Chapter Text
Tobin Heath has never been one for parties, or any kind of large social gatherings, actually. She would, of course, attend her teammates and closest friends weddings, but that was about it.
If she had the choice of going to a party or staying in, Tobin would always pick the latter.
And yet, here Tobin was, getting ready for a party. Of all the different kinds of parties - weddings, after parties, birthday parties, random parties, Tobin absolutely hated New Year parties the most. She never understood what was so exciting about sitting around a TV until midnight, and waiting for a ball to drop. And what was so special about midnight? You either had someone to kiss and celebrate the new year with, or you desperately looked for someone to do so.
Tobin has never been in a relationship during New Years, so while she watched everyone kissing their loved ones at midnight, Tobin always entered the new year feeling lonely.
The only reason Tobin was even going to a New Years Party was because it was being hosted by Lauren Holiday and her husband Jrue. Since they lived in two separate regions of the country, Tobin would take any chance she could to see her. She also knew that Amy Rodriguez would be there, another good friend of theirs, and that it would be a a while until the three of them would be in the same place again.
Ever since Amy and Lauren stopped playing for the USWNT, Tobin went from seeing her best friends every day, to once or twice a year, only on special occasions. And it’s not like she didn’t try to keep in contact, but it’s hard to have conversations with people who just aren’t similar to you anymore. Lauren and Amy were moms, and Tobin wasn’t even in a serious relationship.
Tobin knew the love would always be there, but the compatibility? Not so much. She ended up severing ties with some of her other friends still on the national team as well. Not intentionally, and it’s not like Tobin stopped caring about her friends, but she went from having some really close friends in Kelley O’Hara, Alex Morgan, and Allie Long specifically, to just being friendly to them.
“Tobin!!!” Lauren exclaimed as she opened the door. Tobin smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm and hugged her.
“I’ve missed you bud.” Tobin told her, earning a smile from Lauren.
“I’ve missed you too.” Lauren said, facing Tobin. “You look hot.”
I look like an idiot. Tobin thought to herself. She didn’t mind dressing up, but she never quite liked the way she looked once she did. However, she’s learned if she admitted that to people, they would then go on and on about her looks, so she always had the perfect response to get the attention off of herself.
“You look really good too.” Tobin said, truly meaning it.
“Come in! Basically everyone is here. Megan, Morgan…Christen.” Lauren winked as she brought Tobin in the house.
“Christen’s here?” Tobin repeated as she began to feel slightly anxious.
“Mhm. As a matter of fact, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to come, and then I told her you would be coming and all of a sudden she was free. Isn’t that interesting?”Lauren teased, nudging Tobin’s side.
Oh, Christen. Probably the only person on the national team Tobin still regularly talks to. About 6 months ago, Tobin began feeling something for Christen. It all happened when they were assigned to be roommates at camp, and instead of sleeping before a friendly, they ended up talking about everything and anything the entire night. It wasn’t intentional, but neither of them wanted to go to sleep. They just both enjoyed talking to each other so much they let the night slip by.
Ever since, Tobin has been head over heels for Christen. The two have grown close, becoming bus buddies, grabbing dinner together, hanging out between practices. But she was way too scared to ever make a move. She wasn’t even sure if Christen was into girls.
“Look who it is!” Amy said, bringing Tobin out of her thoughts.
“A-Rod!” Tobin said, pulling her and Lauren into a hug.
“Aw, the new kids are back together.” Amy commented making both Lauren and Tobin laugh.
“It’s been a hot minute since I’ve even heard that name.” Lauren truthfully said.
“It never grows old.” Amy said, breaking up the hug. “I’ve missed you both so much.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Tobin said. “I’ve missed both of you a lot. The team isn’t the same without you guys.”
“Oh really? Cause you seem to be doing fine with Christen there.” Lauren said, bringing up the topic again.
Funny enough, Tobin has never said a thing about Christen to Lauren or Amy. But Lauren’s investigative skills have always been unparalleled and she could tell when her friend, especially someone as close as Tobin was interested in anyone.
“What?!” Amy said with her eyes widened. “Is that why Christen has been mentally undressing you ever since you came in here?” She said, making Tobin blush and Lauren laugh.
“She has not.” Tobin defended.
“Oh yeah she has. Look, she’s doing it right now.” Amy said, pointing in Christen’s direction. Tobin turned to see Christen having a conversation with Allie, but occasionally glancing at Tobin in front of her. Once Tobin and her caught eyes, Christen waved and Tobin smiled, and then turned back to her friends.
“That was a lot of sexual tension.” Lauren said, making Tobin playfully roll her eyes.
“Wait, when did this thing start happening? Tobin, spill everything!” Amy said, poking at Tobin’s side.
“There is no thing. We are just friends.” Tobin defended.
“Yeah, friends who want to date each other.” Lauren teased.
“How comes she knows and I don’t?” Amy said, crossing her arms, pretending to be offended. “You always tell Lauren stuff but never tell me.”
“I haven’t told Lauren anything because there is no anything.” Tobin defended.
“There is no anything.” Lauren mocked, playfully rolling her eyes. “I’ll tell you about it Amy. So basically-“
As much as Tobin loved Amy and Lauren, she couldn’t stand to hear them talk about her love life, or lack thereof. So, she slowly creeped away until she saw that her friends were too engaged in their conversation to notice. However, once she turned around, she didn’t see Christen in her previous spot, so she decided to go looking for her and hopefully start up a conversation with her.
“Hey.” Tobin was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a familiar voice. She looked up to see Alex, sitting on a chair in front of her.
“Hey.” Tobin responded, giving her a small smile.
“What are you doing here?” Alex said.
“Nice to see you too.” Tobin said, and Alex shook her head,
“I mean, like, I know parties aren’t really your thing. Is all.” She clarified.
Tobin lightly laughed, “No worries. I’m only here because Lauren probably would have killed me if I didn’t come. What about you? I know Orlando must have been a long flight.”
“Actually I wasn’t in Orlando.” Alex replied.
“What? I thought you and Servando were spending the holidays there.“ Tobin said, noticing Alex’s face drop.
“Servando and I aren’t doing much together these days. We’re getting a divorce. Or I guess, we are, we are divorced. Everything was finalized yesterday.” Alex corrected.
“Oh.” Was all that Tobin could say. She had no idea Servando and Alex were even separated, and immediately felt guilty for bring it up.
“Hey, it’s all good.” Alex said, awkwardly laughing. “I mean, how were you supposed to know? It’s not like we talk anymore or anything.”
Tobin knew Alex didn’t mean to make that sound harsh, but she couldn’t help but feel that way. Before the conversation could somehow get even more awkward, Alex spoke up again. “I’ve been uh- crashing with Kelley. Who by the way, is looking for you.”
“Kelley has been looking for me?” Tobin repeated, and Alex nodded.
“She did. I mean she’s drunk because she insisted on pre-gaming before we got here, but she really seemed to want to talk to you about something.” Alex shrugged, “either way, Happy New Years Tobin.”
As Tobin watched Alex walk away, she felt terrible. She remembered when Servando and her would throw parties like this, how happy they used to be, and now they’re getting a divorce. She wondered what went wrong with them, and that’s all she could do, wonder. If they were closer, Tobin would probably know all the details of Alex’s divorce. Tobin was Alex’s confidant, her shoulder to cry on, her best friend. But now she’s just a coworker.
As much as she wanted to comfort Alex, and see if she was okay, she knew that wasn’t her place anymore. And just when Tobin felt like she couldn’t feel more guilty, she remembered that today, December 31st, was when Alex and Servando got married.
Tobin was brought out of her thoughts when she realized she should probably stop looking for Christen and go look for Kelley. She had no idea why Kelley was looking for her, and if she was drunk, she was drunk, it probably wasn’t that important. But still, Tobin wondered.
Tobin ended up in the kitchen, where she didn’t find Kelley, but Christen instead, ironically enough. She smiled and headed towards her to strike up a conversation. As Tobin approached Christen through a crowd of people, Christen smiled once her eyes met Tobin, the same way she did before, exponentially increasing the butterflies already present in Tobin’s stomach.
“Hey you! Happy New Years.” Christen said once Tobin finally approached her.
“Happy New Years. But actually I don’t think you can say that until it’s New Years.” Tobin chuckled.
“Right.” Christen giggled, “Happy New Years Eve then.” She said, raising a glass of champagne and passing one to Tobin. “I was saving it for you.”
“Happy New Years Eve.” Tobin repeated, taking the glass and drinking it.
“It’s so cool that Lauren and Jrue get to host parties like this. I can’t wait until its my turn.”
“Your turn?” Tobin asked.
“Yeah. You know, post retirement bliss with the one you love, hosting parties, going on vacation, finally getting to be a normal married couple.” Christen smiled at the thought.
“Is that what you want? Marriage? A big house? Kids, the whole thing?” Tobin wondered.
Christen bit her lip, “I mean, eventually. But right now, I just want to be with the person I want to be with.” Tobin knew she couldn’t be talking about her, but Tobin’s body felt like she was. The butterflies in her stomach had now turned to steel.
“Is that what you want? Marriage, kids?” Christen asked, slightly changing the subject out of fear that she made Tobin uncomfortable.
“Nah. I guess I just want to be with the person I want to be with too.” Tobin smiled, reassuring Christen. “And you know, maybe you’ll find your person love here tonight?” Tobin wondered.
“Don’t think so.” Christen said, finishing her drink. “I already found them.” Tobin was taken aback but Christen’s comment, but tried to play it cool, exerting all her energy to do so.
“And this person… are they…”
“Here?” Christen finished her sentence, making Tobin nod. “Maybe.”
“Tobin! My god there you are.” Amy said, coming up to Christen and Amy. “Christen, I hope you don’t mind, but I’d really like to steal Tobin here? She completely ditched the conversation we were having earlier.”
“Of course you can. As long as I get her back before midnight.” With that, Christen walked away and Tobin turned to Amy who was thinking the same thing.
“Tobin, she’s so into you.” Amy said, jumping up and down.
Tobin just laughed and took Amy’s hand. “Come on, let’s go find Lauren.”
Tobin spent the next hour thinking about what Christen said. All that Christen said. How she wanted to be with the person she liked, how that person may be at the party. How she wanted her back before midnight. Well honestly, that last part Tobin didn’t completely understand. Why would she want her back before midnight? What’s meant to happen at midnight?
Tobin, Lauren and Amy decided to sit on the patio outside. While everyone else was inside dancing, the three of them preferred to catch up. And even though Tobin was having a great time with her best friends, Lauren was able to tell that her mind was elsewhere.
“Tobs.” Lauren said, “You’re totally ghosting on me here. What’s going on in your head?”
“Nothing. I’m just really going to miss you guys.” Tobin said, looking at them and earning and ‘aww’ from them both. Shortly after, Amy and Lauren’s husband, Adam and Jrue came out with their children to join them.
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Lauren wondered as her daughter climbed onto her lap.
“Yeah, it’s just almost midnight.” Jrue said, placing an arm around his wife. Immediately after, Amy gasped.
“Tobin! That’s what she meant by she needs to have you back before midnight! She wants to kiss you!” Amy realized, causing Lauren to react, “What?!?!”
“I was talking to Christen and Amy came over to take me away and then Christen said of course as long as she could have her back before midnight but I really don’t think-“ Tobin began to explain but Lauren cut her off.
“I love you both, but you both are idiots.”
“Hey!” Amy and Tobin both defensively reacted.
“Amy, you’re just figuring that out now? With-“ She paused to check the time. “3 minutes before midnight?!”
Before Amy could speak, Lauren turned her attention to Tobin. “And you- what are you still doing out here? She’s in there probably looking for you!”
“Lauren-“ Tobin spoke but Lauren interrupted, “No. Do not fight me on this. Her exact words were that she needed to have you back before midnight? Right?” Tobin nodded and Lauren smiled. “Tobin, beautiful sweet amazing Tobin. I love you, but if you don’t get in that house right now, you will never step foot in it again.” She said, making Amy laugh.
“I don’t know.” Tobin hesitated. Sure, it may have seemed like Christen was flirting and wanted to kiss Tobin at midnight but Tobin did not have enough confidence to believe that, and she was beyond scared to act upon it. She didn’t want to go and find Christen kissing someone else.
“Tobin, you can’t keep hiding from your emotions. Seriously, as your best friends, as your sisters, you need to go in there and kiss her.” Amy pleaded. Between Amy’s begging and Lauren’s sternness, Tobin found the courage to stand up, take a deep breath and say, “I’m gonna go kiss Christen at midnight.” Earning cheers from Jrue, Adam, Amy and Lauren. She confidently walked into the house but was stopped by someone. It was way too dark in there for her to tell.
“Tobin!” Kelley said, leaning in her ear so that she knew it was her.
“Kelley!” Tobin said, excited to see her, but also in a rush because she was on a time crunch here.
“I’ve been looking for you all night!!!!!” She said, hugging Tobin and moving them side to side.
“What’s up?” Tobin said, urging Kelley to hurry up.
“Remember back in 2014, at Alex’s wedding, when we said if we both weren’t dating anyone in 5 years, we would give each other a chance?!?!” Tobin, surprisingly enough did remember making this deal with Kelley. They were both drunk, as drunk as Kelley is in this moment, and miserable at Alex’s wedding. She knew Kelley was joking, but was desperate to get away from the conversation as she looked on her phone and saw a minute until midnight.
“Kelley, I gotta go.” She said, walking away. As she got furthered into the crowd, she got no closer to finding Christen. She searched, she walked around, she looked around, but it was incredibly dark and there were so many people between her teammates from the national team, and Jrue’s teammates from the Pelicans. As people began to count down,
10…9…8!
Tobin did a quick scan of the room and began to feel helpless.
7...6...5!
Great. Tobin thought. Not only do I not have someone to kiss, but now I’m stuck in the middle of the party having to watch other people kiss.
4…3…2!
Just as Tobin turned around, getting ready to walk out the house, someone took her hand and turned her back around.
1! Happy New Year!
Tobin felt a pair of warm hands on her face, as she was soon after met with a kiss. Tobin, placed her hands on their hips, almost like an instinct, and kissed the person back.
And honestly, the kiss was good. Tobin knew it, the person Tobin was kissing knew it, making the two feel comfortable. That was, until Tobin realized what she was doing, and how weird the situation actually was, and pulled away. Before she could figure out who it was, the person ran away. Tobin tried to follow their path, but quickly lost the person in the crowd of people.
For the first time in Tobin’s life, she had kissed someone at midnight on New Years Eve. She just had no idea who it was.