Lover II- ML

312. The Last Two Standing

As it came to the closing twenty minutes of the game, Kaia saw her number held up in red and relief filled her veins.

She was never one to wish to go off. But with her foot, with the amount of running she had to do and the scoreline now being 3-1 to them, she felt it was a necessary requirement.

She's swapped for Lauren James who she gives a pat on the back to, but then Sarina was right there.

"Are you alright? How is your foot behaving?" Sarina asks.

Kaia smiles at the concern, because as far as she knew she wasn't displaying any discomfort. "It's behaving well enough, but I'll ice it."

"Good, good." Sarina encourages, half her attention on the game that's resumed. "Look after yourself and get rested for the final."

That made Kaia smirk involuntarily, heading to the bench where her electrolytes and kiwis were already waiting for her in her seat. "Joel, can I do some cold compressions?" She calls out to the physio.

Joel already had the ice box open, wrapping one of the bags of ice in a cloth to make it less harsh on Kaia's skin (a request from the injured athlete herself). "Here. Do you need me to wrap it?"

Kaia shakes her head as she sits down, taking the wrapped bag of ice and the cohesive bandage from Joel. "I'll be ok, thank you though."

Joel leaves Kaia to it, knowing she can do it herself and knowing other athletes needed his attention more, including Lucy Bronze who unqualifiedly wrapped her own thigh out on the pitch.

"Eighteen minutes." Emilia says from Kaia's side, taking a slow and deep breath as she watched the game.

"Don't be nervous." Kaia reassures, her focus fully on wrapping her now unclothed foot. "We've done all we can."

"I always get nervous." Emilia admits quietly, playing with her sleeves and glancing to the time. "These big competitions, they still make me feel so small."

Kaia finally looks up, taking a second to glance around the sold out stadium they were sat in. It makes her smile, because the woman's game was now so massive. "We're all small, in the grand scheme of things."

"You're Kaia Morelli." Emilia points out amusedly. "Your name alone is massive."

"I'm still just a person who could only dream of this as a child." Kaia reminds the younger woman supportively. "I bleed, make mistakes, break my foot." She gestures to it as she swings it up onto a drinks cooler.

"Break your foot and then get player of the match in your next game." Emilia argues with a smile. "Get an assist and a goal tonight, probably the player of the match trophy again."

"Keep talking," Kaia smirks, leaning back in her seat and enjoying the game. "It's feeding my ego tremendously."

"We're privileged to get to play alongside you." Emilia admits, blushing a little at her admission.

Kaia looks to the blonde at her side, someone she saw as a friend and equal rather than someone who still idolised her. "You're an incredible player in your own right, I love linking up with you." She replies, pulling Emilia over and into a side hug. "Everything works out the way it's supposed to."

"I hope so." Emilia sighs.

Emilia's nerves definitely eased as they got closer to the final whistle, or maybe they morphed into a different type of worry with the fact it meant they were going to another final against either Germany or Spain.

But Kaia sat next to her so casually, eating her kiwis and trying not to drip the juice all over herself.

A Champions League and Ballon d'Or winner, a role model of women's football with over 30 social media million followers and endless brand deals... slurping kiwi into her mouth.