offsides | c. clark

eleven.

The Indiana Fever were playing the Chicago Sky later that day, and it would be the last game Alex would attend before heading back to Chicago for the rest of her season. Though neither Caitlin nor Alex would admit it aloud, they had both grown accustomed to each other's presence over the past week. There was something bittersweet in the air—a quiet tension that neither wanted to confront yet.

Caitlin rubbed her tired eyes as she walked into the kitchen, the soft morning light filtering through the blinds. She stopped by the doorway for a moment, watching Alex move around the kitchen, completely zoned in on what she was doing. Alex's back was to her, hair slightly tousled from sleep, her focus entirely on the task at hand as she expertly maneuvered a spatula in the pan.

Caitlin leaned against the counter with a soft smile, enjoying the peacefulness of it all, "Good morning," she greeted quietly, her voice a little husky from sleep.

Alex glanced up, and her face lit up with that sweet smile Caitlin had once grown to love, "Good morning. I'm making an omelet."

Caitlin raised her brows in mock surprise, gasping playfully, "Is that for me?"

Alex's expression softened as she looked back at the pan, "Actually, yeah, it is. I already made mine."

Caitlin's teasing faded, replaced by something more tender, something she wasn't quite sure how to voice, "Wait, really? You didn't have to do that."

Alex shrugged with that shy smile of hers, one that made Caitlin's chest tighten, "I figured you had a big game today. Plus, you've let me stay here all week, so... it's the least I could do." Her voice was gentle, almost as if she didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but the gesture wasn't lost on Caitlin.

For a moment, Caitlin was at a loss for words, her heart fluttering in a way that caught her off guard. It wasn't just the omelet—it was everything. The quiet mornings, the casual conversations, the way Alex had seamlessly fit into her space, her life. She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, a loud knock echoed through the apartment.

They both glance at the door curiously before Caitlin walks over to the door and looks through the peephole before opening it.

"Surprise!" Anne Clark exclaims.

Caitlin looked at both of her parents standing in the doorway, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Now is that any way to greet your parents who flew all the way from Iowa to watch their baby girl play?" Brent asks. Her parents don't wait for an invitation as they step inside the house, and as Caitlin closes the door, she can't help but notice the way that they're looking around as though looking for something.

Or someone.

"I'm doing great by the way," Caitlin tells her parents.

Xander decides at that moment that he'd like to make his presence known as he walks up to Anne and meows softly.

"I thought you hated cats," Brent says as he looks down at the little creature.

"I do," Caitlin says, scratching at the back of her neck, not really sure how to explain Xander's presence.

"Hey, who was at the door?" Alex asks as she leaves the kitchen and walks toward the hallway leading to the front door. It's there that Caitlin realizes exactly what her parents were looking for. They weren't there for Caitlin.

They were looking for her supposed girlfriend.

Brent and Anne's face light up when they see Alexandria standing in her pajamas. When Alex sees Caitlin's parents, a smile instantly comes upon her face.