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Maren stared blankly at the back of the blue leather seat ahead while Guro was sound asleep next her. They were headed for Heathrow, last stop post world cup. The tournament wasn't their best showing, far from it. As captain, Maren was still carrying too much of that burden with her. It followed her from Australia all the way back to Norway where she was supposed to be decompressing from the disappointing summer. While it was nice to see her family, something still felt off.
Nothing seemed to help lift the weight that rested on her chest. Guro seemed well rested though, if her drooling on Maren's shoulder was any indicator. She loved the young winger next to her like a sister. She was the first person to welcome Guro to the national team as a youngster and a piece of home away from home for her when she joined Chelsea. They were close. And they both couldn't wait to be back with their team that had become their family. But there was one person in particular that Maren couldn't wait to see.
Fran waited impatiently at the gate in Heathrow airport. She wanted to surprise the girls as soon as they got off the plane. She was worried about Maren, could feel her stress through the phone every time they talked. All she wanted was to be able to hold her and tell her everything would be alright. The moment was finally here.
While it was a shock to see her at the gate, Maren's face lit up as soon as she saw Fran. She had forgotten just how cute her five-foot-nothing girlfriend was, standing on her tip toes, trying to look past the other deplaning passengers. Immediately Maren felt her heart get a little lighter. She couldn't wait to wrap her arms around her. But Guro beat her to the punch and nearly tackled Fran to the ground. Guro practically lived with them her first couple years at Chelsea, so she was like a sister to Fran as well. Once Guro was done hogging Fran's arms, Maren stepped right in. The weight lifted and she almost started to break down then and there. She whispered in Fran's ear, "I've missed you so much love."
"I've missed you too, more than you know," was the response. They were each other's support system forever and always and finally they both felt lighter again. Maren pulled away just slightly and held her girlfriends face in her hands as she gently pressed their foreheads together, breathing in Fran's unique scent of lemon and fresh cut grass. They didn't show affection in public often seeing as women's football was rapidly gaining in popularity and they wanted to keep their thing theirs for a little longer. Luckily Guro piped up and started coughing *get a room* to bring them back to the reality of where they were.
On the car ride home Guro regaled them with stories of her summer travels before and after the tournament. She was only interrupted, by herself, when she saw Maren reaching for Fran's hand and burst out with "Can't you two wait until you have some privacy to be all touchy feely? You've been together forever, is the spark really still there?" They brushed off the comments with a laugh and continued holding hands until they reached Guro's flat. Both got out of the car to say their goodbyes.
"You coming over for dinner later?" Maren asked, always concerned about Guro being left to her own devices, alone and unsupervised.
"Will you two have gotten the welcome home sex out of your system by then?"
The glance between the two was all Guro needed to see to know there was no way she was going over there tonight. "How bout brunch tomorrow? We don't start training up again until Monday."
"Yeah, that's probably better," Fran said, throwing a wink Guro's way.
Guro shuddered and started carrying her things to the door after an awkward wave goodbye.
As soon as they got back in the car they turned to each other in the front seats. Maren grabbed Fran's face for the second time that day, and brought their lips together in a sweet kiss. "Take us home Franny." They broke apart and Fran started the car so they could get to their next destination.