Summary: While you’re enjoying a casual situationship with a wonderful guy, accepting that at the end of the day you’re just friends, people around you insist in the fact that you’re both in love with each other. But that’s nonsense, Erling isn’t in love with you… Right?
*ੈ✩‧₊˚ ˛ * 。° 。 •˚.・。.・゜✭・.⋆·˚ ༘ .・。.・゜✭・..・。.・
“Baby, you know I can be there in two days if you want me to, you know that? I have no problem.” The soft tone Erling was using made you smile while you took your shoes off.
“Erling, it’s alright. I know you’re away for work… We can hang out when you come back.” You knew he wasn’t physically present in the room, but just hearing his voice through the phone gave you goosebumps. “Don’t worry, I’ll miss you like crazy while you’re away.”
You meant it as a joke… At least partly.
Not too long ago you were hugging and kissing him goodbye, wishing him good luck on his next match and saying how sorry you were for missing the opportunity to go with him; despite all of that, you already missed his scent and his arms around you, regretting not accepting his late invitation.
“I know you will.” His cocky tone made you smile even more. “Make sure to watch the game, I’ll score a goal just for you.”
It was a stupid joke, but it made your stomach explode with millions of butterflies. How couldn’t you feel excited when he said things like that?
“Just one?” You laughed. “That’s a bit dissapointing coming from the top striker himself.”
His laugh was everything you were waiting for. It was sweet and relaxing. God, I miss him.
“Well, okay little miss. I’m going to do my best and score at least three goals for you. Mark my words.”
“You? Watching football?” The voice of Eve, your roommate, startled you.
“God, you scared me!” You shouted, throwing a pillow at her.
She avoided the hit with ease, staring at you with her typical look of “I know what you’re doing”, making you feel immediately flustered.
“What?” It was better to play dumb than to admit anything in front of her. You knew how she worked; the subject wouldn’t be dropped in at least five months.
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know. Watching football at six p.m instead of Youtube or something more suited to your taste?” She sat beside you, paying attention to the screen. “Of course, there he is.”
Against your survival instincts, you turned to the TV screen without shame, smiling a bit when you saw Erling’s serious expression while warming up with his teammates. He looked so focused and professional that you couldn’t resist the urge to stare at him and feel proud of where he’s standing.
“And… Are you wearing his jersey?” That obvious detail didn’t escape your friend, who took the fabric of the shirt between two fingers, letting you know how fun the whole situation was. “You’re such a simp.”
“Oh, shut up.” You barked, feeling your cheeks warmer and warmer by the minute. “It’s for good luck.”
And it was true. Since the day you stole and wore one of Erling’s shirts to watch the game at home, ManCity always had a good performance and he scored at least two goals per game.
“And! Football is interesting once you get the hold of it. It’s not just sweaty men running after a ball.” You leaned against the sofa, deciding to ignore the cheeky smile on your friend’s face. “Stop looking at me like that. You rather stay and watch or stop judging me and leave.” You weren’t serious and she knew that, but that didn’t stop her from acting offended.
“How dare you!” She pushed your shoulder, laughing. “It’s not my fault you’re so in love with your boyfriend.”
The words froze you in place, feeling awkward for a long moment, only interrupted by the sound of the game starting. You watched Erling’s figure move around the pitch, chasing any clear opportunity to get a hold of the ball. Your mind wandered for a few minutes, going between his performance, how good the team was doing and your roommate’s words.
“He’s not my boyfriend…” You finally said, taking a deep breath. It was strange, you felt a bit wrong after saying the words… Like you were betraying Erling with them.
“Come on, babe. I’m your friend, I know you.” Eve’s tone was soft when she responded, looking at your profile with a serious expression. “And it’s okay to be in love, especially with him. He’s a very nice person, and treats you the way you deserve.”
“I know he does…” Before you could say anything else, the game dynamic changed suddenly, leaving a very obvious opportunity for Erling to score. Your hands grabbed the end of the sofa with force, almost shouting towards the screen. For a second, time froze and then he scored his first goal of the night, running to one of the cameras. He looked directly at it, kissing one finger that was wrapped in white tape three times before making a heart with his hands and smiling. Almost immediately, teammates like De Bruyne and Alvaréz hugged him, taking him away from the camera.
A big smile crept to the surface of your face, making it almost impossible to pretend anything else than happiness. You touched the ring that was on the same finger as Erling’s, feeling extremely pleasured by the fact that he was wearing it today. Just for you.
“Shut up…” You said after a few seconds, not wanting to admit anything just yet. The idea of being in love with Erling was so new yet so familiar… “God, I’m screwed.”
Eve responded with a long laugh. And every time Erling scored again, doing the same ritual, you felt like passing out from the whole new set of emotions running inside you.
“Oh my god! This is so exciting!” Claire snuggled Eve’s shoulder, looking extremely happy about our conversation’s subject. “Finally! I’ve been waiting for this since the beginning of time.”
“Oh, please!” You laughed between words, taking a short sip of the drink you got a few minutes ago. “It’s still new and I haven’t wrapped up my mind around the whole thing.”
“Of course you haven’t.” Eve said, looking beyond entertained while nursing her own coffee. “You have been so busy denying your feelings that now you don’t even know how to see your “situationship” with him as an actual relationship.”
You hated the fact that she was 100% correct about every single word that left her mouth.
Being aware of your deep romantic feelings for the most amazing guy you’d ever met was difficult. You were scared beyond words, especially of how he would react if you ever confessed them to him.
“I hate it when you show how much you actually know me.” You replied, sighing under your breath. “How do I even tell him something like this?”
“What do you mean?” Claire looked confused for a second, burrowing her eyebrows. “He’s obviously in love with you too. It won’t be too complicated… I think he’s just afraid to ask you to be his girlfriend.” She came a bit closer, biting her lip with a tiny smile. “Between you and me? I’m sure he’s just assuming you guys are a couple already.”
Eve nodded along, looking at you like it was dangerously obvious.
“I mean…” She started, taking a big sip of coffee before continuing. “You two travel together, you spend most of the month at his house, half your clothes are at his place; you guys share jewelry, share the same type of shoes for the fun of it, you own half the ManCity’s jersey collection, not to mention that every time you can, you attend his matches. For God’s sake! You spent last Christmas at Norway with his family!”
“Well, when you say it like that…” Your blush was so intense. Hearing your friend listing all the obvious things that made the two of you a couple made you feel beyond stupid for not noticing earlier.
“Just wait and see, darling.” Claire said after a while. Her eyes seemed to hide something and you felt like the two of them were beginning to plot something.
But the scaring part was what could it be…
It’s been a few days since the little chat with the girls at the cafe, which made even more difficult to find the way of processing your feelings for Erling.
He was back in Manchester, making you forget about the bundle of nerves permanently installed in your stomach; strange as it may seem, being with him made everything else going on in your head easier. But now that time of peace was over, mostly because your birthday was around the corner and he was beyond excited to celebrate it. You didn’t know why, but you got the feeling of something being happening within the next few hours.
You opened your eyes suddenly, feeling disoriented for a couple of seconds before realizing you were at Erling’s house. His warm figure embraced you from behind, making you smile widely.
You were spending your birthday with him since the beginning of the day. What else could you ask for?
You could tell he was still sleeping, so you tried to shuffle from his arms as quietly as possible just to check the time, but it was impossible. Within seconds, he was awake as well, kissing your temple and hugging you tightly.
“Good morning, birthday girl.” His voice was raspy; music to your ears.
“Good morning, sir.” You turned, looking at him with a wide smile. He looked sleepy and adorable. Ignoring your smelly breaths, you gave him a tiny peck before sitting, making him follow you along. “I need to wash my face.”
“We.” Was all he said, hugging you one more time before stepping out of the bed.
You made a long pause, just admiring his bare back and how his muscles flexed with the tiniest of movements. God, he’s so fine.
You both brushed your teeth, washed your faces, and changed clothes in silence, enjoying a few hugs and kisses, all with multiple “happy birthdays” along the way. This is why you enjoyed so much your time with him; everything felt right and comfortable; he was your safe spot. He felt like home.
“Any plans, any wishes?” He asked when you both were at the kitchen table. “Ask me for anything today, I’ll give it to you.” You gave him a wicked smile in response, making him roll his eyes. “Very mature.”
“Of course I am. I’m super mature.” You took a bite off the apple you were having. “And as for the wish… Nothing special, maybe some books and crafty supplies.”
As promised, the two of you spent most of the day driving around town, buying books, supplies and having lunch at one of your favorite cafeterias in town. It was a perfect day, which became even better when you received all the birthday wishes from your friends, family… and Erling’s family, most of them apologizing for not being able to be with you.
Today felt like such a special day, regardless of your birthday. You loved it.
“Now… Time to get ready for dinner.” Erling said as soon as you stepped inside the apartment.
“What do you mean? I thought we were having dinner here.”
“No, of course not. Come on, it’s your birthday. Let me treat you to dinner at some fancy restaurant.” He shrugged when you gave him a confused look. “It’s something people do, right? Let’s get ready!.”
He almost gave you a half-hearted push down the hallway, which was suspicious as it was. Erling never pressured you to do anything. He seemed… anxious.
But you got ready anyways; within an hour you took a shower, chose one of the very few dresses in your possession that were appropriate for a fancy place, and after a quick makeup session, you were ready to go.
“Are you telling me where are you going?” You finally said once the two of you were inside the car; the whole process of getting ready was in silence, but a different type of silence from earlier. Very odd.
“Nope, it’s a surprise. Be patient.” He traced figures on your skin with one of his fingers, looking directly at the street. You smiled a little bit, not wanting to put too much pressure. Maybe he just planned a romantic dinner and wanted it to be a surprise.
You were fine with that. You loved this man so much.
While you looked at him, you realized that it was the first time where you actually understood the depth of your feelings for him and admitted them.
“Erling?” You said after a while, holding the hand that was resting on your knee. You needed to tell him.
“Yes, baby?” He didn’t look away from the road, but you knew he was paying full attention. “We’re almost there.”
“Are we? Good.” Your mouth felt like sandpaper. Why were you feeling like a middle schooler about to confess her crush to someone? You wanted to scream the words, but they wouldn’t come out. It was frustrating.
So you waited until you were out of the car and walking towards the restaurant because suddenly the nerves were taking the best of you. Come on, you can do it! Don’t bitch out of it.
“Mr. and Mrs. Haaland?” The host asked as soon as you entered, making your heart skip a beat.
“Uhm…” Erling’s cheeks were bright red; he looked at you for a few seconds before nodding. “That would be us, yes.”
“Please follow me.” With every step the two of you took, Erling’s expression became more and more open, showing a mixture of nerves and excitement. You wondered why…
The host stopped next to a door that seemed to lead to a VIP zone. Both of your eyebrows arched when he opened it in silence and smiled before leaving with a small “Have a good evening.” You kept looking at Erling, stepping inside the room while trying to figure him out.
At first, you found odd that the room was completely dark, and one second later- the lights turned on, welcoming you with a bunch of flashes pointing directly at you from different angles. You almost screamed, but then you recognized Eve’s and Claire’s faces, Erling’s older siblings and his parents, along with many of your friends in common.
“Oh my god!” You shouted with a big smile, realizing it was a surprise party. “Honey!” When you turned to look at him, Erling flashed you the biggest smile you’d ever seen on his face.
“Happy birthday.” He kissed you for a long moment, gaining a long cheer from your audience. “I’m glad you liked the surprise.”
You held his stare and then kissed him again, feeling like your heart could explode from all the love you were feeling at that exact moment.
“I love you.” You said, finally, after ending the kiss. You knew only he heard the words. His eyes went blank for a moment before he took your face between his hands, looking at you with a serious expression.
“You love me?” He asked like he couldn’t believe it. You nodded, smiling like an idiot. Oh, how much you loved him. “God.” He kissed you again, more lightly this time. “I love you too, so so much.”
Before you could reply, Eve appeared in front of you, smiling like the devilish girl she was.
“Come on, love birds. People are hungry.” She dragged you both toward the table; everyone was smiling and waiting for you to sit. You felt suddenly shy as Alfie gave you a knowing look.
“Oh, before I forget,” Erling said, taking one of your hands in his. You looked around, making sure that no one was paying special attention. “I thought it was time to upgrade that ring… So…” He shyly put a ring box on your palm. You stared at it, not knowing how to react. “It’s… It’s not like I’m asking you anything, I just wanted to get something nicer since I know you love rings… And you know, this pair we have it’s from my time in Dortmund, I figured maybe…”
“Erling.” You interrupted him, smiling even more at his nervousness. “Yes, to whatever you’re asking, my answer it’s going to be yes.”
“I- Good, I mean, thanks?” You both laughed at his own confusion, calling the attention of Claire, who smiled as well before turning around. “What I mean is… It’s not like an official thing but I want you to have it until we’re ready.”
“I love you, even with this awkward propose thing in the middle of a dinner.” You finally said, opening the box and letting your boyfriend put on the ring for you. It was beautiful and it almost made you cry.
You were so happy. You loved life and him, especially him. How could you ever been insecure about your relationship with him?
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