revived reception
A stray morning dawned over Liverpool; daybreak clearly overdue as dawn took over dusk with the sun's natural presence emitting its light over others below. The morning was still quite young so not many bodies were active and actually pulled away from their bedsheets, some perhaps still in a deep slumber as many jobs were due to return back to during later hours. However, this didn't apply to Kyrie.
By seven in the morning, Kyrie found herself awake and working in front of her laptop in the kitchen, fingers gracefully typing up emails and documents with strict precision and patience; her weak hand used to handle her cup of coffee; set sheets scattered around her place in a firm order. There also sat a single lunchbox off to the side, but it wasn't for her. Sat up by the kitchen aisle, her eyes remained focused on her digital tasks, brows compressing and pushing apart every now and then while her eyes never lost contact with the laptop screen. Kyrie placed herself in a space where disruptive noise was cancelled out with blaring silence—almost like a makeshift office if you will.
A few days forward and Kyrie was still stationed at Amari's house. Seeing as her house and his were quite close to one another in distance, she chose to manoeuvre between the two locations in terms of her living situation. I mean, a lot of her possessions were at the Davis household beforehand so she saw no need to rush herself out of his property. Anyway, even when she thought about leaving, maybe for a week or so, Amari always insisted that Kyrie's presence was cherished at his place and because of that, she never found herself wanting to stray away when she was clearly wanted by those around her.
Once she finished writing up a quick email to one of her many associates, Kyrie finally pressed send before she nodded in satisfaction, a small grin forming across her lips. Even for someone who had to spend a large sum of her time staring at a screen, it was nice for her to move away from the technology and simply blink without feeling as if she was going crazy for a brief moment. She wasn't one to admit it openly, but it was known to those around her that Kyrie for sure worked over the minimum time limit set for her standards. However, she was also one to rise them from time to time so in her mind, she never actually reached her own standards.
Closing down her laptop for the morning and taking up her empty mug, she trailed towards the sink where she rinsed the mug before leaving it in its place. Then she continued her stride in the direction of the fridge, retrieving leftover salad and bottled water. Kyrie failed to notice the standing figure on the other side of the fridge so when she closed it, she let out a slow yelp only for her face to pull together when she came to identify the person.
"Amari!" she huffed, her annoyance growing in line with his laughter. "What's wrong with you? Don't do that!" She turned away from him as she made her way towards the kitchen aisle, dropping them by her laptop.
Amari followed in suit as his hands covered his face, voice coming through a bit raspy at the fact that he had recently woken up, and it was clear with the presence of his striped nightwear. "I'm sorry, my bad," he removed his hands over his face so he could see Kyrie, and once he did, a familiar smirk fell upon his lips. "I see you, Kyrie. Trying to look all smart for your first day at work."
She sported an attire of a black and white checkered sweater and a white dress shirt with the collar on for display; black jeans along with all-black Jordans. While Kyrie definitely was one to come through as professional to others, she didn't have to demonstrate it at all times, especially because she worked in the field of sports so people didn't think much of her style because she got the job done to their standards. Not to mention, she worked with players who they themselves may have designed sports shoes, so who were they to judge her?
"Thank you, I guess," she muttered as she rolled her eyes. After retrieving a fork from one of the drawers, she returned back to her place by the kitchen aisle. "And if you mean to say the first day of work for the season then sure." It was only early September meaning the football season had already begun, but it was still in its early stages so players were adjusting to back to back matches again and clubs were attempting to elevate their performance from the previous season.
"I'm messing with you," he nudged her shoulder slightly, causing her to glare in his direction. "Hey, what time do you need to leave?"
"In a bit or so, why?" she looked at him with uncertain eyes suddenly. "Do you need me to drop—"
He shook his head quickly. "Nah, it's cool. I can handle Junior today. You had him yesterday."
"Okay, if you say so," she nodded, understanding. Going in for a bite of her salad, the doorbell sounded around the place. She let out a soft huff, digging the fork back into the bowel. "I'll get it." She passed by Amari, pushing his shoulder down so he would sit down in her previous seat. Reaching the front door, she opened it to come face to face with her boss, Claire Reyes. Her brows lifted with ease. "Claire, you're here?"
Claire nodded, humming lightly. "I am, dear," the two exchanged their hugs and kisses before pulling away from each other. "Oh, I also brought along those two."
Even without glancing away from the older woman, Kyrie caught onto who Claire could have been referring to, the giggles of the pair soon matching to faces. Glancing behind Claire's figure, she couldn't help but let out a small laugh when she noticed Wynter and Harper exiting their ride in fits of laughter. Though when the pair noticed Kyrie stood by the porch, they stopped in their places before they leapt in her direction.
"It's all fun and games until you have to go through a 2-hour journey with these two," Claire let out a tired sigh, causing Kyrie to laugh a bit. "I'll be inside," she patted her shoulder before she headed inside.
"Kyrie!" Without given an opportunity to give a verbal response, she let out an oof when she was suddenly embraced by her friends. Nonetheless, she eventually gave in and returned the soft gesture. And she was happy to do so as it was her first time getting a glimpse of some of her friends since returning from Germany.
"Winnie, Harper. What are you guys doing here?" Kyrie asked once they soon pulled away.
WYNTER REYES wasn't anyone far from Kyrie's knowledge. With her World Cup participation and victory in 2018, she was viewed as the most influential figure amongst the friend group; she always had some project or plan about football equality in the works. Besides her international presence, Wynter also carried a down-to-earth persona; she appreciated her fans and supporters but she appreciated her inner circle so much more. "We have international break to get to," Wynter explained as the trio made their way towards the kitchen. She nudged her teammate. "Hunt here is hitchhiking a ride with me and my mom's just dropping us off. Hi Amari!"
Amari jumped in his place sightly at the sudden noise, soon feeling Kyrie's eye on him. He set his (her) fork down as he wiped the side of his mouth in attempts to remove a stray piece of food from his face. "Hey, Winnie. Harper. Mrs Reyes," he waved with his broad grin, his familiar persona beginning to reflect more in his posture.
"Good morning, Amari, and how many times have I told you to just call me Claire? Don't make me feel old," Claire chuckled lightly when he could only respond with an honest and apologetic shrug. "Anyway, where's Amari Jr at?"
"He's asleep still," he answered. "He doesn't have to be up until later on."
Harper tilted her head slightly, her lips forming into a timid pout. "Aw, I wish I could've seen him before we leave. He would have made my day better."
HARPER HUNTER was a kind of her own; bashful when displaying a hint of her demeanour yet amusing when her personality was on for show to a full extent; she bared a competitive football mindset yet supportive of other's accomplishments even if it went against her own. She carried almost every characteristic one would search for in a close friend—hence why she suited so well with Wynter. The pair have been close friends since their early PSG days so when Harper recently transferred to Liverpool, it was clear to those around them that the two wouldn't be seen without each other if nothing was holding them back from doing so.
She leaned into Wynter's embrace, letting out a soft yawn. "It's not even that early, but I'm still really tired." And Wynter replied by reciprocating the gesture, leaning her head on Harper's. The pair's platonic intimacy towards each other seemed so surreal to those around them that it had their own spouses—Gabriel and Trent—questioning the players' intentions with one another.
After a brief conversation had come about amongst the four women, with Amari heading back upstairs to take care of significant matters, Claire soon brought business to the table. "So I'm going to take you saw all the emails I sent you?"
Kyrie nodded. "Yeah, with the last one coming from yesterday."
"This morning, actually," Kyrie glanced at Claire with a panicked look. "But don't worry about it! It's just to say that you have another player to take care of at Manchester United's club for me."
"Oh? Can I ask who?"
"I could but we have some big mouths in the room currently," Claire offered Wynter and Harper a side-eye, who both glanced at one another with comical confusion. "Again, everything is in the most recent email I sent and the players know they are going to see you today so again, everything's organised. All you're doing today is checking up on the players and asking if they're happy at their current club, but then you have to go to Man City's training grounds too and carry out the same procedure. You think you can handle that?"
Even though Kyrie found her job rather exhausting from time to time, once again, she definitely identified elation at the thought of returning back to the football atmosphere. After she helped Timo transfer to Chelsea and with the process of returning back to Liverpool, Claire granted her a well-deserved break during the summer, meaning she didn't play an active role in the summer transfer market. Though now refreshed and at a peaceful state of mind, she felt that she was ready to fall back into the football scenery to treat its heavy demands.
Along with that, many of the players she helped do this and that were also considered as mutual friends to the young woman (with much of that more than reciprocated by the players). As she envisioned returning back to Liverpool, it was an open opportunity for her to see everyone she could and she planned to take advantage of that later on in the day and during the days to come.
"Okay, I can do that."
. . .
harphunter this is a wynter reyes appreciation post 😆
[ tagged: wynter_reyes ]
liked by liverpoolfcw, benmendy23, necowilliams01, wynter_reyes, nnimcodasilva & 740,000 others
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user1 omg this friendship is too wholesome 🥰🥰
↳ user2 i think they're soulmates at this point
user3 wynter is really that girl that can do both
wynter_reyes girl ur too kind 😊😊
↳ _harphunter 💕
user4 does gabriel have an appreciation post?
↳ _harphunter nope. and he'll continue to wait 😁
user5 i just got a paper cut from witnessing wynter's jawline
user6 name a better duo than wynter and harper. i'll wait.
↳ andyrobertson94 me and trent. next question.
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. . .
Entering into Aon Training Complex it wasn't long before Kyrie was met with a multitude of greetings, hellos and friendly waves from staff workers, with her returning the gesture, of course. She greeted a few football players too, but only the guys seeing as it was international break for the ladies. She didn't present herself as a famous figure; she wasn't an active player on social media nor did she consistently document her daily life for others to follow. However, being associated with many famous sports figures meant she was known by others and with publicity (even when it wasn't called upon) bred fascination and interest in Kyrie's name.
Not to mention, when you took a quick glance at her associations—Wynter Reyes, Claire Reyes, Timo Werner, João Félix, Rafinha—one couldn't help but look over her credibility and her works, especially with her young age and gender in the football space.
Once her conversations came to an end, she continued to trail along the hallways in search of the corresponding football players. Though it soon came to a breach when she heard someone call out her name. When she turned around at the mention of her name, a slick smile soon drifted upon her lips.
I might as well see everyone at this point.
November approached the young woman quickly before falling into her embrace. "Kyrie, you're here!" NOVEMBER SKYE was cherished by many, and not only for her contribution to women's football. Apart from her football reputation, others levitated towards November for her loving and caring persona towards anyone who stepped in her presence. Despite being a small figure, she stretched out her friendship for almost anyone to grasp hold onto, hence why she had more than enough mutual friends across the board; many coming from football. Pulling away from the hug, she rested her palms on Kyrie's forearms. Little squeals passed her lips as she attempted to conceal them. "I'm so happy to see you! It's been so long."
"I know but I'm just happy to be back, you know?" Noticing November's bump up in height, Kyrie glanced down to take notice of the boot over the player's left foot. Her face fell as she glanced back at her friend. "Oh, I'm guessing that's why you weren't called up."
At the mention of her injury, a frown quickly set across November's lips. The player wouldn't deem herself as someone prone to injuries, but she definitely found herself with one from time to time; this one occurring during the preseason. She sighed with much reluctance, nodding her head slowly as the two began walking in sync. "Yeah, unfortunately. I'm here for physio, you know. I'm going to be here for the next few weeks."
Kyrie offered the player a sense of comfort through a shoulder pat. "I'm sure you'll make a quick recovery and be out on the pitch in no time! Anyway, how is everything going with Dele? You two doing alright?"
"Oh, we're great," November showcased her dimpled grin, happiness overtaking her mere dejection. Kyrie's swiftness to ease in another conversation topic placed her at bay. "I mean, the distance is real between us but we make it up with facetime, calls, messages, you know? So I guess we're still going strong. What about you? You single, or are you still clinging onto your—"
Kyrie stopped in her stride, causing November to glance back. She glanced at the player with a monotone expression. "Nobi, I swear if you finish that question. . ."
"What? I'm just saying," November laughed as she fell back in line with her friend, taking a few steps back. "I don't know what you guys are. Seriously. No one does really, but it's a certified fact that he's your you know so what else can I say?" she shrugged before a subtle smirk fell upon her facial expression. "Unless you want me to refer to him by another name."
November sure did point out a few facts with her words, but Kyrie wasn't going to come to terms with them. "No, no, no. You and the girls don't make it any better. But you're right I guess," Kyrie's face pulled together. "Also, I'm not clingy."
"Alright, Kyrie. I'm with you one hundred per cent, but maybe at least take it into consideration," November said, but Kyrie easily caught wind of the hint of sarcasm in her voice—it was simply a speciality of hers. Reaching a hallway that finally split into two separate walk ways, November turned back to her friend. "Listen, I need to get to my session but I'll see you soon?"
"Of course! Make sure to take care of yourself, okay."
. . .
athenaobrien trying a simple look today 💅🏻
liked by kyriejames_, masongreenwood, chanellejameson, jessaherondale_, jesselingard & 580,000 others
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user1 even when she's not trying she's out here serving looks. this, i stan 🙌🏻
user2 actual goddess y'all 😻
↳ scottmctominay i see no lie there
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marcusrashford you need to come thru soon
↳ athenaobrien for definite 😊
. . .
Somewhere else at the training grounds grouped a few first-team players scattered about in the canteen; one group holding Paul, Anthony, Bruno, Daniel, Scott, Aaron and Marcus. They were due for a training session during the late morning and so in the meanwhile, they sat and chatted amongst each other while they fuelled themselves up for their habitual and extensive training to follow them up.
During a conversation, Anthony received a phone notification. He took a sip of his water before fetching his phone from his tracksuit pocket, soon noticing that the message sourced from his agent, Claire Reyes. "Looks like we're getting a visitor today."
"From who?" Paul asked, failing to glance away from his own phone screen.
"If Winnie's mum is your agent then you should have gotten a message from her, I guess," Scott said, later confirming his words with a nod when he saw the message notification on his phone. Daniel followed up by doing the same.
Within the football industry, Claire Reyes distributed her services all over Europe, and in almost every considered top team, she was the agent to at least two players; both men and women. And with her children being Wynter and Nate, who both wielded such strong public images, it wasn't hard for the knowledgeable woman to draw in attraction from up and coming players to choose her over other potential agents.
Paul soon decided to offer his attention to the group, glancing up from his phone. "Claire's coming over?" She wasn't his agent, but as Wynter's international teammate, it was almost unlikely to not have met Claire by now.
Anthony shook his head as he placed his phone away. "Nah, Kyrie."
After taking a bit of his food, Aaron glanced at the boys with his brows pulled together, eyes widening. "Kyrie? As in Irving?" With his words came collective eye rolls, groans and confused looks from his teammates, with an extra laugh sourcing from Paul.
"No, no. You got it twisted, man. Kyrie James. That's Claire's assistant," Daniel explained briefly as he turned to his teammate.
"Oh, I see," Aaron nodded slowly as he took in the information given. "So she's related to Lebron?"
"Oh my, God."
Drowning out Paul's laughter, Anthony simply sighed with clear disappointment. "I'm going to ignore that because I'm too tired to respond."
"You know," Bruno started, causing the noise at the table to die down. "Now that I think about it, we haven't seen her in a while."
"Yeah, it's because she was based in Germany, but she's back now from what I've heard," Anthony said. "But either way, you wouldn't want to be seeing her all the time unless you tryna leave Man United."
"I didn't know wanting to see a friend was a bad thing, but you know."
Scott nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Last time I saw her was at the start of the year and since then, I just hear from her when Athena is talking to her through facetime," he said to which Daniel nodded to, referring to his own spouse while doing so.
"Well, it's expected from her. She's very reserved, likes to keep to herself but doesn't take b.s from players. Believe me, I learned from experience," Paul let out a low chuckle. Long story short, the striker once offered Kyrie a compliment out of her liking boundaries that led to the tugging of his ear. "So she also has that authoritative side to her which probably explains why she manages players so well. I wouldn't be surprised if she became a successful sports agent in the future."
Bruno pointed in Paul's direction, giving a firm nod of his head. "Definitely."
"I got a message too," Marcus spoke over everyone's voices. This wasn't his first time speaking today, but it was when it came to the conversation topic. Not that his knowledge level on the current topic levelled with Aaron's, but it surely didn't reach the other boys' tier of knowledge so he decided to sit back and listen to their words.
Paul glanced at Marcus, gasping lightly. "The lost puppy finally found his voice!" he said, causing some of the boys to laugh.
"You did? Since when did Claire become your agent?"
"Since the start of the season. So should I approach Kyrie in a certain way or?" It's not that Marcus wasn't known to who Kyrie was—she was mentioned by a few players he knew, some of his girlfriends spoke on her name sometimes and he noticed her presence at the training grounds when she had to deal with players. However, he didn't know her on a personal level as his teammates did. The most he gave and the most she offered were simple hellos and that was it. As Paul mentioned, she was also a highly reserved figure so even when others spoke on her name, the topic never expanded into a conversation as they knew she didn't appreciate others discussing her without her presence there.
So in quite simple terms, Marcus just wanted to know who he would be collaborating with in the long run.
Anthony let out a low whistle as he glanced at his teammate. "Marcus, why are you making it sound like you want to ask her out on a date? Listen, you're fine, mate. You know Winnie, right? Well, if Winnie had an older sister then it would definitely be Kyrie."
"I heard my name."
A single voice caused everyone at the table to perk up. The boys looked in the direction of where the voice sourced from and there Kyrie was, making her way into the canteen. At the sight of the young agent, the boys couldn't contain themselves as they brought significant attention to themselves, jumping up out of their places and in Kyrie's direction. Her brow curved before her lips separated as she let out a persistent no, no, no. Though the boys ignored her wishes as they brought her into a huge embrace, her small complaints making a few of them chuckle at the fact that she hadn't changed since the last time they saw her.
Letting the boys have their moment with Kyrie, Aaron and Marcus remained seated in their original places in bliss galore. They didn't share any form of a friendship or even relations with Kyrie, but witnessing their friends' flourish with immense happiness over someone's presence at their training grounds caused that same happiness to dawn over the players too. They were all teammates so they supported each other, emotional support playing an extended role in holding their bonds together too.
As for Marcus, he simply sat back as he watched his friends interact with Kyrie with zest and elation clear in their eyes; Paul complimenting Kyrie over their similarly bleached hair; Daniel and Scott instantly discussing their respective spouses; Anthony and Bruno being the first ones to approach the young woman with civil questions.
Unlike Aaron, Marcus had a certain chance in forming some form of a friendship with Kyrie in the following weeks to come. As of right now, he viewed the young woman as a blank canvas. Yes, Anthony and Paul provided a brief description of Kyrie, perhaps a list of things to consider before confronting her, but he didn't want to stick by their words. Maybe for reassurance to at least receive the slightest angle of Kyrie, but he didn't want the whole image beforehand. He found enjoyment in being friends with others so he wanted to discover how she would be like around him rather than just be dependent on interactions with his friends.
And when the pair locked eyes—Kyrie glancing at Marcus with help me eyes as Paul lifted her up—the forward knew that he and Kyrie would get along just fine.
——
[ So this is kind of the start between the two. I mean it's brief but there will be more of them in other chapters with other characters too.
I'm going to be busy with school, exams and all that in the coming weeks so if I miss a week then it is because of that.
Anyways, thoughts? ]