#but i also want jonas to go out with a win

[leeenuu]

so ur telling me it’s jonas’ birthday and he’s retiring today, after the match between köln and bayern which could decide the bundes winner??

[desperate-gay]

how bout a heated confession between r and kim little? i really want some kimmy fics 😔😭 my girl needs more love and attention 😔🙏🏻❤

Unexpected Confession

Kim Little x fem!reader

“You, my dear, are one of a kind!” Leah exclaims, grasping onto your shoulders as everyone cheers you on. You smile sheepishly while collecting all of the compliments with a light blush.

Arsenal had just won 4-2 against Chelsea with you scoring two goals back to back at the end of the second half. The whole team basically jumped on you when the final whistle blew, congratulating you while spewing how amazing you were the full ninety minutes.

“Our little miss innocent also showed some of her rough side with that tackle.”

“Katie, stay away from her, we can’t handle you rubbing your card reputation on our goal scorer.” Steph says, shielding you from the Irish woman by wrapping her arms around your front so her taller form blocks your view.

“Well thank you all for the many flattery remarks, but it wasn’t-”

“Y/l/n, a talk?” Kim interrupts, nodding her head toward the empty office.

The team all stand in silence, wondering why their player of the match is getting called away by the captain.

You look at her with a confused look when she announces your last name. The both of you are extremely close and friends outside of games, so when she announces your last name, you’re taken aback.

You quickly follow Kim into the room before she shuts the door with a gentle click and closes the blinds so none of the team can snoop around.

“I told Jonas to bench you for the upcoming game against Manchester.” The midfielder states with a stoic expression and her arms crossed.

“What? Why?”

“That tackle against Reiten was dangerous. Someone could have easily gotten hurt and you need to deal with the consequences.” She explains while avoiding your gaze, not being able to keep her captain facade up if she even takes a peek at your doe eyes.

“That’s so unfair! Russo made a late tackle but she’s not getting benched!” You exclaim, getting irritated at the sudden hostility directed at you.

“Your tackle was dangerous and could’ve cost you an injury. My decision is final.” Kim’s tone warns you it’s the end of the discussion, but you’re too pissed off to give her the satisfaction of an easy win.

As she goes to walk away, you quickly run in front of the door, blocking the older girl from exiting the room. Her eyebrow raises in a silent warning matching the unimpressed look on her face.

“No. You’re not just going to walk out of here without giving me a reason as to why I’m being benched.”

“I’ve already told you-“

“Don’t give me that bullshit excuse that it’s because of my tackle. Yes, it was a little late and that’s my fault but that is no reason not to let me play next week. So tell me the real reason why. Now.”

Kim now raises her eyebrows in surprise at your sudden demanding front. You’re not even sure where it came from because the way the captain is looking at you, you wish you could melt into the floor and never come back, but you simply just gulp and stand up straighter to keep strong.

“Do you really want to be talking to your captain like that?” She questions, cocking her head to the side while slowly walking closer to you, causing you to feel smaller and smaller at the girl's sharp gaze.

“I want the truth.” You say shakily, wiping your clammy hands up and down your tracksuit.

“I gave you the truth, but you can’t deal with it.”

“Why are you lying? Just tell me!” The rise in your voice shocks the other girl, you’re usually always the quiet, calm, and sweet person of the team but not when someone is continually being untruthful towards you.

“You could have gotten injured.” Kim admits halfheartedly, showing you she is still hiding something.

“I am fine. You have no right to take me off the team just because of something that could have happened. If you don’t tell me the real reason now, I am walking out of here and I don’t want you talking to me unless it is an explanation or an apology.”

After a minute or two of silence, you give up. With a scoff and a roll of your eyes, you begin to turn the door handle only to be stopped by an unexpected confession.

“It’s because I love you!”

Your body stays facing the door as you process what the Scottish woman has just said. You run through all the little dates the two of you had together, remembering how you were hoping it would be much more than just friendly, but also thinking that the girl just wasn’t into you like that.

“I should have never said that, it was quite inappropriate. You may leave now.” Kim sighs with one hand on her head and the other waving you off. Slowly, you begin to approach her pacing form.

“Kim.”

“You don’t have to stay. You’re dismissed.”

“Kimmy.”

“Seriously, go home. It was a mistake and I didn’t mean it.”

“I love you too.” You whisper, locking eyes with her when her head snaps up.

“You love me?” She asks in disbelief, making you smile at how quickly the older girl turns quiet.

You take a few steps forward so you’re now face to face with her. You hesitantly wrap your arms around her as your thumb smooths out the tension between her eyes.

“I do. And I’m hoping that your confession was real because if it isn’t, you will see a hole shaped me through that wall.” You joke, causing the both of you to giggle softly, breaking a little of the tension. The taller girl’s hands find a comfortable place on your hips while she continues to look at you with a smile.

“It was real. I have been in love with you for a while now and I wasn’t sure how to tell you. I guess being a jerk wasn’t the best way.” You laugh with a small shake of your head.

“No, it wasn’t, but you can make it up to me.” Your head tilts, looking at her with a bright smile. Once she starts to lean in, you do too, meeting her halfway just before she stops.

“May I?”

“You may.”

With the whisper of confirmation, Kim softly connects her lips to yours in a gentle kiss, showing you how much it means and what it means. Only ten seconds in, she goes to pull away, but you wrap your hands behind her neck and pull her back in.

“Too short.” You mumble against her slightly chapped lips, leaving her chuckling at your eagerness and pushing you closer to her by the small of your back.

Before things got too heated, you both decided to pull away even if you didn’t want to. Although the kiss ended, each other’s arms stayed hugging around the other, enjoying the closeness.

“Will you let me take you on a date, let’s say this Saturday night?”

“I don’t know, I’m supposed to go out with this one girl who constantly takes me out on non-romantic dates because she’s sure we’re just friends.” You sigh in fake disappointment, letting the midfielder roll her eyes at your antics.

You gasp when she slams her lips into yours in a quick but fierce kiss before pulling back with a satisfied look.

“Let me make it romantic.” Kim offers with a charming smile, wooing you fully into saying yes even if you don’t need convincing.

“I’d be an idiot to say no.”

After a few minutes of little kisses, giggles, and talking, the both of you go to open the door only to be met with multiple falling bodies. A sheepish Kyra, Katie, and Beth look up from the floor with guilty smiles while the rest of the team turn back around and continue in their cubbies like they also weren’t eavesdropping.

“Everyone get dressed and leave unless you want to come in extra early tomorrow for some extra laps.” Kim announces with her captain expression, making everybody scramble.

The Scottish woman watches with a stone-cold expression before turning to look at you with a soft smile. She leans over and places a lingering kiss on your cheek.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

[pixiesfz]

Leah Williamson x reader

plot: y/n y/l/n is Chelsea royalty, a royal that is holding one big secret. (lets also pretend Leah never got injured)

warning: suggestion of smut, lust, angst, kinda long

It's derby day and you were lined up in the tunnels you were behind Sam who held a straight face, but you were secretly searching for a certain blonde, and when you did she sent a silent smirk which you rolled your eyes at. 'Good luck' you mouthed and she sent a wink back 'You too' she mouthed and you both smiled, thankfully not getting noticed by anyone (or so you thought) Sam slightly nudged you gaining your attention.

"What?" you asked and she looked at you "you good?" she asked and you nodded "always" and the Australian smiled slightly "good then".

You furrowed your brows at your teammate who was silently laughing to herself "I see your shoulders shaking Sam what is it?" you asked and she turned around to you and nudged her head towards Arsenal vice-captain "I just wanna see what type of scrimmage you and Williamson come up with today" she shrugged and you laughed "last time was hilarious, then at the club later when she went up to you- hilarious, you left after though before we could rip into you" Sam laughed a bit more "yeah I just got really tired" you told her.

You did not go home that night.

"This is so wrong" you breathed out as the blonde kissed down your neck, her hands roaming around your hips "Oh yeah?" Leah rebutted as she lifted her head up, she didn't lean back as your lips were practically connected.

"Then stop me."

You wanted to stop her, your clubs were rivals and you were both never going to leave said clubs. But with the way her breath was fanning over your neck you lost all control.

"Don't stop"

A confident smile spread over the blonde as she brought her lips to yours again, it was passionate like she thought it was never going to happen again.

But unfortunately, it did, again, again and again.

That's when you two decided to go on secret dates, movies with hoodies on that were immediately taken off when you got home to her apartment.

Then you two had almost gotten caught.

It was at training, you had dropped your house keys that now had an added key for Leah's apartment and Jessie Fleming picked them up for you, noticing that there were more keys than usual.

"1, 2 and 3 oh my goodness y/n/n who's house does this key belong to!" she half shouted which gained some of the team's attention as you blushed "my parents moved" you quickly came up with an excuse as you grabbed the keys from Jessie's hands "and I'm going to see them tonight" you pointed her brows at her which made her drop the situation.

"you never have anything fun happening in your life" she pouted before turning away, earning a laugh from the team.

oh only if she knew.

You weren't the only one in the relationship that had almost gotten caught, Leah had once too.

"Leah that girl has been checking you out for twenty minutes now, go talk to her" Katie told the blonde who chuckled, not even looking at the 'admirer' before answering "not my type" she shrugged and Katie gasped.

"You're seeing someone!" she accused, her Irish accent shining through.

"No, I am not" Leah scoffed "Then go talk to the girl" Caitlin piped up as she leaned into Katie, the Irish girl wrapping her free arm around the Australian's waist.

That's what Leah wanted, she knew you yearned for it too.

"And lead her on, no thank you" Leah laughed before walking past the couple. "I'm going home" she announced with a smile before walking out to get into a cab to yours.

Months of secrecy and now your clubs were to vs again. A rough tackle by Leah last time and your 'valid' reaction were what got you two red-carded at your last game and what now led you both to a secret relationship...weird now that you think about it.

When the game started Leah was on the other side as Jonas put her in an attacking position for the first half.

Arsenal was winning and you cursed to yourself, you were a competitive person and obviously wanted to win but it didn't look to good for the blues.

You had chances to score but their goalkeeper was good today which even made you angrier "fuck" you whispered as Manu saved another one of your shots "she's never this good" you whispered to Sam who nodded "someone must've lit a fire under her ass"

Your head immediately whipped to Leah who had a great big smile on her face, you knew if anyone could whip anyone into shape it was her.

The first half ended and you were stuck in the changing room with a yelling Emma, usually her speeches were helpful but today you just wanted to exit the building.

"y/l/n!" Emma called out and you brought your head from your hands "top right corner" she said "never seen her jump higher than there" she pointed out and you nodded.

When you went out you noticed that Leah had been put as a defender, your defender.

You didn't know whether to say hi, ignore her or to switch with Sam secretly but your legs weren't working with your brain as you now stood next to her.

"You good?" she asked as she stared at the Stadium around her "not now" you muttered and she nodded "valid".

Leah wasn't stupid, she had versed you before you had become an item, she knew you were competitive and she was too which is why you had both been avoiding the game.

The siren rang and you were both running Leah wanted a clean sheet and you wanted to get your name on the board.

It wasn't long till Lauren passed the ball to you and your dribbled down the right side, getting ready to attempt the ball top corner before a foot came under you, pushing you to the floor.

Usually in other games, Leah would leave you to the floor but this time she held out her hand "c'mon baby" she whispered as you grabbed her hand and winced once you put your body weight on your ankle.

"Off her Williamson" Lauren ran over and pushed her but you stepped in front of Leah protectively "she helped me up, we're good" you said as Lauren lifted her brows at you.

Something had changed, every player on the ground could see it, usually you and Leah were at each others throats on the ground and now you were helping each other up and protecting each other.

The game ended and you both went off to your own teams, you stayed to yourself, not in the mood to talk to anyone but you did notice the lingering stares of your team mates.

You were angry, you lost and all your team could think about was your act of kindness.

"Can I not be nice?" you asked loudly "Not to Arsenal" someone piped up and you rolled your eyes "fucking christ" you muttered and Sam stood up "It was just different, you weren't helping up your defenders at Spurs what's different about Leah?" she asked and you turned to your locker.

This didn't go un noticed by your team mates as Millie Bright stepped closer "What's different about Leah?" she asked again with genuine concern "y/n?"

"Because I liker her and we're dating" You shut her off and turned back to your locker, folding your clothes with more forced as the whole team looked at you.

When you drove home after the game you were surprised to see Leah sitting at the couch with a wine in hand and another glass for you on the table.

"I did something stupid" she told you and you nodded "me too" you sighed and plumped down onto the couch "who wants to share first?" Leah joked and you looked down at your thumbs "I told the team" you admitted and slowly looked at Leah, scared of her reaction.

You were very surprised to see a smiling Leah.

"Why are you smiling?" you asked and she laughed "I told my team too!" she revealed as she laughed "god we're both stupid"

"How'd the team react?" you ask and she took a sip of wine "gave me shit but then told me they already knew, apparently I left my snap maps on and Jen found me being here a few many times"

"How'd Chelsea react?"

"Told me it was about time I had something interesting in my life" you laughed before you turned to Leah.

"at least we don't have to be so secret anymore"

"next the media?" she guessed

"oh tik toks already blown up" you laughed.

That's how you both spent your night, cuddling on the couch and laughing at tik toks that were made of the game and your interactions.

"they're good" Leah realized

"they don't miss a thing"

[onlyhereforthestories]

Comeback Queen - Part 1 (Alexia Putellas x Reader)

Here you go! I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope you guys like it. Part 2 will be out tomorrow night! Also if you want to share your theories on where reader is going please send them my way. I’m interested to see what you guys think! 🫶

Months. That’s how long it had been since you had been in this position. Month and months and months. Months longer than it should have been too. Alexia had unfortunately had complications with her knee after coming back to playing the first time and this meant that she was side lined for a further few months.

During her time out on the side lines, you had picked up a knock yourself and was now part of the recovery squad. You hated the first month of your recovery purely because if you couldn’t be playing you want to be watching your love do what she does best, but that wasn’t possible either.

So, when Alexia went away with the Spanish squad and phoned you to say even though she wouldn’t be playing she is fit enough to sit on the bench, you knew it wouldn’t be long until that did happen.

You were proven right a couple weeks later. It was

You were sat in the stands with Mapi and a few of the other girls who had some sort of knock or injury, just behind the bench. Alexia had excitedly told you last night that Jona was planning on putting her on in the second half of todays match. This had excited you too as it meant you got to do your second favourite thing to do with football, watching her play. Of course, this was slightly behind playing yourself but that isn’t possible right now.

The first half flew by and with Salma’s hattrick Barca was already cruising towards the win, something that meant slightly less pressure on your loves shoulders when she did come on which you knew would help even if she didn’t really think about it. Alexia had gone through a pretty extensive warm up during the half time break so you had a feeling it wouldn’t be too long until you saw her enter the field. You didn’t leave your seat like the others wanting to make sure you caught every ball touch the woman had. She had just run back down the tunnel to catch the last bit of the half time team talk and probably give her own little captains speech with Irene.

The next time you caught her moving was in the 60th minute. She was up on the side lines in her kit, bib over the top to warm up quickly but you knew it wouldn’t be long until she was out on the pitch and the rest of the stadium could tell too. Not even a minute later and she was lined up with .. and .. ready for her much awaited and eagerly anticipated return.

She got given the captains armband and received a loud round of applause as she ran on, you made sure to whoop and cheer as loud as you could. Determined to show your support for your lover.

Alexia had been on the pitch for barely 10 minutes when the ball was crossed into Lucy at the back post, you held your breath as the ball bounced off her and into the middle of the box where your favourite number 11 was waiting. She didn’t catch the shot as cleanly as you knew she would have wished to, but it didn’t matter as it nestled into the bottom right corner.

You were up in a flash jumping with the other injured players as much as physically possible for you all. Of course she was in the right place at the right time, she had been studying tapes her whole life pretty much. She just knew the game and now even more than ever possibly, she knew her team.

The rest of the game went on and even though the opposition scored it didn’t dull the buzz around the stadium, the return of Frido last game and now Ale today just had set the right feeling within the club. Now all that was left was you and Mapi.

Speaking of, Mapi was dragging you by the hand down to the pitch where you greeted Ingrid when she approached, you chatted with them as well as Keira and Aitana for a while, but your eyes never drifted far from Alexia as she made her way round the fans. You were always in awe of how she interacted with them no matter the occasion, she always had time to sign things and take photos.

She had made her way around all the fans she could today and was about to head down the tunnel when she spotted you. Her eyes met yours and you could see the joy in them as soon as they did, the smile widening on her lips to match. She changed direction and headed towards where you were stood with the other women.

As she got closer you excused yourself from the conversation around dinner and made a beeline for her. You instantly wrapped your arms around her and held on with all you had, her arms wrapping around your waist and holding you firmly but not tight. “I’m so proud of you, mi vida. A goal too right away, only you could do that.” She gave you a little extra squeeze before pulling back.

“Had someone to score for didn’t I.” You grinned in her direction and went to reply when Pina jumped into the conversation from behind you both.

“You always score for y/n can’t you dedicate it to someone else for once.” You exchanged a look with your wife at this, you could see the smirk rising on her face, but you gave her a warning look. As much as you loved Claudia you knew she had a big mouth and what you had to share should only come from the two of you, being as it affected those you play with or did play with.

“What can I say, when you love someone this much it’s easy to dedicate a goal to them.” This caused a smile to rise to your face.

Pina walked away with a slightly disturbed look on her face, one that you knew was due to her distaste for the lovey stuff she had just heard from her captain. “You are capi mush when y/n is around.” Was a comment thrown over her shoulder as she walked away, a comment that had your girlfriend giving you a quick peck to the lips before she was off running after her. Causing the young Spaniard to squeal and bolt off in her counterpart Patri’s direction, you wife hot on her heels.

You giggled at their antics and met back up with Mapi to go out to the car, you had picked the couple up today and would be dropping them home on your way back to yours and Alexia’s place.

Mapi and Ingrid had just departed the car with the promise to be ready for when you are due to pick them up later to car share to dinner. Alexia was staring out the passenger side window obviously deep in thought because her eyebrows had the cute crinkle in them, they always had when the gears in her head were working overtime.

“What’s going on in the beautiful mind of your babe?” When she didn’t reply you got a little concerned, Alexia was not normally that far in her head that she couldn’t even hear you. To gain her attention you gently rested your hand on her thigh which caused her to jump slightly. “Lo siento I didn’t mean to make you jump, are you okay?”

Alexia grabbed the hand on her thigh and laced your fingers together and gave your hand a squeeze, “Si no sorry I’m okay just thinking.” This caused you to chuckle slightly which meant you got a confused look from the woman riding shotgun.

“I know you are thinking gupa, that’s why I put my hand on you to get your attention. I asked you what was going on in that beautiful head of yours and you were too far gone.” You squeezed the hand in yours a couple time to give her some comfort.

“I think we should tell them.” She was looking directly at you now and you knew this had been playing on her mind longer than just this car journey. You gave her hand another squeeze before you replied.

“I think we should soon too, but not today. Today is about you amor, I don’t want anything to take away from us celebrating that, you. But yes, I do think soon we need to too.” Alexia was nodding away in the passenger seat as you spoke and gave you a smile as she gripped your hand in 3 successive squeezes, a gesture you knew meant she loved you.

The rest of the journey home was spent talking about how you were going to share your news, you were still not sure how some of the girls would take your departure from the squad.

[flem17ng]

Could you write basically anything for Jessie Fleming? I’m obsessed with her atm x

Chance encounters JFlem x Reader

Thank you anon! I have the biggest crush on her rn it’s not even funny. I hope you enjoy (also please note that i’m still getting used to writing in second person so i’m sorry if the grammar is insane)

chelsea!jessie fleming x Arsenal!reader

summary: reader has just signed for Arsenal as a midfielder. she meets jessie at her starting debut against chelsea. a few chance encounters after and their relationship builds. 

warnings: Kinda very long. 

word count: 3.2k

“Y/n if you don’t hurry Jonas is gonna find someone to fill that starting spot!”

“no he won’t Leah, don’t be a dick.”

Leah laughed from where she leaned against the doorway. You two were the only ones left in there, everyone else was on their way through the tunnels to warm up. 

“come on kid, you’re great! there is a reason why you’re on this team ok. remember that”

You sighed but nodded, Leah was right as always. But that didn’t stop the feeling of nerves that crept into your belly and up your back and neck. The last time you had been this nervous was… well you couldn’t remember when. 

You stood and corrected your shin pad slightly before straightening up. 

“I know.” you breathed and took a deep breath, “ok. i’m good. let’s go williamson!”

You slapped her on the back at you stepped passed her and into the hallway. 

on the other side was the other team, chelsea’s, locker room. 

“god i hate this stadium, they put us so close together!” Leah whined as you both walked past. You didn’t answer, instead peering into the room. you caught sight of a short brown ponytail and a blue kit before you were rudely tugged forwards. 

“jeez Leah! you’re the one who stayed behind to wait for me! what’s with all the impatience” you mumbled but trudged on. It was a big game, you wanted to get warm. 

***

Walking out as part of the opening lineup was the most surreal experience you had ever had. The crowed roared like a stormy sea of blue and red. Chelsea fans screamed at their captain while the gooners ran through player chants. Across from you, on chelsea’s side, stood the opposing attacking midfielder. You could feel your palms sweating, your heart racing, but you spared a glance at the girl- before promptly almost stopping breathing. 

Jessie Fleming was standing about a metre away from you: eyes forward, jaw clenched, hair in a neat ponytail. You’d seen her around before (and if you were being really honest, you’d always thought she was gorgeous) But now she was standing right next to you. 

“head in the game y/l/n” Katie called from behind you. 

Jessie looked at you before you could look away, and curled her lips up in a friendly smile. You felt your stomach flip at the sight and gave her an awkward wave in return before facing the front. 

So what if she was gorgeous? So what if she happened to be the player Jonas told you to mark? You had a derby the win. 

***

Look. You hadn’t seen her coming so really, was it your fault that you ended up on top of her in the last 5 minutes of the game? maybe. 

The game was as tough as you knew it was going to be: Kerr was running up front aiming for the net while the chelsea defenders had locked into a solid formation. By half time it was still nil all. By second half both teams had gotten reckless; Beth took a hard tumble that had the crowd on their feet while Ashleigh Lawrence on the blues side had been sent off with a suspected concussion. 

so there you were, midfielding in a violent London derby, 2 all with just minutes left to go. 

You touched the ball and took off running, hoping to pass it off to Katie. Distantly you could hear Steph screaming at you (“MAN ON, MAN ON y/n!!”) but before you could proses her words the ball was stolen in a lightning slide-tackle. The force took you off balence and you stumbled forward into the player who was just starting to stand up. 

Time seemed to slow down as you fell forwards: the ball rolled away, the grass was a lot greener up close and oh god were you falling on the person you thought you were?!

You hit something hard and warm with a thud. 

“ow” Jessie groaned, having been sandwiched between the ground and yourself. 

You looked at her, horrified at the situation, and found her with her eyes shut and grimacing. 

“oh my god, I’m so sorry” the whistle had blown but you ignored it, scrambling off the Canadian and holding out your hand to help her up. 

she cracked open her eye and smiled lopsidedly. 

“hey i’m the one that tackled you!”

You shuffled, hand still outstretched. Jessie laughed and look your hand with a firm grip, letting herself be pulled up. 

“true. Maybe i should be rolling around on the ground a bit more to prove that. Lord knows we need that penalty” You grinned at her and slapped her arm before pulling away. 

“You wish gooner”

The whistle blew again and you both turned to the referee. you still had some time in this game. 

***

Jessie limped into the Blues locker room, hair falling out of her pony tail and cheeks a flaming pink. The game hadn’t gone in her favour, something she took hard. The tumble at the end of the game had left her feeling beaten and bruised. 

“jess! nice work ok there mate!” Sam slapped her shoulder with a smile. Jessie just nodded and began to pull off her shirt with one hand. At this point in the night she just wanted to get home with her dog and a large tub of chocolate ice cream. Slowly she packed up her stuff, pulling off her socks and shoes. she was halfway through her post game ritual when guro sat with a thud next to her. 

“tough tumble you took just then”

“oh it was nothing really. just a badly timed tackle is all.” Jessie shrugged. the tackle had been perfect but she wasn’t about to blame you for it. 

“have you met her before. y/n?” Guro questioned. 

Jessie felt her cheeks go red again and hoped she wouldn’t notice. 

“not properly no. we’re in similar circles”

“hm. she’s cute” Guro winked and stood, grabbing her bag. “see ya on Tuesday jess!” 

Jessie opened her mouth, thought, and shut it again. She felt her ears burn a little. of course she knew you where cute, she’d thought that the second she had seen your transfer announcement, she’d known you were gorgeous the moment she had seen you in a bar months ago during a holiday break. And she’d been thinking about you since she saw you sitting up on the starting roster for the derby. 

A knock on the locker room door startled her out of her (gay) thoughts. 

“hey Fleming? Sorry i know i’m technically not allowed to be here…” Your voice carried through the almost empty room. You stood in the doorway, looking very out of place in your arsenal jacket. 

“no not at all. come in please” jessie managed to get out, half in shock and half in disbelief. You walked forward to where she sat, one leg stretched out, kit half on, bag half packed. 

“i just wanted to make sure you were ok. I fell pretty hard on you back there” You fiddled with your fingers and glanced down at jessie as if checking for any bruises. 

“eh, no worse than anything else. Just tired mostly” She looked up at you and you noticed how dark her eyes looked. she did seem tired, weighed down even. You hummed and sat gingerly on the bench next to her. the change room was empty now, and quiet. Jessie rubbed her knee with a wince  You watched the side of her face for a second before reaching into your own bag and pulling out a small ice pack that you kept for emergency’s. Gently, you touched her hand and moved it off her knee, placing the ice pack down instead. 

“thanks” jessie muttered, holding the ice pack to her joint. 

“Good job tonight.” you half whispered, scared to raise your voice in the quiet room, “i had a lot of fun playing with you” You stood up and brushed your pants awkwardly. Jessie smiled and nodded but didn’t look convinced. 

“see you around y/l/n”

“bet on it Fleming”

***

*ARSENAL WIN LONDON DERBY. 3-2 AGAINST CHELSEA*

the newspaper sat on the park bench, a light wind rustling its pages and the recently fallen leaves on the path. You smiled when you saw it, remembering the excitement of the game, the final goal and the bar night that came after. You went to pick up the paper when a dog started barking. 

“i’m so sorry he doesn’t normally do that” a woman called apologetically. 

“no problem really” you stated looking up from the paper to the golden retriever that was sniffing at your feet. “aren’t you a handsome boy?” you cooed before looking up at the owner. 

“y/n? oh my god i didn’t recognise you out of your kit!” Jessie grinned at you, both hands on her dog’s leash as she attempted to keep him from running off. She was wearing a sweatshirt and loose jeans, her hair was out in waves around her jaw. 

“Jessie gosh i didn’t see you!” you hoped you didn’t sound as breathless as you felt, though you doubted it considering how hot your cheeks were. 

She looked down at the paper on the bench and snorted.

“still revelling in your glory then?” you looked down, guilty. “It’s alright, it was a hell of a debut”

“even if i fell on my face at the end?”

“I believe you fell on my face actually” Jessie giggled, her cheeks going rosy. 

“hey now i said i was sorry!”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing did i?” You looked at her with raised eyebrows, she just raised hers back. You would have thought she was bantering if it wasn’t for the steady blush going from her freckled cheeks to her ears. 

The dog woofed loudly, snapping you both back to reality. 

“um so, free day for you aswell?” Jessie asked now trying to look anywhere but at you. 

“yeah. Coach let us have a day off for ‘celebration’.”

“hate to break it to you Y/l/n but this isn’t the pub” Jessie motioned around the park (relatively empty because it was a Monday morning)

“Well… I would much rather be out and about than in some stuffy pub at 9am. Why are you free?”

“I think Emma wanted to give us time to reflect on the game. I’m sure we’ll be in for a lecture tomorrow.” Jessie pulled the leed and motioned for you to walk with her. The park was one of those little ones you only find in London: gated and stuck between large apartments and tiny cafes. 

“you played amazingly though.” You stated, sticking your hands in your pockets. Jessie snorted and shook her head. 

“I played pretty shit. You don’t have to butter me up.”

“I’m not! I’ve seen you play a million times before and yesterday was definitely one of the best”

“a million times? really? I didn’t know you where a fan” jessie smirked. 

“oh please Fleming don’t look so smug or i’ll find some other boring Canadian to bother”

Jessie scoffed and looked at you with feigned anger, “Boring? You’re the one spending your celebration day in a park with the enemy” 

You laughed and nodded in agreement. The truth was: You had been invited for breakfast with the team but crowds weren’t really your thing. And maybe you couldn’t get a certain brunette off your mind but that wasn’t anyone’s business. 

“well would it make it any better if i asked the enemy to get some coffee with me?”

***

The cafe, like the park, was empty. an old man sat in the corner with a crossword and the teenager at the counter looked half asleep on his feet. The dog was allowed in and now sat peacefully by jessie’s feet, his big brown eyes looking out the window for a squirrel to watch. 

“what’s his name?” You asked, tipping your head towards the retriever. 

“moose” 

“moose? oh my god you’re so Canadian. Next you’re gonna tell me you have a cat called maple syrup.” Jessie laughed and shook her head. 

“i do have a cat back home- but her name is Bear.”

“oh my god that’s almost worse.” you laughed and patted moose on the head. “you like animals then?”

Jessie’s eyes lit up and she leaned closer. 

“i love them. anything in nature! hiking, camping. And any animal i love!” Her eyes sparkled and she took a sip of her drink (cold brew, an order a friend from the Canadian team had introduced to her). 

“wait yeah i forgot. You’re crazy smart aren’t you?” You asked. Of course she was, smart, talented, god damn ethereal in the morning sunlight and apparently an animal lover aswell. 

“well… i went to university. engineering, environmental science.” she smiled sheepishly, “it’s funny because i majored in mechanical engineering but i would love to have a farm one day” She smiled thinking about it. You pictured it for a moment: Jessie in a flannel and cowboy hat, dog by her side and an axe or something in her hand. 

“I think you would be good at that” You responded, trying not to think about lumber jack jessie for too long. 

She smiled and took another long sip from her cup. 

“I didn’t know you lived near here?” Jessie asked. 

“yeah I’ve been staying with Leah for a few weeks. I’m hoping to get an apartment within a month or so though.” rooming with leah was harder than it sounded. she was high maintenance. “what about you? do you live with anyone? boyfriend?”

jessie snorted,  her coffee almost spraying over the table. She looked at you for a moment with a raised eyebrow before realising you weren’t kidding. 

“oh you’re serious? No i don’t have a boyfriend. I um. No. i don’t… I don’t really do boys at all really” Jessie blushed and shook her head. 

“OH! oh god my bad! I mean neither do i. I didn’t want to assume, you know get my hopes up-“ You quickly slapped a hand over your mouth. 

“get your hopes up eh?” jessie smirked. You panicked for a second, Looking at her and then the door and then the old man. Jeez that was real smooth. 

“What i mean is: Sometimes you just don’t know. I didn’t want to hope that you… That you were gay because we might not relate right!” was it hot in the cafe? you were pretty sure you were sweating. Did jessie buy it? why did she look disappointed. It was at that moment that your phone began to ring. 

“Look jess i’ll have to catch you later! Leah is wondering why i didn’t get the coffee beans she told me to get!”

“Leah doesn’t drink coffee”

“yes. right. well i still must be off” you got up and handed your card to the waiter, paying for both you and jessie’s drinks without a thought. Jessie watched you for a moment feeling a little hurt. Did you have a problem with her being gay? That didn’t make sense but she couldn’t think of another reason that you had gone cold. 

“Alright. Thanks for the coffee eh? I’ll pay you back another time.”

“sure. another time Fleming” you smiled and patter Moose one last time before heading out the door leaving jessie both confused, slightly hurt and all together very queer. 

***

It was Millie that ended up dragging her to the club a few weeks later. If it was up to her, Jessie would have stayed in watching star wars with a bowl of popcorn. But alas, her Captain had other plans and so she found herself, half drunk and grumpy in a crowded booth on a friday night. She was wearing a black button down shirt and slacks (the only smart outfit she owned that wasn’t sweats and a tshirt). The music was Thumping, Lights flashing and her head was feeling way too light for this early in the evening. 

“hey jeff. I think i spotted your girl on the dance floor earlier” Sam shouted teasingly. By now the whole team had noticed jessie’s little crush. 

“she’s not my girl sam. She literally ran away when she found out i was gay” Jessie rolled her eyes and sunk further into her seat. So maybe she had been thinking about that day at the cafe a little more than normal. 

“oh my god you’re an idiot fleming.” Guro stated. “she’s gay! She blushes like an idiot every-time you’re around! go find her and dance!”

“yeah right. i’m going to dance but just to get away from you” jessie stood and walked into the dance floor, finding the music and letting herself move further away from her friends in the booth. It was all she could think about for the last few weeks. Every post she saw about you, every song made her feel dizzy. She felt like a fool. 

“Jessie? I didn’t know you would be out tonight” Your voice cut through the music and jessie turned sharply to face you, her mouth falling open. You were wearing a tight dress that clung to your curves, the lights of the club lit up your face in strange ways, highlighting your lips, your eyes… jessie froze. 

“look jess i feel really bad about that day. I was being an idiot. I don’t know why i freaked out the way i did. I mean of course i wanted you to be gay! You’re the most amazingly beautiful woman i’ve ever seen! god i’m just yapping now but-“

“dance with me” Jessie cut you off, eyes still wide as she watched you. 

“pardon?”

“dance with me y/n”

She stepped closer into you her hands coming to rest on your waist where she ran her nails softly over the silk of your dress. The music was loud and fast yet you swayed together, impossibly close. 

you put your hands in her neck, your fingers tangling into the roots of her hair making her eyes flutter closed. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you laughed nervously. Jessie’s eyes were on yours, pupils large and dark. The crowd melted away as she pushed forward and kissed you. 

It was as if all the air had been sucked from your lungs. Her lips were soft and warm and tasted like mixer and vodka. Her grip tightened on your waist and you kissed her back hard. Your finger slipped into her hair as she gasped into your mouth. It was hot and messy and you needed it. You kissed her like a woman starved. 

When you finally broke apart you breathed heavily, mouth pink and cheeks flushed. 

“fuck” she gasped, her eyes glued to your mouth. 

“yeah” you laughed cradling her face in your hands. 

“for the record i think you’re really beautiful.” jessie laughed, suddenly looking bashful. You grinned and placed another kiss on her swollen lips. 

“let’s get out of here Fleming. I think I need to show you just how beautiful you are”

[outsideratheart]

Welcome to Colney (Leah Williamson x reader)

Summer 2022 changed your life. Winning the Copa América wasn’t new to you nor the Brazilian national team but this year was the first tournament where you was the captain of your team. It was an honour and a privilege to wear the armband but it came with pressure and responsibilities that you weren’t expecting. Your performance caught the eyes of several clubs but one stood out from the rest, Arsenal. The decision to move to the legendary English club was made easier when Rafa told you they made her an offer too. It was chance to play football with your best friend at club level for the first time in your careers.

“Are you nervous?” Rafa asked as you pulled up to the training facilities. There would be no training today but the club wanted to celebrate the players who had been crowned champions over the summer.

You shake your head.

“Not even to play with a new team in a new country?”

Truth is you were nervous about learning a new style but you also knew you had to lead by example.

“I welcome the challenge”

“Of course you do”

You arrived to find the entire team, both men and women, outside the front of the building. The sight itself was a little bit daunting but you would let them know that.

“Y/N! Rafaelle!” Jonas is the first to spot you and calls you over.

He introduces you to the team but there seems to be one person missing; your English counterpart Leah Williamson.

It is only when you see Beth Mead and Lotte Wubben-Moy sporting their medals do you realise that you have left yours in the car. Rafa volunteers to go them and in her absence you find yourself gravitating towards your fellow Brazilians on the men’s team.

You are so deep in conversation with Gabi that you don’t realise the women’s team has gathered for a photo.

“Desculpe” you quickly run over where you are instructed to stand in the middle.

Seconds before the photo is taken you feel a hand grab your waist and it sends a shockwave through your body. When you turn to face the owner of said hand you see a shy looking blonde with flushed cheeks.

“I’m Leah” she holds her hand out for you to shake once the photographer says she’s happy for the shots she has.

“Y/N” you shake her hand, a motion in itself lasts a little longer than it did with everyone else “It’s a pleasure to meet you Leah”

There’s something about the minuscule moment you had just shared but you couldn’t put your finger on it.

“We’re very lucky to have you here at Arsenal. I can’t wait to play with you”

“I’m sure you’ll be playing more with Rafa but I look forward to sharing the pitch with you”

It was a compliment face off. It's clear both of you are fans of each other but it is when Beth wanders over do you realise just how big of fan Leah is.

“I see you’ve met your biggest fan” Beth wraps her arms around Leah’s shoulder “Leah here couldn’t stop talking about you when we found out you had signed”

Leah’s face said it all. The embarrassment was clear but you liked it. What you didn’t like was the way Rafa appeared out of nowhere and joined in Beth’s game of expose my captain.

“Oh please, don’t act like you aren’t a fan of hers too. Y/N came her a few weeks ago because she wanted to meet you but when she arrived you were with your team mates on holiday”

“Rafaelle” it was a warning, one which she was all too aware of “I came here to sort out our house whilst you were off celebrating with the girls”

“You didn’t celebrate your win? You were incredible” Leah, once again, pays you a compliment.

“I had a lot on my plate. Like Rafa said I came to unpack and decorate our house but before then I had back to back interviews and photoshoots in Brazil that I couldn't get out of"

“I understand that” the sorrow in Leah’s voice was concerning.

“Being a first time captain leading your team to a championship comes with its downfalls”

Leah only nods her head. The weeks following the euros was nothing like Leah expected. The tournament put her on a pedestal and for the first time since she lifted the trophy she didn’t feel alone at the top.

Of course both of you could relax a little knowing that while here at Colney and at meadow park, Kim Little was the captain and it didn’t take long for you to be reminded of that.

“I see the captain of England and the captain of Brazil have met but we all know who is in charge around here” Katie joked.

“We are team full of leaders. Leah is one of the captains too and I hope Y/N will bring some her her leadership skills to the team” Kim joins the small group which is forming.

You cannot bring yourself to respond. Not because you don’t want to but you don’t want to place yourself with the top players of the team when you haven’t even stepped foot on the pitch.

During the offseason trip to Germany you found it surprisingly easy to fit in with the team. You got along well with the team but more so with Leah. Despite being from different countries, you had similar tastes in music so you would often lounge around listening to your favourite playlists whilst Leah showed you how to play Sudoku.

Things changed when you were back in London. You unconsciously began to close yourself off. It was as if Y/N the human being didn't feel at home in London which wouldn't be a problem given that you had only been there for a month but Rafa seemed to be blossoming in the country's capital. Several players picked up on your change of behaviour so Katie suggested a team bonding night at a restaurant of her choosing.

When she sends you the address of an all you can eat Brazilian you are filled with excitement but the restaurant itself didn't quite live up to a native's standards. The gesture is kind and you make sure to thank her for her efforts when you leave.

"You didn't like it?" Leah nudges you as you and few of the other team members walk back to where the cars are parked.

"It wasn't really Brazilian. It was just a lot of meat" you whisper as not to upset the irishwoman.

"I told you Katie!" Leah shouts much to your failed attempts at telling her to not to say anything.

"What!" Katie comes skipping over to the two of you "I thought you would like going to a Brazilian restaurant"

"That wasn't Brazilian, it was —“ Rafa comes to plead your case.

"A lot of meat" Leah says earning a smirk and a shake of head from you.

This leads to Rafa inviting the team over to the house you shared and offered a home cooked Brazilian feast which you found rich considering you were the chef out of the two of you. The team happily take her up on her offer and as you walk down the streets of St Albans you gaze remain fixed on a certain individual and how her hips swayed with every step she took.

"So you and Leah?" Rafa snuck up behind you. She had seen the way the two of you conversed the entire night. You barely showed anyone else any attention but the sight Rafa saw was rare and she knew that you must have opened yourself up to Leah if you were willing to get this close.

“She —“ how do you describe Leah?

"Ticks every single one of your boxes" the fellow Brazilian finishes your sentence or at least she tries.

"I was going to say she is beautiful"

You couldn’t deny Leah’s beauty. The way her blonde hair brought out the colour of her eyes; it puts the bluest oceans to shame. You were attracted to Leah and you knew it from the first day you met her but the passion she has for the sport you both love led you to fall deeper for her. She understood your mind more than anyone else given that she recently faced the same pressure as you.

"You should ask her out"

"I'm going to"

And that is what you planned to do the next day at training, that is until Beth officially gave you the low down on the couples within the team. Of course you had your suspicions and those had been right. What did catch you off guard was when Beth started talking about Leah and her history with Jordan Nobbs. From the signs Leah had given you, you thought she was single but Beth's explanation of their on off relationship thus far gave you reasons to doubt the moments you and Leah had shared. It’s the reason why you never asked her out that day or the day after that. In fact months passed and you still didn't ask her out even though your feelings never changed. You did keep her close though, just close enough to allow yourself to think what if.

It was during the final away trip of the year that the truth game to light. The team had met for breakfast, Leah observed from a distance as you watched Kim make a coffee with her latest contraption. The look on you face resembles that of a child watching a magic trick whilst figuring out how it’s done. She found it adorable the way you closed you eyes, inhaled the sent of the freshly poured cup then smiled widely as you swallowed your first mouthful.

“You’re drooling” Rafa jokes as she joins her fellow centre back at the table “Leah?” She waves her hand in front of the blonde to get her attention.

“I’m sorry. Did you say something?”

“You stare at her a lot for someone that turned her down”

Leah drew a blank. She had no idea what Rafaelle was talking about. She hadn’t turned you down, she wouldn’t and it’s not like she has had the opportunity to because you haven’t asked her out. She is just about to ask her to elaborate but both her and Kim gets called over by Jonas. You mumble a short and sweet ‘hi’ as you take her place at the table.

Rafa’s words stuck with Leah for the next few days as she tried and failed to think what could have made her think that. In the end it is the culprit herself that confesses when some of the girls are at Lia and Caitlyn’s for a game night.

“It’s been 5 months Leah and you have yet to make a move on Y/N. We can see the see you look at each other” Lia begins her friendly interrogation.

“and the sexual tension is disgusting” Katie fake gags.

“She told Rafa that she asked me out and I said no” Leah explains.

“You turned her down but I thought you liked her?” Viv questions.

“It’s not like Leah would have said yes, She is still with Jordan” Beth says.

You would have though the blonde had confessed to a murder the way all heads turned to her with a movement that could have given the owner whiplash.

“Beth, me and Jordan broke up before the euros. It’s done, we’re over for good this time”

Beth looked like a child that watched on as a problem they caused gets unveiled.

“What did you do?” Viv asks her girlfriend.

“I might have told her that you were already taken” 

Leah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Had Beth really sabotaged the relationship before it even had a chance to begin. It made Leah realise one thing, you did like her because you were going to ask her out. She tried calling your phone but it went straight to voicemail and despite her trying numerous times after that, the results were the same no answer.

In an attempt to redeem herself, Beth offered to drive the blonde to your house. It was an offer that Leah happily accepted. She knew from overhearing a conversation between you and Stina that you were going back to Brazil for the holidays, she only wished that she could see you before you leave.

With her friends in tow Leah knocks rapidly on your front door hoping with every fibre of her being that you answer it. A Brazilian answers the door only it isn't the one she hoped for.

Rafa notices Leah peeping behind her and its then that she realises the blonde didn't come for her.

"You're here for Y/N?" she asks earning a nod from Leah "She isn't here"

Leah's face fell. It isn't the end of the world but she didn't want to spend the next two weeks wondering what you're doing in Brazil and more important who you are doing things with.

"Where is she?" Caitlyn asks.

"Airport" Rafa then looks down at her watch "Her flight leaves, well right now actually"

If it wasn't already, the way the other girls looked at each other made it obvious that something was going on and Rafaelle was in the dark.

Out the corner of her eye Leah saw a photo frame hanging on the wall. It was a photo on the two of you taken in Germany, a small chuckle escaped her lips at the difficulty that came with the getting to pose for the photo but just as quickly as the happiness flood her systems, it is replaced with sadness.

"I'm about to put a movie on and order a takeaway if you guys want to stay" your best friend points to the takeaway menus that were scattered on the kitchen countertop.

Everyone was up for an impromptu movie night, everyone but Leah who quite frankly just wanted to be alone. She politely declined the invite and left your house with her head hanging low.

The moment she steps outside her body crashes into another sending her to the ground.

"Leah! are you ok?" you help the blonde to her feet.

Leah meanwhile didn't understand what was going on. How was you there when you were suppose to be on a plane to Brazil.

"Leah?" you wave you hand in front of her face "Did you hit your head?”

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here" you chuckle a little at obviousness of her question.

"I know that" she smacks you playfully "I mean in England, Rafa said you were going to Brazil"

"My flight was overbooked so I'm taking the next one which is first thing tomorrow morning" you explained.

You are just about to enter your home when Leah stops you. Her hand rests on top of yours on the door handle. You remove you hand but keep Leah's intertwined with yours. You knew something was wrong. First she was leaving your house alone and now she didn't want you to go in.

"Linda" you look deeply into those blue eyes you like so much "What's wrong?"

"Beth was wrong when she told you about Jordan. We are not dating, that chapter of my life is done"

Your head dips slightly as a smile tugs at your lips. If Leah wasn't with Jordan then it changes everything.

"But she said that you were" you try to remember the exact wording "she said it was on and off. I like you Leah but I won't ruin your relationship"

"There is no relationship, me and Jordan are done. There is something between us though and that is the only thing on my mind"

There something about the girl you like telling you how she feels and it aligning with your own feelings that brings you pure happiness.

"Would you have said yes if I asked you?" Leah nods enthusiastically "then let's go"

She could't believe your spontaneity. It didn't match your every day personality but she liked this side of you.

"I would love that but you should know Rafa and some of the girls are inside having a movie night and since this is your last night here before winter break, maybe we should join them?"

You didn't like to share and given that Leah had all but admitted she had feelings for you, you really wanted to spend the night with her alone. You are just about to tell her this when you hear laughing from the other side of the door.

"We can but only if you let me take you out for breakfast in the morning?"

"I would like that"

When the door opens, the girls on the other side freeze. All eyes are on the hallway as they wait to see who enters.

"Y/N!" Beth shouts "and Leah! who are holding hands?"

You pay no attention to the forward’s observations. Instead you go straight to your place on the sofa which funnily enough remains empty and Leah settles in beside you. Throughout the night you struggle to pay attention to the movie because the woman in your arms in much more interesting. At one point she catches you staring and with the way you are sat your faces are incredibly close. You have to bite your lip to stop yourself from kissing her but when Leah reaches up to caress you lower lip your hesitation goes out the window. Her lips are soft against your own and you relish the moment you have been waiting for since the first say you met her at Colney.  

"Minha Linda" you place a soft kiss to her hairline.

"What does that mean?" Leah had been learning Portuguese from Rafa but it was a slow process.

"My beautiful"

[poge-life]

𝟚𝟘 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕄𝕋𝕍

So, this is a little bit different than the other interview fics I’ve done. Drew isn’t in this one, it’s more of how someone playing the character I created would answer the questions asked. But I did have it to where they are dating so he is mentioned quite a bit. This is based off the interview Drew did for MTV, so go on and check that out!

“Hi, guys. I’m (y/n) (l/n) and I’m doing 20 questions for 2023 MTV.”

‘Hardest Outer Banks spoiler you’ve had to keep?’

“Either that Big John is still alive or that Rafe and Avery break up this season.” You spoke

‘If you were to make a fan page for someone, who would it be?’

“Madelyn Cline. I am her biggest fan and love her with all my whole heart,” you laughed, leaning back in the chair, “my username would be ‘maddyclinemarryme’.”

‘Favorite line from the show?’

“Keep running that mouth and see if don’t come knockin’ that J-Crew lookin’ ass out’

You let out a laugh, covering your mouth with your hand before taking a deep breath, “I’m sorry but that whole scene between Rafe and Barry is on repeat in my head all the time. Just the dynamic between them is amazing and cracks me up.”

‘What was your first impression of Drew when you two met?’

You couldn’t help but smile at the mention of your boyfriend. It seemed like a lifetime ago when you two met. You were blown away by him at the table read and how well he could just easily switch over to a character like Rafe.

“It’s cheesy but I fell for him at the table read. I was just so blown away by him and how he could get so into a character like Rafe without being anything like him,” You smiled, “We were both kind of shy around each other but we sucked it up and spent a lot of time together considering we had most of our scenes together.”

“By the end of filming, we felt like we had known each other for years.”

‘Have you ever had a crush on an animated character?’

There was absolutely no hesitation from you as soon as you answered, “Danny Phantom. He was the first character I had seen that set the tone of what kind of guys I would have a thing for.”

‘Drew hesitated with his answer.’

You looked over to one of the producers as you raised your eyebrows, “Who’d he say?”

‘Lola Bunny’

You rolled your eyes as you tapped the microphone against your lips, “Him and any other guy his age. I will say, Lola was like the cultural reset for cartoon women.”

‘Who is an artist you’ve had on repeat?’

“T-Swift. Or Adele. My first ever CD was Taylor’s debut album and I was in love with her. Adele just knows how to write music that knows just where to hit you and gets me all emotional.”

This next one was a voice message they had chosen. They had asked fans to send in any kind of questions they wanted and they would pick the best ones.

‘You recently said in an interview that your guilty pleasure was ‘America’s Next Top Model’, who was your favorite winner?’

“Ugh, I know there’s so much controversy about ANTM but I can't help but love the show. My sisters and I would sit there and watch it all the time. We lived for the drama. My favorite winner would probably be… Whitney from season 10. She was the first ever plus size girl to ever make it to the end. She’s also the only plus size model to ever win the show and that kind of gave me a sense of…security, I guess? That you don’t have to be a stick or have the same body type as everyone to be a model.”

‘What did you think of Rafe’s buzz cut?’

You excitedly sat up in your seat as you held out your hand, “Can I just point out the fact that Rafe hasn’t had the same hair cut in any season?”

“But I was surprised at how well that played out for Drew because he was practically shitting himself because he thought Jonas, our showrunner, was gonna get upset with him but he actually wanted Rafe to have buzzed hair this season. I was actually a major fan of the buzzed look.”

“Then again, I’m a little biased because he’s my boyfriend but he always looks good.” You shrugged, leaning back in the chair as the producers laughed at your words, “He’s sex on legs.”

‘What’s your favorite line from season 3?’

“ ‘What do you need from me to bring down Rafe?’ I think that says enough.”

‘What would be your ‘most likely’

“Most likely to be napping. It doesn’t matter where I am or what we’re doing. I will find somewhere to take a nap.”

They had pulled up some clips from the premiere of season 3 from some of the questions they asked and it was Madison, “ (Y/N), who has the best music taste out of our friend group and why is it me?”

You let out a laugh as you looked back over at the camera, agreeing with her, “Madison does have the best. Only because she and I have the same music taste so I’m always vibin’ when I’m with her.”

‘What is your go-to karaoke song?’

“Drew always makes me sing ‘Tequila’ with him. He says it’s because it’s only one word throughout the whole thing,” You explained, “Drew likes to commit to things but finds the easiest way to do it.”

‘What is your irrational fear?’

You shuddered as you spoke, “Spiders. I am terrified of them. Drew kills all the spiders in our house. It’s ironic because I have a spider-web tattooed on my shoulder. But do not ask me to do anything with a spider or else I will cry.”

‘If Avery had a theme song, what would it be?’

You thought about it for a second, tilting your head in thought, “Happier than ever by Billie Eilish. Especially for this season. This season really shows that Avery is struggling to hold onto her relationship with Rafe and starts to realize he isn’t the same guy he was when they first got together.”

‘If you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be?’

You let out a puff of air as you leaned back in the chair, “Jesus, I don’t even know what I’m getting when I set up my appointment. I’d probably get something that has to do with my dog. He’s been my best friend since I’ve had him.”

‘What’s your favorite book?’

“ ‘The Way I used to be.’ It’s the first book I ever finished in one sitting. It was a lot darker than what I was used to reading but it easily became one of my favorites. I highly recommend it but it does cover very sensitive topics, so please look into them before you read it.”

‘What is your dream theater role?’

“Oo, Satine from ‘Moulin Rouge'.’ I fell in love with her and the show the first time I watched it. Or Christine Daae from ‘Phantom’ but I cannot sing for the life of me.”

‘What would the internet be surprised to learn about you?’

“I’m a homebody. I prefer staying in over going out. Probably watching ‘Degrassi’ or ‘Lord of the rings.”

‘Favorite TV show you’ve recently watched?’

“The walking dead,” you answered, “I stopped watching it after Rick left because I was tired of getting my feelings hurt by that show every 5 minutes. But I got back into it after the last season came out.”

“I have the game on my iPad and I’m constantly playing it.”

‘What do you think of everyone shipping Rafe and Barry?’

You let out a laugh, throwing your head back before looking back at the camera, “Oh, lord. I find it hilarious. Drew and Nick are a dynamic duo and everyone loves them. They’re constantly sending each other fan edits people make. They love it.”

“Rafe and Barry have more chemistry than Rafe and Avery do, I think.”

“And there you have it. That was 20 questions with MTV and you guys got to know me a little bit better. Be sure to check out season 3 on Netflix and go watch some other interviews we’ve done.”

Are there any specific interviews you guys want me to do? I honestly love doing them!

[so-so-woso]

i wanna be the one | part 2

Summary: First game as part of the team, first big night out as part of the team, more flirting. Honestly, it's mostly just flirting.

Also as a general note, the timeline, games, and team composition are all kind of all over the place because while I might be crazy I’m not going to do actual research for this lmao also please don't expect any sort of consistent word count with these, I'm not good at being consistent with anything. Part 3 will be time-jumpy and will probably be up sooner rather than later, fingers crossed.

Word Count: 2,457

The next few days were awkward, for you anyway. No one else seemed to notice, and Leah was as indifferent as usual. You had tried to approach her and apologize once, but she grabbed Beth and hurried out of the locker room as soon as you stood up. You tried to convince yourself it was a coincidence, but you knew it wasn’t. You didn’t think anything was all that bad and really just wanted to clear the air about it and move on, but it didn’t feel like Leah was going to let you do that. So, you guessed, the next best thing to do was just forget that it happened, which you both really did and really didn’t want to do. It helped you had a game to look forward to, despite not playing in it. Still, it was exciting, your first game as part of the team, and against Tottenham. The Spurs managed to score on a late penalty, but you still won 2-1. The atmosphere was truly wild, and more than you had expected – more than you could’ve hoped for – in the best possible way. Er, mostly, anyway.

You always had a hard time accepting when good things happened to you, or when you did well at something. You could talk yourself up in a joking way, playing every bit the cocky athlete, like the opposite of self-deprecating – but it was always as a joke. Being serious about your achievements had always been near impossible. You knew why it was hard for you, but it wasn’t something you liked explaining to other people, so you mostly just pretended everything was fine and that you were as chill and haughty as you so often pretended to be. That didn’t mean you weren’t terrified all the time, though, and it definitely didn’t mean that Doubt wasn’t constantly hovering just out of reach, waiting to swoop down and take you into its talons the instant you felt comfortable. It just meant that you were used to it.

It hit you pretty early, in the 20th minute or so. You were just sitting on the sideline, watching the game, listening to the roar of the crowd – and then all of a sudden you couldn’t hear the cheering anymore, just the rushing of your own blood in your ears. You had shifted in your seat and tried to hide the fact that you weren’t looking at the field anymore. You had wanted to close your eyes, but that would be obvious – not to mention rude – so instead you tried to shift focus on to the back of the seat in front of you. If it was already starting with you riding the bench, you really didn’t want to think about what would happen if you ever managed to get any minutes. You handled it okay, though, and managed until half time when you could go into the locker room and splash water on your face. That helped, as did the distractions of being around the rest of the team and Jonas’ half time speech. The last 45 minutes passed pretty quickly, at least for you, and before you knew it you were back in the locker room, celebrating the win.

Since you hadn’t played, you didn’t have much to do in terms of getting ready to leave after the game. You thought you’d be able to sneak out pretty quick, but several of the girls had very quickly agreed on another night out and you were invited. You could’ve said no, and on one hand you wanted to – but on the other hand, you were still new enough it didn’t feel like a great move to turn down any chances at bonding with the team, so you agreed to meet them later. Part of you knew it would be a good idea, too, because even though as soon as you got home you would want to just go to sleep, but if you told someone you were going to do something then you were going to do it, and agreeing to hang out would keep you from spending the evening wallowing. Your primal urge to be seen as dependable often greatly outweighed any anxiety or despair you felt and had frequently kept you afloat in the past, seemingly set to do so again now.

Planning to head home and change before you met back up with the girls, you pulled out your phone to order an Uber as you exited the locker room. Your head was down as you turned out of the door, a classic bad move that you paid for very quickly as you bumped into a person heading back inside. You immediately apologized, but cut yourself off when you realized it was Leah. She stopped short as well, staring up at you for a long moment. You wanted to apologize again, but found it suddenly hard to form the words you wanted, so you stuttered a bit before she spoke first.

“I’m sorry.”

You shook your head. “No, no, I wasn’t paying attention, it was totally my fault.”

“Not that. The other night. I…made it weird. I do that sometimes. I’m sorry.”

“Oh! No, that was total—”

“I don’t date teammates.”

“—ly my fault—sorry, what?”

She sighed and rubbed at her chin, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone was around.

“I don’t date teammates,” she repeated. You paused and drew in a slow breath, making sure you heard her correctly.

“Oh…kay. I don’t…remember asking you out, but—”

“No, I know, but you were flirting. And I just didn’t want to, like—”

She was interrupted by a pair of your teammates exiting the room behind you. They acknowledged both you and Leah, but didn’t seem to notice or at least didn’t ask about the confused look that was surely on your face. Leah, taking the interruption for the distraction that it was, mumbled a ‘yeah’ and tried to slip past you back into the locker room, but you managed to catch her by the elbow. She sighed at being caught and stepped back from the doorway.

“You end a lot of conversations by just walking away, don’t you?”

She rolled her eyes at your observation, but you continued before she could retort.

“It’s okay. The dating thing, not the walking away thing – that you should definitely work on. But as far as who you date, that’s like…your business. I mean, it like really sucks for me, I guess, but—”

“Hm, assuming I’d be interested in you.”

You barely bit back a snort at her interruption.

“Wow, okay, didn’t have to come at me like that,” you said, putting on a faux exasperated voice and gesturing with the phone in your hand. She exhaled a soft laugh and gave a small shrug, “sorry.”

“No, for real, that’s…I mean…I just hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable? With the flirting?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Okay. Well, if you want me to stop, then…just let me know.”

“…okay.”

“Cool,” you nodded, fingers fiddling with the cross-strap of your bag as you felt a couple more of your teammates exit from the door behind you. They too acknowledged both you and Leah as they passed, and you both said bye to them, with you now deciding to take the opportunity to follow them out.

“Well, good talk, Williamson, definitely not awkward at all,” you said over your shoulder as spun around and moved quickly to catch up with Kim and Lia – but you didn’t move quite quickly enough to miss another soft laugh escaping from the blonde behind you, nor the warm flutter that bubbled up in your chest at hearing it.

Yeah, this wasn’t going to be awkward at all.

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

You spent most of the evening dancing and drinking with your new teammates, and some randos from the club you were at. You had the next week off, so Kim’s ‘two drinks max’ rule had been thrown so far out the window it probably hit a bird. It didn’t take very long at all to find out why she had the rule, either. Most of the instigation seemed to be stemming from McCabe. You kind of hated that it was such a stereotype, but damned if it didn’t seem to be true. She kept trying to hand you shots and make you dance with Foord, which you thought was weird because you were under the impression they were together, but maybe they weren’t, or maybe this was part of their whole thing, you really had no idea, so you just went with it. Of course you danced with Steph, too, and Alessia, and pretty much everyone else who seemed to want to.

There was one girl from the club who kept coming back to you, and the shots Katie kept handing you pretty much meant you were going to keep dancing with her. She was pretty, you thought, but drunk. But you guessed you were pretty and drunk too, so maybe it was okay. She was really touchy, though, which you didn’t love, and once she asked you to meet her in the bathroom you excused yourself pretty quickly. That was not the vibe you were aiming for tonight.

You left her on the dance floor and made your way to the bar to get a water, which you were quietly sipping when Leah slid up next to you. “You move on quick,” she said with a smirk, tossing a glance in the direction of the dance floor, before turning back to the bar and waving at the bartender. You followed her glance back towards the girl you’d been dancing with while she ordered another drink for herself. You opened your mouth to riposte, but instead just shook your head and took another gulp of water.

“Jesus,” you finally said, “I should’ve stuck with Kim’s rule.”

Leah laughed. “Yeah, you gotta learn not to let McCabe play you so easily.”

“What?”

“She does this to all the newbies. I mean she can handle it, and everybody else knows better, but you newbies – easy prey.”

“Ugh, god.”

“Yeah, I know.”

She laughed again, and you heaved a sigh as you took another long drink, turning to the side and looking back across the club at the rest of your teammates. Your eyes landed on Katie McCabe, who was finally dancing with Foord herself now, and you made a mental note that you were definitely going to get her back somehow. You watched them for a second before turning back towards Leah, who was sipping at her own drink now. This was the first time you really looked at her tonight, and what she was wearing. It wasn’t really terribly revealing or anything, but she was wearing a skirt, which was incredibly rude of her to do.

You weren’t sure how long you were staring at her thighs, but it was definitely way longer than was appropriate. When you finally looked up again, she was smirking at you, and you couldn’t even pretend to hide the giant grin that spread across your face, or the redness that was surely growing across your cheeks.

“Sorry,” you laughed, rubbing at your own face. “That was like incredibly obvious, huh.”

“Yeah, a little bit,” she laughed back.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, you’re drunk. And I know you like my legs.”

“And still you use them against me like that. You and McCabe, man – I gotta get out of here before one of you kills me.”

You downed the rest of your water and signaled for the bartender to settle up. Leah stayed quietly next to you the whole time, and while she had turned her body away to look back into the crowd, there were definitely a few times you felt her eyes back on you.

“You wanna go?” The words left your mouth unbidden as you slid your wallet back into your pocket. Your head was swimming, but you felt like it was more the blonde’s doing than the alcohol’s – although, if anyone asked, you were definitely blaming the alcohol. When you looked back at her, her head was cocked to the side and she was giving you a look that said we talked about this.

“I don’t mean like—I’m just trying to get to know you. I don’t really know you. I mean, Youtube does keep recommending videos of you to me but they’re all from like seven years ago—”

“Oh god, don’t watch any of those. Wait, if it’s recommending them, that means you’ve watched videos of me on Youtube.”

“Hmm? No. No, definitely not – I don’t think that’s how that works at all, actually.”

“Oh, okay, yeah, my mistake then.”

She laughed at you again, and you maybe fell just a little bit in love as you started stumbling backwards. You bumped into someone, so you turned and apologized, but they just moved away, so you turned back towards Leah.

“And you’re like super sure you don’t want to go on a date with me?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Just checking. I can wait.”

“You can wait?”

“Yeah, 'cause I’m warning you, Williamson, one of these days—" You wagged a finger at her, as you took another step backwards, but thought better than to end that sentence so instead you just turned and walked away, the alcohol and conversation both threatening you far too much to stay any longer.

You took an Uber back to your flat and practically threw yourself into the shower. You needed to calm down, in several ways, so you made sure the water was as cool as you could really stand and then just sort of stood there for several minutes, letting it rain over you.

You honestly started trying to think about ways you could mess with Katie, but you would be a complete idiot if you really believed anyone but Leah could keep hold of your thoughts for more than about fifteen seconds. But you really did try to think about something else. Well, you guessed, you didn’t really try very hard.

She didn’t date teammates, and that was fine. Boundaries are good to have, and you didn’t want to overstep. But she also didn’t tell you to stop flirting with her. She also didn’t seem to mind you flirting with her, and also seemed to flirt back with you. That was confusing. But you liked it. Like a lot. Like you wanted to do it all the time. Which, honestly, you kind of were doing all the time, any time you talked to her . And you liked it, and she seemed to like it, but she wasn’t going to date you. Which was fine. Really. It was. Totally fine.

Totally.

[wosowrites]

Yellow Card Madness ( Katie McCabe x Reader )

Warnings: ⚠️Swearing⚠️

A/N: This one is just pure Katie madness. And also three posts today? Woah go me. It will not always be like this i’m just still on march break.

Prompt: Reader and Katie are dating, and reader gets her first red card ever, which leaves Katie slightly proud.

It was known to everyone that your girlfriend was the Yellow Card Queen, the Yellow Card Magnet, the Irish Messi, Katie McCard. All of these nicknames were used to describe her on a daily basis. Whereas people called you Arsenal’s Classic Canadian, the Softie, the Sunshine in the storm. You and Katie were polar opposites, but your relationship was perfect, and thrived on your differences. So when you got two consecutive yellows during a game against Chelsea, when you got your first red card ever, the gunners were in shock, and Katie couldn’t help but feel slightly proud of her girl.

Three and a half hours earlier:

You and Katie climbed out of thr gunners bus and entered Kingsmeadow stadium through the players entrance. You were walking behind Leah, and beside your girlfriend. Your face was stern, taking its firm look only during game days. Katie however, was smiling and lighthearted. Your rolls usually switched when you stepped onto the field.

You did your game day routine. Taped your wrist, put on the captains armband, walked onto the field and did a few keep ups. Soon enough, you were leading Arsenal out onto Kingsmeadow turf, Manu following behind you.

Today was just a season game, but because it was against Chelsea, every player on the pitch was aching for the win. Kickoff was quick, Arsenal started with the ball, and as the striker, you opted to pass the ball back to Leah, whose passes up field were spectacular. The game seemed to play out slowly, and when half time arrived, the score board still read 0-0.

"No card for you yet, Katie." You teased, tapping her ass lightly as you walked into the tunnel. "No goal for you yet." She teased back. "Hey! Not getting a card is good!" You said, pushing her slightly.

You both walked into the changing room, where Jonas gave a quick speech before giving you the floor. "Listen here, ladies. I know, we don’t need to win this game. The motivation is low. But we’re playing Chelsea right now! We’re playing class players, and we are class players. So let’s go out there, let’s score, let’s make more great saves. Manu, god I love you. Let’s make the same clearances, Leah, great work on the left. Let’s keep up with those runs down the line, Katie, Beth, amazing. as always. All you guys are doing great. we’re missing that goal. Let’s also avoid getting booked. C’mon Gunners!" You yell.

It was in the 56th minute that things went downhill. You were running down the middle and looked up to see Beth making a run. You passed the ball perfectly and then accelerated into the box. However, Beth got the ball taken by Millie Bright. You acted on instinct. Motivated by your own speech and wanting a goal so badly, you slid, clearly connecting with the ball before the lioness. But Millie tumbled to the ground, earning cries of "Ref! Come on!" From the Chelsea women and some of "No! That was nothing!" From the Gunners. But the second you were back on your feet, you saw the referee running towards you, brandishing a yellow card in the air. "Hey! Hey no way. Come on that was all ball!" You complained, walking towards the ref with your hands extended at your sides. "Don’t argue with me y/l/n." The referee said, writing your name on the back of the card.

Angry, and even more desperate for a goal, you stormed away from the referee. Leah patted you on the back, telling you it was okay, and Katie came over to you, looking at you with a wider smile that she ever had. "Don’t get booked guys." She mimicked.

You slapped her in the back of the head.

"Hey!" Katie yelled, positioning herself. "People are gonna edit that later."

Your luck came only ten minutes later due to Stina’s cross being blocked by Magda. Leah prepped herself for the corner and sent in the most perfectly weighted ball. You got the back of your head on it, flicking it into the back of the net.

"YEAH!!" You scream, running up to Leah and jumping in her arms. "YOUR PASSES GIRL!" You yelled, jumping down from her arms and shaking her slightly. Katie then came over, grabbing you and swinging you around, making you laugh. Your team congratulated you, hugged you and Jonas have you a big smile. You clapped at the Arsenal fans in the corner of the stadium who had been screaming loudly.

After that goal, Chelsea seemed to go rabid. They were constantly taking shots on Manu and the gunners couldn’t seem to get them out of their half. You played striker, but you were constantly at the edge of the box, trying to help clear incoming shots.

During a cross in by Erin Cuthbert, you jumped up in the air to clear the ball, your body smashing into Guro Reiten who was on the smaller side. The winter went tumbling to the ground, holding her side.

Your heart froze when you heard a whistle blow, and the angry ref stomping over to you. "No. No I did not do anything. We were both going for the ball and-" You started trying to defend yourself, Manu, Beth, Leah, Katie and Stina all hurrying towards the ref. "Get off my field." The referee simply said.

The woman showed a yellow, and then a red, pointing towards the players entrance.

Your face fell completely, feeling as though you had let down your team as captain. You knew a penalty would be awarded and that your team would have to play -1 for the next twenty minutes. You took off your One Love captains armband and handed it to Leah, who grabbed your head between her hands and tried to get you to hear her out. But her words seemed blurred, even when your girlfriend came up to you, you shrugged her off and walked into the changing room.

"FUCK!" you yelled, when you were in the locker room, smashing your fist into the wall in the least canadian way possible. You doubled over almost immediately, holding your knuckles in pain and groaning. A minute later, you heard the crowd erupt, knowing Chelsea had scored their penalty, probably thanks to Guro. You shrugged off your kit, jumping into the shower and washing yourself quickly, cursing your actions. Your first red card. You hated knowing you had one.

You heard the arsenal girls walk in the room as you pulled on your track suit. Your heart felt stiff, and for the first time ever, you were scared of being in the presence of your teammates. What if they were mad? You pulled out your phone and saw that the final score was 1-1. A tie. Better than a loss, so much worse than a win. You opened the door, your hair still dripping wet, your eyes red and your hands shaking.

You were met with every one of your teammates looking at you, but none of them looked mad. Katie was the first to come up to you, wrapping you in a hug and then pulling away to kiss you. "I’m so sorry guys I don’t know what happened. I just-" You started saying. "Don’t apologize." Beth started. "That ref was shit."

Murmurs of agreement echoed in the room, and Katie never left your side.

When you were home, and laying on Katie’s lap while watching The Last Of Us, Katie whispered something to you. "Can I tell you something weird?" She said, brushing her fingers through your hair. "Yeah." You answered, grazing your nails lazily on her bare thigh. "I was so proud of you when you got that red. Like… I was really turned on." Katie said. You let out one of your laughs, that sounded more like a bark. "You are so strange. But I love you." You told her, looking into her eyes. "I love you too."

[apomaro-mellow]

Matchmaking Harringtons 3

Steve was having a great time with Eddie. It was mostly because he was just that amazing. He was funny, hot, cute, and totally into him. A winning combo in Steve's opinion. But it was all due in no small part to the fact that his parents were so supportive. Steve didn't talk about the girls he dated that much (because why would he?) but his folks seemed actively interested in his going with Eddie.

Maybe it was the whole 'serious relationship' thing they were trying to commit him to. Maybe they were overcompensating for not being around much and wanting to also prove they were okay with his preferences. Either way, they always wanted to know how things were going with Eddie.

They'd been going out for a couple of dates at this point and honestly each one was better than the last. They were all typically low-key, with moments that they were able to get alone for a bit of privacy.

"Let's just say the back of his van is very spacey", Steve said into the phone as he paced about his room.

"So...you're still a total slut then?", Robin said from the other end of the line.

"Guys can't be slutty. And it's not being a slut if it's with the same guy."

"So you've?"

Diane was in the middle of bringing up a basket of laundry when she heard her son's conversation in his room. She swore she'd never be the kind of mother that constantly eavesdropped but well, the door was open just a smidge...

"Not, not the full thing, all the way yet. I think he's nervous. Or he can tell I'm nervous? I don't know. I told him I'd never been with a guy before and I thought that might make him, you know, take initiative?"

"Or maybe he's taking things slow because he doesn't wanna scare you off?", Robin suggested.

"That...could be it. But that's kinda why I called. I thought he was moving kinda slow, but guess where he's taking me tomorrow?"

"Steve, is Munson taking you to a hotel?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "No. He's taking me to Le Petit Nuange. That French place a town over?"

Robin gasped. "Sacre bleu! Va-t-il faire une proposition?"

"Robs, please. My extent of French is 'filet mignon'."

"Do you think he's serious? Like trying to meet your parents serious?"

"I don't know? Maybe? It's just weird. Le Petit is just...so not Eddie."

Diane was inclined to agree. A fancy place like that seemed out of character for someone as boisterous and non-conforming as Eddie. He has once brought a bouquet of lilies, despite their dire meaning. 'Screw flower language, these are some damn fine flowers', he had said.

And even if he thought of taking Steve somewhere special, Enzo's was the nicest place in town. Where would he get the idea to go to the next town?

Jonas.

Diane had thought he was being suspicious when he hid Steve's shoes before a date and met Eddie outside to talk. Diane had thought he'd been giving the boy some kind of shovel talk. He must've been giving Eddie advice on where to take Steve instead.

And she could just imagine what he was trying to do - clean Eddie up. Well, if he wanted to go behind her back, then two could play at that game.

-------------------------

The doorbell rung and Steve answered it. Eddie was there, in a button up shirt with long sleeves that hide his tattoos. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail. And he had a bouquet of nice, traditional, red roses.

"They're beautiful", Steve beamed. He took a moment to put the roses in a vase, missing the thumbs up his dad gave Eddie. Diane however, did not miss it.

"Your chariot awaits", Eddie said, giving a sweeping bow and then locking his arm with Steve's. "Have a good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Harrington!", he called back.

As the van roared down the street, Diane enacted her own plan. She had her husband would also be having a date night.

At Le Petit Nuange, Eddie and Steve were being seated and Eddie had never felt more out of place. It was like everyone could tell he didn't belong here. But when he saw Steve smiling from across him, he knew there was no place he'd rather be.

"What made you want to bring me here?", Steve asked.

Jonas had practically cornered Eddie when he had come to pick up Steve, saying he just wanted to talk a little. Eddie was prepared for the whole 'I have a shotgun/shovel and I'm not afraid to use it.'

"Let's talk", he had opened with. "Steve and you have been having fun, right?"

"Uh, yes? I guess?", Eddie said, unsure now.

"Fun's all well and good Eddie. But now's the time to show Steve you're serious. And you are serious? Aren't you, son?"

"Y-yes. Yes, I am, serious like a heart attack."

"Then you've gotta take him some place special. A place like, uh, say Le Petit Nuange", Jonas rubbed at his chin.

Eddie's brows rose up under his fringe. "Le Petit Nuange? That place is-"

"Is upscale. Which is what Steve deserves, isn't it?"

Eddie swallowed. "Yeah, yeah it is."

He looked at Steve's hand, sitting on the table, just asking to be held. Steve deserved all this and more. And Eddie wanted to be the one to give it to him. It was why he took extra shifts and more of his side business to have the dough to take Steve here.

"I just looked up places in the yellow pages and thought you might like it."

"You know, my parents actually come here a lot", Steve pointed out.

"You don't say", Eddie tried to hide his expression by covering his face with the menu. When he got a look at the prices, it did a good job hiding the way his eyes bugged out. Looks like his purse strings would be a little tight after this. But he had prepared for that. Steve was worth it.

He was worth the stiff shirt, the swanky eatery, and even spending more time selling music that was beneath him to the general populace.

"So tell me more about this gig you've got coming up", Steve said.

Eddie's face broke out into a wild smile and he nearly slammed the menu down. "It's gonna be a ride, Stevie." He wasn't shouting, but his volume was a little louder than polite, and he felt eyes on him. He cleared his throat and quieted himself. "I mean I'm excited to rub elbows with other bands. The experience is sure to be enlightening."

Steve gave him an odd look. "Yeah, I hope my parents let me go. Indy isn't far, but I feel like they've been keeping a closer eye on me lately."

The thought of Steve being in a crowd while he played made Eddie wanted to jump for joy. He wanted to tell him come, even if his parents said no. Sneak out for the weekend, what could they do? He was a man now. But he couldn't do that. Not just because he was trying to clean up and having his new boyfriend at a metal venue might ruin that image. It was also because Steve's had nice parents.

There weren't many that could both accept and encourage their queer child.

"You know Steve, your parents-hcck!" Eddie choked on his words as he saw the Harringtons walk right in and get led to a table.

"What about my parents?", Steve asked.

"They're uh, they're um great!", Eddie squeaked, then cleared his throat to get it back to its normal register. "I mean they're great. I can tell they love you very much."

Steve smiled, none the wiser to his folks being seated not too far away. Eddie tried not to look at them, tried to ignore them. But this couldn't be a coincidence.

Jonas was looking around while trying not to look around. "When you said you wanted to go out tonight....I didn't think you meant this place."

"Why not?", Diane questioned. "We're regular patrons. And it's been a while since we went out." They'd been getting plenty of alone time what with Steve dating now, but they usually spent their evenings at home.

Jonas pulled out her chair for her and when he sat down, he used the menu to continue looking around. Diane watched him like a hawk.

Steve didn't know what was going on with Eddie. He looked nice dressed this way, sure. But it didn't feel like him. He felt...smaller somehow. Like he was trying to shrink himself down. Even as they talked, his smiles were restrained, he didn't move his hands as much, and even his voice seemed like it was being held back.

Steve watched as he cut his food, using minimal motions like he was working with glass.

"Eddie, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, course, I'm fine. I uh, I just need to hit the can-uh use the facilities. Please excuse me."

Eddie got up in a haste. He thought he'd be ready for tonight. It was just playing pretend. Potentially for the rest of his life. Maybe having an audience of the parents was what was tripping him up. He got close to the bathroom when a hand tapped his shoulder. He turned to see none of than Mrs. Harrington.

"Don't worry, I know this wasn't your idea", she started right off. "My husband put it in your head. I'll admit, I like the idea of Steve being treated like a prince, but if you clean up too much he'll get confused."

"Right, yeah, gotta strike a balance. Mhm."

"Glad we could talk", she patted his arm. "Go get him, tiger."

Eddie returned to Steve and saw Diane come back to her table not long after. He could see them exchange words, although he couldn't hear what. Then Jonas got up from his seat. He gave Eddie a strange look while making his way to the bathroom. Eddie sighed and excused himself again.

"Now I don't know what my wife might've said to you, but you've got to stay on this path. I can see a real future with you and Steve if you do."

"A real future?"

"I could only give my son to someone who could take care of him. You understand what I mean, don't you?"

Eddie nodded. The kind of man who could take Steve to these places and not have his soul leave his body when he looked at the menu. When Eddie sat back down, he looked at Steve, sitting across from him. It was the kind of view he could get used to.

Somehow, the meddling didn't end there. The Harringtons took turns, getting up to meet with Eddie and each time he had to come up with an excuse.

"I'm gonna check their wine selection."

"I want to make sure the kitchen knows my allergies."

"I'm gonna see if the violinist takes requests."

Finally, Steve stood up with him and grabbed Eddie by the elbow. "Come with me."

Steve took him to the bathroom and locked the door behind them.

"Steve", Eddie gasped, scandalized when his neck started to get kissed.

"You've been antsy all night." Steve's hands went to his hips and began to untuck his shirt.

Instantly, Eddie felt like being released from shackles. Steve's hand roaming under his shirt left him so distracted, he almost didn't hear what he said next.

"Hm?"

"I said, do you wanna get out of here?"

"The bill-", Eddie was cut off when Steve reached behind him and took down his hair, running his fingers through it to free the tresses.

"A little dine and ditch never hurt anyone."

Eddie looked to the window in the bathroom. Just barely big enough to make a getaway. He was halfway out when they heard someone knocking on the door. Eddie was helping Steve out as the handle was shaking. Steve was giggling and it was like a sweet bell to his ears.

They were making their way around the back of the restaurant and towards the van as the manager finally came around with a key.

Diane and Jonas could make out the commotion going on near the bathroom and saw the empty table where two lovebirds should be.

"You knew I made Eddie take Steve here", Jonas confirmed.

"Yes."

"And every time you got up-"

"Was to speak with Eddie. And now they've-"

"-Snuck out the bathroom."

Together they sighed, remembering when they snuck out of stuffy formals to be alone together. And because they wondered if they were doing right by their son.

"We're going to have a long talk when we get home, huh?", Jonas asked his wife.

"Oh yeah."

"Any hope for me?"

"Ask me after dessert."

Part 5

Tag Team

@tartarusknight @swimmingbirdrunningrock @estrellami-1 @potato-of-the-lord @dragonmama76 @m-owo-n @sticknpokelightningbolt @somegirlsomewhere @tinyplanet95 @samsoble @runniem @hallucinatedjosten @nburkhardt @littlewildflowerkitten @noctxrn-e @subversivecynic @larawrmonster @suikatto @platinum-sunset @imacowboy3 @tiny-enthusiast @netflixisacopingstrategymom @honorarybrit81 @manda-panda-monium @krazyperson @ninjapirateunicorns

[didalexiabreakupwitholgayet]

This maybe a stretch but I have a bias towards young male coaches that they make a popular, older player sit at the bench just to show off they have the power to do so and establish some authority.

I just dont like male coaches younger than the players. They havent established anything but are allowed to be there because they are male. I have never seen a female coach of the same case.

I dont know anything about the new coach other than he was among Jona's staff. I just hope he is different than Jona but I fear he will just follow whatever Jona was using, and nothing changing. Im already too stressed out.

Alexia is in form now. They just refuse to let her play.

i'm sorry but what? you can criticise jona for a lot of things but to accuse him of benching alexia because of his ego or to establish his authority due to his age is, frankly, not true. and then to prematurely accuse pere romeu of doing the same? seriously, that is a garbage take, to which i strongly disagree. and if you want examples of terrible or incompetent female coaches, just look to montse, the nwsl (where female coaches have been investigated and fired!), or other leagues around the world. 🙄

jona has been open about having a conversation with alexia about her role this season. he even talked about it in a recent article with maria tikas.

at the beginning of the season i invested some time of competition with alexia in the position of nine, because i knew what she could give us by bringing her closer to the area. but during the injury, mariona gave us a very good performance as a false nine and i think it has been her best season. and when alexia returned, it was difficult for her to have a place in the most starting eleven, because patri, keira [walsh] and aitana reached the end of the season with a spectacular level. then i did what i said, talk to her about the situation. and i am very happy, because it has been a very complicated year for her, with the injury, because she has not been able to start in the important matches. and being twice ballon d'or is not easy to manage. but in the final she entered very well and scored the goal of the victory. and that she was the protagonist, along with aitana, is something that made me particularly excited.

don't forget that alexia was injured and only regained her form towards the last few matches of the season! jona's preferred midfield (that, mind you, won 4 historic titles) was aitana, patri, and keira. keira is a damn good footballer and it's not like she didn't deserve her starting position either.

i am a barça fan first, and alexia is my favourite barça player, but no player is above the team. i'll be happy to see the apa midfield return this year, but i also think the aitana/patri/keira midfield has been great and won two back to back champions. the wonderful thing about barça is that we have all the best midfielders in the world and can win with multiple combinations.

no one is refusing to let alexia play. there were legitimate sporting reasons to have the starting line-up barça went with last season. and alexia is certainly going to be a starter moving into the next season.

[walesfootball]

Over My Head - Leah Williamson x Reader

This was requested by anon who wanted a Leah fic. I changed it up a little bit, I hope that's okay. I was inspired by the recent Antonio Rudiger injury in the Real Madrid Champions League game. Hope you enjoy it, I'm not crazy about it, but it's alright.

You were exhausted from running up and down the field constantly. You hadn’t stopped the whole game. It didn’t stop Real Madrid’s Esther González from scoring in the 46th minute. All Arsenal needed was a point, a single point, to make it through to the last 16 of the Champions League. That was your dream, to win the Champions League with Arsenal, or to at least make it through the quarter-finals. It felt right this year.

You usually played right back, a position you’ve played comfortably since you could kick a ball. The art of defending. You were strong enough to hold up the attackers. The best at 1v1 battles. You were known to be a quick thinker on the pitch, it felt as if you knew what the other player would do, and knowing when to go into a tackle was a strength of yours. You had a good track record with cards received, earning only four yellow cards in your career… so far, of course. You were still young.

Jonas had moved you to play centre-back. You didn’t mind, but you didn’t like the reason why you were moved. Your girlfriend Leah received a knock to her foot during the international break with England. You called her after Ireland’s final in the World Cup Qualifiers against Scotland. That was another game you ran like a mad person up and down the field. You’d won that game 1-0, and remember Katie jumping on your back in celebration. After the game, you saw the headlines, and a short text from Leah to say that she’d hurt her foot but was fine. You were on the phone for the majority of the night, knowing that she wasn’t really fine. She was excited for the season ahead with Arsenal and to captain her country in the upcoming friendly games. To go out with an injury that could last for a few weeks, months at best, was devastating to her. She could hide it well, but not with you.

Leah and you had been dating for a few months. The both of you wanted to keep it quiet for a while, to navigate through the difficulties of Leah’s surging fame after the Euro win. It made sense.

Leah was sat with Rafa, also harbouring a foot injury, above the Arsenal bench. They were watching the game unfold with Leah screaming orders at the players. She was passionate about Arsenal, and it showed on and off the pitch. You could hear her from the other side of the pitch sometimes. Her booming voice reached your ears, a smile appeared on your face when you could hear it.

The ball began moving quickly for Arsenal. Madrid had been playing this fast Spanish game throughout, and now Arsenal were doing it back to them. The 90 minutes were up, with an added 6 minutes on the clock.

You began running up the wing with Lotte sending a through ball your way, skipping past Athenea in the process. The Madrid player was quick, but not a quick thinker like you were. You passed the ball down the middle where Mana had made space. Steph Catley ran up the opposite wing. You had now made it to the box. Time was running out. The last-minute ticking down, the referee holding the whistle in her hand carefully, ready to blow it at any second.

Steph looked up to see if you had reached the box, knowing a defender's head was needed on this ball. Steph pings a pinpoint ball into the box for your waiting head. You were only watching the ball, nothing else. Nothing mattered.

Leah got up from her seat, holding her breath in desperation for a goal. Could this be?

You jumped up into the air for the ball, your head connecting perfectly with the ball. Your head also connected perfectly with Misa’s fists, the Madrid goalkeeper. The ball rolls into the net. While the team held their hands up in celebration, you could only lie on the floor in pain. You could hear the cheering and the referee’s whistle. Viv walked up to check on you, being the closest to you. She placed a hand on your back, not noticing the pain you were so clearly in. She turned you around only to turn around herself to signal that you needed medical attention.

“Shit! That doesn’t look so good. You okay?”

“That went in, right?” You could only open your left eye to look up at Viv. You saw the look of confusion mixed with an impressed look on her face. Impressed with this warrior mentality, but also disgusted at the amount of blood rushing down your face at an alarming speed.

“Yeah, it did. But I think you need to worry more about… that.” She gestured to the cut on your eye. It didn’t bother you too much, it couldn’t bother you. You got up slowly, just in time for the medical team to reach you.

“Do you want to lay back down so we can check that you’re okay?” One of the doctors said calmly, trying not to alarm you.

You could feel the blood dripping down onto your red shirt, you weren’t sure what was blood and what was cotton.

“I’m fine. I want to finish the game.” You brushed them off, wanting to walk off the injury. Viv stepped in front of you, not wanting you to hurt yourself more.

“You are not finishing the game looking like that.” Viv worriedly said.

“I’m fine!” You walked away from Viv, only to feel yourself stumbling. Your head was aching, your eye was stinging, and the cut was profusely bleeding. Nothing was going right for you at that moment. Viv grabbed you and took you over to the benches herself.

In her haste, Leah had climbed down onto the side of the pitch to get a closer look at what was happening. The rest of the team had traveled over to the bench to grab some water, also watching you talking and stumbling around next to Viv with blood splashing everywhere. Some couldn’t take their eyes off of you in shock, and the more squeamish ones looked away as it proved difficult for them to look at a steady stream of blood dripping onto your kit and onto the grass. You were covered.

Leah began to walk onto the pitch. She knew how stubborn you could be, especially after injuring yourself. You’d play with a broken foot if you had to. It’s one of the many things she admired about you. But also thought you were completely stupid. You’d laugh at her as she’d shake her head.

Beth grabbed Leah before she could venture further, dragging her back to the bench.

“Beth, no! I need to see her and get her off to get to the hospital!”

“And she will. Don’t worry. But if you walk on that pitch, you’ll get a card.” Beth tried to reason with Leah. She wasn’t sure if Leah could get a card but needed her off the pitch.

“I get that, but-"

“You’re worried about her. It’s okay. But Viv’s over there with her, and Viv won’t let her stay on the pitch. Not looking like that anyway. She looks like a victim from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films.” Beth got lost in her thoughts as she continued to stare at Viv holding you up.

“Beth. This isn’t helping.” A year slipped down Leah’s cheek.

“Oh fuck. I’m sorry. I didn’t realise you were that worried. Hey, she’s going to be okay. You know her better than anyone, she’s a proper fighter.” Beth kept her arm around Leah’s shoulder, trying to steady her. “Look, she’s coming over now. She looks… yeah.”

You made it to the sidelines where the medical team stopped you. As long as you were off the pitch, the game could carry on. The last few seconds of the game anyway. Leah stood where Beth had left her in shock at the state you were in. The medical team pressing towels on your face, trying to stop the bleeding. Leah could hear you trying to convince them that you could still play. She didn’t doubt that but needed you in her arms to make sure you were okay.

“Y/N…” Leah croaked out quietly.

You looked up suddenly, still drenched in blood with only one eye open, but you heard her. You were being so stupid. You knew how much she hated seeing you hurt, whether that be mentally or physically. You nodded and walked over to her, the medical staff coming with you holding the towels to your face.

“Hey, I’m okay. Just a bit of blood.”

“A bit? You scared the shit out of me, Y/N.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Just get it checked out, please.”

She was angry at you. You could tell. Leah was just disappointed and cared too much about you. You’d been friends longer than a couple, and she always knew you to be a live-life-on-the-edge sort of person. And it always freaked her out. She followed you into the dressing room with the two medical staff. A massage table had always been in the middle where they told you to lie down on it. You did as you were told, with Leah standing by your feet at the bottom of the table. They began working on the cut above your eye, placing 20 stitches on the cut. Next was your eye which had turned purple, black, and red. It was swollen and all they could do was place multiple tissues on the eye. They bandaged everything up and left the room. You sat up to see the worried look on Leah’s face still there.

“I really am sorry. I should’ve come off straight away. I'm too stubborn for my own good sometimes."

Leah chuckled a little and shook her head, “You really are. I just worry about you, okay? I haven’t liked anyone like this, probably ever. And I know it’s coming out as if I’m angry with you, but I’m not. I just want you to be safe. I want to wrap you in bubble wrap and plasters so you don’t get hurt again.”

You laughed and reached out for Leah’s hand. You pulled her closer to you when she did, sitting down beside your torso. You smiled at her, and she smiled back.

“If it’s any consolation, I feel the same way.” You offered her a dopey smile, suddenly the tiredness of the game catching up to you as you yawned straight after. The adrenaline wearing off.

“Don’t sleep here. Come on, we need to get to the airport soon anyway.” Leah held onto you and you slid your body off the table. Your arm went around Leah’s shoulder as hers circled around your waist. You look over at Leah, with one eye working. Leah looked up towards you, a blush forming on her cheek as she quickly looked back down. You laughed and kissed her cheek, loving the effect you had on her. She turned back and placed a soft kiss on your lips, not wanting to hurt you more.

“Come on, you big idiot.” Leah pulled you with her as the team came rushing in. They all came up to you one at a time to hug you and give kind words.

——

The both of you were sat on the plane on the way back to London. You took your phone out of your pocket and took a selfie of yourself smiling. Leah looked over to you going onto your Instagram page and posting the selfie on your page. She couldn’t believe you sometimes. You had a horrible head injury and you could always see the funny side in anything.

She took her phone out to see the picture with the caption, “We alive” underneath it. She turned to look at you giggling to yourself. She couldn’t help but smile at you, thinking to herself, I absolutely adore this massive idiot.

[williamsonnawfc]

See You Again

When your loan contract with Barcelona is up you instantly begin thinking about how it will effect a very special relationship you've created with Alexia.

You live in my dream state Relocate my fantasy I stay in reality You live in my dream state Any time I count sheep That's the only time we make up, make up You exist behind my eyelids, my eyelids Now I don't wanna wake up

You knew your time at Barça would be cut short. You wished it could last for the rest of your career, live out your football days in your home with the one you loved. However, Arsenal being Arsenal insisted you come back to the club as soon as they found out about the first of their two ACL injuries this season. As a central midfielder you had a constant pressure to meet the expectations of the club ever since they found out Alexia would be out for the majority of the season with her own ACL injury. All you wanted to truly do in life the moment you found out about it was wrap her up in a big hug and nurse her back to the Alexia that could lead her team out of the tunnel on the weekend and win knowing she captained that winning team. But the universe always has other ideas.

It was on your lunch break when a member of staff approached you asking you rather politely if you would follow them. In a instant as you realised where they were leading you your mind began to run at 150 miles an hour running through different encounters you'd had over the course of the previous week wondering if you'd broken any of the clubs rules. Your thoughts were brought to an immediate halt as you now stood outside the president's office chewing on your bottom lip, hands slightly trembling as the member of staff opened the door slowly to let you in. What you found inside brought you instant confusion, there around a conference table sat the president of the club, Jonatan, Jonas Eidevall and your father. There was no hiding from the girls who you were and who your father and his side of the family were being the owners of FC Barcelona and of the women's side too, many thought he bought your place on the team until they saw how you played and realised you had done it all on your own. 

20/20, 20/20 vision Cupid hit me, cupid hit me with precision I wonder if you look both ways When you cross my mind (Yeah), I said, I said I'm sick of, sick of, sick of, sick of chasing You're the one that's always running through my daydream, I I can only see your face when I close my eyes

You didn’t know how to feel when they told you the news that you'd be returning to Arsenal after almost 8 years. You had an instant feeling of joy at the thought of seeing some of your old teammates and one of your best friends, Leah Williamson. Almost instantly after you felt dread and fear, fear at how you were going to tell your teammates here and Alexia - you dreaded that most. You also dreaded settling into a new environment a new team, a new home. 

You politely asked if you could excuse yourself from training for the rest of the afternoon so you could break the news to Alexia and begin packing seeing as you had to leave for London on Friday and today was Tuesday. After gathering all your gear from you locker you began the silent walk through the facility towards the door that would lead you to your car. 

As you heard the loud laughter of your teammates who you now saw as your sisters you considered turning around and acting as if you hadn't just been told the heartbreaking news, but your mind instantly went back to the hazel eyed, brunette that you'd spent pretty much everyday of the last 8 years with knowing she was most likely sitting, leg propped up on the couch watching trash tv telling Nala all about what she wanted to do with you when her leg allowed her to, as that's all she'd talk to you about somedays. Always planning for the future, my Alexia. Tears threatened to fall as you thought of all the moments you'd miss with her as you'd now be almost 1000 miles away from your love but you pushed them back forcing yourself to look like nothing was an issue as you'd subconsciously got yourself safely to the home you shared with Alexia. You got out of your car before walking up to the front door putting the key in twisting it to unlock it. 

Can I get a kiss? And can you make it last forever? I said I'm 'bout to go to war And I don't know if I'ma see you again Can I get a kiss? (Can I) And can you make it last forever? (Can you) I said I'm 'bout to go to war ('Bout to) And I don't know if I'ma see you again

“Im home, mi amor”, you shouted into the house whilst kicking off your shoes and placing your training bag down. Walking through the house you noticed that the brunette you loved so much was passed out on the couch cuddling Nala, whilst she continued to sleep you chose to make food for her for when she woke up. You decided your mama's famous paella that both you and Alexia loved so much. So 40 minutes later when the sleeping beauty woke up you had a plate full of her favourite rice dish ready to give her. You carried both of your plates as you passed one to her you sat down next to her.

“Why are you home so early cariño?” You heart instantly began to break as you realised this wouldn't be your home by the end the week, your home would be London the sheer thought of it sent you into a mental panic and Alexia being Alexia instantly picked up on it. “What's wrong amor? Did something happen at training? Did someone say something to you?” You turned to look into those hazel orbs that communicated so much more than her words, they communicated her love, concern and behind it all her fear.

“Something happened, but I want to clear up straight away it was not the girls.” She sighed a breathe of relief knowing that the girls weren't bothering you inter absence. “Okay if it wasn't them then what was it?” You hesitated for a minute, braking eye contact and beginning to play with the rings on your hand, specifically the promise ring Alexia got you a year into your relationship. “They want me to go back to Arsenal, Friday would be my last day here for I don't know how long”

All Alexia could do in that moment was stare in disbelief, she was certain her cariño was playing a prank on her it was a very stupid one, one that would ultimately end in her demise if it was a prank but by the look on your face she knew this was real, very real.

“I only have one thing to ask of you.” Alexia instantly nodded in return. “Can I get a kiss? And can you make it last forever?” Alexia instantly leaned in connecting their lips in a passionate kiss that said more than just I love you.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

3/6/2023

ARSENAL WFC V BARCELONA FEMENI

Can I get a kiss? (Can I get a kiss?) And can you make it last forever? (Oh, forever) I said I'm 'bout to go to war (Go to war) I don't know if I'ma see you again (See you again) Can I get a kiss? (Can I) And can you make it last forever? (Can you) I said I'm 'bout to go to war ('Bout to) And I don't know if I'ma see you again

Walking out at Wembley was a feeling that would never go away, it was euphoric. The hymn began and the handshakes as well as the coin toss took place all before the referee’s whistle blew signalling the start of the first half. Barça instantly had possession of the ball allowing the one and only Alexia to get them one up however we were able to equalise thanks to Frida by the time it was halftime. Alexia assured me in a text last night that even though it was her first game back in the champions league I wasn't to go easy on her and by the time the second half began going easy on them was in the back of my mind. All I cared about was winning, we were going to win this. I had to make my sacrifice worth it. 

3 goals in the first 30 minutes of the second half. That's all it took for the new Champions League winners to be decided, Arsenal had won the Champions League. Arsenal had beaten Barcelona. The referee blew their whistle to signal and everyone dropped to their knees in joy or in sorrow, for the girls in red it was joy and for those in yellow it was sorrow.

Apart from one, she felt both. the girls on Barça’s side were her sisters, but so were those who played for Arsenal. She was pulled out of dwelling over that the a certain Irish woman picked her up and began running around with her on he shoulders making the younger girl giggle before being placed onto her own two feet and captured into a bone-crushing hug. “You did this for us Señorita!” the Irish woman screamed in her face. “Only for you my leprechaun!”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her amor consoling those on her own team as they beat themselves up over the defeat believing they could've played so much better. Somehow she had managed to escape the Irish woman and was able to walk over to the girls specifically Alexia, her Ale. Before she could say anything she was pulled into another bone-crushing hug “I’m so proud of you, cariño” was mumbled into her neck. “I'm proud of you amor, you played so well.” Was the response she thought would be fitting, “I don't want to think about my performance all I want to think about is when I'll see you again.”

“Make this kiss last forever and you'll see me everyday for as long as we both shall live.”

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Double Hostage Situation - The Ultimate Uno-Reverse

Warnings: threat of death, violence, morally gray anti-hero, blood

Summary: Shadow is a morally gray hero who was ambushing Sebastian's base with Thomas, her human companion. Until it all went wrong, and Thomas found himself being used as a hostage. But unfortunately for the enemy... Sebastian wasn't the only one with leverage.

"Enough! Surrender to me at once or I'll kill your human pet!" Sebastian roared threateningly. Thomas could feel the cold metal of the gun pressed to his temple.

   "Too bad you're not the only one with something the opposing party wants." Shadow suddenly appeared, dragging a young man along with her as she stepped out into the open. She had a firm hand gripping the back of the collar of his shirt, and the other hand held a dagger, which was pressed to his neck.

   Thomas could see the young man was trembling in fear, looking desperately at Sebastian with wide, pleading eyes and muted panic written on his face.

   "Jonas..." Sebastion whispered under his breath, his voice hitching.

   Thomas tried to meet Shadow's gaze and gauge her intention, but she was zeroed in on Sebastian like a hawk fixated on its prey, and didn't even glance at him.

   "As you can see, we have a bit of a problem now..." She said flatly. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is your only son? The resemblance is quite clear." ((("Either both of us win, one of us does, or we both lose all. Quite an intriguing game, don't you think?"))) Her lips twitched upwards into a self-satisfied smirk as a tense standoff ensued between her and Sebastion. "A life for a life seems like a fair trade, is it not?"

   "If I play your hostage game... you'll release Jonas first, right?" Sebastion said, and Thomas could see him struggling to keep his voice from wavering and maintain his composure.

   Shadow let out a single mirthless laugh, shaking her head in amusement. "I think you might have misread the situation... you are not negotiating with me here. I make the offer, you take it or leave it. Period. My way or the high way." She tightened her grip on Jonas, and Thomas could see him fighting back a wince. Shadow jerked her head meaningfully towards Thomas. "You let that kid go first, and in return your son lives to see another bright and wonderful day."

   "How do I know you won't just kill him anyway once I release your human companion?" Sebastian asked, voice laced with suspicion.

   Shadow's eyes danced with cruel delight. "That's the fun part... You don't. And you know me well enough by now to know that I am far from being worthy of trust. But you also know I don't usually say things I don't mean. Which means that I will absolutely follow through with my threat if you give me a reason to." She shrugged nonchalantly. "At least by making the trade, your son has an increased chance of survival."

   "You--You're bluffing!" Sebastian sputtered in disbelief.

   "Am I?" Shadow pressed the blade deeper into Jonas's neck, and Thomas could see him visibly flinch as a thin stream of blood trickled down his throat. "Is that a gamble you're willing to bet his life on?"

   "Okay! Okay... wait, just don't hurt him. I need a second to think." Sebastian scrambled for words.

   "You have ten of those seconds. But I won't let you stall for any more time than that." Shadow's eyes glittered coldly, and Thomas couldn't help a fearful shiver. He'd never seen this side of her before. The cold, calculating monster that had been described to him before by various sources. She'd always been strong and fierce, but he never actually thought she'd go this far. He'd tried hard to believe that she was better than that, seeing as she was on the hero team.

   But in her face, in every taut muscle of her body... he knew in an instant that she'd do it. She'd really kill Jonas on the spot if it came to it. And that terrified him more than anything.

   The tension in the room was palpable as the seconds ticked by, each one agonizingly long.

   "Time's up. Make a choice. Choose wisely."

Sebastian looked torn, his face twisted into a mask of anguish as he met Jonas's frightened gaze, and Thomas could sense his resolve faltering, until he finally caved.

"All right, all right! You win..." Sebastian's voice cracked helplessly, and Thomas felt the metal barrel that had been pressed against his temple vanish, and heard the sound of the gun being holstered. He stumbled forward a step in surprise when Sebastian suddenly let go of him, and he turned to see his hands raised placatingly, fatherly desperation in his expression.

"Kid, walk over to me." Shadow's harsh voice snapped him back to the present, and he turned to see her gaze still locked firmly on Sebastian. Thomas quickly did as she instructed, hastily crossing the space to stand behind her, although he still kept his distance, unnerved by her vicious ferocity.

"There, I gave you the human back. Can you please release my son now?" Sebastian's words were strained and urgent, and Thomas could tell he was still trying to hang on to any last shred of dignity or power he had, searching for any sense of reason in his enemy.

Shadow slowly tilted her head from side to side, as if contemplating her options.

"First, I want you to beg me to spare him," she hissed at last, voice laced with venom.

Sebastian looked surprised, before his face fell and filled with dread.

"Please, I'll do anything you want -- just let him go--" Any trace of his usual malice as the leader of the Jackals had evaporated, and now he had been reduced to nothing but a frantic father.

Thomas held his breath and glanced nervously at Shadow, silently willing her to let Jonas go. He didn't think he could stomach it if his supposed ally broke the promise of no-killing simply to murder an innocent young man caught in the crossfire just to spite Sebastian. Kill the son in front of his father.

"Shadow..." Thomas whispered her name on a breath, his voice barely audible. It could be the absolute wrong move, but some part of him hoped he could break through her hatred and bitterness and convince her to spare Jonas.

Shadow didn't even glance his way, but he noticed her stiffen, as though she'd heard him.

"Please don't do this..."

Shadow still didn't directly react to Thomas, but he could feel her silent acknowledgment.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Shadow let the blade drop from Jonas's neck with an annoyed huff, and roughly shoved him forward. Jonas stumbled but quickly found his balance again, running over to throw his arms around Sebastian with a choked, terrified sob.

Sebastian caught him in his arms, and the relief was plain as day in his expression.

"You have ten seconds to run," Shadow growled low in her throat. Sebastian wasted no time making a beeline for the nearest exit, tugging Jonas into a dead sprint after him, and they soon disappeared through a doorway. Shadow's hands flexed at her sides as she watched them go, as though it physically pained her to spare the enemy.

Thomas let out an audible sigh of relief, sensing that the worst of it was over. He looked over at Shadow as she sharply turned around.

"Come on, kid... let's get back to headquarters," she hissed through gritted teeth, as though it pained her to even say it. Thomas quietly followed her out, not wanting to risk angering the furious white-winged bird-woman by speaking. The entire trip back was made in complete silence, and the whole way Thomas could feel Shadow's quiet wrath seething in the air around her.

It was only when they were about to enter the front doors of their base that Thomas finally mustered the courage to speak.

"W-Were you really going to kill him back there?" He squeaked nervously.

Shadow paused in her step, turning to meet his eyes. He could read the weariness in them, but also saw slight pity and sympathy, which confused him.

"Do you want me to tell you what I think you want to hear? Or do you want the truth?"

"The truth. I want the truth."

"Very well. In short, the answer is yes. I would have killed Jonas in any other circumstance, even if Sebastian wasn't holding you hostage. Just to make the man suffer."

Thomas felt like he'd been hit by a truck, and he couldn't help wincing in shock and surprise. But Shadow didn't seem to care.

"That's the truth, kid, even if you don't like it. Everyone calls me a monster... you should believe them. I'm a cold killer, it's in my nature... and I'm not going to change. I'll never change. Sorry if it's not the answer you were hoping for..."

Thomas averted his gaze, head pounding. "...Then why did you let him go?" he breathed.

Shadow paused for another long minute, and for a second he wondered if he'd crossed the line--

"...Because of you," Shadow finally answered, her voice low and quiet. She didn't elaborate, leaving Thomas to wonder what she could possibly mean by that.

Masterlist

@lumpofsand

@isikedmyself878

@scoundrelwithboba

[imperatorrrrr]

My Highlights from the Q&A: (I paraphrased some of the questions/answers, but most of it is direct quotes)

Q: Out of all the different jerseys that you wear, which one is your favorite? A: The Jersey Jersey

Q: What's the most fun/exciting part of the game when you're playing hockey? A: OT Win, especially at Home

Q: What is your favorite meal to eat here in New Jersey? A: The Italian spots here. I love Italian food, I grew up next to Italy

Q: Why do you wear number thirteen? A: I wear it because of my brother, my big brother always wore 13 and kind of also a little bit because both of us had the same favorite hockey player back in the day, Pavel Datsyuk.

Q: Besides the Rock, what NHL arena do you like playing in the most? A: Vegas, T-Mobile Arena -- its a vibe there, definitely fun

Q: Favorite and memorable goal you've ever scored? A: First NHL Goal in Ottawa

Q: Top Three Moments as a New Jersey Devil? A: My first NHL game, at the Rock versus Colorado, we won 4-2. Second one is first ever playoff game at the Rock versus Tampa, and, so far, the most memorable thing would be the Game 7 win against the Rangers. Gotta go with that one.

Q: Where do you still wanna go in the NJ/NY area? A: I've been to Asbury Park and I kind of want to see some more stuff from the Shore.

Q: What do you like to do to unwind and relax in the off season? A: I love the water, so lakes, rivers, ocean, I just try to be outside when its sunny. Don't like to be at home when its sun out.

Q: What is your favorite genre of music/band/artist? A: I do like Tom Petty

Q: Besides, Nico, what other nicknames do your teammates have for you? A: Hisch, HischSHAO, HischSHAO Jr

Q: What are you personally looking forward in the leadership position on and off the ice, going into this season as the Captain? A: Just to help the team as much as I can on and off the ice. I think obviously on the ice its clear, but also off the ice, just being as good of a person I can be for guys that need me in anything and I think thats the reason why I got Captain too, so thats what's I'm trying to do.

Q: What's your favorite ice cream flavor? A: Strawberry Vanilla

Q: Do you eat bagels and what is your favorite type of bagel to eat? A: Here in Jersey there are great bagels, I like the salmon cream cheese bagel, everything bagel.

Q: What's your favorite family tradition? A: Probably sit together dinners where we eat fondue or raclette where the dinner takes a little bit longer but you have enough time to speak with your family and friends, so thats always a good time. I feel like I always try to do it with them once I come back during summer.

Q: What's your favorite place in Switzerland? A: Bern

Q: Besides anyone on the Devils, who is your favorite current player in the NHL? A: McDavid

Q: Whats been your favorite year? A: I would say last year was pretty fun

Q: Who's your best friend on the Devils? A: Those are ALL of my friends. We got a really good group of guys, so I'm doing well with everyone, but I would probably say I'll do the most together with Jonas 'cause I've known him the longest. I've been playing with him in the Swiss National Team when we were younger so I would say that's kind of the guy I'd go with dinner and stuff but obviously I like ALL of them.

Q: Hardest team to play against? A: Carolina.

Q: What's your favorite Girl Scout Cookie flavor? Do you know what those are? A: (He did not know what those were and so he said) No cookies for me.

Q: (I didn't hear the question that well, but I think it was something like this) Who on the team would you want your daughter to date? A: I would say everyone because they know if they're not nice to my daughter they'd be in trouble.

[okkotsuslut]

Jealous

a/n: i got this idea while listening to the song 'jealous' by nick jonas! kinda want to do this for some of the other blue lock characters too- so i might later :D

typed in lowercase, not edited

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today was a big day. you were going to watch your boyfriend play against the U-20 team for a chance to be on their starting line up.

he had gotten phone privileges back a few times in blue lock from scoring goals. so he let you know that he really wanted you to be there.

you were also going to see your brother play. he went to blue lock but due to someone's request, he would be playing for the U-20 team during the game. you didn't really know the details.

you'd heard from your brother ryusei once since he left to go to blue lock and it was just to tell you that you better be at his game.

you sat with your boyfriend's parents during the game since yours weren't able to attend.

it was cute seeing his mom and dad wearing two jerseys that were sewn into one. representing both of their children that were playing today.

you cheered for rin as he dominated the field. your brother was on the bench for most of the game but when he got put in to play, you cheered for him a little too.

the game ended in blue locks victory and you quickly left your seat, hurrying to try and find rin so that you could congratulate him.

he had told you to meet him at the locker rooms so you followed the vague directions that he had texted you.

you were walking down a long hallway when you heard a familiar voice.

"i can't believe i lost to that eyelashed freak!"

you followed the sound of his voice to a room with the door open. it was your brother, ryusei, sitting in an empty locker room.

he was facing away from you, so you decided it would be funny to sneak up on him.

you tiptoed in and jumped on his back.

he flung you off of him like you were a bug. causing you to land on the floor and let out a groan.

"OW"

"HA! wimp, that's what you get."

"screw you. that's why you lost." you replied, getting up off of the floor.

"that was just a damn fluke! i'm gonna beat that eyelashed freak next time i see him."

you figured that the person he was referring to as an "eyelashed freak" was your boyfriend and you let out a small laugh.

"you're so weird bro." you pulled him into a hug because even though he was annoying, you had missed him.

he pat you on the head and told you that you were weirder.

you suddenly heard someone clear their throat. you looked behind ryusei to see rin standing in the doorway.

"rin!" you ran out of your brother's arms and into his. "i missed you so much!"

his hands were balled into fists and his jaw was tightly clenched. he lightly pushed you off of him.

your eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you looked up at him.

"what the hell are you doing with this insect."

you let out a loud laugh at what he called your brother. you had never thought about that before but it was true, ryusei's hair did look a bit like antennas.

"that's cute coming from you with your spider eyelashes." ryusei barked.

you just rolled your eyes and stifled a laugh.

rin threw his arm over your shoulder and pulled you close, glaring at your brother.

"stay away from her."

"thats pretty hard to do since we share a room." he shrugged "but i guess i wont be leaving blue lock anytime soon since i'm gonna win this thing."

rin's grip on your shoulder tightened and you could tell he was pissed. so you grabbed his hand and started to lead him out of the room.

"see ya later ryusei. love you." you called out over your shoulder.

you could practically hear rin's teeth grinding onto each other. he was mad.

there was another empty locker room a little down the hall so you walked into there.

you could tell that he was thoroughly misunderstanding the situation so you decided it would be best to just quickly tell him.

"you and my brother don't get along too well."

"huh?" rin looked at you, clearly confused. "that lukewarm idiot is your brother!?"

"yeah." you laughed.

"but you guys don't have the same last name."

"we are technically half siblings. same mom, different dads."

rins hand covered his face as he realized. he let out a groan. you leaned in and wrapped your arms around his torso.

"it was nice seeing you get all jealous. you were cute."

he rolled his eyes but a light blush spread across his cheeks after you called him cute.

he looked down at you and placed his arms over your shoulders, hugging you back.

"whatever."

"i missed you." you leaned up, placing a small kiss on his lips.

"missed you too."