Public But Private
Bilbao — The Morning After
Leah woke up to twenty-three missed calls.
Which honestly felt excessive.
She stared at her phone from the hotel bed while morning sunlight spilled through the curtains and Elle slept curled against her side completely unaware that the internet had apparently entered collective meltdown overnight.
Beth Mead had sent sixteen voice notes alone.
Sixteen.
Leah opened the first one cautiously.
"YOU TWO LOOK DISGUSTINGLY IN LOVE."
Leah immediately closed it again.
Absolutely not.
Beside her, Elle stirred slightly beneath the sheets, still half asleep.
"What time is it?" she mumbled.
"Too early for Beth Mead."
That finally made her laugh softly.
God.
Even tired like this she still somehow made Leah feel calmer.
Leah dropped her phone onto the bed and looked down at her properly for a second.
Messy curls. Bare face. One of Leah's hoodies hanging off one shoulder.
Beautiful.
Dangerously so.
And suddenly the panic from the online chaos softened slightly.
Because technically?
They hadn't done anything wrong.
They weren't hiding.
Not really.
People in Leah's life knew about Elle. Her family knew. Her teammates knew. Kiera knew.
They just kept things private.
There was a difference.
But apparently standing hand-in-hand beside each other at a Champions League final was enough for the internet to lose its collective mind anyway.
"You're staring again," Elle murmured with her eyes still closed.
"Go back to sleep."
"Nope."
Elle opened her eyes slowly then and reached automatically for Leah's hand beneath the sheets.
Habit now.
Natural.
And God that still got her every single time.
"You okay?" Elle asked softly.
Leah hesitated.
Then honest—
"I think I forgot cameras exist around football people."
Elle laughed quietly. "That feels like a design flaw."
Leah smiled slightly.
"It's weird."
"What is?"
Leah looked down at their hands.
"I'm used to people talking about football versions of me."
Captain Leah.
England Leah.
Arsenal Leah.
Her voice softened slightly.
"But suddenly they're talking about... this."
Us.
The word stayed unspoken between them anyway.
Elle sat up slightly against the headboard and reached for her own phone from the bedside table.
Big mistake.
Her entire Instagram feed was already chaos.
Photos from the final. Videos of Leah and Kiera celebrating. Zoomed-in screenshots of Leah smiling at Elle in the stands.
One tweet already had nearly two million views:
Leah Williamson looking at Elle Smith like she hung the moon.
Elle physically stopped scrolling.
Because honestly?
That was exactly how Leah looked at her.
"Oh no," Leah muttered beside her. "That's the one Beth sent."
Elle turned the screen toward her slowly.
Leah stared at it for a second too long.
Then laughed quietly under her breath.
"That's... very obvious."
"But accurate," Elle said softly before she could stop herself.
Silence.
Leah looked at her immediately.
And there it was again.
That expression like love still surprised her slightly every time she encountered it directly.
"You know what's strange?" Leah admitted quietly.
"What?"
"We never actually announced anything."
Elle smiled faintly. "No."
"But I think people just... figured it out."
The room settled softly quiet around them.
Because that was the truth of it.
Nothing about them felt performative.
No coordinated posts. No statements. No dramatic reveal.
Just photographs catching something real.
Leah's phone buzzed again.
Grace.
The room went still briefly.
Leah looked down at the screen before answering.
Grace picked up immediately.
"Well," she said dryly, "subtle wasn't really the vibe then?"
Leah groaned instantly. "Please don't start."
"I'm kidding."
Her voice softened slightly after that.
"I saw the photos."
Leah sat quietly for a second.
Then softer—
"You okay?"
The question carried concern, not guilt this time.
Because Grace already knew.
Had known for months.
This wasn't betrayal.
Just visibility.
Grace exhaled quietly down the phone.
"Leah."
And suddenly her voice became gentler.
"You look happy."
The room fell silent.
Because maybe that mattered more than everything else.
Leah swallowed slightly.
"I am."
Across the bed Elle looked up immediately at how certain Leah sounded saying it.
Grace laughed softly.
"For what it's worth, the internet's right."
Leah frowned slightly. "About what?"
"The way you look at her."
Elle immediately covered her face with a pillow.
Traitor.
Grace continued casually—
"You've always looked after people. But nobody's looked after you like that before."
God.
That landed directly in Leah's chest.
Because Grace knew.
Knew how hard the ACL had broken her mentally. Knew how much pressure Leah carried even after recovering physically.
And maybe that was why she understood this better than most.
"You deserve this," Grace said quietly.
Leah looked down briefly, emotion flickering softly across her face now.
Then quietly—
"Thank you."
After the call ended, silence settled across the hotel room again.
Warm.
Emotional.
Elle watched Leah carefully.
"You okay?"
Leah nodded once.
Then after a second laughed quietly under her breath.
"I think the internet's decided you're the love of my life."
Elle smiled softly. "And?"
Leah looked at her for a long moment beneath warm Bilbao sunlight.
Then moved closer until their foreheads touched lightly.
"I think," she whispered softly, "they might be onto something."