title: Mudfootball
fandom: Bend It Like Beckham
codes: Jules/Jess. football. rain.
summary: They make a home for themselves the only way they know how.
notes: for dessert first. please forgive the lateness (and blame it on Cracker Barrel and the thousands of Spring Breakers who have overtaken my town). title is totally ripped from Jack Johnson.
There are days, days like yesterday and all of the week before, when Jules is this close to grabbing Jess and hoping a plane back to England.
It's the little things that set her off, really. Small, random things that make her wistful for the home and family and familiarity that she took for granted when she had it. Mid month cravings for a Galaxy Fruit n Nut that have to be ignored (or worse, quenched with M&Ms and dried cranberries). When all she wants to do is catch a ManU game, but can't because the American sports networks only cover American sports.
She's been in the States for a few years now, and yet there are days where the dorm she shares with Jess feels like anything but home. When even the little Irish pub, with its real curries and real beer, they found tucked into a back corner of town one wandering afternoon their first year here isn't enough to slake her homesickness.
She knows Jess feels the same some days, and that makes her feel a little bit better, if only because misery loves company.
On days like that, when they find themselves restless and homesick, they and make a home for themselves the only way they know how. They throw down their books and pens, grab a ball and their boots and head outside for some fresh air and a game of one-on-one.
Even though they spend half their days on the pitch practicing and playing with their team there's something different, something better, about it being just the two of them playing. There's a comfort in the familiarity with which Jess matches her parry, in the sound of their breathless laughter mixing together, that lets Jules relax for a while.
And, even though they never actually did this before they started at SCU, it feels like they're back home in the tiny park near Jess' house, burning time by shooting around until they're called home for super.
When it's just her and Jess and the ball Jules doesn't have to worry about the weird kink in her long ball or whether or not she's favoring her right foot again. Instead, she can just focus on the chase, on the push and pull of the game. She likes it better that way.
It's her need for that familiarity, that comfort, that pulls Jules from sleep early on this Sunday morning. That gives her the guts to brave Jess' temper and pull the other girl out of bed and into some practice gear.
Outside it's storming in that peculiar California way, at once drab and bright. Jess grumbles about the rain and the early hour, but it comes out half-hearted and Jules can tell that she's feeling it too. It's in Jess' eyes, the same need for a little piece of home, of normalcy, that's been rambling through Jules for days now.
Jules lofts the ball up into the air and they set off after it, jogging lazily through the rain toward their favorite campus park. A car drives past, splashing them with a wave of water, and Jess grumbles some more.
It doesn't fool Jules one bit though, not when she can so plainly see the smile that's starting to curve Jess' lips. She just laughs and kicks a long ball into the park up ahead of them before taking off after it. Behind her she can hear Jess curse and start running to chase her, and the ball, down.
Jules collects the ball just as Jess reaches her. She tries to ricochet it off a tree, but Jess traps it with her left foot before Jules can get back to it. Jess ducks behind the tree and now Jules is the one doing the chasing.
They fall easily into a rhythm of give-and-go. Somewhere along the way they forget to go after the ball, but they keep going, chasing each other through the trees until they find themselves rolling around in the muddy grass.
One minute Jules is on top, and the next Jess has her pinned to the ground. Jess is whining through a bright, big smile about the rain and mud, and Jules wishes she could stay here, right here in this very moment forever. So she leans up and presses her mouth against Jess' lips.
It tastes like rain and sweat and warmth, and Jules can feel Jess smiling into the kiss. Jules smiles back, because despite the fact that it's pouring down rain and she's soaked through to her socks with mud, she's happy and at home here with Jess.
fin