Washington
Washington felt unbearably hot.
Leah stepped off the Arsenal team bus into thick late-summer air already regretting every life decision that involved humidity while supporters crowded behind barriers outside the hotel.
Preseason tour.
Media obligations.
Training sessions.
Sponsor events.
Normally Leah liked the structure of it all.
Football made sense again lately.
Not perfect.
Not fully healed emotionally.
But better.
Mostly because she and Elle finally were too.
Not magically.
Not instantly.
Just honestly.
And somehow that mattered more.
"Williamson!" Katie McCabe shouted across the lobby. "Your American's here this weekend, yeah?"
Leah rolled her eyes immediately. "Please never call her that again."
Katie grinned smugly. "You're smiling though."
Unfortunately true.
Because in less than two hours Elle would walk through those hotel doors.
And for the first time since Australia, Leah felt excited about something without fear sitting underneath it.
Growth.
Terrifying honestly.
—
Elle arrived wearing cream linen trousers and sunglasses despite the fact it was raining outside.
Leah spotted her immediately from across the hotel lobby.
Of course she did.
Always.
And suddenly everything else blurred slightly into the background again.
Noise.
Fans.
Teammates.
Nothing mattered for one second except Elle walking toward her smiling softly after weeks apart.
Leah crossed the lobby faster before she even realised she was moving.
"You're late," she murmured the second she reached her.
Elle laughed quietly. "Hi to you too."
Then Leah kissed her properly in the middle of the hotel like she genuinely didn't care who saw anymore.
Which honestly?
Maybe she didn't.
When they finally pulled apart, Elle looked at her carefully.
"You look lighter."
That word again.
Leah laughed softly under her breath. "You all keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
And maybe it was.
The sadness from Australia still existed.
But now it sat beside something else too.
Hope.
—
The first weekend felt almost normal.
Coffee runs in Georgetown between training sessions.
Elle sitting in the stands watching Arsenal train while Leah pretended not to look for her every five minutes.
Katie loudly wolf-whistling every time Leah scored in small-sided games.
Embarrassing.
Very embarrassing.
But somewhere between the easy laughter and warm Washington nights, something shifted quietly between them again.
Less fear.
More certainty.
Then Linda arrived.
And suddenly Leah Williamson — England captain, professional footballer, emotionally composed adult woman — became genuinely nervous.
"You're pacing," Elle informed her from the hotel room bed.
"I'm not."
"You've walked past the window six times."
Leah stopped immediately. "That feels exaggerated."
"It's not."
Leah groaned softly and dropped onto the edge of the bed beside her.
"Why am I nervous?"
Elle smiled faintly. "Because you care."
Unfortunately devastating answer.
Leah rubbed both hands over her face dramatically.
"This is horrible."
"You've met world leaders."
"Correct."
"And this is worse?"
"Significantly."
Elle burst out laughing.
God.
Leah loved that sound.
A knock came at the hotel suite door.
And suddenly Leah forgot how breathing worked.
"Be normal," Elle whispered while standing.
"No promises."
Linda Smith turned out to be warm immediately.
That somehow made it worse.
Because Leah had prepared herself for intimidating.
Not kind eyes and immediate hugs and the exact same smile as Elle.
"Well," Linda smiled after hugging Leah properly, "you look exactly how my daughter talks about you."
Leah blinked once.
Then looked toward Elle in betrayal.
"Excuse me?"
Elle looked deeply unbothered. "I've done nothing wrong."
Traitor.
But then Amanda arrived twenty minutes later after flying over for the second weekend too, and suddenly both mothers were sitting together drinking wine while Leah stared across the hotel suite like this was some kind of out-of-body experience.
"This feels dangerous," Leah muttered quietly beside Elle.
"You're being dramatic."
"Our mothers are becoming friends."
"Cute."
"Terrifying."
Unfortunately both mothers looked delighted by the situation.
Amanda especially.
"You know," she informed Linda smugly, "Leah's never flown to another country for anyone before."
"MUM."
Linda looked deeply entertained.
"Oh, Elle absolutely has."
"Mother."
Leah physically covered her face with both hands while both women laughed.
Humiliating.
Absolutely humiliating.
But underneath the embarrassment sat something quieter too.
Something warm.
Because this suddenly felt bigger than long-distance romance and airport reunions.
This felt like lives slowly intertwining.
Family.
Future.
Real.
Later that night Leah and Elle sat alone on the hotel balcony overlooking Washington lights while summer heat wrapped softly around them.
Inside, their mothers still talked somewhere in the suite behind them.
Leah leaned back in her chair watching the city quietly for a long moment.
Then softly—
"I think I'm done pretending this isn't serious."
Elle looked at her immediately.
Leah smiled faintly.
"Not publicly. I mean to myself."
The honesty in her voice made Elle's chest ache slightly.
Because Leah had always loved carefully.
Cautiously.
Like happiness might disappear if she held it too tightly.
But not tonight.
Tonight she looked certain.
Leah reached for her hand slowly.
"I want to actually do this properly."
Elle frowned slightly. "We are doing it properly."
"You know what I mean."
And she did.
No more emotionally disappearing.
No more holding pieces back out of fear.
No more treating love like something temporary.
Leah looked down briefly before admitting quietly—
"I think I've spent my whole life waiting for people to leave eventually."
The vulnerability in the confession settled heavily between them.
Then softer—
"But you keep staying."
God.
Elle's eyes stung instantly.
Because maybe that was the thing neither of them fully understood yet:
they had already survived the hard part.
Distance.
Fear.
Heartbreak.
And still somehow found each other again every time.
Elle squeezed Leah's hand gently.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Leah looked at her for a long moment beneath warm Washington night skies.
Then finally—
for the first time since this all began—
she allowed herself to fully believe it too.