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scribblesofagoonerr · 30 days ago

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we are the champions! | buddy & monkey: double the trouble

summary: arsenal win the champions league final which is the best birthday present that monkey could wish for.

double the trouble masterlist

“Come on, Monkey. You need to eat up,” Leah gently nudged the bowl of cereal in your direction, her voice was gentle and patient despite the stress of the morning, “If you leave your breakfast any longer then the cereal will go soggy.”

You stared across the table at the bowl like it had personally offended you, “I don’t care. I’m not eating it,” You were adamant on your decision, sure you did love Coco Pops and Leah had made sure to bring a box out to Lisbon so you had them, but you weren’t going to eat them.

Not today, at least.

“Why not?” Leah arched an eyebrow, “You know it’s important to eat, Monkey.”

You couldn’t—You didn’t want to eat. You didn’t really know how to describe how you felt, but there’s so much noise around you that you can’t handle it.

It was the Champions League Final today. Sure, you were probably going to end up on the bench, but you still couldn’t help the anxiety bubbling up inside of you.

Arsenal were against Barcelona. An incredible team that were reigning champions three years in a row.

The best of the best.

There felt like there was so much pressure riding on this game.

You snapped your arms tight across your chest and glared at the bowl in front of you, “No I don’t hafta. Breakfast is stupid!”

“Baby, it’s Coco Pops,” Leah tried the soft route, considering you weren’t about to budge any time soon, “They’re your favourite breakfast cereal. I made sure that we brought some with us to Lisbon so you wouldn’t be without.”

“Don’t wanna eat,” You mumbled, remaining stubborn as ever.

“Monkey, you have to eat,” Leah’s tone turned more firm, “You can’t skip breakfast—Look, we can even load the iPad up and you can watch cartoons?” She offered, hoping for a win.

“Nooo!” You whined, shaking your head in firm disagreement, “M’ not eating them and you can't make me!”

Leah exhaled a sigh and raked her free hand through your hair, “It’s going to be a big day today, sweetheart. It’s really important that you eat, or you’ll be no use when you get subbed on in the game, will it?”

“I don’t want to eat ‘em, Muuuuum!” You yelled, voice breaking as your breath came short and quick.

Everything felt hot.

You’re too hot.

“Hey, hey, settle down,” Leah said in a gentle tone of voice, placing a gentle hand on your back, “No shouting, please. What’s the matter? Are you nervous? That’s pretty normal to feel like that. I think we’re all feeling a bit nervous.”

You wanted to just… You wanted to scream—It was everything, and more.

Your skin didn’t feel like it even fit right.

There was just so much more that you couldn’t even put into words right now.

You just knew that right now you didn’t want to eat your breakfast.

Even if it was your favourite.

You let out a small sob and buried your face in Leah’s shoulder in an attempt to hide from the outside world around you, “N… No! I don’t wanna!”

Leah shifted in her chair to wrap both of her arms around you, “Okay, alright, it’s all okay,” She held you close, rubbing circles on your back, “Do you remember what we were talking to Auntie Al and the rest of them the other day at lunch?”

You sniffled, trying to listen.

“They were telling us about when they won the Champions League, remember that?” Leah continued to speak in a gentle tone of voice, “It was eighteen years ago, and they were so proud. Auntie Al still speaks of it being one of the best days of her life.”

You didn’t give a real response, other than a shaky breath.

“I have a good feeling about today, my girl,” Leah whispered against your hair, “It’s gonna happen. Do you believe in magic?” She pulled back just enough to tilt your chin up, “I do. And I think it would be a pretty amazing birthday present for you if we win, wouldn’t it?”

Before you could respond, Katie strode into the hotel dining room with her usual cocky grin plastered on her face, “Oi, oi, what’s going on in here then, little lady?”

You glanced up and scowled at the familiar brunette unimpressed, proceeding to curl further into Leah like she was able to just shield you from everything.

“Someone doesn’t want to eat her breakfast,” Leah said, a knowing glance to peer down at you all but practically clinging to her, refusing to sit in your own seat.

Katie crouched beside the table, eyeing you playfully, “Yer not wanting to eat yer brekkie, aye? That’s not like yer.”

“I’ve tried with her,” Leah exhaled a sigh, dropping the spoon back in the abandoned bowl, “I’m havin’ no luck. I think she’s feeling overwhelmed.”

“Here, let me have a go,” Katie reached for the cereal bowl, “Come on, yer’ve gotta keep yer strength up all for when we lift that trophy, yeah?”

There was still no response from you.

“Alright, time to bring out the big guns then,” Katie shared a grin with Leah, lifting the spoon, “Here comes to choo-choo train—”

You turned your head in a dramatic fashion.

“Geesh, tough crowd,” Katie muttered, dropping the spoon back in the bowl, “Alright, listen lady. Even if yer being a stubborn little… Right, yer’ve gotta eat, like it or not.”

Once more, you didn’t budge.

Katie tried again, relentlessly attempting to try and achieve getting you to even eat a single bite, “Open up…”

You weren’t having any of it.

You squirmed.

And then, without further warning, you snapped, “I’m not fuckin’ Buddy!” You didn’t even think twice before flinging the bowl with force, the milk and Coco Pops flying through the air, until the entire thing landed on Kim.

“Logan Reece!” Leah exclaimed in outrage, “That is not okay to do! What has gotten into you today, young lady?!”

The moment should have been comical. It was déjà vu all over again.

Twice.

Most of the girls remembered you doing the same thing eight years ago, with a chocolate cupcake to the poor Scottish woman.

Not to mention when you flung your breakfast at Caitlin in Melbourne last year.

There was a stunned silence for a brief second.

Kim just stood there, frozen and in complete disbelief.

“Oh my God,” Kyra burst into a fit of laughter and breaking the initial silence in the room, “No way did that just happen… again!”

“Seriously?” Kim murmured, deadpan as she glanced down at herself where the milk and cereal was dripping off her now, “Again?!”

“I’m so sorry, Kim,” Leah was quick to apologise, spluttering and reaching for napkins to frantically dab at Kim’s shirt, “I’m so sorry—she’s just… she’s pretty overwhelmed right now.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Kim muttered, the napkin in her hand doing little effort to soak the spilled milk, “Why is it always me?”

“Don’t forget it’s happened to me as well,” Caitlin chimed in at the perfect opportunity, “The little menace just loves to throw her food at people.”

Kim barely spared a single glance at Leah, “She needs a timeout. Now.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Leah muttered, already untangling you from her side and was now standing up, “I’m already on it now. Don’t worry.”

“I cannot believe that just happened,” Kyra snickered, “Should’ve worn your raincoat to breakfast today, Cap.”

“Don’t rile her up, pest,” Steph nudged Kyra, giving her a knowing look.

Kim slowly turned to her with a sharp look, “Do you want to join your counterpart in timeout as well?” She questioned, not even waiting for a response from the young Australian girl, “Zip it, Kyra.”

Kyra did as she was told and shut her mouth immediately.

“This isn’t fair,” You whined, not having a whole lot of choice but to be tugged away from the table and led back upstairs to the hotel room you had this misfortune of sharing with Leah, once again—After the whole fiasco in Melbourne last year, you never had the opportunity to have your own hotel room.

It wasn’t even you sneaking into your room, and that was all on Kyra right there.

“Muuuuuum, s’ not fair. I don’t wanna,” You whined, in full sulk mode, “I’m twenty now. Timeouts dumb, and stupid… and I don’t need one!”

Leah stopped abruptly, turning to crouch so she was level with you, “Are you sure about that?” Her tone was steady, “Because throwing your breakfast across the room doesn’t exactly scream ‘mature adult’, does it, Logan Reece?”

You scowled. You hated hearing your first name—especially from her. It always meant you were in trouble.

“Go,” Leah said firmly, pointing towards the designated timeout spot she’d set up in the corner of the hotel room, “Five minutes. Sit, calm down, and think about your choices. Then we’ll talk, okay?”

“S’ not fair,” You grumbled, slumping into the chair with exaggerated reluctance, arms crossed over your chest, “Don’t like this,” You mumbled, kicking the carpet.

“Actions have consequences, Monkey,” Leah reminded you gently as she settled down on the edge of the bed, pulling out her phone but keeping an eye on you, “No talking. Just think.”

Timeout felt like torture.

You continued to shift around on the chair for what felt like the millionth time. You fidgeted, crossing and uncrossing your arms all while you kicked your legs grumpily against the carpet in the hotel room.

Five whole minutes to you felt like the longest time in the world.

That was like, forever.

You even tried glaring at Leah every couple of seconds in a silent plea for mercy, hoping that she’d maybe forget the rules for this once and let you off.

But no… apparently not.

Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed carelessly scrolling through her phone in her hand.

“Mum,” You whined, trying to get her attention.

There was no answer from the blonde.

You flopped back in your chair in a dramatic fashion only you could handle, “Muuuuuum. M’ bored sittin’ here!”

Still, nothing at all.

“This is so dumb,” You muttered to yourself, “I’m twenty now. S’ not fair!”

“I know exactly how old you are, Logan Reece,” Leah said without missing a single beat, her tone was calm but firm, “But you weren’t acting twenty when you launched your cereal.”

You shrank back instantly at the mention of your full name again, scrunching up your nose, “I didn’t mean it… Was an accident.”

“Oh, really?” Leah finally looked up, her eyebrow raised, “You shouted, swore and then threw your cereal across the table. Which part of that exactly was the accident?”

You didn’t answer, instead you just continued to stare down at your lap.

Eventually, the timer went off on her phone and without any hesitation, you bolted from the chair and threw yourself into Leah’s arms like nothing had happened.

“I… I’m sorry!” You cried, burying your face into her shoulder, “I… I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it. I promise, I… I didn’t!”

“Hey, hey, calm down,” Leah soothed, holding you tightly, “Take a few deep breaths, yeah?”

You did what you were told, inhaling and exhaling. Just enough to help.

“Better?” Leah asked, tucking a loose stray of hand behind your ear.

You gave a wobbly nod, “Uh-huh.”

“You’re not a bad girl, Monkey,” Leah murmured, brushing a hand down your back, “But you need to learn how to use your words instead of throwing things. Especially when you’re overwhelmed.”

You sniffled, nodding into her shoulder while your fingers curled into the fabric of her training top, “I’m sorry, Mum.”

“It’s alright, sweetheart,” Leah reassured you quickly, rubbing your back, “You made a mistake but it’s okay now. I know you felt overwhelmed in there, and I should’ve removed you from the situation before it escalated in the way it did. I know you’re having a bit of a tough morning, aren’t you?”

“Uh-huh,” You murmured, remaining to cing to Leah, “Didn’t… I didn’t mean it to throw my breakfast at Auntie Kimmy. M’ sorry.”

Leah brushed a strand of hair out of your face, “I know, sweetheart. That’s why I thought it was best to have a timeout, so you could get the chance to stop and breathe, yeah?”

“Didn’t like everyone bein’ in there,” You admitted, reluctant to let go of Leah, “Too loud… And everything felt itchy.”

Leah hummed, rocking you slightly in her arms, “I know, baby. I know. You’re allowed to feel all of that,” She paused, “But throwing cereal? It’s not the answer, is it?”

You gave the tiniest shake of your head.

“So, what are you going to do next time that everything gets too much?” Leah questioned, thoughtfully.

You hesitated, sniffling into her shoulder, “Tell you?”

“Exactly,” Leah kissed your temple, “You come to me, and let me help you. I’m your Mum. That’s my job to take care of you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” You whispered, melting into her arms the moment she pulled you up and into her lap, “I don’t like bein’ in trouble anymore.”

“You’re not in trouble anymore, Monkey,” Leah promised, rocking you gently against her chest, “You’re having a hard morning. You just need to reset and try again now, alright?”

You nodded, letting yourself sink into her completely, “M’ sorry for throwing breakfast at Auntie Kimmy,” You repeated your apology, “I… I don’t want her to be mad with me.”

“Oh I know that you are, Monkey,” Leah hugged you tighter, her chin resting on top of your head, “Auntie Kimmy will understand, she won’t be mad. You know she loves you to pieces and can see you were having a tough time as well. I’m sure it’s nothing that a big hug can’t fix, is it?”

“I can do that,” You mumbled, a faint smile appearing on your face, “Can I still play in the game today?”

Leah’s smile faltered, “I don’t think that’s quite a good idea, Monkey. It’s clear you’ve been having a hard morning, maybe it’s better to sit on the bench for this game?”

“What? Nooo!” You whined, immediately protesting against the idea, “That’s… That’s not fair! You can’t do that—It’s the Champions League Final!”

“I know, and I know you’re not pleased with the idea of it,” Leah said, pulling back just enough to look at you, “But even if you sit on the bench, you’re still a part of the team, sweetheart. And you’ll have Auntie Wally there to keep an eye on you.”

“S’ not fair!” You huffed, definitely not happy with the decision, “I… I promise I’m fine. I want to play, Mum.”

“I know you do, Monkey, but I think this is for the best. You’re not fit to play, regardless of what happened this morning. You’re still recovering after giving birth,” Leah explained, while you stiffened at the sudden mention of the one thing you were trying your hardest to forget, “Right now, we just need to focus on getting you back to a good place. You… You can’t play like this, you’d only be hurting yourself more than helping the team.”

“N… No, you can’t take football from me!” You whispered, tears returning to your eyes, “Mum, it’s the final—Everyone will be watching! I…. I wanna be on the pitch! I wanna… I wanna make you proud…”

“Oh, my girl,” Leah’s heart cracked right down the middle, “You’re already making me so proud of you,every day you make me so, so proud of you! I know how much you want too, but you need to take the time to focus on yourself, yeah? Regardless of what happens today, win or lose, I’m proud of you.”

You gave a faint soft nod and buried your face in Leah’s chest.

“And you know what? Bench or not, you’re still a part of this team,” Leah murmured, lowering her voice to be more gentler now as she slowly rocked you in her arm, “You’ll still be right there with us, but you need to be sensible about this.”

You sniffled once more, peeking up as your voice remained hesitant, “I… I know.”

Leah smiled, scooping you further into her lap as she shifted properly on the bed, “You’ll come back even stronger next season,” She kept her arms wrapped firmly around you, “I know it, my girl.”

“This isn’t fair! This is ridiculous! I’m fine! I could be helping!” You huffed, fidgeting in your seat on the bench as you watched the game pan out, the nerves coiling tight in your chest.

You sat beside Lia, who had been tasked with watching over you—not exactly your idea of a good time, all things considered.

Arsenal tried to carve out an opening within the 22nd minute and forcing an own goal from Irene Paredes when Frida delivered a dangerous cross into the box.

You jumped up high in the air, excited to think that Arsenal had taken the lead—only for VAR to rule it out and declare Frida offside when she recovered possession of the ball.

The injustice of it stung just a bit.

The 67th minute had just ticked past and the tension was so thick in the air. Your knees bounced wildly. Your sleeves were taking a beating from how much you were tugging at them—Your mood soured even more when you saw the sub’s board lighting up.

“S’ not fair!” You grumbled once again, seeing Beth’s number going on to replace Chloe and Stina coming on for Frida, “I should be goin’ on! S’ not fair!”

That should have been you.

But no… Instead, you were forced to sit on the bench and watch in absolute despair.

“This ain’t fair! Why am I not allowed to be subbed on and they are?!” You scowled, huffing and crossing your arms over your chest.

Of course you weren’t annoyed with either of them, they deserved it but you were annoyed with the situation.

It really wasn’t fair.

“Monkey,” Lia gave you a firm look, “Knock it off.”

“No, like actually, I don’t get it! Everyone’s out there grafting and I’m stuck ‘ere watching this… And I can’t do nuffin’ to help!” You fumed, tugging at your sleeves anxiously while your heart raced every time a player from Barca got near the box.

“Hey,” Lia pulled you in close, wrapping an arm around you, “It’s okay. You’re still part of the team, remember?”

“Pft, as if! I don’t feel like it!” You exclaimed, pulling away as you scrunch your face up in protest, “This… This is supposed to be my game too!”

“Calm down, little one,” Lia warned in a gentle tone of voice but it still held an edge of firmness, “You might not like it. But there’s no point in throwing a strop in front of everyone here.”

“I’m… I’m not throwing a hissy fit!” You protested, crossing your arms over your chest, “S’ not fair. I just… I wanna be on the pitch. Not sitting here, not bein’ able to doin’ nuffin! I feel… I just feel useless!”

“Let’s go!” Emily screamed off camera after a good clearance.

You flinched as you watched Emily scramble back to recover from a Barca break, “I could’ve been there, doin’ something… and instead—instead i’m being fuckin’ forced to sit here—”

“Aye! Language!” Lia chastised.

“English,” You muttered cheekily, barely caring anymore.

“Don’t get cocky, little one,” Lia warned, but you were too fired up to flinch.

At one point, Leah caught your eye during a water break, “Stop it,” Even then she was able to remain stern, causing you to shrink down in your seat while your face was hot with frustration and embarrassment.

You had no choice but sit there and watch with disappointment seeping through you as the minutes passed.

It was the 74th minute of the game when the breakthrough came, Beth slid a reverse pass through to Stina, who managed to tuck it into the bottom left corner.

“O… Oh my God!” You shot up from your seat, the strop forgotten in an instant as you screamed loud enough to make half the bench jump, “YES! G’WAN STINA BALLERINA!”

You were high on energy and bouncing on the spot, your arms flailing in the air and shrieking in delight.

“Stina… She was actually on side for once!” You shouted as Lia grabbed the back of your shirt instinctively to stop you from running over into the tactical box in your excitement, “She was bloody onside!”

“Sit down, Monkey,” Lia laughed, yanking you back but you couldn’t stop grinning with wide eyes,your hands rested on your head not actually believing what had just happened.

“I knew it! I bloody knew it!” You exclaimed, vibrant energy as you yelled to nobody in particular.

“Calm down, Monkey,” Lotte laughed, shaking her head.

You scoffed, looking at the brunette in question, “Calm down? This is big! Stina just scored!” You shouted just before you turned to Kyra, your counterpart, “Ky! Ky! Stina fuckin’ scored! Stina Ballerina went and put it in the back of the net! G’wan girl! Pop off!”

“She was onside! She was onside!” Kyra grinned, leaning over and putting you in a headlock, “Stina Stina Stina Stina Stina Blacksteniuuuuuuuus!” She shouted at the top of her voice, excitement bubbling up.

Even Renee cracked a smile at the noise that the pair of you were making from where she stood on the sidelines of the pitch.

But that still didn’t stop you itching to get on the pitch yourself.

By the 80th minute you were starting to become insufferable to deal with.

“When can it be my turn to go on?” You questioned, very much near breaking point, “I’m bored sittin’ here!”

“Monkey,” Lia fixed you with a firm warning look, “Reign it in a bit.”

You huffed, slumping down and crossing your arms over your chest—You have no doubt the camera’s probably already cut you mid-sulk on the bench and it was now displayed on the big 4k screen.

“Aye, look, Monkey!” Kyra grinned, not so gently nudging your shoulder before pointing to the said screen, “You’re on the big screen! Give everyone a big smile!”

“No,” You scowled, trying to look away because you have no single doubt that everyone watching would mention this to you—including your family up in the stands, and extended family such as Alex and her girlfriend, Jess Glynn, who also happened to be one of your favourite singers.

Not to mention Jacob would absolutely tease you over this.

Yeah. Just brilliant.

“Relax, Monkey. It’ll happen,” Lotte murmured, beside you as she nudged your arm and grinned, although she hadn’t clocked the full story—she had no idea you’d already been told no, “You just gotta be patient, yeah? You’ll get your moment.”

You really did want to believe her.

However, it was difficult when the minutes were nearing until the full time whistle blew.

“I hope you do, otherwise I’ll chuck you on there myself,” Kyra leaned forward from her seat beside you, “You’re fidgeting like mad right now—Come on, Gaffa. Give ‘er a chance, eh? She deserves this!”

“Give the kid a shot,” Vic piped in from the bench.

Renee hesitated for a brief second before exhaling a sigh, “Alright, fine. Go and start warming up. You’ll be subbed in during the added time.”

“YES!” You bolted upright from your seat and wasted no time in starting to warm up on the sidelines—You were going to be ready.

This was your moment now.

Even if others wouldn’t agree with that decision.

With a quick warmup on the sidelines, the added time was announced before you and Lotte both stepped onto the pitch, subbed in at 90+1.

Lifelong childhood Gooners.

On the pitch.

In the Champions League final.

It felt like fate.

As you stepped onto the turf, your heart thudded with excitement and there was a faint buzzing in your ears as your name was called out to be subbed in for Mariona.

Across the pitch, Leah’s head snapped towards the board with a mixture of shock and confusion spread across her face.

Your number was lit up to place Mariona’s.

That wasn’t the plan.

Surely it was too soon for you to be returning to the pitch?

You waited for the Spaniard to make her way over to you, allowing her to pull you into a hug, “Make the most of this moment, sweetheart,” Her voice warm and gentle, You’ve earned it.”

“Go on, Monkey,” Alessia encouraged warmly, embracing you and squeezing you tightly.

You raced onto the pitch and began to make an immediate impact in the game.

This was your moment. Like Mariona said.

You weren’t about to waste it.

Not for one single second.

With an extra seven minutes of added time, you ran harder than what you had in months. The passion burning deep inside your core—-every touch on the ball, every sprint, nothing was going to matter now, but you just wanted to make sure you were present in the game.

You wanted to live in the moment.

And then—-the full time whistle blew.

The stadium erupted.

“YEEEEAAAAHHHH!” You screamed at the top of your voice, fist pumping and jumping in the air as triumph took over your face, “WE FUCKIN’ DID IT! C’MONNNN!”

You didn’t spare another single thought other than turning around and sprinting full-tilt towards Leah, the adrenaline was still screaming through your veins.

“Muuuum!” You screamed, barely allowing Leah to have any chance to react in time before you barrelled into her, both of you crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs, noise and pure, unfiltered emotion.

You were crying before your knees even hit the grass.

You continued to cling to her like a lifeline and sob into her shoulder, your arms wrapped around her as if letting go would undo the whole thing.

You wanted to remember this moment forever.

“Oh my girl… We did it,” Leah whispered, tears streaking her cheeks as her hand cradled the back of your head, “We fuckin’ did it, my girl!”

If you weren’t so shocked and emotional you definitely would have called her out on her use of colourful language, never to miss the opportunity to wind her up.

Even today.

“We… We are the fuckin’ champions!” You choked out between ragged breaths, your voice cracking with disbelief, “We… We actually won!”

“We did indeed, baby girl,” Leah murmured, her voice trembling softly and thick with pride and love, there was so much that she wanted to say but she just couldn’t find the words as she just held onto you tightly, “You… You were on the pitch with me, remember this moment, my girl. We did it together.”

“I barely even touched the ball,” You murmured,

You couldn’t even speak anymore. You just buried your face in her neck while your body shook with laughter and sobs as you lay tangled up with her on the pitch amidst the rest of the chaos.

It wasn’t long before you were piled on by Kim, Lia, Manu, Lotte and Naomi joining your post-match celebrations with screams, hugs and bodies flopping over yours.

Any other day you’d have hated it—the weight, the noise, the touching—you’d have shrieked for everyone to get off, to let you move and breathe.

But today?

Today was so much different.

Because today, you were officially Champions of Europe.

Eventually the dogpile untangled itself, bit by bit until you were helped to your feet by Beth and tossed straight into another tight embrace by none other than Katie, who spun you in a circle in happiness.

“We fuckin’ did it, little lady!” Katie shouted, cupping your face between her hands, “We fuckin’ did it!”

“Language, Auntie Katie!” You giggled infectiously, allowing her to lift you up and throw you up on her shoulders—for old times sake, you know?

“Katie! Put her down before you drop her!” Leah panicked, back in full-mum mode as she saw an accident waiting to happen, marching over with her eyebrows already halfway to her hairline.

Katie just chuckled, “Ah, don’t worry, Le. She’s fine—I’ve not even had a drink yet,” She joked, spinning in a slow circle.

“Leave her be, Mama Bear, we’re celebrating!” Beth teasingly grinned as she jogged up beside Leah, throwing an arm around her shoulder, “Let her have her moment. Champions of Europe. First time in Eighteen years!”

“CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!” You screamed at the top of your lungs, throwing your hands in the air from your perch on Katie’s shoulders—the words still didn’t feel real right, as if they never actually would.

“Yeeeeah baby!” Katie grinned, bouncing slightly and making you shriek with laughter, “This is the celebration of a bloody lifetime!”

You didn’t care, you were having the time of your life right now. Your face was streaked with happy tears and your hair was a wild mess in comparison to how it started, and you were so high on life after the win.

Arsenal were Champions of Europe.

That name had never sounded so good to you right now.

“Oi! Oi! Oi! British Menace!” Kyra yelled, grinning like a devil, “Planning to get down and celebrate together any time soon?”

“Nahhhhh, Aussie Pest!” You grinned, trying to kick your leg out at her from Katie’s shoulders but nearly overbalancing in the process, “I’m livin’ the life, Ky! I’m absolutely livin’ the life right up here!”

“Aye, little lady! Stop flailing about or I’m gonna drop yer,” Katie held onto you tightly as she felt you start to wobble, “I’ll have yer Ma’s on my case if yer not careful.”

Leah was instantly at your side again, “Katie, man, put my daughter down before she breaks her neck and I have to take her to the hospital instead of the podium!”

“Alright, alright,” Katie groaned theatrically, crouching to let you slide safely to the ground, “Fun police are out in full force tonight.”

Your legs wobbled when you hit the grass, but Kyra was already there to steady you while laughing, “I can’t believe we did it!”

“Me neither! It feels… surreal!” You shrieked, grabbing her hand in an attempt to run towards the crowd of Arsenal fans in Lisbon, “We fuckin’ did it, Gooners! We fuckin’ did it! C’mon!”

“Yeah baby! Best believe we did!” Kyra whooped before promptly tackling you to the ground.

“Ah, Kyra!” You squealed in surprise, landing in a heap with a breathless laugh, “Nooo! Ky! Nooo!”

“Careful, Monkey,” Kim said in a warm tone of voice that still held a sense of sterness to it, “We don’t need you injuring yourself before the celebrations even start.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, Auntie Kimmy!” You called, grinning up from the grass, “We’re only messin’ about and havin’ a good time!”

“C’mere, you,” Kim attempted to pull you into a tight hug as you stood up, “I want to talk to you.”

“Agh, no!” You groaned, tilting your head back in a dramatic fashion, “Seriously! You’re not gonna start to get all soppy on me now, are you?”

“I’ll pretend like you didn’t just say that,” Kim remarked in a playful tone, “I just wanted to say that I’m proud of you, Monkey.”

You shrugged, feeling instantly uncomfortable, “Why? I hardly did anythin’ at all,” You mumbled, “It was all you and everyone else!”

Kim could see your facade, pulling you closer to her, “Stop being cheeky for once and just… listen.”

“Okay, okay, alright. I’m listenin’ to you!” You went quiet, nodding in agreement.

“I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” Kim spoke up again, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to your temple, “After everything you’ve been through… You’re still standing, and still fighting. You still love the game. And now… Look where we are!” She gestured around you, to the cheering team and the flashing cameras, “We’re standing here as Champions of Europe!”

You swallowed hard, your throat suddenly feeling tighter, “... Yeah.”

Leah joined you properly, wrapping her arms around your shoulder protectively, “We did it, my girl,” She whispered, her lips brushing your hair, “If only your Grandma Jean could see this moment now. She’d be so proud of you, Monkey!”

Your grin faded into a trembling smile, “You… You really think so?”

“I know so,” Leah said softly, brushing a tear from your cheek, “She’d be standing up there with the rest of the family and shouting louder than all of us combined. She would be so proud of you right now!”

“I… I miss her,” You quietly admitted, tilting your head up to look at the sky, “I did this for you, Grandma. I love you.”

“And she loves you too,” Leah protectively wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pointed up into the crowd, “Look over there, your little sister is waving!”

You followed her line of sight to where you could make out a small figure—Buddy, donned head to toe in her own Mini Arsenal kit while on David’s shoulders, beaming from ear to ear.

“I see her!” You beamed a matching smile, just about able to make out the high-pitched squeal that she was no doubt shouting at the top of her lungs from the stands, “When can she come down onto the pitch? She’ll love this!”

“You bet she will,” Leah chuckled, a fond smile plastered on her lips as she waved and blew a great big kiss into the crowd—no doubt something that fans would have easily captured, “Soon enough. We have to lift the trophy first, though.”

To the left, you caught Elle and Jacob—the two of them with their arms wrapped around one another, both grinning wide and proud. Absolutely buzzing and overwhelmed with pride and emotion.

Then, your eyes found Amanda.

There she was, swaying Rugrat gently to her chest. The infant’s tiny frame bundled up, her face tucked against Amanda’s neck with a pair of tiny pink ear defenders bobbed gently with each step. You noted the way that one of Rugrat's hands was curled around the fabric of Amanda’s shirt while the other rested limply against her chest.

Your breath caught for just a second.

It was too much.

Leah felt it in an instant.

“Hey,” Leah murmured, her grip tightening protectively around your shoulders as she pulled you in close, “You’re okay. You’re safe, right here. I’ve got you.”

You nodded, a bit too quickly, “I know… I just…” You swallowed the lump that formed in your throat, your eyes were locked on the tiny pink ear defenders that bobbed gently as Amanda swayed.

You had to look away—right now… right now it hurt too much to even think about.

You didn’t want to dwell on anything today. Today was supposed to be a happy day.

Today your team won.

And today? You were Arsenal. You were Champions of Europe.

Leah didn’t push you to speak, she knew you weren’t ready as she kept her arms firmly around your shoulder, she just leaned in and pressed a kiss to the side of your head, right above your temple, “It’s okay. I’ve got you. Everything is fine, yeah?”

You nodded in agreement, this time slower as you finally allowed yourself to let the tears fall freely, burying your face in her shoulder in an attempt to look away and block out any emotions that you didn’t want to feel right now—right now, you wanted to live in the moment and be happy.

Looking at Rugrat—your baby… It was agony. Pure, raw agony.

It reminded you of everything that happened, everything that you didn’t want to relive again.

Your whole body trembled and the sobs that left you were quiet but full of ache.

“Come on,” Leah gently guided you forwards with her arms wrapped around you, “Let’s go and join everyone else. We’ve gotta clap for the Barca girls, yeah? Then we’ll get our medals and do the trophy lift.”

That’s when Alessia appeared on the other side of you and looped her arm around your shoulder.

“Hey, Monkey,” Alessia whispered gently as she glanced at you, “Hey, are you okay? What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

You didn’t know what to say—the words just weren’t coming out.

Your mouth opened, but nothing came out. Nothing more than a strangled breath and followed by a broken sob, and suddenly it felt like your legs didn’t quite feel so steady anymore.

“She’s okay,” Leah tightened her hold, rubbing soothing circles on your back, “She just… She saw the baby. My mum’s got her at the minute, it’s all a bit too much.”

Understanding dawned across Alessia’s face in an instant as she softened her expression, giving you a small, knowing nod.

“Leah!” Lia called her over, waving her hand frantically.

Leah turned at the sound of someone shouting her name, “One sec!”

“Go on,” Alessia gently squeezed your shoulder, “I’ve got her. She’s safe with me.”

“Thanks, Less,” Leah shared a grateful smile with Alessia and headed over to Kim.

“C’mere you,” Alessia tucked you close to her, wiping a stray tear from your cheek before turning to wave up at the stands—right where Buddy was still bouncing and waving her arms excitedly, “You’re so brave, you know? So strong. You deserve this day. Every single moment we’re about to make.”

You couldn’t muster the right words—You didn’t know what to say. You just leaned into Alessia’s side and clung to her while your teammates were all just dotted around, buzzing in the atmosphere of the win.

“Come on, my girl. It’s time to collect our medals now,” Leah murmured, her voice soft as her fingers curled around yours.

You didn’t want to let go of Leah’s hand.

Not even for a second.

Everything felt so loud. Your heart hurt and the flashing lights were too much to handle as you stood in the line to receive your medal. The noise pressed in from every single side of the stadium—You weren’t a fan of the cheering, the shouting nor the booming volume from the large speakers.

It felt like the ground was moving under your boots as you tightened your grip on Leah, there was an attempt to cling onto her as if you were almost afraid that she would disappear if you even let go for a single second.

Your chest felt squashed. The heat felt unbearable. Like everything going on around you was too fast. You didn’t know what to do, other than duck your head and keep it pressed against Leah’s arm in hopes to try and block out some of the noise and flashes that were making your eyes sting.

“You’re okay, my girl. You’re okay,” Leah whispered, rubbing gentle circles on your back as her voice tried to keep you anchored, “I’ve got you, right now.”

“H… How much longer?” You questioned, though your voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“Not that much longer,” Leah promised, brushing her lips against your hair, “We’ll get our medals. Then we’re going to lift the trophy, yeah? We’ll keep it simple, Monkey.”

You weren’t very keen with that answer, overall.

It didn’t feel simple to you.

None of this was simple.

“What’s wrong?” Kim questioned, concerned as she caught the tail end of the conversation.

“She’s just feeling a bit overwhelmed,” Leah explained in a gentle tone of voice, “She’ll be okay, though.”

“Not long now, sweetheart,” Kim sent you a reassuring smile, understanding the overwhelming feeling of everything, “Before we know it, we’ll be celebrating our win, yeah? You’re doing an amazing job, right now, darling.”

You didn’t say anything. You couldn’t—You just pressed yourself further into Leah’s side as your whole body vibrated with the effort of trying to hold it all together.

Before you know it, your free thumb is making its way into your mouth and sucking hard, you couldn’t have cared less about people seeing though—you were just trying to not cry in front of everyone.

Leah could feel you trembling and leaned down, “You’re doing brilliant, baby,” She murmured, gently prising your thumb out of your mouth, “But let’s try to not put your thumb in your mouth though, yeah?”

You whimpered softly as your bottom lip wobbled and the line inched forward. Every step closer made your legs feel heavier—The lights were bright. The clapping was becoming louder. Your ears rang and your stomach flipped as you clung onto Leah tighter while your hands became increasingly sweaty and shaking inside of hers.

You didn’t want to go up there.

Did you even deserve a medal?

It wasn’t like you’d even played in the match. It was just seven measly minutes.

You hadn’t done enough to deserve one.

Leah gave your hand a squeeze, “Just one step at a time, okay? It’s going to be fine,” She told you in a soft tone of voice, moving closer towards the podium to step up and receive your medal.

It didn’t feel like one step, though. It felt like a mountain.

“Mum,” You faltered in your step as you moved that slightest bit forward, you wanted to keep your body pressed right up against Leah’s side and not say a single word, “I… I don’t want to do it.”

“I’m right here, my girl,” Leah murmured, pulling you close to her and rubbing her hand up and down your back, “I’m right here. You’re safe. You’re doing so well today.”

But even her calm voice didn’t stop the panic flooding through your entire body.

“I… I don’t wanna,” You clung to her arm tighter, then tried to clamber upwards, tugging at Leah’s top as you tried to scramble into her arms, desperate to be held.

“I know, sweetheart,” Leah murmured, her own voice cracked with heartbreak as she held you close, “Monkey, I can’t pick you up right now. I know that it’s hard. You’re being so brave, and it’s just a little bit longer, okay?”

You let out a high, whiny sound which almost sounded like a sob. Your whole body felt incredibly tense, but you didn’t care how ridiculous you currently looked—You just wanted her.

You just wanted your Mum.

“I’m right here, I’m not letting go,” Leah leaned in closer, pressing her forehead against your own, “I’m not leaving you. You’re okay.”

You didn’t want to stand in the line anymore to receive your medal.

By the time that you were about to collect your medal, you were very reluctant to let go of Leah’s hand so it happened that you collected both of them together—You didn’t care about the thoughts or comments.

You didn’t want to let go of her hand.

You stepped up, barely as you clung to Leah and trembled.

The medal went over your head and straight into your mouth, your teeth clamping around the cool metal like you thought it could help you and anchor you to something real… something safe.

It didn’t.

“Right then,” Leah said gently, keeping her voice soft against the roar of the crowd in the background, “Auntie Kimmy is going to need my help to lift the trophy now…”

“No, no, no… Don’t go!” You cried, fingers tightening around hers in a panic.

“I know you want to hold my hand still, baby,” Leah murmured, crouching a little closer, “But it’ll just be for a minute—”

“Noooo!” You whined, not caring less about causing a scene at this very moment.

“Monkey,” Leah added more firmly, but you weren’t wanting to hear anything as you shook your head while your voice was high pitch in panic.

Leah paused, gazing around and fully aware of the cameras, of the fans in the crowd and the way that your distress might play out on screens and in the headlines, “Listen to me, yeah? Listen, sweetheart… It won’t be for long, I promise. You’ll still be able to see me.”

Before you could fall apart any further, Lia stepped in as she rested a steady hand landing gently on your back, “It’s alright, Le,” She said kindly, “I’ll stay with her while you lift it. She won’t be alone. You go ahead.”

“Thanks, Wally,” Leah gave a grateful smile, giving your hand a final squeeze before gently passing it over, “I won’t be long, Monkey. Don’t worry. You’ll be okay.”

“Me and you will be alright here, won’t we?” Lia spoke to you in a gentle tone of voice, “You can hold onto my hand and squeeze it as hard as you’d like.”

“Want Mum,” You whined pitifully, reluctantly holding onto Lia’s hand as she guided you over to the podium to join the rest of your teammates.

“She’s right there in front of us. You can see her,” Lia looped her arm around your waist and lifted you slightly so you were tall enough to peek over the shoulders of everyone, “Just one trophy lift, there’ll be some confetti and celebrations and then you can go straight back to her.”

“I… I see her,” You whispered, your eyes fixed on Leah the whole time.

“It won’t be long now,” Lia kept her tone of voice gentle which is exactly what you needed right now, “Any minute now your Mum and Auntie Kimmy are going to lift the trophy, and then you can go see her, okay?”

You gave the tiniest of nods in response, flailing in Lia’s grip as you anticipated the wait for Leah and Kim to lift the trophy, but that still didn't stop you wanting to be with Leah, "I want my Mum," Your voice was barely louder than a whisper.

"I know," Lia murmured, her hand resting gently on your back, "You can soon enough, sweetheart. You're doing so well right now."

Then it was time.

Leah moved towards Kim to grasp the other handle of the gleaming silver trophy. The stadium buzzed with electricity—The two of them lowered the trophy slowly, then lifted it high.

And then everything erupted.

Everyone was jumping up and down, and going mental.

The confetti cannons exploded, showering the air in shimmering gold.

The music pounded loud through your chest.

The bright lights were flashing directly in your eyes.

It was all too much to handle.

You flinched violently and your whole body tensed up, everything felt completely overwhelming to you right now.

“T… Too loud,” You cried, shaking your head desperately as your hands automatically flew to your ears, “Too loud. Too bright. I… I don’t like it, I don’t. Make it… Make it stop.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re alright, sweetheart,” Lia said swiftly, turning your body away from the stage and lowering you slightly, trying to shield you.

But you weren’t interested in any of that right now.

You wanted Leah.

Determined to reach her, you twisted free, and ignored the shouts of your name and hands trying to hold you back. You ducked under arms and wove through the crowd, “Mum!” You called aloud in a panic, your voice cracking as you got closer to her, “Mum!” You repeated, gripping onto Leah’s arm like it was your lifeline, tugging hard with both hands.

“Hey, my girl,” Leah said softly, dropping the trophy’s handle and bending down to scoop you into her arms without hesitation, “You’re okay. It’s alright, I’m here. I’ve got you now.”

“D… Don’t like it. Too… Too loud,” You crumpled your face up in protest, panic wild in your chest, “I… I don’t like it. Make… Make it stop, Mum, please!”

“You’re okay, I’ve got you now,” Leah whispered, pressing you close to her, “I know it seems a lot, but it’s okay. You’re going to be alright.”

“Mummy! Mummy! Monks!” You heard the familiar voice of your favourite little buddy running straight towards you and Leah, as Leah continued to have her arm wrapped around your shoulder, “Mummy! Monks!”

The post match celebrations were still in full swing as the players' families joined everyone on the pitch to continue the celebrations.

“Oh! Here comes trouble!” Leah teased in a light tone of voice, “Incoming!”

Buddy came sprinting onto the pitch as fast as her little legs could carry her while Jacob was hot on her heels, running after her slightly out of breath but grinning all the same. Amanda followed shortly after, cradling Rugrat against her chest once it was safe to step onto the pitch. Elle and David were also there—Elle was decked in an Arsenal 24/25 home top with Williamson on the back, and David…

You had to be a double take.

David was wearing an Arsenal top.

He was a lifelong Spurs fan in a rivals top.

Now that was pretty funny.

“Ooh, there’s my little Bubba,” Leah cooed, immediately bending down and scooping Buddy up into her arms and showering her face with kisses, “Hi! Did you enjoy the game?”

“Uh-huh! It was sooo fun!” Buddy insisted, her giggles infectious as she was in Leah’s arms.

“She barely sat still at all through the second half,” Jacob teased, leaning forward to ruffle Buddy’s hair, “Itching to get down here to you both, weren’t you, munchkin?”

Leah chuckled, adjusting her hold on Buddy on her hip, “Oh, I can imagine so. I thought you were sitting with your Mama, huh? Didn’t fancy staying put?”

“She was determined to make Jordan come and find us during half time,” Amanda filled her daughter in, using her free arm to wrap around Leah’s shoulder and congratulate her, “Well done, Bubba. We’re all so proud of you!”

“Thanks, Mum,” Leah beamed a wide smile.

“I think this little madam wants a cuddle,” Amanda motioned down to the baby in her arms, “You want to take her?”

“Course I do,” Leah murmured, carefully trading arms to easily take Rugrat from Amanda, “Ooh, hi baby girl. How’re you doin? Oh, I missed you!”

You stood there beside her with the medal heavy around your neck and your heart hurting a little heavier.

“Mummy! Mummy! Stina scored!” Buddy chirped, almost like she completely forgot that Leah was actually playing in the game herself, “She shooted! She scored! Everyone was screaming!”

“She did, didn’t she? It was very impressive,” Leah grinned, brushing back sweaty strands of Buddy’s hair from her forehead, “I’m glad you liked it!”

Buddy stared at the gold medal around Leah’s neck curiously, “Can I wear ‘our medal, Mummy?”

“Of course, Bubba,” Leah smiled, taking the gold medal from around her neck and gently settling it over Buddy’s head, “Be careful, though. It’s quite heavy!”

Buddy gasped loud and dramatically, “Woah!” She whispered reverently, clutching the medal in both hands like it was the most precious thing in the world she had ever held., “It so shiny! It mine?“

Leah let out a laugh, shaking her head, “No, Bubba, it’s mine but you can borrow it for now.”

Amanda turned to you, arms opening wide, “C’mere you,” She gave you a warm and kind smile, “I’m so proud of you as well, sweetheart!”

“Why?” You furrowed your eyebrows, “I didn’t barely do nuffin’!”

“You still played a part in your team though and that’s what matters,” Amanda told you honestly, pulling you tighter in her embrace, “You’re a Champion of Europe, sweetheart. At twenty years old. How does that feel?”

“Surreal,” You murmured, your eyes landing on your shiny gold medal, “It feels like a dream right now, Nana ‘Manda.”

“Then soak it up,” Amanda retorted, pressing a gentle kiss on the side of your temple, “This is one of those forever memories.”

“Aye! Look at you, superstar!” Jacob grinned, throwing his arm playfully around your shoulder, “That gold medal around your neck suits you, Monks’!”

“Thanks!” You beamed a smile, your fingers fumbling with the cool gold in her hands, “You’re not borrowing it, though. It’s mine!”

Jacob held up his hands in mock surrender, “Relax, I wouldn’t dare dream of taking it from you,” He paused, “Oi, take a look at this. What’d you make of this then?” He motioned to David wearing an Arsenal shirt with Williamson on the back.

“Grandad!” You exclaimed as you smirked, the sight of him in red and white was too good to ignore, “I can’t believe Mum actually made you wear that!”

David let out a hearty chuckle, pulling you into a side hug, “A bet’s a bet, sweetheart. Arsenal made it the final, didn’t they?”

“And we won it,” You added, smugly.

“And won it,” David echoed, giving your shoulder a squeeze, “I’m so proud of you. Even if wearing this shirt has ruined my reputation.”

Before you could reply, you heard a familiar voice shout your nickname from just behind, “Monkey!”

Your head snapped round in an instant, “Mama!” You ran towards her and throw yourself in her arms as she caught you with ease and held you close.

“Ooh, I am so, so proud of you, little one!” Jordan murmured, against your hair, swaying you gently from side to side, “Look at you, with that gold medal wrapped around your neck! You’re a little baller!”

You buried your face into her shoulder and clung tighter, “Did you see me, Mama? I… I played. Just at the end, but I played!”

“I saw every second, little one. You were brilliant,” Jordan kissed your temple, “I knew you’d be amazing in the game. I just wish I could’ve—” She stopped herself, but you’d already heard the crack in her voice as her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

You pulled back slightly to peer at her face, “You’re sad?”

“No sweetheart,” Jordan blinked to try and keep the tears at bay, “I’m so proud of you today. And nothing else other than that matters!”

“No, Mama,” You interrupted, brushing your thumb against her cheek just like Leah or Jordan always did the same when you were upset, “I know how much you wanted to be a part of it too.”

Jordan didn’t reply straight away, she kept her hands steady around your waist but you could feel the slightest tremor in her breath and she nodded, “I… I did, but like I said, it’s your day. I’m just glad to be here, for you. You won, little one. You’re a European Champion. That’s incredibly special and I’m so proud of you!”

“I love you, Mama,” You mumbled, resting your forehead against hers, “I’m glad you were here as well!”

Jordan smiled, her eyes filled with tears as she hugged you tighter, “I love you so much, Monkey.”

“Oi!” You heard the unmistakable voice of Alex, “Don’t hog all the cuddles with our little superstar now, Jord!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Al,” Jordan chuckled, placing you back down on the ground and kissing the top of your head, “She’s all yours now.”

“Auntie Al!” You squealed, running straight over to her for a hug and jumping into her arms.

“Ooh! Ello’ there, stargirl!” Alex grinned as she caught you with ease, spinning you around just a bit, “How’re you doing?”

But your attention faltered as you clocked the woman standing beside her.

“Omg! You’re Jess Glynne!” Your jaw dropped in sudden starstruck, “Auntie Al, look… look, it’s Jess Glynne!”

Jess laughed, brushing her curls back with an easy grin, “That’d be me.”

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod,” You mumbled, suddenly becoming shy and hiding your face in Alex’s shoulder.

“Our Monkey here is a big fan,” Alex told her with a grin, “She absolutely loves your music.”

“You are?” Jess replied warmly, crouching a little to your level, “You alright, sweetheart?”

You're in a complete state of shock still as you peeked out and shyly nodded, “I… Wow! You’re amazing!”

Jess laughed gently, “So are you from what I can tell. Proper little wonderkid, aren’t you?”

“Wow,” You whispered, still in a state of shock, “I… I can’t believe you’re here! Wow… Auntie Al, look, look!”

“I know, pretty incredible isn’t it?” Alex laughed, ruffling your hair, “C’mon superstar, how about we go and see your Mum? I reckon we need to get a photo of you three all together.”

“Okay!” You exclaimed eagerly, your heart still thumping in your chest as Alex placed you back down on the floor with ease, so you could run over to Leah, “Mum! Mum! Look, it’s Jess… Jess Glynne! And she’s with Auntie Al!”

Leah turned at the sound of your voice with a wide, proud grin on her face before putting Buddy down and gently handing Rugrat to Amanda before jumping up and down a bit before throwing both of her arms around Alex, “Al!”

“Congratulations, girl!” Alex beamed, throwing both of her arms around Leah, “I am so bloody proud of you! Well done! You smashed it!”

“I told you… I told you I believed in magic,” Leah murmured, squeezing her best friend tight, “I told you, and we did it. We really did it!”

Alex let out a soft laugh, pulling back just enough to see her face, “You really did say that, didn’t you?”

Before Leah could answer, a little voice piped up behind them.

“Auntie Al! Auntie Al!” Buddy squealed, running over and wrapping her arms around Alex’s lower legs and peering up with an innocent smile, “Ou’ ‘ere!”

“Hello, little legs! How’re you doin’?” Alex leaned down to swoop Buddy up into her arms, “What’ve you got there then?”

“Mummy’s medal!” Buddy declared proudly, holding the medal high like a trophy, “Mummy said I could ‘ave it!”

Leah raised an eyebrow with an amused sigh, “No I didn’t, Bubba. I said you could borrow it to wear.”

“Nooo!” Buddy clutched it tighter, completely unfazed, “I like it do. It mine now!”

“Oof, she’s definitely got your stubborn streak,” Alex laughed, pressing a kiss to Buddy’s cheek.

“Apparently so,” Leah replied with a smile, already reaching for her again, “Conned me out my own medal now as well.”

“Mum! Mum!” You burst in, practically bouncing with excitement, “Looky! It’s actually Jess Glynne! From the Jet2 advert!”

That comment had everyone laughing in hysterics.

You turned to the red-headed singer with wide, sparkling eyes, “Are you real?” You asked in awe before boldly reaching out and poking her arm, “You are real!”

“Oh, Monkey. Never change,” Jordan grinned, clearly entertained.

“You’ve met her before, sweetheart,” Leah reminded gently, “You know who she is.”

“Nah, I ain’t. I would’ve remembered!” You insisted, shaking your head furiously.

“Yeah? Are you sure about that?” Alex teased, grinning, “I seem to recall a certain photo of you snoozing on her shoulder after that late dinner we had.”

“No, no, no—Wait!” Your eyes went as wide as saucers, “That was you?! God, that’s so embarrassing! You’re like… So cool!”

Jess laughed, “It’s true. Your head was on my shoulder, out like a light. Proper little nap queen.”

“Noooo! No way! God, that’s… mortifying!” You threw your hands over your face and dragged your hands down, “Stop! Stop! I don’t wanna hear nuffin’ more ‘bout it!”

“Alright,” Amanda interrupted with a smile, “How about we take some pictures before our Monkey here actually combusts?”

“Sounds great, Mum!” Leah grinned, throwing her arm proudly over your shoulder.

“Fire one with Monkey in the middle, and Leah and Jordan on either side,” Amanda suggested, “Then one with Monkey and Leah, and Monkey and Jordan.”

“Perfect, and then we’ll get one with all the kiddies!” Alex added, already arranging people like a pro.

You posed between Leah and Jordan, both of them grinning proudly, arms around your waist while you hugged them both tightly.

Followed by another one with just Leah behind you, arms wrapped around your middle, and another one with Jordan pulling you close and planting a kiss on your forehead right as the shutter clicked.

“Right, let’s get Buddy and Rugrat in the next one,” Alex instructed, “Leah, you take Rugrat, and Monkey… You stand in the middle. Leah to her left. Jordan to the right. Buddy, you stand in front of your Mama. Perfect. Everyone ready?”

“Can we just get it over with?” You grumbled, shifting your weight.

“Big smiles! Say cheese!” Jess called out carefully.

“CHEEEEESE!” Buddy shouted, flashing her toothy grin—complete with the missing ones—and still proudly wearing Leah’s medal.

“Ah, that’s lovely,” Alex smiled, taking the picture, “Okay I think we should have one with Buddy and Monkey.”

“Urgh, not another photo!” You groaned, tilting your head back dramatically.

“Just stand there and smile with your little sister,” Leah encouraged, chuckling, “It’ll be over soon enough!”

“Urgh, whatever,” You huffed, resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

“Ready? Big smiles, and say cheese!” Alex insisted, ready to take the photo, along with the rest of the adults capturing the photo.

“Crackers,” You joked, crouching beside Buddy and smiling at the camera, while Buddy clung her arms around your neck and toothy grinned.

“Oh, that one’s definitely becoming my new lock screen,” Jordan insisted.

“And mine,” Leah added, bouncing Rurgat gently on her chest while the tiny baby looked up at her with bright, curious eyes, “Hi, angel. You’re finally awake, huh? Didn’t want to miss out on the fun?”

“Right I think we should have one now with just the kiddies,” Alex suggested with a keen smile, “Monkey, if you can hold Rugrat—”

You tensed, and Leah automatically felt it.

“Al, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Leah interjected quickly.

“Right, right, no worries,” Alex pivoted smoothly, “Okay, grandparents next, step up! I reckon that we do one with the grandparents and grandkids, and then one with Monkey and the grandparents.”

“Dad, do you want to hold Rugrat?” Leah offered, gently transferring the alert six-week-old into David’s arms.

“Of course,” David agreed warmly, settling Rugrat against his chest, “Come here, little one. Come to Grandad. You’ve very wide awake, aren’t you? Don’t worry, you’re not missing much.”

“Amanda, you take Buddy, and Monkey can stand in the middle,” Alex directed, “Alright, everyone ready? Big smiles!”

“CHEEEESE!” Buddy squealed, while you offered the camera a much more reluctant smirk.

“Lovely,” Alex praised, “Now let’s grab one with just Monkey and the grandparents.”

“How many more photos?” You groaned, tilting your head back in exaggerated despair, “I’m so over this!”

“Don’t pretend you don’t love it,” Jordan teased, “Now go on, stand there and smile for a picture with your Nana and Grandad.”

After a few more reluctant photo with your family—Leah and Amanda proudly lifting the trophy, Leah and David laughing in the moment, you tucked under Alex’s arm, then you squeezed between her and Leah, another shot with Jess pulling faces beside Alex, and finally Jordan crouched beside Buddy and you as Buddy beamed and held up Leah’s medal—you were completely spent.

“Can we be done now?” You complained for what felt like the hundredth time in the span of the time you’d been taking photos, “I’m bored!”

“Yeah, we’re done,” Leah chuckled, looping her arm around your shoulder, “We’re going to go in now and join the rest of the team, yeah?”

“Finally,” You muttered, sagging against her side.

“Buddy, can Mummy have her medal back?” Leah asked gently.

“It mine,” Buddy declared firmly, clutching it tighter to her chest, “No ‘ours!”

“Bubba, Mummy needs it for now, okay?” Leah kept her voice gentle, crouching down the 4-year-old’s height, “You’ve done a really good job holding onto it for me though, and I’m so proud of you!”

“Fine,” Buddy huffed, reluctantly allowing Leah to take it from around her neck, “I come in der wif ‘ou?”

“I’m afraid you can’t, Bubba,” Leah told her honestly, “But we’re going to see you at the party. Okay? You just need to stay with Mama and everyone else for now, alright?”

Buddy wasn’t so keen on the idea of that, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest, “I come wif ‘ou, Mummy! I no wan’ stay wif Mama!”

“Hey, Buddy!” Jacob swooped in just at the right moment, crouching beside your favourite little buddy, “How about me and you kick a ball about on the pitch, yeah?”

“... Otay!” Buddy hesitated to agree.

“Thanks, J,” Leah thanked the lad, patting him on the shoulder before Jacob ran with Buddy to find the nearest football to kick, turning to face the rest of your family,“We’ll see you all at the party in a bit.”

“Peace out!” You stated, starting to head down into the tunnel.

Leah laughed, giving you a slight nudge, “Come on, my girl. Let’s go join the chaos in the changing room, yeah?”

The second you stepped through the doors of the changing room, the chaos hit you full force.

It was boiling, loud and completely unhinged. There were wet footprints streaking across the floor, half the squad was in various stages of kit and champagne-soaked victory shirts, and someone was already blaring music from a speaker someone had smuggled in.

You barely made it three steps before someone shoved a drink into your hand—something fizzy and most definitely dangerous and far too strong.

You blinked at it, sniffed it and took a cautious sip, “Oh… It’s strong,” You said, and then took another sip.

And then another.

And that was all it took.

You were an absolute lightweight when it came to drinking.

Within minutes, you were red-cheeked, starry-eyes and absolutely buzzing. A complete livewire. The shy kid from an hour ago was long gone. Replaced by something wild and gleeful and just a little bit dangerous.

Leah watched you guzzle half of your drink and raised a brow, “Steady on there, my girl.”

“Muuuum, leave it out. I’m havin’ fun!” You declared promptly, not wasting time to have another drink, “I’m buzzin’!”

Leah laughed, shaking her head and deciding to just let you have all the fun you wanted, “Alright then, baby. Just be careful not to break anything.”

You had no such intentions to do anything like that.

Kyra was the first one to rope you in and drag you by your wrist towards the crowded group screaming the lyrics to Stina’s chant, bouncing up and down fueled by the alcohol in everyone’s systems.

“Stina Stina Stina Stina Stina Blackstenius!” You screamed along with them, shrieking with laughter as Katie tackled you to the floor mid-chorus and slid with you across the champagne-soaked floor.

“Watch out!” You warned with barely any time before you crashed dramatically into Leah’s legs, grinning up at her innocently, “Hi, Muuuuuuum!”

“Hi, sweetheart,” Leah chuckled, patting your hair before proceeding to have another drink of her own, “Are you having fun?”

“Tons of it!” You insisted, grinning at her cheekily and breathless, scrambling up to get off the floor, “I don’t ever want this night to end!”

“Plenty of time still, kid!” Steph chimed in, ruffling your hair as she directly handed you a heineken bottle to swig, “Ave’ at it!”

You frowned while pouting at the bottle, “What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Shake it and spray it everywhere,” Beth encouraged, finally joining in on the chaos after she had the unfortunate luck of having to dope after the game instead of joining in on the celebration, “Go wild, Monkey!”

So you just did what anyone would do—pop open the cork and spray it everywhere.

You shrieked in delight as it foamed over your hands, pointing it upward like a fountain and soaking Alessia’s hair and earning a scandalised scream from her.

“Monkey!” The blonde exclaimed in shock-horror before proceeding to tackle you into a headlock, “I’ll get you back you little menace!”

“Right, girls! Picture! Picture!” One of the assistant coaches insisted, gesturing to you all to come together for a group photo, “Come on! Picture time!”

“Urgh! Not again!” You whined in complaint with an exaggerated eye roll, but you still dragged yourself into the clump of girls, tucking yourself neatly in front of Leah as everyone crowded around the trophy. You leaned back into her, your drink still sloshing in one hand, medal swinging from your cheek while your cheeks were pink from all the shouting and Heineken.

The phone was snapped just as you were mid-complaint.

“Hey! You got me bad side!” You grumbled, mock-scowling at the poor assistant holding the phone. You weren’t really mad honestly, and you didn’t have time to keep sulking because the opening notes of another iconic anthem suddenly boomed through the speaker.

Your whole face lit up in glee.

“ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY! EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY!” You shrieked at full volume, pointing in random directions with a whole lot of energy.

“Sing it, little lady!” Katie whooped, charging over and before you could even run, grabbing you around the waist and hoisting you clean off the floor.

You squealed as she spun you around in dizzy circles with your arms flailing and hair going wild in all different directions, your shrieks of laughter echoing off the wall as Leah took the opportunity to capture the whole thing on a video.

You didn’t care though, you were feeling high on life.

You didn’t ever want this moment to end, and you were going to make sure absolutely everybody knew about it.

“Let’s party it up, bitchessss!” You yelled, stumbling into the afterparty with Katie, who had the trophy held proudly above her head, “I’m ready t drink and have a good fuckin’ time!”

“Monkey,” Leah warned softly from behind, walking beside Laia as the room erupted into cheers, “Reign it in a bit, please.”

“What?” You grinned, head cocking to the side, arms flung out like you were embracing the world, “I’m livin’ my best life right now! Woohoo—Buddy! There you are!”

“Monks’!” Your favourite little buddy squealed in excitement, running straight to you.

“Missed you! Where’ve you been?” You wondered in a drunken state, wrapping both your arms around your little sister, “Are you ready to party? We’re gonna dance the night away!"

“Listen,” Leah said, easily taking Rugrat from Amanda, who was wide eyed and awake amongst the chaos in the room, “You can tonight Just be sensible, okay? Know your limits.”

You huffed, exaggerating an eye roll, “Don’t worry, Mum. I’ll be fine!” You insisted, sparing a glance at the six-week-old infant, “What’s she doin’ here? I don’t like her!”

You didn’t wait around for an answer before pulling Buddy towards the dance floor, trying to not think about the baby in Leah’s arms.

“Has she eaten much?” Alessia asked quietly, eyeing you with mild concern.

“If three bags of crisps and a jelly pot count, then sure,” Steph mumbled, shaking her head.

Alessia winced, “She’s a proper lightweight.”

“I fear it’s already gone to her head,” Beth chimed in, watching you start to bounce around the room high from the energy and alcohol.

“LET’S FUCKIN PAAAAAARTY!” You shrieked, vibrantly as you threw your free arm around Kyra while holding Buddy on your hip, ”Buddy! What’re we sayin’? North London Forever?”

“Uh-huh! I like dat one!” Buddy nodded excitedly in your arms.

“Let’s gooooo!” Kyra added, just as excited with alcohol in her system.

“Aye, Jess Glynne!” You spotted the red-hair in the distance of the room, walking over to her, “What’re you doin’ here? Ooo! Ooo! Can we sing a song?”

“Down, Monks’!” Buddy insisted, trying to wriggle free in your arms.

“Spoil sport,” You mumbled, reluctantly putting her down as she toddled over to Jordan.

“Hello again, troublemaker. You seem a bit drunk there,” Jess smiled, amused, “We can sing a song together if you would like that.”

“Auntie Al! Auntie Al!” You squealed, excitedly stumbling towards Alex, “I get to sing a song with Jess Glynne! So cool!”

“Oh good lord,” Alex muttered, catching your arm before you tripped, “That is pretty cool. How many have you had to drink now?”

“Eh, not a lot,” You carelessly shrugged your shoulders,” I’m only a bit tipsy. I can still walk in a straight line… kinda!”

“What’ve you even been drinking to get in this state?” Jordan wondered, watching in concern as she handed Buddy a cake bar.

You stumbled around, grinning like an idiot, “Lord I don’t know, but it was… pretty fuckin’ good, Mama!”

Jordan arched an eyebrow, turning to look at her ex girlfriend, “Leah, what have you been giving her to be in this state?”

“I had nothing to do with giving her anything,” Leah chimed in, swaying a wide awake Rugrat in her arms, “If anything then blame Katie for that.”

“Typical,” Jordan mumbled, shaking her head.

“I want some more!” You exclaimed, swinging your arms about in the air, “Gimme! Gimme!”

“Oh my God,” Jordan mumbled, rubbing her temple, “I can’t believe she’s already in this state. I have a good piece of mind to go and have a word with Katie over this.”

You didn’t waste time lingering around as you heard the opening tune of one of Jess Glynne’s songs, “Oh my God, I loooooove this song!”

“Monkey, do you want to come up here and sing a song with me?” Jess called you over from the DJ booth, motioning you to join her.

“Can I?” Your eyes lit up in excitement, “Let’s fucking goooooo!”

“Monkey swore!” Buddy gasped in realisation, glancing between Leah and Jordan, “Dat not allowed!”

Leah hummed, brushing a strand of hair out of Buddy’s face, “She did, and you’re not to repeat it either, alright?”

“You got it dude,” Buddy responded with a thumbs up, “Can I go an’ dance wif Auntie Wally?”

“Go for it, little ‘un,” Jordan chuckled, waving her hand off in the direction of where Lia is dancing with Mario, “Have fun!”

You were having a wail of a time up on stage, performing with Jess Glynne as cameras were out and everyone was filming the performance.

“Thank you! Thank you!” You joked, staggering down off the stage as you searched for another alcoholic beverage, “Thank you very much!”

“What a performance that was, Monkey,” Elle let out a low whistle.

“I think you need to slow down on the drinks, sweetheart,” Amanda said in concern, noting the way you were stumbling all over the place, “Why don’t you drink some water?”

“Pft, I’m fine! I’ve only had… three,” You struggled to remember, trying to count on your fingers, “... I think?”

Jacob snickered, “You think?”

“I’ve told her to just be sensible, and I’m keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t go too wild,” Leah informed her family, sitting down on a chair as she was mid-feeding Rugrat a bottle.

“Heh, check it out. I got a blue tongue!” You exclaimed, sticking your tongue out in front of your own phone, “I like that!”

“How’ve you managed to get a blue tongue?” Beth laughed, amused with your current antics as she now had a fast asleep Phoebe cradled to her chest, “What’ve you been drinking to get that?”

“I dunno, but it tastes like victory!” You exclaimed, bobbing up and down with your medal around your neck, “Yeeeehaw!”

“Oh, she’s pissed for sure,” Jacob grinned in amusement.

“Here, Monkey, have another one,” Katie encouraged, shoving a drink into your hand much to the disagreement of your family.

“Katie no,” Jordan eyed the drink in your hand but it was too late as you were already drinking it, “Remember to get her to drink some water, Monkey.”

“Oh looky out, the fun police have arrived!” You exclaimed, rolling your eyes as you neck back the rest of the drink that you were handed, “Boooo!”

“Logan,” Leah gave you a warning look, “Stop being rude and drink some water, please.”

You groaned, tilting your head back for dramatic effect, “I don’t want any water. I wanna drink more! We’re champions, baby!”

“Dance wif me, Monks’! Dance wif me!” Buddy insists, holding her arms out for you to take and spin her around, “Dance wif me! Spin me ‘round!”

You did as Buddy requested, taking her hands, dancing and spinning around with her as her giggles became infectious, “Ready for me to catch you, Buddy? Ready?” You picked her up and held her high in the air, trying your hardest not to stumble in your step.

“Logan Reece!” Leah’s voice cut in, sharp, “Don’t you bloody dare think about throwing your sister in the air!” She shouted across the room, quickly getting your attention.

You pouted while you placed Buddy gently back down on the dance floor, “But she likes it…”

“Absolutely not!” Leah was quick in her stride to pass Rugrat over to David now she was done burping her and storm over to where you was, “You don’t ever think about doing that, especially when your three sheets to the wind!”

“You’re overreacting a tad there, Mum,” You groaned, rolling your eyes in exaggeration as you proceeded to climb on top of a stray table and hold your arms out like you were in a scene from Titanic.

Leah was still not letting up, “Get down off the bloody table right now, young lady!”

“Ooo, young lady. You’re in trouble now!” Kyra teased, not realising the seriousness of it at all.

“Down,” Leah didn’t wait around for you to get down before proceeding to lift you off the table herself, “Come with me, you’re going to drink some water before you end up injuring yourself!”

“Do I hafta?” You huffed in protest, “M’ only havin’ a good time!” You swooped up a random drink from a table and took a swig.

Leah scoffed, “A good time? It’s a bit more than that,” She paused, taking the alcohol away from you, “No more drinking until you’ve drank some water, my girl.”

“Oi, that’s mine!” You scowled, not happy with that decision of Leah stealing your alcohol, “Give it back! Thief!”

Your words did little to phase Leah as she retrieved a bottle of water and handed it to you, “Here, water. Drink it now,” She instructed, “I’m your Mum, I care about you and I don’t mind you drinking tonight, we’re celebrating but I want you to be safe. At this rate you’re going to fall asleep on the floor by the DJ booth.”

“I don’t wanna drink water,” You grumbled, reluctant to crack open the bottle of water in your hands, “I wanna party!”

“You’re not drinking anymore alcohol until you’ve drunk some water first,” Leah stood form on her decision.

You groaned in disagreement, “Muuuuuum, I’m twenny now. You can’t just—”

“You live under my roof,” Leah swiftly cut you off with a firm look, “I can, and I will.”

“That’s fuckin’ bullshit!” You swore directly at her without even thinking twice about it.

“She swore! Monkey said the F word!” Buddy shouted mid-twirl as she danced with Rory.

“That’s naughty,” Rory added, gasping.

“She did, and she shouldn’t have,” Jordan said, exhaling a sigh, “No one’s saying the F word anymore tonight, alright?”

“Cept me!” You declared proudly, jumping back up on the table, “I’M A FOOKIN’ CHAMPION OF EUROPE! THE ONLY IN THE LAND!”

“Right. Off the table. Now!” Leah barked.

“Bah humbug,” You pouted, wobbling slightly, “I’m celebratin’! Leave me ‘lone!”

“Monkey, don’t think I won’t throw you over my shoulder,” Leah warned, resting her hands on her hips and giving that look that you were all too familiar with.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes and continuing to dance on the table, “Pft, whatever. I’m fine—”

“I don’t care if you’re fine or not, drink this water now,” Leah told you firmly, “Either you drink it, or you’re cut off for the rest of the night, alright?”

“Ugh, fine, whatever…. Captain Buzzkill,” You sloppily gulped it down, then shoved the bottle back, “There, done. Can I go back to drinking and partying now?”

“Sure, just be careful, alright?” Leah stated firmly, exhaling a sigh with a feeling that she wasn’t getting through to you at all.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, buh-bye now!” You waved cheekily before continuing to dance and have the time of your life.

“God, she’s going to be an absolute pain to deal with tomorrow,” Alex winced, witnessing your antics for herself, “I wish you luck.”

“And she’s gonna have a horrific hangover,” Jordan added.

Elle frowned in sympathy, “She’s definitely going to feel it. Are you going to be alright dealing with her tomorrow, babe?”

“It’s not like I have a choice,” Leah laughed faintly, admiring Jordan coo over Rugrat in her arms, “At least we’ve got a good while until Buddy or Rugrat are like this, and it’s not every day that you’re a champion of Europe. Just let her have this one.”

You were having a time of your life living it high and dancing around on the dance floor with your teammates, “Oi, Buddy. C’mere!” You shouted over to your favourite little buddy.

“Monks! Monks!” Buddy shouted, running up to you with wild and sweaty curls while Rory continued to dance with Lia and Mariona, “Come dance wif us!”

You grinned, reaching forward to ruffle Buddy’s hair, “I will! I’m just having some… juice,” You weren’t sure how to word it.

Buddy scrunched her face up in disinterest, “Dat no’ like juice, dat smells funny an’ so strong! Ew!”

“Sure it is,” You waved your hand off, going to hand your little sister the drink over without even thinking twice about it, “Think of it like… apple juice, or summit.”

Before you can even properly hand the drink to Buddy, it’s quickly swept away by Steph, “Jesus! Monkey, what the hell are you doin’? Are you out of your mind right now?!”

You blinked, suddenly startled, “... I was only givin’ her a small sip.”

“She’s four, Monkey!” Steph shouted, “This isn’t a drink you can give to your sister!”

“You… You just told me off!” You mumbled, your bottom lip starting to wobble, “You can’t do that!”

“Yes, I did and I can when you’re putting your four year old sister in danger!” Steph shot back, furious that you even attempted to do such a thing like that.

“Muuuuum!” You barrelled into Leah, throwing your arms around her neck and plonking yourself on her lap, “Tell her she can’t shout at me!”

“Oof, Monkey,” Leah let out a groan, startled by your sudden appearance as she chatted with Elle, “What’s the matter, baby?”

“Auntie Stephy just shouted at me!” You proceed to shout, clinging your arms around her neck, “Tell her she can’t… Tell her she can’t do that!”

Leah’s brow was furrowed, “What? Why? What’s happened?”

“I… I don’t know,” You mumbled, burying your head in her neck to try and shelter from it. You weren’t that keen to tell Leah what happened knowing you’d definitely be in trouble for it.

“Steph?” Leah glanced at the Australian women, “Why did you shout at my kid? You have no right to do that!”

“Le, before you go off on one you need to understand that I found Monkey trying to give Buddy alcohol,” Steph explained, cautiously, “I think it might’ve been vodka.”

Leah’s eyes were high in alert, “Vodka?!” She exclaimed, gazing at you disapprovingly.

“... I thought she might like it,” You told her, innocently and hopeful that Leah wouldn’t go absolutely nuts about it.

“Right,” Leah exhaled a dangerously calm breath, pinching her nose, “Bed. Now.”

“What? No!” You exclaimed in disbelief, quick to protest against the idea, “Nobody else is going to bed yet! S’ not fair!”

“I don’t care,” Leah shifted you on her lap to start and get up, “You are. You’re done.”

You shoved back, shaking your head in disagreement, “No! I’m a champion of Europe, I don’t need a fuckin’ bedtime!”

“Logan Reece,” Jordan stepped in, sharply and fixing you with a look that made you straighten up instinctively.

Leah turned to her, exhaustion already sinking into her bones, “I’ve got Buddy on the dancefloor with Kyra and Alessia, Rugrat’s dead asleep… Can you—?”

“Yeah,” Jordan said, already reaching out, “I’ll handle her. You stay and enjoy the party. Where’s your room key?”

“Right, yeah, it’s here,” Leah handed it over without hesitation and then leaned down, pressing a kiss to your hair, ��You may be twenty, but just so we’re clear, you’re also my daughter. And I’m not going to wait until you’re slurring your words and putting your baby sister in danger to step in. What you did was really silly, Monkey. So now I think it’s best you go with Mama, let her tuck you in, and call it a night, alright? I love you, but bed means bed.”

“I don’t need to go to bed!” You insisted, the alcohol fueling your system as you still stood your ground.

“When you’re putting your sister in danger and making reckless decisions then you're done,” Jordan cut in, calm but stern, “Now are you going to walk, or am I going to carry you?”

“I’m not partying yet! I still… There’s ages!” You weakly protested, throwing your head back for extra dramatics, “I’m not goin’! You can’t make me!”

“Tough,” Jordan interrupted with her voice still firm, leaning out to take hold of your hand, “You lost that right the minute you tried to pour vodka down your 4 year old sister's throat! Bed, now. Move it.”

“Mamaaaa! I don’t wanna!” You whined in complaint, refusing to take her hand and garing at her, “S’ not fair!”

“Come on, Monkey,” Jordan exhaled a sigh, taking it upon herself to take a hold of your hand, “Time for bed, little one before you say something that you’ll regret.”

“Why’s everyone against me? S’ not fair!” You huffed in a sulk, reluctantly allowing yourself to be dragged through the room, “Didn’t do nuffin’ wrong!”

“You don’t think so, huh?” Jordan questioned with an arched eyebrow, “I think that we have very different opinions on that now, so come on let’s get you to bed before you cause anymore trouble.”

“I’m a grown up! M’ not goin’ to dumb, stupid bed!” You thrashed around in Jordan’s grasp, “Not fair! I… I don’t wanna!”

Jordan sighed like someone already regretting every life choice that led to this moment, “Okay, champion of Europe. Let’s go. You’re done for the night.”

You pouted, tugging against her arm half-heartedly, “Don’t wanna…” As Leah’s voice cut in just before Jordan could exit the packed room.

“Make sure to brush your teeth, please,” Leah called over the laughter still echoing down the hallway, soft and firm as her arms cradled Rugrat close.

You turned with a defiant glare that didn’t quite land, “You brush your teeth!”

Leah smiled with deliberate patience as she shared a subtle look with Jordan before Jordan continued to tug you in the direction of your hotel room that you shared with Leah.

“Come on, little one,” Jordan mumbled, realising it was too late to disagree with handling things now.

The door clicked shut.

Somewhere down the hall, someone was already filming.

When you’re a champion of Europe, but you still have a bedtime.

The TikTok edit practically made itself.

If you like this then please leave you support and leave me a tip 🫶🏼

#monkey #double the trouble fic #leah williamson x reader #woso x reader #woso one shot #scribblesofagoonerr #woso fanfics #woso imagine #beth mead x reader #chaos fc reader #awfc x reader #lia wälti x reader #kim little x reader #katie mccabe x reader #jordan nobbs x reader #steph catley x reader #kyra cooney cross x reader #alessia russo x reader

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steamtrain52 · 3 months ago

Text

No Ordinary Boy - Prologue

“So, what do you think really happened out there?”, Jessica asked Principal Kevin Vance.

She waited patiently as the principal cleared his throat. He had been a student in the same year as the Yellowjackets soccer team, so it was safe to say that he had at least known some of them. Funnily enough, his father had been the principal of the Yellowjackets’ school at the time Flight 2525 had gone down.

Was it odd that Kevin Vance would return one day as the principal of the school his own father had once led? Probably, but Jessica kept her opinions to herself.

“All I know”, Vance began, “is that what happened was a tragedy. A terrible tragedy. I probably shouldn’t say this, but… some of the kids in my year, no big loss, if we’re honest. But those girls were special. They were… they were champions.”

He smiled contentedly, as though he expected that to be the end of it, for Jessica to thank him for his time and walk quietly away. But Taissa Turner had told Jessica to be thorough with her investigation, so she pressed on.

“What about the boys?”

Vance frowned. “What boys?”

Jessica blinked in surprise. “The boys who were on the plane. The ones who made it back. Travis Martinez and Thomas Scott.”

“Oh. Uh…” Vance seemed to hesitate. “Travis always seemed like a nice guy. We spoke a few times, but I wouldn’t call us friends.”

An uncomfortable silence lay between them, and Jessica realised she needed to prompt him further.

“And… Thomas Scott?”

“Well… everybody called him Tommy, actually. Um… nothing really stands out about him, to be honest. I remember he was dating Natalie Scatorccio at the time, so… maybe you should ask her.”

Vance started shifting uncomfortably in his seat, and Jessica sensed it was time to go. She thanked Principal Vance for his time and left his office. But as she began to walk off the school grounds, she couldn’t shake the feeling that when Principal Vance said nothing stood out about Thomas Scott, he had been lying through his teeth.

000000000000000000000000

Natalie groaned as she shook herself awake. She was not, and had never been, an early riser, especially on a Saturday morning, but today was important. Today just so happened to be the day of the game that would determine whether the Yellowjackets Girls’ soccer team would go to Nationals, and despite her typical sour attitude at getting up early, Natalie was excited at the prospect of going to Seattle.

She’d never even left New Jersey before, and the thought of getting to go somewhere else spurred her on to dress quickly, double and triple-checking she had packed her shin guards and soccer boots, before hastily chewing and swallowing her breakfast cereal.

Natalie swore as she remembered the coffee machine in the trailer had broken the day before. Maybe if she called Tommy’s house, she could ask him to bring her coffee to the early morning practice. But even as Natalie entertained the thought, she knew it couldn’t happen. Coach Scott had no idea she had been dating his brother the last six months, and Natalie desperately wanted to keep it that way. Tommy was pretty much the only ray of sunshine in her dark, dark world, and she would be damned if she ruined that over a simple request for coffee.

But as Natalie swung open the trailer door, she stopped dead at the sight of Tommy standing right in front of her, with a big, goofy grin on his face, wordlessly holding out what looked suspiciously like a warm, steaming cup of-

Natalie seized the coffee and drank deep.

“I love you so much”, she said, looking directly at the cup.

“I’m just gonna assume it’s me you’re talking to”, she heard Tommy laugh.

“Probably for the best”, Natalie grinned, taking another sip. Wiping her mouth, she placed her free hand on Tommy’s chest and treated her boyfriend to a long, deep kiss. He had gotten up early on a Saturday morning to visit her and bring her coffee, and Natalie felt the butterflies flutter in her stomach as she smiled against Tommy’s lips.

“How’d you know I needed coffee?”

Tommy shrugged. “You said yesterday at school your coffee machine had broken that morning. Remember?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Anyway, should we get going? Don’t wanna put Taissa in an even worse mood than she usually is.”

“Don’t give me any ideas”, Natalie said, giving Tommy one last kiss before linking her hand in his and beginning the walk to school.

Though Tommy was in Natalie's year, she and most of her teammates had barely even spoken to him before they began dating. He had started at their school four years ago, in 1992, and since then, he had never run in the same social circles as them. In fact, Tommy had never really run in the same social circles as anybody at their school, which was one of the factors that caused Natalie to notice him in the first place. He was on their school swim team, and Natalie had seen him work as a lifeguard at the local pool from time to time, but throughout the years Natalie had been unable to help herself from noticing that Tommy Scott always ate lunch by himself, never really engaging with anybody else.

Then, early in their last school year, Natalie had been paired up with Tommy for an English project, and both of them had been surprised to realise how much they had in common, bonding over their mutual love of Nirvana- and their mutual hatred of the jocks in the school. But it was more than that. Though Tommy wasn’t top of the class in anything, and not exactly the best-looking either, he turned out to be so sweet and kind and endearing it wasn’t long before Natalie found herself falling head over heels for him, leaving her feeling terrified and excited at the same time.

Slowly, bit by bit, she had started to open up to Tommy more and more, continuing to find excuses to hang out with him even after their project was done. Eventually, she had invited him along to a concert she wanted to go to- which had culminated in an extremely passionate makeout session underneath the stars.

The next day, Natalie had at first been worried that she had ruined what she had going between her and Tommy, but after he had gently soothed away her concerns and reassured her she had nothing to worry about, he had kissed her again, much softer this time, and from that day forward, Tommy Scott had been the first person Natalie thought of when she woke up in the morning, and the first she would run to with good news.

All in all, Natalie thought, as she drained the last of her coffee, her other hand clasping her boyfriend’s as they walked to the school pitch, she and Tommy complemented each other quite well. She was wild and reckless, he was calm and careful. Together, they balanced each other out. He would calm her down when her temper got the best of her, and in turn, she would encourage him to step out of his comfort zone, introducing him to smoking weed for the first time (with hilarious results), to gently taking Tommy’s virginity in her own bed to the tune of Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home”.

Eventually, after months of sneaking around behind the backs of everyone they knew, Natalie had sparked up the courage to introduce Tommy as her official boyfriend at Taissa’s birthday party. Most of the team already knew, or at least suspected they were together, but up until the party, Natalie had remained purposefully tight-lipped about the whole thing, dodging any and all questions about what she was doing with Coach Scott’s younger brother.

Natalie had raised more than a few eyebrows when she walked into Taissa’s home holding Tommy’s hand, though none had been raised higher than Taissa herself. As it turned out, Taissa was one of the few Yellowjackets who genuinely had no idea that Natalie had been seeing Tommy, and once she realised Coach Scott didn’t know either, had treated the both of them to a long lecture about ‘compromising team structure’.

Or something like that, Natalie wasn’t sure- she had been too busy running out of the house in tears, Tommy chasing after her. Once he had caught up with her, he had held her in his arms and softly kissed the tears off her cheeks, whispering sweet nothings in her ears and even convincing Natalie to rejoin the party, where the both of them had made a point of avoiding Taissa the rest of the evening.

Probably sensing that Natalie was still upset, Tommy had decided to show her his own reckless side that night to cheer her up- and the next Monday at school, all anybody would talk about was the thunderously loud sex Natalie Scatorccio and Tommy Scott had been having in Taissa Turner’s bathroom around the time everyone else had been singing “Happy Birthday”.

Natalie and Tommy had subsequently fled out the bathroom window, cackling like hyenas, and before long it seemed as though the whole school, minus the teachers, were aware of their relationship. But Natalie didn’t care. She was dizzy with love by this point, and her marked improvement on the soccer pitch every time Tommy came to watch did not go unnoticed by the team, not even Taissa, who grudgingly held her tongue whenever Coach Scott noticed his brother watching them practice.

“I guess this is where we part ways”, Tommy noticed sadly, jerking Natalie out of her thoughts as they came to the bend in the road that led to the pitch.

Natalie nodded sadly, and wound her arms around her boyfriend’s neck, kissing him deep and slow.

“Wish me luck”, she said, pressing her forehead against his.

“Always”, Tommy whispered, kissing her again.

000000000000000000000000

Having watched Natalie from the stands many times before, she had always struck Tommy as an excellent winger, just so long as she was focused. She was definitely focused today, he noticed, as he watched, awestruck, while Natalie threw herself into attack, ferociously tackling or breaking tackles every time the ball came near her and booting it up the field. The Yellowjackets were a great team, nobody could deny that- but their opponents were excellent as well, sending out players as decoys to confuse Natalie and her teammates, then slipping the ball right past Van Palmer, the Yellowjackets’ goalkeeper.

Eventually, it came down to the final minute, with the score tied at 3-3. Tommy cheered on his girlfriend’s team as Taissa wrestled the ball from an opponent, then passed it on to Shauna Shipman, who passed it back to Taissa, who passed it to Jackie Taylor, the team’s captain and striker, who headed the ball in for a-

“GOAL!” The stands, Tommy included, erupted and jumped to their feet in applause as the girls swarmed each other, chanting their trademark “BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ!”

As Natalie broke away from the huddle, Tommy saw her looking for him in the crowd, and waved to her enthusiastically, blowing her a kiss, watching as she caught it and held it close to her heart.

They were so cheesy it hurt, but Tommy couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face. There were times when he wanted to scream to the whole world that he loved Natalie Scatorccio more than anything, but he knew she still didn’t want Ben to know about them. Tommy doubted his brother would take issue with them, but Natalie’s opinion mattered to him, so Tommy kept his mouth shut whenever Ben or their parents would ask him about the number of hickeys he had gotten over the last few months, or the times he had snuck out of the house to meet Natalie and her friends for whatever party was going around.

He still wanted to run on to the field and swing Natalie around in his arms, but restrained himself as he looked for his brother, eventually finding him by Misty Quigley, the team’s equipment manager.

“Hi, Tommy!” Misty greeted him enthusiastically, enveloping him in a hug that caught Tommy off guard. According to Natalie, Misty was the shyest girl in the school when it came to boys, but Tommy figured she was probably just happy about the win.

“Uh… h-hey, Misty.”

“Hey, man”, Ben greeted him. “Uh… could you go wait by the car? I’ll be there soon.”

“Sure.”

000000000000000000000000

“Now are you going to tell Coach Scott?”

“Tell him what?” Natalie asked, as she sat down to remove her boots and shinguards, deliberately playing dumb just to spite Taissa.

The team’s box-to-box midfielder crossed her arms as she stood looking down at Natalie. Natalie choked down a laugh. Was she trying to be intimidating?

“Oh, I don’t know, that you’ve been fucking his brother the last few months-”

“That’s none of your business”, Natalie snarled, as some of the others started to take notice.

“It is if it disrupts the team at Nationals-”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?!” Natalie’s temper reared its ugly head, and she rose up to meet Taissa, shoving her as hard as she could against the lockers.

“Is that really all you care about?” She advanced on Tai, intending to grab her hair and wrench it, but Jackie got in the way.

“Guys, GUYS!” Jackie yelled. “What is this? We just WON, for crying out loud. We’re going to Nationals next week.”

“Yeah, and Coach Scott might have to bring his brother if we don’t want Natalie to be heartsick the whole time-”

Natalie made another lunge at Taissa, but this time Shauna and Lottie Matthews, the team’s centre back, blocked her attack.

“Fuck this”, she mumbled, grabbing her gear off the floor and heading for the exit. But as she walked out the door, she couldn’t help one last retort.

“Maybe Tommy and I should pay your bathroom another visit!” Natalie yelled, flipping Tai off and grinning wolfishly.

It had the desired effect, as she saw Taissa flinch. Natalie let out a dark chuckle, and headed out the building.

She knew where Tommy would be, and made a beeline for the carpark. She saw him standing in front of Coach Scott’s car, and eagerly ran to meet him, wrapping her legs around his waist as he swept her up in his arms, kissing her deeply before setting her down.

“You were amazing”, he said, brushing a bleached-blonde lock of hair out of her eyes.

“Thank you”, Natalie grinned. “Walk me home?”

“Thought you might say that”, Tommy said, as he tucked a note for his brother under the car’s windshield wiper. His ability to think one step ahead of most people was one of the many things Natalie loved about him, and she happily held hands with Tommy all the way back, chatting about the match, about Nationals, about graduation-

Natalie hesitated as the subject came up. Graduation was still months away, but she still didn’t really know what she would do. Her grades were fine, but paying for college? Forget about it. Tommy probably could sense not to push it, and he stayed silent until they came to Natalie’s trailer.

“So… this is me”, she said, shuffling awkwardly as she kissed Tommy goodbye. Then as he began to walk away, a very naughty thought came to mind.

“Unless, of course, you want to come in?”

Tommy turned around to see her provocatively sticking one of her legs out.

“Miss Scatorccio, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you?

“What, like this?” Natalie preened. “No. I’m all sweaty and smelly-”

Tommy suddenly advanced on Natalie, cupping her face and giving her a deep, passionate kiss.

“I like you sweaty and smelly”, he growled, a hungry glint in his eyes.

000000000000000000000000

Sex with Natalie always felt downright magical, Tommy thought, gripping his girlfriend’s hips as she rode him furiously. So far, she had been the only girl he had ever had sex with, and he most certainly intended to keep it that way for the forseeable future, fucking upwards into her as she met him on the descent. After they both climaxed, he caught Natalie as she fell into him, both panting and covered in sweat.

“That was… Jesus”, he began, as he disposed of the condom.

“I know.”

“Every time I think this can’t possibly get better, we just…”

“I know.” Natalie broke into giggles, kissing his chest. With the mood they were in, it didn’t take long for them to get going again, this time with Tommy on top as he pounded Natalie into the mattress, her hooking her legs around his hips and clinging to him frantically as he drove into her, her back raising off the bed as she came in his arms. After disposing of the second condom, Tommy wrapped his arms around Natalie as she lay her head on his chest.

“You have a strong heart”, she whispered, “I love listening to it when… when we’re done.”

“I love it when you listen to it”, Tommy smiled, kissing his girlfriend’s forehead.

“Do you really have to go?”

“Sorry. Ben expects me home. He’ll go ballistic if I don’t turn up.”

Natalie nodded, but Tommy could sense her disappointment as he started to disentangle himself.

“Five more minutes?” She pleaded with him.

“I don’t see why not”, Tommy kissed Natalie as he wrapped her back in his arms, and she snuggled into him.

000000000000000000000000

Tommy was lifeguarding at the pool on Sunday, so Natalie didn’t see him again until Monday at school. Greeting her at the gate with another coffee and a kiss, both of which she gratefully accepted, they headed into school hand-in-hand, until the time came for them to go to their classes.

On Wednesday, they were supposed to have a pep rally before school started, so Natalie headed into the team’s locker room early- only to find herself standing in front of Jackie and Taissa.

“Well?” Jackie asked.

Well what? Natalie almost snapped back, before realising the team captain was talking to Taissa.

Taissa gritted her teeth. “It’s none of my business who you date.”

Jackie smiled, and Taissa stomped away. Natalie felt an ear-splitting grin emerge on her face.

Now Jackie approached her. “Do we have a problem?”

“Nope”, Natalie kept grinning, “no problem at all”.

As Principal Donald Vance introduced them, they ran out into the gym dressed in their uniforms, to the tune of “Good Vibrations”, Natalie sought out Tommy in the crowd, spotting him smiling at her, as she smiled back. Really, could this day get any better?

000000000000000000000000

“I’m coming with you?” Tommy asked, incredulous.

“Yep”, Ben nodded. “Mom and Dad just called. They want to extend their trip another week, so… yeah. We leave Saturday. You’re spending the week in Seattle.”

“What am I supposed to do in Seattle?” Tommy asked, fighting valiantly to keep the massive grin from appearing on his face.

Ben shrugged. “Eat. Take in the sights. Watch the games. Should be a good trip, apparently Lottie Matthews’ dad is lending us his private plane…”

But Tommy had stopped listening. He was coming on the trip with Natalie, he would be able to watch her play…

He felt like he was about to explode with joy. He had to find her. Now.

000000000000000000000000

“It’s like you don’t even care”, Taissa stated.

“Are you kidding me?” Natalie said, incredulously, as the school bell rang. “You’re being insensitive.”

“This is what we’ve worked for all season. You really want to take that chance?”

“Yeah. ‘Cause I’m not a fucking asshole”, Natalie replied, as Shauna approached them.

“What are you guys talking about?” Shauna asked.

“Allie”, Lottie sighed.

Shauna frowned. “What about her?”

“Did you black out at states?” Taissa asked. “She totally choked.”

“She’s a freshman, Tai-” Natalie started.

“She’s a liability”, Taissa interrupted.

“So, what do you want to do about it?” Shauna asked.

“She can’t screw up if she doesn’t get the ball.”

Shauna blinked. “You want to freeze her out?”

“At least we’d know what we’re working with.”

“She kind of sucks”, Lottie stated, “but… I don’t know.”

“That’s because it’s bullshit-” Natalie started.

“Oh yeah?” Taissa asked. “What’s your plan, then?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Play like a fucking team and win? It’s worked so far.”

“Everything works until it doesn’t. And for the record, stop following Tommy Scott around. Get your shit together.”

Natalie chuckled. She should have known Jackie wouldn’t be enough to make Tai leave her and Tommy alone. And as if he’d heard them, Tommy appeared on the other side of the courtyard, looking around.

“You know what?” Natalie said. “Fuck this.”

She was tired of all the bickering. She’d much rather spend time with her boyfriend, who could calm her down even when she was at her worst. Natalie wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve him, but she had absolutely no intention of letting him go.

“Hey”, she greeted Tommy, kissing him sweetly.

He was grinning from ear to ear.

“What is it?”

“I’m coming with you guys”, Tommy smiled.

Natalie understood immediately, and her mouth dropped open like a truck door. “No, you are not.”

“Oh, yes I am.”

“No, you are not!” Natalie shrieked happily, beginning to jump up and down.

“Apparently my Mom and Dad extended their trip another week. Ben’s bringing me with him.”

“Holy fucking shit!” Natalie pulled Tommy down to her, kissing him as hard as she could.

He was coming with her to Seattle. They could explore the city together and actually act like a couple on holiday. Natalie felt like she was floating on a cloud.

This was going to be the best time of their lives.

#Natalie Scatorccio x male reader #Yellowjackets x male reader #Yellowjackets x reader #yellowjackets #natalie scatorccio x reader #natalie scatorccio

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whoisneo404 · 1 year ago

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Kitchen Accident.

Summary: While going for a mid-night snack with your close friend Nick in his kitchen, you start to goof around and wrestle (as a joke or game), and he accidentally stains your sleeping shirt with grape juice.

tw: cursing. use of good boy (as a joke??). suggestive?? at the end

Note: The reader is shorter than Nick.

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

"All right, we can go to the kitchen, but we have to be silent; I don't want to wake the kids and make them grumpy." Nick says as he grabs the door handle and looks at me dead serious.

I nod, and he opens the door of his room, walking silently to the kitchen and turning the lights on. He left his phone on the counter and walked to the fridge.

"What do you have?" I ask, looking over his shoulder. He hums as he scans the fridge. "Chris' pepsis are a big no; he will kill us. It's not fun to drink milk if it's breakfast. Water and grape juice!" He smiles, looking back at me.

"That sounds great," I say playfully as I start searching for the bag of snacks I bought with me today. "Hey, Nick, where is the bag of snacks?"

He puts the pack of plastic bottles on the counter, opens up a drawer, and takes out a knife. With it, he breaks the plastic, takes out one bottle, and takes a drink out of it.

"I think I left them in one of the top drawers," he says, taking another sip of his drink.

"Okay," I say, and start opening the drawers, which had lots of things like plates, cereal, empty boxes, and mugs, but no bag with snacks until I opened the shelf next to Nick, and there it was, on the top shelf. I stand on my tiptoes but can't reach them. I let out a groan and looked at Nick with "anger."

"You did this on purpose."

"do what?" He tries to hide his smirk with his hand and the bottle of juice, but I see it, and I cross my arms over my chest. "You placed the bag there because you knew I couldn't reach it."

"How do you know it was me? Maybe it was Matt; who knows?" "No, why would he do that? It was you; now get it down so we can continue watching drag races."

"See, you liked the show. and I won't help you until you say please and thank you." He's smiling wider, and I try to contain the blush on my cheeks.

"No, I won."

"Then, no snacks."

"Come one, don't be a jerk," I say, walking to him and grabbing his arms to try and move him over. Closer, go to the drawer. "Don't push me around you idiot," he laughs and starts pushing and pulling me playfully. The kitchen was filled with laughs and curses from both of us.

"Just grab the fucking snacks! I won't say please." As I said, he grabs my arm with his free hand and pulls me closer to him, leaning forward. His mouth is right beside my ear. "Be quiet; good boys don't behave like that." His voice is low, and I can tell he is smirking from the way it sounds. I blushed and pushed him away from me, his grape juice splashing over me. He burst into laughter while covering his mouth, trying not to wake anyone up. "What the fuck, Nick?" I let out in shock; my chest and stomach are cold, and my cheeks are hot. I can't even look him in the eyes.

"I was just playing, god, sorry," he says between giggles. "You should take your shirt off," he says, winking at me.

"STOP THAT!" He laughs even harder. I cover my face and let out a groan. He stops laughing and grabs my waist. "what-?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spill my drink over you... but now I can take off your shirt, help you dry yourself, and give you one of my shirts," he whispers close to my face. "Why are you doing this?"

"I mean, the drink was an accident; I don't know what took over me to say what I said. I never thought you'd like it or like me, so I never did anything, but... did you like it? I mean, like me, do you like me?." he smiles.

"God, Nick, yes, of course." I grab his cheeks and pull him down to kiss him.

"All right then, let's go to my room and get you cleaned up." He kisses my head. He grabs the bag of snacks, and I grab the pack of drinks.

"Just so you know... these chips and chocolates aren't the only snacks I want to eat tonight," he winks at me and runs to his room.

"NICK, WHAT THE FUCK!"

#nick sturniolo x reader #nick sturniolo x you #nick sturniolo x male reader #sturniolo triplets x reader

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kodaloveschris · 1 year ago

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A Fun Day with Daddy

It was a sunny Saturday morning, and the Sturniolo household buzzed with the sound of laughter and little feet pattering on the hardwood floors. Matt Sturniolo, still in his pajama pants and a t-shirt, stood in the kitchen, pouring cereal into two colorful bowls. His twin daughters, Emma and Lily, giggled as they tried to climb onto their chairs at the kitchen table.

"Need a hand, munchkins?" Matt asked, a smile spreading across his face.

"Daddy, I can do it!" Emma insisted, her determined little face scrunching up in concentration.

Lily, on the other hand, reached out for Matt, her big eyes pleading for help. Matt scooped her up and set her gently in her chair, ruffling her hair.

"Thanks, Daddy!" Lily said, beaming up at him.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Matt replied, placing the bowls in front of his girls. "Now, eat up. We have a big day ahead of us."

The girls dug into their cereal with gusto, chatting excitedly about the day's plans. Matt listened with one ear, sipping his coffee and glancing out the window at the beautiful day unfolding outside.

After breakfast, Matt helped the girls get dressed, their room a flurry of dresses, bows, and shoes. Once everyone was ready, they piled into the family car, Matt making sure everyone was safely buckled in before heading to the park.

The park was bustling with families enjoying the warm weather. Matt held his daughters' hands as they walked towards the playground, the girls skipping with excitement.

"Daddy, can we go on the swings?" Emma asked, pointing eagerly.

"Of course," Matt said, leading them to the swings. He lifted Emma onto one and gave her a gentle push, her delighted laughter filling the air. Lily waited patiently for her turn, holding onto Matt's leg.

When it was Lily's turn, Matt pushed her gently too, watching both girls with a content smile. Their happiness was his happiness, and there was nothing he loved more than spending time with them.

After the swings, they explored the rest of the playground, Matt always nearby to catch them if they stumbled or needed help. He joined in their games of tag, pretending to be a monster chasing them, his playful roars making them scream with laughter.

When it was time for lunch, they found a shady spot under a big oak tree and spread out a picnic blanket. Matt unpacked the lunch he had prepared: sandwiches, fruit, and juice boxes.

"Yum, Daddy, these are my favorite!" Emma said, biting into her sandwich.

"Mine too," Lily added, her cheeks full of food.

"I'm glad you like them," Matt said, leaning back on his elbows and watching his daughters with a smile.

After lunch, they lay on the blanket, looking up at the sky and pointing out different shapes in the clouds. Matt listened to his daughters' imaginative descriptions, marveling at their creativity.

"Daddy, that cloud looks like a unicorn!" Lily exclaimed.

"And that one looks like a dragon!" Emma added.

Matt laughed, nodding in agreement. "You both have great imaginations."

As the afternoon wore on, the girls started to get sleepy. Matt gathered up their things and carried Lily, who had fallen asleep in his arms, back to the car. Emma walked beside him, holding onto his free hand.

When they got home, Matt tucked the girls into their beds for a nap, kissing their foreheads and whispering, "Sweet dreams, my loves."

He tiptoed out of the room and headed to the living room, where he finally took a moment to relax. He smiled to himself, thinking about the perfect day they had shared. Being a single dad wasn't always easy, but it was the most rewarding job he could imagine. The girls' mother had left shortly after they were born, realizing she wasn’t ready for motherhood. It had been a challenging adjustment, but Matt had stepped up without hesitation, determined to give his daughters all the love and support they needed.

As he sat on the couch, the soft sounds of his daughters' breathing drifting down the hallway, Matt felt a deep sense of contentment. He was exactly where he wanted to be, surrounded by love and laughter, cherishing every moment with his little girls.

#the sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #nick sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #matt sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo fanfiction #sturniolo triplets imagines #matthew sturniolo

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thesiltverses · 2 years ago

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Hey I wanna buy the rpg but none of my friends have listened to the Silt Verses. Will the game still make sense to them?

Hey! This is actually something The Gauntlet figured might be a concern for some listeners, and they've factored it into the advice for Keepers/GMs:

Obviously there's never any guarantee that any group will click with any setting, but as they mention, the rulebook does have a ton of helpful text to introduce the world of TSV to players who've never encountered it before.

I actually ran a short session last week with some friends who'd never listened to the show, and this was the one-pager introduction text I gave them (which seemed to work just fine!)

The game is taking place in a modern world much like ours, a nation-state called the Peninsula, but with one crucial difference - gods are real, and they’re everywhere. All of them hunger for attention, all of them hunger to be fed, and all of them yearn to transform the world around them into their own image. In the cities of the Peninsula, major businesses conduct industrial-scale mass human sacrifices to appease the gods of electricity, oil and coal, while ordinary citizens walk past huge billboards for deities of coffee, processed pork, and breakfast cereal. In the countryside, towns and villages may worship their ancient gods of harvest, hill, river, and forest in secret, conducting ancient, brutal rituals and holding to their old traditions even as modernity threatens to overwhelm them. The government of the Peninsula - the Legislatures - do their best to control and regulate worship, licencing certain faiths while banning others outright. Depending on who you ask, this is simple common sense to prevent population collapse from unsustainable sacrifice, a safety precaution to keep certain dangerous gods from spreading too far and wide, or a deeply corrupt act of oppression to help their friends in the world of commerce maintain a monopoly of worship. However, there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ god. Illegal or legal, in the cities or the countryside, any god may break free from the control of its worshippers, evolve or grow beyond their understanding, or bestow its horrible blessings upon ordinary citizens, transforming them into the twisted image of the deity. The world around you is broken-down, often abandoned, and always dangerous. ‘Angels’ and ‘saints’, reshaped manifestations and servants of a god’s will, stalk the land, uncontrollable and almost unstoppable. Local law enforcement, when it isn’t corrupt, apathetic, or compromised, has a tendency to go missing in the backwoods if it interferes too closely with the affairs of an illegal faith… You begin the game as Custodians - government stooges and former convicts who’ve been press-ganged or ‘volunteered’ into a dangerous and thankless field role, travelling across the territories of the Peninsula to investigate cases of volatile worship, or to mediate in situations where an angel or saint has gotten loose. Each of you has your own history of dangerous, fanatical, or illegal worship, a past life where you were beloved by a particular god, and even now its whispering shadow haunts your steps… Where you go from there is up to you.

#the silt verses #putting it in the tag because I think it's helpful

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iero · 2 months ago

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Tagged by @natalilac to do a "Get to know me" tag game questionaire! Thank you Nat for the tag!

Tagging @restedlimbs, @ghostlyvalour, @kizzyedgelll , @carmybcrzatto, @vampiregerard and anyone else who wants to do this! :)

Are you named after someone?

Yes, it was a family member on my dad's side. I do not remember the full relation though.

When is the last time you cried?

It was Thursday for reasons I'd rather not discuss.

Do you like your handwriting?

I used to hate it, but I've been coming around to it from people constantly complimenting mine.

What is your favorite lunch meat?

I don't like lunch meat. Even the smell of it makes me feel nauseous.

Do you have kids?

No and I never will.

If you were another person, would you be friends with you?

Interesting question! I feel like if I was another person, I would probably, but I would be too afraid to go up to me. Not because of "I think they look cool with the tattoos/piercings." reasons which would also be true, but because my RBF makes me look like I'm upset all the time.

Do you use sarcasm?

Everyday. Heavily.

Do you still have your tonsils?

Yes.

Would you bungee jump?

Never. You could not pay me to do that.

What is your favorite kind of cereal?

I fucking love Golden Grahams and I have ever since I was a kid.

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

No and then I hate it when I have to untie them to put them on again and re-tie them. When will I learn my lesson?

Do you think you're a strong person?

Emotionally or physically? Physically, no. I'm very weak. Emotionally, I will give myself credit for being strong on that front.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

I can't have regular, dairy ice cream... Dairy free ice cream flavors are always kinda limited here too, so I settle for a plain vanilla or a coffee ice cream.

What is the first thing you notice about people?

Usually what they're wearing/their fashion style.

Red or pink?

Love both, but red is my favorite color.

What do you least like about yourself, physically?

The answer for this for me is, unfortunately, the belly fat/double chin I got going on.

What color pants and shoes are you wearing now?

I'm in some black overalls with some all-black Vans and my yellow sweater today! One of my favorite outfits I own.

What was the last thing you ate?

I'm currently having a breakfast sandwich with some hash browns!

What are you listening to right now?

Ladders by Mac Miller!

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

Ooh, I would like to think I'm a calming color! Maybe a light blue or a lavender? Some light shade.

Favorite smell?

Gasoline was my first thought even though I know shouldn't like that.

Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?

My mom LMAO.

Favorite sport to watch?

Football babey!

Hair color?

Light-ish brown.

Eye color?

Green-ish hazel.

Do you wear contacts?

No and I can't because I got them sensitive eyes...

Favorite food to eat?

I will fuck up some tacos.

Scary movies or comedies?

I love 'em both and I would hate to choose. It depends on what I'm feeling!

Last movie you watched?

Hurry Up Tomorrow... UNFORTUNATELY. It was not good.

What color shirt are you wearing?

It's a yellow sweater!

Summer or winter?

Winter.

Hugs or kisses?

Hugs.

What book are you currently reading?

Currently, I'm on Buzzkill Clamshell by Amber Dawn!

Who do you miss right now?

Sydney the Dog when my family member (her owner) picked her up yesterday evening...

What is on your mouse pad?

I don't have a mouse pad.

What is the last TV program you watched?

Watched the new Last of Us episode!

What is the best sound?

Rain/thunderstorms outside when you're inside. I love it.

The Rolling Stones or The Beatles?

It's The Beatles for me. I had a huge Beatles phase when I was in middle school. Fun fact about me.

What is the furthest you've ever traveled?

I went to the UK last year! Google is telling me that's about 3,450 miles away from home.

Do you have a special talent?

None that I can think of.

#tagged post #tag game #These are always fun. :)#Too bad I always talk way too much… It’s a given for me at this point.

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yuri-game-tournament · 4 months ago

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Yuri VN Tournament Round One

She was Swallowed by the Sun vs Sisterly Bliss ~ Don't Let Mom Find Out~

Info and propaganda under the cut! Not guaranteed to be spoiler-free

She was Swallowed by the Sun

Description/Propaganda:

She Was Swallowed By The Sun is an incredibly personal and brutal passion project. It's a visual novel that follows two girlfriends doing their best to stand up against fascism and hate. Most of the comments on itch.io mention how it's both very beautiful and also incredibly painful. There is a lot of blood in this one. This vn hurts girls.

Additional Info/Content Warnings:

18+ only. This visual novel contains assisted suicide, cannibalism, corpse mutilation, torture, vomit, drug use, transphobia, sexual assault and sexual content including knife and blood play. It was made for Yuri Game Jam 2024!

Sisterly Bliss ~Don't Let Mom Find Out~

Description/Propaganda:

If I'm being 100% fr I'm only posting this VN because I don't like it very much hahaha and I'm curious if anybody else has actually read it, since it seems niche? It's a twincest yuri story with yandere vibes. Two twin sisters (one of whom looks like Miku) have mutual crushes on one another, but they're both too shy and awkward to confess to one another. For some inexplicable reason, their schoolfriends know about their incest romance and actively encourage them to participate in it. Based on your choices you either get a cute happy fluffy ending, or one of the girls will go off the deep end and become a crazed cackling yandere who tries to murder the other for basically no reason lol All the choices in this game are super nothing-y (like "what do I want to eat for breakfast this morning?", "Do I want to watch my sister play tennis?") so yeah, if you keep picking the 'wrong' choices it does feel like your sister tries to kill you solely because you wanted to eat scrambled eggs for breakfast instead of cereal lol it's not very good............. On the plus side the art is really really nice at least, I do like the character designs.

Additional Info/Content Warnings: The two leads are twins, and there's yandere content.

#she was swallowed by the sun #Sisterly Bliss ~Don't Let Mom Find Out~#yuri #girls love #tumblr polls #round one #visual novels

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fivestar-outlaw · 2 years ago

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New Horizons (Park Seonghwa) (Ch. 2)

Chapter 2: Wishes

Pairing: Park Seonghwa x Fem!Reader

Words: 3.2K+

Warning(s): Mentions of rude customers, MC is stressed(tm), use of time jumps

A/N: Chapter 2 is here! I hope you guys enjoy it. I think its my favorite of the four <3 Not much else to say other than tadaaa and thank you for the love for the first chapter.

Reader is implied to be living in the US bc uh TIMEZONES ARE FUCKY and i didnt realize how reliant i was on mine (PST) when looking up KST

Summary: Attempting an all-nighter while playing Animal Crossing alongside your bias, you didn't expect your turnip prices to be such a high amount... nor did you expect Park Seonghwa to actually accept your offer to sell his turnips on your island.

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You got out of your last class for the day in the afternoon and ready to get your shift done at the bookstore next. It was a warm Thursday but you were glad it was slowly starting to cool off. Shifting your bag your shoulder you pull out your phone and see you got a message while in class. You smile and press the kakaotalk app. Seonghwa had sent you a message.

'Good afternoon for you, (Y/N). I just woke up. I hope classes have been well.' Followed by a cute emote of a cat yawning in bed.

After inviting Seonghwa to your island to sell turnips and take Marshal, you two began playing together. This was initiated by him, saying that he wanted more Animal Crossing friends. You and him swapped gifts for a few days in the game when he asked if you'd like to message through kakaotalk and here you both were now. At first most of your conversations pertained to Animal Crossing but gradually it shifted to you two learning about each other and talking.

And not just over text either.

When Seonghwa learned you were learning Korean he offered to help you out with verbal conversations if you helped him with English. At first you wanted to decline since you knew he would be busy and the time zones would make it difficult. He talked you into it, however, saying on the weekend when he has a shorter practice day and on your Friday nights when you could stay up layer you'd both video chat to show the progress you've both made for the week. Though, soon that would lead to sporadic video chats when either of you had free time.

'Good morning to you. I just got done with classes and I'll be heading to work in an hour. :)'

You replied and a few moments later he responded.

'Want to have a quick video call before I need to leave for practice?'

'Sure, let me find a spot to sit at.' You quickly found a small picnic table in the shade under a tree and put in your earphones. You hit the video call button and wait for him to pick up.

The screen shifted and you see his face. He seems to be at his deak with his phone set up to perfectly capture his face. You could faintly hear his Animal Crossing game in the background. You couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Hey, Seonghwa. How did you sleep?" You greeted.

"Hello, (Y/N). I slept good." He smiled. "Were classes good today?"

"A bit boring. We just did lectures today and got a good chunk of reading to do for homework. Did you have breakfast yet?"

"I grabbed something small." You watch as he reaches over off screen and he holds up a bowl of cereal in one hand and an apple in the other. "I'll pick up more food when we get to the building." He lightly chuckled.

"Ah, yeah. I was running behind so I didn't have much to eat this morning." You saw him give you a playful scold. "But I'll be sure to pick up something at the café by my job. I have some left overs from last night that my roommate made for us that I am looking forward to after my shift."

"Oh, Redd is at my island and the real artwork is one I already have, the beautiful statue, do you want it?"

"That would be great, Seonghwa. I am missing that one. Man, it seems like Redd really likes visiting your island. He rarely ever comes to mine."

"Well, you've been having the better turnip-"

"Hyung!" Three loud, distinctive voices cut him off and soon you're seeing San, Mingi, and Wooyoung bust in behind him. Seonghwa was clearly flustered as he stared at you then looked back at the three men in his room.

You haven't gotten to speak to the other Ateez members before, nor were you ever begging or asking to. You'd let your friend decide when you'd be introduced to them. Seonghwa frequently mentioned the antics Ateez gets up to and he's mentioned that he has brought you up to them before. You were curious to see how this video call would go.

"Is that (Y/N)?" You see Mingi bend down into frame, looking at the phone. Wooyoung and San crowd around the elder male, who's ears were turning red.

"She is pretty, hyung." Your faces flushes with warmth when you hear Wooyoung not so quietly say. You smile though when you hear his words.

"It's nice to meet you finally. Seonghwa-hyung is always talking about you." San smiled brightly next to a mortified looking Seonghwa.

You chuckle, "It's nice to meet you three too! I hope you've heard all good things."

"Only good things. Hyung never shuts up about you." Wooyoung said playfully, rolling his eyes.

"Want to swap KaTalks?" Mingi asked while already pulling his phone out. San and Wooyoung quickly follow suit.

"Hey-!" Seonghwa tried to speak but the youngest in the room cut him off.

"We want to talk to and get to know (Y/N) too, hyung. And she can help us with our English. Right, (Y/N)?" Woo smiled at you and you can see a hint of mischievousness in his expression.

"Will the schedule Seonghwa and I have for those work for-"

"Yes, it would." San interrupts. "So KaTalk?"

You simply chuckle and immediately exchange numbers with them. You start to see notifications pop up on your screen of them texting you their names and emotes as well.

"Let's be friends." Mingi excitedly said with San nodding along.

"I look forward to talking to you guys."

"I look forward to talking to hyung's pretty friend-"

"Okay, out you three." Seonghwa cut Woo off and glared at the three of them as he stood up from his chair. You watch him shoo San, Wooyoung, and Mingi away, who were all very vocal in wanting to stay in his room and talk to you. You heard the door close loudly and then see Seonghwa sit back down in front of his phone. His ears, cheeks, and the sides of his neck were blushing.

"They seem fun." You tease.

"Try living with them. I'd never get peace if Woo was living in the dorm too." He rolled his eyes but still kept a soft expression. "I do love them despite the teasing."

"So you talk about me to them?"

"W-well, yeah. I consider you a friend and all-"

"Seonghwa!" Suddenly you heard Hongjoong's voice in the call. "Woo told us you were speaking to your game friend!"

You see Hongjoong and Yeosang flank Seonghwa and kneel on the ground while Jongho and Yuhno stand behind them, leaning down a bit to be in frame. The eldest male looked so embarrassed as they started to greet you and asking you to exchange numbers, making sure to tell you how much Hwa has mentioned you.

----------

It was late one Friday evening as you got home from work. You were feeling especially exhausted from dealing with rude customers and from staying up late the night before getting homework done. Your professors must be collaborating to make your homework levels as stressful as possible with all the assignments on top of the readings and the studying for finals next week.

And you swear customers must have planned to be the worst this week with their rudeness or staying in the store way past closing. Today alone you had a lady almost hit you with a book she tossed directed at your head and had a group of teens stay an hour past closing trying to see if they could stay in the store over night.

It hasn't been a good week. You've been so tired and drained, you've hardly been able to really communicate with Seonghwa or the rest of Ateez at all.

You slowly trudged to your room, saying hello and goodnight to your roommate on the way there. You wanted nothing more than to get into comfier clothes and sleep, but you knew your mind was too stressed to fall asleep immediately. Maybe some catching up on youtube or some Animal Crossing will help.

You close your room door and immediately toss your bag in the corner. You quickly grab some clothes to relax in before peeling off the outfit you'd been wearing all day. Almost instantly you felt some of the tension leave your body. You let out a sigh and roll your neck, stretching your limbs in hopes it'll help.

Your phone started ringing.

You look at the screen and see that it was Wooyoung wanting to video call.

Despite it two months since you got to officially meet the rest of Ateez, you were close with all the boys. Though, outside of Seonghwa, you talked with Wooyoung and San the most. Both were very sweet with you and you appreciated them and Seonghwa in integrating you into their friend group with ease.

You go and sit down at your desk and press answer, but didn't turn your camera on. You see Woo and San. They seemed to be outside somewhere, snacking on something. Both smiled.

"Ah, turn on your camera. We haven't seen or heard from you all week." Woo pouted. You really didn't want them to see how haggard you look, but you've come to learn you couldn't say no to him.

"Fine." You say, dragging out the word. You tap the button and see you are now on camera. Bother either could speak you sigh, "I know, I look like a mess. I just got home ten minutes ago."

"Weren't you supposed to get off an hour ago?" San's brows scrunch in concern.

"You look really tired, (Y/N). Are you taking care of yourself?" Woo's voice was gentle. "Have you eaten yet?"

"It's...been a hard week." You bite your bottom lip, feeling tears sting your eyes. "Just a lot of school work and then bullshit from customers. I'm just happy its the weekend tomorrow for me."

"Do you want to cancel the language catch-up lessons?" You felt your heart drop at Sannie's question. "Practice ended a few minutes ago, we just wanted a moment on the roof the relax. After we are done up here we are going back to the dorms soon, we can let the others know for you if that's the case."

"I'm sorry guys. I completely forgot." You couldn't help prevent the tears from finally spilling over.

"No, (Y/N), don't cry." Woo coos. You hastily wipe the tears and make sure to take steady, deep breaths.

"Don't worry about today, yeah? It's okay, we understand." San's kindness and his smile made you feel a little better. "The others will understand."

"Thank you both." You shakily say with a wet smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry-"

"Don't apologize for that." Wooyoung tsk'd. "I wish we were there, I would be giving you a big hug right now."

"Me too, (Y/N)." Sannie spoke, his tone and face exuding sweetness.

"I wish you all were here too."

"Now go eat something. We'll let the others know about tonight." The younger male smiled.

"And we won't tell everyone the details either. Just that it was a tiring week for you." San assures. "Take care of yourself, (Y/N), and remember all of us are here for you."

"You both take care too. Thank you again."

They both smile and wave. The call ended and you let out a soft sigh, feeling a little better. You sit at your desk a little longer just to further decompress from the day. You were mindlessly scrolling on social media for a bit, letting your brain shut off.

---

Wooyoung and San returned to the dance studio a few minutes after their call with you ended. When they walked through the door they saw the others lounging around on the ground, some looking at their phones while others chatted.

"Woo and Sannie are back!" Mingi grinned and got up from the floor. "Now we can head home and talk to (Y/N)."

The two glanced at each other and then back at the others, who were getting up and grabbing their things to leave.

"We actually talked to (Y/N) while we were up on the roof." Wooyoung started. Seonghwa perked up when he heard they spoke with you. He and the others haven't heard much from you this week, which had them a bit worried.

"Is she alright?" The eldest couldn't help but ask, stepping closer to them. Everyone else looked at each other with knowing looks at his concern.

"She can't do the usual language lessons today. She told us she hasn't had a good week so we suggested she just rest tonight." San said. Everyone pulled out their phones and sent various supportive messages to the group chat you were in.

"That's too bad. I hope she is fine." Hongjoong crooned.

"She will be. Like we said, it was just a rough week." Woo nodded, his lips quirked up in a smile. "She needs rest."

"Let's get back to the dorms then." Hongjoong clapped his hands together.

Everyone let out several spunds of acknowledgment and started making their way out of the dance room to the garage to go home. Seonghwa lingered a bit, still looking at his phone before following the others at the back of the group. Wooyoung decided to move to the back with him to walk along side him.

"Are you messaging her?" The younger male asked.

"Yeah, she and I are going to video call and play Animal Crossing when we get back to the dorm and after she eats dinner." Seonghwa hummed, typing a few more things before putting his phone in his pocket.

"You care for her, don't you, hyung?" Woo's voice got lower so the others couldn't hear them.

"I do." Hwa smiled sincerely.

"Do you like her?"

"Of course I do. She's been nothing but a good friend."

"No, I mean as in you have a crush on her." Seonghwa looked to the younger males face, trying to discern if he was teasing him but saw nothing of the sort.

"No, I don't, Woo." The older male said softly. Wooyoung eyed him, but decided not to speak further on the matter. He could recognize Hwa was telling some truth, but he also could tell his friend wasn't completely aware of his budding feelings.

Wooyoung wasn't stupid and neither were the others.

Everyone else began picking up small things that gave it away. Seonghwa has gotten very happywhenever you two texted or video called. Whenever they took breaks during rehearsal, he'd immediately check his phone for any messages. He'd often laugh and tell the others a funny story you told him about your day before you told any of the others. Overall, he just seemed very happy.

And they were happy for him.

The boys were obviously wary at first and had expressed this to Seonghwa. He assured them that you've been nothing but genuine to him. And after them getting to know you on their own they came to that same conclusion. They just hoped Hwa could come to terms with his underlying crush and Woo hoped you could as well.

Only Wooyoung knew you had feelings for his oldest hyung and he hoped the two of you wouldn't drive him crazy.

---

The second Seonghwa walked through the door to his dorm, he immediately rushed into his room to wash up. He grabbed some comfier clothes and walked back into the shared space were Mingi and San were.

"I'll shower first." He smiled to them and didn't wait for an answer as he went into the bathroom. Mingi and San looked at each other before smiling while shaking their heads.

Seonghwa took the quickest shower he has ever taken. He felt less sweaty, clean, and relaxed from practice. He rentered his room and booted up his switch before he unlocked his phone. He sent a quick text telling you to call him when you were ready then got his phone set up for the video call. He did some fishing and bug catching as he waited.

When he heard the ringtone he quickly answered it.

You seemed to be lying on your stomach with your phone propped up at an angle, your switch in your hands. Seonghwa could see exhaustion clear on your face and he could see some puffiness to your eyes. Concern immediately filled his being.

"Hello, (Y/N). I'm sorry the week hasn't been kind to you." He crooned.

"How much did Woo and Sannie tell you?" There was almost a hint of worry in your voice.

"Only that it was a tiring week and you needed some rest." He gently smiled. "If... you want to talk about it, I am here for you. Only if you want to of course, don't feel like you have to share."

"It wasn't anything major. I've just been assigned a lot of homework, finals are next week, and customers have been a nightmare to deal with." You exhale. "I think today, though, stole the show with rude customers."

"What happened?"

"A lady tossed a book at me because we wouldn't accept it as a return and then some teens made me stay an hour late after closing because they wanted to hide in the store over night." You snort at the absurdity of it.

"I am so sorry its been hard for you. At least your weekend starts now."

"At least I get to play Animal Crossing with you. My mind hasn't been able to relax yet- Oh! And there is a meteor shower happening on my island!" Your face lit up and Seonghwa attempted to ignore the flutter in his chest. "Let me open up the airport for you so you can get some wishes too."

Seonghwa quickly had his avatar fly over to your island.

"Enough about me. How have you been, Hwa?" You lead him to a good vantage point on your island to wish on stars.

"The week has been good. We are practicing a lot for the various performances coming up and we've all been working hard. Sannie almost started a fire in the kitchen." He smiled when he heard you chuckle at that. "I'm glad to see you again, (Y/N)."

"I'm glad too. Sorry for being inactive-"

"You don't have to apologize for that. Life gets busy, we all understand. I just hope things in your life get less stressful for you."

"I'm already feeling better talking and playing Animal Crossing with you, Hwa."

"Good."

"Anything else happen this week? I know you can't say specifics but any antics with the guys?"

Seonghwa smiled as he focused on making his avatar make wishes. "Well, Jongho's been progressing nicely with his vocal training and practice. You didn't hear this from me, but he's been wanting to do a video call with you to show you that. Wooyoung and I did a home-cooked dinner for everyone on Wednesday this week. We all wished you could have joined for that. Hongjoong, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Yeosang engaged in a brief prank war from Monday to Tuesday. I had to put an end to it when the rest of us became collateral. And then Yuhno and San put together everyone in teams for a small free style dance battle..."

He was about to continue on but when he glanced back up at his phone, he saw that you had fallen asleep. His features soften at how adorable you looked, one arm supporting your head while the other outstretched with your Switch still in your loose grasp. He could faintly hear soft snores from your parted lips.

Seonghwa felt a tightness in his chest. He could feel his face and ears flushing with warmth. These are things that he has experienced lately when talking with you. His mind suddenly went back to Wooyoung's earlier question, making his eyes widen.

Oh.

Taglist: @stopeatread @hee0soo @pocketjoong-reads @seonghwaddict @tridkeys

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shyficwriter · 5 months ago

Text

Temporary Home : Chapter 31

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: You leave the house and Rocket decides it's time to find some dirt- but did he find something much worse?

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: Thank you to @allylin05 for the suggestion of the scene with Peter and Yondu. For my records this chapter ends on day 93 of the Guardians living with reader. Enjoy!

Word Count: 4,505

Sat at the kitchen table that morning you felt... open... for lack of better word, as you ate your cereal.

Open to do something you had previously considered impossible, and honestly you weren't sure why you felt differently about it today, but you did. Maybe it was how you recently allowed yourself to be open to other things, like friendships- even those technically forced upon you. Or, maybe it had a little to do with fear of how you would be left once your newfound friends were gone- but you tried to think on the lighter side.

Regardless of why, today you were going to do it. Right after breakfast, you were going to get ready, take a drive, and do it.

The others did not know what "it" was, nor did you elaborate as you stated you were going out for a drive, and that no, you weren't bringing company with you this time.

While Mantis was disappointed she wouldn't get to leave the house again this time, the others simply shrugged and let you be.

Well, apart from Rocket, that is.

The second you were out the door he gets the idea that he would check your desk to see if (what he assumed was) the attic key was still in your desk. With you gone that'd give him plenty of time to look for dirt- any dirt- that he might be able to use to 'persuade' you into letting him back in the workshop.

With the others all doing their own thing downstairs either watching TV or playing cards he had free access to your room, and he quietly slipped in, opened your desk, and found the key right where he last saw it.

Grabbing it, he quickly but quietly dashed to the attic door and put the key in the lock, hoping it would fit.

The key turned and the lock clicked open. Jackpot.

Rocket wasted no time opening the door and climbing up the stairs, wondering what he might find up there that he could use against you.

Some embarrassing photos or maybe a diary would do nicely, he thought. He only hoped he wouldn't find anything "dirty" of yours, because while it would make good "dirt," he wasn't sure he was necessarily ready to traumatize himself in order to find said dirt if it turned out Terrans weren't as prudish as everyone said.

Once at the top of the stairs Rocket takes in the expansive dusty room full of old boxes and furniture. To his left stood an old sewing mannequin, a chair, and some cardboard boxes. To his right several, larger, cardboard boxes and an old-looking chest. Directly in front of him against the far wall hung some shelves with various paint-cans, old tools, and a couple old lanterns, surrounded by even more boxes, some plastic totes, and another old chest that was about half the size of the first.

Dang- you sure had a lot of crap up here- where should he even start?

Glancing around Rocket decides to try the chest nearest to him, but finds it empty aside from what looked like an old board game, some odd-and-end trinkets, and some loose hair pins. "Candy Land" it said on the box, and it looked well-worn. Nothing really worth looking into, so he set it aside and closed the chest, moving on to the boxes.

Those only revealed some dusty toys and some blankets. Again, nothing worth much, so he closed them and moved on to the other side of the room near the mannequin.

These boxes seemed to just be filled with old clothes of all sizes. Some looked large enough to fit an adult, others looked small enough to fit a child, and several articles of clothing looked like they could fit those in-between. Rocket rolled his eyes- clearly you never threw anything away if you still had all your old clothes and toys up here from childhood- but none of this was the dirt he was looking for.

He quietly moved his way towards the back of the room, noting that the floor didn't seem at all to be weak in any places like you had claimed early on when you told the others to stay out of the attic because it was dangerous. This only emboldened his belief that he could find dirt on you up here somewhere- why else would you lie to keep them out?

In the plastic totes he only found what appeared to be decorations for various holidays, and so he didn't bother digging much through those.

The chest happened to be locked, so he moved onto the cardboard boxes, reasoning with himself that if he found nothing in the boxes then he'd find a way to unlock the chest.

First box was filled with nothing but some old black-and-white framed photos. Second was just more framed photos- this time in color. Third box was empty aside from a couple neckties.

Fourth box, however, had a couple photo albums. He decided to quickly flip through them to see if any of those would give him the dirt he wanted- but no. A few looked like they might have been photos of you when you were younger- boy did you change your hair a lot when you were a kid! Or maybe those were photos of other children? He couldn't tell, human kids all looked alike to him until they got older and started gaining their own features. Other photos of what he assumed were family or friends, and more of those old black and white photos. He barely skimmed any of them, having already decided the albums weren't going to contain any photographic evidence of you doing anything embarrassing.

Nothing left but to try and unlock the chest then.

Rocket examined the lock and after a moment he thought he could probably jimmy it with one of those hair pins he found in the other chest from before.

After retrieving one of the hair pins he shimmied it into the lock and had it open in no time. Silently cheering his success he carefully opened the lid... and boy did he find his dirt!

No, really. He found jars of just... dirt. Or perhaps it was more like sand?

There were also a cardboard box inside containing few bags with old dirty shoes of various sizes, more tiny clothes (also dirty), more big clothes (again, dirty), which he barely looked at because none of it looked interesting- though he was judging you for keeping a box of filthy clothes.

Returning his gaze to the jars he noticed there were five. Two large ones and three smaller ones, all ornate, and all just... filled with weird grey... sand?

What the hell was this? Even if he knew this would be no use against you as blackmail, it still had him curious. The dirt on Terra wasn't grey- at least not that he'd seen. Maybe it was a regional thing? He wondered what part of Terra it must have come from, and why you'd be keeping it in these jars in the attic.

Well, if the 'blackmail search' was a bust, the least he could do was satisfy his curiosity.

Quietly, and listening to make sure no one else was coming, he quickly made his way down the attic stairs and over to his room. When everyone else was asleep the previous night he went to tinker with his device again, and found to his surprise it was already on and working. Dumbly, he hadn't taken into account that the device would need a little time to warm up after being shut off (not to mention taken apart) for so long.

But now it was fully functional and fully ready to use. Take that, SHIELD! Thinking they could keep him from his data pad and it's (possibly illegally obtained-but that was nobody's business) Universal Virtual Network card.

Now not only could he watch Xandarian movies for free (which were way better than Terran Television, in his opinion) but now he also had access to scan and research literally whatever he wanted without needing to rely on the limited (and sometimes vastly outdated) information in those silly Terran books.

He stashes the device in his jumpsuit and with just as much care as before quickly makes his way back to the attic.

Once back to the chest he scans the contents of one of the jars and waits several moments for the device to tell him what region it was from.

The device beeps and Rocket jumps- cursing himself for not silencing the notifications beforehand. Taking a moment to make sure that his device is completely on silent, he then finally reads what the output was, and raises an eyebrow.

He tries again, with another jar this time and with the added light from one of the lanterns on the shelf- thinking that his device did not get a proper scan.

Same result.

Ok, now he knew the reading must be faulty. he decides to do a manual feed. The optical scanner must have become compromised due to his "transport method." He opens the port on his device and pokes it into the sand so it could get a proper reading.

Same result.

The blood drains from Rocket's face and he backs away from the chest.

There was no way- right? Why the flark would that be up here?

Suddenly his mind goes back to the box of dirty clothes and shoes and he soon finds himself back in said box, this time properly looking at the bags. The stains all over these clothes- That... wasn't dirt... was it?

He opens one of the bags and pulls out his scanner again. The result is just as he feared.

Rocket's head spins for a moment and he sits on the floor. He- to think he was actually starting to like you! But you- You... YOU! Gah! He just got around to the thought that you were buddies! He thought you were cool- but this? This was not normal. He was so mad at himself for letting his guard down! He had been right in the first place not to trust you! And now he had to stop you before you struck again. But how? He knew the others would never believe him without proof... how could he show them proof?

He smacked himself in the forehead- of course! He just needed to show them the results on the data pad! They couldn't be mad at him for smuggling it in if it saved their lives!

He better save the readings just to make su- NO!

As he opened the data pad again the screen promptly flickered before turning off completely. Flarking hell! He could have sworn the battery was nearly full just last night! A full charge should have lasted him weeks!

Shit- what should he do now??

Think, Rocket, think.

Okay- he'll call Fury. He'll borrow that "phone" thing Gamora has and he'll call Fury. Guy might be a dick, but Rocket was sure he probably wasn't in on... whatever the flark this was. So, he'll call Fury, and his SHIELD guys will come in, take you away, and send someone else to "guard" them- or maybe they could even convince Fury they didn't need another babysitter at all!

Ok, that's what he'll do.

Stashing the now-useless data pad back in his jumpsuit he ran down the attic stairs, not caring if he was being quiet this time, and ran straight for Peter and Gamora's room where he knew Gamora usually kept that "cell phone" thing.

After a little fiddling he finds the contacts and calls Fury.

It goes to voicemail.

Flark- He tries again.

Voicemail.

Damn it! One more time.

Fury actually answers, and he tells Rocket that this better be important.

* * *

You arrive home surprised to see Fury and Maria just getting out of their vehicle. After parking your own car you get out to greet them. "Hey, I wasn't expecting you guys back so soon. Something come up?" You close the driver's side car door before opening the rear to take out a bag with a few groceries, having decided to stop by the shop on the way home to grab some odds and ends, as well as a little treat for yourself seeing as what you had set out to do had gone so well. A small reward for 'doing the thing.'

"Something like that," Fury answers, "One of your charges called us in."

Eyes widening in surprise you only manage, "Oh- why?"

However, Fury doesn't explain. He just nods towards the house and you get the hint and let them in. He and Maria continue to act quiet and almost shady as they enter the house before you.

You direct them to the sitting room before going to hang up your coat and set the bag in the kitchen. A quick glance inside the room before you departed leaves you surprised to see that the others also look just as surprised to see Fury again so soon, considering he said that they had called him.

You can hear muffled whispering- sounding possibly like arguing- coming from the sitting room as you drop your keys and the bag on the kitchen table, and when you finally join them you see everyone has gathered around a cardboard box on the coffee table. Fury and Maria's expressions are unreadable as Fury whispers something to Maria; Rocket's features are stony, maybe even a little angry; and the others all appear just as confused as you are- which had a little something to do with the fact that Rocket hadn't told them that he had called Fury, let alone the reason why.

After a nod from Fury, Maria leaves the room, and you can hear her climbing the stairs. You give Fury a questioning look, but he does not return with any answers in his own gaze, so you decide to verbally ask what this was all about.

After a brief back-and-forth with you not really getting any answers in return, Rocket speaks up and asks if you had anything to say for yourself. Of course, you had no idea what he was talking about, and you say as such.

Fury starts to look frustrated with the whole ordeal before Rocket suddenly opens the box and points inside, rhetorically asking if any of it's contents looked familiar to you.

The moment you see what's in the box your heart shatters. The world seems to slow for a moment as he holds up a small urn, one you know to be holding the remains of one of your children.

Everything comes crashing back the moment Rocket calls you a maniac, asking something about if they, meaning he and his friends, were to all be your next victims.

Rocket is genuinely surprised by what happens next.

Sure, he had expected you to react and possibly get angry, but the tears? He hadn't expected those.

Or for everyone to be suddenly is yelling at him.

It was actually Peter, Gamora and Drax who spoke first, all overlapping in calling him an idiot, how what he had done was cruel, and what was he thinking- which all confused him well enough.

He looks to Yondu, sure that he would back him up, but Yondu just has a silent mix of horror and sadness in his expression, looking between the jars and you, because he knows what Rocket didn't.

Somehow, Rocket didn't know cremation was a common burial practice across the galaxy, including Terra. Or at least, he didn't know that loved ones would often keep the ashes. So when Rocket examined the contents of what he had believed to be dirt in fancy jars and instead found them to be human remains, his mind went to the worst place possible. Surely, if you were hiding five jars of human remains, you must be some maniac serial killer who vaporized their victims and kept the ashes as trophies. Unlike Yondu, he didn't know what you had lost.

You however, had seemed frozen despite the arguing between Rocket and his friends, silent tears running down your face.

Fury watched you carefully. Like the others he realized Rocket's mistake the moment he opened the box, and he wanted to see how you would react before stepping in.

And poor little Groot, he sat on Peter's shoulder, utterly confused by what was going on before him and why everyone was angry at Rocket.

For a moment you remained like an anguished statue among the arguing between Rocket and his friends- just staring at the little urn still in Rocket's hand. Watching as he just... waved it around, gesturing with it still in his hand as he argued.

A sound of thumping pounds loud in your ears, and you could be forgiven for thinking it was your own increasingly rapid heartbeat as your expression slowly switched from anguish to anger, but the others in the room would soon find the sound to be Maria, running as fast as she could back down the stairs before bursting back into the room, looking alarmed as she called her director's name with a box in her arms, but soon realizing she was too late.

Before Rocket knows it, Agent Hill is holding you back the best she can and trying to calm you down, having thrown the box she found upstairs onto the floor in order to grab you before you could grab hold of Rocket.

In a rage you start fighting Maria to get out of her grip, causing Kraglin and Mantis to step in in an attempt to help her hold you back so you couldn't get to Rocket and skin him alive- as you were currently threatening to do, among other things.

Groot, still not having a grasp of what was going on, innocently attempted to charge at you when he saw you going to attack Rocket- in his mind believing that he would be protecting his friend dad, but he got no further than jumping off Peter's shoulder before Peter caught him in mid-air and handed him off to Gamora who firmly held him and sternly told him "No." To her relief he surprisingly listened, but to her regret he then started to cry in frustration and from being overwhelmed with the whole scene.

Mantis had only managed to hold onto your arm for a moment before you pushed her away, hard, correctly assuming that she might try to use her abilities to calm you. However, she didn't get the chance before you shoved her. You then almost bite Kraglin when he takes her place before he gets a good grip on you. He motions for Mantis to try again, but Drax won't let her. He had caught her when she fell from your shove, and refused to let her return to you. Whether that was for her own safety, or because he thought Rocket deserved what was coming to him, was anyone's guess.

Regardless, in the moments Mantis did have to read you, she had been able to feel your anger and pain towards Rocket and the reopened wounds of sadness and loss for your loved ones. She felt an overwhelming ache for a lost love, a sorrow for a fallen sibling, and deep maternal pain for the loss of one's children- which might explain why the first words out of your mouth before lunging at Rocket had been, "Don't you dare touch my baby, you bastard! I'll kill you!"

She also caught a glimpse disappointment- though she didn't have enough time to see towards what specifically you were disappointed in, and safely assumed it was towards Rocket.

She would be right about everything, but only partially correct on the disappointment part.

Despite all the pain you were currently in, somehow you still had room to be disappointed that this was your reward for finally deciding to get closure.

You finally decide to meet with your partner's parents, your in-laws, who had come to your home that one night so many weeks ago to apologize for blaming you for their child's death and the loss of their grandchildren; You finally try to heal and maybe even repair your relationship after what happened the night that took everything away from all of you- The night where you lost your family in a horrible car crash caused by an enemy agent trying to take you out. The night where you had lost your brother, your partner, and all three of your children all at once. The night said enemy agent had failed in taking your life, but had succeeded in taking your whole family away, all in an instant.

And your reward for finally trying to heal from all of that was to come home and have your heart ripped open by a fucking. talking. rodent.

In all this commotion Fury calmly retrieved the box Maria had retrieved from the attic, and frowned upon reading the words Rocket might have seen if he had bothered to turn any one of the bags over- though even if he had it probably wouldn't have helped him see things any differently.

He wasn't sure what he expected when Rocket called claiming he found "human remains" in your attic, but it hadn't been any of this.

"Evidence" was written on the plastic in big black printed letters.

You weren't meant to have these bags. The police don't return evidence to families when said evidence is covered in blood, and neither did SHIELD.

As Fury is coming to the realization you had somehow stolen back your family's personal effects from the evidence locker, Rocket is finally starting to understand why everyone is attacking him.

It initially took him a moment to register what you had said before lunging at him. He hadn't been facing you, engaging with an argument with the others where he was trying to figure out why they were so mad at him when he had just caught a frickin serial killer.

He had turned just in time to see you coming for him before Maria grabbed you, stopping you from grabbing hold of him by just mere inches.

Angry threats of violence continued to pour from your mouth as you fight to free yourself from her grasp, and it finally registers to him what you were telling him: To put down your baby, or you would kill him.

"Your bab-?" Oh fuck. Rocket feels a rock drop in is stomach. Oh no. Oh no. These human remains... weren't your victims- they were your family. Oh shit- he fucked up bad. He fucked up SO bad.

His eyes widen as he glanced between the jar in his hand and you, nearly animalistic in your attempts to get to him. He quickly puts the jar back in the box and starts to apologize, backing away from the box with his hands up, but it's like you can't even hear him. You don't care if he's sorry or if he didn't know- you want his blood. You want to rip him to shreds. And now he gets it. He effectively had just desecrated a frickin grave. Worse than that- he desecrated a child's grave right in front of their mother. Oh shit- Oh fuck- Oh no-

At some point after Rocket put the urn back in the box Fury and Agent Hill were finally able to manage to de-escalate the situation- or as close as they could get, anyway.

Believing you were finally calm enough to not want to kill Rocket on sight, Maria decides she can finally release you.

You lunge forward again.

Only instead of trying to grab Rocket (who jumped out of the way on instinct) you snatch the box of urns, spitting out again for Rocket not to touch them as tears continued to stream down your face.

You then leave the room with the box, followed by the others out into the hall. When you get to the front door you are finally asked where you are going.

"Doing what I should have done a long time ago," you answer, looking right at Rocket as you continue, "I'm going to take them somewhere where people like you can't use them to hurt me ever again."

And with that, you leave- but not before also snatching up the other box from Fury, who surprisingly lets it go without a fight.

Rocket is filled with guilt at your words, and it isn't helped by the fact that all his friends are now staring daggers at him.

Fury and Maria stay so they might do some damage control when you return, and to tell Rocket how he royally fucked up while you're gone.

It's hours later and the sky has darkened before you return empty handed, having spread all the ashes by your favorite tree, and having burned everything else.

Your eyes look tired, and none of your housemates dare speak as you stand in the sitting room doorway, seeming unsure of what you wanted to do next.

Maria is the first to try and speak to you, beginning with asking about your well-being, and when you refuse to answer with anything other than "Fine," she gently transitions into one awkward, but urgent, matter at hand. She chooses her words carefully, but ultimately she gently urges you, or perhaps 'pleads' would be more accurate, to consider not kicking the Guardians out of your home.

However, you stop her with just a wave of your hand, immediately silencing her words.

She expects you to tell her to fuck off, to tell her there was no way you were allowing them to stay and that she had no right to ask that of you after what just occurred- but you surprise her, and everyone else, with your actual response.

Looking just at Maria, but speaking loudly enough that everyone else could clearly hear you, you respond with, "You can tell them that I'm not going to punish the others for Rocket's horrible actions, and that they can stay." Turning to leave the room, you continue, "I'm going to bed now, you and Fury can let yourselves out."

Maria blinked, but you were already heading up the stairs before she could respond, or ask for clarification if what you said also extended to Rocket. She looked at Fury, but he just shook his head and stood to leave. There was nothing else they could really do, that wouldn't make things worse, anyway. It really would be best if they just left and touched base later.

He approaches Maria but stops when he nears the doorway, turning to address the Guardians. Staring primarily at Rocket he simply says, "You fucked up," before he and Maria turn to let themselves out.

The rest of the Guardians then glare at Rocket, who wanted very much to melt into the floor right then.

He did. He really fucked up.

#gotg fanfiction #gotg #gotg fanfic #fanfic #x reader #reader is an agent #marvel fanifc #fanfiction #guardians x reader #guardians of the galaxy vol 2 #guardians of the galaxy #rocket raccoon #hurt/no comfort #at least this chapter anyway

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