Maybe
St. Albans — Saturday Night
Leah couldn't stop touching her.
Not in an overwhelming way.
Just constant little things.
A hand at Elle's lower back crossing roads. Fingers brushing together in the car. Knees pressed together on the sofa while takeaway containers sat forgotten on the coffee table.
Like now that she had her here again, some part of Leah needed reassurance she was real.
The apartment glowed softly under warm lamps while rain tapped against the windows outside.
Football played quietly on mute in the background.
Neither was watching it.
Elle sat curled into the corner of Leah's sofa wearing Arsenal joggers and one of Leah's hoodies again, scrolling lazily through comments on one of her latest Instagram posts.
Leah lay stretched across the opposite end with her head resting against Elle's thigh, completely content for the first time in months.
"You know what's concerning?" Elle murmured.
"What?"
"You have a frightening amount of fan edits."
Leah groaned immediately. "Don't."
Elle tilted the phone slightly toward her.
A TikTok edit.
Slow-motion clips. Dramatic music. Leah lifting trophies while heartbreakingly emotional captions flashed across the screen.
Leah physically covered her face with a cushion.
"This is why social media was a mistake."
Elle laughed softly, fingers absentmindedly sliding through Leah's hair.
And God.
That.
That right there nearly ruined Leah entirely.
The domesticity of it.
The softness.
Nobody had ever made her feel calm like this before.
"You know what the comments are saying?" Elle asked lightly.
"I absolutely do not."
"That you're wife material."
Leah looked up at her immediately. "That's deeply invasive."
Elle grinned. "I'm starting to think they might be onto something."
Leah's stomach flipped embarrassingly hard.
Dangerous conversation.
Very dangerous.
Especially because Elle said things like that so casually sometimes, then left Leah emotionally spiralling for the next three business days.
The room fell quieter after that.
Not awkward.
Just thoughtful.
Leah turned slightly so she was looking up at Elle properly now.
At the soft concentration in her expression while scrolling. At the familiar curls falling around her face. At the comfort of her existing here inside Leah's actual life.
And suddenly a thought hit her so clearly it almost made her chest ache.
She didn't want this to be temporary anymore.
The realisation terrified her slightly.
Because long distance was hard enough already.
And labels made things real.
But maybe they already were real.
Maybe that was the problem.
"You alright?" Elle asked softly, noticing her staring again.
Leah hesitated.
Then sat up slowly beside her instead.
Closer now.
Their knees touching.
"Can I ask you something?"
Elle's expression softened immediately. "Always."
Leah looked down briefly at her hands.
Which was already enough warning honestly.
Because Leah Williamson never got nervous unless something genuinely mattered.
Elle's heartbeat sped up slightly.
Leah laughed once under her breath like she already hated herself for this.
"This is going to sound either really intense or really stupid."
"Probably both."
That earned a smile at least.
Then quieter—
"When people ask what this is..."
Elle stayed very still.
Leah looked up finally.
"...what do you say?"
The vulnerability in the question nearly undid her completely.
Because beneath all the confidence and flirting, Leah still looked scared sometimes when it came to this.
Scared of wanting too much.
Scared of naming it.
Elle reached for her hand gently.
"I usually say there's this girl in London ruining my emotional stability."
Leah laughed softly, relief flickering across her face.
"Fair."
"But," Elle continued quieter now, thumb brushing across Leah's knuckles, "I think maybe she's my girlfriend."
Silence.
Real silence this time.
Leah just looked at her.
Like the word itself had physically stunned her.
Girlfriend.
Simple word.
Huge meaning.
And somehow hearing it out loud made everything shift into place all at once.
"You think?" Leah asked softly.
Elle smiled nervously. "You want a stronger answer than that, captain?"
Leah looked down briefly, then back at her again.
And God.
The emotion in her eyes.
"Yeah," she admitted quietly. "I really do."
Elle kissed her first because honestly Leah looked seconds away from combusting emotionally.
The kiss started soft.
Then immediately deepened when Leah's hand slid against her jaw with a kind of desperate affection that made her chest ache.
When they finally pulled apart, Leah rested her forehead lightly against hers and laughed breathlessly.
"My girlfriend," she repeated softly, like testing how it sounded.
Elle smiled instantly.
"Your girlfriend."
Leah kissed her again immediately.
Hopeless.
Absolutely hopeless.