kind of love that only seems possible in the movies? That’s you two. A picture perfect couple surrounded by so many people wishing you the best that life has to offer. Alexia doesn’t think she’s ever seen you smile so big and so much in one day before. From the second she’d laid eyes on you this evening? You’ve been beaming with a joy she didn’t know exists. You’re radiating around the venue like the sun was picked from the sky and set loose on humanity. But it’s not just your beauty that makes you shine. She’s truly never met someone as good hearted as you. Someone so pure in their intentions. 

The Spaniard brings the sweating beer to her lips as you let the children pull you out onto the dancefloor. She’s always imagined what your life would look like with kids one day. All the late night talks about how many, what their names would be, and all the vacations you’d take them on. She can’t help but let her mind wander back to times like that. The memories have a soft smile rising to her lips. God, you're going to make the best mother. You so effortlessly slip into that maternal role. It’s like you have a super power with kids. They gravitate to you like a moth to a flame. Like they automatically know you’re a safe space for them to run to. That you will allow them to mess up without judgement. Because in your own words, “It’s their first time living, Ale! They can’t learn from mistakes if you never let them make one in the first place.”

She looks down at the ring sitting on her finger, it shimmers back up to her in the moonlight. That has a twitch coming to the corner of her mouth, flashes of your proposal racing back through her mind. The way you looked absolutely breathtaking in that sundress as the sunset across the water for a perfect backdrop. The colors seemed to be bursting out into the atmosphere, like the universe was blessing your union. A sign she wishes she would have taken more seriously, now. She wishes she could take back all the hurt she caused. All the pain that pushed this day back. All the decisions she made that led you both on this off road path of what you’d originally had planned. She’d do anything to change it. To somehow go back and be this transformed version of herself that only therapy has produced years ago. But she doesn’t get a redo button. She just has to live with the guilt. Has to live with the forgiveness you’ve given her– that she knows she doesn’t deserve. 

5 years ago…

The burning of your lungs screaming for air is the reminder you need to breathe. Because the second those pictures hit twitter and you saw them? It’s like your body forgot how to function as your mind tries to process what you're seeing on the shaking screen clutched in your hands. The calls start to come in almost as fast as the notifications. The generic ringtone echoing around the walls of your empty home as you quickly hit decline. The attempt doesn’t amount to much, as another name flashes across the phone before you can press the do not disturb icon. The pit growing in your stomach is what takes over eventually. So you turn your phone off, sliding down to sink into the couch as the sobs start to rack through your body. 

Your chest starts to tighten as your eyes inspect your surroundings. The walls start to feel suffocating as they reflect back the endless photos of you two on the walls. So you gather the strength to get up,grab your keys, and escape the pretty cage she’s kept you in. Because it’s only then that it finally dawns on you. Who are you if not Alexia’s lover? You’ve given up everything to be reduced to hers. There was a time when you were the most respected person in a room. At the top of your field and only planning to go up from there. But then you met the famous La Reina. She seems so charming at first. The smile, the kind eyes, the gifts, and not to mention how well versed she is in the art of manipulation. Alexia is truly, as they say, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A figure who seems larger than life. Someone that makes you feel like you should be lucky to even be in the same room as her. She seems so humble in front of the world, but you’ve seen the real her behind the mask. A walking and breathing contradiction that’s come to life.

The worst part isn’t even finding out about your fiancé's infidelity with the rest of the world. It’s that it’s not some stranger. Not some groupie, teammate, or drunk fling. It’s Carmen– your Carmen. The one person you’ve always trusted more than yourself. You saw the way she changed towards you both. How she kept getting more and more hostile towards Alexia. You’d cry to her about your relationship, and get met with anger instead of advice or comfort. Her last words before boarding the plane still ringing in your ears, “How have you let her turn you into this pathetic excuse of a woman?” 

And she’s right. You let Alexia talk you into quitting your job and becoming her glorified maid that she fucks whenever she wants. A shell of the force of nature you once were. Your whole life has turned into revolving around her and her needs. Well, her wants if we’re being honest. She doesn’t need you to be a shiny little trophy to keep on the shelf that only gets taken down when she wants to get off. But that’s how she views you. As a possession rather than the person she’s conditioned you into becoming. And even after she’s molded you to her exact ideal? It’s still not fucking enough. She never even liked Carmen. Said you shouldn’t be friends with “girls like that” after your wedding. And like an idiot– you defended her. Without hesitation. Without a second thought. The girl you’ve known since you were in diapers. The same one who helped you pick out the wedding dress sitting hidden in your mother’s closet. The same Carmen who is assigned to be your Maid of Honor. 

You don’t even realize you’ve parked at the beach until your fingers are taking the keys from the ignition. The scream that fills the car scares you at first, not sure where it’s originating until you realize it’s coming out of you. It’s a guttural cry that you weren’t aware you could even produce until now. A feeling so primal you can’t stop even if you wanted to. But you don’t. It’s somehow making you feel better, even if it’s minimal– it’s still something you can grasp onto. A fleeting flicker of hope in the sorrow that’s trying to swallow you whole. You sit like that for a while. Just letting yourself feel the hurt and the betrayal. The screams calm to a soft cry. To something more manageable.  It marinates into your bones as you climb from the car. You don’t even remember to lock it as you make your way towards the shoreline. The sand doesn’t bother you as you sit, slipping your shoes off as you let your feet settle into the powdery grains.  

Then you’re reaching into your pocket with a nervous sigh leaving your lips. Fingers gripping the edges of the forgotten cellphone shoved into the crevice. It feels like the metal is burning as you pull it out and power it back on. Your fingers move with a quickness to silence the chaos, holding your breath before the little moon icon is finally pressed. A small consolation in the trainwreck suddenly thrust upon your  life. You know you shouldn’t be looking at them again, but you can’t help it. Can’t help but dissect everything about the small inside look on the biggest secret kept from you. So you zoom in and you take mental notes of every single pixel that sticks out. They’re both wearing the necklaces you got them last year. And that hurts enough as is, but when you keep scrolling and see the boat pictures? That’s when the agony turns into an unbridled rage. Your other friends know. They're all sitting together under the canopy of the yacht, Carmen perched on Alexia’s lap. Like it’s her rightful spot. How can they all seem so relaxed? So unbothered by the anguish being put upon you. Just happy accomplices in this treason against your heart. That’s when you remember the ring sitting on your finger. A gold encrusted conglomerate of diamonds that feels like a fifty pound weight holding you down.

 So your phone gets shoved back into your pocket as a new objective starts taking over your mind. You find yourself rising to your feet, heart carrying you before your brain can fully catch up. The wind blows a chilly gust off the face of the water, a tinge scent of salt lingering in the air. You swear you can taste it, but that’s probably just the tears. With shaky hands you look down at the gleaming hunk of rocks. You didn’t even want a ring like this. It’s too big, too showy. It’s something more Carmen’s style now that you think about it. The recognition has a bitter taste filling up your throat, and before you can stop it– you’re throwing up all over the sandy beach before you. The bile paints a physical representation of your body rejecting the news. You rip the band from your ring finger, hand rising as you gain back your bearings. The rage boils you from the inside out. Scorching at the remnants of the love you have left for them lingering in your soul. 

It takes a lot out of you to not throw that fugly ass ring in the ocean, hand still raised and pulled back. Weighing out the options as you lower your grip back down and sliding it into your pocket. You can hear it clinking against your phone beside it as you make your way back to the car. This part of the beach is less frequented and always seems to help you clear your mind in moments of crisis. It was your place, but then Alexia had to propose to you here. A little slice of Heaven you can escape to when the world seems to be crashing down around you, and now it somehow feels tainted. She took something that belonged to you once again, and made it about her. A vicious and cruel cycle you’ve only just started to recognize.  

The tears have stopped by the time you make it back to the house, eyes on the floor as you make your way to the bedroom. You go straight to the closet, hands grabbing every single piece of your luggage to lay out across the room. There’s hard cases, duffel bags– any and everything you own. Not Alexia’s…yours. And then you start packing. Every inch of you is getting erased from the space once filled with so much promise. It seems to be going okay for about two hours, but that’s when you realize how tedious of a job it truly is to separate from someone that’s been so engraved into your life. Someone that’s been weaved into your whole being. So you grab your phone once more, hand hovering over your brother’s contact as you see the list of unanswered calls and texts. It has a wave of guilt rushing over you, dialing his number before you chicken out of asking for help. 

That’s always been an issue of yours. Always wanting to fix everything yourself. Too afraid to be too much or not enough. Something made a million times worse by Alexia’s meddling inside your head. “She clouds your judgment,” was what he had said. “You are one of the smartest people I’ve ever known…so why do you constantly dumb yourself down for her?” 

It doesn’t get past the second ring before he’s picking up, panicked voice cutting through your speakers. “Are you okay?”

“No,” You take a deep breath first. “But I will be, eventually.”

“I’m here for whatever you need, kiddo. Just say the word and I’m on the way.”

“Can you help me pack?” The line goes silent on the other end for a second. 

“You’re really going to leave her?” It comes out of his mouth like prayer. 

“I don’t know,” your voice cracks as the tears start up again. “But I know I can’t be here right now..I need space to understand what I really want.” It’s not the answer he wants to hear, but it’s a more realistic one that he expected. 

It starts to go by a lot faster with four hands instead of two, and by lunch you’ve finished every room besides the kitchen. Like the thoughtful older brother he is, he came prepared with boxes, tape, packing wrap, and sharpies. You take your stand mixer, food processor, and other little appliances you've accumulated over the years. Alexia sure as hell has never used them– let alone even know how to at this point. Professional chefs and a little birdie in a diamond studded cage at her every beck and call. Why would she bother herself with any of that? You also take all your cookbooks, and the cute dish towels with matching oven mitts sets. It might seem petty, but it’s the only control you have. “I’ll start getting these last few boxes taped and loaded if you want to start on the pictures,” it’s a simple request. One that has you nodding and handing over the tape gun and walking back into the living room. You search for one that seems like a good place to start, but every time your fingers reach out? You freeze. Hands not able to take that final step. You can’t do it. They might just be constant reminders of the biggest agony someone’s ever put you through…but they’re also reminders of the life you’ve built together, and you’re not ready to throw that away yet. It might just be the rush of emotions running through you all at once, but there’s still a tiny sliver of hope. 

So you make a decision right then. Alexia can keep the photos for now. She can keep the ring you’re pulling from your jacket pocket and setting onto the coffee table. She can come home to a museum of the life she’s throwing away. A shrine to the reminder that no matter how hard she pretends to be perfect? She’ll always be a coward until she truly puts in the work to change. You help load the rest of the boxes before climbing into the passenger seat of the pickup truck. Your brother doesn’t speak for a while. Just turns on the radio as he moves the gearshift into drive, a calming voice humming along to the local station coming in through the speakers. You roll your window down as you watch the familiar scenery move past you. A song from your childhood comes on and it pulls you from your thoughts, hand flying to turn the volume up. The nostalgia fills up the space, your voice blending with your brother’s in a truly awful way. It has you both laughing. A genuine laugh that rips from your gut as you two keep up the personal concert. 

Maybe that’s when you realize that you’re going to be okay. That you’re true self  isn’t as buried as deep as you think. You might be starting your life over in a sense, but it’s easier to accept now than it was this morning. One chapter ending just means you move onto the next one. It doesn’t have to be the end of the story. If Alexia is willing to try? You might just give her the chance to prove it. To become the person you know she’s capable of being. 

Present Day…

A server approaches Alexia as she finishes off the beer in her hand, “Another one, Ma’am?” She gives a polite smile with a nod in response. “Sí, thank you.” She’s handed back an already popped bottle, the rim quick to gravitate towards her lips. It’s not enough to extinguish the qualms growing inside of her. So she sneakily moves through the crowd and takes up watch from the back of the room. Just taking in the atmosphere and observing you from afar. Her heart yearns to go take your hand, but she’s learned to let you have your own moments. To let you live outside of her. She knows she smothered you in the past. That she snuffed out that light in your eye once upon a time. Alexia should be focusing on the fact that it’s returned by tenfold, but how can she? Not when she’s the reason it was dimmed for so long. 

She feels like a stain on your reputation. Not that you should be embarrassed– God, no. That’s all on her. The embarrassment, the shame, and the guilt. She gladly accepts her role in the falling of the sword that shattered your lives. She’s the skeleton in your closet that haunts the narrative. How can you forgive such a devastating blow? She truly doesn’t understand it. How someone so good ever chose her. And an even bigger mystery to her? How she could do what she did to you. It’s a question that will always linger in the back of her mind. No amount of therapy has given her a satisfactory answer to that question, and she doesn’t think she’ll ever find one. Just a numbing hole her heart has to learn to grow around. 

Alexia’s pulled from her thoughts as she notices you approaching her from the corner of her eye. You move so elegantly through the sea of people. A picture perfect masterpiece that was hand picked by angels to walk this Earth. Far too good for this world that’s been given to you. “Ale,” you still smile at her like that first day. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”  Your hand reaches out to pull her in closer for a hug. It makes her want to cry or maybe even scream at you. Stop being so fucking nice to her. Stop being this person who can’t hate her. She wants to see a fire in your eyes– something volatile she can cling to. But she doesn’t. There’s just a peaceful haze that clings to your being. It has her pulling back from you, spine straightening as your touch burns into her skin. “Just trying to stay out of your way,” she lets her eyes rack over your attire and really appreciate the details stitched into the gown. A faint smile rising to her lips, “Today is about you.” 

“Thank you for coming,” and just like that the facade is broken. The fantasy she was playing into has come screeching back into reality. “I didn’t know if you’d want to come after I didn’t respond to your and Carmen’s invite.” And there it is. The sobering mention of her real life. It’s like a flush of ice water running down Alexia’s spine. “I wasn’t ready to face either of you back then…but I can see how much you really love her,” fuck she doesn’t. She really fucking doesn’t. “I wish things would have been handled differently, but we can all see that it worked out the way it was supposed to.” No the fuck it didn’t. You’re supposed to be hers. This should be your ring on her finger and Carmen’s kids should be yours. They should have your eyes and your hair, and that one laugh that turns into a snort when you really laugh at something. Alexia gets a little nauseous at the thought of her pregnant wife at home.

 It’s like you can read her mind, because the thought of her children has you leaning in to whisper the final devastating blow. “And maybe we can start setting up playdates in about 7 months,” her throat goes dry as she looks down to see a hand caressing your stomach. “I’m 12 weeks today,” the smile that spreads across your lips is sickening. She swallows the frown that tries clawing its way out, and instead forces out a smile that feels like a stab straight to her heart. “Congratulations!” She whisper shouts, “Vas a ser la mejor madre!” (You're going to be the best mother!)

Another hand joins yours around your tummy, and it has a new wave of sickness spreading throughout her. “Did you tell her yet, Mi sol?” Misa’s pressing a kiss to your temple as she finishes wrapping her arms around you. You lean back into her chest, eyes sparkling up as you converse. “Mmhmm,” you hum into her lips as you chase her for a real kiss. “I was just asking if she’d want to set up some playdates in the near future.” (My sun?)

The Madrid player’s eyes fall back to her Spanish teammate, a teasing look on her face. “What do you say Capi, can La Reina’s kids play with our future goalie?” 

“I promise to not let Misa put them in any merch or gear that isn’t for their Mami’s club!” You chime in as you give your new wife a playful elbow jab. That giggle that haunts her halls falling from your lips. But now it’s not because of Alexia. And that might be worse than not hearing it at all. She used to beg God to let her hear it just once more, but now she’s praying it’s truly the last time. She forces a laugh out as she bounces on her feet, the tension too heavy to stand still. “Of course, I can’t wait to see them running around together.” Another lie that tastes like acid coming off her tongue. 

“Honey,” your mother is calling for you. “We need to take a few more photos real quick!” 

“Just a second!” You call back. Alexia can feel the chill from the cold look your mother gives her. Even from across the room she can read the emotions being thrown her way. “I’m really glad you came. Everything happens for a reason, and now I can see we were always meant to be in each other’s lives. We taught each other valuable lessons that forced us to become the people we needed to be. We might not be meant to be soulmates, but I can’t imagine a world where we aren’t raising our kids together. Tell Carmen I’d love to call her soon, and again I’m so glad you could make it!” They both pull her into a hug this time, and it takes everything in Alexia not to gag from the contact. It’s not anything on either of you– she just disgusted with herself. With her life. With the fact she’s going to go home and fuck her wife to the thought of you. Imagine the bump growing on Carmen’s abdomen is yours as she makes love to her body. Pretend that it’s your honeymoon and not the same bed you two used to share. That’s how sick she is. Can’t get rid of the bed from your old home because it’s the closest to your body she can get anymore. 

She could corner you later. Could fall back into old habits and try to seduce you into a hotel bed for the night. But she knows you’d never do that. You could never be so selfish or ill intended like her. You love Misa and even if you didn’t? You still wouldn’t betray her. So she brings the forgotten bottle back up to her lips. Chasing that vomit inducing feeling down with the free beer still being served around on trays. She opens up her phone and clicks on the Uber app, scheduling a car before sliding the device back into her pants pocket. The flashing of the camera catches her eye– gaze falling onto you and Misa feeding each other a slice of cake. Alexia chugs the rest of the liquid still keeping her here, taking one final glance at you in this moment. So happy and carefree. Dedicated to a life of commitment to someone that isn’t her. And she has to live with that. With the dirty glances and the regret that has manifested into her life. You are getting everything you deserve…a life without Alexia. One filled with support and love that isn’t conditional. 

The notification of her car pulling up is what gives her the final push to drag her eyes away from you. Once she turns she forces herself to not turn back. Because she knows that if she spares you even one more glance? She’ll throw all logic out of the window. She’d storm back in and have to kiss you one last time. Probably get her ass beat by your wife, thrown out by your brother, and ruin her marriage all in the span of a few seconds. 

The crisp air of the night is what alerts her to the tears running down her cheeks. The wreckage of her life is completely her own fault, but she can’t help but wish this was all a bad dream. That she’d wake up and you’d still be in her arms. Laying in that god forsaken bed– but not in the apartment it resides in now…in that seaside house you picked out together. With the pretty pool and the even prettier flowers you planted around the property. But that’s not how life works. There’s no do overs or magic genies to save the day. Just the consequences of your actions and the ripples they leave that have a lasting effect. Alexia knows she can’t change the outcome, so she’s trying to leave in grace. Battling that little demon on her shoulder as she climbs into the back of the sedan waiting on her. She pulls her phone back out as the car pulls away from the venue, fingers typing in your contact before they hesitate in their next actions. A text from Carmen comes in as she contemplates:

                                                  10:14 p.m. 

From Carm <3: Lucía is refusing to sleep until you come home.  From Carm <3: Plus the baby has been moving like crazy since you left, too.  From Carm <3: Sorry to bother you, Hon. Just missing you extra tonight.  From Carm <3: I Love you. 

Alexia reads them as they come in one after another, mind made up as she remembers her therapist's words. She waits for the last message to disappear before taking one last look at  your contact picture. Her finger lingers over it for a second. Remembering the day she took it with a sad smile. She almost sends you one last text, but shakes her head at the thought. So with a heavy heart she scrolls down, eyes blurring as she hits the BLOCK button. She has to let you go. Not for you, but solely for herself. She can’t keep torturing herself with your presence…not when you already haunt her in memories. She's never felt more alone than in that apartment surrounded by her family. God, even that makes her want to vomit— Carmen is her family instead of you. She opens her messages back up, tears still streaming as she works up a response to her wife.

10:21 p.m.

To Carm <3: I’m heading back now, Mi amor. I can’t party like I used to anymore haha.  To Carm <3: Tell Luc that I love her and I’m leaving early just for her. To Carm <3: Love you, too. 

[suushiiii]

She’s back!!!

[suushiiii]

9Why are you always the one to run into danger first?"

71 What if I’m not enough for you?"

75 You don’t get to decide that I’m better off without you." 

79 You’re breaking my heart."

Alessia x Reader

reader is a police officer

they go to breakfast at their favorite spot just enjoying themself . Until Alessia teammates show up smooth talks until Alessia going to the bathroom

just then they all start saying something’s that aren’t nice . Ella tries to intervene on YN behalf until Beth or someone tells YN to break up with Alessia because she dresses better. Alessia comes back out to a quiet table . YN smiled at her until she gets called into work

YN gets Hurt on the job and the officers go to notify Alessia of what happened

Hiya, here is the fic!

I hope you like it and thanks for the request❤️

Post by @suushiiii · 1 image

💬 0  🔁 0  ❤️ 1 · The violence of waiting Alessia Russo x Police officer!reader Prompts: 9. "Why are you the one to run into danger first?"

[suushiiii]

The violence of waiting

Alessia Russo x Police officer!reader

Prompts: 9. "Why are you the one to run into danger first?" 71. "What if I’m not enough for you?" 75. "You don’t get to decide that I’m better off without you."  79. "You’re breaking my heart."

Summary: Alessia Russo thought she understood the risks of dating a police officer until one missed goodbye turns an ordinary morning into the longest day of her life. As fear, sirens, and whispered doubts begin to blur together.

Word count: 12.7k

Warning: Guns, domestic violence (Suspect), Blood, Reader being bullied?

If you're not comfortable with these warnings, then please don't read it!

A/N: I don't know much about how police things work, so I searched things up on the internet. Also, REMEMBER, this is a fic, the things that the police do in this fic, they don't do this in real life!

It was late at night when you finally arrived at your girlfriend's apartment. You checked your watch. It was 3:40 AM. You unlocked the front door as silently as possible. You assumed that your girlfriend was probably asleep, as any normal person would. You dropped your bag at its usual place. It was near the door. not in the way, but a good enough spot where you could take it with you when you were called for an emergency.

You dragged yourself through the hallway. Sometimes you really hate night shifts. Sometimes, you just want to arrive like anyone else. Eat dinner together with your girlfriend and go to bed at the same time, but your job made that very difficult. You turned the lights on in the bathroom when you had closed the door. You brushed your teeth, changed into your nightwear, and headed out to the bedroom. You carefully opened and closed the door.

You walked to your side of the bed. The room was dark, and your girlfriend was very much asleep. You slipped into bed and pulled the covers over yourself. You stared up at the ceiling because after night shifts, sleep didn't come gracefully. You turned your head when you heard the sheets ruffle from movements next to you, and you heard the sighs. "Love?" A groggy voice filled the air next to you. 

"Mhm," You hummed, turning your head to the person next to you. "Less, you should be asleep," You whispered, pushing a blonde lock of hair behind her ear when Alessia turned to you. "I was," Alessia muttered, moving closer to you. You opened your arms and let her rest her head on your chest. "I woke you, didn't I?" Alessia just answered with a nod on your chest.

You let your head fall back against the pillow. How is it possible that you are so quiet during house sweep, but when you arrive home, and your only job is not to wake up your girlfriend, you fail? "I was awake already." You didn't fully believe her, but you knew better than to argue with a tired Alessia. "How was work?" Alessia asked as she yawned. You shrugged lightly; you had only patrolled today, nothing too spectacular. "I assure you, there was no shooting with my gun involved," You said in a whisper, pulling Alessia a little closer.

"Bummer." You pulled back, giving Alessia a shocked look, even though she couldn't see it. You were actually baffled; you had no idea what to say to that. "I meant that I'm not disappointed that you didn't shoot anyone, more like that you look really hot with your gun drawn," Alessia quickly stated. You let yourself relax at that. 

"Okay, enough about guns and shooting people. How was your day?" You asked, running your hand through Alessia's hair. Alessia didn't reply; she just hid her face in your neck, making you frown. "Less?"Alessia just shook her head, tightening her hold around your waist. "I don't want to talk about it," Alessia said, her voice muffled against your skin. You frowned lightly, one hand still combing through Alessia's hair and the other running up and down her back.

You shifted lightly and turned on the light. Alessia let out a groan, even though she still had her face buried in your neck, she knew you had turned on the light. "Baby, talk to me." Alessia shook her head again, but did lift her head. Your eyes softened when you saw that Alessia's eyes were red; she had been crying, clearly. "Hey, what happened?" You asked, your voice in a whisper. You cupped her face, your thumb wiping the remaining tear from under Alessia's eye away.

"We lost our chance to win the league today." You nodded, your face softening further. "I had missed so many opportunities; if I just scored them, maybe–" You shook your head, cupping Alessia's face with both hands, and you made sure she was looking at you. 

"Hey, hey," You gently interrupted her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "You play a team sport. Ten other players on the field can score, not only you, understand?" You said, your voice firm, but still the gentleness it always carried when you were talking to Alessia. "But–I'm the striker, I'm supposed to lead the team to the goal and–" You cut Alessia off by a kiss on her lips, silencing her immediately as she melted into the kiss.

"Less, your job isn't only making sure that the ball ends up in the back of the net, that's only partly your job. You also make sure to make runs, so the–what's it called, the CAM person can run into the box?" You heard Alessia giggle at that. Your heart fluttered. Even at this time, you were happy to make Alessia laugh, even if it meant you had to batter football terms. "Less, there is always next year, and I'm sure you're going to win it all with Arsenal, and maybe even some personal trophies," You said, the last part in a teasing tone.

You could feel Alessia smile against your skin. You turned the light off again. When you rolled back, Alessia had settled herself fully on top of you like a cat. You shook your head lightly, your hands resting on Alessia's waist, your thumbs making small circles. Alessia's breath evened out, her breath warm against your neck. You stayed awake for a few seconds longer before closing your eyes as well.

The next morning, Alessia woke up first. She lifted her head. You were still asleep, your hair sticking in all different directions, your mouth slightly parted. Alessia smiled lightly; this is too good an opportunity not to take a picture. Alessia carefully moved herself off you and reached for her phone. "Don't even think about it." Alessia stilled; her hand hadn't even touched her phone yet. She looked over her shoulder. You were still lying with your eyes closed.

You hadn't even moved an inch. "How did you–" You forced one eye open. Alessia groaned and fell back down on the mattress. "I hate your police sense–thingy," Alessia muttered, crossing her arms across her chest, a pout very much visible on the striker's face.  You chuckled and rolled onto your side. Now you were hovering over Alessia, who was still trying very hard to be angry.

"Morning," You whispered, placing a kiss on the corner of her mouth. Alessia turned her head away. You scoffed lightly, pulling back. "Excuse me?" You said, with a tone that suggested you were actually offended. "This is the thanks I get for comforting you yesterday?" Alessia tried ot to smile, but failed. "Technically, that was this morning," Alessia said with a teasing smile, looping her arms around your neck and pulling you down slightly. 

You tried to glare at Alessia, but that was impossible with how adorable she looked. "You can't stay mad at me, can you?" Alessia teased, kissing your jaw lightly. "You're annoying," You muttered, but leaned into her touch. "So I've been told." You shook your head again, kissing Alessia easily on the mouth now. "So, I was wondering," Alessia eventually said, her hands going up and down your very strong, muscled arms, "are you free for today?" You raised an eyebrow. Alessia was using that tone, that tone that meant she was up to something.

"Why are you asking?" You asked, confusion written all over your face. "Just wanted to know if you would like to head into the city for today? Like, have breakfast at our favorite bakery, take a walk through the park, go shopping, and then end the day by walking home or have a nice dinner," Alessia suggested. "I would love to, and we could, but just so you know, I'm on call today," You told Alessia, placing a kiss on top of her nose.

"In normal terms, please," Alessia said. She didn't know all the terms you used at work. "I don't need to be at the station, but if there's an emergency, I will get a call to come help." Alessia nodded in understanding. "Okay, then we'd better get ready, no?" Alessia said, pushing you back by your shoulders. You were stronger than her, but you let her push you back. 

Alessia left the room to change. You moved to the closet. You took your on-call bag and put your police uniform into it. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than driving all the way to the police station to change and drive all the way back where the crime was. You walked to the safe that you had installed behind your nightstand. You typed in the code.

The door opened with beeping sounds, and you took out your badge and gun. You put the safety on and checked it quickly. You put the gun in the back of your jeans. Your sweater covered it. You walked to the bathroom, where Alessia was still making herself ready. As you stood in the doorway, you leaned against the doorframe. Alessia was trying very hard not to fall on her face as she put on her jeans. "Everything okay there?" Alessia spun around, too quickly.

She bumped her elbow against the corner of the bathroom counter. "Aw, fuck, fuck!" You pressed your lips together, really trying not to laugh. It was well known among those who knew Alessia personally that she was the clumsiest person ever to walk the earth. Alessia was still wobbling like a child who was taking their first steps. You quickly moved forward and steadied her by taking her arms. "Okay, we're going to this differently," You said and led Alessia to the bathtub.

"Lessi, for the love of all gods, just sit on the bathtub from now on, until you literally break something," You muttered under your breath. Ýou walked to the sink and brushed your teeth. You heard Alessia grunt and sigh behind, probably still struggling to get on her jeans. How is she one of the best strikers in the world right now, but couldn't put on her own jeans without falling?

Your mind could never answer that question, and you wouldn't get one either, but you didn't mind that much. After you brushed your teeth, you took your hairbrush and started doing your hair. You made it into a tight ponytail, and just to be sure that none of your hair would go into your face, you put some hairspray on your hair. You checked yourself in the mirror, then turned to face Alessia, who had managed to get changed without further incident.

"Less, you're wearing my police department sweater," You stated. Alessia looked down with a smile. Of course, she knew she was wearing it. "What? There isn't a label on it that says do not lend to your football girlfriend." You gave Alessia a flat look, but decided to drop it. "Let's go," Alessia said, and pulled you with her out of the house.

Thirty minutes later, you held open the door from the bakery, letting Alessia step in first. You looked over your shoulder once; it was some kind of instinct. Just to see that everything is clear. You followed Alessia into the bakery. The two of you took a seat in the booth near the corner. Just so the two of you had some privacy. It wasn't that you wanted to hide your relationship.

It was just that you wanted at least one day where fans wouldn't constantly come up and ask Alessia for pictures or an autograph. "You know," Alessia started, giving you all goofy eyes, "you always sit where you can have eyes on the whole room." You gave Alessia a flat look. "I'm a cop." Alessia's grin widened, her elbows resting on the table, her head in her hands. "What's with the look?" You asked, frowning at Alessia. "I don't know, maybe I just like how you go all police mode, even though there is no danger." You pressed your lips into a thin line, giving Alessia an annoyed look.

"There's a small chance that someone with a gun comes in yelling," Alessia said, pointing at the door behind her. You raised an eyebrow, giving Alessia an even flatter look. "Love, you always say that," you said with a sigh, giving Alessia a small smile, "but even if the chances are small, small chances happen to people every day." Your voice was low and even when you stated it. Alessia opened her mouth, but snapped it shut, because she couldn't argue with that. 

"You always know how to ruin the mood," Alessia grumbled with a huff. You just gave a small smile, not a full smile, but big enough that Alessia could see it. "Part of the job," You said with a laugh. Alessia glared at you, but no heat behind it. At that moment, a waitress approached your table, a notepad and pen in her hand. "The usual?" You and Alessia always came when both of you were free, so the waitress already knew your orders.

"Yes, and maybe extra whipped cream with my coffee," Alessia said with a smile, turning her head to the woman. The waitress was in her twenties, maybe mid-twenties; she was always polite, making small talk. A few months ago, you were her first client. You asked for her name calmly; she told you it was Daisy and immediately started rambling about the day's options. You had lifted your menu, but quickly dropped it when Alessia kicked you under the table, telling you to be nice.

"I saw your match yesterday, you were so good," Daisy said to Alessia, dragging you out of your thoughts. You gave Alessia a smirk, because that's what you had told Alessia too yesterday. "You make a good point, Daisy," You said, your voice far too amused. Alessia glared at you before turning her head to Daisy, smiling at her. "Thanks." Daisy wrote down the orders and left. 

When Daisy was out of earshot, Alessia kicked you on the shin. You didn't react to it; you had been punched to the face at the job, so an affectionate kick to the shin by your loving girlfriend was nothing. "I love you too," You said with a smile. The bell above the door chimed. Your eyes immediately went to the sound, and to your surprise, you saw Ella Toone and a few friends of Alessia walking in.

Ella signed to stay quiet, and a teasing smirk spread across her face. "BOO!" Ella yelled, her hands on both Alessia's shoulders, shaking her a little. "Ahh!" Alessia yelled, her hand flying to her chest, and her other covering her mouth. People in the bakery turned to your startled girlfriend; some had annoyed looks on their faces, others smiled, amused at the scene. You tried to hold your laughter, but failed, and it slipped past your lips. "OMG!" Alessia yelled into her hands as she covered her face.

"Ella, I hate you so much!" Alessia hissed, but everyone knew that Alessia was joking. "You don't less," Ella said with a smile and hugged Alessia when she stood up. You stood up as well. You and Ella had a good friendship; you were like a younger-sister/older-sister duo. It worked because both of you loved to mess with Alessia now and then. 

The other friends at the table, you didn't know them that well; all you knew was that they had met Alessia through friends. You had seen them at birthday parties, but they never talked to Alessia; usually, they talked about Alessia and her success. It almost felt like they only hung out with Alessia because of her fame. You had a gut feeling that was the reason, but you had never said that out loud to Alessia; it would break her heart.

Especially when Alessia had told you how happy she was to have friends who didn't care about who she was or where she played. You clenched your jaw, swallowing the words down. You sat back down. Alessia moved seats, so she's now sitting next to you. You rested your arm around Alessia, who leaned her head on your shoulder. Your other hand rested on Alessia's knee, making small, idle circles.

Alessia moved closer, her arms wrapping around your waist. The conversations were easy; you didn't need to say much, but you smiled every time you heard Alessia's easy laugh fill your ears. You turned your head and kissed her temple, smiling at her before focusing on the conversation again.

The conversation flowed easily. Alessia and Ella were talking about football, their podcast, and that fans wanted a new season, but their reasoning was on point. Their football schedule was so busy that they didn't have time to work on a podcast as well. Alessia's other friends, on the other hand, kept asking about Alessia's career, not Ella's. They are fully focused on Alessia's career.

Every time one of them asked something, your jaw clenched, your hand gripped the back of the booth tight, so tight that your knuckles would turn white. Alessia didn't suspect anything. She loved to talk about her career, but sometimes she didn't seem to pick up why people were asking, just like right now. You let out a heavy sigh, clearly getting annoyed with Alessia's 'friends'. Alessia had heard it because she looked up to you, giving you a confused look. You shook your head, placing a kiss on her temple once more.

"But, Lessi, seriously, how does it feel to be the best striker in the world right now?" Alessia frowned at the question Hayle asked. Hayle was a brunette. Her hair was always pulled back in a tight bun, and her face was covered in makeup. Hayle always wore neat clothing, as if she were going to a job interview every day. Never in a million years would you have thought that Alessia would hang out with that kind of people. 

"I don't know if I'm the best striker-" Alessia started, but got immediately cut off by incredulous laughs from across the table. Hayle, Grace, and Elisabeth were laughing so loudly, their heads thrown back. You inhaled deeply, trying so hard not to say anything. You, Alessia, and Ella all looked confused at the three of them. "Lessi, you're definitely the best striker, because we're friends." Oh, boy, your blood was boiling beneath your skin.

It is because you're (technically) not on duty, and Alessia's friends hadn't done anything illegal, that you wouldn't have arrested them right on the spot. "So, what are your guys' plans for later?" Ella asked, trying to change the subject. You were fucking thankful for that, otherwise this conversation would've ended differently. "Oh, we're going shopping," Grace said as she pointed to Hayle and Elisabeth as well.

"The mall is having a big sale, and I NEED new clothes for the summer," Hayle said and gestured to herself. "Hayle, your closet is so full of summer clothing," Elisabeth said, waving her hand in the air. "You don't understand, those clothes are not trending anymore, like, at all." You visibly gagged at that. Who fucking cares if you wear clothing that was trending five months ago?

You felt Alessia move next to you, so you removed your hand from around her. You gave her a questionable look, silently asking where she was going. "I'm just going to the restroom," Alessia whispered in your ear and gave you a quick kiss on the lips. You heard the gagging sounds from Hayle, Grace, and Elisabeth, so you pulled Alessia closer by her waist, kissing her again, but longer.

Alessia kissed back, smiling against your lips. Eventually, you pulled back, a satisfied smile and look on your face. Alessia shook her head. You could see the faint blush on your cheeks. Alessia turned around and headed for the restroom. The second Alessia left, you could feel the air shift, like the weather, when you knew it would rain soon. "So." You closed your eyes. The annoying voice of Hayle fills your ears. You let out a sigh, opened your eyes, and turned your body to look at the three people across from you. Your eyes were sharp, like you were staring down a criminal in an interrogation room.

"Do you always stare people down like that, or is that only reserved for criminals?" You were baffled, how the fuck did they know what you were thinking that? "It's just my face," You answered, hoping that your voice didn't sound irritated. Ella sat next to you, shifting awkwardly in the booth. 

"I'm honestly concerned for Alessia," Grace now said. You clenched your jaw, your hands gripping the leather of the booth under the table, "her life is already chaos with football stuff. I can't imagine that you aren't adding police emergency chaos to that as well." You counted to ten in your head, because you were this close to lunging over the table and smacking their heads on the table. "Guys, this is going a bit far," Ella muttered, giving all three of them a disgusted look.

"No offense, but people expect a certain image around players like Alessia." You let out a silent scoff, shaking your head lightly. "What kind of image is that?" You growled, your eyes hardening. "Oh, you know, I just don’t think I could ever feel comfortable around guns like that," Grace said easily, too easily, like a weapon is the only thing police officers use. "If you think that's all police work is about," You said, your voice awfully cool.

Your heart was beating so fast against your ribs like a constant drum. The air felt heavy, and the chatter of the other people in the bakery fell into the background. You only had eyes for the three people across from you. At this point, you were ready to arrest them for fuck knows what.

Ella sat frozen, watching the scene unfold. She couldn't believe that Hayle, Grace, and Elisabeth were shit-talking you right now. "Guys, stop," Ella said, her voice firmer now. "What? We're only trying to protect Alessia." Ella scoffed. You smiled, but this wasn't a laughable matter. If Alessia needed protection, it was from these three people sitting across from you, and not from you.

You're a cop and a good one. You would make sure that nothing would happen to Alessia, apart from football, because that was out of your hands, but for the rest? You would make sure that you walked between Alessia and the road, that Alessia ate enough protein before training or a match, and, most importantly, that Alessia would feel loved and protected, but not in a possessive way. "But honestly, the two of you have completely different schedules. How do you see each other?" Hayle said again.

God, you were really getting annoyed with her voice. How had you noticed how high-pitched her voice is? It was like a stupid song that had that one lyric that you just couldn't get out of your head for the whole day. "We make it work," You stated, glaring at every single one of them. "How, though? You're coming home at what, like 4 in the morning, and Alessia is still awake, even though she needs to be up early? Yeah, no. That would be a big red flag for me," Grace jumped in.

"I think Alessia is old enough to decide that for herself, and I would never tell her to stay awake until I'm home. I'd rather have her be asleep in bed when I'm home," You said, flexing your fingers under the table. "Grace! Stop it," Ella now said, her voice rising just slightly. You glanced at her. You could tell that Ella was embarrassed because of them. You had nothing against Ella, and now that she's defending you, you'll be forever grateful.

You glanced behind you, just to make sure Alessia wasn't watching from the hallway that led to the restroom. To your relief, she wasn't. "To be honest," Elisabeth said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "I would be constantly stressed out with dating a cop." You tilted your head, pretending to be interested. "And why's that?" Your voice was still even, that's 5 years of police training for you, but deep down, the comments stung you like little darts, but you couldn't go full police mode right now.

"What if my partner is a target of some gang that they arrested, and what if I get hurt because of it?" You laughed fully at that, a low sound that came from deep inside your body. Did she hear herself? A gang? A target? God, she had seen too many police series. You heard the restroom door behind you open. Alessia walked out, a smile on her face, but it dropped slightly when she could feel the change in the air. 

You turned your head, focusing on your drink in front of you. "What's going on? Why does it feel like someone has died?" Alessia asked cautiously, sitting down beside you. Before you could answer, Elisabeth did it for you. "Oh, just some friendly banter. Y/n even gave me some fashion tips." Alessia blinked, staring at her friends and then back at you. "Y/n? Advising about fashion?" Alessia repeated, not believing what she was hearing.

"Is this–is this true?" Alessia asked, turning her head to look at you. You were really close to saying no, but you decided not to. "Yes, Hayle would really fit in a pink, glittered jumpsuit," You said, looking at Hayle, who turned bright red. "Okay, yeah, Hayle? Please don't take y/n's advice," Alessia grimaced, giving you a flat look, because she knew you were messing with Hayle.

"Excuse me, I give absolutely good fashion advice," you said, your hands flying to your chest, as Alessia's words had visibly hurt you. Alessia gave you her lovely smile before leaning her head on your shoulder. Alessia could feel that your body was tense. She turned her head on your shoulder, meeting your eyes, silently asking if everything was okay.

You replied by kissing her on the forehead. You felt Alessia's body relax against you, turning her head to the conversation again. Your phone buzzed in your pocket, you took it out and answered when you saw that it was work. "Yes?" You said, your voice immediately alert, straightening yourself, making Alessia lift her head from your shoulder. "Yeah, I'm coming," You said quickly. You took your bag from between your feet. Alessia and Ella gave you a concerned look, while the other three looked at you like they had exactly proven their point.

You ignored them and ran into the restroom, changed quickly into your uniform, and put on your belt. You walked out of the restroom, your bag slung over your shoulder. You laid money for Ella's, Alessia's, and your breakfast. Hayle, Grace, and Elisabeth give you a dirty look, the anger from earlier coming back to you in a tidal wave, your hand tightening on the strap of your bag.

Alessia saw the change in your demeanor immediately, giving you a confused look. You usually gave her a quick kiss and told her that you would call her, but you couldn't stay any longer in the proximity of those fake friends of hers. You gave her a final reassuring look before running out the door.

Alessia watched you go, something unsettling sitting in the pit of her stomach. She was confused that you didn't kiss her goodbye or reassure her with your usual words. Alessia's eyes stayed on the door, her heart pounding in her chest. Alessia always hated this. Not knowing if you would come back or if it was just a normal welfare check, and you would be home early.

Alessia's leg bounced nervously up and down under the table, her fingernails tapping against the table. "I'm sure she'll be fine," Ella reassured Alessia, placing a hand on the striker's shoulder. "So, what are you going to do later, Alessia?" Elisabeth asked. Ella rolled her eyes. She had thought that shit-talking you was done, but no. "What do you mean?" Alessia asked with a frown, clearly confused about what Elisabeth meant, because she was using that weird tone. "Oh, you know, now that y/n left you hanging, what are you going to do now?" Grace clarified, an innocent smile on her face.

"Hanging?" Alessia repeated, still very confused. "Y/n didn't leave me hanging," Alessia said, "I know she was on call, we only planned breakfast together, so I don't know what you guys are suggesting," Alessia clarified, suspicion rising now. Elisabeth leaned back, shrugging lightly. "I'm  just saying, I don't know how you deal with it." Alessia frowned. "Deal with what?"

Grace leaned forward, gesturing with her hand at Alessia. "The constant waiting around," Grace said lightly, "y/n could literally leave at any moment, like we've seen just now," Grace stated, gesturing at the door at the last part. Alessia shook her head. "That's her job," Alessia said immediately, not knowing where all the hassle toward you was suddenly coming from.

"Yeah, but doesn't that get exhausting?" Hayle asked. "Like you're–you're Alessia Russo. Your schedule is already really insane." Alessia blinked several times. "What's that supposed to mean?" Grace leaned forward again. "Nothing bad," She said quickly, too quickly. "Just that your lives don't exactly fit together." Alessia shook her head; her blood slowly began to form a bubble under the skin. Ella, who was watching the scene unfold, shook her head in disgust. Ella's face tightened.

"That's enough." Her voice was low, full of warning. Alessia had only ever heard that tone once before, and it was during a very intense match for the Lionesses. "What?" Elisabeth turned to Ella. "We're talking." Ella shook her head, her jaw tightening slightly. "No, you're picking apart Alessia's and y/n's relationship. That's not 'just talking' in my eyes. "A heavy silence fell over the table before Elisabeth scoffed, leaning back against the booth. "Oh my god, we're not attacking her," Elisabeth said. "We're just being realistic." Hurt flashed across Alessia's features. Realistic?  

"Not attacking her? Do you hear yourself right now?" Ella asked, her voice was full of disbelief. Alessia sat there silently. She really thought she had found friends outside of football, only to find out they were talking shit about her girlfriend. "I think we should go," Hayle muttered, paying for the other two as well, because you hadn't paid for them before you had left. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Ella said angrily, her hand still on Alessia's shoulder.

Alessia didn't say anything when they left; she just stared blankly at the empty seats across from her. "I can't believe this," Alessia said, her voice muffled because she had her face covered by her hands. Ella's eyes softened, moving closer. "Don't listen to them, okay?" Alessia removed her hands from her face and turned her head to look at Ella. "What you and y/n have is special, don't let anyone tell you that it isn't." Alessia smiled weakly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"At least, I can count on you, right?" Ella smiled and immediately nodded. "Of course, I'm your best friend, and I'll always have your back, no matter what." Alessia didn't say anything; she just pulled Ella into a hug. Ella wrapped her arms around Alessia immediately, her hand going up and down Alessia's back. 

"So," Ella said, when they both pulled back from the hug, "do you want to go somewhere?" Alessia shook her head. She would not be good company. She would stress too much about you. Alessia didn't want to dump all that on Ella. "I think-" Alessia started, but cut herself off with a tired sigh, "I think I'll just go home, and wait until y/n gets home." Ella nodded in understanding. "Of course, do you want me to walk with you?" Alessia shook her head; that was not necessary, but it was sweet that Ella offered.

"Thanks, but I'll manage," Alessia said, giving Ella a reassuring smile. Elle eyed Alessia for a few seconds, but decided not to go into it. "Alright, you know you can call me or even text me, I'll be at your door in record time." Alessia smiled despite herself, because she wouldn't be surprised that Ella would. Both Alessia and Ella walked out of the coffee shop. Alessia listened for a police car, hoping to hear one to see if the scene you went to was nearby, but she didn't hear one. Alessia and Ella said their goodbyes, and both went their separate ways. Alessia shook off the nagging feeling that was around her, but she didn't know why she was feeling that.

You drove through the city, the sound of your alarm making heads turn on the pavement, and cars ahead of you trying to give you space. Your radio crackled with information. You tightened your grip on the steering wheel, the anger you felt at the bakery still very much present. You shook your head. You couldn't think about that right now. The call you got was about a domestic dispute. You knew the address because you had gone there for welfare checks four times in the last six months.

You let out a heavy sigh. The woman at the address had a restraining order against her ex-husband. Apparently, he didn’t care much about that. "Control, unit two three," You said over the radio. You wanted to be on unit 23 because of Alessia's jersey number, so that you have her close during the job. "Two three, go ahead." You weaved through traffic, your lights reflecting in the windows of the shops that you were passing.

"Two three making for (going to) the domestic. Can I get further information on the 999 call?" A short burst of static followed. "Caller reports a male, mid-forties, forced his way into the house approximately fifteen minutes ago. Neighbors informed us that the female of the home and her two kids are inside." You tightened your hold on the wheel. "Male was seen with an object in hand, but neighbors couldn't quite make out what it was." Your jaw tightened as you made a right at the end of the street. 

"Neighbors also reported screaming and shouting, as well as glass breaking." You looked at your route. You were still two minutes out. "Received. ETA two minutes. Any more units on route?" You asked, stepping on the gas a bit more. "Affirmative, unit one seven responding from the south." You ended the call and arrived at the scene. You slowly drove to the group of people that had gathered in front of the house. Two other units were already there. You were the on-call sergeant, so you were leading the scene.

The second you stepped out of the car, you heard the screaming and yelling from inside the house. You looked out the window, where the sounds were coming from; the people in the house were on the second floor. You once saw a shadow in the window. You could tell it was the suspect. The shadow had broad shoulders, waving around something in the air. You walked to the nearby officers, who were discussing something.

"Morning," You said, greeting the other officers. "What do we have so far?" You asked the group of officers whom you greeted. "Male, mid-forties, forced his way into the house, and yelling came afterward," a younger-looking officer said. You nodded and looked at the officer's name; it was Ryan. "How long until negotiators get here?" Ryan shrugged before saying, "They said ten minutes from now." You shook your head, looking at the window of the house again. 

You turned to look at Ryan, but quickly looked at the house again when you heard another scream. "We can't wait that long," You snapped. You were furious, but you didn't know at what or who? The suspect inside? The negotiators who were still 10 minutes out? At your job, because they called you away from your peaceful breakfast, well, as peaceful as it could be, considering Alessia's lovely friends? You rolled your shoulders, easing the tension there, but it didn't fully disappear.

As Ryan and the other officers gave you more details, the screaming in the house got louder and louder. You heard something again break inside. It took you every ounce in your body not to run inside with guns blazing. You had no idea where your usually calm composure was, but it was gone. Usually, you stayed calm, asked further questions, but now? All you wanted to do was run into that house, take down the suspect, and make sure the victims were safe.

But you couldn't, because you had no idea whether the suspect was armed, and that sucked the most. Ryan started to tell you more about the suspect, but then you heard a loud bang from the house. Your heart stopped as you looked at the house. You breathed hard, your chest rising and falling quickly. 

You didn't wait. You ran to the house. Ryan yelled something at you, but you ignored him; you ignored everyone who was screaming at you to get back. You drew your weapon as you walked up the porch, scanning through the windows, to see if you saw any movements. Once you were sure that the coast was clear, you entered the threshold. The floor creaked beneath your feet when you entered the house.

You scanned the rooms on the main floor, and you found dinner plates on the ground, shattered into pieces. You felt your heartbeat pick up, your breathing become uneven. You leaned against the wall, trying to calm your breathing. Next to you were the stairs, and you could hear the screaming clearer now, the hold you had on your gun tightening.

You closed your eyes, but opened them again as you pushed off the wall and turned the corner, pointing your gun up the stairs. You swallowed as you slowly and carefully walked up the stairs. Your steps were light as you slowly walked up the stairs.

Once you finally managed to arrive upstairs without anyone noticing, most importantly, the suspect hadn't heard you yet. Your eyes scanned the hallway that got lit up by the flickering light above you. Your eyes looked at the wall in front of you. The wall was covered with family pictures. Kids smiling in pictures, a mother holding a baby. Your eyes softened lightly. The woman and her two kids lived a happy life, but that life got rudely interrupted by someone.

It made your blood boil immediately that someone dared to scare little kids in their own house, where they were supposed to feel safe and have nothing to worry about. A cry came from your left, alerting you immediately. "Please," You heard a woman sob. Her voice was full of fear. You closed your eyes before moving to your left, to clear the other rooms in the hallway.

You reached the first door and opened it carefully, closing your eyes, but luckily, the door didn't make a sound. Thank fuck. You could tell that the room you just entered was a kid's room. The bed sheets were pink, and a teddy bear was neatly placed near the cushions. You checked under the bed until you heard a quiet sob from the closet. At first, you thought it was from the woman in the other room, but then you heard something getting knocked over. 

You slowly walked to the closet and opened it. Your heart sank. There, in the closet, sat two little kids, one shielding the other in their arms. You immediately crouched down, your eyes level with the child who was still shielding the other. "Hi," You whispered, lowering your gun immediately. Your voice was soft and calming, trying not to scare the kids more than they already are. "I'm not going to hurt you," You coaxed, holding both your hands, showing the kids that you really weren't here to hurt them.

The child protector to the other didn't look older than 7; his hair was blonde, at least, from what you could see in the dark, but you couldn't miss his shiny light blue eyes. His lower lip trembled, just like his whole body. The poor kid didn't know what was happening. Your eyes went to the child the boy was shielding. Your heart broke. The girl in his arms had a cut on her temple. Your jaw clenched. The boy and girl both covered their ears when another cry was heard from the woman in the other room. Your heartbeat picked up again.

"You stay in here, okay?" You whispered, looking in the little boy's eyes, hoping that he knew he could trust you. "You don't come out until I'm back, you understand?" The boy nodded with his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Good boy," You whispered, wiping the tears from his cheeks. 

You closed the closet and drew your gun again, looking to see if the safety was off; it was. You tiptoed out of the room, closing the door softly, making sure that there was no click when you let the door fall into the lock. You breathed out a shaky breath, moving your feet to the stairs again. The light from the room where the suspect was in slipped through the half-open door. "Please, I'm begging you!" The woman screamed, but a cry followed when you heard a violent crack.

Your body stilled, the cries of the woman filling your ears. "I'm doing this for what's best for us! For the kids!" A male voice roared, his feet heavy on the wooden floor. You felt the vibration of his steps through the hallway. You slowly walked up to the door, looking through the small gap. From what you could see, the man was pacing, tugging with his free hand at his hair.

His face was red, like he had just eaten the most spicy sauce that existed. When you saw that the suspect turned around to growl at the wall, you took the opportunity to open the door slowly. You stepped inside, praying to any god that the wood beneath your feet wouldn't creak. Once inside, you looked to your left, and a woman was pressed in the corner, her arms full of bruises and some cuts; they weren't deep, but enough to draw blood. 

You leaned back, your shadow coming over the woman, who immediately looked up, her arms covering her face. After a beat, the woman looked at you, finally, her eyes red from crying, her neck red, so you could tell that the suspect had choked her. You brought your index finger to your lips, telling the woman to stay quiet.

The woman's whole body shook, her face contorting when she moved. The woman couldn't be older than her mid-twenties; a bruise was visible under her right eye, and dried blood under her nose. God, how many times have you been to this house for a welfare check and just left? Left the woman with a man who had hurt her god how many times. Guilt washed over you. How many times had you left, and the second that the front door closed, the woman got beaten up? How many fucking times had you left, and those scared little kids ran up the stairs and hid in the closet, afraid that their father would turn on them?

You got dragged out of your thoughts by heavy footsteps. You had barely looked up when a body slammed into you. The force of the hit made you stagger back, your back hitting the door closed behind you.

The air got knocked out of your lungs, your ears ringing when your head hit the door behind you as you fell to the floor. You could hear the woman's pleading cries. You had barely caught your breath when you ducked just inches. The suspects first connected with the door. He howled, holding his hand. Managing to roll away with a safe distance, you pushed yourself up. "Frank, please!" The woman screamed, holding her stomach, her face contorting at the sudden movements.

The suspect, Frank, spun so violently that he almost lost his balance. "You need to shut the fuck up! The only thing that mouth is good for is sucking my dick!" Your blood was boiling. The whole day, your fury was boiling beneath the surface, but it was this close to boiling over. "You're nothing more than a slut!" Your chest heaved, your hands curling into fists at your side. You checked Frank. He reeked of alcohol, weed, and cigarette smoke. "I lost my job because of you! A job I used for providing for you, for the kids, for us! Don't you understand?" Frank yelled, his voice full of fury and anger.

"Frank!" You yelled, making Frank turn around. You had your gun pointed at him, breathing heavily. You never liked to point your gun at someone; it was the worst part of the job, putting someone's life in your hands. You luckily had only shot someone once, and you weren't planning on repeating that today. 

Frank's eyes were dark, pupils blown. Yeah, he was drunk, you could tell that much. "I don't want to shoot you," You said, your voice calm and even. You had negotiation training when you joined the force; they had helped you with many cases in the past. "You can still do the right thing." Frank scoffed, shaking his head, smiling, but there was nothing funny about this situation. You got into a little staredown, neither of you doing anything.

Though you were still on alert, your finger stayed on the trigger, but you had lowered your gun. "C'mon, Frank, it's over," You said, loosening your finger on the trigger. "I'm a dead man," Frank growled, making you frown, but before you could say anything, Frank sprinted straight at you. You aimed your gun, but before you could pull the trigger, you got slammed to the ground. A painful groan left your lips, your gun still in your hands. Frank sat on top of you, trying to take the gun from your hands. You both struggled for the gun.

You had your finger on the trigger and pulled it, but Frank turned the gun to the side at the last second, the bullet going straight through the couch in the middle of the room. Both of you struggled for a few seconds before the gun flew to the corner of the room. Frank didn't wait; he took your ponytail and smacked your head against the floor. It took you several seconds; you just saw stars. You had to blink a few times before your vision returned to normal. 

You kneed Frank in the groin, and your fist immediately made contact against his jaw. You tried to push him off you, but he was just too fucking heavy. You saw Frank reach behind him. Your eyes widened when you saw the shining silver object in the air. It was a kitchen knife. You struggled even more with pushing him off you. "You should've never meddled in our business." You glared at him because that was the only thing you could do; pushing him off you was of no use.

"It's my job," You snapped, but before you could add anything to it, a sharp pain went through you, and then another and another. Frank's weight left you immediately. It felt like you could breathe again, the weight letting air back into your lungs, but instead of standing up and arresting him, you lay limp on the floor. Your hand came to your chest from where the pain was coming from. You felt something warm under your fingertips, something that slid down your sides. As you lifted your hand, you only saw red. Blood. A lot of blood.

You felt lightheaded, you could barely hear the moment when people stormed into the room, yelling at Frank, "Drop the weapon! Fucking drop the weapon!" You heard something clatter vaguely in the distance, like you were underwater, and someone was talking to you above water. 

"y/n!" Ryan yelled and ran to you, putting pressure on one of the wounds. "T-the kids–" You tried to speak, blood coming out of your mouth, "they're in the room–n-next to the stairs," You gasped, the air leaving you all of a sudden. You swallowed lightly, tasting the metallic taste of blood. "T-they're–" your own coughing cut your words off, blood flowing from your mouth down your neck, "they're in the clo–closet, tell them, they're safe." Your head rolled back, your eyes closing.

"Hey, hey, stay awake!" Ryan said, shaking you with one hand, the other still putting pressure on one of your wounds. As your eyes were closed, you pictured Alessia—her smile, her laugh, her touch, and everything else that you remembered so well about her. In the distance, you heard Ryan yell, "Get the medics!" Those words barely registered. You tried to keep your eyes open, but they were just too heavy; you just needed to close them, just for a few seconds.

Five hours. It had been five hours since Alessia arrived home from the bakery. She had been pacing from one room to the other ever since. She had checked her phone every thirty minutes, but not a single call or message from you. Alessia sat restlessly on the couch, already having drunk six very awful-tasting coffees. The TV was on, showing highlights of an Arsenal match, but Alessia wasn't really watching. Her attention went back to her phone or to the outside, knowing that you were somewhere, helping other people.

Alessia didn't know what it was, but when you had left the bakery earlier, without kissing her goodbye and actually reassuring her, it didn't sit right with her. You had never done that. You always made sure to reassure Alessia. Alessia shook her head, getting startled when her phone buzzed. Alessia snatched her phone from the coffee table. You could have texted her, but when Alessia saw who had, anger sparked beneath her skin. It was Hayle.

Alessia scoffed and threw her phone face down back on the coffee table. She was angry at her three friends. At how they attacked you with their words back at the bakery. Alessia was fine with them not liking you, but it was wrong of them to say it straight to your face. You always had Alessia's back, no matter what, and she had yours. 

Alessia let out a heavy sigh, leaning back against the couch, her eyes on the ceiling. She closed her eyes, shaking her head lightly. When Alessia's phone buzzed, she snatched it off the table again, not even looking at who called and answered the call. "y/n," Alessia said immediately. When the voice she heard wasn't yours, Alessia's shoulders dropped. "No news, I'm guessing?" Ella said on the other end of the line. Alessia shook her head like Ella could see that over the phone. Alessia realized that Ella couldn't.

"No." Alessia rubbed her free hand over her face. She hated this. Hated not knowing how you were or where you were. "No, she hasn't texted or called me," Alessia muttered, her voice strangled; the fear had rooted itself deep in her chest. "She's fine, I'm sure. y/n is a tough cookie, don't doubt that." Alessia laughed a little at the nickname Ella gave you. "She will hate you when she finds out you called her that," Alessia teased, wrapping her free arm around herself.

The apartment was so cold, or it was just Alessia's nervous system running extra time, yeah, it probably was the last one. "Oh god, please, don't let her go full bad cop on me, I'm innocent," Ella pleaded. Alessia shook her head, laughing again. "Is me being afraid of your girlfriend funny to you, Lessi?" Ella asked, wounded. "Meh," Alessia said, dragging out the word. 

"You are both evil, like Scar evil," Ella shot back, but no real heat behind it. "You love us anyway," Alessia replied, her shoulders still shaking from laughter. "I'm not so sure about that," Ella grumbled. Alessia was already picturing Ella right now, pouting with her arms crossed, trying to glare at her. "You're glaring, aren't you?" Alessia teased, her voice amused. "I-I 'm not!" Ella said defensively. Alessia just hummed, not believing what Ella was saying.

"Tooney, c'mon!" Alessia heard someone yell on the phone. "Sorry, less, I need to go," Ella said, her voice sounding apologetic and turning serious again. "Just so you know, y/n will be fine." Alessia hummed. They said their goodbyes before Alessia ended the call. Alessia stared blankly ahead of herself, the tension and fear coming back to her so fast that it almost gave her a whiplash. Alessia was about to lie down on the couch when a knock was heard on the door. Alessia stilled, the breath leaving her lungs.

She hadn't ordered anything and didn't expect company. A chilly feeling went through Alessia's whole body, the air shifting to something colder, almost like a rain cloud hanging only above Alessia's head. Alessia let out a sigh and pushed herself up from the couch, and slowly padded to the door.

Alessia's heart dropped to her stomach when she opened the door, and two police officers stood in front of her, their faces unreadable, but not fully so, so Alessia knew something had happened. "Officers, w-what–" Alessia shook her head, no, she already knew something had happened to you. "Is it bad?" Alessia's voice cracked, her eyes filled with tears. "Do you have time to come with us, Ms. Russo?" Alessia let her tears fall at that. The officer's voice was sad, defeated.

Alessia nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "W-what happened? Is she–" God, Alessia couldn't even get the words out, she just couldn't. "Sergeant y/l/n is at the hospital. She's in surgery now–" Alessia didn't hear the rest of it. Her hand flew to her mouth, covering the sobs that came out. The tears were falling freely now, and her whole body shook uncontrollably.

"Bring me to the hospital," Alessia cried, closing the door behind her. The officers gave Alessia hesitant looks, but nodded when Alessia pleaded, "Please," her voice cracking. Alessia texted Ella quickly. She needed someone there, someone who could hold her up when she would break down, because she was already halfway there.

The hospital's waiting room was awfully quiet. Alessia had been sitting there for an hour now. She barely remembered the drive to it. When she was in the car, her eyes landed on the red, dried-up blood from the officer in the passenger seat. Alessia's blood ran cold when her mind thought that it was your blood. Was it your blood? Alessia shook her head and opened her eyes. The hospital's walls were white. They were always white. Everything was white, even the seat that Alessia was sitting on.

As Alessia sat there, she immediately looked up when a doctor or nurse walked by, but neither approached her nor gave her any information about you. Alessia didn't know if you were out of surgery or if you were still in there. Alessia felt helpless, the control she always had on the pitch slipping through her fingers. On the pitch, she controlled the ball, controlled the play, but now she was waiting, waiting, waiting. Alessia wiped the tears from under her eyes, but it was of no use; new tears followed within seconds.

"Please," Alessia begged, leaning forward, covering her face with the sleeves of her sweater. The only sound that filled the empty waiting room was Alessia's sobs and the ticking clock on the far wall above the doors. Alessia's body shook with every sob, her cries becoming louder, rawer with the seconds. 

Alessia tried to get air in her lungs, but she could barely take a breath before a sob escaped her. Alessia lifted her head when she heard footsteps approach her. Her eyes landed on Ella, whose eyes were shining as well. "Oh, Less," Ella said in a whisper, dropping to her knees in front of her best friend. Alessia immediately fell into Ella's arms. Ella wrapped her arms around Alessia's shaking body. Alessia hid her face in the crook of Ella's neck, crying uncontrollably. "I've got you, I'm here," Ella whispered, rocking both of them back and forth. "They don't tell me anything–I don't know–" Alessia cried, fisting Ella's sweater in her hands.

"She didn't even–kiss me goodbye this morning!" Ella's heart broke at that. Alessia's voice was raw, heartbroken, and in so much distress. Alessia's breathing became erratic; barely any air reached her lungs. "Less, you need to breathe," Ella whispered in Alessia's hair. Alessia took a deep breath but couldn't hold it in. "Less, hey, hey. In through your nose, out through your mouth," Ella instructed, pushing her own panic for you down.

Ella lifted Alessia's head by her chin, so the striker was looking at her. "Follow my lead," Ella whispered, and breathed into her nose and calmly out of her mouth. Alessia did as well, and after a few minutes, Alessia's breathing returned to normal, her body less shaking. 

"That's it," Ella whispered, her hands going up and down Alessia's back. After Alessia had fully calmed down, Ella led her to the chairs, and they both sat down. Alessia's hands were covering her face, and Ella was still comforting Alessia as best as she could. "Family of y/l/n?" Alessia looked up. A man in a white jacket stood in front of her, his hair slid back, a clipboard in his hands. "Yes, that's us," Ella said when she noticed that Alessia couldn't get any words out.

"She's out of surgery, but–" The doctor stopped himself, taking a deep breath. His eyes were tired like he had stayed up all night, but needed to stay awake. "There were severe complications with the surgery. She has lost a lot of blood. Her wounds had damaged a big part of her left lung." Alessia shook her head, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. "B-but, she's okay?" The doctor looked down briefly as he swallowed. "We're doing everything we can. The next 24 hours are crucial." Alessia nodded, not that she had heard anything the doctor had said. 

"Can–can I see her?" Alessia asked, her voice hoarse from all the crying, but she didn't care. "Are you sure?" Alessia nodded, standing up with shaky legs. "Hey," Ella said, holding Alessia's hand. "I'll be right here." Alessia gave Ella a thankful smile before following the doctor. As Alessia followed the doctor, she could see the other patients walking through the hospital. Some walked with their IV through the hallways, their hospital gowns inches away from the floor, and some rolled in wheelchairs that were getting pushed by nurses.

Alessia looked at the walls. Art pieces hung every two meters to add some color to the all-white walls. Alessia always found hospitals depressing, and this one was no different. Shouldn't hospitals have colorful walls? To cheer the patients up, instead of these boring white walls. Alessia shook her head because colors meant hope, and some patients here didn't have hope, whether they knew they would die or not.

Alessia turned right, walking past another waiting room, where a mother was distracting a child in her lap while the husband spoke to a doctor. "Here is her room," The doctor said, clearing his throat and stopping short of the closed doors. "I'll leave you to it," The doctor said with a sympathetic smile before turning around and walking away. Alessia stood in front of the closed door for a few seconds, but eventually opened the door with a shaky hand. The air left Alessia when she looked into the room. 

Alessia stood frozen in the doorframe, her breath catching when she saw you. A beeping monitor stood next to your bed, and all kinds of wires attached to your body made Alessia shiver. Alessia walked further into the room, closing the door behind her. She slowly walked to your side. Alessia's eyes filled with tears again. You looked so different, so small, your guard down. Your skin was pale, your lips dry. Alessia swallowed and sat on the chair that stood against the right wall.

A sob left Alessia's lips, who covered her mouth with a hand, afraid to wake you up. "You're breaking my heart," Alessia whispered, lying her head on the bed. She sat like that for several minutes, just crying, not daring to touch you, afraid that she would hurt you. Alessia lifted her head and looked at you again. Your chest moved slowly up and down. Alessia let out a breath. You're breathing, you're alive. Alessia wiped the tears from her cheeks, but they just kept coming.

Alessia looked at your face. A dark bruise was forming on your right eye, red scratch marks on your neck, and a bandage was put on your eyebrow. Alessia's hand moved on its own accord. She carefully took one of your hands in hers. Your hand was cold, not soft like it usually was. Alessia's thumb brushed your knuckles; the skin there was torn, already turning blue. 

"Oh, y/n," Alessia whispered, bringing your hand against her lips, and kissed your knuckles. Alessia stilled when she felt your hand touch her lips. A small shock went through your hand. Alessia felt it; she really felt it. Hope filled her eyes, her hand tightening lightly around yours. "I'm here, baby, I'm here," Alessia whispered, choking on her words. Alessia saw your eyelids move, but your eyes stayed closed. Pride swelled in Alessia's chest.

This was you, hearing her, wanting to see her. The same face you thought about in that house after you got hurt, seeing the face that you always woke up next to. Alessia blinked rapidly, tears falling down her cheeks once more, but she didn't wipe them away; she kept holding your hand, kept feeling the tremors in your hand. Your eyelids moved more and more, until they fluttered open. You blinked rapidly. The lights above you weren't that bright, but to you, it felt like you were taking your first steps outside, with the sun beaming straight into your eyes. The monitor's beeping stayed steady.

You frowned lightly. You heard the annoying beeping somewhere far in the distance, but the more you opened your eyes, the clearer the beeping became. You felt something warm against your hand. You tried to turn your head, but winced when your head throbbed. 

"Hey, hey, don't move," A voice said. Your body relaxed immediately, recognizing the voice from anywhere. Alessia. "Less–" You croaked, your mouth so dry the room was spinning; you had to close your eyes again, but then you remembered everything. The call, the house, the scared kids in the closet. Oh, god, the kids in the closet. You had promised to go to them when they were safe.

Alessia looked up when the monitor started beeping loudly. She didn't know much about the machine, but she did know which line monitored your heartbeat, and that one was rising higher and higher. Alessia took your hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "y/n, calm down. You're okay, you're safe," Alessia whispered, her thumbs going over your split-open knuckles. You tried to swallow, focusing on Alessia's voice, and eventually, the beeping settled, making Alessia sigh. As you opened your eyes again, you carefully turned your head, and your eyes landed on Alessia. Her eyes held panic, her body slightly shaking.

"Why are you always the one to run into danger first?" Alessia asked with a sob, dropping her head on your bed, her body finally giving in to the exhaustion of the day. You opened your mouth, but you had no good excuse to tell, because it was true, you do run into danger first, that's your job. 

"C-can I get something to drink?" Your voice was hoarse. Alessia nodded immediately, standing up and taking the cup of water with a straw from the nightstand. Alessia walked back to the side of your bed, putting the straw in your mouth. You took two big sips, groaning when you tried to swallow, your throat hurt so fucking much. "Thank you," You whispered as you carefully settled back down on the bed.

Alessia placed the cup of water back on the nightstand and took your hand again when she sat down. Your eyes fluttered closed again, drifting off to sleep. Alessia stayed where she was. Right by your side, not letting go of you. She would call the doctor in a few minutes. She just wanted to stay alone with you for now. Alessia lay her head carefully on your lap, her own eyes getting heavy.

Out of instinct, even in your sleep, your free hand came up and rested on the back of Alessia's neck, your thumb stroking slowly over Alessia's neck. It almost felt normal again, almost. The monitor became a sound in the background, pulling both you and Alessia to sleep with her hand in yours, and your hand resting lightly in the back of Alessia's neck.

The next morning, Alessia groaned when she woke up. Her body felt stiff, and her neck hurt from the awkward angle she slept in. Alessia rolled her shoulders, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It took a few seconds to realize where she was, but then the events from yesterday came rushing back. Alessia's eyes landed on you. Your skin got some of its color back. Alessia let out a relieved sigh; it meant that you were healing.

She looked at your chest, seeing it rise and fall evenly. Alessia stayed by your side on her phone, texting some teammates to give them more information about your status. Alessia turned her head to the door when she heard it open. The doctor from yesterday walked in, looking more well-rested than yesterday. "Good morning, Ms. Russo," The doctor greeted Alessia, closing the door behind him. "Morning," Alessia said with a yawn. At that moment, you moved lightly on the bed, a groan escaping your lips when you moved.

Alessia's eyes landed on you immediately, as did the doctors'. Blinking rapidly against the light, you opened your eyes. Alessia stepped back, giving the doctor the room that he needed to assess you. "Good morning, Ms. Russo." Alessia's eyes widened. The two of you weren't married, let alone have had that talk, yet. "Mhm, that has a nice ring to it," You muttered, clearly the painkillers still in your system. 

Alessia turned bright red, but didn't correct you. "How are you feeling?" The doctor asked you after a few minutes, so you were more awake. "Like I got hit by a truck." The doctor chuckled at that. "That's understandable, but the good thing is, you can joke, which means you're doing better." You didn't reply; you just nodded. "Your vitals are stable, but we keep monitoring you. All you need to do is rest, and no sudden movements," The doctor informed you as he wrote something on the clipboard that hung on the foot of the bed.

"I'll make sure that she doesn't move," Alessia said from where she stood, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. You glared at her, but with no heat; you had never liked it when people would fuss about you. "I have no doubt in that," The doctor said, straightening her jacket. "Alright, I'll leave you to it, and if anything changes, you know how to reach me," the doctor said to Alessia, pointing to the red button on the wall next to your bed.

Alessia nodded with her head, hoping to god that she didn't need to press the big red button. When the doctor left, Alessia took a seat next to your bed again, but didn't say anything. You lay there in silence, everything from yesterday replaying in your head. "I'm sorry," You whispered eventually, making Alessia meet your eyes. 

You tried to blink the tears away that had already formed in your eyes, but they fell anyway. Before you could wipe them away, Alessia had already cupped your face, wiping the tears away from under your eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for." You shook your head, because you did have to be sorry. You had walked out of the bakery yesterday without kissing Alessia goodbye, without telling her that you loved her, without reassuring her that you would be okay, and that guilt was clawing at your chest.

"I shouldn't have walked away yesterday as I did," You whispered, the emotion in your voice you couldn't keep down anymore. Alessia lowered her head. "No, you shouldn't have." You looked down at that, your hands clasped together in your lap. Your vision turned blurry, but you didn't have the energy to wipe the tears away. Next to you, Alessia sniffs, making you look up to her again.

"I–I was just so hurt about what your friends said, and I–started to believe them." Alessia's eyes met yours. The usual blue eyes, full with joy, were sad, so fucking sad, and it was your fault. "I just needed to get out of there, because–" You stopped yourself, a sob leaving your lips. 

"I started to believe that–what if I'm not enough for you, less?" Alessia's heart broke at that. Of course, she thought you were enough for her; she knew you were. "Don't you dare say that," Alessia sobbed, tears falling freely from her eyes. "Less," You croaked, hands trembling in your lap. "Think about it, every time I end up in the hospital, you're there too, but you should be training, not sitting here," You said, wiping more tears away.

"I want to be here," Alessia cried, standing up from where she was sitting. "I'm here because I love you, only you!" Your lower lip trembled as you looked away. "You don't get to decide I'm better off without you; I decide that too, not only you!" You forced yourself to meet Alessia's eyes; the look in them was hurt. "Less–" You whispered. "No, no, no. I don't care what my friends said yesterday, because I know how I feel. I love you, no matter what!" You swallowed, pride spreading through your chest.

"I love you too," You choked out, your eyes locked with Alessia's, and seeing Alessia's shoulders drop. "I love you so much, the last thing I pictured before passing out was you, it was everything about you," You sobbed. Alessia didn't say anything; she just stepped forward, carefully helped you up, and hugged you tightly.

You gently pulled Alessia closer, who now needed to sit on the bed. "Y/n, you need to rest," Alessia whispered in your hair. "I can rest just fine when you lie next to me," You replied. Alessia didn't argue and settled next to you in the small space of the single bed. Alessia's head rested on your shoulder, her arms carefully placed on your waist, avoiding your wounds. The two of you lay there in silence, one of your hands going absentmindedly through Alessia's hair.

"I'm happy that you stayed." Alessia lifted her head, looking confused up at you. "I mean, like, stayed here at the hospital," You clarified. Alessia's eyes softened, resting her head on your shoulder again. "There's no place I'd rather be," Alessia whispered, turning her head to place a kiss on your shoulder. "I don't deserve you." Your voice was barely above a whisper, but Alessia heard it, of course, she did. Alessia just shook her head.

"We're not going to do that discussion again," Alessia muttered, turning her body to you. "You're stuck with me." That made you smile despite yourself. Your smile faded when you thought about an earlier thought you had. Alessia felt your body still next to her. "What's on your mind?" Alessia asked without looking up. Closing your eyes, you let out a sigh. You were debating whether to tell Alessia, but you knew she would know something was up, so you decided just to tell her. 

"I–I think I want to quit my job," You whispered. You felt Alessia freeze next to you, her head lifting from your shoulder. "What–why?" You let out a heavy sigh, letting your head rest against the pillow behind you. You shook your head. "I just–don't want to be the reason for you to worry constantly, because I know you do. You talk in your sleep sometimes, mostly after I come back from a case." Alessia frowned at that, because you had never told her that.

"I sleep talk?" Your lips twitched when you saw the small frown between Alessia's brows. "You do, it's very adorable," You said, placing a kiss on Alessia's forehead. "But, you love your job," Alessia said, coming back to the matter at hand. "I do, but I love spending time with my girlfriend more," You said softly. Alessia sat up with that, her eyes softening. "And I would love to see her in Oslo, winning the Champions League." Alessia's eyes shone with unshed tears.

"Is this what you really want? If not, you can be honest with me." You shook your head. "When have I never been honest with you?" You raised an eyebrow when you saw Alessia actually thinking about it. "Seriously, Less?" Alessia smiled at you, clearly satisfied that she got that reaction from you. "I'm just messing with you," Alessia said with a small laugh. You rolled your eyes, shaking your head. 

"I'm injured, it's unfair to mess with an injured patient, isn't it?" Alessia shook her head. "You'll survive," Alessia teased. "Yeah," you whispered, pulling Alessia closer, "when I have you, I'll always survive." Alessia kissed your shoulder again in response, telling you without saying anything that she had heard you. "So," Alessia whispered, her hand resting on your arm, "you're really going to quit being a police officer?" Alessia asked.

She just wanted to make sure that you had thought it through, and not because of the medication still in your system. "I'm sure," You replied. "I want to go shopping with my girlfriend, watch her matches in the stadium, instead of seeing the results on my phone. I want to ask my girlfriend out on a date on a random day, without being on call. Besides, I think I can fill in my free time," You whispered, your shoulders relaxing finally.

"Oh, such as?" Alessia asked, clearly wanting to know what you would do when you quit your job. You opened your mouth, but closed it just as quickly, because honestly, what do normal people do? You knew you couldn't sit still, you just couldn't, so you would probably head into the city, look for the coffee shop with the best coffee. 

You tilted your head slightly. You still had your old camera somewhere. Before becoming a cop, you loved photography, so maybe you could try to get into that. "What would you think of dating a photographer?" You asked, and saw Alessia smiling from the corner of your eye. "I think that's a wonderful idea, only if you will take photos of me as well," Alessia stated, booping your nose. You scrunched your nose. You always hated people doing that, but for Alessia, you would make an exception.

"But, before you go full photographer," Alessia started, sitting upright and locking her eyes on yours, "you will rest, just like the doctor said, and I'll make sure that you will. Is that clear?" You raised an eyebrow. You knew Alessia was bossy when she wanted to be, but now she was bossy and slightly terrifying with that look.

"And if I don't?" You asked, testing to see how serious Alessia was. Alessia glared at you. You slowly lifted your hands in surrender. Yep, she was dead serious. "You got it, I will rest, I promise," You whispered, kissing Alessia softly. "Good," Alessia whispered back. You had a long way to go, but as long as you had Alessia, you would be fine. 

[suushiiii]

I have an Idee for an Aggie Beever-Jones story: 

So reader is playing at arsenal but isn’t English. And lives with Leah Williamson and because of that she is close with the lionesses. The reader is somewhat of a player and has a reputation. 

Maybe the reader meets the lionesses at a party and lays eyes on Aggie but Leah is not a fan of that because Aggie is to nice for the reader. 

But after sometime reader changes because she really wants to get to know Aggie because she likes her. 

Idk make as many changes as u like it’s just an idea ;)

Heey!

Here is the fic!

I hope you like it!❤️

Post by @suushiiii · 1 image

💬 0  🔁 0  ❤️ 0 · A break in the pattern Aggie Beever-Jones x Arsenal!Reader Summary: You lives by one rule: no strings attached, no relati

[suushiiii]

A break in the pattern

Aggie Beever-Jones x Arsenal!Reader

Summary: You are known for not committing to relationships, but what if you want to change your whole lifestyle for your rival's club, Chelsea's rising star?

Word count: 11.1k

A/N: I got a bit carried away with this one haha🤭😭

It was late in the evening when you woke up. The outside of the house was still dark. You quietly picked up your phone from the nightstand to check the time. You dimmed the brightness and looked at the time. It was 2:45 to be exact. You let out a yawn and looked to your left. There was a brunette woman.

She was still asleep, the covers barely covering anything. You smiled to yourself. It was a good night. You went to a bar, got at least six free beers from different women (but declined them all), and you got laid. What a wonderful day to be alive. You silently slipped out of the bed and searched for your clothes. They were scattered all around the floor. You smiled to yourself; you were so eager to get the woman out of her clothes that you didn't care where your or her clothes landed.

You pulled your sweater over your head. You gave one last look over your shoulder at the woman. You let out a sigh. You hated to admit it, but the woman was pretty, but you never really settled down. In your opinion, relationships were messy. You always tell the women that you sleep with that it's just for fun, no strings attached. You just want to have a good night, nothing more and nothing less. You slowly opened the bedroom door and slipped through, closing it behind you with the softest click ever. 

You walked through the hallway and walked into the kitchen. You took a paper and a pen and wrote a message for the woman, like you always did. You may sleep around a lot, but you weren't someone who never let them hear from you again. You wrote your usual message, "I had a lot of fun, thanks for the night." You placed the paper on the counter and headed for the door. You slipped on your jacket. You took a quick look in the mirror to check if you could walk on the street after the night, not that anybody would be up around now.

You let out a heavy sigh. Today was going to be a long day. You played for Arsenal; it is your second season with the Gunners, and they are still in the running for the league title, the FA Cup, the Subway cup, and the Champions League. In a few days, you and Arsenal needed to play the second half of the quarter-finals against Chelsea. Arsenal had won the first leg 3-1 at home, so in the second leg, they just needed to defend, and the job would be done to go through to the semi-finals against either Lyon or Wolfsburg.

You walked through the empty streets of London. You figured that nobody would be out tonight, and you had made it later than usual. Usually, you would call a cab, but your apartment was only a few blocks away, so that would be a waste of money. 

You arrived at your apartment 15 minutes later. You unlocked the front door and let it close behind you. You shrugged off your jacket and hung it up on the coat rack. You kicked off your shoes and placed them next to the other shoes. You looked at the clock, and it was 5:00 AM. You let out a sound that was half a groan and half a sigh.

It was no use going to bed; you needed to be up at 6:00 AM, anyway, so you just walked to the kitchen and poured yourself a cup of coffee. An hour had passed, and you were now making a bag ready for the day. Eventually, you heard the footsteps of your roommate. "Good morning." You turned around, and there stood your best friend, vice captain of Arsenal, and captain of the Lionesses. "Morning," you said, yawn, while stretching. Leah looked at the coffee cup on the coffee table, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Who was it this time? The flower girl?" Leah asked as she walked to the kitchen counter and began making herself some tea. "Nah, she has found her soulmate," You said, making brackets in the air at the word 'soulmate'. You didn't believe in that shit. That the universe had ensured that everyone would eventually find love; that's fucking crap, in your opinion. 

"Okay, if it's not the flower girl, then who was it?" Leah asked, pouring hot water into her mug. "I don't know," You said. You rubbed the back of your neck because Leah had taken you under her wings when you transferred from the Netherlands, and she had never liked that you slept around. Still, she also knew that you were an adult (questionable) and could make your own decisions (also questionable).

Leah just shook her head, blowing into her mug. "I just hope that you will behave, I don't ever want to walk in on you making out in the kitchen with one of the media persons of today. I still can't get that image out of my head from last year." You winced at the memory. It had been your first season, and after the media day, you got along with one of the journalists, and one thing led to another, like usual.

You had just sat the woman down on the counter when Leah walked in, and she literally screamed, her hands covering her face. "I promise, I'll behave." Leah eyed you for a full 5 seconds before muttering something under her breath and disappearing into her room again. You shook your head and turned your attention back to packing your bag. 

An hour later, your bag was packed, and you were now waiting at the door. Leah had to grab something real quick. The two of you have always driven together ever since you moved in. "Leah!" You yelled from the hallway, leaning against the wall, scrolling through your phone. "Yeah, yeah!" Leah yelled back. A few seconds passed, but then Leah finally walked into the hallway, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Finally," You said, and pushed yourself off the wall, and pretended that you had aged a lot, just to tease Leah that she took so long. "Don't be dramatic," Leah muttered and opened the door. You quickly followed, closing and locking the door behind you. You followed Leah out of the building and to her car. You could tell that Leah wanted to ask questions. She has practically become your mother ever since you joined Arsenal, and she acted like it as well.

She was always telling you to pack your bag the night before, and as a stubborn teenager, you never listened, so you always had to hurry in the mornings, which made you forget things Leah needed to remind you to take. "Leah, if you want to ask questions, just do it," you said with a sigh as you dropped yourself into the passenger seat. "What makes you think I want to ask you about how you spent your wild nights?" Leah fired back. Her voice wasn't angry or anything, but you could tell she wasn't happy with how you spent your nights so late. 

"My wild nights? They aren't even wild, I just-" You tried to say, but Leah cut you off with a scoff. "Not- not wild nights? y/n, you come home late almost every night of the week, except for the nights before a match, that's not something everyone your age does," Leah said. You wanted to say something in your defense, but Leah wasn't done. "I've been trying to be okay with it, but-" Leah cut herself off by taking a deep breath.

"But, what?" You asked. "But I worry every night. I know I always scold you like a child, but you're my friend as well, and I worry about what my friends do," Leah confessed, her voice much more like her usual voice. Your eyes softened, and a small smile formed on your lips. "I know, and I love that you worry about me, but you also have to let me live my life, okay?" You said, turning your head to face Leah. Leah let out a soft chuckle and started the engine.

"I'll do my best," Leah eventually muttered and put the car in reverse, and drove out of the parking lot. "Can we stop by a coffee shop?" You asked once you were on the road. "Why? If this is because you need to catch up with one of the girls you sleep around with-" Leah started, warning you that she will not stop at a coffee shop for that. You shook your head immediately. 

"No, it's not that, I promise. I just need coffee in my system," You said and typed in the address of your favorite coffee shop on Google Maps. "Oh, sure, y/n, of course we can go to your favorite coffee shop, how thoughtful of you to wait for my reply," Leah said sarcastically, because she hadn't even said yes yet, but you had already typed in the address. You gave her a cheeky smile and leaned back into your seat.

After 10 minutes, Leah parked the car and shut off the engine. "Let's go!" You said and jumped out of the car. Leah followed, shutting her door and locking the car. The two of you walked into the coffee shop, the smell of coffee hitting you immediately. The two of you waited in line just like the other customers. You were scrolling absently through your phone when Leah nudged you. You looked up, giving Leah a confused frown.

"What?" You muttered as you put your phone in the pocket of your track pants. "The woman behind the counter has been eyeing you ever since you walked in," Leah muttered. You subtly turned your head so that you could get a clear look at the woman Leah mentioned. "Do you know her?" Leah asked, but she already knew the answer. You closed your eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. 

"Know is a strong word," You muttered as you rubbed the back of your neck, glancing once more at the woman behind the register. Leah raised an eyebrow, silently telling you to elaborate on that. "Fine, I slept with her," You muttered again, facing Leah fully now. "I swear, she isn't the reason that I wanted to come here," You told Leah. "I didn't even know she worked here," You continued. Leah was always a hard person to read, but you saw the look in her eyes, the look that meant that she didn't fully believe you.

Leah let out a sigh while she shook her head. The line moved, so you and Leah walked forward. "Good morning, what-" The woman behind the register stopped herself when her eyes landed on you. You winced lightly when you saw the look in the woman's eyes. It was pure anger and disgust toward you. Leah stayed silent, observing you and the woman.

"Look who it is? The woman who left in the middle of the night after we slept together, and the one I told about how my previous partner left me, only to leave me the same way," The woman hummed, it wasn't an amused hum, not in the slightest. Leah cleared her throat and just ordered your coffee and hers, and once the two of you got your order, you quickly left the shop.

"Is there anyone you haven't slept with and pissed off?" Leah asked once the two of you got back to the car. You sat again in the passenger seat. You closed your eyes, letting your head rest against the headrest of your seat. "It isn't like that," You muttered eventually, tracing the edge of your cup with your thumb. "I met her in a bar a few weeks back. She had had a shitty week," You explained, looking down into your coffee. Leah didn't interrupt; she just started the car and drove off.

"She approached me, we talked, had a few drinks, and at the end of the night, she invited me to her home, and- I think you can fill the rest in for yourself," You whispered, as you brought the cup to your lips. "What did she mean about her previous partner?" Leah eventually asked. She had one hand on the steering wheel, and, with the other, she was drinking her coffee. Leah had an automatic car, so she technically only needed one hand to drive.

"That night at the bar, she had told me that her partner had left without a word, and she never heard of them again. So, she stalked her ex-partner's socials, only to find out that he had left her for another woman." Leah let out an impressed whistle, which earned an unimpressed look from you.  

You fell into a silence. You looked out the window, watching the city pass by. The radio was playing some old music. "What do you need to do today? Like, media-wise?" You asked after a few minutes of silence, and you turned your head to look at Leah. "Just some interviews, nothing exciting," Leah replied as she turned to wheel to take a left. "How about you?" You shrugged lightly. You also had some interviews, but nothing really exciting.

After a few minutes, Leah drove up to the parking lot of the training ground. The parking lot was already full of cars from teammates. Yep, it was definitely media day. Leah parked the car, shut off the engine, and stepped out. You grabbed your bag from the backseat. You waited for Leah, who was on her phone, typing something. "Who are you texting?" You asked. Leah looked up, giving you a small smile.

"Some of my English teammates are throwing a party. You should tag along," Leah suggested. You shook your head because last time you checked, you didn't play for the Lionesses. "Eumh, why?" You asked in confusion, because you planned just to go out by yourself and see if you could have some fun tonight. 

"Why not? It's fun. You'll get to meet new people, and I can keep an eye on you," Leah stated. For her, this was a win-win situation. "You just want to make sure that I end up being laid tonight," You muttered, as you started to walk to the building. Leah walked next to you, letting out a sigh. "C'mon, y/n. Just come, and if you really don't like it, you can leave, I promise," Leah told you. You searched Leah's face for any other emotion, but there wasn't one.

"Fine, I'll come," You eventually said with a sigh. "Yesss!" Leah yelled, fist bumping the air. "You won't regret it," Leah said cheerfully, wrapping her arm around your neck. "I'm regretting it already," You muttered, pushing Leah's arm off of your shoulder. The two of you walked into the building where all the media days were held. Most of your teammates who were already there had their jerseys on.

"Uh oh," Chloe said when she got a good look at your face. "Looks like you had a late night." You gave Chloe a flat look because it was pretty clear. She didn't need to point it out. "It looks like you had only two hours of sleep," Chloe said in a teasing tone. 

"More like, no sleep at all," Leah muttered beside you, earning a glare from you. Chloe eyed the two of you, suspicion already bubbling. "Don't," You said, glaring at Chloe now. "I'm not saying anything," Chloe said, the high pitch in her tone, giving her away that she was definitely about to say something. "I'm going to change," You muttered and turned around, and could clearly hear Chloe giggle behind you. "So," Chloe said when she was sure you were out of earshot.

"What?" Leah asked, letting out a heavy sigh. It was the kind of sigh that came from someone whose patience had been pushed to the limit. "You look like you have aged 20 years," Chloe stated simply, crossing her arms loosely over her chest. "It's just- it's y/n," Leah muttered, dragging her hands down her face. "That much I gathered." Leah gave Chloe a look that could cut through glass. "It's just- every night, except for nights before matchdays, y/n comes home late, like, really, really late," Leah explained.

"Aahh," Chloe only said, nodding in understanding. "I just don't get it," Leah eventually said, earning a confused look from Chloe. "Get what?" Leah sighed again. "Why y/n doesn't just get in a relationship?" Leah said, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. "Leah, some people just don't want to, and you can't force them," Chloe reasoned, patting Leah's shoulder and walking away.

Media days had two sides, well, at least for you. You always hated the interviews. They always had the same questions, and you needed to hear them for six hours straight. It was so exhausting. But on the other side, you would meet interesting women who get flustered far too easily, but not today. You had promised Leah you would behave and stay on her good side because you still needed to be around her tonight.

You had regretted agreeing to come with her to a party when she had brought it up, and now, after a whole day being interviewed, you still regretted it, but there was nothing you could do about it. You sat in the locker room. You had changed into the outfit you were going to wear for the dinner. You were putting the last things in your bag when Leah entered. "So, are you ready?" Leah asked with a smile. You turned around to look at Leah, giving her your fakest smile you could ever imagine.

"Let me see, going to a party where I don't know most of the people? Yeah, I'm ready," You said sarcastically. Leah tried to keep herself from laughing, but failed miserably. "Y/n, I assure you, you will be just fine, don't worry," Leah reassured you. "Somehow, I'd doubt that," you muttered, and took your bag from the bench. 

"Okay, let's go. You can mope in the car," Leah said and headed to the door. "I'm not moping," You said defensively and followed Leah out of the room. Leah only laughed at your response. "Who is going to be at the party?" You asked as you walked next to Leah. "Oh, just a few of the English girls, you'll get along with them, don't worry," Leah reassured you. You shook your head with a smile and followed Leah to the car.

"Whose party is it anyway?" You asked, taking a seat in the passenger seat. "Aggie, she turned 23 a few days back, and wanted to throw a party to celebrate it," Leah explained as she drove off the parking lot and onto the quiet streets of North London. "Will there be at least a few of the Arsenal girls as well?" You asked, because if not, it would be a very awkward night for you. You had heard of Aggie and had played against her on multiple occasions, but you had never really exchanged words.

"Oh yeah, some Arsenal girls will be there," Leah told you as she drove. You let out a heavy sigh. This was going to be one hell of a night. The rest of the drive was like usual, you looking out the window, while Leah was driving with both hands on the wheel. 

"And we're here," Leah announced as she parked the car. You stretched yourself with a yawn. You looked at the house. It looks cozy. You assumed that Aggie lived with a few teammates because living in a house in London by yourself is completely different from living in an apartment. You looked at the house. You could see the silhouettes of people in the house through the window. The music wasn't loud, but you could hear the light thump of music from where you were standing.

You opened the car door and stepped out, the cool evening air hitting your face. It helped make you aware not to fall asleep right there on the pavement. At this moment, you really regret not having slept at all the night before, but all the caffeine you had throughout the day, luckily, kept you standing and functioning.

Leah rounded the car so she was standing in front of you. "Remember," Leah said, pointing a finger at you as she locked the car. "Behave." You placed a hand over your heart, mocking sincerity written all over your face. "I always behave." Leah let out a short laugh, shaking her head. "That's what worries me." You stuck your tongue out at her and followed her to the house. 

The two of you walked the short distance from the parking spot to the front door. Leah couldn't even knock. Her hand was halfway to the door when it swung open. You assumed that someone had seen the two of you arrive just now. "Leah!" Grace Clinton cheered, pulling Leah into a hug. You just greeted Grace with a slight nod when Grace looked at you. You stood there in the hallway. Hands in your pockets and your eyes going over the room.

Near the wall, a few people were playing darts; on the couch, others were playing cards; and scattered around the room, groups were just talking. You spotted a few of your Arsenal teammates around the room, just as Leah said they would be. Your eyes wandered to the kitchen, and you completely stilled. The noise from the other people faded into the background when your eyes landed on a blonde woman in the kitchen, preparing snacks, you assumed.

You knew that was Aggie. Just because you never really had a conversation with her doesn't mean you didn't know who she was. You tilted your head a little when Aggie laughed at something that someone next to her said. You felt something form in your stomach, something you had never felt before. Sure, you had met hot women before—a lot of them. You had flirted, charmed, left, repeated. But this–felt like something you had never felt, but you couldn't quite place what that feeling was. 

You didn't even realize you were staring until Leah's voice cut through your thoughts. "Don't." You blinked, turning your head to her. "Don't what?" Leah followed what your eyes were staring at and immediately sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose like she already knew what was going through your mind. "Her," Leah said, her voice changed, it was firm and sure. "Not her." You frowned slightly, your eyes wandering to Aggie again. "What?" Leah hesitated, searching for the right words.

"She is–she's not like the others," You huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking your head. "You say that like I'm hunting them." Leah didn't laugh; her face turned dead serious. That was your first clue that this was going to be different. "I'm serious y/n," Leah said, her voice lower, but still even and grounded. "Aggie is–she's kind. She actually cares. And she doesn't deserve to be just another one of your 'good nights' and not be looked at after." The words weren't harsh, but they stung anyway.

You looked at Aggie again. She looked so different then when she's on the football field—running at defenders, scoring goals. You were seeing her in a whole new light, and every time you looked at her, your stomach did the weird thing, a feeling that you had never felt before.

"I wasn't planning anything," You eventually muttered, quieter now. Leah raised an eyebrow. "You're looking at her like you have already planned out three different scenarios." You shook your head and let out a scoff, but didn't respond. Because, annoyingly enough, she wasn't wrong. Leah let out a sigh, resting her hand on your arm briefly. "Just.. don't mess things up before they even start." You frowned at that, but before you could ask what it was supposed to mean, Leah got dragged by someone further into the room, pulling her into another conversation.

And just like that, you were alone again, your eyes drifting to Aggie once more. She was now laughing with a drink in hand. You looked happy when you saw that Aggie was talking to Wieke, your teammate on the Dutch national team. You observed them for a few more seconds, but then Wieke left, leaving Aggie alone in the kitchen. Bingo. You walked normally to the kitchen.

You were behaving. You were just going to wish the birthday girl a happy birthday. The kitchen was quieter than the rest of the house, the music more muffled, replaced by the soft clatter of plates and the sound of bags of snacks being opened. It felt like stepping out of the chaos, like a match was at half-time. 

As you entered the kitchen, you leaned against the doorframe when you got a good view of the blonde standing behind the counter. Aggie had pushed her sleeves lightly up, a small frown between her brows. She was so focused, like she was about to take a penalty and throw the keeper off their game.

Aggie took another plate from the stack and put some fruit on it. Eventually, you cleared your throat and took a step closer into the kitchen until you stood across from Aggie on the opposite side of the counter. You had done this a hundred times before. Spotting someone alone in a bar, approach them, give them your usual smile, say something flirty, and if Leah was right, then you should have this one in the bag with how Aggie is.

"Bit of a shame, you know," You finally said, your voice low, a small smile on your lips. Aggie looked up immediately, a bit startled at first, but then recognition settled. "Hmm?" Aggie hummed softly. You nodded lightly to the living room. "Throwing a party in the living room, while the host is hiding in the kitchen? Not very host-like." You teased. You smiled sheepishly and lowered your voice even more. This was usually it; people would blush or start stuttering over their words. 

But Aggie was apparently different; she just gave you a small smile, easy and unbothered, and wasn't affected by your words at all. "Someone has to make sure people actually eat something, because only drinking alcohol the whole night on an empty stomach is a no-go." You let out a chuckle, shaking your head lightly. You walked around the counter until you stood next to Aggie.

You leaned with your hip against the counter, a little closer to Aggie than necessary. "And here I thought you just needed a break from all the attention," You stated, your voice still low. You almost whispered it in Aggie's ear. What Aggie did next was something you didn't expect. She just turned around and opened a cabinet to get more bowls. You were stunned. This was new. Aggie shrugged lightly, putting the bowl down on the counter. "I don't mind it. I just… like doing it." You tilted your head a little, studying her for a second. Most people would've bounced off on it.

Flirt back, tease back, but Aggie–she either doesn't give in or it goes right over her head that you are flirting (trying) with her. "Happy birthday, by the way," You said. Aggie's face softened, giving you a small smile. "Thanks. Could you maybe take this to the living room?" You looked at the filled plate and nodded. "Yeah, of course," You said and walked out of the kitchen. Aggie completely threw you off your game. You just shook your head and walked further to the living room. 

The shift from the kitchen to the living room was immediate. The music got louder, and the conversations came from all different directions. You balanced the plates in your arms, but before you could walk further, Leah's voice was behind you. "Oh, my god." You froze, slowly turned around, and were met by Leah. She was standing a few steps away, her arms crossed, a drink in her hand, and she looked at you like you had committed a crime in broad daylight.

"What?" You said, a bit too defensively. Leah didn't answer immediately; she just took a sip from the drink in her hand, stretching the moment, just to make it worse. "Why," She eventually said, her eyes leaving yours to look at the plates in your hands, "are you holding snacks?" She tilted her head lightly, a frown between her brows. You glanced down at your hands, as if you had completely forgotten to have plates in your hands. Right, the plates, fuck.

"They're–snacks," You said, nodding once, like that would explain everything. "Brilliant observation," Leah deadpanned without blinking. "Care to explain why you are holding them?" You shifted your weight lightly; you felt like prey trapped. "Aggie asked me to bring them out; she was still busy with the other snacks." It was technically not a lie, just not the full truth. Leah's eyes narrowed slightly, and for a second, she just looked at you. It was extremely uncomfortable because you knew that Leah knew that you were lying. 

You cleared your throat, trying to look as casual as possible. "What? I can't help out?" Leah took another sip of her drink, watching you over the rim of the glass. "Of course you can," She said slowly, "It's just…fascinating." You frowned at that. "Fascinating?" You repeated. "Mhm." She nodded lightly. "Because the entire time I've known you, I've never seen you carry anything voluntarily that didn't directly benefit you." You scoffed lightly because you were really offended by that.

"That's not true," You said, too fast and far too defensively. Leah only needed to raise an eyebrow. "Okay… maybe a little," You admitted softly, looking down at the plates in your hands. Leah hummed in satisfaction, like she had proven she was right all along in an argument. Her gaze flickered quickly to the kitchen, then back at you. "How long were you in there?" She asked.

You shrugged as best as you could with your shoulders, because you were afraid to drop all the plates. "I don't know. Maybe a few minutes." Leah took a few steps closer, so you were now more at a conversation distance. "And how did that go?" Your grip tightened on the plates just lightly because Leah was using that tone, that tone you never liked she used. She usually used it on the field and not off it. 

"Fine," you said a little too quickly. "It was just a normal conversation." Leah didn't respond, which was worse because silence meant that Leah didn't believe for a second what you were saying. Leah's eyes narrowed just slightly, like the final puzzle piece finally made sense. "Oh, my god," Leah muttered, almost to herself. You frowned and met Leah's eyes, giving her a confused look.

"What?" Leah's expression shifted, the suspicion melting into something far more dangerous. Amusement. You placed the plates at the nearest table, and a few people immediately took some snacks. You tried to look at them for the longest time, hoping that Leah would somehow disappear into thin air. But, of course, that wouldn't happen; that kind of wishing only happened in movies, and this wasn't a movie. "No, way," Leah said, a grin started to pull at her lips.

"You did not." You crossed your arms defensively. "Did not what?" Leah let out a short laugh, shaking her head like she couldn't quite believe what she was witnessing. "You flirted with her." It wasn't a question; she was simply stating a fact. You opened your mouth, but closed it just as quickly. Leah's grin widened just slightly. You scoffed immediately. "I didn't-" 

"You did," Leah cut in, pointing at you like she just solved a mystery. "And Aggie didn't get flustered or anything, did she?" Your silence that followed was enough, which only made Leah's grin go wider and wider. "No," You said finally, trying to recover, to the harsh truth Leah had just figured out. "That's not- she just-" before you could even say anything else, Leah's laugh cut you off. "Oh, my," Leah laughed, fully now, the sound bright and unrestrained. Leah wasn't even trying at this point. "Aggie shut you down." Leah couldn't stop laughing.

"She did not shut me down," You snapped, crossing your arms tighter in front of your chest. You let out a huff, looking away. "She just didn't pick up on the flirting." Leah blinked once, twice. And then burst out with laughter once again. You shot her an unimpressed look. "Glad you're enjoying this." Leah gave you the fakest, most sincere look there was. "I'm not, I feel so bad for you." You just gave Leah another hard glare.

"I told you, Aggie isn't like the other women you sleep around with." And with that, Leah walked away laughing. You could tell from just watching her back that Leah was wiping the tears from her eyes. You let out a sigh, glancing at the kitchen, but couldn't see Aggie from where you were standing.

For the rest of the night, you stood where you had been standing after Leah had practically laughed in your face. You were leaning against the wall, a glass of water in your hand. Your eyes scanned the room. Leah got pulled to the couch, where people were still playing cards. You let out a sigh, and your eyes drifted automatically to the kitchen. Aggie had been going in and out of the kitchen the whole night.

She hosted her own birthday party and also made sure the guests had snacks. You felt an unfamiliar flutter in your chest when Aggie came into view. You were still a bit baffled at how she reacted when you flirted with her. It was, in your opinion, very obvious that you were flirting with her. Ask anyone who had seen, and they would tell you that you were definitely flirting with her. But the person who needed to notice was the girl you were actually flirting with, but Aggie didn't show anything.

You let out a frustrated groan as you let your head fall back against the wall. "Get a grip," You muttered to yourself, tightening the grip on your glass. You had never done this. When a person didn't engage with your flirting, you would find a new person within seconds, but with Aggie, you got stuck on her. You never get stuck on someone; if they weren't interested, you would accept it. 

It was your routine, but Aggie, it felt like she had spoiled your routine that you had written on paper. Your life was perfectly fine; you didn't need the complications of a so-called crush crushing your well-organized life. You looked around the room, and someone across from you smiled at you. You waited for that cockly feeling to set in your body.

You wanted for your body to straighten and give the woman across from you your knowing smirk, but nothing, absolutely nothing. Your stomach didn't do the stupid flip thing it did when you were looking at Aggie. You just gave the woman a nod—something you would never do. The woman across from you was attractive, no doubt about it, but she wasn't Aggie. The only name that you could remember is Aggie, Aggie, Aggie.

It was getting annoying at this point. What was so special about Aggie? She was pretty, with a lovely smile, a bright appearance, and an aura that drew everyone in. God, it feels like you have just run into a brick wall after running so long away from relationships, girlfriends, or commitment. Or all of them combined. A brick wall that didn't want to go down, even though you tried so hard to break it down. It felt like no matter what route you took, you ended up in front of the same wall named after Aggie. 

Your eyes drifted again, against your better judgment, to the kitchen. Aggie was still there, but finishing the last things on the plates. It felt like your world had only eyes for the blonde striker in the kitchen. "Nope, absolutely not," You muttered to yourself. Your mind went to the one thing you had ignored for most of your adult life. To the what-ifs. What if you finally let yourself commit? What if you let yourself have a girlfriend? What if you let go of your routine? What if you step out of your comfort zone?

It was all ifs you had never dared to think about, but again, ever since you stumbled on the brick wall named Aggie, those ifs came rushing to the surface, like a person finally getting up for air after being underwater for way too long. You leaned more against the wall, closing your eyes and letting your head rest against the white wall behind you. You were getting frustrated with yourself at this point. You could step further into the room, and people would come up to you, but now, you just didn't or didn't want to; it was all the same for you at this point. 

You wondered sometimes how people managed to give up control so easily. You had seen so many couples, you always wondered how they did it. How did they manage to keep it all together? You shook your head, no. You weren't going to think about that. You may have stumbled upon an obstacle, but that doesn't mean you need to go over it; you can also find other solutions to get past it without climbing it.

You looked down at the glass of water in your hand. It is probably warm by now. You looked up immediately when Aggie appeared from the kitchen. A small smile formed on her lips. She didn't look at you. That was no surprise. If Aggie didn't pick up on the flirting you did, she wouldn't notice you standing in the same spot you have been all night. With Aggie out of the kitchen, you had the opportunity to refill your glass of water. Without a second thought, you pushed yourself off the wall and headed for the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, it felt like you could finally breathe. But the universe had different plans, because you could still smell the lingering perfume of Aggie in the air. You let out a groan, dragging your hand down your face. You knew the room probably smelled like Aggie, but god, this was getting annoying. You walked to the counter where the faucet was. You turned it on and refilled your glass, and drank it down in one go. You would've never thought that a girl at a party would let you doubt all your morals, how ironic.

Aggie walked out of the kitchen, a drink in her hand. She glanced at you quickly, frowning a little because you were standing at the same spot you had been standing for most of the night. Aggie had been observing you ever since you talked to her in the kitchen. Aggie didn't really know what to think of you. You looked nice, but something told her that there was more to you, but she couldn't quite place what. Aggie walked further into the living room.

She smiled brightly when she saw that everyone was having fun and had something to eat. Aggie walked to the couch. Leah was still sitting there, talking to Lotte and Lucy. "Birthday girl!" Lucy yelled and gave Aggie a hug when she was close enough. "Hi," Aggie said with a smile, patting Lucy on the back. "Are you guys having fun?" All three of them nodded, giving Aggie big smiles. Aggie took a deep breath and turned her attention to Leah, who was already watching. "Would you guys give Leah and me a few seconds? I need to talk to her." Lucy and Lotte nodded, and both walked off, joining a group of people across the room.

"What's up? What did I do?" Aggie laughed softly, shaking her slightly. "You did nothing," Aggie said, but frowned immediately at what Leah said. "Wait, did  you do something?" Leah shook her head immediately. Aggie eyed her England captain for a full second before deciding to drop it. 

"It's about-" Aggie started, but stopped, just to look over Leah's shoulder and see you standing near the wall with a drink in your hand. "It's about y/n." Leah raised her eyebrows in surprise, but pressed her lips together, just to prevent herself from laughing. Aggie noticed that as well, but decided not to ask about that. "What did y/n do?" Leah asked, dragging Aggie from her thoughts. Aggie shook her head, "y/n didn't do anything," Aggie said with an awkward laugh.

"But she did something," Leah stated, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "No, no." Leah just nodded and leaned back against the couch. "It's just–she was in the kitchen with me just now, and she was acting strange. Like she didn't know what to do with herself." Leah nodded, taking in the formation she was being told about. Aggie frowned when she saw the expression change on Leah's face. "What's with the face?" Leah let out a sigh, shaking her head lightly.

"What frown?" Aggie tilted her head lightly, like she was a dog hearing a new sound for the very first time. "You're making a face. The same face you use when someone stole your last biscuit," Aggie stated with a smirk, crossing her arms loosely over her chest. "For someone so young, you're very observant." Aggie smiled proudly. Leah was clearly impressed by Aggie's observation skills. 

"I'm a very skillful person," Aggie teased, giving Leah a wink. "But we're going off track here," Aggie said, backtracking to the conversation she actually wanted to have with Leah. "So, what's the deal with y/n?" Leah let out a sigh, dragging her hands down her face. "Why do you want to know?" Leah asked. Aggie could see the seriousness on Leah's face. "Eumh, just how she usually is, because how she acted back there," Aggie started, gesturing vaguely to the kitchen, "isn't how any normal person would act." Leah nodded with her head, searching the crowd over Aggie's shoulder, and spotted you near a wall, still.

"She was talking about one thing, but then didn't follow through, and she was staring at me, like she was waiting for me to say one particular thing." Leah nodded, trying very hard not to laugh, but failed, and a laugh slipped past her lips. Aggie frowned in confusion. There was definitely something, but it feels like she was the only person being left out, and she hated that. "Why are you laughing?" Aggie asked in genuine confusion, crossing her arms in front of her chest. 

"It's just, y/n never acts like that when she's talking to someone." Aggie's frown deepened. "y/n has a reputation," Leah clarified. "What kind of reputation?" Aggie now asked, uncrossing her arms. "It's just…y/n can easily talk to anyone, charm them, give them one smile, and they're head over heels for her." Aggie nodded, trying to understand where Leah was going with this.

"Long story short, y/n flirts with people, goes home with them, has a good night, and leaves in the end. No strings attached, just two people have a good time in bed for the night." Aggie stood frozen, because this wasn't what she expected. "Oh…oh, she was flirting with me," Aggie muttered when realization kicked in. "And it went right over my head." Leah nodded, giving Aggie an impressed look. "It sure did, and I think you broke y/n, because this has never happened to her before," Leah stated. Aggie looked back over her shoulder, seeing you still standing there, very much deep in thought.

"If you do want to talk to her again, just be careful, because not everyone is into the 'no strings attached' thing, alright?" Aggie let Leah's words land. Aggie didn't say anything else; she just walked back to the kitchen. Aggie just needed to do something. 

The days after the party were a blur. Life continued, football continued, but it felt like you were stuck, stuck at that party. Stuck in the kitchen with a blonde striker who you tried to flirt with, but she didn't react to it at all. You dragged yourself into the kitchen, where Leah was already sitting. She raised an eyebrow. She had never seen you in this state. You're 25, and you usually carried yourself in the room as if you owned it.

"Morning," You muttered, pouring yourself a cup of coffee. "You look like hell." You turned around to meet Leah, who sat behind the counter. "Couldn't sleep," You muttered and took a sip from your coffee. You pushed a chair back and plopped down, letting your head rest on the counter. "Okay, what's going on?" You lifted your head. Leah's eyes were filled with concern and slight amusement. "Nothing is going on, I'm just tired," You muttered, taking a sip from your coffee.

"This isn't nothing. I have seen you take a ball straight to the face and look better than you do right now," Leah stated. She wasn't being sarcastic; she was simply stating a fact. Leah took a sip from her tea, watching you over the rim of her cup, narrowing her eyes lightly. "Okay," Leah said, setting her mug down, "tell me what's going on." You let out a heavy sigh, setting your mug down as well. You let your shoulders drop just lightly as you stared at the counter. 

"It's nothing," You eventually said, not meeting Leah's eyes once. Leah raised an eyebrow. "You haven't slept properly ever since Aggie's birthday party, so you haven't slept properly for at least three days, that's not-nothing." You dragged a hand down your face, already feeling the frustration bubbling beneath your skin. Your mind felt like a mess, like someone had taken everything you usually had in control but had shaken it, and that someone was Aggie.

"It's just-" You started, but stopped, shaking your head. Leah didn't interrupt, and at this point, you hoped she would, but she didn't. You exhaled sharply. "My mind is just a complete mess right now." You said, staring down at your mug, tracing your finger over the rim. "Because of a certain blonde," You muttered under your breath, quieter now. You hoped that Leah didn't hear you, but she did, of course, she did. Leah was silent for exactly one second before she burst out in laughter. You looked up immediately, shooting Leah a glare.

"Don't." But that only made it worse. Leah covered her mouth with her hand, hoping to silence her laughter, but failed. "I'm sorry–" Leah tried, failing miserably as she was still covering her mouth, still laughing. "I just– I've never–" Leah shook her head, trying to find the right words as she leaned back against her seat. 

"I've never seen you like this," Leah admitted, still grinning like she just won the Champions League, again. You rolled your eyes, turning away from her, gripping your mug tighter. "Glad I could be your morning entertainment," You muttered, bringing your mug to your lips. "Oh, you have no idea," Leah said, still looking far too amused. "This is a historic event. You? Completely errored? That's worth more than gold," Leah said, her grin widening as every second passed.

You huffed lightly, standing up and leaning against the counter now, looking at the wall like it held all the answers to your problems. "I just don't get it," you eventually said, turning back to Leah. "I had plenty of women before, I have slept with them and moved on, no problem with that. But this–" You muttered, gesture vaguely with your hand. A bit frustrated.

"--has never happened." Leah tilted her head lightly, studying you more out of curiosity than teasing. "What exactly is 'this'?" She asked. You hesitated. Even you didn't have an answer to that. "I just don't get it!" You said, frustrated, pushing yourself off the counter, and started pacing in the middle of the kitchen. "I mean, she didn't even react in the slightest, not even a little." Leah stayed silent, but a small grin formed on her lips. 

"Y/n." You ignored her and continued pacing, muttering under your breath, and gesturing with your hands in the air. "Honestly, everyone who would watch that interaction could tell I was flirting with her." Leah shook her head and stood up. "y/n!" You stopped dead in your tracks, your head snapping up to look at Leah. "Maybe, you have fallen for her." You opened your mouth, but no sound came out. "I-I don't do that, you know that!" You argued, but there was no bite in your tone.

"I know, that's why this," Leah said as she gestured at you, "looks exactly like you have fallen for her." Leah pushed off the counter. "Aggie didn't react to your flirting, and you have been stuck on that ever since, so maybe you should think about why you care that she didn't react." That took you off guard. "You have fallen for her, but you don't want to admit it." You opened your mouth to argue, but Leah didn't even give you a chance.

"Maybe stop hiding behind the rule you have, that whole 'I don't do relationships' and stop hiding behind it, and take a leap," Leah finished. Before you could react, Leah was gone. You were left in the kitchen, more uncertain than you have ever been in your life. Was Leah right? Have you been hiding behind your own 'rule'?

The bell above the door chimed when you stepped into the coffee shop. It has been hell of a few days for you. You still barely slept. Now, not only was Aggie on your mind, but also the words Leah had told you were there, too. It helped that you could throw yourself into training, just to forget about the complications that had stumbled into your perfectly organized life.

You waited in line while scrolling through your phone. It was going to be a busy week for you and Arsenal. In two days, you had the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, and on the weekend, you needed to play the semi-final of the FA Cup. Arsenal's season had been smooth sailing for the past few weeks. You have been in top form with three goals and four assists in your last three matches. You moved forward as the line moved.

You just needed coffee. You still have been sleeping like crap, because either Aggie kept you awake or Leah's words had been echoing in your mind like a broken record. You tightened your hold on your phone, letting out a frustrated groan. "Maybe you have fallen for her." You shook your head like that could shake the words out of your mind. You tucked your phone back into your pocket. Nothing could ease your mind right now. 

"Next," The barista behind the counter said, dragging you out of your thoughts. You smiled at the woman and looked at the choices on the board. "A latte, please." The bartender nodded and got to work. You stepped aside so the next person could order. "Aggie, fancy seeing you here." You stopped everything you were doing and snapped your head up. No, this couldn't be happening. What are the chances? You hoped that it was a different Aggie, but no, when you looked up, there stood the one and only person who had clouded your mind for the last few days.

Aggie was still the same: same friendly smile, same bright look in her eyes, same friendliness to everything and everyone. "There is nothing fancy about this, you know this is the best coffee shop in London!" Aggie said cheerfully, resting her hands on the counter. "Alright, alright, you want the usual?" Aggie nodded, already stepping aside. You should've moved, should've given Aggie a place to stand, but you didn't, so not seconds later, Aggie collided with you. "Ooff," Aggie muttered, looking up to see who she bumped into.

Your eyes met, and recognition settled in Aggie's eyes. "y/n." Aggie's voice was surprised, but not unwelcoming. "Hi," you said with a smile, finally taking a few steps back to create space. "Sorry, didn't see you there." Aggie apologized. "Ouch, am I that hard to miss?" You teased, placing a hand on your heart as if you've been visibly hurt by it. 

"What-no, no, that's not what I meant," Aggie quickly said, panic written all over her face. You shook your head lightly, a laugh slipping past your lips. "Aggie, I was messing with you," You quickly reassured her. Aggie's shoulder sagged in relief. "That was not funny," Aggie said with a pout. Your stomach did the stupid flip again with Aggie looking like that. Maybe you have fallen for her. You shook your head. No, you weren't going there right now, because that person was standing right in front of you.

"Y/n and Aggie? Your coffees are ready," The barista said, placing the coffees on the counter. You and Aggie reached for the coffee at the same time, so your hands collided with each other before either of you could take your coffee. "Sorry," Aggie muttered, pulling her hand back, her fingers brushing yours. You quickly took both coffees and held out Aggie's to her. "Here," You said with a smile. Aggie took her cup, her fingers brushing yours again, and this time lingering for a second too long.

Aggie pulled back, but you let your pinky brush her hand for a second. What was that? You had never done that. All you knew was that Aggie wasn't someone you just wanted to sleep with and move on from. I have fallen for her. The thought didn't vanish like usual; it stayed, because it was your thought and not Leah's voice. You had admitted it yourself. 

Okay, this is new for you, but you got this, right? "Do you-" You started when Aggie was turning around to leave. "Do you maybe, I don't know…walk around the city together?" Aggie turned back around to face you and tilted her head a little, studying thoroughly. She gathered that you were nervous. You were carefully fidgeting with the cup in your hand, your eyes never staying too long on Aggie's.

This was the real you. The you that wasn't hiding behind her own made-up 'rule', the one who did something, who decided to stop running. The you that wanted to know Aggie better, the you that wouldn't hang out and leave after. This was the you that wanted to stay. "Of course-" You quickly added, because Aggie had stayed completely silent, "you don't have to, but–" You just stopped in general, this was a dumb idea, but then– "I would love to."

You lifted your head, the fear leaving your body. You let out a relieved sigh, your shoulders dropping. "Okay," You said with a smile. The two of you left the coffee shop and walked down the street. Your shoulders brushed occasionally, which made your heart beat faster. You got this. Don't mess this up.

The city felt different when you weren't rushing through it. You usually rushed to training, a match, the bar, or the person you met to their house. You have never walked through it calmly. Always rushing to something or someone. You always walked with purpose, but now? Now you matched the woman's pace next to you. The street noise blurred into the background.

The only sound that filled your ears was the steady, even footsteps from you and Aggie. For a while, neither of you said anything. You just let the noises of the city around you fill the silence like music in an elevator. It wasn't an awkward silence, just quiet. The back of your hand brushed against Aggie's. You felt your pulse spike, but when you glanced at Aggie from the corner of your eye, Aggie hadn't reacted, of course not. You pulled your hand back.

Not that Aggie would notice. You didn't yank it away; you just removed it slowly. This was a whole new territory for you. The whole 'how do you act on the first date' thing. You blinked at the thought. No, this wasn't a date, was it? Just two people getting to know each other, spending some quality time together. You figured it was clear that this wasn't a date. You already assumed that Leah had told Aggie that you didn't do the whole dating thing. 

As you walked further, your hands brushed Aggie's occasionally. Aggie didn't react to it. She kept walking. She didn't look down or pull her hand away. Your chest warmed at it. That Aggie wasn't uncomfortable. Which meant you were doing so far a good job, but you dreaded that at any moment, you would say something that would make Aggie walk away. So, you decided just to stay quiet. "You've been thinking a lot," Aggie said after a while, glancing at you. You let out a huff, a smile playing at your lips.

"Is it that obvious?" You asked in a teasing tone, meeting Aggie's eyes. "A little," Aggie replied. You glanced at her briefly. "It's that bad, huh?" A small laugh escaped Aggie's lips as she shook her head. "Not bad, just…different." Different. You didn't want to act differently, but around Aggie? You somehow acted weirdly constantly. You looked ahead again, your jaw tightening, just to relax again. "Yeah," You muttered, "that seems to be a theme lately." The two of you fell into a silence again. It wasn't heavy, just silence.

God, how do normal people function in situations like this? Because you certainly didn't know how to act, and you would love to get some advice right about now. "Can I ask you something?" Aggie now asked, her voice quieter, a bit hesitant. You gestured with your hand for her to continue. 

"Why don't you do like…relationships?" You stopped dead in your tracks. Aggie turned to you, regret written all over her face. You blinked a few times. Aggie asked it so casually, but why did it feel like you were being held at gunpoint and needed to answer the question? You let out a quiet huff of air, your gaze dropping to the ground. "Straight to the point, huh?" You said lightly, somehow a smile forming on your lips.

"You–you don't need to answer if you're not comfortable," Aggie reassured you. You shook your head. "It's fine." You just didn't know what the answer to that question was anymore. You had told so many people that you didn't do relationships because they were always complicated. That people got too attached to one person. "I just…" You started, then paused, searching for something that didn't sound like you had said it a million times before.

"I don't like the mess that comes with it." You assumed that Aggie would say something, but she didn't; she didn't interrupt. "Expectations, people getting hurt if it doesn't work." You continued, shrugging lightly with your shoulders. "It's just easier not to get into them in the first place." You glanced at Aggie, expecting to see judgment written all over her face, but you didn't see any. 

"Does it work?" Aggie asked, her voice soft. You let out a huff. "It did," You said. You felt your hand brush against Aggie's again. You didn't look down, but you felt Aggie move her fingers lightly against yours. Aggie tilted her head like a curious dog. "And now?" You hesitated. The answer was right there, the answer you didn't want to say aloud. "Now I'm not sure," You whispered. The words felt strange on your tongue. You had always been sure of everything, but now with Aggie? You're not sure of anything at this point.

The words felt strange on your tongue, like they didn't quite belong to you. You glanced down, but quickly looked ahead again. Your hand had brushed against Aggie's once more. Your heart rate picked up, which had nothing to do with running or training. At the next step, your hands brushed against each other again. You swallowed the lump in your throat and moved your hand closer to Aggie's. Not grabbing, just a silent invitation.

Aggie noticed the slight change. She adjusted her hand as well. placing her hand in yours, her fingers slipping through yours. She didn't interlace them fully, but she didn't need to, because you did it for her. This was scary, but you did, but what in the fuck came next?

After a few hours walking around in the city, you had walked Aggie home. You stopped on the porch, your hands in your pockets like a teenager walking their date back home, and you actually felt like that right now. Aggie didn't go inside right away; she stayed with you on the porch. You leaned back against the fence, completely drawn to how Aggie looked right now.

The light above shone on Aggie in a certain way that made her even more beautiful than you thought she was. You could see the wrinkle of her nose when she laughed, the small dimples in her cheeks when she was fully smiling. You were so far away right now that you didn't realize that Aggie was watching you back. She tilted her head lightly. She could tell that you were completely mesmerized by her, which you were. Aggie didn't say anything. She was too amazed by the fact that she could see that you had let your guard down. Your shoulders weren't tensed, your face was natural, no teasing smirk that you usually wore.

You were warm, calm, but still very charming, but now you weren't trying so hard to impress someone. "You're staring," Aggie finally said, her voice soft and warm. "Mhh," You hummed, blinking with your eyes to focus on Aggie. "We have been standing here for what? Like five minutes, but you haven't stopped staring at me," Aggie said. There was a teasing edge to her tone, a smirk playing on her lips. 

You stayed quiet at that. Because you hadn't even noticed that you were staring until Aggie had called you out. You let out a sigh, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. You don't know what you needed to do now. This isn't how your nights usually go. You usually go home with someone, have sex, and then leave. That's simple. But this? This was a whole new territory, but you didn't want to screw it up, you really didn't.

"I just–" You started, but stopped with a shake of your head. "Don't know what to do right now," You muttered, not meeting Aggie's eyes once. "What would you do with your usual nights?" The question caught you off guard. You looked at Aggie. Was this a trick question? Or did Aggie really want an answer to that? "You want an honest answer to that?" You then asked, rubbing your neck. "I only want an honest answer." You let out a huff. Yeah, that tracks.

"Usually, I would enter the house, have sex with the person–" Aggie raised a curious eyebrow when you stopped. "And then?" You let out a sigh, dropping your eyes to the wooden floor of the porch like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Y/n," Aggie said, her tone even. "I would leave, mostly in the middle of the night. I did always leave a note," You muttered under your breath, heat creeping up your neck. 

"I know that's not how you flow, so, just–if you don't want this–" You said and gestured vaguely between the two of you, "if you don't want to continue this, I get, you just tell me, and I'll go," You whispered. You were already dreading Aggie's answer. You had never given anyone the option to run because you always ran first, but now you had played the ball to Aggie in front of an open goal; it was up to her whether she wanted to score.

"Hey, hey, stop," Aggie said, stepping closer to you, not giving you any chance to say more. You turned your head away, but Aggie cupped your face in both hands, forcing you to meet her eyes. "I know this is something big for you. I wouldn't just turn you down, because I know that this is you stepping out of your comfort zone," Aggie said, her tone sweet, but very clear. All of a sudden, you were very aware of how close the two of you were standing right now. Your noses almost brushed. You looked down at Aggie's lips before locking eyes with her again. You hesitantly placed your hands on Aggie's waist, pulling her slightly closer, your noses brushing fully against each other now. 

You felt your heart in your throat. You tightened your hold on Aggie's waist before letting go again, but not fully. You let your forehead rest against Aggie's. You closed your eyes. This situation was terrifying, but you didn't want to run away anymore. You moved forward a little, your lips grazing Aggie's. You didn't kiss her. You allowed her to pull back or lean into it.

You only needed to wait exactly one second before Aggie's lips met yours. You smiled into the kiss, pulling Aggie just a little closer. Aggie giggled softly, giving you one final kiss before pulling back. "Wow," Was all Aggie could say. You couldn't see it really well, but you could see the slight blush on Aggie's cheeks. You gave her a small smirk. Aggie buried her face in your neck, clearly embarrassed. "C'mon," Aggie eventually said, pulling back and holding out her hand, and with the other hand, she unlocked the house.

You placed your hand in hers, interlacing your fingers immediately. You could get used to this, as a matter of fact, you were going to get used to this. You let Aggie pull you into the house, the door closing behind you. For once, you had to agree with Leah. Yeah, you have definitely fallen for Aggie. Not that you were ever going to admit that out loud. Especially not to Leah. 

[suushiiii]

So, I've been working on this fic, it's already 7.3k long, but I'm not even at the main event yet.

So I was asking if it would be a good idea to split the fic into two parts, but when do you guys split a fic into two parts?

Help a girl out please😭

[idontknowwfc]

Gunners

[alotofpockets]

Quiet moments surrounded by thousands | Daphne van Domselaar x Pregnant!Wife!Reader

Where everyone finds out you're pregnant after Daphne wins the Champions League

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.2k

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Thousands of people were watching the Champions League final between Arsenal and Barcelona at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Amongst the huge crowd divided between Arsenal’s red and Barcelona’s blaugrana, you were watching the match in one of Daphne’s yellow goalkeeper kits. 

You watched your wife make save after save to keep Arsenal in the game, cheering along loudly with her parents and sister in the family section. When Stina scored the whole section went crazy, you all stood up and cheered loudly for the girls who were ahead in the arguably the most important match of their club careers. 

Now all they had to do was keep the lead up and not let any goals through. You were sitting on the edge of your seat watching Barcelona trying to attack over and over again, but the girls weren’t letting them through. Countless blocks from the defenders, incredible saves from Daphne, and more balls kicked far away than you had ever seen from them. 

The final whistle blew and all the built up nerves were worth it. You couldn’t quite believe it yet, your wife, champion of Europe. Reaching the goal she had dreamt of since she was a little girl in her first season with the club. Tears were rolling down your cheeks with pride as her mom hugged you tight.

On the pitch everyone ran into each other’s arms to celebrate. Little huddles were formed all over the pitch, but you could pick Daphne out of them easily. She had sat down in her goal, looking around at her teammates with the biggest smile on her face. Everything she had worked towards, pushing through an injury to be able to be here, and now she had done it. You wanted to join her on the pitch right at that moment, but you knew you had to wait until after the medal ceremony. 

When you were finally allowed to go onto the pitch, Daphne ran straight to you. “I am so proud of you.” You say through happy tears as you hug her tight. You’re standing in the hug swaying back and forth lightly just whispering to each other. Until you say, “I can’t wait to show the baby that their mom is a European champion.” Daphne smiles wide and puts her forehead against yours, with tears welling in her eyes, she places a hand on your small baby bump. Without thinking she drops to her knees so she can kiss your bump. A quiet moment between the two of you, completely forgetting that you are surrounded by tens of thousands people in the stadium and to many many more on tv screens, and social media. She’s up again after and engulfs you in another big hug, before she goes to hug her family.

The celebrations on the pitch go on for a while, but eventually it is time for the girls to go party in the dressing room. The rest of the families heading inside to see each other later again. 

Once out of the partying dressing rooms, Daphne has a couple of interviews to do. She walks in proudly with her champions kit, and her gold medal hanging around her neck. Most questions are about the match, and focussed on her saves, how the team played, and asking for some insights on the party in the dressing room and what is to be ahead. But the final question takes her a little by surprise.

“And finally, we saw a moment on the pitch with your wife. Would you like to share anything? Any insights on what we think we saw out there?” Daphne looks puzzled for a moment, wondering what moment they meant. “Having her and my family out here was amazing, I am glad they were able to take time off and fly out to watch me play.” She settles on. 

The interviewer smiles, and tries one more time to see if she would get an answer more in the direction that she was hoping for. “Having them here must have felt very special. There seemed to be something even more special about this moment though. Do we have a baby van Domselaar on the way?” 

Daphne’s smile grew even wider, if that was even possible. “Right yeah, we didn’t really plan on sharing the news like this, but how can you not celebrate a win like this with your wife and baby on the way, right?” She said proudly. “Thank you for your time, and double congratulations.” The interviewer says before Daphne moves on to the next interview. 

In the family area, you had found a seat to the side, needing a moment away from all the busyness. You were just catching up on some texts, when your phone started blowing up with notifications. You figured some of Daphne’s fans were going to tag you in stuff from tonight, since the two of you share a lot of your relationship with the fans on social media, but you hadn’t expected this much.

You click the next notification that comes up, and see an interview with Daphne open up on your phone. Her smile is radiant, and it instantly warms your heart to see how happy she is. The post seemed to be a small clip from a bigger interview, and when you heard the question about a baby, you knew why your phone was blowing up.

You shared a lot of your relationship online, but this was something that you hadn’t shared yet. All of your friends and family knew, but online you had kept it to yourself for now. Not that you didn’t want to share the information, you were just waiting for the next international break to share. Wanting Daphne to be able to focus on the Champions League without the focus being on growing her family. Now that the final was played and won though, you knew you wouldn’t have to keep it private anymore, so while you were waiting to celebrate with the team, you went through your notifications and liked all the cute edits the fans were making of the two of you, the baby announcement, and the moment on the pitch where Daphne kissed your bump.

A few days later, the two of you are at home, after days of celebrating and high energies, it was just the two of you at home. Daphne was lying with her head in your lap, completely focused on your bump as she was waiting for the baby to kick again.

When it happens, she grins, then looks up at you. “So, we accidentally hard launched our pregnancy.” she teases. “Do you want to make it Instagram official?” You chuckle at her social media terms, but smile and move your fingers through her hair. “Yeah, let’s officially share our news with the world.” 

Daphne grabs her phone, and the two of you look through the pictures you had taken to find the best ones to post together. You settled on three images, one of the photoshoot you had done, one with the first little outfit you had bought for the baby, and one a little silly but one you loved so dearly.

daphnevdomselaar and y/nvandomselaar posted

daphnevdomselaar: We’ve shared a lot with you, but this one might be our favourite. Baby van Domselaar arriving January 2026 💗

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💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider liking, commenting, and reblogging! You can also support me by leaving a tip 💗

[suushiiii]

Lia wälti with prompts 43 & 46

Lia and reader used to play together for a bit in potsdam or at the beginning of lia's arsenal career. They got along great, and were secretly crushing on each other at different time points, but nothing ever happened bc one of them was always in a relationship. Then r transferred to a different league and they haven't spoken or seen each other in years. That changes when lia transfers to juve, where r has been playing for a while. R shows her around, they try to rekindle the friendship, but with both of them being single now feelings get more intense than they planned for👀

Here is the fic (Finally)

I did change it a bit, hope you don't mind and still like it, though!

Post by @suushiiii · 1 image

💬 0  🔁 0  ❤️ 0 · Right person, right time Lia Wälti x Reader Summary: You transfer to Juventus where Lia, your crush since forever plays,

[suushiiii]

Right person, right time

Lia Wälti x Reader

prompts: 43. They try to be "just friends" - it doesn't last 46. They meet again years later, both single

Summary: You transfer to Juventus where Lia, your crush since forever plays, maybe time was all the two of you needed.

word count: 4.7K

You sat in your car, the Italian sun beaming brightly. Your hands were clammy; you hadn't noticed until you rubbed them together. The engine of the car rumbled, the shocks going through your whole body. You rested your hands on the steering wheel. It was a new car. The interior was normal—black seats, red seatbelts at your request, a screen on the dashboard with Google maps still open.

It was stupid to request red seatbelts, but it reminded you of something from your childhood club: Arsenal. You had been at Arsenal since you were a kid. You worked your way to the first team, then won everything there was to win with Arsenal. But you wanted something new. Arsenal will always be your home; you would go back if you were at the end of your career, but now you want to take a new path. Try a new league, new opponents, new challenges. You had been here for a few days already.

Arsenal had posted your announcement that you were leaving two days ago. All the fans were heartbroken to hear that you would be leaving, but you wanted it; to go out of your comfort zone, jump in the deep end, and see where it would lead. You knew that it was a big leap to move from your childhood club, but what's life without taking a risk?

You looked out of the windshield at the building—the big black 'J' above the entrance. The building was grey on the outside, with a double-door entrance, and on either side of the door were large windows so that you could see into the building. From your car, you could see the desk of the receptionist and a little of the training fields in the back through another window from inside.

The sound of your phone going off jolted you back to the present, your heart jumping into your throat. God, you were jumpy today, and for what? You told yourself that it was for going to a new club, meeting your new coach, or even being away from home, but all those felt more like excuses, because you knew exactly why you were so nervous and jumpy. The risk of going to a new club wasn't only the new club, but also one of the players who had transferred to it. The risk was even bigger if that player was the person you had a huge crush on for at least 5 years.

You shook your head because you couldn't sit in your car forever. It was time to face the thing you were most terrified of: meeting your new teammates. You shut the car off and stepped out. The warmth of the air hits your face. The weather was one thing better than playing in England; it was incredible, even though you knew you would think otherwise when it was summer. 

You took your bag from the backseat and unlocked your car, stuffing your keys in your pocket. Around you, you saw people with equipment walking through big black gates. You assumed that those would lead to the back of the building, where all the training fields are stationed. You reached the double doors, and they opened automatically. The noises of people chattering filled your ears as you stood in the room. To your left hung a painting; you assumed it was of a past Juventus team. The painting was in black and white, a man lifted in the air by his teammates, a trophy in his hands. His smile is bright.

"Can I help you?" Your attention went in the direction from which the voice came. Your eyes landed on an older woman, and you guessed she was in her late thirties. As you were about to respond, a man in a tracksuit entered the room. A whistle hung around his neck, a clipboard in his hands. "Ah, you must be y/n y/l/n," The man said, reaching out his hand. You shook the hand with a nervous smile on your face as you introduced yourself. "Yes, hi," You said with a smile. "I'll take it over from here," the man said to the woman behind the desk, who nodded and smiled. 

"You can follow me," the man said. You nodded and followed him out of the room and into a new one. "I'm  Carlo, the assistant coach, and I will give you a quick tour of the building, and then we can get your training gear." You nodded and followed the man through the building. Carlo showed you the main room, the review room, the cafeteria, the gym, and the physioroom. "I hope you don't get to sit here a lot," He teased, earning a soft laugh from you. Once he had shown you all the rooms, the two of you headed to the kitroom.

When you entered, your eyes landed on a pile of clothes, with a woman folding them neatly on a table next to it. "Morning, Lillia," Carlo greeted the woman, folding the clothes. "Do you have training gear for y/n y/l/n?" Lillia nodded with her head. She moved to the closet in the corner. Lillia rummaged through it, muttering in Italian under her breath. In the meantime, you looked around the room. It was big enough to be a kitroom.

There were three big tables together, with three big metal closets, as you assumed, each with kit bags. "Ah, here you go," Lillian said, after she appeared in front of you, handing you your bag. "Thank you," You said with a smile. You eventually followed Carlo out of the room and headed to the changing room, where your new teammates were getting ready for their training.

"Good morning, everyone," Carlo said, all the heads of your new teammates turning to him. "I'd like to introduce your new teammate," Carlo said, gesturing to you to step forward. You stepped forward as you rubbed your hands up and down your legs, hoping to reduce the clamminess.

Your eyes went over every single face until they landed on a brunette. Your eyes widened. You knew that she played here; she had left Arsenal last year. Across from you sat Lia Waltï. She was tying her shoelaces, but then finally looked up, her eyes landing on you in an instant.

It felt like the two of you went straight back to Arsenal. The two of you were inseparable. The two of you even lived together back in England. You were best friends, but lost the spark when Lia moved to Juventus, so seeing her again unlocks all kinds of feelings that you had suppressed for so long. You gave her a small smile from across the room, and Lia returned it.

You felt your stomach flutter at just that small smile. God, you thought you were over her, but in all honesty, you knew you never had been over her in the first place. "I'll leave you to meet the team. I'll see you later," Carlo said, waving everyone in the room goodbye. 

Everyone welcomed you warmly, they were excited to play with you, and were happy that you're experienced in what you do. The last person who came over was Lia. You could tell that she was nervous, and/or shocked to see that it really is true: you left Arsenal. Back at Arsenal, you had told her you were going to retire there. Back then, you believed that, but as new players came, you knew you wouldn't get playtime anymore.

You were still good enough to have playtime, so both you and Arsenal agreed not to extend your contract. "Hi," Lia said, with that same smile she always had, no matter what was happening. The same smile that swept you off your feet the first time you met her, the same smile that made you fall for her. That same smile that made you forget all the words you knew, or forget how to talk properly. You had a crush on Lia for a long time; everyone knew it at Arsenal.

Your teammates there had told you to go for it, to ask her out. You would either turn bright red or say no, but when you finally found the courage to ask her out, a new signing arrived at Arsenal, and the words that left Lia's lips hit you like a brick. Arsenal's new signing, Mariona Caldentey, was a three-time Champions League winner and apparently Lia's girlfriend. 

In that moment, you were happy that you hadn't asked Lia out before, because she and Mariona had been dating for 2 years now. As much as it had pained you to see them together, they were happy, and that's all you wanted for Lia. To be happy and have the best people around her. You and Lia stayed close friends. You even got along really well; you could see what Lia saw in her.

Eventually, you started dating yourself, mostly because some of your teammates told you not to mope around. Most dates were boring. The girls weren't boring per se, they just weren't Lia. But your fourth date was a hit. The girl, Layla, was a beautiful blonde, her smile so real. The two of you had talked for hours, exchanged numbers, and even planned a second date when the first one ended. You noticed after a while that Lia was getting distant; you didn't know why, though, and it turned out Lia and Mariona had broken up.

It was a mutual break-up; they stayed friends. But what you didn't know was that when you were dating Layla, Lia had a crush on you, but she didn't say anything, one, because you looked very happy with your girlfriend, and two, she was afraid that you didn't feel the same way. 

At the end of the season, Lia would leave Arsenal. You were heartbroken to hear it when you did. You would lose your best friend. In that season, you won the Champions League, and so, Lia would leave Arsenal as a Champions League winner. When Lia had left, the two of you still kept in contact. She had told you that she still watched all the matches she could. You yourself didn't finish the next season with Arsenal; you transferred in the winter window to Juventus.

You had told Lia that you had decided to leave. Lia was shocked to hear the news; she would've thought you would stay at Arsenal for the rest of your career, but she also asked whether you already knew which club you wanted to move to. You had a few interests from different clubs; most were from the WSL, but you wanted to try a different league.

Lia had joked that it would be funny if you decided to go to Juventus. But now it wasn't a joke anymore, you were actually at Juventus, and you were so happy that there was at least one person you knew well. So, moving to a new club wasn't so bad after all.

Over the next two months, you noticed that you and Lia weren't around each other much. Sure, the two of you passed the ball to each other or talked tactics, but off the field, it felt like the two of you were miles apart. You had no idea why Lia was avoiding you. Had you said something to her that hurt her? Or had you forgotten to have lunch with her? You couldn't put your finger on it.

You decided to ignore it; maybe she and Mariona were having problems, and you wanted to stay away from that as far as possible, because your own relationship with Layla had sunk. Your breakup with Layla wasn't dramatic, but it still sucked that you were the one dumped. Then again, you were happy you weren't the dumper. Layla was a great girlfriend; you had fun with her and could talk to her for hours, but once you moved to Italy, she couldn't handle long-distance.

You couldn't blame her, but it still hurt that your first relationship ended because of your job. You and Layla had stayed friends and texted now and then. You sat in your favorite coffee shop, your coffee cupped in your hands, when your phone dinged and your screen lit up by a message from Layla. "Hi, how are you doing?" You read. You placed your mug on the table and took your phone, unlocking it as you pressed on Layla's message. 

"I'm doing fine, just relaxing on my free day," You replied, as you took a sip from your coffee. "So," You frowned at the message. Every time Layla started her message with 'so', it was always suspicious. "🤨" was your only reply. You could never tell what Layla was going to say, so you decided to just reply with your usual emoji when Layla would text 'so'. "Have you met someone interesting there in the city of love🤭?" You stared at the message for a full five seconds. "You do know that 'the city of love' is France, right?" You replied eventually, deciding to deflect Layla's question.

Not seconds later, your phone rang, Layla's contact popping up. You shook your head with a smile and pressed the green button. "Bonjour, from the city of love," you said the minute Layla picked up. Your voice had a fake French accent. "Ha, ha, ha, ha," Layla said in a dry tone, clearly not amused with your teasing. You couldn't help the laughter that escaped your lips. You could practically imagine the annoyed look Layla was giving you right now.

"If you're done making fun of me, can you please answer my question?" Layla asked after your laughter had subsided. You let out a sigh. If you told Layla about Lia, she would either grill you with questions or stalk Lia's Instagram, and if you lied, Layla would definitely know. 

So, you decided to suck it up and tell Layla about Lia. "Fine," you said with a defeated sigh, taking a big sip from your coffee. You were going to need it. "There was this woman, back at Arsenal. She was very pretty, and I fell for her the second she walked in, but I never made a move or asked her out." You started to explain, already regretting talking about the person you had a crush on with your EX.

"Ohh, this is getting interesting," Layla said on the other end of the line, already loving this story far too much. "When my teammates back at Arsenal finally convinced me to ask the woman out, a new transfer arrived at Arsenal, and guess what? The new transfer was the girlfriend of the woman I had a crush on!" You said, as heads in the shop turned to you.

You quickly apologized with a hand gesture, then repeated it in a lower voice. "OMG! Seriously?" Layla asked, her voice was far too amusing for your liking. "Let me guess, the girl you had a crush on now plays at the same club you transferred to? Am I right?" You stayed silent on the phone. How the frick did Layla know? Just, How?

"OMG, I am right!" Layla shrieked. Her voice was so high-pitched that you needed to remove the phone from your ear. "You have to talk to her!" Layla said when you put the phone against your ear again. You shook your head immediately, not like Layla could see you do that. "Layla, first off, she has a girlfriend, and secondly, she has been very distant ever since I came here," You explained with a sigh, placing your empty coffee mug on the table.

"Y/n, I was very distant when I wanted to break up with you, remember?" Layla said, as you winced slightly at the memory. "Yeah, but there is a slight difference between your girlfriend being distant and the long crush that you have never dated being distant," You deadpanned. Layla sighed, and you can picture her running her hand through her hair. "That's not what I meant. I meant, maybe she broke up with her girlfriend as well, and maybe she has a crush on you as well!" Layla explained, her voice high-pitched again.

You were silent for a few seconds, because you had honestly no good defense for that. "That's not the point," You muttered, but you could hear that your voice lacked the confidence to back your statement up. You could tell that Layla didn't believe you as well. She didn't even need to make a sound to let you know that she didn't believe you.

The season went by so fast. It had been 4 weeks since you and Layla had called. You and Juventus still had a few matches to go, but your first season was coming to an end. You really loved it here. The culture, the people, your new teammates, and then there was Lia. You hated that the two of you had barely said anything to each other apart from being it about football. One evening, you walked out of the main building of the training ground.

You were ready to put your headphones on, but then you looked to your left to the training field, and saw a figure sitting on the nearby bench. You wanted to go. To just sit on your couch, watch a bad movie, wind down from the intense training of the day, but your legs moved on their own accord. You reached the figure sitting on the bench. You frowned when you realized that it was Lia sitting on the bench.

You watched her for a few seconds, but then you heard it—the quiet sniffles. Your face softened, and you immediately sat down next to Lia, who quickly tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Hey, hey, are you okay?" You asked softly as you placed your hand on Lia's shoulder. "As you care," Lia muttered as she shrugged your hand off her shoulder. Your eyes were full of confusion; of course, you cared. 

"Lia," you said softly. It really hurt that Lia thought that you didn't care about her, because you really did, that's all you did ever since you joined Juventus. "Where is this coming from?" Lia met your eyes; there was some kind of anger in them, but also sadness. "What do you think?" Lia asked, her voice defeated, as a weight got lifted off her shoulders. You shook your head a little, now really confused about what was happening.

"You-you have barely talked to me. You act like I'm a stranger to you, and that messed with my brain so much!" Lia yelled, dragging her hands down her face angrily. "I did all those things?" You asked now, really thrown back by what Lia had said. "Yeah, you!" You shook your head again. Of all things, you thought what Lia would say to you, this wasn't one of them.

"Lia, I've wanted to talk to you for months, but you barely even look at me! So, don't ever accuse me of being distant when you did it first," You said. Lia opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. You let out a heavy sigh as you dropped down on the bench behind you and rubbed your face. Lia took a seat next to you. You fell into a silence, but you could hear your heart pounding against your ribcage. "You're doing the thing again," Lia eventually said, so you looked at her, confused. 

"When you're nervous, you always fidget with the hem of your sleeve." You looked down at your hands, and you were indeed fidgeting with the hem of your sleeve. You quickly let go of your sleeve and just let your hands rest on your knees. "I always found it adorable when you did that," Lia said again. You looked at her again and saw the small smile. "Over the years, I saw that you usually did that when I was around." You froze at that.

Fuck, was I that obvious? Was all you could think. You groaned internally; of course, Lia would notice such small things. "You want to know why I was so distant from you when you first arrived here?" Yes, please, yes, and fucking yes, tell me. That's what you wanted to say, but you didn't. "If you want to," You said, and you could see how Lia's shoulders dropped, like she was going to reveal something that was breaking news.

Lia stayed silent for a few seconds; you could see that she was thinking about how to tell you this the best way, but is there ever a good way to tell something you actually never want to see the light of day? "I- when I saw you enter the changing room on your first day, it was like, I don't know what to call it, but it almost felt like a dream and a nightmare in one." You didn't interrupt her; you knew that Lia needed to say this now without interruptions. 

"It was a dream, because you were here, that I got my best friend back, that we could get lunch together again, like we always did back at Arsenal. We could have the movie nights that we always had, we could have sleepovers again," Lia said, a smile formed on her lips, thinking back to those memories. You thought back to those memories as well, and they were the best days of your life.

Your smile dropped because Lia still needed to come to the nightmare part. "There were two things, what about that it felt like a nightmare?" You asked as you looked at Lia, whose eyes stayed on the floor, not meeting yours once. Lia took a deep breath and lifted her head, staring ahead of herself now. You just waited. You never want to pressure Lia, especially if she is about to say something that takes a lot of courage.

"Sorry, this is-" You shook your head immediately, because Lia didn't need to apologize for something like this. "Don't. Take as long as you need," You said softly, giving Lia a reassuring smile. Lia gave you a grateful look and squeezed your hand slightly. You looked down, and Lia had taken your hand. Just stay calm, stay calm.

The world around the two of you faded into the background, and the wind rustled the leaves of the trees. Your hand was still in Lia's. Your thumb was slowly making circles on the back of Lia's hand. "God, you'll probably hate me," Lia muttered, breaking the silence that the two of you fell into. "Hey, nothing you will say or do will make me hate you," You reassured her, giving her hand a tight squeeze. "I'm not so sure about that," Lia said with a sad laugh, shaking her head lightly—God, this woman.

"You don't have to tell me, if you're not comfortable," You reminded her, hoping to let her know that there was no pressure. "The moment you stepped into that changing room, it felt like my life had pulled a one-eighty on me," Lia finally continued. "When I saw you, all I wanted to do was run up to you and hug you, because," Lia let out a frustrated groan and stood up from the bench.

You stayed seated, keeping your eyes on the Swiss. "Because I like you. N-not like a friend, but more like a friend, God, I have been having feelings for you for so long. Ever since you joined Arsenal," Lia blurted out all at once. You sat frozen on the bench, because what the actual fuck? 

In all those years, in all the years that you had a crush on Lia, Lia had a crush on you as well. It took your brain a full minute to catch up. Lia turned around, finally facing you, worry written all over her face. "Oh, god, this was stupid," Lia rambled as she covered her face with her hands. "Please, forget I ever said anything, okay?" Lia said, snatching her bag from the ground. She was ready to run, to crawl into bed and die of embarrassment.

"Lia, please, wait," You said when you finally realized that she was starting to walk away. "No, I've embarrassed myself enough; I don't need you laughing in my face on top of that." You quickened your pace until you moved in front of Lia, stopping her in her tracks. "Lia, I get where you're coming from, only one of us was brave enough to say it to the other," You said, and Lia scoffed. "What does that even-" Lia stopped herself when she realized what you said.

"Wait, you? Y-you like me too?" Lia asked. You swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, for a really long time," You confessed, your voice was shaky, just like your whole body. "Why didn't you say anything?" You laughed, because, yeah, why didn't you? "I was about to." Lia shook her head, because there was no way that you were about to confess to her that you like her. 

"When?" Lia asked, throwing her arms up in the air. You looked up at the sky as rain began to fall. How ironic is this? You live in Italy, and the one time you confess your love to your crush, it starts pouring down. "I wanted to ask you out exactly one year ago, but then Arsenal announced the new player, who was your girlfriend at the time! That's when I wanted to ask you out," You said as you rubbed the back of your neck, god, this was not how you wanted to confess something like this.

"But, I like you, I like you a lot, actually. I love your laugh, your smile, even your habit of picking up leaves with tongs," You started as the rain continued to pour down on the two of you. You took a step closer to Lia. You saw the rain trailing down her face, the soft look in her eyes. Lia let out a broken laugh when you mentioned the tongs.

"I love that you still followed Arsenal as much as you could when you transferred. I love that you know my nervous tics," You said as you tried to keep your voice steady, while you gestured at your sleeve. "And most of all, I love you, Lia Wälti." You looked her straight in the eyes when you said that. 

You felt your heart beating harder and harder against your ribs, like it was ready to pop out. You closed your eyes briefly and took one final step closer. "I should've said this when I first arrived here, or maybe when I was here for two weeks or so, but I said it now," You whispered as you hesitantly took Lia's hands in yours. Lia looked up at you. You couldn't tell whether she was actually crying or just because of the rain.

"What are you doing?" Lia asked in a whisper as she looked up, her eyes locking on yours. "I don't know, but all I know is that I want to kiss you right now," You said. You let go of one of Lia's hands and cupped her face. Lia leaned into the touch, your eyes never breaking contact. Lia smiled at you and leaned forward, her forehead resting against yours. "Then, do it," Lia whispered. You searched her eyes, but they were certain, no scaredness in them. You tilted your head and pressed your lips against hers.

Lia's arms looped around your neck, pulling you closer. The rain continued to pour down. It felt like a movie where the two main characters finally kiss in the middle of the rain. To you, it did feel like a movie, but it isn't. It's real life: after so many years of crushing on a girl who was your teammate, you are finally kissing her. You wanted to stay here forever, but you also wanted to know what the future held. For now, standing in the middle of the rain, kissing the girl of your dreams was enough. Lia was enough, she will always be enough to make you feel this alive. 

[idontknowwfc]

Could you possibly make a post of Daphne's saves from yesterday?

Of course I can! There’s more saves but these saves are the most iconic and life saving ones !

Daphne Van Domselaar POTM performance

[suushiiii]

[wosoverse11-23]

Between Posts and Nets || Daphne van Domselaar x Reader

The rivalry between you and Daphne began from the very first day of preseason. Every training session became a personal duel: the striker trying to break the goal, the goalkeeper determined not to give up a single inch. But what started as pure competition soon became something more complicated. Because Daphne kept trying to win every ball from you… while, off the field, doing everything possible to be close to you.

Based on this request-> here, I hope you like it!!

---

The first shot was a warning.

The second, a declaration of war.

The third, a problem.

“Again,” Daphne murmured to herself, picking the ball up from the back of the net.

You were already backing up toward your position, with that half-smile that wasn’t exactly mocking… but wasn’t innocent either.

“Ready?” you asked, turning the ball with the tip of your foot.

Daphne adjusted her gloves.

“Always.”

The fourth shot was even better than the previous ones. Powerful. Placed. Impossible.

The ball kissed the top corner.

You raised an eyebrow.

“Van Domselaar, I’m starting to think you have a soft spot for me.”

Daphne threw the ball toward the center with more force than necessary.

“Try again,” she replied. “Next time it’s not going in.”

But inside, the problem wasn’t the goal.

The problem was that you smiled every time you looked at her.

And that, for some reason, made her more nervous than any opposing striker.

---

During the following weeks, training became a predictable routine.

You shot.

Daphne responded.

And neither of you was willing to give in.

“How many do we have today?” you asked one day, resting your hands on your hips.

“Three saves, two goals,” Daphne answered immediately.

“You’re keeping count.”

“I always count.”

“How intense.”

“How annoying.”

But when the coach ended the session, it was Daphne who stayed a little longer.

“One more round,” she said, picking up a ball. “If you want.”

You looked at her for a second and smiled.

“Of course.”

---

The change started without anyone noticing.

At first, it was small.

One especially hard day, when the team finished exhausted, you dropped onto the grass, breathing with difficulty.

When you lifted your head, there was a sports drink bottle in front of you.

Daphne.

“Electrolytes,” she said, without looking at you too much. “I saw you get dizzy earlier.”

“Thanks… rival.”

Daphne frowned.

But she didn’t take the bottle back.

---

Then more things came.

If you arrived late to the locker room, there was always a free spot next to Daphne.

If you needed tape for your ankle, Daphne already had it in her hand.

If someone asked who had done the best training of the day…

“Y/N,” Daphne would answer, before realizing she had said it out loud.

It was Manuela Zinsberger who noticed first.

They were in the gym when Manu followed the direction of Daphne’s gaze.

You were on the other side of the room, doing barbell squats.

“Daph."

Silence.

“Daphne.”

“Hm?”

“You’re drooling.”

Daphne blinked.

“I’m analyzing.”

“What?”

“Her… technique.”

Manu crossed her arms.

“Of course. Very important for tactical analysis.”

---

The real problem came on match day.

Minute 68.

Cross into the box.

And a finish from you that ended up in the back of the net.

Without thinking, Daphne ran halfway across the field to celebrate with you as you were heading back to your position.

When she realized the rest of the team was watching them, she quickly stepped away.

“Good… finish,” she murmured.

“Thanks,” you replied, far too calmly.

As if you had noticed everything.

From that moment on, the rivalry changed shape.

On the field, they kept provoking each other.

“I’m going to score on you today,” you would say.

“Try,” Daphne would reply.

But off the field…

Daphne was always close.

Too close.

---

“Can you help me with my boots?”

The question caught her by surprise after training.

You were standing in front of her locker, holding the tangled laces.

Daphne dropped her gloves immediately.

“Yes. Of course.”

She knelt in front of you before thinking too much.

When she looked up, you were looking at her with that smile again.

“You know I can do it myself, right?”

Daphne swallowed.

“Yes.”

Silence.

“And even so, you didn’t hesitate to help me,” you added.

Daphne finished the knot more carefully than necessary.

“It’s so you don’t get injured.”

“Of course."

---

That night, Manu sat next to her on the bus.

“So,” she said. “Are we still going with the ‘enemies’ thing?”

Daphne looked forward.

You were two rows ahead, laughing with some teammates.

“On the field,” she replied.

Manu smiled.

“And off it?”

Daphne didn’t answer.

At that moment you turned around and your eyes met.

You raised your hand in a small gesture.

Daphne, unable to stop herself, smiled back.

Because what had started as a rivalry between a goalkeeper and a striker had ended with Daphne van Domselaar doing everything possible to make sure she was the first person you looked at when you celebrated.

And, for the first time in her life, the most confident goalkeeper on the team was losing a match she didn’t want to win.

[wosoverse11-23]

The Last Refuge || Daphne van Domselaar x Reader

Being the new goalkeeper at Arsenal isn’t easy, but the “GK Union” makes sure no one ever feels out of place. During a movie night organized to help Y/N settle in, the exhaustion from an intense week of training finally catches up with her. Between popcorn and films, Y/N ends up finding the most comfortable spot on the couch in Daphne, creating a moment that changes the dynamic between them forever.

Based on this request->here, I hope you like it!!

---

Being the new Arsenal goalkeeper meant many things: more intense training sessions, high expectations, and that constant feeling of trying to find your place without bothering too much.

Luckily, there was something that made everything easier.

The GK Union.

Between Manuela Zinsberger, Anneke Borbe, Daphne van Domselaar, and you, a small family had formed where competition stayed on the field and the rest of the time there was only support, jokes, and an understanding no one else on the team could offer.

“Rule number one,” Manu announced from the kitchen, “no phones.”

She walked into the living room carrying a huge bowl of popcorn and another filled with candy.

“Rule number two: no tactical analysis.”

“And goalkeeper documentaries?” Anneke asked.

“Forbidden. Tonight we watch bad movies and let our brains rest.”

The laughter eased the atmosphere.

You settled into the big couch, letting your back sink into the cushions. That morning’s training had been especially tough: reflexes, dives, endless repetitions. Your shoulders felt heavy and your legs were still tense.

Next to you, Daphne sat down with a folded blanket over her knees. Without saying anything, she opened it and let it fall over you too, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Tired?” she asked softly.

Her Dutch accent always sounded gentle, almost calm.

“A little,” you admitted. “I think my arms don’t belong to me anymore today.”

Daphne smiled.

“That means it was a good training session.”

The movie started: a predictable romantic comedy, the kind where everyone knows how it ends by minute five. Manu and Anneke commented quietly on every absurd scene, laughing before the jokes even landed.

But you could barely follow the plot.

The warmth of the blanket.

The comfortable couch.

The weight of the week built up in your body.

Your eyelids began to feel heavy.

At first, you only tilted your head slightly to the side. Then you corrected it. You tried to focus on the screen.

It didn’t work.

Without realizing it, your shoulder brushed against Daphne’s.

She didn’t move.

A few minutes later, your head dropped again. This time slower, more surrendered.

And then you simply let yourself go.

Your cheek found her shoulder, and your breathing became slow, deep, steady.

Daphne went completely still.

For a second, she didn’t even breathe, as if any movement might wake you.

She looked down.

Your expression was relaxed. Without the focus of training. Without the tension of being the new one. Just calm.

Trusting.

From the armchair, Manu looked up and raised her eyebrows with a silent smile.

“Looks like she already found her place,” she whispered.

Daphne didn’t respond.

Very carefully, she adjusted the blanket better around your shoulders. Then she tilted her head just enough to rest it gently against yours.

You fit there.

As if you had always belonged in that space.

The movie kept playing, but Daphne wasn’t paying attention anymore. She focused on something much simpler: the rhythm of your breathing against her arm, the warm weight of your body resting against hers, the way your fingers, without realizing it, had curled slightly around the blanket near her hand.

It wasn’t a big gesture.

But it was trust.

And for someone who lived reacting in milliseconds, it felt strangely important.

When the credits began to roll, Manu lowered the volume.

“Well, that was terrible,” she muttered. “But it served its purpose.”

Anneke stood up to stretch.

“Should we wake her?”

Daphne shook her head gently.

“No. She’s exhausted.”

Manu smiled.

“Okay, mom.”

But she still turned off the television carefully and began cleaning up quietly.

The room fell into dim light.

And Daphne stayed there.

Without moving.

Without wanting to move.

Several minutes passed before you shifted slightly, frowning as you slowly came out of sleep.

“Mm…?” you murmured, confused.

You blinked.

You realized where you were and sat up quickly.

“I’m sorry,” you said immediately, blushing. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

Daphne shook her head, still with her usual calm.

“It’s okay.”

She paused briefly.

“You were comfortable.”

The comment made you smile, still half-asleep.

“Yeah…” you admitted softly. “Very.”

There was a brief silence.

The kind that isn’t uncomfortable.

“You can…” Daphne added, almost without looking at you, “do it again whenever you want.”

This time, the warmth didn’t come from sleep.

And even though neither of you said it out loud, something had changed.

Because from that night on, at every team gathering, on every bus ride, in every moment of rest…

Your place on the couch was no longer a coincidence.

It always ended up being next to her.