Rachel Daly Appreciation

woso appreciation masterlist | with @alotofpockets

Congrats on an incredible international career! You will be missed dearly on the pitch.

Revelation | Daphne van Domselaar x Reader

Summary: Everyone on the team knows you and Daphne like each other, except the two of you. Will a minor injury change that?

A/n: Happy birthday to my favourite goalie!

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.3k

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Ask any one of your national team teammates, and they would say that you liked Daphne and that Daphne liked you. The only two people on the team that were oblivious to this were Daphne and yourself. Your teammates tried to get the two of you together many times, but they had given up after they kept hearing “She doesn’t feel the same way.” or “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” They figured that the two of you would figure it out eventually, and that they would just have to endure the endless pining you did over each other.

With another national camp well underway, you were spending a lot of your downtime either with Daphne or the whole team. Downtime with the whole team usually consisted of an activity at the hotel, while for downtime with just Daphne, you loved to explore the city you were currently staying in.

The latter being your plan for this morning. After having breakfast with the rest of your teammates, Daphne was waiting for you at the exit while you were still talking to Daan. She looked over her shoulder to where you kept looking, and smirked when she saw the reason. “Oh sorry, I didn't mean to keep your girlfriend waiting.” Your cheeks flushed red at her comment. “Daphne is not my girlfriend.” Danielle loved to tease you, so she continued. “I mean I never mentioned a name.” With a roll of your eyes you playfully shove Daan, and make your way over to Daphne. “Ready to go?” She asked with a big smile, you nodded in response and the two of you were out of the door.

You spend some time walking around the city, visiting some spots you had previously planned out, as well as admiring the places you found along the way. When you both got hungry again, you found a cute lunch spot, and enjoyed some food together. Spending time with Daphne was always easy, the two of you could talk for hours on end and you would never get bored.

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y/n_y/l/n just posted to their story

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When you got back to the hotel, you went your separate ways. Daphne headed to the common room, where some of the team had gathered, while you headed to your room. The moment Daphne was in the eyesight of her teammates, Kerstin spoke up. “How was your date with the missus?” Her comment earned her a snicker from a few of the other girls, and a blushing Daphne. “It wasn't a date, and she’s not my missus, but our day was good.” Kerstin shrugged her shoulders, “Did you ask her if she wanted it to be a date? I’m sure she would’ve said yes.” Daphne plopped down on the couch, “I thought you had all dropped this.” She says in defeat. “Well, in our defence, we thought you would have asked her out by now.” This stayed the topic for the next hour, which made Daphne glad to hear that it was time to head out to the stadium for tonight’s match.

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oranjeleeuwinnen just posted to their story

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Your match against Germany was well underway. Both teams were strong, and no goals had been scored so far. Though, there had been many attempts on both sides. As a striker you were getting frustrated that none of your balls were hitting the back of the net, but you had to set those frustrations aside and keep pushing for the win.

It was currently Germany working on their attack, with a long ball over the midfield. The ball had the Dutch defenders running back along with the German player that was making the run. You were too far up on the field to be of any real help, but you moved down a bit along with the German defence line moving up.

Daphne read the situation well and saw that she had to get out of her goal for a one on one with the German striker. She blocked the ball with her whole body effectively, making it deflect out of play for a corner, but before she realised that, a sharp pain shot through her hand. The German player wasn’t able to stop her run in time, and landed on Daphne’s hand with her boot. 

You ran down the field to make your way towards her, when you saw that she stayed down and clutched her hand to her chest. “What happened?” You hadn’t seen the moment happen since there were many players between you and her, but by the tears in her eyes you knew that she was in pain. “She stood on my hand.” You wince at the thought on the studded boots hitting her hands. “Ouch.” You comment, making Daphne chuckle, “You could say that yes.” You help her take off her glove, before the medics arrive, and look it over. There didn’t seem to be any superficial wounds, which you hoped was a good thing. 

When the medics arrived, you stayed by Daphne’s side. They examined her hand properly, and didn’t think it was injured, though they expected it would bruise later. She got handed an ice pack to put on her hand for a moment, to relieve some of the pain. “Are you good to continue?” They asked her. “I think so.” The medical team took back the ice packs, and you took over again. You held out her glove, and helped her put it on. After you help her back up, you wipe away the tears that were still present on her face, before you both made your way back to your own places on the field.

Daphne continued playing the rest of the match, you were worried for her hand the whole time, but were able to push the worrying to the back of your mind. You had a match to win, and needed your focus for that. With a last minute goal by Damaris, from your assist, the Netherlands managed to win the match.

As a team you loved to celebrate your wins, but seeing as tomorrow morning you would be an early wake up call for another training session, you decided on a movie night together. Everyone was gathered in the common room, the movie had been playing for a good fifteen minutes, but your focus was not on the screen. Instead your eyes kept making their way over to Daphne’s hand, the worry for her well being now being at the top of your mind. Daphne who was sitting next to you realised you kept watching her hand. “I’m okay, really.” She whispered, not wanting to interrupt the movie for the rest of the team. “But,” You reach for her hand, inspecting it up close for yourself. “It’s bruising.” You lightly trace the slight bruising that was already visible with the tip of your finger. Daphne took the moment to intertwine her fingers with yours, “See, all okay.” 

Your heart started beating rapidly, she was holding your hand, and for a moment you forgot how to function. You just stared at your intertwined fingers until you snapped out of it, letting your eyes meet hers. The realisation of the other maybe reciprocating your feelings was now all that was on your mind. The revelation made a blush creep up onto your cheeks. The rest of the people around you disappeared as if you were in a bubble together. Her sparkling eyes looked between your eyes and your lips, before she started leaning in slowly. Your smile grew as you realised what was about to happen. You close the gap between you, and your lips meet hers in a soft kiss.

The moment that the two of you parted, your bubble was broken by your teammates loudly cheering. “Fucking finally.” Kerstin exclaimed. Besides that you heard a number of different comments like, “Took you long enough.” and “Thank God.”. You let them have their fun, because you just kissed the girl of your dreams. Daphne put her arm around you, and you leaned into her side. “Can you all shut up? We’re trying to watch a movie here.” Daphne said, not being able to hide the smile on her face.

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29 with Maz pacheco

"I'm falling for you"

Falling | Maz Pacheco x Reader

“I think you only come here to use me for my services,” Maz enters her living room with two plates of food in hand. She takes a seat next to you as you pause the FC24 match you were in the middle of. 

“Maybe, what’s on the menu for lunch today?” You tease, accepting the plate she puts out for you. You inspect the sandwich and hum in satisfaction, “looks good. I’ll stay for dinner too.”

Maz rolls her eyes as she flicks the television to something other than a paused video game screen, “who said you were invited to stay for dinner?”

You take an obnoxious bite of the sandwich before struggling to reply with your mouth full, “you always want me to stay and I was in the middle of a game turn it back on.”

“Nah, you can’t play and eat at the same time,” she bickers right back at you. This was how most conversations went between you two. 

You signed to Aston Villa over the summer and quickly got close with Maz, bonding over your mutual love for fashion and trainers. You spent most of your time in her flat in order to survive. Coming to Villa it was the first time you had to live on your own. You weren’t used to cooking and being by yourself 24/7. 

Maz was more than willing to show you around and let you invade her space, so you took full advantage. The rest of the girls on the team loved to poke fun at how the two of you were basically a couple. At first it didn’t bother you, but then there was a night you stayed over and it was like you really saw her for the first time. 

Maybe you could blame the celebratory drinks you shared over team dinner after a win, but those wore off and morning came and left you feeling new things. Being with Maz wasn’t just a good meal and free wifi, she was your safety. 

You race against no one to finish your food in record time just to force her to watch you play. You place the plate on the coffee table and snatch the remote from her hand, flipping back to the paused FC24 game. “Watch me,” you instruct the defender who groans at your action. 

You resume your match and sneak a peek to see her smiling beside you. You loved that smile, it was subtle and always felt so genuine, it causes your own to set in place. “You suck,” your eyes snap back to the screen to see your team go a goal down at her chuckled words. 

“Fuck,” you mumble out in frustration at once again getting distracted by the defender. You set your focus on the match as Maz finishes her food and moves to clean up both of your messes. 

It’s moments later she returns, making herself comfortable with her head in your lap. You were used to it by now, she was always laid up with you in some way as you both lounged around. She watches you play for a moment before getting engrossed in TikTok as usual. 

She distractedly tugs at the hem of your shorts as she scrolls. There’s a video she finds particularly funny that causes her to fall into a fit of laughter. The laugh that gathers all of your attention with its pure joy. Your game is long forgotten as you set the controller aside, your hand coming down to rest on her side as you watch her. 

Maz finally calms from her blissful state and finds your eyes on her. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She blushes, locking her phone and turning to face you. 

“Like what?” You shrug, reaching a hand up to tuck a bit of hair behind her ear that had fallen from her bun. It was a risky move and you don’t know why you did it. 

Her eyes flutter close momentarily at the action before they are back on you. A soft smile settled on her face, “like you wanna kiss me.” She forces out a chuckle to ease the tension building, but it’s too late. 

“I do,” you confess without remorse. 

“You do?” You nod, confirming her suspicions. “Then do it,” she says, like it’s a challenge. Everything between the two of you was a challenge, who changed for practice faster, who can hit the crossbar more, any small task turned into a competition. 

You didn’t lose, so without hesitation you lean down, connecting your lips with hers for the first time. It’s careful and barely there, but it causes butterflies to erupt inside you. “I win,” you whisper after pulling away. 

Maz rolls her eyes, still settled comfortably in your lap with a bashful smile and red tinted cheeks. “Not everything has to be a competition.”

“I’m falling for you,” you confess casually, shrugging as if it won’t change everything between you. 

Maz is just as relaxed as you, nodding in thought, “I started falling the first day I met you.”

You take in the information before a laugh rips through both of you. It was so typical how you were with one another that this is how anticlimactic your confession would be. “Cheesy,” you tease, picking back up your controller and resuming your game. 

“Shut up, you still suck,” Maz laughs looking briefly towards the television. You both share a shy glance and you wink, “you like me,” she teases back. 

“I like you,” you nod in confirmation with no shame. 

a/n: If you aren't in love with Maz I'm judging you lol. for my very loyal fellow Maz loving anon, I hope you enjoy! no eta on finishing the other fic for her , but I hope this is good 🤎

Rachel Daly x Reader

New to the Neighbourhood

AN: Inspired by a conversation with @hernightsky over these photos 🫶

Pulling up on the driveway you took a moment to look up at the house in front of you before getting out, soaking up the moment you were finally moving in to your first home. You felt excited but a little overwhelmed with how quickly everything had happened and now you’re on your own, no more mum and dad there to help you 24/7 but you knew they would only be a phone call away. You’ve never lived by yourself before and now you have an entire building to play with! You had chosen a new build and had been involved with all the decisions regarding furnishing the property before you moved in; it was in a new residential area, a close with terraced houses in a square around the cul-de-sac. Everyone had brightly coloured flowers in their garden, wreaths on the front door and the neighbours seemed super friendly when you came for viewings.

“Smile!” shouted your mum suddenly jolting you out of your daydreaming about where you were going to put everything, spinning around you grabbed the SOLD sign out of the ground and held it excitedly for a photo in front of your home before slotting the key into the front door for the first time. Your parents immediately created a line from the van to the doorstep - your dad unloaded, your mum ferried and you put the boxes in the rooms they belonged in. Neighbours came and went wishing you well while welcoming you to the neighbourhood, one even made you cups of tea as you hadn’t found the kettle yet.. you knew you were gonna love it here. Your parents stayed overnight to help you unpack and settle in, the next day they left after helping you set up your bills and direct debits. You ordered a food shop and got to work with putting your own stamp on the property, driving to a homeware store and picking up the paint and wallpaper you’ve had your eyes on for months.

Sitting in the middle of your newly painted bedroom you worked well into the early morning to finish, you started to remove the rollers from your hair when you heard a familiar rattle outside. “Shit!” scrambling to your feet and throwing your robe on, you swiped the rubbish from the surfaces into a black sack and desperately tried to make sure you got outside before the bin men left, throwing the front door open in a hurry to see they had already turned the corner and were driving away. “Fuck!” you shouted into the morning sun, annoyed that you hadn’t thought to check when the rubbish was collected beforehand. Hearing a cackle come from a distance you squinted to see who was laughing at you, “they come every week yknow!” a sarcastic voice called from the other side of the close, shielding your eyes from the sun to see a figure standing in their driveway. “Yeah” you replied begrudgingly with a limp smile and a roll of your eyes, throwing the bag to the side of your garden before making a deflated walk back into your house. As soon as the door slammed shut your reasoning returned - your neighbour was right, they do come every week, no need to be upset about it.. it just felt like you failed your first task at being a home owner. Your dad always used to take the rubbish out, it was something you didn’t have to think about and it’s not your fault you didn’t know what day it was. 

Calling out to Alexa to play your favourite radio station your anger soon floated away with the sunrise as you finished doing your hair and make up, hanging clothes in your wardrobe and picking an outfit out for tonight. Your friends were coming over for a house warming party and you had been keen for it to be a gathering with not too many people, you didn’t want your carpets getting ruined already! But your friends insisted they had to christen the moment the first of the friend group moved out of their parent’s house. You’d been saving up since you were 18 and because England has awful mortgage rules it had taken you over a decade to finally get enough for a deposit. So they’re right, you do deserve to be celebrated! This is a milestone not everyone achieves in their lifetime and you had worked incredibly hard to get here, especially on your own! 

Turning up the music you danced around your near on empty house, cracking open a bottle of wine and finally feeling calm enough to collect the rubbish you’d dumped earlier in exhaustion. Opening the door to pick the black bag up you noticed it was no longer there, looking around to see if anyone had moved it the same neighbour from this morning approached you. “I put it in mine!” pointing to a wheelie bin next to her garage then proceeded to tell you how you can order one too from the council’s website; then I don’t have to remember to put the bins out – genius! You thanked her for the information and was about to close the door but she carried on talking to tell you about the recycle days, the nearest shop for milk, gave you the local window cleaner’s number and where not to park as some neighbours are territorial over parking spaces. “Ahhh, that may be a problem. I’ve got friends coming over for a house warming tonight” you pondered, touching your hand to your chin wondering where everyone was going to park. “Get them to car pool or use the bus, there’s a stop just around the corner. If you need to you can use my driveway, I’ve got work and won’t be home tonight” she smiled during her offering. Thanking her profusely you finally went your separate ways. 

Some of your friends stayed over that night and as they were leaving in the morning your neighbour was returning home from work, giving a small wave to each other in passing your friends turned around to look at where your attention had turned to. Watching the woman unload her car with a large duffle bag, you and your friends ogled the mysterious blonde from across the road. “She looks so familiar!” one of your friends said as everyone else agreed. “We chatted yesterday and the whole time I was trying to figure out why I recognised her” talking quietly so you weren’t overheard by the stranger. “Maybe we went to school with her, could have been the year above us?” shrugging at your friends guesses you finished saying goodbye and that you’d see them soon, waving them off you entered the house to do the last bit of tidying they’d left you with.

Later on there was a knock at the door, opening it confused to see your new neighbour standing on the doorstep. “Hey! Just thought I’d bring something to officially welcome you the neighbourhood” she said with a friendly smile and handing you a bunch of flowers with a card. “Thanks, you didn’t have to but I appreciate it” you responded a little taken aback at her generosity; you didn’t think people still talked to their neighbours these days, especially a new person! “I’ll have to find out the vase from one of these boxes” you chuckled, knowing full well you didn’t have one - nobody had ever bought you flowers before! “Oh! You can borrow mine!” she said and before you could contest the offer she was already sprinting off back to her house, barely gone a minute before returning with a simple glass vase. “You have to snip the ends at an angle and pull the leaves off before putting them in the water” she must have sensed that you’d never arranged a bouquet in your life, probably obvious by the way you were holding them like a new born baby that had been reluctantly dumped in your arms. “There’s a sachet there to put in the water too, makes them live longer” she smiled but you could tell she was now anxiously waffling. You thanked her and swiftly closed the door, keen to not take up anymore of her time.. or yours. You don’t know this woman and if you didn’t cut her off who knows how long you’d be standing out there talking! You arranged the flowers in the borrowed vase in the kitchen and displayed them in your front room window so they were visible to everyone outside, walking through to the hallway your fingers tore open the envelope, trying to catch something that slipped from the card before it fell to the floor.

Hey [insert name here]

Welcome to the neighbourhood! 

Here if you need anything! 

Rachel x

PS. here’s a number for your wheelie bin so they don’t get mixed up! 

Noticing she had scribbled her phone number at the bottom that became visible as the number sticker slipped out of the card, ‘I never would have thought of this’, you thought as you left it on the sideboard in your porch and went upstairs to run a bath. Flopping back onto the sofa an hour later and switching on the TV, mindlessly flicking through channels as you reread the card, your hands already holding your phone punched in the number Rachel had written.

Y: “(y/n)”

R: “Huh?”

Y: “Insert name here… it’s (y/n)” 

R: “Ahh, hi (y/n). Do you know nets are see through when you have the lights on?” 

Your eyes bulged out of your head as they suddenly flicked towards the window, scrambling in panic to pull the sofa cushions over the top of you. Coming from shared accommodation you had been so excited to get your own house and be able to walk around naked with no worries in the world that you had forgotten to pull the curtains! You’d dropped your towel when you were walking down the stairs and had been flicking between the kitchen and the lounge fetching snacks before your evening Love Island catch up. Laying on your sofa frozen with anxiety wondering how you’re going to move anywhere with no clothing in sight you took to slithering off your sofa and onto the floor, pencil rolling over to the boxes that hadn’t been unpacked yet. There has to be clothes in here somewhere! Finally feeling something fluffy and knowing it was the new blanket for your bed, you wrapped yourself up like a burrito and hopped over to the window, seeing Rachel at hers waving while in full fits of laughter. Wincing at your incredibly stupid mistake you snapped the curtains shut in embarrassment and sunk down the radiator onto the floor again - what a way to announce your arrival! 

The next day you were hurriedly leaving for work, your alarm hadn’t sounded you awake and you didn’t have long to get to your job. Rushing out of the door in a chaotic whirlwind you pulled on your jacket and zipped up your bag when you looked up and saw Rachel working out in her garage. Your face quickly blushed red as you turned and slammed the door of your house with you still inside it. How can you live in a neighbourhood where at least one of your neighbours have already seen you naked in the first week of living here?! Peeping out of your porch window to see her sitting on the weight bench with her phone in her hand.. now is your time to run for it - when she’s distracted! Locking your door as quietly as you could you tiptoed over to your car, closing the door with a sigh of relief that you hadn’t been spotted when your phone pinged making you jump. “You know you can’t hide from me forever” turning to look out of your window to see her subtly tilt her head up to the sky with a nod of acknowledgment and disarmament, you sent her a nod back in awkward recognition before driving away. You spent your shift searching for new houses, ones far away where nobody would know you as the naked neighbour! “Is it too soon to move?” you asked in the cafeteria which was met by laughter from your work friends after telling them what had happened. They reassured you that it must happen to everyone at least once in their lifetime and told you to suck it up.

Arriving home to see Rachel’s car was gone you decided to start working on your front garden, safe in the knowledge that you weren’t going to bump into her this afternoon. Sitting cross legged on the grass and digging holes for flowers soon burned the hours away as you pottered around your garden making it look as lovely as the rest of the neighbourhood, you were able to relax knowing that Rachel doesn’t usually return home until the next morning and figured that she must work night shifts. That was until she did return home, much earlier than you were expecting! You had finished your garden and was laying on the newly laid grass gazing up at the sky when you heard the hum of a car drive into your close, sitting up to see it was Rachel and quickly flopping back down, closing your eyes hoping she’d think you were asleep.. or dead! Hearing the car door slam you held your breath in anticipation that she wouldn’t notice you but instead you heard footsteps getting closer along with small pitter patters, only opening your eyes as a you felt a tongue lick your face to see a small dog staring at you with its head tilted. “Who’s this?” your voice turned high pitch at the cute little floof eyeballing you. What a way to break the ice, she’s an actual genius! “Dexi, she seems to like you” she said sitting down on the grass next to you. “Look, it’s not a big deal and getting caught out has happened to all of us” she said trying to make you feel better, plopping the small dog in your lap to stroke her. Raising an eyebrow to question her statement, “really?” you asked, wondering if your friends were right that it does happens to everyone. “Well.. no, but isn’t it a good thing I told you so it didn’t happen again?” she laughed to herself, once again making your cheeks turn red in cringeworthy embarrassment. “Err.. I guess?” For all you know, there was only one person that knew what had happened, doesn’t mean anybody else had seen you and this woman seems like she wouldn’t gossip about it to others in the area. You spent the afternoon chatting on the lawn and playing with Dexi, the embarrassment was soon forgotten as you spoke about anything and everything. A few hours passed when a delivery lorry pulled up in front of your house and unveiled your new bin, Rachel was quick to her feet to collect it for you, wheeling it next to your garage and asking where your sticker was that she got for it. Pointing to the inside of your porch, “may I?” she asked while holding the handle, nodding at her in encouragement before entering your home and grabbing the sticker from the cabinet just inside the door. Crouching down to press the sticker firmly onto your new bin, she stepped back to admire her work and to soak up the adoration for her help and thoughtfulness. You spent the rest of the afternoon talking about why you both moved to the area, how long she has lived here, your mutual love for Love Island and all things reality TV. “What school did you go to?” you finally plucked up the courage to ask, assuming she came from the area. “Not one round here” she chuckled, inquisitive of why you would ask that. “Hmm, me and my friends swear we recognise you from somewhere! We thought maybe it was from school?” you laughed nervously desperately trying to rack your brain as to why she looks so familiar. The blonde shrugged her shoulders and swiftly excused herself after that, citing she needed to feed Dexi. 

A few days passed you were making your dinner when the vase Rachel had leant you caught your attention on the draining board, looking out of the window to see her garage door open you decided to pay her a visit. “Hey! I forgot to give your vase back!” calling out as you approached the garage before popping your head in to see her counting reps under her breath as she lifted the weight bar, reaching 50 before stopping to talk to you. “Sorry, would have lost my place if I stopped” standing up to straighten out her top. “You didn’t have to bring it back, you might get more flowers one day” she said approaching you, scratching the back of her neck in a slightly awkward manner. “You’re the only person that’s ever bought me any so I don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon” you laughed nervously. “Ya never know though” she shrugged but took the ornament out of your hands, “believe me, I know” you insisted before excusing yourself as dinner was in the oven. Rachel asked what you’ve got so told her you had enough for two if she fancied it; accepting the offer cautiously, she’ll come over after she’s showered.

The doorbell rang as you went to answer it to Rach standing on the doorstep waving a bottle of wine around with a goofy grin. As you finished dishing up dinner, she took herself on a tour of your house even though it was exactly the same layout of hers. She noticed you still hadn’t unpacked everything and studied the words written on the carboard boxes – ‘costumes’, ‘plants’, ‘photos’, along with a few others before making her way to the lounge. Picking up the photographs displayed on the mantlepiece she studied them carefully, chuckling to herself at the one of you and your friends all dressed up in whacky costumes at a bar crawl in another country. You came in with dinner spotting her admiring your photos, “I need this story!” she exclaimed excitedly as she came to join you at the table. You ate and spoke about your girls trip to Vegas and how you came to be dressed up as a giant pea then moved to the sofa for this evening’s Love Island. Rachel told you how she’d lived in America for a bit and told stories about her time there whilst sharing the bottle of wine between you (and by share, she had one glass and you had the rest!) You watched the latest episode together, discussing who your faves are and who you think are snakey and after the programme finished Rachel said she had to leave early tomorrow so shouldn’t stay much longer. “Early shift tomorrow then?” you asked as you accompanied her to the front door, “something like that, I gotta go to Brighton” slipping her shoes back on you asked if she’s staying away tomorrow night. “No I’ll be home, probably pretty late though so don’t wait up for me” she winked in a jokey manner but it still made you feel a little flustered as she waved goodbye.

Over the coming weeks you and Rachel became closer friends, she had come round to help you unpack the rest of your boxes and had helped paint and decorate your spare room. Running around B&Q like children taking it in turns to push each other on the trolley turned into a bi-weekly activity to choose the bedding, lighting and paintings to add the final touches on the room. It had become a regular evening ritual to watch Love Island together when she was home and you found yourself missing her when she was away for work. You certainly didn’t think you’d end up being firm friends with one of your neighbours so quickly after moving in but you were grateful for the familiar comfort of someone you get on so well with on your venture alone.

Waking up late had become a frustrating habit of yours lately, it seemed that since moving out your routine was all over the place, once again rushing out of the door to get to work in time. Only this time, you’d forgotten something.. realising after the door slammed behind you that you hadn’t picked up your keys! Just like you did a few months ago when you moved in, screams exited your mouth and travelled up towards the sun coupled with your foot landing heavily onto your front tyre in frustration then sulked over to your friend’s house, ringing the doorbell hoping Rachel was awake. It didn’t look like she was as when she answered the door her hair looked dishevelled like she’d just woken up, Dexi under her arm whined for cuddles from you as you told her what had happened and asked to borrow her phone. The blonde invited you in and unlocked her phone for you to use as she went to get dressed, Dexi stayed with you as you stroked away the anger. While you waited for your mum to finish work to bring you the spare key she offered you a cup of tea, leading you out to her much bigger garden than yours to drink it. “Omg you have a hot tub?!” and just like that you’d forgotten your earlier woes. Walking up to admire the pool you dipped your hand inside to feel the warmth, spotting something else in your sight. “What the fuck is this this?” looking at a small looking pool with ICE written on the side. “An ice bath” she giggled watching you from the patio. “Why on earth would anyone need one of these?!” backing away from it like it was a deadly disease. “It’s good for you! Especially after working out!” she insisted. “Ah well, that explains why I’ve never heard of it then!” you laughed. “I could do a few sessions with you?” her words caused your face to screw up, that line reminding you that she really doesn’t know you at all. “I’ll just take the hot tub thanks” you said angelically as you sat back at the table with her. “Come over later then? Your mums here” looking at the alert on her phone that someone was at her front door. 

“Am I underdressed?” you asked as Rachel opened the door to you in shorts and a shirt that was open and showing your bikini clad chest. Shaking her head with a smirk, “nah, you’re perfect” stepping aside to let you in, “you can jump in, I’m just watching the end of the football”. Deciding to wait for her you sat down to watch the end of the game, asking who was playing and making your lack of football knowledge very well known. As your friend shouted “offside!” at the TV a look of confusion wiped over your face, you had absolutely no idea what the offside rule was no matter (how many times someone tried to explain it to you – you just didn’t care enough to understand! “Who do you support then?” noticing Rachel took a while to pull her eyes away from the match to answer you, “well, Villa obviously – we live here!” she laughed, not bothering to ask you the same seeing as you’d made your disinterest for the game clear. You wondered why she was watching Chelsea v Tottenham if she doesn’t support them but didn’t dare ask, you didn’t want to be annoying so decided to go jump in the tub instead. Playing on your phone until Rachel made an appearance in just her bikini and shorts, quickly looking away after catching yourself looking her up and down hoping she didn’t notice. She did. “You can’t be awkward, I’ve literally seen you naked!” she laughed at your blushing again. “Don’t remind me!” your hand found your forehead in dismay, you’d actually forgotten that this is how your friendship started! “Didn’t fancy this one then?” she joked while sinking into her ice bath. “Nah I fancied the hot one” choking on your drink a little realising the sentence could mean the hot tub or Rachel, both were true regardless! “Who won then?” changing the subject quickly. “Chelsea, do you really not like football?” she asked. “I just don’t get it.. I went to the women’s final at Wembley last year though” you smiled, thinking that fact might interest her. “Really? You?!” she questioned with heavy sarcasm, she couldn’t imagine you at a match after everything you’ve said this evening. “Well my friends wanted to go and I thought why not, I didn’t have a clue what was going on but it was cool we won!” finally excited you could converse on something she was clearly interested in. “Yeah it was, I was there too!” she said, joining you in the hot tub. “Oh really, small world!” noticing a smirk on her face as you said that.

You’re not quite sure how the next part of the conversation started, she must have been trying to fill the silence.. to you it felt natural, being comfortable in silence with someone is truly a tell tale sign that you’re close with them but Rachel mustn’t of felt this way. “Have you seen the stars out here yet?” shaking your head in response to her random question. Being so far out from the city she said that you can see so many stars on a clear night, she loves sitting out here at nighttime watching them and gets sad when it’s cloudy. You shared your love for the moon, you’re a night owl and was excited at the prospect of seeing it more clearly. Looking up to see the sun setting you asked how long it takes for the stars to come out, kicking your feet out underneath the bubbles not realising her feet were out too as they grazed together. “Oh, err, sorry!” Rachel could sense your nervousness as you suddenly splashed your legs underneath you to sit them crossed. “It’s okay” the famous little smirk of hers shone through on her face - the one where the corners of her lips turn downwards slightly but the inside of her mouth smiled, an expression that is totally unique to her. Moving her arm around the back of you and balancing it on the edge of the tub she effortlessly scooched closer at the same time making your heart beat faster, trying to control your breathing hoping she wouldn’t notice it had accelerated into sharp intakes of breath.

Your weeknights had turned into a regular combination of Love Island and hot tubs, weeks passed by where you and Rachel’s friendship had grown closer and closer. Always in one of your houses together except when either of you had work, you’d even let Rach try to teach you the rules of football – she found a method to explain it in a way that makes sense to your brain.. it was either that or the fact you actually wanted to listen to the words coming out of her beautiful mouth.

Wolf whistles echoed around the block as your neck snapped to turn to the only place they could be coming from. It was the hottest day of the year and you were outside washing your car in your casual summer attire – an oversized check shirt that fell lower over your legs than the little denim shorts you’d become accustomed to in this weather, you’d unbuttoned your shirt in the heat and it was now barely hanging on to your arms. When you dried the water droplets on the bonnet so you could see your face in it you turned to lean up on your car like all the hot girls do in the music videos, your foot leant up on the grill and your arms folded as you looked over to Rachel standing in her garage door frame. Your tongue poked into your inner cheek before sliding out the corner of your mouth in a suggestive manner spotting her bare shoulders and arms you could hardly contain yourself. The flirting had become an expected part of your days and even though neither of you had ever said anything, it was obvious that there was something between you. “You done your work out yet?” you called over to her, watching her shake her head teasingly before replying to you, “why, do you wanna watch?” turning her back to face you as she loaded up her bars with weights. The offer was irresistible, especially as you knew ice baths and hot tubs always come after work outs! “Mayybeee” your word elongated as you swung on the door frame to the garage in a giddy way, watching her lie down on the bench as she started her reps and waiting for her to invite you in.. not that you needed permission anymore! Rolling out your chair for the hour you plopped yourself onto the exercise ball and wiggled your bum around as it moved across the floor. You’ve always had trouble sitting still but the bounciness of the ball kept you entertained for a while as you flicked through your phone. “Why don’t you work out?” she asked through heavy breaths as she neared the end of the reps on her first station of the day. “Why would I want to do that on purpose?” you answered bewildered as to why anyone would voluntarily put themselves through that. “So your body is strong?” was one of her reasons before listing off a few others. Giving in to her petty argument you decided to give her what she clearly wanted, “babes if you wanna watch me sweat you just gotta say” your voice turned cocky as you waltzed over to the treadmill at the opposite side of the room, noticing she moved stations to where the dumbbells were which was conveniently in front of a mirror so she could watch you.. even though she insisted she wasn’t! You can always feel if someone is watching you whether your back is turned or not and decided to play with her a little, taking your shirt off and throwing it into the corner of the room as you picked up pace. Rachel was watching you intently through the mirror, fixed on how your ponytail bounced with each step or how your shorts had risen higher up your legs.

You felt Rachel approach you from behind, coming to the side of the machine and leaning her arm up onto the display. “Do you like women (y/n)?” she asked maintaining eye contact as you continued to run. Her eyes tried to fix on yours like she was trying to read what you were going to say before it’s even been said, unable to avoid flicking between your face and your bikini clad chest bouncing in time with your pony tale. Biting her lip at the thoughts in her mind of wrapping her fist around your hair and pulling those shorts off of your cute body. “Are you dumb?” your tone sounding a little more harsh than intended, “I’m literally on this thing in a fucking bikini waiting for you to throw me across this room!” Rachel snorted at your sudden explosion of honesty, “so that’s why you don’t work out! You’re a pillow princess!” she teased causing you to slam your hand onto the display to stop the treadmill, letting it slip you off the end with your arms folded. “Say that again, I dare ya” you egged her on by getting up in her face as you said that, willing her to take you and take you now! If not to the bedroom at least to be dumped in the hot tub! She’d barely batted an eyelid when her sudden movements caught you off guard, throwing your body over her shoulder she pulled down the garage door and carried you up stairs, slapping your butt then threw you down the bed, pinning your arms to the mattress beneath her, “that’s why I work out!” her cocky voice made you wince, releasing months of worked up sexual tension in a night of passion.

A few days later you were putting your bins out when you heard drilling come from the other side of the block. “Oi oi!” calling out as you approached the garage, Rachel appeared within seconds holding a drill in one hand and leaning up on the frame with the other. Blowing the tip of her drill like she’d just shot someone with a gun. “Hey sexy” she leant down to kiss you with as much passion as you shared the other night, “come for round two have ya?” smirking as she pulled you into the garage. “Are you gonna put that down first?” cautiously nodding towards the electric tool still in her hand. As she bent down to place it on the ground your eyes were drawn towards the wall where she had been hanging things up. Spotting your gaze fixed on the frames her breathing stopped in anticipation of the next thing to come out of your mouth. Your eyes glanced from shirt to shirt with DALY written on the back of every single one until your brain clicked all the pieces together. “Rachel Daly! “That’s why I recognised you! That’s why your shifts are all over the place!” your hands clapped over your mouth as her facial expression stayed neutral waiting for you to finish gawping. “I prefer people get to know me before the footballer” she said with nervousness tinged in her words, “I prefer people get to know me before they see me naked!” you laughed, slapping her shoulder which showed absolutely nothing had changed. “Tell me about them” taking her hand and standing in front of the first shirt with her, the one that looked the most faded and aged. “You’re actually interested?” her arm draped over your shoulder, using her other hand to softly swipe the beach wavy hair from your eyes. Looking up at her you nodded enthusiastically as she started to talk about her life you knew nothing about, “well this one is from Leeds, they were my first team when I was 15..” she started her story which lead well into the night, you listened intently the entire time, intrigued with the life that she had felt compelled to keep hidden.

JORDAN!! NOBBS!! against sp*es once a gooner

How sweet is this? She’s ready to dedicate her goal to June. 🥹🥹🥹

So this is in no way meant to be some kind of saviorism post, but after yesterday when people were talking about diversity in women's Hockey I got thinking, and then I saw the photo posted of Arsenal's roster. I was honestly a little shocked I hadn't ever really thought too deeply about the diversity of a team but that is most definitely due to me being white and not having to think of that. So I looked deeper ( I also want to say now that my numbers may not be a hundred percent correct, you can't always know someone's ethnicity or racial identity but I have done my best to look and be as sure as I can). Arsenal while not the worst at diversity is second to the bottom with Everton having as far as I can tell ZERO players of color. I understand the argument of well they are in England. But when other teams like Manchester City are able to diversify their rosters it doesn't really feel fair to use that excuse when it comes to teams like Arsenal, especially as they have similar financial standings. I just was super caught off by this, I would personally think a team would benefit from looking as broadly around the world as they can but it seems some teams don't see a necessity in individuals who have lived varying lives, and I guess it's up to you to figure out how you feel about that. I am happy to look at NWSL teams, I'm not oblivious to the fact that the team I follow is itself super white.

So below will be the list in order from lowest to highest percentage. I should have been doing homework but I've done this instead.

Everton - 0 percent

Arsenal - 8 percent

Leicester City - 9 percent

Bristol City - 11 percent

Liverpool - 13 percent

Aston Villa - 15 percent

Brighton and Hove Albion - 18 percent

Manchester United - 21 percent

West Ham United - 23 percent

Tottenham Hotspur - 25 percent 

Chelsea - 27 percent

Manchester City - 30 percent

Hey, y'all, some of you might know me already. Some of you won't.

Introducing myself, Hi, my name is Keeper or Brae, and I'm an Australian women's soccer fan.

For the past few weeks or so, me and a friend of mine have been working on an instagram page, similar to that of my own blog on tumblr, but instead of being fic based, it'll be entirely about finding and archiving various stats, photos, videos and information on Women's football.

From the Super league to the NWSL, to the Liga F, to the frauen bundesliga, to even the damallsvenskan and the liberty a league, we'll have random, and various tidbits to share with people who don't want to go searching for it themselves.

We'll also be posting about international games, World Cup, and olympics/ Qualifiers.

Between me and my friend, we'll be working to share our love for the womens game however we can.

If you wanna check it out, it's FemFutbolDaily on IG, and I'll be making a blog here, too, for those of you who want to stick around on tumblr.

Thank you for reading, and we hope to see y'all over on IG.

We'll have a tumblr blog for you soon, too. 🏆⚽️🔥

same

she just deserves the world (,:

Closed off | Daphne van Domselaar

Pairing: Daphne van Domselaar x Aston Villa!Reader

Summary: You're usually a very closed off person, but Daphne manages to break down your walls.

Masterlist | Woso masterlist | Words: 2k

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When Daphne joined Aston Villa, she was nervous. The nerves weren’t just from joining a new team, but also from moving to a different league, and a different country. Sure she had travelled a lot with football, but never before had she lived somewhere other than The Netherlands. 

There were a few names on the team who she had watched in awe before her arrival, one of which was yours. Of course, as a goalkeeper she looked at the defending the most. You stood out to her, the way you put your whole body behind defending, made her want to see more. She watched multiple highlights videos of the tackles, and world class defining you had performed in your career. 

She had never been one to study a player so intensely. She kept telling herself that it was because you were such a good player, though deep down she knew there was more to it. It was only when she first met the team, and saw you in person, that she realised that besides your football skills, you were also very beautiful, and totally her type. Just as quickly as you had introduced yourself, you had also disappeared again. Daphne shook it off as she introduced herself to the rest of her new teammates. 

Goalkeeper training would start a bit before the rest of the team would join, so Daphne was surprised to see you already out on the pitch running drills on your own. “What’s up with y/n already being out on the pitch?” Fellow goalie Anna shrugged, “She’s always the first on the pitch.” Daphne was intrigued, but focussed on her first training with the team, wanting to make a good expression. 

Once the training session is done, Daphne walks up to you. “Hey, nice work out there.” She was referring to your defending while you were on a team together during the 5 v 5 match. “Thanks, you too.” Is all you said before you ran off, leaving a dumbfounded Daphne behind. She felt a hand pat her back, “Don’t take it personal, she’s closed off with everyone.” Jordan reassured her. From that point on Daphne made it her mission to get you to open up to her.

The next training day was a gym session, and her first move was to get you to be her spotting partner. “Hey, can you spot me?” She asked as she sat down on the bench, after putting the plates on. “Yeah, I got you.” You helped her on her sets, and when she was done she offered to spot you, an offer you accepted. It was just a quiet moment, but it was a start, and Daphne counted as a small win. 

After a day off, you were back to training. You were the first on the pitch, getting some running drills in before the rest of the team would arrive, when you saw Daphne entering the pitch. “Mind if I join you?” You send her a quick thumbs up, and continue your drills. Daphne started following your lead on the drills, keeping up nicely. During a quick water break you speak to her for the first time since you entered the pitch, “Want to practise some long balls?” 

You started off close together, passing the ball between you. Everytime you kicked a good pass back to her, you moved back and the distance between you grew rapidly. You were already past the halfway line when the rest of the team started entering, the chatter started at the side of the field where everyone was putting their boots on. Daphne shared a look with you, which you knew was her asking you if you wanted to stop, but you shook your head and kicked the ball back in her direction. You were determined to reach the back line of the other side of the field. 

As you were getting closer and closer, you were so focused that you didn’t realise that the whole team, including the staff, was looking at the both of you. One more good pass, and you’d get to the back line. Your shot landed perfectly at Daphne’s feet, so you took the final steps to the back line. Daphne took one look up before she lined up her boot with the ball, and the ball came flying your way. The whole team erupted in cheer when the ball landed at your feet. Only then did you notice that the team was watching you. Daphne met you on your half of the field with her hands held up for a double high five, which you hit with a smile on your face, “Nice work.”

The whistle was blown, and training started. Jordan and Rachel were standing next to Daphne, while you were running a drill. “You’re not giving up on trying to get her to open up, are you?” Daphne shook her head. “I mean, I’ve never seen her celebrate, so it seems like you’re getting somewhere.” Rachel said quickly before you started running back their way. 

After practice you walked up to Daphne, “This morning was nice, join me again next training?” A smile played at Daphne’s lip, “Yes, I’d love to.” It was from then on that the two of you started spending more time together on the pitch, but also off the pitch as you offered to show her around Birmingham. You had lived in or around Birmingham most of your life, and since Daphne was new to the city, and the country you wanted her to get a better feel of her new home. 

The two of you had become good friends over the past couple of months, even the team noticing the difference in your demeanour when Daphne was around. Daphne started falling for you more and more, but she didn’t want to make the first move. She didn’t want to read into the situation wrong, and lose you as a friend. 

You had just played a full ninety minute match against Brighton, as well as the thirty minute extra time. The score was still 1-1, meaning the match would go into penalties. Your name was amongst the ones that would have to give it their best shot. Daphne got ready in goal as Brighton was the first to take a penalty. Victoria Losada walks up to take the first penalty, and goes for the lower right corner. Daphne manages to save it, and a small smile plays at your lips when Daphne celebrates. Next up for a penalty was Sarah Mayling, her shot was saved by Sophie Baggaley, so the score was still level.

Brighton get ready to take their second penalty, but Lee Guem-Min kicks the ball just wide. You watch nervously as Adriana Leon steps up to take the next Aston Villa penalty. Her ball hit the back of the net, as the keeper dived in the other direction, you clapped for her on the shot to put your team ahead. 

Daphne gets on the goalline again as Brighton’s Elisabeth Terland walks up to try and make the score level again. You could see Daphne thinking the shot was going to go left, but she managed to quickly change her footing and dive in the other direction, saving another penalty for Aston Villa. “Let’s go!” Daphne celebrates as she moves the ball back to the penalty spot for Rachel Corsie. 

Rachel’s shot was saved by Baggaley. You hated penalties, and the stress that came with it, and were in awe of Daphne staying so calm. She was on the goalline again, jumping around, and waving her arms as Julia Zigiotti Olme got ready to take the next shot. Daphne leaps into the air, and manages to make another incredible save. She celebrates with her hands in the air and locks her eyes on yours. You share a short moment looking at each other as she places the ball on the penalty spot, and you walk up to take the next shot.

With Daphne’s amazing saves, and Adriana’s goal, it meant that if you were to score this penalty, you had won the game and would be into the semi-finals of the Conti Cup. You close your eyes and take a deep breath, trying to let go of the nerves you were feeling. The referee blows her whistle, you open your eyes, and focus on the goal. While walking up you changed the motion of your hips last second, tricking the goalkeeper, and hitting the back of the net. The referee blows her whistle signalling the end of the match, and you jump into Daphne’s arms, patting her on the back. “You were incredible.” You tell her before the rest of your teammates join the huddle.

The team was celebrating the win in the locker room, music was blasting and everyone was singing, and dancing around. It didn’t take long for your exhaustion to get the best of you, so you retreated to your cubby and slumped down in your seat. Daphne noticed, and made her way over to you. “Are you okay?” You smile her way, “Yeah, I’m just tired.” She sat with you, talking amongst yourselves, as the team celebrated around you. 

On your way back to Birmingham, your eyes fell shut the moment that the bus left the parking lot. Your head slowly fell to Daphne’s shoulder, who simply smiled at the action and let you get comfortable. Not long after Daphne fell asleep as well. Jordan captured the moment, and couldn’t help but post it to her story.

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jordannobbs just posted to their story

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Daphne had woken up before you arrived back, and noticed you were still asleep in her arms. She decided to let you sleep until you had arrived back at the stadium. Gently shaking you awake when you arrived. “Hey, we’re here.” You open your eyes slowly, and are met with Daphne’s looking back at you. Good thing it was already dark, otherwise Daphne would have noticed the slight blush reaching your cheeks. 

Even though you slept the whole way, your body still felt tired as you dragged yourself off of the bus. Daphne noticed and grabbed both her and your bag from the luggage compartment. “Come on, I’ll drive you home. We can pick up your car tomorrow.” You didn’t even have the energy in you to protest, and let her walk you to her car. Daphne walks you up to your front door, and hands over your back. “I can pick you up at like ten tomorrow, maybe get some breakfast, and then pick up your car, does that sound good?” You nod, “It’s a date.” You walk into your home and close the door behind you. Daphne stood in front of your door frozen. A date. She shook her head, you were tired, surely you didn’t mean an actual date.

Still Daphne was nervous as she drove up to your house the next day. “Hi.” She said shyly as you opened the door. “Good morning.” You said with a smile, closing the door behind you. You looked well rested, and Daphne was glad to see you doing better. 

Usually Daphne was quite the talker, but she had been mostly quiet on the drive over, and now as you sat down at a restaurant, she still was. “Hey,” You placed your hand on hers, “are you alright?” Daphne looks between your eyes and your hand on hers. “Y-yes, yes I’m alright.” She took a deep sigh, “It’s just that yesterday, you said ‘it’s a date’ and I’ve not been able to focus on anything else since.” Your heart beats faster, you had no recollection of saying that, surprised by your own boldness. “I’m sorry, it doesn’t have to be if you don’t want it to be.” 

You started retracting your hand, but Daphne quickly took hold of it. “No, no, I do want it to be. I just wasn’t sure if you meant it the way I thought you did.” You smile at the rambling from the girl that was usually so confident. “Well, I’ve got to be honest with you, I was so tired last night and I don’t recall saying it, but I am glad that I did, because I’ve wanted to ask you out for a while now.” Now it was Daphne’s turn to smile. You had both wanted the same thing, and now you were on your first date together. 

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The knee is still brutal

Rachel Daly x Reader

Distracted

AN: A follow on fic to my original RD x R series - a look at where the couple is now. (If you want timeline consistency, just imagine that last years FA Cup run was this years).

Feeling a pair of arms wrap around your neck from behind you leant down to rest your cheek on the soft dressing gown being worn by your fiancée. “Come to bed baby” whispered into your ear as kisses were placed on your cheek. “I’ve gotta finish this before midnight” you sounded exhausted, “I can’t believe I forgot about this review, I’m so sorry” you whimpered, longing for forgiveness that you weren’t joining Rachel in bed tonight. Plopping herself on your lap to block your vision and forcing your eyes to look away from the gleaming screen of your laptop, she asked how much more you had left to do. “Too much” you whined, wrapping your arms around her stomach and resting your head in her chest, “if I stop now , I won’t be able to start again” mumbling into her dressing gown, reluctant to let go of her. “Can I help?” she asked optimistically, like she had any idea what your report was on, she just wanted to feel useful; her fingers slowly stroked through your hair, untangling the knots as she went, “you already are” lifting your sleepy but hopeful head for kisses. “I’ll put the kettle on” she said and made her way to the kitchen, “can’t you ask for an extension?” she suggested while dropping teabags into mugs. “This is the extension” you began whining again, placing your head in your hands. Life had been so crazy lately that you forgot that you actually had a job to get back to! Working from home isn’t working for you as there are so many distractions - you found yourself choosing to watch Rachel’s games or hang out with her and her teammates instead of doing your work. It was a much more exciting prospect than paperwork but now you’re so far behind. Rachel placed a cup of tea in front of you and sat herself on the chair opposite, “babe you need to sleep, you have a big game tomorrow” looking up at her with adoring eyes. Thankful that she was here with you but knowing she’ll regret the late night in the morning. “I’m not going without you!” she said folding her arms staging a protest. “That’s not fair” you pouted, she knew how much you’d rather be doing anything other than this but you couldn’t afford to lose this job. “Life’s not fair” she smiled angelically. “If I want to go to your game tomorrow I need to get this done now. I can hyperfocus on this and get it done in an hour, pleeease go to bed” you begged. “If you’re not up in an hour, I’m coming to get you” was her final offer, you smiled and nodded as she leant in for a kiss, holding out her pinky to promise her then shuffled back up the stairs to bed.

You managed to smash out the review and finally crawled into bed with 5 minutes to spare, you tried to creep into the bedroom quietly but Rachel felt the dip in the mattress as you sunk into bed and rolled over to snuggle into you, it didn’t take you long to fall asleep when the love of your life was wrapped around you.

Starting to stir awake when you heard your girl showering you kept your eyes closed to desperately cling onto the extra few minutes of sleep. Feeling the puff of clean, warm air burst out of the ensuite when she opened the door made your eyes squint open to see if she had got dressed in the bathroom or was still wrapped in a towel that doesn’t quite cover everything. Your first sight of the morning being your future wife in her sporty lingerie looking for clothes in the wardrobe. “Well, that’s a nice view to wake up to” you admired, sitting up in bed to get a better look at her. Turning around as she pulled on her joggers she smiled cheekily at you then nodded at the bedside table, “there’s a tea there for you.” Turning to look at the freshly brewed cuppa and sighed, “you are so perfect” you said gazing back at her. You loved Rach in her joggers, probably more than when she’s all dressed up so when she launched herself onto the bed announcing you have an hour to get ready you couldn’t help but try your luck. “Enough time to turn you on then” smirking as you climbed on top of her and slid your hand into her pants. Rachel laid there with her tattooed arms behind her head receiving cockily until she was done and you jumped off, “hey, what about you?” she pined, reaching over to try and grab the little clothing you were wearing. “You can make it up to me later” you winked as you undressed to get in the shower. “But you forgot your...” the bathroom door shut behind you, “tea”, Rachel rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to let it go to waste she drank it herself before packing a bag for you while you got ready to leave.

“Aren’t you missing something?” she said watching you slip your trainers on, she hated how you never undo the laces. Standing up straight after forcing your feet into the shoes you looked puzzled, “errr, my shirt?” her eyes opened wider with a little shake of her head like ‘helloooo, are are you dumb?’. “Do I really have to wear it every game?” you sighed, looking at her holding the shirt out to you and already knowing the answer. “I like knowing you’re there wearing my name” she pouted, knowing you can never resist her exaggerated sad little face. “I know, but does it really matter?” you pushed back, “yes! You know what I’m like for my superstitions!” trying her puppy dog eyes once more. “Fineee” you laughed and pulled her shirt over your head. “You’re so needy!” shoving her lightly in a playful way, “and what?” she retorted, squaring up to you. Taking her wrist and kissing her tattoo of your initials, “I suppose it’s the least I can do when I’m on you permanently” backing down and letting her win, you were never gonna not wear it anyway! Rachel hummed in agreement, her lips vibrating against yours as she kissed you lightly which turned into something much more passionate.

Tumbling into the car together you swung through Costa for tea and coffee seeing as you didn’t drink yours earlier, then headed for Villa Park where the girls were playing their FA Cup quarter final game against Man City today. During the drive Rachel threw around the idea of moving closer to your work and family, originally you objected as that would affect her commute to work and said you’ll figure something out but Rachel insisted. She said it was only fair if we wanted the relationship to work out and started listing off places that are in the middle of both of your bases. Rachel tried her best to sell her ideas to you during the drive, you were starting to come around to the idea of owning your own home and living together in a place that wasn’t just hers. At the moment you are so far away from your family and friends that it makes you feel guilty for not seeing them as often as you used to. Your whole world has become Rachel and although it’s been fun, it’s not sustainable for the future.

Arriving at the stadium, the atmosphere felt electrifying as the crowd shuffled in to fill seats, you said goodbye and good luck to your future wife and went to sit with the other partners of players. This was one of the biggest crowds you had seen show up for Villa and the excitement was contagious. Watching the team take their places, Rachel looked determined and focused as she prepared for kick off, you couldn't help but feel proud of her and crossed your fingers for a win. Watching the game unfold, your mind wandered to the conversation you had in the car about moving closer to your work and family. The idea of owning a home together and creating a life that was a blend of both your worlds started to feel more appealing. You realized that while your relationship with Rachel had been amazing, it was important to find a balance that worked for both of you in the long run.

After a thrilling match that ended in a victory for the underdogs, Rachel climbed into the stands to celebrate with high-fives for the crowd and tightly squeezed hugs for you. Beating Man City was a huge feat for the team, everyone was on cloud 9 and who was to thank for winning? None other than your girl who scored the winner in the 96th minute! As you walked back to the car, Rachel took your hand and looked at you with a soft smile, "I think we can make it work, you know," she said, squeezing your hand gently. "I want us to have a home where we both feel connected and close to the things that matter to us." You nodded, feeling a sense of excitement and possibility for the future. As you drove back home, you couldn't help but imagine the adventures and memories you would create together in your own place, where both of you could thrive and grow. As the sun began to set over the horizon it cast a warm glow over the road in front of you, you knew that this was just the beginning of a new chapter in your lives, filled with love, support, and endless possibilities.

She’s going to Australia!

Go little rockstar ❤️