Interlinked | Leah Williamson

The taxi ride back was quiet, laced with that soft, charged stillness that settled in after too many unsaid things. One by one, everyone was dropped off - Tillie with a sleepy wave, Leo offering Maddie a smirk like he knew something they didn't, and Beth and Lia laughing about something as they got out together. That left just Maddie and Leah in the back seat, shadows from the passing streetlights flickering across their faces.

When the taxi finally pulled up outside Leah's place, neither of them said much. Maddie followed her inside like it was the most natural thing in the world - like she belonged there. Which, in many ways, she did.

Leah disappeared into the kitchen to put the kettle on, calling over her shoulder, "You can borrow some of my pyjamas Mads- just not the ones on my bed."

Maddie nodded, as she walked upstairs, quickly peeling off her outfit from the night, the soft rustle of fabric barely audible over the low hum of the kettle below. She opened the top drawer of Leah's dresser - her drawer, at this point - and tugged out a worn, oversized Arsenal training tee. It had seen better days, and that was probably why she loved it. It smelled like Leah. Like home.

She pulled it on, the fabric brushing against her bare skin, and reached for a pair of pyjama shorts - short, tight, grey, sitting high on her thighs. She glanced in the mirror for a second, biting her lip.

Her hair was messy, mascara just slightly smudged under her eyes, and her skin still warm from the press of Leah's kiss earlier that night. The one she couldn't stop replaying in her mind. The one she wanted, so desperately, to relive.

When she came down the stairs, it was just past 9:40, but darkness outside and the soft yellow light in the kitchen made it feel later, more intimate.

Leah had her back to her, pouring hot water into mugs with practiced ease. She turned at the sound of Maddie entering, and for a second, she just stared.

Her eyes dragged down slowly - over Maddie's bare legs, the hem of the oversized tee just skimming the tops of her thighs, and then back up again. Her expression shifted - softened, warmed, darkened.

She didn't say a word. just smirked as Maddie approached her.

Her hands found Maddie's waist without hesitation, fingers sliding under the hem of the shirt to rest directly against her skin. Her palms were warm, thumbs brushing slow, reverent circles across her small, toned stomach like she was memorising every inch.

Maddie inhaled sharply, her heart skipping. Her hand reached up, curling loosely around Leah's neck, her thumb brushing the line of her jaw.

Leah's forehead nearly touched hers. She didn't need to speak. It was all there in the press of her hands, the tension humming between them, the fire that had been building for weeks.

They both leaned in at the same time. Like a switch they both contained had been flicked and all they needed was each other.

Their lips met softly, like a question being asked - tentative, almost unsure. Maddie exhaled into it, her lips parting instinctively as Leah leaned in again. This time slower, deeper.

Maddie's fingers slipped into the hair at the nape of Leah's neck, holding her there, grounding them both. Leah responded in kind, her hands sliding further around Maddie's waist, fingertips pressing gently into her back.

The kiss built gradually - gentle at first, then warmer, hungrier. Leah tilted her head and deepened it, and Maddie's knees nearly buckled from how good it felt - how right. She leaned into her fully now, pressed flush to her chest, lost in the heat of it.

Leah pulled back only an inch, just enough to catch her breath, but her nose brushed against Maddie's as she whispered, breathless and low, "You drive me insane, you know that?"