Terminal 5
Heathrow Airport — July 2024
This goodbye felt different.
Heavier.
Maybe because neither of them could pretend it was just another trip.
Elle was flying home to New York.
Leah was flying to Australia.
And despite everything — despite the smile she wore publicly, despite agreeing immediately when Sarina asked her to come support the squad — part of Leah still felt like she was walking toward heartbreak.
Again.
Terminal 5 buzzed around them in blurred noise and rolling suitcases while departure boards flickered overhead.
But Leah barely noticed any of it.
Because Elle stood in front of her looking devastatingly beautiful in an oversized cream hoodie and leggings, curls messy from barely sleeping, passport clutched loosely in one hand.
And suddenly leaving felt impossible.
Belle's lead still hung looped around Leah's wrist from earlier.
Neither had noticed.
"You know what's cruel?" Elle murmured softly.
"What?"
"You look very attractive when you're emotionally devastated."
Leah laughed quietly through her exhaustion.
"That feels manipulative."
"It is."
God.
Leah was going to miss her so much.
The thought sat painfully in her chest now.
Because this wasn't Miami or Bilbao or short weekends squeezed around schedules.
This was distance with fourteen-hour time differences.
Different worlds entirely.
Leah glanced toward the departure screens again.
Sydney.
Three hours.
The ache returned instantly.
Elle noticed immediately.
"Hey."
Leah looked back at her.
And just like that, the airport noise disappeared slightly again.
"You don't have to pretend with me," Elle whispered softly.
That nearly undid her completely.
Because everyone else kept calling it brave.
Inspirational.
Strong.
Leah travelling to support England after losing her own World Cup dream.
But nobody really acknowledged how brutal it actually was.
Watching your team live the thing you'd spent your whole life working toward.
Watching from the sidelines.
Again.
Leah looked down briefly at the floor.
"I don't know how to do this part," she admitted quietly.
Elle's chest physically hurt hearing it.
"Which part?"
Leah swallowed once.
"Being there but not really being there."
God.
The honesty in it landed heavily between them.
Because football wasn't just something Leah did.
It was who she was.
And the ACL had ripped that identity away from her months before she was ready.
Elle stepped closer immediately, hands sliding gently into Leah's.
"You know what I think?"
Leah smiled weakly. "Should I be afraid?"
"I think those girls are going to need you more than you realise."
Leah looked unconvinced.
"I'm serious," Elle continued softly. "You're still their captain."
The words settled quietly between them.
Because maybe that was true.
Not on the pitch.
But emotionally?
Always.
Leah looked at her for a long moment after that.
Then quietly—
"How did I survive before you?"
The vulnerability in the question nearly broke Elle apart completely.
Because Leah still said loving things like confessions. Like truths she hadn't fully adjusted to yet.
"You were significantly moodier," Elle answered softly.
That earned a real laugh at least.
Small.
But real.
There it was again.
That lightness people kept noticing around Leah lately.
The version of her returning slowly after months of pain and fear.
An announcement echoed overhead for boarding.
The moment immediately shifted.
Both of them felt it.
No more delaying now.
Leah exhaled slowly through her nose before pulling Elle closer automatically.
Airport lights reflected softly in her eyes now.
"I hate leaving you."
Elle smiled sadly. "I know."
"No, like... genuinely feel a bit sick about it."
That almost made her cry.
Instead Elle reached up gently and brushed hair back from Leah's forehead.
"You're going to call me from Australia at ridiculous hours."
"Correct."
"You're going to complain about the food."
"Almost definitely."
"And you're going to make every single girl on that team feel calmer just because you're there."
Leah looked down briefly after that.
Then back at her.
Emotion thick in her throat now.
"You really believe that?"
Elle didn't hesitate.
"Always."
Silence settled softly between them one last time.
Then Leah kissed her.
Not rushed.
Not desperate.
Just slow and certain and heartbreakingly emotional beneath the noise of Heathrow Airport.
When they finally pulled apart, Elle rested her forehead lightly against hers.
"I love you," she whispered softly.
Leah closed her eyes briefly.
Like hearing it still overwhelmed her slightly every single time.
Then quieter—
"I love you more."
"Impossible."
"Statistically proven."
Elle laughed through the tears threatening her eyes.
And God.
Leah memorised that sound instantly.
Because the next few weeks were going to hurt.
Boarding was called again.
This time for Sydney.
Leah finally stepped back slightly, fingers still tangled with Elle's until the very last second.
Then softly—
"Come meet me after the final?"
The words caught Elle off guard.
Leah smiled faintly.
"Win or lose. Come find me."
The confidence in it mattered.
Because for the first time since the ACL injury, Leah sounded like herself again.
Hopeful.
Elle nodded immediately.
"Always."
And standing beneath departure screens in Heathrow Airport while their flights prepared to take them to opposite sides of the world, both women realised the same thing quietly at the exact same moment:
this love had already become something worth crossing oceans for.