"Coommmee oooonnnn" Katie yelled towards the rest of the team, seemingly the only one with energy this time of day. They had to leave early to get to Manchester by noon. They were playing City the next day.
"Katie, for goodness sake calm down!" Leah complained, "It's only 8, and I've not had any coffee."
Everyone chuckled as they made their way towards the buses, loading in their bags, and finding seats. Liv sat down at one of the tables, and Eva promptly sat down beside her, both of them carrying one of the twins.
"You two mind if we sit here?" Viv asked, motioning to herself and Lotte.
"Of course not." Liv answered, motioning to the two seats across from them.
"Just please don't be too loud, we're hoping to get the girls asleep, so that bedtime tonight isn't a total disaster." Eva laughed, "But I don't think that will be a problem with you two."
"We're not really known for being loud on the bus, I don't think." Lotte chuckled, sliding into the window seat. Viv sat down across from them too.
"How are you feeling about the game tomorrow Liv?" Viv asked quietly. "I know it must be weird going back, but playing for the other team. How long has it been since you were in Manchester?"
"I think it's been about 2 months. I'm equal parts excited and nervous. I haven't talked very much with any of the girls since I left, since I've been so busy. Though I suppose that's not a very good excuse." Liv said, sadness clear in her tone, "I think the hardest part will just be walking out there, but the minute the first whistle goes, I will be fine."
"Yeah, I get that." Lotte responded. "How old were the girls when you left? I feel like they've grown so much already!"
"They were eight and a half months old, so they're nearly 11 months now. Their birthday will be while we're away for the Olympic qualifications." Liv said adoringly, looking down at Lily, fast asleep in her arms. "I can't believe they will be a year old soon. They're already crawling and almost walking. It's only a matter of time before they start kicking a ball around too."
Eva moved her free hand over onto Olivia's thigh, giving her a little squeeze before adding to the conversation herself. "They're also babbling so much now, and they both almost have Mama down." She said, stroking Emily's head. "It's going to get pretty chaotic in our house once we have two walking babies!"
After talking for a little while longer, Lotte and Viv both started reading their books, and Liv pulled out her phone to quickly message Mary, one of her best friends from City.
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To Mary - hey Mary, I wanted to see if you wanted to meet up later on today? we should get to the hotel around noon. Miss you loads xx
From Mary - ofc liv! should i come get you and the twins around 2? we could go to the coffee shop you love.
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Liv turned to Eva, tapping her to grab her attention. "Hey E, Mary and I are going out to catch up once we get to the hotel. I know you wanted to bring the girls to the aquarium right?" She asked quietly, noticing Lotte and Viv listening to music through their headphones.
"Yeah, is that alright? I know that Viv said that she might come along too." Eva responded cautiously.
"Yeah, Mary just invited me out to that coffee shop nearby and said I could bring the twins too." Liv said quietly, so as not to wake the girls.
"It's totally up to you." Eva said kindly, "They're your kids, but I'm here for whatever you need."
"I think that you should bring them to the aquarium. They'll have way more fun and then Mary and I can talk better, without distractions." Liv murmured. "I'll message Mary."
Eva nodded, gently pulling Liv onto her chest. "I love you." she whispered, kissing the top of Olivia's head. Olivia pulled out her phone to message Mary.
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To Mary - eva and viv are going to take the twins out to the aquarium this afternoon, so it will just be us. they will leave a bit after us though, so u can say hi!
From Mary - sounds good! we all miss those two around the training grounds. i'm sure they've grown so much!
To Mary - they sure have! i have to go now, but i'll see you later! Xx
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A little while later, Viv looked up from her book when Beth walked over and asked,
"Are you and Eva still going to bring the girls to the aquarium later?"
"I think so. Why?" Viv asked, wrapping her arm around Beth's waist
"I think I'm going to come with you if that's alright. The other girls are going to mini golf, and you know how good I am at that," she chuckled, "So I thought I would tag along to see my favourite nieces at the aquarium."
Viv laughed, pulling Beth closer, and Eva added "Of course you can come, you just have to change the nappies." She added, watching Liv lose yet another round of tetris on her phone. "Geez liv, I'm going to have to teach you a thing or two about Tetris. You do know the goal is to not fill it up all the way, right?" She grunted as Olivia slapped her abs, Lotte, Beth and Viv laughing loudly.
"No more cuddles for you!" Liv laughed, moving away. Beth moved over to hug her.
Viv eventually recovered from her laughing fit, shaking her head. "I think Liv's got her hands full with those two, Tetris skills notwithstanding."
"My hands will be slightly less full tonight since you will be doing the nappy changes!" Liv declared looking at Eva, who was shaking her head while laughing.
"I might deserve that." Eva said wisely
Beth leaned over to LIv, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Don't worry, Liv, I'll make sure to give Eva a crash course in nappy changing. She'll be a pro in no time." She finished, laughing.
Liv laughed, leaning into Beth's hug. "Thanks, Beth."
Beth made her way to sit on Viv's lap, changing the subject.
As the bus pulled into a rest stop, Eva turned to Liv.
"I think these two need a nappy change. Should we head inside to do that now?" Eva asked.
"Yeah, there's a certain stink coming from Lily at the moment." Liv responded, standing up and grabbing the nappy bag. "We'll be back in a couple minutes." She said to the group.
"I think we're going to grab some drinks from the cafe." Viv mentioned, "What do you two want?"
"Umm, I'll have a tea, thanks Viv," Eva said, looking to Liv, who had started walking down the bus already. "I think she'll have one too. She already had two coffees this morning." Viv nodded, and Eva walked quickly to catch up with Liv who was already off the bus.
"Hey Liv, wait up!" She shouted, catching up as Liv turned around.
"Sorry babe, I thought you were with me!" She said sheepishly.
Eva laughed, smiling cheekily. "'babe', I like that." she teased as a blush creeped up Liv's cheeks. "Viv was just asking what we wanted from the cafe. I got us both tea." She smiled as Liv frowned.
"I wanted a coffee!" She said,
"I know," Eva responded, "But you've already had two, and you're going to have another with Mary later. You need to sleep tonight!"
"Why do you have to be right?" Liv sighed out, adjusting her hold on Lily, who was beginning to fuss. "We need to change these two and maybe tire them out a bit. The driver said we're stopping here for 45 minutes."
"Okay, the family washroom is right there." Eva said, pointing to the sign a little further down the building. They got the twins changed, then held their hands as they tried to walk towards the bus.
**With Lotte, Beth and Viv at the Cafe**
As they were waiting at the cafe, Beth couldn't help but bring up what had been bugging her since Liv and Eva moved in together.
"So, what do you reckon about Liv and Eva?" Beth asked.
Viv raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on her lips. "You mean, besides the fact that Liv's eyes light up whenever Eva's around?"
Lotte chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Aye, both of them light up when they're together. Did you see 'em dancing together at the pub after our first game?"
Beth grinned. "Exactly! And Liv ain't exactly shy about fancying Eva."
Viv leaned in, speaking in a hushed tone. "Actually, Liv ain't the only one with feelings. Eva told me she likes Liv too."
Beth's eyes widened in surprise, feeling a surge of excitement. "No way! Do you think anything has happened since they moved in together?"
"I don't know. It's only been a couple of days." Lotte said
"A lot can happen in a couple days. I bet something has happened. I'll ask Liv about it when I get a chance." Beth said, as their order got called and they began heading back to the bus, where Liv and Eva were sitting, playing with the twins. Beth headed back to where she had been sitting with Kim, and Viv and Lotte sat back down, joining in with playing with the twins, who were crawling on the table at that point.
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As they arrived at the hotel, Liv stretched her arms, relieved to have finally arrived. Eva leaned over, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face with a tender smile.
"You okay?" She asked
"Yeah, just a bit tired. We should head in and unpack a bit. We need to set up the twins' cots before we actually need them, so that they're ready before we have screaming babies." Liv responded, checking her watch. "It's 12:30, so we could probably chill in our room for a bit before heading out, is that okay?
"Of course." Eva said, as they got off of the bus, and brought all the bags inside. Eva and Liv were rooming together, with Alessia and Kyra in the room beside them.
Once they had set up the cots, and set the girls up on the floor with their favourite toys, they flopped back onto the bed. Liv lay her head on Eva's shoulder, curling into her side.
"This is nice." Eva sighed, kissing the top of Liv's head.
"Yeah, it is," Olivia agreed, closing her eyes as she snuggled closer. Just then there was a knock at the door, and Eva moved to get up and answer it. Liv sighed as Eva got up, calling "Who's there?"
"Less and Kyra." Eva responded, walking back into the room with them. The twins immediately dropped their toys and crawled over the Less and Kyra, pulling themselves up to stand while grabbing their legs.
"Hey Liv, we were just wondering if we could take the twins for a walk around the hotel? Give you guys some time to hang out." Less said, as she picked Lily up and tossed her in the air.
"That sounds great! Thanks!" Olivia responded, standing up too. "Their shoes are at the door, but as long as you don't go outside, I don't think they really need them."
"Okay, we'll bring them back in 20ish minutes." Kyra said, "And just in case, can babies have ice cream?"
"No Kyra, no ice cream for babies." Eva said, chuckling "Have fun guys, bring them back if they get too fussy, but no ice cream."
Less laughed, leading them out of the room while Lily and Emily started babbling nonsense.
Once the door closed behind Kyra and Less, Liv and Eva settled back onto the bed, their bodies naturally gravitating towards each other. Liv lightly traced patterns on Eva's back, a small smile playing on her lips.
"That was nice of them to offer to take the girls for a bit," Liv said
"Yeah, they're great with them," Eva agreed, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Liv's neck. "I can't believe how much the twins love them already."
Liv chuckled, turning her head to meet Eva's gaze. "They're pretty funny, aren't they? Always coming up with silly games to play with Lily and Emily."
Eva nodded. "Definitely. It's so sweet seeing the whole team be so kind to them already. We both only signed a month ago, but it's like we've been here forever."
Liv laughed. "Yeah, everyone is really taken to them. It's sweet to see."
Their conversation drifted off as they settled into a comfortable silence. Liv shifted closer to Eva, placing her hand in the curve of Eva's waist.
Eva turned towards Liv, her eyes soft as she reached up to cup Liv's cheek. "Liv," she murmured.
They both leaned into the kiss, as the rest of the world melted away. They eventually pulled back for air, and Liv's phone began to ring. She pulled away and rolled over to grab her phone off the nightstand.
"Who is it?" Eva asked
"Mary" Liv said, answering the call.
Eva spooned Liv, kissing her neck gently as Liv spoke on the phone. After a couple minutes they hung up, and Liv turned back over.
"What did she want?" Eva asked quietly, continuing to kiss Liv's shoulder
"She is going to be a little late, training took longer than expected." Liv said, laughing as Eva continued to kiss her. "Not right now babe, Less and Kyra will be back soon, and we are both going out in less than an hour."
Eva sighed, "I guess it's your turn to be right." Giving Liv one last kiss, then pulling away to get up and change. Liv laughed, standing up too when Less and Kyra came back into the room. The twins' cheeks were flushed, but there was no ice cream in sight.
"Looks like everyone behaved!" Liv laughed, noticing the twins looking much more tired than earlier.
"Can't say the same for you!" Less laughed, pointing to a hickey on Liv's neck. Olivia's face flushed, and she turned to Eva, who had a sheepish look on her face. Less and Kyra left quickly, laughing their heads off, and Liv made Eva change the twins' nappies and get them ready for the aquarium.
As Liv and Eva headed down to the hotel lobby, Liv spotted Mary waiting for them. Mary's face lit up as she saw Liv, and she rushed over, giving her a warm hug.
"Liv! Oh, it's so good to see you!" Mary exclaimed, stepping back to admire the twins. "And look at these two, growing so fast!"
Liv smiled, and after a few minutes of catching up, Liv turned to Eva.
"Eva, this is Mary, one of my best friends from City," Liv introduced, gesturing towards Mary. "Mary, this is Eva, my teammate and..." Liv hesitated for a moment, "...my girlfriend."
Eva grinned, extending her hand towards Mary. "Nice to meet you, Mary. Liv has told me so much about you."
Mary returned the smile, shaking Eva's hand warmly. "Likewise, Eva. Liv speaks very highly of you."
After a bit more small talk, Liv and Mary made their way to the cafe, leaving Eva to head to the aquarium with the twins.
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Part 2 will have the actual game n stuff. I got a bit carried away and now its like 5000 words or more so I decided to split it up. ill prob post it early though.