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mpileons · 27 days

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Love Prevails Part 2

You struggle to keep the abuse a secret from both Alexia and your teammates

Part 1

Shamelessly put my own experience in here, this is lowkey very healing to write

Had to put the good old “who did this to you” trope in here because I’m a sucker for it, I admit it

More angst but also a lot more comfort

Trigger warning: Physical abuse, verbal abuse, manipulation and some gaslighting

Last night is still a bit hazy in your memory as you stand in front of the mirror, layering another few dots of concealer onto the bruise next to your eye. It still hurts horribly and you hiss when you dab over it with your little sponge. The noise is enough to alert your girlfriend who appears in the doorway to the bathroom behind you. You wish nothing more than to go back to how it was before but the sight of her makes your heart race in panic again even as she gives you a sweet smile. It falls a bit when you flinch away from her touch, though she doesn’t get mad thankfully, awkwardly rubbing her neck as she musters you.

“Are you sure you want to go to training?”

She leans against the counter, arms crossed and a worried expression on her face. It’s stupid how much this small act of care makes your heart swell with hope that this was just a one time thing and she won’t do it again. She obviously regrets it, right?

“I don’t want anyone to see the… yeah you know.”

Oh. It stings a bit that she’s apparently more concerned about anyone noticing what has been going on but you’re not in the mood to fight so you just assure her that the makeup will hold and hurry to tie your hair up, feeling like you’re about to suffocate if you stay in this tiny bathroom with her any longer.

You let her kiss you goodbye, certain that she would be unhappy with you if you don’t and try to shake off the shiver that goes through you when she steps closer to you. This feeling will pass and once the memory of yesterday has faded a bit you will feel secure and safe with her again, you’re sure of that. It’s just a rough patch. And she cried her eyes out last night while she held you, sobbing and promising she would never do that to you again and that she’s sorry. You believe her, the emotions just took over and you know how jealous she gets so this was on you as well. Though that little voice in the back of your head keeps telling you to run as far as you can.

At training you can pretend that everything is fine for a moment, tuning out as Mapi gives you a rundown of her day yesterday with a little too many details of what she and Ingrid got up to. You barely even notice, more focused on not rubbing the makeup off of your eye that feels a bit itchy underneath the twenty layers. You shrug it off when Irene asks what you got so dolled up for, the mascara you have on along with the heavy concealer to hide the small bit of swelling gaining her attention since you usually don’t bother to do that for training - the sweat from working out normally taking it off anyway.

When Mapi suddenly makes a playful punching move towards you to gain your attention again you flinch away so violently that you stumble backwards onto the bench. Thankfully most people have already left the changing room but it does gain you a few concerned looks from the ones that are still there. You expect them to make a joke, to make fun of your overreaction but nothing comes. Instead Mapi reaches out very carefully, putting a gentle hand on your lower arm as you try to keep your breathing under control.

“Lo siento mucho, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.”

You have to work hard to keep the tears down that are threatening to well up as you just shake your head and insist that you’re fine and just didn’t sleep well which made you a bit more jumpy than usual. From the look that both Mapi and Irene share neither believes you. You don’t really notice, eyes focused on your shoelaces as you try to take a deep breath. If you break down into tears right here they will probably think you’ve completely lost it.

“¿Todo bien?” It’s Alexia’s voice, the Catalan having originally only entered the room again to get her water bottle from her bag but getting curious when she sees Mapi and Irene both standing over your slumped form on the bench.

You don’t know what’s being said, the gush of whispered Spanish too fast for your ears as you still struggle to keep your breathing even.

It’s so stupid, it was just a small joke from Mapi and nothing she hasn’t done before. You know she would never hit you and never hurt you on purpose. But you can’t help but think that that’s exactly what you had thought about your girlfriend too.

You don’t notice how Alexia sends Mapi and Irene away, you also aren’t aware of how much space she carefully keeps between the two of you as she crouches down in front of where you’re sitting, your mind just focusing on inhaling and exhaling.

“Are you okay?”

It’s stupid, really stupid but the concerned tone and the simple question is more than enough to bring the tears you’ve worked so hard to repress up and in the next second you’re full on crying, desperately trying to press your hands to your face to hide it, despite how much it stings to push against your bruise.

Usually Alexia wouldn’t hesitate to hold you, something she has done before when you got stressed out and struggled with the constant pressure. This time she isn’t sure if you’re okay with any physical contact considering what Mapi just told her. You can feel her warm hand on your shoulder, the touch so light that it doesn’t aggravate the injury from yesterday. You lean into it, desperate for some comfort and seeing you do that, Alexia doesn’t hesitate any longer. She’s still incredibly gentle, her arms carefully wrapping around you as she comes to sit next to you on the bench.

For a few moment the only sound is Alexia’s murmured and comforting voice as she tries to calm you, along with your quiet sobs. She encourages you to just let it out, only ensuring that you don’t forget to take a few deep breaths in between.

When you finally pull away you forget about the bruise and especially the makeup on top of it for a moment, wiping the tears away before you realise what you just did as soon as you feel the stinging pain from the action.

Your fingers are covered in concealer and you know that enough of the layers have been cried off by the scrutinising look Alexia gives you. Her gaze is unusually hard as she stares at the now barely covered dark blue and purple mark that is covering the upper left side of your face.

“Who did this?”

“I fell-“

“No me mientas, who did it?”

For a moment you debate on telling her, on being open about what happened. But you know if you do that she will never let you go back to your girlfriend and you don’t want that either. You love her and she loves you, there’s no doubt about it. It was just an accident. And maybe you did provoke her, it’s understandable that she doesn’t want you to wear somebody else’s jacket, right?

So, sniffling but still determined you get up, frantically searching your bag for a tissue to wipe your tears and step away from the comfort of Alexia’s arms.

“Can you tell Jona that I’m not feeling well and went home?”

“No no no, don’t run, just tell me what happened por favor, I can help you-“

You ignore what she said, knowing that you’ll likely just break down into tears once more if you see her empathetic look any longer.

“Thanks.”

With that you push yourself past her and through the door, hurrying towards the parking lot still wearing your boots and entire training gear.

When you arrive at home your girlfriend is there, a surprised look on her face at your appearance though it quickly darkens when she sees that your makeup is wiped off. Instead of asking if you’re okay the first question she poses while you’re changing into different clothes is what happened.

You give her a slightly different version of the events, knowing that she’d probably not be happy about you letting Alexia comfort you. She stays silent while you put on your tracksuit, watching with a brooding expression and crossed arms as you walk over to the couch. Once you’ve settled there she speaks up again.

“You wouldn’t tell anyone what happened, right? They wouldn’t understand that I didn’t mean it, they don’t know our relationship and how you provoked me.”

“I provoked you?” Your voice sounds small next to hers as she gives you a small smile and shaker her head, one arm grabbing you as she pulls you closer to her.

“I didn’t mean it like that… But you know how I am, don’t you? Showing up here in the jacket of someone else…” She tuts quietly, sending you a disapproving look as she pats your shoulder. She doesn’t react to the small flinch from you at the action, the bruises from where she had grabbed you and pushed you against the door last night still very painful.

The sting of the touch along with the memory of what she can do to you when she gets mad is enough to keep you silent even as you want to protest, want to tell her that it’s unfair that she gets to wear clothes from her friends with no issue but has the right to lose it like that when you borrow the jacket of someone else because you’re cold. Deep down you know this isn’t right but if you say something now she will get so angry again and you definitely don’t want to risk that. So you keep quiet, agreeing to let her cook something nice for you before you go do your skincare to get the rest of the makeup off.

The look in the mirror displeases you as you try to convince yourself that you can just cover it up again and Alexia hopefully won’t tell anyone what she saw. You know that’s wishful thinking though, the Catalan nothing short of stubborn and incredibly protective. She won’t let this rest until she knows what’s going on.

You try to ignore it, putting on a smile as you eat your girlfriend’s dinner despite not being hungry in the slightest. You also offer to do the dishes, grateful for the bit of space it gives you again as she gets comfortable on the sofa.

When you join her later she puts a movie on, this time more careful as she rubs over your arm. Usually you’re quick to fall asleep in these situations, something she always jokes about. She often carries you to bed then, careful as she tucks you in and joins you after she turned the TV off. It always makes you happy when you wake up in your warm bed the next day with her by your side holding you close.

Now though, you just can’t shut your brain off. You’re exhausted, wanting nothing more than just close your eyes and slip away to sleep for a while but you can’t. Every time you can feel your eyes fluttering a bit close you’re reminded of the burning pain on your face when she hit you, the way you couldn’t hear anything but ringing for a moment. How she held you while you struggled to breathe and sobbed about how sorry she was. It sends your heart racing again and again until you decide to get up and excuse yourself to the bathroom for a moment.

You take your time brushing your teeth despite the fact that you had already done that earlier after dinner. You also go to the toilet, then wash your hands for a solid minute before you brush your hair out again. You don’t want to go back for some reason, feeling safer with the bathroom door between you and her.

So you pull your phone out, sitting down on the closed toilet seat and decide to reply to some of your friends. The thought is gone as quickly as it came as you see that you’ve got a few messages from Alexia.

‘Can we talk about what happened today?’

‘I’m really concerned.’

‘Please tell me what’s going on, I promise I can help you.’

You don’t know what to say, your fingers hovering over the screen as you try to think of a way to make her believe that you’re okay. You are okay, everything is fine, right?

A few seconds pass as you debate in your head if it’s maybe better to just ignore her or if that would just make her more concerned or maybe even annoyed with you.

When the bathroom door opens and your girlfriend steps in you quickly lock your screen, smiling up at her as she frowns.

“Why are you sitting here on your phone? You’re missing the movie.”

“Just wanted to reply to a few friends, I’m coming now.”

She nods though the frown doesn’t disappear before she suddenly holds her hand out.

“Let me see.”

You hesitate, aware that she will probably not enjoy seeing what Alexia just wrote you.

“It’s just a few messages from friends.”

The way her eyebrow raises is enough to alert you that she’s getting angry, her voice has a harsh tone to it as she speaks again.

“Okay then it should be no problem if I see it. Or do you have something to hide?”

“No I don’t but-“

“Give me your phone.”

It’s clear that it’s not open for debate anymore, her voice unwavering as she holds out her hand again.

In hindsight you maybe should have just refused to. Or opened it but stalled her until you’ve deleted the last messages from Alexia. But you don’t really feel like you’ve got much of a choice as you swallow harshly and hand her your phone. In itself the messages from Alexia aren’t bad, you’re not hiding them because it’s cheating or anything like that. You just don’t want her to see them because you already know that she won’t believe you that you didn’t tell anyone about what happened. And you’re right.

“Did you tell her what happened last night? I thought we had an agreement that it was an accident and it won’t happen again.”

“I didn’t tell her, my makeup just wiped a bit off and she saw and got concerned, that’s all.”

For a moment it’s silent as you pray that she will believe you - it is the truth after all. But luck doesn’t seem to be on your side as another text message from Alexia comes in.

‘Do you want me to come over? We can talk in peace then. Or we skip training tomorrow and talk then.’

You barely get a glimpse at it before your girlfriend scoffs loudly, a dark expression on her face as she speaks.

“The Alexia Putellas skipping training because she wants to talk to you so bad? Are you fucking kidding me?”

You flinch when she carelessly throws your phone to the side from where it slides across the floor until it stops close to the front door. You can only pray that it’s not broken as your girlfriend stalks towards you, now clearly very angry.

“So how long have you been cheating on me with her, hm?”

“I’m not cheating, she just wants to help-“

Another scoff from her interrupts you as she crosses her arms, the way her expression darkens is enough to make you genuinely nervous. Your eyes switch from looking at her and then looking at the front door, for a moment genuinely debating if it’s maybe safer to just go on a walk for a bit until she has calmed down again. You don’t get to continue your internal struggle as the way she walks towards you has you instinctively going backwards.

“Oh and now you won’t even let me get close to you, wow.”

“You just startled me.” You sound awfully quiet as you say it, eyes now locked onto the ground as you try to keep your rising anxiety under control.

“Since when do I startle you, hm? Just because I got rightfully angry yesterday doesn’t mean that you have to act like I’m abusing you. It wasn’t on purpose okay? Stop being so dramatic about it.”

For a moment you don’t really know what to say, just silently concentrating on the tiles on the bathroom floor. You remember how you once had a panic attack before a huge game, how Alexia was the one to hold you when she found you crouched on the bathroom floor struggling to breathe. She counted the tiles for you, urging you to count with her and after some time it was enough distraction for you to catch your breath and be able to get up again. The way she had been so sweet, so gentle and protective when she had seen you, how she had handled you with such care as you got panicked. You can’t help but compare it to your girlfriend who is currently doing nothing but fuelling the cold and freezing feeling of your anxiety taking over.

For a moment you wish Alexia were here. She would help deescalate and calm the situation down again.

“Don’t fucking ignore me! Are you and Alexia a thing now? Did you tell her how evil and mean I am and that you need her to protect you? Hm?”

The words are harsh, the anger clear in her voice as she moves further towards you.

You feel your girlfriend before you see her, the strong grip on your arm as she tugs you with her enough to make you stumble. You almost fall, trying to catch yourself on the sink but the next pull from her makes you crash against it with your hip and you already know that it’s going to be a fat bruise.

“Do you let her fuck you behind my back?”

The accusation is so random and vile that you would have laughed in any other situation. Right now though, with her tight grip around your wrist and the anger practically radiating off of her, there’s absolutely no humor in this situation for you.

“No, of course not!”

Your protest falls on deaf ears as she pushes you against the door of the bathroom again. It reminds you of yesterday, the memory enough to make the bile rise up in your throat because as much as you wanted to believe that it was just a one time thing and she didn’t mean it - you know what’s coming now.

She doesn’t hit you, just twists your arm until you’re looking up at her. Still, it hurts and it doesn’t seem to bother her at all when you hiss in pain at the uncomfortable feeling and frantically try to rip your wrist out of her vice like grip.

You barely even recognise your own girlfriend when you look up at her, the angry look in her eyes and the complete disregard for you only serving to increase your panic and this time you’re able to react when she reaches out for you again, pushing her away and making a run for your phone. You can feel her grabbing you and pulling you up by your upper arms, your head harshly colliding with the little side table she has next to the main door as she pushes you against it. For a moment your vision gets awfully blurry and the pang of pain going through your head is enough to make you consider just rolling into a ball and pray it’s over soon. But you can feel the phone in your cold hands, you know that there is someone you can call, someone who will come immediately to help.

It’s a struggle to get up, both because you can’t see correctly and because your girlfriend is pushing you down immediately as soon as you attempt to stand. You shake her off, your hand gripping your phone as tightly as you can as you just pray that the fall from earlier hasn’t damaged it too much.

There’s another push to your back as you stumble towards the bathroom door, almost falling again as you barely manage to catch yourself and slip inside. Thankfully you’re faster with locking the door than your girlfriend is with pushing against it because you definitely would not win that strength battle, your chest heaving from the little struggle as you wipe some small strands of hair off your forehead.

You still can’t see completely clear but there’s no time to waste as you turn the phone in your hand to inspect it. The fact that it still turns on is enough to make give you at least some reassurance that you’ll be okay as the door begins to shake with how much your girlfriend is pulling at it. The screen is cracked which makes it difficult to click onto your contacts and the correct number but you manage, anxiously praying that the person you’re calling is still up and will answer.

The pure relief that floods through you as the calling signal stops and her familiar voice greets you almost makes your knees give out as you crouch down next to the shower and try to keep your voice down. You planned on asking for help, for her to come over immediately and get you out of here but the only thing you can get out is a sobbed:

“Alexia.”

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mpileons · 28 days

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hi guys!! ive honestly been lacking so much motivation lately so im opening my requests again! pls send in some fun ideas you have for fics :) <3

#woso community #woso #arsenal womens #woso x reader #barcelona femeni #fcb femeni #woso fanfic

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mpileons · 1 month

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Loyalty and Love // Leah Williamson

warnings: dead family member

Leah was a gooner through and through, never been seen in a different club jersey than the arsenals as she was Arsenals biggest fan.

She went through all the youth team stages until she reached the senior team. Her body was full of loyalty to the club while your career path was very different - something Leah did not like about you.

Your career started at your hometown club near Bavaria, Germany, until FC Bayern München became aware of you. You were the only girl in the league and still scored the most goals. So to be fair, your actual club career started at the FC Bayern academy. You started there at the age of 10 and played there until the age of 16.

At 16 years old, you said good bye to Germany and played for Ajax in the Netherlands. You played two years for them and enjoyed every second with the Ajax family, yet after those two years, you transferred to AS Roma. You had many transfer offers, inside the league and outside of it but even though, you had transferred a few times already, you had one rule: never play in the same league with a different club. Roma sent you on loan to Olympique Lyon where you won the champions league and the league, each time as a key player of the team. OL offered you a real contract which you gladly signed - winning the treble. After three years in France, where you had learned a lot technical stuff but also had developed further as a person, it was time for a new challenge. A new club and country.

Spain was calling, FC Barcelona to be exact. After a teary good bye, you left for good - it was time to shine at Barcelona.

Your talent was magical, you could score from every angle, no matter the position and the fans loved you.

You had been nominated for numerous awards, won many of them yet still you were the kindest person. You always made time for the fans, signed jerseys, took photos and chatted with them. You were down-to-earth.

Of course you had haters, people not liking your volatility but you didn‘t care. You had a mission and would continue it, no matter if you had no fan at all or a the whole woso community behind you. So while your job was to score goals, you only had one goal in mind.

You loved the Spanish weather, you loved the City, you loved the girls. They made Barcelona your home and more than that. Playing alongside Alexia, Mapi, CGH, Aitana and literally every one on the squad was amazing. It was the way they played and the mentality they had that fascinated you.

The first season at Barcelona was the season you won the Ballon D‘or, while still being so young. The combination of the playing style that you learned in the individual clubs in each country also made you Fifas the best. You were the best.

On the pitch, every opponent was afraid of you while off pitch they adored you. It broke your heart to leave Barcelona, the City you adored. So why did you leave? It was the thing you had to do. The thing you promised yourself at the age of 16 when you left Bayern - Arsenal would be your last stop ever. The thing you promised someone. Your retirement club, you would stay there forever - as long as they offered you a contract.

While everybody had greeted you with open arms at your arrival, the skipper kept her distance, only talking to you when necessary. Leah was skeptical to say at least, some things bothered her about you. She didn‘t appreciate your transfers nor respected them. Every country? Really? Why Arsenal? Her childhood club? How long did you want to play here before you stab the team in the back? When another country became interesting? Maybe the US? Sweden?

And then the tape. The strip of tape on your shoulder, it didn‘t make any sense to her. It didn‘t seem like you had problems with your shoulder nor an injury in the last few years (which she had obviously checked) so why the tape? She - well actually everyone, never saw you without. When it slowly started to look rancid, the next second it looked like new again. When you changed, even in the shower after playing it was always there. Were you hiding something?

Leah didn‘t like you, it was clear as the day but (even if she would never admit it out loud) you were a fantastic footballer. Your feet could do magic with the ball, from assisting to scoring to defending, everything you did on the pitch was faboulous. That, she had to appreciate, maybe you would help Arsenal to win the league.

This season. who knows how long you‘ll stay.

After your first month with the gunners, you knew for sure, your heart and brain realized it for the first time: after years, you had finally fulfilled your promise.

You felt peace, nothing more. Maybe you could forgive yourself someday.

Over time, Leah‘s dislike towards you turned into much more - hate. When you were near the blonde, she would glare at you or leave the room,

the moments you tried to talk to her, to get to know her, she ignored you and

she would rudely comment on the things you said.

After months of trying, you just stopped. If she doesn‘t want to talk to you that‘s okay. You didn’t have to be friends - colleagues, that‘s it.

"When I visited Greece-" you started to tell Lia about the beauty of the country when her work wife cut you off, "wow, Y/L/N, a country you didn‘t play in, really respectable" Leah spat, rolling her eyes. Lia smacked the back of her head, her behavior unbelievable.

It was no secret that the defender felt some sort of dislike towards you - noticeable for your team mates and especially for the swiss as she knew Leah like the back of her hand.

"Ignore her" the midfielder stated, asking you to continue your story.

"It‘s fine" not in the mood to tell the end of your Greece-story, you left the two LW‘s joining Vic as she juggled with the ball.

"You really need to stop that" the swiss international grumbled, "she‘s actually really nice"

"And her loyalty sucks! I won’t let her ruin this club"

The brunette watched the blonde march away, arms crossed.

Leah‘s behavior continued like that, rude comments sent your way, cut off mid sentence and ignorance accompanied you every single day. But your mindset was clear: you couldn’t be bothered by her.

You understood that Leah was skeptical of you, you‘re new and played for several clubs but on the pitch you played your absolute best each game. You deserved at least some respect.

"Where‘s hopper?" Leah asked - you’re never late. Her new nickname for you showed her antipathy towards you yet hiding it well enough, so other people outside of the team wouldn’t get suspicious.

"She‘s on her way home for a few days" Lia replied calmly, not wanting the blonde to explode.

You had texted Lia about your plans earlier this morning - she was your friend after all. Just because she was great friends with Leah, didn‘t mean you couldn’t be friends with her too. Like I said, you were friends with the whole team, just not with Leah. Besides you enjoyed talking to Wally as it was in your mother tongue, conversation flowing with an ease.

"What the fuck?! She does know we‘re playing a derby this weekend!" The England captain growled, marching out of the changing room, already calling you. Who do you think you were?

Her calls went straight to voicemail which only angered and frustrated her more. why were you so infuriating?

The defender was quick to approach to Jonas - what was the thinking letting you leave? Did he even know about this?

"Why did you let her leave?!" the woman asked loudly and harshly. You made her blood boil. "Is she playing on Saturday? You should kick her out of the squad! This behavior is unacceptable" she scolded.

Even though Leah knew the team would need you, she was too caught up in her anger.

"Who are you talking about?" the coach asked rather confused. Was he missing something?

"Your new signing" she huffed out frustrated, how can he be this clueless?

"She‘s not here. Apparently at home in Germany, did you know about this?"

"Oh! Yes, I know about this. It‘s in her contract"

"What do you mean? In her contract?"

"She‘s allowed to leave, no matter what day, at-" he looked at his watch, checking the date, "at the 20th of March for three days. One day to get there, one day to stay, one day to leave" he explained.

"Why?"

"I can’t tell you that"

On game day, you arrived on time at the stadium, your favourite defender already impatiently waiting for you in the locker room. When you entered the room, she was about to stomp over, telling you how your behavior was unacceptable and jeopardizing the team but something told her not to. Your shoulders were sagged, your eyes red and puffy as you had bags under them ad well - it looked like you had been crying for awhile and not sleeping either. You looked small and sad, but not the sadness-sad, somehow it looked like grieving-sad or guilty-sad. Leah didn't know if her analysis was correct, after all, she didn't know you as you weren’t friends - not even close to that - and to the others it seemed like you were your usual self.

As you walked past her to get to your cubby, she grabbed your hand. "Are you okay?" she asked, genuinely concerned about your well-being. Her stone cold persona towards you was gone for the moment, eyes scanning your face - what was wrong? How can she help you?

"I‘m fine, Leah"

Her hand had a firm grip on yours yet it was so gentle and soft - it was almost like you could feel her 'caring' about you.

But you knew, she only cared about the team and not about you.

"Thank you for asking, though" you smiled a bit, before leaving her touch and walking over to your cubby.

You didn't want to be rude to her because it seemed like she was dead serious about her question. Besides, if you wanted to have at least a somewhat normal work-relationship with her, this might was a step in the right direction.

However, you had to admit, the feeling of her holding your hand was quite nice and made you hope for eventually being friends one day.

The game started with you on the bench as agreed with Jonas. It was his decision if he wanted to put you in or not and you respected either way. You were thankful enough that he had shown so much understanding about your family situation, so you wouldn’t be the one to complain about not playing.

Next to you on the bench sat the one and only Leah Williamson, who watched the game very carefully, attentively and critically - the same as you did. In your heads, the two of you analyzed what happened on the field, every bad pass, every unused space or loss of the ball was noted while you tried to come up with solutions. While Leah stated her analysis to everyone at half time, you talked to the relevant person what they should pay particular attention to - most opponents had the same playing style, even if the tactics were changed. Overall, it wasn't the played game in general that mattered, but rather the individual players on the field. If you watched them long enough, it wasn't too difficult to outplay them and their team - Leah and you knew that.

Both of you got subbed on in the 74th minute, the defender doing her job brilliantly while you ran down the wing. The game seemed like it had shifted as soon as the two of you took in your positions. Chances were created, space was used, passed connected perfectly - in all honestly, Tottenham didn‘t have any control over the match anymore, thanks to Leah and your critical eyes.

The score changed when Leah sent a ball flying towards you. With one quick motion, you dribbled around the defender, firing a shot on goal - Tottenhams goalkeeper stood no chance.

That evening a special chemistry was born between your favourite defender and her favourite hopper.

If you were hoping that the 'how are you' question meant something, you were wrong.

Her arrogant attitude got worse, as did her mean behavior towards you. You thought that maybe, just maybe, the link up on the pitch earned you enough respect that she at least refrains from commenting. Yet she questioned everything you did and not only that: you were regularly asked whether you would leave the club at the end of the season or whether you would leave one season after that. At this point you felt helpless, you didn’t know what her problem was with you - she seemed like a nice person towards everyone else.

"Come on, Leah, leave me alone" you grumbled as she stood next to you in the locker room with her arms crossed. Especially today she was getting on your last nerve. You hadn‘t slept well the last few days and the bickering was getting more and more exhausting.

"You weren‘t concentrated today" she stated, "this isn‘t acceptable at Arsenal."

"Leah-" Wally tried to stop her but there was no chance. She wouldn’t hold back.

"No, she has to know. She‘s played at enough clubs to know that she has to give 100%!"

"As if you haven‘t had a bad day before"

"I can keep things professional"

"No you can‘t! If you could, you would leave me the fuck alone. You are all judgy but never played somewhere else than Arsenal, so get a fucking grip. At least I have the experience of other leagues"

The whole changing room gasped, Katie smirking, happy that you stood your ground. Leah’s behavior was ridiculous. And this time she took it too far.

On an emotional level, your week had been absolutely shitty.

It‘s like a haunted house, only you‘re the ghost.

On an physical level, you were exhausted.

So, neither emotionally nor physically you could deal with her at the moment.

"Watch your mouth-" the defender started before you cut her off.

"No, you will watch yours" your pointer finger angrily poked her chest, "Listen to me closely, I will not repeat myself. You, Leah Williamson, will stay away from me. I‘m not your friend, I’m not your mate, I’m your colleague, so treat me with damn respect" with that you grabbed your stuff and left.

Leah was breathing heavily, your anger awfully attractive.

"Why are you being like this?" McCabe asked, the girls in the room waiting for an answer. This couldn’t be just because you played for several clubs and she was questioning your loyalty - there had to be more.

"Because she‘s hiding something! I won‘t let her ruin this club" she growled, sitting down in her cubby.

"What should she be hiding?" Steph questioned, you seemed like an honest and truthful person.

"She literally left for three days out of nowhere!"

"She did that when we played at Barca together too" Laia added. She had never thought about that before. But Leah was right, it was unusual to not show up at training when you weren‘t injured or sick, especially since it was in the middle of the season.

"See!"

"I still don’t see the problem" Steph shrugged her shoulders, "she‘s a lovely person and you would know that if you gave her the chance to show it" with that the Australian left. You were such a lovely girl, at least someone had to defend you. Partly, Steph could understand where Leah was coming from - that girl was bleeding Arsenal red.

After Steph had left, the other girls started to leave too, Leah and Kim the only ones left.

Leah was sorting through her bag, checking if she had everything she needed when Kim broke the silence, "Her brother died when she was 16. The 21st of March is the day of his death"

Leah stopped her movements, "what?" she turned around, the colour leaving her face.

"That’s all I know"

Kim grabbed her bag, walking past the blonde, about to leave, "I’m disappointed in you, Leah. We're a family here, and you didn't show her that. Have you ever thought about why she played in every league? You’re criticizing but not questioning. You doubt her loyalty, but she hasn't transferred within the league - doesn't that show her respect for the club she‘s played at?"

"Kim-"

"Have a nice evening"

Alone in the changing room, Leah tried to process the information, now it made sense that you were at home for a few days. It was his anniversary.

She had been a complete ass to you without knowing your story - she still didn't. However, for the first time she felt something like interest. She wanted to get to know you. She wanted to know your story. But most of all she wanted to apologize. You seemed like a sweet girl.

Of course, most of her questions were still unanswered: the tape? Why did you transfer so much? You‘re young.. but for the first time she didn't care. She fucked up and was determined to start over.

I‘m disappointed in you, Leah.

At home, the defender sat on her couch, eating some food while the tv was showing her favourite show. This wasn’t right. She couldn’t wait till tomorrow. She had to talk to. Now.

Leaving her food on the table, the blonde called Lia, asking where you lived. The Swiss was hesitant to tell her as she wanted to protect you but Leah sounded genuinely upset about her own behavior.

"Please.. I- I‘m in the wrong here, I know that now. I don‘t want her to go to bed angry or feeling like she‘s not a part of the Arsenal family."

After that, the Swiss texted your address, the England captain already on her way.

When she arrived at her destination, she felt nervous. She rang the bell, hoping you wouldn’t open. She wasn‘t prepared at all - she didn’t know what to say or how to make things up with you.

In that moment, she realized maybe it was a hasty decision to just show up in front of your door and apologize. It wouldn’t be deserved to accept the apology straightaway.

"Leah?" you said surprised.

"Hopper" it was almost inaudible as you had knocked the air out of her lungs. You looked breathtaking. No, it wasn‘t something fancy - you wore an oversized shirt and some shorts while your hair was down but you looked naturally beautiful.

"What are you doing here? I told you to leave me alone"

"I- um.. I came to apologize?"

"Are you asking me that?"

"I came to apologize"

"Go home, Leah-"

"Give me a chance-"

"No. Look, I don’t know why you are here or what your problem is but I don‘t want to play your sick games" you stepped back, closing the door, leaving the defender dumbfounded in front of your home.

"I know about you brother!" she called, helpless on what do to. But as soon as the word 'brother' left her mouth, she regretted it.

The door was thrown open, "what did you just say?!" you were angrier than ever. Your family had always been a sensitive subject.

"I know about your brother" the audacity Leah had to repeat her words was unbelievable.

She squeezed herself inside, looking around.

"I swear to god, if you don‘t leave-"

"I‘m really sorry" she turned around, you didn‘t know if she was talking about your brother or how she had treated you and neither did she. Either way, it made you furios, you were balling your hands into fists, trying to stay calm.

"Is that him?" she asked, walking to the picture frame on your shelf, "what‘s his name?"

It was a picture of the two of you as kids, both of you wearing Germany jerseys as you grinned in the camera - one of your favourite pictures.

And that made you explode. How dare she come to your home, implying to apologize which she wasn‘t and then act nosy.

You marched over, grabbing her at the collar of her shirt and pushing her against the wall, "leave me alone" you weren’t shouting but you voice was loud, clear and firm, almost intimidating.

Her breath hitched, "I can‘t" you were so close to her. She could see all tiny freckles, those which only appeared when you were in the sun. She was intrigued by you. Her eyes darted around your features, the wrinkle between your brows slowly disappearing.

You didn‘t know what came over you, but in less than a second, you smashed your lips against hers. Teeth were clashing, all anger and frustration purred in, hands gripping and pulling as both of your minds went blank. Neither of you could think about anything else but each other.

The day she stood in front of your apartment, wasn’t brought up again yet you had to admit something shifted in your dynamic that night.

The chemistry you had on the pitch only grew, Leah assisted while you scored countless of goals.

Her behavior wasn‘t as bad as before anymore, she started to greet you, say good bye or other acts of kindness yet every once in a while a snarky comments left her mouth.

After Arsenal had won the conti cup against Chelsea, the celebrations were on the rise when you entered the club. You saw some girls dancing around, some lingering at the bar and others sitting at the table.

You joined the girls at the table, sitting down next to Stina. Lost in conversation with the Swede you didn‘t notice a blonde defender standing right behind you with her arms crossed and a pout on her face, "you‘re sitting on my seat, hopper" she grumbled, the pout increasing.

"Sit somewhere else" you replied, not looking up as you continued your conversation which had been rudely cut off by the English woman.

"There is no seat left"

This time you turned around, looking up from your seat as the defender glared at you.

It was the first time, you had seen her tonight and she looked absolutely gorgeous with the outfit she was wearing.

"I think you‘re old enough to deal with that, aren‘t you?" you smiled sarcastically at her, once again turning to Stina.

"I am" she stated, a smug smile plastered on her face. With the alcohol in her system, she simply sat on your lap, one arm going around your shoulders while she started her own conversation. Weirdly confused but somehow not minding, you let her be, your arms going around her waist to support her. No one said anything about, most of them not realizing what was happening or simply not caring - as long as you weren‘t fighting everything seemed fine.

The night continued like that, chatting, dancing and enjoying the time.

"Could you let me get up, please? I‘d like to have another drink" you asked the defender who immediately got up, "can you bring one for me too?"

"Sure"

She smiled shyly before you left, sitting back down, Lia looking at her with a 'tell me right now what‘s going on' expression.

"What?"

"Seriously? What‘s going on between the two of you?" the Swiss asked, Leah‘s eyes already back on you as you stood at the bar, ordering.

"Nothing"

The defender’s brows furrowed when a man approached you, standing way too close to you, her jaw clenching.

She saw you taking a step to the side, intending to signal the man that you were not interested. In responds, he only stepped closer.

Angrily, the blonde stood up, marching over, "is everything alright here?" her hands settled on your waist, pulling you protectively towards her.

"Everything‘s alright, mate" the man slurred, stepping forward, "I’m just getting to know your friend."

Leah was quick to step in front of you, her hand holding onto you to know you‘re safe, "leave my girlfriend alone or I will break your nose" she threatened.

The man held his hands in surrender before he left.

In an instant, she turned around, cupping your cheeks, checking if you were alright.

"I‘m okay" you stated. What just happened? Girlfriend? Weird man? Break his nose? Girlfriend?

"Here‘s your drink"

She took her drink, resting her hand on the small of your back, guiding you back to the table.

What‘s just happened?

Lia was the only one left at the table while the others had joined the dancers. You were about to sit down on an empty chair when the blonde pulled you on her lap - roles reversed.

Raising an brow, "There are enough empty seats this time"

"I don’t care, hopper"

"I‘ll join the rest on the dancing floor" Wally said, winking at Leah whose cheeks turned red.

"You‘re so beautiful, you know" the England captain said, cheeks turning a deeper shade of red.

"How many drinks did you have?" you giggled, your fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns along the back of neck. "Not enough to punch that guy" she growled.

You laughed, "you‘re cute when you‘re jealous" not so sober yourself.

She squeezed your hips in responds, resting her head on your shoulder.

Both of you enjoyed the silence that came over you, also enjoying the closeness you shared in that moment. Leah wasn‘t forgiven and she knew that yet she couldn’t stay away from you. Somehow you were addicting.

For once, it was nice not to argue with the blonde but to enjoy her company. She was cute, you couldn’t lie.

"I‘m very sorry for my behavior" she whispered, "I’d like to start over again" you turned towards her, eyes locking, "I’m not asking for your forgiveness, just for a chance to show you that I’m not an awful person. You are a part of the Arsenal family and I’m sorry for treating you otherwise"

You let her words sink in. She was right, she couldn’t ask for your forgiveness because too much had happened already but starting over seemed like an opportunity for the both of you.

"I’m Y/N"

The next weeks, Leah was the sweetest person to you. Each morning, she greeted you with the widest smile and when she left the facility, she always made sure to tell you good bye. She treated you with respect and listened to everything you had to say. She was amazed by the stuff you had to say. She couldn’t care less if it was something as simple as your favourite colour or an opinion on something. Everything you said was important to her.

Soon the small talks turned into longer conversations until they were endless.

In matches, when somebody fouled you Leah was the first to stick up for you, arguing with the opponent before she argued with the ref (of course after she had made sure you were okay.)

Slowly but surely, Leah earned your trust and appreciation.

She wasn‘t just anybody - she was Leah Williamson and once she had set her mind, you couldn’t stop her from doing it.

She wasn‘t the Leah you had met at your arrival - she changed for good. She was much more. She was funny, loving and caring, attentive and respectful - she was actually an amazing woman and your friend.

Standing in the kitchen of Leah’s apartment, you made dinner for the both of you while she sat on the counter watching you and eating the ingredients.

The atmosphere was tranquil and relaxed as music filled the background.

Peace.

"His name‘s Sebastian" you turned around, grabbing another ingredient out of the fridge while you avoided Leah‘s eyes, painful stings in your heart. You wouldn‘t cry, not now. "He‘s three years older than me" you inhaled sharply, trying to compose yourself as you continued to cook. "You would have loved him, he was a big Arsenal fan, watched every match" you chuckled, "but was the worst player of all time. He never really was a sports guy anyway, he was rather the calm type of person. He loved to cook - that‘s actually one of his favourite recipes" you nodded your head towards the food splayed out on the counter.

The dish you were making had brought you so much comfort after his death. It felt familiar. Sometimes, you imagined him standing in the kitchen, so concentrated that his brows would furrow as he cut the vegetables or when he seasoned - never a drop too much. He was very particular when it came to cooking, but rightly so, because when he did it, it always tasted absolutely perfect.

"He used to be my best friend"

Your heart broke into pieces saying it out loud. He wasn‘t just anybody - he was your brother, the only man you ever loved and him more than anyone.

The two of you had a special bond, you basically owed him your entire career. Because it was him who kicked the ball around with you for hours,

because it was him who drove with you to training when your parents had to work,

because it was him who always watched your matches,

because it was him who always believed in you, even when you were on the verge of giving up.

He was your biggest supporter, the person who believed you could be the best footballer in the world one day and the one person who made sure that you had a life outside of football.

And even though you would have never shared your charger with him, you would have given him your lungs, so he could breathe.

"What happened to him?" Leah asked, her voice gentle, testing the waters if it was okay to ask or too much.

"When-" you closed your eyes, holding back the tears that were about to fall, "I was at a birthday party. At some point during the night I asked him to pick me up because I wasn't feeling well. He did it without hesitation. On the way home we- we got hit by a car and crashed into a tree. Both of us were conscious but he was coughing and bleeding very badly. It looked very bad. I prayed to every god I knew that they should take me and not him- they didn‘t listen" tears were streaming down your face as you aggressively cut the remaining vegetables, "his last words were 'make me proud' and i remember shouting at him but it was too late. I told him I loved him- he took his last breath with a smile on his face"

Silence filled the room, small sniffles the only thing being heard. You grabbed a tissue, blowing your nose and another one to dry your tears, "I am- was blaming myself for what happened, so I left home as soon as I could"

Leah was listening carefully, her heart aching seeing you in pain and the pain you had been through.

"I always complained about others leagues, because they seemed so easy and everything" you chuckled at the memory, "and he always was like 'you can‘t complain if you haven‘t played there'" mocking him, the most german accent in your voice, "so that’s what I did. I have played in several leagues but I always knew Arsenal would be my last stop"

Everything made sense now, Leah‘s heart broke even more, realizing what an absolute ass she was while you only had one goal in mind - to make him proud.

It was never your plan to ruin Arsenal, you wanted to stay there to fulfill the promise you had made in the night that changed your life.

Leah saw you with different eyes now, her heart was beating for you in more than one way. She admired you - for the way you play, how strong you are and how hard life had been for you yet still smiling throughout it.

She had to protect the ray of sunshine and the feisty beast you could be. You weren‘t just anybody - you were Y/N Y/L/N, the best footballer in the world.

The defender was a 100% sure, your brother would be more than proud of you and the woman you became.

But she also knew what she had to do. You deserved an apology, even more than that - you deserved every good thing in the world. And if she could she would take all your pain away.

It was in the middle of the night, all lights turned off besides in the kitchen of the blonde defender. She sat at the kitchen table, one sheet of paper and a fountain pen in front of her.

Dear Sebastian,

I’m Leah, Leah Williamson.

I've been playing for Arsenal my whole life. I've had my best and worst moments at the club. All of my best moments had to do with my team, my friends, my family, whereas my worst moments had something to do with my performance or injuries. Unfortunately, because of my loyalty and love for the club, I was blinded from seeing the important things - your sister. I never understood why she had transferred so often - it seemed like she was volatile and didn't understand loyalty and love. But she does - she does that more than anyone else.

Her loyalty was only ever dedicated to you.

She is an incredible person and I’m so sorry for the way i treated her at her arrival (I will tell her that, this time when I’m fully sober and explain everything). But I’m writing you to tell you that I like your sister, more than I ever thought I would. To be honest, that‘s the first time I’m admitting it to someone, I didn‘t even admit it fully to myself - but I do. I like her. And I guess, this is me asking for your blessing.

A blessing that I can treat her right if she lets me,

a blessing that I can always support her,

a blessing for one chance with her.

I know, there is much too make up for and my behavior will never be excused - no apology could be strong enough for what I have done - but I want you to know that I will regret it till the rest of my life.

So while you may be her biggest fan from paradise, I want to be her biggest fan from earth.

I promise to do everything in my power to be the best person she deserves.

Sincerely,

Leah Williamson

With a lighter in her pocket and the letter in her hand, she went outside on the balcony. The night was chill and quiet, the perfect atmosphere as the moon shone brightly. Her nerves were calming down and her mind seemed to find rest as she looked up in the sky, "one chance" she whispered, burning the letter. She watched the ink and paper slowly disappear, the smoke rising into the night sky. She knew it was unrealistic to expect any sign of positive responds but was it wrong to hope? When the letter was fully burned, she waited till the smoke was completely gone before she went back inside, turning off the kitchen light and making her way to bed.

When the blonde woke up the next day, she made her way to kitchen immediately, needing her morning tea. She frowned and froze.

"Hello?" she called.

No response.

She had turned off the light last night, didn‘t she?

She sure did!

Was this her sign? Was this the sign that the letter arrived?

It was his blessing.

"Hey" the blonde greeted you with a wide smile when you entered the changing room.

Matching her smile, "good morning" you walked to your cubby.

"What are you doing tonight?" she followed you, the smile not leaving her features. Someone woke up in a good mood, you thought.

"Going home, eating, then sleeping" you replied.

"Do you want to watch the Arsenals men game tonight? With me?"

"Are you nervous?" you asked, the defender fidgeting with her fingers as her cheeks were slowly turning red, "I’d love to watch the match with you."

And if you thought her smile couldn’t have gotten wider, you were wrong - the smile she sent you was from ear to ear.

"Perfect" with excitement in her body, she pressed a peck to your cheek before she happily skipped out of the room, the other girls watching the interaction that just happened closely.

"Are you blushing?" Katie laughed loudly as you embarrassingly turned to your bag, in fact blushing.

Half an hour before kick-off you rang Leah‘s doorbell, takeout in your hands. You weren‘t in the mood for cooking and Leah‘s cooking skill were eh, e for effort?, also you had been craving Chinese all day long, so that‘s what you got.

"I brought food with me!" you grinned, pushing yourself inside as soon as the blonde had opened the door.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she asked chuckling at your eagerness as you walked in her kitchen to get some plates and cutlery.

Cheekily, you replied "Nothing, I was just hungry"

Serving the food on the plates, you sat down at the table with Leah, comfortable silence filling the air while the two of you ate dinner.

Something was bothering Leah though, you could tell. Every now and then it seemed like she wanted to say something yet she closed her mouth quickly after.

"I‘m sorry for my behavior" she mumbled, "when you arrived at Arsenal, I mean" you looked up from your plate, meeting her eyes for a brief second, "I was skeptical about your loyalty and it got out of hand" carefully she laid her hand on yours, hoping you wouldn’t pull away.

You didn‘t - you wanted to hear what she had to say.

"I‘m really sorry and I know we started over, but I need you to know how sorry I am, this time without any drink in my system. You’re the most loyal person I know, I just didn‘t notice it"

"Leah" you said gently, "look at me, please"

The defender raised her head, looking at you with unsure eyes, rapidly tapping her foot under the table.

"Thank you for telling me. I guess I would have been skeptical too if I had played for the gunners my whole life" you told her, "I’m not excusing your behavior because it wasn‘t nice or appropriate but I don‘t have any bad blood against you either. In fact, I enjoy your company" you pulled her hand from hers, only to put it against her side profile, softly caressing the apple of her cheek.

Subconsciously, she leaned into your touch, "I‘m very sorry"

"I know"

The unspoken 'why' barrier was finally removed.

"Arsenal will win, I can feel it!" the defender stated, flopping down on the couch. With a bowl of popcorn in your hand, you sat down next to her, somehow your thighs touching even though the couch was big enough. "Liverpool is a tough opponent"

"Oh stop it! None of that"

Making herself comfortable on the couch, she turned on the tv, ready to see Arsenal win.

Getting comfortable yourself, you pulled your legs on the couch, leaning towards the armrest on the other side which earned you a glare, "what do think you‘re doing?"

"Oh, sorry" in an instant your feet were on the ground.

"No, what are you doing over there? Come here" she nodded to the space between her legs, signaling you to cuddle her.

With red cheeks and a racing heart, you crawled over, settling between her legs as your body melted into hers, head resting on her chest while her arms wrapped around you.

Leah was sure you could hear her racing heart and even though she desperately tried to concentrate on the match, she just couldn’t. With you in her arms, she wouldn’t ever want to think about anything else. You looked so precious in her arms, eyes fully focused on the tv.

"You are so beautiful" she admired, looking at you with heart eyes.

"What?"

You prompted yourself up, looking at the blonde who was smiling dazedly at you, "you are just so gorgeous" her fingers started to play with your hair as she got lost in your eyes, "let me take you on a date"

It was crazy how the mood had changed - from apologies at dinner to cuddling on the couch to asking you out.

"Okay" you smiled shyly, cheeks crimson red as your skin tingled.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah"

You stared at each other, eyes shining with adoration and passion, both of you slowly leaning in.

When your lips met, the world seemed to stop spinning, fireworks exploding as you melted into each other and Arsenal getting themselves on the scoreboard. She kissed you so gentle and tender - the complete opposite of the kiss you had shared before.

Everything was perfect.

After many many dates, the blonde asked you to be her girlfriend. None of your friends surprised at this point - you had always been obsessed with each other.

The two of you had been caught kissing several times, not even trying to hide it. Leah loved kissing you but she also loved physical touch in general, always holding your hand, having her arm around your midsection or her hand on your thigh while driving. She couldn’t get enough of you.

"Come to bed" the blonde whined, waiting for you to join her under the covers. Weirdly, neither of you could sleep good at night without being in each others embrace, so it became your routine - either Leah would sleep at your home or the other way around - this night you were at Leah‘s, and obviously you had stolen a shirt from her wardrobe as your pajamas - which she liked very much. You looked so cute in her clothes.

When you joined her, her arms were immediately wrapped around your body as she pulled you close, pressing a good night kiss on your temple.

The next morning, you woke up with hair in your face and a head resting on your chest, the blonde defender still peacefully asleep. You stayed like that for awhile, your hand gently rubbing her back before you slipped out of bed, ready to make some breakfast and your much needed coffee.

Since it was the weekend and your day off, you decided to surprise the England captain with some self made pancakes - you knew she loved them.

While Leah woke up due the feeling of your absence which turned out to be correct, something she didn‘t like. Sleeping without you was awful already but waking up without you? absolutely horrible.

Grumpily, she made her way out of the bedroom, the smell of pancakes hitting her nostrils, lightening her mood in an instant. Following the smell, she found you in the kitchen, only wearing a sports bra and some of her old Arsenal shorts - you looked cute - booping your head to the non existing music, no doubt that you were humming some song. Silently, the defender walked up behind you, her arms smacking around your stomach, "gosh, you scared me!"

"Sorry, baby" apologetic, she pressed multiple kisses on the side of your neck, fingers tracing along your sides.

You inhaled sharply when she traced along the stripe of tape on your shoulder, she had never brought it up before, respecting whatever story was behind it.

"You- you can take it off" you whispered breathlessly, anxiety and fear creeping through your body.

"Are you sure?" her lips kissed the other side of your shoulder, trying to calm you down and ease your mind.

"Yes, just- be careful, please"

and that’s exactly what she was. All of her moves were gentle and careful - you weren’t afraid that it would hurt pulling the tape off but the story behind it.

After the tape was ripped off a big scar was displayed on your shoulder, "it‘s from the car crash" you said, pain shooting through the healed wound. It wasn‘t an injury pain rather the type of phantom pain - suddenly you were back in the car.

"It‘s a constant reminder of what had happened - something that‘s my fault" you admitted, fighting the tears, "I started to cover it up but make up didn‘t work, so the physio at Ajax taped it. And since that day, I do it all the time"

Leah‘s heart broke at the vulnerability she was seeing, your posture seemingly weak and exposed.

"Is this okay?" Her pointer finger traced over the scar..

"Yeah"

..not in a way that made you uncomfortable but in a way that made you feel like you didn’t have to be ashamed of it.

"What about this?" for a moment you didn‘t feel her touch at all before she pressed featherlight kisses over your scar.

"yes"

Tears were streaming down your face, all of your walls broken down now, Leah made you feel perfect the way you are - because you are.

"I‘m proud of you"

Everything came crashing down, a sob escaped your throat and within a second, you were in your girlfriends arms, crying into her shoulder. The tears that you had not allowed to shed in previous years, fell all at once now.

The England captain hugged you through it all, letting you cry as long as you needed - she wouldn‘t go anywhere.

She had promised your brother to do everything in her power to be the best person you deserve and that‘s what she did, does and will do.

She kept her promise and you did too.

Arsenal was always half but never whole, Leah‘s begun to feel like home.

629 notes · View notes

mpileons · 1 month

Note

Hey,

I like when reader is hiding relationship with Leah from her sister. And it gets really angsty but in the end they work it out.

Maybe you could write something like that

You Weren’t Meant to be Home (Leah Williamson x Walsh!Reader)

Leah had a reputation, one that she was proud of and done hard to maintain. Since her last relationship had crashed and burned, she’d been doing anything and everything to not get attached and tied down to someone again. The dynamics were working for her. She lived alone and didn’t have to answer to anyone about the amount of girls that had slipped in and out of her sheets on a weekly basis.

Since her ACL injury, she’d been partying a lot more, to get over the pain of missing the Champions League and more importantly, the World Cup. Usually, it would be with her best mate Alex at a boojie event that Alex had brought her as a plus one. Her partying antics followed her all the way to Australia at the World Cup, when she’d eventually flown over.

You’d been there all Summer, travelling around the country but getting back in time to watch your sister play. You weren’t a big football fan, but your sister playing in a World Cup was more than enough of an excuse to travel to Australia. It was all you and your best friend, Amy, had dreamed of for years, so this was your chance. Amy also wasn’t an overly big football fan, much to the annoyance of your older sister.

“So, you guys haven’t lost yet?” Amy asked Keira and Georgia, while the four of you were on a walk, soaking up the sun while they had some downtime.

“Do you not understand how the World Cup works?” Keira frowned.

“We do” you giggled, shushing Amy’s laughter down. “We totally get it, it’s just we’re a bit preoccupied doing Australian things” you shrugged.

“Australian girls?” Georgia laughed as Keira punched her into the arm.

“That’s my sister!” Keira snapped.

“It’s not me doing your sister” Georgia protested, holding her hands up in surrender.

“God, can we please change the conversation?” you groaned at the current topic of conversation with your sister being your sex life.

You continued on your walk, back towards the team hotel to drop Keira and Georgia off. Amy and Keira were just ahead, laughing about a story Amy was telling her from someone back at home she had recently had a brief fling with.

“Has there been many?” Georgia smirked, wriggling her eyebrows at you, as you rolled your eyes. “Come on, I won’t tell Kei”

“Maybe four or five?” You guessed, not fully remembering the exact number of girls you’d been with since you got here.

“This is why I always said I felt like we were destined to be friends, instead of me and Kei” Georgia laughed, wrapping her arm around your shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah G” you squeezed her arm. “Leah’s coming soon, isn’t she? You both excited to see her?” You smiled as Georgia nodded frantically.

You didn’t really know Leah that well. She was your sister’s best friend, but she wasn’t as friendly or approachable as Georgia was. You knew Georgia a lot better due to her and Keira playing together in Manchester for a long time. The only thing you knew about Leah from all the times you’d met her or went out with her was, she was stone cold to you. She’d barely even acknowledge you were in the room as her.

You hugged the two of them goodbye when you got to the team hotel and headed off back to your own, to get ready for the shenanigans you and Amy were set to get up to tonight.

You’d seen pretty much everywhere you wanted to at this stage in Australia, making memories to last a life time. You were staying in Sydney for the remainder of the trip, and were on your best behaviour due to being in the same place as your parents.

“Please” Amy begged when you said you weren’t going out tonight.

“My head hasn’t even recovered fully from last night” you groaned. You found it funny your sister was here to be an elite athlete, playing in the biggest tournament possible. While you were here to see how drunk you could get. You were both achieving great things in your field.

“The best way to get over a hangover is to drink more” Amy shouted, throwing nice clothes at you from your wardrobe. You eventually agreed and headed out to a nightclub that had been heavily recommended by some Australians that were staying in your hotel. The same group that were currently in the night club beckoning the two of you over to join them on the dance floor.

Amy was off to the side of the group with one of the boys, while you were happily drunk dancing with the remainder of the group. You’d excused yourself to grab a drink for you and another girl, before quickly rejoining them. You’d been dancing with this girl all night really, presuming things were getting a bit flirty. She’d just turned off to start talking to a guy that approached her as you internally groaned, and took a bit sip of your drink.

“You look so good tonight, baby” another guy in the group mumbled as his hands met your waist and he pulled you towards him.

“You’re alright, thank you” you shook your head as you tried to pierce his hands off you. “Can you let go, please?” You asked.

“Come on, do you not want a bit of fun?” He smirked.

“I’m not into guys” you squeezed his hand to try and get him off, but he was persistent.

“I could change that” he grinned, pulling you against him impossibly closer. It was there and then that your heart sunk. You were defenceless and nobody from the group seemed to be watching.

“Y/n?” You heard an angel like voice shout, as you looked up to see Leah. She mightn’t have known you overly well, but it was evident you didn’t want whatever he was trying. “You alright babe?” Leah asked, putting her hand out, which you took without flinching or hesitating for even a split second.

“No” you shook your head.

“Mate, let fucking go” Leah grunted as he freed his grip slightly. Leah found it to be her obligation right now to keep you safe as Keira’s best friend, and was willing to do anything possible to protect you. “That’s my girlfriend” she shouted as he fully let go and pushed you away from him.

“Sorry mate, didn’t know she was with you” he put his hands up apologetically, apologising to Leah more so than you.

“Thank you” you whispered as she pulled you against her by your waist, still playing the part. You didn’t really care that she had her hands on you, even if it was a similar grip than what he had.

“You alright? Are you here with someone?” She asked.

“Amy” you pointed at your friend, still with the nicer boy in the group. “I really appreciate that, girlfriend” you smirked as she reciprocated your facial expression.

“Why don’t you kiss me? Make it more believable?” Leah winked with a cheeky laugh.

“Come on Captain Williamson, I’ll get you a drink” you smiled, pulling her by the hand towards the bar. “Who are you here with?” You asked.

“Alex, Jill, you know” she pointed over to the group of ex footballers that were also at the nightclub. Although, the section they were in looked a lot more exclusive.

“I’ll leave you to it, thanks again” you smiled, turning hesitantly to walk back towards the group you’d been dancing with.

“Don’t be stupid” Leah shouted, grabbing your wrist. “I don’t want you going back over anywhere near him” she frowned. “Stay with me” she whispered softly as you nodded at her, and let her guide you towards her friends, now interlocking your fingers and pulling you gently towards them.

You knew most of the girls and they at least knew of you from Keira. They were all really friendly, and made sure to keep good drinks and vibes going throughout the night. Around 1am, when Amy had finally removed herself from the Australian boy she had been literally clung to all night, she skipped over to let you know she was leaving with him.

“Give me your phone” you clicked your fingers at her as she willingly handed it over without hesitation. You made sure every app that you could see her location was turned on before handing it back to her.

“Have fun” you smirked as she kissed your cheek with a giggle.

“I’ll make sure she gets home alright” Leah inputted, sliding up beside you on the couch you were sitting on, placing a protective hand on your knee.

“Oh thank you, almighty Leah Williamson” Amy teased, making a bowing motion before she left with the boy.

“Do you wanna dance?” Leah whispered in your ear.

“Yeah” you smiled as you both got up and headed to the dancefloor.

Leah was getting a bit touchy but you didn’t really care, because you were too. You were also both incredibly drunk, which probably wasn’t helping.

“I wasn’t joking before, you should kiss me” Leah slurred, beyond the point of drunk now to be embarrassed of what she was saying.

“I thought you hated me” you laughed as she frowned and shook her head. “What would we tell Keira?” You asked as her eyes fell to your lips.

“Nothing” she mumbled before she leaned in and kissed you. You kissed her back instantly, immediately switching the intensity of the kiss. It was a bad idea, such a bad idea. But her lips felt so good against yours, and you just couldn’t help it. “Did Amy take your hotel room then?” Leah asked as you shook your head. You had two bedrooms in the apartment anyway, incase of moments like these.

“Do you want to come back?” You asked as she nodded at you, eagerly, before kissing you again.

It was a few minutes after when you’d broken apart and she gestured you towards the door, while she headed in the opposite direction to get both of your stuff from the seats.

“I’m going to walk y/n back to her hotel” Leah shouted over the music at Alex.

“In other words, you’re going to fuck your best mates sister?” Alex laughed. “I saw you two” she added. Thankfully, nobody else had.

“You’re my best mate” Leah tried talking herself out of it.

“Leah” Alex raised her eyebrows, not falling for Leah’s bullshit.

“What? That’s not Keira’s sister, that’s her twin” Leah smirked, thinking she’d talked herself out of it this time.

“Okay? That would still make that girl Keira’s sister” Alex chuckled as Leah rolled her eyes. “You’re sure you know what you’re doing? You’re not going to wake up tomorrow and feel bad?” Alex asked as Leah looked back at you, standing waiting for her by the door.

“I’m sure” she nodded as Alex patted her shoulder.

It was different with her on the walk back, it was comfortable, almost like it was a regular occurrence. But when you got back to your hotel room, you continued where you left off at the nightclub.

Leah was by far the best you’d ever had. It wasn’t even close. But the guilt that ripped through you when you came to your senses, made you realise it wasn’t worth it. Well, you tried to make yourself believe it wasn’t worth it.

“Keira can never, ever know” you hummed and shook your head, while the blonde nodded in agreement. A similar guilty expression was evident on her face too now that she’d sobered up.

“You know, I’ve actually really liked you for a long time” Leah was a straight forward person, and was used to getting what she wanted.

“You need to work on your flirting skills then, because I always presumed you hated me” you shrugged, thinking it was just a line she was using.

“Well, I knew you’d never want to be with me because of Keira” Leah mumbled, and you knew by her expression she was being sincere.

“Well, you thought wrong” you shrugged. “I don’t want you to go tonight” you whispered as she smiled back at you.

“Then I won’t go” she said, shuffling back towards you in the bed. She pulled you in against her as you both drifted off really quickly.

When you woke the next morning, Leah wasn’t in the bed beside you, which wasn’t a surprise. The amount of girls you’d been with that would tell you everything you wanted to hear to sleep with you and then be gone before you woke. They just didn’t know that it was the last thing you wanted to hear, you weren’t looking for a commitment. At least you thought you weren’t, until Leah strutted back into the bedroom.

“Oh, you’re awake” she smiled. Holding a mug in one hand and a sudoku book in the other. A book that must have belonged to Amy and she’d rooted it out from God know’s where.

“You’re still here?” You asked, with a small uptick of your lips.

“Is that alright?”

“As long as you’re coming back to bed” you smirked as she placed her mug and book down, spread open on the page of her puzzle.

“Do you drink tea or coffee? I can make you one” she asked.

“Coffee” you nodded.

“Milk? Sugar?” She shouted as you called back how you took your coffee.

She came back to bed after a few minutes with coffee, finding you trying to work out the sudoku that she’d been working on all morning. She left the mug on your bedside table before slotting in beside you. You tucked into her, still holding the book as you both worked the sudoku out together.

“Not to make this weird” Leah began. “But this is like, my ideal morning”

“I mean, I would rather go out for some fresh air than sit in bed doing sudoku” you laughed.

“Y/n?” Amy shouted, slamming the front door and heading straight to your bedroom in the apartment, before either you or Leah had time to react. “Oh, hello” she smirked.

“Get out” you moaned.

“Did you get lost, Leah?” Amy teased.

“You weren’t meant to be home yet” you huffed.

“Well I’m home now, baby” she laughed. “I am going for brunch with Jason, the boy from last night, so I will leave you two lovers in peace” she headed back to her bedroom as you let out a sigh.

“Well, come on then” Leah said shuffling out from underneath you, as you looked at her confused. “Let’s go for a walk, and get you a proper coffee”

You got up and got ready, letting Amy know you wouldn’t be too long and to enjoy brunch. You always made it extremely clear she could not mention a word of this to Keira, under any circumstances.

You made a pit stop at Leah’s hotel so she could get changed into something that wasn’t last nights clothes.

You walked and talked for around 2 hours, totally losing track of time. You talked about everything you would with someone on a first date. Hobbies, dreams, passions, your careers. One thing that didn’t seem to come up though, was your sister, and that guilt you both felt last night. That was long forgotten. Leah’s fingertips had brushed off your hand too many times, and it was driving you demented.

“Just hold my hand” you said, grabbing her hand and slotting it in yours.

“I was trying to be subtle” she shrugged with a laugh.

It was another while before you felt your phone buzz to see Amy calling. That was when Leah checked her phone to, seeing missed calls from both Alex and Georgia.

“I better go” you both said at the same time, before laughing.

“Hey, y/n” Leah whispered, grabbing your wrist to stop you walking away, even though you were yet to move. “I don’t want this to be a one time thing” she shook her head.

“Me neither” you added.

“Could we talk maybe when we both get back to England? You’re living in London now, right?” She asked and you nodded. “I’ll take you out” she smiled.

“I look forward to it” you kissed her cheek before you both turned off in different directions, and returning the missed calls you both had.

True to her word, Leah took you out on a date when you both got back from Australia. Despite the heartbreak she felt about England losing the World Cup, she somehow managed to not forget what she’d promised you.

You didn’t know if she was actually going to take you out, so you decided maybe right before a World Cup final, or after, when they’d lost, wasn’t the best time to mention to Keira that you’d slept with her best friend.

You went out on several dates with Leah, and you’d both stayed in eachothers places a few nights now. You were both getting closer, and eventually she asked you out, officially.

After 8 months, you both still hadn’t gotten around to telling anyone. You were both happy and didn’t want anybody or anything to jeopardise the relationship so early on. Only two people knew, due to them having to bear witness to you both in Australia and that was Alex and Amy. Who have since both walked in on you several times in the last 8 months.

“Babe” Leah shouted as she came into your apartment, straight from training.

“In here” you called back from the living room. You had dinner waiting and the show you have been watching together paused.

You weren’t living together, as that would have required you both being open about being together. But you may as well have been. You can’t remember a night where she wasn’t in your apartment, or you weren’t in hers.

“You’re late” you huffed.

“Sorry, got held up with some stupid interview” she mumbled as you pulled her into a kiss, “But I’m tearing up my contract tomorrow” she smirked as her body pressed you further into the couch. Her lips were practically glued to your neck, the food and TV long forgotten now.

She’d just pulled her training top over her head, with a little help from you, when your phone buzzed.

Keira.

“Shit” Leah groaned when she saw the caller ID requesting to facetime.

“Put your fucking T-shirt on” you snapped as she leaned over to get it and you grabbed your phone, reminding her to stay quiet. “Hey Kei” you smiled as your sister appeared on the other side of the screen. You were just ignoring your sisters idiotic best friend battling with her training top, thankfully out of sight from your camera.

“Hey, I just wanted to see if you were still coming next week?” She smiled as you saw Leah starting to smirk.

“Yeah, yeah of course” you nodded. “Is that okay?” You asked.

“Yeah, more than okay” she chuckled. “Just, Laura is going to be here and then Leah is coming as well so you and her can rock, paper, scissors for the bed and couch” she laughed. Leah’s smug look on her face was only growing and growing as she started acting out a rock, paper, scissors.

“Yeah, we will figure it out” you nodded with a smile, waving your hand at the blonde and trying to pretend the topic of conversation was not stood right in front of you, with her T-shirt not even passing her shoulders. “Listen Kei, I was just about to eat dinner” you said, trying to rush her off the phone.

“Weird thing to call me, but okay” Leah mumbled as you leaned and kicked her into the thigh, all not seen or heard by your sister on the other line.

“No sweat, I’ll call you tomorrow. Night” she smiled as she hung up.

“Leah Catherine Williamson” you frowned as you placed your phone on the table, beside your now very cold dinner, sat untouched in the bowl.

“I couldn’t resist” she smirked, quickly kissing you and laying on the couch beside you. You both looked at the very unappealing freezing food laid out infront of you both. “I’ll order a pizza” she sighed, taking out her phone and you pressed play on the show. When she was finished ordering, she put her head on your lap and you roamed your fingers gently through her hair.

“Did you remember to” you began as she chuckled.

“Yeah” she nodded. “You don’t always need to remind me. I’m aware of you and your gluten free needs” she playfully rolled her eyes as you tugged her hair. Leah was protective of you in a sense that she’d never let anything happen to you on her watch. Which is why when the pizza came, she grilled the poor delivery driver for 5 minutes to make sure it was gluten free.

She got back to the couch, handing you your box, standing with her own and frowning at you until you opened it. You knew from the night in Sydney that she was protective by nature, but since you’d started dating properly, she was like your own personal bodyguard.

“Lee it’s okay” you smiled as she sat down beside you to look at your pizza.

“I like you and all, but I’m just not eating that for you” she laughed, ripping her own box open.

“I was thinking” you mumbled as you chewed on your slice of pizza.

“Oh, is your head sore?” She smirked, munching on her gluten filled pizza as you shot her a look. She loved joking and teasing you, but she knew that look, probably a little too well. “Oh, serious talk. Sorry, continue” she said as she threw her crust in the box.

“Would you maybe want to tell Kei? When we go to Barcelona?” You asked as her expression turned cold, trying to scan your face. When she got no signs that you were joking, her expression softened.

“Would you want to?” She replied, eyes now glued to the ground.

“Well, I’d love her to know how happy you make me. But, if you’re not ready it’s okay” you reassured her.

“No, I want to. I guess we kind of have to seeming as I eh, I kind of like you” she sighed, followed by a laugh.

“Maybe, if we tell her, when we get back, one of us could go for a never ending stay in the others apartment” you smirked.

“You mean like move in? You want to move in?” Leah shouted, a bit too enthusiastically, making you laugh.

“Would you want that?” You smiled as she nodded.

“More than I want to tell your sister” she laughed.

Due to her incapabilities sometimes to be an adult, you stayed in Leah’s the night before your flight, so you could get her packed.

It was all a coincidence, to Keira, that you had both ended up on the same plane and the seats next to each other. It was almost like you’d booked the flights together.

“Did you’s have enough time to argue over the bed and the couch on the flight?” Keira and Laura laughed from the front seats of Keira’s car.

“We said we’d wait til we got here to decide” Leah piped up quickly, before changing the topic entirely. The plan was to tell Keira over dinner and by the time you got back to the apartment, the topic of bed and couch would no longer need to be had.

You subtly slapped Leah’s hand away when she instinctively tried to grab your bag when you got out of the car.

“Here, I’ll take that” Laura smiled, grabbing your bag. “You’re alright there to carry your own, aren’t you superstar?” Laura teased as Leah laughed. You just thanked God that it was your sister’s girlfriend that grabbed your bag, otherwise Leah would have given them an earful.

“Bedroom is just in there if you both want to leave your stuff in there for the minute” Keira smiled at you both. “I booked dinner for 7pm, so I take it you’ll need the full three hours to get ready?” She smirked at you as you rolled your eyes at her playfully. “You want to go get coffee while she gets ready then?” Keira asked Leah. She looked at you briefly and knew by your face what she should answer.

“Yeah go on then, you coming too?” Leah asked Laura who nodded. “You want anything back?” Leah shouted at you, putting her shoes on.

“Yes please” you called, about to turn off into the room before Keira spoke again.

“Are you not going to ask her what she wants?” She laughed.

“Oh, eh” Leah stuttered. She of course knew what you wanted, and forgot you two were meant to be pretending you barely knew eachother right now.

“An iced vanilla latte” you smiled, heading off into the room. The three of them headed off, and you lay on the bed for a few minutes, scrolling on your phone, before getting up to shower and get ready.

You heard them coming through the door just as you’d just slipped into your clothes.

“Uh, are you decent?” Leah shouted from the door. You already know she had a stupid frown on her face from not being able to just walk straight in.

“Yeah, come in” you shouted back as she practically burst through the door and closed it just as quickly. She placed your coffee on the bedside table before looking over at you. “Fuck me, you look stunning” she mumbled, making her way over to you and kissing you gently.

“Thank you baby” you smiled. “You’re sure you’re still up for telling Kei?” You asked and she nodded.

“I’m sure” she replied. “Now piss off, I need to get ready” she chuckled, kissing you quickly and heading over to her suitcase. She stood frowning at the empty suitcase, as she rattled her brain back, trying to remember if she had definitely asked you to pack her case.

“I hung up your stuff already” you smiled, grabbing your coffee and saluting her playfully on the way out of the room.

“Could honestly marry you right now” she mumbled as you shut the door.

Laura and Keira were in Keira’s bedroom getting ready too, and Laura was the first to emerge. She knew you really didn’t like football that much, and she was good like that, to not make it the topic of conversation. She lived in Rome for most of the year for her job, so it was nice she had got time to come and see Keira.

Leah was next to come out, wearing a suit you knew she’d spent a good bit of money on.

“Oh, look at little Miss England” Laura teased.

“Do I look alright?” Leah asked, eyes stuck on you.

“Meh” you teased as you and Laura shared a laugh. But you noticed the frown on Leah’s face meant she wanted a serious answer. “I’m just joking, you look really nice Lee” you smiled, making her do the same. Laura looked between you both, and raised her eyebrows slightly at the look you two were giving each other. Keira was last out, immediately rushing everyone out of the apartment and downstairs to get in an Uber.

You scanned the menu of the fancy restaurant that Keira had booked. Your eyebrows were furrowed as you glanced through the three or four gluten free options the restaurant had. Leah noticed you looked a bit stressed and put her hand subtly on your thigh, immediately making you relax. The waiter came over and took everyone’s order, you weren’t too sure on the pronunciation of the dish you were ordering, so you just pointed at it on the menu as the waiter nodded. Laura ordered a bottle of wine for the table as the four of you laughed and chatted waiting for your food. You noticed Keira seemed really happy. She hadn’t been this happy in such a long time. You wanted her to know how happy you were too.

The waiter brought over the four dishes and Laura ordered another bottle for the table. He rushed off to get it as you all began tucking into your food. You knew the second you swallowed it that it was not in fact a gluten free dish, and either you read it wrong or this wasn’t what you ordered.

“Shit” you grumbled, standing up quickly.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” Leah said, so casually.

“Baby?” Keira asked with a frown, but neither of you heard her.

“I’m fine, just don’t follow me” you quickly rushed out as you sped off to the bathroom.

“Your wine” the waiter said, beginning to pour into Keira’s glass.

“Excuse me, my girlfriend ordered a gluten free dish, is this gluten free?” Leah snapped.

“Girlfri” was all Keira could manage before the waiter started to stutter.

“Is it gluten free?” Leah said again, a bit more aggressively and firmly.

“I’m not sure” he held his hands up. “One moment” he raced off to get someone and came back with a manager.

“Stupid fucking Spanish restaurant and stupid fucking gluten, I fucking hate gluten” Leah grumbled as Keira stared at her and Laura was gripping Keira’s hand so tightly to try and keep her calm.

“Was this what she ordered?” The manager asked Leah, pointing at a different dish on the menu as Leah shook her head and pointed at the correct one. “I’m very sorry, I will get this for her now” the manager apologised and ran off to the kitchen, as Leah sat back down. You’d also just returned from the bathroom now, looking a little flushed.

“You okay?” Leah asked, hand returning to your thigh.

“I’m okay” you smiled and nodded.

“Girlfriend” Keira shouted, so loudly, nearly everyone in the restaurant turned to look at your table. “What do you mean girlfriend?” She asked.

“Keira, calm down” Laura pleaded, but Keira brushed her off.

“How long have you two been together?” She snapped.

“Since Sydney” Leah mumbled.

“Sydney?” Keira shouted.

“Kei, can you keep it down?” You whispered.

“I want to go” Keira clicked her fingers at Laura who nodded and instantly stood up. Keira walked off towards the door before Laura, who was still stood at the table, fiddling with her wallet, had moved.

“I’ll sort it, just go” Leah huffed.

“She’ll come around. You two are good together” Laura smiled, before running off after Keira. The manager came back with your new dish, and was perplexed to see half your table was now missing, you were crying and Leah looked like she was going to punch something.

“Can I get you these to go?” She offered.

“And the bill” Leah nodded. She came back with boxes and the bill that Leah didn’t even hesitate to pay for. Leah had given you her jacket as she held onto a bag with everyone’s food and the bottle of wine in it, and had her phone in the other, ordering a taxi.

The drive to Keira’s apartment was dead silent, neither of you knew what to say to eachother, really. You felt Leah’s hand sneak over yours and that was the first time you’d looked at her since she asked if you were okay when you’d returned to the table.

“This doesn’t change anything for me” she whispered. You smiled at her weakly, because you felt the same. You were just so upset.

Laura eventually opened the door after persistent knocks from Leah. You went straight to the bedroom, like your sister had done, point blank refusing to come out, while Leah and Laura talked in the kitchen.

“She’s very upset” Laura mumbled as Leah nodded.

“Should we maybe go? I could take y/n to a hotel” Leah suggested.

“That’ll make it worse” Laura shook her head as it fell silent for a few seconds. “Are you two serious?” She asked.

“Look, it happened in Sydney, I don’t think either of us were looking for more than what happened. But, we got home and we were still talking and then we just started dating” Leah shrugged.

“So it’s not just a fling?” Laura added.

“We’re not just messing around, if that’s what you’re asking” Leah frowned. “She’s my girlfriend, I, I’m in love with her” Leah said.

“You’ve never said that before” you mumbled from the door of the bedroom. Your head was thumping and you needed a glass of water. You just weren’t expecting to walk into a confession.

“That I love you?” Leah asked and you nodded. “Well, I do. I love you” she smiled.

“I love you too” you kissed her briefly before instantly pulling apart and remembering quickly where you were.

“Wait there” Laura said, as she headed off into your sister’s bedroom. You could hear shouting, mostly coming from Keira from the room. How Laura ended up getting your sister out of the bedroom a few minutes later is still a mystery to you. “She’s not angry anymore” Laura chuckled.

“Yes I bloody am angry” Keira grunted.

“Kei, I’m so sorry” you pouted. “I’m not sorry about being with Leah, but I’m sorry we kept it from you”

“It’s not you I have the problem with” Keira frowned at Leah.

“It’s her fault” Leah protested playfully making Laura laugh.

“Leah, be serious” you moaned as she was the one to pout now.

“I’m sorry Kei, but I’m in love with her” Leah shrugged. “And I’m gonna keep being in love with her, even if you tell me not to”

“You’re actually being serious, aren’t you?” Keira asked, looking at the expression on Leah’s face as the blonde could only nod. “Jesus Christ, you fancy my sister? Are you stupid?” Keira laughed as every bit of anger left her body and Laura released a huge sigh of relief.

“Hey” you shouted defensively.

“Who else knows? Do mum and dad know?” Keira asked you.

“Only you two, Amy and Alex” Leah replied softly.

“God, my sister” Keira laughed at Leah who rolled her eyes at your sister. “Well, I’m sorry for ruining our first double date. We can try again at breakfast in the morning” Keira smiled.

“Come on then, let’s get you to bed” Laura hummed softly.

“At least we don’t have to fight over the couch and bed now” Leah smirked, pushing you towards the spare room.

“Don’t push it, Leah” Keira shouted.

1K notes · View notes

mpileons · 1 month

Note

hihi idk if youre taking requests but i had an idea for leah kinda inspired by sockgate (💀)

so basically r plays for arsenal and theyre having kit photoshoots but the kit person accidentally forgot r’s (obviously the photoshoot isnt in colney) so she has to wear leah’s kit because r’s number is 5 and leah’s is 6 so it would be easier to edit and change the number like on the shorts (just say they didnt take any photos of her back because it would be too hard to change the name or something) ANYWAY leah is eating it up seeing r in her kit (especially if it’s like kind of big on her)

and then idk how you want to end it but maybe after the edited pictures are posted, leah cant help herself and also posts the original ones where you can see it’s her kit or something

love your writing <3

the sockgate trauma...never again the new number 6 II l.williamson

"leah catherine if you make us late again you're sleeping on the sofa tonight!" you yelled out impatiently, checking the time and rolling your eyes. "two minutes babe!" your girlfriend called back as you groaned in disbelief.

"they're dressing us and doing hair and makeup there leah, what is taking you so long?" you dropped your bag to the ground and stomped off to the bedroom. "no don't come in i'm-" you pushed open the door and your eyes widened at the sight in front of you.

"tell me that you are not doing a soduku right now." you spoke deathly calm, eyes locked with hers and narrowing. "would that make you feel better?" leah questioned with a charming smile, sat on the corner of the bed.

but the tinkling of her game gave it away as your eye twitched slightly and leah laughed nervously. "leah, i will be waiting in the car. if you do not join me in exactly two minutes, that thing you've been wanting to do?" you stated as leah nodded along.

"you can do it to yourself and this-" you gestured to your body. "-will be off limits, for a week." you warned seriously as leah scoffed and went to speak.

"a whole week williamson, shift it!" you cut her off sternly, turning on heel and marching out of the bedroom hearing your girlfriend trip over with a curse in her haste to hurry.

"ah fuck." you heard a thump and before you could even open the car door leah was skidding to your side, grabbing it for you. "after you darling." she grinned as you hummed and slid inside, tossing your bag in the back as she hurried around to her side.

"babe why aren't you dressed?" leah frowned as she returned to the change rooms, having finished with her own media promotion and asked to let you know they were ready for you now.

"they didn't bring my kit. there was a typo on the schedule and they thought less was coming so they've got 23 and not 5." you sighed in explanation as your girlfriend took a seat beside you.

"they just told me to wear your kit, 6 is easier to photoshop to 5 since its one number and not two like 23 is." you shrugged as leahs eyebrows shot upward. "leah." you sighed tiredly at the familiar look which settled on her face as she sat down beside you.

"be an adult and go change, now please." you ducked away from her arm which attempted to slip over your shoulders, standing up and crossing your arms across your chest. "have i ever told you just how sexy you look when you're pissed with me?" leah sighed with a dopey smile.

"yes. you make a point to remind me every time you grovel after you've pissed me off!" you threw a towel at her head and sat back down at your cubby. "no, go change baby." your foot shot up to press against her as she stood and attempted to get closer.

"reminds me of a different position baby, one i quite like." leah grinned wolfishly as she pulled your leg to sit on top of her shoulder and kissed your ankle with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"you already made me late once this morning and you're doing it again. go and change leah please!" you groaned pulling your leg back and sending her a stern look.

"i know you think this is going to work but this whole annoyed look-" leah wiggled her fingers at you "-is just making it all the more harder to leave you." leah smirked as you rolled your eyes and exhaled deeply.

"alright alright! i'm going. a girl knows where she isn't wanted!" leah spoke dramatically clutching at her chest, ducking down and stealing a kiss. "unless you'd like me to just change here and we can-" leah started to suggest but a dead panned glare had her grabbing her bag and hurrying away toward the showers.

"here you go then sunshine." a bundle of clothes hit you square in the face as you'd started to daydream only a few moments later, leah changed back into the clothes she'd arrived in.

"you are so-" you stopped yourself, leah sending you a smirk and sitting down on the bench. "eyes and hands inside the ride at all times williamson, i'm on a schedule." you warned as you started to strip off and change, feeling your girlfriends gaze locked onto you.

"leah!" you huffed as you pulled her shirt down over your head and her hand smacked against your ass. "what? it slipped babe." leah shrugged with an innocent smile as you rolled your eyes and pulled on her shorts having to roll the waistband a little so they didn't hang so low, already having your boots and socks on.

"wait! you're missing something." leah shot to her feet as you fixed your hair and turned to leave, pausing with a raised eyebrow. your lips couldn't help but curl into a small smile as leahs own pressed sweetly against them.

"sap." you teased, pecking her lips a few more times before heading out of the change rooms hearing her follow after you. "behave leah." you warned seriously as she held up her hands with a wink and you pushed your way into the media room.

"well well well if it isn't our newest number six!" beth teased as she finished up and immediately noticed that you weren't in your own number. "call me vice captain." you grinned, hugging her as you swapped positions and she spoke briefly with your girlfriend before leaving the room.

"so we're mostly shooting graphics for the screens and the lineups today, some celebrations, some serious shots. we'll do everything forward facing since there was some...issues, sorry about that again." jessica the marketing and media admin smiled apologetically.

"you're just lucky i was around to save the day jess." leah chimed in as jess shot her a playful glare and stepped back, calling out a few poses as the photographer snapped away and you moved between the different backdrops.

much as you tried your hardest to stay focused there was no avoiding the shit eating grin plastered on your girlfriends face as she sat back with arms crossed, eyes laser focused on your every move.

leah wasn't shy about how much she adored you, that was given by the constant teasings of the pining looks she threw your way during trainings or the not to subtle kisses she stole what felt like every few minutes.

leah was even less shy about how much she adored the sight of you in her clothes. early on in the relationship she did find it somewhat frustrating how you'd sneak off with her hoodies or shirts or pants hidden away in your overnight bag.

but seeing you wander around colney with what leah knew was her nike hoodie covering your top half had something stirring in her stomach she couldn't ignore.

your girlfriend by nature could be possessive, though most times it never came from jealousy knowing you were just as much as infatuated with her as she was with you, but rather that solidifying assurance that you were hers.

so as she sat there seeing you take picture after picture wearing her name, number and jersey leah was grinning ear to ear and there wasn't much which could be said to wipe it off.

"all good?" you questioned once it seemed things were wrapped up, sending both him and jess a thumbs up and stepping away, boots clacking against the hard cement floor and shaking your head at the look on leahs face.

"don't say it." you warned, snatching your jacket out of her hands and making a beeline out of the room as she hurried to follow you. "leah!" you laughed as she caught up and grabbed your hand, pushing you against a wall.

"you're like a horny teenager." you chuckled against her lips which immediately ravaged yours, her hands gripping your hips as you cupped her face and deepened the kiss.

"baby girl you know what it does to me to see you in my clothes, let alone wearing my last name on your back." leah pulled away and shook her head, making a mind blown gesture with her hands causing you to laugh again and shove her.

"we're at work miss williamson, be professional." you booped her nose and darted away as leahs kiss met thin air and she watched you dissapear into the change rooms.

"oh but miss williamson all my thoughts right now are strictly unprofessional." leah sang out happily with a cheeky grin as you shook your head. "no ring, no wife." you patted her cheek and held up your empty hand causing leah to now shake her head.

"oh no no no, no need to change my girl." leah swiftly grabbed your bag, stuffing your clothes back in and slinging it over her shoulder, holding out her hand for you to take with a sly smile.

"its time for me to make our new number six feel very very very welcome."

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mpileons · 1 month

Text

boyfriend - leah williamson

leah williamson x reader

description: in which your girlfriend is just the definition of boyfriend

warnings: swearing, a little suggestive

a/n: i was writing my requests and got the overwhelming urge to write this because leah is just the definition of boyfriend, i don’t make the rules, i also saw the picture of her this morning and died so here you go lmao

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

your girlfriend, leah, was the literal definition of boyfriend. and yeah, maybe that didn’t make sense, but it did to you.

leah williamson was incredibly protective, supportive and disciplined to the public eye, but to you, she was just your leah.

your leah found comfort in burying her face in the crook of your neck to avoid the rest of the world.

your leah loved to hold your hand or any part of your body at every given moment so everyone knew you were hers and she was yours.

your leah was incredibly stubborn, especially when it came to you. your leah worshipped the ground you walked on.

—

you and leah grew up together in the arsenal youth teams, quickly gravitating towards each other when you both realised how passionate you were about football, exactly like the other person.

when you both got selected for the england teams, you two grew extremely close, finding comfort in just being around each other. you both brought out the best in each other and everyone could see it, both on and off the pitch.

you and leah didn’t have many issues surrounding your years of pining, the two of you would shamelessly flirt from the time you were both 19 and changing that dynamic of being best friends to something more.

“baby, do not go on this date” leah pleads as you held up a forth outfit up to your body, “what do you think?” you turn to face her, a scowl evident on her 19 year old face as she sat on the edge of your bed.

“you look gorgeous, that’s not the point, (y/n)” she spits out, “i don’t want you to go,” leah crosses her arms over her chest and glares at you chuckling in the mirror.

“i want to go, lee baby” you tease, making the girl huff in frustration when you brought out yet another top against you.

“fine, wear the second outfit, see if i care,” she grumbles, picking at her cuticles while you smile at her through the mirror.

you were just pulling her leg, there wasn’t really a date, you just loved to tease leah but you also wanted your relationship to progress, to finally call her yours.

“babe” you call out, moving to stand in between her spread legs, she looks up at you curiously, her glare still a little evident as you smiled down at her.

“what?” she sighs, your hands make your ways to her shoulders, massaging them gently and feeling her relax under your touch.

“there’s no date, you git” you chuckle, leah tenses again, “sorry?” you really couldn’t help but laugh at her face of relief but also mischief as she looked up at you.

“i’m fucking with you, there’s no date” you laugh, leah grabs the sides of your hips and chucks you onto your bed, moving to straddle your hips as she tickled your sides.

“you’re such a little shit!” she laughs, smiling brightly at the bright laughs coming out of your mouth.

“why would you tell me there was a date?” she breathes out, lacing your fingers together as she pinned them by the sides of your head.

“wanted to see how you’d react” you say breathlessly, your chest heaving while an affectionate smile adorns your features.

“you seemed a little jealous, williamson?” you say teasingly, leah shakes her head, pinning you by your hips to the bed with her own, “fuck off, i was not” she defends, giving your hands a squeeze as you laugh up at her.

your heart was beating out of your chest, so was leah’s, but in a good way. a weirdly familiar way.

“you so were” you smirk, “i don’t want you to go” you mock her accent, she rolls her eyes fondly, lifting your hand up and threatening to bite your fingers.

you yelp when her teeth actually does graze your pointer finger, making her chuckle against your skin.

her eyes flicker between your own before falling to your lips, subconsciously wetting hers with her tongue as she looked back up at your eyes.

“looking a little flushed there, gorgeous, you alright?” she teases, you shake your head at her, “i’m fine, but you look a little flushed there, babe, anything you want to tell me?” you tease right back.

she giggles at your words, kissing the corner of your mouth, your breath hitched at how close she was to your lips, feeling her smirk against your skin as she trailed kisses along your cheeks.

she pulls back, dangerously close to your face as she chuckles, both of your pupils were blown out, cheeky grins evident on both of your faces.

leah puts you out of your misery and gives you that kiss you’d both been dreaming of, it was as perfect as a first kiss could go.

a little inexperienced at first but quickly learning from each other as it continued. you hummed against leah’s lips and she can’t help but grin into the kiss.

the kiss lasted for a couple of seconds before she let go of you, pulling you to sit up cross legged in front of her while she offered you a sheepish smile.

“be my girlfriend?” she breathes out, you nod instantly, making your way into her lap and kissing her until the air was knocked out from your lungs.

when you both pulled away, you tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear and leah’s heart fluttered. at the gesture but also the fact you were doing it as her girlfriend. “took you long enough” you grin, she pinches your hip and smirks when you squirm in her lap.

“how about i wear outfit number two and we go out on our own date” you smile cheekily, she presses a quick, tender kiss to your lips in response,

“you’ve got yourself a deal” she whispers against your lips, her hands gently squeezing your hips as you ended up in another kiss.

—

in present times, you and leah moved in together, both of you were extremely successful in your football careers.

leah was the captain of the england senior team and you couldn’t be more proud, showing her how much you loved that armband the first time she wore it.

you and leah had so much love for each other it was sickeningly sweet. both of you were head over heels, affection an understatement for the two of you.

it was obvious in the way you acted around her, dropping anything and everything if she needed something. telling her verbally how much you loved her no matter where you were. giving her heart eyes every two seconds that had her stomach swarming with butterflies.

and in leah’s case, she’s been called a simp way more than she’d like to admit but she didn’t mind. it was true after all.

—

“baby, you’ll get sick like that” leah scolds as you walk out of the change room onto the pitch where she was waiting for you for a pre match lap, your puffer unzipped in just your training kit.

“i’m fine, love” you smile, walking up to her and promptly puckering your lips up at her, she shakes her head fondly, pressing a couple of kisses to your lips while you sighed happily.

she pulls away from you, tugging you closer by the sides of your puffer and zipping it up for you. you smile at her appreciatively, she pinches your cheek gently before grabbing your hand and interlacing it with hers as you both walked around, posing for photos together with cheesy grins if needed.

your cheeks were a little red, not only from leah but the cold as well. leah moves you to stand in front of her again, her arms wrapping around you and prompting you to do the same as she pulled you closer.

she kisses your cheeks repeatedly, feeling them warm up under her lips as she spreads her love on both. “still cold?” she says softly, you nod with a cheeky grin, “very” she narrows her eyes at you amusingly but continues spreading kisses over your entire face, relishing in the soft giggles you were rewarding her with.

suddenly, she gasps, reaching into her pockets with an excited smile. “i forgot!” she exclaims, pulling out two heat packs that were warming up in her pockets, she only did it for you.

she places both of them against your cheeks and you smile happily, letting leah press little kisses to your lips again as she held the packs gently on your face, making sure not to burn you. she would whisper in conversation with you in between the kisses, your stomach lurching at her softness.

“ugh, you two make me sick” beth dry wretches, victoria and alessia laugh while watching you both pull away, “fuck off, beth” leah groans, tugging you impossibly closer as you tucked your head under her chin.

“i’ll remind you she’s my girlfriend, bethany” you tease, leah kisses your temple softly, “you think i don’t know that? you’re attached at the hip” she teases, “leave them, bethy, they’re cute” alessia coos, you send her a little wink of appreciation.

“they’re cute until you catch them fucking,” beth exclaims, you and leah both roll your eyes in unison, “you came to our home, unannounced, uninvited, with the spare key” leah grits out, holding onto you protectively. your hands rub up and down her back in an attempt to calm her down but leah was your defender.

“i told you i was coming over!” beth accuses, “you did fucking not!” leah yells, alessia and victoria laugh at the the thought of you and leah being caught. especially knowing how protective leah was of you. let’s just say a lot of yelling happened that day.

the bickering went back and forth for a bit as you and leah kept cuddling up together.

“you could have the same if you just go up to viv” leah shrugs, beth rolls her eyes at that, “i don’t need to be attached to my girlfriend to show our love” beth defends, “the kisses are nice, beth” you smile, looking up at leah with a smile.

beth chuckles and seems to give in, you and leah giggle as you watch beth run over and latch herself to viv, watching her struggle for a bit before giving up and pulling her into an embrace similar to yours and leah’s.

“we should be couple’s therapists,” you rest your chin on her chest, looking up at her with a soft smile. she kisses you softly again, “we can be whatever you want to be” she says cheekily, making you chuckle when her kisses make their way to your neck, jokingly biting you a couple of times to make you laugh.

—

whenever you and leah were in a large crowd, her true boyfriend nature came out that you just ate up. you were both at the pride of britain awards, her hand firmly planted on the small of your back as you walked around, posing for cameras on the red carpet.

when you two got pulled for interviews, leah tucked you into her side as you answered questions, she would focus on you intently, nodding along with your words and smiling proudly as you talked.

when you’d catch her gaze, her bright smile would make you falter slightly and you’d have to recover while her hand rubbed gently up and down your back.

you both answer generic interview until you approach a very special one. “it’s one nil” the interviewer says, leah and your eyes visibly widen, leah pressing her hand into your back as you both approached.

“are you joking?” leah smiles, “no it is!” the interviewer exclaims, “arsenal?” leah questions excitedly, “did you hear that?” leah grins at you, “yeah, baby i did” you chuckle affectionately, your head falling to her shoulder for a minute while she chats excitedly with the interviewer.

“this girl bleeds arsenal” you smile up at her, she nods without a second thought, showing off her earring with a proud smile.

“so, leah, if you had to pick between (y/n) and arsenal, who would you pick?” the interviewer says jokingly, though leah takes it seriously,

“now, hold on, i’m gonna go with my girl in arsenal, without a doubt” she says smugly, seemingly proud of her answer.

you laugh brightly, kissing her cheek fondly as she grins, “she was joking” you laugh, leah looks down at you cheekily, “don’t care” she taunts, her hand moving to rest on your hip to answer the rest of the interview.

you both got invited to an after party, making your rounds together with bright smiles, seeing people you haven’t seen for ages.

everytime you would talk to leah, she would bend her head to your level to make sure you were speaking directly into her ear, not wanting to miss out on anything you say.

and so, when you mentioned to leah you wanted to go home, you both left promptly with leah leading you out.

—

another instance of your girlfriend just radiating boyfriend energy was when you both needed to go on a bus for the lionesses on camp.

leah was talking to keira and georgia who she hadn’t seen in a while so you went on the bus first.

a few of the younger girls send you a wave so you go over with a bright smile. sitting next to maya as you entertained the young ones as they teased you about your love life.

it was until your girlfriend got on the bus with a little scowl at realising you left without her. “who do you think you are?” leah grumbles, grabbing your hand and dragging you out of the seat you were in to another one closer to the back.

you hear the laughs of the girls as leah drags you from your seat.

“leah!” you reprimand with a laugh, “who?” she whips her head towards you, about to shove you into the window seat.

“love,” you sigh, she smiles cheekily, “that’s better” she pushes you towards the window seat, draping your legs over hers as you both chatted.

leah snapped a photo of you and smiled at the result, adding it to her folder dedicated to you. “you’re so cute” leah coos, kissing you quickly and dropping her grumpy attitude. “you’re cuter” you grin, pressing another kiss to her lips before you snuggle up to her.

“i’m running out of storage” leah frowns, going to her camera roll and gasping at how many photos you have.

you lean over and gasp as well, grabbing her hand with the phone in it and looking at the screen, “baby, oh my god, what’ve you got in there” you laugh,

“i don’t know, let’s see” she makes you sit closer while you both went through her camera roll, laughing at some of the funnier pictures and shoving her phone down at the more explicit ones.

“i need to revisit this picture later” she winks at you when one of you and leah during that first day of captaincy. “leah catherine” you warn, she smirks, “sorry” she coughs.

your heart quickened when you realised how many photos she had of you, making up almost all of her camera roll.

“lovey, you can delete some photos of me, half of them are duplicates” you chuckle, leah looks at you offendedly, “excuse me? they are all different” she scoffs, flicking between two nearly identical photos while pointing out little differences.

“babe, that’s the same picture” you laugh brightly, leah stifles her own laugh, “it is not! god, just break up with me then, you awful woman, can’t even have a picture of my wife in my phone without you on my ass” she grins,

“wife? i don’t remember you proposing?” you tease, “in due time, my girl” she smiles, kissing you breathlessly until you were completely flushed in the face.

“here, i’ll help you delete some photos,” you hold your hand out for her phone and she holds it instead, “you delete a single one and i’ll really break up with you” she mocks, you gasp offendedly

“i’m wounded” you pout, she makes quick work of fixing it with a kiss, “kissed it better” she grins, squeezing your thigh gently as your head fell to her shoulder.

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

you know the drill - just pretend it’s you, ily beffy

liked by alessia and 44,232 others

leahwilliamsonn: she’s baby girl

view all comments

yourname: it was brilliant, it was powerful, it was leah williamson!!!!

↳ leahwilliamsonn: stop it

↳ yourname: never, it’s literally my job

↳ leahwilliamsonn: your job is football

↳ yourname: my job is annoying you for the rest of my life

↳ leahwilliamsonn: can’t wait xx

bethmead_: sick

↳ yourname: stop hating, bethany

↳ leahwilliamsonn: yeah, bethany

↳ viviannemiedema: yeah, bethany

↳ bethmead_: the betrayal

1K notes · View notes

mpileons · 2 months

Text

filling the void II a.putellas x sister!reader

biiiig thanks to @girlgenius1111 for brainstorming this lil fic with me and listening to my rambles - would recommend listening to after the storm by mumford and sons for max angst as that was the soundtrack in my ears as i wrote this. filling the void II a.putellas x sister!reader

you'd known you were taking a rather large risk the moment you'd arrived to the event with your friends and realized just what it was. this was of course followed by the staggering domino effect of knowing who ran and organised it lingering in the back of your mind.

you'd not been responsible for the tickets, only accepting the invitation of a night out with your co-workers turned friends, your older friends to say the least with most of them in their early to mid twenties and you still only at seventeen, though majority of people would never guess so if meeting you for the first time.

having grown up with a significant age gap between you and both of your older sisters you'd only had so many years living in your childhood home with them before suddenly they had lives and jobs and partners all of their own, and one day it felt like you blinked and suddenly you were left behind.

weekly family dinners slowly strayed to become monthly or just on occasion, trying desperately to find any sort of common ground with your sisters which might attract them back to spending time with you like you all used to.

but time stood still for no one and they got older while still seeming to refuse to accept you did too, the things they enjoyed doing together not something you ever seemed to be included in.

gone were the nights you'd all spend curled up together arguing over what movie to watch, often followed by the spontaneous late night drives you were snuck out for afterward once your mami was asleep.

bribed with the promise of ice cream the three of you would sit on the beach and listen to the waves, talking about everything and nothing for hours and hours.

sometimes when you were much younger you'd fall asleep on the sand with your head on either alba or alexia's lap, their fingers carding gently through your hair they spoke softer as to not wake you.

when it came time to leave they'd argue for a moment over who was carrying you back to the car, alexia nearly always losing as she very carefully returned you to your seat, alba sliding in the back with you as your head was cradled safely into her shoulder, arm draped protectively around your back.

you'd stir a little as the engine roared to life, lifting your head slightly as alba softly pushed it back down to slump on her shoulder again. "go to sleep fresa." your sister would coo, kissing your forehead as you'd drift off again.

fresa, little strawberry.

the small red berry your favorite fruit growing up meant as a baby your face was always stained red with the juice, finding endless amusement in smushing them against your lips rather than eating them properly.

the nickname given to you by alexia who would always laugh as she tried to feed you one and you'd almost take her finger off in your eagerness, having to be extra careful once your teeth came in and suddenly the small nips hurt.

as a small child your affinity for the fruit continued, t-shirt often stained with blotchy red patches to your lack of care when eating, your entire family now dubbing you as fresa, the name affectionate and loving and sweet.

but now, now it felt like ashes in your mouth.

growing up with such a large age gap had made both your sisters fiercely protective over you. your first year of school an eighteen year old alexia walked you there hand in hand every single day, often leaving the barcelona academy early to make sure she was there on time to pick you up again at the end of the school day.

her heart would swell as your face lit up everytime you saw her, waving goodbye to your friends and sprinting over toward her, the footballer often still in her training kit would drop down as you launched at her in a tight hug.

swinging your tiny little hand in hers she'd smile in amusement at your bookbag which was nearly the same size as you as she listened to your excited little ramble about your day, waiting patiently while you forced her to stop so you could pick a bunch of wildflowers from a small park near your home which blossomed every spring.

sometimes they were a gift for her, sometimes for your mami, even sometimes for alba though that was a lot less as your fifteen year old sisters unpredictable mood swings could be truly terrifying at times.

the year your father died was hard for the entire family, but it seemed to fall hardest on you as only six you didn't understand why he didn't come home anymore, no one really knowing how to explain it to you among their own grief.

it confused you that when you asked when he was coming home everyone just seemed to cry, your sisters often pulling you into a hug so bone crushingly tight at times it hurt your chest a little as your shirt became damp from their tears.

of course with time you understood, the tight hugs now offered rather than just taken as you did you all did your best to move forward in this new normal.

back then you'd been a family, a unit, a support system full of love and care, relishing in the time you got to spend with your two older sisters who were your biggest idols.

you cheered very loudly and very proudly when alexia played her first senior game for barcelona, sitting on alba's shoulders and watching in awe as your sister blazed up and down the pitch like a superhero.

and back then to you both of your sisters were your superheros.

but now dismissed and brushed off by the two women you'd always looked up to and held on such a pedestal growing up left you with a wound carved a lot deeper than you cared to admit or either of them cared to notice.

though of course nothing was missed by eli who with now only you at home to look after meant the pair of you grew even closer. though even eli's subtle attempts to hint to her two eldest that maybe you were feeling a little neglected and left out were waved off.

as far as alexia and alba could see by your instagram you had an active social life and a good handful of friends you hung out with regularly. why would you want to hang out with them anyway if you had friends your own age? what teenager chooses their sisters over their peers.

but what they failed to see was all the over posting and the near forceful attempts to shove a healthy social life down the throat of your followers was to try and prove you weren't a loser.

prove you went out and had fun with your friends, so it hurt even more to not be able to answer the question of why wouldn't your own sisters deem you worthy enough to invite you to do the same with them anymore?

instead now on your own you'd been forced to watch on through a phone screen as the pair of them seemed to grow closer and you suddenly felt a million miles away, some days even on a different planet despite both their homes being a mere twenty or so minutes from yours.

you'd always been smart, you weren't by any means cocky or arrogant you were just intelligent. both emotionally and logically you found yourself head and shoulders above your peers, excelling through school and graduating a whole year early at only sixteen.

you'd hoped maybe this display of maturity and achievement might allow you a small crack to slither through to spend more time with your sisters, and for the weekend following your graduation it seemed to work with both older girls plastered by your side for the entire 48 hours of celebration with your loved ones.

but of course the moment monday rolled around they were nowhere to be found when you'd woken that morning, returning to their own lives and their own homes which just didn't seem to hold a place for you in them anymore.

discussing with your school careers advisor from afar the options which were laid out in front of you now you'd finished school, you found yourself put forward for a junior position with a local pathology lab.

at first they were quite firm they were looking for someone older and with more experience, but with a gentle forceful push from your advisor you were offered the chance to interview anyway.

you'd spent the days leading up to it doing your research, you'd always had an uncanny knack for retaining information and this was no different.

you'd reached out to both your sisters for some advice, hoping they might be proud enough to come see you and help you prepare. though when all you got back were simple texts wishing you luck and not even asking you call them afterwards with how you went, you deflated like a balloon someone had taken a pin to.

the day of the interview came and passed.

it hurt that neither of your sisters bothered to check in, though given they were on yet another weekend away together with a few of alexia's teammates you tried to tell yourself they were just busy and hadn't realized, deluding yourself as the days passed that anytime your phone went off it could be them.

but it never was and you knew deep down they'd likely forgotten all about it, and in turn it felt like they had forgotten all about you.

and when after a few days you'd not heard anything back from the lab you emailed your advisor thanking her for the support but that you were unsuccessful in the position.

but not even five minutes had passed before your phone started to ring and you clicked accept, your eyes widening as you were offered both the job and even an apology.

your chest swelled at the positive feedback that you were the ideal candidate and that in fact your age was an advantage, you might have been young but you were eager to learn with a good mature head on your shoulders and that was exactly what they sought out in a junior position.

that had been twelve months ago and now you were qualified to both take and test the blood with careful supervision, having assumed you might stay in the role only a few months while you worked out what you wanted to do next you found yourself quite drawn to pathology.

over those twelve months you'd found yourself withdrawing from your school friends, struggling to find common ground now you seemed to be in an entirely different life phase to them and through no malice you all just seemed to drift apart.

with a large chasm opening in your chest at the breakdown in relationship with your sisters, your sisters who at some point in time you'd go to for everything and anything, you sought that out elsewhere.

from your very first day you'd felt welcomed and looked after, everyone assuring no question you had was stupid and that the very best lessons came from mistakes made.

so taken under the wing of a few of the more senior girls working you found yourself invited out for dinners, then to parties and birthdays, then just to hang out as that chasm lessened a little with your new older friends offering you the life advice and comfort you'd lacked with alexia and alba stepping back.

which brought you back to now as you chattered eagerly with your coworkers turned friends, all of you grateful for the weekend off since the lab only operated monday through friday.

your heart started to race and you felt your head spin as you looked up at the very large manuelas banner stretched out across the top of the entrance, though that could be attributed to the large amount of alcohol you'd already consumed at pre drinks.

you'd tried to plead with your friends before you entered the line outside the club, already able to hear the thundering bass and laughter coming from inside but all you could focus on was the knowledge your sisters girlfriend was likely already inside.

you knew at least your sister herself wasn't going to be here, having seen on her instagram that alexia was out for dinner with her agent and management team celebrating a brand new deal she'd just signed with nike for a further three years under them.

of course you found that out through instagram as well, as you did with most updates about their lives or careers. the text thread with both of your sisters pushed right down at the bottom of your contacts, rarely speaking to them much these last few months.

you’d stopped going to alexia’s football games, she hadn’t seemed to notice which only solidified she didn’t care if you were there or not. instead you spent your weekends with your new older friends, the ones who actually wanted you around and cared for you in a way you hadn’t felt from either of your sisters in a long time.

though no matter which way you explained the olga situation and your worries you'd be caught out for being underage your friends were not taking no for an answer. promising they'd look out for you and that the chances of you being noticed among the hundreds of women crammed into the club was slim to none.

so with a sigh you allowed yourself to be pulled into the line to get in, your friends doing their best to distract you as your nerves were obvious, though they eased a little by the time you finally made it to the front.

you all had your tickets scanned, that was easy enough and without an issue you stepped forward, hovering in the middle of the group as you tried not to look nervous when you handed the bouncer your fake ID.

really it wasn't all that much of a stretch and you knew you passed for nineteen always having looked a little older than your peers, especially with the amount of makeup slapped on your face right now as you shifted and subtly tugged your dress down a little as it hitched up your ass.

when you'd bought the ID you knew better than to age yourself up more than a few years, nineteen was reasonable, achievable, anything more and you knew you'd be pushing it.

before anything else you'd contemplated just stealing alba's ID, but trying to pass for twenty seven was laughable and a disaster waiting to happen so you'd abandoned that thought quite quickly.

flashing the rather hulking and stern looking bouncer a smile as charming as you could manage, you withheld your sign of relief as he handed the ID back to you and nodded for you to proceed.

your friends dragging you inside your body sagged and they all announced this called for shots before you were even a few feet into the club.

you blinked a few times as you were pulled and jostled toward the bar, slightly disorientated from the tequila pumping through your blood stream, the amount of insanely attractive women surrounding you and the flashing strobe lights which pulsed above your head as the bass vibrated the floor beneath your feet.

a shot of something shoved into your hand you couldn't help but grin as the cheers rang out celebrating you, having been given a pay raise today at work on the anniversary of your first year with the lab.

"vamos!" you all yelled and downed the drinks, your nose scrunching at the sambuca which burned its way down your throat.

doing your best not to cough or gag one of your friends clapped you on the back and kissed your cheek, grabbing your hand and tugging you with her onto the dance floor.

your friends following suit and yet another drink placed into your hand you found yourself finally able to relax a little, calmed by the mass of sweaty drunken bodies crammed into the room you'd all but dismissed your fears of being found out.

but really, you were caught out long before that first shot passed your lips.

olga had been stood on the second floor with her team, watching with eager grins as the line to enter grew longer and longer and the cheers rang out, glasses of champagne clinking as one by one her partners slipped downstairs to continue the celebrations.

olga however relished in the gentle evening breeze fanned with the fresh fragrant air of summer, having spent what felt like the last month packed into that club organizing every little detail to be as perfect as could be, so understandably she was in no rush to go and join the party just yet.

she had always enjoyed people watching, a smile curling on her lips watching the groups of atendee's below. some clearly already maybe a little too drunk she trusted her security team to keep everything at bay, in olga's mind as she did with all of her events she'd prepared a solution to any possible problem which might pop up.

well, she thought every single problem that could have arisen.

eyes scanning faces and nursing the now lukewarm glass of champagne in her hands olga's gaze passed you by without a second thought, making it a further seven faces before suddenly she snapped to attention as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her head.

her grip on the half empty glass tightened and eyes narrowed as they locked in on you, the sound of your laughter floating through the air confirming her fears as her chest tightened watching you make your way easily through the security team and disappear inside.

the moment you did her phone was already pressed to her ear, champagne abandoned as she paced back and forth, olga dismissing one of her colleagues who popped her head out to check in with a wave of her hand.

"hola, amor?"

your worries were now long gone as you downed your third drink of the hour, bodies packed against you from all angles as you and your friends sang screamed along amid your laughter.

"your round chiqui!" you felt a poke to your cheek and rolled your eyes playfully, one of your friends shoving you halfheartedly. "vale vale i'm going!" you laughed at their insistence, shuffling and jostling your way through the crowd toward the bar.

finally busting out of the throng of drunken sweaty patrons you were able to breathe properly again, standing in line and running a hand through your hair tugging out a few loose knots.

"hola." you turned your head at the new voice, a tall brunette grinning down at you, the alcohol coursing through your veins impairing your judgement a little as you smiled back and returned the greeting.

"can i buy you a drink querida?" the girl asked, tone clearly flirty as you raised an eyebrow at her forwardness. you opened your mouth to reply however a different pair of eyes caught yours from the bar and suddenly your heart dropped into your stomach.

"no, lo siento." you apologised before turning to make your way away, the girl shrugging and turning to another woman on her other side, repeating the question as you pushed your way back in trying to find your friends.

though the longer your eyes searched the more desperate you became and so abandoning your plan you decided to just make a break for it.

"oye! pequeña?" your blood ran cold at the familiar voice calling out behind you, eyes widening as you ignored the urge to turn around, instead making a beeline for the door, mumbling apologies as you elbowed your way through the crowd.

you flashed a nervous smile to the bouncer whose eyebrows furrowed but before he could say a word you'd taken off, the man deeming he had other priorities as he made no move to follow you.

by the time olga made it to the front you were already gone, the security team confirming you'd left as olga dismissed their questions as to why she was looking for you, the older girl needing to keep this as under wraps as possible as she hurried upstairs already on the phone to her girlfriend.

your uber account linked to eli's you couldn't call one of those, so it was looking like you were walking home considering you didn't have the faintest idea of what bus would get you there.

you were grateful that the club itself was in the centre of town, plenty of people wandering around the warm summer night as the time had now passed midnight.

you were so caught up in your own head you hadn't noticed the car pulling up on the curb behind you, the slam of the door pulling you from your thoughts as you glanced behind you out of curiosity.

but the sight which met your eyes had them widening and the breath quickly snatched from your lungs, the furious hazel orbs burning a hole in your head.

"tienes muchos problemas." your sister growled, both of you locked in a stand off as you sized one another up and you swallowed hard, eyes darting around nervously.

"no!" alexia warned as she took a step closer and you bolted, quickly snatching your heels off and sprinting away as your sister took off after you.

"mierda!" alexia swore as you quickly disappeared, returning back to the car and instructing olga to drive as it was now suddenly a race to see who got home first.

your chest heaved, calves throbbed and lungs burned as you finally stopped running, almost home now and profusely sweating out the alcohol which was pumping through you.

adrenaline and fear having carried you to your final destination everything started to catch up as a wave of nausea washed over your body and you careered over, throwing up the remaining contents of your stomach onto the grass.

wiping your mouth with the back of your hand you forced yourself to your feet, darting around the back of the house and moving the trash bin as quietly as you could, shaking your head to try and remove the dizziness as you climbed up.

meanwhile back around the front alexia and olga arrived right as alba was dropped off by one of her friends, having been at manuelas herself and by the luck of god not running into you she'd only just checked her phone while in the bathroom.

"where is she?" alba asked confused as alexia jumped out, kissing her girlfriend goodnight and promising she'd be home soon, olga sensing this was now a family matter as alba waved and she was gone.

"joder when i get my hands on her, ten foot under in a grave!" alexia warned coldly, body tensed with rage as the two made their way to the front door, alexia pounding her fist against it and tapping her foot impatiently.

"ale!" alba pushed her hand away as she did it again, the door swinging open before another word could be said. "Dios mío. what is wrong?" eli questioned worriedly, alba paling a little as alexia rolled her eyes unfazed.

"mami do you know where your daughter is right now?" alexia asked coldly, eli frowning at the question. "i know two of them have just woken me up at nearly one in the morning." the woman responded calmly, raising an eyebrow as alexia huffed and gently moved the shorter woman out of the way striding inside.

"alexia what-" eli started, the blonde making a beeline for your bedroom as alba closed the front door, alexia all but kicking your door open as you froze like a deer in headlights, halfway through the window.

"oh que perfecto!" your sister was hauling you the rest of the way inside as you stumbled and almost fell, wincing as she grabbed your ear and twisted hard causing you to hiss and try to pull her hand off to no avail as you were dragged across the room.

"alexia? let her go ya mismo!" eli ordered as your sister shoved you to sit down on the sofa, towering over you with a murderous glare as you tried to stand again, quickly abandoning that idea as you slouched backwards with a frown, crossing your arms over your chest.

"mami do you know where she has been? where we found her? what she has been doing?" alexia was on the brink of exploding, and there was a time where perhaps you'd have teased her for the vein in her head looking ready to pop but long gone were those days.

"hija?" eli sighed tiredly, raising an eyebrow as she took a seat in the armchair in the corner of the room, alba and alexia's glares trained on you as you refused to meet their eyes.

"i was out with my friends mami, like i told you i was." you answered with a shrug causing your sisters to scoff. "tell her where." alexia continued to probe as you rolled your eyes, digging your grave a little deeper but beyond the point of caring now.

"at a club." you mumbled, picking at a loose thread of your dress. "más fuerte!" alexia growled in warning. "no, i heard her." eli held up a hand and you chanced a look up to meet her eyes, face unreadable.

"she was at manuelas mami, at olga's event in a club drinking with women twice her age! drinking, at seventeen in a club!" alexia hissed, fists balled by her side as once again your eyes rolled.

"you roll your eyes at me one more time hermanita and i will turn them black!" alexia exploded, taking a step toward you as alba grabbed her wrist and tugged her back.

"some friends hermana, sneaking you into a club and buying you alcohol? group of idiotas!" alba snarked adding in her two cents as your jaw clenched and you bit your tongue.

"do you have any idea how much trouble olga could be in if someone reported that there was minors at the club and drinking? she could lose her license, maybe lose her business, her team would be investigated-" alexia ranted on and on as you sighed quietly.

"no one would have found out alexia, stop being so dramatic." you muttered, and if you were all in a cartoon you were sure steam would have poured from her ears.

"pequeña since when are you this stupid? this reckless? this selfish!" alba spoke up again, shaking her head in disbelief, disappointed in you while alexia remained angry.

the last word caused a bitter smile to be painted across your face, body vibrating with a chuckle as alexia's eyes widened. "is this funny to you hermanita? are you laughing right now? because i will give you something to laugh about if-" alexia warned, cut off by eli clearing her throat in a silent warning.

"i went out with my friends and did a few shots, lock me up alexia!" your voice dripped with sarcasm as you pouted and held up your wrists mockingly as if ready for them to be cuffed.

"hija." eli's stern tone cut through that as your hands dropped and you sighed. "mami por favor i am tired and it is late, can i go to bed?" you asked quietly, eli's face softening as the older woman took pity and nodded.

"sit your ass down hermana we aren't done here!" alexia warned as you stood, her words ignored as you moved to kiss eli's cheek as she drew you into a hug, murmuring an apology to her as your sisters watched on in disbelief.

"mami. really?" alba scoffed as she gestured for you to head to your room and you shot your sisters a filthy glare. "you ruin my night, alexia's night, olga's night and you have nothing to say pequeña?" alba accused as you only shrugged.

"i was fine, i was safe, you had no reason to come here. you ruined your own night!" you snarled back, the sudden tone catching your sister off guard, not used to you pushing back like this and certainly not expecting that as a response.

"sit. down." alexia's larger form blocked you from moving, glaring down at you as you both stood chest to chest. "no. move, puta." you growled, the blondes eyes widening as you tried to push past her and she grabbed the material of your dress in her hands and shoved you back harshly into the wall.

"go on la reina, hit me!" you challenged with a twisted smile at the pure rage in her eyes as you raised your chin up, daring her to make contact.

"alexia! déjala ir, now." eli stood and warned firmly, alexia's grip loosening as you pushed at her chest sending her stumbling backwards. "you don't scare me anymore alexia. i hate you both! stay out of my life." you hissed, both your sisters eyes widening further at the venom in your tone.

but at your words and obvious lack of remorse toward the situation all the midfielder could see was red.

"careless, stupid, selfish little accident!" alexia hurled back angrily as you paused by your door, hot tears burning at your eyes as her words cut you deep like a dagger dragged down your back.

but you wouldn't let her see that they hurt so you refused to turn around and give her the satisfaction.

your anger deflating and now numb and tired you stepped into your room, door closing with a gentle click and a thud of your lock as alexia stood chest heaving with rage watching you go.

"she's seventeen drinking in a club and she gets a kiss on the cheek and sent to bed? mami!" alba echoed her sisters thoughts with a scoff as alexia watched your door for a moment more, your light turning out before she stepped away.

"she's a baby mami! our baby. she is out drinking and dancing and doing god knows what with older women, who don't know that she is a minor! are you blind? deaf? do you not care about her? her safety? she needs rules, consequences, discipline! she is out of control." alexia struggled out, eli fixing her with an unimpressed stare at her words.

"she is not a baby anymore and it would do the two of you some good to remember that hija's, if you have any hope of fixing this." eli spoke calmly as both your sisters faces scrunched up.

"fix it? por favor we have to be sorry? for what mami you are joking!" alba laughed bitterly, shaking her head and shooting a glare at your door with half a mind to kick it in and lay into you herself if no one else would.

"both of you. venga aquí." eli nodded for them both to follow her as she lead her two eldest daughters out onto the balcony, ordering they take a seat as she firmly closed the doors, your ears not needing to catch wind of any of this if you were still awake.

you were, sobs muffled into your pillow as your eyes stung from the salty tears pooled in them and the smeared makeup not yet wiped off your face, mascara stained tears carving their destructive little path down your cheeks as your body shook violently at the effort to try and stay as quiet as possible.

"mami it is late we-" alexia started, the night air cooling her flushed cheeks as eli took a seat across from them. "no, you woke me up and caused all of this, and now you will both listen to me." the woman warned as both girls nodded.

"before tonight, when is the last time either of you saw your hermana?" eli asked calmly as alexia and alba both shared a look, clearly struggling to remember.

"maybe your birthday? but mami-" alexia started, silenced by a hand held up her way. "my birthday was three weeks ago hija's, and it was just dinner. what did you do afterwards?" eli's tone was a little sharper now.

"we went to ale's house, i wanted to see olga since she returned from her trip." alba answered this time as eli nodded. "and did you invite your sister?" both girls hesitated before shaking their heads, starting to sense where this conversation was headed.

"but mami-" "no, i will ask the questions."

"tell me ale, how long has your sister worked at the lab?" eli asked quite casually as alexia opened and closed her mouth a few times. "eh, a couple of months?" she guessed, even alba wincing at that as eli hummed.

"no, one year. one year today, well yesterday. that is why she went out with her friends, to celebrate. i knew she was going to drink, she was honest with me about that as she always is. we went to dinner together on friday to celebrate her achievements." eli informed as alexia and alba shifted a little uncomfortably.

"she didn't tell us." alba dared to speak up, eyes dropping to the table at the fierce look from the older woman across the table. "no she didn't. i asked if she wanted to and do you know what she said said?" eli questioned, neither girl daring to answer.

"your sister said why mami? they won't care, they don't have time for a stupid dinner." eli's tongue cut like a sword through the tense silence rolling in like a fog around the table. "time. something the both of you no longer have for your sister it would seem." eli hummed, crossing her arms and resting them on the table.

"mami we-" "no, i am not done."

"growing up the pair of you have always had one another, three years apart and always close. always filled with love, always looking out for each other like we raised you to. always together." eli started as alexia awkwardly fiddled with the hem of her shorts.

"i know your sister is younger, much younger. but never did i think that would ever mean the two of you do not care for her and look out for her the way you looked out for one another growing up. you had each other, but when you both moved out she had no one but me." eli's tone became harsher as both girls sank deeper into their chairs, both on the verge of throwing up with guilt as her words hit home.

"i am partially at fault as i should have said something sooner. i know you both love her, i do. but she does not, she does not think you care and i can see why. i watched her try desperately to gain your attentions once you both left, i watched her heart crack that little bit more when she was rejected again and again. and it broke my heart because that is not how i raised any of my girls to be!" eli continued as alexia swallowed a hard lump in her throat and alba stared blankly down at the ground.

"i am getting older hijas, and so is she. i can see her now going backwards, she pulls away from you both and if you do not make attempts to fix this then she will pull too far and she will be out of reach. is this what you want?" both girls were quick to shake their heads.

"then do better, find a way to fix this. go to your own homes and think about why your sister does not feel she is welcome in them anymore, and why she no longer feels she holds a place in your life or that either of you deserve space in hers. before it is too late all together, you both need to fix what you have broke."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

fear not there is a p2 coming! and that will eventually after a lot more angst, have some comfort

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mpileons · 2 months

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having the worlds worst writers block rn (thank you uni) but here’s a sneak peak of my wips currently :,) hopefully one of them will be up this week if i can beat this writers block somehow lol

#woso community #woso #arsenal womens #woso x reader #barcelona femeni #fcb femeni #woso fanfic #barca femeni x reader #mapi leon #lucy bronze #lia walti

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mpileons · 2 months

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I just read your Leah fic and girl you write really well, congrats!

thank you so much love!! i appreciate it 🥹

#mpileons asks

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mpileons · 2 months

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Alexia makes her return once more and underlines Barcelonas victory

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mpileons · 2 months

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I’m in love with their love

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mpileons · 2 months

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Our New Normal Pt. 3 | Leah Williamson x Reader

Our New Normal 3/4 (pt.1) (pt.2)

Ding.

The ding of the elevator interrupts your train of thought. The closer you are to her flat, the more nervous you are about the inevitable. You had to tell her tonight. You had to tell Leah that you are transferring to Arsenal. This was the first time you had ever kept something so important from your best friend. The guilt was nearly eating you up inside and while you were nervous about how she might react to your news, you were ready to get rid of the weight baring down on your shoulders during the past couple of weeks.

You are gently pulled out of the elevator by the blonde, one of your hands tightly clasped in hers. You and Leah walk the short journey to her front door, the warm sensor lights illuminating the way as you walk further down the familiar hallway. It’s hard to ignore the way your steps are synchronised, a reminder of how easy and effortless it feels like to be with the Arsenal defender.

But that could all change after tonight.

You begin to tug your hand out of hers so she can grab her house key, but she tightens her grip. Instead, Leah uses the hand that was pulling your luggage to fish out her key from the pocket of her trousers to unlock the front door. Your hand was safely intertwined in hers the entire time. This was normal. While Leah has always been an affectionate person, especially with you, you had a feeling that this was more than that. You had no doubt that the blonde can probably sense the change in your mood– she could read your cues and signals better than anyone. Leah could probably tell that you are pulling away from her, even if she doesn’t know the reason why, and she was stopping you from doing so. Literally.

——————————————

You never realised how much you detested coats and jackets, but now you have come to the realisation that they weren’t your favourite thing. First of all, some coats on the market aren’t insulated enough to keep you warm, and it can be very hard to find the perfect coat without spending so much money. Secondly, having a coat on meant that you have no choice but to let go of Leah’s hand in order to slip off your coat. Once your hand left hers, you immediately miss the comfort it provided. Not only were you enjoying the feeling of her hand in hers, but it gave you something to focus on instead of the onslaught of worrying thoughts that have begun to fill your mind. Every insecurity, doubt and uncertainty about how this night was going to go were now on the forefront of your mind.

“Right. I’m gonna order a takeaway” Leah walks over to switch the lights on, and her entire flat comes to life. She drops her keys onto the porcelain trinket tray that you had bought for her and wanders further into her flat. Leah has a tendency to misplace her keys, so you suggested setting up a designated place where she can leave her keys and so far there haven’t been any incidents. Yet.

You follow in behind her, slipping your feet into a pair of shearling slippers that the blonde had bought for you a few months ago. They were terribly overpriced, thanks to the iconic “H” cut-out that proudly boasts the designer, but you couldn’t refuse her very expensive gift when she had excitedly pulled out a matching pair for herself.

Walking straight into the lounge, you spot the merinos wool throw blanket that you had bought and left at her house. It was also a very expensive purchase, and not one you would usually make, but you justified it by saying it’s for both of you. By the corner of the window, you see the Kentia Palm plant, nestled in a ceramic plant pot, that you routinely nag the blonde to mist regularly. The bookshelf across the sofa proudly displays frame photographs of the most special people in Leah’s life. Some with family, some with friends, and some with you. There were pictures from your early years at England camp, playing for the youth teams. There were also photos outside of football, photos that never made the instagram feed and were only just for your eyes.

There are remnants of you all over her home.

After delivering your luggage to the guest room, she walks over to you and cups your rosy cheeks in her hands. “Put something comfy on and warm up, baby.”

It wasn’t long before you and Leah were seated at the table, a selection of all of your favourite Chinese takeaway dishes spread out in front of you. The aroma of sweet and sour chicken wafted through the air, mingling with the savoury scent of beef and broccoli; crispy spring rolls beckoned from their perch on a porcelain plate, making it almost difficult to choose which dish to taste first. Without further hesitation, the both of you began to tuck in. Together, you both sampled each dish with gusto, comfortable conversation and shared laughter filled the usual silence of the defender’s flat. Leah animatedly told a story about the time Kyra pranked a few of the girls on the team by hiding their boots and shin pads around the training grounds and sending them on a wild goose chase to find them.

As the meal drew to a close, you both leaned back in your chairs, sated and content. Now was probably the right time to tell the Arsenal defender about your transfer. You put your chopsticks down and turn your gaze at your best friend.

“Leah, can we talk…”

“Sounds serious.” Leah puts her own pair of chopsticks down on top of her napkin before she pushes her plate to the side. “You alright?”

“Yeah. I-it’s nothing bad. At least I hope not for you”

Leah leans forward in her seat. There’s a small smile on her face, but her eyebrows are furrowed slightly in concern. “You’re making me nervous, baby”

“I wanted to talk to you about my transfer…”

“Look, y/n.”

A brief pause of silence.

Leah takes a deep breath before continuing “I want you to know that I wouldn’t be mad if you signed for Chelsea. Honestly. It is still fucking weird to think about it though and I’m seriously considering knocking you on the head a few times– but if they had put down an offer and you want it then go for it.”

“That’s great, Lee, but-“

The blonde runs a hand through her hair in frustration, a habit she must’ve picked up from being around you so often. “I still can’t believe Arsenal didn’t put down an offer– I mean, you’re one of the best midfielders in the world right now. Seriously.”

“Lee–“

“Although it’s a bit weird that you would still consider playing for my rival club, like among all the wsl teams out there, you chose the club that happened to my club’s direct rival– wait does that mean we’re rivals now–”

“LEAH”

“WHAT”

“I signed for Arsenal”

One breath in, one breath out.

Two beats of your pulse.

“…fuck off.”

“Leah!”

“Don’t fucking joke about that” You wince at the sound of her chair scrapping against the hardwood floors as the blonde abruptly stands up. Her hands on her hips, face flushed red in anger. Annoyance even, perhaps. Her lips are pressed together firmly and her eyebrows are still furrowed.

“I’m not fucking joking. I signed for Arsenal”

Silence.

Two more beats of your pulse.

“Y/N listen to me– my heart is up to my fucking ears right now, and I swear to bloody god if you are saying all this just to have a laugh–“

The blonde in front of you begins to gesture wildly, hands pointing here and there but her posture remains stiff. A flicker of uncertainty danced across her gaze, mirroring the storm of thoughts that were probably racing through her mind at this very moment. The slight tremor in her hands betrayed the internal struggle as she sought to manage the anxiety probably bubbling within.

Every so often, Leah’s lips parted as if she wanted to speak, but it was as if the words remained trapped in the hesitancy of the moment. A subtle, rhythmic tapping of her foot on the floor betrayed the restlessness, a visual of the nervous anticipation coursing through her veins. You hear an audible hitch in her next inhale

and then silence again.

You give into the silence for a moment. Your own hands are trembling and your heart was pounding but you want to give the girl in front of you the time to process it. It takes a lot to leave Leah Williamson speechless, and if it were a different situation you would’ve teased and bragged about how you had been the one to leave her completely speechless.

But now was not the time to joke around.

After another moment of silence, you could not take it anymore. The quiet was almost suffocating at this point, when it reality it had probably only been a few minutes.

You expected the blonde to be happy– to be jumping for joy over the fact that the two of you will now be teammates for country and club. However, the lack of reaction was making you second guess your decision to sign for her club.

“Leah…” You start, but then stop yourself. You hate seeing the uncertainty in her gaze. You hate the way the defender in front of you is hunched over slightly, almost as if she was trying to make herself smaller, seeking a shield against the external world that seemed to loom large around her.

You take a deep breath and start again. “I’m not lying. I did sign for Arsenal. I wouldn’t lie to you–“

You wanted to explain things to her but she cut you off.

“You made me think you were leaving me” Hearing those words leave her lips nearly broke you.

Your chair rattles at the sheer force of how quickly you stood up to level her stare. “I– I know, Lee, but I wanted to surprise you”

“For weeks I was stressin’ about where you would be moving to. I was trying to calculate how far Lyon was from London– I was fucking looking up plane tickets, trying to figure out when I can come visit–“

You wanted to run. Like you normally would. You hated seeing the look on your best friend’s face. A face so familiar that it became a source of solace and comfort during your time of need. Now, however, the face looking back at you was filled with disappointment and distrust.

If it were some other time, you would be out of that room. You hated confrontation. You hated the feeling of being forced to say what you feel on the spot because the thought of accidentally blurting something horrible out in the heat of the moment terrified you.

But you weren’t going to run this time. Not when Leah was being vulnerable and honest. Your usually strong and capable defender looked like she was the one that needed defending right now. But how were you going to do that when the one thing that was hurting her right now

…was you.

“I’m sorry, Leah. I really am” Your hands were trembling. You felt like you were losing her, and yet she was never even yours to begin with.

You close your eyes, taking a moment to will your heart to stop pounding so hard. “I would’ve told you earlier– honestly. But then I started to have second thoughts– I mean I started to worry about–“

The next words were stuck in your throat. Tears had started to well up in your eyes, and the soon enough your vision of the blonde in front of you was drowned out by tears. You hastily start wiping away your tears when you feel another hand reach out to grab hold of your arm. A warm thumb gently glides across the span of your cheeks, brushing your tears away lightly, the touch barely.

“Don’t cry. I can’t stay mad at you if you cry” It was said in a hushed murmur. Like she had just divulged in a secret, in a confession.

You push her arm away slightly. She was standing a little too close. Close enough that you could fall into her and she would catch you. But you wanted to explain things before you gave into the urge to run away like always.

“I really didn’t mean to lie to you. I swear, Leah. I was worried that you wouldn’t like me being around you to much–”

An eyebrow raise from the blonde was her only reply. Leah had expressed to you multiple times that she wanted you at Arsenal in passing over the years, but you couldn’t help the small nagging doubt that clouded your mind once in a while.

Leah chooses to remain silent for the most part. In the many years that she has known you, this is the first time she has ever seen you lay all your cards out right in front of her, so there was no chance in bloody hell that she was going to interrupt you. Leah often joked that you were the master of avoidance. Whenever a difficult conversation loomed on the horizon, you would flee from the confrontation rather than face it head-on. It wasn't that you were afraid of conflict, but rather that you found it easier to run away than to confront the issue at hand.

She had gotten used to your flighty responses every time you argued, so this change was a surprise to her.

And she was so proud of you.

Her usually reserved and collected girl was pouring her heart out, and she was more than ready to piece it back together again– once you were done speaking, of course.

A lock of your hair falls in front of your face but before you can reach up to push it away, Leah does it for you. Her touch was feather-light as she tucks your hair behind your ear. This was normal. It was a simple act, one she had done countless of times before, but each time it felt like a reaffirmation of the unspoken intimacy between the two of you.

You grab her hand before it can fall back to her side. You need something to steady you as your world falls on its axis, and Leah was your anchor. She gives your hand a squeeze, taking a step closer to you.

Gone were the piercing blues earlier, instead they were now replaced by a softer, warmer look. She gives your hand another squeeze when she notices your slightly dazed expression. “Continue, baby”

The familiar nickname gives you butterflies. Like it always does.

“I was beginning to second guess my transfer because I was scarred that us being around each other so much would ruin our friendship. Y-you know that saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder? Yeah, well what happens if we see each other too much?”

“Baby, what the fuck are you on about”

“That saying that–“

“I don’t give a fuck what a saying says” She air-quotes with her fingers. “I want you with me all the time.”

The defender squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, trying to suppress the urge to simultaneously yell out in frustration and laugh. Not at you, but at your absurd idea that she would grow tired of you. She finds that idea laughable.

“Y/N, listen to me. I was upset because I wanted to be there for you. We did almost everything together. Remember when we signed our first professional contract, we did it together–”

You cut her off. “Actually you signed yours first. Mine was a couple days after because the mens team had a match at Old Trafford”

The familiar, unimpressed look the blonde gave you had you fighting to a grin. Maybe everything will be alright.

“I saw the comments when you announced your transfer. I saw the fucking nasty ones too, about how you were selfish for leaving United, and I wanted to be there for you every step of the way. To protect you from all that”

“You can’t protect me from everything, Lee”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t fucking try”

Leah takes a deep breath before focusing her gaze at you again. Her voice was quieter this time, timid. “I just feel like you’ve essentially shunned me from such a big step of your career. Like this is your first club transfer and I wasn’t a part of it in any way– not that I think I deserve to be because it’s your careerbut like– fuck we usually did everything together ya know..”

“I know I probably sound so selfish right now, y/n, but I felt like you didn’t want me to be a part of that. I felt like you were pulling away from me”

You frown. You were so focused of keeping this entire transfer surprise away from Leah that you did not expect her to feel left out in the process. Maybe you should’ve been more attentive. Whenever Leah would ask about your transfer, you would brush off her questions and quickly change the subject. You didn’t think that by doing so, you were making her feel like you didn’t care about her feelings.

“I’m sorry, Leah. I didn’t think that by keeping this away from you, I was pushing you away. I was just so focused on surprising you…”

“S’alright. I do feel like I’m overstepping–“

“No. You have every right to feel this way, Lee. You’re a huge part of my life and you’re right– we do everything together”

“Yeah. Well it seems like we’ll be doing a lot of things together from now on” Her tone was now light, and playful.

Leah finally breaks the looming tension with a smile, but not just any smile. She’s smiling the kind of smile that she only reserves just for you. With her lips curved in a tender crescent, her smile held the promise of a thousand intimate secrets, like the ones shared and whispered at 2 am in the morning during England camp. Her blue eyes, now alight with affection and warmth, drawing you into their depths like a moth to a flame. It wasn't just the physicality of her smile that captivated you—it was the way it spoke volumes without uttering a single word. It was the silent reassurance it offered whenever she knew you needed it.

In Leah’s smile, you found solace, understanding, and an unwavering sense of home.

“We’ll see how we get on when we’re together 24/7” You mutter, still not fully convinced.

“Baby, listen to me” The blonde cups your face in her hands, lightly stroking your cheek with her thumb. “Quit being such a worrywart. Yeah, we’ll probably get on each other’s nerves. That’s normal. I’ll do things that’ll piss you off, you’ll tell me to go ‘fuck myself’ and vice versa. We’ll still disagree on things– like how you’ll probably nag me about forgetting my boots at training, or how I’ll have to remind you about refilling the petrol in the car because I have an irrational fear of you being stranded somewhere with no petrol”

Leah waits a moment, wanting you to process what she just said. Her gaze firm, unwavering. When she notices your eyes start to water again, she knows it’s not because you’re sad or angry. She knows you’re just overwhelmed. She pulls you close, and tucks your face into the crook of her neck. With your tears wet against her neck and your arms hanging limp by your side, she can almost feel your exhaustion– both from the events of day and the emotional rollercoaster you both had to endure today.

You welcome her embrace, wanting to bury yourself in the safety and comfort of her arms. She faintly smells like her favourite perfume, delicate notes of jasmine and cedar wood still cling to a warm spot on the side of her neck. You nestle further into her.

After a minute or two, Leah pulls back slightly. She gently grabs your face out from where it was buried in her neck, so you could meet eye to eye again. She frowns at the sight of your tear-stained cheeks, and uses her thumbs to wipe away the lingering tracks of moisture that streaked down your cheeks.

“Enough tears” She mutters, bringing your face close and resting her forehead against yours. A whispered secret only meant for the two of you. “You’re breaking my heart, baby”

She presses a kiss on your forehead, her lips soft and warm against your skin. “Do you understand what I said earlier? About not being a worrywart?” “m’not a worrywart” The blonde chuckles at the pout that you give her. Your eyes are still glassy, the tip of your nose red, and your hair was a mess, but to her you were the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Bloody adorable too.

You poke her playfully on her side, giggling when she jerks away and narrows her eyes at you, but her lips are already curled upwards.

“I understand, Lee.”

The next thing you know the blonde has wrapped her arms around you waist, lifting you up and leaving your feet dangling in midair. You squeal and quickly move to wrap your arms around her neck tightly. You knew she wouldn’t drop you. You trusted her more than anyone else in the world. You were just looking for an excuse to hold her close. You laugh by her ear as she spins the both of you around a few times, excited cheers and whoops replace the tense silence earlier.

When she stops spinning and your feet are planted firmly back on the ground again, you both stand there grinning at each other before she breaks the moment.

“You’re now a Gunner.” “Woahhh hang on a minute– ” Placing both of your hands on the blonde’s chest, you push her away lightly. You are also hyperaware of her hands that are still resting on your hips, a thumb hooked onto one of your jean’s belt hoop.

Ignoring the pounding of your heart from Leah spinning you around just a second ago, and now from the mere proximity of her, you narrow your eyes at her.

“Lee, that gave me the ick. Don’t call me that” You groan, but your whining falls deaf to her ears.

“Y/L/N is now a bloody fucking Gunner” She practically screams at your face, her smile growing at your less-than-enthusiastic face.

The blonde then abruptly pauses her celebrations “Bet your spurs fan dad wasn’t too happy”

“Oh he was fumin’” Leah laughs loudly at that. She and your dad often butted heads, especially during derby days when the mens team were playing against each other. They would purposely rile each other up and taunts would be thrown throughout the match, but it was all in good fun. Leah didn’t know it, but your dad would secretly root for Arsenal when she was on the pitch. When you called him out for it, he said he was “cheering for Leah, not Arsenal.”

In the moody lighting of Leah’s kitchen, shadows dance across the walls like silent spectres, lucky to have been granted a peek into what seems to be the beginning of a new chapter– not just for you– but for Leah as well.

Leah, who had been by your side for many, many years. Leah who has been your friend, your confidant, and your lifeline.

“…so we’re actually going to be teammates at Arsenal, huh?”

In the corners of this kitchen, shadows linger like forgotten whispers. The soft glow of the pendant ceiling light that you had given her as a house-warming gift hangs above the dining table, casting a gentle hue over the both of you. The flickering flames of the candles that decorate the table dance across the room like fireflies in the night.

“It appears that way”

It’s hard to ignore the way shadows dance across her cheeks, the soft light tracing the contours of her jawline and the arch of her brows. Her eyes, darker than usual in the dimness, glimmer. The faint light catches the sparkle in her eyes, leaving you almost breathless from the intensity of her gaze.

She takes a step closer to you, until you could almost feel her breath as it fans across your face.

“And we’re going to be seeing each other a lot”

She reaches out to take your hand in hers.

“Yep. At training, recovery, meal times, team meetings…”

Your eyes are drawn to the way her tongue peeks out to wet her bottom lip. A nervous habit of hers that you have become familiar with over the years. Her lips part slightly, catching the light in a soft gleam, their natural colour deepened. She cranes her neck down slightly, forcing your gaze away from her lips and back to meet her eyes. If she noticed you staring at her lips, she doesn’t mention it. Instead, with her voice barely above a whisper, she began to speak.

“Move in with me”

For a brief moment, it was just silence as you both take in what this means for the both of you. This kitchen became a place of quiet refuge from the outside world. Here, you told your best friend and the woman who has somehow crammed her way into your heart that your lives will change.

You were not only going to be teammates who only saw each other during national duty camp, but now your lives will be intertwined even further. Here, amidst the flickering shadows and muted glow of her kitchen, time seems to stand still. Tonight, you will bask in these moments of intimacy and secrets that are only meant for the two of you, before the rest of the world found out.

“Yes.”

The much much-awaited chapter was worth it. Hopefully I met all your expectations (if you had any lol). It was a bit angsty-ish but I hope the ending made it worth it considering I was thinking about leaving it on a cliffhanger

but I'm not that evil.

Here's to breaking more glass ceilings. Happy International Women's day, my loves!

-- kisses, butter.

463 notes · View notes

mpileons · 2 months

Text

A Williamson in Trouble (Alessia Russo x Williamson!Reader)

“Who would you say is the naughtiest in the team?” The little kid interviewing Leah asked.

“The naughtiest?” Leah laughed as the little girl nodded. “Hmm maybe Katie McCabe because she is always getting yellow cards” Leah smirked. “But also maybe my sister, she is very bold too. But not me, I’m a good girl” Leah giggled.

It was true, you were known as a bit of a trouble maker. Leah, the golden child, could do no wrong in your parents, particularly your dad’s, eyes. So you decided from an early age to do enough wrongs for the both of you.

Leah was 30 seconds late to training? You were 30 minutes. Leah got a yellow card? You got a straight red. Leah got into heated arguments with people? You got into heated fist fights. You were protective of those you cared about, even though there was very few people that you could admit you cared for.

That’s what she loved and hated about you the most. She, being your Arsenal and England team mate, Alessia Russo.

You boiled her blood, but haunted her mind on a daily basis. She hated how dismissive and idiotic you were. But she also loved how arrogant and senseless you were.

Growing up, you’d always been a bit of a daredevil. Leah was always such a well mannered child, teenager and now adult. But you were not and never going to be that. You weren’t disrespectful, per se, but you were definitely trouble.

Where you seemed to be, trouble followed.

You were in the boxing ring with Katie, sparring, as she kept her hands directly in front of her face.

“I’m not gonna punch you in the face” you smirked.

“You said that the last time” she protested as you laughed.

“Come on, it’s no fun when you cover your face for the whole thing” you frowned.

“It’s also no fun when someone who’s as big as a fuckin’ tree is trying to punch me in the face” Katie moaned.

“You’re useless. I’ll just go use an actual punching bag” you groaned as she took a breath of relief. The last time you’d done this, she was left with a black eye which had you crying laughing at her for an entire week.

You two were best friends though, and what’s a black eye between friends?

“Russo, want a go?” Katie jabbed the striker lightly as she came into the gym.

“I’m fine Macca” Alessia laughed. “Have you seen Leah?” She asked.

“Nope. Just Williamson #2” Katie pointed over at you at the bench. You’d just finished teasing a scared looking Kyra who was trying to stretch. You had gotten bored quickly of that, when she wasn’t reacting, and went off to lift some weights.

“She actually might be helpful for this” Alessia admitted, as she left a clueless Katie standing alone, watching on.

“Y/n” Alessia waved in your face, trying to get your attention as you had your headphones on. You knew the blonde wasn’t a big fan of yours, which you didn’t really care about. At least you told yourself that you didn’t care.

You took your headphones off, but didn’t warrant the girl with a reply. You were stubborn like that when you knew someone didn’t like you.

“Can you help me with something?” She asked.

“With what?” You frowned.

“There’s a light flashing in my car, and I know you or Leah would know what it is” she replied. You and Leah liked cars. During Covid you impulsively bought an old one and decided you would both fix it up. You’d done about 99% of the work, although Leah had taken 100% of the credit.

“I’m busy” you shrugged, throwing your headphones back on. Alessia groaned and went off to find your sister.

“You’re so annoying” she mumbled as she left you be. You hadn’t turned back on your music yet, so you heard her comment. She frustrated the life out of you.

She walked off out to her car, finding your sister en route who had a look at the car, but ultimately couldn’t fix it. The two of them both came back into the gym shortly afterwards to find everyone pretty spread out, but a lot of eyes were on you.

Your headphones now replaced with earphones and you were punching the life out of a boxing bag.

Katie gave Leah a knowing look as Leah waddled over towards you.

“Relax there Mike Tyson” Leah said calmly and put her hands on your shoulders.

“I’m busy” you huffed before feeling her tug you towards her.

“Never too busy for me” she smirked as she lead you far, far away from the bag that looked rightly battered.

Alessia didn’t understand you and Leah’s relationship. You were both so different. You were always so angry and uptight and Leah so approachable and pleasant. But she loved you so much regardless.

That chemistry was also seen on the pitch, as you played in midfield and defence, just like her.

“You two need to fuck it out” Katie laughed at Alessia.

“What?” Alessia’s head snapped around.

“Cut it out. She said cut it out” Caitlin quickly said, squeezing Katie’s leg.

“Cut what out?” Alessia asked with her hands on her hips.

“She’s not that bad. Just give her a bit more of a chance” Beth shrugged as Alessia rolled her eyes.

You were insufferable to her.

“What’s got you so angry?” Leah asked.

“I’m not angry” you shook your head.

“So you just like to permanently damage gym equipment?” Leah laughed.

“You know I do” you smirked.

“Come on, mum wants us over for dinner so go get changed” she informed you as you groaned. “It’s not up for debate” she added. You loved your mum, you were just in no mood of a family dinner tonight.

You headed into the empty changing rooms, having a quick shower and getting changed.

As you were walking out with your bag slung over your shoulder, you don’t know how Katie and Kyra’s bags caught your eye. They just looked so tempting.

You hid Kyra’s bag on a high up shelf that sticks out just below the ceiling, meanwhile Katie’s bag was thrown into the showers and you pressed the sensor on.

You walked out of the changing rooms with a smirk plastered across your face.

“What did you do?” Leah frowned.

“Nothing, why?” You asked continuing to smirk.

She had a glance in and everything looked in order before she nodded to herself and you walked to the car park.

Your mum knew you were a trouble maker. You’d consistently got in trouble in school growing up and you were always getting into fights.

You’d been thrown out of enough football clubs for your mum to know you should have been a boxer.

But she loved that little trouble maker side to you, because she knew there was more to you deep down. You’d completely change around her.

“Mum we’re here” Leah smiled as you came through the door.

“Hello, my love” she said bringing Leah into a hug. “There’s my little trouble maker” she chuckled and squeezed your cheeks.

“Hi mum” you smiled before hugging her.

“See, why can’t you be this nice all the time?” Leah laughed.

“Cause everyone isn’t mum” you shrugged, starting to help her with the dinner she was cooking while Leah started making tea.

You loved your mum. You didn’t have a bad word to say about her. Even with all the trouble you’d been in over the years, never once did she shout at you, or ground you, or take your phone.

Your dad would tell you to be more like Leah, but not your mum. You idolised the ground she walked on, and would never let anything happen to her.

“How was work?” She asked.

“Fine” you mumbled.

“Training was tough, I had physio then and y/n went to the gym” Leah said, sitting down with her dinner and mug of tea.

You gestured your mum to sit down before bringing over her mug and plate, and then going back for your own.

“How is Alessia settling in?” She asked, cutting into the steak she’d made, all three of them made differently to match how you each liked yours made.

Leah laughed at how even her name made you shrivel up.

The truth however, wasn’t that you hated Alessia at all. You might like to think you did, but you actually really liked her. And you despised her for that.

“She’s getting used to the place now I’d say” Leah nodded. “I had to give her a garage recommendation earlier though, she had this problem with her car and I couldn’t figure it out” Leah tutted.

“Why didn’t you have a look?” Your mum asked you.

“Uh, she didn’t ask me” you lied with a shrug.

“Maybe you should stop into her when we’re done and have a look” your mum smiled.

“Yeah, y/n, why don’t you?” Leah smirked.

You scowled at Leah. You knew full well that Alessia had moaned to her that you said no when she asked you.

“Alessia’s house is actually on my drive home, I can drop you there” Leah’s smirk only grew as you shot her a fake smile.

“That would be great, I’ll give her a text now” you waved your phone in the air before pretending to tap on it and slipped it back into your pocket.

It wasn’t long before you were sat in Leah’s car and to your shock, she actually pulled up outside Alessia’s house.

“You can’t be serious? Come on, drive me home” you protested, regretting not driving yourself to work today.

“Okay I will on one condition” Leah sighed as you nodded. “Who moved Katie and Kyra’s bags?” She asked as you smirked.

“How am I meant to get home?” You asked, although, you didn’t live too far from here.

“Maybe fix her car and she’ll be nice and drive you” Leah shrugged, leaning over to open your car door.

You got out with a loud groan and she sped off before you could change your mind.

You shuffled over towards the front door and hesitantly knocked. She opened the door and was wearing just a pair of shorts and a hoodie.

“What are you doing here?” She asked. You hadn’t actually text her so she had no context as to why you were here.

“Uh, Leah said she couldn’t fix the car, so I can take a look before you actually need to bring it to a garage” you awkwardly rubbed the back of your neck.

“It’s fine, you’ll probably just snip something or break something to be funny and it’ll cost me more money” she scowled as your eyes dropped to the ground.

“Alright then” you turned around and began to walk away. She was a bit taken aback that you were being serious with her right now. She sighed at the sight of you walking away and gave in.

“Fine” she took the keys off the hook as you turned around. She threw them to you before turning back to put shoes on.

You opened the door of the car and stuck the keys in. You immediately knew what the issue was, and also knew Leah would have no idea and smirked to yourself.

“Yeah, I can fix it” you mumbled. “I’ll be back in about half an hour, I just need to go home and get something” you said as you began to walk.

“It will still drive right? Like I drove it home” Alessia asked as you nodded. “I can drive you” she said getting in the car without a second thought.

You hesitantly got into the passenger seat. You both were silent on the drive.

“I can just fix it here” you suggested as she pulled into your driveway and she nodded in agreement.

You handed her the house keys, it was cold out and she was just in shorts.

“You can just go sit inside I’ll let you know when it’s done” you said as she took the keys from you and headed inside. It wasn’t like you were going to speak to her anyway, so there was no point staying out here with you.

You worked on the car for about 25 minutes, before sticking the keys in it. The light had now gone and you patted yourself on the shoulder.

You headed back into the house and frowned at the loud sound of laughter coming from the living room.

You were about to open the door handle, before she spoke to whoever she was on the phone to.

“I don’t know. She’s fixing the car now but I’m terrified she’s just ripping it part from part” Alessia laughed.

“In fairness, she could do that with her bare hands” Ella shouted.

Of course she was talking to Ella.

“I don’t get how she’s related to Leah” Alessia giggled.

“They’re both really stern” Ella smirked.

“I know, but Leah is nice. Y/n is horrible” Alessia whispered.

“Oh come on, you so want to” Ella rolled her eyes.

You raised your eyebrows at that.

“The 2 months in Australia were long, I was desperate” Alessia snapped with a giggle.

You slammed the front door again to let Alessia know you were in the house, after clearly not hearing you the first time.

“I have to go” Alessia said, hanging up on her best friend quickly.

You walked into the kitchen, taking your grease stained tshirt off and throwing it into the wash. Now stood in your sports bra and joggers.

“That’s done” you said when she came into view and nodded to where you’d left her keys on the kitchen table.

“Thanks” she stared at your arms, the big, tattooed arms. “Do I owe you” she began.

“See you tomorrow” you cut across, pulling your England hoodie over your head.

Alessia looked at you for a minute, trying to get over the realisation you’d just told her to leave.

“See you then” she mumbled as she left.

Insufferable.

Days had passed at training and each day you’d turned up at least an hour late.

“What are you doing?” Leah asked Kyra, who was hunkered over at the door tying a string across the door frame at ankle height.

“Revenge” Kyra snickered as Leah chuckled.

“As long as you’re okay dying young” Leah held her hands up as Kyra nodded.

Everyone had already arrived and was in the gym, so you would be next through the door.

And about 45 minutes later, you were.

You were taking your headphones off and shouldering the door open, when you tripped over the string Kyra had stuck up.

Your headphones fell out of your hand and smashed onto the ground into pieces.

You also fell, your shoulder the first thing to hit the ground.

Your ankle twisted as you fell, getting caught in the string.

You limped over to your cubby and got changed wincing every now and again.

And of course, of course, she had to walk in right now.

“Nice of you to join us” Alessia rolled her eyes. It was only after she said it did she see your headphones, which were usually around your neck, smashed on the ground and you looked in a severe amount of discomfort. “What happened?” She asked, rushing over towards you.

“Something was at the bottom of the door and I tripped over it. I’m fine” you stood up quickly and the pain shot to your ankle.

You exhaled loudly as the smaller woman looked up at you.

“Come on, I’ll take you to the Physio” she put her hand around your waist and you placed yours over her shoulder. Bearing all your weight on her was not going to be an easy process as she was trying to get you to the opposite side of the training centre. Which is why she was so happy when Jen walked by.

“Jen, can you help?” Alessia asked.

“What happened?” Jen asked, quickly making her way to your other side and taking on most of your weight.

“Alessia kicked me in the ankle” you smirked with a wince.

“Alessia” Jen shouted.

“I did not” Alessia protested.

“I tripped over something at the door” you grunted as you put your foot to the ground to make sure it was really sore. It was.

The pair eventually left you off at the Physio’s and went back to the gym.

“Lee” Alessia said, cutting across her conversation with Lia.

“Yeah?” They both answered.

“Leah” Alessia pointed to your sister as Lia laughed. “Y/n is in the Physio, she tripped over” Alessia began to explain.

“Kyra” Leah groaned. “I suggest going into hiding”.

“Aw man” Kyra gulped.

Leah jogged off down to the physio room to check on you.

The physios ruled you out for the Paris FC game and when you got the news, Leah decided it would be best if you never, ever found out that Kyra was the cause.

You gave the young girl a hard enough time as it was with the relentless teasing.

“Can I still fly to Paris?” You asked as Jonas nodded at you with a sympathetic smile.

You were sat on the bench, ready to kill someone as you watched the team go 2-0 down. You knew that if you were on the pitch it would be different.

You offered to hobble, but Jonas refused.

“Well do something. Why even bother buying Alessia if you’re not going to fucking play her?” You shouted at him.

Jonas was so used to you now, he found it better not to argue with you. Alessia shot her head up at that. Were you trying to say she was good?

It wasn’t too much longer that Alessia was subbed on, and even shorter that she’d drew the team level, scoring a brace.

Jonas came over and shook your hand as you smirked.

“You’ll make a great coach one day if you can just try to stay calm” he laughed as he walked back to shout on instructions.

Paris FC went 3-2 up before Jen headed home and made it all square again, heading for penalties.

All Alessia had to do was score, and the dream of winning the champions league would be on again for this season. You’d came so close last season.

The keeper guessed the right away and prodded Alessia’s shot away from the goal. Her head flung back as the Paris team ran by her, towards their keeper, celebrating in her face.

You could see from the bench she was crying, so you started to hobble over, ignoring the protests of your team mates, Physio’s and Jonas.

“You alright?” You somehow were the first one to get to her. Maybe it was more of a sprint you took off in.

She collapsed into your arms, and you knew she probably thought you were someone else.

“It’s my fault, y/n” she sobbed. She knew it was you.

“It’s not your fault, without you we wouldn’t have even got to penalties” you reassured her, pulling her closer into you and letting her cry.

“What the fuck is happening?” Katie titled her head looking at the pair of you.

“I’m so confused” Beth said.

“Just leave them” Leah huffed, walking off in frustration of the result.

“Leah, this is so much worse than the champions league” Katie shouted after her, trying to lighten the mood.

You eventually returned from injury, and the season had started just a few weeks prior.

Arsenal had gotten off to a ropey start, but you were back in the starting XI now. And thank god, because today the team were playing Chelsea in a packed out Emirates.

You and Leah’s family were here, sitting with some other parents and friends.

8 minutes in, Beth opened the scoring after an unbelievable ball from Leah. But only 5 minutes later, Chelsea had equalized. But in quick succession, Amanda had fired you back ahead.

Straight from kick off, you won the ball back from your England teammate, LJ. Another little trouble maker. You looked up and saw Alessia was free and lobbed the ball over the top, a classic Williamson move. She took a touch and smashed it top corner, putting you 2 goals to the good.

“That was unreal” you shouted as you ran towards her.

“Great ball” she smiled putting her hand up for you to high five her.

“Great finish” you smiled back, hugging her instead of high fiving.

Half time came and went, and you were in a very comfortable position to see out the game.

With about 15 minutes to go, Alessia broke free in the box, and was dragged down by Millie. The England co-captain, who you usually got on with quite well, was about to get an earful.

“What the fuck was that?” You snapped, pushing her away from where Alessia was still laying on the ground.

“Y/n, mate, come on. It was an accident” Millie protested with a frown.

“Don’t touch her, or it’ll be the last thing you ever do Millie” you pushed the blonde again before your sister came over to pull you away.

The referee brandished a yellow card in your face as you watched Alessia be pulled back to her feet by Beth.

“You okay?” You asked her, hand briefly falling to her waist. She noticed you seemed genuine. Despite you lashing out at Millie, your tone was different with her, it was almost caring?

“I’m okay. Don’t you dare get yourself sent off” she frowned as you smirked.

“It’s your penalty” you said, handing her the ball. Of course, she tucked it away to make it 4-1.

She watched you at the end of the game, laughing and joking with Millie. The person you had told you were going to kill about 20 minutes ago.

How could someone be so horrible yet everyone liked you? Maybe Beth was right, maybe you weren’t that bad.

You got changed and showered quickly, but not as quick as Alessia and Leah had.

“I’m heading up to mum, they’re in box B” Leah smiled as you nodded and packed away your things.

“That’s where my parents are too” Alessia giggled as her and Leah got outside the changing room.

The Russo’s and the Williamson’s got on well, and had been packed into the box together for the game. Everyone was already hugging and laughing when you got there.

“Hi mum” you smiled as she beamed with excitement.

“There’s my little trouble maker” she squeezed your cheeks.

“Yeah, yeah” you laughed, pulling her in for a hug.

“Want to explain your little fight with Millie?” She laughed as you shook your head.

Alessia watched on, perplexed at how nice you came across with your mum.

“Well come and say hello to Alessia’s parents dear” she pulled you by the arm over to where Alessia was stood with her parents, but looking at you getting closer and closer.

“Ah, y/n!” Mario shouted as he gave you a quick hug before Carol took over.

“You played brilliantly” Carol gushed.

“Thanks a million, but nothing compared to Lessi” you smiled.

“She was fantastic, wasn’t she?” Mario smiled as Alessia rolled her eyes.

“Dad” she whined.

“You were” you whispered, smugly.

“I’ll go get us a coffee” Carol smiled as Mario went off with her.

“I’ll see you in a bit” you nodded as you turned to walk away, but the blonde put her hand out to grab your arm.

“Wait” she said, as you looked down at her hand holding your arm. “Why did you react like that with Millie?” She asked.

“I didn’t want you to be hurt” you shrugged as she nodded and this time it was her turn to walk away. “I wanted to too” you sighed.

Thankfully, everyone was now inside and you were the only two left outside, overlooking the stadium.

“Wanted to what?” She frowned.

“When we were in Australia, I dunno. I heard you and Tooney on the phone when you were at mine” you stuttered.

You watched Alessia’s face turn from a frown to complete embarrassment.

“I get it was desperation for you. But, I don’t think it was for me” you whispered.

“You like me?” Alessia asked.

“Yeah, I guess” you replied.

This was a whole different side to you than Alessia had ever seen. Usually you were up to something or just ignoring her as best you could.

“Darling, come inside. It is freezing” your mum called from the door.

You reluctantly walked towards the door, following your mum as she walked further into the room.

“It wasn’t desperation” Alessia grabbed your hand to stop you walking any further, again. “It’s annoying how much I like you. You frustrate the life out of me. You’re always causing some type of trouble or issue” she sighed.

“That’s just me” you shrugged, freeing yourself from her hold.

“If you wanted to make this work, I need someone I can rely on and trust. And right now, that’s not you” she added, before brushing by you to walk back inside.

You barely spoke to her after that, but her words played on your mind day after day. It took a few weeks before you finally understood what she was meant. You needed to grow up if you wanted to be with her, or anybody. So you stared making significant changes.

It was the 4th day in a row you’d shown up early at the training grounds, when Leah finally decided to say it.

“Are you up to something?” Leah frowned, when she walked in to find you alone, eating breakfast.

“No. Why would you think that?” You asked.

“I’ve got my eye on you” she warned as she walked off to get her own food.

In the gym, you made more of an effort to stop picking on Kyra and not trying to purposely hurt Katie.

Kyra was bench pressing a bit too heavy when you sprinted over quickly to stop her from dropping the weights.

“You’ll seriously hurt yourself doing that” you shook your head, pulling the weight up easily to its holder.

“I just want to get stronger, I’m sick of being picked on” she huffed.

You squatted down and put your hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry Kyra, genuinely. I’ve been too harsh with you. Let me help you?” She nodded at you as you stood back up taking some weights off.

You guided her through more reps at less weight, helping her to make sure her form was correct.

An amused Alessia watched the little PT session from the opposite side of the room.

“Y/n” Katie called, she had an evil looking grin on her face. “Amanda left her car keys on the shelf. Should we hide them or take it for a spin?” She smirked.

“Neither” you shrugged, taking the keys from her hand and bringing them over to Amanda. “Hey, you left these on the shelf” you said, handing Amanda the keys.

“You life saver, I’ve been looking for these all day” she smiled and hugged you.

“You’ve broken her” Katie protested. “She’s no fun anymore”

“I’m sorry, would you rather she tried to kill you at every training session?” Alessia laughed.

It was a few more days after, now that Kyra literally clung to you everyday like you were a tree, that Alessia approached you after your match.

“You played well” she smiled, standing over you at your cubby.

“Uh, thanks Less. You too” you stuttered.

It was the first thing either of you had said to each other since the Chelsea game.

“Come over later? Maybe 7pm?” She asked as you nodded.

You’ve never left a changing room quicker in your life. You drove home relatively quickly and threw on comfortable clothes before heading over to her house.

You arrived just before 7pm, with a bottle of wine in hand, knocking so carefully on the door you would swear it was made from glass.

“Hey, you’re early” Alessia smiled.

“Yeah, sorry. In a bit of a habit of that lately” you chuckled as your eyes fell to the bottle in your hand. “Uh, for you” you stuck it out for her to take, which she did, thanking you quickly before inviting you in.

“I made dinner, are you hungry?” She asked.

“Yeah, that would be great. Thanks Less” you smiled.

“Go make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right in” she pointed towards the living room.

She had a show paused on the TV, so you decided to look around the room. She had decorated her house like you’d imagined she would have. It was warm and comforting, just like she was.

“You can switch that off if you want” she said, coming through the door with two bowls.

“No, no, finish it” you smiled taking the bowl from her. “Thank you” you added.

She got comfy on the couch and pressed play. You both began tucking into your food.

“Holy shit Less, this is unbelievable” you groaned in satisfaction.

“Family recipe” she giggled.

“Wait, who’s that?” You asked.

She found it cute you tried to show an interest in the show she was watching. You were asking a lot of questions for someone claiming they weren’t interested, and she’d let out a little laugh before answering your question.

You stood up, taking both bowls into your hands when you’d both finished.

“What are you doing?” She asked, sticking her hand out and placing her fingers on your hand.

“I can clean up. You finish your show” you nodded as she sunk back into the couch and continued watching. “Do you want a glass of wine?” You shouted.

“Yes please” she shouted back.

Your phone started buzzing, so you pressed it against the microwave and clicked answer.

“Hello” you said into the camera before moving off to try find glasses.

“Hey. Where are you?” Leah frowned, not recognising the kitchen you were stood in, at first.

“Alessias” you replied nonchalantly. “Do you know where she keeps her glasses?” You asked opening another press to no avail.

“Top left” Leah replied and you instantly moved to the top left press, pulling out two glasses. “You two speak now?” She asked.

“Yeah, well, after the Chelsea game I told her I really liked her and” you began, while you were pouring the wine.

“You like Less?” Leah shouted through the phone, as you met her with only a nod. “And this is how you’re telling me? Does she like you? Are you together? Did you tell mum?” Leah started to rattle off any question possible.

“Leah, shut up man” you groaned, lowering the volume of your phone.

“Listen, if you do really like her, I’m happy. But do not hurt her” Leah frowned.

“Isn’t it meant to be Alessia getting this talk from you?” You laughed.

“Alessia wouldn’t hurt a fly. But you are a menace” Leah smirked.

“It’s different with her. I-I really like her” you smiled.

“Everything okay?” Alessia shouted.

“I need to go back inside, can I call you later?” You asked, as Leah nodded and hung up.

You went back to the living room with two glasses of wine and handed one to a thankful Alessia.

“Sorry, I couldn’t find glasses” you apologised as she laughed.

You got into a chat about the game today and after a couple of glasses of wine, you were both a bit merry to say the least. She had no problem even when she was sober being touchy with you, so that just got worse when she was drunk.

“Tonight’s been really nice, Less” you mumbled as she smiled and squeezed your hand.

“It’s nice getting to see this side of you” she added.

You leaned in, the timing was just right. She could see you’d made an effort to be the person she needed, and you really liked her. You’d go even further to say that you loved her.

Only, you felt a hand on your chest, rather than her lips against yours.

“I can’t” Alessia whispered. “I told you, I needed someone I could rely on” she diverted her eyes away from you, as you looked dumbfounded.

“I thought you could see I’d made an effort for you? I thought that was the whole reason you invited me over” you pouted, a bit confused at the rejection.

“It was” she huffed. “I just don’t know. It’s great you made an effort and I appreciate that, so much. But what if this is just temporary and you go back to acting like a dickhead?” She asked.

“Well, it’s nice to see what you actually think of me” you grunted, slamming the empty glass on the table now.

“No, y/n, I didn’t mean it like that” she shook her head, trying to grab your hands.

“Get the fuck off me” you moaned, pushing her off and standing up. “You asked me to change, and I did” you stated firmly.

“It’s just not enough” she hummed. “I’m just so scared I’ll give you everything and you’ll just back track and push me away”

“Well this is never going to work then” you added, before leaving the room to get your shoes and your jacket.

“Can you just stay and talk to me? Please don’t go” Alessia pouted.

“Just, leave me alone” you huffed, brushing out by her and leaving.

You took a chance driving home with two or three glasses of wine in your system. You made it back safely, although it was just a short drive.

You got straight into bed and went asleep, trying to forget tonight ever happened.

You shut out the team, shifting to being just plain angry. No pulling tricks or pranks, or joking around. Just not speaking to anybody, and grunting or walking away if someone tried.

Days had passed of you slipping back into old habits. Turning up late, getting angry. You’d been sent off in the last game for giving the ref backlash after a bad decision.

Clearly, some of the team had brought it to Leah and Kim that they were concerned about you. And Kim was more than happy for Leah to try to fix it.

“Hey” Leah shouted after you, walking towards the gym. “Man, slow down I have half an ACL here” Leah added with a laugh.

You slowed your walk, allowing her to catch up but didn’t say a singular word. She’d rattled off about as many questions as she could think before landing on this one.

“Did something happen with Less?” Leah asked on your walk to gym.

“What’s it to you?” You snapped.

“Hey, it was just a question” Leah uttered defensively. “I’m worried about you” Leah said sympathetically, placing her hand on your shoulder.

“Get off me” you practically threw her hand off your shoulder. “It was a stupid question” you grunted, walking into the gym ahead of her.

You put your gloves on, heading straight to the bag, and punching the life out of it.

“Maybe you should just be a boxer” Katie laughed, squeezing your shoulders.

“Fuck off” you shouted as she frowned at you but turned to walk away.

You hit the bag harder and harder, looking like you were going to not just break it, but seriously hurt yourself.

“I think maybe the bag has taken enough of a beating” Alessia hummed as you stopped.

You took the gloves off and threw them on the ground before storming off.

You’d been acting like this for days. Usually Jonas left you be, because you were professional in the workplace, but you’d become anything but that the last few days. Since that night in Alessia’s you were the angriest you’d ever been in your life.

“Williamson Jr, come here” Jonas snapped from his office door. “Sit down” he said as you walked through and he closed the door behind you.

“Why?” You shrugged. He sat down at his desk as you slid into the chair opposite him and sighed.

“Your behaviour the last while has been totally unacceptable. You’ve been snappy with your teammates, argumentative with staff” he began.

“And?” You snapped.

“If it continues, I’d be of the opinion we let you go on loan or leave in January” he threatened. He had a habit of this, making a false threat so you’d make improvements.

“I’d prefer to be transferred” you admitted. You were sick of seeing Alessia everyday and sick to death of people thinking they could speak to you.

“Is that the reason for this? You want to leave?” He asked, a bit taken aback.

“Yeah, I’ll go anywhere” you shrugged.

“We’ll submit your request to the board, you and your agent can look for a suitable club then” he sternly said, gesturing you out of his office.

You hadn’t really thought about playing elsewhere, but you were stubborn. So when he made the blank threat of moving you off, you made that a reality. You knew you might be miserable somewhere else, but at least you got the upper hand on him.

“What was that about?” Leah frowned as you stormed by her and into the changing room, grabbing your stuff and leaving without another word.

Things moved fast from there. Your agent had secured you a move to Bayern. You’d practically given up with Arsenal, knowing you were leaving soon. You stopped showing up for training, just accepting the fines as they came in. You didn’t see a point, all matches were off for the winter break anyway.

You broke the news to your mum that you were leaving to go to Germany. While she was upset, she was also happy for you that you were being recognised internationally as a great footballer.

She also knew Leah’s friend Georgia was there and that you’d be looked after.

You made her promise not to tell Leah, which she of course kept. You could trust her with anything. She made you promise in return to show up for Christmas Day and make some type of an effort with the rest of your family.

While you kept your promise to show up, you were silent at Christmas dinner with your family. You waited until most people were drunk, before slipping out and heading home. You’d text your mum to apologise for being off.

Still, nobody except your mum knew you were moving to Bayern, not even Leah. So when she’d decided to drag you to the Arsenal New Year’s party, she didn’t know tomorrow you’d be on a plane to Germany.

“I don’t want to go Leah” you groaned.

“Come on, please? I miss you” she pouted as you caved fairly quickly.

As angry as you had become the last few weeks about Alessia, you’d always cave for your sister. You felt guilty you still hadn’t told her, and maybe if you got drunk enough tonight, you could tell her more easily than if you were both sober.

Most of your teammates were beyond drunk by the time you’d arrived. Katie was straight beside you, handing you a drink and hugging you.

“I’m so happy to see you, I’ve missed you so much” Katie slurred.

You decided to just try to be nice tonight. You’d never have to see them again after this anyway. So you got drunk, because you knew it was the quickest way to make you happy.

You were dancing with Katie, Caitlin and Leah when you made eyes with a certain blonde, who was with Lia, Lotte and Vic.

She made a gesture, to indicate she wanted you to come over. You happily obliged, barely even excusing yourself but tripping over your own two feet trying to get to her as quickly as possible.

“You came” she smiled.

“Yeah” you nodded.

“I was hoping you would” she whispered. “Dance with me?” She held her hand out for you to take, which you did.

Alessia had been flirting and dancing with you all night and you were more than happy to flirt back. All you had been angry about before was now long forgotten as she was pressed against you.

“I was stupid before” she whispered into your ear.

“It’s fine” you shook your head. You didn’t want to get into this conversation with her right now. You were leaving tomorrow, it was too late to be anything more than just, whatever this was, with her.

“I want to be more than this with you. I know I can trust you now” she slurred, pulling you in to her lips by your neck.

You kissed her back. You weren’t really thinking straight right now.

“I’m so in love with you” Alessia whispered as she pulled away briefly and then pulled you straight back in, kissing you harder this time.

“Leah” Katie shouted as she laughed and pointed towards you and Alessia. Leah pumped her fist in the air, as from the outside looking in, you had what you wanted now, which was Alessia.

“I’ll be back in a minute” you breathed out as you removed yourself from the girl. It was like all the senses you had came rushing to you at once. You were leaving to go to Germany in just a few hours. You couldn’t do this.

“No” Alessia snapped, pulling you back. “You’re not leaving again”

“Less, just let me go” you pleaded as you tried to free yourself from her grip.

“You can’t walk out of here without knowing that I was an idiot. I can’t let you go again” she shouted.

“I’m moving to Germany” you blurted out.

“Wh-what?” She stuttered.

“Bayern put in a transfer request and I accepted it” you shrugged with your eyes meeting the floor.

“You can’t just be moving to Germany” Alessia shook her head in disbelief. “You can’t just leave” she squeezed you harder.

“I’m sorry” you sighed.

“I can’t do something long distance right now, y/n” Alessia admitted.

“I wouldn’t expect you too” you shook your head and pulled her into a long, hard hug. Like it was a goodbye. “Happy New Year” you said softly, pulling away.

“Yeah, you too” she sighed as you turned and left, pulling Leah and Katie with you.

“I just wanted to tell you both, I’m leaving” you mumbled.

“Come on, it’s almost midnight you can’t leave” Katie huffed.

“No, I mean” you groaned before you said your next sentence. “I’m leaving Arsenal, I’m moving to Bayern”

“No” Katie shook her head. “No, no” she added.

“I need to be there tomorrow, so I need to go home” you sighed.

Katie looked at you, before turning to Leah, who was staring at you so hard she could have burned holes in your head.

“Leah, say something” Katie protested.

“Safe flight” Leah said, hugging you briefly and turning to walk off, trying to hide the fact she was now crying.

“Lee” Katie shouted as she ran off after her and you used that as your chance to escape.

“What did you do?” Leah asked the blonde who was already a sobbing mess, being consoled by Lotte.

“Not the best time man” Lotte tried to intervene but Leah shook her head.

“You clearly had something to do with it” Leah snapped.

“Piss off Leah” Alessia huffed as she walked away from her England team mate, who was now being dragged off in the opposite direction by Katie.

The countdown started, and it was quite possibly the worst start to a New Year’s anyone could have asked for.

Days had gone by, and you were just about to start training with the Bayern team later today.

You were in your kitchen making breakfast when you noticed Alessia’s caller ID appear on your phone. You hadn’t spoken to her since New Year’s Eve. You didn’t really know why she was calling but you answered it quickly.

“Hey” your heart was thumping.

“Hi” she smiled. “How are you?”

“Uh, yeah” you nodded. “You?”

“I’m fine” Alessia said. “How’s Bayern?” She asked.

“I start today” you hummed. “Is everything alright?” You frowned, still unsure why she was calling.

“At Arsenal? Yeah” Alessia nodded.

“No, like, in general. You never call me” you corrected her.

“I, um” she hesitated. “I just wanted you to know that I was sorry for the way we left things”

“It’s fine Less” you shook your head.

“It’s not fine. You literally moved country to get away from me” she frowned.

“That’s really dramatic, Lessi” you laughed making her smile.

“Why did you move? I thought you were happy here” she pouted.

“It doesn’t matter” you shrugged.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll continue to think it was my fault” she huffed.

“Jonas said he was unimpressed with my attitude” you said bluntly. “You know him, he gave me the whole ‘we’re going to have to look to loan you out or sell you’ talk, so I just said “alright do it’” you shrugged.

“Jesus Christ, you’re so stubborn” she rolled her eyes.

“Says the one” you smirked.

“I’m not stubborn. I’m calling you even though you ruined my New Years” she giggled.

“Yeah, sorry about that” you sighed, rubbing the back of your neck.

It was silent for a couple of seconds before Alessia spoke again, getting on to the real reason why she called.

“I meant what I said on New Years. I’m in love with you” the girl whispered.

“You already know I feel the same. That hasn’t changed” you said. “But you said you didn’t want to do long distance” you frowned.

“Anything is better than not speaking at all” she added. “Maybe when you get home, for camp or whatever, we could talk properly?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’d like that” you smiled and nodded.

You both talked for another while, before you eventually had to leave for training for the first time, to meet your new team mates.

The plan for today was a light gym session and then onto the grass. You had tomorrow off, before training continued the following day.

You headed into the gym, Georgia instantly clinging to you, now that she finally had someone to speak English to.

“Can I use that?” You asked her, pointing to the boxing bag.

“Not if you treat it like the one in George’s Park” Georgia laughed.

You playfully rolled your eyes and headed over to it, grabbing a pair of gloves on the way. You weren’t too angry today, after speaking to Alessia. But you were a good boxer, and could throw a heavy punch.

“If you break that, they won’t replace it” a voice said from behind you.

You turned to see your on of your new team mates standing watching.

“Oh, uh, I wouldn’t expect them too” you shook your head, struggling to get words out.

“I’m Sydney” she replied, sticking her hand out.

You quickly unstrapped your glove and slid your hand into hers.

“Y/n”

“You’re friends with Georgia, right?” She asked.

“Uh, she’s more so friends with my sister” you shrugged.

“Oh yes, Captain Williamson” she chuckled as you shot her a confused look. “I always thought that captains armband would look better on you” she smirked, as your eyebrows raised.

You’d never been great at picking up on signals of people flirting with you before, but she seemed to be so straight forward in what she wanted, it was hard not to see it.

“Would you maybe want to get a drink after training, with me?” She asked.

Boy were you a Williamson in trouble now.

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