Latest Posts by overtrred28 - Page 2

Gnomeo and Juliet | alanna kennedy x reader

Summary; Two players steal each other's hearts and keep it from everyone because they know how controversial their relationship could be to their club’s rivalry. OR Y/N and Alanna soft launching their relationship over time until they decide to share it. *Features social media posts.*

Pairings; Alanna Kennedy x Manchester United reader

Words; 2.2k

Warnings; swearing (i think that's it)

A/N; i literally love alanna so much and don't think there are enough posts about her so naturally i write one. i just thought this was cute and different from a chealse v arsenal rivalry (though i really love those). enjoy and please give it some love and feedback xx

Lioness star Y/N Y/L/N set to leave her club of four years, Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C, and join Manchester United W.F.C on a two year contract at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season. 

You had really valued your time at Brighton, starting your senior career there and blossoming into a strong forward for both the club and the England Senior Women’s team, better known as The Lionesses. 

But when the offer from Manchester United came in at the end of last season, you knew it was the right move. Leaving the team you had come to know and love was tough to say the least but the adventure before you sounded a lot more exciting. So during the break before pre-season began, you made the move to Manchester and took a few days to settle into your new home and surroundings. 

Manchester was very different from Brighton; no beach and much bigger city life, but it was a good different. You had found that everything in Manchester was so much closer, and in great reach of your new club and housing. 

You had officially settled into your new home, very quickly making it feel just like your last one, then decided to go exploring through the city. The first thing a person would normally do would probably be going shopping or searching for a new café to become the regular, but you had spotted the Manchester Art Gallery and decided to go in. 

It was quiet, as expected for midday on a Wednesday when most people were at work, but you found it peaceful. It was a break from the regular hustle and bustle of your regular life as a professional footballer. 

It wasn’t until a particular painting caught your eyes that you realised someone else was in there, because you quite literally walked into them. 

“Shit. I’m so sorry.” You apologised quickly to the taller person, picking up their phone you had knocked out of their hand, from the floor. “Here…” Your voice trailed off as you met bright blue eyes while handing them their phone.

“It’s all good, thank you.” The woman met your eyes and she also felt the world pause around her, you were no longer in the gallery but just in a moment of time with each other. 

“Sorry the painting distracted me.” You snapped out of your trance and nodded to the painting on the wall; the story of Romeo and Juliet portrayed on a large canvas. 

“Well it is quite captivating.” Alanna spoke, still looking at you, now at the side of your face as you looked at the painting. 

“It is.” Your eyes fell back to hers and realised she was still staring at you, a slight blush rose to your cheeks, both smiling at each other. “Hi.” You extended your hand out, indicating a handshake. 

“Hi.” She laughed at your chivalry for a second before shaking your hand. “Nice to meet you.” She spoke softly in the quiet gallery.

“You too.” You smiled up at her, quite literally encapsulated by her. 

That was three weeks ago before you decided to get coffee after finishing a self led tour of the gallery, then the conversation kept going and you ended up at dinner together, continuing to learn about one another until the night ended. 

What you didn’t seem to bring up was that you both knew who each other were, but there was a mutual agreement that it didn’t matter. You weren’t professional footballers who had gone up against multiple times in the past at both national and club level, you were just two people who met and wanted to get to know each other. 

Now you were both deep into pre pre-season, you at Man United, her at Man City, and there wasn’t as much time to meet up for fun dates every night, now relying on text messages and late night calls before bed to catch up. 

The first kiss took a while to get to, but boy was it worth it. 

You had both decided to keep whatever this was between the two of you, soaking in the quiet moments shared in one anothers apartments and over long phone calls. It was still labelled a friendship, you both knew you wanted more, both scared of what the other might say if you revealed your feelings. But when you both had a free long weekend, you decided to take Alanna down to Brighton and show her your old home, soaking in the last of the warm weather before winter began to creep in. 

It was the best decision you could have made, relishing in being able to spend time together away from your normal lives. You had rented a small air bnb right near the beach, enjoying the solitude together as you cooked together and watched the sun rise and set each day by the ocean. 

It was on the second night after dinner that she finally made her move, unable to swallow the feelings bubbling inside her. You sat on the beach alone as you waited for Alanna to join, wrapping your arms around yourself to shelter from the cool breeze. 

A blanket had been wrapped around your shoulders and a warm body nuzzled into your side, a small smile on your face as you rested your head on her shoulder, Alanna looking down at you as you watched the waves crash. No words were said for what felt like ages, the only sounds being the waves and the seagulls heading off to bed. 

“Y/N.” Alanna suddenly spoke, a thick Aussie accent breaking the silence. 

“Hmmm.” You hummed in response, keeping your head in its place. 

“I want more than this.” Her statement made you move your head, turning it to meet her blue eyes. 

“More?” You spoke softly. 

“More.” She nodded with a small smile before she moved her hands from her legs, twisting to cup your face before moving closer. You thought she was going to kiss you straight away but her forehead came to rest on yours, both closing your eyes as you basked in the silence. 

“Just kiss me already.” You breathed out and she smiled before closing the gap, joining your lips in a strong kiss. Her hands cupped your face, yours held her waist before trailing up to meet her face. It was passionate but soft, saying so much without any words and your heart grew. 

y/n.y/l/n.. just posted a story

alannakennedy just posted a story

Since you were both heavily in the public eye, it was an easy decision for you both to keep this new found relationship to yourselves, not wanting to receive any unwanted attention from the media, fans and even your own teammates. 

You were able to keep it that way for a while, without you guys being on the same national team or at the same club keeping this secret relationship a secret was quite easy. And since no one thought you would even know each other personally, there were no fans sifting through evidence to put two and two together. Of course though, you both wanted to show each other off, you were so happy and so was Alanna, so maybe a soft launch would be best until you decided to go fully public. 

It started small.

y/n.y/l/n.. just posted a story

alannakennedy made a post

alanna kennedy almost as good as home

y/n.y/l/n.. made a post

y/n.y/l/n.. felt like a fairy tale

alannakennedy just posted a story

Your teammates began to ask about the secretive posts, hammering you about it in the locker rooms at training, Alanna's friends and teammates doing the same.

“When are you going to tell us more about these mystery posts?” Mary had asked Alanna while she was tying her boots before training. Alanna paused for a second before sitting up and looking up at the other Australian. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alanna simply shrugged with a straight face before standing up and walking away. 

“Oi mate.” Ella Toone had caught your attention as you walked out to the carpark after a late friday night training session. You paused and turned around, waiting for her to catch up, instantly wrapping an arm around your shoulder as she met you. 

“What’s up?” You turned to her as you walked towards your cars.

“Few of us are going round Zelly’s to watch a movie, you in?” She asked with hopeful eyes. 

“Sorry love, got plans.” You apologised, knowing you had a certain blonde already waiting for you at your apartment.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with a possible mystery woman you refuse to tell us about, would it?” Ella asks with a suggestive smirk, nudging your shoulder as you remain stoic. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You simply shrugged and patted her shoulder as you let go of her, walking to your car door. “Goodnight Tooney.” You waved before getting in and racing home to Alanna, preparing for your own movie night of Gnomeo and Juliet and a weekend spent in each other's arms.

The day had come, the one you and Alanna refused to talk about until the night before.. It was the Manchester derby day. The day every City and United fan had waited for and the one you and Alanna dreaded. 

y/n.y/l/n.. made a post

y/n.y/l/n.. Derby day. Let's bring it on home red's! ❤️

alannakennedy made a post

alannakennedy The day we've all be waiting for. Come on blue! 💙

Sure you had come up against each other in the past at both club and national level, but you had yet to do it since being in a relationship together. So it was going to be different this time; harder. You both decided it would be best for your teams if you didn't interact with one another from the moment you joined your teams for the match, and until that final whistle blew.

The plan was going well during the first half of the match; Alanna had started with City in the defensive line and you were sitting on the bench waiting to get subbed on. Katie Zelem had secured the United side a goal through a penalty early on, but City fired back and took the lead 2-1 at halftime. 

You got subbed on for Nikita Parris at the very beginning of half time, taking her place as the left forward and a strong striker. Though this became a slight issue because of who was currently defending the City goal and in charge of blocking your shots at goal; your very own girlfriend. But in that moment you had to act like you didn’t know who she was on a personal level, right now you were just opposing players who both wanted their teams to win. 

It was hard for you both to act like that, stealing glances on the pitch, brushing past each other ever so slightly without anyone noticing too much. You had both been able to get away with this secret relationship so far because you’ve haven’t had to be in the same place yet, but maybe it was time for that to change. 

The final whistle blew and City had won 3-1, your side not being able to score any further goals despite your best efforts. You looked around at all your teammates, defeated looks all over as City celebrated together before exchanging handshakes with the other team. 

You and Alanna had purposefully left each other till last, waiting until you could be alone with each other in a busy and full stadium. You had finally found the blonde Australian and began walking towards her and she finally locked eyes with you. Seconds before you had very different expressions, one filled with happiness and one filled with disappointment. But as soon as you got closer the one expression you both shared was one filled with love, and your heart melted as she brought you straight into a hug rather than a friendly handshake. 

Her hands wrapped around your waist as her slightly taller frame leant down, your hands found their way around her neck before you buried your head in her neck. An instant feeling of warmth and security flowed through both of your bodies as you hugged, Alanna pressing a soft kiss to your neck as she buried her own face in your shoulder. 

Confused looks fell to both sets of teams at the interaction, at first because of the more than friendly hug and second because of the familiarity they could sense between the two of you. 

“I’m so proud of you.” You murmured, still holding tight around Alanna’s neck. 

“You played so well, it was a tough game.” She spoke back instantly, squeezing your waist before slowly pulling back to look at you. You smiled at her as you exited the hug, genuinely happy for her but still very upset your own team couldn’t secure the win like they wanted. 

“You should go celebrate.” You nodded to the City team who gathered in the middle, preparing for their post-match huddle, your team doing the same further down on the pitch, all players still watching the interaction with lost eyes.

“I’ll find you after and we’ll go home together.” Alanna nodded to you, looking down to your now interlocked hands, a small laugh leaving her lips. “This is going to be everywhere tonight.” She looked back up at you as a small smile grew on your face. 

“Definitely.” You laughed too. “Are you okay with that?” You raised a brow at her. 

“Yeah. I’m ready to show off my girl.” She winked playfully at you, now both of you laughing, shaking your head at her before playfully pushing her shoulder and walking over to your team. 

y/n.y/l/n.. made a post

y/n.y/l/n.. the gnomeo to my juliet

tagged @alannakennedy

alannakennedy made a post

alannakennedy my girl in red

tagged @y/n.y/l/n

THE END

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part eleven]

Words; 2.4k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing

masterlist

The camp ended and everyone headed back home to their clubs for their next matches, sad to be leaving each other but it was only a month until the next camp against South Africa and then Denmark. 

Kyra, Courtney and Astrid had returned to training at Hammarby, quickly preparing for their next match in only four days' time. It was going to be one of the quickest turnarounds for a match Astrid had ever had but she was ready to jump back into training and get onto that pitch. 

On their second day of training, before they had even begun their warm up, Astrid and Kyra had been approached by the club’s social media manager as they were walking through the halls together.

“God morgon tjejer." (Good morning girls) She waved to them as they got closer. 

“Hallå.” (Hello) Kyra smiled, slowing down her speed to meet her halfway. 

“God morgon.” Astrid spoke with a bright smile.

“Before you start training today, could we film a quick video with some questions? For the instagram page.” The woman spoke with a heavy accent. 

“Ja, of course.” Astrid nodded, looking over at Kyra who was nodding yes to her as well.

“Perfekt. Come with me please.” She gestured back down to where she came from, the two Australians following close behind. 

They were led to an empty pitch, not far from where the rest of their team were chatting before they began warming up. Two chairs were placed in front of a camera where the two girls had been led, sitting next to each other in their warm jackets, trying to block out the changing weather and cold breeze. 

After being told what they were doing and briefed what to say, they started rolling. 

“Hi! I’m Astrid Taylor.” Astrid waved to the camera. 

“I’m Kyra Cooney-Cross.” Kyra waved with a smile. 

“And today we’re going to…” Astrid looked at Kyra.

 “Take a best friend quiz and see how well we know each other.” The older girl finished the sentence. The social media manager handed them each some cards and instructed Kyra to go first. 

“Okay, easy one. When is my birthday?” They were now facing each other and Kyra could see slight panic forming on Astrid’s face. “You better know this.” She raised a brow at her. 

“I do, I do. Uhhhhh.” She lifted her head to the sky, pretending to think even though she knew the answer. “February 15th, 2002.” Astrid looked back at the girl who was smiling. 

“That’s correct. One point to you.” Kyra nodded. 

“Yay. When’s mine?” Astrid’s eyes flicked down to the card then back up to Kyra’s.

“April 13th, 2004.” Kyra spoke confidently. 

“Well done.” Astrid nodded with a smile. 

“Okay, when did I make my Matilda’s debut?” Kyra read from the card before looking up. 

“Oh shit. Uhhhhhh.” Astrid had to actually think about this. “I know it was like mid 2021.” She looked at Kyra who was nodding. “And it was against Denmark?” She tapped her chin. “I wasn’t even on the team yet so it’s not like I was there to know, but I did watch it at home. Is that good enough?” Astrid pleaded with Kyra.

“Is it?” Kyra looked to the manager. 

“Half a point.” She responded. 

“Yes! I’ll take it.” Astrid smiled. “When was it though?”

“10th of June.” Kyra nodded at her. 

“Right. When was mine? This will be easy cause you were there and it wasn’t that long ago.” Astrid argued but waited for Kyra to respond. 

“9th of April, 2022. AND you scored your first goal too, which is just crazy.” Kyra complimented the girl across from her who blushed slightly but moved on quickly. 

“Another point to you. How many goals have I scored with the Matildas?” Astrid asked the next question with a smirk. 

“Uhhhh…” Kyra filtered through her brain for the answer. “I’m gonna say 5 or 6 maybe?” She looked hopefully at Astrid. 

“It was 5, so far.” Astrid smiled as she waited for Kyra to ask the next one. 

“Point for me. How many siblings do I have? And what are their names?” Kyra asked with a smile. 

“Easy. Three sisters.” She looked at Kyra who nodded. “Mia, Shani and Mali?” She raised her brow hopefully.

“Another point to you.” Kyra nodded.

“Final questions, because from the looks of it,” She paused and both girls looked over to where their team was beginning to warm up in the background. “We’re technically late to training.” Astrid laughed towards the camera. “Okay, what are your three favourite qualities of mine?”

“It does not say that!” Kyra laughed and leant forward to check Astrid’s card, finding the question was true. “Ugh, okay. I would say… you're very goofy, you have an incredible strike from both feet and… you’re always very positive. You have an ability to bring the energy up in everyone without even doing much.” Kyra spoke and Astrid felt it very hard to not blush at her, heart melting at her words. 

“Oh my god, you’re so sweet.” Astrid playfully pushed her shoulder. “Finish this off will you, please?” Astrid nodded to the final cue card in Kyra’s hands. 

“Alright, how would you describe me in five words?” Kyra confidently held up five fingers, ready for Astrid to begin. 

“Ooooo, okay. Hilarious, quick, silly, determined and….” She trailed off as she watched Kyra drop a finger at each word, only one finger remaining. “Bright.” 

“Bright?” Kyra smiled but was slightly lost.

“You just like, are never dull, or down. You’re always smiling and just, bright.” Astrid creates a gesture with her hands, making both girls laugh in their seats. Once they settled they looked up to see the manager telling them to wind things up.

“I think you won. But only by like half a point.” Astrid collected herself, looking at Kyra. 

“Still counts.” Kyra shrugged proudly. “Anyway, we better get going and get to training.” Kyra turned to the camera and then to Astrid. 

“Let’s go.” Astrid smiled before they both got up and pretended to run off to their team. 

“Cut. Thank you.” Their social media manager thanked them as they removed their mics before saying goodbye and finally heading off to their warm ups. 

After training hard for the past few days it was finally game day against Rosengård, Teagan’s current team and Charli’s previous one before going on loan to Vittsjö a few months ago. Although Rosengård were tough opponents already, Astrid knew it would be even tougher with Teagan in goal against her. She knew how Astrid played and where she liked to go for goals from being in training together, but this is what happens when you play for club and country, sometimes you have to go against your friends and alter playing styles to come out on top. 

None of the three girls had been selected for the Hammarby starting XL but they were at least on the substitute bench and they would likely get put on later, Astrid especially. She didn’t mind the ‘super-sub’ reputation she had earned, always being able to deliver towards the end of games, but she would also like to start in more games and gain more minutes with her club. 

The game started and within 17 minutes they had secured a goal and only a few minutes later a second in the 25th minute by the same player. Going into halftime they were buzzing, but still determined to keep going and secure the win because they knew Rosengård would come back fighting. And they did. 

Kyra had been subbed on at around 60 minutes, Astrid not far behind at 70 minutes, coming to the left forward position with Kyra behind her in the midfield; it was time for them to make some magic. The coaches knew how good Astrid and Kyra were together, and how effortlessly they could pass the ball,wordlessly connecting with each other, proving them very useful subs in the later half of the game. 

Kyra had battled the ball from the Rosengård midfielders, Astrid watching her and making a run closer to goal, trying to escape their tough defence. Once she had found enough empty space up near the corner, Kyra launched the ball to her, Astrid catching it with her chest and rolling it down to her feet. Immediately a defender found her again and she paused with the ball at her feet. She had two options here; be quick with her feet and dance around them with the ball. OR she could take inspiration from her national teammate, Caitlin Foord, and try for a nutmeg to get around her. Let’s just say Astrid was feeling adventurous today. 

She made quick eye contact with the defender, both paused before looking back down at the ball. She moved her left foot to resume her play, making it look like she was going around the Rosengård player, instead shooting it through her and darting around the frozen player, catching the ball with her foot and heading for the goal.

She kept running with it, too risky to pass it down to anyone and deciding to go alone as she inched closer to a ready Teagan, expecting Astrid to take her regular shot with her right foot but scoop it to hit the left side of the net. But Astrid knew she would be expecting that so instead she struck powerfully, still with her right boot, but let it go directly to the right side of the net, watching as Teagan jumped for the left and missed the ball completely.

And in the 87th minute, the net rippled and the home crowd cheered, Astrid running straight for Kyra as she always did, jumping onto her when they met. 

“SHE’S BACK!!!!” Kyra screamed in her ear as she caught her, holding her close as the rest of the team joined, patting Astrid on the head and cheering her on. “You fucking nutmeged her!” Kyra spoke into Astrid’s ear, shaking her shoulders slightly as the group of players parted, returning to their spots. 

“I know. Cait will be proud.” Astrid smiled proudly, before parting with Kyra to go back to her position for the last few minutes of the game. As soon as the whistle blew, the Hammarby bench cheered and the team began to shake hands with their opponents. 

“Good game.” The first player Astrid made her way to was Teagan in the goal, putting her hand out for a fist bump against her gloves. 

“Nice shot. Wasn’t expecting that.” Teagan laughed before they pulled each other into a hug. “I’ll catch up with you later.” Teagan pulled back, nodding towards where both teams had started their separate huddles, Astrid following her gaze and turning back to Teagan. 

“Of course! Bye.” They shared another fist bump before they jogged over to their huddles, Astrid slotting in between Kyra and Courtney, waiting for the coach and captain to speak about the game and their win. After the huddle was done, the team took their lap around the pitch to thank the fans for coming and supporting. The three Aussies were walking around the pitch, Kyra and Astrid now wearing jackets Courtney had given them, still not used to the cooler weather in Sweden. Astrid was chatting with the two girls when Kyra nudged her shoulder and pointed out a sign in the crowd. 

‘Astrid Taylor/No. 13 Can I please have your jersey? (You’re my favourite… shhhh)’

A little girl, no older than 8, had been holding the sign over the barricade, waiting for her to spot it, eyes lighting up when Astrid finally did. Her heart instantly melted and she walked closer to where she was standing. 

“Hello.” Astrid smiled sweetly to the young player. 

“Hi.” The girl spoke shyly with a Swedish accent. 

“Am I really your favourite?” She leant closer to the little girl who nodded with wide eyes. “Thank you! Well, I won’t tell the others then, but neither can you. If you promise to keep it between us… you can have my shirt. Deal?” Astrid grinned at her. 

“Deal.” The girl spoke with a big smile. Astrid stood up again, unzipping her jacket and holding it between her legs. She was glad to have her long sleeve on underneath, shielding her from the wind once she took off the jersey on top. She slipped her jacket back on before holding the shirt out, grabbing a pen from her mum and signing her name and Hammarby number on the front before giving it to her. 

“Tack!” (Thank you!) The girl squealed while looking at the shirt. Her mum held out her phone and passed it to Astrid with the camera open.

“Varsågod!” (You’re welcome!) Astrid spoke before snapping a selfie with the young girl and her family, passing the phone back, waving goodbye and walking back to Kyra and Courtney who were waiting by the tunnel for her. 

“That was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Courtney remarked as they all walked towards the home side changerooms.

“That was the nicest I’ve ever seen you be.” Kyra spoke from the other side and Astrid’s jaw dropped, giving the older girl a light smack on the arm. “Jokes.”

“You are so annoying, Kyra Lillee Cooney-Cross.” Astrid scoffed at the aforementioned girl whose jaw had dropped; Courtney stifled a laugh at Kyra’s reaction and the full name drop.

“And you’re not? Astrid Mae Taylor.” Kyra fired back quickly, Astrid had the same reaction, eyes wide at Kyra. 

“How dare y-” Astrid moved forward to hit Kyra again but Courtney held her arms back and pulled her away from Kyra.

“Enough, you two! You’re acting like an old married couple or something, my god” Courtney mumbled the last sentence as she pushed Astrid into the changing room, Kyra stalking in close behind. The closer they got, the more playful they became with one another. And boy was it annoying Courtney. 

She was very glad that they didn’t in fact live with each other, even if the bickering didn’t last long, it would be a nightmare to live with the two of them under the same roof. She dealt with it enough at training, outside of training and even more at national camp, especially when you add Charli into the mix; the three of them were known to be annoying, playful and goofy off the pitch, often roping some of the other younger girls into their plans and tiktoks while they had time off. 

This was one of the main reasons Astrid loved Matildas camps. Not only did she get the honour of playing for her country and her family; she got to spend all of her time with the girls she quickly called family and make memories with her best friends at the same time. So it was safe to say the next camp couldn’t come soon enough for Astrid.

to be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part ten]

Words; 3.1k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none (that im aware of, if there is something lmk)

A/N; hope you are enjoying these xx

masterlist

The team headed straight to the media room after breakfast for their pre match chat. The team filed into the room, chatting or laughing amongst themselves before sitting down. Once everyone was settled Tony walked up to the projector. 

“Hi. It’s so great to see the team together again.” He smiled brightly at the group. “It’s been more than four months. It’s now putting the national team hat on, right? Remember what we are doing here.”  Everyone focused on what he was saying. “I want to thank you for the patience that you’ve had ‘cause we’ve played the toughest schedule in the history of this program in terms of top-ranked teams this year. And at the same time we introduced 17 debutants.” Kyra nudged Astrid’s shoulder at this, Astrid smiling at the girl beside her.

“So, sometimes the result on the scoreboard might not have been what we wanted it to be. But package everything that we learnt up until now and start getting more consistency, cohesion, chemistry, we got the foundation now.” Everyone dodded along to Tony’s words. 

“323 days. That’s the number of days left until the first game in the world cup.” Tony pointed at the screen which then revealed a ‘46’. “What’s that?” He smirked as the room stayed quiet. 

“Days we’re in camp together?” Astrid spoke softly in the room. Tony nodded while making eye contact with the young player. 

“Days we’re in camp together. About three days per camp goes to travel and recovery. That means 32 days of football together before we announce a roster and come here and prepare for the World Cup.” Tony looked around the room again. Astrid’s heart dropped at the mention of the World Cup, it seemed so far away but it was officially less than a year.  “That’s 11 games. That’s what we got. Before announcing the World Cup roster, 11 games. That means we can’t waste one single minute.” The room was silent with the heaviness of the conversation. 

The team made their way out to the bus to take them to the stadium. Everyone always sat by themselves for the ride to the stadium, playing their own music and getting in game mode. 

Astrid wanted to focus on the game ahead but her mind kept drifting to the earlier mention of next year's FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil. She knew that if she wanted to be even considered for that 23 roster then she would have to work damn hard at both club level and national level before then, especially because so many senior and regular players were already a shoe in. 

They finally arrived and made their way to the changeroom, putting on their boots and making their way to the pitch for pre-match training. After everyone made their way out, Kyra, Astrid and Charli being the last like always, Jack Sharkley the head sports scientist clapped for everyone to join him. 

“Alrighty, let’s go for a jog shall we?” He looked particularly to Astrid who always had something to say about that first warm up, usually groaning and complaining every time. 

“Let’s go.” Astrid simply said and left everyone shocked. 

“You feeling alright there, kiddo? You didn’t groan or complain.” Sam remarked as she ran alongside Astrid who rolled her eyes at the captain. 

“Piss off.” Astrid laughed and shook her head.

After their warmups, drills and skills practise it came time for Astrid’s favourite part of training; scrimmages. Normally Sam and Steph would have separate teams but today they were on the same one, Astrid taking Caitlin’s usual position who was over on the bikes with Chloe. 

The game began and Sam’s side was taking good control, once again having both Kyra and Astrid together on that right side. 

“Kyra.” Astrid called for the ball, the midfielder sending it directly to Astrid in free space. Astrid kept the ball with her, dancing around the defenders to find Sam in the centre. 

“Good, kid, over here.” Sam yelled praise to the young player, catching the ball from her and heading for the goal. A little while later Steph walked off the field, hurting her hamstring after clearing a corner, very soon after Tameka had come off too.

“We’re a man down. Kyra, drop.” Sam called out after noticing Steph missing from her defender spot. “Astrid, move it back and I’ll come out here.” Astrid and Kyra followed her instructions and the game continued. 

The game wrapped up and everyone was tired and/or sore. 

“We’re dropping like flies here.” Astrid commented softly as she saw a few players with ice packs on muscles and the physios watching with caution. 

“Your ankle holding up?” Charli stood beside her, looking at Astrid who began rolling it around and testing it. 

“Yeah it’s good. Promise.” She looked up at the older girl who was still concerned it wasn’t 100% just yet, but it was feeling better than ever. 

A few short hours later and the game had kicked off at Suncorp Stadium against Canada. 11 minutes in and Canada secured a goal from distance after a free kick. The halftime whistle had blown and the score was 1-0 to Canada and Alanna had come off a few minutes prior with a hamstring injury, Aivi taking her place. 

Play restarted and after some substitutions in the midfield, Tameka and Cortnee coming on with fresh legs, it seemed a little more promising. Astrid was told to get ready to sub in for Emily Van Egmond, shuffling their previous 4-4-2 positioning to a 4-3-3 and have Astrid take that left position alongside Sam and Mary up the front, like they discussed at halftime.

A break in play and Astrid keeps her legs moving as she waits for Emily to come off, the players exchanging a double high five before running to her position at the 78th minute. Play resumed instantly and even with many good shots at goal from so many players, nothing seemed to be working for them. Official full time had ended and 4 minutes of extra time was added.

At 93 minutes the ball had been kept in possession by the Matildas, Gorry stealing it and shooting it over to Kyra on the left wing. Kyra darted with it between the Canadian defence, spotting both Sam and Astrid near the goal but the latter had a lot more free space, sending it over her way. She was at the edge of the box when she caught it, no room to run but could spot a narrow spot between her and the goal. 

She struck with her right foot, aiming for the top right corner and as the ball approached the keeper jumped high, but not high enough. It was close to hitting the bar and missing the shot but as it came in it curved ever so slightly, touching the net, rippling as it stayed in. 

The home crowd was up on their feet, all 25,000 fans erupting in cheers. Astrid took off running to Kyra in the midfield, jumping into her arms screaming, everyone else coming to pile on top. 

And in the 93rd minute Australia equalises with Canada. Number 31 Astrid Taylor in her return to the pitch after an ankle injury last time playing for the Matildas against the Philippines. 18 years old, recently joined the Swedish league and then scored that beautiful goal against Spain a few months ago in that tough friendly. What a return to the game. 

Astrid was beyond happy after the ball fell into that net, finally bringing them equal with Canada. Two minutes later and the final whistle blew, and a draw 1-1 with the Olympic Champions. 

The team was very happy they were able to leave the game with an equal scoreline and very grateful Astrid was able to score that last minute goal. Astrid had been beckoned over for a post-match interview, wiping the sweat from her face before appearing on camera. 

“How was it scoring that goal so close to the end of play?” The producer of their ‘Behind the Matildas’ youtube series asked.

“Yeah it was crazy. I mean I was very much expecting it to bounce off that post or for Sheridan to push it away, but it was a big relief when it did go in.” She laughed softly. “I think at that point a lot of people thought it would end in Canada’s favour, but I knew we had a few more minutes in us. And keeping our spirits up so late in the game can be hard but when you’ve only been on the pitch for like 15 minutes, there’s a little extra fight and determination to turn it around so late.” She smiled at the camera. 

“Thanks.” The filming stopped and the crew nodded at her, indicating she was done. She muttered a quick thanks and walked off to be with her team. 

“You owe me a coffee.” An arm fell onto her shoulder and the voice of Kyra got close to Astrid. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get you one tomorrow.” Astrid rolled her eyes at the older girl, bringing her own arm to rest on Kyra's shoulder as they walked down the tunnel. “But you realise I was also right.” She turned to her with a smirk.

“About what?” Kyra asked, confused to what she was talking about. 

“I told you last night that you would start today. And I was right.” She crossed her arms over her chest. 

“I guess you were then.” Kyra smiled at the younger girl, pulling her into her side as they headed for the change room. 

Only two days later and the team had touched down last night in Sydney for match day-1, currently heading to the newly rebuilt Allianz Stadium for their training session. Astrid’s parents had secured tickets to come see her play in person for the first time since her final Sydney FC game and she could not be more excited to see them again, this now being the longest she’s been away from them.

The team piled into the changeroom and began to get ready for their warm up, all watching as Alanna set up a speaker in the middle of the room, confused as to what the defender may be putting on. 

The intro to ‘My Heart Will Go On’ begins to play and the room erupts in laughter at the song choice. Instantly everyone begins singing along, Alanna beginning a piece of interpretive dance to the song.  

“Once more, you open the door!” Their captain sings into a water bottle in front of the camera. 

“YOU’RE HERE! THERE’S NOTHING I FEAR.” The room sings, the loudest singing now coming from Astrid who was standing on her cubby bench, gesturing with passion to Kyra next to her who was laughing at her antics. 

“Get down child.” Macca yells at Astrid who pouts and jumps down, putting her cleats on as the song dies down and their regular playlist begins to play, Sam dragging the speaker with her as they leave the room to walk to the pitch. 

Training had concluded, Alanna was already ruled out from the last game and now Steph was a worry too, her hamstring issue from the other day still not 100%. 

“Let’s bring it in everyone, staff as well.” Tony called and the team had now assembled into a small circle at the edge of the pitch, some sitting and stretching, others having a drink break after a scrimmage. “Er, have to say, I love what I saw out there today. How you took ownership for your performance, how you communicated. I loved what I saw.” He smiled at the girls. “Let’s show what we’re about tomorrow in that game. And to make sure we have memory from that, let’s get together really quick so Ann can grab a photo of us all in the sun on the pitch. Just a quick picture.” Everyone began standing up and moving to open space on the pitch. 

“Viney, help me please.” Astrid looked up at Cortnee with her arms out. 

“Fine.” The older girl grabbed her hands and pulled her up fast. 

“Thanks.” She put her arm over the forward’s shoulder, walking with her to where the group had gathered, both plopping down to the ground where there was a gap between Lydia and Kyra. “Ooo I get to be next to Kyra!” She placed her head on Kyra’s shoulder with a smile. 

“Alright, everyone in.” Ann shouted to catch everyone's attention. The shutter of cameras going off. “Thankyou.”

“Ann, get in on one.” Tony called out. 

“Run!” Astrid yelled and everyone laughed, cheering Ann on as she ran over to the group quickly. 

“Yes, Ann!” Sam clapped as she slotted in. More photos were taken and as soon as the photographer gave them a thumbs up they all jumped up. 

The next day rolled around quickly and before they knew it, the starting line ups were making their way onto the pitch. The energy in the stadium was crazy, so many people were there to watch the Matildas and you could feel their passion radiating down to the players. 

The game kicked off with Emily Van Egmond and although Canada took possession pretty easily, it didn’t take long until it was back to the Matildas. A magical passing sequence between Cortnee, Sam and Mary and within two and a half minutes Mary had opened the scoring with a magnificent goal. The girls on the pitch and the bench cheered, the crowd was maybe the loudest it’s ever been. 

They went into halftime, up 1-0 and spirits a lot higher than the last game, having a stronger defence and the forwards plenty of shots on target but just falling short or being stopped by Canada’s goalkeeper. 

“Astrid.” Tony called her over as the players made their way to the changerooms for the break, she ran over to him. “Come with me, I’m putting you on for Vine, we need fresh legs.” She simply nodded and followed him to a small room, immediately hopping on a bike to warm up while he spoke about the next half. 

The second half began and Astrid was already on the pitch in the right wing position, ready for the next 45 minutes. It’s not a position she normally plays in but she had to take every chance to be on that pitch and making her mark, especially with World Cup talk looming over their heads.

The whistle blew and they were on. Although the Australian defence was strong it didn’t seem strong enough in those first 10 minutes, Leon scoring two goals within minutes of each other and taking the lead 2-1. Astrid fought hard on that right side, connecting with Charli, Gorry and Mary for shots at goal but again nothing wanted to go in or slot past Sheridan. 

It’s finished here at Allianz Stadium. Matildas 1, Canada 2.

Everyone stood still on the pitch, looking around at the crowd before them, seas of green and gold filling the stands. Astrid was exhausted, that was the longest game she’s played for the Matildas and she could feel it, but she made her rounds and congratulated the opposition and found Kyra, Courtney and Charli. 

“Hey.” Courtney’s voice was soft as she saw Astrid approach them.  

“Hey star.” Charli still managed to smile at her, pulling her into her side with one arm. 

“Hi.” Kyra did the same on the other side, Astrid wrapping her arms around their waists, Courtney tagging on beside Charli. 

“Wanna go find my parents with me?” She looked between them, all silently nodding and beginning to walk together to where friends and family were at the barricades. Her eyes searched for them and they finally landed on 2 of the only people wearing her jersey number. “Mum, dad!” She let go of the girls when she spotted them, waving as she ran to them. 

“Hi my darling.” Her mum, Joanna, looked like she was about to start crying as they hugged over the barrier. “I’m so proud of you.” She whispered into her ear, squeezing her tighter. They let go so she could move and hug her dad.

“Hey sweetie, I’ve missed you.” Her dad, Mark, pulled his daughter close. 

"I've missed you too." She nodded into his shoulder, trying not to cry from both happiness and sadness at being with her parents again. They pulled apart and she turned to the three people standing behind her, waving them to come closer.

"Guys, this is Charli, Courtney and Kyra. The rest of the Sweden Squad." She smiled.

“Thank you for taking care of my girl over there and when you guys are on camp, it means alot to know she’s not alone.” Her mum smiled at the girls whose hearts had swelled up. 

“Of course, she’s our stargirl.” Charli donned her signature smile, pulling Astrid into her side and holding Courtney close to her other side. 

“She’s in completely safe hands.” Kyra added herself onto the other girls, squeezing all of them together. 

“Totally.” Courtney put on her best smile, nodding along.

“I don’t know about that.” Astrid laughed with Charli, Kyra and Courtney’s jaws dropping. 

“We are perfectly responsible adults and we’ve kept you alive so far. Making sure you're fed and watered. So…” Kyra pointed out, Courtney nodding along in agreement.

“I’m not a plant.” Astrid emphasised. 

“I didn’t say you were. But we did take care of you while you were injured.” Kyra argued back, the people surrounding laughed at her and Kyra’s interaction. 

“Alright you two. We better get going before you rip each other's heads off or Tony does for taking too long.” Charli intervened finally, pushing some distance between the pair. 

“It was lovely meeting you ladies, and well done on the game today, you all played wonderfully.” Joanna smiled at the older girls who surrounded her daughter. 

“Love you, mum.” Astrid hugged her again, squeezing her tight. “I’ll talk to you soon okay?” She pulled away and moved over to her dad. 

“You make me so proud. I love you.” Mark reached over the barrier, placing a kiss on her head before they parted. “Go on.” He nodded to where the team was beginning to disappear down the tunnel. 

“Bye.” They all spoke in unison, waving goodbye to the couple, Charli wrapping her arm around Astrid who donned a sad look on her face. 

Astrid was beyond grateful these girls had come into her life, especially while living so far away from her family, they became her family. The rest of the team had become her family too but the Sweden squad was something else, something special. 

to be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part nine]

Words; 2.9k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing, mentions of injury (no blood)

A/N; i kinda forgot to upload this earlier sorry

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Astrid was diligent with the slow and gentle rehab she had been doing, wanting to be better for the next Matildas camp only a month away now. It had been just over two weeks and she had been advised four to six for total recovery, but she was itching to be part of that squad against Canada, even if she only got a few minutes of playing time. 

She worked with the physios everyday to bring her strength back up in her ankle, eventually being able to walk around without the boot after three weeks and Astrid felt good. Without there being any tears or extreme damage to the tendons or ligaments, the time frame had just been an extra precaution because of her high intensity exercise and sport, wanting it to heal undisturbed as much as it could before she jumped back into football. 

By the time this next international call up was here Astrid had just begun jogging again on the pitch, passing the ball between her feet and it was like she was a different person than she had been for the past 6 weeks. She had formed a new appreciation for being able to play at the level she was and getting to do it with her best friends at a club that motivated her. 

The time had come and Astrid had never been more excited to go on a camp, the senior players who hadn’t been there for the last camp returning, the squad back together again to play against Canada. They had all made sure to check in on Astrid after hearing about or seeing her injury, encouraging her to keep going and get back onto that pitch, knowing how useful her skills are when up against tough opponents. 

The games were in Australia this time, meaning Astrid was finally going home for the first time since moving to Sweden, and her parents promised they would be there to cheer her on at the Sydney game. 

After a long day of travel the sweden squad, plus Mini and Harper, were so happy to be back on aussie soil and head straight to the hotel. The car ride from the hotel was full of chatter, all of the players trying not to fall asleep, aiming to hold on until bedtime. The car pulled up and they started getting out of the car, going and collecting their bags from the boot to take inside. 

They received their room numbers and went to drop their bags off, the rooming changing again and Astrid finding herself rooming with Kyra for the first time. 

“This one's mine.” Astrid placed her backpack on the bed closest to the window. 

“Oh so if someone comes to murder us they can get me first?” Kyra stood in front of the other bed, looking at the distance between the door and where she would be sleeping.

“Not what I was thinking, but sure.” Astrid shrugged with a smile. “Come on, let's go to dinner before they eat all the food.” She walked to the door with her phone and keycard, putting her arm out for Kyra to link her own. They left the room, skipping arm in arm down the hallway to the lifts, laughing as they almost tripped about seven times. 

They found their way to the room that had been turned into the team dining room, being easily directed by the noise coming from the girls in there. When they walked in it seemed they were the last to arrive, not surprising of course, the pair known for being late to things all the time. 

“Look who decided to show up.” The room quieted down as Sam spoke loudly, walking up next to Astrid. 

“Oh Sammy, you know I like to make an entrance.” Astrid smiled at her, parts of the room laughing before they pulled each other in for a hug. 

“How’s the ankle?” Sam asked as they stood together. 

“Yeah a lot better definitely.” Astrid nodded, looking down at her taped ankle. 

“Good.” Sam smiled. “Go and get something to eat, kid, catch up more later.” Sam nodded her head in the direction of the buffet, Astrid turning around, instantly spotting Kyra walking away with a full plate, both laughing as they made eye contact. 

Astrid grabbed some food and went to sit at the table where the “original trio” and Steph sat, slotting between the two Arsenal players. 

“Asteroid!” Mackenzie all but yelled across the table, reaching across for a fist bump which was returned with a smile from Astrid. 

“Hey chicken.” Steph spoke from beside her, Astrid instantly rested her head on Steph’s shoulder. 

“Hey Stephy. How are you?” Astrid moved her head to look up at Steph. 

“I’m good, how you feeling?” Steph squeezed her shoulder. 

“Real good.” She smiled and then began eating, catching up with the other girls on the table, hearing all about their time off and where they spent it. 

The team had a mini bonding night, deciding to put a movie on the projector in the dining room before they all headed off to bed. Those with movie suggestions wrote them down and they were placed into a hat for a random draw. 

“And the winner is…” Sam shuffled her hand around in the hat. “Hannah Montana The Movie?” Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“YES!” A shout was heard and everyone turned their heads. Astrid had shot up from her seat, very happy her favourite movie had been chosen. 

“Were you not like a baby when this came out?” Caitlin asked the youngest member. 

“I was five.” Astrid calmly spoke. A few gasps came from the room, a lot of the players again shocked at how young she really was compared to them. “Enough with the questions, it’s movie time.” She had taken control of the remote, searching for the movie and pressing play. 

Throughout the movie everyone could hear Astrid singing along, dancing in her seat and even mouthing most of the script, a few of them filming her from behind. Then came the scene in the barn and ‘Hoedown Throwdown’ began to play, Astrid let out a small squeal before standing up at the front of the screen.

She began to do the choreography while facing away from the screen, she had learnt it off by heart from the amount of times she had watched it. Everyone sat in shock as she did the dance with precision, not knowing she had it in her. 

When it was done she took a bow, the group cheered and clapped loudly as she sat back down next to Charli and Kyra. The room went silent again, all paying attention to the rest of the movie. 

“Nice dance moves.” Kyra leant over and whispered to Astrid after a while. Astrid just shook her head and giggled. 

The movie finished and to most people's surprise they enjoyed it, something lighthearted and fun to watch before bed. Most of the girls were very tired after travel, Astrid thought she might be too but I guess the excitement of the movie brought her energy back. 

Everyone began to stand, stretching out their limbs while the credits rolled, all watching Astrid who was still dancing around to the music in front of the screen, singing loudly along to the words. 

The music stopped abruptly and so did Astrid’s dancing. Having enough with the upbeat song and Astrid’s energy, Mackenzie had found the remote and turned off the screen. 

“I wasn’t done.” Astrid whined to the taller girl. 

“Yeah you are, bedtime little one.” She patted Astrid’s head and laughed at her pout and eyeroll. Mackenzie headed for the door, Kyra coming over to push Astrid along and drag her off to their room for bed. 

As per usual, when she was done getting ready for bed, Astrid’s head hit the pillow and she was out like a light, the aftermath of long travel taking control and she fell straight to sleep. 

The next morning after getting ready, Kyra and Astrid headed down to breakfast with a little more energy after having slept a decent amount of hours, ready to begin training with the team. 

The first match was still two days away so they had some time to work with each other after months apart now that everyone had arrived. But playing with people on the same club team definitely helps in creating rhythms and relationships on and off the pitch. 

A quick gym session was first up upon arriving at the stadium, everyone working individually on what they needed to before proper training. Astrid was quick to take control of the music to play over the speakers, waiting to show off the playlist she had accumulated. It did feature a lot of Taylor, Hannah Montana and One Direction but she also added plenty of 2000s, 90s and even 80s songs into the mix for everyone to enjoy. Safe to say everyone was happy with Astrid being the DJ after seeing everyone sing or at least bop along to many of the songs. Maybe she would become the team's newly appointed DJ.

They finished in the gym and moved to the pitch, Astrid chatting with Caitlin while they walked out, catching up more than they did last night and Astrid asking about Arsenal and what it was really like. She parted ways with Caitlin after spotting Charli who was chatting with Kyra, Mini and Alex. She ran over and practically jumped on her, gripping the blonde's shoulders who let out a small scream at the impact. 

“Heyyyyy, Cha Cha.” Astrid peaked her head over Charli's shoulder who shrugged the girl off and began walking away from her with a smirk. “Ruuuude.” Astrid yelled at her as she followed behind to where everyone congregated. 

“Alrighty ladies, you know the drill.” Assistant coach Jens yelled out, indicating it was time to begin their session with a jog to warm up. 

“Ughhhhh, I hate this.” Astrid panted out halfway during the jog. “Can I be done yet?” She yelled as they passed the coaches. 

“Does your ankle hurt?” Jens raised a brow. 

“No.” And she kept going, picking up her pace to make it finish faster. She all but crumbled to the ground once she reached the end of the jog, having not run that much since her injury. 

“You good there?” A body covered the sun that was shining over her eyes. 

“I am now.” She smiled at Kyra who was extending an arm to help her up. 

Jens called them over to where they had now set up the circuit for the drills. Astrid liked this part a lot better than the initial jog, ready to hone in her skills and get back into her rhythm of passes and shooting goals. 

They had gone through their regular training drills before moving to work on separate skills in groups of their field positions. So tragically Astrid and Charli had to part ways, Caitlin dragging a pouting Astrid towards the group of forwards and Charli waving dramatically as she walked backwards to the defenders. 

After weeks of just doing small passes to build back up, Astrid was finally able to begin shooting goals again; the main thing she loved about playing football. One of the coaches would pass a ball to the running player and then they would shoot it in, aiming for a different part of the net each time. The goalkeepers had joined them to practise blocking the goals, Astrid was holding the lead against Sam for how many they could get past Lydia. 

“OHHHHH. Another one! And with the left foot!” Astrid ran with outstretched arms after she slotted another ball past Lydia, bringing her total to 6 and Sam just behind with 5. “She’s back and better than ever, baby.” Astrid circled Sam, the other forwards watching and laughing at her antics. 

“Piss off.” Sam shoved the younger striker away, taking her place to accept the next pass. With bad luck to Sam, Lydia had just tapped it away and then the whistle blew to signal the end of drills.  

“Sucked in, oldie.” Astrid whispered as she skipped away to the sideline.

“Get back here you little shit!” Sam huffed and began chasing the girl with a smile on her face, Astrid panicked and began running. 

“STEPHY! SAVE ME!” Astrid screamed as she approached ,the defender turning her head to see Sam chasing after Astrid. Astrid made it to the vice captain and stood behind her panting, hiding from the other captain. 

“Enough you two.” Steph put on a stern voice and looked between the two players. 

“She called me old.” Sam pleaded, going to speak again but Tony had interrupted her from further down the sideline. 

“Alrighty, scrimmage time.” The team began walking closer to him, taking a drink and breath break. “Sam and Steph, come and select your teams.” He tossed the red bibs to Sam for her team and the yellow to Steph. 

They had chosen their players, taking the defenders, then midfielders and finally their forwards. It was down to the two youngest forwards, Mary and Astrid. Steph got first pick so it was up to her, and knowing the passes Kyra and Astrid can make, it wasn’t hard.

“Astrid, you're with me.” Steph beckoned the girl over to her team, glad that it consisted of herself, Steph, Kyra, Charli, Lydia, Cortnee, Clare W, Mini, Alanna, Princess and Tameka. Sam’s team had Caitlin, Mary, Larissa, Emily Van Egmond, Emily Gielnik, Courtney, Aivi, Macca, Alex and Clare P. 

The game began and Sam’s team took good possession straight away but the defence between Charli, Alanna and Steph was strong. 10 minutes in and Kyra had stolen the ball from Larissa, running with it until she could see Astrid making her way into free space further up the pitch. Kyra booted it into the air, ending at Princess who hit it with her chest towards Astrid, right foot ready to catch it.

The tip of her boot brought it to the ground so she could steady her footing, quickly sending it towards the goal through Mackenzie’s still legs, thinking she was going to send it higher like usual. The net rippled and the young player cheered, running back to her position with a high five to her teammates as she went by. 

Tony blew the whistle to indicate the end of the match. It had ended in a 2-2 draw, everyone going around and high fiving each other. 

“Good game, Astrid.” Sam smiled at the young striker. She wouldn’t admit it outloud but she did think maybe one day she could give her a run for her money, seeing a lot of herself at that age in Astrid.

“You too, Sam.” Astrid gave her hand a shake and a clap on the back as they began to walk to the side for a drink. 

“Alright everyone in.” Tony’s voice carried through the team who began walking over to form a loose huddle, too hot to make it tight. “Well done today, very impressed with everyone’s efforts. Even after not playing altogether for a while you showed that no matter what you are a strong team. Off to recovery and then the day is all yours, I’ll see you tomorrow for match day minus 1.” Tony nodded with a smile. Everyone clapped before they made their way inside and headed straight for the cold pools. 

Astrid was the first one in the pool, loving the cold water from growing up at a beach during the winter, going for swims no matter the weather. Everyone else of course thought she was crazy to enjoy the cold water and her eagerness to get in it. 

The next day at training looked very similar to the day before but the physios had been keeping an eye on Astrid, being so soon off an injury. She felt great, really. It didn’t hurt and her ankle felt strong, continuing to work and train to be a sub for tomorrow's game. 

An early dinner of their usual pre-match pasta night was followed by an early bed for all the players, especially for those who had travelled from overseas all but a few days ago. Everyone bid each other goodnight before retiring to their rooms. 

Kyra had called the shower first, knowing from the previous night how long Astrid really did take on her skincare. Once they were both finished and had set an alarm, they lay in their separate beds, room silent, spare the aircon blowing softly. 

“I think you’ll start tomorrow.” Astrid spoke, turning in her bed to face Kyra’s. 

“Really?” Kyra also shifted, finding Astrid’s eyes in the dark room. 

“Yeah, I mean you’ve been working really hard and I think they can tell.” Astrid smiled softly at the girl. 

“Thank you.” Kyra also smiled even if Astrid couldn’t really see it. “I think Tony will put you on, make use of your ‘super-sub’ reputation again.” Kyra let out a soft laugh. 

“Maybe.” Astrid shrugged under her covers. 

“Definitely. I’m calling it right now.” Kyra turned to lie on her back and look up at the ceiling. 

“Fine. But if you’re wrong, you’re buying me a coffee.” Astrid copied Kyra’s shift in movement. 

“Deal. But if I’m right, you buy me a coffee.” Kyra spoke again. 

“Okay.” Astrid’s voice was barely above a whisper as she felt herself drifting to sleep. “Goodnight, Ky Ky.” She spoke one last time before letting herself fall into the pillow. 

“Goodnight, Stargirl.” Kyra took one last look at Astrid before shutting her eyes and falling asleep herself, a soft smile etched on her face. 

to be continued...

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Stargirl | Matildas x original character fic - masterlist

Gnomeo and Juliet | Alanna Kennedy x reader

it’s not your fault | Mary Earps x Reader

Joining the club | Jen Beattie x Reader

You're gonna go far | Jessie Fleming x chelsea!reader

Something out of a rom com | Steph Catley x reader

Watch my shattered edges glisten| Leah Williamson x young!reader (platonic)

So high school | Jessie Fleming x ucla!reader

CRIMINAL MINDS

Welcome home kiss | Emily Prentiss x GN!reader

Time Bomb | Criminal minds x fem!reader

love you to the moon and saturn | emily prentiss x gn!reader

goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend | emily prentiss x gn!reader

A life for a life | Derek Morgan x platonic!reader

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part eight]

Words; 3.0k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing, mentions of injury (no blood)

A/N; so the games for this chapter weren't easy to find or go off but they still needed to be in there so i did this, hope it not too much of a cliché... enjoy

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After the Spain and Portugal games there came the AFF Women's championship and a lot of the regular players had left and gone back to their clubs or on a break, especially considering it was only a week later. 

Charli and Astrid had been given the clearance from their overseas clubs to stay on national duty but Kyra and Courtney decided to go back to Sweden and play club games instead. Although it felt weird being in camp without the other two, it gave Charli, Cortnee and Astrid time to spend together with the other girls who were joining the squad for the first time. 

Before the competition started, Charli, Cortnee and Astrid spent their few free days in Portugal before they had to fly over to the Philippines and begin their pre-match training with the rest of the team. They pretty much spent all their time on the beach enjoying the hot weather and good food, grateful to spend a few days relaxing before getting into game mode. 

Training was training, but with a newer team full of even more inexperienced players it gave them the opportunity to develop a new style of play. Without players like Sam and Emily Gielnik there to take that central forward position, the coaches decided to test Astrid and see if she could handle the pressure there rather than on the right or left. Safe to say she could. 

She was communicating well with Cortnee and Larrissa on either side of her, fighting off the defence and working with the midfield to score goals in the mini matches. Seeing Astrid take on this role so easily inspired the coaches when deciding on the starting line up for the next match. 

Match day. Everyone was in high spirits for today, training had been going exceptionally well and the team dynamic was strong. They had been ushered into a conference room of the hotel to talk about the game and reveal the line up. Cortnee and Charli had been talking up Astrid being in the starting XI for the game, but Astrid kept brushing them off, not wanting to get her hopes up. 

Over the past few days they had been analysing the Philippines style of play, so this session was a slight revision and going over their starting line up. Then came time for Tony to reveal his line up. He went through the slideshow, going from the defenders, to midfielders and finally the forwards. Charli’s name had been shown which was no surprise and Cortnee’s was revealed for the right forward position, Astrid looking at the left side and spotting Amy’s name, dropping her head down slightly. Tony began to list the names and their positions.   

“And as the central forward, Astrid Taylor.” He spoke and Astrid lifted her head, eyes wide as she finally spotted her name on the screen. Her jaw dropped and Charli let out a little cheer, patting Astrid on the back, Cortnee ruffling her hair before Astrid finally smiled. She was part of the starting line up for the first time, as the central forward too. 

The bus ride to the pitch was mostly silent, most girls listening to their own music, some chatting amongst themselves. Astrid hadn’t really spoken to anyone since boarding, taking the time to get in the zone, needing to be focused on the game she was starting in. 

The team warmed up, took their time getting changed and had their team huddle, the subs leaving to go sit on the bench, Astrid staying behind for the first time and readying to line up in the tunnel. She gave Cortnee and Charli a hug before they left the change room, standing in front of both of them donning the number 3 again. 

She was nervous, why wouldn’t she be. She was starting for her country for the first time, a true honour and a big deal. She didn’t want to stuff up, she couldn’t, everything had to go perfectly; according to her at least.

The game had been tough from the second that whistle blew. The opposing team were determined to maintain strong possession and keep Australia from any chance at scoring, everytime they did, a tackle or block stopped any chance. The brunt of their tackles had fallen to Astrid as she was constantly trying to get a goal in and have a 1-0 scoreline before halftime. 

As the central forward, she was receiving balls from Cortnee and Amy who were on either side of the pitch. Finally the ball had been stolen off the Philippines again by Charli, passing it up to Vine who was speeding up the right side. Two defenders closed in on her so she shot the ball over to Astrid who was in direct line of the goal again. Astrid had a clear shot, preparing to kick the ball with her left foot this time. 

She saw her foot make contact with the ball, but what she didn’t see was a Philippines defender coming in for a slide tackle, knocking Astrid to the ground in an attempt to steal the ball. As she began to fall her right foot got stuck, a searing pain shooting up her ankle, grunting in response to the pain and landing harshly on the ground. 

She rolled to her back after hitting the ground, grabbing her right foot immediately. Her body could only focus on the pain and everything around her blurred into the background, barely hearing the refs whistle and the concerned gasps from her teammates. The Philippines player had been shown a yellow card and the Australian side was glad.

Her eyes screwed shut from the overwhelming pain, trying to breathe through it, but finding it difficult. Charli was the first to her, running over as soon as she saw Astrid staying down unlike the last few tackles.

“Ankle?” Charli knelt down to Astrid, the girl only nodding in response as she held back her tears. The ref had run over, Cortnee following closely behind, coming to the other side of Astrid, looking down at her. 

“She needs medical.” Cortnee looked to the ref who began waving over the medical staff. 

“Char, this is bad.” Astrid sucked air through her teeth as the pain continued, tears falling from her eyes. If Astrid was crying from this, then it was bad; she rarely cried and had developed a high pain tolerance over time, meaning it was not something minor. 

“It’s gonna be okay, star. They’re coming.” Charli squeezed Astrid’s upper arm, watching the medics run to where they had gathered. The rest of the Matildas stood still on the pitch watching the scene, a few taking this time to get a drink, but watching the scene with concern alongside the coaches. 

“Her right ankle.” Charli told the physios as they removed Astrids grip from her foot to examine it. She hissed in pain as they removed her boot, moving her arm to cover her eyes and the tears forming. 

“Out of 10?” A physio asked while looking at Astrid. 

“7.” A sob wracked her chest, not even thinking about the pain anymore, even though it was very much there. She had already been thinking about the time she would have off from football if this was a serious injury, which it was already feeling like. 

After they determined there was no way she could continue, Charli and Cortnee helped her up, she tested putting weight on it but even just a toe on the ground was way too much. They offered to get a stretcher but Astrid only shook her head, opting to hop off the pitch with the physios either side of her, holding her up. As she made it to the technical area she locked eyes with Tony. 

“Well done, you played exceptionally.” He patted her shoulder and she only nodded in response before they led her down the tunnel and into the medical wing. After they had checked her and asked her questions about how it manoeuvred in the ground, all they could determine for now was at least a two degree sprain. 

The physios taped her up and provided crutches to avoid weight bearing for the meantime until she could go and get scans at the hospital. But Astrid desperately wanted to watch the rest of the game now that halftime was over and the second half had begun. So she crutched her way back up the tunnel and to the sub bench, the girls immediately making space for her to elevate and ice her ankle and watched the game pan out.

The game ended and Australia had lost 1-0, the players shaking hands with the winners, Astrid got herself up and over to where Tony was standing at the edge of the pitch. 

“How’s it feeling, Astrid?” He asked as he saw her approaching. 

“Not too good, so far it’s second degree, 4 to 6 weeks.” She gave him a tight lipped smile, more upset over the timeline than the injury itself, everything was falling into place for Astrid and now it was halted. 

“I’m sorry, but you played so well up until that point, I’m very proud of your progress since joining Hammarby.” Tony gave her a firm pat on the back. “You’ll be back better than ever soon enough.” 

“Thank you.” She nodded and he headed off onto the pitch to his players. 

“Hey.” Charli was now at her side. “You okay?” She hugged her arms around her neck, Astrid let go of one of the crutches and held onto Charli. She tucked her head into the older girl's neck, simply shaking her head and letting tears slip again. “It’s gonna be okay.” Charli whispered in her ear, gently stroking her back. 

“You did so well today.” Astrid moved away and wiped her eyes, moving her hand back to the crutch. 

“Thank you.” Charli smiled brightly at her. Astrid could see the huddle forming behind them, Charli turning around to see where her eyes were focused. “Come on.” Charli bent down with her arms behind her. 

“What are you doing?” Astrid laughed at her. 

“Get on, it’ll be faster.” Charli looked back at her, nodding at her. Astrid shook her head, dropping her crutches to the ground and jumping with one foot onto Charli’s back, the blonde’s arms looping under the other's thighs, hoisting her up gently. 

“This is ridiculous.” Astrid laughed as Charli walked them across the field. 

“But faster.” Charli commented back. What they didn’t see was Ann walking behind the pair carrying Astrid’s crutches to the huddle and shaking her head at the two young players. Astrid had jumped down to her good foot, using Charli and Cortnee to stabilise her on one leg.

“Here.” Ann finally made her presence known, Astrid smiling as she saw the woman behind them. 

“You are an angel, Ann Odong. Thank you.” She took the crutches and placed them under her arms, sighing at the relief in her left leg as the weight was distributed to the crutches. 

Astrid had gone straight to the local hospital instead of back to the hotel with the team, the team physios wanting her to get scans as soon as possible. Charli wanted to go and keep her company but Astrid said no, not wanting to interfere with her sleep after a long game and promising to keep her updated. 

It wasn’t until 12:30 am she finally had her XRAY and MRI done, waiting for almost 3 hours and trying not to fall asleep in the emergency room. The results came back finally after waiting some more and they had officially ruled it a second degree sprain like the physios initially thought. The hospital had supplied her with a moon boot to protect it but not walk in it, still advising no weight for at least a week. 

Astrid was so tired and still in pain that she just nodded and asked to go back to the hotel, ready for bed and the day to end. They got back and one of the physios helped her to her room, Astrid assuring her she was good from there and to go to bed, knowing Charli would be more than willing to help her out. 

She opened the door and immediately Charli jumped up at the sound, rushing out of bed to come face to face with Astrid. 

“JESUS CHRIST!” Astrid almost lost her balance when Charli popped up in front of her. “Oh my god.” She let out a breath, heart racing from the fright. 

“Are you okay? What did they say? How long?” Charli shot out her questions and all Astrid could do was blink. 

“Calm down, let me sit please.” Astrid began to manoeuvre herself around Charli, flopping down on her bed and letting out a deep sigh. “No walking for one to two weeks, four to six for total recovery, no torn ligaments or tendons, just a really bad sprain.” She rattled off what the doctors told her while looking at the ceiling. 

“I’m so sorry star.” Charli sat on her own bed. Astrid turned her head in confusion at her words. 

“It’s not like you tackled me. These things happen.” Astrid let out a soft laugh. 

“I know. But it was your first start and I was so happy for you. You didn’t even get to halftime.” Charli tilted her head. 

“I’ll get to start again, it just won’t be for a little while.” She put a small smile on her face but it wasn’t genuine. 

“You need a hug?” Charli asked. 

“I need a shower, but sure a hug would be great.” She sat up and Charli jumped over to the other bed with open arms, both giggling as Astrid lent her head on Charli’s shoulder. Their arms wrapped around each other and Astrid could not be more grateful for having her best friend here with her. 

The rest of the competition continued, Australia faring much better than their first game and coming out with wins and high score lines against their opponents. But to watch from the sidelines was very hard for Astrid. 

She had never really been injured before, very lucky to only have had minor things growing up that didn’t last very long, so it was very unusual for her to just sit and watch the team play and not even be a possible substitution. But she did and she was the first one cheering when the final whistle blew, hobbling over to her teammates to congratulate them. The games were finished and it was time to return to Sweden with Charli, parting ways with Cortnee again, not seeing each other till the next camp in September. 

Although Charli’s closest airport to her Swedish home was Malmö, she chose to fly even further to Stockholm just so she could make sure Astrid was okay, nervous about flying with her injury. Astrid assured her she would be fine but Charli wouldn’t listen, telling her she would just take a train from Stockholm back to Malmö once she was settled back at home.

So when they touched down in Sweden Charli used her best knowledge of the language to source a wheelchair for Astrid to get around in until they got to the car where Kyra and Courtney were waiting. 

“You’re being ridiculous Charlotte.” Astrid sighed as Charli pushed her from the gate to the luggage collection. 

“Shush cripple.” Charli laughed, weaving through the crowd quite fast, Astrid gripping onto the sides in order to not fall out while also holding her crutches in one hand.  

Charli collected their two bags and wheeled them out, along with their carry-ons, while Astrid pushed herself to the exit, actively looking for Kyra and Courtney in the crowds. 

Kyra and Courtney kept their eyes peeled for the two other girls, expecting to see Astrid struggling on crutches and Charli close behind. Though Charli finally appeared, her signature bright grin on her face and they couldn’t see Astrid close behind. Until their eyes shifted lower and saw her pushing herself in a wheelchair, instantly covering their mouths to hide their laughter. 

Kyra not so sneakily pulled her phone out, filming Charli smiling first then over to Astrid when she finally spotted them, sending a death glare down the camera. 

“Nice ride.” Kyra said from behind the camera. 

“Shut it.” Astrid shook her head as she stopped in front of them. “Let’s just go home please.” She looked up at all three girls who simply nodded, still controlling their laughter. 

“Would you like a hand madam?” Kyra bowed to Astrid, smirking at her while extending her arms. Astrid silently passed Courtney the crutches, placing her good foot on the ground, gripping onto Kyra’s hands and bringing herself up. Courtney quickly put the crutches under Astrid’s arms, the injured girl removing her hold from Kyra. On the way home, they dropped Charli off at the train station, saying a long goodbye and promising to keep her in the loop about Astrid’s foot. 

They eventually made it back to Astrid’s place, Kyra and Courntey wanting to make sure she was set up with everything she needed and made her dinner, only leaving when Astrid was ready for bed and sure she didn’t need anymore help. 

This went on for the next week; the girls going Astrid’s every morning to make her breakfast and take her to training with them, Astrid doing some gentle rehab with the physios while they got to train. Then they would go home, cook her dinner and make sure she was all good before going back to their own place. 

Astrid was more than excited when the physios at Hammarby said she could begin walking in the boot, finally able to get around her own apartment and not have the older girls watching her every move. She was so grateful she had them there to help her, but she wanted some alone time after they returned from training, finding it hard to watch them play and train without her, missing being able to step out on that pitch and play the game she loved so much. 

To be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part seven]

Words; 3.4k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing

A/N; she's a long one but hopefully it keeps ya entertained till i finish the next one. x

masterlist

The time had finally come and the 'Sweden Squad', as they started calling themselves, were headed to the airport, flying off to Spain together for the next Matildas camp.

"Can this girl hurry up please? The flight is going to leave without her." Charli looked between the bathrooms and the gate where the line of people was getting shorter. The three older girls heard loud footsteps running towards them and saw Astrid running with a bag falling off her shoulder.

"I'M HERE. I'm here!" Astrid panted as she reached the girls. Charli simply shook her head and began walking towards the line, Kyra laughing as she handed her boarding pass to her. Courtney patted Astrid on the back as they walked together.

On the flight Courtney and Kyra sat next to each other, Charli and Astrid sitting behind them, enjoying their time together as it had been awhile. Although they were in the same country, being at two clubs hours away from each other proved difficult to organise hang outs. That's why they loved national camp so much, spending days together and playing together rather than apart. They also loved being able to see all their other teammates, Astrid excited to see Cortnee again since moving away, missing her constant presence in her life.

The flight landed and they made their way through the Spanish airport, finding the car that was waiting for them outside to take them to the team hotel. Normally the team would hang out together once they were all there but these guys were some of the last to arrive and because it was so late they went straight to bed.

Astrid was rooming with Mackenzie this time, having to be quiet as she moved about getting ready for bed because she was already asleep. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was dead asleep, exhausted from her day of travel and their match the day before.

The next morning Macca's alarm went off and startled Astrid awake, grateful she had set one because she forgot.

"Oh shit, when'd you get here?" Mackenzie was startled when she saw Astrid in her bed.

"Last night." Astrid yawned while sitting up. "Tried not to disturb ya, you looked quite peaceful." She rubbed her eyes before looking at the other girl.

"Thanks. Um breakfast is in like 30 minutes by the way, I wanted as much sleep as I could." She mumbled while getting out of her bed.

"Cool." Astrid sent her a thumbs up. She got up and began to rummage through her bag for her training clothes while Mackenzie was in the bathroom, sitting back on her bed, scrolling through her phone while she waited.

"All yours." Mackenzie opened the bathroom door and Astrid nodded. She got changed, pulled her hair back into a low bun and began her skincare routine. If there was one this Astrid was going to do, it was her skincare. It may be a long process but it worked and her skin looked great so it was worth it.

"Okay, let's go." Astrid announced as she left the bathroom, throwing her pyjamas onto her suitcase.

"About time, the hell were you doing in there." Mackenzie looked at Astrid while putting her shoes on and grabbing the rest of her training gear, Astrid did the same.

"This isn't all natural, it takes time to be this beautiful." Astrid held a hand under her chin and smiled, the other girl just scoffed and pushed her towards the door.

The team ate breakfast together, catching up after a few months apart. A lot of the senior players were on a break, missing normal starters like Sam, Caitlin, Steph, Hayley, Alanna and Mary. And Ellie missing with her ACL injury from a few weeks ago, it was a very different looking team. But this also meant a chance for younger players to come in and experience camp for the first time, and giving opportunity to those with little playing time.

Training was full on, especially with the game being tomorrow and a lot of the players just joining yesterday or the day before. Normally there's a few days before the game to train together but with club seasons in full swing they didn't have that opportunity. So they had to take what they could get.

After a good warm up and stretch they moved into mini matches against one another. This was the time for Astrid to show the coaches how hard she had been working at her new club.

She had been put in the left forward position, her favourite one, and her side was doing so well. She was battling Charli, the defender trying to steal the ball back off her but Astrid had fast feet and a hunger to sink as many goals as she could.

She paused with the ball under her, Charli mirrored her, waiting for her next move. She faked a left, Charli moving that way and Astrid scooted around her on the right, running small strides with the ball. She shot it behind her to Kyra, Astrid running closer to the box as Kyra shot the ball to Astrid and although was about to be swarmed she knew the striker could get past them. The ball landed on her feet, and she stared at the bottom right corner of the goal, Teagan in goal watching her.

Astrid lifted her right leg, striking the ball hard, Teagan jumped to her left ready to block it, but Astrid had twisted her body, angling it to the left instead, Teagan groaning as Astrid and her team shouted in achievement. Astrid shot a fist in the air, turning to go hug Kyra, those in her team around her patting her on the back. The coaches watched on the sides, looking at each other before nodding in admiration at the young players' improvement since last camp.

Astrid's team had won the mini match 2-1, Cortnee equalised with the other team but Mini scored them a goal from distance and brought them ahead.

The day ended after recovery, dinner and an early night before the game tomorrow, all players wanting a decent night's rest before their tough opponent.

Everyone was in focus mode the next morning at breakfast, still having their normal chats but the energy was different to non match days. Astrid had a good feeling about her own skills for this game but was still unsure how it would pan out altogether. The bus ride was quiet as always, everyone playing their own pre match music and mentally preparing for the game ahead.

They arrived at the stadium and got off the bus, heading directly for the change rooms. Astrid spotted her jersey, 'Taylor' above her number. Although her official number was 31, she had begun donning the number 3 during matches and she felt good with it. They did a warm up on the pitch, getting a feel for the grass and noted the mass of Spanish fans in the stands. It intimidated Astrid for sure, having never played an away game for the Matildas before, but she did spot some green and gold scarves and shirts filtered through the crowd.

Astrid's pre-match ritual didn't consist of much but she always re-did her hair, tied her boots, the right foot first, and put her jersey on last, making sure to smooth it out before moving into the pre-match huddle.

"First of all, deep breath. Shoulders out, chest up." Tony began, looking around at the team. "We're ready for this, alright? Send some message about what you're about and what this team is about, and it starts there. 'Cause if you add up all the individual actions, as a team, we will perform well." Everyone nodded at his words. "You got this, let's go." Everyone clapped and cheered, bringing the energy for the match.

The starting line up stayed back in the room as the subs walked out, Astrid making sure to give Charli and Cortnee a big hug as she left them in the line, wishing them good luck. Astrid wasn't a part of the starting line up just yet but Tony wanted her to come on for at most 30 minutes towards the end of the game.

The first half was tough for the Australian side, many good shots at goal but couldn't seem to get it in. Their defence was strong though and Tegan was blocking shots strongly, denying the Spanish right up until that 43rd minute where Bonmatí managed to shoot one in. Going into halftime it was 1-0 to Spain and where the Matildas could have felt defeated, fight and power only grew in them to keep going and at least equalise.

At the 66th minute Astrid was finally running into the pitch, subbing for Larissa Crummer in the left forward position, Amy Sayer coming on for Tameka just behind her in the left midfield spot. By then Spain were already up 4-0 and Astrid was ready to put them on that score board.

For the past few minutes Australia had gained possession of the ball, Astrid trying for a goal twice but Paños and their defenders were good, stopping her shots before they could sink in. Astrid was getting frustrated, turning that anger into fuel and she was faster than ever when her boots touched that ball again. She weaved in and out of the Spanish defence, keeping the ball tight within her feet.

There were too many of them in the box ready to deny her, so she moved back with it. Her teammates were calling out for a pass further up and over the field where they had more space but she couldn't hear them. Her adrenaline was pumping, blocking out everything but her, the ball and the goal, So she kept running. She neared the penalty line, looking at the goal, trying to find space. She knew she was further than where she normally struck but she had to go for it, Batlle and Paredes closing in on her.

She stepped with her left foot, swinging her trusty right foot with all the power she had. The ball flew, literally, straight through the players, everyone watching as it went for the net. Paños saw it coming, preparing to jump and stop it. She went the right way but left just too early, the ball skimming by her right arm and into the net.

"LETS FUCKING GO!" Astrid shook her fist as she screamed and ran around the field, heading for her teammates who were also screaming. She jumped onto Charli, everyone else piling on top of them, patting her on the back and head.

GOOAALL for Australia by number 3 Astrid Taylor, bringing the score 4-1 to Spain. Shot from distance this time, normally she sneaks them in from the box but with limited space she went for it and a point on the board for the Matildas.

As they parted Astrid could hear Tony cheering her on from the sidelines, bringing a smile to her face as she walked back to her spot.

The game ended and Spain had beaten them 7-1, the only Aus goal coming from Astrid, all of the later shots blocked by their defenders and goalkeeper again.

The final whistle blew and the Spanish crowd went wild, the players celebrating together before going to shake hands with the Matildas. Astrid was politely shaking hands with the Spanish players, muttering 'good game' as they went past.

After shaking hands with most players, Astrid joined the huddle, slotting in the empty space between Mackenzie and Charli.

"The one thing I want to remind everyone about in here is we came here for a reason." Tony looked around at his team. "We came here to learn something and taking experience from it, alright? So, yes, we might have lost the game but we win in experience. And even if we win one player to be a better depth and roster going into the World Cup '23." He pointed around at the team. "It was worth it. Even though it feels really painful right now for every single one of you, I promise you it was worth it." The team tried to look positive to his words but their heads hung low.

"Good job everyone. That's it." The huddle parted and everyone looked defeated at how the game panned out, walking around the pitch to one another. Astrid just went to stand by herself on the pitch, looking around at the stadium and the crowd filtering out.

"Good game. That was a great goal, very impressive." Astrid had her head down when the voice spoke, lifting her head to meet the person's eyes.

"Thank...you." She immediately was starstruck when she saw the person in front of her. Ona Batlle was reaching her hand out to shake Astrids. Astrid tried not to let her jaw go slack and embarrass herself in front of the well-known player, bringing her hand up to shake Ona's.

"I've seen you over the internet, you may be young but you're very good." Ona placed her hands on her hips after they let go, Astrid doing the same to hide the shaking in her own.

"Oh wow, thank you so much." Astrid let out quickly.

"I think you'll be a very famous player, so I would love it if I could be the first to have your shirt." Ona nodded at the young girl who was speechless. "Only if you want?" She added when Astrid didn't respond.

"Yeah, yeah of course." Astrid snapped out of it and nodded, reaching to the hem of her shirt. The players removed their own jerseys and quickly exchanged, putting the opposite team colours on. As they pulled their heads through they noticed a camera man gesturing at them to stand together for a photo.

Ona wrapped her arm over Astrid's shoulder and pulled her close, smiles plastering both of their faces as he took the pictures, both holding a thumbs up pose. The players noticed their teams slowly disappearing down opposite tunnels, nodding at each other before Astrid walked over to where Charli was waiting for her.

"What the hell? You are wearing THE Ona Batlle's jersey right now. How are you not freaking out?!" Charli spoke from beside Astrid as they walked down the tunnel, the last Aussies to make their way in.

"I didn't dream that did I? Pinch me." Astrid held out her arm; Charli slapped her. "I said pinch not slap. My god." She rubbed her arm where she had hit her, giving the older girl a stare.

"What did she say to you?" Charli asked as she sat at her bench in the changing room to take her cleats off.

"She was impressed by my goal. And she said that I'll be famous one day so she wanted to be the first to have my jersey." Astrid smiled at the memory, everyone in the room listening in.

"Wow." Charli looked up at her. "I'm sure that boosted your ego even more." Charli teased and Astrid looked down at her.

"Shut up, you're just jealous aren't you?" Astrid pushed her shoulder and walked over to her own spot, shaking her head at Charli who scoffed in response.

After they all showered, the team finally left the stadium, piling onto a quiet bus to get back to the hotel. After having their team dinner, they all headed off to bed early, Mackenzie and Astrid heading into their shared room after bidding goodnight to the rest of the team.

The goalkeeper had noticed how quiet the young player was since they got back to the hotel, very unusual to her normal behaviour on camps, especially when with her friends. This was the first time they had roomed together so she wasn't sure if this was how she was normally before bed or something else was going on.

Mackenzie had just finished in the bathroom, walking out to see Astrid sitting on the edge of her own bed, staring into space and biting her nails.

"You alright?" Macca asked.

"Hmm?" Astrid hummed, still looking lost in thought.

"Are you alright? You're very quiet." She sat down on her bed, facing into Astrid's bed.

"Yeah. Sorry." Astrid removed her finger from her mouth, turning to face Mackenzie.

"Something on your mind?" She could tell she was thinking about something deeply, Astrid only shrugged in response. "Are you thinking about today?" Astrid tensed up at the mention of today's match. After a second of contemplation Astrid spoke.

"I should've gotten those other shots in, I always do." Astrid shook her head at herself, disappointed she couldn't help the team more.

"They had a good defence and Paños is a very good goalkeeper. It just didn't go our way today." Mackenzie tried to console the striker

"It's all my fault we lost." Astrid shook her head, Mackenzie got up and sat next to her.

"Look at me." Astrid's head lifted. "It's not your fault at all. It's not all up to you, just like it's not all up to Sam when she's in the front. When we play, we play as a team."

"I should've been better." She bit her lip, maintaining eye contact with her.

"You're already the best you've ever been. I mean come on, you've been on three times and scored a goal each time. Every game you play at your clubs you score at least once. That's literally fucking magic. And lets not forget that distance shot you fired and actually got in, I've never seen you take it from that far." Mackenzie shook Astrid's shoulders before pulling her in close, both letting out soft laughs.

"Thank you." Astrid pulled the taller girl in for a hug.

"Always." Mackenzie mumbled, holding the young girl in her arms. She couldn't believe she was beating herself up over it so much, she was already achieving so much at such a young age and the whole team was so proud and marvelled at her skills. They both eventually went to sleep, preparing to head to Portugal tomorrow for the next friendly after recovery.

Two days later and the game against Portugal was in full swing. Although Portugal might have had more possession, taking a few shots at goal, Lydia and the defenders were not letting them through. Half-time and they were 0-0 which was a lot more positive than where they were at the last game.

"You're killing it out there Char." Astrid patted the defender on the back, handing her a water and a sweat towel before she made her way down the tunnel, thanking Astrid as she went by.

The second half had begun and Princess Ibini had gone on for Remy in the left forward position, Astrid going on a few minutes later as the right forward in replace of Emily Gielnik.

Portugal still had strong possession of the ball and it was at 65 minutes when Charli got a yellow card within seconds of a tackle (that she didn't cause). Astrid watched her begin to argue as they gathered to line up for Portugal's free kick.

"How was it on me?" Charli argued with the ref and before anything else progressed Astrid quickly pulled her away after hearing Lydia call for her to move.

"Charli. Forget about it." Astrid led her to the line, not wanting her to get into more trouble, Charli still visibly confused and upset, as were the rest of her teammates. They ran and slotted in, creating a defensive line. The free kick went straight out and the game continued.

The ball had travelled to Gorry who sent it long for Larrissa, Astrid running fast up the right side, keeping an eye on it. She quickly sent the ball Astrid's way, receiving it but she was way too far out for the shot. She spotted Princess close to the goal, sending it long across to the pitch and she caught it sliding into the goal, the ball going in with her.

Astrid ran straight to the 22 year old who had just scored her first international goal, the rest of the team high fiving her as they ran back to position. Charli and Astrid gave her a hug before returning to their positions, proud of the striker.

10 minutes later and Portugal had equalised, making the score 1-1 at the end of the game and the Matildas coming away happier than their last game. That night they not only celebrated a better result, but also Lydia's 100 caps as a Matildas goalkeeper. Safe to say the camp ended on a high for all players. 

To be continued....

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part six]

Words; 2.5k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none

A/N; same as the sydney FC games I won't be going off real games for the new club, it's just easier to make them up and it's easier to find the tillie's ones to go off.

masterlist

Astrid felt a weight lifted off her as she walked away from the Sydney FC training grounds for the last time. Although she hadn’t been there long, this place had given her an amazing start to her footballing career. She had been able to play the game she loved and continue to succeed at a higher level. But it was time to go. 

The offer they presented her with hadn’t changed and it wasn’t going to work with how she wanted to continue to learn and grow as a player and a person. So here she was, telling them she was officially leaving and moving clubs. The staff said they were sad to see her go, which she appreciated. She felt really bad for leaving the girls she had become close with on the team. She told them shortly after telling the club, sending out a group text since they were all on a break currently before pre-season started again. The influx of goodbyes and well wishes she received warmed her heart and brought up her feelings about leaving again, but it was what was best. 

She had called up Lisa again, telling her what club would be best for her and Lisa was very happy and excited to get things rolling. Lisa was the main point of contact with the club, organising everything official while Astrid worked on packing up her life in Australia and moving across the world. Cortnee had been helping her, though there wasn’t much to pack in her apartment, a lot of her old stuff still back at home, which she was going to go and get before she had to leave next week. 

It had been announced on social media that Astrid was leaving Sydney FC but it had not been shared what Swedish club she was joining, and the response from her fellow Matildas was incredible. They were all so happy for her and how quickly she was advancing as a professional footballer. 

She had just finished her lunch when her phone rang, Tony’s contact appearing on her screen. 

“Hello?” Astrid spoke after answering the call. 

“Astrid! Hello, it’s Tony.” The man called out, happiness evident in his voice. 

“Hi, Tony. How are you?” Astrid moved to sit on her couch. 

“I am very well thank you. And you?” He asked politely. 

“Yeah, I’m good, thank you.” Astrid smiled to herself. 

“Good, good. Now first I wanted to congratulate you on your move to Sweden! I may be a little biassed, but it is a beautiful country and I think you will love it!” Tony’s laughter flowed through the speakers. 

“Thank you, I’m looking forward to it. I think it’ll be really good for me and my career.” Astrid laughed slightly at her coach's excitement. 

“Yes, yes I agree.” He cleared his throat. “Now I was calling you to talk about the upcoming camp next month in June, I’m sure you heard about the games against Spain and Portugal.” Tony waited for Astrid to respond. 

“I did. I think those games will be good for us, looking at next year with the world cup.” She swallowed nervously for what he might say next. 

“Yes definitely. Well I just wanted to let you know that you have been selected for the team for this next camp and we look forward to seeing you next month in Spain.” Tony was smiling on his end as he heard the young player let out a soft sigh of relief. 

“Oh, thank you. Thanks so much Tony.” Astrid was beaming now. “I won’t let you down.” 

“I know you won't, Astrid. You’ve been working exceptionally hard these past few months and it really showed in your performances last camp.” Tony could tell how excited she was, obviously not suspecting to be chosen, which was the opposite to the coaching staff’s opinion. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got for us when we see you again. Keep working hard and we’ll see you soon.”

“Of course. Thank you, again. See you in Spain.” The call ended and Astrid lept up from her couch, letting out a squeal and doing a little dance around her living room. Although she was officially a part of the Matildas, there could be a time where she didn’t get these calls so it was a big relief when she did.

A week later and her parents were dropping her off at the airport with her life packed up into two suitcases and carry ons; this drop off felt very different to the ones in the past. The whole morning had been emotional for Astrid as they left her family home, driving past all the places she had grown up visiting, playing football and making memories. She knew she would be back one day, but the ticket in her bag said ‘one way’ so that day was very unknown.

Her parents had gone through security with her, wanting to spend as much time together as they could before she boarded her flight and went off to her new home. The hugs goodbye at the gate were long and full of whispered “I love you’s” between Astrid and her parents. Her flight was called and it was time to go. 

She managed to hold in her tears until she got to her business class seat, grateful she was sitting alone and could hide behind a small screen, wiping her eyes before anyone could see her. She was sad to be leaving home and her parents, they had such a strong bond, but this was going to be one of the best decisions of her life, and she knew that. 

The flight to Dubai went quite quickly, considering Astrid slept for the majority of it, it was a red-eye so she expected to fall asleep at some point. The layover was only 2 hours and she spent it rechecking her luggage for the next flight, her parents not trusting it wouldn’t get lost, grabbing some food and walking around the airport until she was boarding the flight to Stockholm Sweden, the closest airport to Hammarby and her new housing. 

This flight, though shorter, felt long without her sleeping it away, getting through a few movies and TV episodes before she finally landed in Sweden. She switched her phone on again as soon as she entered the airport, ready for the influx of messages from her parents checking in on her and from Kyra who was waiting for Astrid at arrivals. She collected her bags quite quickly and made her way to where Kyra and Courtney would be waiting. Charli wanted to be there to welcome her too, but being 5 hours away in Rosengård and having a game that day proved to be a little difficult. But they were going to see each other soon so they didn’t have to wait that long to reunite. 

Astrid could feel Kyra blowing up her phone in her pocket but she couldn’t check it with three bags in her hand and trying to find her way through an airport that was in a language she didn’t understand. She followed the crowds of people and eventually found herself near the exit. 

“ASTRID!” Two loud voices mixed together and stopped Astrid in her tracks, turning her head rapidly to find the point of the noise. She didn’t find it but she did find two girls running straight for her and she let go of her bags to meet them in the middle. The three of them hugged tightly, swaying slightly as they laughed. 

“I can’t believe you’re really here.” Kyra said with a wide smile on her face. 

“I know, me either.” Astrid shook her head, looking between both of her friends, this is where it begins. 

Eventually they picked up her bags and exited the airport to a taxi waiting to take the girls back to Kyra and Courtney’s place. Astrid was staying over for the night until she picked up her keys tomorrow for her place just down the road.

The girls took Astrid sightseeing for the rest of the day to try and keep her awake, she wanted to regulate her body clock as soon as possible and avoid jet lag. They cooked dinner together and spent the evening catching up and watching movies until they all decided to go to bed. 

The next day was spent moving Astrid into her own place, thankful it came furnished and all she had to buy was necessities and decorations. The three of them had exhausted themselves by dinner time and decided just to order in and sat in Astrid’s living room this time before Kyra and Courtney left for the night. Astrid was used to living by herself so she didn’t mind the silence, but it felt very different being in a new country where she didn’t fully understand the language yet. But the club had set up language lessons for her to attend while training so she could understand the basics which she was more than grateful for. 

The day finally came for her to officially sign her contract with Hammarby IF and receive her new kit so she could begin training with the team. She was handed her new jersey, flipping the back to reveal ‘Taylor’ above a massive 13, happy because it was her Matilda’s number but just flipped. And also happy because of the 13 and the fact her last name is Taylor; I mean it was just meant to be. 

She took some photos for social media so the club could officially announce her addition to the team and then got shown around the centre and where she would train with the team. It was beginning to feel a lot more real and she could feel her heart growing with excitement and anticipation for what her time here could look like. 

Safe to say her time at Hammarby was going to be good, and she had only just started. Training was already going great for Astrid, and being with Kyra and Courtney really helped, like having Cortnee at Sydney FC helped her last season. She had already felt her skills improving and it had only been a few days. Astrid was hyper focused while in training, working hard on her passes, taking constant shots at goal from both feet and ramping up her fitness during gym sessions. Astrid felt like she had something to prove here. 

She didn’t though, not to anyone that mattered. Her new coaches were very impressed with her ambition and her teammates were grateful to have her on the team. 

They had their first match since Astrid joined and she didn’t plan on them using her at all, happy to just watch the team flow and play like they had been since the season started. But it was getting close to full time and neither team had yet to score. The coaches had instructed a few of the subs to get warm, that included Astrid. 

After a few minutes she was replacing the current left forward, running onto the pitch and giving Kyra a high five who was further back as the left midfielder. From their matches at training, Kyra and Astrid found that when they were on that left side together they were a pretty good duo, despite not really playing together on the national team yet. Being friends might have helped but they had this connection where they didn’t need to say anything and the passes between them were flawless. And it was working during this game right now. 

Kyra stole the ball from the other team, dribbling it around her matched player and running it down the field. Astrid had seen her coming and ran closer to the box. Kyra struck the ball hard, it flew in the air and landed at Astrid’s feet. She took a few short strides but she had space so she swung her right foot at the ball towards the goal. The goalie had gone for it but it slipped past her fingers as she jumped for it, turning her head as she fell, watching the ball sink into the back net. 

The small home crowd cheered and Astrid ran towards Kyra as soon as she knew it was in. Astrid reached Kyra and jumped onto her, screaming with joy that she had scored for her first time on her new team. The team jumped onto the pair, Kyra holding her tight and shaking her as Astrid erupted in laughter. 

The match ended, Hammarby had won 1-0 and the whole team was ecstatic at their new teammate’s goal that got them the win. Kyra and Courtney were probably the most proud and Astrid couldn’t wipe her smile off her face. 

The team had celebrated in the change rooms for ages before they all showered and decided to go home, tired after the tough game but still buzzing with joy. It seemed as if Charli could sense that they were done because as soon as Kyra, Courtney and Astrid had begun walking home, she was calling her.

“WHOOOOOOO!” Charli screamed as soon as Astrid accepted the facetime, all three girls jumping back at the sudden noise. 

“Oh my god.” Astrid shook her head at Charli. “What a way to start a call.” The youngest girl spoke. 

“Well I’m just super happy for you guys. You should’ve seen me when you scored that goal, Astrid. I was off my couch within seconds screaming at my laptop.” Charli laughed and Astrid smiled. 

“Thank you! That’s so sweet Char.” Astrid pouted at the screen, her head whipping fast to Kyra when the girl took her phone from her. 

“Excuse me, I don’t know if you saw but I actually assisted that soooo…” Kyra teased and Charli just stared at her. Courntey and Astrid laughed beside each other as they walked. 

“Yes I saw. Well done Kyra.” Charli smiled at Kyra, sarcasm hiding in her voice which made Astrid snort, snatching the phone back from Kyra who scoffed. 

“Ugh, I miss you Char, I’m stuck with these losers now.” Astrid rolled her eyes playfully. 

“That’s so rude.” Courtney expressed from beside her. 

“You can get to training on your own now, Asteroid.” Kyra crossed her arms as she walked. Astrid’s jaw dropped and turned around, walking backwards to look her in the eyes. 

“That name is reserved for Macca and Macca only.” Astrid pointed at Kyra. Charli was laughing through the phone and Courtney slapped a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. 

Astrid’s tough facade eventually cracked and she couldn’t help but smile at the brown eyed girl who was running back up to her, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. 

“I’ll let you guys go and celebrate. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” Charli’s voice flowed and a smile appeared through the phone. 

“Okay, I’ll call you later today Char.” Astrid nodded at her. “Love you.” Astrid spoke first, Kyra and Courtney shortly behind with the same words. 

“BYEEEEEE” Charli excessively waved through the camera, the other three girls following her actions. The call ended and Astrid put her phone away, adjusting her kit bag strap before holding her arms out ready for Kyra and Courtney to link their arms with hers. They walk arm and arm back to their places, Astrid inviting them to come round later after she’s called her parents so they can have their post match dinner together. 

Astrid was feeling so grateful for how her life here was progressing already. She was with two of her bestfriends, she was improving on her football and she was enjoying her new home. 

to be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part five]

Words; 2.8k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing

masterlist

Astrid was beyond happy to be back home with her family. Although she had learnt over the years to be more independent and happy on her own while away on national camps and now with Sydney FC, she always missed her parents and tried to spend as much time with them as she could when she came home. 

Over the week she made sure to catch up with her extended family who lived close by, visiting her old club and teammates and spending plenty of time at the beach even though it was nearing winter time. 

Of course she kept up with her training and fitness even though she was technically on a break, knowing that even a small falter could impact her chance of a spot in the squad on the next camp. So even while she was out of her regular environment, she kept up with her routine; wake up, go for a run, have a smoothie, go to the gym, do a bit of training on a pitch with her dad and then have the day to spend catching up with the people she loved. 

Astrid loved being back home with everyone for the week, but a small part of her missed the life she had created for herself in Sydney, finding solace in having a space to herself. So after saying her goodbyes to her friends and family, she began the drive back, obviously playing Taylor Swift the whole way. 

She had only been driving for 30 minutes when her music was interrupted by a phone call from Lisa, her agent. 

“Hey Lisa.” Astrid spoke after answering the call. 

“Hey Astrid, how you doing?” Lisa asked. 

“Yeah I’m good, just on my way back to Sydney now. How are you?” Astrid was a little confused at the phone call but maybe she had something important to tell her.

“Nice. Yeah I’m good.” Lisa paused. “I know I’ve been M.I.A for a little bit, sorry, but I’ve got a few updates for you.” She added. 

“Oh okay. Yeah?” Astrid had been waiting for Lisa to get in contact with her for a while.

“Okay, so first up, next Matildas camp. They’ve set up two games against Spain and Portugal, and though no squad announcement or calls have been made, I’m feeling hopeful for you. Mainly because of your recent performances and the fact a lot of senior players won’t be joining.” Lisa informed her and Astrid felt a smile grow on her face. 

“Those games will be good and yeah, hopefully.” Astrid responded, waiting for Lisa to continue. 

“Second; club season.” Lisa paused.

“Yep.” Astrid grew nervous, having waited a while to hear anything since the season finished.

“Sydney FC have put in an offer for you to sign on with them again for the 2022/23 season which is great, you know everything and everyone there. And we know how much you can succeed there.” Astrid let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve also been contacted by some international teams… if you are interested.” Lisa added on. 

“Wait, are you serious? Who-what? Like what? They-who's interested?” Astrid sputtered out, heart stopping at the mention of international offers. 

“Well as you know, recently the Swedish League has picked up a lot of Australian players. A lot of who you are friends with in the Matildas. We've gotten two offers from two different clubs over there which is really incredible for you and really, really great for the Matildas as well.” Lisa was feeling a lot of pride in the young athlete as they talked about her first professional contract now that she was 18.  

“What this is crazy. Like who was- who's interested because that's, that's incredible.” Astrid was smiling widely, trying to concentrate on the road ahead of her while listening to the agent.  

“We've had offers come through from FC Rosengård where Charli and Teagan play. And also from Hammarby IF where Kyra and Courtney have just signed which is really great for you. I think your friends over there may have put in a good word, not that they needed to with your talent.” Astrid’s jaw dropped at this. 

“Okay.” Was all she could respond to Lisa with, this was crazy.

“I know this is a tough decision obviously, and this is just me telling you the information. You haven’t even seen any of the paperwork or what they are explicitly offering, so I have emailed them to you, and when you're back in Sydney take a look and have a think. They've given you a little while to decide, but their season has already started so I think they want to know as soon as possible.” Lisa paused. 

“Yeah, okay.” Astrid was brought back down from her excitement high, realising she would have to decide soon if she was ready to move overseas or stay at home in Sydney.

“Look, I know this is a big thing, especially because moving to a new country so young, it's a big decision for you and your family as well. But I really think that this could be really good for your career. This could also be the next step into getting over to the WSL which I know is your dream.” Lisa was right. Playing in the WSL, especially Arsenal, was her life goal and this could be a leg up. “I'll let you ponder and when you get home, take a while to read these offers.”

“Yeah of course.” Astrid’s mind had already begun to spin. 

“Don’t forget about the Sydney FC one as well, if that's something you’re wishing to continue, you know I am happy for you. It’s something you're used to, you've made relationships with people there and had a great season. But you've also got relationships with people who are in this Swedish league as well, so I'll let you think and get back to me in the next few days hopefully.” Lisa finished.

“I will.” Astrid nodded to herself, shaking her head to pause her spiralling thoughts until she got back to Sydney.

“Take care Astrid, speak to you soon.” Lisa said before Astrid bid her goodbye and they hung up. That’s a lot to think about.

Astrid got back to her apartment, immediately dropping her bags and pulling out her laptop, bringing up the emails Lisa had sent her. When she finally saw the offers she believed it, and a tear sprung to her eye, her lips curling into a small smile. She had finally proved herself as a footballer. 

Just 18 years old and she had received international contracts. She couldn’t believe it. Mary had moved overseas and joined Montpellier a few years ago at 17 so she knew it was possible to be at that level so young, but she never thought it would be a possibility for her.

She hadn’t even read over the offers before instantly thinking about all the time she would spend with Kyra and Courtney or Charli and Teagan at either club, how much fun they could have in a new country together. But then her mood changed at the thought of leaving home, leaving Sydney FC and Cortnee, especially having created such a strong relationship with her and the team over the past 5 months. She didn’t know what to do, and she didn’t want to decide alone. But before she did anything, she needed to read the offers she was presented. 

Sydney FC had only offered her another one year contract with a decent sum, obviously unaware other clubs had gained wind of her success and thought that she would stay on with them for a bit longer. FC Rosengård had also offered her a one year contract with a higher sum in an attempt to buy her out of Sydney FC, and by joining them she would be with Charli, her best friend. The best looking offer, according to Lisa in her email, came from Hammarby IF. They had offered a two year contract with the most amount of money, which didn’t matter that much to Astrid right now, and said they would help her in finding housing, transport and other necessities to get her on their team. Joining them would also mean joining Kyra and Courtney who were also just starting out over there. 

Her thoughts began racing again, this time allowing it unlike in the car. Do I really want to leave? Am I ready to? Am I really good enough for these clubs? Why don’t Sydney FC fight for me more?

Her breathing became a little more rapid and her chest tightened like it does when she feels a panic attack forming. The best way to stop it in the past has been to talk to someone, letting them talk her through it and calm her down. 

Logically the first person to call about this would be her parents, especially because she normally runs straight to them when she has any sort of major problem or news. But her first thought was to call one of her found sisters, Cortnee. 

After a few rings, the older girl finally picked up. 

“Hello?” Cortnee’s voice came through Astrid’s phone. 

“Hey Viney.” Her voice came out shaky, she tried to conceal it as best she could. 

“Hey, what’s up? You okay?” Cortnee furrowed her brows while sitting on her own couch with her partner Charlotte.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just-” Astrid cut herself off, deciding whether it was a good idea to call her. 

“Astrid?” Cortnee called out after a few seconds of silence. 

“Sorry, it’s stupid. I shouldn’t have bothered you.” Astrid shook her head, walking around her small kitchen.

“Hey, stop. Are you still back home or your place yet?” Cortnee was becoming increasingly worried, jumping up from her couch quickly, Charlotte watching with concern.

“I just got back to mine.” Astrid simply answered her. 

“Okay. Do you need to talk about something?” Cortnee asked softly, trying to get an answer out of her. 

“Sorta, yeah.” Astrid breathed slowly, trying to stop her panic from growing. 

“Do you want to do it on the phone? Or would in person be better?” Cortnee looked down at Charlotte who was confused, she mouthed ‘Astrid’ to her and Charlotte nodded in understanding. She had watched their sibling relationship grow while training with them at Sydney FC, glad Astrid knew someone while settling into the new environment all those months ago. 

“I don’t know.” She paused to think. “Maybe in person… only if you’re not busy, it’s not that urgent.” Astrid rushed out, feeling bad to drag Cortnee from anything. 

“No, it’s okay.” Cortnee looked down at Charlotte, silently asking if it was okay to go over; of course she nodded yes. “I’ll be there in a bit.” 

“Okay, thank you.” Astrid breathed out. She hung up the phone and closed her laptop, not wanting to stare at the offers again until Cortnee was there. 

10 minutes later and Cortnee was in Astrid’s kitchen, making them some tea before walking back over to Astrid on the couch. They hadn’t really spoken yet, besides greeting each other and Cortnee telling her to go sit down. 

“So, what’s going on?” The older girl asked, passing a cup to Astrid. She took a sip and a deep breath before talking, placing her cup down. 

“Lisa called me while I was on my way home today.” She eventually lifted her eyes to Cortnee. “Sydney have offered me another contract for next year.” She bit her lip. 

“Hey! That’s amazing.” Cortnee was visibly proud and happy and that’s what made Astrid’s heart sink again; how could she ever leave her? Cortnee could see she wasn’t as excited as her. “Or not?” She put her own cup down. 

“I also got offers from two other clubs,” Astrid finally spoke again, Cortnee listening intently. “In Sweden.” Cortnee’s jaw dropped. 

“OH MY GOD!” She smiled widely with pride and leapt forward to hug the young girl gently. “That’s fucking incredible.” Astrid let out a small laugh at Cortnee’s excitement. “Who with?” 

“Rosengård and Hammarby.” Astrid smiled softly. 

“Oh the girls will be so happy, have you told them?” Cortnee asked. Astrid shook her head and her smile faltered. “What’s wrong?” Astrid bit the inside of her cheek, trying to stop herself from crying.

“I don’t know what to do.” Astrid quickly wiped a tear that fell from her eye, Cortnee raising an eyebrow to prompt her to keep talking. “I don’t know if I’m ready. I mean I’ve only been in the A-League since November, not even a year nationally. What if I can’t keep up over there?” She began expressing her overgrowing thoughts. “And I’m only just 18, like making an international move is a big thing. And I’ve begun making a life here in Sydney with you and the girls. I would feel bad for leaving you because you’ve given me so much.” Astrid’s tears fell as she finally broke down. Cortnee’s heart broke at seeing her like this, she had only ever seen Astrid cry from happiness. 

“Come here.” Cortnee beckoned her closer, pulling her into her side. “This is a massive opportunity for you and your career. The Swedish league is one of the best. It can really help you become a better player. Just look at the improvement Charli and Teag’s have had since moving over there.” She began to comfort the girl. “And as for Sydney FC, you could stay with who and what you know, but you don’t have to.” She rubbed her hand up and down Astrid’s shoulder.

“But you do.” Astrid looked up at Cortnee. 

“Because that’s what I want to do. I’ve had international club offers come to me but SydFC is the place for me. Doesn’t mean it’s the place for you.” Cortnee was trying to encourage the younger player to try new things. “I have full faith in you and your talent, and you can definitely keep up over there. I mean, you scored two goals in your only two national team games. Like that’s just fucking crazy.” Cortnee shook Astrid who began to laugh.

“Thanks.” Astrid muttered before thinking. “So you’re not mad that I could be moving to Sweden?” 

“Of course not. I’m so happy for you.” She pulled her in for a hug. “If it’s what you really want to do, then go for it.” She let go and they looked at each other. 

“Okay.” She nodded to herself, eyes falling to her kitchen island. Astrid stood and collected the laptop before sitting back down and pulling up the offers. “Help me pick?” Astrid smiled at Cortnee who nodded and began reading the offers. 

After a while of seriously considering all the offers and what the clubs were like, Astrid had almost made her decision. She didn’t say it out loud to Cortnee yet, telling her she wanted to talk to her parents first and thanking her for coming over but to get back to Charlotte at home. 

That night she called her parents and told them about the offers. They were over the moon, so proud of what their not-so little girl had achieved so quickly. They were also scared and had a long, extensive talk with Astrid about the possibility of moving overseas, which was a difficult one to have. The conversation felt very similar to the one they had when she moved an hour away for Sydney FC, but on a much larger scale of course. She may be an adult now but she was still their child and wanted to know she would be safe when they couldn’t be there.

She still had a little while to decide and pick the offer that worked best for her and what would benefit her career the most but she felt she needed to decide quickly before she thought about it too much and did the wrong thing. 

So that night she texted her best friends. 

the best tillies 💚💛

Ky Ky 🪁

Cha Cha 💃

Nevy 🙉

Starry ⭐️

Starry ⭐️

hey guys

got a question for ya

Nevy 🙉

yes????

Ky Ky 🪁

I might have an answer…

Depends 

Cha Cha 💃

WOW

Actually using this chat besides sending 50 million tiktoks

Starry ⭐️

Wow Charlotte

How kind of you

Cha Cha 💃

Hurry up

Starry ⭐️

Moving on from your rudeness…

Do you guys know of any good coffee shops in Sweden?

You know how I need coffee to function every morning

especially before training

Nevy 🙉

WHAT THE FUCK

Ky Ky 🪁

NO WAY

Cha Cha 💃

ARE YOU FINALLY MOVING TO SWEDEN BITCH?!?!?!

Starry ⭐️

So is that a yes?

To be continued….

The Feels || Alessia Russo

Alessia Russo x Reader

Summary: Five times you and Alessia soft launched yourselves on social media, and one time you two hard launched your relationship.

Warnings: Maybe a tad bit of angst and a lot of tooth-rotting fluff & comfort

Word count: 7k words

A/N: I don't really know if this makes sense, but I liked it and decided to share it. An Alessia fic was requested second-most to an Alexia fic, so here it is.

1. Festival Dates, Ferris Wheels, & The Feels

Sometimes, rumors were a pain in the ass. Today, however, you’d never appreciated your teams’ gossiping tendencies more. It had come to your attention during shooting drills with the one and only Katie McCabe that one of Arsenal’s latest signings, Alessia Russo, had a crush on you. Unbeknownst to anyone but Katie, it was a crush that you returned. 

You’d always been rather confident in yourself and so, with this new piece of intel, you took it upon yourself to ask Alessia out. Alessia had readily agreed, but now the stress fell onto you to figure out just where the two of you could spend a few hours getting to know each other. Yet again, you consulted the person who had gotten everything started, who also happened to be your best friend. You and Katie had spent several hours plotting for the big day, finally deciding upon what to do. You texted Alessia and told her that you’d be picking her up from her house and giving her a specific time. 

The day came along, and after you finished up team training, you came back to your apartment and showered before leaving to go pick up Alessia. On the way, you bought the gifts that you had debated (at great length, honestly) with Katie on getting, having been nervous that getting the blonde gifts on a first date would be too forward or too overwhelming for the other woman. McCabe had reassured you several times that you would be fine, however. 

While you were borderline terrified, given how things had ended with your ex-girlfriend, you still found yourself making the drive over to Alessia’s. Your last relationship hadn’t gone well, and you didn’t know if you were ready to love or to accept love again, something was always in the back of your mind nagging at you– what if you got hurt again? 

As you stood on Alessia’s front step, holding a bouquet of flowers, you noticed that your hands shook due to nerves. As you raised your hand to knock, you felt yet another wave of nerves crash over you, nearly dropping your gifts just as Alessia opened the door. Alessia poked her head out, grinning wildly at you. 

“Hey, Y/N! You look amazing.” And just like that, the nerves and all of those negative thoughts were gone. An aura of calmness radiated from the other woman, transferring over onto you, and you held out the roses for the other woman to take with a small smile. 

“Hi, Lessi. You look– gorgeous,” You nearly stumbled over your words as you took the other woman in. You’d instructed her to dress casually, and it was simply amazing how Alessia could take the words right from your mouth in just a pair of jeans paired and a simple white top. 

“Thank you. For everything, honestly– you certainly didn’t have to get me these!” She held up the flowers, taking a second to smell them as she grinned before taking a step back into her apartment. “I’m just going to put these in a vase, you’re more than welcome to come in.”

You took a step into the house, closing Alessia’s front door behind yourself as Alessia walked away to go take care of the flowers. You could have followed, but chose to take a moment to calm your racing heart, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. To be perfectly honest, you’d been dreaming of this day ever since you’d first set eyes on the blonde forward. You’d first met her in 2021, facing off against her in your first ever WSL appearance as you played for Arsenal against Manchester City. 

You’d struggled back and forth with Alessia the entire game, as you were a defender. Arsenal had pulled away with a win, but at the end of the match you had gone up to Alessia to formally meet her, asking to exchange jerseys. That wouldn’t be the last time you’d formally speak with her, as the two of you would be matched up in several more games afterward. You’d never thought your crush would ever come to see the light of day, but here you were, standing on the welcoming mat of Alessia Russo’s apartment, waiting for her to put the bouquet you’d gifted her in a vase. 

It didn’t take long before Alessia returned to you, and by then you’d calmed yourself down enough to make conversation without stuttering over the words. As you two got to your car, and all throughout the drive to the destination you’d picked out, the two of you kept up a conversation. You talked about everything from football to your favorite breakfast foods to Lessi’s UNC days, with you wondering what the extended duration in the United States had been like. Every once in a while, Alessia would ask you where the two of you were going, but you’d always give her a teasingly inconspicuous answer. 

“You’re not secretly taking me to a scary alley and murdering me, right?” Alessia joked at one point, causing you to tilt your head towards her and waggle your eyebrows, rewarding you with Alessia’s giggles. 

Finally, the two of you arrived at the gates of a festival just as the sun was beginning to set. You paid for your tickets and spent the evening chatting with Alessia on your arm, playing festival games, eating some different foods, and sharing jokes and laughter. At one point, you ended up winning a small stuffed bear, which you immediately gifted to Alessia with a smile and a bow, yet again resulting in Alessia giggling, a noise which you were beginning to associate as the eighth wonder of the world. Nearing the end of your night, Alessia convinced you to ride the ferris wheel with her, despite your fear of heights. 

As the two of you neared the top, you couldn’t help but shift closer to Alessia, nervously taking in your distance from the ground. Noticing your slight distress, Alessia brought one of her arms around your shoulders and tugged you into her side, grabbing your hand and holding it in hers with her other arm. You looked at her with a smile, which Alessia returned. Festival music carried on in the background, a song which you faintly recognized as “The Feels” by the Labrinth playing. A small draft of wind had picked up, the heat of the woman beside you keeping you from becoming too chilled. 

“I really enjoyed tonight,” You confessed to the other woman.

“So did I, thank you for bringing me out.” Alessia said back, her breaths brushing across your cheeks due to your close proximity and causing you to blush. Your eyes wandered down to her lips before going back up to her eyes, noticing Alessia looking at your own lips. 

Your fear of heights long forgotten, your heart rate picked up for an entirely different reason as you whispered out, “I’d really like to kiss you right now,”

“Then do it.” Alessia responded, and you brought your free hand up to cup her jaw, closing your eyes as you shifted slightly and guided her lips to your own. Just at that moment, the music in the background picked up as the beat dropped, something that you only faintly picked up on as you were consumed in everything that was Alessia Russo. The kiss was impossibly soft, and the music seemed to pick up at that moment, a song which you faintly picked up on. After a few seconds, the two of you parted, and you beamed at the blue-eyed woman, and she giggled at the giddy expression on your face. Just before the two of you began to move down the ferris wheel, Alessia pulled out her phone and pulled you further into her, for another kiss, capturing the moment with a photo. Parting from you again, she took a picture of the night sky and festival terrain beneath the two of you before quickly pocketing her phone once again. 

“I wanted to capture the moment,” She explained to you, and you just laughed again, bringing her in for a quick peck as the two of you descended back towards the ground. 

Later that night, when you returned home, you opened up your phone to answer Alessia, telling her that you’d made it back to your own apartment safely. 

Opening up Instagram, you saw that Alessia had posted something on her story and opened it, seeing one of the two pictures the woman had taken on the ferris wheel on her story. It was the picture of the sky and the festival, the one that didn’t feature the two of you, which you were grateful for as part of your conversation today had been about keeping what was between the two of you private. As you continued to watch her story, you realized that there was a song playing in the background, the very same one that had played during your first kiss– “The Feels” by Labrinth. Alessia’s attention to detail, and the entire gesture of affection, brought a smile to your face. The smile lasted even as you put down your phone and laid back against your bed, falling asleep to the thoughts of your long-awaited first date with Alessia Russo. 

—--

2. First Meetings, Proud Goals, & Family Dinner

It wasn’t very often that you found yourself in the stands during football matches, but here you were, sitting beside Alessia’s family and watching your girlfriend play on the field in front of you. 

The twist? It was the first time you were formally meeting Alessia’s family without Alessia by your side. 

Having suffered a minor knee injury a few short weeks ago, you’d been unavailable for call ups for the England Lionesses. Instead of watching the match from your apartment couch, Alessia’s family had contacted you and plotted with you to surprise your girlfriend at the match. 

The two of you had been secretly dating for a few months, now, and were still going strong. While the two of you weren’t incredibly obvious, a few of your teammates were beginning to figure out the two of you were a thing. Honestly, you’d just been surprised that McCabe had been able to keep her mouth shut for so long. 

Prior to this, you’d had quick talks with each of Alessia’s parents through the phone when they facetimed or called Alessia while you happened to be there. You’d met one of Alessia’s brothers, Luca, at a match before as well, but the rest of them were completely unfamiliar to you. The entire thing was slightly unconventional, and you’d have rather had Alessia with you when you met the rest of your family, but the Russo family made the entire thing go by quite smoothly, to your surprise. 

As adorable as the entire situation was, you’d never been so nervous in your entire life, and you’d played in the World Cup! As you’d greeted Alessia’s parents and siblings outside of the stadium, you’d been surprised to be pulled into hugs by each of them. It had been a surprisingly warm welcome, making all the worrying that you’d been doing over meeting her family for the first time, alone, seem all for nought. You were sat at the end of the aisle, next to Alessia’s father, Mario, who kept nudging you to keep up a steady flow of conversation, much to your entertainment. 

All throughout the match, Alessia’s family showed you baby pictures of Less, some of which you asked them to send to you. They told you stories of Alessia as a teenager and as a child, and you felt it was only fair to share some of your own. 

At halftime, the Lionesses were up by 3. As Alessia turned to head back to the locker rooms, she looked up and caught your gaze. You saw her go through several different stages of emotions, ranging from confusion, to surprise, to absolute elation as a huge grin broke across her face and she waved to you eagerly. You waved back, nudging Mario, who was also waving and laughing at his daughter’s facial expressions. 

During the game, you took a few pictures– some of yourself with Alessia’s family members, and a few of the field in front of you. You looked through them before deciding to post one of them on your Instagram story. As you made up the story, you hesitated on how to send a secret message to your lover, as the two of you had been enjoying sending subtle hints and messages through your stories and posts. Smiling a little bit, you put a small red heart in the corner of a picture of the stadium that you had taken earlier. Then, you posted it. 

After that, you pocketed your phone, making the conscious decision to be more present during the match and to soak up the moments with Alessia’s family while you could.

When Alessia scored an absolute banger of a goal, you burst to your feet with the rest of Alessia’s family. Shouting your pride for your secret girlfriend for the world to hear, your voice joined the thousands of those in attendance to watch the Lionesses that day, but yours was the only one that Alessia cared about as she tapped a finger to her chest, tilting her head in your direction as she looked at you in the audience. The moment was incredibly special, smiles on both of your faces. The moment lasted a brief second, but felt like so much longer, before Alessia was embraced by the rest of the Lionesses on the field in a huge group hug, breaking your eye contact. 

At the end of the match, Alessia was making her way around the field, conversing with different people and signing things for fans. Finally, she made it around to you and her family, coming close to give each of you hugs. When her arms reached up and around the barrier to embrace you, she got as close to your face as she could before whispering out, “Hi, baby. Thank you for surprising me.” 

“I’m so proud of you, Lessi.” You whispered back, before letting your girl go to hug the rest of her family members. You all spoke for a few minutes before Alessia had to go to change.

You saw your girlfriend again outside of the stadium, giving her another hug as you all decided to go out to eat together. You shared a nice meal with Alessia and her family for a few hours, enjoying getting to know everyone even more as you and Alessia sat next to each other, surrounded by her family that was slowly beginning to feel like your own. 

That night, as Alessia lay in her own bed in her apartment, she pulled up Instagram and saw that you had posted something on your story. Tapping on your icon, a picture of the field came up on her screen, and it took her a second to notice the red heart in the corner that she knew was meant for her. With a smile, she tapped back onto your story to look at it again before sending you a goodnight text, consciously putting a red heart into her text message before shutting off her phone and falling asleep with a huge, cheesy grin on her face. 

—-- 

3. Chocolates, Flowers, & Bears – Oh my!

As you made your way up the steps to Alessia’s North London apartment, you found yourself reminiscing in a scene similar to this one. Holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand, a box of chocolates in the other, and a stuffed bear stuffed beneath your elbow, all of which had been carefully planned out between you and the notorious Katie McCabe. You were reminded of your first date as you rapped on Alessia’s front door with the back of one of your free hands, unable to keep the excited grin from your face. 

It was Valentine’s Day, and you had planned to take Alessia out to a nice dinner, planning to pick her up for a late reservation at her favorite restaurant. For the occasion, you were dressed in black formal wear and had told Alessia to dress nicely as well. As Alessia opened the door, you took her in and your smile fell from your face slightly, an expression of concern replacing it. 

She wore a beautiful, tight-fitting black dress which accentuated her curves and long legs, and for a moment the sight of her took your breath away. Then, you took in her face, and it became very quickly obvious to you that your girlfriend wasn’t feeling it tonight. She had black bags beneath her tired-looking eyes, and her hands fidgeted at her side nervously. You knew that she’d been feeling quite stressed lately, with football and making sure that she was scoring enough goals to satisfy her own standards, which had always been far above anybody else’s. She was her own toughest critic, and it appeared that tonight it was all crashing down on her. 

“Hi, baby. Are you doing okay?” You asked gently, stepping forward. The second you spoke, you saw a tear beginning to form in the corner of Alessia’s eye and your heart broke a little bit at the image. 

“I’m okay. Are you ready to go?” Alessia asked, trying to brush past the fact that she was obviously upset. You shook your head, thinking about how to correctly go about this without bringing up your girlfriends’ feelings, as it seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it and you knew better than to prod at her. 

“Actually, I was hoping we could have a night in?” Your voice was soft and hopeful-sounding, and the second you voiced it a look of relief washed up upon your girlfriends’ face. 

“Yes, please.” She whispered, and you smiled gently. Alessia took a step back to allow you into her home, pushing the door closed behind you.

“Go get changed, baby. I’ll set up the couch for a movie night, how does that sound?” You asked, and Alessia looked at you with such a look of adoration that you nearly melted on the spot. Nodding eagerly, Alessia didn’t think twice before making her way further into her apartment in the direction of her room. While she changed, you kicked your shoes off next to Alessia’s welcome mat before going about setting up Alessia’s living room for a night in. 

You placed the bouquet you’d gotten Alessia in a vase, setting both items on her counter to replace the last bouquet you’d gotten her. You set the chocolates and the stuffed bear on the counter as well before grabbing all of Alessia’s favorite snacks and putting them into bowls, bringing them into the living room and setting them on a table in front of her couch. You went back to the kitchen, grabbing two drink bottles and bringing them back to the living room as well, setting them on the table next to the snacks. Next, you went about preparing the movie.

You specifically remembered Alessia mentioning that she’d never seen the Wizard of Oz during training, despite having the movie on one of her shelves. So, you went about putting that movie on the television before pulling out some blankets and pillows and setting them on the couch. By the time you’d finished, Alessia was coming out of her room. She’d changed into a large sleep shirt and sweatpants with long, fuzzy socks. The second she saw you and what you’d set up, a large smile broke across her face. 

“Thank you, Y/N. It looks very cozy,” Alessia whispered gently, feeling so cared for in the moment that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. She’d been so stressed lately that this had been exactly what she’d needed today, and she was so grateful that you’d seemed to sense that. Coming up to you, she gently pecked your lips before handing you a large hoodie of hers and shorts. “Go change, baby. I’ll be right here when you get back!” 

With that, Alessia took several steps backward before plopping herself down on her own couch, looking up at you expectantly when you didn’t budge. You were staring at her, a fond smile on your face. 

“What?” Alessia asked, appearing confused. 

“You’re so beautiful.” You whispered, in awe of the woman before you. A blush rose to Alessia’s cheeks quickly at your words and she shooed you away to go get changed, a smile rising to her face. 

Once you came back, you sat down on the couch and pulled Alessia over to you. Putting your feet up on the couch and laying back, Alessia quickly climbed on top of you and threw her arms around you, resting her head on your chest. You laid one arm on her back, starting the movie before bringing up your other hand to gently card your fingers through her hair the way that you knew calmed her down. 

As the two of you laid there, your hand tracing patterns on her back as the other gently stroked her head, Alessia’s hand crept up your chest and to the open skin of your collarbone, tracing the skin there as she focused on the movie. Just a moment later, she spoke up softly.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, Less?” You asked, equally as softly.

“Thank you for this. I’m sorry I ruined your plans, though. I know you worked hard to plan tonight.” She sounded sorry, and you frowned gently, your hand leaving her hair to go to her chin and guide her head upward to look at you. 

“Less, you ruined nothing. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing right now.” You reassured the other woman, a fond smile replacing the frown on your face as Alessia smiled gently at you.

“I’ll make it up to you. We can do something fancy tomorrow, if you want.” Alessia still felt sorry, and you could tell from both her words and her intonation. Shaking your head, your thumb stroked her cheek gently as you spoke.

“Less, fancy or not, we could be shoveling three-day-old trash and I’d still be happy because I’m with you. You don’t have to make up for anything, love.” Your words seemed to strike a cord in the other woman as she gently leaned further up into you, placing a soft kiss against your lips. You two probably would have kissed for longer if you’d have been able to keep the smile from your face. However, as you smiled into the kiss, Alessia couldn’t fight back her own smile and pulled away, the both of you grinning widely at each other. 

“I love you,” Alessia murmured passionately. “So, so, so much.” 

Your grin became impossibly larger at the other woman’s words– you’d known you’d loved her for a long time, but neither of you had ever said it. “I love you too, Less. So much.” 

The two of you would spend the night together, cuddled up and munching on different snacks. When the movie finished, Alessia invited you to stay the night, which you oh-so-gratefully accepted. That night, you made your small instagram story together. The two of you chose a simple picture of the stuffed bear, flower bouquet, and chocolates that you’d bought Alessia and chose to play “The Feels” over the background of the story, posting it to Alessia’s instagram. 

Turning off your phones for the night, the two of you fell into bed together. Cuddled into each other, you both fell asleep with soft smiles upon each of your faces. 

—--

4. Cookies, Puppy Love, & Keys

A knock came at your door, to which you stood up from your position on your couch to make your way over to the door. Opening it revealed your gorgeous girlfriend in a casual jumper and joggers, and a huge smile broke out across your face. However, your girlfriend barely even looked at you as she squealed out in excitement, scooping the wiggling figure out of your arms rather quickly. 

“Oh my gosh! He’s so adorable!!” Lessi gushed, her beautiful eyes crinkling at the corners as she held up your newly adopted puppy at eye level. You’d named the tiny puppy Jasper, which you thought was an appropriate name for the hyperactive animal. It licked at your girlfriends’ face, causing her to giggle, and you quickly ushered her into the house with a smile, your own laughs gently leaving your mouth at the scene. 

You’d made the decision to buy the puppy as the first of many decisions that month. The second decision was packed into your back pocket, waiting for the perfect moment to be pulled out. You’d invited Less over for your day off of training, having not spent as much time as you would have liked alone with the other woman. 

As your girlfriend continued to giggle at Jasper, who wiggled and barked and licked like all puppies do, a timer beeped and you startled. Alessia turned to look up at you from her newfound position on the floor as Jasper crawled all over her. 

“What was that?” Less asked, and you smiled. 

“I figured we could bake cookies today, if that would be okay with you?” Your voice was unsteady, the nerves of how big the day was for you bleeding into your voice. Alessia’s brows furrowed but she smiled nonetheless, choosing to not make a big deal out of your quaky voice and deciding that you’d tell her if anything was wrong, as was the usual for your relationship of nearly two years. 

“Oh– of course! I’d love to do that!” Alessia said excitedly, and you grinned as Jasper took advantage of her momentary distraction to nip at her fingers, causing Alessia to yelp in surprise and continue on giggling and speaking to the puppy as if he were a human. Amused, you made your way into the kitchen and began going about making the dough for the cookies, figuring your girlfriend would join you when she was ready. Besides, you were more than happy to bake cookies from your spot in the kitchen, which allowed you to watch as Alessia rolled around with Jasper on the ground. 

Jasper continued to pounce and jump all over your girlfriend and, inspired by her giggles and adorable squeaks, you quickly pulled out your phone to snap a picture of the two. 

After a few minutes, Alessia did get up from the ground and make her way over to where you stood at your kitchen counter, your back momentarily turned towards her as you mixed some ingredients together. Taking her chance, the other woman folded her arms around your middle, wrapping you up in a gentle hug from behind and planting a soft kiss against the skin of your neck. 

Turning your head towards your girlfriend, you waited for her to look up to connect your lips. Her hands began to wander, inching below the fabric of your loose-fitting t-shirt to rest against the skin of your stomach, fingers gently digging into your hips as she continued to kiss you. One of her hands wandered to grab at your ass, and you moaned into the kiss, your head falling back as you detached your kiss. Your girlfriend, however, took the initiative to kiss at your neck, gently nipping and sucking but making sure not to leave any visible marks, as the two of you were still quite secretive about your relationship. Your teammates knew, as did your families, but most others were kept in the dark about the two of you.

Alessia continued her assault on your neck, one hand trailing along your behind as her other one trailed up the musculature of your stomach, heading upward to grasp at your chest. Just as the kiss was getting even more heated, a second timer went off, causing you to jump in your girlfriends’ hold. Throughout your kiss, Jasper had also been yipping at the two of you, but everything had seemed to turn to background noise. Now, however, the noises of the kitchen broke past your kiss-drunken haze as you turned in your girlfriends’ hold, pecking her lips quickly before darting over to turn off the timer. Alessia grinned gently, knowing that she’d have plenty of time to continue what she’d begun later. She took up the task that you’d been distracted from, mixing up some ingredients together as you worked to prepare the oven for the cookies. 

As you and Alessia worked together to make cookies, with a couple of kisses thrown in here and there, as well as some love given to Jasper, you could feel your secret weighing you down. Finally, as you set the last tray of cookies down onto a tray to cool off, you looked at your girlfriend. She’d thrown her hair up into a messy bun and the sleeves of her jumper had been rolled up to avoid getting them dirty, and she also had a dash of flour on one of her cheeks. To you, she’d never looked so beautiful before. You nearly forgot your words, and Alessia took a step towards you, gently putting her hands on your waist and tugging you into her to press a gentle kiss on your lips.

“Come back to me, sweet.” Alessia murmured, her worry seeping through at how nervous you looked. Instead of responding, you rested your head against her shoulder for a moment and forced yourself to take a deep breath before starting again.

“Less– I’ve been thinking about this for a really, really long time and I know that we haven’t really talked too much about it, but I really want this and if you want it too then I think it would work. Of course, you can always say no and I would never be hurt or offended but–”

“Baby, slow down and breathe.” Alessia reassured you, pecking at your lips again as she cut off your rambling with a tiny giggle. You looked into her blue eyes as a blush rose to your cheeks. Deciding to just cut off the rest of your ill-planned speech, you blurted out the question you’d been meaning to ask for the last couple of weeks. 

“Move in with me?” 

“I would love to, baby.” Alessia responded almost instantaneously, and you grinned. 

“Really?!” You couldn’t help but be excited at the prospect of living in the same house as the love of your life. The two of you had remained in separate apartments throughout your relationship due to the secrecy of it. However, the more people who knew about the two of you, the less concerned you were about your private affairs being more known to the world. Besides, it wasn’t uncommon for those in the footballing world to move in together, as loads of your teammates had shared apartments. 

“Of course– I could barely say no when you bribe me with puppies and cookies!” Alessia jokes, and you couldn’t help but smile at her, bringing her closer for yet another unbelievably soft kiss. 

As the two of you sat with your puppy and a plate full of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, you showed Alessia the picture that you’d taken of her. She asked that you send the picture to her, which you did eagerly, before turning off your phones for the day so that you could spend the rest of your time together without the outside chatter. You two spent the rest of your day eating cookies, talking, and playing with Jasper without a care in the world about anything else. 

A few weeks later, Alessia posted a monthly recap post to her instagram, the very first photo featuring the picture you’d taken of her with Jasper. The caption of the post? “A big month with the ones I love most <3”

It was this post that began to really spark the speculation of the fans that the two of you were dating. 

Surprisingly, neither of you minded. 

—--

5. Late Nights, Silent Mornings, & Kitchen Dancing

Rolling over in the bed you shared with your girlfriend, you sighed. The two of you had gone to bed many hours ago, exhausted from a day full of training and media work. However, while your girlfriend had fallen asleep almost instantaneously, you’d found yourself unable to do the same. 

Sighing yet again, you decided to get up and go get a glass of water, deciding that all of your shifting would do nothing but wake your girlfriend up, and you dreaded what would happen if you dared interrupt her beauty sleep. Sitting up and climbing out of the bed, you turned and found the covers that you had kicked about in all of your rolling, pulling them up and over your still-sleeping girlfriend. Turning the corner of the bed, you snagged a sweatshirt from on top of a chair that you knew belonged to your girlfriend, relishing in how it smelled of her as you shrugged the material over your sports bra. Before you finally left the room, you planted a soft, lingering kiss on your girlfriends’ forehead. 

Jasper sat at the foot of your bed, head perking up as you left the room, but ultimately staying where he was and deciding to sleep instead of follow you.

Softly treading down the hallway and reaching the kitchen, you went about preparing a glass of water. Once done, you drank most of it but held the half-full glass in one hand as you leaned against the counter, beyond tired but still unable to find yourself to be in the mood to sleep. You were, to be quite frank, annoyed at your inability to sleep, and wondered if it was due to stress. After all, your contract for Arsenal was running out soon and they had yet to renew it, despite all of your teammates and your girlfriend telling you that there was no way they wouldn’t renew it, given how successful you had been, especially as of late.

So consumed in your frustrated thoughts, you didn’t hear your girlfriend approaching until she was right in front of you. 

“Baby? Love? Are you alright?” She murmured, voice raspy from sleep. 

“Oh– Less, baby. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” You whispered back, your own voice raspy but due to lack of sleep. Alessia frowned at you, standing in just a sports bra and sweatpants that you thought may have been yours. Instead of speaking, she took a few steps towards you and opened her arms to embrace you. As soon as you stepped towards her, she tugged you all the way into her and wrapped her arms around your middle in a giant bear hug, resting her head on your shoulder. 

“Did you want to talk about what’s keeping you up?” She asked gently, but you shook your head against her shoulder and she sighed, knowing better than to pry right now. Instead, she began to gently rock back and forth, an idea springing up in her head. Removing her hands from around you and taking a half step back, she took one of your hands in hers before wrapping her other one back around you, tugging you right back into her. Confused, you wrapped your free arm around her neck, growing even more confused as Alessia began to guide you around the kitchen humming and giggling as she began to sing, guiding you to dance to the beat of whatever song she was softly singing.

You couldn’t help but giggle, especially when your clumsy girlfriend tripped and nearly sent the two of you careening towards the ground. You were able to catch your footing, however, saving the two of you from what would have probably put you on Arsenal’s ever-persistently growing list of injured players. 

You two continued to dance for several more minutes, Alessia choosing to rest her head against your chest. As you danced, she became so consumed in listening to the steady beat of your heart that she forgot she was supposed to be humming. Instead, the two of you rocked to no beat at all, content to just be close to each other. 

Finally, you yawned, signaling that it was time to try to sleep again. Alessia guided you back towards your room to try to sleep again. Shifting in the bed, Alessia held you in her arms until she was sure that you were asleep before also falling asleep. 

It wasn’t until a few weeks later that you saw evidence of that late night featured as one of many on Alessia’s next instagram post– it was of you leaning against the counter, nothing but a shadow in a dimly-lit kitchen. It had been a dark moment for you, and you wondered why Alessia had bothered taking the picture without you knowing. However, as you continued to stare at the small photo, you noticed that Alessia had somehow managed to turn something so dark into something light and beautiful– the way that you stood, leaning against the counter, made you seem so human and perfectly captured… Well, you. It took you a few minutes to truly understand why Alessia had taken the photo, and you realized that, while the moment had been dark, the memory itself was light and fluffy. This would always be something that you’d marvel about your lover, and be sure to tell her about. Lessi was, after all, the light of your life, and it was moments like these where you knew that to be true. 

—--

6. Secrets, Magical Gardens, & Fountains

After Alessia’s last instagram post, fans were calling you the new Preath with how the two of you continuously “soft launched” your relationship, or lack of relationship… nobody really knew, honestly. Some speculated that some of Alessia’s instagram photos and stories pointed at your relationship together, while others claimed that was pure speculation. It was something that you and your girlfriend often laughed about together. After four years together, you’d never been closer or happier with the woman you loved. The two of you were still teammates at Arsenal and successful as ever, and as stable as the two of you were, you still felt like something was shifting between the two of you. 

Waking up this morning on a day off, Alessia told you to dress nicely, to which you did. Alessia herself decided upon a flowy white top and high-waisted pants. She had told the two of you that you were going somewhere but, as she drove with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on your thigh, she had yet to tell you where. 

After what seemed like ages of driving and soft conversation, Alessia pulled the car into a parking space in front of a huge, gorgeous botanical garden. Opening the door, Alessia stood in front of the car and held out her hand for you to take, which you did. Together, the two of you walked around the garden and admired all of the different types of flowers and plants. Idle chatter filled the space between the two of you, and the weather was just simply perfect. 

Coming up to a clearing that featured a large, beautiful water fountain, Alessia suddenly stopped. Turning towards you, you suddenly realized why everything had felt like it was shifting as of late. Alessia Russo dropped down to one knee in front of you, pulling a black box from the back pocket of her pants and opening it to reveal a gorgeous ring. You could barely process the moment, having been completely oblivious to Alessia’s plans. Little did you know that your partner had been planning this moment for months, utilizing the ever-present Katie McCabe to plan out her proposal. 

Not wasting a moment, Alessia spoke to you. Her blue eyes sparkled with adoration and emotion as her voice quivered, but remained true. 

“Y/N M/N L/N, from festival dates to football matches, to movie nights and early mornings spent dancing in the kitchen, I have spent hours upon hours doing the things I love with the person I love the most. You make even the smallest things seem like the most significant, and there is nothing I would love more in the world than to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes. Yes. A thousand and one times, yes.” And with that, Alessia slipped the ring on your finger. 

The instagram post arose several days later, when both of you had the time to announce your engagement and simultaneously officialize the relationship between the two of you. It was your final hard launch after several years of soft launching and teasing the fans endlessly.

The picture the two of you chose was of Alessia on one knee in front of the fountain, both arms extended up to you with the ring box open in her hands. Your hands were on your face, the emotion that bled from the both of you prevalent in the photo. The caption for the photo was simple, “A thousand times, yes. Fiances at last.” 

The song that played in the background was the one that seemed to tie it all together, “The Feels” by Labrinth. The song and its lyrics reminded you of you terrified you’d been, standing at Alessia’s front door just before your first date, a shaky mess. You remembered wondering if you’d be hurt again, if dating again was worth the risk and suffering of yet another heartbreak. 

Now, as you laid next to your sleeping fiancé, you knew that the risk you had taken had been more than worth it. You would always be grateful to your younger self for taking that massive leap and choosing to trust Alessia Russo with your heart. Closing your eyes and laying back down beside the love of your life, you fell asleep with a smile of absolute satisfaction and love upon your face.

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part four]

Words; 3.2k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing, mentions of alcohol

A/N; took me a while to do this one so sorry its a bit late. hopefully you enjoy this, I really like this one. again, please give it some love and hope you like it. also this might have a love interest at some point but i haven't figured it out yet. x

masterlist

The team had now travelled down to Canberra for their second and final match against New Zealand again. Throughout the day they had taken their match day walk, eaten their meals together and prepared for the game, feeling somewhat confident after their last win over the opposing team. 

Astrid was still on a buzz from the last game and the love she had been showered in from her teammates, coaches, parents and especially the fans. Making her debut and scoring a goal in the same game on home soil was something really special and Astrid never thought that she would be doing it so young. She was still only 17 and had accomplished so much. 

She was in a really good mood and the team could tell. She usually had a fun, bubbly personality, constantly making jokes and pulling lighthearted pranks but today she just had an extra aura about her that instantly lightened the mood of everyone on the team. And they knew why. Not only had she been promised some minutes on the pitch this game, but tomorrow was her 18th birthday. Finally, the baby of the team was becoming an adult; legally at least. And she got to celebrate with her new family; her own unable to until she planned to go home for a little while, now that club season was over and the next camp wasn’t until late June.

The rest of the day was spent in focus mode, making sure everyone was warm and ready for what could be another tough game. 

The Matildas were off to a great start, taking possession of the ball and a good few attempts at scoring within the first 14 minutes before a corner from Steph and header from Sam secured their lead on the game. Only two minutes later and a great shot from the edge of the penalty box by Hayley, the ball just skimming past the goalie, had given them that extra leg up on New Zealand. 

A shot from Sam had brought them up to 3-0 before New Zealand secured their first goal in the extra time before the whistle blew for halftime and the substitutes got themselves up to warm up in the break. 

Astrid, Charli and Kyra found themselves chatting about Astrid’s upcoming birthday while practising passes and shots at the goal. 

“Guys it’s not that big of a deal.” Astrid spoke, taking a shot at the net with her right foot, surpassing Teagan’s attempt to block it, sending it right in the back, a small smile at Teagan before turning to the girls with confused expressions on their faces. 

“Not a big deal?” Charli used air quotes, stopping her small passes with Kyra. “First of all it’s your first birthday with the team,” She began counting her fingers as she walked closer to Astrid. “It’s tomorrow,” She counted a second finger.  “AND it’s your 18th. What is wrong with you?” Charli was clearly more passionate about this than Astrid, gripping the younger girl’s shoulder, trying to look stern but failing, letting out that signature smile. 

“I’m with Charli.” Kyra had stepped forward to the pair. Astrid bit her top lip, staying silent, contemplating Charli’s reason. 

“Ugh fine. I guess we could do something,” Astrid finally gave in. “But!” She lifted a finger, Charli and Kyra grinning slightly. “Nothing crazy okay, everyone is about to go back to clubs so they probably want to relax.” Astrid spoke, grunting softly as they engulfed her in a hug after sharing a sneaky smirk with one another. 

The second half of the game had finally started, and even with a few misses at a shot, the Matildas were still doing well. Substitutions had been made for both sides, all the Aus subs continuing to keep warm and moving on the sidelines. It was at the 70th minute that Alanna went down from a head collision, resulting in a broken nose and having to leave the pitch. That led to Charli being subbed on a few minutes later as a defender, happiness from Astrid growing for Charli and worry growing for Alanna as she was taken to the changeroom. 

Again with only 15 minutes until full time, Astrid got to take her place on the pitch, subbing for Caitlin in the left forward position, the coaches hoping her fresh legs might help gain them another goal before the end of the game. And they were right. 

The ball was shot far from Lydia, sending it to the midfield where Sam had collected it, heading for the goal but ran out of space, shooting it over to Astrid who shot it through the goalie’s still legs as she expected a higher shot, and slotted it right in the back of the net. The crowd roared, Astrid ran directly to the midfield where most of the team watched the shot, immediately covering the young girl with their bodies, screaming and yelling at her goal that brought them to 4-1. 

The huddle of players parted, Charli making sure to press a kiss to Astrid’s forehead before they both ran off to their positions again with wide smiles. The final whistle blew and Australia had won against New Zealand again, Astrid fighting the urge to run and celebrate with her friends, instead calmly shaking hands with the opposition and sharing clap hugs with her teammates. 

The team all get to their huddle after a few minutes, happiness running high through them about the successful win, waiting for Tony to begin his speech. 

“You’ve been phenomenal in terms of focus and what you can control. Two good games, two wins. This is the closure of the camp now, so that you can enjoy the time with your families tonight, happy birthday to Astrid for tomorrow. Safe travels. Good luck in your club, okay? Looking forward to see you next camp. Good job, everyone.” He wrapped and everyone disconnected to start clapping. 

Family and friends were invited down onto the pitch, Harper being snatched up by Mini the second she saw her and Astrid slowly moving to approach the mother and daughter. 

“Hi Harper.” Astrid waved at the baby in Mini’s arms. 

“Say hi.” Katrina picked up one of Harper’s arms, waving at the player as a smile grew on the baby’s face. “Good job again today Astrid, nice shot.” Mini looked up at the teen. 

“Thanks Mini. Welcome back officially.” Astrid met the older woman's eyes and smiled. They both turned in the direction of both teams gathering on the pitch around Aivi, all of them moving closer to the huddle, Astrid going to stand with Kyra and Charli like always. 

Aivi was shaving her head today in honour of her brother and donating it in a bid to raise $30,000 for brain tumour research. Everyone cheered on as they watched the brave woman, all running over when it was done, patting and rubbing her bare head as tears sprung in everyone's eyes. 

The next morning Astrid had awoken in her and Charli’s hotel room to most of the team, balloons filling the air, and all the girls screaming happy birthday as soon as her eyes had opened. Her heart pounded against her chest at the fright of seeing at least 20 more people in her room at 9am, screaming in her face.

After letting out a quiet ‘fuck’, Astrid’s next reaction was to crawl back under the sheets feeling surprised, shocked and extremely loved in that very moment that the first thing she thought to do was to hide from it. The room filled with laughter and cheers, watching as Kyra and Charli pulled back the sheets and wrapped their arms around Astrid who was about to cry. 

“Aye, she’s finally an adult like the rest of us. Took long enough.” Macca yelled from in the room, everyone laughing along with her, Astrid just looked her dead in the eye. 

“Does that mean you’ll stop calling me kid?” She cocked her head at the goalkeeper. 

“No.” Mackenzie spoke with a dead face.

“Absolutely not.” Alanna chimed in and everyone shook their heads. Everyone gives Astrid a hug and wishes her another happy birthday before leaving, now just Kyra as the only person out of their assigned room. Kyra and Charli approached Astrid on her bed with presents in each of their hands. 

“Guys, no. You seriously did not need to do all of this.” Astrid could burst into tears with the amount of love she was receiving from her friends. 

“Of course we did.” Kyra came to sit beside Astrid, holding a small bag. 

“You’re part of the team, our best friend and as I said yesterday,” Charli paused, trying to emphasise her next point. “It’s your fucking 18th birthday.” Charli smiled and then sat down on the other side of Astrid, placing a box in front of her. 

“I love you guys so much.” Astrid pulled the girls in with an arm over each of their shoulders, turning to place a kiss on their cheeks. 

“Love you too, now open them please.” Charli was bursting with excitement to watch her open the gifts. 

“This one is just from us.” Kyra handing the small bag over to Astrid. 

“Thank you.” Astrid smiled, taking the small bag from Kyra’s hand. A little white box was inside, pulling it out to open it. “Oh my god.” Astrid gasped at the ring that was inside the box. It was a simple silver ring, an oval plate in the middle that was engraved with a small soccer ball. 

“Do you like it?” Kyra shyly spoke after watching Astrid inspect the ring closer. 

“I love it.” Astrid spoke, tears forming in her eyes. 

“Good, because now we all match.” Charli smiled, herself and Kyra bringing up their hands to show the same ring on their own fingers. Astrid pouted before the tears of joy ran down her face. She had never felt more loved by two friends. “Oh, star.” Charli used the nickname she had given Astrid in their first camp. 

Upon deciding that she couldn’t shorten her full name, Charli began to call her ‘star’ or ‘stargirl’ because her name sounded like something to do with the stars; later the rest of the team adopted it on and off the field. Astrid really liked it and anything was better than Macca teasing her and calling her ‘Asteroid’ or ‘As-turd’; although Astrid did think it was quite funny. 

The girls brought the crying girl in their arms again, laughing at her reaction and glad she enjoyed their gift. 

“Okay, enough crying. Open the next one.” Kyra spoke, Astrid wiping her face and letting out a small laugh. 

“This is a bit of something from everyone.” Charli moved the box closer to the birthday girl. 

Astrid opened the box to reveal a bunch of little goodies; a few cards, little bottles of alcohol, some Taylor Swift nic-nacs and other small presents. Astrid examined every one of them, reading every card and letter as the other girls got up to give her some personal space. They also collected some birthday hats they bought, along with a ‘18th birthday’ sash for her to wear. 

“This is way too much, thank you.” Astrid jumped up, running to give them a hug again. 

“Of course not, you deserve it.” Charli pressed a kiss to Astrids head. “But enough of this, we’re going to be late for breakfast if we don’t hurry up.” They all looked at the time and realised they had to be down in 10 minutes. 

To Astrid’s surprise, the rest of the day was spent with the team as she thought most of them would be leaving today to go back to club. But when Kyra and Charli notified them of the important birthday a few months back, they all decided to stick around an extra day and celebrate their youngest member. She was showered with love throughout their team breakfast, when they went for a picnic lunch and then at a nice dinner where a cake was being brought out. 

“Happy Birthday to Astrid, happy birthday to you.” The table cheered, taking photos and videos of Astrid and her cake, a wide smile on her face. 

“HIP HIP!” Charli led the entire restaurant who had joined in. 

“HOORAY!”

“HIP HIP!” 

“HOORAY!”

“HIP HIP!” 

“HOORAY!” Everyone clapped as Astrid leant forward to blow out the candles, silently making her wish that she could be with this group of people forever. 

“Okay, now you have to skull your drink.” Sam who was sat across from Astrid pushed the girl’s almost full cocktail towards her. Her mouth opened in confusion. “It’s tradition, kid. It’s what you do at your 18th.” Sam simply shrugged her shoulders, Astrid looking to her other teammates who were nodding with grins, some holding their phones out to film her. 

So she picked up her drink and began drinking it fast, trying not to spill any on her new dress. Everyone cheered and clapped until she was done and she wiped her mouth, showing off her empty drink. 

A lot of the team members had left after dinner, opting to for an early sleep before their international flights, rather than taking Astrid clubbing for the first time. Those who remained with Astrid included, Kyra, Charli, Cortnee, Courtney, Clare Wheeler, Teagan, Ellie with Caitlin and Steph acting as chaperones for the youngsters. 

Flash forward to 2am and the last remaining partiers stumbled into the hotel lobby by the guide of Steph and Caitlin. Charli and Cortnee held Astrid up with either of her arms, Courtney and Kyra following behind, Steph and Caitlin just watched all of them drunkenly walk to the lifts, trying not to laugh. They all eventually made it to their rooms, Steph instructing Charli to call her in case something happened with Astrid who was drunker than her. 

Charli guided the girl who was almost passed out into their room and sat her down on her bed. 

“Star, hey.” Charli stopped Astrid from falling asleep. “You’ll be mad at me tomorrow if we don’t get this makeup off and out of this dress. So just stay awake for a few more minutes. Okay?” Astrid nodded silently, using Charli’s outstretched arms to pull herself up and walk to the bathroom. 

With makeup removed, teeth brushed and now both in pyjamas, Charli led the drunk girl back to her bed and helped her under the covers. As soon as Astrid’s head hit the pillow, she was out cold. Charli snapped a quick photo before falling asleep in her own bed.

Safe to say it was a good night out when Astrid woke up with a pounding headache, the natural sunlight pouring into the room harsh on her eyes, quickly pushing her face back into her pillow with a grunt. 

“Oh welcome back from the dead.” Charli laughed as she walked out of the bathroom, Astrid lifting her head slowly to give the girl a death stare. “How do you feel, party girl?” Charli sat at Astrid’s feet, watching the girl slowly sit up, hands rubbing her face. 

“Fucking shit.” She laughed as she met Charli’s face. “I went hard didn’t I?” Astrid rubbed her temples, attempting to ease the pounding in her head but it wasn’t working. 

“Oh yeah. You did. Come on.” Charli laughed, hitting Astrid's feet as she stood herself up. “Let’s go soak up all that alcohol with food, coffee and water.” Astrid groaned but slowly got out of bed. After a shower and some fresh clothes, Charli and Astrid had made their way to the team breakfast room again where most of the team still sat, Astrid may have walked in with a pair of sunnies over her eyes. 

“She made it through the night everyone!” Mackenzie threw an arm over Astrid’s shoulder as she rolled her eyes at the goalkeeper. She nudged her away and flipped her the bird with a smile before walking over to the coffee station. 

“Fun night then?” Hayley asked as Astrid sat down next to her with an iced coffee and some buttered toast. 

“Yeah… I think. I don’t remember a lot actually…” She took her sunnies off and rubbed her eyes. “I better ask the babysitters.” She directed her head over to where Steph and Caitlin sat. 

“First night drinking and you got black out. Nice.” Sam reached across the table for a fist bump which Astrid loosely returned, shaking her head slowly, which ended up bringing back the headache that was fading into the background. 

Everyone finished their breakfast slowly, taking in these last moments of camp together because not all of them would be together for quite a while. A lot of the senior players were going into an off season soon after returning to their international homes and taking a break for the first time in a while. 

Everyone caught a flight together back to Sydney from Canberra before separating for their international and domestic flights, saying goodbye to each other in the departure terminals. 

Kyra, Courtney and Charli were the last people Astrid had to say goodbye to, the three of them heading back to Sweden and Astrid sticking behind in Sydney. 

“I’m going to miss you guys so much.” She brought them all in for a group hug quickly. 

“It’s okay, we’ll be back together for the next camp soon.” Charli hugged Astrid singularly, squeezing her close to her one last time. 

“Where hopefully we all get some more playing time.” Courtney smiled at the youngest girl. 

“And we can have even more drunken nights with miss party animal over here.” Kyra teased, Astrid pushed her shoulder lightly, shaking her head. 

“Alright, you guys better go before you miss your flight.” Astrid nodded at them to go, putting a small smile on her face that hid the fact she was quite sad she wasn’t going with them. One day, hopefully. “Have a safe flight. Love you.” Astrid called out as they walked away. 

“Love you stargirl. I’ll text when we land.” Charli yells back before they are out of view. 

“Ready to go?” Cortnee came up behind Astrid, she had been patiently waiting for her to say her goodbyes after her own with other teammates. 

“Yeah, sorry for making you wait.” Astrid apologised as they wheeled their luggage out of the doors and began making their way to Cortnee’s car they left parked before camp. 

“No, it’s all good. I get it.” Cortnee smiled over at Astrid. They made their way back to Astrid’s apartment where Cortnee dropped her off. They said their own goodbyes, Astrid promising to text her later as she made her way inside. 

Her place was small, one bed, one bath, a kitchen and a living room, but she didn’t need much more for just herself. She was leaving again to go back home tomorrow, seeing her extended family for the first time since Christmas to celebrate her birthday with them. That meant she had the next 16 hours to unpack, repack, sleep and get on the road to Bateau Bay.

She also had to think about the next club season and what that looked like for her. Her short contract with Sydney FC was officially over and her agent hadn’t contacted her just yet about whether that was going to continue or if other clubs were looking at her for the 2022/2023 season. Hopefully she would know soon and her future would be clearer than it is now.

to be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part three]

Words; 2.1k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none (i don't think)

A/N; part three everyone. longest one so far, if they're too long please lmk and i can make them shorter if needed. hope you enjoy this one, favourite part so far.

masterlist

The day had finally arrived and Astrid didn’t even know that today could be the day she was waiting for. It was game day, 8th of April 2022, a friendly between Australia and New Zealand at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville. 

The starting 11 walked out onto that pitch and the rest took their seats on the bench, anxious to see how the game would pan out today. It was in the 32nd minute that New Zealand scored their goal, officially taking the lead. After the halftime break and some substitutions the game began again, the Matildas managing to keep strong possession on the ball down their side. 

It was nearing the end of full time and New Zealand were still in the lead 1-0 and the girls were struggling to just get that ball in the net, the opposing defence strong as ever. Astrid was sitting on the bench, nervously watching the game ahead of her when Tony approached her. 

“Taylor.” Tony called out to her, Astrid instantly looking up at her coach. “Start warming up again, you’re subbing for Fowler.” Tony smiled watching the young player’s face light up and give him a firm nod. Charli gave her a shoulder shake and let out a small squeal as Astrid got up, moving over to the sidelines to warm up again. It was finally happening, she was finally making her debut for Australia. 

“Ready kid?” Tony caught Astrid’s attention as she ran back over to where the assistant ref was signalling for a substitution. And before she knew it, Mary was running over, engaging Astrid in a small hug before she ran on the pitch. The crowd cheered as the youngster came on with 13 minutes till full time, taking her position on the right side of the field. 

Only 3 minutes later Steph Catley is set to take a free kick. The players are all lined up, ready for the ball to fly towards them. Steph nods to the ref and uses her trusty left foot to shoot it towards the wall of players, angles the ball slightly further from Astrid who’s already running, Kerr goes for a header goal but it falls short. 

Astrid feels as if she's suddenly going in slow motion. She sees the ball leave Sam's head and she runs faster, lifting up her right leg to catch it and knock it towards the goal. And as if the universe was on her side, the goalie had run slightly away from Astrid's position of the goal, giving her the perfect opportunity to sink it into the top left corner of the net. 

As they see it ripple the crowd roars with cheers, every player on the bench rising to their feet in celebration, Tony making a run for the edge of the technical area in celebration. Astrid stood still with her mouth agape, shocked as to what had just happened. It wasn’t till Foord came running to her, gripping her body in celebration that she could breathe again, turning to face Caitlin as a wide smile grew on both of their faces. The rest of the team on the field came charging down on the pitch to jump all over the young player, screaming and yelling their excitement. 

GOOOAAALLL! And it’s a magnificent one to equalise the Matildas with New Zealand by none other than number 3, Astrid Taylor in the 80th minute! This is her first ever Matilda's goal and what a shot it was by the 17 year old, with only being on the pitch for less than 5 minutes AND in her international debut! It’s unbelievable. 

At that moment Astrid almost started crying. 17 years old, finally playing her first game for her country and a game changing goal 10 minutes from full time in front of a massive crowd. Her teammates were beyond proud of her, not only for her first goal but for bringing them to an equaliser after a long and tough game. 

Full time ended and still at a tie, the team patiently waited to see how many extra minutes were given to hopefully score once more and take the win. An additional 5 minutes is shown after Cortnee subs Hayley, Astrid giving her a high five and focus is pulled back to the game. Astrid bounces on her feet, body now pumping with adrenaline to take this home. 

And with the magic right boot of Emily Van Egmond the Matildas gained a goal in the 93rd minute, bringing them in front of New Zealand. The stadium erupts once more after the ball ripples the net, Emily running straight for Polkinghorne as the rest of the team follows suit, celebrating with her before returning to their places, focusing on the last 30 seconds of time. 

Australia wins a corner and Steph runs to take it, officially over stoppage time when she shoots it over to the goal, it bounces backwards off Alanna’s head and by miracle Sam Kerr knocks it over the players and past the white line. 

Sam runs straight to Steph with her arms outstretched, catching her up high as they meet, everyone else following behind with outcries of excitement, jumping on top of each other in celebration. The time is still running and the players are instructed to return to their positions. The ball is played and all though it gets shot down to Lydia in the Aus goal, no one runs to defend, the final whistle blowing before there's even a chance it could go in. 

They’ve done it, they've won. 3-1 over New Zealand and Astrid could not be more ecstatic to have been a help in that. The Townsville crowd erupt in cheers in favour of the Matildas and they all release massive smiles before they go off and shake hands with their own players and those on the New Zealand team. The players on the sideline slowly make their way onto the field, Charli running directly to Astrid, engulfing her close friend in a tight embrace, spinning her around on the field. 

“YOUR DEBUT AND A GOAL?! I’M SO PROUD.” Charli yelled over the loud stadium music. Giving a final squeeze they let go and Charli rests an arm over Astrid's shoulder, pulling her into her side, incredibly proud of her friend as they walk the pitch to meet their teammates. So far this was the best day of Astrid’s life and one she would remember for the rest of her life. Tony reached the pair on the pitch and held Astrid’s hands. 

“Congratulations, I’m very proud, Astrid.” Tony nodded his head at the young player as she looked at him.

“Thank you Tony.” Was all Astrid could get out without her voice cracking, trying to not cry tears of happiness. Kyra and Cortnee ran to hug her first, squeezing her tight with pride. As they began to do their lap of the pitch, the rest of the team embraced Astrid, congratulating her, saying how proud they were, and grateful she brought them to that equaliser. 

Eventually a presenter called out to Astrid and she ran over to them, fixing her hair as best as she could and removing some sweat from her face. 

“Astrid, do you mind doing a small post-match interview?” The lady from Channel 10 asked. 

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.” Astrid nodded and straightened out her shirt. 

“Great.” The presenter waited for the go ahead before talking again. “We’ve got  Astrid Taylor here, only 17 years old and scoring her first Matildas goal in her first appearance, and an impressive one at that. Astrid, congratulations and how do you feel?” She pointed the mic to Astrid. 

“Oh thank you. Ah yeah. I don’t even really believe it myself. I mean I wasn’t really expecting to be going on at any stage and making my debut tonight, but Tony told me to get ready and then it happened.” Astrid laughed as she talked. 

“I mean it was quite impressive. Only being on for 3 minutes before you were able to sneak it in. What was happening in that moment for you?” The reporter asked and Astrid swallowed. 

“Yeah it was crazy. It was Steph’s kick and I saw it go to Sam and I just began running in that direction, and as it bounced off her head, I caught it and just shot it in the direction of the goal and hoped for the best. I guess it was my luck that Esson was more focused on Sam than me!” Astrid made everyone around her laugh, heart still beating fast with adrenaline and nerves from being on camera. “I’m also just really happy we got the win, Emily and Sam helping us turn the game around so late.” 

“Absolutely incredible. And so is your score sheet with your club Sydney FC. I mean you only joined back in November and you have scored at least 16 goals with them.” 

“Oh thank you. Yeah that club is incredible and I’m so glad I’ve got Viney there with me to get those with.” Astrid smiled brightly. 

“Well again congratulations and thank you. Enjoy the celebrations!” She reached out to shake Astrids hand as she muttered a small ‘thank you’ before walking back to the last lingering teammates that gathered near the tunnel, watching her proudly. 

The bus ride back to the hotel was as expected, loud and full of excitement, obviously preparing to scream their winning chant. 

“BUILDING UP SUSPENSE, BUILDING UP SUSPENSE, BUILDING UP SUSPENSE, BUILDING UP SUSPENSE, BUILDING UP SUSPENSE. WOOOOOOO.” The team began to chat, banging on seats and windows as Lydia stood up to lead them. 

“IT’S A GRAND OLD TEAM TO PLAY FOR, AND IT’S A GRAND OLD TEAM TO SEE, AND IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY, IT’S GONNA MAKE YOUR HEART GO WOAH. WE DON’T CARE WHAT THE OTHER TEAMS SAY, WHAT THE HELL DO WE CARE.” The noise from the bus was getting louder and louder as all players and staff members joined in. “FOR WE ONLY KNOW THERE’S GOING TO BE A SHOW AND THE AUSSIES WILL BE THERE.” 

“WAS IT ONE?” Lydia yelled, awaiting the response. 

“NO.”

WAS IT TWO?”

“NO”

“WAS IT THREE?” 

“YES.” Claps and cheers ran through the bus. 

“HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, WOOOOOO.” Everyone cheered in celebration, clapping loudly, Kyra rubbing Astrid’s hair from her seat next to the other girl. A large smile erupted on the young girls’ face, still in disbelief of what just happened. 

After dinner the room quieted down, everyone paying attention to their captain at the front of the room. 

“Um, obviously a very special game today, glad we got the win today and an incredible performance. Astrid,” Sam directed her eyes to the young girl sat next to Charli and Kyra. “You have worked so hard these past few months and I think I speak on the behalf of all of us when I say we’re so proud. You’ve really proven yourself and today a miracle really happened. Not only your first cap but your first goal in 3 minutes of being on the pitch! I mean I think that might be the most impressive debut in Matildas history.” The room erupted in cheers and claps, Astrid shook her head and covered her face with her hands. 

“Yeah Stargirl!” A shout comes loudly from Charli and the room falls to laughter. 

“So congrats and we’re so happy to have you as part of this team and family.” Sam finished, Charli and Kyra pushing Astrid to get up and walk to the front of the dining room. The girls clapped and cheered for her, a smile on her face as she approached Sam. 

“Thank you.” Astrid mumbled as they hugged, Sam patting her back with a final squeeze, letting go to hand her the official Matildas cap. Astrid looked at it for a second before turning around to face the team, her team. “Um, thank you everyone for making this day so special. A little bit lost for words right now,” She let out a small laugh. “Obviously I can’t take all the credit for the goal, Steph and Sam were the ones who even made it possible, I was just there to help you out. Getting to make my debut today with this group of girls just makes it so special and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the inspiration of every one of you. Thank you for all the support and I love you all. Thanks.” The room clapped again, Astrid moving over to the side for a photo with her cap. 

Sam then made her speech for Caitlin who played her 100th cap, reminiscing on their journey together before presenting her with her shirt, while also giving a cheer to Katrina who had returned to her first game tonight after having Harper. The night ended with team celebrations before heading to bed to recover from a big game. 

to be continued...

A/N; also i know this may seem a bit unrealistic but we're in a fake world with a fake character who's just really good at football so idc. xx

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part two]

Words; 1.5k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none (i don't think)

A/N; second part of this series. the only games i'm fully going off of right now are the tillies games and not for Sydney FC, sort of making them up myself. again please give it some love and i welcome any good feedback. enjoy x

masterlist

Joining Sydney FC was one of the best things Astrid could have done. She was thriving. She knew joining in the middle of the season was going to be tough, especially because all the girls already knew each other, and it was at first but having Cortnee there really helped, and the other girls ensuring a smooth transition for her too.  

Astrid and her parents did argue for a while when she signed because they weren’t so keen on letting their only child live in Sydney alone at 17, but that was the only option with them unable to move from their jobs. Astrid was a little scared at first when they finally agreed she was more than mature enough to do it, but Cortnee was close by and they had developed a sister-like relationship in Matildas camps and now at the club. And it wasn’t long until she was going to be 18 anyway so it was just an early start to adulthood and Astrid loved it. 

It wasn’t long until she was playing her first Women’s A-league game, subbing on in the end of second half as a right forward. During training and practice matches Astrid was known to always score a goal, specifically towards the end. That’s why the coach brought her on when they were still 0-0 and 20 minutes from full time. She had been warming up since the second half started, ready to run on and help the team out. 

Almost 15 minutes passed and their side finally gained more possession of the ball, Cortnee ran with it on the right side, opposing defence closing in on her. She shot the ball straight up to Astrid who was in a lot of free space just further up on the outside of the box. The ball connected with her feet, with players coming closer she went for it, shooting strongly with her left foot, successfully passing by the goalie and sinking it in the back of the net. The crowd roared, Astrid ran directly to Cortnee who was already running to the younger girl. Astrid jumped onto Cortnee, a wide smile plastered on her face as the rest of the team ran and jumped onto the pair. Her first A-league game and goal and she had brought the team ahead to 1-0 with minutes to spare. 

The game has ended here and the score is 1-0 to Sydney FC with the only goal from number 19 Astrid Taylor. First appearance with this club at 17 years old, after joining the CommBank Matildas a few short months ago. I’ll say it now, I think she’s one to watch everyone, she’s got a strong strike and a great passion for the sport.

After that game, Astrid was gaining more and more minutes with the club, not in the starting 11 just yet, but subbing on towards the end and gaining the position of a ‘super-sub’, never failing to give the team a leg up by scoring at least one goal and a few assists per game right at the end. 

Her parents tried to come to as many games as they could, it being easier with her in the same state and especially when they played against Central Coast United. But when they couldn’t see them in person, they got the extended family together to watch at home. They were so proud of her, finally getting some acknowledgement for all the hard work she had put in from a young age. 

The new year started and the Matildas were off to compete in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, Astrid and Cortnee travelling over together after their recent club match. 

When they arrived Astrid couldn’t have been happier to see the rest of the team after almost 2 months, immediately jumping on Kyra and Charli from behind when she saw them walking towards the tunnel. 

“ASTRID!” Charli squealed once the attacker had let go and they both turned around and brought her into a tight hug. “Oh I missed you.” Charli smiled before letting go, allowing Kyra and Astrid to hug finally. 

“I missed you guys so much. It’s been way too long.” Astrid spoke over Kyra’s shoulder. 

“Good to have the group back together.” Kyra commented as the pair let go, the three of them now walking down the tunnel together, arms wrapped around each other. 

“You know, I think we could beat Cait, Lani and Macca for the best trio on the squad.” Astrid spoke up as they spotted the three players chatting amongst themselves, her comment catching their attention. 

“Excuse me?”  “What?”  “WOW.”

The three of them spoke after one another, Kyra and Charli trying not to laugh beside the youngest player who was about to speak but Mackenzie got the chance first, a small smirk on her face. 

“Now listen here, child-” She began but was interrupted by Tony calling the group over to the pitch for today's training session. 

“Catch ya later.” Astrid smiled before skipping off with Kyra and Charli, arms linked and laughing. Caitlin, Alanna and Mackenzie stood for a second before laughing and following close behind with a shake to the head. 

Throughout this first training session plenty of laughs and jokes were shared within the team, most coming from their youngest player and quite a few being harmlessly thrown at said player. Astrid was building a dynamic with the squad and it was working well for everyone. 

Astrid had been working really hard over the past few days, hoping to maybe make her debut in this camp alongside Cortnee who had yet to make hers too. The pair had been talking up this camp excitingly since it was announced, both having spent a while on the squad but yet to play. 

And that day came for Cortnee. It was their second match in the competition against the Philippines this time and the Matildas were struggling a bit more than their last match a few days ago when they won 18-0 against Indonesia. They reached half time and no goals were made. The starting line up came back after halftime more pumped up than ever. 

6 minutes into half time and Sam had secured them a goal with an assist from Steph; then a Phillipines player made an own goal and gave them another one. Another goal in the net by Emily Van Egmond and they felt even more hopeful about securing the win. At the 71 minute the substitutions for Aus began happening. When Cortnee, Courtney and Holly got called up, Astrid gave them all a clap and a pat on the back, hugging Cortnee a bit more and wishing her luck for her international debut. 

Astrid definitely had the loudest cheer when Cortnee ran on, subbing for Kyah. The final goal by Mary at 87 minutes and then the game was over. A 4-0 victory and a Matildas debut for Cortnee, it was a good game. The Matildas had another game in the group stage, making it to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win, but again no debut for Astrid. 

The quarter-finals match against South Korea was a tough one, the first goal of the match being made by South Korea in the 87th minute and ending the Matildas journey in the competition with a 0-1 loss. The team were devastated of course, Astrid slightly upset at not making her debut this camp again, but she had only been on the squad a few months so she knew her time would come. 

When Cortnee and Astrid returned to Sydney FC they both trained really hard, especially Astrid. She knew she had something to prove with both her club and national team and the only way to get there was to keep going. In their second match since returning from camp she made the starting line up and Cortnee could not have been more proud, nor could her parents who had been able to come to the game. 

Astrid had played more than 70 minutes and scored the team 2 goals and one assist before she was subbed off, more than happy with her results and to take a rest from her first long game since joining. At the end of the game, which they had won 5-1, Cortnee and Astrid made their way over to the barricade where her parents and Cortnee’s parents and brother had been chatting while they waited for the pair. 

The two families had joined the next day for lunch to celebrate the win and get to know each other a little better. They could see the sisterly bond Astrid and Cortnee had created and Astrid’s parents were happy to see she was being well taken care of since moving out of home. 

The next Matildas camp wasn’t until early April so Astrid had plenty of time to hone in on her skills, gain more minutes with Sydney FC while also adding to her score sheet. By the end of March she had 16 goals, many more assists and even more determination to be on the pitch in the next Matildas camp coming up next week.

to be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character masterlist

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; some swearing and mentions of alcohol

A/N; hey, this is a bit different to what i've posted now but i've become obsessed with womens football and specifically the matildas (i'm aussie), and arsenal football club so i decided to write this and pretend im part of this world and the team. hope you enjoy, excited to write this and please give feedback. (also im sorry if some of the terms are wrong in this, i know nothing). x

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

Part 13 Part 14 Part 15

Par t 16 Part 17 Part 18

Part 19 Part 20 Part 21

Part 22

You can also find this story on my wattpad through the link below. xx

✧ Stargirl || Matildas ✧ (on Wattpad)

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part one]

Words; 1.2k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none (i don't think)

A/N; first part of this series, if this goes well. please give me love and some feedback and hopefully theres many more parts to come. also this is mainly just backstory for now. enjoy xx

masterlist

Astrid Taylor had been dreaming of playing for Arsenal Women’s football club since she was 5 years old after watching her first game on the TV, immediately begging her parents to take her to a real game, but that was a bit difficult considering they lived in Australia. So through the screen, the obsession continued well into her teens, staying up late or waking up early to watch games and analyse the plays, just so one day she would be good enough to get there. 

When she was 6 she joined her first club after finally convincing her parents that this sport would stick, unlike the gymnastics, swimming and karate she had gotten bored with previously. And it turns out she really enjoyed it, and she was kinda good, not great, but she could keep up within those first training sessions and games. Astrid got really into it, spending most of her freetime in the backyard or the pitch down the road just kicking footballs and trying to score goals. 

She kept getting better and better with all the extra practice she was putting in outside of regular training. Her coaches, parents, teammates and even other parents would constantly say how impressed they were with her progress and determination as they watched her excel. As she grew up she stayed in the same small club, sticking with who and what she knew, she was comfortable. But she was getting good, fast and helping her team win each game as their captain, constantly leading them to victory at the end of each season. Football became her life, overtaking everything else, especially school, but if she wanted to get to Arsenal one day; she had to keep pushing. Her family knew that being in a small town club wasn’t going to get her far, but they weren't able to move to get her in a bigger club so she stayed with her team and her friends, doing what she loved and working on her skills constantly. 

When Astrid was 14 her coach approached her after a game, saying there was someone who wanted to speak with her about her recent performances. That someone turned out to be a Junior Matildas scout. She said she saw videos of Astrid’s last few games and started looking into her and all her achievements like constantly winning player of the match, leading her teams to win leagues and her impressive score sheet. The scout asked Astrid if she wanted to join the Junior Matildas squad. It was a dream come true. And her parents made a way for it to happen.

Flash forward a few years and she had dropped out of school to play for the Junior Matildas, being a constant forward in the starting 11 and scoring plenty of winning goals during their games, while also still playing for her local club between matildas camps and the off seasons. When she turned 17, Astrid hoped she would be considered for the next season in the Young Matildas squad and continue playing for her country for the next few years at least. But the call for that squad never came, a different one came instead. 

It had been a few weeks since some of the other girls in the junior squad started receiving calls and offers to play for the next level, The Young Matildas U20 squad. But Astrid was patiently waiting for someone to call, and she began to lose hope, her mum and dad trying to comfort her when she returned back home at the end of the season for break. It was taking so long, the anticipation and anxiety eating her alive. She almost gave up but her dad made sure to encourage her to play with him to keep practising at home, keeping her semi distracted. 

They were all sitting at the dinner table when her phone began buzzing, a random Sydney number calling and she dropped her fork, scrambling to answer the phone. 

“Hello? Astrid speaking.” Her parents watched her, holding hands with each other watching as she put it on speaker.

“Hi, this is Gina Rees, the team manager for the CommBank Matildas, how are you?” The voice spoke and Astrid’s jaw dropped, her parents eyes widened. 

“U-uh good, thank you.” She muttered out, voice wavering. 

“Good. I was just giving you a call to inform you that you have been invited on the CommBank Matildas squad.” Gina spoke and tears sprung to Astrid’s eyes. 

“Oh my god! Are you serious? This isn’t just for the young matildas?!” She tried to keep composed over the phone, but it was hard. 

“No. For the national squad.” The whole family couldn’t believe what Gina was saying. “We’ve been keeping a watch on you in the junior squad and when it came time for the Young Matildas call up, you exceeded our expectations and thought it was best to consider you for the national squad.” Tears fall down her face, mouth wide open while she spoke on the phone. This is what she wanted. 

“Wow. T-thank you so much. That’s-” She ran a hand through her hair, visibly in shock. “Sorry I’m just at a loss for words.” Astrid laughed lightly, Gina doing the same on the other end. 

“This is a big and exciting thing, so you have some time. Take the next week to think things over, sort out anything you need to and give me a call by next Friday, okay?” Gina informed Astrid. 

“O-okay. Thank you so much Gina.” She stood from her chair, excitement rushing through her. 

“You’re welcome, and congratulations on the call up. Have a good one.” She laughed before hanging up. Once the line went dead, Astrid screamed and began jumping up and down, happy tears flowing as her parents engulfed her in a large hug. 

“OH MY GOD!!!” Astrid kept jumping, her mum and dad crying and jumping with her. Her parents knew instantly this is what she was made for and they couldn’t be prouder. All her hard work was paying off. 

That was 3 months ago, before she instantly called Gina back and accepted the offer, and prepared to head to Sydney for her first of many Matildas camps. When Astrid arrived at CommBank stadium she was so nervous, especially being the only new person for that camp, but she instantly clicked with the younger players, especially Charli and Kyra. Even some of the older players like Mackenzie, Alanna and Caitlin quickly took her under their wing, knowing what it's like in the first camp.

Astrid began training harder than ever and her efforts didn’t go unnoticed by the coaches and the captains of the team. A-league clubs were finally looking into her after hearing about the new arrival, surprised she wasn’t already signed professionally. They all found her accomplishments with the Junior Matildas, and despite yet to make her debut with the national team, from what they saw of training, they were impressed. Astrid had received offers from Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United and Central Coast United. She was overwhelmed and looked to her teammates for advice before signing with Sydney FC for the remainder of the 2021/2022 season with Courtnee Vine. 

Everything was slowly falling into place and Astrid was taking the first steps into becoming a professional footballer.

to be continued...

so real

no seriously. cause how doesn’t hazel have a million girls hanging off her arm. i would be all over that woman

"Bottoms is unrealistic" well obviously, they called Ayo Edebiri, Rachel Sennott and Ruby Cruz ugly the whole movie

I just wanna know how the BAU team decides who says what when they deliver the profile each case.

Do they stand around in the conference rooms and assign certain parts of the profile like in group projects? Or do they have a specific order they follow each time with like the specific parts? I just wanna know.

Like imagine them telling the PD they were ready but take another 5 minutes arguing about who says what. I really wish we got to see this at some point.

And imagine when new agents like Alex and Cate come in, and they’re just watching this whole ordeal unfold during the case.

(yes i know it’s a TV show but for a second let’s pretend it’s real)

A life for a life |Derek Morgan x platonic!reader

Summary; while chasing down an unsub, reader has to make a haste decision on whether to take the kill shot, making it their first. 

Pairings; derek morgan x platonic!reader, bau team x platonic!reader (gender neutral, no direct pronouns used)

Warnings; guns used, blood, typical cm plot things, fluff, angst and sadness wrapped into one.

Words; 1.2k

Not my gif; @just-my-fandom​

Once the team had figured out who the unsub was, they split up between his home and work addresses, racing against the clock towards each. Morgan, Spencer and yourself were currently heading to his house with Garcia on the phone still spitting out random facts about him.

 The SUV pulled up outside the small house, the three of you jumping out straight away. 

“Reid, you take the back entrance.” Morgan instructed, Spencer running around the side of the house instantly. “You take the kitchen entrance and I’ll take the front.” You nodded at him, giving him a fist bump before taking off, it was your way of saying “be safe” without words. 

You stayed quiet and low as you travelled around the west side, looking through the windows for any sign of the unsub. 

“I got him. He’s in the living room with Carrie.” You whispered into your radio, spotting him and the missing girl through the side window. You continue until you get to the door. Derek’s loud voice can be heard throughout the whole house. 

“Samuel Rogers! Drop the weapon and let Carrie go!” 

You twist the handle of the door slowly, attempting not to make any noise as you open it easily, stepping inside the house quietly. You had your gun raised, checking each corner before you found yourself at the edge of the kitchen and the living room. Derek was directly in front of the unsub, gun trained at him as best as he could with the unsub moving back and forth, arms tight around Carrie’s neck. Spencer was only 2 feet away from you, standing between the dining and living room, doing the same as you, standing silently behind them in case things went south. 

Derek was talking to him, trying to calm him down and encouraging him to let her go but he wasn't budging. “Give it up man, let her go. Your plan didn’t work.” Morgan kept saying to him. Your gun was pointed directly at him from behind, Samuel being unaware of the two agents currently behind him. 

“SHUT UP!” Samuel yelled, squeezing Carrie tighter in his arms, pointing his gun directly at Derek’s chest. 

Adrenaline was pumping through your veins, heartbeat pounding in your ears as you stood closer to an unsub than you ever have before. Your finger was pressing on the trigger and within seconds a shot was fired, your arm jolting back as your own gun fired. Your eyes were squinted shut, not seeing directly where it was fired. 

You opened your eyes seconds later, spotting Spencer moving closer to Samuel’s body checking for a pulse, Derek reaching forward to move Carrie out of the way. Your eyes then travelled to the lifeless body on the ground, spotting the bloody hole in his forehead. Your breath left your chest, arms still raised with your gun in your hands.

This isn’t the first time you’ve shot someone while being in the FBI, normally opting for the shoulder or the thigh, pretty much just knocking them down. But this was your first kill. The first time your shot has killed someone else. You were frozen in your spot, watching the scene unfold before you as the rest of your team showed up, moving Carrie out to an ambulance and covering Samuel’s body with a white sheet.

A soft hand on your shoulder finally broke you from your trance, you blinked and the air finally returned to your lungs. 

“Y/N.” Derek called out softly from beside your ear. He reached out and placed his hand on your extended arms, lowering them and removing your gun from shaking hands. “It’s okay.” He whispered and your head dropped, playing back the same moment over and over again. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders and walked you out of your head, guiding you to stand next to one of the SUV’s. 

You were in a state of shock, staring down at the pavement while people walked past you, sirens rang and lights flashed in the street, neighbours coming out of their houses to look at the spectacle happening in their street. 

“Hey.” Derek appeared in front of you again. “You okay?” His voice was soft and calming. You kept your head down. 

“I- I’ve never killed anyone before. I didn’t want it to end like that.” You shook your head, eventually meeting his soft eyes with your sad ones. 

“I know. I know, kid.” He consoled you. “I also know that you saved my life.” He held your shoulder again, pulling you closer to him. 

“Well yeah but-” You looked down again, sighing deeply. 

“No buts. Look at me.” He instructed but you didn’t. He used his hand to grab your cheek softly, pulling you up to meet his eyes again. “You did what you had to. Okay?” He was telling the truth but there was part of you that knew it could’ve ended differently and he sensed this. “Okay?” He asked again. 

“Okay.” You sighed, nodding your head. 

“Come here.” He pulled you into a soft hug, holding your head against his chest as you wrapped your arms up under his shoulders. You didn’t care if people or your team saw you hugging in the field, they knew how close you guys were. He was like your big brother and your best friend rolled into one. He was close to Spencer in a similar way, everyone including yourself knew that. But he was the first to take you under his wing when you joined the team not that long ago, finding comfort in you and your presence; you felt the exact same. 

“Thank you Morgan.” You pulled back from the hug, smiling softly up at him. 

“Anytime Y/L/N.” He ruffled your hair like he always did. “Let’s go get a drink.” He laughed slightly, brightening the mood. You nodded, never passing up the chance to hang out with your team in a fun setting. 

You had all made your way back to the hotel you were staying at, taking some time to get yourselves ready before heading down to the hotel bar. You were the last to arrive, taking a little extra time in the shower to wash the day off. As you walked down the stairs into the bar, the whole team turned to look at you, cheering lightly as they said hello. Your face changed quickly from happy to confused. You walked closer to them, standing next to Derek. 

“What’s going on?” You looked at him, whispering through a smile. His own smile grew larger as he handed you your favourite drink. 

“To Y/N,” Everyone raised their glasses. “For saving my life today.” He continued and wrapped his empty arm around your shoulder. Everyone clinked their glasses together, making sure to smile and make eye contact with you. “Thank you, I’m proud of you.” Derek whispered in your ear, placing a kiss on your temple as the rest of your team talked amongst themselves again. 

The rest of the night was spent talking,laughing and drinking with your newfound family. It was a tough case, especially for you and tonight was exactly what you needed.  

Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend. | Emily Prentiss x GN!reader

Prequel to ‘Welcome Home Kiss’.

Summary; Emily’s past life has finally been revealed and it’s time to get her back. But when they don’t have her anymore Y/N finds it difficult. 

Pairing; Emily Prentiss x GN!reader, platonic!BAU team x GN!reader

Warnings; descriptions of blood/gore, heartbreak, mentions of ED, smoking, swearing (so much angst omg)

Words; 2.5k

No one is permitted to steal, copy or reblog my work as their own!!

Gif is not mine, @imagining-in-the-margins. (couldn’t find one from Emily’s funeral)

Between discovering Emily’s past life as Lauren Reynolds and finding the location of the warehouse Ian was now holding Emily, a whirlwind of emotions flowed through Y/N. Sadness, anger, disappointment and most of all worry. They were so scared for their lover; Was she okay? Was she hurt? Was she strong enough to fight back? These were all questions that flowed through their mind as they drove to the warehouse. 

After a lot of debating, Y/N had joined Derek alongside SWAT officers on their search of the building. They had already taken care of the guards out the front and now they were weaving their way through the building silently. 

*crash* 

Y/N’s ears pricked up at the loud noise coming from the building, it was close. Without hesitation Y/N took off running ahead of Derek, all logic leaving their mind as they ran to the source of the noise. 

“Y/N.” Emily managed to whisper out through the pain when she spotted them. 

“No.” A soft gasp came from Y/N’s lips as she spotted Emily lying on the ground with a wooden stake poking out of her. They ran to her, cradling her head in their hands. “Emily?” They whispered, tears pricking at their eyes. Seconds later Derek came running in, jumping down to Emily’s side. 

“I got her! I got her in the basement on the south side. I need a medic.” He spoke into his comms, the noise carrying through to everyone on the outside. “Prentiss.” He called out grabbing her hands, soft sobs coming from Y/N next to him. “Hey, it’s me. I’m right here. You’re gonna be alright.” Emily’s eyes flutter open and closed, she’s fading fast. Y/N couldn’t do anything but hold their lover’s head, watching her.

“Stay with me, baby. Come on, stay with me.” Derek panicked watching her. 

“Let me go.” Emily breathed out feeling the blood drain from her. 

“No, no. I am not letting you go.” Derek protested. “Help us!” He shouted into the large space, hoping someone would hear him. Looking back at her his heart shattered. “Listen to me. I know why you did all of this. I know what you did for Declan.” Derek tried to get Emily’s attention back but it wasn't working. “I’m so proud of you.” He spoke with grit. “You understand that? I am proud of you because you are my friend, and you are my partner.” His voice gets shaky. They both notice her eyes closing again. “No, Emily!”

“Baby, come on, stay with us.” Y/N’s voice cracked. “Don’t leave me like this.” Y/N stroked Emily’s hair like they always do. “We have our future planned out, you and me against the world, right?.” Tears dripped down their face as they shook their head. 

“If you can hear us, please just squeeze my hand.” Derek gripped onto Emily’s hand, suddenly feeling a gentle squeeze from her. “Yes, there you go. There you go, baby. Just keep squeezing.” He held her hands tightly and within seconds the medics showed up. Derek pulled himself and Y/N away from Emily, holding them tightly in his arms. 

They watched as the medics put her on a stretcher, carrying her out of the warehouse. They followed closely behind, walking in what felt like slow motion. Derek had to guide Y/N out, holding them in his grasp as they met the team outside. Y/N was in shock, every noise was muffled as they walked to the SUV, Derek slipping in beside them. All they could do was stare at whatever was in front of them, eventually getting out of the car and following the team when they reached the hospital. 

They sat in a chair in the corner for what felt like hours or days. Rossi, Hotch and Garcia tried to talk to them but they couldn’t respond, staring at the floor, legs bouncing uncontrollably.  

Eventually JJ walked over to the team, catching everyone’s attention, even Y/N’s, causing them to lift their head. The first thing they all noticed was her red eyes. 

“No.” Garcia was the first to speak, shaking her head as she began to sob. JJ swallowed. 

“She never made it off the table.” JJ finally spoke, breathing deeply. 

Y/N’s body froze, blocking out all the background noise and falling back into shock. 

The love of their life was dead. Gone. They didn’t move, they couldn’t. They were paralysed as their heart shattered into a million pieces. They looked down at their hands, still stained red with her blood. They stayed silent, still, ignoring her friends around her grieving. They didn’t know how long they sat there, staring at their hands but eventually a hand grabbed their shoulder. 

“Kiddo,” Rossi softly spoke. “Come on, you’re coming home with me.” He pulled them up from their seat by the shoulders, wrapping his arm around their shoulders. They didn’t speak, they couldn’t. Somehow they made their way to the car and eventually inside Rossi’s house. He brought them into the guest room without a word and helped them into bed. He pulled the covers up and stroked their hair. 

“Rossi,” They finally spoke, still staring at the wall in front of them. He was just about to leave the room but sat back down on the bed. “Tell me this is all just a bad dream.” Their voice cracked as they spoke, looking up at the man who treated them like his own. He hesitated, not knowing what to say. 

“It’ll be okay, I promise.” He leant down and pressed a kiss to their head, holding their hand. He stood up again and left the room, leaving the door open just in case. They didn’t fall asleep for a while, staring at the wall emotionless until exhaustion finally kicked in. This is where they stayed for the next few days, only taking water from Rossi when he forced them to drink. They didn’t eat, they barely slept, spending most of the time staring at the wall, or the ceiling, or the empty spot in the bed that they sometimes shared with Emily. 

Within days they held a funeral for Emily. And it was the hardest day of Y/N’s life. They got up and Rossi took them to their apartment so they could get dressed. It was a sunny day, Y/N felt this was wrong for a funeral. They didn’t speak to anyone, not when they carried her coffin with their teammates, not when Hotch asked them if they wanted to say a few words, and not even when Penelope approached them. It was hard enough being there, burying their best friend, their lover and who was supposed to be their life partner. Talking to anyone was an extra effort they couldn’t do. 

Only 6 days after her death, everyone was expected back at work. Y/N didn’t show up that first Monday. After the funeral no one heard from them, calls going to voicemail and texts staying on delivered. They had cut off all communication from their team, instead staying locked in their apartment, moving themselves from their bed, to the couch and back to the bed. They still weren’t eating, only drinking water to stay alive, not that they felt they had much to live for anymore. 

During that first week back the team had a case, heading to Portland quickly and leaving Penelope behind in her tech lab. Every day between 5 and 6 pm a quick knock would appear on their door, followed by the sweet voice of Penelope Garcia would flow through the wood, asking if they were alright but never receiving an answer. It wasn’t till Thursday night when she came by again that she became seriously concerned for Y/N’s health, spotting the full containers of food she had left them at the door 2 days prior. 

“Y/N? Please answer the door. I just want to help you.” Penelope called through the door, face painted with concern. After minutes of silence she called Derek who had just gotten back from their case, telling him to get over here asap. He was there within 5 minutes.

“Y/L/N!” He yelled through the wood. “If you don’t open the door I’m going to kick it in.” He waited, hoping it would open and their face would appear but when it didn’t, he had no choice but to get it open himself. He kicked the door open with force, walking strongly into their apartment, searching the kitchen and living room for them. Penelope ran into their bedroom, gasping loudly when she finally spotted them. They were passed out in the bed, 2 times smaller than when she last saw them and barely breathing. Derek rushed in, checking their pulse to find that it was thready and weak. He picked them up bridal style, carrying them out of the apartment and down to his car, Penelope close behind. 

When they woke up again, all they heard was beeping and hushed voices close by. They opened their eyes to a dark room with brighter lights coming from a hallway outside. 

“Wha- where-” They sat up quickly, heart racing at the unfamiliar environment, turning to their right when they felt a soft hand touch their own. Penelope’s sweet face had a beaming smile plastered but glassy, red eyes showed that she was crying previously. 

“You’re in the hospital.” She calmed them down, looking over to the other corner where Derek was standing against the wall. “We found you in your apartment, you-” Her voice cut off, tears fell down her face. 

“You were barely breathing Y/N. The doctors said you hadn’t eaten anything in over a week.” Derek moved to the end of the bed, staring Y/N deep in the eyes. They felt terrible, creating more stress and worry for the team after the past 2 weeks. 

“I’m sorry.” Y/N dropped their head in shame. 

“It’s okay.” Penelope placed a soft finger under their chin, making them look up at her. “We’re here to help you, you know that right?” She spoke softly. They nodded their head in response, travelling their eyes over to Derek. 

It was another week of rest at home, along with supplements to help Y/N get nutrients back into their body before they were allowed back at work. When they did return they were made to have a conversation with Strauss, discussing their prolonged absence before they were dismissed and cleared for the field.

“Y/L/N.” Hotch’s voice carried through the bullpen. Y/N looked up from their desk and towards his office. He was standing in the doorway, motioning his head and indicating for them to come up. They sighed, dropping their pen and standing up. They knew what it was about, Emily. The rest of the team had already had their conversations with Hotch, discussing their feelings and Y/N was the last to go in. They were trying to avoid it ever since returning to work, hiding away from his view everytime he walked past, but it was inevitable. They walked up the stairs and into his office, closing the door and meeting him on the couch. 

“Y/N.” They didn’t look at him, keeping their lips sealed shut. “Are you okay?” His voice was soft and genuine. Their focus remained trained on the floor, legs beginning to bounce from anxiety. They took a deep breath, trying to hold back tears and emotion. 

“I don’t want to do this.” They whispered, shaking their head. “I can’t.” They sighed. 

“Why not?” He sounded like a therapist, voice laced with concern for the agent. They bit their bottom lip, shaking their head again. More tears began to rise in their eyes. 

“Because-” Y/N turned their head to look at their boss. “Because if I do then it becomes real. I don’t want it to be real. I want her to walk through those doors like it was all some big joke.” They looked out at the glass doors. “But she won’t.” Their voice cracked, tears finally falling. “She’s gone, and I-I can’t do this without her Hotch.” They stood abruptly, pacing back and forth. “I’m not me. I’m not who I was. I-I’m broken.” They stopped, staring down at Hotch. 

“You’re not broken, Y/N.” He stood, meeting their eyes.

“Yes, I am. I haven’t cried, I-I can’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I can’t breathe.” Y/N looked at him. 

“You’re not broken, you’re grieving.” He spoke calmly. “You’re allowed to grieve, Y/N.” He explained. 

“I don’t want to.” They shook their head again, hands clutching at their chest. “I held her in my arms, she was breathing.” They were back in the warehouse, holding Emily in their lap as she began to fade.  “I loved her so much.” They look up at their boss, their friend, and their heart shatters again. 

“I know, I know you did.” He stepped closer to them, wrapping his arms around their shoulders, enveloping them in a hug for the first time ever. They sobbed into his chest, not caring about the unprofessional nature of it, he wasn’t the big bad boss right now. He was their friend and he was comforting a friend in a difficult time. 

The sobs slowed and their breathing evened out, Hotch letting go of them.

“Thank you.” Y/N looked up at him, smiling slightly. “Would it be okay if I left a bit early today? There’s somewhere I need to be.” Hotch nodded in response, understanding their situation. 

When they left the office, they headed to the cemetery for the first time since the funeral. The walk from the car to her grave was tough, taking one step at a time. When they reached her headstone they sat on the grass in front, staring at her name engraved in stone. 

“Hey baby.” They smiled. “I’m sorry I haven’t been to visit yet, it’s been hard.” They sighed. Then they reached into their coat pocket, digging around for what had become their current habit. They pulled out a lighter and pack of cigarettes, lighting one in their mouth. They took a deep breath and puffed out the smoke, blowing it into the cool wind. “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about this.” They joked to her headstone. “Picked up a very old habit from high school, you’d probably hate it and throw it out if you could.” Their face dropped with their words. 

“I miss you.” They spoke again after a minute of silence. “Like a lot.” They took another hit of their cigarette. “It’s hard doing this without you. Life that is. I don’t even remember how I did it before I met you, but I guess I’m going to have to figure it out aren’t I?” They smiled painfully. They sat in silence at her grave for a while, waiting until their cigarette was nothing but a nub. This might have been the first time visiting her grave, but it wasn’t the last. 

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Love you to the moon and saturn | Emily Prentiss x gn!reader

Summary; Emily Prentiss and Y/N have been dating for a long time and Y/N decides it’s finally time to tie the knot. 

Parings; Emily Prentiss x gn!reader

Warnings; none, pure fluff with kissing

Words; 1.6k

No one is permitted to steal, copy, or reblog my work as their own!!

Not my gif. @pagetbrewsterfansite​ 

It was no secret that Emily and Y/N were deeply in love with each other. When they started dating 3 years ago they were able to keep it a secret for a good few months. That was until Garcia caught them sneaking off together during a team get together at Rossi’s, outing them to the whole team. No one had a problem with it, if anything they were obsessed with their relationship and the love they had for each other. The two agents were obsessed with each other, with one another more than not. 

Y/N knew they would like Emily as soon as she walked into the BAU on her first day, capturing the attention of Y/N almost instantly. That was 5 years ago, and it took them 2 years of working together and becoming best friends to realise that they actually liked each other and it wasn’t one sided pining. From then it’s been smooth sailing, rarely having fights and saying I love you within a few months. 

Y/N has been planning this for a few months, even going to a specialty jeweller, creating the perfect ring for Emily. They’ve been carrying the ring in their pocket for at least 2 weeks now, waiting for the perfect moment to drop to one knee and ask the question. There have been many occasions when they’ve been ready to do it; at a fancy dinner date night, at Rossi’s with the whole team around, during a work trip to the mountains. But something has always interrupted them, stopping the romantic moment before they could ask Emily to be their partner for ever and ever. 

And that leads us to today. The team had just gotten back from a case in Texas, a particularly tough one at that. The team had been investigating a number of mysterious explosions throughout a small town and when Emily almost ran into a building that was seconds away from exploding, Y/N knew. They knew that with this job, their lives could be taken away from them and Y/N didn’t want to go another day without having Emily as their wife. Today was the day. 

Everyone exited the elevators, ready to see Penelope’s smiling face greeting them like always but when those doors opened, the hallway was empty. Everyone’s face fell to confusion while Y/N’s gained a smirk. The plan was in motion. Before they got onto the plane, Y/N called Penelope back at Quantico, telling her that they were finally going to propose to Emily and they needed her help. Penelope was over the moon excited, she’d been waiting for this to happen ever since Y/N told her about the ring. 

“That’s weird.” Derek commented finally, stepping out of the elevator, everyone else following behind. He wandered down the hall to her lair, opening the door. “Baby girl?” She was nowhere to be found. 

“Maybe she’s inside.” Emily walked towards the glass doors, pushing the open simultaneously, ready to spot the analyst wandering around or in the kitchenette. Once again it was empty. 

Y/N hid their excitement, wandering over to their desk and placing their bags down. “I’m going to check up there.” They announced, nodding their head towards the stairs that lead up to the round table room where the shutters were oddly closed. Whilst walking, they reached into their jacket pocket to make sure the ring was still in there, it was. When they opened the door they were met with a very excited Penelope, she was grinning ear to ear. Y/N smiled back before she pulled them into a hug. 

“Oh my god, I’m so excited! I’ve been waiting up here for so long, you guys seem to take forever.” Penelope stepped away from the hug. Y/N looked around the room, spotting flowers scattered and small candles lit. 

“Pen, this is amazing! Thank you so much.” They thanked Penelope, the room looked amazing. “Now I just have to get her up here. And hope from there on everything goes smoothly.” They were getting stressed out, thinking about what they were about to do. 

“Hey, it’s going to be fine. I’ve never seen two people more in love, she’s going to say yes.” Penelope grabbed their hands, bringing them back down. “Is it time to go get her?” Penelope asked, releasing their hands as they nodded. “Okay, good luck my love.” She kissed them on the cheek and walked out the door that led to the catwalk, closing it softly behind her. Y/N breathed deeply, thinking of the words they had prepared on the plane. 

“Emily Prentiss,” Penelope finally appeared to the rest of the team that were milling around the bullpen. “Your presence is requested at the round table.” Penelope tried to contain her happiness, walking slowly to the steps and hiding her smile. 

“Uh, okay.” Emily shook her head, walking up the stairs and passing the mysterious analyst. Her brows were furrowed as she walked to the door. 

“What are you up to, baby girl?” Derek asked, wrapping an arm over Penelope’s shoulder. 

“Something magical.” She smiled, looking up at the windows of the room that was still closed off to everyone else. 

Emily finally approached the door, opening it slowly. A small gasp left her lips as the romantic setting was revealed. She let go of the door handle, walking further into the room. “Y/N?” She spotted them in the corner of the room, pacing nervously. 

“Hi.” Y/N breathed, walking to meet Emily in the middle of the room. 

“Hi.” Emily smiled at her lover, curiosity running through her veins. “Baby, what’s going on?” She chuckled nervously, interlocking her hands with theirs. 

“Emily,” They paused, making sure to capture her attention, meeting their eyes with hers. “The day I met you, I knew we were meant to meet. You came into my life at a time where I really needed someone, to listen, to talk and to understand me. And you did that and so much more. You became my best friend but I always wanted more than that. And I’m mad it took us so long to realise that we both liked each other, because then we could’ve spent so much more time in each other’s arms, spilling the secrets of our hearts instead of stealing glances across the room.” They paused, watching Emily laugh. 

“You, are my favourite person in the whole world, the love of my life, and I never want to spend another day without you in my arms. I’ve known that for a while, but today really made me realise that with this job our lives could be cut short at any moment.” They took a second, blinking away the tears in their eyes, taking a deep breath. “So, with that said,” They let go of Emily’s hand, reaching into their pocket. Emily’s eyes filled with tears, shock running over her face. Then they got down on one knee, looking up at Emily with a box in their hand.

 “Emily Prentiss,” They opened the ring box, revealing a silver ring with a sparkling sapphire diamond. “Will you do the absolute pleasure of marrying me?” They smiled up at Emily, her hands now covering her mouth with a big gasp. 

“Oh my god. YES! Yes, yes, yes!” She reached down and pulled Y/N up by their shoulders, grabbing their face and pulling them in for a passionate kiss. They split apart, smiling at each other, laughing. Emily pulled Y/N in for a hug, holding them tightly. Y/N took the opportunity to grab Emily’s waist, lifting her legs off the ground and spinning her around. 

“Y/N, I love you so much.” Emily jumped down to look into her fiance’s eyes. Y/N kept smiling, pulling the ring out of the box and placing it onto Emily’s finger. “It’s beautiful.” She examined the ring. 

“I got it made specifically for you.” Y/N smiled at Emily, wiping the tears of joy that had fallen onto their cheek. “I love you.” Emily leant in for another small kiss, unable to wipe the smile off of her face. 

“Do they know?” She nodded her head to the blocked window, gesturing to the team who were patiently waiting downstairs. They shook their head.

“Only Pen, she set all of it up.” They pointed to the flowers and candles scattered. 

“Should we go tell them then?” Emily asked, grabbing a hold of Y/N’s hand. They nodded enthusiastically, kissing her again before they walked to the door hand in hand. They were silent as they appeared on the catwalk, waiting for the team's reactions. 

The bullpen was silent, tension and anticipation circling the air. When no one said anything, Emily finally shot their hands up in the air, her engagement ring shining in the light. 

“We’re getting married!” She shouted into the space. The team was cheering and clapping, filling the room with happiness as the couple made their way down the stairs. Emily and Y/N were laughing at the reaction. Rossi was the first to greet the couple, kissing both of them on the cheeks. 

“Congratulations!” He smiled at the pair. Hugs and laughter were shared with the team, everyone stopping to admire the ring Y/N designed, complementing them. The last person to congratulate them was Hotch. 

“I’m very happy for you two.” He smiled at Y/N before bringing them in for a hug. And that’s how the night continued, laughs shared among friends as the happy couple reminisced on their relationship. It was a happy day for everyone. 

Time Bomb | Criminal minds x fem!reader

Summary; Y/N’s mind is overworked and tired from case after case after case and the team begins to notice, prodding her until it gets too much. 

Parings; BAU team x BAU!reader, no romantic relationships mentioned. (she/her pronouns) 

Warnings; angst, mentions of chronic headaches/migraines, swearing, physical and emotional pain

Words; 1.7k

No one is permitted to steal, copy, or reblog my work as their own!!

Gif is not mine. @book-place​ 

It wasn’t unusual for Y/N to have a migraine, let alone a simple headache. She was diagnosed with atypical migraines when she was 15 and has been dealing with them since. But joining the  BAU 6 months ago really seemed to ramp things up for her. Since the day she left for that first case, the severity of her headaches increased, impacting her working abilities.  

She knew it wasn’t going to be an easy job, the commitments alone were tough but what was worse was trying to leave every painful detail of a case behind and move onto the next one, especially so quickly. She felt like she was doing work 24/7, whether she was on a plane flying across the country, stuck at her desk filing reports or thinking about cases when she got home. Everyone else on the team had been there for much longer than her so they had it down packed. But Y/N was still struggling, not that she would let anyone else figure that out. 

She became quite good at compartmentalising, hiding her emotions from her colleagues, family and friends. But all of this stress, tension and hurt came through in her migraines. Having suffered in pain for almost 10 years already, she was good at moving through the pain, pushing it aside, but lately it began bothering her more than ever, and the team began to notice. 

Derek was the first to pick up on her change in mood when she didn’t acknowledge his daily “Good Morning Firecracker”. Instead of her normal response, she flipped him the bird and kept walking to her desk in silence. He was quite insulted at her actions but took it as a bad morning. The other surrounding team members took note of this unusual behaviour from Y/N, all beginning to watch her closely. 

Reid noticed her mental distance during a case when it repeatedly took her 8 seconds longer than usual to answer a question or hear her name being called.

It was then Emily who tried to comfort her, but was brushed aside and ignored by Y/N. It happened yesterday, the team were in the office, working on files from the previous case and Emily noticed the younger team member had been silent all day. She watched with concern from her desk as Y/N held her head in her hands, rubbed her temples and took painkillers every few hours. As the day ended Emily approached Y/N, tapping her on the shoulder lightly to get her to raise her head off the desk. 

“What?” Y/N turned to Emily with tired eyes and an exhausted expression. 

“Sorry, I just wanted to check that you were okay? You’ve been quiet all day.” Emily removed her hand from Y/N’s shoulder. 

“I’m fine, Prentiss.” Y/N used Emily’s last name for the first time in months and it shocked everyone in the room. Y/N gathered her stuff and quickly left towards the elevators, brushing Emily’s shoulder on the way out. The whole team, including Rossi and Hotch who’d left their offices, stood in shock at the agent's actions. Something was definitely wrong. 

                                                    ~~~~~~

This morning Y/N slept in for the first time in weeks, and not on purpose. She had slept through three alarms and would officially be late for work, but it didn’t bother her. The pain pounding through her head was insufferable. It felt as if her skull was squishing her brain, waiting for it to explode. So she took her time getting ready, pausing every few minutes to sit and attempt to not pass out or throw up. Could she have just opted to take the day off? Yes. But she was too stubborn for that. 

She eventually made it to work, slowly making her way through the glass doors, now almost an hour late according to her watch. But when she finally looked up from the floor, no one was at their desks, or in the kitchen, or milling around the bullpen. It was silent. As much as she admired the peace and quiet, it was bugging her, where the hell was everyone else. Curiously she made her way up the stairs, peeking into Hotch and Rossi’s empty offices, then towards the conference room that suspiciously had the door closed and shades drawn.

She opened the door slowly, expecting to also find no one, but was wrong. The whole team was sitting at and standing around the table, previously talking lowly amongst themselves. 

“What the hell is going on? Why are you all in the fucking dark in silence? It’s weird.” Y/N’s voice caught the attention of her friends and boss, everyone staring at her with shock or concern plastered on their faces. 

“Come sit down Y/N.” Hotch finally spoke up, his hands crossed at his chest nodding his head to the empty chair in the centre of the table. 

“Fine.” Y/N snickered, moving slowly towards the chair. “What is this? An intervention?” Y/N laughed as she sat down in the chair, sliding down into a comfortable position. The room stayed silent. “Will someone please fucking say something!” She waved her hands in the air and looked to Emily, then Spencer then Derek. 

“Y/N.” Derek sighed, moving away from the window where he was previously leaning, catching the attention of Y/N. “We’ve all noticed some changes in your behaviour recently and we just wanted to see what was going on.” 

“Yeah.” Emily’s voice perked up from beside Y/N, moving to place her hand on top of the other agent’s. “We’re all worried for you, you haven’t been yourself. You get mad at the smallest of things, you’re constantly tired and falling asleep everywhere. Is there something you need to tell us? Are you-” Emily couldn’t even finish her sentence. 

Y/N shook her head in disbelief, they probably think I’m an alcoholic or drug user. Unbelievable. “Wow!” She laughed out, snatching her hand away from Emily’s. “Okay, so how about you guys take a guess at what’s wrong with me and I’ll tell you if you’re right.” Everyone’s jaw dropped at her outburst, not wanting to say anything to make it worse. “Hm. Go ahead. Or are you too scared?” Y/N stood up from her chair. 

“That’s enough Y/L/N.” Hotch sternly expressed to the agent, urging her to calm down. 

“No, Hotch. I’ve had enough! This is bullshit.” Y/N began walking towards the door behind her, only to be stopped by Derek. “Move.” She argued but he didn’t budge. “Stop it Derek, let me leave.” 

“No.” He uncrossed his arms, now softly holding her forearms. 

“Derek,” She was really frustrated now, tears began welling up in her eyes. “I swear to god.” She shook her head at him, her voice was breaking. The physical and emotional pain was getting too much. The pounding in her head  was so loud she thought her ear drums were going to burst. Derek saw her pain, swiftly moving to pull her into a tight hug, one that she didn’t reciprocate but also didn’t try to remove herself from. She broke down, for the first time in months she’d finally let go. She stood there, crying into Derek’s chest as he held her tight, protecting her, the room was quiet besides the sound of Y/N crying. 

This was the first time any of them had seen her cry in the 6 months of knowing her, not even after hard cases. They looked at each other, hearts breaking for their colleague and friend. After a moment she began to move and Derek’s grip on her loosened. She wiped her bare face and held her head down as she went to sit back down. “Talk to us honey.” JJ was now in the seat beside her, stroking her back lightly. 

She took a deep breath before she spoke again. “I have chronic migraines. I have since I was 15. And since working here, they’ve been worse than ever. Especially today.” She stopped, I sound so stupid, she thought to herself. Emily squeezed her shoulder encouraging her to keep going. Y/N sniffled, “I guess the heaviness of the cases, the workload, the stress has been getting to me a lot more recently. And don’t get me wrong, I love this job and you guys,” She lifted her head to look at her friends who were now all sitting or standing in front of her. “But sometimes it’s just too much and the emotional pain turns into physical which then turns into anger and a bad mood.” She looked back down at her hands, picking at her nails. 

“Well why didn’t you tell any of us you were struggling?” Rossi spoke kindly from across the table, meeting eyes with Y/N. 

Y/N’s mouth twists before speaking, trying to stop the tears. “I didn’t want to burden you. You guys have your own lives. And I’ve been dealing with it by myself for so long I thought I had it under control.” Her voice cracks at the end causing everyone’s hearts to shatter. How did they not see this earlier? They all thought to themselves. 

“Y/N, look at me.” Derek was now behind her, she looked up behind her shoulder. “You are not a burden. You are an incredible and important asset to this team and this family. That’s what we are.” He smiled down at her. 

“And that means that we’re always here for each other, good or bad.” Penelope’s sweet voice spoke next from further down the table. “Okay?” She asks when Y/N looks like she doesn’t believe her. 

She stayed silent for a while, thinking about their words. Slowly she began nodding her head, careful not to increase the pain. “Okay.” She smiled at her team. 

“How about you go sleep off the pain in my office for a bit?” Rossi offered, she almost rejected because she didn’t want to let them down but Rossi continued before she could open her mouth. “Just until we get a case, okay?” He hoped that would do the trick, and it did.

“Thank you.” She sniffled. “And I’m sorry for how rude I’ve been, it wasn’t intentional I promise.” She looked specifically at Emily and Derek who had received the brutal end of her outbursts. 

So now the team was fixed once again, now knowing how to help Y/N on her good and bad days.

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Welcome home kiss | Emily Prentiss x GN!Reader

Pairings: Emily Prentiss x GN!reader

Summary: Emily’s return to the BAU brings some deep emotions to the surface

Warnings: swearing, use of a cigarette, mentions of a slight ED

Words; 1.1k

No one is permitted to steal, copy, or reblog my work as their own!!

Not my gif. @leightonxmurray​ 

Read the prequel here; “Goodbye my lover...”

“Meeting table. Now.” Aaron Hotchner walked into the BAU office for the first time in months, bypassing your desk.

“When the hell did you get here?” You asked as you followed the booming voice in the previously silent room, getting up from the desk and started walking with him. 

“Not now Y/L/N.” Hotch shook his head as he walked up the stairs towards the room.

“Okay then. Nice beard though.” You continued following him, confused on the situation, taking your normal seat next to Penelope and waited.

“Welcome back.” Derek looked to Hotch as he filtered in with JJ and Rossi behind him.

“Thanks. Everybody have a seat.” JJ walked around to stand with Hotch, confusing you even more.

“Why? What's going on? Everything all right?” Derek questioned, standing opposed to Hotch and JJ. 

 “7 months ago I made a decision that affected this team. As you all know, Emily had lost a lot of blood after her fight with Doyle. But the doctors were able to stabilise her.” Your heart begin to pound in your chest, Hotch’s words barely registering in your mind as he continued.

“And she was airlifted from Boston to Bethesda under a covert exfiltration. Her identity was strictly need-to-know. And she stayed there until she was well enough to travel. She was reassigned to Paris where she was given several identities, none of which we had access to for her security.” 

“What are you saying Hotch?” You looked up from your spot on the table, looking him in the eye.

“She’s alive?” Penelope piped up, Hotch stayed silent with his arms crossed.

“But we buried her.” Spencer’s quiet, broken voice echoed through the room.

“I watched her die in my arms.” You whispered, images from that awful night plague your mind, sending you into a spiral of pain. Small tears of sadness, anger and betrayal pool in your eyes.

“As I said, I take full responsibility for the decision. If anyone has any issues, they should be directed toward me.” Hotch finally spoke up again. 

You placed your head in your hands, shaking it trying to make sense of the situation. 

“Any issues? Yeah I got issues!” Derek shouted at Hotch, feeling the same emotions as yourself and the other team members. 

People slowly turned their heads towards the door, the sound of heels heard walking up the hall.

“Oh, my god.” Penelope spoke softly from beside you, causing you to lift your head, slowly turning towards the door. 

Emily Prentiss stands in the doorway, alive and making eye contact with you. Mind riddled with confusion, sadness and anger, you pick yourself up and walk out the back doorway and down the stairs towards the glass door, walking out. The team all look towards you but are too stunned with the arrival of the thought dead woman to do anything. 

As the rest of the team reunite with Emily, you make your way towards your secret spot on the roof, forgetting how cold it can be, especially when you don’t have a jacket on. You did manage to remember to bring your new coping mechanism, a cigarette and a lighter.

Moments later the door can be heard opening. Not turning your head towards the door, you can still feel the familiar presence of someone.

“Well that’s new.” Emily points towards the lit cigarette in your hand.

“Well a lot can happen in seven months.” You take another puff, avoiding eye contact as Emily finds a seat next to you, wrapping a jacket around your cold shoulders. “Thanks.” You mutter softly.

Moments pass before Emily speaks again. “I’m sorry. Utterly and completely sorry for what I did to you.” Emily shuffles to face your shoulder. You take a final puff before putting it out on the ground with you shoe. Facing you eyes to the sky, you sniffle, tears fall down your cheeks slowly.

“I watched you fucking die in my arms Emily.” You turn to face the other woman now. “Saying sorry will never be enough to fix that, and I know you will try, and I am willing to try. But, that. That was the worst day of my life. A-and then I was expected to just go ahead and bury you and move on with my life! How am I supposed to do that! H-how is anyone supposed to do that when they lose the love of their life?” You stand up and run your hands through your hair.

“I had no choice my love.” Emily looks up to you. “JJ, Hotch  and I all decided that’s what was best for me and the team. Even if that meant I had to hide from you for a little while.” 

 “A little while? Those were the worst seven months of my entire life. I-I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t work, I couldn’t eat, I ended up in the hospital because I was malnourished. And if Garcia hadn’t come to check up on me that night…” You trail off and shake your head. Both of you were now crying, Emily takes a step closer to you and softly holds your cold hands. 

“Baby… I am so sorry.” She slowly moves closer and attempt to wrap her arms around your shaking frame. You immediately latch onto Emily harder than ever, never wanting to let go.

“Don’t ever leave me again. Ever. I can’t take it.” You muffle inter her shoulder, gripping tighter with every breath.

“I would never dream of it my darling.” You hold on two each other for what feels like an eternity until you both feel a buzz in your pockets.

Can you love birds please come back down so we can deal with Doyle? Love you both xoxox - Garcia

You both chuckle at the message and slowly let go of each other, resulting in a hand hold as you make your way towards the roof door. You pull it open and get away from the coldness.

“You grew out your bangs.” You point out as you walk down together.

“Do you not like it?” Emily smiles lightly.

“Not really. I much prefer your pretty face with bangs.” Emily laughs and nods her head, taking in the advice. “I also find bangs HIGHLY attractive, if you hadn’t noticed already.”

“Is that so?” Emily raises her brows as you bite your lip and nod your head. “Well, I guess I’m going to have to fix that if I wish for a welcome home kiss, won’t I?”

“Wellll, I guess you could get one now.” You both pause at the bottom step before the door, turning to face each other. Emily smiles at you, placing her hands on your hips, pulling you closer. You place both your hands on either side of her face, moving her closer to you. 

Your lips finally touch for the first time in over seven months and it’s like the first time all over again. It’s like magic is flowing through you, bringing you back together. This is the happiest you’ve ever been.

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