(me Cause I Got Tickets To See The Girlies In Melbourne)

FINALLY!!! Kyra getting the recognition she deserves. Literally so happy for them both. (also happy i was the first like 🤭)

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part twelve]

Words; 2.8k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing

A/N; sorry for the late update. also if you’re a follower of this series please link if i should continue this story on tumblr or if it’s easier to just read it on wattpad or Ao3. xx

masterlist

The next Matildas camp came around a few weeks later and this time it was in London, making Astrid very excited as she had never had the chance to visit before. But even though she was excited to do some minimal sightseeing, she was more excited to be playing for the Matildas again and continuing to show the coaches how much she was improving while at Hammarby. Though she really didn’t have anything to prove in regards to her footballing skills, the recent score sheets of their games showed just how hard she was working. 

Between the last international break and this one, Hammarby had played 5 games and won 3 of them, thanks to goals by Astrid and Kyra. Astrid had started and scored in all games, proving her to be a consistent player who was able to help out the team in both halves of the game, scoring in either the first or last few minutes. 

“ASTRID!” Kyra pounded on Astrid’s front door, Courtney standing behind her watching the time. The door finally swings open to reveal a dishevelled, panting Astrid. 

“Will you shut up? It is five o’clock in the morning for fuck’s sake.” Astrid hissed at the older girl before walking back through her small apartment, Kyra and Courtney shuffling in behind with their suitcases. 

“Well I wouldn’t have to be that loud if you had just been ready 15 minutes ago when we told you to be.” Kyra argued back, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched Astrid disappear into her bedroom. 

“We do have to be at the airport by seven and it takes an hour and forty minutes on a good day.” Courtney nodded from her place beside Kyra, looking around at the small messes that had accumulated throughout Astrid’s place. 

“I know that. I slept in and needed to finish packing, okay? Can we move on and get going then?” Astrid reappears with her bags and a large coat now covering her body, preparing for the cool weather of London when they arrive.

“Let’s go.” Courtney nodded at the pair, interrupting before more arguing would begin and she would have to listen to them bicker on the whole drive and probably the whole flight. Luckily because it was still so early, all three girls had fallen back to sleep on the plane and woke up a little more civil than before they arrived in London. 

It was 10:30am when they landed in London and the girls had taken a bus straight from the airport to the team hotel to settle into their rooms, while the rest of the team had begun day one of training. Because of their flight times and recent playing schedules, players had been trickling in since last night, a few more still to arrive tomorrow or the next day, still leaving a few days to train as a whole group before their match against South Africa. 

Astrid and Kyra had been given their shared room number and headed straight up, wanting to get rid of their bags as soon as they could. 

“Mine!” Astrid once again snagged the window bed first, leaving Kyra the one closer to the door, sighing as she watched Astrid flop onto it. “I could do with a nap to be honest.” Astrid mumbled with her eyes closed. 

“Nope!” Kyra pulled the tired girl up by her wrist from the bed, a small squeal coming from Astrid at the unexpected movement. 

“Hey!” Astrid protested as she landed on her feet, still subconsciously holding onto Kyra’s hand as they faced each other very closely. “Why not?” She whined, looking into Kyra’s eyes. 

“Because I know if you nap now then you won’t be able to sleep tonight. And then you’ll complain and keep me up and then we’ll both be tired and cranky tomorrow.” Kyra explained with a stern yet still soft look. 

“Fine.” Astrid huffed, reaching down to the bed where her phone had landed. “Can we go explore then? Most of the girls are still at training for another hour and I’m hungry.” She smiled at Kyra. 

“Let’s go get the others then, Stargirl.” Kyra turned to the doorway, holding her arm out for Astrid to link her own in. They made their way down the hall to Charli and Teagan’s room, collecting them and Courtney from next door to join their adventure. 

They exited their hotel and began to walk the streets of London, marvelling at the beautiful architecture and historical buildings. Astrid’s eyes lit up as they walked through the city she wished to live in one day, feeling completely at home in this atmosphere.

Whilst they were walking, Astrid had moved from Kyra’s arm over to Charli’s, once again catching up after a few weeks apart. They had been together for Charli’s birthday not that long ago; the Hammarby players surprised the now 21 year old during a free weekend and celebrated her with Tegan, Mini and even Harper whilst down there. But even with how much time they spent apart, despite living in the same country, they immediately took off where they left, talking as if no time had passed at all. 

The five of them stumbled into a random café and studied the menu once sitting down. They caught up even more whilst eating and talked about the two upcoming games and what they could possibly look like. After a very satisfying lunch they had begun the walk back to the hotel to hang out with the rest of the team now that their training session had wrapped up. 

Astrid had been the last to join the team in the room where everyone else gathered, taking the time to get changed into something comfy before heading back down; and was it made known. 

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to join the cool kids.” Sam had come walking over to where Astrid paused in the doorway, looking up from her phone to see the whole room of girls staring and smiling at her. 

“Really? I don’t see any.” Astrid put a hand over her eyes as she searched the room, stopping at Sam’s face in front of her. “Yep. Definitely no cool kids here.” She frowned as she made direct eye contact with the captain. And within seconds Sam had put Astrid in a headlock and began rubbing her head as the younger girl squirmed in her hold. 

“You think you’re funny do ya?” Sam was laughing at the girl unable to release from her grasp, the rest of the room watching the interaction between the two players. Sam and Astrid had formed a natural and strong bond instantly when Astrid first joined. Sam had seen a lot of herself in the once 17 year old striker and wanted to mentor and take her under her wing, ensuring Astrid made the right choices for her career to grow as a person and a player. They had a sibling bond that was different to the ones they had with everyone else, picking on each other endlessly but knowing it came from a place of love. 

“I do, yeah.” Astrid spoke from within Sam’s tight grasp. Sam laughed and eventually let her go and pulled Astrid into a hug, the latter girl always happy to be reunited with who she looked up to so much.  “Good to see you Sammy.” 

“You too kid.” Sam spoke into Astrid’s shoulder, squeezing once more before letting go. “So being at Hammarby is treating you well aye? I’ve seen your recent games and I gotta say I was pretty impressed by that nutmeg a few weeks back.” Sam laughed before looking around the room. “Cait was too.” She nodded to the Arsenal forward and Astrid let out a smile, spotting Caitlin, Macca and Lani playing some form of card game.

“Thought I’d try something new.” Astrid shrugged her shoulders. Sam patted her on the back before excusing herself, being dragged into another conversation with some coaching staff members. 

After a night of shared laughs and conversation the squad had dinner together and headed off for an early bed, Astrid more than happy to finally get to sleep after a long day. 

The next morning after breakfast the whole squad had piled onto the bus to make their way to the training pitch for day 2 now that everyone had arrived and they could have a proper session. For the England based girls who trained yesterday it was more intense than those who were just coming into camp and off the back of games like the Sweden based girls. 

Astrid was having a great session so far, on top of her drills and even reaching a new top speed in their monitored sprints. But because the coaches and physios didn’t want those fresh from club games to be overworked, after an hour they sent them off for a light gym session; which highly disappointed Astrid who would miss the end of match scrimmages today. 

Day 3 quickly rolled around after a night of rest and they were on their final day of training at the Wimbledon Qualifying and Community Sports Centre before completing their MD-1 at Kingsmeadow tomorrow. Though Astrid tended to be quite goofy and silly during these camps, when it came time to train she was heavily focused on keeping in top shape for the games. 

Everyone began to notice this about the young forward as of late, impressed with her dedication but confused about her lack of lighthearted pranks and laughter during their training sessions. Truth is she was just trying to keep up a standard she had begun to set for herself. And with her accomplishments so far at club and international level it was pretty high. 

She felt the need to prove herself and her place in the Matildas squad because she was so young and inexperienced compared to the other players. She knew she would have to keep working so hard after her initial call up, because you don’t always know if you’ll get one when camp rolls around. 

This anxiety of maybe not being called up again began just before this camp when she was back in Sweden. Because this camp was quite close to their last one, the squad was selected quite quickly so preparations could be made for flights, accommodation and other admin things. 

Kyra, Courtney and Charli all got their call ups on the same day, telling each other instantly and they waited for Tony to call Astrid and celebrate all together. But that call didn’t come on the day everyone else’s had and it left Astrid confused and upset. The girls tried to encourage the youngest player and Astrid brushed it off, convincing them she was fine but she would be lying if she said it did mess with her a little bit. 

A week passed and she finally got that call from Tony asking her to join them in London for the next camp. She was excited to be called up but still lost and worried as to why she wasn’t asked in the first place, considering how well she had been playing at Hammarby recently and during that last camp since returning from her injury. 

That’s why she was pushing so hard in training today, and it’s safe to say everyone was impressed. She was slotting shot after shot into the back of the net during the drills and attacking strongly during the scrimmage they were currently playing. 

She was all over the field, originally being placed up front on the left but drifting behind and in towards centre when needed to, stealing the ball back from her opposition with ease to then run at it alone and score 4 goals for her team. The final whistle blew, her team winning thanks to her. And although she had fun in the scrimmages, she was exhausted after this one, dropping her hands onto her knees, taking deep breaths into her lungs while feeling her friends patting her on the back as they walked past. 

“You okay stargirl?” Charli’s voice appeared and Astrid finally stood, looking the blonde in the eyes as she handed her a water bottle. “You really pushed yourself out there, huh?” Charli shot her signature smile as Astrid squirted the cool water into her mouth.

“Guess so.” Astrid shrugged nonchalantly, hot in her shorts and t-shirt training kit even though it was only around 16 degrees celsius right now. 

“Come on, superstar.” Charli wrapped an arm around her and they began to walk towards where the group had huddled around Tony and the rest of the staff. After praising their performance today, Tony applauded them and sent them off inside to do some recovery but before Astrid could leave the pitch, Tony caught her for a chat. 

“Astrid.” Tony called to her, Astrid pausing between Charli and Kyra, telling them she’ll catch up. 

“What’s up Tony?” She used a hand to block the sun from her eyes. 

“I just wanted to applaud you on your hard work today and over the past few months. You’ve really gotten stuck right into it after your injury and I’m very proud of your progress.” Tony spoke kindly and Astrid felt her heart grow. 

“Thank you, it really means a lot.” She smiled brightly at him, grateful for his kind words.

“You deserve it. You’re a real asset to this team and I’m so glad to have you here with us.” He politely held her free hand, squeezing it between his own. 

“Glad to be here, coach.” She nodded, squeezing his hands in her own before excusing herself to join the team inside. That small conversation with Tony changed her mindset of this camp. They wanted her here and a part of this team and believed her actions made a real difference on and off the pitch. 

For MD-1 they headed over to Kingsmeadow, aka the home of Chelsea. Astrid was excited to go to the grounds where legends had played and Sam could tell. Astrid was the first one to walk onto the pitch, admiring it when Sam caught up to her. 

“It’s beautiful isn't it?” Sam was half talking to the cameraman filming them and to Astrid as well. 

“Not bad Sammy.” She kicked the grass with her foot, looking around at the empty stands. 

“So, when you gonna come join me and play on this every week?” Sam snickered and Astrid whipped her head quickly. The team had followed the pair and made their way onto the field slowly, walking past the two stopped strikers.

“Do you not know where my loyalties lie Samantha? London is red through and through.” Astrid stuck her tongue out, hearing the cheers from Steph, Caitlin and Lydia behind her. 

“Atta girl!” Steph cheered, Astrid turning around to spot her, smiling at her before turning back to Sam. 

“I have lost all respect for you.” Sam deadpanned before walking off to her team. Astrid just laughed out loud before sprinting to catch up with her, jumping directly on her back. “Get off me you jerk!” Astrid laughed while detaching herself from Sam’s back, now standing beside her.

“Have you not seen my childhood pictures? I lived in an Arsenal kit.” She crossed her arms over her chest, squinting at Sam through the bright sun. 

“Whatever.” The captain waved her off and walked away from Astrid and the Arsenal players who had surrounded and laughed alongside her before they all walked back off to the rest of the group. 

After a long and intense day of training the team headed back for their pre match team dinner of pasta and a night spent enjoying each other's company. But with focus pulling towards what could be a tough match tomorrow against South Africa, everyone headed off to their rooms for bed. 

“Okay, predictions for tomorrow?” Astrid broke the silence in her and Kyra’s room as they laid in separate beds. Kyra placed her phone down, stopping her previous scrolling to look at Astrid. This had become part of their pre match routine whether they shared a room or not, speaking what their thoughts on the future match were and placing bets for the winning predictions. 

“Alright. You,” Kyra points at Astrid in the mostly dark room. “Are going to score… a brace in the last… 20 minutes of play.” Kyra smirked at the other girl, Astrid raised her eyebrows. 

“God, setting high standards are we?” Astrid scoffed at the midfielder before thinking of her own predictions. “You are going to start.” She paused. “Play the full game and have an assist.” She smirked in the darkness. 

“You have a lot of faith in me.” Kyra laughed, Astrid joining in softly. “Loser has to take the winner out for lunch before the next game.” Kyra placed the bet, sitting up and closer to the edge of her bed to extend her hand to Astrid who was doing the same. With soft smiles they shook each other's hands, sealing the deal before lying back in their own beds. 

“Goodnight Ky Ky.” Astrid whispered in the silence. She could just see Kyra’s face with the small moonlight that crept in through the curtains, a soft smile still lingering. 

“Goodnight stargirl.” Kyra spoke into the room before they both drifted off to sleep.

to be continued...

for frida 🤍❤️

conti cup winners again 🥹🥹

stina i love you, you have cured me 🥰🤍❤️

really hoping they can cure my sickness with a win

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

The Feels || Alessia Russo

Alessia Russo x Reader

Summary: Five times you and Alessia soft launched yourselves on social media, and one time you two hard launched your relationship.

Warnings: Maybe a tad bit of angst and a lot of tooth-rotting fluff & comfort

Word count: 7k words

A/N: I don't really know if this makes sense, but I liked it and decided to share it. An Alessia fic was requested second-most to an Alexia fic, so here it is.

1. Festival Dates, Ferris Wheels, & The Feels

Sometimes, rumors were a pain in the ass. Today, however, you’d never appreciated your teams’ gossiping tendencies more. It had come to your attention during shooting drills with the one and only Katie McCabe that one of Arsenal’s latest signings, Alessia Russo, had a crush on you. Unbeknownst to anyone but Katie, it was a crush that you returned. 

You’d always been rather confident in yourself and so, with this new piece of intel, you took it upon yourself to ask Alessia out. Alessia had readily agreed, but now the stress fell onto you to figure out just where the two of you could spend a few hours getting to know each other. Yet again, you consulted the person who had gotten everything started, who also happened to be your best friend. You and Katie had spent several hours plotting for the big day, finally deciding upon what to do. You texted Alessia and told her that you’d be picking her up from her house and giving her a specific time. 

The day came along, and after you finished up team training, you came back to your apartment and showered before leaving to go pick up Alessia. On the way, you bought the gifts that you had debated (at great length, honestly) with Katie on getting, having been nervous that getting the blonde gifts on a first date would be too forward or too overwhelming for the other woman. McCabe had reassured you several times that you would be fine, however. 

While you were borderline terrified, given how things had ended with your ex-girlfriend, you still found yourself making the drive over to Alessia’s. Your last relationship hadn’t gone well, and you didn’t know if you were ready to love or to accept love again, something was always in the back of your mind nagging at you– what if you got hurt again? 

As you stood on Alessia’s front step, holding a bouquet of flowers, you noticed that your hands shook due to nerves. As you raised your hand to knock, you felt yet another wave of nerves crash over you, nearly dropping your gifts just as Alessia opened the door. Alessia poked her head out, grinning wildly at you. 

“Hey, Y/N! You look amazing.” And just like that, the nerves and all of those negative thoughts were gone. An aura of calmness radiated from the other woman, transferring over onto you, and you held out the roses for the other woman to take with a small smile. 

“Hi, Lessi. You look– gorgeous,” You nearly stumbled over your words as you took the other woman in. You’d instructed her to dress casually, and it was simply amazing how Alessia could take the words right from your mouth in just a pair of jeans paired and a simple white top. 

“Thank you. For everything, honestly– you certainly didn’t have to get me these!” She held up the flowers, taking a second to smell them as she grinned before taking a step back into her apartment. “I’m just going to put these in a vase, you’re more than welcome to come in.”

You took a step into the house, closing Alessia’s front door behind yourself as Alessia walked away to go take care of the flowers. You could have followed, but chose to take a moment to calm your racing heart, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. To be perfectly honest, you’d been dreaming of this day ever since you’d first set eyes on the blonde forward. You’d first met her in 2021, facing off against her in your first ever WSL appearance as you played for Arsenal against Manchester City. 

You’d struggled back and forth with Alessia the entire game, as you were a defender. Arsenal had pulled away with a win, but at the end of the match you had gone up to Alessia to formally meet her, asking to exchange jerseys. That wouldn’t be the last time you’d formally speak with her, as the two of you would be matched up in several more games afterward. You’d never thought your crush would ever come to see the light of day, but here you were, standing on the welcoming mat of Alessia Russo’s apartment, waiting for her to put the bouquet you’d gifted her in a vase. 

It didn’t take long before Alessia returned to you, and by then you’d calmed yourself down enough to make conversation without stuttering over the words. As you two got to your car, and all throughout the drive to the destination you’d picked out, the two of you kept up a conversation. You talked about everything from football to your favorite breakfast foods to Lessi’s UNC days, with you wondering what the extended duration in the United States had been like. Every once in a while, Alessia would ask you where the two of you were going, but you’d always give her a teasingly inconspicuous answer. 

“You’re not secretly taking me to a scary alley and murdering me, right?” Alessia joked at one point, causing you to tilt your head towards her and waggle your eyebrows, rewarding you with Alessia’s giggles. 

Finally, the two of you arrived at the gates of a festival just as the sun was beginning to set. You paid for your tickets and spent the evening chatting with Alessia on your arm, playing festival games, eating some different foods, and sharing jokes and laughter. At one point, you ended up winning a small stuffed bear, which you immediately gifted to Alessia with a smile and a bow, yet again resulting in Alessia giggling, a noise which you were beginning to associate as the eighth wonder of the world. Nearing the end of your night, Alessia convinced you to ride the ferris wheel with her, despite your fear of heights. 

As the two of you neared the top, you couldn’t help but shift closer to Alessia, nervously taking in your distance from the ground. Noticing your slight distress, Alessia brought one of her arms around your shoulders and tugged you into her side, grabbing your hand and holding it in hers with her other arm. You looked at her with a smile, which Alessia returned. Festival music carried on in the background, a song which you faintly recognized as “The Feels” by the Labrinth playing. A small draft of wind had picked up, the heat of the woman beside you keeping you from becoming too chilled. 

“I really enjoyed tonight,” You confessed to the other woman.

“So did I, thank you for bringing me out.” Alessia said back, her breaths brushing across your cheeks due to your close proximity and causing you to blush. Your eyes wandered down to her lips before going back up to her eyes, noticing Alessia looking at your own lips. 

Your fear of heights long forgotten, your heart rate picked up for an entirely different reason as you whispered out, “I’d really like to kiss you right now,”

“Then do it.” Alessia responded, and you brought your free hand up to cup her jaw, closing your eyes as you shifted slightly and guided her lips to your own. Just at that moment, the music in the background picked up as the beat dropped, something that you only faintly picked up on as you were consumed in everything that was Alessia Russo. The kiss was impossibly soft, and the music seemed to pick up at that moment, a song which you faintly picked up on. After a few seconds, the two of you parted, and you beamed at the blue-eyed woman, and she giggled at the giddy expression on your face. Just before the two of you began to move down the ferris wheel, Alessia pulled out her phone and pulled you further into her, for another kiss, capturing the moment with a photo. Parting from you again, she took a picture of the night sky and festival terrain beneath the two of you before quickly pocketing her phone once again. 

“I wanted to capture the moment,” She explained to you, and you just laughed again, bringing her in for a quick peck as the two of you descended back towards the ground. 

Later that night, when you returned home, you opened up your phone to answer Alessia, telling her that you’d made it back to your own apartment safely. 

Opening up Instagram, you saw that Alessia had posted something on her story and opened it, seeing one of the two pictures the woman had taken on the ferris wheel on her story. It was the picture of the sky and the festival, the one that didn’t feature the two of you, which you were grateful for as part of your conversation today had been about keeping what was between the two of you private. As you continued to watch her story, you realized that there was a song playing in the background, the very same one that had played during your first kiss– “The Feels” by Labrinth. Alessia’s attention to detail, and the entire gesture of affection, brought a smile to your face. The smile lasted even as you put down your phone and laid back against your bed, falling asleep to the thoughts of your long-awaited first date with Alessia Russo. 

—--

2. First Meetings, Proud Goals, & Family Dinner

It wasn’t very often that you found yourself in the stands during football matches, but here you were, sitting beside Alessia’s family and watching your girlfriend play on the field in front of you. 

The twist? It was the first time you were formally meeting Alessia’s family without Alessia by your side. 

Having suffered a minor knee injury a few short weeks ago, you’d been unavailable for call ups for the England Lionesses. Instead of watching the match from your apartment couch, Alessia’s family had contacted you and plotted with you to surprise your girlfriend at the match. 

The two of you had been secretly dating for a few months, now, and were still going strong. While the two of you weren’t incredibly obvious, a few of your teammates were beginning to figure out the two of you were a thing. Honestly, you’d just been surprised that McCabe had been able to keep her mouth shut for so long. 

Prior to this, you’d had quick talks with each of Alessia’s parents through the phone when they facetimed or called Alessia while you happened to be there. You’d met one of Alessia’s brothers, Luca, at a match before as well, but the rest of them were completely unfamiliar to you. The entire thing was slightly unconventional, and you’d have rather had Alessia with you when you met the rest of your family, but the Russo family made the entire thing go by quite smoothly, to your surprise. 

As adorable as the entire situation was, you’d never been so nervous in your entire life, and you’d played in the World Cup! As you’d greeted Alessia’s parents and siblings outside of the stadium, you’d been surprised to be pulled into hugs by each of them. It had been a surprisingly warm welcome, making all the worrying that you’d been doing over meeting her family for the first time, alone, seem all for nought. You were sat at the end of the aisle, next to Alessia’s father, Mario, who kept nudging you to keep up a steady flow of conversation, much to your entertainment. 

All throughout the match, Alessia’s family showed you baby pictures of Less, some of which you asked them to send to you. They told you stories of Alessia as a teenager and as a child, and you felt it was only fair to share some of your own. 

At halftime, the Lionesses were up by 3. As Alessia turned to head back to the locker rooms, she looked up and caught your gaze. You saw her go through several different stages of emotions, ranging from confusion, to surprise, to absolute elation as a huge grin broke across her face and she waved to you eagerly. You waved back, nudging Mario, who was also waving and laughing at his daughter’s facial expressions. 

During the game, you took a few pictures– some of yourself with Alessia’s family members, and a few of the field in front of you. You looked through them before deciding to post one of them on your Instagram story. As you made up the story, you hesitated on how to send a secret message to your lover, as the two of you had been enjoying sending subtle hints and messages through your stories and posts. Smiling a little bit, you put a small red heart in the corner of a picture of the stadium that you had taken earlier. Then, you posted it. 

After that, you pocketed your phone, making the conscious decision to be more present during the match and to soak up the moments with Alessia’s family while you could.

When Alessia scored an absolute banger of a goal, you burst to your feet with the rest of Alessia’s family. Shouting your pride for your secret girlfriend for the world to hear, your voice joined the thousands of those in attendance to watch the Lionesses that day, but yours was the only one that Alessia cared about as she tapped a finger to her chest, tilting her head in your direction as she looked at you in the audience. The moment was incredibly special, smiles on both of your faces. The moment lasted a brief second, but felt like so much longer, before Alessia was embraced by the rest of the Lionesses on the field in a huge group hug, breaking your eye contact. 

At the end of the match, Alessia was making her way around the field, conversing with different people and signing things for fans. Finally, she made it around to you and her family, coming close to give each of you hugs. When her arms reached up and around the barrier to embrace you, she got as close to your face as she could before whispering out, “Hi, baby. Thank you for surprising me.” 

“I’m so proud of you, Lessi.” You whispered back, before letting your girl go to hug the rest of her family members. You all spoke for a few minutes before Alessia had to go to change.

You saw your girlfriend again outside of the stadium, giving her another hug as you all decided to go out to eat together. You shared a nice meal with Alessia and her family for a few hours, enjoying getting to know everyone even more as you and Alessia sat next to each other, surrounded by her family that was slowly beginning to feel like your own. 

That night, as Alessia lay in her own bed in her apartment, she pulled up Instagram and saw that you had posted something on your story. Tapping on your icon, a picture of the field came up on her screen, and it took her a second to notice the red heart in the corner that she knew was meant for her. With a smile, she tapped back onto your story to look at it again before sending you a goodnight text, consciously putting a red heart into her text message before shutting off her phone and falling asleep with a huge, cheesy grin on her face. 

—-- 

3. Chocolates, Flowers, & Bears – Oh my!

As you made your way up the steps to Alessia’s North London apartment, you found yourself reminiscing in a scene similar to this one. Holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand, a box of chocolates in the other, and a stuffed bear stuffed beneath your elbow, all of which had been carefully planned out between you and the notorious Katie McCabe. You were reminded of your first date as you rapped on Alessia’s front door with the back of one of your free hands, unable to keep the excited grin from your face. 

It was Valentine’s Day, and you had planned to take Alessia out to a nice dinner, planning to pick her up for a late reservation at her favorite restaurant. For the occasion, you were dressed in black formal wear and had told Alessia to dress nicely as well. As Alessia opened the door, you took her in and your smile fell from your face slightly, an expression of concern replacing it. 

She wore a beautiful, tight-fitting black dress which accentuated her curves and long legs, and for a moment the sight of her took your breath away. Then, you took in her face, and it became very quickly obvious to you that your girlfriend wasn’t feeling it tonight. She had black bags beneath her tired-looking eyes, and her hands fidgeted at her side nervously. You knew that she’d been feeling quite stressed lately, with football and making sure that she was scoring enough goals to satisfy her own standards, which had always been far above anybody else’s. She was her own toughest critic, and it appeared that tonight it was all crashing down on her. 

“Hi, baby. Are you doing okay?” You asked gently, stepping forward. The second you spoke, you saw a tear beginning to form in the corner of Alessia’s eye and your heart broke a little bit at the image. 

“I’m okay. Are you ready to go?” Alessia asked, trying to brush past the fact that she was obviously upset. You shook your head, thinking about how to correctly go about this without bringing up your girlfriends’ feelings, as it seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it and you knew better than to prod at her. 

“Actually, I was hoping we could have a night in?” Your voice was soft and hopeful-sounding, and the second you voiced it a look of relief washed up upon your girlfriends’ face. 

“Yes, please.” She whispered, and you smiled gently. Alessia took a step back to allow you into her home, pushing the door closed behind you.

“Go get changed, baby. I’ll set up the couch for a movie night, how does that sound?” You asked, and Alessia looked at you with such a look of adoration that you nearly melted on the spot. Nodding eagerly, Alessia didn’t think twice before making her way further into her apartment in the direction of her room. While she changed, you kicked your shoes off next to Alessia’s welcome mat before going about setting up Alessia’s living room for a night in. 

You placed the bouquet you’d gotten Alessia in a vase, setting both items on her counter to replace the last bouquet you’d gotten her. You set the chocolates and the stuffed bear on the counter as well before grabbing all of Alessia’s favorite snacks and putting them into bowls, bringing them into the living room and setting them on a table in front of her couch. You went back to the kitchen, grabbing two drink bottles and bringing them back to the living room as well, setting them on the table next to the snacks. Next, you went about preparing the movie.

You specifically remembered Alessia mentioning that she’d never seen the Wizard of Oz during training, despite having the movie on one of her shelves. So, you went about putting that movie on the television before pulling out some blankets and pillows and setting them on the couch. By the time you’d finished, Alessia was coming out of her room. She’d changed into a large sleep shirt and sweatpants with long, fuzzy socks. The second she saw you and what you’d set up, a large smile broke across her face. 

“Thank you, Y/N. It looks very cozy,” Alessia whispered gently, feeling so cared for in the moment that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. She’d been so stressed lately that this had been exactly what she’d needed today, and she was so grateful that you’d seemed to sense that. Coming up to you, she gently pecked your lips before handing you a large hoodie of hers and shorts. “Go change, baby. I’ll be right here when you get back!” 

With that, Alessia took several steps backward before plopping herself down on her own couch, looking up at you expectantly when you didn’t budge. You were staring at her, a fond smile on your face. 

“What?” Alessia asked, appearing confused. 

“You’re so beautiful.” You whispered, in awe of the woman before you. A blush rose to Alessia’s cheeks quickly at your words and she shooed you away to go get changed, a smile rising to her face. 

Once you came back, you sat down on the couch and pulled Alessia over to you. Putting your feet up on the couch and laying back, Alessia quickly climbed on top of you and threw her arms around you, resting her head on your chest. You laid one arm on her back, starting the movie before bringing up your other hand to gently card your fingers through her hair the way that you knew calmed her down. 

As the two of you laid there, your hand tracing patterns on her back as the other gently stroked her head, Alessia’s hand crept up your chest and to the open skin of your collarbone, tracing the skin there as she focused on the movie. Just a moment later, she spoke up softly.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, Less?” You asked, equally as softly.

“Thank you for this. I’m sorry I ruined your plans, though. I know you worked hard to plan tonight.” She sounded sorry, and you frowned gently, your hand leaving her hair to go to her chin and guide her head upward to look at you. 

“Less, you ruined nothing. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing right now.” You reassured the other woman, a fond smile replacing the frown on your face as Alessia smiled gently at you.

“I’ll make it up to you. We can do something fancy tomorrow, if you want.” Alessia still felt sorry, and you could tell from both her words and her intonation. Shaking your head, your thumb stroked her cheek gently as you spoke.

“Less, fancy or not, we could be shoveling three-day-old trash and I’d still be happy because I’m with you. You don’t have to make up for anything, love.” Your words seemed to strike a cord in the other woman as she gently leaned further up into you, placing a soft kiss against your lips. You two probably would have kissed for longer if you’d have been able to keep the smile from your face. However, as you smiled into the kiss, Alessia couldn’t fight back her own smile and pulled away, the both of you grinning widely at each other. 

“I love you,” Alessia murmured passionately. “So, so, so much.” 

Your grin became impossibly larger at the other woman’s words– you’d known you’d loved her for a long time, but neither of you had ever said it. “I love you too, Less. So much.” 

The two of you would spend the night together, cuddled up and munching on different snacks. When the movie finished, Alessia invited you to stay the night, which you oh-so-gratefully accepted. That night, you made your small instagram story together. The two of you chose a simple picture of the stuffed bear, flower bouquet, and chocolates that you’d bought Alessia and chose to play “The Feels” over the background of the story, posting it to Alessia’s instagram. 

Turning off your phones for the night, the two of you fell into bed together. Cuddled into each other, you both fell asleep with soft smiles upon each of your faces. 

—--

4. Cookies, Puppy Love, & Keys

A knock came at your door, to which you stood up from your position on your couch to make your way over to the door. Opening it revealed your gorgeous girlfriend in a casual jumper and joggers, and a huge smile broke out across your face. However, your girlfriend barely even looked at you as she squealed out in excitement, scooping the wiggling figure out of your arms rather quickly. 

“Oh my gosh! He’s so adorable!!” Lessi gushed, her beautiful eyes crinkling at the corners as she held up your newly adopted puppy at eye level. You’d named the tiny puppy Jasper, which you thought was an appropriate name for the hyperactive animal. It licked at your girlfriends’ face, causing her to giggle, and you quickly ushered her into the house with a smile, your own laughs gently leaving your mouth at the scene. 

You’d made the decision to buy the puppy as the first of many decisions that month. The second decision was packed into your back pocket, waiting for the perfect moment to be pulled out. You’d invited Less over for your day off of training, having not spent as much time as you would have liked alone with the other woman. 

As your girlfriend continued to giggle at Jasper, who wiggled and barked and licked like all puppies do, a timer beeped and you startled. Alessia turned to look up at you from her newfound position on the floor as Jasper crawled all over her. 

“What was that?” Less asked, and you smiled. 

“I figured we could bake cookies today, if that would be okay with you?” Your voice was unsteady, the nerves of how big the day was for you bleeding into your voice. Alessia’s brows furrowed but she smiled nonetheless, choosing to not make a big deal out of your quaky voice and deciding that you’d tell her if anything was wrong, as was the usual for your relationship of nearly two years. 

“Oh– of course! I’d love to do that!” Alessia said excitedly, and you grinned as Jasper took advantage of her momentary distraction to nip at her fingers, causing Alessia to yelp in surprise and continue on giggling and speaking to the puppy as if he were a human. Amused, you made your way into the kitchen and began going about making the dough for the cookies, figuring your girlfriend would join you when she was ready. Besides, you were more than happy to bake cookies from your spot in the kitchen, which allowed you to watch as Alessia rolled around with Jasper on the ground. 

Jasper continued to pounce and jump all over your girlfriend and, inspired by her giggles and adorable squeaks, you quickly pulled out your phone to snap a picture of the two. 

After a few minutes, Alessia did get up from the ground and make her way over to where you stood at your kitchen counter, your back momentarily turned towards her as you mixed some ingredients together. Taking her chance, the other woman folded her arms around your middle, wrapping you up in a gentle hug from behind and planting a soft kiss against the skin of your neck. 

Turning your head towards your girlfriend, you waited for her to look up to connect your lips. Her hands began to wander, inching below the fabric of your loose-fitting t-shirt to rest against the skin of your stomach, fingers gently digging into your hips as she continued to kiss you. One of her hands wandered to grab at your ass, and you moaned into the kiss, your head falling back as you detached your kiss. Your girlfriend, however, took the initiative to kiss at your neck, gently nipping and sucking but making sure not to leave any visible marks, as the two of you were still quite secretive about your relationship. Your teammates knew, as did your families, but most others were kept in the dark about the two of you.

Alessia continued her assault on your neck, one hand trailing along your behind as her other one trailed up the musculature of your stomach, heading upward to grasp at your chest. Just as the kiss was getting even more heated, a second timer went off, causing you to jump in your girlfriends’ hold. Throughout your kiss, Jasper had also been yipping at the two of you, but everything had seemed to turn to background noise. Now, however, the noises of the kitchen broke past your kiss-drunken haze as you turned in your girlfriends’ hold, pecking her lips quickly before darting over to turn off the timer. Alessia grinned gently, knowing that she’d have plenty of time to continue what she’d begun later. She took up the task that you’d been distracted from, mixing up some ingredients together as you worked to prepare the oven for the cookies. 

As you and Alessia worked together to make cookies, with a couple of kisses thrown in here and there, as well as some love given to Jasper, you could feel your secret weighing you down. Finally, as you set the last tray of cookies down onto a tray to cool off, you looked at your girlfriend. She’d thrown her hair up into a messy bun and the sleeves of her jumper had been rolled up to avoid getting them dirty, and she also had a dash of flour on one of her cheeks. To you, she’d never looked so beautiful before. You nearly forgot your words, and Alessia took a step towards you, gently putting her hands on your waist and tugging you into her to press a gentle kiss on your lips.

“Come back to me, sweet.” Alessia murmured, her worry seeping through at how nervous you looked. Instead of responding, you rested your head against her shoulder for a moment and forced yourself to take a deep breath before starting again.

“Less– I’ve been thinking about this for a really, really long time and I know that we haven’t really talked too much about it, but I really want this and if you want it too then I think it would work. Of course, you can always say no and I would never be hurt or offended but–”

“Baby, slow down and breathe.” Alessia reassured you, pecking at your lips again as she cut off your rambling with a tiny giggle. You looked into her blue eyes as a blush rose to your cheeks. Deciding to just cut off the rest of your ill-planned speech, you blurted out the question you’d been meaning to ask for the last couple of weeks. 

“Move in with me?” 

“I would love to, baby.” Alessia responded almost instantaneously, and you grinned. 

“Really?!” You couldn’t help but be excited at the prospect of living in the same house as the love of your life. The two of you had remained in separate apartments throughout your relationship due to the secrecy of it. However, the more people who knew about the two of you, the less concerned you were about your private affairs being more known to the world. Besides, it wasn’t uncommon for those in the footballing world to move in together, as loads of your teammates had shared apartments. 

“Of course– I could barely say no when you bribe me with puppies and cookies!” Alessia jokes, and you couldn’t help but smile at her, bringing her closer for yet another unbelievably soft kiss. 

As the two of you sat with your puppy and a plate full of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, you showed Alessia the picture that you’d taken of her. She asked that you send the picture to her, which you did eagerly, before turning off your phones for the day so that you could spend the rest of your time together without the outside chatter. You two spent the rest of your day eating cookies, talking, and playing with Jasper without a care in the world about anything else. 

A few weeks later, Alessia posted a monthly recap post to her instagram, the very first photo featuring the picture you’d taken of her with Jasper. The caption of the post? “A big month with the ones I love most <3”

It was this post that began to really spark the speculation of the fans that the two of you were dating. 

Surprisingly, neither of you minded. 

—--

5. Late Nights, Silent Mornings, & Kitchen Dancing

Rolling over in the bed you shared with your girlfriend, you sighed. The two of you had gone to bed many hours ago, exhausted from a day full of training and media work. However, while your girlfriend had fallen asleep almost instantaneously, you’d found yourself unable to do the same. 

Sighing yet again, you decided to get up and go get a glass of water, deciding that all of your shifting would do nothing but wake your girlfriend up, and you dreaded what would happen if you dared interrupt her beauty sleep. Sitting up and climbing out of the bed, you turned and found the covers that you had kicked about in all of your rolling, pulling them up and over your still-sleeping girlfriend. Turning the corner of the bed, you snagged a sweatshirt from on top of a chair that you knew belonged to your girlfriend, relishing in how it smelled of her as you shrugged the material over your sports bra. Before you finally left the room, you planted a soft, lingering kiss on your girlfriends’ forehead. 

Jasper sat at the foot of your bed, head perking up as you left the room, but ultimately staying where he was and deciding to sleep instead of follow you.

Softly treading down the hallway and reaching the kitchen, you went about preparing a glass of water. Once done, you drank most of it but held the half-full glass in one hand as you leaned against the counter, beyond tired but still unable to find yourself to be in the mood to sleep. You were, to be quite frank, annoyed at your inability to sleep, and wondered if it was due to stress. After all, your contract for Arsenal was running out soon and they had yet to renew it, despite all of your teammates and your girlfriend telling you that there was no way they wouldn’t renew it, given how successful you had been, especially as of late.

So consumed in your frustrated thoughts, you didn’t hear your girlfriend approaching until she was right in front of you. 

“Baby? Love? Are you alright?” She murmured, voice raspy from sleep. 

“Oh– Less, baby. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” You whispered back, your own voice raspy but due to lack of sleep. Alessia frowned at you, standing in just a sports bra and sweatpants that you thought may have been yours. Instead of speaking, she took a few steps towards you and opened her arms to embrace you. As soon as you stepped towards her, she tugged you all the way into her and wrapped her arms around your middle in a giant bear hug, resting her head on your shoulder. 

“Did you want to talk about what’s keeping you up?” She asked gently, but you shook your head against her shoulder and she sighed, knowing better than to pry right now. Instead, she began to gently rock back and forth, an idea springing up in her head. Removing her hands from around you and taking a half step back, she took one of your hands in hers before wrapping her other one back around you, tugging you right back into her. Confused, you wrapped your free arm around her neck, growing even more confused as Alessia began to guide you around the kitchen humming and giggling as she began to sing, guiding you to dance to the beat of whatever song she was softly singing.

You couldn’t help but giggle, especially when your clumsy girlfriend tripped and nearly sent the two of you careening towards the ground. You were able to catch your footing, however, saving the two of you from what would have probably put you on Arsenal’s ever-persistently growing list of injured players. 

You two continued to dance for several more minutes, Alessia choosing to rest her head against your chest. As you danced, she became so consumed in listening to the steady beat of your heart that she forgot she was supposed to be humming. Instead, the two of you rocked to no beat at all, content to just be close to each other. 

Finally, you yawned, signaling that it was time to try to sleep again. Alessia guided you back towards your room to try to sleep again. Shifting in the bed, Alessia held you in her arms until she was sure that you were asleep before also falling asleep. 

It wasn’t until a few weeks later that you saw evidence of that late night featured as one of many on Alessia’s next instagram post– it was of you leaning against the counter, nothing but a shadow in a dimly-lit kitchen. It had been a dark moment for you, and you wondered why Alessia had bothered taking the picture without you knowing. However, as you continued to stare at the small photo, you noticed that Alessia had somehow managed to turn something so dark into something light and beautiful– the way that you stood, leaning against the counter, made you seem so human and perfectly captured… Well, you. It took you a few minutes to truly understand why Alessia had taken the photo, and you realized that, while the moment had been dark, the memory itself was light and fluffy. This would always be something that you’d marvel about your lover, and be sure to tell her about. Lessi was, after all, the light of your life, and it was moments like these where you knew that to be true. 

—--

6. Secrets, Magical Gardens, & Fountains

After Alessia’s last instagram post, fans were calling you the new Preath with how the two of you continuously “soft launched” your relationship, or lack of relationship… nobody really knew, honestly. Some speculated that some of Alessia’s instagram photos and stories pointed at your relationship together, while others claimed that was pure speculation. It was something that you and your girlfriend often laughed about together. After four years together, you’d never been closer or happier with the woman you loved. The two of you were still teammates at Arsenal and successful as ever, and as stable as the two of you were, you still felt like something was shifting between the two of you. 

Waking up this morning on a day off, Alessia told you to dress nicely, to which you did. Alessia herself decided upon a flowy white top and high-waisted pants. She had told the two of you that you were going somewhere but, as she drove with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on your thigh, she had yet to tell you where. 

After what seemed like ages of driving and soft conversation, Alessia pulled the car into a parking space in front of a huge, gorgeous botanical garden. Opening the door, Alessia stood in front of the car and held out her hand for you to take, which you did. Together, the two of you walked around the garden and admired all of the different types of flowers and plants. Idle chatter filled the space between the two of you, and the weather was just simply perfect. 

Coming up to a clearing that featured a large, beautiful water fountain, Alessia suddenly stopped. Turning towards you, you suddenly realized why everything had felt like it was shifting as of late. Alessia Russo dropped down to one knee in front of you, pulling a black box from the back pocket of her pants and opening it to reveal a gorgeous ring. You could barely process the moment, having been completely oblivious to Alessia’s plans. Little did you know that your partner had been planning this moment for months, utilizing the ever-present Katie McCabe to plan out her proposal. 

Not wasting a moment, Alessia spoke to you. Her blue eyes sparkled with adoration and emotion as her voice quivered, but remained true. 

“Y/N M/N L/N, from festival dates to football matches, to movie nights and early mornings spent dancing in the kitchen, I have spent hours upon hours doing the things I love with the person I love the most. You make even the smallest things seem like the most significant, and there is nothing I would love more in the world than to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes. Yes. A thousand and one times, yes.” And with that, Alessia slipped the ring on your finger. 

The instagram post arose several days later, when both of you had the time to announce your engagement and simultaneously officialize the relationship between the two of you. It was your final hard launch after several years of soft launching and teasing the fans endlessly.

The picture the two of you chose was of Alessia on one knee in front of the fountain, both arms extended up to you with the ring box open in her hands. Your hands were on your face, the emotion that bled from the both of you prevalent in the photo. The caption for the photo was simple, “A thousand times, yes. Fiances at last.” 

The song that played in the background was the one that seemed to tie it all together, “The Feels” by Labrinth. The song and its lyrics reminded you of you terrified you’d been, standing at Alessia’s front door just before your first date, a shaky mess. You remembered wondering if you’d be hurt again, if dating again was worth the risk and suffering of yet another heartbreak. 

Now, as you laid next to your sleeping fiancé, you knew that the risk you had taken had been more than worth it. You would always be grateful to your younger self for taking that massive leap and choosing to trust Alessia Russo with your heart. Closing your eyes and laying back down beside the love of your life, you fell asleep with a smile of absolute satisfaction and love upon your face.

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part six]

Words; 2.5k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none

A/N; same as the sydney FC games I won't be going off real games for the new club, it's just easier to make them up and it's easier to find the tillie's ones to go off.

masterlist

Astrid felt a weight lifted off her as she walked away from the Sydney FC training grounds for the last time. Although she hadn’t been there long, this place had given her an amazing start to her footballing career. She had been able to play the game she loved and continue to succeed at a higher level. But it was time to go. 

The offer they presented her with hadn’t changed and it wasn’t going to work with how she wanted to continue to learn and grow as a player and a person. So here she was, telling them she was officially leaving and moving clubs. The staff said they were sad to see her go, which she appreciated. She felt really bad for leaving the girls she had become close with on the team. She told them shortly after telling the club, sending out a group text since they were all on a break currently before pre-season started again. The influx of goodbyes and well wishes she received warmed her heart and brought up her feelings about leaving again, but it was what was best. 

She had called up Lisa again, telling her what club would be best for her and Lisa was very happy and excited to get things rolling. Lisa was the main point of contact with the club, organising everything official while Astrid worked on packing up her life in Australia and moving across the world. Cortnee had been helping her, though there wasn’t much to pack in her apartment, a lot of her old stuff still back at home, which she was going to go and get before she had to leave next week. 

It had been announced on social media that Astrid was leaving Sydney FC but it had not been shared what Swedish club she was joining, and the response from her fellow Matildas was incredible. They were all so happy for her and how quickly she was advancing as a professional footballer. 

She had just finished her lunch when her phone rang, Tony’s contact appearing on her screen. 

“Hello?” Astrid spoke after answering the call. 

“Astrid! Hello, it’s Tony.” The man called out, happiness evident in his voice. 

“Hi, Tony. How are you?” Astrid moved to sit on her couch. 

“I am very well thank you. And you?” He asked politely. 

“Yeah, I’m good, thank you.” Astrid smiled to herself. 

“Good, good. Now first I wanted to congratulate you on your move to Sweden! I may be a little biassed, but it is a beautiful country and I think you will love it!” Tony’s laughter flowed through the speakers. 

“Thank you, I’m looking forward to it. I think it’ll be really good for me and my career.” Astrid laughed slightly at her coach's excitement. 

“Yes, yes I agree.” He cleared his throat. “Now I was calling you to talk about the upcoming camp next month in June, I’m sure you heard about the games against Spain and Portugal.” Tony waited for Astrid to respond. 

“I did. I think those games will be good for us, looking at next year with the world cup.” She swallowed nervously for what he might say next. 

“Yes definitely. Well I just wanted to let you know that you have been selected for the team for this next camp and we look forward to seeing you next month in Spain.” Tony was smiling on his end as he heard the young player let out a soft sigh of relief. 

“Oh, thank you. Thanks so much Tony.” Astrid was beaming now. “I won’t let you down.” 

“I know you won't, Astrid. You’ve been working exceptionally hard these past few months and it really showed in your performances last camp.” Tony could tell how excited she was, obviously not suspecting to be chosen, which was the opposite to the coaching staff’s opinion. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got for us when we see you again. Keep working hard and we’ll see you soon.”

“Of course. Thank you, again. See you in Spain.” The call ended and Astrid lept up from her couch, letting out a squeal and doing a little dance around her living room. Although she was officially a part of the Matildas, there could be a time where she didn’t get these calls so it was a big relief when she did.

A week later and her parents were dropping her off at the airport with her life packed up into two suitcases and carry ons; this drop off felt very different to the ones in the past. The whole morning had been emotional for Astrid as they left her family home, driving past all the places she had grown up visiting, playing football and making memories. She knew she would be back one day, but the ticket in her bag said ‘one way’ so that day was very unknown.

Her parents had gone through security with her, wanting to spend as much time together as they could before she boarded her flight and went off to her new home. The hugs goodbye at the gate were long and full of whispered “I love you’s” between Astrid and her parents. Her flight was called and it was time to go. 

She managed to hold in her tears until she got to her business class seat, grateful she was sitting alone and could hide behind a small screen, wiping her eyes before anyone could see her. She was sad to be leaving home and her parents, they had such a strong bond, but this was going to be one of the best decisions of her life, and she knew that. 

The flight to Dubai went quite quickly, considering Astrid slept for the majority of it, it was a red-eye so she expected to fall asleep at some point. The layover was only 2 hours and she spent it rechecking her luggage for the next flight, her parents not trusting it wouldn’t get lost, grabbing some food and walking around the airport until she was boarding the flight to Stockholm Sweden, the closest airport to Hammarby and her new housing. 

This flight, though shorter, felt long without her sleeping it away, getting through a few movies and TV episodes before she finally landed in Sweden. She switched her phone on again as soon as she entered the airport, ready for the influx of messages from her parents checking in on her and from Kyra who was waiting for Astrid at arrivals. She collected her bags quite quickly and made her way to where Kyra and Courtney would be waiting. Charli wanted to be there to welcome her too, but being 5 hours away in Rosengård and having a game that day proved to be a little difficult. But they were going to see each other soon so they didn’t have to wait that long to reunite. 

Astrid could feel Kyra blowing up her phone in her pocket but she couldn’t check it with three bags in her hand and trying to find her way through an airport that was in a language she didn’t understand. She followed the crowds of people and eventually found herself near the exit. 

“ASTRID!” Two loud voices mixed together and stopped Astrid in her tracks, turning her head rapidly to find the point of the noise. She didn’t find it but she did find two girls running straight for her and she let go of her bags to meet them in the middle. The three of them hugged tightly, swaying slightly as they laughed. 

“I can’t believe you’re really here.” Kyra said with a wide smile on her face. 

“I know, me either.” Astrid shook her head, looking between both of her friends, this is where it begins. 

Eventually they picked up her bags and exited the airport to a taxi waiting to take the girls back to Kyra and Courtney’s place. Astrid was staying over for the night until she picked up her keys tomorrow for her place just down the road.

The girls took Astrid sightseeing for the rest of the day to try and keep her awake, she wanted to regulate her body clock as soon as possible and avoid jet lag. They cooked dinner together and spent the evening catching up and watching movies until they all decided to go to bed. 

The next day was spent moving Astrid into her own place, thankful it came furnished and all she had to buy was necessities and decorations. The three of them had exhausted themselves by dinner time and decided just to order in and sat in Astrid’s living room this time before Kyra and Courtney left for the night. Astrid was used to living by herself so she didn’t mind the silence, but it felt very different being in a new country where she didn’t fully understand the language yet. But the club had set up language lessons for her to attend while training so she could understand the basics which she was more than grateful for. 

The day finally came for her to officially sign her contract with Hammarby IF and receive her new kit so she could begin training with the team. She was handed her new jersey, flipping the back to reveal ‘Taylor’ above a massive 13, happy because it was her Matilda’s number but just flipped. And also happy because of the 13 and the fact her last name is Taylor; I mean it was just meant to be. 

She took some photos for social media so the club could officially announce her addition to the team and then got shown around the centre and where she would train with the team. It was beginning to feel a lot more real and she could feel her heart growing with excitement and anticipation for what her time here could look like. 

Safe to say her time at Hammarby was going to be good, and she had only just started. Training was already going great for Astrid, and being with Kyra and Courtney really helped, like having Cortnee at Sydney FC helped her last season. She had already felt her skills improving and it had only been a few days. Astrid was hyper focused while in training, working hard on her passes, taking constant shots at goal from both feet and ramping up her fitness during gym sessions. Astrid felt like she had something to prove here. 

She didn’t though, not to anyone that mattered. Her new coaches were very impressed with her ambition and her teammates were grateful to have her on the team. 

They had their first match since Astrid joined and she didn’t plan on them using her at all, happy to just watch the team flow and play like they had been since the season started. But it was getting close to full time and neither team had yet to score. The coaches had instructed a few of the subs to get warm, that included Astrid. 

After a few minutes she was replacing the current left forward, running onto the pitch and giving Kyra a high five who was further back as the left midfielder. From their matches at training, Kyra and Astrid found that when they were on that left side together they were a pretty good duo, despite not really playing together on the national team yet. Being friends might have helped but they had this connection where they didn’t need to say anything and the passes between them were flawless. And it was working during this game right now. 

Kyra stole the ball from the other team, dribbling it around her matched player and running it down the field. Astrid had seen her coming and ran closer to the box. Kyra struck the ball hard, it flew in the air and landed at Astrid’s feet. She took a few short strides but she had space so she swung her right foot at the ball towards the goal. The goalie had gone for it but it slipped past her fingers as she jumped for it, turning her head as she fell, watching the ball sink into the back net. 

The small home crowd cheered and Astrid ran towards Kyra as soon as she knew it was in. Astrid reached Kyra and jumped onto her, screaming with joy that she had scored for her first time on her new team. The team jumped onto the pair, Kyra holding her tight and shaking her as Astrid erupted in laughter. 

The match ended, Hammarby had won 1-0 and the whole team was ecstatic at their new teammate’s goal that got them the win. Kyra and Courtney were probably the most proud and Astrid couldn’t wipe her smile off her face. 

The team had celebrated in the change rooms for ages before they all showered and decided to go home, tired after the tough game but still buzzing with joy. It seemed as if Charli could sense that they were done because as soon as Kyra, Courtney and Astrid had begun walking home, she was calling her.

“WHOOOOOOO!” Charli screamed as soon as Astrid accepted the facetime, all three girls jumping back at the sudden noise. 

“Oh my god.” Astrid shook her head at Charli. “What a way to start a call.” The youngest girl spoke. 

“Well I’m just super happy for you guys. You should’ve seen me when you scored that goal, Astrid. I was off my couch within seconds screaming at my laptop.” Charli laughed and Astrid smiled. 

“Thank you! That’s so sweet Char.” Astrid pouted at the screen, her head whipping fast to Kyra when the girl took her phone from her. 

“Excuse me, I don’t know if you saw but I actually assisted that soooo…” Kyra teased and Charli just stared at her. Courntey and Astrid laughed beside each other as they walked. 

“Yes I saw. Well done Kyra.” Charli smiled at Kyra, sarcasm hiding in her voice which made Astrid snort, snatching the phone back from Kyra who scoffed. 

“Ugh, I miss you Char, I’m stuck with these losers now.” Astrid rolled her eyes playfully. 

“That’s so rude.” Courtney expressed from beside her. 

“You can get to training on your own now, Asteroid.” Kyra crossed her arms as she walked. Astrid’s jaw dropped and turned around, walking backwards to look her in the eyes. 

“That name is reserved for Macca and Macca only.” Astrid pointed at Kyra. Charli was laughing through the phone and Courtney slapped a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. 

Astrid’s tough facade eventually cracked and she couldn’t help but smile at the brown eyed girl who was running back up to her, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. 

“I’ll let you guys go and celebrate. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” Charli’s voice flowed and a smile appeared through the phone. 

“Okay, I’ll call you later today Char.” Astrid nodded at her. “Love you.” Astrid spoke first, Kyra and Courtney shortly behind with the same words. 

“BYEEEEEE” Charli excessively waved through the camera, the other three girls following her actions. The call ended and Astrid put her phone away, adjusting her kit bag strap before holding her arms out ready for Kyra and Courtney to link their arms with hers. They walk arm and arm back to their places, Astrid inviting them to come round later after she’s called her parents so they can have their post match dinner together. 

Astrid was feeling so grateful for how her life here was progressing already. She was with two of her bestfriends, she was improving on her football and she was enjoying her new home. 

to be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part eighteen]

Words; 2.7k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing,

masterlist

“Courtney come on, just tell us please?” Astrid whined as she sat on the edge of her couch with Kyra, Courtney pacing in front of them. 

“Okay fine.” Courtney sat down in the arm chair across from the couch. “I’m going on loan.” She mumbled but the other girls caught on. 

“Loan?”  Kyra questioned, letting the information process in her mind as she looked at Courtney. 

“Where? Who?” Astrid asked with furrowed brows. 

“Leicester City put in an offer before the break, they told me this morning and I accepted.” Courtney looked down at her hands as she waited for further reactions. 

“How long?” Kyra asked after a minute of silence. 

“Till the end of the WSL season.” Courtney slowly lifted her head. “And then they have the option to buy after that.” She looked between her two friends who were processing the news, both silent. 

“That’s amazing Nevvy, I’m so happy for you.” Astrid stood up and opened her arms, waiting for Courtney to join her. Courtney stood up with a smile, accepting the hug and holding onto Astrid. 

“Thank you.” Courtney spoke into Astrid’s shoulder where she placed her head, the younger girl running her hand up and down her back. The two girls almost jumped when another pair of arms wrapped around them and a small laugh came from Kyra as she joined the hug.

“When do you go?” Kyra asked softly as they pulled apart but still stood closely. 

“Well I’m still training here for the next week and a half and then I’ll leave to sign there on the 25th.” Courtney relayed what she was told this morning. 

“Shit. That’s soon.” Astrid’s smile faltered as she realised how little time they had together in Sweden.

“I know. But we’ll see each other at camp like every month.” Courtney pulled Astrid into her side. 

“Enough with the sadness.” Kyra spoke sternly while putting her finger straight up in the air, scaring Courtney and Astrid. “Just means we have to do everything together for the next week and a half until Nev leaves us to our own devices.” Kyra directed her last words to Astrid who laughed in return. 

“Oh no I didn’t think of that bit.” Courtney sighed and placed a hand on her forehead in distress, genuinely concerned with how they might actually survive without her as a middle man. 

Contrary to Cortnee’s advice from over a week ago, Astrid and Kyra had yet to speak about New Year’s, or anything that happened that night, but easily returned to their usual selves and like nothing had happened. 

Astrid was still thinking about it at least once a day, questioning whether it was something or not, whether Kyra actually remembered the kiss, and what could this mean for them? The right thing to do to resolve her constant thoughts would be to just talk to Kyra about it, or at least tell someone else. But with the return to football and the World Cup looming above them, she was choosing to ignore the reality of it and keep it hidden deep down. 

After spending as much time with Courtney before she left and eventually helping her move out, it was time for the first game back. Kyra and Astrid had both been selected for the starting 11, ready to make an impact early on in the game. It’s safe to say they did. 

During the first half the pair had linked up on the left side two times, securing two assists for Kyra and a brace for Astrid, which helped the team eventually to their 6-1 win over AIK and a terrific start to the new year. 

After Courtney had left, Kyra had the thought that maybe Astrid should move in and fill the space and so that neither of them were lonely outside of training. Astrid agreed and they began the process of moving her in and getting out of her old place. 

Even now with their closer quarters, neither had yet to mention new years eve or the Fiji trip at all, pushing those few days to the back of their minds and ignoring whatever it was that happened between them. Their relationship stayed as close to what it was before the kiss, but there seemed to be a few moments of distance between them at certain times. For the most part though, the pair had acted as they always did and caused mischief to their club teammates during training sessions and weekly team bonding activities. 

After another 4 matches with Hammarby and another 5 goals added to Astrid’s list, it was time for Astrid and Kyra to jet off home and join the Matilda’s for the first camp of the year. It felt weird going off to camp without Courtney this time, Charli also taking her own flight with Mini and Harper, leaving Kyra and Astrid on the long journey alone. And without anyone else to pester or intervene, they were getting at each other's throat every five seconds, resulting in them rocking up to camp exhausted and annoyed with one another. 

Astrid was always very happy to be back on home soil, especially when they got to play in her hometown and in front of her friends and family, it was always a special time. 

The car pulled up to the hotel and Astrid and Kyra jumped out, their social media team standing outside ready to catch them, forcing smiles onto both of their faces as if they weren’t just arguing five minutes ago about something stupid. 

They were met with the rest of the girls who had arrived from overseas standing in the lobby, all turning around as they heard Kyra and Astrid walking in the front doors. 

“Cha Cha!” Astrid dropped her baggage immediately, yelling as she ran directly towards the blonde defender, a look of fear in her eyes as she spotted the young forward racing towards her. 

“Oh no.” She whispered to herself, preparing for the impact she knew was coming. Astrid all but leaped into Charli’s arms, the girl grunting as she caught Astrid and tried to stabilise herself, stopping them from falling to the ground. 

“Oh thank god.” Astrid shook her head as she jumped down from Charli, gripping onto her shoulders with wide eyes. “It is so good to see you, I have been stuck alone with her for 2 months now!” The her she was referring to stood behind them with a dropped jaw. 

“And I have been stuck with her, it’s torture.” Kyra dramatically sighed as she moved closer to the group of girls. Astrid turned around slowly, meeting eyes with Kyra who had her arms crossed over her chest. 

“I thought you chose to move in with Kyra.” Steph spoke up, pointing her attention to Astrid. 

“Well it's cheaper and safer than living alone.” Astrid shrugged her shoulders, a smirk growing on her face as she awaited Kyra’s reaction. 

“Take that back, you love me.” Kyra ran forward, bringing her hands up to pinch Astrids cheeks causing the younger girl to swat her arms away. 

“Leave me alone!” Astrid squealed as they began fighting, laughs echoing through the lobby as the other girls watched on in confusion, no one ever understood their relationship. 

“Alright, enough you two. The rooms are ready.” Steph was the one who separated them with the help of Charli who pushed them both towards their bags and handed them their individual room keys. “Everyone has their own room this time.” Steph announced to the group who all seemed happy with that, enjoying having the space to themselves. 

After a night of rest and a fuelling breakfast where they took the time to catch up, the team were headed to the stadium for their first day of training with only 3 days until their match against Czechia. 

Training went smoothly like always, the team jumping back into their rhythm instantly and enjoying back together in the Australian sun. Kyra and Astrid paired up for drills, a disaster waiting to happen, and it clearly didn’t take long for chaos to ensue. Though they enjoy one another's company, they also have a way of getting under each other's skin quite quickly. So it wasn’t a surprise when the session was stopped because Kyra and Astrid were now on the ground practically wrestling after getting caught up in each other's feet and falling over. 

A few of the older, more responsible girls ran over and began separating them, putting them with different partners and on other sides of the pitch, in hopes of creating a more peaceful, quiet session. But they still managed to find themselves communicating, loudly, across the pitch whilst they were training and still disturbing everyone. 

“Oi, you two!” Sam’s voice caught the attention of the pair who sneakily made their way back to one another and were whispering at the back of the group before Sam spotted them. Their heads snapped up at their captain and immediately stopped the chatter, their quiet laughs drifting off. Everyone else watched with smirks as Sam began to scold them. “Stop being 5 years olds otherwise you’re not playing on Thursday.” Her threat made them both visibly swallow and start to inch further and further away from each other, avoiding eye contact to avoid laughter.

The 3 days of training had ensured the team could once again come back together like no time had passed and look like they played together each day. They had their meeting that morning, where they would have a final talk about strategies and finally reveal the starting line up, Astrid sitting up the back with her other three counterparts half listening to Tony. That was until something finally caught her attention.

“As our 10 we’re going to have Astrid,” Tony smiled when he saw the young girl's head lift up, jaw dropping slightly in surprise. “You are our central attack to help Sam as the 9.” Tony concluded and Astrid nodded, shock turning into a smile on her face. Her teammates were giving her head claps and shoulder shakes while she stared at the screen, her heart beaming at the fact she would be starting a game in her home town with all her friends and family there. 

During their pitch warm up, Kyra had pointed out Astrid’s family that were sitting by one of the corners, both girls giving them a wave when they passed during drills. Astrid couldn’t have felt better than she did right now. And unlike the last time she was set to start, there wasn’t an ounce of anxiety as redid her hair, tied her boots right to left and finally put on her jersey. 

Astrid was last in the line behind Charli and Kyra, as per the 31 painted under her last name, pushing out any nerves by talking with her mascot beside her. “What position do you play?” Astrid asked the girl beside her. 

“Forward, like you!” The girl pointed up and Astrid's eyes widened as she watched the girl realise who she was, getting even more excited to be standing next to Astrid. 

“Well that means you’re part of the cool kids club then.” Astrid smiled and put out her spare hand for a high five, the girl jumping up and to hit before jumping up and down in excitement. “Unlike Kyra and Charli.” Astrid bent down to whisper but kept it loud enough for the girls to hear her. 

“Hey!” They both exclaimed but they were cut off as the line started moving and the team began their walk out, Astrid and her mascot still giggling together. 

There was so much pride behind Astrid as she walked out on that pitch, seeing the almost full stands of Matildas supporters ready to watch what would be a very intense game. 

During the first half there were so many missed chances from both teams, right from that first touch. Just too high, too far over, a really good block. It seemed nothing was going to happen for either in the first half.

Time was almost up, 3 minutes left on the clock and Astrid was nowhere near giving up on this half. The ball had fallen to Charli who dribbled through the opposition before shooting it off to Kyra in the midfield. Kyra quickly became surrounded and needed to pass it off before she lost it. She found a gap and slipped to a more central position, eying off forwards to pass it too. Courtnee and Hayley were too far back and crowded to slip it in, Sam and Astrid being the only two with a chance of getting it in. Both strikers had their eye on the ball as Kyra kicked it into the air, ready for it no matter who it decided to fall to. It looked as if it was about to fall to Sam who was ready to head it in, so the defenders and goalie headed in her direction. 

But with a slight change of the breeze and an extra step from Kyra, the ball landed to Astrid at her chest, quickly rolling the ball down to her feet. Her proximity to the next assisted greatly as she used her right foot to tap the ball forward, slipping past the hands of Lukášová and bouncing in the back of the net. 

The crowd roared in her ears as Astrid found herself running along the edge of the pitch past the crowd, proudly taking a hold of her shirt, tapping her badge as she ran. The girls had begun to chase after Astrid who had just given them a leg up in the last 2 minutes of the game. She eventually stopped and turned around to find 9 other girls about to land on her and give her more head pats than she could have imagined. 

She was beaming as they finally returned to their positions to resume play, all still with adrenaline pumping and a final fight at the end of the half. And before she knew it, Cortnee was running towards the goal, defenders trying to catch up to her before Cortnee slid the ball towards Astrid so quickly that once again Astrid was shooting the ball into the back of the net. 

A brace within the last 3 minutes of the first half, who would have thought. To celebrate this time though Astrid ran to the corner where her family were sitting, blowing a kiss up to her parents at the edge, almost buckling forward as a whole heap of bodies piled up on her back. The girls were screaming in her ear, most prominently Kyra who was the first person on her back to no surprise, Astrid dropping her off with a bright smile before both Kyra and Charli wrap their arms around the young scorer. 

30 seconds into resuming play the ref called time and the Matildas were leaving the pitch 2-nil up and hungry for more. After time for a breath and a plan revision, the girls were back on the field, an immediate change was made with Aivi to Clare Hunt, marking her Matildas debut. 

Hayley was the one who kept the fire alive early in this half, also scoring herself a brace within the first 10 minutes, giving the crowd what they came to see. Astrid, Cortnee and Katrina played 25 minutes of this half before being subbed off for fresh legs, all happy with the impact they had made to the game. 

The game ended with 6-0 in favour of the Matildas after 2 more goals from Sam and Polks, the girls very happy with their result in front of the home crowd. After their rounds to the fans, saying hello to friends and family, and their group pitch huddle, it was time for the girls to head back to the hotel for a night of rest ahead of their prep for Spain in 3 days. 

to be continued...

Joining the club | Jen Beattie x reader

Summary; 2023 and the start of 2024 seem to have something in common already; everyone in the WOSO community seems to be getting engaged. And when you bring this up to your long term partner Jen, it seems she has nothing to say, or does she….

Pairings; Jen Beattie x famous!reader

Words; 2.5k

Warnings; pure fluff, swearing

A/N; It seems to be the season of getting engaged and even though I am way off getting engaged and very very single, I thought I would pretend and imagine that I was getting engaged to the one and only Jen Beattie. There is also a lack of Jen fics on here and I feel the need to write one for her. Enjoy!

First it was Steph and Dean all the way back in January. Lynn and Marley finally did it back in May. Then in June it was Emily and Kat, and Katrina and Clara just a few days after. Kristie and Sam finally revealed theirs from September after months of teasing. Chloe Kelly and Millie Bright got it within the same week, sharing photos with their partners around christmas. And finally a surprise from Ellie and Daan on the first day of a new year. 

It seemed 2023 and now 2024 was the time for engagements in the world of women’s football and you were quite caught up in all the news. 

“Oh my god babe, another one!” You let out a gasp as the post from Ellie and Daan popped up on your instagram feed, stopping your pre-dinner scrolling as you paused and assessed the picture. It was from a few days ago, and you were seeing it now because you had been away with Jen and her family, avoiding social media to spend time with them and only now catching up. 

“What?” Jen’s voice called from the kitchen, you jumping up from the couch with your phone and running quickly into the kitchen. 

“Look.” You aggressively shoved your phone into her face and she adjusted to the bright light as she tried to look at the photo. 

“Oh wow, congrats to them.” Jen smiled quickly before turning away and back to the food on the stove. You frowned at her quick response and disinterest at the post.

“Do you not think it’s funny?” You asked with a small laugh from beside her. 

“What is?” She asked whilst moving around the kitchen to find the rest of the ingredients for your dinner. 

“That everyone in the footballing world seems to be getting engaged at the moment?” You asked again and she didn’t respond with any excitement, again.

“Oh, guess I didn’t notice.” She shrugged and continued to stir the pot. You opened your mouth to talk again but she got there before you. “Could you grab me some bowls, love?” She asked while keeping her eyes on the pan. You paused for a second before grabbing two clean ones from the dishwasher and placing them next to her. “Thank you.” She smiled at you briefly before beginning to dish up the pasta that was now done. 

“You’re welcome.” You snapped out of your trance and silently moved to grab some glasses and the wine from the fridge. She waited for you to finish pouring your drinks before she grabbed both bowls and headed for the couch, you following close behind her. 

“What are we watching tonight, love?” Jen asked as she sat beside you on the couch, now both holding your dinner and the wine glasses on the coffee table. 

“I don’t mind, you pick.” You shrugged before taking a bite of your food and now it was her turn to frown at you, normally you always took control over what to watch together. 

“You okay?” Jen asked simply and you nodded silently while eating and staring at the screen in front of you. “ Okay, how about Bridgerton? We still haven’t finished season two.” She suggested and once again you nodded silently from beside her. 

You weren’t sure why you were feeling slightly off after Jen’s reaction to the post and your comments, but you still snuggled into her on the couch after finishing your pasta and wine.

The episode finished and you could feel the both of you drifting off after a long day. Jen had been back at training after winter break and your schedule had been hectic since returning from time off. You were an actress and your new movie was about to come out so all the promo shoots and interviews were now in full swing, though you were grateful it began in London so you could still go home to Jen every night.  

You met Jen a few years back at an event in London you had both been invited to, catching her eyes from the other side of the room and instantly knowing you had to go talk to her. You knew who each other were, an actress making her name in the world and a famous sports star who silently followed each other in their respective lines of work. One conversation and you knew there was something there, and so did she. You both knew it would be hard with your professions and the distance you would have at certain times, but you wanted to make it work, somehow keeping it from the public eye for two years before hard launching it on your anniversary and sending both sets of fans into a frenzy. 

“Ready for bed love?” Jen spoke softly into the dark living room, smoothing your hair softly. 

“Definitely.” You yawned and sat up, rubbing your tired eyes as Jen stood up and held a hand out for you. You smiled at the gesture and met your hand in hers, pulling yourself up and making your way to your bedroom together. You both had already showered when you got home earlier so all that was left to do was to brush your teeth together. 

Your night routine was almost the same every night, no matter what was going on in your separate lives, you always spent those last few minutes together before crawling into bed. So once you both finished in the bathroom, you hopped into bed on your chosen sides but made your way closer to the middle and each other, Jen opening her arms to you as you laid your head on her chest.

“Sorry I’ve been quiet, tired.” You mumbled into the darkness against Jen as she drew small circles against your back. 

“It’s okay, me too.” Jen looked down at you to meet your soft eyes. 

“I love you.” You smiled and snuggled into her chest once more, eyes drifting closed. 

“I love you too.” Jen placed a kiss against your head before closing her own eyes and drifting asleep. 

The topic of last night's conversation was mostly forgotten in the morning, or at least it wasn’t brought up again between you too. That didn’t mean it wasn’t brought up with different people. Jen arrived at training and as both Steph and Beth walked up to her, they could tell something was on her mind. 

“You alright there Jenny?” Steph bumped her shoulder as herself and Beth joined her sides. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah.” Jen nodded at them but went silent straight after. 

“You sure?” Beth dragged out her words and brought her face as she could to Jen’s, their height difference proving to be a little difficult.

“Yeah, just thinking.” Jen tried to brush them off again but these two were persistent and she knew she wasn’t going to get very far if she didn’t tell them. She stopped her walking and sighed before speaking. “Last night, Y/N brought up how it seems like everyone’s getting engaged at the moment, and I didn’t really say anything back. And then she seemed upset for the rest of the night, but she said she was just tired, which I know she has been, but I also think I might have upset her in some way.” She let out in almost one breath as Steph and Beth tried to process her words. 

“Well she’s not wrong, especially in the last few weeks.” Beth added with a shrug. 

“Do you think she’s ready?” Steph ignored Beth’s comment and looked at Jen.

“Well, I wasn’t sure before, but after last night I think she is.” Jen looked between the two of them. “Just the way she was talking about it and then when I didn’t really say anything…” She trailed off and looked down. 

“I think she’s ready.” Steph spoke with a smile. She had watched from the beginning of your relationship with Jen just how happy you were with one another, and how easy the relationship seemed even when spending time apart due to work. 

“Are you?” Beth asked sincerely, her and Steph awaiting Jen’s reply. Jen was silent for a few seconds, bringing her eyes back up to look at her best friends. 

“I bought the ring like 2 months ago.” She mumbled but they still heard it and instantly started beaming at the Scottish woman. 

“You sly little bastard.” Beth punched Jen’s arm softly as they began to walk again so that they wouldn’t be late for training. 

Throughout the whole day the three of them, mostly Steph and Beth, were coming up with ideas on how she should propose but Jen kept shooting them down. She wanted it to be private, special and a surprise, so anything that involved taking you out somewhere would instantly make you suspicious. 

While Jen had been conversing her thoughts and plans with her best friends at training, you were in your head all day thinking about last night. Which wasn’t really helping especially when you were trying to film press interviews all day and talk about your movie. 

You could have talked to your co-stars about it, after all they had become close friends while shooting and now being with each other everyday for promo, but the only person you really wanted to talk to was Jen; it was always Jen. 

Jen got home long before you, taking her time to deep clean the flat and cook dinner for you once again, knowing you would be exhausted from your long day of work. 

She didn’t hear you opening the door and making your way through the flat, she had been vacuuming with her headphones on and dancing around your bedroom. You stood in the doorway for a few minutes after spotting her, admiring her and waiting for her to see you. And when she did, boy did she get a fright. 

“Ah fuck!” Jen almost jumped out of her skin when she finally turned around and spotted you lurking in the doorway, using one hand to remove her headphones and the other to turn the vacuum off. “How long have you been standing there?” She dropped the vacuum and began to walk over to you. 

“A few minutes. I was admiring your hidden dance skills.” You smiled and stood up straighter, welcoming her into a hug like you do every day. “Hi.” You mumbled into her shoulder. 

“Hi love.” She pulled back and leaned in for a soft kiss. No matter how many times you kiss Jen, it feels like the very first time all over again, even after 4 years. “Busy day?” She asked as you parted, taking in your tired expression. 

“Busy day.” You nodded and smiled at her. “How was training?” You asked as you walked hand and hand to the kitchen. 

“Good, good to be back with the girls.” Jen smiled at you before letting go to retrieve dinner from the oven. You stood at the counter, simply watching her as she moved about wrapping up dinner. “Go put something on, I’ve got it.” Jen smiled and placed a kiss on your temple before ushering you to the lounge room.

“Okay bossy.” You laughed before making your way to the couch and switching the TV over to Netflix to finish the final episode of Bridgerton. You wait patiently for her on the couch, looking over your shoulder every few seconds to see if she is coming around the corner. 

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Jen is trying to hide her anxiety and nervousness as she plates up dinner and feels her pocket one more time. With two champagne glasses now full and a tray full of food she finally makes her way to you, letting out a final breath before entering the living room. 

“Dinner is served.” She places the tray down on the table and bows which makes you laugh. Your eyes fall on the glasses and you’re instantly confused. 

“What’s with the champagne? Decide the wine wasn’t good enough?” You joked and she let out a small laugh shaking her head. 

“Some nights are a little more special than the others.” She cryptically says and has you even more confused but you leave the comment alone and hit play on the remote. 

You eat dinner together while watching the episode, silently watching with a bit of commentary along the way before cuddling up after eating. The episode finishes and you can feel Jen’s heart beating particularly fast, her fingers are nervously playing with one another and she hasn’t spoken in a few minutes. You sit up silently and look at her, she doesn’t look at you. You’re about to fill the silence when she beats you to it. 

“You know how much I love you, right?.” Jen rushes out and leaves you slightly bewildered. 

“I know. I love you just as much.” You reply. “What’s wrong?” You bring your hand up to brush her hair back into her low bun. 

“I’m about to do something and I hope you don’t think it’s random and forced because it’s not and I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I didn’t want to make a massive deal about it because it’s just you and me and that’s all that matters.” Jen speaks in one long breath and you need a second for your brain to catch up but before it can she’s pulling you up off the couch with her and standing in front of you. She holds your hands in hers and looks directly at you. 

“Wha-” Before you could even think about finishing your sentence, a giant gasp leaves your mouth at her next action. She drops down to one knee whilst still holding holding your hands, smiling up at you as tears well in your eyes. 

“My love, I could go on and on about how much I love you but you already know. There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with, no matter where it shall take us. So,” She let go of your hands, you bringing them up to your face and hers reaching down into her pocket. She fishes the small, black box out, opening it to reveal a sparkling ring and looks back up at you. “Y/N Y/L/N, will you-” 

“YES!” You interrupt her before she gets to finish causing her to laugh and shake her head. 

You just stand there admiring her as she gets up and removes the ring from the box. She brings your shaking left hand from your face and slides the ring on. Your jaw drops at the ring before you jump into her arms, causing her to react quickly and grab hold of your legs. “I love you so much Jen.” You cry into her shoulder as she holds you before you lift your head up, meeting your eyes with hers before pulling in for a kiss. 

The rest of the night is spent in one another's arms just admiring each other and talking softly with each other about the rest of your lives while wrapped up in your sheets.

yourinstagram and jbeattie91

yourinstagram we joined the club 💍

liked by jbeattie91, stephcatley, bethmead_ and 834,032 others

stephcatley so happy for you! welcome to the club 😉

bethmead_ about time jen jen. congrats 🥰

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THE END!

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part two]

Words; 1.5k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none (i don't think)

A/N; second part of this series. the only games i'm fully going off of right now are the tillies games and not for Sydney FC, sort of making them up myself. again please give it some love and i welcome any good feedback. enjoy x

masterlist

Joining Sydney FC was one of the best things Astrid could have done. She was thriving. She knew joining in the middle of the season was going to be tough, especially because all the girls already knew each other, and it was at first but having Cortnee there really helped, and the other girls ensuring a smooth transition for her too.  

Astrid and her parents did argue for a while when she signed because they weren’t so keen on letting their only child live in Sydney alone at 17, but that was the only option with them unable to move from their jobs. Astrid was a little scared at first when they finally agreed she was more than mature enough to do it, but Cortnee was close by and they had developed a sister-like relationship in Matildas camps and now at the club. And it wasn’t long until she was going to be 18 anyway so it was just an early start to adulthood and Astrid loved it. 

It wasn’t long until she was playing her first Women’s A-league game, subbing on in the end of second half as a right forward. During training and practice matches Astrid was known to always score a goal, specifically towards the end. That’s why the coach brought her on when they were still 0-0 and 20 minutes from full time. She had been warming up since the second half started, ready to run on and help the team out. 

Almost 15 minutes passed and their side finally gained more possession of the ball, Cortnee ran with it on the right side, opposing defence closing in on her. She shot the ball straight up to Astrid who was in a lot of free space just further up on the outside of the box. The ball connected with her feet, with players coming closer she went for it, shooting strongly with her left foot, successfully passing by the goalie and sinking it in the back of the net. The crowd roared, Astrid ran directly to Cortnee who was already running to the younger girl. Astrid jumped onto Cortnee, a wide smile plastered on her face as the rest of the team ran and jumped onto the pair. Her first A-league game and goal and she had brought the team ahead to 1-0 with minutes to spare. 

The game has ended here and the score is 1-0 to Sydney FC with the only goal from number 19 Astrid Taylor. First appearance with this club at 17 years old, after joining the CommBank Matildas a few short months ago. I’ll say it now, I think she’s one to watch everyone, she’s got a strong strike and a great passion for the sport.

After that game, Astrid was gaining more and more minutes with the club, not in the starting 11 just yet, but subbing on towards the end and gaining the position of a ‘super-sub’, never failing to give the team a leg up by scoring at least one goal and a few assists per game right at the end. 

Her parents tried to come to as many games as they could, it being easier with her in the same state and especially when they played against Central Coast United. But when they couldn’t see them in person, they got the extended family together to watch at home. They were so proud of her, finally getting some acknowledgement for all the hard work she had put in from a young age. 

The new year started and the Matildas were off to compete in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, Astrid and Cortnee travelling over together after their recent club match. 

When they arrived Astrid couldn’t have been happier to see the rest of the team after almost 2 months, immediately jumping on Kyra and Charli from behind when she saw them walking towards the tunnel. 

“ASTRID!” Charli squealed once the attacker had let go and they both turned around and brought her into a tight hug. “Oh I missed you.” Charli smiled before letting go, allowing Kyra and Astrid to hug finally. 

“I missed you guys so much. It’s been way too long.” Astrid spoke over Kyra’s shoulder. 

“Good to have the group back together.” Kyra commented as the pair let go, the three of them now walking down the tunnel together, arms wrapped around each other. 

“You know, I think we could beat Cait, Lani and Macca for the best trio on the squad.” Astrid spoke up as they spotted the three players chatting amongst themselves, her comment catching their attention. 

“Excuse me?”  “What?”  “WOW.”

The three of them spoke after one another, Kyra and Charli trying not to laugh beside the youngest player who was about to speak but Mackenzie got the chance first, a small smirk on her face. 

“Now listen here, child-” She began but was interrupted by Tony calling the group over to the pitch for today's training session. 

“Catch ya later.” Astrid smiled before skipping off with Kyra and Charli, arms linked and laughing. Caitlin, Alanna and Mackenzie stood for a second before laughing and following close behind with a shake to the head. 

Throughout this first training session plenty of laughs and jokes were shared within the team, most coming from their youngest player and quite a few being harmlessly thrown at said player. Astrid was building a dynamic with the squad and it was working well for everyone. 

Astrid had been working really hard over the past few days, hoping to maybe make her debut in this camp alongside Cortnee who had yet to make hers too. The pair had been talking up this camp excitingly since it was announced, both having spent a while on the squad but yet to play. 

And that day came for Cortnee. It was their second match in the competition against the Philippines this time and the Matildas were struggling a bit more than their last match a few days ago when they won 18-0 against Indonesia. They reached half time and no goals were made. The starting line up came back after halftime more pumped up than ever. 

6 minutes into half time and Sam had secured them a goal with an assist from Steph; then a Phillipines player made an own goal and gave them another one. Another goal in the net by Emily Van Egmond and they felt even more hopeful about securing the win. At the 71 minute the substitutions for Aus began happening. When Cortnee, Courtney and Holly got called up, Astrid gave them all a clap and a pat on the back, hugging Cortnee a bit more and wishing her luck for her international debut. 

Astrid definitely had the loudest cheer when Cortnee ran on, subbing for Kyah. The final goal by Mary at 87 minutes and then the game was over. A 4-0 victory and a Matildas debut for Cortnee, it was a good game. The Matildas had another game in the group stage, making it to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win, but again no debut for Astrid. 

The quarter-finals match against South Korea was a tough one, the first goal of the match being made by South Korea in the 87th minute and ending the Matildas journey in the competition with a 0-1 loss. The team were devastated of course, Astrid slightly upset at not making her debut this camp again, but she had only been on the squad a few months so she knew her time would come. 

When Cortnee and Astrid returned to Sydney FC they both trained really hard, especially Astrid. She knew she had something to prove with both her club and national team and the only way to get there was to keep going. In their second match since returning from camp she made the starting line up and Cortnee could not have been more proud, nor could her parents who had been able to come to the game. 

Astrid had played more than 70 minutes and scored the team 2 goals and one assist before she was subbed off, more than happy with her results and to take a rest from her first long game since joining. At the end of the game, which they had won 5-1, Cortnee and Astrid made their way over to the barricade where her parents and Cortnee’s parents and brother had been chatting while they waited for the pair. 

The two families had joined the next day for lunch to celebrate the win and get to know each other a little better. They could see the sisterly bond Astrid and Cortnee had created and Astrid’s parents were happy to see she was being well taken care of since moving out of home. 

The next Matildas camp wasn’t until early April so Astrid had plenty of time to hone in on her skills, gain more minutes with Sydney FC while also adding to her score sheet. By the end of March she had 16 goals, many more assists and even more determination to be on the pitch in the next Matildas camp coming up next week.

to be continued...

Watch my shattered edges glisten| Leah Williamson x young!reader (platonic)

Summary; Being so good so young brings a lot of attention to you, especially when you make a simple mistake. Leah notices you struggling and helps you as you begin to crack under the pressure. Inspired by "Mirrorball" by my mother, Taylor Swift.

Pairings; Leah Williamson x young!reader (platonic), lionesses x reader (platonic)

Words; 2k

Warnings; sad, swearing, angst.

A/N; Is it too much to ask just to be comforted by Leah. Sorry about the sadness but it's so fun to write and play it out in my head. A little it rushed but I wanted to get something out and i'm off work sick so very clearly bored atm. Enjoy.

It was no secret that Leah felt a need to protect you and basically adopt you when you entered the senior team just a few months ago. You were quite young, like most of the other girls were when they got their first call ups, but there was a naivety and innocence to you that she felt the need to take you under her wing very quickly.

You had excelled very easily in the youth and U23 squads, becoming one of the best defenders for your age and following closely behind in the footsteps of the one and only Leah Williamson. So when you got that call from Sarina inviting you to your first senior camp, you were both excited and extremely nervous to be in the presence of your biggest inspirations.

There was a lot of press when your call up was publicly announced, people who had watched you in the younger squads cheering you on and other fans ready to see how you would fit within the senior team. A lot of the younger players in the squad were more than excited to hear of you finally moving up, most of you playing together and growing up together at national camps over the years. So there was no reason for you to worry about when arriving at St Georges park for the first time.

But the thought about being in an unfamiliar environment with new people and a new team still made you nervous. So it was understandable that you were quiet and reserved for the first day, still greeting everyone but unsure of where your place in the squad was just yet. The girls you had grown up with were lovely as always but it had been a few years since you were all together, so it was different. 

That's when Leah knew she had to make the effort and ensure your transition to the senior squad was smooth and easy, making you comfortable with the girls which would benefit your performance on the field.

"Hey, y/n!" A voice called out to you, making you turn your head to find the Leah Williamson waving you over to her table. You swallowed your nerves before walking over to her with your breakfast tray in your shaky hands. She shifted over to make a space for you between herself and Keira. That was the first and certainly not the last time Leah had made sure you felt welcome and  supported on the team. 

A few camps in and everyone was calling you a mini Leah, not that you minded. You and the older defender had a lot in common, making it easy to get along and create a sisterly bond quite easily. 

Despite being in a lower-ranked team of the WSL, many people already knew who you were and were ready to support you as you joined the senior squad. This helped with your nerves as you waited to sub on during your first national game, hearing the home crowd cheer as your number displayed beside Leah's.

"You've got this little one." Leah whispered as she hugged you, making your heart swell and your eyes roll at the nickname before you ran out and took her place on the field next to Millie and Lotte.

It's safe to say your run with the national team has been going quite well since your first game, finding yourself appearing in every match and even starting in the two in the previous camp.

Your impressive defensive skills and tactics had been noticed when you were on national duty and during regular matches, causing your agent to call you with many offers from many different clubs in the WSL and even other leagues. But there was one that stood out and would be a no-brainer to transfer during the January window, especially as a place to work on your skills ahead of the World Cup this summer.

So you officially left the club that started your professional career at 18 just three years ago and set off to North London, moving into Leah's flat; nice and close to the Colney.

It was in a friendly against Australia where you made a simple mistake that would impact you and your career so harshly, so quickly.

3 months out from the world cup and this one mistake almost cost you your spot in the World Cup squad... or so you were made to believe.

It was a simple mistake that plenty of players all over the world had made before; stepping out that little bit too much during a tackle and risking the player you were trying to mark, especially with the current weather conditions. That's all it took. But you knew the moment your studs hit Kyra's boot, your match was over.

The whistle was blown within seconds of her body hitting the floor and her grabbing onto her foot where your studs had accidently landed. You looked down to where her team was beginning to surround her, frozen in place until a hand on your shoulder shook you out of it and your head moved the ref who was reaching in her back pocket. The red card came into view and although you knew it was coming, your heart still sunk as she wrote your number on the back.

A few of the England girls began to start arguing with ref that it should have at least been a yellow, but you knew there was no point, anyone could see that it was a definite red and you were officially benched for the rest of the game and the next one coming. So with a hung head you walked off the field and over to the tunnel, the voices of your teammates and the disappointed home crowd blurring into the background, everything feeling as though it was in slow motion as the rain continued to fall.

"I'm sorry." You spoke to Sarina who silently nodded her head at you, both a sympathetic and disappointed look on her face as you passed by and walked down to the change room.

You sat down on the bench in front of your cubby and stared down at the boots that let down the team and left them a man down with 20 minutes still to go.

There was something bubbling in your chest that should have been anger at the situation but it was just bitter disappointment in yourself and that was ultimately worse. Water formed in your eyes and your throat began closing up as you bit back the tears that were trying to escape, but you couldn't let them.

You ended up showering and changing into your tracksuit as you waited for the match to end and what you presumed would be a lot of upset teammates ready to storm in and hurl their anger towards you. You curled up in your cubby, headphones on but no music playing, and closed your eyes as you waited.

You were so buried within yourself that you hadn't noticed all the girls coming in and spotting you making yourself so small, breaking all of their hearts as they could see how hard you were taking this.

It was Esme who eventually disturbed you, tapping your shoulder gently, silently nodding to the door of the once again empty changeroom after everyone began to leave for the bus.

She threw her arm around you, tucking you into her side as you walked out to the back and towards the bus where everyone was waiting. Once again you were left alone by the girls on the bus, they could see you were utterly disappointed and didn't want to accidentally make it worse. So although you were sat by yourself, you could feel 22 pairs of eyes on you every so often, but most intensely from a blonde captain further back on the bus.

It didn't take long for the press to have their say on the incident, immediately shaming you for your mistake and basically flushing your name and reputation down the toilet. So as you mindlessly scrolled through social media on the way back, your feed was filled with posts and comments about the incident. You knew better than to read what they wrote about you, but you couldn’t stop, obsessed with reading every article that featured your name. 

Most of the comments were the same, things like "how dangerous it really could have been" and that you were "young and reckless and irresponsible with your choices as a defender." Deep down you knew they were wrong about you but it was hard to fight through the voices saying they were right and that you were a bad footballer. 

Leah started to get worried when you were not only ignoring the other girls, but then you began distancing yourself upon returning home with her. You stayed in your room as much as you could and tried to stay away from Leah but it was hard when living in the same house. 

The night that you got back she barely heard from you, wanting to respect your privacy for as long as she could but when she heard your soft cries through the door she couldn’t ignore it any longer. 

“Y/N?” She knocked softly on the door, waiting for a response but you stayed quiet. “I’m coming in okay.” She gave a warning before opening the door softly, her eyes instantly finding you tucked into the covers facing away from the door. “Oh little one.” 

Her soft voice made a sob finally escape and you began properly breaking down for the first time. She hated seeing you like this, contrastingly different to the bubbly, mischievous person you were known to be. She crawled up under the covers, rolling you over and placing your head upon her chest.

“What can I do?” She began smoothing your hair with her fingers, she knew this is what came with becoming a footballer in the spotlight but she didn’t think it would get you this early in your career. 

“Just hold me please.” Your voice was soft and broken, trying to stop the images and words they were saying from spiralling in your mind. 

“None of what they say is true, I need you to know that.” Leah spoke again after a few minutes of silence, finally feeling your breathing slow and the tears stopping. “It was an accident and you know it, I know it, she knows it and they know it too.” She was referring to Kyra who you had already sent a message to, apologising for hurting her and the media who were riling up a story to fill their articles full of nonsense for more money.

“This does not change who you are as a person or a player, it happens to everyone and it will go away once they find something new to talk about. But you need to ignore them.” She continued, waiting for any kind of response. “Promise me you’ll ignore them.” Leah looked down at you, tapping your head as a signal to look up at her. 

“I promise.” You gave her a small smile while nodding. 

“Come on, let’s go eat some smileys.” She flung the covers off and pushed you up with a laugh, getting one out of you for the first time since it happened. 

“You have the pallet of a five year old.” You shook your head as you crawled out of your bed. 

“And what about it?” She wrapped an arm around your shoulder as you exited out to the kitchen, pressing a small kiss to your head as you walked together. 

It was at that moment you felt truly grateful for Leah and all she had given you since joining the Lionesses and Arsenal. She took you in and gave you an environment to thrive and be comfortable in a new place when she didn’t have any obligation to. But you would forever be in debt to her kindness and never reject anything she gave to you.