Chrissy was hardly shocked when her phone rang before 8:00 a.m. that morning. Her heart sank when she saw Elena's number pop up on her screen. That could only mean one thing. If there had been a positive outcome during the discussion with Harry they'd be wrapped in her bed sheets while they shut out the world.
But Chrissy's phone ringing could only mean one thing.
She tapped the answer button,
"Hey."
"Hi." Elena didn't sound like she was crying, but she did sound exhausted, "Can you come over?"
"Yeah. Gimme 30 minutes. Are you alright?"
"Yeah."
Chrissy knew better though. Even if Elena wasn't fine she wouldn't have answered that. Chrissy showered and got dressed as quickly as possible. She knocked on Elena's door in exactly 30 minutes.
Elena's eyes were red and puffy, a good indication of how things had gone. Chrissy gathered Elena into her arms,
"What happened?"
Elena backed away from the door, closing and locking it. She turned to walk to the couch with Chrissy,
"He was here when I got home. I think he'd been here the whole time."
Chrissy peeled herself out of her jacket and sat down just as Elena did,
"Was he still angry? Because he didn't seem like he was angry when he was with us at the game."
Elena nodded,
"He was still angry. We both were."
"Oh Elena..."
Elena sniffed,
"And it just spiraled out of control...he yelled at me. I yelled at him. We just crumbled. I don't know what happened. I don't know how we got to that point where we weren't even listening to each other."
Chrissy reached out to take her hand,
"I'm so sorry."
Elena sniffed,
"Suddenly we were wrapped in each other. I couldn't let him go. I didn't want to."
Chrissy raised her eyebrows,
"Did you..."
Elena nodded,
"And it was the most amazing night...we came together like we never have before. I have never felt him the way I did last night."
Chrissy dropped her eyes from Elena's face. She couldn't help but feel every bit of the pain coming off of Elena at the moment. She heard Elena take a breath,
"And then he left...we said goodbye." Elena pointed to the spot right in front of the door, "Right over there...he turned and he walked away."
Chrissy lifted her eyes to look back at Elena,
"I'm so sorry Elena...do you wanna tell me the rest?"
------------------------
Elena's entire body felt heavy. She couldn't put together a coherent thought or word. The only thing she felt was pain. Her stomach lurched but she covered her mouth with her hand to keep from throwing up. She felt like her chest was collapsing.
This was wrong. Everything about it felt wrong. She and Harry were not supposed to end like this. They weren't supposed to end at all.
Something so small and insignificant had managed to split them apart and she didn't know why. Sure they had done things quickly but Elena couldn't imagine having done it any differently.
The thought of walking back into her bedroom without his arms waiting open and inviting for her felt like a weight bearing down on her that she couldn't get out from underneath.
She stared at the wood door in front of her, her hand falling away from her mouth. One word repeated over and over in her head.
No.
------------------------
Elena swallowed,
"So I got up. I didn't want him to go. I was so...scared. I mean it's only been two months but I'm not sure if I know how to be without him."
Chrissy nodded,
"I know."
Chrissy thought she might have heard the garage door open but she quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. Elena needed her focus right now.
Elena turned her head towards the garage door just as Harry walked into the room. Chrissy stared between them for a moment. She didn't know whether to call the cops on an intruder or hug him and thank him for coming back. When she saw Elena push up off the couch and walk over to wrap her arms around him it was clear what had gone on here.
Chrissy dissolved into giggles and happy tears as she watched Elena push herself up onto her tiptoes and press her lips to Harry's mouth. She covered her eyes with her hand and shook her head,
"I hate both of you. Just so you know."
------------------------
Elena's hands pressed into the wood floor as she pushed herself up onto her feet. She curled her fingers around the doorknob and pulled it open before she could stop herself.
Her plan was to tear off down the stairs after him. Beg him to stay. Tell him she would fix it. She would fix everything.
She stopped dead, however, when she saw him walking back towards her front door. He stopped, his eyes meeting hers, wild with emotion.
Elena took two steps towards him. Harry took two steps towards her. Within seconds they were in each other's arms holding on tighter than they ever had before.
Elena shook against him,
"I love you."
"I love you."
They said it together. Both at the exact same time.
Harry's eyes fell shut, a sigh of relief exiting his lungs. She didn't want to let him go either.
Elena whimpered,
"I don't know why I didn't text you when I could have. The thought never entered my mind-" She said through gasps of breath and tears.
"Len it's o-"
"No. It's not ok. It's not. I wasn't thinking. I'm so sorry."
Harry pulled away, finally looking back at the face of the woman he loved. He'd missed her so much. He felt terrible for making her feel like she had to explain herself. All of this was so unnecessary,
"I know, Baby...I know."
She closed her eyes,
"I can do both. I can be me and still be yours. I can be the best soccer player in the world and I can be there with you. I just need to figure it out." She stepped forward, tugging her hands on his shirt, "Just give me the chance. Please..." She begged, "Please give me the chance to figure it out."
He smiled, shaking his head back and forth. As usual, she wasn't listening. My God he was in love with this woman,
"Baby, didn't you hear me? This wasn't just your fault. It wasn't."
"When I was injured, the thought of soccer being taken away from me hurt. But it didn't even touch the pain that I felt when you just walked out that door." The last word out of Elena's mouth came out in a whisper. She blinked back tears, "I love you." She assured him, "I'm not angry at you for how you feel. I get it."
She was rambling, like she hadn't heard him.
Harry stepped back to close her door and lock it. He quickly came back to her, taking her hands in his. He pulled them up to this chest,
"I want you to look at me. And I want you to listen." Elena nodded, her eyes focusing on his. He smiled, "I love you. And I don't want to walk away from that. Losing you is not an option for me, Len. I am just as responsible for where we are right now as you are." He paused for a moment, "I know your heart. I know your intentions. And I let my own selfish needs get in the way of what I know. I will apologize for that until the day I die, I think."
"This is gonna sound bad...but hear me out." Elena started. She looked down at their clasped hands, "I'm gonna be the best soccer player in the world no matter what...I know that." Her eyes met his again, "But I'll be better if you're there with me."
Harry laughed softly,
"Doesn't sound bad at all, My Love."
Elena shook in his arms,
"I'm still...I'm still..." Her eyes fell shut, "I'm still your love?"
Harry put his hands to the side of her face as she opened her eyes,
"You are always going to be my love. Hear me? I don't know what the hell I was thinking walking out of the house and away from you."
Elena cuddled back into his chest while Harry's arms wrapped around her protectively. They were connected again. Maybe even more than they had been. They had both taken responsibility for their shortcomings and the actions that had put them where they were now. And they were both willing to work to get back to where they had been.
------------------------
Chrissy sighed with relief as Elena finally finished her story. Harry had holed himself up in the kitchen to make some phone calls so the girls could have some privacy, knowing full well Chrissy was getting every last detail.
"I could kill you for faking me out like that."
Elena giggled softly,
"It was mostly his idea. But I thought it might be fun."
"So you're ok right? The two of you?"
Elena shrugged,
"We will be, I think."
"Is he staying then?"
"Yeah. He had the week anyway. He doesn't have to go back for rehearsals until after our last game."
"Are you going with him?"
Elena couldn't help the smile from appearing on her face,
"I am."
Chrissy clapped excitedly,
"Eeeeeek...I'm so happy for you. God, finally...I was so scared about what was happening."
"So was I." She glanced back into the kitchen where she could hear Harry talking, "But I should have faith. He loves me. And I love him."
------------------------
The smile on Elena's face was a mile wide as she walked back into her bedroom after taking a quick shower the next morning. Harry was still naked in her bed, his ass on full display as was his ink. Just the way she liked it.
They'd spent all day talking and all night making love, both of them so happy to still be together that they couldn't get enough of each other.
Elena stared down at him for a few moments. Sure it was creepy to watch someone sleep but it was so endearing to see him so comfortable in her bed. His mouth was slightly open, his lips puffy as he breathed even breaths through his mouth.
She leaned down to press a kiss to the back of his shoulder. She would pay more attention this time. Not get so wrapped up in the things going on around her more than she was the things that mattered most. Elena always figured her career would come first no matter what she encountered in her life, that is until she met Harry. Soccer was her first love. It had gotten her through some tough times. But now she had Harry and he could love her back.
He stirred slightly, his eyes fluttering open while he gained his bearings back after such a deep sleep. A lazy smile stretched over his cheeks as his eyes fell closed again,
"It wasn't a dream." He whispered.
Elena giggled softly,
"No, it wasn't." She pushed her way under his arm, pushing him onto his side as she snuggled into his chest, "Good morning."
He pressed a kiss to her forehead,
"Morning."
Harry's eyes once again closed as her fingertips traced the planes of his face. He was so beautiful. The sight of his face smiling back gave her such satisfaction she completely relaxed in his arms.
He squeezed her into his chest,
"Game #2 today?" She nodded but made no move to leave her cocoon. He raised his eyebrows, "Len? Don't we have to go soon?"
She nodded again, breathing out a breath as her eyes closed,
"Soon."
He smiled, realizing what she was doing,
"Oh I get it." He burrowed into the covers with her, "Alright then...a cuddle it is."
------------------------
Harry took his seat next to Chrissy trying to ignore the thousand watt smile she was staring at him with at the moment. He shook his head, unable to control the smile from popping up on his face,
"What are you so happy about?"
Chrissy cheesed a little longer before she finally answered,
"I'm just happy you're here."
"Really?" He asked, obviously amused, "I would have thought you might hate me, given the little joke we played on you."
Chrissy shook her head,
"No. Not at all. I couldn't be happier for both of you. At least you finally removed your heads from your asses."
Harry almost spit beer through his nose,
"Excuse me. My head was never up my ass."
Chrissy nodded,
"Sure was. I mean, what would make you think she'd miss that party on purpose?"
Harry opened his mouth to protest and then clapped it shut, shaking his head,
"I have a feeling no matter what I answer you'd still be on her side."
Chrissy turned her attention back to the field,
"I knew you couldn't resist her."
Harry snorted,
"What's that mean?"
"It means she's in your blood. And you're in hers."
Harry and Chrissy had never really spoken. Not at length anyway. It seemed odd now that he and Elena were back on the same wavelength. He slid his arm around her shoulders,
"We should hang out some time Chris...I think it would be fun."
Chrissy looked over at him,
"We should?"
He nodded,
"Go grab a beer...talk about Elena. I get the feeling you're on my side a lot."
Chrissy's eyes narrowed as she took his arm from around her shoulders,
"Let's get one thing straight popstar...you can't charm me into taking your side over hers about anything."
Harry laughed,
"That's what I thought."
------------------------
The USWNT won the game. As expected. Harry stayed with Elena until the celebrations and interviews. He watched her face light up with each question only to dissolve into determination as she spoke about the game she loved.
Thankfully no one asked her about him even though it was well known he was around. A few people stopped to say hello, but for the most part people were more interested in Elena.
He pulled her door open after he parked his truck in her garage. Elena smiled as she sat in her seat and waited until he made it to her side of the truck. He lifted her out, pressing a kiss to her mouth as she slid down his body to the cement,
"Finally...you let me open a door for you."
She shrugged,
"Was bound to happen eventually."
They made their way into the house, both going their separate ways when they got in the door. Elena went to go change out of her track suit into some PJs while Harry started dinner.
Elena walked back into the kitchen and promptly wrapped her arms around him from behind,
"What are you making for me?"
"How does some pasta sound?"
"Carbs? I'm shocked, Styles."
"You just ran like ten miles." He scoffed as he reached around to grab her ass, "I think you can handle it."
Elena squealed, releasing him quickly. She took a few steps back, bracing her hands on the counter as he turned to look at her,
"Wasn't talking about me...but you're right. I can."
Harry's mouth fell open in mock shock,
"Are you calling me fat? Because I'll have you know that I can pull 500 pounds with just my upper body...or so the fans on Twitter keep reminding me."
Elena giggled. God it felt good to be back with him like this. It felt like it used to feel before all their issues. She stepped forward, her hands tugging on the hem of his shirt as she looked straight up into his eyes,
"Can we do something I found on Pinterest tonight?"
Harry furrowed his brow,
"When did you get time to surf Pinterest?"
"When you were ignoring me."
Harry shook his head,
"I wasn't ignoring you...I was-" He stopped when Elena batted her eyelashes in anticipation of an answer, "What did you find on Pinterest?"
"It's a game." He raised his eyebrows but didn't speak, prompting her to keep talking, "Supposed to help us with intimacy."
"We don't have any problems with intimacy." He pointed out.
Elena nodded,
"And I'd like to keep it that way." She leaned past him to open a drawer and pull out a pad of paper and a pen, "So while you're cooking...we have to write down things from our relationship that we remember. And then we talk about them. What I was thinking during the memory, what you were thinking. Sights, sounds, smells. Things that remind us of that time. It's called the Nostalgic Memory exercise."
Harry stuck his bottom lip out and shrugged gently,
"Alright. Sounds interesting." He took the pad of paper from her and started to write, "The first time we had sex in San Luis Obispo."
Elena swatted at his shoulder as she walked away with her own pad of paper,
"You're such a boy sometimes."
Harry and Elena spent their dinner writing down memories of their time together they got so into it. Every once in awhile one of them would giggle causing the other to try to see what they'd written down.
They cleaned up the kitchen together and then made their way to Elena's bedroom. She hopped up onto her mattress and faced the love of her life Indian style. Harry giggled, for all her worldly prowess she was such an innocent little girl sometimes.
He stretched out onto the bed, leaning down onto his elbow,
"Alright...ladies first."
Elena shook her head,
"No, you first."
Harry shook his head,
"This was your idea."
"So?"
"So you go first."
"Harry Styles."
"Elena Bennett."
"Ugh...fine." She looked down at her pad of paper, "The day we met." Harry didn't speak, simply waited for her to continue, "I never told you this but...I was supposed to go and practice when I was done that day."
"Really?" He asked, obviously shocked.
She nodded,
"Yeah. That was the plan. I was gonna film the commercial and then head to dinner with Chrissy and then go to practice and get a quick workout in." Her eyes finally met his, "But I met you instead."
Harry had no idea. She seemed so calm and cool that day that it didn't seem like she'd noticed him at all,
"I walked onto that set...I was just going to tell Mike to call me later when he had a free moment."
Elena couldn't help the smile from popping up on her face as she leaned towards him,
"Buuuuut."
He smiled, reaching up to push some of her hair behind her ear,
"But then I saw you...and I decided to stick around."
Elena touched her lips to his,
"That's very sweet, My Love. It's your turn."
Harry couldn't help but laugh. He looked down at his pad of paper,
"Mine is actually from that night as well. In the bar. I can't walk past the smell of stale beer anymore now without thinking of you."
Elena sat up, her face scrunched up in disgust,
"Ugh...Harry!"
"What? Hey, this was your game."
Elena rolled her eyes,
"It was supposed to be something romantic." She tossed her pad of paper onto the floor and went to stand up, "Ugh...now I'll never be able to drink beer without thinking of that."
Harry caught her hands, pulling her back down onto the bed as he crawled on top of her to keep her from leaving,
"Len...you're not leaving."
She nodded,
"I'm gonna go take a shower...because lord knows sweat probably makes you think of me too."
He nodded, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose,
"It does." He smiled, "But ya wanna know what else makes me think of you?"
She rolled her eyes again,
"What?"
"The smell of coconut reminds me of you, because it's what your sunblock smells like. Rain reminds me of you. Every time I walk into this house you immediately burn some type of rain scented something and I can't get away from it now. It's on everything."
Elena smiled weakly,
"Keep going."
"The Jetsons reminds me of you. Buying socks reminds me of you. You steal mine all the time when you're feet are cold and so whenever I go to get some, they're all gone. Say Yes to the Dress reminds me of you. Out of every show in the world you could be obsessed with, I never would have thought it would be that one. And you have yet to make it through an episode without crying. The hair ties on my wrist remind me of you because you leave them everywhere and for whatever reason, they're always in my things. Hair ties and these random pieces of paper or napkins where you've drawn soccer plays that are swimming around in your head."
Elena giggled,
"Sorry. But I have to get them out or I forget."
He leaned down to nuzzle her cheek with his nose,
"Penguins." He pressed a kiss to her mouth, "So many things, Len." He whispered.
Elena tipped her hips up into his, her center brushing against his very obvious erection,
"See? I told you this was a good idea."
He nodded as he slid his hand into her panties. Elena let out a soft whimper when she felt the pad of his fingers rub against her clit. He smiled,
"And that sound...right there. That sound reminds me of you."
Elena arched her chest into his,
"Alright..." She said softly, "Game's over." She said as her mouth covered his.
------------------------
Elena and the team would end up winning the World Cup. Niall had joined up with them for the last game, promising Harry it would be the greatest football game he'd ever see. Harry never could have guessed that Niall would turn out to be correct. It was.
Elena and her team dominated the Japanese team in the finals. Beating them easily with a 4-0 victory.
Elena did two interviews on the field before she sought Harry out. When he joined her, she broke apart in his arms. Crying tears of happiness while he held onto her.
And for all the ways they were linked to each other, sharing this kind of moment together was what it was all about.
She pulled back to look at him,
"Couldn't have done it without you."
He shook his head,
"You would have done it without me."
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Harry stayed on the field with her, celebrating with the team and keeping her locked in his embrace whenever she needed the touchstone again. And when the team retired inside for the press conference, Harry waited in the locker room with the rest of the families while they watched it on TV.
"Elena!"
"ELENA!"
"ELENA BENNETT!!"
Elena heard her name being called over and over when Reggie finally called on one of the reporters,
"Elena, how does it feel to have won the World Cup after the team's fight with the league earlier this year?"
"It feels like we did this as a team. The way it should've been." She felt Andrea squeeze her hand under the table and she smiled, "We did it together."
"And now that it's over...what's next?"
Elena laughed softly,
"Well...I'm gonna take some much needed time off. And I'm gonna go spend it with someone who has been patiently waiting his turn."
Harry felt his entire body relax. He dropped his head and smiled to himself. He didn't know about the patiently part, but he'd have waited for her forever.
When she returned to his embrace after the press conference, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him,
"We need to pack."
"We don't leave for two days."
"I'm not missing the plane this time, Harry. We need to go pack."
Harry giggled softly,
"Alright. Packing it is."
She kept her fingers loosely tangled with his as they walked down the hallway out to the parking lot. Harry looked down at the medal she had dangling around her neck,
"See? I told you it would be gold one day."