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13uswntimagines · 23 hours

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3 More Days (Alessia X Leah X Child!R)

part of the Big Emotions Universe. Set before Big Emotions and Cookies for Luck

Summary: It's your first World Cup. Your first time in Australia, and the first time you ever had to be away from your Mama thanks to the stupid FIFA rules. The truth is that neither of you are dealing with the separation well. You just need to make it 3 more days.

warnings: none. soft angst if you squint, otherwise it's just a cute kidfic.

You decided you did not like Australia.

You didn’t care if they had cute koalas, and a super cool aquarium, and people with cooler accents.

You didn’t care that Uncle Luca had taken you to meet a turtle named Irwin, or that he let you and Squirt pick out a new stuffed octopus friend (you and Squirt hadn’t decided on a name yet).

Australia was mean. Your mama was mean.

The stupid soccer rules that said you couldn’t stay in the shiny hotel with her were mean.

All of her teammates were mean.

You did not like Australia.

You frowned at the field, wiggling in your seat as the keepers jogged out of the tunnel for warmups.

You decided you did not like the World Cup either.

“Why the long face Tiny?” Uncle Luca asked you, adjusting your turtle jacket.

Your shoulders lifted and fell, and a little crinkle appeared between your eyebrows as Mary took her place in the goal in front of you. “No wike it,”

He hugged you, lifting you from your seat into his lap. “What don’t you like?”

You leaned back into his chest. Your little shoulders shrugged again. “No wike it,”

“Ok,” He sighed. “Do you want a cookie? So Mama has good luck against Australia?”

He pulled a small chocolate-covered cookie out of your turtle backpack, offering it to you.

Your nose scrunched as you pushed it away. “No wan it,”

You didn’t care that it was your favorite, the one with oranges in the middle. You didn’t want your mama to have good luck.

You just wanted to not be in Australia.

You wanted to be back in your apartment that Leah sometimes visited.

You wanted to not have to say bye to your Mama after the game.

“Alright tiny,” He said, slipping the cookie back into your backpack, and pulling you closer to him. “Hey look, Mama is coming,”

He hoped that seeing Alessia would pull you out of your funk.

You had been… moody, even for a 2-year-old, ever since you landed in Australia. You hadn’t been able to fly with the team, but Alessia and Luca ensured you got to see your Mama daily. And the days you couldn’t, Uncle Luca and Nona did their best to distract you with trips to places like the Aquarium, the Zoo, and the beach.

It seemed to work at first, but with each passing day, your smile dimmed, and your interest in their planned activities dwindled.

Even your favorite pastime, watching your mama play soccer, didn’t pique your interest.

Your eyes followed his hand, watching with halfhearted care as your mama finally emerged from the tunnel, chatting with your Aunt Ella and Lucy.

You waited for her to look up.

To wave to you like she always did.

But she didn’t.

You sunk back into Luca, your gaze drifting away from your mama, and towards Mary just as she dove for a save.

She caught the ball easily, rolling her shoulders as she stood, and glancing back towards the crowd who cheered behind her. She smiled when she saw your tiny form bundled in Luca’s lap, sending a wave your way.

You brightened considerably, lifting your hand in response, and nudging Luca.

“Mazza,” You mumbled, pointing towards the keeper.

“She’s pretty good, isn’t she?”

You blinked toward the new voice, taking in the sight of your second favorite person.

“Leah!”

You launched yourself towards the defender, uncaring of the fact that she was still on crutches. The force would have knocked her over had she not been standing against the guardrail.

“Hey Bug,” She said as you buried yourself in her neck, clutching her England jersey like you thought she would disappear.

Things had been difficult since she had torn her ACL and hadn’t been able to visit you and your Mama as much as she liked.

Her rehab was difficult and consumed her. It was why Alesia’s brother and mother had been tasked with caring for you during the tournament.

“Hey,” You mumbled back, keeping yourself tucked into her neck. “No go? Stay now?”

“Yeah Bug, I’m going to stay and watch the game with you,” She promised, rubbing your back. “We’re going to watch your Mama win,”

She shifted, settling into the chair next to your Uncle, and pulling you into her lap. You didn’t look up, ignoring when she waved towards your Mama and received a wave back in return.

You missed how Alessia stared at the two of you, and the unspoken conversation that passed between them.

The continuation of the conversations they had been having since before you left for Australia, and Fifa had announced the rules that banned children from the team hotels. Since Serina had reached out to make sure that You would be taken care of during the tournament.

A conversation that both women knew wasn’t over yet.

But warmups were not the time to continue it.

********

Leah was worried.

More than worried.

You were normally like a ray of sunshine. You followed a game with rapt attention, cheering, and booing like it was in your blood. You waved at the players you knew and got excited when they waved back, especially if it was mid-match.

Today, you just… didn't.

You seemed wilted. Tired.

You barely peeked out of her chest, even after the game had started.

“Hey look, they’re getting ready for a corner,” Leah said, bouncing you a bit as the teams set up in front of you.

You glanced up at her, both eyebrows raised. “Flying header?”

“Maybe,” Leah hummed, running a hand through your wild curls. “You’d have to watch to see,”

Your nose scrunched immediately.

“No wike it,” You grumbled, pressing yourself impossibly closer to Leah’s chest.

“What don’t you like bug?” She asked you, trying to coax you out of your hiding place.

“Elle is going to take the kick,” Luca added, nudging your arm, trying to get you to look.

You didn’t.

You whined loudly, clutching Leah’s jersey impossibly tighter in your little fingers.

They shared a look.

You were not a winy child.

You didn’t generally get fussy unless you were tired or sick.

“Ok bug,” Leah sighed as Elle lined up for the kick, raising her hand as the rest of the team jockeyed for position in front of goal. “It’s all ok,”

Elle’s foot hit the ball with a low thump, sending it flying in a perfect arch towards your Mama’s waiting head.

All it took was a perfect flick, and it was in the back of the net.

Alessia’s eyes immediately found the two of you as the stadium erupted.

She expected you and Leah to be cheering too. For you to be clapping and happy like you normally were any time she scored.

Instead, your face was buried in Leah’s neck, Lucas's hand rubbing your back.

She frowned, raising her eyebrow towards the pair.

Leah shrugged, rocking you gently.

Neither of them knew exactly what had upset you. Only that you apparently didn’t want or like whatever it was.

“Mama scored!” Luca cheered, rubbing your back more insistently.

You turned your head to blink at him.

“No want it,” You mumbled miserably, a contrast to the excitement still buzzing around you.

Leah sighed, gently scratching the back of your head. “I know bug. It’s ok,”

“Nooo!” You screeched, shaking your head, because she didn’t know. No one knew, and no one was doing anything about it.

They just kept telling you that it was ok.

It wasn’t ok.

“Ok, let’s take a walk tiny,” Luca scooped you out of Leah’s arms easily, already sensing the impending meltdown. “I think I saw a cool turtle shirt and a snack,”

It was becoming a twisted routine of sorts. You becoming frustrated and overstimulated, and Luca would take you for a walk to try and distract you from the big feelings you didn’t have words to explain.

Your hands twisted in his shirt and you tucked yourself into him, quieting more quickly than Leah thought you would.

“Nack,” You repeated.

“Yeah, let’s go get a snack,” Luca said, bouncing you gently. “We’ll bring one back for Leah too,”

He winked at the defender, as he headed up the stairs towards the concessions, and you peeked over his shoulder at her as he carried you away.

She sent you a little wave, smiling slightly when you waved back.

She hoped that things would look up for you now that she was here. She was by no means Alessia, but she had integrated nicely into your life since they had started dating (and she hoped the upcoming move to London would only strengthen the relationship you shared).

Hopefully, the familiarity and the plan her and Alessia had made would help to pull you out of your funk.

*******

“Hey love,” Leah sent Alessia a wide smile as she approached the Friends and Family section.

The game had ended in a neat 3-1 victory and Alessia had completed her mandatory lap around the field with the team.

Normally you liked to join her, holding her hand and playing with your aunts, but you hadn’t been waiting at the rail behind the bench with Luca like usual. She noticed that you hadn’t even been in the friends and family section.

Leah wrapped her in her arms as soon as Alessia helped her down onto the field. “Your goal was fantastic,”

“Thanks,” Alessia’s smile was half-hearted, exhaustion clear in her blue eyes as she supported the blonde who was still mom weight-bearing on her leg. “Where’s Bug?”

“Your brother disappeared with her to find a snack before halftime, and they haven’t come back yet,” Leah said, glancing in the direction the two of you had gone. “She’s having a hard time,”

Alessia followed her eyes with a sigh. “Beyond,”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so sullen,”

“It’s only getting worse, I think,” Alessia ran a frustrated hand through her hair, tugging lightly on her ponytail. “I don’t know how to fix it,”

Alessia had always been an incredibly involved parent. She had raised you herself, with a little help from Luca and her parents. She wasn’t used to being away from you for the night, much less days on end.

It broke her heart each time you cried when she had to say goodbye. And it killed her how you had retreated back into yourself with each passing day.

You had even started refusing phone calls with her so she could read you your bedtime stories.

It was clear that the Fifa restrictions were taking their toll on both of you, but she felt powerless to stop it.

Even Serina hadn’t been able to get her an exception.

Leah caught her hand, pulling it to her chest and drawing all of Alessia's attention back to her. The striker met the defender’s eyes, and warmth leached into her chest. It was something bright and safe.

It was the thing that had made Alessia fall in love with her to begin with. The thing that had allowed your mama to feel comfortable enough with Leah to introduce her to you.

“We’ll figure it out together,” Leah said, her voice sure and soothing. It made Alessia believe her. “I’m here to help,”

Alessia let out a shaky breath. “I don’t like being away from her,”

Leah pulled her closer, and she buried her face in Leah’s neck much like you did. “I know. We’ve only got one more game, and then we will be bringing the World Cup home,”

“Three more days, and then the FIFA rules don’t apply,” Alessia agreed, letting Leah’s words calm her. “We can make it 3 more days,”

“We can make it 3 more days,” Leah said, kissing Alessia’s forehead, just as Luca appeared with you at the top of the stairs. “Between Me, you, and Luca, she’ll make it 3 more days too,”

Alessia pulled away, glancing up the stairs. Her breath caught again when she saw you, clutching Squirt, a dark blue stuffed octopus and her brother for dear life at the top of the stairs.

You didn’t look out from your hiding place in his chest as she carefully made his way towards them.

She pulled away from Leah when he got to the rail, making sure she was stable on her crutches before reaching for you.

“Hey cuddle bug,” She sent you a blinding smile, reaching out for you. “Do you want to come down to the field?”

You peeked out at her as if you were contemplating the decision. You had never not willingly gone to her before.

It took you a long second before you shook your head and tucked yourself back into Luca’s chest. “No like it,”

Her shoulders drooped, and she had to fight to keep the corners of her lips from turning down. “Alright,”

It was like a dagger in her chest, deflating her and sending a sinking feeling through her stomach. It was a feeling of total failure.

She had failed you, and you didn’t want to go to her.

It was like an invisible wall of glass had erupted between you. Like there was a barrier she didn’t know how to pass keeping you from her. It was like she was the polar bear in the zoo that you had been too terrified to look at.

Leah rubbed her back, and Luca bounced you lightly, sending her a sympathetic look.

They just had to make it 3 more days.

She just hoped you could both hold on that long.

#woso x reader #woso imagines #alessia russo x reader #alessia russo imagine #alessia russo x leah williamson x reader #leah williamson x reader #big emotions universe

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