Chapter Text
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But can you find me soon because I’m in my head?
————
Everything is different now.
And as Christen takes a seat next to Tobin, her hands still tightly gripping the envelope from so many years ago, she doesn’t quite know what to make of any of it. Reading the letter for the first time—well, she couldn’t wrap her head around any of the words. So she read it a second, third, fourth time, and even then she couldn’t quite believe that she finally found her soulmate (or rather, her soulmate finally found her).
“What are you thinking?” Tobin asks quietly. The other woman is playing with her hands, clearly nervous, but when their eyes meet she attempts a smile anyway.
“I… I don’t know,” Christen answers honestly. “I’m still trying to process that I actually have a soulmate.”
Tobin’s gaze is anxious now, and Christen is tempted to reach out and take her hand but decides against it when she starts to speak again. “You weren’t mad? I mean, that I waited so long?”
“Maybe a little, at first. But—I think I understand. Or I’m trying to.” Tobin’s face relaxes, and it occurs to Christen for the first time that she’s fucking gorgeous. “Tell me something,” Christen says before she can talk herself out of it.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, soulmates should probably get to know each other, huh?” She’s smiling, and Tobin is quick to return it. Christen is hit with a wave of happiness, because after all this time it’s finally happening. This is real. “Tell me something about yourself.”
Tobin takes a minute to think. “Last week I walked into a pole because I got distracted looking at a rainbow.” A blush rises on her cheeks when Christen immediately bursts out laughing. “It was just a pretty rainbow,” she mutters.
“I don’t doubt that it was pretty, I just wasn’t expecting Tobin Heath, soccer superstar, telling me she walks into poles.” Tobin just grins dopily as Christen finally starts to calm down. “Seems like I have a lot left to learn about you.”
“Same goes for you—” Tobin is cut off mid-sentence as Dawn appears out of nowhere to usher them to their rooms, citing an early practice and needing sleep. “Well, good night, I guess.” She steps forward and pulls Christen into a hug. It’s unexpected in the best way, and Christen immediately melts into the older woman’s arms.
“Kelley has my number,” Christen says softly as they separate. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a peck on Tobin’s cheek, she turns and heads into her room. Megan, her roommate, gives her a weird look when she collapses onto the bed with a wide smile, but Christen couldn’t care less. She goes through her nighttime routine checking her phone constantly, waiting for a text from Tobin. And finally, it comes.
[Tobin] you never got to tell me something about yourself
[Christen] When I was a kid I would always collect worms after it rained and throw them back in the grass to make sure nobody killed them.
[Tobin] kelley wants me to inform you that worms are disgusting and you put the rest of us to shame with your “angelness”
[Christen] Tell her to remember that I’m the only one here with proper blackmail material (like that time she got drunk and got caught in her own squirrel trap).
[Tobin] HAHAHHAHA i can tell we’re going to get along well
[Tobin] good night christen :)
[Christen] Good night :)
Her first camp ends up being surprisingly uneventful. Despite the numerous texts she and Tobin exchange, practice takes up so much of their time that they don’t actually get to talk. Christen practices her heart out, pushing her body to the limits—now that she’s finally gotten her chance there’s no way she’s willing to let it go. Years of getting passed up by the national team has left her desperate to prove herself, and it’s almost like Tobin can sense her anxiety surrounding the camp.
“You’re doing so good,” the other woman murmurs at one practice after Christen sinks a ball into the back of the net. She whispers back a “thanks”, brushing it off and trying to ignore the blush rising on her cheeks.
It doesn’t matter what Tobin says, though. In the back of her mind is a steady stream of not good enough , of thoughts like there’s nothing stopping them from throwing you away again . Christen fends them off by practicing harder, staying and taking shots on the goal even after everyone else has left.
The fifth day of camp, Christen is doing just that. Starters for the friendly tomorrow were announced, with her name on the list. She should be excited. Instead she just feels shaky and unsteady, like she might throw up or have a panic attack (or both) at any minute.
Shot after shot goes into the goal. Somehow none of them make her feel better. They’re always the slightest bit off, just a little too far to the left or right. Dusk is settling around her and her legs are shaking like they might give out, but still she keeps shooting. The game has to go well, she has to score, earn her place, prove to everyone—
“Hey.” The voice startles her out of her thoughts, forcing her to stop mid-shot. Christen recognizes Tobin’s (her soulmate’s ) voice even before she steps out of the shadows of the stadium they’ve been practicing in. “Kelley said I would find you here,” Tobin says quietly as she starts retrieving balls from the net.
Christen doesn’t do anything for a minute, frozen to her spot as Tobin calmly juggles a ball a few feet away. “Um… what are you doing here? I don’t want to be rude, but…”
Tobin laughs at that, catches the ball in the air and walks the last few feet to Christen. “It’s pretty obvious you were freaked out about starting. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” she says with a frown on her face. “Christen, you need to sit down. You look like you’re about to collapse.” In all fairness, she probably is about to collapse, so she heeds Tobin’s advice and sinks down to the ground.
As soon as her skin makes contact with grass, it’s like all the energy seeps out of her body. Every limb is exhausted, and Christen feels like she might not be able to get up after this. Tobin just sits cross-legged next to Christen, staring up at the sky.
“I don’t know what you’re so worried about,” the older woman starts after a long pause. She cards a hand through her hair, looking down at Christen. “Seriously, Chris, you’re an incredible player. It’s insane that it took this long for you to get a call-up. You’re gonna blow everyone away tomorrow.”
It’s so stupid—it’s just a compliment, but suddenly tears are pricking at the corner of her eyes. Tobin is being so sincere, looking at Christen with a softness in her eyes that makes Christen turn away before she starts bawling. They lapse back into silence, because Christen can’t figure out how to tell Tobin that compared to every other player on this team she feels so thoroughly inadequate.
The sky darkens, but still they sit until crickets start chirping and stars appear. Tobin stays right next to her, quiet but there . Eventually, under the cover of darkness, Tobin’s hand starts to brush hers. Christen’s breath catches, but she uses the last of her strength to flip her palm up and lace their fingers together.
With Tobin’s hand in hers, the whirlwind in her mind quiets, just for a minute.
They only vacate the field when Christen starts visibly shivering in the night cold. Their hands stay intertwined all the way back to the hotel, where Tobin wraps her in a tight hug.
“You’re going to do amazing, Chris,” she whispers into Christen’s neck. “Trust me.”
And somehow, Christen does.
She takes the field the next day, sore and still unsteady. But Tobin is by her side all throughout warm-ups, never touching but close enough that Christen can sense her presence. They hug again just before the game starts, and Christen feels safe, a feeling that she hasn’t had in soccer since she was a kid.
Twice that game she scores. Both times Tobin shoots across the field, lightning-fast just so that she can be the first one to hug Christen.
Finally the whistle blows. Christen takes a breath, letting the tension leave her limbs. She played in her first game for the national team. She scored. And on top of it all, she has a soulmate; a soulmate who’s across the field, shaking hands with the other team. When Christen catches her gaze, the other woman simply mouths “I told you so” with a gleam in her eye.
A smile takes over Christen’s face, and for the first time in years, she thinks maybe—
Maybe she would be alright with losing as long as Tobin was there with her.
————
[Tobin] good game!!!
[Chris] Thanks, I’m exhausted though.
[Tobin] you seriously did amazing
[Tobin] also i have big news
[Christen] ???
[Christen] Spit it out Heath.
Christen picks up on the first ring, and Tobin grins as soon as she hears the other woman’s sleepy “hello?” across the line.
“Hey, Chris,” she says softly, glad that Kelley isn’t in the room because otherwise she would be catching some serious shit for the huge smile on her face. It’s no accident that Christen is the first person she’s told her news to—after all, Tobin could barely sit through the Swedish game, nearly vibrating with excitement.
“What’s this big news?”
Tobin takes a breath, still grinning. “I got signed by PSG. I’m gonna be just a couple days’ drive away.”
There’s a pause from the other end, and Tobin thinks she might burst if the other woman doesn’t say something soon. “Holy shit, Tobin!” She finally exclaims, and Tobin immediately bursts out laughing.
“That might be the first time I’ve ever heard you swear,” Tobin teases.
“Oh, shut up,” Christen grumbles, but soon enough she’s laughing along with Tobin. “I can’t believe you’re gonna be so close,” she adds, and even though they’ll still be 25 hours away, it’s a hell of a lot better than being separated by an ocean.
“Me neither.”
“Stay here while I fall asleep?” Christen asks, breaking the comfortable silence they’ve fallen into. Tobin just hums a yes, busying herself making coffee while Christen’s breaths get slower and deeper across the ocean. It feels just a little bit perfect, watching the sun rise and knowing that soon enough, she and Christen will be able to watch the same sunrises.
It feels like Tobin might be just a little bit in love.
And—really, it was bound to happen, eventually. Just not so soon. With everything going on, national team call-ups and club games, they haven’t gotten to sit down and talk about what this—being soulmates—means. Because it means something different to every person, and Tobin realizes now that she can only pray it means the same thing to Christen.
She busies herself with packing for Paris to keep from wondering if Christen will feel the same way. It’s futile, but it definitely compels her to pack much quicker than she normally would.
Until one day, going through old boxes and papers, she comes across one of the very first drafts of the letter she wrote to her soulmate.
Dear Christen,
You might not remember me, but we’ve met before. That’s why I’m writing this, actually — we played each other, and you said something to me. And there’s not really an easy way to say this, but I think we might be soulmates. Now that I know, I can’t stop thinking about you. It feels like a part of me is missing, and I barely even know you. But what I do know —
The letter cuts off there, frustrated scribbles filling the rest of the page. Even then, when her hands were shaking and she kept dropping the pen out of nerves, she had felt a pull towards Christen. She still remembers the night that UNC won the championship, can still feel Christen’s eyes boring into her from across the field.
No matter what happens from here, she’s not going to wait another three years to tell Christen how she feels. She still remembers her train of thought when she was writing the letter: what I do know is that I want to do it all with you. I want to win world cups, and Olympic medals. Tobin’s always been a dreamer. It’s just that now someone else has made her way into all of her dreams.
That season, Tobin gets to see dreams come true in real time. She watches a young American, Lindsey Horan, play her heart out with PSG (but she also becomes the one Lindsey cries to, all those late nights when nobody else around will understand her). She watches Christen have an incredible season with Tyresö.
And finally, they face each other once more.
PSG is standing in the way of Christen and Tyresö’s championship run. They play a tough game, but Tobin can’t stop her smile when Christen scores, and when she scores the second time Lindsey has to physically restrain her so that she doesn’t hug the other team’s player.
Tobin has never been more happy to lose; when they meet up after the game Christen shyly admits that she feels a hell of a lot better after their long-fated rematch.
“I think I would do pretty much anything if it made you recognize how incredible you are,” Tobin blurts out suddenly. She can feel her face on fire as soon as she registers what she said, and Christen’s stare isn’t helping anything. “Sorry, I know we haven’t talked about this and you probably don’t even feel the same way—”
“I think you’re pretty incredible too,” Christen finally cuts her off. When Tobin manages to force herself to meet the other woman’s eyes, Christen is grinning softly.
For the next couple days (weeks, if she’s being honest), Tobin can’t get that grin out of her head. She can’t shake the way Christen’s eyes met hers, the way the younger woman played with her fingers as they sat. She’s so distracted that when she makes her way back to the US to play for Portland, all she can think about is the distance that’s made its way back between her and her soulmate.
“I miss you like crazy,” Christen admits one morning over FaceTime as she gets ready for bed while Tobin wakes up. It’s strange to be back in their old routine after months of being on the same schedule, but they’ve adjusted accordingly.
“I miss you too,” Tobin says quietly over her cup of coffee. “Portland is incredible, but it would be so much better if you were even on the same continent.” The phone goes quiet for a moment as Christen brushes her teeth and hair, but Tobin doesn’t mind the pauses. If anything, she likes to just sit and watch Christen go through her routine.
“So, about that,” Christen starts while she climbs into bed. “I’m not technically supposed to tell you this yet, but my agent has been talking to the Red Stars, and…”
Tobin nearly spits out her coffee, she’s so surprised by the news. Now she knows how Christen felt when Tobin announced she was playing for PSG. “You’re not screwing with me, right? Allie isn’t going to pop out of my closet to scare me or some shit?” Christen just laughs from where she’s propped up against pillows.
“No, I’m dead serious. Nothing’s for sure yet, but if it goes through we’ll get to play each other again.” There’s a tired lilt to her voice that’s impossible for Tobin to miss after all the time they’ve spent around or talking to each other. “I really hope it works out.”
“Me too. Go to sleep, though, Chris. You can call me when you wake up.”
“M'kay,” the younger woman murmurs. “Good night, Tobin. I can’t wait to play you again.”
“Good night, Chris,” Tobin replies, smiling softly as Christen’s eyes start drifting shut on the screen. She goes about the rest of her morning routine while Christen falls asleep, only hanging up after half an hour of silence from the other end of the line. It’s become a tradition for them to fall asleep with each other, something that makes them feel connected despite the distance.
The rest of Tobin’s season continues without interruption. Christen keeps her updated on any news from the Red Stars, while Tobin manages to lead the Thorns to the NWSL championship. They’re texting steadily, nearly every day even with the time difference. Harry has seized her chance on multiple occasions to relentlessly tease Tobin about the smile that she sports whenever she and Christen text. The day of the championship is no exception, with Christen leaving a string of texts for Tobin to find after the game.
[Chris] Good luck!!!
[Chris] You’re going to do amazing.
[Chris] That free kick, holy shit Tobin.
[Chris] YOU WON!!!!
[Chris] My soulmate is the MVP!
[Chris] I’m so fucking proud of you.
Tobin’s smile is comically large when she finally manages to unlock her phone after the brunt of the celebration is over. She immediately seeks out the quietest corner of the locker room and calls Christen, determined to hear the other woman’s voice.
“Hey, champ!” Christen greets Tobin enthusiastically.
“I won!” Is all Tobin seems capable of saying, which isn’t helped by the champagne still being sprayed across the locker room and Allie’s screaming.
“Hell yeah you did!” There’s a pause from the phone, and then Christen’s voice comes back, softer this time. “Seriously, Tobin, that was incredible. I really am proud of you.”
Somehow, hearing it from Christen means more than hearing it from anyone else possibly could. “Thank you,” Tobin murmurs. She sinks down against the locker room wall, content to observe her team and talk to her soulmate. “It would be better if you were here to celebrate,” she adds.
“I will be soon,” Christen promises from the other end of the line, and there’s a sly quality to her voice that Tobin can’t quite pinpoint the meaning of until—
There are so many things she wants to say, to ask, but finally Tobin settles on one. “It went through?!”
“It went through,” the other woman confirms. “I’m officially moving to Chicago.”
They’ll only be a couple days away again. Tobin feels like the breath has left her lungs, instead replaced with pure excitement. “I can’t believe it—Chris, oh my God—I’ll get to see you again.”
“Slow down,” Christen laughs. “Go celebrate your championship, and then we can talk about the move.”
But Tobin doesn’t want to celebrate the championship anymore, not when Christen will be so close again. Suddenly winning a championship, one of the main goals of her career, seems to pale in comparison to being closer to her soulmate. “Christen?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m so excited to see you again.”
(Read: I’m falling in love with you and I sure fucking hope you feel the same way.)
————
Christen’s first year back in the US comes and goes without much incident.
Tobin heavily disagrees with that, citing the team golden boot and second IX team ranking that Chris earned, but nonetheless the Red Stars finish in fifth and the younger woman journeys out to Portland for the offseason.
Her time on the west coast, primarily spent training with Tobin, goes by quickly. They create a little bubble for themselves in the space of Tobin’s apartment, and Christen falls in love with the city (and with Tobin, something that’s been on the back of her mind for months but they haven’t acknowledged).
“I wish you could stay longer,” Tobin murmurs one day as they lay in bed before training. She’s tracing the tips of her fingers along Christen’s tattoo, charting a path over the first moment they shared.
“Me too.” Christen can barely contain a shiver as Tobin strokes her upper arm, all feather-light touches that leave goosebumps in their wake.
But before Christen can let out an audible sigh at the sensation, Tobin completely abandons the tattoo and instead flops on her back with a dramatic sigh. “Christen Press has greater things to do, though, huh? Gonna take the world by storm?” When Christen looks over after collecting her wits Tobin’s head is propped up on her elbow, a shit-eating grin completing the pose.
“Only if you’ll be there to give me your amazing hugs,” Christen grins. It’s clearly a joke, but Tobin’s expression suddenly morphs into her serious face, eyebrows scrunched together and all.
“You don’t need me, though,” she mutters. “I’m serious. You’re such an amazing player, and anyone who can’t see that is insane.” There’s a slight pause, filled only with Tobin’s eyes boring into Christen’s soul. “I’m serious,” she says once more, softer this time. “You’re gonna do great things. You’re gonna blow everyone away.”
Tobin’s words bounce around in Christen’s head even after she returns to Chicago for the preseason. You’re gonna blow everyone away . If she’s being honest, it makes her feel hot all over, makes her crave Tobin’s hands back on her arm like they had been in Portland. But also—
Nobody had ever told her that before.
Or at least, nobody had ever quite said it with the total conviction that Tobin had; nobody had said it with that same intensity in their eyes that made Christen consider it might be true.
She lets Tobin’s words carry her through the season, to Player of the Week and Player of the Month. She lets Tobin herself carry her through the season, marking down the days until they play Portland and they’ll get to see each other again.
And then, finally, she lets Tobin carry her through the most important phone call of her life. She steals Julie’s phone just so that she can be facetiming Tobin the entire day. She watches as Tobin’s phone rings and she comes back smiling like she won the lottery.
They sit together for hours before Christen gets her own call. “I told you, amazing,” mouths Tobin from the now-muted facetime call. Christen just sits there and tries not to hyperventilate, hands shaking as she answers the phone.
“Christen, I’m calling to let you know that you made the World Cup roster—”
It all cuts out after that. When she looks back, Christen will remember nothing but the tears filling her eyes and Tobin’s grin. In the moment, everything happens so fast that she can only hope she’s saying enough to not make her look like an idiot. Static seems to fill her head, nothing but I made it I made I made it I made it I made it running on repeat.
And then, you’re gonna blow everyone away .
“We’re going to the world cup!!” Tobin screams when Jill finally hangs up and Christen forces her shaking hands to unmute her soulmate.
“I—I can’t believe it,” she manages to choke out after a minute. Tobin is still celebrating, almost jumping up and down with excitement, but Christen just sits there shellshocked. Her hands have made their way up to her tattoo unconsciously, tracing over it just like Tobin did months ago.
“I can,” Tobin says softly after a minute. “I can.”
Shortly after that the team travels to Canada. They’re all determined to bring back the trophy they lost in 2011, and Christen can feel the pressure bearing down on her. All the attention is suffocating, but she tries her hardest to remember Tobin’s words.
(And, when all else fails, she can always find solace in Tobin’s arms at the end of the day.)
The whole thing is terrifying—
But she scores.
She gets playing time.
Her mind quiets as she plays her heart out, because all that matters at that point is soccer.
Well, soccer, Tobin, and Kelley, who would kill Christen if she knew Tobin made the list and she didn’t.
When the whistle finally blows on the last match of the tournament, Christen sprints to Tobin. She needs to be close to the other woman, to celebrate how far they’ve come. World Cup champions .
Christen doesn’t quite plan it. She always thought it would be more romantic—but as the stadium erupts into cheers, and her teammates scream victoriously, she draws Tobin close and yells “I love you!” loud enough to carry over the noise.
Tobin looks shocked, for just a second. But then she picks Christen up, twirling her around, and yells back “I love you too! My soulmate just blew everyone away!”
They rest their foreheads together when Christen’s feet are back on the ground, forgetting about cameras and celebrations and anyone else but them. Confetti is raining down around them, the trophy being brought out, and really—
Christen thinks that it can’t get more perfect than this.
————
2015 is a whirlwind—that’s really the only fitting description.
Kelley has always made it a habit to live vicariously through her friends, and boy do Christen and Tobin deliver. It’s almost like they feel like they have to make up for lost time, something that results in a whole lot of cuddling and heart-eyes.
(The entire thing is so disgustingly cute that their teammates, Kelley included, devise a plan to carry spray bottles in order to discourage the two soulmates. It never goes through, but as their best friend, Kelley is extremely tempted to find her own spray bottle—for her own protection, of course.)
She feels strangely disconnected, though. Now that Tobin and Christen have each other, they don’t call nearly as much; her ankles have been giving her problems, and of course there’s the ever-present worry about making the World Cup roster.
Not to mention that she still hasn’t found her Waffle House-loving soulmate.
It doesn’t bother her quite as much as Christen, mostly because she’ll definitely know when she meets her person. She can’t help but wonder, though—do they ever see her play? Do they know who she is?
(Are they proud?)
Fortunately, Kelley gets the callup. She sees Christen and her other national team friends a lot more in the camps leading up to Canada, and her ankle hasn’t been hurting as much. The disconnect goes away just in time for the World Cup.
And when she walks into the arena for the first time, Kelley feels a humming throughout her entire body. She feels connected again, wholly excited to play for her country and bring home a trophy.
She’s also realistic, though. She doesn’t expect much, especially after not being played for the first four games (the bright side is that she gets to watch Christen and Tobin being incredible, and she’s never been more happy for her friends). But then—
Then she scores.
She fucking scores.
Watching the ball go into the net against Germany might just be the best moment of her life.
Of course, winning the entire goddamn World Cup comes in at a very close second.
Kelley rides the high of winning, of being an essential part of winning , all the way to 2016. It feels like maybe everything is falling into place. She keeps getting regular callups, keeps playing well and playing hard. She falls in with the newer generation of players, claiming that they “keep her young” and constantly goofing around with them while her friends are off with their soulmates.
In the end, Kelley has to wait nearly four years longer than Christen to find her soulmate.
When it finally does happen, it's so unexpected that at first, Kelley doesn't even register it. It’s at a national team camp, part of preliminary training for that year’s Olympics. She's walking up to one of the rookies—a blonde defender who introduced herself as Sonnett and is surprisingly good at dancing. “So, you're a Georgia peach, huh?”
Sonny is nodding, smiling softly. “God, I miss waffle house.” Except-
Except then her eyes widen, and Kelley can tell that she must look just as shocked because “holy shit.”
Sonnett barks out a disbelieving laugh, averting her eyes as a flush makes its way up her neck. “I can't believe my soulmate is Kelley O'Hara,” she mutters.
“The one and only,” Kelley grins, and before she fully registers what she's doing her shorts are hiked around her thigh to display the words inked there. Sonnett just looks on in awe, bringing her hand forward like she wants to trace along Kelley's skin. “You can touch,” the older woman whispers. It feels strangely intimate even as they're surrounded by teammates, some of whom are bound to have noticed the two shocked women by now.
“Christ, those have to be the lamest first words,” Sonny laughs, and it's a real laugh this time, one that makes Kelley's heart melt even though she barely knows the woman who's fingertips are hovering above her tattoo.
“That's what I said!” They're both laughing now, drawing the attention of everyone around them. Christen is making her way over, and all it takes is Kelley pointing at Sonnett for the green-eyed woman to stop, looking back and forth between the two with a huge grin.
Soon enough the two are inseparable. The team starts calling them the “gremlins” instead of Kelley and Sonny, because apparently they’re always so close that there’s no point in differentiating. It takes a little while for the age difference weirdness to go away, but Kelley acts so much like a teenage boy that nobody looking on from the outside would ever know there was a difference to begin with.
Being around Sonny is easy, Kelley discovers. They egg each other on, constantly hyping each other up and trying to outperform or out-prank the other. Kelley doesn’t have to worry about being anyone but herself, and knows that Sonny will encourage her no matter what.
She also, however, gets to see the younger player’s soft side, something that’s rare and reminds her that Sonnett is someone to be prized. One of those moments comes after Kelley makes the Olympic roster and her soulmate doesn’t. “I’m sorry, Kel, I should be happier for you,” Sonny says over the phone, and the sadness in her voice nearly breaks Kelley’s heart.
“Don’t say that Son. You have every right to be sad. We can celebrate later, or not at all,” Kelley says quietly, because she knows how hard it is to not get the callup, to not get to play. “I’m here for you, always. In whatever capacity you need—friend, teammate, soulmate. Tell me what you need, Em.”
“You used my first name.” Sonny sounds shocked, and it makes Kelley laugh a little bit. She hadn’t realized it, but that might be the first time she’s used the younger woman’s first name in conversation. “Um, I know we haven’t talked about it, and you said you didn’t care if anything romantic happened or not, but, um…”
It takes Kelley a minute to realize what’s going on, especially with all of Sonny’s trailing off. “Dude, are you asking if I want to be your girlfriend?”
“...Maybe.”
“Fuck yes,” Kelley laughs. “Screw the Olympics, this is what we should be celebrating!” Emily’s laughter comes over the phone, and Kelley is just grateful that she managed to cheer the other woman up. “We’ll get through this, Son. You’re gonna get your chance, I guarantee it. And if you want to be romantic-stylez soulmates, I am one hundred percent in.”
“Did you just call us romantic-stylez with a z?” Sonnett is full-on laughing now, clearly judging Kelley. “You really are a frat boy.”
“Hey!” Kelley protests indignantly.
“No, I have nothing against it. I, too, would like to be romantic-stylez with you,” Sonny teases. Kelley has never regretted her word choice more.
But she also knows in that moment—
This is who she’s meant to be with. And she can’t wait to spend the rest of her life with the blonde.
————
Tobin hates this.
She hates that she had to see Christen going from the excitement of the World Cup to a crushing Olympic loss, and she hates that Christen is taking their loss entirely on her shoulders.
After the PK, Christen curled in on herself. Tobin was the only person she would let into their hotel room, the only person she would let see her crying and breaking down. Tobin watched as all the confidence Chris had built up vanished, and dealt with the aftermath.
Tobin took it upon herself to wrap the younger woman in as much love as she could muster. She whispered encouragements into Christen’s hair as she cried, lulled her to sleep with reassurances and tried her hardest to build her soulmate up with constant praise. And after a couple days, she got them both on the first plane out of Brazil.
Being home to her apartment in Portland felt like a breath of fresh air after the suffocating failure of Rio. Christen immediately fell asleep, emotionally and physically exhausted from the insanity of the past couple months. Tobin simply busied herself cleaning up slightly and unpacking their bags so that they wouldn’t have to do it later. Within a couple hours she was fast asleep right next to Christen, spooning the younger woman.
Christen finally stirs in the early hours of the next morning, just as the sun rises. Tobin had been awake for a while prior, but was completely content to just take it all in and reflect on everything that had happened.
“Are you okay?” Tobin asks as she strokes her hand across Christen’s tattoo once the other woman’s eyes are fully open. She can't hide the worry in her voice, especially after the way Christen fell straight into the bed, utterly drained.
It takes a minute for the younger woman to answer. “I will be,” she finally whispers, letting out a deep breath. “Honestly, I don't want to think about it right now. I think I've had my fill of crying for a couple days,” she laughs dryly. Christen turns over so that their legs are intertwined and her eyes can connect with Tobin's. “I just want to be here with you,” Christen murmurs.
“Yeah?”
“Of course.” Tobin can feel a grin forming when she takes in Christen's words, and she brushes her lips against the palm of the other woman's hands. Christen's eyes flutter shut at the soft touch, and Tobin has to pause for a moment to simply take in how beautiful her soulmate is. “Do you remember what you told me in my first offseason?” Tobin just hums, preoccupied with the little sounds that escape Christen as she continues lightly tracing her hand over the tattoo on her upper arm. “You said ‘you’re gonna blow everyone away’,” Christen whispers.
“And I meant it. You blow me away every day.” Christen smiles shyly when she takes in Tobin’s words, and the sight reminds Tobin of something she had seen in the airport the day before. “Oh, Chris, did you know that there’s a hashtag trending for you?” She receives a questioning glance, but in no time Tobin has #DogsforChristen pulled up on Twitter.
They spend the rest of the morning tangled in each other, looking through the hashtag and letting everything else in the world melt away. There’s something powerful in knowing you’ve found your person, Tobin decides.
There’s something powerful in knowing that she’ll get to spend her entire future with this person.