Close your eyes, and I'll close mine.
☆ Summary: You get extremely clingy during your period, and that's very unlike you.
☆ Word count: 2.5k
☆ Warnings: mentions of period, pain, blood and blondes. beware.
You were not a clingy person, and neither was Leah. That was one of the things that made your relationship work so incredibly well: you both valued your independence, your own space, your ability to exist comfortably in silence without constantly needing reassurance or physical contact.
Leah could spend hours reviewing match footage while you read beside her, both content in your separate bubbles, but still knowing the other was there if needed.
But Leah was also stupidly observant. Especially when it came to you, which is why she knew – well before you did – when your period was approaching.
It was mostly your fault; you were not exactly clued up on your own cycle, you didn't even use any apps to track it, it just sort of happened when it wanted, and you dealt with it.
It started on a cold Monday evening in the middle of January.
You had been completely fine all day, going about your normal routine, right up until Leah came home from training. The moment she walked through the door, dropping her kit bag by the entrance, you felt it. That inexplicable, sudden need to be near her.
It was like a penny had finally dropped in your head. Missing people wasn't really something you usually felt; you couldn't understand why. It was just how you were rewired, but today was different; today, you realised, you had missed Leah deeply while she was away.
"Hi, darling," the Arsenal captain called out, toeing off her shoes and smiling at you lazily. "Do you fancy ordering take–"
You appeared around the corner almost immediately, and before she could even fully straighten up, you were there, wrapping your arms tight around her middle and burying your face in her neck. You felt the way Leah froze for just half a second, not because she didn't want the contact, of course not, but simply because it was so unusual coming from you.
"Oh, well... hello to you too," she said, a smile creeping into her voice as her hands came up to rest on your back. "Missed me a bit, then?"
"Mhm," you hummed against her skin, not letting go. If anything, you held her tighter. "Don't you ever disappear like that again."
"Disappear?" she chucked. "I was only gone for a few hours, love. To the same exact place I go every single day--?"
You pulled back just enough to make a grumpy face at her. "Well, obviously, I know that."
Leah's smile only grew at your crankiness. She didn't say anything out loud, but she filed the information away into that corner of her brain where she kept the important stuff: clingy phase = period incoming.
By Wednesday, you were fully in clingy, smothering, borderline-suffocation mode. You were following Leah from room to room like a lost puppy, ignoring the fact that you were a grown adult with friends to meet, a mother to call, and piles of graduate school assignments to get through. Every single bit of brainpower you possessed was entirely dedicated to kissing Leah, hugging Leah, watching a film with Leah, loving on Leah, making love with Leah.
Leah. Leah Leah.
Ugh!
Honestly, even you were starting to feel a bit sick of yourself. The only accurate comparison you could come up with was that of a piece of chewing gum stuck to the sole of a shoe; no matter how much you tried to scrape it off on the pavement, it wasn't budging. Luckily, Leah was not really trying to scrape you off just yet, but you knew she might start soon if you didn't get your act together.
The whole "get your act together" mindset lasted for about two (whole!) minutes.
When Leah sat down at the table to sort through some publicity emails, you immediately draped yourself across the arm of her chair, like a cat looking for a warm spot to nap.
And, hours later, when she was standing at the kitchen counter, making dinner, you were right there behind her. Your arms were wrapped around her waist, your chin hooked over her shoulder, and your lips were casually pampering the skin of her throat with wet kisses because you literally couldn't help yourself. It was an animalistic instinct.
That was it. You were turning into a wild animal. You missed your humanity already.
"Hi," she chuckled, tilting her head to the side to catch your lips in a (way too brief) peck. "You hungry?"
"No."
She just hummed, turning back to the chopping board. Leah did not like vegetables; she had only really started eating them more regularly after you two got together. Now, she usually prepared them without you having to ask, which was a big upgrade from the fights you used to have with her about it.
You nuzzled the spot behind her ear, breathing in the scent of her citrus body wash and the plain, unscented shampoo she insisted on using, even though you had bought her a strawberry-scented one that was honestly amazing.
Leah's hands went still over the cutting when your warm tongue slipped past your lips to lick a very small trail down her carotid.
"Babe, I need to chop the carrots," Leah said. She hadn't said it unkindly, but to your hormonal ears, it sounded like she hated you and wanted you banished from the north London flat immediately.
Your face dropped into a pout. "I'm not stopping you, am I?"
"You kind of are," she said. "The kissing is a bit distracting."
"That's your fault, though," you muttered against her shoulder. "I'm kissing because I want to love on you, not to distract you… maybe you should just try and focus harder."
Leah snorted, but didn't push you away. She had the patience of a saint (most of the time), but even she had limits, and you were currently testing them today. You knew she hated cooking, but she was doing it because you had been completely miserable and useless all afternoon.
Deep down, there was something about the way you looked at her during these few days, all soft eyes and not-so-quiet need, that made it impossible for her to be actually annoyed. Well, maybe she was 30% annoyed.
Later that evening, you padded into the living room where Leah was sprawled on the sofa, engrossed in a match you absolutely had no interest in.
"Leah?"
She glanced up. You were standing there in one of her classic arsenal hoodies, which she bought for a ridiculous price. Your hands were tucked into the sleeves because you were absolutely freezing. Was she not? How was she just sitting there in a t-shirt?
"Yeah, darling?"
"I want to cuddle" Your voice came out smaller than intended, almost shy. Because you weren't like this. Usually, you were just as chill and cool as she was, perfectly fine on your own.
She didn't even hesitate, she opened her arms and shifted her legs to make room for you "Come here then. Snuggle up."
You basically melted into her, crawling onto the sofa and curling right against her chest. Leah's arms wrapped around you. She pressed a kiss to the top of your hair and let her chin sit there as she turned her attention back to the football match.
For a few minutes, the only sound you could hear was from the tv. It wasn't enough. You didn't want her focusing entirely on the game. You wanted her entire attention to be on you. You reached up with one hand and your finger hooked gently under Leah's jaw, tilted her face away from the telly so she had no choice but to look down at you.
"Hi," you murmured.
A slow smirk crept onto her face. "Hi, my darling."
"Look at me."
"I am looking at you," she chucked, her thumb coming up to trace your cheekbone. "You are awfully, awfully, clingy these last few days, did you know that?"
You instantly dropped your forehead against her shoulder with a dramatic groan, your voice muffled by her shirt. "I know. I hate it. I'm being so… sweet, it's properly nauseating, isn't it?"
Leah laughed softly. She threw her arms around you and squeezed you against her. "Oh, it's absolutely sickening, love. Proper disgusting behaviour from you."
"Shut up," you muttered, though you didn't move a centimetre; instead, you buried yourself in her warmth.
"I'm not complaining," she murmured, her tone softening. "It's quite nice actually… I think I might keep you like this."
Thursday morning came, and you woke up to those all-too-familiar cramps. Your thought process was slow to catch up, but realisation eventually sank in…
Oh, brilliant, fucking brilliant. Here we go again.
You lay very still for a moment, assessing the damage. The cramps weren't terrible yet, but they were there, and it was enough to make you whiny and a bit prickly.
You felt vaguely gross, uncomfortable in your own skin, and the last thing you wanted was to be touched. Which was unfortunate, because Leah was currently spooning you, her arm slung over your waist.
You carefully extracted yourself from her hold, trying not to be too aggressive about it, and shuffled to the bathroom. When you returned, Leah was awake, propped up on one elbow with her blonde hair a complete mess, looking at you with sleepy concern.
"What's up? It's so early," she murmured, her voice scratchy with sleep. "You alright?"
"Of course I'm not alright," you said flatly, climbing back into bed but staying on your side. "My stupid period started."
"Oh." Leah's expression shifted to one of understanding. "Right. Did you bleed through the sheets? Want me to get up and change them?"
You stared at her deadpan. "Leah, if I had bled through the sheet, do you honestly think I would come back into the room and just lie down on them?"
Leah shrugged, cleaning sleep from her face. "I don't know. I was just checking… sorry. Do you need anything? Maybe some medicine? A hot water bottle? I can nit to the shop and-"
"I'm fine," you grumbled. "I'm just gonna stay in bed and feel sorry for myself."
There was a pause, and Leah watched you for a second too long, trying to understand your mood. "... Alright, whatever you want, darling."
Out of habit, Leah reached to pull you closer, her hand moving toward your hip. You flinched away, scooting toward the edge of the bed.
Leah blinked, her hand still mid-air. "What-"
"Stop it!" you said, rolling your eyes. "Don't."
"Don't? Don't what?! Don't touch you?"
"Yes."
Leah sat up fully now, frowning. "But you've been obsessed with cuddling for days. You've been practically glued to me since Monday."
"Well, yeah, and now I feel gross," you muttered, pulling the duvet up higher, hiding your face and body. "So if you could keep quiet, please. You are giving me a headache from all the talking."
"Oh come off it! You don't look gross," she said, and there was a tiny hint of impatience in her voice. Leah was many, many things, but she wasn't really a coddler.
"I said I feel gross, not that I am gross. There's a difference," you snapped. "Not my fault if you don't understand the meaning of words."
Leah stared at you for a long moment, clearly trying to process the whiplash. Two days ago, you were literally licking her neck while she was trying to cook, now you were acting like she had the bubonic plague."
"Right," she said slowly, a dry but amused smile tugging at her lips. "So let me get this straight. You have been extra clingy all week, which I quite enjoyed, by the way, and now that you are actually in a bit of pain, you want me on the other side of the room?
You nodded stubbornly.
"That makes zero sense, mate!"
"It makes perfect sense to me."
"It really doesn't," she countered, leaning back against the headboard. "It's also a bit daft, don't you think?"
You groaned, rolling over to face away from her. "Leah, I just… I don't want to be touched right now, okay? I feel disgusting and crampy and bloated and–"
"Okay, stop with the dramatics," Leah interrupted, her tone fond but firm. "Come here."
"Williamson. I'm serious."
"I'm serious too. Come here."
When you didn't move, she sighed and shifted closer, wrapping her arms around you from behind despite your half-hearted protest.
"You're not gross, you idiot," she muttered, her lips brushing the back of your neck. "And I don't care if you're on your period or cramping or bloated or whatever. I just want to hold you, so stop being weird."
"Leah–"
"Nope! You've been acting like my shadow for three days, and now that you're actually feeling rubbish, you think I'm just gonna leave you alone? Absolutely not."
You felt your resolve crumbling. Her warmth was seeping into your back, and despite your best efforts to remain stubborn, it did feel nice.
"I'm being annoying, and I'll be worse throughout the day," you warned her. "Just so you know."
Leah huffed a quiet laugh against your shoulder. "Babe, you're always a little bit annoying. I'm used to it."
You tried to elbow her lightly, but she caught your arm, pulling you back against her chest. "Oh, you are such a charmer, Williamson."
"I'm serious, though," she continued, softer now. "I know you feel like crap, and I know your brain goes into isolation mode when you're hurting, but I'm not going anywhere. So you can either let me hold you willingly, or I'm just gonna be annoyingly persistent until you give in. Your choice.
You let out a groan. "...You're really okay with this?"
"I'm more than okay with this. Now stop overthinking and let me be a good girlfriend, yeah?"
You finally let your muscles relax back into her, and Leah tightened her hold just a little, pressing another kiss to your shoulder. "There we go," she murmured, sounding too smug. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"It was properly agonising."
"You are so dramatic," she chucked, her breath warm against your skin. "Do you want me to grab the hot water bottle?"
"...That would be nice, yeah."
"Thought so." She let go and slipped out of bed, returning a few minutes later with a hot water bottle wrapped around a fluffy pink towel and painkillers. You took them gratefully, clutching the hot bottle tightly against your lower abdomen.
She climbed back in, immediately pulling you right against her chest
"Better?" she asked.
"Yes," you admitted, closing your eyes. " Way better."
"Good."
You expected her to reach for the remote or mention the tv, but the flat was completely silent. Leah's breathing was already slowing down, her hand resting over yours on the hot water bottle.
"Not watching anything?" you asked. "You always watch something in the morning."
"No," she mumbled, her voice filled with sleep. "I'm too tired, and it's too early. Just close your eyes, and I'll close mine."
You couldn't help but smile. You let the warmth of her body envelop you as you both fell right back to sleep.
☆ A/n: oh no ! shocker! Another wosospacegirl period fic :o more is coming.
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