Opening her eyes, Viv quickly realised that she had fallen asleep beside Jess in the spare bedroom, the small girl still fast asleep beside her, with her ear defenders resting comfortably over her head.
Sunlight was beginning to weep in through the curtains they had pulled, the star project no longer the only source of light in the room. Reaching for her phone, Viv simply scrolled through her notifications, careful to not wake up Jess.
She hadn't planned to fall asleep beside her, but she didn't mind. Anything to keep her settled.
Deciding to let Jess sleep in for the day, she carefully moved herself to get out of bed, swinging her legs to hop out, wrapping the duvet further round Jess. Her movement made the small girl stir a little, but she quickly calmed back down, cuddling herself back into the duvet.
The movements from the bedroom alerted the puppy however, who was clearly already wide awake, scratching at the door. Viv quietly crept, opening the door, careful to avoid letting the spaniel into the room. She didn't want to risk waking up Jess, and she knew Myle would jump straight onto the bed as soon as she got in there.
To distract the dog, who was clearly aware to the presence of another individual still in bed, Viv moved through to fill her food bowl in the kitchen, which quickly gained her attention. It allowed Viv to get started on making the breakfast for the day, the forward not being one to enjoy just sitting down and relaxing, as opposed to her other half, who was still undoubtedly in bed.
Once assured with the dog being settled, she then moved onto answering the bombardment of messages she had received from a certain captain of the England women's football team, reassuring her to the safety of her sister, and that she was still calmly asleep.
Even after the half an hour Viv had been awake, there was no signs of life coming from either of the girls staying in the house, settling for beginning to make breakfast instead. She knew of the importance of keeping Jess' breakfast the same, starting to cut up the fruits into cubes, how she knew the young girl liked it, and then began to prepare the cereals for both herself and Beth. They were simple, when it came to their enjoyment of cuisine.
Enough time had passed for Viv to go in and check on her partner, comfortable with having prepped everything ready for when they were each awake. Calling for Myle, who jumped to follow her, she went back upstairs, pushing the door to her bedroom open, having been left slightly ajar. She could've sworn it was shut fully when she went downstairs.
She was quickly met to the reason the bedroom door was slightly ajar, a small girl having made herself comfortable in the queens size bed, alongside her partner.
Beth was sat with her arms round the small girl, her phone in her other hand as she aimlessly scrolled through her social medias, Jess being content simply snuggled next to Beth, the contact more than enough for her.
"I left you in bed little miss, how'd you get here?"
"I hopped."
It was a fair answer for her to have given, her eyes practically half open as she was clearly adjusting to being awake, a small yawn escaping from her lips as she finished her sentence.
They spent a calm few moments together, the three of them, just soaking in the calm, time quickly catching up to them. They had to head off to training, and the two adults knew they had to make a little extra time, given they had a 12 year old with them today, which may prove to be more challenging than when it was just the two of them.
The morning ran fairly smoothly, though. Beth ended up carrying Jess downstairs to the kitchen for her breakfast, deciding that it was far too early in the morning to even put the boot on, and wasn't worth the hassle of the wheelchair for only a few steps. It was only breakfast, after all.
All 3 of them sat at the breakfast bar together, Myle rubbing at their feet, with a constant reminder from Viv that she had already been fed, trying to eat their breakfast in peace. Unlike the night before, where a loud chaos ensued, the early morning meant that the three of them had less energy, enjoying just being sat in a peaceful silence to enjoy their breakfast, and prepare for the day ahead.
Quick thinking also meant that, when cutting up the fruit for Jess' breakfast, Viv had slipped in the pills, to help ease the meds process. Leah had already told her that it would be impossible to get the girl to take the pills outright, the best way being to place it into her food, which the Dutch proceeded to do.
It also allowed Beth to help administer the liquid meds once breakfast was finished, Viv having already measured the correct amounts, so that Beth simply had to pass it to the small girl. She put up no fight to the meds, having become accustomed to it; taking her meds was a part of her routine anyway.
The process was a quick one, with simple chat being made, of Jess being excited to see Leah again, and both Beth and Viv reassuring her of her day ahead, reminding her what would happen in the training grounds. She mostly knew what was happening, but the help from the two women allowed it to be cemented in her head, having the knowledge of what to come.
All 3 of them then dispersed from the kitchen, this time with Viv carrying Jess back upstairs to get ready for the day ahead of them. Together, the two of them chose out Jess' outfit for the day, settling on some black Nike joggers alongside her thick Jack Wills hoodie, given that it was cold out, and a flannel shirt to throw over that, leaving Beth to get herself changed, and sort Myle out.
Once her outfit was chosen, Beth and Viv swapped, allowing Viv to get changed, whilst Beth helped Jess to pack her backpack up for everything to take back home. The plan was for her to meet Leah at the training grounds, meaning she'd have to take her stuff with her. It also allowed her to ensure she had everything on hand, making the decision to place her ear defenders on before going to the training ground, feeling slightly anxious today, having woken up in a new environment that wasn't her own bed.
Being left alone with Beth however, meant that they weren't able to fully focus on just the task at hand, the English woman being a childish figure, despite being an adult.
"C'mon then, lets do your hair Jess."
"No thanks Beth."
"No thanks? What do you mean no thanks? You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards kiddo."
A look of confusion spread across Jess' face, turning to look at Beth in question of whatever the winger had just said.
"It means, your hairs a bloody mess."
"That was too northern of a saying for me."
"It's a British saying, thank you very much, little miss Milton Keynes."
"Don't slag off Milton Keynes, it's recently got city status. Pride and joy of the country."
"You think Milton Keynes, city of roundabouts, is the pride and joy of the country? Good god you really are your sisters double"
Letting out a small giggle, Jess leaned further backwards into Beth, allowing the winger to attempt to drag the brush through the thick knots and tangles of the girls hair, that had developed over night. It was almost matted, despite being in pristine condition the day before.
It was so bad, that Beth had to call for Viv's help to get the brush through, the Dutch being even worse at it than Beth was.
"How does your hair get this messy kiddo? It was perfect yesterday!"
"Leah calls it my lion's mane. She always says it's out of control."
"Yeah well it bloody well is out of control."
"Beth! Don't swear around kiddo."
"Bloody? Do you mean bloody?"
"Don't keep saying it!"
"Oh come off Viv, bloody is not a swear word."
"Yeah, and anyway, I've heard hundreds of swear words before, like fucking cu-"
"Jessica!" The two of them shouted at the same time, cutting off the young girls word before she said it.
It was then that they decided to simply leave her hair, thinking it best for Leah to try and get that one sorted. They were running out of time anyway, knowing they had to be at the training grounds for 9, and it was a 25 minute drive away.
Happy that everything was packed up for Jess, and they were all ready to go, the three of them made their way out to the Tesla on the drive way. Viv hopped into the driving seat, with Jess in the passenger, and Beth sat in the back.
Viv had claimed that Jess was the better person to drive next to, something about her being, "less annoyingly gobby" than Beth was, which gained a reaction from the winger.
Their car ride was spent with soft conversations, Jess mainly entertained with watching a different nature route out the car window, from the ones she was used to seeing everyday. She had loved her night with Beth and Viv, the two of them making her feel safer than ever, but she had missed her home comforts, and it was catching up to her; she was missing Leah.
Luckily, the car ride wasn't too much of a long one, turning up to the London Colney grounds at a little past 9. The Meadema couple weren't exactly infamous for always being on time. They parked right up next to the entrance, having decided that for ease of the amount of stuff they had brought, they'd use the wheelchair for Jess.
Viv jumped out the car to set up the wheelchair, the only one trusted to do it, with the last time Beth doing it, the wheelchair collapsing as she hadn't done it correctly. Because Jess was wearing her boot though, and could put some pressure on her injured leg, she no longer had to be transferred across, and could move herself into the wheelchair, which she did with ease, leaving Beth to carry the rest of her bags.
She was just eager to see her older sister.
She had already spotted the BMW in the car park, not being able to prevent her "happy hands" at just the knowledge of seeing Leah. The collar of her shirt had once more made its way into her mouth though, and her ear defenders were still tightly on over her ears; she was still uncertain, having not actually seen Leah yet.
Both the women must've known of Jess' uncertainty though, making the decision to go straight into the cafeteria to find Leah, rather than going into the locker room which is usually where they go first. It was a direct trip, from the moment they made their way through the entrance, with no questions asked. They just went straight there.
The hustling and bustling from the cafeteria was heard when they were still a few footsteps out from the doors. Jess fidgeted about slightly, moving her hands up to adjust, and then readjust her ear defenders, chewing on the collar of the t-shirt. Subtly, Viv slipped the fidget toy into her hands, seeing the signs grow before the small girl had even noticed she was doing them.
Her uncertainty didn't last long. Pushing the doors to the cafeteria open, Beth wheeled in the small girl, who's eyes lit up the second she saw the the people, well the person, who was sat on the table closest to the door.
A small squeal of excitement came from Jess, as Leah jumped from her chair at the table, racing over as soon as she saw them enter.
Beth and Viv took a step back from the situation, letting the two sisters reunite.
Despite only being away for one night, it was a massive deal, for the both of them.
For Jess, she had come away from her routine, settling and staying with people opposed to her sister. She had learnt that Leah would always come back, her fear that her family hated her, and wanted her gone, slowly disappearing thanks to her big sister. Plus, her concept of time was faltered, in comparison to a neurotypical individual; 24 hours to Jess was a long, long time. Especially away from Leah.
For Leah though, it gave her a time to take the responsibility of caring for her younger sister off her shoulders. It gave her time to relax slightly, taking a moment to relax, and care for herself, something she had grown to learn the importance of since Jess had been in hospital. She loved her younger sister with all her heart, but as someone once told her, it would be difficult to give her sister everything, when she couldn't work with her self.
That meant though, that they were both incredibly excited to see one another again. Racing over, Leah immediately lifted Jess out her wheelchair, holding her sister tightly as she spun her in a circle, giggles of excitement coming from Jess as she moved back to just holding her against her chest.
"Missed you Le."
"I missed you to my little Jessie bug, but you look like you had a good time!"
Jess lifted her head back slightly, a glistening in her eyes as she looked towards Leah. It was rare, practically an impossible occurrence of Jess making eye contact, with anyone, but if she was going to do it with anyone, it was always Leah.
And Leah embraced it.
Her bright blue eyes sparkled, only for the second that they met the defenders, a clear show that she was desperate to tell Leah about her night away.
"It was incredible Le! I had so much fun!"
"No way did you! Come on, let's go take a seat and you can tell me all about it."
She carried Jess over to the sofa in towards the corner of the room, away from the crowd of girls. Viv was able to move the wheelchair so it was where Leah's original seat was, the Meadema's shifting themselves so that they could talk to Wally about her evening with Leah.
"C'mon then, what did you get up to?"
"Laura, Vic and Lotte came Le! They turned up at the door, I didn't like it at first, I don't like people at the door, but it was only them. Beth gave me a big hug though, which made it all better."
"Beth's hugs do make everything better, don't they?"
"No. That's impossible."
Leah let out a laugh, her sisters bluntness shining through once more.
"We played monopoly Le, and Beth and I kept stealing peoples money! And then Laura got annoyed, Vic charged her loads of money because she put hotels, and then Vic stole Laura's hotels! But then Lotte got put in jail, but that's only because Beth and I cheated, don't tell Lotte!"
"I'm sure she could guess it was you bug, you and Beth are a troublesome duo. That whole group sounds troublesome."
"No, we were really good actually."
"You just told me you cheated through monopoly?"
"Shhh, it's a secret Le!"
"Ah, my mistake. What about dinner?"
"Oh, I had pasta. The others had some gross stuff but mine was nice. I didn't eat a lot though."
"You didn't? You love pasta though?"
A small shrug of the shoulders came from the small girl, which was a clear indication to her either not wanting to talk about it, or still trying to understand why. Leah was okay with that though- she trusted Viv enough to know that her sister would've had some form of sustenance, enough to not push it further.
"Then we went for a walk, and we took Myle out, but it was dark Le! So Vic ran into a pole, but I was too tired to make fun of her."
"Classic Vic."
"We went back home because Vic had what Beth called a toddler tantrum."
"Once more, classic Vic."
"Viv helped me go to bed. She stayed with me after you facetimes. When I woke up we came straight here, I missed you a lot Le."
"I missed you a lot too, but you would've had a boring time with me. That sounded like so much fun."
"It was. It would be nice to do again. Not soon though."
"No, not soon little lion, you're stuck with me again for a little while."
"And Lia?"
Leah took a moment, biting her bottom lip slightly in surprise at the fact her sister had asked the question. She wondered whether it would be the time to tell her that Lia had become her girlfriend last night, subsequently deciding against it, just embracing the fact her sister was okay with it for the moment.
"Yes Jessie, Lia will be with us a lot as well."
"That's okay. I like you and Lia."
"Ah. Thanks bug."
She tried her best to not make a big deal out of the statement.
The two of them remained next to each other on the sofa, continuing their conversation into the smaller things that happened the evening away. The important stuff, like what she had for breakfast, and what movies she watched.
Jess' attention was only held for a few moments though, before Win entered the room. Her reunion with Leah was almost immediately thrown out the window, having gotten used to being round her sister once more, jumping up so that she could race over to the Labrador.
Constant reminders were shouted across the room to her from Leah of the fact that her leg was still very much broken, and she absolutely should not be running on it. Not that they stopped her in the slightest, sprinting to get over to the dog. At a certain point, all Leah could do was shake her head, grateful when one of the staff members walked over to Jess to get her to calm down slightly.
It gave Leah the time to make her way over to Beth and Viv, allowing her to ask the two about how the evening actually went. Having had her sisters recount of things, she knew it was mainly positive, but majority of the time, Jess would be unlikely to tell Leah if something had happened.
That always concerned Leah. The thought of something happening to Jess, and her younger sister struggling to find the words to communicate it to her. It was even worse the thought that she may just not understand why she would need to tell Leah. It was one of the several reasons the older woman struggled to be away from Jess, when given the option to be with her.
She trusted Beth and Viv though, and knew the two adults had made sure Jess was safe at all times.
It was as if they were awaiting her presence as Leah made her way over to there table, placing herself in a seat between Viv and Lia.
"So, she's told me all about monopoly gate, and a late night dog walk. How was she actually?"
"Monopoly gate was certainly something. Don't bring it up to Lotte though. She was an angel though, genuinely Leah."
"Not many people who'd call her an angel you know."
"Well, we would. There was a small hiccup in the night, but nothing we couldn't handle"
~
It was around half 2 when Viv woke up, needing a glass of water. It was a common occurrence for the Dutch to become thirsty in the middle of the night, it probably was in her best interest to go to sleep with the water by her bedside, but it was something that always slipped her mind.
She was grateful though, that she had forgotten tonight. As she took her steps across the landing, careful to miss the spaniel sprawled out across the floor, she heard a small whimper come from their spare bedroom, which was in use. She stood silently for a moment where she was, waiting to see if it was just a one off, until she heard another small whimper, knowing that it meant their guest was awake.
They had left the door to her room slightly ajar, knowing that's how she settled best. It also meant that it was easier for Viv to sneak in, pushing it slightly, but enough to avoid the creaking noise it would make.
She could just about make the petite outline of Jess, which was shrinking in the darkness. Her hands were over her ears, her shirt collar was in her mouth, with few tears rolling down her cheeks.
Viv didn't say anything at all, simply picking up the ear defenders on the side as she made her way over, slipping them over the small girls ears. There was no push back from the girl, who allowed Viv to place them on her, remaining sat where she was.
Pulling the duvet covers back enough for her to slip in, Viv crawled under the covers, opening her arms as she did so. There was no questions asked, no comments passed, allowing Jess to crawl into her, which she did so comfortably.
The Dutch wrapped her arms around the girls small body, almost like a teddy bear. She moved slightly though, picking up the stuffed toy which was left beside them, to slide under her, and into Jess arms, allowing the ragged, but still soft texture of the material to rub against the small girls face. She couldn't help but smile when the half asleep Jess nuzzled her head into the rabbit toy.
The warmth Viv offered was enough for Jess to feel safe, after waking up in an uncertain environment. Viv's scent, Viv's comfort, Viv's cuddles. It didn't take long for her to fall back asleep, keeping herself safely wrapped into the Dutch woman, who just stared lovingly at her little buddy.
She hadn't planned on forgetting her glass of water. And she certainly hadn't planned on spending the rest of the night in the 12 year old girls bed. But when she woke up in the morning, with a small, messy haired blonde still in her arms, she had no complaints.
~
"Thanks for looking out for her Viv."
"No problem Leah. Honestly. We loved having her stay with us."
"Seemed like she did to. Though, it looks like I have a lot of shirts to wash."
"Yeah, I've never seen her do that? How come she places the collar of her shirt in her mouth? Surely that's new?"
"I don't think it is. She's never placed the collar of her shirt in her mouth, but she places other stuff when she's slightly uncertain. You know, hoodie strings, her finger nails, she sleeps with her thumb in her mouth. That kinda stuff. It reminded me of when she bit her arm, remember?"
"Hard to forget."
"Oh yeah, sorry Viv. Just makes me think I should find something to help her redirect with that. She'll ruin all her shirts."
"Is the shirts the main concern?"
"I spend a good load of money on clothes for that girl, I will not let it all slip if there's another alternative!"
The collective of girls who were sat at the table laughed at the defenders sarcasm, glad to see Leah relaxed after her evening away. None of them were smiling more than Lia though, who couldn't help but gaze lovingly towards Leah, especially seeing her talk with such a love for her sister.
It was a shared look, as soon as the England captain caught the Swiss looking, moving to slip her hand into the midfielders. It was a gesture that did not go amiss by the other two.
"Oh get a room will you"
"Shut it Beth, it's not like you and Viv keep away from each other."
"We so do Leah, this is my only escape from the mad woman."
"That's not fair, I'm not mad!"
Both Viv and Leah shared a look, knowing exactly what the other person was thinking. It was then that they decided to move the topic along.
"So, you two look happy. How was your evening?"
Leah turned to face Lia for a moment, everything coming flooding back to her from the night before. It was perfect, and it was clear that it was everything the two of them had wanted, and more.
"Ohh, I know that look Viv. We best not ask anymore."
"No, no, nothing like that Beth. Let me introduce you both to my now girlfriend."
"No way, you finally put a bloody label to it!"
The two of them both nodded. It was a confirmation they had both come to the night before. It wouldn't change anything about their relationship, it just made it easier for them to clarify to other people. As soon as Jess was aware to it, and seemed slightly okay with it, despite not actually saying anything, they were both comfortable.
They were girlfriends. It was perfect.
A/N
cute little reunion
hope you're enjoying :)