"the moon is high, like your friends were the night that we first met.."
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Aurelius Montgomery, a 16 year old footballer, moves in with his famous sister in London, and soon realises how much different the big city is from his hometown in St Helens...
That night, Aurelius fell asleep cuddled up to his sister, making Adrienne smile as she slowly moved his head off of her and onto a pillow.
She was sure she wouldnt he able to move him upstairs, so he'd have to stay there for the night.
"Hey, pretty." Leah spoke as she came downstairs, wrapping her arms around Adrienne's waist and leaning her head on the taller girls shoulder. "How is he?" She asked carefully, her voice quiet, as to not wake the boy.
"I'll tell you upstairs." She whispers back, leaving Leah's grip and holding her hand.
The two of them walk upstairs and get ready for bed, Adrienne changing into one of Leah's old shirts, number 6 and Williamson displayed proudly on the back, and a pair of Arsenal shorts. While, Leah changes into a pair of her own Arsenal shorts and pulls on one of Adrienne's merch hoodies.
They loved sleeping in each others clothes, even when they were in each others arms, it made them feel even safer.
Leah got into bed first, holding up the cover for Adrienne to climb in next to her.
Leah rested her head on Adrienne's shoulder as she spoke again. "So, how is he?" She mumbled, holding Adrienne's hand and fiddling with her fingers.
Adrienne sighed. "I should be asking you that, you spent all day with him."
"You spent 14 years with him everyday." Leah rebutted with a soft smile. "I know we've spoken about your parents, but you never really mentioned your brother when talking about them, only when you were proud of him."
"I've always been proud of him." Adrienne mumbled, closing her eyes and letting out a soft sigh. "I raised him y'know. My parents.. well, they couldn't be bothered. I was 8 when he was born, and I remember it all too well. His crib was in my room, and I used to wake up at 3am to go make him some milk. Then I'd feed him and hold him till he slept. When he eventually started school, I'd be late to my own just to make sure that he got to his. I missed one of my GCSEs because I wanted to make sure he was at school. He's my kid, Leah, I can't send him back there." She looked into her girlfriends blue eyes, tears growing in both pairs that met.
"Jonas offered to put in a good word to the Under 18s Coach today, Damian." Leah spoke. "And when he told me about it, he was so excited. But when I asked if he'd do it, he deflated. Like.. he realised that he has to go back to St Helens. But the moment that I saw the look of.. I don't know what it was. But I know that I don't ever want to see it again." Leah finished her ramble, seeing Adrienne smile softly at her. "I don't want him to go back there, either." She mumbled. "I could.. I could see myself thinking of him as my kid too."
"That's decided then. We fight for him, Leah. If my parents try anything, we fight for him."
"Yeah, we fight for him."
×××
So, they did. Adrienne emailed her lawyer, informing her of the decision the couple had made, and luckily, her lawyer agreed completely and was happy to do whatever it took to get Aurelius in her custody, which shouldn't be difficult because he was 16, so often he was allowed to choose.
They hadn't told Elias yet, so, Adrienne decided they'd do that now.
Leah went down first, having training again that day, so she was a whole lot energetic and ready for human communication. Whereas Adrienne preferred to stay in bed as long as she could.
The blonde pulled her hair into a ponytail and headed into the living room where Elias had clearly just woken up.
"Enjoy your sleep?" She teased with a soft smile.
But he didn't respond, his eyes were trained on the ceiling, barely blinking, just staring.
"Rory?" She asked, crouching down next to the sofa. "Hey, bud, you there?"
His eyes snapped down to her eyes as they softened, looking so safe, Leah couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sorry.. what did you say?"
"I asked if you enjoyed your sleep, but ignore that, are you okay?" She asked him.
He nodded softly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired.. and thinking. I'm fine." He nodded again, not really proving his point.
But then Adrienne came downstairs. "Hey, kid." She greeted, sitting on the sofa next to his feet. "Leah has training, so I was wondering if you wanted to come into Centre London with me."
"What for?" He asked softly, tilting his head.
She smiled softly. "To get you some clothes, I noticed you don't have many, and some stuff for your room."
"My room? My room at home is fine, I don't need anything there. It won't last anyways." Adrienne knew what he was saying. They'd break anything he went home with. He didn't deserve it.
"Not for the house in St Helens, for here. To make the room yours. For good."
"For good?" He mumbled back, confusion lacing his words.
"I'm not letting you go back there, Riley, not now. Not ever."
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Adrienne and Leah are my favourite thing ever. Literally. Like, I don't think I could imagine Adrienne with anyone other than Leah because she understands the whole Riley thing so clearly.
