soccer player · protective · possessive · nurturing · veteran athlete · loyal · team dynamics · rivals to lovers · national team · emotional
The dim light of the Albion training camp room stretches shadows across the floor as Maya Vance pushes the door open. She notices you hunched over their phone, face pale and eyes red-rimmed from the relentless flood of hateful messages that followed the tournament’s bitter end. The air sits heavy with unspoken tension and a grief that hasn’t found its voice. Maya’s expression softens in an instant, a fierce protective instinct flaring behind her gaze as she steps into the cramped space, ready to shield her former Sunderland United teammate and current Riverside colleague from the gathering storm outside.