It was the evening after the match against Germany had taken place and after dinner with the group, Erin was finally back at her hotel room.
Since the words the Spanish captain had said to the blonde after the game, the therapist could barely think of anything else.
Even at the dinner table with the others she was out, her mind going wild at every thought that had to do with the given instructions.
The therapist switches off the water, testing the warmth with her pointer finger, while holding her bathrobe closed with the other.
She was just about to take off the bathrobe and get into the tub like she was instructed to earlier, when the door of the hotel room opens.
Erin remains silent as she stands still, a vibrating feeling rushing through her body as she turns, eagerly looking towards the door.
"Alexia?", she asks, standing in front of the filled tub when the bathroom door opens, the blonde running her fingers nervously through her hair.
The athlete slowly opens the door, her head down and a cap covering her head, the straightened hair hanging over her shoulders.
Erin wasn't able to see the captains face, when an excited expression appears in the blondes face as she opens her bathrobe.
"Hey there, love", Erin smiles happily, taking a step towards the athlete as she stays silent, not looking up towards the woman.
She even didn't look up as soon as Erin lets the bathrobe drop to the floor, leaving the therapist standing completely naked in front of the Spanish.
"Alexia?", Erin asks, her voice slightly worried as she lifts her hand, caressing the woman's chin between her pointer finger and thumb as she softly lifts Alexia's chin.
Something was extremely wrong.
The captain presses her eyes shut as soon as her face comes into Erin's sight, the blondes lips slightly parting as she sees those red, wet cheeks on the brown haired woman's face.
"What's wrong, love?", Erin asks worried, caressing the captains cheeks as she wipes away all those tears that were running down her face.
Alexia just shakes her head, pressing her lips onto each other's as she opens her puffy eyes, a light hazel color coming into sight when she looks at Erin.
The blonde doesn't say anything.
She just embraces her girlfriend in a tight hug, taking off the athletes cap as she drops it onto the floor, tightly wrapping her arms around the captains neck.
"You don't need to cover that around me", the blonde mumbles, referring to the cap Alexia was trying to hide her sadness with. Like always, Erin's words had a comforting effect on the athlete.
Alexia doesn't speak up.
She just lifts her hands, resting them on the blondes bare skin of Erin's waist as she closes her eyes again, feeling more tears coming out.
"What is it, love? What happened?", Erin worries, tightening her arms around the woman's neck as she speaks with her comforting voice.
"It's just... the...", Alexia sobs, suddenly leaning away as she takes out her phone from her pocket, unlocking the screen as she opens the internet.
Erin looks at the captains shaking hands confused, as she sees Alexia's fingers typing something into the browser.
"See... there's...", Alexia stutters, turning the phone as she shows the screen to Erin, the blonde looking down to read what the captain was showing her but the athletes hands were shaking too much.
"Let me see this", the blonde whispers softly as she takes the phone from Alexia's shaking hand, looking onto the phone while holding around the captains waist with her other arm.
Erin studies the homepage that the brown haired woman's was apparently sad about, scanning the texts on that news site quickly.
The blonde sighs.
She shuts off the screen and puts Alexia's phone on the shelve next to them, before taking the athletes warm hands into hers.
"You don't have to cry about that, Alexia. Even if it's dump and mean... it doesn't mean that it's real", Erin whispers, tightly holding onto the captain as Alexia shrugs her shoulders, again just shaking her head.
"But... why do they do this? Can't they just leave me alone... leave us alone?", Alexia asks as her voice breaks all over again, Erin running her cold fingertips up and down her arms as she tries to comfort her.
The blonde doesn't know what to say for second, so she just pulls the athlete into a tight hug, rocking them back and forth as she tries to make Alexia calm down, even if it was just a little.
News about the Spanish midfielder being in love, pictures of the both of them showing were all over the internet.
The both of them talking with each other earlier that day, Alexia pressing a kiss to Erin's cheek... they assume them to be together.
"I just... I feel so uncomfortable", the captain admits, again shrugging her shoulders as her face falls.
"I understand that... maybe we can just ignore those news sites", Erin suggests, her voice soft as she leans back, looking into Alexia's hazel eyes.
"It's okay if I have the focus on me for winning an award or for scoring a goal... but my private life?", Alexia mumbles, rubbing her puffy eyes before hiding her hands inside the pockets of her Nike hoodie.
"I guess that's something we cannot change... it's new for the both of us. But let me promise you something", Erin says, the athlete standing in front of the naked therapist with her eyes focused on the blondes face.
"We're stuck together, you know. I'm always there for you", Erin assures, making Alexia's lips form the littlest of a smile as her cheeks blush.
"I'm just worried you'll run away someday... if this gets too much for you", the captain mumbles, her throat tight.
Erin takes a deep breath.
She steps closer towards the athlete as she lifts her hands, caressing the athletes cheeks with her hands as she makes Alexia look at her again.
"You know what you should worry about?", Erin asks softly, a smile on her face.
"What?", Alexia wonders, her voice small.
"For the water getting cold", Erin says determined, looking towards the bathtub with a playful smile as Alexia chuckles, rubbing away the last tears from her face.
"I'm really sorry", she chuckles, mirroring the blondes face towards the bathtub.
"Don't be", Erin shrugs, making her way towards the tub, looking back over her shoulder before stepping inside.
Alexia just stares at the therapist, her puffy eyes swollen and her cheeks red but the adoration for the blonde was hard not to see.
"Are you just standing there or are you joining me?", Erin asks with a soft voice, standing inside the knee deep water as she turns, her bare front now facing the captain.
Alexia doesn't say anything.
With a now more happier expression she undresses before making her way over towards her girlfriend, putting her hair up into a bun.
"Sit there, love", Erin says, offering Alexia a hand as she shifts back, making place in front of her for the captain to sit.
The tanned woman takes her place in front of the therapist, back facing Erin as she shifts back, sitting between the blondes legs.
Erin leans forward, softly hugging her girlfriend from behind as she pulls her back, Alexia now resting against her.
"Don't you ever think that I'm running away from you", the blonde mumbles into the captains ear, when she takes some of the warm water, trickling it over the captains chest.
"Okay", the brown haired woman mumbles, closing her eyes as she enjoys the feeling of Erin's bare skin against hers, the feeling of the warm water running down her front.
"I was the proudest person in the stadium today", Erin mumbles, leaning close to the brown haired woman's ear before pressing a light kiss in the crook of Alexia's neck.
"I guess I did okay", Alexia shrugs, her voice still sounding a little sad but not as bad as it was when she appeared.
"You did more than okay. I mean you practically got Spain into the finale", Erin marvel, slowly running her hands up and down the athletes arms, taking up water here and there as she wets the tanned skin.
"Thank you for being there", Alexia mumbles as she shrugs her shoulders, resting back more when the blondes cold fingertips wander towards her chest.
"As Long As you want me there I'll cheer for you, love. I can't wait to be back on the bench and be even closer to you as soon as we're back in Barcelona", Erin smiles, slowly shrinking the soft skin on Alexia's toned stomach, caressing the abs she was so drawn to since she got to know the captain.
"Aren't you scared about what all those people will think?", Alexia wonders.
"I mean... it's not like they can change anything, right? And if you're talking about you being with a woman... I promise you you're not the first player to go that way", Erin says, her voice turning into a light chuckle at the end.
"You're right", Alexia chuckles dryly, thinking about all of her teammates being in love with women as well.
"Did you know that Irene got married just before the euros?", Alexia speaks up again, her voice lighting up.
"Really? I didn't know that. It's great", the blonde smiles, pressing another kiss in the crook of Alexia's neck, when her hands run up the athletes front until they rest on Alexia's chest.
There was a small pause.
Neither of them saying anything as Erin just hugs the captain tightly, wrapping her arms protectively around the brown haired woman's torso as she reconnects her lips with the soft skin of Alexia's neck.
"You want me to tell you a secret?", Erin asks with a quiet voice, Alexia tilting her head to the side to give the blonde better access to the sensitive parts of her neck.
"Hm?", Alexia breathes, her hands holding onto the therapists thighs.
"I lied to you earlier", Erin admits, her lips pressed into a flat line as Alexia's eyes open.
"What are you talking about?", the captain asks confused.
"After I got back to my hotel room two days ago... I couldn't resist. I was just too excited", the blonde admits with a quiet voice, hiding her face in Alexia's neck as the grip on her thighs tightens.
"What did you do?", Alexia asks, turning her head as she peaks back at the blonde, Erin wearing a light grin on her lips.
"You know what I did", Erin mumbles.
"I want to hear it. You didn't follow the rule, Erin", Alexia says, the sadness of her voice getting away the more the two of them speak.
The blondes cold fingertips run down Alexia's toned stomach, diving into the water before Erin's fingers run up her body once again.
"I touched myself", Erin simply says, shrugging her shoulders, when she feels Alexia shift in front of her, the captain sitting on her knees as she was now facing the therapist after she turns around.
"I thought so...", Alexia smirks, her hazel eyes looking up into Erin's, the sadness slowly but surely disappearing.
"I hope you're not mad with me now", Erin blushes, biting her lip as her face slightly falls.
"Not this time, mi amor. I can't really be mad with you right now", Alexia starts as she slowly crawls towards the blonde, her lips barely brushing Erin's as she speaks up once again.
"But I hope there won't be a next time", Alexia mumbles in a dry voice.
Erin just nods as she wraps her arms around the brown haired woman's neck, pulling Alexia into her as she connects their lips in a sweet kiss.
The blonde runs her fingers up and down the athletes strong back, pulling her closer as she deepens the kiss.
"Even in the warm water your fingers are cold", Alexia states, her skin shivering underneath the touch of Erin's hands as the blonde chuckles.
"I can't help it", Erin shrugs, pressing her hands flat onto the captains lower back as she makes her shift even closer.
"I hope you did drink those smoothies", Alexia says in a warning voice as she leans back, lifting an eyebrow.
Erin just nods.
"Even if they're disgusting", the blonde mumbles as she stares up, scanning the two stitches that were covering the captains forehead.
"It doesn't hurt anymore", Alexia smiles when she feels Erin reaching up, the therapist caressing the scar with her thumb as she inspects it.
"Even if not we will still do the therapy. I want it to heal properly", the blonde says determined, not sounding like the captain could say anything against it.
"Of course", Alexia smiles, finding it overall cute how Erin was taking care of her. She just felt so loved.
The brown haired woman closes her eyes, relaxing into the touch when Erin caresses the side of her head with her hand, stroking the woman's cheek as she looks at her.
"I really love you, you know", the therapist says.
Alexia blushes.
"I really love you too, Erin. But you're saying that like there's something missing?", the captain says, seeing in Erin's eyes that there was something bothering her.
"Alexia. If there will ever be someone being mean to you... or even worse hurt you... I-", Erin begins.
"Shh- don't say that. Nothing will happen", Alexia silences the therapist by pressing her pointer finger over Erin's lips. She didn't want to hear this.
"Did you know that soccer hasn't always been my number one sport?", Erin states, making Alexia look at her with a wondering expression.
"What was it?", she asks interested.
"Kickboxing", the blonde chuckles, thinking about the many hours she had been training in the ring when she was younger.
"Really? You're joking", Alexia laughs, not believing the what the blonde had just said.
"I did until I was eighteen. Afterwards I got more attracted to soccer", the blonde shrugs with a smile, thinking about how that change had affected her life so far, most importantly the last months.
"I'm happy that you made a change and are more into soccer now, then", the captain blushes as she leans back, putting her hands onto the sides of the bathtub as she lifts herself, standing up.
"Believe me, I'm happy about that too", Erin chuckles, mirroring the captains actions as she stands up with her, the both of them getting out of the tub.
"I should get going now. Jorge will be very pissed if he finds out that I'm not there. Told him I would be in my room sleeping", Alexia chuckles as she dries herself before putting her clothes back on.
"I understand. Will I see you before the finale?", Erin asks, putting in the bathrobe as she follows the captain towards the door.
Alexia sadly shakes her head.
"I guess not. I hate it, but there is much to do until the finale", the midfielder excuses herself as she wraps her arms gently around the blondes waist.
"Then I guess I'm already looking forward to see you at the stadium", Erin smiles into the loving hug, pressing a light kiss on Alexia's cheek before letting her go.
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