Looks can be deceiving (Mapi León x OC)

Chapter 42 - Laura's POV

Barcelona, Spain - December 20, 2024

Two days until Barcelona meets Bayern.

Laura's point of view:

It was raining heavily outside as I followed Ingrid into her apartment after our last training before leaving for Munich early in the morning the following day.

"Have you finished packing for Christmas break?" the dark-haired midfielder wanted to know as she hung her completely soaked, bright yellow raincoat on a coat hook next to her door.

Both Emilia and I would be leaving for our well-deserved Christmas break right after the Bayern game since it made absolutely no sense to go back to Barcelona with the team just to return to Germany right away. "I'm almost done," I nodded, walking into Ingrid's kitchen. "Honestly, I can't wait to be in Germany again."

"Unlike Emilia," Ingrid joked, questioningly glancing into her almost empty fridge.

"She didn't seem happy at all today," I agreed. "Apparently Mapi left for Zaragoza yesterday. Seems like I'm winning our bet after all. "

Ever since Ingrid and I went to the hospital with Emilia and Mapi, we had an ongoing bet on when the two would become an official couple, Ingrid's guess being before Christmas. However, I would gladly lose the bet if it meant the Norwegian international would finally acknowledge the other part of the night at the hospital, the one where I came out to her. Knowing that I opened up to Ingrid and she completely ignored it, hurt, especially when she had been extremely distant for the first days few afterward. I desperately needed to talk to her about it, but I had successfully been pushing it away.

"It's not Christmas yet," the dark-haired midfielder defended her guess.

"I reckon they won't reconcile over FaceTime, with Em in Munich and Mapi in Zaragoza," I laughed, glancing over Ingrid's shoulder. "Do you have some Tofu left?"

"For fuck's sake, not that inedible shit again," the Norwegian complained, leaning her head on my shoulder in disappointment when she saw there was in fact some left.

Trying not to reveal that the touch was sending sparks through my body, I grabbed the tofu and some vegetables out of the fridge and carried them to the kitchen counter. "Stop complaining, at least you don't have to cook."

"I definitely won't miss the tofu," Ingrid sighed, taking a seat on a little, gray chair in the corner of the kitchen while I started chopping the vegetables. I already knew my way around her apartment, especially her kitchen, after having spent almost every evening after practice here for the past month.

"You're so excited about going back to Norway, I doubt you'll miss anything here," I joked, grabbing a pan out of the drawer. "I wouldn't be surprised if you just never returned."

"That's a lie! I'll definitely miss you, a lot even," the tall Norwegian admitted truthfully. "Speaking of not returning, has Jonatan spoken to you about the loan again?"

As I was cutting the remaining tofu into small cubes, I unsurely nodded. "I think so? He didn't mention the loan specifically, but he said he wants me to try out as a defender. I used to play as a center back when I was younger, so I hope my spot here is safe until Mapi returns from her injury."

"Which unfortunately for you won't be too long," Ingrid noted sadly, her gaze falling to the floor. "I really hope you'll get to stay here, Laura."

Surprised, I turned around to her while I was attempting to put the vegetables into the pan, causing some of them to fall to the ground. "Scheisse," I mumbled annoyedly, kneeling to pick them up. "Seriously?"