Comfort (USWNT x Reader)
This is very long and I'm not sure if I like it or not. I couldn't choose who to write this for, so I thought I would try something new and write it in a way that you could pick which player you wanted it to be. Please let me know what you think about it :)
Italics= Flashbacks
Bold italics= Italian
Words: 5.4K
---
"Isn't weird that there are people in this world that bring a sense of peace and comfort just by being near you. How you can go from barely knowing someone to them being the first person you think of when somethings wrong, or you're upset, scared, tired, sick. The person you know will help things be okay even if it's just for a little bit.
Growing up I never had that. My parents were amazing, they cared and were always there when I needed them, but it's not the same. There are somethings you just don't share with your parents. I never shared my feelings with anyone, even my closest friends. I would push them down until I was alone and could let it out often in the form of punching things. Then she came along and slowly I let my guard down. Actually, it wasn't that slow, she came in and practically tore every single wall I had down as if they were made from paper. She didn't push me, never made me talk to her, but she was always there. If I needed a hug, to rant, someone to hold me or just someone to be there, she was that person. We weren't together then, in fact we had just met. There was just something about her though, something that made me trust her, that made me want to be around her all the time.
I remember when we first met, it was a shitty day at first. I was walking around aimlessly, trying to get my thoughts in order before I had to see my family. It wasn't working very well, then you showed up with a smack in the face. Literally."
Out of nowhere something hit my face, sending me stumbling back, clutching my nose. A girl appeared in front of me looking frantic. She must have been the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, "Shit, I'm sorry are you okay?"
There was no blood and it wasn't broken so I shook her off, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
She went to walk away, but hesitated and turned back. Face filled with genuine concern, she sat on the ground next to where I had sat down. It confused me, why was this complete stranger sitting next to me? Why did she care if I was okay or not? "Are you sure you're okay? You seem kind of down."
"I will be, you don't need to worry."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"We just met, I don't want to bother you. I'll be okay, really."
"It's no bother. I know we just met, isn't that sometimes better? You don't have to worry about being judged or it changing anything with people you know. You don't have to tell me, we can sit here, we can kick the ball around or I can leave you alone? Completely up to you."
"You're not going to hit me in the face again?"
"To be fair, I'm normally a better shot. You distracted me."
I smirked, taking the ball from her, "We'll see."
---
"Are you stalking me now?"
"Just wanted my weekly ball to the face," I joked, kicking it away from her feet. It was the third time we had met at the park in the last 2 weeks. It may have been my hope that she would be there this time as well. Last time we met, she mentioned that this was normal for her. Maybe it was a bit stalkerish, but I couldn't help it.
"Come on then."
We kicked the ball around for a while, taking turns trying to shoot on goal. She pulled off a couple of tricks which made me think she played soccer in some compacity. The surprise on her face when I matched those tricks made a laugh under my breath. I used to play in high school and would spend hours kicking the ball around to get my feelings out.
"You've got that look on your face again."
"What look?"
"The look you had when we first met, the look that somethings wrong."
"Rough day."
"Want to talk about it?"
"My parents are getting on my nerves, it's not new, they're just worse now that they're getting ready to retire. They expect me to take over their company which you'd expect to be the part that's irritating, but it's not. I'm happy to take it over, it's something I actually like doing and they've spent a lot of time developing it. It's just they keep lecturing me about things I already know, things they've told me so many times, things I've proved to them I can handle. It makes me want to scream."
It felt nice to just get it off my chest knowing it would never make it's way back to them. This was a constant thing with my parents, at this point I was just looking forward to them retiring already so I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. I had made it clear that once they sign it over, it's mine. I didn't want to shut them out, it was their baby and they had spent so long getting it to where it was, but I knew they wouldn't be able to let go if I didn't make them. My parents weren't always the best, but I loved them regardless and wanted them to have a peaceful retirement.
"Do you want solutions or distractions?"
"I just wanted to get it off my chest. Thank you."
She smiled softly, "Anytime, do you maybe want to get a drink with me?"
"Does it have to be just one?"
The ball was flicked at me, thankfully I caught it before it hit my face again, "Nope, let's go."
---
Y/n: Kill me now...
Park girl: I would, but then who would I kick balls at?
Y/n: You have a point. Do you want to get dinner with me tonight?
Park girl: I would love to, what time?
Y/n: Pick you up at 7?
Park girl: Can't wait :)
Work had run later then expected so I had to go straight to pick her up which meant I was still in my work clothes. I felt a bit overdressed seeing as we were just getting pizza and even more overdressed when she answered the door. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a off white short sleeve top while I had on pretty much a full suit minus a tie.
"Wow, you look amazing. Am I underdressed?"
I rubbed the back of my neck trying to hide my embarrassment, "No uh I'm overdressed. I got stuck at work and didn't have time to change. Sorry. You ready?"
"Just a second," She disappeared back inside the house coming back a few seconds later with a jacket, "Here, put this on. It'll make it a little less formal."
I slipped off my suit jacket and put on the leather jacket she had given me. It fit surprisingly well actually. I jokingly bowed before offering her my arm, "Such a gentleman."
Conversation flowed easily on the drive to the pizza place. I felt more comfortable with her then I had with anyone in a long time. There were no expectations, no awkwardness, we just seemed to click. When people find out about the company I'm about to take over, they always change. They seemed to start bringing up how much money I'll have, start asking for things or getting me to take them to expensive places. Whereas, she never even asked about it after I told her.
"Work was tough I take it?"
I sighed, taking a sip of beer, "Same shit, different day. Had a lot of meetings today. Parents being my parents. Lot's of paperwork and lawyers."
Before she could reply the waiter came to take our orders, I ordered Hawaiian while she ordered margarita. "I can't believe you like pineapple on pizza."
"Pineapple belongs on pizza. You cannot convince me it doesn't."
"Agree to disagree. Can I ask what type of company you're taking over? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It seems pretty stressful though."
This was coming at some point, it was to be expected. I knew if we were going to keep being friends I would have to tell her at some stage so might as well be now, "It's a tech company, Atlas technologies to be exact."
I could see the surprise then shock flash over her face as she took a sip of wine and cleared her throat, "Holy shit, I have one of your watches."
"Well not mine yet, but I uh did design that watch."
"That's awesome. You're going to be the owner of a multimillion dollar company, that's a big job for someone your age." She actually seemed more concerned than anything else which was a relief of sorts.
"It is, but they've been molding me for this since I was young. I pretty much knew how it ran and could have done it since I was 20. There are somethings I'm planning on changing to make it a better environment to work in and so it doesn't completely become my life. I've seen my parents barely hang on to their marriage because all they did was work. I don't want that to be me."
The topic was dropped after that as we talked more about life as a professional soccer player then moved onto getting to know each other better. We talked for what felt like hours, both delaying the end of the night. I just wanted to spend more time with her.
---
There was a loud knock on the door bringing me out of my thoughts. In my rush to the door I forgot I wasn't wearing a shirt, only realising when I saw her eyes widen as they quickly scanned my body, "Hey."
"Hey, I had a feeling you haven't had dinner yet so I got some for you while getting mine."
"Thank you, uh come in. Make yourself comfortable, there's a few things I need to finish up, I'll be like 10 minutes."
A hand touched my shoulder suddenly, making me jump and fling around, "It's just me."
I glanced at the time to find an hour had passed since she got here and guilt instantly hit me. It wasn't uncommon for me to lose track of time and forget to eat. Among many other things, it was associated with my ADHD. She had been kind enough to bring me food and I had just ignored her. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise how long it's been."
She smiled and wrapped her arms around my shoulders bringing me into her. I was sitting on my computer chair so my head rest against her stomach as my arms went around her waist. I felt all the tension leave as she held me without a word. It was warm and comforting, I honestly could have stayed there forever. "Sorry, you seem stressed. Don't worry, it happens."
"Thank you, I needed that."
"Come eat."
I quickly saved my work and slipped on a shirt before following her back to my living room. She pushed me to sit on the couch after I assured her that I eat on the couch all the time then she went to dish up the food. Of course, she didn't know where anything was so I gave her directions from the couch because she kept telling me to sit down. She was beautiful and slightly scary so I listened. We ate in comfortable silence, the radio playing quietly. I decided then that this was something I wanted to happen more often. It was relaxing and helped me forget about work because all I could focus on was her. I knew I wanted more, every time I was around her I was relaxed, comfortable, butterflies felt like they erupted in my stomach. I couldn't get enough of being around her. "Why are you staring at me?"
"Sorry, I zoned out. Thank you for dinner and for dragging me away from my computer. Can I get you another drink?"
"I drove here so I'll have a water please."
"You can stay if you want. Sorry I know that's a bi-"
She laughed, placing a hand on my forearm, "You're about to start rambling. I would love to stay. We can watch a movie?"
I got us both another drink and ice cream at her request while she picked a movie. We snuggled under the blanket, leaving some space between us. My couch was a pretty decent size, meaning we could have sat further apart, but we were sitting well within touching distance. I don't remember the last time I was able to sit through a movie without having to be on my phone or laptop. I was still fidgeting, but I was more able to focus with her. "Can you please pass me that tangle thing?"
"You're a fidgeter?"
"Big time, I have ADHD. There's pretty much never a time where I'm not moving in someway."
"I noticed that, especially when you were at your desk."
Over the course of the movie, I had adjusted my sitting position many time. From cross-legged, slouching, sitting on my legs to lying down. Just as I was about to move again, she took my arm gently and guided me so I was lying down with my head in her lap. With her fingers playing with my hair and the fidget toy, I completely relaxed. No longer feeling the urge to move around. I found myself watching her again, "What?"
"Will you go on a date with me?" I asked, voice quiet due to how nervous I was.
She grinned, "I would love to."
---
"You look amazing."
"So do you Y/n," She said, kissing my cheek before her eyes trailed over me again, "That's my jacket. Are you ever going to give it back?"
I shrugged, "Maybe. You'll get it back some day."
"Fine. Are you going to tell me where we're going?"
I laced our fingers together, guiding her to the car, "You'll see."
Fifteen minutes later we arrived at a small Italian restaurant. It was owned by a friend of the families and in my opinion had the best Italian food. "I know you don't like overly fancy things so I thought this would be a good place. Plus, their food is amazing."
"It's perfect."
As soon as we stepped inside, one of the owners Maria came rushing up to me and pulled me into a hug, "Y/n, it's so good to see you again, and with a beautiful lady. Would this be a date?"
"Likewise Maria. It would indeed, thought I would bring her to experience the best Italian food in the country. You're still the most beautiful women I know, though," I ended with a wink which received a light slap on the shoulder in return.
"You flatter me Y/n. I have the perfect table. Follow me."
"I only speak the truth."
We followed Maria to a table in the corner of the restaurant. It was a bit away from everyone with fairy lights strung up above it. I pulled the chair out for my beautiful date before turning back to Maria, "Thank you, it's perfect."
"Have fun, I'll get Marco to make your food personally."
When I sat down, fingers laced with mine as I looked up to find her looking at me with a soft smile. I explained about the restaurant, how I knew Maria and the overview of what our conversation was about, "You speak Italian?"
"And German, sign language and conversational French and Mandarin."
"Just when I thought you couldn't get more attractive."
We spent the entire time laughing, joking and talking about anything and everything. There was no doubt that she was the best date I had ever had. There were no awkward conversations or silence, things seemed to flow naturally. I wasn't worried or nervous, I was comfortable as if I had known her for years when in reality it had only been like two months. We fought for a good couple of minutes about who would pay, I insisted since I was the one who asked her out, but she refused. I appreciated that she didn't just expect it like so many others in the past. In the end though, Maria decided we didn't have to pay. I tried to refuse, but I just ended up with a big bag of food because and I quote, 'You work to hard, need to eat good food.' There was also no arguing with Maria, you would always lose.
We were walking hand in hand down the beach listening to the waves crash while enjoying how peaceful the night was. "I had a really good time tonight, thank you Y/n."
"Me too. It took everything in me not to go overboard and spoil you, but I know you don't like it. Neither do I really, I just think you deserve it."
"It was perfect. Are you okay? You seem nervous."
"I'm trying to work up the courage to kiss you," I blurted out. She stopped, pulling me closer as I looked anywhere, but her. My nerves were through the roof. I really liked her and didn't want to ruin it by moving to fast or do something she didn't want.
A hand cupped my cheek, guiding me to look at her. It was dark so I couldn't see her expression clearly, but the way she touched me was so soft. Some of my nerves faded away, but I was still nervous as anything. "Don't be nervous, I would very much like it if you kissed me."
I cupped the back of her neck, slowly leaning in until our lips connected. Everything disappeared, there were no nerves or worries and all I could focus on was her. The softness of her lips as they synced with mine, almost like they were meant to be together. It was slow and soft, not lasting very long. I knew then that I would never get enough of the way her lips felt against mine, the way they tasted or the way she made me feel when I kissed her. When I pulled away, huge smiles covered both of our faces,
"Let's do that more often," She whispered with a giggle.
"Yes ma'am," I replied connecting our lips again.
---
I was fully ready to punch someone by the end of my meeting. Instead of remaining at the office and risk losing my temper at the people who did nothing wrong, I had my assistant block off my afternoon before leaving. Before I fully realised where I was the door opened, revealing my girlfriend. She opened her mouth to say something, but paused for a second taking in my expression, "Go on, let it out."
"Why do middle age white men think I am not capable of doing my job because I am a female? It's not even because I'm only 27, it's because I'm a fucking female. I can do this job twice as well as they can. If they just shut up and listened every now and then, they would realise that," I continued to rant as she let me in and went to the kitchen to pour me a drink. Once I got it all out, she pulled me into a hug as I slumped against her. I was over everything about today, the weather was shit, my mood was shit and all I wanted to do was be here with her. I knew she had practice soon though so it would be short lived. It was enough to make everything go away for now though.
"Sorry, I know you're heading out soon, but I just-"
"It's okay, practice is in an hour and a half. I'm sorry you have to deal with people like that. Come on, let's cuddle for a bit. You can hang out here while I'm at practice if you want, it's only a short one and my flat mate is out tonight with her girlfriend, so we can make dinner and watch a movie."
"Thank you for letting me rant, it shouldn't get to me this much, but it does. That sounds absolutely amazing."
She smiled, kissing me softly as we lay on the couch. I was cuddled as close to her as possible, head on her chest, arm thrown over her stomach and eyes getting heavy. "Whether you need to rant, a hug, cuddles or distraction, I'm always here." I felt her shift to look at me before she shook, giving away she was laughing, "You're about to fall asleep, it's okay, I'll wake you up in a little bit."
---
I walked straight up to her, arms wrapping around her waist as my face buried in her shoulder. I relaxed as soon as I felt her arms wrap around me and kisses being placed on my face and neck. I ignored the fact that her team mates were all around us. Teammates I hadn't met yet. We had been together for 6 or so months now, but timings had never lined up before now to meet them.
This morning I woke up really excited to meet them. I had blocked out my afternoon so nothing could be scheduled. Now I just felt like hiding. A lot of things had not gone to plan today. People were being assholes, deadlines were missed, plans were misplaced and one of my meetings had gone well overtime, meaning I was late. I had thought about cancelling because I was in a shit mood, but I knew everyone was excited and I couldn't disappoint her. Questions were thrown around, but quickly quietened when her hand was lifted off my back for a second.
"Can you give us the room for a minute?" She spoke softly. I heard shuffling and the door before the room was quiet again. Her fingers ran through my hair, as she spoke quietly again, "You're okay, I've got you. What's wrong love?"
"Loud, my thoughts, the world, everything is too loud. People are dicks and I just want to run away. Sorry, I was just ready to explode."
"Don't be. Is it quieter now?" I nodded, holding her just a little bit tighter. She had the ability to quieten even the loudest things with just a hug. We stood there for a few minutes before I pulled away. I kissed her softly then informed her I was ready to meet her team properly. I knew that probably wasn't the best first impression so I was nervous. I knew they were like family to her and I wanted them to like me. She held my hand the entire time I was being introduced to her team. It kept me grounded as I slowly found myself able to talk and interact with them properly.
"So how did you meet?"
I laughed as she blushed at the memory, "Funny story, well now anyway, at the time it hurt. She smacked the ball right at my face as I was walking in the park. I still think she did it on purpose."
"It was an accident!" She protested with a pout. I relaced her fingers with mine, kissing the back of her hand.
"Sure. I'm glad it happened though, no matter how painful it was."
"You guys are so sweet I think I might have a cavity."
---
"How dare you undermine me and my position in my company. I don't know how things used to be when my parents were in charge, but this will not be tolerated. I made it clear that family comes first, you do not get to write people up because they had to leave early or are late for family related issues. Actually, from now on you do not have the power to write anyone up regardless of what they did, you refer it to me. Understand?"
"But-"
"I asked if you understood Rick, not if you want to argue with me."
I saw his jaw clench, but I didn't care how he was feeling. He had been a problem since day one and I knew he would keep causing issues. That was an issue for another day when I wasn't feeling so tense, "Yes, I understand."
"Good, you may leave."
Once he was gone, I lent forward in my chair, elbows resting on my desk with my face buried in my hands. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself down, but the sound of my door locking had me quickly looking up. There she was, the girl I had been counting the minutes until I saw her. She walked over without a word, pushing my chair back and planting herself in my lap. I instantly wrapped my arms around her and buried my face, the tension leaving my body as I relaxed against her. She was always able to calm me down, no matter the mood I was in.
"It shouldn't be, but your 'I'm the boss, don't fuck with me' voice is incredibly attractive."
I laughed, pulling back to leave a lingering kiss on her lips, "You like it huh?"
"Maybe a little."
"Good to know. This is a nice surprise, but what are you doing here?"
"We were supposed to get lunch, I was picking you up remember? Your assistant said you were pretty busy, we can change to tomorrow instead if you need to."
"Absolutely not, I dealt with my main problem everything else can wait. Maybe you can stay tonight?"
"We have practice this evening, I'm not sure if the girls want to do anything after. I'll text you if they don't and I'll stay."
It was a little disappointing, but I understood. She had stayed last night and I couldn't expect her to stay every night, "Sounds good." I kissed her again which slowly turned into a make out session. It probably wasn't the most professional, but my office was locked and no one could see, so I didn't care. A knock at the door is what made us eventually pull away. Reluctantly, I let her go and went to answer after making sure I was presentable. It was one of the people from my design team and the person Rick had written up. "You wanted to see me, miss Y/L/N?"
"Ava, I've told you to call me Y/n. I did, I'm actually heading out for lunch right now, but I'll come see you when I get back. Just don't worry about the write up, it shouldn't have been done in the first place."
"Thank you Y/n. Enjoy your lunch.
Later that night, I was working away at my computer as I was going to spend the night alone and I had some work to do. It was pretty late by now, I had music playing quietly in my office as I was completely zoned in on my work. Hands landed on my shoulder, slowly running down my chest until they were hugging me from behind. At this point I was used to it, she did it all the time, not that I was complaining. I still jumped at the suddenness of it though, "Relax, it's me."
She still had my key from when I gave it to her to look after my plants when I had a week long business trip so I knew how she got in. I was confused about why she was here though, "One of these days, you are going to give me a heart attack. What are you doing here?"
"I called you then texted, but got no response so I figured you were either in work mode or asleep. I missed you. Sorry for just showing up."
"Don't be, I'm really glad you're here."
"Did you eat?" When I nodded, she lowered my laptop lid and pulled me up, "You're stressed and tired, come to bed."
I didn't fight her and went to brush my teeth. All I've wanted all day was to cuddle up with her and forget the world. My stress, problems and worry always faded away when I was in her arms. It was like everything in my mind emptied out with her being the only thing remaining. I craved being with her, craved being wrapped up tightly in her arms. It was safe, quiet, warm and comforting. I had every intention of talking with her for a while, but as soon as I cuddled up with her, my brain registered how tired I actually was and I fell asleep within minutes. Something that never happened before her.
---
"Y/n where are we going?"
"You have asked that every time I have a surprise since we started dating, the answer has stayed the same. You will see."
She pouted, pushing my shoulder as best she could with the blind fold on, "Meanie."
I laughed before pecking her lips quickly. It was taking everything in me not to completely freak out or give away the fact that I was going to propose to her. I was incredibly nervous, but excited at the same time. I was excited to spend my life with her, there was no one else I could imagine living it with. I just had to get past the whole proposing thing. I had decided the best place to do it was the restaurant we went to on our first date. Maria had closed the place for the night and I had flown in all her close family and friends. I knew she had always wanted to be proposed to with them around.
"What's all this? What are you guys doing here?"
"After all your recent achievements, you deserve to be celebrated. You all do, but you're the one I'm in love with so uh yeah this is for you. I'm so proud of you baby." She wrapped her arms around me tightly, whispering thank you, before dragging me around to different groups of people. As long as she was happy and by my side, I didn't mind being dragged around all night and pulled into many conversations.
All through dinner, I felt my nerves growing to the point I was fidgeting constantly. My plan was to do it fairly soon after we finished dinner, mostly so I could enjoy the rest of the night without feeling like I was going to have a panic attack. Before I knew what was happening, I was practically dragged to the bathroom and into the comforting arms of my girlfriend. Of course, I relaxed instantly, nerves melting away even if it was just temporary.
"You're okay baby. What's wrong? You're freaking out."
"Just lots of people, it was getting a bit overwhelming." I didn't like lying to her, even if it was only a small lie, but I couldn't exactly tell her the real reason I was so nervous.
She kissed my forehead, "We can stay here as long as you need."
I'm not sure how much time had gone by when there was a knock at the door asking if we were okay and that everyone had finished eating already. I knew it was time, the nerves came back, but I was also kind of giddy. At the end of this I would hopefully have a fiancé. I stopped her from sitting down before getting everyone's attention.
"I just wanted to start by saying how proud I am of all you soccer players for all of the achievements and victories you've achieved. Baby, I see how hard you work, how dedicated you are and I cannot be more proud of you. I cannot be more proud to be by your side." I took a deep breath to center myself before continuing.
"You are the person, the love that came without warning. You popped up so suddenly that I didn't even get the chance to think about or process it. I woke up one day and you were the first person I texted. When you replied, I smiled. It was a smile that I couldn't stop, not that I really wanted to. That's when I knew my heart belonged to you and had from the start. When I'm with you, all I feel is love, peace and comfort. Even now, years after we first started seeing each other, I still can't get enough of you. You're the only person I want to be around all the time, the person I never get sick of, even if you do constantly tease me. I can't imagine my life without you, I don't want my life without you in it. You're the person I want beside me for all the up and downs, the new adventures and the quiet nights in. On that note," I pulled out the little black box and sunk down to one knee, "Will you marry me?"
She launched at me, making us both end up on the ground as tears fell down both of our cheeks, "Yes, yes, a million times yes."
---
I took my wife's hand, squeezing softly, "The first time I met you, I never could have imagined that every day since then we would build the most unbreakable bond. That you would be the person I get to spend the rest of my life with. I wouldn't change a single thing of our story so far and I cannot wait to see what happens next. I love you. Now let's party!"
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