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me-loving-woso · 5 months

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Beach days, new teammates and love confessions

After literally months I am back. This is part 2 of Bruises Apologises and Cookies? It’s 15 k and probably I’ll make also a part 3 cause I am now invested in the story. Let me know if I should go on.

The season ending was a very bittersweet moment for you. From one point of view, you really didn't want to leave your club when they had given you so much.

The fans loved you, your teammates had become family, and the stadium was a second home for you. But you knew that you had to move for your career to flourish and make you reach your full potential.

The last game you played was the final of the Coppa Italia against Juventus. Your captain gave you the armband to lead your team one last time, and you were trying to hold off the emotions welling up. You almost felt like you were betraying the team in a sense. Still, you knew it was only an impression, as everyone was spurring you to go to Barcelona. They only wanted what was best for you.

You won 1-0 in that game, with your goal making the difference. Your teammates made you lift the cup and shed one or two tears. You gave a small farewell speech, and then, for the last time, you rounded your little stadium, where you'd play all of your matches with the team, and said goodbye to your teammates and the fans.

Your mind went on autopilot after that. You pushed away all of your sad feelings in the locker room and in the car to go back home. At home, there you broke down. It was really over. The team, the club that had given you so much, was not your team anymore. And a new adventure was about to start.

The following day, you fled to Eindhoven with some of your friends from the National Team to see the Champions League final. You had promised Mapi that you would be there and also because you were there to meet the coach of Barcelona to finalize the contract with the club.

As soon as you land in Eindhoven, you text Alexia, telling her you have just landed. Your relationship with her had been highly confusing since she welcomed you into her home after the defeat against your team. Something between the two of you had shifted.

She took care of you and made you feel safe in her arms. It had been a long time since you felt like being with her was just casual, on your part at least. Maybe she was just being polite and not actually caring more than necessary. Yet, you would text or call almost daily to talk about your days or just football. She was the first person you told about your move to Barça and she couldn't have been more supportive.

As you texted her at the airport, she told you that you wouldn't see each other before the game because she was stuck in media duties. Still, she informed your friend and soon-to-be teammate that you had landed, so at least you would get to see Mapi.

As soon as you left your suitcase in the hotel, you got to the bar where you told her you would meet her.

"Soo, what are you doing in the summer?" You ask her while you are both eating some way too unhealthy burgers.

"Ingrid and I thought about going to Ibiza for a week; why?"

"Would you like to come to Italy for a few days?" You offer her, every year, you booked this tiny house for the whole summer in Praiano, near an abandoned beach. You thought it was a total steal for how much you had paid for it. You usually would go there with friends or family for a few weeks. It was really your favorite place to be.

"I would love to come, but I don't want you to third-wheel us." You chuckle.

"What makes you say I'm not inviting anyone else?" You smirked suggestively, making her understand what you were insinuating.

"So you finally made it official?" You had asked Alexia to join you for the holidays the last time you saw her when she told you that she had never actually been to Italy if not for a match, you said it was unacceptable, so you offered yourself as a tour guide.

A week or so later, you realize that spending more than a day together would be a bad idea for fear of spilling out your deep, confused, and embarrassing feelings for her. So you decided to invite Mapi along.

"Again. We. Are. Not. Dating." You repeat to her for the millionth time, frankly also trying to convince yourself.

"So you are not going on holiday with her."

"Yes, I am. As friends." You explain, trying to find the right words.

"Only friends?"

"Well, with also some other benefits." Her face turns into a disgusted look. "What?"

"You are talking about my captain, it's weird." Frankly, she will be your skipper too, which meant that you were banging your boss? That was a thought for the future you.

"I really hope you would like to join us if you have nothing better to do." You really hoped she would say yes because you had planned to tell her you were joining Barcelona there.

"I'll talk to Ingrid about it, but you know I can't say no to Italy."

As you return to the hotel, you have a drink with your friends, and then you excuse yourself to go to bed when you hear your phone buzz.

Your Favourite Kickboxer ;)

'You up?'

'Yes, Why are you not asleep? It's late, and tomorrow you have a big game.' You reply.

'Just the nerves are getting to me. Last year with Lyon, we got demolished; I don't want it to happen again. It was difficult to keep the team united after such a loss, and I don't want to disappoint the fans.'

'Can I call you?' She sends another text.

You quickly start a video call, and she immediately picks up.

"Hey, cariño."

"Hey, Ale." You both smile dumbly at each other for a couple of seconds, but then you get interrupted by one of her yawns.

"You need some sleep, piccola, or you will be tired tomorrow. And as for the Lyon thing, you cannot predict the score tomorrow; you just can control how you play and try your best to motivate your team to be the best version of themselves. Lead them to glory, and give it your all. You won't have any regrets if you give everything on the pitch." You try to make her feel better, even though you know she will be stuck in her head all night.

"I'll try my best."

"And the least you could do, after ditching me tonight, is to score a goal for me tomorrow. It's the least." You tease her, making her smile.

"Asking for a goal in a Champions final? You know you are a very hard girl to satisfy, right?" She chuckles, making you feel relieved that you were able to make her feel a little better.

"You would be the expert on that, right?" You smirk suggestively, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, I definitely am." She replies confidently.

"Go to sleep, piccola mia; tomorrow is a big day for you."

"Goodnight, cariño."

"Buonanotte, Ale."

The morning after you woke up, you quickly texted Alexia for good luck.

As soon as you got to the stadium, the tension was palpable, especially when in the first half Barcelona was down 2-0. You were getting extremely nervous and anxious. Your teammates, who were watching the game with you, noticed that. You were biting your nails to the skin. You didn't want them to lose, but if a team could turn around a 2-0, it was going to Barça, or at least you hoped so.

As soon as you saw the players come on the pitch for the second half, they all held an expression you couldn't understand. A mix of determination and hunger, especially Alexia.

The second half started, and not two minutes after, your woman bagged the first goal of the remontada. She ran to her fans, looking at you, making your initial with her hands, making all of your organs flip, fully blushing at the gesture. You really thought that she didn't take seriously what you said the day before.

As soon as she made that gesture, your now ex-teammates, watching the game with you, noticed what had happened and put the dots together.

"It's her, isn't she?" Linari asks you, wearing a shocked expression.

"What?"

"The girl from Barça that you are seeing. It's Alexia Putellas?" You chuckle, turning around to see the game, making her understand she was right. You weren't denying it anymore.

Not even two minutes later, Alexia scores a header, making the score a draw. She ran up to the side of the field, making your initials again and then celebrating with a little bow.

Barcelona was finally on track, and you could see that the intensity was getting much higher than it was before. Alexia played some of her best football in that second half. The game found an advantage with Rölfo when she scored the match's final goal and game-winner.

You saw her lift the trophy, making your heart grow a thousand times bigger on how much you were proud of her.

Then Mapi came to you, and you hugged her, congratulating her. You mingled in the stadium for a little while and finally left to the parking lot. You wanted to see Alexia but knew she needed to focus on celebrating and her teammates. You could text her later when she had the time to reply.

Your Favourite Kickboxer ;)

'Meet me in the hallway at the stadium?'

You quickly excuse yourself from your friends and sneak inside the stadium again. As you were walking down the hallways to find her, you felt two hands sneak up on you, making you turn around.

She quickly picked you up from the air, giving you a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Ale!" You say, nearly tearing up.

She puts you down, turns her head to look at her surroundings, and then kisses you quickly, catching you completely off guard. "I have to return to Barcelona now, but I couldn't leave without seeing you." She says excitedly, you had never seen her this happy.

"You did it! You scored two goals. You are champions once again! I'm so fucking proud of you, Ale!"

"Did you see! I did your initials. Two goals for you, cariño! I probably wouldn't have won the trophy if it wasn't for you." She places her hands on your cheeks, smiling.

"I didn't do anything. It's all on you. I just gave you a little reassurance."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. I have to go now! I have a trophy to bring back to Barcelona. I'll see you in two weeks, cariño." She gives you a quick peck on the lips and then leaves for the dressing room.

The next day, your Instagram was swarmed by pictures of her celebration and a video of the team that was clearly hungover Alexia included, which made you chuckle.

That day, you were leaving for Praiano with some of your closest friends from the Roma team. You had invited them to spend the last days in Italy with you before you moved to Barcelona.

The club announced your signing in the middle of the transfer season so as not to overshadow your signing for the Champion's League win; you thought it was totally unnecessary, but LaPorta wanted to give you a 'proper welcome.'

The day of your announcement coincided with the day Mapi would arrive in Italy. You really wanted to be the one telling her that you would be joining her team, so you talked to Ingrid, begging her to not make your friend open her phone for that day. They would stay with you for five days before leaving for Norway. In contrast, Alexia would remain with you for the whole week, which was something that you were looking forward to some alone time with her. Still, you were also nervous about being alone with her in fear of blurting out your surely unrequited feelings for her.

As soon as her flight landed, you went to pick her up,

She was wearing some Barça shorts and a baggy t-shirt, wearing a messy bun, and walking towards you. As soon as she was close enough, you ran up to her and hugged her, which she soon reciprocated, picking you up from the air.

"Hey, cariño."

"Hi, champion." She put you down, buried her head in the crook of your neck, and placed a small kiss there.

Then you took her suitcase, grabbed her hand and led her outside the airport. As soon as you get into the car, she takes your hand again and never returns it for the rest of the trip.

"How was the flight?"

"It was good, though nobody speaks Spanish here; they just add the S to the end of every word in Italian. It's so annoying." She pouts cutely.

"Welcome to Italy."

"So, is Mapi already here?"

"No, they are coming tomorrow morning; they had an issue with the plane tickets."

"So we are alone tonight?" She grins suggestively while you quickly nod at her before focusing back on the road. "So, what are the plans for tonight?"

"It depends on how tired you are." She had just had a whole week celebrating with her teammates, and you could understand if she wanted a relaxed night in. You turn around to see her expression, a mix between a smirk and a suggestive glare. "Oh my god, woman! I didn't mean it like that! I'm more than just a body." You remark jokingly as if you weren't thinking about the same thing as her.

"I know. I love your body." She kisses the back of your hand. "Just as much as I love what it's inside here." She lightly taps your temple, making you slightly blush at her compliment. "SO, what are the plans for tonight?"

"If you are up to it, I wanted to take you out to dinner; since you say that Spanish food is better than Italian, I want to prove you wrong. And if you still have some energy, we can go for a walk later; I can show you around the city."

"I'm good for anything you want to."

As soon as you get to the house, Alexia's eyes widen.

"Oh wow, this is beautiful." She opens her mouth in wonder.

"Wait until you see the beach!"

You stop the car and take her suitcase inside the house while she is toeing behind you. You take her outside to see the small private beach.

"How did you find this place?" She marvels, still looking at the clear water in front of her.

"We used to come here when I was little; I've actually started saving up money to buy this place. The owner loves me and has no kids, so he is okay with me buying it."

She turns to you, taking you by your sides. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"No problem."

"Now, can you show me the room? I would like to change clothes."

You grab her hand and take her inside the tiny house. "I'm sorry it's a little messy." You still had some bottles of wine opened and some glasses on the table from the previous night. "My friends left this morning, and I still didn't have time to clean up."

"If that is messy for you, you don't want to come to my house during the holiday season." She lightly jokes.

You take her to one of the spare rooms, where she places her suitcase on top of the bed, and then she quickly looks at her surroundings, confused.

"Is this your room? Because I don't see your stuff in here."

"No, my room is over there." You point at the end of the hallway.

"Just take me to your room; we are going to sleep on the same bed anyway." She says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I thought that you might want your own space."

"You have to stop being so accommodating. If I wanted my space, I would've stayed at home. I came here because I wanted to be with you. So stop being so cautious around me and take me to your room." She says, using her commanding voice that she only used on certain occasions, which she knew had an effect on you.

You take her to your room, which is the best room in the house. It was the biggest and had a great sea view outside the window.

You leave to make her change while you go in the living room.

She wore shorts, her bikini, and an open button-down shirt when she returned. You chuckled when you looked at her; she was really feeling the beach mood.

"Let's go outside!" She says excitedly.

"Wait, I still have to finish cleaning up, and then I have to go upstairs and finish some other stuff. I'll be there in a couple of minutes." You tell her you really wanted everything to be perfect for this week.

"Nope."

"What, sorry?"

"You are on holiday, so stop trying to make everything perfect; it's already perfect as it is, and come outside with me." She insists, making you giggle at her stubbornness.

"But-"

"No buts. You deserve to relax just as much as I do." She quickly approaches you, grabs you by the waist, and drags you outside.

"Alexia!"

She puts you down on your small patio when you get outside. She places your hands on your cheeks. "Now, let me do something I've wanted to do for two weeks. Can I kiss you?"

"You really don't have to ask anymore." You reply, standing up on your tippy toes to kiss her. It was slow and soft, and you could feel her smile through the kiss. She picks you up, and you can feel her begin moving. You needed to find out where she was going and why. But you were too caught up in her to understand what was happening. Then you hear some splashes and the sound of the waves. You break the kiss and look around: she brought you into the water, and she was wearing a mischievous smirk.

"Alexia, don't you dare!" You warn her. She was trying to throw you into the water. She responds to you by chuckling and releasing her grip from your body, making you wrap your legs even tighter to not fall down to the water. "Alexia, come on, I still have clothes on." You tried to convince her, but she looked like she didn't care. So she began tickling you on your sides, which she knew was your ticklish spot. You tried to squirm from her touch, but you lost balance and fell in the water while the woman beside you, still standing, started laughing.

“Tua madre in carriola!” You exclaim, slightly irritated that you had all your clothes drenched in water, but you couldn't fully care when there she was. You have never seen her as carefree and happy as now. You felt blessed that she was here, right now, with you, being like this, trying to make you finally relax and enjoy some vacation when it was nearly impossible, as you'd always stress about something.

"You know that I didn't understand anything you said, right? Only something about my mom." She chuckles. You quickly go underwater and grab her legs, making her fall into the water.

"Tu puta madre!"

"See! At least I didn't call your mom a bitch." You tease her while she fixes her wet hair. "And this is payback!" You finish, crossing your arms and wearing a proud smirk. You see her expression change from irritation to determination while swimming towards you. She picked you up and threw you with her in the water, and that is how you spent your afternoon. Stolen kisses, laughs, and a whole lot of competitiveness. Honestly, you couldn't ask for more.

After the both of you had calmed down after laughing and playfully fighting in the water, you swam to her. You made her wrap her legs around your waist while she was stabling herself, putting your hands on your shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, you always pick me up from the ground; we can switch roles occasionally." You tell her, lightly rubbing her thighs; you really missed having her close to you.

She replies by giving you a soft kiss, then begins to look at you, smiling.

"What?" You ask her, feeling yourself combust at the intense eye contact.

"I just really missed your face, cariño." She says, peppering feathery kisses all over your face.

How dare she say stuff like that when you try your best to keep inside your confusing and strong feelings for her.

"I missed you too, piccola." You blurt out, kissing her jaw, holding her a little tighter. You really didn't want to let her go. You had created this little bubble in which the both of you were enjoying each other's presence, not caring about what you were to each other, but just having fun with no constraints and being in each other's company.

"I think we should get inside." And the bubble popped.

You get inside the house with your clothes soaked and take turns to shower. It had been more than six months since the last time you were able to touch her, and you felt your body yearn for her. Yes, you had kissed, but nothing more than that.

You took her out to dinner in a small place near the city.

You really needed help to differentiate this dinner from a date. It had everything that a date would entail. Good food, subtle and not-so-subtle flirting, and great banter. The subtle touches under the table or the shared knowing glance made your heart skip a beat. This dinner felt like a date, but you knew it wasn't. And that made you feel a sort of uncomfortableness that wasn't easy to set aside to fully enjoy your night with her.

As soon as you finished eating, you took her for a walk around the city, and you would tell her anecdotes of what you did in those places you were walking by when you were a child.

You arrive at a park, and you both sit down on the swings.

"You know, this is actually where I had my first kiss." She turns to look at you, wearing a curious grin.

"Here? In this park?"

"Yeah. It was here. Actually, on this swing."

"Now you have to explain." She asks you curiously.

"Well, I was thirteen. We were a group of five kids, and we would come here every afternoon to have fun and play with the ball. I remember this boy always looking at me, and one day, we were alone at the park. I was on the swing; he made me close my eyes, gave me a flower, and kissed me."

"Oh my god, it's so cute!"

"No, it wasn't. It was very weird. But I think it was just me who didn't want to be handed a rose by a boy, much rather a girl. But that would be a problem for a future 14-year-old me. In hindsight, I think that it should have been the first clue of me liking girls." You chuckle, reminiscing about that young boy who made you realize that kissing boys was disgusting.

"Turn around." You see her standing up with a determined grin.

"What?"

"Just indulge me. Turn around." You turn around, your body closing your eyes expectantly.

"Okay, you can look now." You turn to face her and see a daisy in her hand.

"Well, this might not be a rose. But it is a flower." She hands you the flower shyly, making you chuckle lightly at her cuteness.

"And you are a girl and not a boy." You state.

"So, can I kiss you? I'll ask because I don't think that poor boy asked you."

"Nah, he didn't. But as I told you before, you no longer have to ask."

"Kissing you shouldn't be something you can take for granted." She replies, leaning into you and weighing the swing's chains.

After more than thirteen years, you recreate your first kiss. And this time, it feels right. It was as if you were meant to recreate it with someone who mattered, who would make you feel excited and nervous about how the little boy felt when he was kissing you. And you felt the same way with her, and every time you kissed her,

As soon as she breaks off the quick kiss, you remark, "I think you are a better kisser than that poor boy."

"I mean, I'd hope. I'm 29. He was your age."

"Don't get too cocky now. You were slightly better." You tease her. Making her lean into you and give you a searing kiss so that you'd know for sure that if you weren't sat on that swing, probably your knees would give out. It had an intensity that seemed out of place for being in a children's park. But neither of you seemed to care. It was dawn, the playground was abandoned, and you missed kissing her.

And most certainly she was just getting competitive because you told her she was slightly better at kissing than a thirteen-year-old. She wanted to wipe away any doubt about her kissing skills.

She breaks the kiss by lightly biting your lower lip, making you feel all hazy.

"Just slightly better?" She smirks proudly.

You didn't hear a word she said, as you were too busy falling down from the high she had just given you to actually understand words spoken to you in a different language by one of the hottest women you have ever seen. "What did you say?"

"I'll take that as a no." She lightly chuckles, taking your hand and walking to the park exit.

"Let's go home." She whispers, placing a small kiss on your temple.

The walk back to your holiday home was on autopilot. She took the lead on the conversation, asking you questions about the week's plans with your other two friends. As soon as you get home, you go to your small kitchen to get a glass of water while she toes behind you. As soon as you finish drinking, she comes closer to you, putting her hands on your waist and making you retreat until you hit the kitchen counter.

"Thank you for tonight. I really had fun." She smiles earnestly.

"I'm glad that you like it here."

"Oh, I love it here. Even though I think that the people in this place have an average age of 72." She jokes

"Nah, 75. In fact, there is only one kid in the whole town. And the father is actually the boy of the kiss in the park."

"Well, at least he moved on."

"Yeah, it was very tough for him, but eventually, after a very long time, he found love again. But again, how could you ever move on from someone like me." You joke.

"I don't know. Well, nearly after a year, I'm still here, so something right you must be doing." She teases you.

"Or maybe you just can't find better." You raise an eyebrow suggestively.

"I don't think there is better to find, honestly." Her gaze softens as she says those words, making you blush, hiding your face by placing your forehead on her chest, hiding from her. She pulls her hands away from your waist and puts them on your cheeks to try to move your head from her to see your face. "What?" She asks.

"You have to stop saying things like that."

"Why? I mean it." She reassures you.

"I- You know why." You try to make her understand, not fully saying out loud feelings; try to make her understand them instead without fully exposing yourself.

"I'd rather you say it."

You take a deep breath. "Alexia, do you want to go on-" Your phone rings and you look from your watch to who is calling you "I have to take this."

You squirm away from her touch and leave to go outside.

"Pronto, Emma. Tutto bene?" It was your best friend whom you hadn't seen in a year and a half. She never called without asking you beforehand, so you thought it was pretty important.

"Si, tutto bene. Ti devo dire una cosa.” She replies excitedly, making you release a sigh of relief that nothing bad had happened.

Ten minutes later, you come back to Alexia wearing one of your biggest smiles.

"Is everything okay?" She asks, still waiting for you in the same spot as you left her.

"More than okay!" You reply excitedly, walking quickly to her. "My best friend is getting married, and I'll be the maid of honor." You place your hands on her shoulders, then slowly move them to her neck, lightly playing with her hair. "Now, where were we?" You knew exactly how you left her; you were about to blurt out your feelings for her, but you decided to ignore the problem and not dwell on it too much. Instead, you kissed her. The kissing led to something else, and for the first time in more than six months, time froze, and you were back again in her arms.

The next morning, you wake up to the alarm with hair on your face and an arm holding you down. You had a headache and clearly were sleep-deprived. You open your phone and look at the time. It's 10 AM.

"Fuck!" You sit up, making the woman on your side slowly wake up. "Alexia, wake up. We are late; we should've been in the car by now."

You say, rushing out of your bed to quickly change. You had promised Mapi that you would drive her to your house from the airport because you thought it would be a waste of money to book a taxi when you had a perfectly functioning car that could drive you anywhere.

In five minutes, you were able to dress, brush your teeth, and get in the car. Thankfully, you remembered to shower the night before, so you didn't have to do it in the morning; you felt bad for Alexia, as you could see that she wasn't used to this level of rushedness, that you were more than used to as you always tended to sleep in, and eventually have to rush to get in time to train or to games.

You closed the door to the house while Alexia was still halfway done putting her shirt on. As soon as the both of you got into the car and slammed the door, you looked at each other and started laughing.

"Okay, those were the quickest five minutes of my life." She says while catching her breath.

"We totally overslept, and we are totally going to be late." You chuckle, starting the engine of your car.

"We can always say that we found traffic." She offers.

You definitely and not-so-subtly speed to the airport and then quickly call your friend to tell her that you are finally at the airport.

"I'm really sorry. We found traffic on the way here." You tell Mapi while you go to hug her and Ingrid. As your friend goes to hug Alexia, you turn to Ingrid and whisper, "Did she already open her Instagram?" You were trying to hold off her discovering that you were a Barça player; you really wanted to tell her, and that day would be the day that Barcelona would announce your signing.

"No, she didn't, but I can't hold off her phone for long." She replies, breaking off the hug and going to Mapi's side and beginning to catch up on her life and yours.

"Oh my God, I forgot to tell you! Emma is getting married!"

"No way! She's finally settled down?!" Everyone who knew the both of you always thought that you would be the first one to marry, as Emma has always been the hot mess between the two of you, afraid of commitment. "Is she marrying the same guy from college?" She asks you.

"Yep." You turn around to look at Alexia and Ingrid, and then you explain. "When I was in college when I met Kate, my ex, Emma met this guy who studied economics and finance at our same university. They got together way before Kate and I. He's so dumb. I love him so much. They are perfect for each other."

You turn again to face your tattooed friend, "Wait, is that a hickey?" Her face is adorned with a knowing smirk while pointing at your neck, making you subconsciously hide it with your hand.

"No, it's not! It's a bruise." You try to explain, mentally trying to remember to scold Alexia as soon as you got her alone.

"It's so not!" She chuckles, surprised, making you turn around to glance angrily at Alexia, who replies with an innocent smile. "Is that the reason why you were late?"

"No! We found traffic on the way here, as I told you before."

"Yes!" Alexia casually backs you up, making your other two friends understand it was a lie.

As soon as you get into the car, Mapi is about to take out her phone to put music on when you stop her, saying that only the passenger in the front, Alexia, could put the music on, which was a lie, but you really didn't want her to see her phone.

As soon as you got home, the couple went to their room to unpack the suitcase while you and Alexia put on your bathing suit and went outside to the beach to sunbathe. You were reading some book, trying to focus on the words of the book rather than the woman who was lying half-naked on your right. Which was getting increasingly more difficult whenever she would move or place soft caresses on your back, trying to get your attention.

"Hey." You turn to look at her.

"Hey, cariño. I'm sorry for the hickey. I got a little carried away yesterday night." She apologizes shyly, making you forgive her in the blink of an eye.

"Don't worry about it." You come closer to her, placing a hand on her chest, and give her a small kiss. You brush your noses together and tell each other sweet nothings, creating a small bubble that neither of you wants to pop. "I know that I'm a person who doesn't express much of her feelings vocally, but I just wanted to say that I'm really glad that you are here with me."

"Honestly, there is no place I'd rather be, cariño. By your side is where I am the happiest."

You move your lips closer to her, about to kiss her, when you hear the door of the house open and see your friends coming outside. You make your forehead fall on her shoulder while you feel her sigh displeased. You slowly move away from her and sit up.

"I'm still not used to seeing this." Your friend says while pointing at the both of you, making her girlfriend roll her eyes at her.

You spend the morning in your small private beach playing card games and catching up with each other.

In the afternoon, it was when the club would announce your signing, so you decided to tell her at that moment. You had brought your Barcelona shirt to be able to announce it away from Barcelona. You told the club that you wouldn't be able to fly to Barcelona for your signing because you had already booked your holidays, so you did all the photoshoots and signing beforehand.

The first hours of the afternoon had always been the hottest, so you all decided to come inside and plan together your four days ahead.

You go to your room and retrieve the Barça shirt. Then you leave to go to your living room. "Oh, and by the way, I decided on my future club." You say casually, sitting down on the couch next to Alexia, facing Mapi.

"You are renewing with Roma, right?" She asks curiously. "I heard some rumors saying that they offered you a big contract."

"Yeah, they did offer me a huge contract. But I decided to leave; check your phone." You look at the time on your watch. "I think they just made the announcement." You tell her excitedly.

She quickly checks her phone, then turns to look at you smiling. "You'll be a Barça player?" You slowly nod, taking out the shirt with your name on it and showing it to her.

"I wanted to be the one who told you; that's why Ingrid never let you use your phone today." You say while standing up to hug her.

"I'm so happy! We can finally win the Champions League together! Like we always dreamed about!" She says excitedly, looking at the shirt. "Have you already decided on the number? I know that yours has always been the 16."

"I don't care, honestly. I'm just glad to be a Barcelona player. Plus, Rölfo already has the 16. I don't want her to change numbers for me."

"It's already settled, cariñ- Y/n." Alexia interjects, making you turn to look at her. "I know how much the number means to you, and Frido already wanted to change the number to 18, so I asked her if she wanted to make the swap. If you want it, you'll have the 16."

"Ale, there was no need to do that!" You felt your heart explode with affection at the thought that she would do this for you without even asking her or talking about it.

"I know. But I wanted to." You lock eyes, and for a moment, it is as if you are the only one in the room. "Now, do you want me to take a picture of you for the announcement?"

You posted on your Instagram a picture of you and your friend holding your Barça announcement shirt, with the caption: 'Reunited with this one.'

The rest of the week passed in a blur, from boat trips to visiting nearby cities and loads of food; you finally felt at peace and ready for your new adventure in Barcelona.

You would stay one last week in Italy with your family to finish packing up, and then you would leave for Barcelona. You found a beautiful apartment near the training grounds, and it had everything you dreamed of. Huge kitchen, a small garden, and a great view of the city.

Everything felt perfect. Alexia was going to pick you up from the airport, you thought it was unnecessary and a waste if her time, but then you gave in, wanting to see more of the woman who had been on your mind ever since that week in Italy, maybe even from before.

As soon as you landed, you got the terrible news from your landlord that a pipe from your apartment had just exploded, which meant that for more than a week, you would be homeless.

As you walk sadly to the exit of the airport, you find Alexia smiling at you as soon as she sees you, but then, as soon as she sees your expression, her smile fades into an expression of worry. You go to hug her, circling your arms on her waist. "Are you okay, cariño?" She asks worriedly.

You bury your head in her shirt, feeling the warmth and comfort she is exuding and taking it all in.

"A pipe from my new apartment just exploded. I am homeless for a week, and I need to find a hotel not too far from the training grounds."

"We'll find a solution together. Now let's go to the car and go home." She takes one of your suitcases, puts her arm on your shoulder, and pulls you close to her, dragging you to her Cupra.

As you enter the car, you melt into the car seat, taking Alexia's hand and giving it a couple of kisses. She turned on the engine of the car and proceeded to leave the infinite parking area of the Barcelona airport.

"If it's not a problem, you can always stay with me." She offered when you asked her if she knew any hotels near the training grounds. "Because I really don't think you'd want a week of Mapi and Ingrid together." She jokes, clearly making a point, because as much as you love both girls, they are disgustingly in love, and being around them made you feel miserable with your current situation with Alexia.

"Ale, I don't want to intrude. You need your space, and until I'm settled in, I'll take up a lot of it. And I don't want you to feel like you have to because you stayed in my home during the holidays," You say.

"I'm not offering because I feel some sort of obligation. I'm offering because I care about you, and I'd hate for you to be stuck in a hotel when you can simply stay at my place."

"Are you sure?"

She chuckles at your stubbornness, "Yes, I'm sure, cariño. But I do have one condition that I cannot overrule." She becomes immediately serious, making you unconsciously sit up. "You have to bake me those darn cookies." Her condition makes you chuckle. "I want to bring them to my mamá."

"I'll bake you all the cookies you want, piccola mia."

You get to her home, and as soon as she opens the door, you are met with a ball of fur asking for your attention, which you gladly give to her.

That evening, you baked your cookies together, fully knowing that the next day would be your first day of training, so it acted more as a stress relief rather than something you were doing for someone else. Which wasn't a problem for you, as it had always been your love language, acts of service, and cooking for other people. But strangely enough, you weren't feeling at all that anxious, and most certainly, even if you wouldn't admit it to yourself, it was Alexia's merit.

Her presence seemed to ground you and anchor you to the real world, not making you overthink or go in a spiral of intrusive and not good thoughts.

You loved how, even though she didn't know how to bake, she would try her best to do whatever you wanted her to do, making you grin at her concentrated looks whenever she didn't understand something.

As you went to bed that night, you were cuddling up in Alexia's bed.

"So, are you excited about tomorrow?" She asks you.

"I am a little nervous, but yes, I'm very excited. I'm finally playing for my dream club, and honestly, I couldn't be asking for more. But I do have a question, though: Do you know how many people know about us on the team?"

"Mapi has been a good friend, but for now, only she and Ingrid know. But if you are asking me if I'll treat you differently than what I've been doing now, the answer is no. Of course, I'll not be kissing you because we are at work, but I'll never avoid you."

"You'll have plenty of time to kiss me on other occasions then." You give her a small peck on the lips and go back to your previous position, falling asleep in her arms, looking forward to the next day.

The next day, you have breakfast together and then leave for the training grounds. As soon as you get there, Alexia goes in for training, whereas you go and meet all the training staff and Jonatan Giraldez. You were nervous, as you always hated to meet new coaches.

"Hey, Mister."

"Hey, Y/n. I'm so glad to finally have you on my team. It has been two years now that you have been my number 6 choice. I hope we can work well together." He says, shaking your hand, making you blush lightly at the compliment.

"I will do my best to be the best player I can be." You say.

"I'm sure you will. Now, before going to train and meet your future teammates, even though I know you already know some of them, you unfortunately have some media to attend to."

He accompanies you to a room full of interviewers from Barça TV and some other places, and the interviews begin.

"Hello, Y/n Y/ln. May I ask you some questions?" He asks politely, and you slightly nod.

"Welcome to Barcelona; what made you decide to leave your former club to join Barcelona?"

"Barça has always been my dream club, ever since I was a child. I remember that my uncle wanted me to become an Inter fan, whereas my other one wanted me to become a Milan fan, but as soon as I saw Barcelona play, I was completely taken by their style of play, and it was this club and Messi, that made me fall in love with the sport, so I will always be forever grateful to this club, for giving me this opportunity."

"Y/n, you have the impossible task of replacing one of the best CDMs in the world, Keira Walsh, who had just returned to her childhood club, Man City, with Lucy Bronze; how do you think you will fit that role?"

"Woah, huge question." You lightly joke, earning chuckles from the interviewer. "I think Walsh is one of the best CDMs in the world right now, if not the best. It's not going to be an easy task to 'replace' a player like her, if we can say that. But I'll give it my all to this team, and even if I won't be the best 6 in the world, I'll definitely be the best version of myself to play for this historic team. It's my dream."

"Who are you most excited to play with?"

"Of course, Mapi. We played together during our Atletico days, and I always thought that we worked very well together. But honestly, all of them, I'm really excited to play in midfield with Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas and one of the most underrated players of all time, Patri Guijarro."

"How do you feel about playing with Alexia Putellas, given the circumstances of your previous encounters?" You furrow your eyebrows at the question.

"You mean, given that the last time we played against each other, she nearly broke my nose?" You say lightheartedly, making the people understand that you weren't holding any grudge against her.

The English interviewer quickly nods. "As I said in previous interviews, I think Alexia is a great player and a great person, both on and off the pitch. She will be my new skipper, and I couldn't ask for anyone better. In our previous encounters, I think we were just unfortunate, and when you play with a person who is physically bigger and stronger than you, injuries may happen. But I don't hold any type of grudge against her; in fact, we actually joked about the fact that if she weren't a football player, she could definitely be a kickboxer."

"And that is all for today; thank you, Y/n."

"Thank you all for being here and Visca el Barça."

You quickly exit the room and speed walk to the changing rooms to get ready for your first training with the team. As soon as you put on the shirt, you immediately touch the badge of your new team and automatically smile. You had finally made it, and you couldn't be happier.

You put on your cleats and go outside to talk to your coach. All the other girls were making rondos or juggling with the ball, making you feel a little bit like a fish out of the sea. For a slight moment, you were slightly regretting coming to Barcelona but you knew that it was just your mind playing tricks on you and that you deserved to be there just as much as the girls who were already training.

"So, coach, do you want me to run a few laps or do some drills with the ball?" You tell him, feeling ready to do anything, even running, jumping up and down from your standing position.

"Oh no." He chuckles. "I don't know if you do this in Italy, but here at Barcelona, for every new player, we do the guard of honor."

"Oh no, we don't have to." You say shyly, not wanting to be at the center of attention.

"Oh yeah, it's tradition." He spurs you on, making you go with him on the pitch to your new teammates.

"Girls!" He screams, making all of them turn around. "As you already know, Y/n will be our new 16, so take care of her and make her feel at home!" He says, making you awkwardly wave at your teammates, embarrassed. Mapi walks excitedly to you and gives you a hug.

"Is your coach always like this?" You ask her, still embarrassed.

"Yep, get used to it."

"I will never get used to wearing these colors," you say, putting your hand on your badge.

"You deserve it more than anyone." She leads you to your teammates, and one by one, you get introduced to them, even though you already knew most of them, never leaving your side, for which you were eternally grateful to her. You leave Alexia for last, and she gives you a quick hug and a reassuring look, which is what you need to finally ground yourself.

They all line up to give you the guard of honor, which you try to make them not do, but Mapi basically pushes you to run, feeling all the smacks on your back as you are running. The training was great after that. You managed to talk and get to know everyone, and everyone was so nice to you.

The intensity, though, was something that you had never experienced before. The Barça rhythms were definitely higher than the ones from Roma, but you weren't the one who would give up that easily, overworking your body, trying to prove yourself to the coach.

You were on a water break, trying to catch your breath, putting your hands on your knees, straightening your back. You feel a hand at the back of your neck lightly squeezing, asking for your attention. You immediately recognize her touch, even though you didn't see her. You turn around to look at her, and you are met with a worried look.

“Are you okay, cariñ- Y/n?“

"So good." You say breathlessly. "I just have to get used to this much running, that's all."

"Do you want me to talk to the coach?"

"I don't need any special treatment, Alexia." You squirm away from her and jump on Mapi's back, interrupting her from some conversation she was having with Pina and Patri. You felt bad about leaving Alexia like that, so coldly, but then again, you always hated when people were concerned about your physical health or were just trying to help; it made you vulnerable, and you hated that. You immediately regretted how you talked to Alexia and decided that after practice, you would apologize to her.

When practice ended, you were exhausted but still very happy. Alexia was practicing free kicks as everyone left to change.

"Piccola mia, I'm really sorry about how I replied to you today." You say regretfully, placing your hand on her back, making her turn to you.

"I wasn't trying to give you any special treatment, Y/n." What happened to cariño? "I am your captain; if you feel bad or worn out, it's my responsibility to help you." She replies sadly, playing with the ball on her feet.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I just hate when people are worried about me. It makes me feel vulnerable. And I know you were just worried, so I'm really sorry."

"I know you are. Come here and give me a proper hug." She opens her arms for you, which you gladly take, and circle your arms around her waist, putting your head on her chest. Those types of hugs with her were your favorite hugs.

"Now, are you ready for the initiation?"

You break off the hug and look at her, puzzled. "What initiation? Mapi never told me anything."

"Well, it's more like a team bonding get-together with karaoke."

"So I have to sing? Will you sing too?"

"I am not singing, but you are a newbie, so you have to." She explains as if she were stating the obvious.

"The hell I am not."

"The hell you are." She chuckles.

"I do love music, but I do not sing. When I am sober, at least."

"You kinda have to; it's a tradition. Everyone has done it. It's about shedding any fear of embarrassment."

"But Ale-"

"Nope, it's settled." You sigh at her words and then leave to go to the dressing room.

“Goodbye capitana.”

“Goodbye cariño.”

In the meantime, Mapi and Patri were watching your interaction with Ale from afar.

"I've never seen Alexia this… soft? It feels weird." Patri states to her friend.

"Who? Alexia and Y/n?" Mapi asks dumbly, trying not to give out any details.

"I never specified Y/n." She raises an eyebrow. "Wait. Do you know something?" The midfielder's face turns into a wide smirk.

"I don't have anything to say to you that I should say."

"So you have something for me that you shouldn't say?" She asks, flipping the situation.

"Stop using wordy sentences to make me confused."

"You didn't reply to my question. Are they dating? Wait, is she the girl we all thought a couple of months ago fucked her?"

"I don't know anything! If you are really that curious, go and ask her!" Your friend replies defensively, really trying not to spill any secrets.

At that moment, you walked through the door and saw your friend, "You didn't tell me I had to sing?! Oh hey, Patri." You turn around to your new teammates happily waving at her, and then you go back to point your finger angrily at your friend.

"Oh, come on! How bad it could be! You were in a band, after all." She says

"You were in a band?" Patri asks curiously.

"I had a really dark past.." You explain quickly and dramatically. "Plus, you know well I didn't sing!"

"Oh, come on. Don't be too dramatic. I'll get you a couple of drinks, then you'll sing something, and that's that."

That evening, you were exhausted from your training, so you decided to have a power nap in Alexia's house, which she gladly joined you in. After a couple of hours, you were ready to go and left for the pub, where you would meet the girls from the team.

As soon as you get there, you leave Alexia to go to Mapi and mingle with some of the Spanish girls in that group, Ona, Aitana, Pina, and Patri. While Alexia went to talk to the older girls and her friends from the national team. Some hours in the night passed, and you were really glad that you were getting along with everybody from the team.

At first, you were very shy with them, but thankfully, Mapi, and in some instances Alexia, helped you a little to open up and make your teammates able to get to know you. Some girls were drinking, but you decided not to, and many of them started off the karaoke, making you sometimes laugh at their stupidity, whereas in others, you would clap at them.

You knew that your turn was coming when you saw Mapi run to another room and come out with a guitar in her hand, making you roll her eyes at her, completely understanding her intentions. You used to play the guitar when you were younger, and you actually were quite good at it. But you hadn't played in so long, and as the hype woman your best friend was and the fact that she loved embarrassing you, fully knowing you hated being the center of attention, she brought a guitar just for everybody to see and ask you about it.

She handed it to you, making you chuckle at her sarcastically, but she was wearing this proud smirk, which showed that she wasn't doing this just to make you uncomfortable and tease but also to show you off, which you thought was very unnecessary.

You open the guitar case, and you see a beautiful acoustic guitar.

"Where did you get this? Did you steal it?" You joke, admiring the guitar.

"The guy behind the bar recognized us and gave me the guitar."

"Do you play the guitar, Y/n?" Ona asks you curiously, making you turn your head around the table.

"Well, I used to play it; I haven't played in a very long time." You say while you pick it up and run the strings through your hands. You stopped playing the guitar when you left for Chelsea. Usually, music was your happy place, but when you moved out from Spain and broke up with Kate, your love for the instrument dissipated, and you wouldn't bring yourself to do something that you enjoyed so much.

"You should play something for us," Patri adds excitedly.

"Oh no." You reply shyly, putting away the guitar. "I haven't played in so long, plus I don't think I remember much, and I really don't want to embarrass myself." You chuckle nervously, hoping that they will let it go. In the meantime, the guitar thing caught some attention, so now, not only was your table waiting for you to play something, but everyone in your group and some other clients in the pub were waiting for you to play something.

"Oh nonsense, you know that you have to perform; if you don't play the guitar, you'll have to sing. So you decide…" Mapi spurs you on. You take a deep breath and move your chair to the little stage where the people would normally sing karaoke. You quickly tune the guitar, and then you finally feel all the eyes on you.

"Okay, if I get some notes wrong, please don't laugh at me." You look at Alexia one last time, who is somehow sitting with Mapi now, and she gives you a reassuring smile.

So you begin playing one of your favorite songs on the guitar; every time you play it, it reminds you of when life was fun and simple. Whenever you played it, you would get lost in the music and daydream of what those sounds elicit. (If you want to hear it, it's 'Mutter' from Rob Scallon, the live version)

As soon as you start playing, your tattooed friends turn to Alexia.

"Good luck, my friend." She pats her back ironically.

"What, why?" Alexia whispers, still trying to give you her full undivided attention.

"If she still plays like she played years ago, she has this way of conveying many emotions. Either they are sad or happy; whenever she plays something, she amplifies it by a thousand. The song that she is about to play is going to hit you like a ton of bricks, believe me."

The song begins slowly, but then it gets faster and fuller. It made you regret to decide this piece after not playing in so long, but you loved it, and honestly, you really wanted to show off a little to your teammates and, most definitely, to Alexia. Thankfully, this worry of making mistakes was quickly forgotten when you began getting lost in the music. You really missed being able to play and express yourself in this way.

As soon as you finish the song with the last chord, you don't dare to look at your teammates; only when you hear the claps do you lightly blush and turn your gaze around the room, searching for those beautiful eyes that have the capacity to render you hopeless, but you couldn't see her, nor your friend for that matter.

Your performance was nearly finished, and Alexia never took her eyes off you; she thought that what Mapi said was right; your performance hit her like a ton of bricks, but more than anything, it brought out a huge realization that Alexia could quite withstand, so she left, to go to the bathroom, trying to get some space. Mapi quickly followed her friend, and as soon as they were inside the small room, the defender turned to pacing Alexia.

"Woahh, hey, calm down. What happened?" She asks the midfielder, placing her hands on her shoulders, trying to stop her from walking around the room.

She takes a deep breath, "Mapi, I have a problem. A huge one."

"Okay, tell me what it is; I know that we can find a solution to it." Her shorter friend reassures her, clearly shocked to see her captain in this state.

"I don't think we can. I just realized that I am in love with her." She says, putting her hands on her face.

"Who?"

"Who? Mapi really? Lady Gaga. No Y/n, you idiot."

"Sorry, I just wanted to check. But why is it such a problem?"

"Because we decided not to have anything serious, and I really don't want to get rejected when I was the one that continuously pointed out that we weren't dating whenever someone asked."

"I think she feels the same. No. I know that she feels the same. Gosh, I spent five days with you two alone in a house; I can understand when two of my best friends are in love with each other. Eyes don't lie. And don't you dare tell that you haven't been already acting like a couple for at least 6 months now!"

"Do you really think that?"

"I know that. Just tell her how you feel. You won't lo-"

You open the door to the bathroom, searching for Alexia. She had been missing for a couple of minutes now, so you were a little worried that she might have been sick.

"Oh, here you are! I thought you left or you were sick!" You say happily when you finally find Alexia and Mapi, but then you notice something wrong with her, as if she was shaken up. "Wait, are you okay?" You asked, worried, coming closer to her.

"I'm okay, cariño." She reassures you, and then her expression changes into something happier and more proud. "I didn't know you were so good at playing the guitar!"

"I was better a long time ago. I haven't played in years, but this woman here." You point at Mapi quickly, "Can't mind her own business."

"Thankfully, she didn't; I know for sure you wouldn't have told me that you are good at playing an instrument."

"I would have told you!" You cross your arms, pouting.

"No, you wouldn't." She shakes her head, smiling, while Mapi nods, backing her up. "You'd hate for anybody to know that you are good at something, just in fear of being at the center of the attention." She explains, making you blink twice. It felt as if you were an open book for her to read and understand you perfectly.

"Get out of my head." You remark shyly, earning from her a chuckle. "So you liked the song?" You ask shyly and insecurely.

She gently places her hands on your cheeks, gently caressing them to give you some reassurance. "I loved it; you are a wonderful guitar player, cariño."

"Thank you." You lightly blush. For a moment, you forget that Mapi is in the same room as the two of you because you place your finger on your lips to silently ask her to kiss you. Which she gladly does, feeling her smile against your lips

"I'm still here, you know!" Mapi interrupts you from your little moment, irritated. "Bleah, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing this." You raise your middle finger at her, still kissing Alexia, fully starting to make out with her. You hear the door shut, making you temporarily pull away from her to look behind you, then resuming back to kissing her.

Five minutes later, you both decide to go back to your teammates, but as the night progresses, you feel yourself getting more and more tired, making all of your clinginess appear. You would orbit around Alexia more, trying to find some physical comfort in her presence, even though you really didn't want to show off your 'relationship' with her.

She noticed this almost immediately, so when you were passing by her, in a swift movement, she wraps her arms around your waist and dragged you to her lap; you stumble a little, trying to balance yourself, placing your arm on her shoulder,

"Are you tired?" She whispers in your ear as if you were the only two people in the room.

"Yes, I am a little. How did you know?"

"I have already seen you tired many times, cariño. You are very touchy when you are tired." You subconsciously move away from her, but she keeps you in place firmly. "Don't move away; I love this side of you."

At first, your new teammates gave the both of you a surprised look, but nobody would dare to say anything besides Mapi, obviously, who sent you from across the room a knowing look, but you couldn't bring yourself to care.

By the end of the night, you had played some more guitar as some of your teammates wanted to sing some more songs. But after a couple more hours, you were exhausted, and when Alexia noticed it, she decided to bring you home to sleep.

That morning, when you woke up, everything in your body ached somehow. You really had to get used to Barcelona's rhythms. The bed was empty, so you figured that Alexia was making breakfast, so you painfully make it to Alexia's kitchen wearing one of her big shirts and some shorts you found along the way to the kitchen, which were scattered the night before trying to get to the bedroom. She was making coffee the way you liked it, with the moka instead of using her Nespresso machine 'that she loves so much,' which made you smile at her attentiveness. As soon as you walk into her kitchen, she turns around and walks towards you, giving you a small kiss on the lips.

“Good morning, cariño. Did you sleep well?" She turns to her kitchen again, rummaging through the cabinet on top of her stove.

"I slept really well. What are you doing?" You ask her curiously, leaning on the kitchen countertop and peaking.

"So I found out that my mom had a moka in her kitchen all this time, and I didn't even notice it! So I asked her if I could borrow it since I know you prefer this coffee to the machine." She says while putting the coffee maker on the stove.

"Ale, you shouldn't have done that! I would've gladly drank whichever one you had; you didn't have to go through such trouble for me." You lightly slap her shoulder.

"I didn't go through any trouble. I just wanted to make you feel at home."

Before saying something that you most probably regret, aka replying with But you are my home. You dragged her to your height, kissed her to show all of your gratitude, and whispered a small thank you. When the coffee was ready, you both sat down on her small table and had breakfast.

You were talking about some media stuff you were going to do in the afternoon when you heard a knock on the door. Alexia looks at you confused, not expecting anybody, and she leaves with Nana in tow; as she opens the door, you hear Alexia talking to a woman who has a very similar voice to hers, and then you hear her scream, "No, Alba, no!"

You see the woman enter the kitchen with Alexia chasing after her as if she didn't want her to meet you.

"Hello, my name is Alba. I'm Alexia's sister." You suddenly widen your eyes, shocked. She offers you her hand to shake, and you stand up.

"Hi, I'm Y/N." You shake her hand and offer her a shy smile, subconsciously searching for Alexia to help you out with this unexpected visit.

"I know who you are; my sister nearly broke your nose. By the way, I want to apologize on her behalf; she never had proper manners."

"Alba!" Alexia screams, exasperated, while you release a light chuckle.

"Don't worry, she has already apologized. But yes, she has to work on her manners." You wink at Alexia, making her roll your eyes at you.

"Since when are you guys dating?" She asks curiously, earning another frustrated scream from Alexia.

"Oh no. We are not dating; she is just helping me out because a pipe exploded in my apartment." You reassure her while she stares at you confused, then lowers her gaze,

"So you give your clothes to all of your guests?" Alba asks her sister ironically, making you slightly blush.

"Well, I- I," The older sister stutters, making the other draw conclusions by herself.

"So you are dating."

"It's complicated." She says. "Is there any particular reason why you are here?"

"I forgot my sweater here last week, and I need it back. But I can come at another time."

"No, I'll get it for you." She disappears into the house, leaving you and Alba in an awkward silence.

Thankfully, Alexia comes back thirty seconds later,

"So you should come to dinner at mom's house sometime. She would love to meet your new 'roommate.'" She teases her older sister, clearly trying to irritate her.

"Well, then, you should invite Alexandre too since you live at his house more than you live at your own house." She replies sarcastically.

"I thought we reached an agreement to never talk about Alexandre ever again after the incident."

"By incident, she means when I caught them fucking in the bathroom during the semi-finals against Chelsea last year." She explains to you, clearly trying to irritate her sister, making you feel like you are getting way too much information on their dynamics in one sitting.

"Let me guess: when she saw you, she made some sarcastic remark, rolled her eyes, and left, right?" You joke, clearly imagining the scene.

"That's exactly it! Always rolling her eyes at people. So annoying! Finally, someone who gets it!"

"Uggghh." Alexia sighs and rolls her eyes at you both.

"See! She just did it again!"

"I don't like this coalition between the two of you." She lightly pouts.

"It's not a coalition when we are simply just stating the truth!" You lightly tease her, earning an approving nod from Alexia's sister.

"I hate you both!" She exclaims, fully knowing that she was just lying.

"No, you don't." Then you turn to Alba, "It was nice meeting you; I hope we'll see each other soon. I have to get changed for practice." You leave the two sisters while you get ready for training.

After a couple of minutes, Alexia entered your now shared room; you turned to her and placed your hands on her shoulders.

"So you met my sister…"

"She's very nice; I hope I made a good impression." You say insecurely.

"You made a great impression, cariño. I'm just really sorry that you had to meet her in these circumstances. Not to put pressure on you, but my sister can't keep a secret, and she'll definitely tell my mom about you."

"What a way to not put pressure on me." You chuckle nervously.

"Don't worry. I will handle everything, okay?" She gives you a small peck. "Now, are you ready?"

Training that day was even more intense than the day before, with the exception that you were finding so many link-ups with your new teammates. Sometimes, you would forget that you weren't training anymore with your old teammates, that if you passed the ball to the right, you would find Giugliano without looking, or that Linari was right behind you, ready for a pass if you needed it.

Now, you had different teammates, and your body had to get used to it.

Being back on the pitch with Mapi had been so exciting. Both of your styles of play evolved so much that how you played at Atletico didn't matter anymore. She loved playing with the ball, so you'd expect more passes from her than before.

What really changed everything for you were the players up front. Playing behind Alexia and Aitana was something that didn't happen every day. The best way for them to express themselves was if you were able to cover defensively for them, which you were doing gladly. Adapting to their style of play was not simple; they played on short and fast passes and opted less for long passes, which were your specialty.

You were practicing on free kicks, which you thought you were pretty good at. You didn't know why, but you were able to curve the ball perfectly, making the goalkeepers go crazy.

You were in a team with Mapi against Alexia and Graham Hansen, whom you were unceremoniously obsessed with her football skills.

It was your turn to shoot your first free-kick. Paños was on goal, and she was eying the ball. You go for the kick and curve the ball perfectly; the goalkeeper didn't even move because she thought it would be going out. It hit a top bin, and it was in. You throw your hand in the air competitively. "Dajeee!"

"That was a great curved ball! Where did you learn that?" Mapi asked, shocked, as she had never seen you take a free kick like that before.

You shake your shoulders nonchalantly while Caro asks you, "What are your free kick stats?"

"Like all time or just last season?" You ask shyly.

"All the time."

"Well, since I played for Roma, I was usually the one who took free kicks. I guess out of fifty-one direct free kicks, I scored forty-seven if I remember correctly."

"Wait, really?" Alexia asks you, shocked.

"Well, I love taking free kicks, and I practice a lot on them."

"That's not normal, Y/n; that's a really high conversion rate. I don't understand why I just heard about this!" Your friend tells you.

"I don't know, I just love taking them." You shrug your shoulders. "Plus, when I go for a curved ball, I don't know how, but I do it in a way that is almost impossible to predict."

"You can do a knuckleball too?"

"I'm not that good at that." They move the ball to the place and offer you to kick it. You hit the ball hard, and it goes for the post, then bounces off the other and goes in.

You scrunch your nose, dissatisfied, getting a new ball for another free kick, while your teammates look at you, shocked.

You turn to look at them, "What?

"Well, now we have to change teams, or it's going to get too easy for you guys!" Alexia says competitively.

"Oh, hell no! Now it's too late; we already decided on the teams!" Mapi says.

"Well, let Y/n decide." Ale crosses her arms, looking at you. "Do you want to swap teams and be with me, who is currently hosting you in my home, or that woman over there?" She points disgusted Mapi.

"Well, I-"You try to talk.

"Of course, she's going to choose me! I've known her for more than seven years!" They kept on bickering while you and Caro just stared at them, chuckling.

"You know? I think I'm actually switching teams." You raise an eyebrow, smirking.

"You made the right decision," Alexia says proudly. She walks to you to get on your side.

"That's arrogant to assume that I would switch teams with you, Alexia." You give her a smirk and walk to Caro's side, leaving Mapi and Alexia next to each other. "Caro and I are going to destroy you!"

And so you did. After another twenty minutes, you finally leave the pitch and get home with Alexia. Once again, you were exhausted, but you were very happy that you were able to get along with your new teammates.

As soon as you get home, you throw yourself to the couch while Nala jumps on top of you for cuddles, which you gladly give her.

Alexia was still pouting because she lost the free-kick competition. "Oh, come on, you can't be still mad!"

"I'm not mad."

"Well, it's not every day that you get to be on the same team as Caroline Graham Hansen. You know how much I am obsessed with her football skills."

"Well, then, why don't you go and ask her if you could crash at her place."

You sit right up and drag her by the shirt to you. "Are you jealous, piccola?"

"No, I am not! Why would I ever be! Caro is in a relationship with Marta. Plus, I am the one that has two Ballon d'Or." She says, trying to convince you.

"I know. You are the best of the best. I had to basically seduce you so that my team could have a chance against you. And you don't have to worry about anyone. There is no one else." The last words unconsciously slip out of your mouth, making you mentally curse at yourself.

"There is no one else for me either. Y/n, I have to tell you something." You nod at her while placing your arms on her shoulders.

"I'm in lo-"The phone rings again. This time, it is Alexia's phone. She goes to look at it. "It's my agent. I really need to take this."

After thirty minutes, she comes back looking stressed out.

"What was the call about, that made you go on the phone for thirty minutes?" You ask curiously.

"Oh no, I was also on the phone with my mom; that's why I was out for so long."

"Is everything okay at home?"

"Everything is great!" You could see that something was up. "But you know when I told you that my mom found out about you-us?"

"No? I thought that she still didn't know."

"Well, now she does. AndsheinvitedusfordinnerandIdidn'tknowwhethertotellyoubecauseIdon'tknowifyouwanttocome."

"What, sorry? I know you have this cute little habit of talking fast when you are nervous, but remember that I am not Spanish."

"Sorry." She takes a deep breath. "My mom invited us for dinner. You can totally say no, but-"

"I would love to come to dinner, Alexia. You didn't have to be that nervous." You give her a small peck on the lips. "Tell her I will bring the dessert."

"So, are you ready to finally meet your mother-in-law this afternoon?" Mapi asks you while you leave for morning training together. Finally, your home was fixed from the pipe, and you were able to finally live there. There was still a lot of work to do as you had to basically furnish the apartment, which had been really hard, especially when you were away for most of the day.

Thankfully, Mapi offered to help build a table that you had bought from Ikea in your living room, so with some help, your home was starting to take shape.

"She is not my mother-in-law. I am not currently in a relationship."

"I still don't understand why you can't tell her how you feel."

"Fear of rejection. Or fear that it's going to turn out like my previous relationship. Fear of being just delusional or fear of-"

"Okay, you have made your point! I just feel like you should; maybe you'll find out that she feels the same."

"Yeah, right. As if someone like her could fall for someone like me. She's way out of my league. But anyway, you have met Alexia's sister and mom, how are they? Do you have any tips?"

"They are going to love you. Just be yourself."

"That's not helping, Mapi." You chuckle.

"Ugh, just be polite and show that you genuinely care for Alexia. They are very protective of her. Don't show off, and don't be too shy. But I really don't think you are going to have a problem doing all that."

As soon as you went home, you quickly got ready in your desolate apartment; as soon as you were done, Alexia texted you.

Your Favorite Kickboxer ;)

I'll be here in 5 minutes.

The nerves were kinda getting to you, so you paced around your empty living room until Alexia came knocking at your door. As soon as she saw you, she quickly gave you a hug and pecked your lips.

"Hey, Cariño, are you ready?"

"So ready! You don't even know!" You fake out.

"Okay, yeah. You have to work on your lying skills. What's up? You don't have to come if you don't want to." She says calmly.

"It's not that Ale. I'm just nervous. I haven't met the mom and sister of a girl I am seeing since my ex. I'm just nervous, that's it."

"They'll love you, believe me. Now, take a deep breath; everything will be fine. We will go to my mom's for lunch, and she will show you some of my baby pictures, trying to embarrass me, and my sister will do the same. Then we'll get back home, cuddle up on the couch, and watch some of your sappy movies, okay?" You slowly nod, feeling a slight motivation through her words. "Now are you ready, cariño?"

You slightly nod, and she leads you to her car, but before that, you stop her and gently kiss her lips. "Thank you. You know I really, really like you?" You tell her.

"I really, really like you too."

You get to Alexia's mom's house, and the first thing she does is go up and hug you. You were taken by surprise, but after a second of shock, you quickly reciprocated.

"You must be Y/n, right?"

"Yes, it's me. You have a lovely house."

She takes you into the living room, and then she quickly disappears into the kitchen while Alba appears out of her room to see you.

You lightly chat with her until Alexia's mom screams for the two girls to come and help her; they quickly get into the small kitchen, clearly not knowing what to do.

"Do you need help, Eli?" You ask shyly.

"Oh no, you are the guest." She says, gently smacking your hands away from the pan you were stirring.

"Oh really, it's no biggie. I love cooking, plus I know how much Ale is a disaster in the kitchen. I can help if you like." You offer politely.

"For your information, I am a great cook," Alexia says, slightly offended. Neither her sister nor her own mother backed her up. All knowing how bad she was, making you chuckle.

"Don't worry, mija, you have some great qualities too." Her mom lightly teases Alexia, making her pout cutely.

As soon as lunch was ready, you helped set up the table, and you sat down.

"So, Y/n, how do you like Barcelona?"

"Oh, I love it here. I just had a minor slip-up with my apartment, but now everything is fixed."

"You are from Italy, right? Because I don't hear any accent." Her mom asks curiously.

"Well, I lived in Spain for a long time before moving clubs. I played for Atletico Madrid with Mapi."

"So you must be happy having her back as your teammate."

"I'm really glad. Plus, Barcelona has always been my dream club."

"Is it difficult being away from home?"

"Well, I left my home in Italy when I was really young; I left to study in the USA."

"Oh wow, what did you study there?" Alba asks you.

"I studied physiotherapy."

"So when you retire from football, you could become a therapist for Barcelona or some other football club," Alexia suggests.

"Well, I could, but I actually work with prosthesis. I studied to help people who have lost their limbs to build them prosthesis."

"I didn't know that!" Ale tells you, shocked but also proud.

Lunch proceeded great. Ale's mom and Alba were just like Mapi pictured them. Fiercely loyal and protective of one another. You really hoped that you made a good impression because even though you weren't in an actual relationship with Alexia, meeting her family felt like a huge step, and you'd hate for them to not feel like Ale made the right decision by seeing each other.

What you really liked, though, was the fact that you could see how much Alexia was being herself around her family. She didn't have her walls up, nor did she have to keep up with her duties as the captain. She was just herself, and you were lucky enough to be able to experience it and be part of her inner circle.

As soon as lunch was finished, you stood up to help Ale's mom clean up the table, and then you brought the dessert that you had made for the occasion.

"I didn't have much time to prepare something fancier; my kitchen is still a mess."

"You didn't have to prepare anything!" Ale's mom replies while she cuts open the cake you had stress baked for the occasion.

"My parents always taught me to never walk into a home as a guest empty-handed." You simply reply. "And really, it's nothing. I love baking, so actually, you gave me an excuse to make something."

"You know, Y/n, out of all of the girls that Alexia has brought home, you might be the nicest." You turn your head down, blushing, while Alexia, embarrassed, calls out her mother.

"Well, I think that just the fact that you are here means a lot. You know, Y/n, Alexia had a very bumpy love life." Alba calls her sister out, making Alexia send her a death glare.

You were too curious now, "I wanna hear all the details." You rub your hands, waiting for Alba to fill you in.

"Well, Alexia had many situationships that ended rather quickly."

"Alba!" Alexia warns her.

"One lasted two weeks I think, with this nice girl. For the record, she was really nice. The poor girl had the misfortune to be a cat person. Nana didn't like her, so she stopped seeing her."

"For the record, I don't regret it! My Nala is my best matchmaker, and I could never be in a relationship with someone who doesn't like my dog, who's currently living with me."

You chuckle lightly at her, "Thankfully, Nala likes me, or else, I wouldn't have lasted even a day." You tease Alexia, remembering how you met the small dog when you first hooked up with her, how Nala would try to get her owner's attention, but she was too busy on you to actually care.

"Well, thankfully, you are also a Barça fan because my sister left a fucking date because they were a Madrid fan."

"Okay, it did not go like that." Ale tries to explain herself, but she is soon cut off by her sister again.

"You told her that you played football, and she made a small comment about how she slightly preferred Madrid to Barcelona."

"She wanted me to go to the Bernabeu with her." She pauses. "On the Madrid section!"

"Poor girl, you turned down a girl just because of her club preference?" You chuckled at her stubbornness.

"She was also very annoying."

"How many dates did you go with the Madritista?" You ask her.

"One." You all burst out laughing.

"The next girl instead, more than a situationship, was a failed date. She was a friend of a friend of mine, and after the date, Ale called me and I asked how the date went, and she replied that she thought that the girl was amazing, but she didn't like the outfit, so it wouldn't work." Alba chuckles hard, making you shake your head teasingly at Alexia.

"In my defense, she was amazing, but the outfit was too distracting, so much so that it felt like our personalities wouldn't go together."

"You got all that by an outfit?" You ask her incredulously.

"Yes." She states bluntly making you playfully shake your head at her.

By the time lunch was finished, you were about to leave.

"It was lovely meeting the both of you. I really hope I'll see you soon." You go to hug the two women and then leave to go to the car, waiting for Alexia to say the final goodbye.

When Ale gets into the car, she sits in the driver's seat, takes your hand, and kisses it.

"Thank you for coming."

"Thank you, for inviting me. Now let's go home; we have a couch to build."

As you get home, Ale quickly gets ready to build your Ikea couch while you take some of your most valuable stuff, like family pictures or small trinkets that hide memories that you will forever treasure.

You were unpacking the first ball they gave you when you scored your first hat trick, then you moved to a larger box, and you soon felt overwhelmed by how much stuff you had to unpack, making you slightly regret your life choices.

Alexia was still on the floor trying to build up your couch when she suddenly resurfaced clumsily.

"Why are those instructions so difficult? I just feel like Ikea should be better at making them. I should ask Frido." She complains to herself, making you chuckle from across the room.

As you looked at her while she was building your couch, without anything in return, just simply to make you feel more at home, a warm feeling spread through your chest.

You just smiled. Smiled at the woman who came out of nowhere and turned your life around. Smiled at the woman who had taken your heart without you noticing it. And then you realize that maybe what you had with Alexia right now wasn't enough for you. You wanted more. Because those feelings that you had slowly built over time weren't avoidable anymore. What you had with her wasn't enough, and you realized that you couldn't pretend anymore that you were okay with it.

You needed to be alone, to think, to prepare yourself. Just her being in the same house as you was just too much. You were feeling too much. Feeling too much for her.

So you quickly stood up, crossing your arms, unconsciously wanting to close yourself off as much as possible.

"Ale, I need you to get out."

She turns towards you and sees how much you were shaken. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is good. I just need you to leave, please." You try to be as convincing as possible.

"Everything is not good. You are not good. Tell me what's wrong." She rubs your shoulders soothingly in worry.

You don't know why, but your mind figured that it would be best if you'd just rip the bandaid off.

"Ale, I think we have a problem." You take a deep breath. "I think I'm in love with you."

There was no turning back now. You could take your words back, so you waited patiently as her brows furrowed and then quickly fixed in a soft expression.

"I think we have two problems then. Because I think I am in love with you too."

#alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas #alexia putellas imagine #alexia putellas one shot #woso imagine #woso #woso fanfics

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outsideratheart · 1 year

Text

Plans (Alexia Putellas x reader)

A/N: This idea has been in my head for while but whenever it came to writing it my mind would go blank. I hope you guys like it.

To those around you your departure from Wolfsburg didn't come as a surprise but the rest of the world couldn't believe they would let you go considering the way you performed at the Euros with Germany. For you it wasn't about the money like the rest of the world assumed, you wanted to play for a team that valued you and over the last 18 months Wolfsburg hadn't done that.

You had been playing football since you were 4 years old, got your first professional contract at 16 years old and was the youngest player male or female to become the starting goalkeeper. Throughout your career you never picked up any injuries other than a niggle here and there. That was until a reckless tackle left you needing major surgery on your shoulder and put you on the side line for almost a year. Your return to the starting 11 came in the second leg of the champions league quarter final against Barcelona where you managed to keep a clean sheet and contributed heavily to giving the Spanish side their first loss of the season.

When it came to your contract negotiations you made things very clear, you were the number 1 goalkeeper. It wasn't a claim fuelled with arrogance, it was backed by facts. They had different plans, ones that didn't align with yours so you asked your manager to put some feelers out. Throughout the euros he would keep you updated and when he called to say Sandra Panos was taking an early retirement to spend more time with her family and that Barcelona was interested, you didn't think twice about it. During the summer tournament you, along with your manager, had several video calls with the Catalonian side and came to terms on a contract which pleased both you and the team. They only had one request; it had to kept a secret until Sandra made her announcement.

It's how you found yourself standing outside Joan Camper on 2nd August just two days after you lost the final. You were told to take a few days off to recover from the loss and to take some time off but you didn't want to. Losing the final in extra time was brutal and you couldn't sit around doing nothing or you would obsess over every minute detail.

"You're the new signing?"

You turn on your heels to see Ingrid walking rapidly towards you with Mapi not too far behind her.

"I cannot confirm nor deny" you briefly hugged the Norwegian before she introduced you to Mapi.

The three of you walk into the facility but you are soon pulled aside to sign your contract and make things official. The process itself is tedious, page after page requires your signature and several members of the higher ups take a photo with you. Then the part you were waiting for comes, they give you your shirt. It felt weird seeing your name on the back of anything that wasn't Wolfsburg and it fills you with a bitter sweet feeling even though you know the change was needed.

Shortly after you are led out onto the field so you can be officially introduced to the team. Many of them you had met before when representing Germany but now they were your team mates and there were a couple that had already held that title in the past. You had already seen Ingrid earlier in the morning, Frido welcomes you with open arms stating how happy she is that you're both on the same team again. There was only one person left.

"No way did they let you go" Caro shouts as she runs across the training pitch. She leaps into your arms as soon as she's close enough. Caroline is one of you best friends and you were devastated when you learnt she was leaving Wolfsburg after 6 years.

"Barely even fought for me" you whispered in her ear.

She jumped down and you can tell that she is caught aback by what you've said but she hadn't seen the way they treated you after your injury.

"I bet the girls wasn't happy"

"Not in the slightest. I had to keep it a secret until Panos announced her retirement. Svenja was the first one I told, then Poppi who isn't talking to me, not properly anyways"

After the quick catch up you watch the team train from the sidelines. You wasn't allowed to join in until you completed your medical. The team was worried about putting you to work so soon after the euros so they wanted to put you through some tests before they let you put on your gloves.

As a football fan it was amazing watching the Spanish champions train. The tika taka style is something you have always admired and to see it up close, well it filled you with excitement for the upcoming season. You see Mapi struggling to defend against Caro and you see an opportunity to gain some points with the defender.

"Mapi, come here" you call her over when they split for a drinks break. A few of the players watch as you whisper some tactics in her ear then show her the positioning your former team mate uses. When the scrimmage resumes you watch as Mapi follows your advice and stops Caro twice in a row.

When Mapi looks your way she points at you leading the Norwegian to realise what you must have told her.

"That's not fair" Caro complains.

"How did you know what she'd do?" Ana asks you.

"It's my job to know how attackers think so that I can stop them. Caro is a creature of habit and hasn't changed her style since she left Wolfsburg so it was easy" your football IQ had helped you become the player you are and it's the reason why teams did more research on you than any other goalkeeper.

"Clearly not if you couldn't stop her at Camp Nou" Pina's voice is laced with smugness.

Out the corner of your eye you can see a couple of players shaking their head, a few even burying their face in their hands.

"It's hard to do that when you’re watching from the stands Claudia" the young forward was clearly confused "I had only just been cleared by our doctor so I wasn't playing"

Pina went bright red when she realises the mistake she had made.

"Alexia's going to love playing with her. I wonder if she knew Y/N was signing with us" Marta whispers to Caro.

"I think she knew before us but not by much. Just wait until they can play together, the way their minds work will be make them dangerous. Speaking of, Y/N!" Caro shouts over to you "Have you met Alexia yet?"

"No, I heard she is coming in later for some physio so I will meet her after my physical"

The team share a look. Alexia sang your praises often and it was no secret that she admired you not only on the pitch. They wished they could be a fly on the wall for the first meeting between the two of you.

As expected you pass your medical with no issues. The cardio test is easy and even though you were fresh off a gruelling tournament you showed no signs of fatigue. The only thing they were a little cautious on was your shoulder, in the lead up the winning England goal you were taking out by a white shirt and during the ceremony you were seen holding your elbow to limit the pressure on the joint.

The physio asks if you want the TV on whilst she works. You connect your phone and play a reply of the Euros final. The doctor scoffs beside you but doesn't say anything. After the champions league they learnt the importance of understanding a loss.

You are laid on a treatment table as the physio tries her best to turn your shoulder inside out. The pain was there and it was more than you were willing to admit but you had a strict recovery routine and you didn't do it after the final so you were a little sore. The physio tells you to lay on your front so she can look at the muscle behind your shoulder. Your focus is 100% on your breathing and trying to relax, so much so that you don't hear the door open or the sound of crutches travel across the room. It is only when you hear her speaking to one of the other physios closest do you wave yours off so you can finally meet your new captain.

You wait for her to finish talking before introducing yourself, only Alexia beats you to it.

"I never thought we get the chance to play together. I'm Alexia" Alexia is quick to remove her arm from one of her crutches so that she is able to shake your hand.

“Y/N Y/L/N”

Even though it has been a month since her surgery you can tell she isn't used to her crutches so you pat the closest treatment table so she can sit down.

“Mucho gusto”

“Igualmente”

Alexia's eyes widen at your Spanish response, even more so that it sounds authentic even with your german accent.

"Surprised the German speaks Spanish” You laugh a little at her shocked response. Truth is as soon as a potential move to Barcelona got brought up you started studying the language straight away. You had welcomed many people to Wolfsburg and you told them the same thing 'learn the language and get to know to the culture'. You had been putting in the work on the first one but given this is your first day in Barcelona you hadn't had to chance to experience the second.

"Mm-hmm" she was impressed and you knew it.

“It would be ignorant of me to move to a different country and not make the effort to learn their language. I was just doing some extra physio work but i'll get out of your hair so you can start yours"

"No, no. I don't mind you been here" Alexia surprised herself by allowing you to be there when she does her rehab. Since the injury she has been keeping herself to herself but there was something about you that made her feel comfortable. Maybe it was the fact that you had been through something similar to her, you understand what it was like to be at your peak then have everything come crashing down.

Alexia gets changed into some training gear and when she re enters the room you are stood up as the doctor assesses the movement of your recently healed shoulder. Your upper body was covered in noting but a sports bra revealing your sculpted arms and toned abs.

Alexia admired the view in front of her, maybe for a little bit longer than she should have for when she meets your eyes she sees that you've caught her.

“I’m sorry, I...I" Alexia stumbles over her words and you find it adorable "I was —”

“Checking me out" you finish her sentence, smirking as you do so when you see her cheeks flush red "Don’t be embarrassed, own it. Do you want me to turn around so you can have a full look”

Alexia laughs as you walk back towards the bench as if there's a catwalk “enjoying the view from behind?” you almost shout back to her

“Yes” you turn hastily, shocked at the new confidence Alexia has "What? You said to own it"

"Touche Putellas, touche"

Alexia starts her rehab whilst you sit back on the bench wearing a compression sleeve which is hooked up to a machine to monitor the pressure. After twenty minutes she notices what is playing on the TV and he first instinct to to scold you for tourturing yourself but it would make her a hypocrite because she did the same thing after Turin.

It gets to the final ten minutes and you know what is about to come. You fists turn into balls as Chloe Kelly's shot hits the back of the net. Your eyes close for a brief moment and a single tear falls down your cheek as you do so.

"It was a handball" the soft voice brought you back to the present.

"Doesn't matter. I should have been better" you couldn't bring yourself to look at Alexia.

"It's not on you Y/N" Alexia tries to console you but she knew nothing would take away the sting of losing such an important game "I know it's easy to blame yourself when your team loses but a loss cannot be placed on one person's shoulders"

"Especially if that person isn't able to play" you knew that you might be pushing the boundaries of your friendship which was formed not even an hour ago but you knew she needed to hear it.

"It's that obvious" you send her a look that says yes "It's hard not to think what would've happened if I could have played but i'm coming to term with this" she point to her knee showing that she was starting to accept her injury.

"I don't know if this will help but I knew we would beat you before the Euros even started. After the Italy game I saw your team's weak spot. Your number 10 Hermoso"

You see Alexia wince at the mention of her former team mate and ex girlfriend.

"I take your face as confirmation that the rumours were true" Alexia nods her head "Ok well back to what I was saying. Hermoso played a bigger role than your team realised and you couldn't replace her, it was obvious you were still experimenting when the Euros started. So let's say you were healthy because I worked really hard to build what we called an APS, Alexia Putellas--

"Segura?"

"Close but the S stood for strategy, the Alexia Putellas Strategy. I worked with Lena Oberdorf for months perfecting it and I am confident when I say she would have made your job incredibly difficult when we played each other"

"I guess there's only one way to find out" Alexia says as she continues her rehab. The thought of playing against you and seeing this APS in person gave her a little bit of extra motivation.

It is almost an hour later when Alexia is done and although you finished over 45 minutes ago you didn't want to leave. You were enjoying getting to know your new team mate with it been just the two of you. The first few questions revolved around your career, after that you refused to talk shop, normal question only. You discussed everything from top 5 movies of all time to favourite Christmas memory. Without knowing it you had both put each other on pedestals and this time alone together made you both human.

Before going home you had to get your new training clothes from the locker room. When you leave the building you see Alexia sitting on a bench typing furiously on her phone.

"Is everything ok?" you ask the midfielder.

"My sister is suppose to be picking me up and now I can't get a hold of her"

You hear her leave a voicemail for who you can only guess is her sister. The way she furiously speaks leaves you no chance of understanding what she said.

"That wasn't Spanish"

"Catalonian"

"I'll add it to my list" you joke.

Alexia is clearly stressed out about the situation and it leaves you no choice but to be her knight is shinning armour.

"Calm down" you place you hand over her phone screen "If you want I can take you home"

"To my mum's"

"Ok, let's go" You take her bag before she can argue and lead her to where you've parked.

Once in the car you give Alexia your phone so she can pick the music. The drive to her mum's is done in comfortable silence, the only sound was Spanish music and Alexia's instructions. You pull up outside, get her crutches and bag from the boot before helping her of the car and following her to the front door. The path isn't exactly even so you are cautious of every step she takes. Her mum, having not recognised the car outside her house, meets you both at the door.

"Querida, I thought Alba was picking you up" She takes the bag from you.

"Me too but she never showed"

Alexia's mum stays in the door way with you and Alexia on the other side of the threshold. It's almost like Alexia doesn't want the day to end as much as you do.

"Are you going to introduce me to your new friend?"

"Mum, this is Y/N Y/L/N our new goalkeeper. She played for Germany and she used to play for Wolfsburg"

"I thought she looked familiar. She's the one you couldn't stop talking about the other night when we watched the final. Sorry about the result Carino"

You still didn't like the pity in people's eyes when the give you their condolences for the loss. It is something that Alexia is quick to pick up on.

"Y/N this is my mum Eli Putellas Segura"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Putellas or is it Segura" the panic in your tone is small but it's heard by the two Putellas women.

"You can call me Eli. Thank you for driving my daughter home. Would you like to come in for a drink?"

Truth is you would love to but you had already made plans.

"Maybe another time. Ingrid is letting me stay with her for the next fews day and in return I agreed to cook dinner"

"Did the club not help you find an apartment?" Alexia asks, her eyebrow slightly crooked as frustration grows within her.

"They did but for obvious reasons they didn't expect me to be in Barcelona so soon. Something about taking some time off" you joke.

"And you wanted to get back to work" Alexia understands you completely.

"See, you get it. If only everybody did instead of worrying about me" you laugh off your wish.

Eli watches the two of you go back and forth for a few more minutes. She couldn't believe you had only ever met on the pitch because the sight before her looks more like a reunion between old friends than a scene between two people who only got introduced today.

Both mother and daughter stand by the door as they watch you get back into your car.

"So what's going on between you two then?" Eli wasn't blind and the connection that was slowly forming between you and Alexia was clear to anyone with eyes.

"I don't know. She will be good for the team though"

"And for you. I haven't seen you smile like that since you came back from England"

"She understands what I'm going through" Alexia's reply was short and sweet.

Over the next few months you continued your rehab sessions even though you were fully cleared. You even coincided your sessions with Alexia's when possible so that you could spend as much time with her . You even took part in her workouts on top of your own. It was exhausting but totally worth it.

You suggested that the club invest in a reflex grid, it was made up of several shapes connect by ropes. Every time the ball hit a shape, it would send it in a different direction. Some nights you would stay behind with the goalkeeper coach to do some extra practices using your new toy. Alexia would watch from the window of the treatment room and even came outside to watch you train. The team saw the way you brought out the old side of Alexia, the one they feared went away when she had her surgery. They wanted to know if anything was going on but your former Wolfsburg team mates told them that you were a very private person and given that Alexia is in the middle of rehabbing her knee, you most likely wouldn't have made a move.

It was after one of those late night sessions that Alexia joined you on the pitch. She hadn’t done it much because she hated being on the grass and not being able to lace up her boots. You were tidying up when you saw her walking over.

“You looked like you were having fun?” Alexia helps you put the balls back in the bag. You can see her thinking about doing something with it but ultimately decides against it.

“Don’t be sad Alexia, you’ll be the one taking shots at me before you know it. As for me having fun I was. I saw you watching, did you enjoy the show?” You judged her slightly.

“I’m gay” she blurts out.

When you turn to face Alexia you see her stood a few meters behind you. Clearly she stopped walking and you didn’t realise.

“I’m honoured that your feel comfortable enough to share this information, I really am but you’ve got to know by now that I already knew this”

“Then why haven’t you made a move? We have been flirting for months, I spend more time with you than anyone else yet you haven’t asked me out. Why? Is it because I’m broken?” She points to her knee. Even now she was still coming to terms with her injury and it caused her confidence to take a huge hit.

You walk back to where she was standing. She has no idea how difficult it was for you to respect where she is in her life.

“Alexia” you take a hold of her hand “I like you more than I have anyone in a very long time. You’re beautiful, strong and when I was at my lowest you put me back together when you had your own issues to focus on. I would love nothing more than to take you out for dinner but right now you have to focus on your recovery. Trust me when I say I have plans for us once you're back on the pitch”

“You do?” Alexia asks in disbelief.

With a simple nod of your head a huge grin appears on her face.

“So right now I won't act on my feelings. Instead I will stay by your side and be there in whichever way possible"

"Vale" the way Alexia smiles and how it reaches her eyes gives you an incredible feeling. Then again everything she did had you feeling a certain type of way, you couldn't quite put a finger on what it was but in a time were things were new and uncertain she brought you peace.

It was the right thing to do yet you regretted your decision of not pursuing Alexia every time you were near her. Since the night you admitted your plans the energy between the two of you changed and when you were in a room together the tension was heavy and obvious to anyone who took a few seconds to watch you both.

It was during media day when the team really saw the connection between the two of you. The morning was spent doing interviews and the afternoon was spent taking photos for social media and the team website. The last set of photos to be taken was of the team wearing a new limited edition kit. At first everything was normal but when it came to Alexia's turn you could sense something was off. You knew she hated getting her photo taken especially when it was this staged but it was something deeper than that. You watched as she shakily tied her boots and re-adusted her socks for the umpteenth time. It is only when you see her staring at her knee do you understand what's going on.

"Give us the room" you tell the other players.

Many of them argue that they need to get changed too but quite frankly you don't care. Even when the women around you try to get your attention you don't take your eyes of Alexia whose own begin to well up ever so slightly as she gets more and more overwhelmed.

"Now!" you raise your voice this time and it doesn't come as a surprise when the team do as they're told.

As soon as they leave you close the door behind them and lock it. When you turn around you see Alexia's hands shaking as she once again adjusts her socks.

"Talk to me Ale"

You crouch down so that you can see her. Her hands tremble as you hold them tightly.

"My socks won't cover it"

Many people didn't understood the psychological affect scars had and the visible ones took a knock to your confidence that was difficult to overcome. You knew this feeling all two well but it's the first time you see Alexia struggling with the reminder of her surgery.

“Every scar tells a story. This one, if I remember correctly” you point the scar on her right index finger “tells me you're not as skilled in the kitchen as you are on the pitch” Alexia sniffled as a small chuckle escapes her mouth “and this one” you place your hand just above her knee not wanting to overstep her boundaries, she nods her head letting you know it’s ok for you to touch it.

Alexia's breath hitches slightly as you stroke over the reminder of her ACL surgery. The goosebumps that form on her legs let you know the affect your touch has on her but now isn't to time to tease.

“This one tells the story of a strong women who was given the option to give up but she chose to fight. It tells me that even when she wanted to give up she kept going. It shows bravery and resilience” despite a voice telling you not to, you place a gentle kiss on her knee.

"It reminds me that I'm broken" Alexia tries to swallow the ball of emotion that is rising the the surface.

This side of Alexia is one that you have gotten to known well over the past few months but it seems like this time the pain runs deeper than before. She had been cleared to train on the pitch starting next week but the scar on her knee is a constant reminder of how quickly things can change.

"You're not broken Alexia and you should wear that scar with pride"

"Like you do yours?" she is quick to respond and it's clear she is trying to pick a fight because it means you won't talk about her scar anymore.

You quickly take off your shirt and chuck it aside revealing three scars on your left shoulder. She trails her thumb along each scar in a similar motion to what you did only minutes ago.

"Happy?" you raise your eyebrows as you hope to have satisfied the woman in front of you.

"You hide your scars Y/N and you can't say you don't. You swapped shirts with Lola when we played Atleti but you waited until you were in the tunnel so that nobody saw you without a shirt on"

"Maybe I just didn't want you to be jealous when people start ogling my sculpted physique"

"Y/N I'm being serious. I've used you as inspiration for my recovery. You worked hard, got your spot back on the team and lead your to country to the Euros final"

You groan slightly as she mentions the final. It was still a sore subject and she knew it.

"I know you don't like talking about it but you should. You worked your way back to a major tournament, it's something I hope to do as well. Don't you see that you are telling me not to be ashamed of my scar when you are of yours"

Alexia was right, she knew it and you did too. Your team mates, past and present, would consider you a great leader and the reason for that is because you would never ask them to do something you wouldn't do yet this exactly what you are asking of Alexia.

An idea comes to mind. You may not be the captain of this team but you still have to lead by example and that it exactly what you planned on doing.

"Come with me" you hold you hand out and Alexia takes it happily.

Your entrance to the other room gains the attention of the rest of the team. You aren't wearing a shirt and Alexia is holding your hand.

"I'll show them mine if you show them yours, ok?" you ask Alexia who hesitantly nods her head.

You ask a member of the staff for a pair of scissors and ignore the questions coming from your team mates and the co-ordinator of the photoshoot who is reminding you that there is only one goalkeeper shirt. A few gasps can be heard when you cut the sleeves off your shirt.

"Y/N! What are you doing?" someone tries to stop you but they are too late.

"Time to show the world that injuries do not define you and your scars are not something you have to hide"

You see Alexia smiling ear to ear when she realises what you are doing. After putting on your goalkeeper gloves, you grab and ball, hold it forward and turn slightly so that you scars are fully exposed. The photographer begins taking photos immediately and is loving your new found confidence.

"I want to do it too" Mapi shouts before taking her shirt off and cutting the sleeves.

You can see a staff member glaring at you but you can only mouth an apology. You ruining the kit was one thing but now there were two shirts which were now made of less material than the others.

Alexia watches you mess around with Mapi. She knows that you have done this for her but she still isn't sure. A couple of the other players join you in taking less than professional photos but it sums up the team perfectly; a group of a people who mess around together and enjoy each others company.

"Alexia" you sing and she saunters over to you.

Doubt still lingers in her eye but you reassure her that it will be ok and she believes you. She pulls her sock down revealing the full length of her scar.

"Beautiful" you lower your tone so that only she can hear you.

Upon request, you and Alexia pose for a few photos together. You're favourite is the one where you are down on one knee pretending to shine Alexia's boot. It was the perfect shot as it showed both her scar and yours.

She cannot be sure if its the vulnerability she is feeling or the fact that you have once again gone out of your way to make her feel better that causes her to do what she does next. She wraps her arms around your neck and pulls you close. The proximity in which you faces are is the biggest challenge you've faced yet. Every part of you is yearning to feel her lips on yours but you somehow show restraint. Alexia on the other hand doesn't care for such thing.

You could hear a pin drop when she leans in to kiss you just on the corner of your mouth. It is the quickest kiss you have ever experienced and leaves you frozen in place. Did she really just do that in front of the team?

"Thank you Y/N"

She walks away without saying another word. If she were to turn around you would the smugness of her face. After finding out you wanted to pursue something more with her, Alexia bided her time, waiting to strike. Her injury made her feel helpless but she needed to she you just how daring she can be.

"Scheiße" you run your fingers through your hair as you try to bury the desire to go after the Catalonian and finish what she started.

"How's that will power now?" Caro teased you.

In that moment you regretted confiding in the Norwegian about your feelings for the captain.

"On the verge of being non existent"

"Can we get some cold water for the keeper please" Mapi jokes.

Since that day Alexia wasted no opportunity she had to tease and rile you up. It's as if coming to terms with her scar was the last thing on her list, other than her first game but that was coming soon. She had been given the clear the start training with the ball and when it came to set pieces and ball in motion training she requested that you be in goal because she knew you wouldn't takei it easy on her and that she would have to earn a goal with you in between the sticks.

Weeks pass and soon enough it is Alexia's first game back. The way the crowd erupts as she enters the pitch at the 67th minute is enough to make goosebumps rise to the surface of your skin. It showed just how much this club loves her and seeing a stray tear fall down her cheek shows you what the club means to her.

When the final whistle is blown the team waste no time in celebrating the return of their captain but you choose to observe from a distance. You were still new to the team and you didn't want to intrude on a moment between family because that's what this team was.

As Alexia walks towards you she has a huge smile on her face and you know exactly what she is feeling. Even the way she walked was different, it's almost as if she was lighter.

You open your arms out expecting a short hug but Alexia's arms tighten around you and you feel her tears fall down your neck.

"It's ok, let it out"

She takes a few moment to gather her emotions and with a deep breathe she pulls away to face you.

"I'm back on the pitch. You know what this means"

Of course you did. you haven't been able to think about anything else since the team got told about Alexia's return game.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at 6"

"That's it?" you knew alexia had a need for control and her knowing only when you'll pick her up sent her inner control freak into panic.

"That's all you need to know for now"

The two of you do a lap around El Johan as you take up the atmosphere. It truly was like nothing else you've experienced before, the support of the fans was unmatched. In the past few months you surprised yourself at the amount of restraint you showed Alexia but in this moment it was worth it. She was fit, healthy and back doing the thing she loved.

#alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas imagine #alexia putellas one shot #woso x reader #woso imagine #woso one shot #barcelona femeni x reader #barcelona femeni imagine #barcelona femeni one shot #espwnt x reader #espwnt imagine #espwnt one shot

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partiallypearl · 2 months

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*at gun point* What are some of your jeyna hcs

i have too fucking many but aight let’s go

they first met on one of jason’s quests. hylla and reyna had just escaped from circe’s and the pirates, jason was just abt to fight the sea monster. they both help each other out and become tentative friends

reyna does not trust him as far as she can throw him for a while. it takes jason a long time to prove himself to her

when they get back to cj, first cohort almost immediately tries to get reyna to join them, but the idea of not being able to be friends with jason is what holds her back

the jellybean thing becomes a joke after a quest goes wrong in seattle circa ttc. turns out harpies love jellybeans and they will leave you alone if you sacrifice them

jason learned how to braid hair as a little kid (fully stealing this hc from one of @hecatea’s old fics) and he was in charge of reyna’s hair once it started growing back out

speaking of reyna’s hair, it was cut into a fairly short bob when he first met her, so the first time he sees it down and almost rib length, he does a spit take

jason has several lichtenberg scars on his back and shoulders and reyna has fallen asleep tracing them quite often

their first kiss was during their third quest together circa botl. reyna thought jason was going to die and grabbed him and kissed him before watching him walk into what they both thought would be a trap. he survived (obvi) and they didn’t speak about the kiss until his birthday nearly a month later

they never outright admitted their feelings for each other but it was one of those things everyone knows about

during the battle of mount othrys, reyna takes a knife to the stomach for jason, and he goes ballistic afterwards. the sudden surge of anger and devotion is how he got officially recognized as juno’s champion

he makes her promise that she won’t die on him. she’s too scared to make him promise the same to her

they start planning their trip to dalmatia as a joke during one of their smaller quests, but eventually they both become genuinely interested in doing it

reyna has/had an old polaroid camera that she used to take photos of anything and everything. her collection of photos of jason is the biggest

her favourite photo of jason is him staring out at the pacific ocean with a blue superman hat on and this pensive look on his face. it would have done numbers on tumblr

jason kept/keeps every single sticky note reyna has ever written for him. he likes to look at her writing when he isn’t feeling well

they both get elected to praetorship shortly after the battle of mount othrys. reyna’s incredibly happy about it. jason is not.

the night jason goes missing, him and reyna had just had a massive argument about his hatred of being praetor

reyna refuses to burn jason’s burial shroud for months until shortly before percy arrives at cj. it would mean admitting defeat and she won’t do that

she never tells jason what venus told her at charleston. even if/when they get together, she never tells him

now this is fully hc, but i like to think that instead of jason dying, he just fully detaches himself from the demigod world and after a few years, him and reyna meet again at a coffee shop or something in san francisco and they slowly repair their broken friendship

#pjo #heroes of olympus #jeyna #jason grace #reyna avila ramirez arellano #reyna ramirez arellano #jeyna hcs #*mine #what is this? fucking 2013 #can’t believe i’m making jeyna content #i hope u like this!#this is mostly roman prequels hcs ngl #bc i’ve thought the most about that era

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midnightanxietytm · 4 months

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Kitana muses about her creator

A/N: I'm back lovelies, and this time with a Mortal Kombat snippet. I had this one laying on my docs since like a month after release so enjoy! Requests are open btw

Summary:

"The man tilted his head at her with a smile, standing beside her on the balcony. She turned back at the horizon, resting her arms on the railing and pulling one of her fans, absentmindedly spinning the blades. “Why did you make us?” She asked, finally.

Liu Kang looked at her, puzzled."

Kitana doesn't really know how to feel about the alternative versions of herself and Liu Kang.

Contents: Liutana mentions, MK1!Kitana thinking about Titan!Kitana, character study, introspection, Kitana pov. Listen she's been my main since forever im lowkey obsessed with her.

Word count: 699

For as long as she could remember, Liu Kang has been there.

Officially, she was very young when she first met him, just old enough to start mingling in court business, what earth realm would define as a teenager.

She remembers he was polite, that he had intense eyes and that he never looked down on her, not that anyone ever dared to, but Liu Kang had something in his eyes that resembled a mixture of pride and pain, as if he was mourning what she could become. He had told her things about earthrealm then, about its champions, its people, then about the outworld, the places she didn’t really step into as a princess. He always had a lot to say. Now she knows why.

"You and my Titan version seem awfully close!" She had mentioned it once, and he refused to elaborate.

Not that he needed to, Kitana had eyes.

The definite confirmation came in training with an alternative version of herself; an idea given by Liu Kang himself.

"A god?! He's my consort!" She heard her own words with muted shock, but it made perfect sense now.

It was weird to think about; the fact that in multiple timelines, her and Liu Kang were… together. And it explained the weird glint in his eyes every time he looked at her. The protector of earthrealm had been mourning the lover he thought he lost, while staring at a perfect copy of her. How painful it must have been, she thought as she stared at the sunset.

“Ah, good evening, princess.” Said the subject of her musings, in his usual polite tone. “Am I disturbing you?”

She turned to face him, the remaining sunlight casting shadows on her face. Liu Kang was a handsome man, and he had always been polite and kind… “Not at all, In fact, I was thinking about you.”

The man tilted his head at her with a smile, standing beside her on the balcony. She turned back at the horizon, resting her arms on the railing and pulling one of her fans, absentmindedly spinning the blades. “Why did you make us?” She asked, finally.

Liu Kang looked at her, puzzled, so she continued; “It brings you pain, I can see it. You look at us and you see eons of history, yet you know it wasn’t really us there, at least not the ones you knew, we are constant reminders of everything you lost, or worse, everything you could have had.”

The god turns away from her, once again silent. He wasn’t angered by her question, that Kitana knew. The silence drags, the sun is almost gone.

“It pains me, yes.” He said, finally. “But it brought me a certain peace, knowing that I could give those I loved a better, more peaceful life. Even if it was in a completely different reality.” Liu Kang looks down at his own hands, Kitana does too. Those hands had created the universe, the realms, created her. “I won’t exactly tell you what happened in the previous timelines, but trust me, it was nothing but pain for all of those I loved, every ounce of happiness we achieved was snatched from us…”

The princess touched the tips of her fan blades. “From us…” she quotes him in a whisper, and again the silence engulfs them for a heavy moment. “I know about you and… the titan me.”

Her creator only let out a soft laugh, almost tender. “Every version of you is too smart for their own good.”

“You are the one who could have made me less smart.” She laughed too, and they turned back to face the last rays of sunshine disappear. “Can you at least be with… the one you love?” Be with me, or titan me, a version of me, was what she taught at first, but it felt too intimate to say, too confusing, she wasn’t his Kitana, and he wasn't the one for her either, not in this reality.

“Not all the time, as I would wish, but it’s already better than nothing.”

And that’s comfort enough, she thinks, for all of them.

Thanks for reading! My request are open and i added some fandoms including MK, the lists and rules are pinned.

#mk1 2023 #mortal kombat #liu kang #kitana #liutana #titan liu kang #time god liu kang #titan kitana #i am obsessed with her #mk1 fanfic #mk1 fluff #mk1 character study #Midnight anxiety posts

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aufi-creative-mind · 10 months

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Slightly eldritch Link and Zelda post-totk? Like what effects does draconification have on Zelda when she returns and what effects does link have from the zonai arm?

Could be physical, could be mental, maybe both?

And if you are into linked universe, what does the chain think of this?

..... C:<

Slightly eldritch, you say? WELL...

I don't have a lot for a Post-TotK Zelda... Maybe some leftover scales on parts of her body but that's as far as I can think of.

But for Link, I have PLENTY.

Especially for a Post-TotK LU Wild.

This is gonna be a very long post so please bear with me on this one.

Many of the Post-TotK Wild headcanons I had were made from 2019 onwards, after the BotW2 announcement trailer. And then started to evolve and become more eldritch during the 4 year long waiting and from the breadcrumbs of info the Zelda dev team dropped prior to 2023 release.

(Most of these Post-TotK Wild headcanon have now since been debunked with the official TotK game lore. But I like to come back to them and they are being repurposed in some way with the new official TotK context).

Many of these headcanons were about Wild's creepy glowing green hand. Especially as prior to the game's release, it was never revealed who was the hand's original owner. So I had a dark theory that the Glowing Green Hand was originally the Ancient Hero's and their Hero's Spirit was used as the "Seal" on Ganondorf's corpse. Thus halting the Reincarnation Cycle and why there's a massive 10K year gap between the Ancient Hero of 10K and the Hero of the Wild's incarnations. (This is no longer the case, of course but I sometimes think about it).

So anyway, as for what effects the Zonai Arm may had left behind on Link.

Officially, I had an idea that the Recall ability had enhanced Link's Flurry Rush ability. Particularly the "freeze" game mechanic when Recall is activated, which allowed Link to quickly observe what's in front of him in a split second in real time. And also makes it easier for him to trigger his Flurry Rush when on the ground.

So...basically his time perspective and trigger instincts for his Flurry Rush ability have improved. Especially as I have a headcanon that Link's Flurry Rush is his Champion Ability in BotW.

As for Pre-Totk release / "if Link kept the Zonai Arm abilities" headcanons, I have a couple of ideas that I did experimented with. Especially with the LU Boys.

At the time, I had Post-TotK Wild to not only being older but is also rather cryptic about his TotK adventure with the reasoning that its still too raw for him to tell the rest about what happened (Especially as there was so little info about what happened at the time, other than "a sequel is in development" and "Link gets a glowing arm").

Of course, this has now changed and I am still thinking about what new experiences and abilities from TotK would Wild bring to the LU Family. Though the one definite change from the original Post-TotK headcanon is that... Wild is now 7 years older than he was in BotW. So he's now 125 years old.

Before the Zonai Arm's Abilities were revealed, I had an idea that the Glowing Arm had three abilities - dubbed "Farore's Blessings" - Wrath (rage/survival power up), Breath (ability to see spirits/soul leaking) and Spirits (animal spirits and where the Farore's Spirits originated from).

Some of these ideas may be repurposed with the official TotK ideas.

I have also done a handful of stories that explores the Farore's Blessing abilities with the LU family in the past. Including Puppet Twilight AND Fierce Deity. Especially the Fierce Deity one which was originally an early live writing story that I spotenously created in the LU main server back in 2019.

Here's the sketches I made based on that.

(Original posts: Original 2019 sketch [left], 2020 Redrawing [right])

(Original post: Dialogue Exchange comic)

I have plenty more in store! Many old Pre-TotK-release headcanons and new TotK ones that are slowly brewing in the back of my mind. But this is how much I can post for now.

Enjoy! :D

#answered #but like seriously though i had to edit this one post 5 times because it kept deleting all of the pics i wanted to attached...#linkeduniverse #linked universe #tears of the kingdom #totk #botw2 #breath of the wild 2 #lu wild #lu time #totk spoilers #tears of the kingdom spoilers

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zucchinisblog · 5 months

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Okay - because I’m in a rage of not finding fics I’m going to throw this idea out there for everyone to see (maybe they’ll make it and can tag me)

So obviously a Ryan x Reader because that’s what I’m wanting to see

So at first reader pulls into the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch looking for work and pulls out this stunning Bay Quarter Horse and every single one of the ranch hands think she’s going to be this snobby, rude, entitled Barrel Racer. BUT the thing is she’s not. She’s a breakaway roper champion (also inspired since the NFR is happening right now) she’s pretty close to those top standing.

The reason why she’s being thought of as a barrel racer is because she’s using a nickname. Ryan would be the one kind of onto her but is also conflicted because of her actions. Then - she leaves the ranch because she felt like the longer she would be there the more conflicted she would be to keep rodeoing. Though since later Jimmy starts doing broncs and rodeo events the Yellowstone goes out to watch and before he breaks his neck breakaway was announced. When she walks into the box none of the wranglers could believe it because it was her and her stunning bay, although the shock Ryan always knew it.

After the rodeo ends she’s getting ready to leave, horse loaded, running lights and truck on. Ryan stayed back for a bit wanting to find out the reason she left the ranch. (it could honestly go whatever way the writer wants angst or a happy ending) After a month or so of trying to get her back to the ranch, she finally does what her hearts been telling her to do. She joins in the Reining competitions with everyone, she supervises the chaos, and most importantly she doesn’t have the suspicion of being a barrel racer.

Because of Ryan she still goes to rodeos and still does her absolute best and after the finals show they’re getting her horse settled in. pampered and all that jazz. While their doing that Ryan asks her for a official date and since they’ve been friends for going on 3 years they become official.

Honesty all that came from me just rambling so change how you want to, maybe make it a OC, have your own name for the horse I was thinking Whiskey, Gambler, Poker, or Diva. (Mare or Gelding) Maybe a series is best for this since a relationship can’t spark in a day but…

#yellowstone #ryan yellowstone x reader #yellowstone x reader

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sanfangirl-cynicalromantic · 3 months

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All's Fair In Love And Dragon Racing

Happy @httydhiccstridweek everyone! When I saw the alternate prompt 'dragon racing' I just had to do something with it.

Summary:

The Archipelago hosted a prestigious Dragon Race every year. Astrid Hofferson, beloved celebrity and champion of the game, is determined to secure her position this year as the best, and nothing - not underhand tricks, bribery, or irritating rivals - will stop her.

This year was Berk’s turn to host the games. The spectacle of Astrid Hofferson and Hiccup Haddock going at each other in the last dragon race had become the most famous part of the dragon races, much to Astrid’s chagrin.

She was the goddamned champion of the game, one of the best. But of course Hiccup Haddock had to be the other best.

She supposed she hated him so much because she had worked so hard to be the best, but then the stupid heir could just waltz in late on his stupid Night Fury and win the game effortlessly because, yay, an extremely rare dragon had chosen to bond with him and that made him better than anyone else.

This year, though, this year, for sure. She was going to stand on that podium with Stormfly and smirk at the chief as he handed her the prize instead of his son. He could croon all he liked now, but he’d be singing a very different tune soon.

Hiccup Haddock didn't know what was coming for him.

Hiccup and Astrid are The Hidden World age, so 21.

Read on AO3

Dragon racing had become unprecedentedly popular in the few short years it had become an official sport.

They had been mostly at peace with dragons for years. A wild dragon was treated like a wild boar or bear, just a little more dangerous, but plenty of dragons had also sought out Vikings to bond with. They only chose the most worthy, so being bonded was a great honor, and of course, the stronger the dragon, the more glory to the one who was worthy of their bond. Bonded dragons were basically dragons that could be tamed once they had chosen their person. Of course, it was up to the bonded human to train their dragon and adhere to the laws, but the Vikings of the Archipelago and Beyond had found many ways to incorporate dragons in their day to day tasks.

But dragons were not meant to work without play, and after a few disastrous attempts at hosting a Regatta with dragons (those with sea dragons were banned due to cheating and apparently most dragons got seasick), a new game had sprung.

It had started as a small competition when rounding up the sheep, but then the chief’s family had taken the idea, added a few rules and bonuses, and all of a sudden Dragon Racing had become the Archipelago and Beyond’s favorite pastime.

Now, every year a tribe hosted the games, providing various prizes for the competition, a racetrack (the more difficult and flamboyant the better), and used the event to show off their own prosperity and boost their own economy, because it had truly become a business. Merchants flocked to the host’s island and eagerly paid fees to gain access to customers in a spending, indulgent mood. All the attendees paid for boarding, docking for their ships and or dragons, and seats for the dragon races. Bets, of course, were placed on how many points certain riders would score, and who the winner would be. Mead was distributed liberally, and fans would spend a ridiculous amount of coin on various costumes, face paint, or even woven banners to display their support to their favorite rider.

Aside from the economic benefits, it also served as a lighthearted precursor to the Thing later that year, as different tribes approached each other with various treaties, alliances, and overall ass-kissing while they bonded over the mead and games. Her father hadn’t been present for an entire game for three years, as he handled the bargaining on behalf of her clan, and the best contracts were those signed during the games.

Astrid had become a bit of a celebrity in the game, and while she cared little about the fuss of performing or speaking to admirers and more for the thrill of the game, she had to admit that it was the merchandise sales and not the prize money that allowed her family to live as comfortably as they did. So she saved her stories to tell Father at the end of the day, and wore what Mother told her to and smiled when she was exhausted after the games but was still in public. As someone so well known for her performance, the pressure to win was always exceptionally high.

This year was Berk’s turn to host the games, and the chief could proudly show off the project Gobber the blacksmith had been working on for the past few years. Berk was a big island, but with the steady increase in population and dragon bonds, it would have been far too crowded to host multiple other tribes. Plus, there was always the issue when someone’s fields or house that was part of the racetrack got damaged and they demanded extravagant compensation, so Gobber had come up with the brilliant idea to dedicate an entire smallish island to the task. Chief Stoick had readily approved, and now the island was ready. She had never been to that specific island herself, but judging by her chief’s practically giddy manner, she bet it was spectacular.

She climbed the deck and found her way to the mast, trying to see the island as they came closer. Stormfly, her beloved dragon, was still on Berk, and an attendant would fly her over to the new island that night, as her girl got restless if she was forced to stand in a stall for too long. Sadly, Astrid had been forced to come along without her, as her mother had deemed her presence important the first day of the games even if she did not officially participate or even attend. Colorful painted wooden roosts rose proudly from the island. Flocks of dragons were already circling, looking for a place to land. She looked keenly past the dragon stables and tried to guess what the racetrack looked like. There were still trees covering the island, would there be a section where they had to fly around trees? Stormfly and her had been practicing such maneuvers all year.

The stands, she noted, reached all around the island, were built not on the land itself, but extensions over the ocean, and reached around the entire island except for the large stretch of land dedicated to the boats. The island wasn’t big enough to inhabit and live in the same way Berk was, but it was sizable enough that there was enough lodging, meals, and seats for at least ten tribes across and even outside the Archipelago. A good deal of the island’s lumber had been lost, although there was still a forest pathway, Astrid had overheard. The seats were situated over the water in hopes of dousing any wayward fire that might ever hit the wood. Plus, it made that insignificant trash the audience inevitably dropped simply be swept away and save them the hassle of cleaning up as much. The wooden pillars were multicolored with various banners and crests hanging from them, connected to large decks or bridges that the traders walked along, calling out their wares and performing various tricks to catch the eye of a bored spectator.

The docks were already teaming with Vikings bargaining and haggling and the poor council members walking around with their clipboards yelling at the top of their lungs. Fishlegs Ingerman, a young man around her age, was an apprentice who had quickly risen up in the council’s ranks. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement and checked something on his clipboard.

“Ah, Mrs. Hofferson. Astrid,” he greeted them. “It says here you’ve booked lodging on the south side of the island, a luxury stall in the stables, and a docking spot for two boats?” He looked at their one boat and absence of a certain Deadly Nadder with a raised eyebrow.

“My husband and our dragon will be arriving tomorrow or maybe even later tonight,” Astrid’s mother clarified.

“I see,” Fishlegs smiled. I’ll tell the next shift to keep an eye out for him.” Her mother thanked him and handed him a large pouch of coins. He peered into it and nodded after a moment.

“Here is your key,” he handed Astrid’s mother said key. “And here are the documents for your stable and boat reservations. Let me just sign them -” he reached into the pouch belted across his middle for a quill. “And there!” he finished, signing the documents with a flourish. “The lodges are down that way,” he pointed. “And should you appreciate a map, Hoark is at the Hall handing them out.

“Thank you,” Astrid’s mother said gratefully. Astrid smiled as thanks as well and patted Meatlug, Fishlegs’ loyal Gronckle affectionately. His face lit up at the acknowledgement of his dragon.

“Good luck in the Dragon Games, Astrid,” he wished her.

“Thanks,” Astrid replied.

When the Grimborn tribe hosted the Dragon Races four years ago, it had been hailed the most successful race, in terms of profit, aesthetic, and entertainment. That had been the year Astrid had irrevocably gone head to head with a certain heir to her tribe, and their rivalry had gone down in history. Astrid and Haddock had always stood out as some of the best dragon riders, but in their earlier years they had just been considered talented, not prodigies. They also commonly raced in different sections, as Astrid preferred the early morning races and Haddock was always tardy, so he participated in the afternoon set. Until Viggo Grimborn had suggested top flyers of the sections compete against each other in one final, dramatic race. Haddock, who had won the races easily without any true competition, had suddenly been given a run for his money, and Astrid, who was determined to win as easily as she had all the other games with her superior flying, was outraged to find someone who could best her so infuriatingly easily. She and Stormfly worked completely in sync but Haddock and his dragon - they were like extensions of each other with no care of where one ended and the other began. He could just swoop in and steal her target and she wouldn’t have even seen him creeping up on her! She had quickly lost her temper and their trash talking had become as entertaining as the actual flying stunts themselves. The other players had quickly realized they had no chance of winning against the two so they had settled for egging the bickering on.

That had also been the year that brought about the vulgarity restrictions.

Viggo Grimborn had been hailed a genius, and the spectacle of Astrid Hofferson and Hiccup Haddock going at each other in the last dragon race of the event had become the most famous part of the dragon races, much to Astrid’s chagrin.

As she looked around at her surroundings, Astrid had a feeling that this year, Chief Stoick might have outdone Chief Grimborn. She wondered idly how furious the latter would be. No one had ever dedicated an entire island to the Dragon Races. Maybe even next year Berk’s Thawfest would be held here as well, and the island would become an event destination.

The first day was the beginner racers. One could start participating officially in the races when one turned fifteen, but of course the little teenagers had no hope of comparing to the likes of Astrid. There were a lot of young new dragon racers this year. Perhaps she should suggest the idea of a junior league to Gobber or the Chief. Mothers were encouraging their children and Astrid watched carefully for any sign of some exceptional talent. She had started out like this, and she wouldn’t make the mistake some of her opponents had made in her earlier years by underestimating someone due to their age.

There wasn’t much to see. Gustav Larson, who had idolized and hit on her ever since puberty, was sixteen and had finally been allowed to be in the race (he had been suspended last year due to unsavory behavior). He had finally gained some maturity and his bond with his dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare, was stronger. They cooperated better on the turns and he even managed to score a few points. Astrid nodded in satisfaction. He would never make it to the last race and compete with her, but there was hope for him down the line. Probably.

She watched the competition and chose her favorites while her father bargained with various traders for cuts in the profits of distributing her merchandise.

“Astrid! Astrid!” cried a few children, not much older than eleven. She turned and talked with her fans, handing out some dragon advice and handing one shy girl a seal with Astrid Hofferson’s Nadder, Stormfly, carved on it.

She heard nothing about the Heir of Berk’s whereabouts that day, but could have been due to him helping his father set up, negotiate treaties, or simply be too lazy to make it to the first day of the games.

The next day she woke up at dawn and visited the stables. Stormfly greeted her cheerily, and Astrid brought out a leg of chicken she had brought as a treat. She had discovered Stormfly’s speed flourished under her consumption of chicken, and it happened to be her favorite treat, so Astrid frequently indulged her.

They weren’t allowed to ride on the tracks before they were ready, so Stormfly was sadly stuck in her stall. Astrid had insisted on the best, of course, so the stall was roomy and colorfully painted, for Nadder’s liked pretty things.

“I’ll be back, girl, I promise,” Astrid told her when it was time to grab breakfast at the Hall. I’ll see if I can get you out as soon as possible so you can stretch your wings.” Stormfly crooned mournfully but nudged her toward the door. She patted her girl one more time before she slipped out of the stables.

The morning was spent dealing with business, so Astrid snagged an attendant and told them to let Stormfly out to stretch her wings before they prepared her for the race. Then, after lunch, her mother dragged her to get ready for the race. Just because she was a warrior didn't mean she couldn’t look her best in front of everybody. Her hair was undone, brushed, and then rebraided, a few red and blue beads added to the small braids by her temple that merged with the main braid. She had taken a bath the day before, which was the only reason they didn’t chuck in the tub anew, and brought out her riding outfit reverently. They weren’t overly fancy clothes, as dragon racing was a rough sport, so her leggings were thicker than they normally were and a dark navy blue. Her skirt’s spikes were dulled and shorter so it was uncomfortable to sit in her saddle. Her shirt was red then she shrugged on the turquoise vest with tassels on the shoulders because it was the safest place to put them without potentially hindering Astrid’s movement. Her arm bracers were also embellished with iron cuffs and lined with newer fur, and she added her hood from last year because she liked the familiar weight at her back. Her shoulder pads were carved Gronckle iron and lined with the softest layer of fleece. Every year her riding outfit was more and more costly, but Astrid liked looking pretty and the fleece or fur linings were a nice contrast to the hard metal that used to scrape her collarbone and shoulders a few years ago. Then, mother brought out the face paint, and Astrid sat perfectly still as her mother dipped a brush in the paint and began. The cyan over and around the eyes, then a stroke from the brow down the bridge of her nose to rest along her cheekbones, the shape reminiscent of the wings of a butterfly. Her chin was marked with the turquoise and orange was added as another V atop her brow, and then highlighted her eyebrows to curve down and rest on top of her cheekbones on either side of her face. Astrid sucked on her lips as they added a dab atop her chin and then it was time to meet Stormfly.

She walked in the middle of the group so they could ward off well wishes shouting encouragement or, for some supporters of Haddocks, abuse. Father had sold some of their merchandise to merchants, and she saw a few of them peddling flags in her colors and gesturing toward the children.

Stormfly was practically itching with excitement when she reached the stall. She pulled herself up into the saddle and paused to let the attendants hold torches close to Stormfly’s legs to dry the remainder of the wet paint. Then her mother nodded at her and everyone stepped back as Stormfly took off into the stadium.

A cacophony of shouting and bright colors under the harsh sunlight greeted her as they made a lap around the stadium, waving and laughing as they screamed her name and stomped their feet as she pumped her fist in the air. Stormfly shot eight spines in the air, forming a perfect circle and then showered them with blinding white sparks. The crowd applauded raucously. Astrid waved her arms slowly, quieting the roar into a dull murmur until she held everyone’s attention before she performed a backflip on Stormfly and the crowd went wild again.

She flew a quick lap around the stadium, hanging easily off her saddle and reaching her hand out as the stands fought to touch it.

Before their applause had even fully died down the stands registered a high pitched whistle. “A Night Fury,” they whispered in awe and Astrid scowled as she patted her girl’s head and they retreated to their place. The sound grew louder and louder as people began to chant excitedly. A dark figure could be seen in the sky as it hurtled toward them. The children pointed excitedly and some of the newcomer’s eyes widened. Closer and closer they came until they could see the blast building in the dragon’s mouth.

“Get down!” someone cried and it echoed across the stadium, but not in true fear. The black dragon released the shot and it exploded just above everyone’s heads. The sparks winked out harmlessly between outstretched fingertips as some of the young spectators screamed in excitement.

The young man and his dragon landed heavily on the ground right in front of the decks that led to the stands. Some of the traders in the near vicinity jumped in frightened surprise. The sound reverberated across the stands before the Vikings broke into loud cheers.

“The Champions of Berk!” the announcer called.

Astrid made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat, too quiet for anyone but Stormfly to pick up on. She was the goddamned champion of the game, one of the best. But of course Hiccup Haddock had to be the other best. He couldn’t have been from another island and let her enjoy her victories in peace, no. He just had to be constantly there, gloating over his wins when he beat her and sulking when she had won that year.

She landed on a thick perch behind the baskets used for scoring. The perch reached from the stands to the docks on land - it was essentially a beam that had never had a bridge built upon it. It was supported by multicolored wooden pillars with various banners and crests hanging from them, connected to the large decks or bridges that led from the land or the docks to the seats around the dragon racing track. She spied multiple banners bearing the Hofferson insignia and Stormfly captured in her majestic flight around the stadium, signifying support for her. A few Vikings had painted their faces or arms turquoise and orange, too. But as many colors she saw for herself, she saw an equal amount of drastic black masks in support of Haddock.

Her eyes drifted to the main dias where the chief sat. As the sponsor of this year’s games, he wore nothing to indicate his preference for any rider, but as Haddock’s father, she can’t help but begrudge him, even though she knows his interference in the game if it is needed will be nothing but fair.

There were five players in the final race. Astrid and Haddock, of course, as the undisputed champions. The announcer read off the names of the three players admitted in the final game, which was considered the greatest honor they could achieve, as no one stood a chance in the wake of Astrid and Haddock’s competitiveness.

“Heather the Unhinged!” the announcer cried and the Berserker tribe jumped up with howls of delight. Astrid allowed a smile to break out over her face. She liked Heather, who had competed in the final round last year as well. At this rate, she was well on her way to becoming a champion as well. The dark haired Berserker waved from atop her Razorwhip and the Berserker chief (Heather’s brother) jumped up and let out a bloodcurdling whoop. She flew to roost on the perch next to Astrid’s.

“Congratulations,” the female champion greeted her warmly. “Nice to see you back again.”

“It’s good to be back,” Heather returned. “Good luck this year.”

“Oh, I’ll get the black sheep this time.” Astrid’s face darkened. Last year she had claimed all of the sheep in her basket save for one. Haddock hadn’t stood a chance for most of the game until he had swooped in and stole the black sheep right out from under Stormfly’s claws. The black sheep was worth ten points, so all her hard work was rendered invalid when the scoring system declared his one sheep worth double the five of hers.

She was still salty about that. And the other time he had beat her a few years back. It just wasn’t fair he could just get as good as he did, but, well, life wasn’t fair.

Heather chuckled as she followed Astrid’s line of thought across her face.

“Lars Grimborn the second!” was the next name called. Lars was a cousin of Chief Grimborn, and was bonded with an enviable Skrill. The only dragon more powerful than the skrill known to bond with a Viking was the one and only Night Fury in their midst. Of course, a powerful dragon was only an advantage to a certain point. Lars was heavyset and his dragon was large, but his weight would be a disadvantage against his opponents whose main strengths were their speed and his dragon’s size would only make it more open for attack. His triumphant expression looked more like a leer underneath his trimmed mustache that was the Grimborn family style (it was an ugly look). He took his place next to Heather, leaving the spot between him and Haddock empty.

“Earmug Micketson, of the Outcasts!” declared the announcer, gaining Astrid’s attention. The Outcast, an average built man in his late twenties pumped his fist and yelled, “Yeah!” so loudly he could be heard over the applauding crowd. Astrid remembered him. His strengths were stamina, as his Gronckle was a slow dragon, but it also was a smaller dragon, and he excelled at attacking his opponents from beneath. He usually waited for someone else to catch the sheep before then fighting them and claiming the sheep as his own. Well, if Earmug thought he could overpower Astrid he had another thing coming.

She chanced a glance at the figure furthest from her. He was patting his dragon’s head and speaking to him. He must have sensed her eyes on him and turned to meet her gaze. A cheeky smirk spread across his face, messing up the red lines painted across his cheekbones just slightly. She scowled at him and faced forward again, fighting the urge to scratch her own painted face in the heat. Mother would kill her if the orange and turquoise swirls were married before the start of the game.

There wasn’t much that counted as cheating. Only killing or crippling a rider or dragon, or injuring one of the spectators. Of course, since the pastime was dangerous in and of itself, it was scarily easy for an opponent to blame any maiming as an accident, so one always had to be extra cautious. Weapons were allowed and liberally used, as was ramming into other dragons, jumping on them, sparring with them in the air, and ambushes. Sometimes riders would team up and sabotage others by attacking the person with the sheep from two sides or more. A lot could happen in one lap around the island. Astrid was a self sufficient rider, so she never worried much about betrayals from a partner.

She allowed a cool smile to grace her face as Mulch stood by the horn that would start the race. Her fans knew her as aloof and most of all, confident, so she hid her nerves expertly.

“On your marks!” bellowed Gobber from the podium. Astrid petted Stormfly’s flank.

“We got this, girl,” she whispered.

“Get set,” continued Chief Stoick, even louder than his friend. Astrid lay herself flat on the saddle to make her and Stormfly more streamlined. The chief gestured to Mulch who was standing by the horn.

Mulch paused and flashed the contestants a winning smile. He was delaying blowing the horn on purpose. Slowly, achingly, he lowered his mouth to the tip of the horn, but didn’t blow. Astrid’s muscles felt they were about to explode from holding their position for so long, even though it had only been a few seconds.

At last he puffed his cheeks and blew. They were off like a shot before the sound even had a chance to register.

The rush of wind on her cheeks and the familiar sensation of her stomach bottoming out felt better than being welcomed home after a hard day. The crowds were screaming as Haddock had already disappeared and strid had taken the lead.

Stormfly swooped left and Astrid immediately cataloged the new track in front of her.

There was a five hundred meter stretch of clear air before the track branched off into two obvious segments. She scanned the land for any hidden catapults. There were no sheep thrown in the first round, but after one rider crossed the scoring baskets for the first time, sheep were launched into the fray. She spotted one catapult, but it looked open and abandoned so she doubted any sheep would come from it this game. She had tried to keep track of the sheep launchers from the other games with little success, but she was pretty sure she recognized a location or two sheep would fly into the sky in the coming rounds.

She had slowed down a little in her quick lap around the track, so as she came out of a half natural half built set of caves she found Grimborn emerging from one of the branches, not too far behind her.

(She’d seen no sign of Haddock in her perusal of the path she had chosen, but there were plenty of other paths he could have chosen and he liked to hide. And she hadn’t really looked for him, just idly wondered where he was.)

Pride dictated that she had to be the first one over the line, so she patted Stormfly behind her crown of spikes and they sped up, streaking across the line in a flash of bright blue. The audience cheered. She nudged Stormfly with her foot and they slowed down almost imperceptibly, waiting for the sheep to go flying. The sheep didn’t always fly, though. Sometimes no sheep were launched during a round, which meant riders had to scour the track looking for them. She calculated the fork in the path in front of her. The one she had taken in the first round had plenty of trees, caves, and colorful obstacles, so a sheep wouldn’t likely hide there. But she didn’t know the other path at all. Did it have the sheep or not?

She heard the telltale whistle of a Night Fury going full speed and felt a whoosh of air go down the unexplored path. Well, if that was where he was going that’s where she would go too. She urged Stormfly on.

“Why hello Milady,” his annoying nasal voice greeted her as she pulled up beside him. “Are you following me?”

“No,” she replied huffily. “I’m looking for a sheep, if that wasn’t obvious, seeing as it’s the point of the game.”

“You wound me,” he snarked. “Implying I’m not smart - how will I ever recover?”

“Hopefully, you won’t,” she replied with sickening sweetness. A flash of paint caught her eye amongst the brush and her hand reached for her ax as she urgently nudged Stormfly with her foot. She would swing at him if he tried to steal her sheep. It wouldn’t kill him, but a few bruises? That she’d gladly hand out for free.

Their eyes met for a split second and she dove. Haddock’s dragon was sleeker and faster than Stormfly when it came to maneuvering (with Stormfly’s careful diet of chicken, her Nadder could beat Toothless’ speed under certain circumstances) but Astrid was a fierce fighter, and Hiccup was too close to her to be able to get away safely if he took the sheep from her now.

Stormfly scooped the sheep with the painted wool up in her claws and the track led them back to the stands.

“Hofferson’s got the sheep!!” called the announcer. “But oh, will she have it for long?”

Earmug tried to sidle up to her dragon but Stomrfly sent a few well-aimed spines immediately. He swerved away from her. Hiccup had disappeared temporarily, but Astrid knew he wouldn’t be gone for long.

Indeed, Haddock and his dragon tried to tuck in their wings and dive under her dragon but Astrid stood up in her saddle and kicked him away from her. He let out a pained ‘oof’ and the crowd screamed in encouragement and outrage. Of course, that wouldn’t stop him for long, and it was difficult to make sure the sheep stayed in Stormfly’s claws: she might let it go on reflex if someone attacked her softer lower belly.

Stormfly zoomed through the air and now Heather was right on her heels. The other girl began to slowly pull up even with Stormfly.

“Hey, girl!” Heather called, addressing Stormfly. “Remember me?” The Berserker pulled out a leg of chicken out of her saddle pouch and waved in enticingly. Stormfly perked up at the sight of her favorite treat.

“Oh, no. Hey, girl,” she soothed her dragon. “Remember I’ve promised you an extra barrel of chicken tonight if you don’t get distracted, yeah?” She patted Stormfly’s left flank, a signal for her to speed up so they could leave Heather and her bribery behind, but the dark haired girl chucked it ahead of them, intending for Stormfly to dive after it.

Unfortunately, her aim had placed the leg of chicken right in front of them so Stormfly caught it in her mouth without straying from their straight line of flight. The stands burst out into delighted laughter and Astrid chuckled in relief.

“And Heather Berserk attempts to play dirty, but is defeated by unfortunately straight aim,” cried the announcer into his horn. “But oh, don’t worry, we like a little extra excitement. Speaking of which -” A huge boulder came hurtling straight at Astrid but Stormfly spun gracefully to avoid it. “And Hofferson twirls out of the way with enviable grace!” he finished.

Next, a bola was shot at Grimborn, a barrel on fire launched at Hiccup, who didn’t even have his dragon move out of the way, he just jumped off of Toothless and glided back down onto his saddle with the help of the wings built in to his armor. Plenty of people who hadn’t seen his armor before screamed in excited fear, but Astrid, who had been subject to his testing out his prototypes all over Berk for the past year, rolled her eyes at his inability to stop showing off.

Her expression of attitude cost her. She didn’t notice the second boulder heading towards her and it crashed into Stormfly right above her right leg. Astrid gave a little scream.

“Stormfly!” she cried, worried her girl might be hurt, but the dragon shook her head and gave her a reassuring squawk as they righted themselves. Micketson, who had been right behind her, had his dragon simply eat the boulder. Stupid boulder class dragons. She had lost her sheep. She narrowed her eyes at Micketson and nudged Stormfly toward him, but before they had even begun to gain on him, Haddock flew upside down and plucked the sheep out of Earmug’s arms.

“HEY!” Astrid’s scream of outrage was louder than Micketson’s. “That’s MY sheep!!!”

“Looks like mine now!” Hiccup called and Astrid growled. He began to speed up but Heather quickly bumped into him and his Night Fury flared his wings. Astrid joined the fray as Heather reached for the sheep but missed. Lars Grimborn, with his Skrill crackling ominously, found that the intimidation factor didn’t work so well on the rider who rode a goddamned Night Fury, and Astrid swung off her saddle to use his helmet as a stepping stone to get back in her saddle because she felt like it.

The Heir of Berk clutched the sheep to his chest with an infuriating smirk and Stormfly sent a stream of spines towards him, which he dodged. Astrid had lost track of the announcer’s comments on the game but she heard the laugh from the crowd at his avoidance of Stormfly’s spines and glared.

They rounded another bend and avoided a few more obstacles. Grimborn threw a hammer but it missed, and Astrid urged Stormfly ahead as she planned her next attack. She and Haddock now were definitely ahead of the others. Hiccup’s head turned to look at her and she had Stormfly slow down slightly so it wasn’t obvious they were doing it on purpose instead of lagging behind. He turned around again and Astrid guided Stormfly up, up, grateful they were flying so that their shadows fell behind them. She stood up carefully, and the audience oohed but Hiccup didn’t notice. Stormfly flew a little bit ahead so that Astrid would land on her moving target but not enough that they noticed her, and then she jumped.

Hurtling through to air was nauseating when she wasn’t attached to a dragon, but she landed heavily on Haddock’s mount, causing them to dip in their flight and Haddock to lose his balance. She leaped on top of him, wrestling his arms to his side and kicking the sheep off of his dragon. The Night Fury tried to follow it but Stormfly was waiting and coasted a little underneath them to catch Astrid. Hiccup tried to reach her and when that didn’t work, he tried to lay atop her to stop her from escaping.

“Arrgggh, get off!” she yelled at him angrily.

“Not a chance, Milady, unless you’d be so kind as to release my arms.” She hissed in response. She chanced a glance behind her, furious to see the other riders speeding up to try to steal the sheep from Stormfly while she and Haddock were occupied. Gathering all her strength, she shoved him hard enough away from her he had to scramble and hold on the saddle while she slipped off his dragon.

She landed on her saddle. “Good girl,” she muttered quietly to Stormfly and the crowd went wild as she deposited the first point in her basket.

Of course, she wasn’t that triumphant all game. There were fifteen total points one could score out of six sheep, and Haddock scored the second point with a mocking kiss he blew at her while she swore at him. He scored the next point too, but Astrid caught the fourth sheep out of the air and flew so fast no one even got the chance to attack her until after she’d deposited it safely in her basket. She’d screamed her triumph out loud and the crowd had roared with her until the fifth sheep was shot up into the air.

This round was tougher than the other ones as the two champions doubled down on their efforts to gain an obvious lead on the other before the break between the painted sheep and the black one. The participants knew this of course, and Astrid had no less than two flaming boulders, a bola, and a barrel of Monstrous Nightmare Gel launched at her before the sheep was even in the air.

Astrid snapped her head round at the sound of a spring and saw Micketson catch the sheep first. She let a slow grin spread across her face as she nudged Stormfly toward him. Earmug’s face was paler than it had been all game, but he flew straight for the path with the forest and wove quickly through the trees while she chased him. He was surprisingly agile with his dragon, Astrid had to give him that.

He was ambushed as he cleared the trees. Grimborn had somehow gone ahead and waited for him to clear the trees. He slammed his Skrill into the smaller Gronkle and the Outcast grunted as he lost his grip on the sheep. Lars caught it smugly and sped off, Astrid hot on his heels.

“Eat my dust, Hofferson!” he snarled at her.

“Funny, I was just about to say the same,” Astrid returned. Not her best comeback, but it irritated him all the same.

He dodged her attempts to sneak up on him, and Astrid growled in frustration. The trick she’d pulled with Haddock wouldn’t do; he’d be expecting that and would probably be able to overpower her. His Skrill was bigger than her Nadder, so she couldn’t bump into him and get him to drop the sheep. She could challenge him to aerial combat but that would be difficult. Maybe if she cornered him into an obstacle? A net came flying suddenly and Astrid barely had time to duck out of the way. The heavier Skrill and its rider were not so fortunate. He tried to keep hold of the sheep, but as his Skrill stopped flapping he cursed and let go of it while he tried to untangle the net around his dragon’s wings.

The sheep bleated pitfully as it tried to find a way off the scary flying dragon. Astrid flew to Grimborn’s side, sliced a sizable hole in the net, and reached for the sheep. It shied away but not before she grabbed a firm handful of wool and dragged it forcibly off onto her dragon.

“Haha!” she crowed just as Hiccup appeared, aimed a kick at her ribs, and snatched the sheep.

“COME BACK HERE!!!” she screamed furiously. “YOU SON OF A RAT-SHITTING, TOE LICKING, TROLL EATING MUNGE BUCKET!!!!!!!” She heard the audience’s amusement at her rage. Haddock simply cackled.

Stormfly flew up beside them and Astrid reached over and grabbed the sheep’s hind legs.

“Hey!” the Night Fury rider snapped. “Get off of my sheep!” He pulled at it.

“It’s my sheep!” she argued back. She pulled on her side of the sheep harder.

“Let go!” he cried.

“Never,” she sneered back at him. He glared at her and tried to fly off in an effort to make her let go. Astrid held tight as Stormfly banked alongside them.

“Stubborn woman,” she thought she heard him mutter. “Toothless, roll!” Astrid tugged suddenly at her side of the sheep as they rolled over and pulled the front legs out of Haddock’s hands. Unfortunately, the momentum cost her her grip on the animal as well and it flew back in the air.

“No!” she cried. Haddock righted himself beside her and tried to reach it, but it was plucked out of the air by none other than Heather and she dumped it swiftly into her basket.

Astrid pulled up short. The last time someone had scored a point other than her or Haddock during the last game had been years ago. Her jaw fell open in outrage, surprise, but admiration, too.

“Would you look at that!!” the announcer cried. “Heather the Unhinged of the Berserker tribe scored a point!!!!”

Heather let out a battle cry, thumping her chest and her tribe followed suit. “That’s my sister!” Chief Dagur screamed. Astrid heard a small laugh beside her and turned to look at Haddock.

“Would you look at that,” he marveled. “We were so busy fighting over the sheep we gave her the point.”

“Would have been avoided if you had just given the sheep to me,” Astrid said nonsensically, but in truth she was quite proud of her friend despite the wound it caused in her pride.

“Haddock and Hofferson remain tied for first place, Heather the Unhinged in second,” the announcer declared. “But there is hope for Micketson and Grimborn yet: next round we have the black sheep!” the crowd oohed with him. “But first, let’s have a break! Rest our dragons and sore rumps!” the adults laughed with him. “And we’ll see you again in an hour!”

His hips pinned hers to the wall as he devoured her mouth. She moaned quietly and arched her back, fingernail scrabbling to find purchase on his leather armor, finally retaliating by biting his lip as he tried to pull away. Hiccup growled as he surged back towards her and hefted her right leg to set it on his waist as they met in another clash of lips.

“You bastard,” she growled as she nipped at his lips to punctuate her words. He hissed as she ran a tongue over the sting to soothe it. “I’m still angry at you for stealing my sheep.”

“Which one?” he taunted, dipping down to suckle at her collarbone, his smirk pronounced against her sweaty skin. One of his hands slipped under her skirt, hastily folded so as to not stab anyone with the metal spikes. It trailed up her thigh to squeeze at her ass appreciatively, drawing a moan from her throat as she ran her hands over his shoulders before pulling him closer.

“Nnnngh,” she shot back eloquently as he licked a hot wet strip up to her ear and made her buck her hips into his involuntarily. “The last one. Oh, and those two sheep you scored with too, of course.”

“Weren’t yours once they were in my basket,” he remarked casually, pressing her further into the dark walls of the empty stables.

They had an arrangement. Dragon Racing was thrilling, and with the adrenaline came a rush of. . . other hormones. Astrid’s parents would never allow her to go acting on such impulses unless she was properly tied to the person, but Astrid wasn’t ready for anything of that sort yet. She was content solidifying her career in racing and perhaps living out the rest of her days as a shieldmaiden. Luckily Hiccup was looking for a person with no commitment to suit his needs as well - as the heir of a prominent tribe, it was a risk that any girl he dallied could end up with enough incentive to force him to marry her - so it was a mutually beneficial agreement for both of them. A way for them to blow off steam and cool off - or heat up, which was the case more often than not.

The bagpipe players changed their tune, signaling it was time to start getting ready to head back. Hiccup let out a groan of frustration as he pulled away from her lips, making a satisfying smack. He leaned his forehead against her heaving chest for a minute, trailing light fingers along the strip of exposed midriff above her waistband while they caught their breath and attempted to steady their breathing.

“Better go draw those red lines on your face, Haddock,” Astrid said at last, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, you’ll need them,” he retorted. “You already miss me plenty with the helpful red marks giving you a perfect target.” She hissed and bared her teeth.

“If you think you’re going to win this year, you’re wrong,” she threatened. Hiccup cocked his head mockingly.

“Tell me, who was taking your sheep in that last round, huh, Astrid?” he asked infuriatingly.

“I was winning it back,” she sniped back at him. “So I actually have the most claim on that sheep out of the both of us.”

“Before you threw the sheep away from you and let Heather catch it,” Hiccup reminded her.

“It was your fault,” she insisted. “I had to win it back from you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hiccup cut in. “I’ll get the black sheep, and that will be the end of your delusions about winning.”

“You’re not gonna get the black sheep,” she scoffed.

“Wanna bet?”

“Sure,” she said, a slow smile spreading across her face. “If I win . . . I’ll do that thing you like afterwards.”

Hiccup’s eyes darkened and then he shook his head. “You’re not going to bribe me into losing,” he rolled his eyes.

“It’s not bribery, it’s consolation for when you inevitably lose and I’ll be in a good mood,” Astrid said with mock innocence.

“I’m winning this game, Astrid,” he warned her, although she could see lust warring in his eyes. “But, if we’re doing things that way,” he stepped forward into her space again and rested one of his arms on the wall above her head, smiling down at her wolfishly. “If I win, I’ll do that thing you really like,” he breathed into her ear. Astrid tried to feebly suppress her shudder but he sensed her tingling nerves and pulled back with a self satisfied smile.

He might have had a point about being bribed to lose.

No, she felt anger rise up at the part of her that dared to consider the possibilities of her losing. No matter how fun their little arrangement was, she was not going to give up enviable glory for a whole year in favor of a few minutes of pleasure.

. . . Well, it was usually more than just a few minutes.

“Fuck you,” she spat, mostly at herself, not that he needed to know that, and pushed him away from her.

“Is that an expletive or an intention? Because if it’s the last, then please, by all means.” Ugh, she hated when he got all smug and snarky like that. Probably because it usually made her want to crack a smile against her will. She forced her face to look angrier than she was and turned to face him again.

“It’s a fucking threat, asshole, so stay out of my way,” she poked his chest. “I’m winning this thing.”

She brushed past him, pulling her skirt back down and fumbling a little as she tried to tuck her shirt back in. Her clandestine encounters with Hiccup - he always insisted she call him by his name when they were together - usually gave her a mix of satisfied, shy, and increasing irritability at his insufferability that never failed to draw her back in. Their covertness was almost laughable because the only part of their antics their parents would disapprove of was the secrecy, well, and the debauching. But as much as they enjoyed the other, they didn’t like each other, which was why she didn’t like herself starting to understand him (because that would lead to liking him, and she couldn’t have that).

She heard a low whistle behind her and rolled her eyes but couldn’t bring herself to be truly offended.

“See you from the podium, Astrid,” he crooned as she reached the end of the tunnel. She turned around to give him a double middle finger. He could croon all he liked now, but he’d be singing a very different tune soon, because she was going to win. She was going to stand on that podium with Stormfly and smirk at the chief as he handed her the prize instead of his son. She was going to grin at Father tonight and tell him all about her victory, and Mother would give her an extra helping of dessert.

And then, after the evening was over and everyone had gone to sleep, she was going to wake the Heir up and give him the ride of his life.

#HiccstridWeek2024 #dragon racing #Freeform #Hiccstrid #Hiccstrid au #Hiccstrid rivals to lovers #Astrid and Hiccup are rival racers #rivals with benefits #Hiccup Haddock #Astrid Hofferson #HTTYD #HTTYD au #Competitive!Astrid #my writing

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