we're back! missed you darlings <3

"It'll come soon, J," Billie sighed, running her hand up and down his arm, the pair of them laying on her sofa, Jamie lying on top of Billie, his head resting on her chest, "I believe in you."

It had been seven weeks since Richmond's fateful loss against West Ham, and since then, the greyhounds had failed to win a match. It was dire, even with a player like Zava in their starting eleven, they couldn't secure a win. They weren't meeting their full potential, and deep down everyone knew it.

The beauty of Richmond that set them apart from other clubs is that they were family first, teammates second. But perhaps Zava's arrival had hindered their ability to utilise that beloved dynamic, much like the shift in a family dynamic caused by the arrival of a new step parent.

It weighed heavy on Jamie's head too, he wanted to be an asset to the team, he wanted to be a striker the team could rely on, knowing that if they fed the ball to him that he'd get it on target. He'd been relentless with his 4AM training sessions, and most days he was doing well at compartmentalising his energy usage. But there were some days, usually the day after a match, on which he would just want to crash, watch crap TV and cuddle Billie.

"My job is just scoring goals, I can't even do that," Jamie huffed, trailing his fingers up and down Billie's back.

"Jamie," Billie furrowed her eyebrows at him, "Don't talk like that, it'll come, it's just a rough patch, it's our dark forest, remember that?"

"Yeah," Jamie smiled, catching sight of Nelson who was sprawled across the other sofa, "I just wanna do more, wanna make sure the boys know that I'm trying, you know?"

"Everyone sees how hard you're working, and I am so proud of you for putting every bit of energy you have into this," Billie assured him, pushing his damp hair from the shower out of his face, "I love you, J, and I'm going to be there when you score a beauty of a goal and the fans chant your name."

"Don't know what I did to deserve you," Jamie hummed, interlocking his hand with hers, "But I'd do whatever it was again and again to stay like this."

"I think we'd find each other in every lifetime," Billie whispered, grazing her fingertips over his jaw, admiring his defined cheekbones, "I love doing life with you."

"Ditto."

Jamie smiled as he rested his head against Billie's chest, her steady heartbeat was a comfort, and he could fall asleep like that (he often did). She was where he felt safest, and the love he had for that woman was unquantifiable, even though they'd only been together less than a year, he knew that Billie was it for him, he knew that there could never be anyone else that came close to making her feel the way Billie did.

"How long do we have till we have to leave for training?" Billie hummed as she trailed her fingers over Jamie's broad shoulders.

"About thirty minutes," Jamie sighed.

It was the start of a new week, following their loss against Newcastle on the Saturday, they had a well earned duvet day on the Sunday morning before a roast dinner at the pub with Roy and Phoebe. Jamie had already been out first thing, training with Roy at 4AM, before returning to Billie's flat, sharing the breakfast she prepared and then cuddling on the sofa. The training could be tough, Roy didn't go easy on him, but Jamie loved the way his life looked (minus the lack of goals), he wasn't ashamed to admit that he enjoyed the brief moments of bonding with Billie's brother during their training sessions.

The press attention on their relationship had died down somewhat, except there often seemed to be new photos of them arriving or leaving training online every few days, which they both tended to ignore. Then there was the offers for exclusive interviews with various magazines, which Billie and Jamie mutually agreed to decline.

Before either Billie or Jamie could utter another word, a knock sounded against the door. She knew that both Alfie and Madison were already at work, meaning it was either a delivery or an over familiar tabloid journalist hoping to catch a sight of the couple.

"I need to get that, J," Billie hummed as Jamie simply nestled his head in the crook of her neck.

"I don't think you do, babe," Jamie muttered against her skin, "I'm comfy."

She couldn't help but smile at the way he said 'comfy,' to be frank, she loved the sound of his voice, "It might be important...unless you wanna run down those stairs, call it cardio?"

"Alright, Kent," He placed a kiss to her lips, lingering as she threaded her fingers through his hair, wishing she could stay like that forever.

"No...come on," She pulled away with a smile, "Door."

"Yes, boss," Jamie smirked as he climbed off of the sofa, blowing her a kiss before making his way down the stairs towards Billie's front door.

He loved being there with her, it was their own little safe haven, of course he enjoyed the nights they'd spend at his house when they wanted to be just Billie and Jamie, with no distractions, joined by their beloved Nelson. But there was something about the cosy size of Billie's flat, the friends she shared it with and that every corner of the space was filled with essences of Billie.

Jamie opened the door, prepared to answer 'no comment' to a journalist, but instead he was met with the sight of someone who he only knew from photos.

"You must be Jamie," The woman smiled, seeming unsure of what else to say.

"That's me," Jamie nodded, "I assume you're here to see Billie?"

"I am," The woman replied, "Is she here?"

He wanted to answer 'no', because he'd heard Billie's stories from her childhood, of how her siblings were the only people to make her house feel like a home. But he knew that families were complicated, and he knew that it wasn't his choice to turn this woman away, it was Billie's.

"She's upstairs," Jamie sighed, "Come in."

Once they reached the top of the stairs, Jamie caught Billie's eye, Nelson was curled up beside her, his head resting on her knee. From the hesitant look of trepidation on Jamie's face, she could tell that all was not as it should be.

It was only when she laid eyes on the woman she hadn't seen in some years that the pieces fell into place. Jamie knew who she was, and that's why he appeared so hesitant, and Billie wasn't sure where to look.

"Mum?"

"Hello, Billie, darling."

Darling?

"I think you lost the right to call me darling a very long time ago," Billie exhaled as Jamie returned to her side, attentively placing his hand on the small of his girlfriend's back.

"Billie, I just want to talk," Her mother replied calmly.

"Talk?" Billie scoffed, "As if that's going to make up for the last twenty four years of mediocre parenting?"

Jamie squeezed Billie's hip, hoping to reassure her, letting her know that he was there for her, "Do you want me to stay?"

"Please," Billie looked up at him, "I'll say something I'll regret otherwise."

"Why don't we sit?" Jamie suggested, of course he was on Billie's side in this but he also didn't want her mother to feel any uneasier, "Drinks?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Billie's mother replied as she took a seat on the sofa, Billie and Jamie sitting on the adjacent sofa, Jamie resting his arm behind Billie, "It's a lovely place you've got, you live with Alfie and Madison, right?"

"What do you want, Mum?" Billie sighed, knowing how her parents could be, she always feared there would be an ulterior motive for moments like those, "Are you in debt? Are you dying?"

"I'm leaving your father."

"Took you long enough," Billie quipped, not quite sure how else to react, "You know you could've sent me a text, right?"

"I wanted to see you," She replied, "I saw that magazine you did, and the articles about you and Jamie, you're making quite the name for yourself, aren't you?"

"It's what she deserves," Jamie decided to speak up, "She's a talented woman, and I couldn't be prouder."

Billie, knowing her mother the way she did, slowly began putting the pieces together, "You haven't told Roy or Hannah, have you?"

"Well-"

"Of course you haven't, because even though they're older than me, you still protect them from everything," Billie retorted, frustration rising within her on behalf of the little girl who felt like a second class citizen with her own parents.

"Your brother and sister are different, you know that."

"Because one's got a degree in medicine and the other has a Champions League title," Billie replied, "They don't need protecting, they're adults, they deserve the truth from you."

"You're all still my children, Billie," Her mother reiterated.

"Was I your child when you didn't come to my year two nativity? Was I your child when I had a panic attack before my GCSE History exam and you said nothing? Or how about when I got an abortion at uni and Roy and Hannah came all the way to Manchester to support me, where were you then?"

Her mother stared back at her blankly, not quite knowing what to say, feeling caught out by her own actions.

"I'm trying now, Billie," Her mother replied, "We can start again."

"I don't think you realise just how much you and Dad fucked me up," Billie told her, "Until Jamie, I didn't think I was deserving of love, I didn't believe I was loveable, and you and Dad, you made me like that."

"Billie, please, I'm your mum."

"I spent my entire life waiting for you to be a mum, trust me, I don't need you," Billie told her firmly, finally putting herself first as she stood up from the sofa, "You can go."

Without another word, Billie left the living room, retreating to her bedroom, the ever loyal Nelson followed after her. Billie didn't care to wait or to show her mother out, she knew that Jamie cared enough to handle it, she just needed not to see her mother, she couldn't quite face looking her in the eye.

Silent tears began rolling down her cheeks as she sat on the edge of her bed, staring out of the window with her back to her bedroom door. There was a tiny part of her that wanted to experience her mother being her mum, but for the most part she resented what her child self had been robbed off.

There was a greater part of her that knew that she had healed in a lot of ways, and she had been lucky enough to find parental figures in other places. The likes of Ted, Rebecca, Higgins and even Coach Beard had all taught her so much about herself alongside letting her feel loved, more than her own parents ever did.

"Babe," She heard Jamie's soft voice as the bedroom door opened and closed, "She's gone."

"Okay," Billie nodded, staring out of the window, watching the perfectly nuclear families of four with their young children playing on the green as Nelson sat at her feet.

"You want a cuddle, darlin'?" Jamie hummed, knowing her the way he did, he knew that she always found it easier to cry when he cradled her.

She simply nodded as she felt the mattress dip, before Jamie pulled her onto his lap (yet another sign of how hard he'd been working). He wrapped his arms around her body, holding her as close as he physically could as she clung to him, tears silently falling from her eyes.

"I used to think that family was the people we're tied to by blood," Jamie began to speak, hoping the thoughts that had been filling his brain since meeting Billie's mother might provide some comfort, "But I don't think it is, and of course me mum is me family, but I think Richmond's me family too, and I know that they're yours too."

Billie knew that there was complete truth to Jamie's words, and she adored the entire team to the point that they were her family, but that didn't mean she didn't crave the conventional parent-child relationship.

"And I think of you as me family too," Jamie told her, meaning every single word, "I love you so much, Bils, and the way your parents are is not on you, none of that shit is fucking fair, and it's not your fault either, okay?"

Billie didn't reply with words, she simply tightened her hold on Jamie, a way of thanking him for his tender words. He needed her to know that the way he felt transcended their romantic relationship, his feelings were cemented firmly in the foundations of their friendship upon which their relationship had been built. He loved Billie with every single part of his being, and he wanted more than anything for her to be happy.

"Don't know what I'd do without you," Billie whispered.

"We could take the day off work, Bils," Jamie replied, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I don't want you to burn yourself out."

"No," Billie shook her head, "Roy will only worry, and my head will be better if I keep busy."

"Whatever you need, love," Jamie assured her, placing a kiss against her temple.

The morning training session had passed and Billie was doing better than she had been that morning. The pain caused by the interaction with her mother hadn't necessarily subsided, but the joy that being around the boys brought her offered a great distraction from the entire ordeal. Those boys were like her brothers, so when they sensed that she wasn't herself, they all made an extra effort to check in with her, as well as keeping training as light as it always was.

She'd been editing Sam's day in the life video in her office for about an hour when she heard the boys trailing back into the locker room, a sign that practise on the field had finished for the day, meaning she had a narrow window to see them before they headed into the gym. As always she wanted to catch up with her favourite boys, one of them in particular of course. So she quickly saved the video and made her way out of the office, into the locker room.

"Hey," Jamie stood up from the bench as he laid eyes on her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders before any of the others could approach her for a hug, "Missed you."

"It's been an hour," Billie laughed as her arms found their place, snaked around his waist.

"I miss you even when you leave the room just to get something," Jamie assured her, placing a gentle kiss to the top of her head, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," She told him, hoping that his constant concern for her wellbeing hadn't impacted his performance during practice, "Oh, also, Hannah asked if we'd look after Pheebs this evening, I know we said we'd go out for dinner but-"

"I'd love to," Jamie smiled, resting a hand under Billie's chin and tilting her head so that her gaze was firmly on him before he kissed her, butterflies fluttering around his stomach just as they did when they kissed on the day of Rebecca's Dad's funeral, not caring that they were in the company of the team in the sweaty locker room, "Are we picking her up from school?"

"If that's okay with you," Billie replied, even though she knew that Jamie enjoyed fulfilling his honorary uncle role.

"Ah shit, come and look at this," Isaac exclaimed, sitting on the platform in the centre of the room, gesturing to his phone as Billie and Jamie approached, Jamie wrapping his arm around Billie's shoulder and pulling her into his side.

"How the fuck did Nate pull Anastasia?" Billie remarked, glancing at the article on Isaac's phone.

"Maybe she made a bet," Zoreaux was quick to suggest.

"Oh, like in She's All That," Bumbercatch replied, joining the small group.

"Yes, but Nate does not have glasses and a ponytail hiding his beauty," Jan reminded the team, who had all watched the movie together before one of their last away matches.

"Fuck no, his transformation's gonna be on the inside," Isaac remarked, and Billie wondered if there was any space for the former kitman to redeem himself.

"You know, She's All That is just the film version of the musical My Fair Lady," Colin informed the team.

"Which is based on the George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion," Sam added.

"I love pigs, they are so cute but also have the same intelligence as a human toddler," Dani beamed.

"Yeah, but Anastasia's just really fit, innit?" Isaac remarked as the team hummed in agreement, Jamie remaining silent with his arm around Billie's shoulder.

"You don't think she's fit?" Billie looked up at her boyfriend as the locker room fell quiet.

"Not my type," Jamie muttered, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

"You're allowed to think that she's fit, J," Billie assured him, "I can look at a man and admit that he's objectively attractive."

"Like who?" Colin asked, intrigued on who she might name.

"Theo James, Cillian Murphy, Harry Styles obviously," She told him.

"Indeed."

"Fine, she's alright, I guess," Jamie hummed, conscious that he was surrounded by his teammates as well as his girlfriend.

"Good boy," Billie smirked, kissing his cheek.

"Hey, Zava," Zoreaux called out across the room, "What do you think of Anastasia?"

"I don't," Zava replied simply, "My wife, Christina, is the only woman I see with clarity, every other woman is a smudge."

"Wow."

"My wife is sexy, but in a girl next door kind of way," Zava told the team fondly, "Glasses, ponytail, she paints."

"Like the girl in She's All That," Dani remarked with an eager smile.

"Like what?"

"It's a movie." Jamie told him bluntly.

"Oh, I don't care about moving pictures, my favourite thing to watch is my wife," Zava told him before leaving the room.

As much as he hated to admit that he agreed with Zava, Jamie felt the same way about Billie. Of course he enjoyed watching movies, concerts and TV shows, but he loved watching the way Billie watched them. Seeing the way her face lit up when Harry Styles came on stage at Wembley was priceless, seeing the bittersweet look in her eyes as Matilda played, Jamie realised just how much they both related to the lyrics.

"What do you think of Zava?" A sweaty Jamie appeared in the doorway to Billie's office.

"I don't think of him, at all really," Billie answered, which was probably as honest as she could be considering that she'd barely spoken to the man since he'd joined the team.

"Bils, I'm being serious," Jamie replied, and it was clear that something was bothering him, "What do you think of him?"

"Shut the door, Jamie," Billie sighed, which he did before taking a seat on the green velvet couch Billie had acquired since the start of the season, "Talk to me."

"What do you mean?" He frowned, "I am talking?"

"Tell me what this is really about," She replied, "What's on your mind?"

"I just feel like I'm working so hard and getting nothing from it," Jamie told her and Billie's heart faltered, "Not just in training, but fucking Zava, he's just always there...Like I was just telling the team that we'll be fine playing against City, and then he basically repeated what I said with some whimsical hippy dippy words and the boys loved it."

To a stranger, Jamie would sound like a complacent child, as though he were spoiled, and struggling with the idea of someone else holding the spotlight, like a stereotypical victim of only child syndrome.

But Billie knew that Jamie was a complicated individual, she knew that his childhood had hindered his reactions to certain situations, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She understood him, and she knew that he was sensitive, and she did appreciate his sensitivity, it's what enabled him to be so empathetic within their relationship. She just wished that he wouldn't let Zava's presence on the team get under his skin so much, because she knew that it was affecting him emotionally.

"The boys look up to you, J," Billie assured him as she abandoned her desk and made her way towards him, resting her hands on his shoulders as she stood in front of him, "But they're also massive fanboys, so Zava could recite the Wagamamas menu and they'd all hang onto his every word."

"It just winds me up," He huffed, leaning back against the sofa.

"I know, pretty boy," She sighed, sitting across his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "I just need you to hold onto the fact that you are a brilliant, beautiful and loving human being, and I am just one of the many people who fucking adore you."

Jamie smiled up at her, his heart skipping a beat at her words, "You always know what to say when I get in me own head."

"Because I know you and I love you," Billie reminded him, "And Zava's presence at this club doesn't detract from your brilliance, okay?"

"Mmhmm," Jamie smiled, pulling her body closer to him, kissing her jaw, "I feel like the luckiest man alive to call you my girl."

Billie didn't like to compare her relationship with Jamie to her previous relationship with Brad, because they were both so different. But sometimes, she couldn't help it, Jamie was everything she needed and wanted in a partner, he was her best friend and her soulmate all in one, there was no competing with that.

"Sit still, Jamie!"

"I am sitting still!" Jamie protested.

"You keep wriggling, it's going to be wonky," Phoebe quipped as she sat on the couch beside her auntie, observing the evening's proceedings as she cuddled Nelson, who she loved almost as much as Billie and Jamie.

Billie and Jamie had picked Phoebe up some hours ago, Jamie's presence in the playground having caused less of a ruckus than the first time he collected Phoebe after school. The trio then returned home via the local supermarket to buy supplies for dinner, as Phoebe had requested that they make pizzas together, and neither Jamie or Billie could find a reason to complain.

The pizzas looked and tasted great, followed by bowls of ice cream as they sat down on Billie's couch to watch Tangled. About half an hour into the movie, Phoebe suggested that they braid Jamie's hair, which Billie was completely on board with, and Jamie of course didn't take much persuading.

Which is how Jamie ended up sitting on the floor in front of Billie, slotted between her knees as Billie focused on braiding the top lengths of his hair. Doing daft things like that unknowingly helped to heal his inner child, spending time with Phoebe offered him a glimpse of what it might have been like to be a big brother.

"She's right, pretty boy," Billie smiled as she focused on braiding his hair, "If this looks shit, it's on you."

"And then you'll have to buy us both ice cream," Phoebe grinned mischievously, spoken like a true Kent.

"Eh?"

"I make the little lady right, babe," Billie smirked as Phoebe handed her a red sparkly hair tie to secure the braid.

"You two," Jamie laughed, knowing that Billie and Phoebe were like a little team, and when it came to getting their own way, they were very good at it.

"All done," Billie exclaimed as she finished tying the loose strands of hair, "Pheebs, why don't you grab the little mirror from my dressing table?"

"Alright!" Phoebe jumped up from the sofa, rushing into the bedroom.

"Han said she's on her way," Billie told Jamie, having received a message from her sister to say that she'd managed to finish work on time for once.

"You wanna watch a romcom when Phoebe's gone home?" Jamie asked, tilting his head back to get a better look at her.

"I was going to run you a bath," Billie told him, "I was thinking we could do a proper little pamper evening, face masks, nails, massages..."

"Massages?" Jamie replied with his eyebrows raised in intrigue.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Tartt," Billie rolled her eyes playfully, "You're training with my brother at 4am, you need to save your stamina for that, not for me."

"I just miss you," Jamie sighed as Billie frowned in confusion.

"You see me all the time, babe," Billie reminded him.

"I miss just being me and you, you and I," Jamie told her, and it wasn't a result of spending time with Phoebe, he enjoyed those days, the couple were just both so busy with work.

"I love you, Jamie," Billie hummed, "How about next time we play in a different city, we book an extra night or two away, just us, we could do touristy shit or we could just stay in the hotel room and order silly amounts of room service."

"Sounds fucking perfect," Jamie grinned, delighted by the prospect of exploring somewhere new with Billie.

"Found it!" Phoebe ran back into the room, armed with Billie's mirror, which she handed to Jamie.

"What do you think, J?" Billie smiled.

"Looks great to be fair," Jamie told them as he admired Billie's handiwork.

"You gonna wear it like that on the pitch?"

"We'll see."

for reference, this is how billie and phoebe styled jamie's hair: