After that, he made his way towards the locker room.
Once there, he sat down quietly, opened his locker and reached into his pocket.
His phone rested fortably in his palm as his thumb scrolled once, then twice.
It did so a few more times before he stopped at something, a name.
He stared at it for several seconds and then backed out of calling that line.
"...Yeah," he muttered and then slipped the phone back into his pocket.
After that, he shut the locker with a soft click and walked into the showers, his towel slung across his shoulder.
[Los Angeles]
Olivia pushed the hotel room door shut with her shoulder before letting out a long breath.
The day had disappeared far quicker than she’d expected.
After Miranda had decided to skip another round of sightseeing, she’d ended up spending almost the entire afternoon wandering through the city with Komi and Hori instead.
Between cafés they didn’t need, souvenir shops they promised they weren’t going into before inevitably walking into anyway, and Hori somehow getting distracted every ten minutes, they’d managed to burn through almost the entire day without noticing.
Now, all Olivia wanted was a shower.
She slipped off her trainers near the door before pulling her shirt over her head and tossing it onto the end of the bed.
A few moments later, steam filled the bathroom as warm water washed away the sweat and dust the California heat had left behind.
She stayed there longer than she’d planned, long enough for the water to cool.
By the time she finally stepped back into the room with a towel wrapped fortably around herself, she already felt lighter.
Then came the knock.
She paused, looking at the door to see if she’d heard right, but then another knock followed.
Olivia frowned a bit as she moved towards the door.
"...ing."
Who now?
Miranda?
Maybe she’d forgotten something.
Or Komi.
Or Hori deciding she’d suddenly bee social again.
She padded quietly across the carpet before unlocking the door.
As it swung open, her thoughts stopped pletely.
For a second...
She genuinely couldn’t make sense of what she was looking at.
Standing outside, one hand still resting against the frame after knocking, was Izan.
He wore a baseball cap pulled low over his hair, a hoodie despite the warm evening, and the faintest guilty smile she’d ever seen.
"...Is this a bad time?" he asked as Olivia simply stared.
Her brain refused to catch up, not until Izan spoke again.
"...Liv?"
That was enough.
She threw herself at him without warning.
Izan barely had time to brace himself before her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, the force of it pushing him a step into the room.
He laughed softly through the impact.
"Okay..."
One arm settled fortably around her waist as he reached back with the other and nudged the door shut behind them.
"I’ll take that as a no."
She didn’t answer and only held him tighter, but he didn’t mind.
Eventually, Olivia eased back just enough to look up at him.
Her eyes searched his face as though she still wasn’t pletely convinced he was actually standing there.
"What are you doing here?"
Izan rubbed the back of his neck.
"I came to see the family," he said before pausing slightly.
"...Mostly you."
Olivia blinked.
Her thoughts vanished for the second time in under a minute.
Seeing the expression on her face, Izan couldn’t help smiling to himself.
He stepped a little closer until barely any space remained between them.
"I really needed to see you."
...
The curtains had been drawn against the California evening, leaving only the warm glow of the bedside lamp to soften the room.
The signs of the last hour were scattered about without either of them caring enough to tidy them.
A discarded hoodie rested over the arm of a chair, Olivia’s shirt lay where she’d tossed it earlier, and one of the pillows had somehow ended up on the floor beside the bed.
Beneath the covers, neither of them seemed interested in moving.
Olivia lay curled against Izan’s chest, her breathing slow and steady as sleep steadily caught up with her.
Izan, meanwhile, wasn’t quite there yet.
His fingers moved absentmindedly through the damp strands of her hair before tracing lightly along her cheek, his thumb brushing gently across her skin.
Eventually, Olivia stirred.
A quiet groan escaped her as her nose wrinkled.
"...Mm..."
Izan smiled to himself.
"What?"
She cracked one eye open, looking at him through obvious exhaustion.
"I feel sore," she said with an aggrieved expression.
"You do?" Izan replied as she nodded weakly.
"...Feels like I just went up for a header against Erling Haaland."
At that, a laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
"How would you even know what that feels like?"
Olivia’s sleepy eyes narrowed at him.
"I’ve heard enough stories."
"Mhm."
"You look fine to me," Izan continued as his hands moved under the sheets and found something to hold onto.
Olivia side-eyed him, though with a smile on her face.
It was never easy to pull away from Izan, so she didn’t.
She gave him the sort of look that only someone half asleep could manage as another quiet chuckle escaped him.
"I still think you’re exaggerating."
"So mean..."
The plaint barely came out above a whisper as she shifted a little closer instead, resting her head more fortably beneath his chin before letting out a contented sigh.
For another moment she looked up at him, studying his face as though making sure he was really there.
"You know..."
"Hm?"
"I heard everything you said earlier," she said as Izan looked down at her.
She reached up just enough to brush her fingertips against his cheek before letting her hand fall again.
"You look fine to me."
Izan watched her as she nuzzled further into him, her eyes already closing again.
He stayed quiet afterwards as her breathing began to even out.
Within another minute, she was asleep, the day’s events and the night’s recent activity catching up to her quickly.
Izan remained where he was, one arm around her as he stared quietly at the ceiling.
He sighed heavily afterwards before looking back down and then pulling Olivia in further before he also succumbed to sleep!
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