A/N: thank you so much for 100'000 views, that's actually insane!!! <3

The rays of the weak December sun softly shone through the curtains of my childhood room, indicating that the days of snow storms were hopefully over. After months of waking up in Barcelona, it took me some time to realize where I was, but once I had opened my eyes and saw the gorgeous blonde still sleeping next to me, I suddenly remembered everything.

Still tired, I moved closer to Mapi, gently putting my arm around her waist as I buried my face in the notch of her neck. The movement caused the blonde to slowly open eye after another, seeming just as confused as I had moments prior.

"Good morning, princesa," she finally smiled, tightly wrapping both of her arms around my body. "Did you sleep well?"

"Morning," I yawned, lifting my head to look straight into the Spaniard's sleepy eyes. "I did, but definitely not enough. How about you?"

"Definitely same," Mapi smirked, her left hand finding the back of my head to pull me in for a kiss. "But it was totally worth it."

"Mhm," I mumbled into the kiss, memories of the last night flashing through my mind as my tongue was dancing with hers. "You know... I could definitely go for round two."

Before Mapi could answer, my phone started ringing loudly, interrupting our kiss. Annoyed, I grabbed the small mobile device of my nightstand, both Mapi and I glancing on the screen to figure out the source of disturbance.

"Why is she calling you at 9 in the morning?" Mapi hissed annoyedly, raising an eyebrow at Sydney's name on the screen.

"No idea," I shrugged, pressing the green button to accept the call, immediately turning the speaker function on for Mapi to listen in. "Hey, Syd."

"Guten Morgen, ("Good morning")" Sydney's voice happily sounded through the speaker while Mapi's eyebrow stayed raised. "Was machst du heute? Wollen wir nach München? ("What are you up to today? Wanna go to Munich?")"

My fingers started to softly caress Mapi's stomach, running up and down her toned abs as I was trying to come up with an answer. After all, I had promised Sydney to see her today, but it was the only full day I'd get with Mapi as the Zaragoza native was flying back to her hometown on the morning of Christmas eve.

"Eigentlich schon, aber Mapi ist noch hier ("theoretically yes, but Mapi's still here with me")," I finally replied evasively, throwing a searching look to the defender who didn't seem to be enjoying the situation very much.

"Nimm sie einfach mit, das wird sicher lustig. Wir können ihr die Innenstadt mit dem Weihnachtsmarkt zeigen? ("Just take her with you, it will be fun! We could show her the city center with the Christmas market?")," Sydney suggested.

"Ich frage sie ("I'm gonna ask her")," I sighed, turning my head completely so I was facing the Spaniard's face, not looking forward to having to ask her that question at all.

Mapi looked at me questioningly as she had obviously not understood anything that's been said. My hand unsurely wandered to her hair, finding a strand to play with. "Mapi...," I started uncertainty, struggling to find the right words. "Would you... maybe... you don't have to say yes, but... would you want to go to Munich with me... and Syndey?"

The blonde's eyes widened in shock, the disbelief written all over her face. "I- I don't really know."

"We can show you the city, I'm sure it will be fun and we can leave whenever you want," I reassured her, my thumb letting go of her hair strand to gently caress her cheek. "And there's a beautiful Christmas market!"

"Vale...," Mapi shrugged with a big sigh, grabbing her own phone from the night stand, indicating that the conversation was over for her. "Whatever makes you happy."

I threw her a last, unsure gaze, before turning my head towards the phone again. "Sie hat ja gesagt. Kommst du uns abholen? Sagen wir so in zwei Stunden? ("She said yes. Can you pick us up? Let's say in about two hours?")

"Perfekt! Ich freue mich ("Perfect! I can't wait")," Sydney replied, before pausing and audibly breathing out loudly. "Ist es okay wenn ich... wenn ich auch jemanden mitbringe? ("Is it okay if I... if I bring someone too?")"

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow, wondering who my international teammate was talking about. "Natürlich, aber wen? ("Of course, but who?")"

"Wirst du dann schon sehen ("You'll see")," Syndey laughed with a sigh of relief. "Bis später! ("See you later!")"

"Well, that was weird," I noted after hanging up while Mapi was still glued to her phone, her brows slightly wrinkled. "I think Sydney's bringing a date."

The Spaniard lifted her gaze from her mobile phone, only to shoot me a questioning look. "And are you okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I wondered, snuggling up to the blonde. While we had spent most nights ever since her accident like this, it felt different this time as if everything was finally making sense between us.

"I don't know," Mapi shrugged. "She's your ex after all."

My gaze wandered to her face as I leaned on my elbow to be able to press a soft kiss on her lips. "Yes, but that's in the past for a reason. I want you, and only you."

"That's good to hear," the blonde defender chuckled, turning her phone around to show me a message. "Look, my mom asked what's keeping me in Germany for so long. She wondered if I found myself a German girlfriend."

Girlfriend.

My heart instantly started beating faster because of this one simple word as it wasn't something we had discussed before. "What are you gonna reply to her?" I wanted to know unsurely.

Our gazes met, instantly causing shivers to run down my spine as Mapi's lips formed a smile. "I mean... I would love to say yes... or is it too early for that?"

"I don't think it's too early," I smiled, my heart skipping a beat as my lips found hers again. "Girlfriend. It sounds good, doesn't it?"

"Almost too good to be true," the blonde grinned, her hands running down my body to eventually pull me on top of her. "How about we celebrate this?"

*

Two hours later, Mapi and I were rushing downstairs as fast as it was possible with the blonde's crutches, the both of us dressed in warm winter clothes in a desperate attempt to keep us warm during our trip to the city. Luckily, the snow storm had come to an end, only a thick white layer left to remind us of the crazy last few days, but the thermometer still hadn't managed to climb over the zero degrees mark.

"And you're sure you want to do this?" I asked my girlfriend for the millionth time, already firmly holding the door handle as Sydney and her mysterious guest had been waiting for us for quite some minutes.

But we had been busy.

"Yes, princesa," Mapi laughed, moving a little bit forward to press a quick kiss on my face. "As long as I'm with you, I'm okay."

"I'm gonna remind you of that the next time Jonatan has us doing the stupid beep test in the heat," I joked, finally fully opening the door. Syndey's small, black car immediately caught my eye as Mapi and I exited the house, my hand placed on the blonde's back to ensure she wouldn't slip on the icy ground.

(Unless indicated otherwise, they're speaking English from now on. Cba to make everything bold.)

The door on the driver's side of the car opened and Sydney stepped outside, dressed in a cozy looking black sweater and light blue jeans. "Hi there," she greeted us, pulling me into a quick hug in an attempt to hide her nervousness, before turning to Mapi. For a split second, the two seemed to be checking each other out as it was the first time they encountered the other without being dressed in football gear, before Sydney pulled a surprised Mapi in a short embrace. "It's good to finally meet you properly."

"You too. I've heard a lot about you," the Spaniard replied ironically, causing me to nudge her in the side as a warning.

Luckily, Sydney simply laughed as she opened the door to her car to let us inside, revealing a familiar blonde on the passenger's seat.

"G-Giulia? You?" I stammered, completely taken aback by Bayern Munich's defender sending me an unsure smile from the front of the vehicle.

"Hi, Emilia," she greeted me as I buckled up after aiding Mapi get in the car.

This whole situation couldn't possibly get more awkward.

"So... the two of you...?" I wondered, gesturing between Giulia and Sydney, who had just gotten back into the vehicle, while Mapi seemed to be more confused than ever.

"No. Yes... Kinda?" Syndey chuckled unsurely as she turned the engine of her car on, her concentration shifting to backing out of the small street my family's house was located in.

"It's new... again. We kinda just rekindled," Giulia laughed, her questioning gaze wandering over to Mapi, making me realize the two had never formally met.

"I understand," I nodded with a knowing smirk on my face as I lovingly placed my hand on Mapi's thigh while gesturing to Giulia. "Mapi, meet my former Bayern teammate Giulia. And Giuli, this is Mapi... my girlfriend."

Girlfriend.

My gaze shifted to the gorgeous Spaniard who was just lifting her hand to greet my former Teammate. Would I ever get used to knowing she was my girlfriend, let alone say it out loud?

Probably not. It just felt too good to be true, almost making me scared I would awake from my dream soon.

We spent the one hour long car ride exchanging meaningless small talk, although it was mostly Giulia and me catching up as Sydney was navigating us through the busy traffic in Munich's city center and Mapi was still adjusting herself to the situation, her hand firmly holding mine.
Needless to say, we were all relieved when we finally reached a parking garage close to the famous Marienplatz, where we planned on visiting the Christmas market.

The cold hit us when we left the cozy warmth of Sydney's car, all of us huddling ourselves in our coats, hats and scarves.

"I need a warm drink," Sydney sighed exhaustedly, the small houses of the Christmas market in front of the impressive St. Peter's church appearing in front of us.

"Me too," I nodded, cautiously watching Mapi who was quietly struggling with her crutches on the uneven, icy ground. "I could eat as well. There seems to be a good place right over there, what do you guys think?"

As we made our way over to the booth, Mapi suddenly stopped at another, excitedly glancing at the huge collection of gingerbread hearts. "Oh my God, what are these? They're absolutely adorable!"

"They're gingerbread cookies with funny messages on them," I explained to the amazed Spaniard. "They're absolutely cringe though."

"Hell no, they're amazing," Sydney interjected eagerly, grabbing one of them to show it to Mapi. "See, that one says I love you in German. And this one... this says my angel."

Amused, I watched the two blondes looking at the different kind of hearts, happy to see the both of them finally interact with each other. As my gaze, too, wandered over the selection of gingerbreads, one of them suddenly caught my eye.

"I'll get you one," I decided, grabbing the big heart from the hook and handing it to the cashier.

Curiously, Mapi glanced over my shoulder, trying to read the German sentence on it. "What does it say?"

"Don't laugh," I warned her, gently putting the heart around her neck, making her look like the biggest tourist. "But it says you're my princess."

"That's my line," Mapi protested jokingly, putting both crutches into one hand to inspect the heart closely, before cautiously taking a step towards me to press a small kiss on my cheek. "Es tan mono, gracias princesa."

"De nada," I chuckled, relieved to see the defender happy again. "You need to try it!"

I couldn't imagine anything better than seeing her smile.

"There's no way I'm eating this, it's way too cute," the Spaniard denied eagerly, wanting to protect the treasured heart with both hands, causing her to slightly slip on the icy ground.

"Be careful!" Sydney warned Mapi, firmly holding her by her wrist to help stabilizing the blonde again. "But Emilia's right, you need to try it. How about we get you this?"

With a big grin, the German midfielder pointed to a red and white gingerbread heart with Mia san mia written on it, causing Giulia and me to giggle loudly.

Meanwhile, Mapi was looking at it confusedly. "I've seen this before, but I just can't remember where."

"It's Bayern Munich's slogan," I explained to the puzzled Spaniard. "Mia san mia. It basically means we are who we are in our Bavarian dialect."

"There's no way I'm putting this around my neck! I'd burst out in flames," the Barcelona player protested loudly, shooting us a playfully angry look.

"You don't have to wear it, but we can all share it," Sydney suggested, grabbing the heart after Mapi had agreed, and handed it to the vendor.

"Oh, are you girls Bayern fans?" The older man asked, having heard us speak English.

"Yes, you could say so," Sydney chuckled, talking a five euro bill out of her purse to give it to the salesman.

"There's been a lot of female fans recently," the man explained as he handed the heart back to Sydney. "They all go crazy about Joshua Kimmich."

Frowning, Sydney just glared at him for a few seconds. "I don't know who he is," she finally replied, trying her best to keep a serious face while lying. "But if you care about hot Bayern players, you should give Giulia Gwinn a shot. She's pretty hot if you ask me."

Next to me, Giulia frantically started coughing while Mapi and I bursted out laughing, the three of us quickly turning around before the salesman could recognize any of us.

Not that the chance was big, to be fair. Women being interested in football for any other reason that male footballers probably hadn't crossed his mind.

"What a jerk," Sydney laughed when she finally caught up with us, quickly taking a picture of the small gingerbread heart before she broke it into four even pieces. "One for everyone!"

"I just know he'll be looking up Giuli as soon as he gets off work," I teased, taking a big bite of the gingerbread. "Mhm, delicious. What a way to start the break."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Syd," Giulia complained jokingly, resting her head on the taller woman's shoulder. "What happened to not wanting to share me, huh?"

Sydney's cheeks grew bright red as she stared at the seemingly super interesting piece of gingerbread in her hand. "Uhm. María, what do you think of the gingerbread?" she mumbled evasively.

"I absolutely love it! Especially the icing, it's delicious," Mapi gushed with relish, wiping the remaining crumbs off her hands, before winking at me. "Casi tan deliciosa como tú." ("Almost as delicious as you." )

Almost choking on the last bite of my gingerbread piece, I shot her an angry look, my cheeks turning just as red as Sydney's moments before. "Cállate!" ("Shut up.")

Bursting out laughing, Mapi put both crutches into one hand once again, which caused Sydney to cautiously hold her hand out in case the Spaniard would once again slip on the icy ground. However, she completely disregarded the German's concern, using her free arm to pull me closer to her.

"Estoy muy contenta de estar aquí contigo, princesa ("I'm very happy to be here with you, princesa.")," she whispered into my ear as my head was laying on her shoulders, both of my arms wrapped around her waist.

Just for an instant, I closed my eyes, trying to mentally take a picture of this perfect moment.

Sometimes life wasn't too bad after all, especially with the woman I loved so dearly by my side.

marialeonn16's story                    2 hours ago

emiliacortes20's story             46 minutes ago