WSL Imagines

Not so secret love •Ona Batlle•

Y/N POV

Being in a 'secret' relationship was hard work. It was almost more tiring that running around after a ball for 90+ minutes. But having a person to call your own, completely your own, made it worth it.

Ona and I, have been dating for nearly a year and it had been a long journey for the two of us.

I had joined Manchester United through the youth academy and signed my first professional contract with them in 2019. Joining my childhood club had been a dream, but also a challenge, wanting to prove myself to the already established players on the team. But to this date, I've gone on to have over 100 appearances and often being on the starting line-up - which never failed to send jitters to my spine each time I looked at my name and number on the back of my shirt.

Being one of the major teams in the WSL, meant we were often signing international players, as was a special league to be a part of; one that really provided experience and opportunities for players of all ages. And with that, the club signed Ona Batlle in 2020, a fullback defender from Spain.

The moment she was introduced to the team, with her dark brown hair and enchanting Spanish accent, I knew I was roped in. Interactions between myself and Ona had been slow to begin with. Just casual greetings as we passed each-other in the training center, and a few chemistry meetings on the pitch. But over time, we began working together during training sessions, her being a defender and myself a forward/attacker.

We often found ourselves showing off to impress the other, or silly laughter when we should've been focusing on the drill.

"Y/N you're supposed to go around me" Her eyes infectious laugh travelled through the wind, as I squinted my eyes at her obvious suggestion.

"No shit, Sherlock, you tripped me up." Her laughter only increased as brushed the grass off my bum. A clear indicator that she had floored me... literally.

"Who's Sherlock?" At this, a laughter rippled through my own chest. She was still getting the hang of some British sayings. I just shook my head and continued with the drill.

Interactions like this continued, as our friendship grew and we got closer and more comfortable together, often finding ourselves wanting to spend more time together. But this meant that naturally, our 'mate-dates' to cafes and cinemas, turned into weekend get-a-ways and fancy restaurants; accompanied by sweet kisses on the cheek and our fingers brushing together as we walked side-by-side.

The flirting increased throughout the year, and finally, in 2021, Ona asked me to be her girlfriend, whilst we were on a trip to Spain. She had wanted to show me her home town whilst we had a few days away from training. So we spontaneously booked tickets to Villasar de Mar, her birth place. We took time to walk through the old town villages, visit her family and of course, found ourselves on the beach some evening, just enjoying the time we had together. And on our last night, she asked me to be hers.

Now a year on, we had progressed as a couple, going from strength to strength. But we kept it under wraps; we knew how much the media were involved in football player relationship, especially when they were teammates. So we made the decision to keep it under wraps, although when originally suggested, arguments were had between us, because I didn't want to hide my love for the Spanish beauty, but she was rationale and explained why. The hard part was keeping it from our teammates. We originally weren't going to, but hiding it from everyone, meant it was easier to hide it all together, so that we didn't slip up during things like media days or if we got caught in the back of a video or picture.