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Marinette always hated football. She hated the rules, the aggressive fans, the long matches. Everything. But when Lila Rossi said she was rooting for Argentina at the world cup, Marinette realised this was a fight she actually had the chance to win, just to make Lila realise that she’s smarter than her.
“Well, safe to say, Argentina will win this. Not just because I’m rooting for them. They are the best team” Lila said one day at school, when Rose asked her about which team she’s rooting for. Marinette grinned. She was waiting for this moment. She analysed both teams, their playstyle, did some research, then… she picked Spain. She just thought their team was better. Not because their red shirts reminded her of the exact shade of Lila’s favorite lipstick. And well, Spain was a great choice, they made it to the finale.
“You’re so wrong,” Marinette snorted.
Lila looked at her in disbelief.
“What are you saying? You don’t even like football”
“I absolutely do. As a lifelong Real Madrid fan, your previous sentence was insulting” Marinette declared with fake confidence. She only picked a spanish team because Lila was rooting for one. The problem was that she had no idea which one.
“Of course, you would be a Madrid fan.” Lila rolled her eyes. Yeah, so it was the more colorful team. “Let’s watch the finale today in my favorite pub. I'd love to see you realize how bad the Spanish team is.”
“Deal” Marinette nodded.
After school, she dressed with more care than she wanted to admit. She pulled on her new Spain jersey, let her dark hair fall loose around her shoulders, and chose a pair of shorts because of the hot summer weather. Definitely not because she knew Lila would be there. Ten minutes before kickoff, she arrived at the pub and slid onto the couch right next to Lila.
“I ordered a cola for you,” Lila said quietly, pushing the glass toward her.
“Thanks” Marinette smiled at her. A weird flutter settled in her stomach.
The match began, and the pub quickly filled with noise and energy. Marinette cheered for Spain with surprising enthusiasm, while Lila shouted for Argentina. They exchanged snarky comments, eye rolls, and triumphant grins whenever their team had a good moment. Marinette often yelled ‘offside’ during Argentina’s attacks, to which Lila just shook head. As the game remained tied and stretched into extra time, the tension between them grew thicker than the atmosphere in the pub. The argument exploded. Old grudges mixed with football passion. Lila accused Marinette of being a fake fan. Marinette called Lila delusional and dramatic. Then Spain scored a goal in the extra time. Argentina didn’t have an answer to that, they couldn’t come back. Time wasn’t on their side. Marinette celebrated with a pissed Lila next to her, ranting about how Spain had robbed Argentina, then she looked at the time.
“Oh. That’s a problem” she stared at the clock.
“What?” Lila asked.
Marinette sighed.
“I missed the last bus because of the extra time. It’s a two hour walk home. This is a nightmare.”
Lila watched her for a moment, then her facial expression softened. “You’re not walking home alone at night.”
“Huh?” Marinette was genuinely confused.
“You’re coming home with me,” Lila said, standing up. “I live five minutes away from here”
“But…” Marinette wanted to argue.
“It’s the best option, unless you want to get mugged,” Lila said, and Marinette couldn’t argue with her.
The short walk was quiet, with their hands occasionally touching. Marinette found each touch electric, but she never pulled away. Lila’s place was modern: soft lighting, clean lines, and one very noticeable detail when they reached the bedroom: one king sized bed.
“I can take the couch in the living room,” Marinette said, with slightly pink cheeks.
Lila shook her head.
“I didn’t mention to my mom that we’re having a sleepover, and I don’t want her to wake up on a Saturday morning, getting ready to work and finding you on the couch sleeping. The bed is big enough” Lila said.
Marinette’s face heated. “Fine. But no funny business.”
“As if I’d want funny business with you,” Lila replied, but her voice lacked its usual bite. “I’ll give you clothes, feel free to use my bathroom, I’ll use the one downstairs.”
“Thanks” Marinette mumbled, then disappeared into the bathroom. She took a quick shower, then put on the clothes Lila gave her. Of course. An oversized FC Barcelona shirt. She hated how happy it made her when she smelled Lila’s perfume on it.
“Notice how it looks better on you than a Real Madrid shirt would?” Lila glanced at her.
“Very funny” Marinette rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
When they slid under the covers, keeping as much distance as possible, the room felt too small.
“Are you actually interested in football?” Lila turned toward her after a few minutes of silence.
Marinette chuckled.
“That’s a really funny story”
“Marinette?” she looked at her. Hearing her name from Lila’s mouth made her stomach do a flip again.
“Let’s just say I lied when I said I’m a lifelong Real Madrid fan” Marinette whispered.
Lila stared at her.
“Are you a fan of an even worse team?”
“You’re gonna hate me. I just wanted to root for the opposite team and wanted to be right about it”
Lila was quiet for a heartbeat, processing. Then a slow, surprised laugh escaped her. “You faked all of that… just to oppose me? To prove you’re smarter?”
Marinette nodded, cheeks burning. “Pretty much.”
“I knew it, but thank god I don’t have to wait for another football game to have an excuse to spend time with you” Lila let out a relieved sigh.
“What?” Marinette tried to process Lila’s previous sentence.
“When I thought we had a common interest, I used it as an excuse to meet you alone.” Lila said every word carefully like it was painful. “But it only worked because you chose the opposing team I liked. If you’d picked Argentina, I wouldn’t have asked you to meet tonight, because you would have rejected my invitation probably”
“Wanna know why I picked Spain weeks ago?” Marinette asked.
“Why?” Lila asked.
“The color of their shirt reminded me of your lipstick,” she admitted.
“Oh… wanna know why I wanted us to meet in that pub?” Lila asked, with a smirk.
“That’s your favorite. Right?” Marinette looked at her lips.
“No.” Lila laughed. “I had a suspicion that you know nothing or very little about football. I wasn’t so sure when you yelled offside, though. But I had a feeling there’d be extra time and you’d miss your bus. This was my way of inviting you over”
“You’re actually crazy for that” Marinette leaned a bit closer.
“I’m only crazy when it comes to you,” Lila admitted.
Lila moved first, she was quick to capture Marinette’s lips in a hungry kiss. It was intense and desperate. Years of rivalry, secret longing, and mutual scheming turned into passion. Marinette kissed back just as passionately, fingers threading through Lila’s hair, pulling her closer. Lila found Marinette’s waist, pulling her closer. Marinette made a soft sound against her mouth, as the kiss deepened, tongues teasing, their breaths turned into soft, needy moans.
When they finally broke apart, they were both gasping for air with swollen lips,
“Please, stay tomorrow,” Lila whispered.
Marinette smiled breathlessly, pulling her in for another heated kiss. “Of course.”
For a few minutes they just enjoyed the other’s closeness silently, occasionally breaking the complete silence with a small kiss, then they finally fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Soft morning light filtered through the curtains, warming the tangled sheets. Marinette woke up first, nestled against Lila’s side with an arm hugging her waist. For a moment, she simply watched Lila sleep. Her usual sharp expression softened, hair messy, looking unexpectedly peaceful and beautiful.
She gently brushed a strand of hair from Lila’s face. Lila moved, her green eyes opening slowly. There was no regret, only quiet warmth.
“Morning beautiful,” Lila said softly, voice still sleepy. She shifted closer, pressing a tender kiss to Marinette’s forehead, then her cheek, and finally a gentle one to her lips.
“Morning,” Marinette replied, a shy but genuine smile spreading across her face. “So last night really happened… all the confessions, the scheming, the kiss.”
Lila chuckled quietly, tracing patterns on Marinette’s arm with her fingertips. “It did. And I don’t regret a single second of my crazy plan.” She leaned in again, kissing Marinette with affection. It was sweet and full of vulnerability.
Marinette melted into the kiss, cupping Lila’s cheek. When they parted, she rested her forehead against Lila’s. “I didn’t actually hate football last night. Or you. Turns out we’re both terrible at pretending.”
“I know,” Lila murmured, smiling softly. “No more rivalry. Just us.”
They stayed wrapped in each other for a long time, exchanging gentle kisses, quiet laughter, and whispered truths as the city outside started to wake up on this lazy Saturday.
“Breakfast?” Lila asked, but she was reluctant to leave the bed.
“Only if you explain what’s an offside,” Marinette laughed.
“That was a lucky guess?” she asked in shock.
“You’re hot, I had to impress you with my football words”
Lila smiled against her lips. “You did it without them”