Soft Launch
Bilbao — Later That Night
Leah should have known they'd get photographed.
That was the problem with football finals.
Especially Champions League finals.
Especially when you were Leah Williamson.
Still, somehow, she forgot for a few hours.
Forgot while sitting beside Elle in the VIP section laughing with Kiera before kickoff.
Forgot while Elle learned Barcelona chants from amused Spanish fans behind them.
For a little while, it just felt normal.
Then halftime happened.
And suddenly phones appeared.
Not aggressively.
Just subtly.
A picture here. A glance there.
England captain Leah Williamson sitting beside a beautiful American girl nobody recognised properly.
By full-time, Twitter had already lost its mind.
—
Kiera's team won.
Chaos followed immediately.
Celebrations. Media. Cameras everywhere.
Leah stood near the barriers waiting for Kiera after the trophy lift while Elle stayed close beside her, one hand lightly hooked into Leah's blazer sleeve.
Natural.
Comfortable.
Visible.
And unfortunately for the internet—
very photographable.
Flash.
Another camera.
Another.
Leah glanced sideways briefly.
"You okay?"
Elle smiled softly. "You?"
Leah laughed quietly under her breath.
"That's probably not a good sign."
Because across the stadium journalists were already looking.
Recognising.
Whispering.
Not maliciously.
Curiously.
Who was she?
The answer spread online before they even left the stadium.
—
WHO is the girl beside Leah Williamson?
Not to be dramatic but Leah Williamson looked VERY coupley tonight.
Wait is Leah dating Elle Smith??
Hold on what happened to Grace Carter??
THE HAND HOLDING???
Leah Williamson soft launching at the Champions League final was not on my 2024 bingo card.
—
Elle stared at her phone in the hotel elevator later that night trying not to laugh.
"It's bad."
Leah leaned tiredly against the mirrored wall beside her. "How bad?"
Elle turned the screen toward her.
Leah physically closed her eyes.
"Oh my God."
The photo was beautiful unfortunately.
That was the issue.
Leah standing beside her during the trophy celebrations smiling softly up at Elle like she'd forgotten cameras existed.
One of Elle's hands curled loosely around Leah's wrist.
Intimate enough people noticed immediately.
The comments underneath were chaos.
And right there between relationship speculation and football edits came the inevitable question:
Wait... wasn't Grace Carter basically her girlfriend?
Leah's expression shifted instantly.
Tiny.
But enough.
Elle noticed immediately.
"Hey," she said softly.
Leah exhaled quietly through her nose.
"I hate that part."
"The rumours?"
"The idea Grace might get hurt by this."
God.
Even now.
Even after everything.
Leah still carried guilt around carefully like something fragile.
The elevator doors opened into their hotel floor but neither moved immediately.
Leah looked exhausted suddenly.
Emotionally.
"She was there through the worst year of my life," Leah admitted quietly. "And now people are acting like she got replaced."
Elle stepped closer instinctively.
"You didn't replace anyone."
Leah looked down briefly.
"Internet probably disagrees."
"Good thing the internet's emotionally stupid."
That earned the smallest smile at least.
They walked slowly down the hallway together after that while hotel lights glowed soft gold against dark carpet.
Leah still looked distracted though.
Thinking too much again.
Classic.
"She knew about you before everyone else did," Elle said softly.
Leah looked sideways at her.
"And?"
"And if Grace loves you the way you think she does," Elle continued gently, "then she'll want you happy."
Silence.
Leah stopped outside their hotel room door.
Then quietly—
"You really are ridiculously good at this."
Elle frowned slightly. "At what?"
"Loving people."
The honesty in it nearly undid her completely.
Because Leah said things quietly when they mattered most.
No performance.
No dramatic speeches.
Just truth.
Inside the hotel room Bilbao glittered outside floor-to-ceiling windows while celebration fireworks exploded somewhere in the distance for Barcelona's win.
Leah dropped onto the edge of the bed exhausted while Elle kicked off her heels nearby.
Then both their phones buzzed simultaneously.
Beth Mead.
Of course.
Leah groaned immediately into the mattress.
Elle burst out laughing.
Another message instantly:
Leah covered her face with a pillow.
"Kill me."
Elle climbed onto the bed beside her still laughing softly before pulling the pillow away.
"You know what I think?"
Leah looked up tiredly.
"I think," Elle murmured gently, brushing hair back from Leah's forehead, "you deserve to be seen happy."
The room fell quiet after that.
Because maybe that was what scared Leah most.
Not attention.
Not rumours.
Just visibility.
Being loved publicly meant people could watch you lose it publicly too.
But then Elle kissed her softly beneath the glow of Bilbao city lights and suddenly none of the noise outside mattered quite as much anymore.