"Emilia! Get your ass up!" Joshua hollered at 6:30 the next morning.

"What? How'd you even get in here?" Emilia rubbed her eyes, trying to determine if she was seeing things or not. Much to her dismay however, there was Joshua Kimmich wearing a white DFB training shirt in her room.

"Extra key card, remember?" The footballer responded simply.

"Does Leon know you're here?"

"No...he thinks I'm visiting Lina," He peeled back the covers, getting underneath with Emilia.

"Joshua - what are you doing? You have a girlfriend you fool!" Emilia jumped out of the bed, running to the bathroom.

"Chill, I'm not going to try anything! Lina and I have been together for like three years; I love her!" The footballer paused. "Although my plan of getting you out of bed worked!"

Emilia hopped in the shower, not wanting to keep Joshua waiting any longer than she had to. She adored the boy, but she didn't really trust him alone in her hotel room.

"Emi, I'm going to pick out your outfit, okay?" Her friend yelled from the bedroom.

She sighed, just accepting the fact that she was going to look a lot like a Kimmich fangirl the entire day.

After ten minutes in the shower, Emilia wrapped herself in a robe provided by the hotel and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Oh god, you're not dressed!" Joshua covered his eyes without looking at Emi. "I can only see Lina naked Emilia - I'm sorry, it's not anything against you, I just - I can't do that to Lina!"

"I have a robe on, Joshua."

"Oh good, thank god, I was really worried you were going to try and seduce me for a minute there."

A puzzled look overcame Emilia's face, and Joshua continued. "I mean, I did get in your bed this morning, so I thought that maybe you decided that you wanted a little more of that hot body you saw last night," He playfully winked at the redhead.

Emi grabbed a pillow off the bed, hitting her friend with it. "You realize I like Leon, right?"

Joshua snatched the pillow away from Emilia, a sly look on his face. "You do?"

"Of course I do, I don't just fly around the world for just anyone." It was the first time Emilia had confessed her feelings about Leon to someone. Emilia thought that she could trust Joshua though; he had been such a good friend to her since they met, and wouldn't want to share this information with anyone but him.

What Emi didn't know however was that Joshua happened to be the second-biggest gossiper in the Bayern Munich squad, only behind the number-one drama king himself, Thomas Müller.

Joshua was practically shaking with excitement, dying to tell someone the priceless information he had just obtained from Emilia. He knew that Leon would love to hear this, although he hadn't admitted his feelings as bluntly as Emilia had.

"Moving on," Joshua directed. "Here's what I decided that you are going to wear today."

Emilia picked up the pile of clothes, actually pleased with the choices her friend had picked out. The outfit consisted of a white v-neck, black shorts, black and white Adidas neo tennis shoes, and to top it off, a black and white DFB cap Emilia had bought while she was in Germany.

"Now you can match the team!" Joshua exclaimed, showing off his outfit. He, like Emilia, had on a black and white outfit with his white DFB training shirt, and black shorts, but he had on gray sneakers. "Although I'm going to be wearing yellow boots later for training, but that's just a minor detail."

Shaking her head, Emilia sighed loudly. Not a bad sigh, but a good one. She was so incredibly lucky to have Joshua in her life. Not only had he been one of her top two favorite footballers for the past two years, but she was able to meet him and befriend him.

Joshua, Emilia concluded, was one of those people that brought constant joy to the people that surrounded him. Just seeing his smile could have Emilia cracking one of her own. He was also extremely sweet and funny, and when she counted her blessings every night, Joshua was always on her list. He was quickly becoming one of her best friends, and she loved him dearly.

"I forgot to mention though that you'll have to grab your own um," he coughed. "Undergarments. I thought it would be odd for me to select those, so um, I think you can handle that."

Emilia laughed, "I can do that, Joshua, thank you."

"Now hurry up and get Leon so we can eat breakfast! I'm getting hungry!" Joshua complained, plopping himself down on the bed.

"How long have you been up?" Emilia closed the bathroom door most of the way. She wanted to continue her conversation with the footballer, plus he had his back to the door so it's not like he could see Emi changing.

"Since five," He laid his head on her pillow. "Let me tell you everything I did so far."

"First, I got up and changed. Pretty basic right? Then, I tiptoed out of the room, not wanting to wake up Leon because he needs his beauty sleep. Me on the other hand? This face was hand-crafted by God. My mother used to say that God added more handsome powder when he made me," He explained. "The older I get I think it matured into sexual powder, at least with all the moaning Lina does when we're together."

"Joshua!" Emi threw her cap at him from the bathroom.

"Okay, okay!" He giggled, surrendering with his hands in the air.

"Anyway, back on the subject of my beautiful girlfriend," Joshua started again, his eyes gleaming when he mentioned Lina. "I then FaceTimed her at about 5:45 which I can't say she was pleased about. It's my daily ritual that I do no matter where I am in the world. Seeing her face and hearing her voice right away in the morning just starts my day on the best note possible. I love her more than anything; even football."

"That's so beautiful, Joshua," Emilia stepped out of the bathroom, now ready for the day. "I hope to feel that way about someone, someday."

"Who knows, maybe the lucky guy will be Leon," He shrugged. "You ready to make the world your bitch today, Emi?"

"Always."

∞

"Let's jump on the bed to wake him up," Joshua whispered to Emilia who was standing next to him.

"I feel like that will put him in a bad mood."

"Not if we smile while we do it!" Joshua hopped on the bed. He then extended his hand for Emilia to take, which she did.

"Alright, one, two, three!" He whispered, and the two of them began jumping on the bed while shouting, "Good morning Leon!" at the sleeping boy beneath them.

A wide-eyed Leon shook his head a few times before realizing what was happening. His eyes landed on Joshua who was sporting a toothy grin. Leon's face was stoic until he laid eyes on Emilia, who was still jumping on the bed.

"I mean, I'd rather not see Joshua in my bed this early, but I can't say that I minded seeing you jump up-and-down above me," Leon crooned, running a hand through his hair.

Emilia looked down, blushing furiously. It seemed like Leon always had that effect on her.

"Okay it's too early to be trying that hard in the flirting department, Leon. I can practically see the desperation rolling off you," Joshua challenged, jumping over to his bed.

"Zip it Kimmie," Leon stretched, closing his eyes halfway, but keeping them open enough so he could see if Emilia was watching him. She was.

Her eyes followed his shirtless body as he dug through his half-empty suitcase. "Enjoying the show, schatz?" He wiggled his eyebrows, staring at Emilia with his arms crossed.

She sighed uncomfortable, unsure of what to say. Of course she watched Leon walk around the room shirtless; he was sexy as hell.

He giggled, kissing the top of her head quickly before heading into the bathroom. "He likes you, you know," Joshua spoke, breaking Emilia out of the trance shirtless-Leon caused.

"You don't know that, Joshua."

"Yes I do."

"Did Leon tell you that?" Emilia questioned, laying stomach-down on Leon's bed. She kicked her legs while waiting for Joshua's answer.

"No, but I can see it in his eyes. He wouldn't have flown you around the world if he wasn't serious about you."

"I don't know. My sister watches this show about WAG's, and the athletes are always flying random girls around the world to meet them."

"Take my word for it, Emi, you're different. A good different. Ooh, I can't wait for Max to meet you!"

"Max? As in Max fucking Meyer?" Emi asked, taken aback.

Because she was a religious Schalke follower, Emilia knew that Max and Leon were good friends. Emi loved their friendship, and knew that she needed to cherish these last few months of them together at Schalke because it might be their last.

"Yes," Joshua confirmed. "But sadly he's not here because he's a baby and is playing in the UEFA U-21 Championship. Leon and I are so proud of him."

"Omg I love it so much," Emilia gushed, moved by Joshua's comment.

"You're so dramatic, mein gott Emilia," He scoffed.

"Me? You're like the most dramatic person I know!" Emi defended herself, shoving him lightly.

"You obviously haven't met Thomas Müller then," Joshua narrowed his eyes at Emi.

"Obviously not, Kimmie."

"Oh my goodness, you called me, Kimmie! I feel like we're real friends now!" He hugged Emilia, spinning the two of them around while doing so.

"Did I miss something?" A third voice emerged.

"Nope. Just the fact that Emi and I are best friends now!" Joshua exclaimed, standing up from the bed.

"Well, that happened quicker than I expected," Leon shrugged, slipping on his shoes.

∞

After a quick breakfast filled with toast, coffee and fruit, the team headed onto the team bus.

Leon clutched Emilia's hand in his, saying, "Coach said it's okay if you ride with us. Not many family and friends are visiting because we've had so many practices and games already."

Emilia nodded, Leon leading her onto the bus. He let go of her hand however once he reached the top of the stairs, which Emilia was unsure about. Did he not want his other friends to know about her? Or did he really just view her as a friend and didn't want anyone to perceive it as anything more than that?

"Leon! Emilia! Over here!" Joshua hollered from the middle of the bus. He was sitting with a very beautiful girl, who Emilia figured was his girlfriend.

The two of them took a seat that Joshua reserved for them; Emilia sliding in first, Leon taking the aisle in case he needed to stretch his legs.

"Leon, it's so rude that you didn't let Emilia take the aisle! Why do you think I had Lina sit there? So they could talk obviously!" Joshua huffed, crossing his arms.

"Well I'm sorry that some of us aren't freakishly small," Leon rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"You mean freakishly tall, excuse you," Joshua challenged, Emilia letting a small laugh escape from her mouth.

"Hey!" Leon turned towards her. "Not you too!"

"Anyways, back to business now, ladies and gents," Joshua interjected.

"Emi, this is my wonderful girlfriend and love of my life, Lina," He introduced them. "And Lina, this is Emilia, the girl Leon is falling for."

"Keep me out of this, Kimmie," Leon seethed.

"Sorry Leon, mother always told me not to lie, so I don't," He snapped his fingers sassily.

"I'm sorry Lina, but how do you put up with him?" Leon inquired, taking his phone out of his pocket.

"He means well, Leon," She answered kindly, turning towards Joshua who was already smiling at her. Emilia thought they were the cutest couple; they complimented one another well.

"Sorry, I didn't want to just butt in, but it's nice to meet you, Lina," Emilia piped up, poking her head from behind Leon's so she could see the young woman.

"Likewise, Emilia. Would you like to sit with me at training today?"

"I'd love to," Emilia replied, loving that she had already made another new friend on this trip.

∞

"I'll see you later, alright?" Leon held both hands to Emilia's cheeks.

"Leon," she spoke. "I'm going to be right up there watching you practice," Emilia pointed to where her and Lina would be sitting. "I'll be fine."

"I just want you to enjoy yourself."

Emi remembered a conversation she had with Leon a few days ago about Leon having fun. Emilia decided to reinforce her feeling about watching him train using his own words, "I am. I'm with you, aren't I?"

He grinned at her, which she reciprocated before Coach Löw called, "Goretzka!"

Leon kissed her forehead quickly before jogging onto the pitch. Emilia glanced up at the stands, searching for Lina. She spotted Lina after a few seconds, Emilia waving to her.

"I love watching them train," Lina expressed. "Most of the boys are very young, but take football very seriously. Training is the one time on the pitch where their personalities shine through I guess. It's entertaining to witness."

Emilia took a seat next to the kind girl, who explained the drills they were practicing. The two girls talked about football, traveling, and many of Joshua and Lina's funny stories; she sure had a lot of them. Then again, when hanging around Joshua so much, it's hard not to have great stories.

"What are they doing?" Emilia sat up in her seat curious. There, on the pitch, the boys were doing some outrageous dance moves.

Kimmie was doing an air-drumming solo, Julian Brandt was putting groceries into his imaginary shopping cart, Kevin Trapp and Julian Draxler were doing a wonderful tango, and last but not least, the apple of Emilia's eye, Leon Goretzka was directing traffic with the remaining DFB players who weren't doing their own dance moves.

"Get it Leon!" Emilia shouted down to Leon. He laughed, doing a few hip-thrusts for her.

"Jesus, can we agree that he's probably the hottest crossing guard on planet Earth?" Lina joked, Emilia laughing along with her.

Soon after their dance break, practice  had ended. It was their last training session before Germany's semi-final match against Mexico, and Emilia couldn't wait. Before that could happen however,  she had to get through dinner with Leon and his parents first.
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a/n: hope you enjoyed this super long chapter!! also here's a cute pic of leon in a pool today #nipslip 😜