Rooftops
2:04am — Manhattan
Dinner turned into walking.
Walking turned into wandering.
And wandering somehow turned into Leah and Elle standing on the rooftop of Elle's apartment building wrapped in winter coats while Manhattan stretched endlessly around them.
The city glittered beneath fresh snow.
Steam rose from buildings. Music drifted faintly from somewhere below. The Empire State Building glowed red and white against the dark sky.
"It's freezing," Leah complained quietly, rubbing her hands together.
"And yet you're still here."
Leah looked sideways at her. "Funny that."
Elle smiled softly and moved closer instinctively.
The rooftop wasn't particularly glamorous. A few old chairs. String lights one of the neighbours had left up year-round. Slightly cracked concrete beneath their shoes.
But somehow it felt more intimate than the luxury hotel suite.
Because this was hers.
Real life.
"You know," Leah said eventually, leaning against the railing beside her, "this is exactly how I imagined your apartment building."
Elle laughed quietly. "What does that mean?"
"You romanticise New York."
"I absolutely do."
"You post blurry taxis and bookshops like you're the main character in an indie film."
Elle gasped dramatically. "And you post black-and-white training photos like a divorced dad."
Leah burst out laughing.
"That's harsh."
"Accurate though."
Leah shook her head smiling, then looked back out across the skyline.
For a second neither spoke.
The silence between them had become comfortable frighteningly quickly.
Then quietly—
"I don't want to leave tomorrow."
The honesty in Leah's voice hit differently this time.
Less playful.
More vulnerable.
Elle looked over at her properly.
At the way cold air pinked her cheeks. At the exhaustion still lingering behind her eyes after the UN event. At the softness that only appeared when nobody else was watching.
"You'll come back," Elle said gently.
Leah's jaw tightened slightly.
"Yeah," she admitted. "But I think this is the point where it starts hurting."
The words settled heavily between them.
Because they both knew what she meant.
The distance suddenly felt real now.
This wasn't fantasy anymore.
Tomorrow Leah would get on a plane back to London and return to rehab and training and England captain responsibilities.
And Elle would stay here.
Different continents.
Different lives.
The thought made something ache low in Elle's chest.
Leah looked down briefly before laughing softly to herself.
"This is bad, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"You."
Elle smiled faintly. "You're blaming me?"
"You're very blameable."
The rooftop lights reflected softly in Leah's eyes as she looked at her.
And suddenly the teasing faded again.
That happened a lot between them.
One second joking.
The next unbearably sincere.
"I haven't felt like this in a really long time," Leah admitted quietly.
Elle's breath caught slightly.
Because neither of them had said it aloud yet.
Not fully.
But this was close.
Very close.
"You scare me a bit," Leah confessed softly.
"Why?"
Leah smiled sadly. "Because I think I'd miss you properly."
The city noise below them blurred into nothing.
Elle stepped closer slowly until their coats brushed together.
"You think I won't miss you?"
Leah looked down at her then.
Really looked at her.
And God.
The emotion there nearly undid her completely.
Leah reached up gently, fingers brushing curls away from Elle's face before kissing her slowly beneath the rooftop lights.
No urgency now.
Just feeling.
The kind of kiss that lingers.
The kind people remember months later in airport terminals and lonely hotel rooms.
When they finally pulled apart, Leah rested her forehead lightly against hers and exhaled slowly.
"You know what the worst part is?"
"What?"
"I think this was supposed to be casual."
Elle laughed softly against her mouth.
"Bit late for that, captain."
Leah smiled helplessly.
Then quieter—
"Stay with me tonight."
Not a question this time.
A want.
A real one.
And the terrifying part was Elle already knew there was no chance she'd say no.