See You Soon
The apartment felt different.
Not because anything had changed.
Because everything was about to.
Suitcases lay open across the bedroom floor.
Leah folded another Arsenal training top before placing it carefully inside.
Elle watched from the doorway.
"You've folded that three times."
"I haven't."
"You absolutely have."
Leah looked down.
Interesting.
She had.
"I keep forgetting things."
"You packed yesterday."
"I know."
"You've made a list."
"I know."
"You've checked your passport four times."
"I know."
Elle smiled to herself.
"You don't like goodbyes."
That was it.
Leah had never really realised it before.
She'd spent years saying goodbye.
International breaks.
Away games.
Tournaments.
Flights.
She'd become good at it.
Or at least she thought she had.
Until Elle.
Now every goodbye felt heavier than the last.
Not because she doubted them.
Because she'd grown used to waking up beside her.
They'd spent nearly two months living ordinary lives together.
Now ordinary was ending.
"I hate airports," Leah admitted quietly.
Elle walked over, stopping in front of her.
"You know what's funny?"
"What?"
"You've flown across Europe for years without complaining."
"I wasn't leaving you."
That landed between them softly.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Leah reached for Elle's hand automatically.
"I'll be back."
"I know."
"You can come over whenever work allows."
"I know."
"You'll probably get sick of me."
Elle laughed.
"I don't think that's physically possible."
Leah smiled.
God.
She loved this woman.
Later that afternoon they took one last walk through their neighbourhood.
No sightseeing.
No tourist attractions.
Just the little places that had quietly become theirs.
The coffee shop where the barista now knew Leah's order.
The bakery that always gave them an extra pastry.
The tiny bookstore where Leah had somehow bought six books despite insisting she didn't have room in her suitcase.
They walked slowly, hand in hand.
Neither rushing.
Neither wanting the day to end.
"You know..."
Elle glanced across at her.
"What?"
"I've never had somewhere I'd miss this much."
New York wasn't home.
Not really.
Home was England.
Amanda.
Arsenal.
St Albans.
But somehow...
Pieces of her heart now lived here too.
They stopped outside the apartment building.
Leah looked up at it for a long moment.
Then laughed quietly.
"What?"
"I came here thinking I needed to recover."
Elle smiled.
"And?"
Leah looked back at her.
"I think I healed more than my ankle."
The words caught both of them by surprise.
Because they were true.
The swelling had gone down.
Her knee felt stronger.
She was walking almost normally again.
But it was everything else that had changed.
She'd learned how to stop.
How to rest.
How to let someone look after her.
How to imagine a life that wasn't measured from one football season to the next.
That evening they ordered takeaway and ate it sitting on the floor, neither of them bothering with the dining table.
The television played quietly in the background.
Neither paid much attention.
Instead they talked.
About Arsenal.
About New York.
About Amanda.
About Linda.
About absolutely everything and absolutely nothing.
Eventually the conversation faded.
Leah rested her head against Elle's shoulder.
"You know what scares me?"
"What?"
"That tomorrow morning I'll wake up and think all of this was a holiday."
Elle turned slightly towards her.
"It wasn't."
"It feels like one."
"It was life."
Simple.
Certain.
"And we'll have more of it."
Leah looked at her.
"You really believe that?"
"I don't believe it."
Elle smiled.
"I know it."
The certainty in her voice settled something deep inside Leah.
Because for the first time since they'd met, the future didn't feel like something they had to survive.
It felt like something they were building.
Together.
The alarm on Leah's phone buzzed.
5:00 a.m.
Flight day.
She sighed dramatically.
"I'd quite like to miss this plane."
Elle laughed softly.
"I thought England's captain was responsible."
"I am."
"So?"
Leah slipped an arm around her waist.
"I'm considering becoming irresponsible for one day."
Elle leaned in, kissing her slowly.
"If you miss your flight, Amanda will blame me."
"She probably will."
"And Arsenal."
"Definitely Arsenal."
They both laughed.
Outside, Manhattan glowed beneath the city lights.
Inside, neither of them wanted the night to end.
Because tomorrow football would begin again.
But tonight...
Tonight they still had a few more hours of ordinary.
And somehow, that had become the greatest luxury either of them had ever known.