One Step Closer to Perfect

champions league

Tears stream down her cheeks as she drops down to lie on the pitch, her hands covering her face as she takes a deep breath. The worked so hard to get here, so hard to make it through to the final and there was a huge part of her that believed this was their time to shine. They'd been so close, 2-1 up until a last minute equaliser by Alexia Putellas sent them to extra time where Aitana scored in the 118th minute.

'Come on you... Up.' A voice says reaching down to grab hold of her hands. She opens her eyes to find Katie standing over her as the brunette attempts to pull her into a standing position.

'We did everything we could... You did everything you could.' Katie says softly as she wraps her arms around the blonde.

'We were so close.' Beth almost whispers, her head resting on Katie's shoulder as she closes her eyes.

'We were. It hurts now and this one will probably hurt for a while but soon we'll all be able to appreciate the fact that we did so well, Beth. Barca are an amazing team, they always have been and we made it hard for them today, we held our own and we made them work for the win.' Katie says keeping her arms around the blonde as some of the Barca girls make their way over.

'You good? Ready for the huddle?' Katie asks as the blonde lifts her head from her shoulder.

'Mm-hmm...' Beth replies quietly. They say their congratulations to some of the Barca girls before making their way over to where the rest of the team are beginning to gather for their team huddle.

'Mama...' A little voice says causing Beth to smile as Vivianne makes her way over with Piper on her hip.

'I didn't want to bring her over when you were having your moment.' Vivianne explains and Beth nods her head as she takes the little girl into her arms.

****

'Today was shit.' Vivianne mumbles, her head resting on Beth's thighs as the blonde runs her fingers through her hair.

'It wasn't all bad... We played well as a team and we done well to make it to the finals, Viv. Barca are just an insanely strong team, they always have been.' Beth says softly.

'What time are we meeting the girls for dinner?' Vivianne asks rolling onto her back to glance up at Beth.

'In half an hour. I'm gonna pack some pj's for Piper because I don't imagine she's gonna be awake very long after dinner.' Beth replies glancing over at Piper who is curled up on the bed watching Bluey on Vivianne's phone.

'Mm... I know the feeling. I'm absolutely shattered. You must be as well? I mean you played the whole 120 minutes, I played what? 70.' Vivianne says.

'I'm actually okay... It'll probably hit me in the middle of dinner though. I'm not sure if I'm running on pure adrenaline at the moment.' Beth replies smiling.

'Right let's get up and get ready before I fall asleep.' Vivianne says pushing herself off Beth's knee and standing up.

'Piper, are we going to get ready to go for dinner with all of your aunties?' Beth asks smiling at the little girl who shakes her head.

'Maybe we shouldn't go... She's tired and you've said you're shattered.' Beth says glancing at Vivianne who sighs.

'We still need to eat, liefje. Why don't we just change her into pyjamas right now and we'll take the buggy. That way if she falls asleep it's just a case of putting her into bed when we get back?' Vivianne suggests.

'Yeah, I suppose we could do that.' Beth says nodding her head as she glances over at the toddler.

****

'How you doing, mate?' Katie asks smiling as she drapes her arm over the blonde's shoulder causing her to smile.

'I'm okay... I think it all just got a bit overwhelming, you know? Like it felt so close we could almost touch it.' Beth admits.

'Mm... I almost wonder if it would've felt better if they'd totally thrashed us. You know if we'd lost four or five nil but because for most of the second half we were up.' Katie says causing Beth to laugh.

'I think it would've hurt either way but like you said earlier. We done good, we made them work for the win and we'll just try again next year.' Beth replies.

'Little legs looks shattered.' Katie says glancing at Piper who is lying against Vivianne's chest as she tries to encourage her to eat a chicken nugget.

'She really is. We just put her in her pyjamas so she could sleep in the buggy if she wanted... I think that's the good thing about her, she's so used to being out and about with us all that she can literally just go to sleep in the buggy then we can transfer her into bed.' Beth replies smiling.

'She's a good wee soul.' Katie says and Beth nods her head.

'She really is.' Beth replies.

'Where does she sleep? Like do you guys have a travel cot for her?' Katie asks.

'My dad brought the travel cot for her when she was staying between him and Ben but she'll probably just sleep in the middle of us tonight. It always seems to happen when we've been separated for a few days.' Beth replies smiling.

****

'How's your knee, liefje?' Beth asks watching Vivianne sat on the edge of the bed, her hands gently massaging her left knee.

'Sore... Sometimes I wonder whether my body is trying to tell me that enough is enough. I've not played a full game in months other than the Nations League final and you saw how much I struggled after that.' Vivianne says shrugging her shoulders.

'Don't think like that liefje.' Beth replies.

'I want to be able to run around with Piper. I want to go out into the garden and play with our kids without being in agony because I played an hour the day before... I don't know if I can keep playing and still have that family life that I want.' Vivianne admits.

'Are you saying you're going to retire?' Beth asks glancing down at Piper who is fast asleep across her chest.

'I don't know, Beth. I just- I think I seriously need to think about what I want over the next few weeks.' Vivianne replies.

'Well you know whatever it is you decide, I'm here and I'll support you every step of the way.' Beth says and Vivianne nods her head.

'I know you are.' Vivianne replies smiling slightly as she swings her legs into bed and pulls the covers over herself.

'Whatever happens, Piper and I are so proud of you... Always.' Beth says softly.

'How do I know if I'm making the right decision or if I'm just giving it all up too easily?' Vivianne asks.

'I don't think anything you've been through has been easy, Vivi... I think you'll know in your heart if you've had enough. Why don't you speak to Wally when we're home? Get her perspective as someone who's recently retired?' Beth suggests and Vivianne nods her head.

'Yeah, I might do that.' Vivianne replies quietly.