IMAGINE. (wsl)

𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 - 𝗸.𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆-𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 ❁

𝖶𝖠𝖱𝖭𝖨𝖭𝖦𝖲: 𝗇𝗈𝗇𝖾

⍟  𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗍𝖾𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝖺𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝗓𝖺𝖼 𝗐𝗐𝖼 𝗆𝖺𝗍𝖼𝗁 !

"i love you."

"i love you more." i clicked off the facetime call with kyra, she was in brisbane, australia, for an anzac day match which happened to be part the women's world cup. i was so proud of her and wished i could be there with her, wearing her jersey to support her, but i was flying the jets over the stadium for said match. of course i hadn't told her this, she thought i was still at base in wagga doing some training. she wasn't wrong but the training was for the jets i was flying in less than 4 hours.

i had been in the air force for 5 years, i joined at 20, so that made me 25 now. as one of the only female pilots that they had requested to fly for this match, i had to agree. and once i found that it was for kyra's match i was even happier to accept. we were getting ready to hop in the aircraft now, to fly them up to the airport. we would store them there so some final checks could be carried out and then we would take off again.

i had just finished clipping my helmet and air mask on. the engines roared to life and we made sure everything was working properly. "tower, this is y/l/n, callsign striker, are we all clear for takeoff?" crackles played through the mic. "striker you are good for takeoff." we started our journey down the strip, i signalled to the four other pilots that were flying with me. we went one at a time, me first then each of them followed after.

"so, striker, you excited to see your girlfriend?" one of the other guys called through our mics. "shut up, wolfe, at least i have a girlfriend." a series of whistles came from the other three and i grinned behind my mask. wolfe was silent about that topic for the rest of the flight.

——
we had made it to the airport, they had closed down one of the runways so we could land and takeoff from it. i let the tower know we were bound for landing and they made sure it was clear. "copy, clear for landing." we started our descent and i went first, then the other four. it wasn't too rough, a little turbulence but nothing i hadn't dealt with. once we had fully stopped, we waited for the runway crew to get their job done before we popped the canopy and started to hop out. i was itching to get to our hotel and get out of the flight suit.

we met the event organiser, one of the commanders of the air force. he had hand picked us for this job and was taking us to the place we would be staying at until tomorrow. a suitcase for each of us that we had packed had already been transferred up here prior to us flying up. i thanked the commander and immediately stripped the flying suit off when i was in my room. i hated wearing it if i didn't have to.

i still had to wear it later tonight so it was on a hanger and in the wardrobe for now.

——
it was finally time to get back to the jets for the fly over. i begrudgingly put the flight suit back on and grabbed whatever i had to take with me. i met the four other guys in the lobby and we rode to the airport together. "alright, wings up in 20. get ready guys." we picked up the helmets and air masks and walked towards our individual planes.

i buckled in and clipped the mask on, did the checks and followed the routine. i was all good to go. "tower to striker, you are cleared for takeoff." i signalled to the other pilots and started taxiing down the runway. they followed behind me and i finally had liftoff. it was only just sunset; that still meant all lights on. we followed the flight path, circling near the stadium a couple of times before a voice came through on the mics letting us know that we had to get into formation.

"cue the flyover in 3, 2, 1." we flew over the studios, the lights were pointed up at where we were so the crowd could see us and the players could too. we had to perform a small trick so we led off and executed it perfectly. then it was back to the airport. i had still managed to get a pass for the game, with the help of charli and katrina. they knew i was down here and agreed to help me surprise kyra.

i caught an uber back to the hotel and got changed, making sure i grabbed my phone, keycard and the pass. then it was back outside where i had another uber take me to the game. i knew that they would be close to kickoff if not have started already but that was okay with me. i just wanted to be there when kyra won. we go to the stadium and i laid the driver and got out. there was still security by the door so i hoped they wouldn't be too far in.

i grabbed the pass and showed the guy at the door and he let me through and directed me to where i had to go. i found my seat in the family section, next to kyra's family. they were surprised to see me and so happy that i'd come to see their daughter and sister play. it was only 10 minutes into the first half and so far nothing. it was against france for a place in the semi finals. i was enthralled in the game and yelled out whenever kyra got the ball.

——
it felt like an eternity but half time had came and gone, still 0-0 to both sides. now we were 30 into the second half and still nothing. sam had been brought onto the pitch, a hope for the matilda's to score a goal. they played so well but the french were strong enough to keep them out.

eventually the ref called full time and the players took a break. they had two extra halves of 15 minutes and if no one scored then it was penalties. they were back on the pitch soon and took off. back and forth, they kicked the ball, both teams had decent chances to play at goal but no one scored in either half. now it was onto shootouts. i was practically on the edge of my seat and mackenzie took her place in the goal.

she caught the first shot and everyone cheered. then cait had a turn, and it was 1-0. we kept going, 1-1, then to 2-1. back and forth we played it into their goal and them into ours. but the french missed one and we had a chance to win. courtnee vine stepped up, took her time and she kicked it straight in. 7-6 to australia and we had won.

the whole team poured onto the field and the crowd was cheering so loudly i couldn't hear anything but their screams. i was ecstatic that kyra had done it, they were through to the semis. i wanted to go down there and find her but i had to wait until after. so i stayed with her family until it was safe. again i showed my pass to the security and they let me through. i went down to the pitch and to the changing rooms. the whole team was there and they were jumping around in excitement.

kyra was with charli and katrina who noticed me and led kyra over with her eyes covered. i nodded and they let her open her eyes. she saw me and her face was one of shock. "y/n? you're here?" it was almost like she didn't think i was real, tentatively taking a step forward to put her hand on my cheek. "yup. i saw your whole game, sat next to your family even." i was grinning from ear to ear and she finally wrapped me up in a giant hug. "i'm so glad you came."

"i had to come home for you, watch you win the world."