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one
The first time they played against each other was in 2009 at the NCAA College Cup Final. Neither girl could ever forget the first time they met. Christen obviously knew about Tobin (because who doesn’t know Tobin Heath?) and Tobin had heard of Christen Press through Kelley but they were definitely not prepared to meet each other in person. Tobin realised this as soon as she locked eyes with the Stanford forward. She was all long legs and bright eyes and wayyy prettier than Tobin could ever have imagined. Christen gave a shy smile when she saw Tobin watching her during warm ups and Tobin internally groaned because of course she had a perfect smile as well . After giving a nervous smile of her own, she quickly brushed it off and started concentrating on the match at hand. (Little did she know that Christen had been watching her too.)
The game was tough and both teams fought hard until the final whistle blew. With Christen’s last minute equaliser disallowed, UNC took the win and their third Championship in 4 years. Tobin was incredibly happy for her team but as her eyes met teary green ones, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad for the girl.
“Good game, you deserved to win.” Christen said with a small smile as they shook hands.
“You deserved to win too, you were really good out there today.” Tobin answered and frowned when she was met with a scoff. “I’m serious Christen, you’re an amazing player.” Christen looked at her skepticaly but could see nothing but sincerity in Tobin’s eyes.
“Thank you, that means a lot coming from you.” Christen couldn’t help but smile when Tobin’s face broke into a grin. They both stayed there for a moment, hands still loosely clasped in front of them and smiles sat firmly on their faces, until Kelley came over and pulled Tobin into a tight hug.
“Tobito! Congrats on the win, dude.” Kelley greeted, her chaotic energy only a little bit more flat than usual.
“Thanks, man.” Tobin laughed quietly at the nickname. “So you’re not mad that we beat you?”
“Oh no, I’m hella pissed my girl Pressy here was robbed of her goal but it’s kinda impossible to stay mad at you so I’m not even gonna bother trying. You coming to the party later?” Kelley said, wrapping an arm around each of her friends.
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Tobin nodded. “Are you going, Christen?” She added hopefully.
“Yeah, why not? You seem like better company than the bottle of tequila in my dorm room.” Tobin tried to contain her grin at the thought of getting to see more of Christen but one look from Kelley told her she wasn’t successful.
“Woah, you should feel honoured, Tobs. Pressy doesn’t just go to any old party.” Kelley smirked. She looked between the two of them as a picture emerged in her mind and her eyes lit up with mischief when she saw them blushing. “This should be fun.” She mumbled to herself as they all made their way back to the locker rooms.
~
Christen was sitting outside on the patio, half watching the beer pong game and half wondering why she was still there, when she saw Tobin. She was wearing tight jeans and a plain white T-shirt and yet Christen couldn’t help but think she looked amazing. The house was filled with players from both teams and although the party wasn’t particularly big, it was definitely still loud and definitely not Christen’s scene. She’d barely seen Tobin all night so she was quite surprised when the older girl started walking towards her with two drinks.
“Hey!” Christen smiled, hoping her voice wouldn’t sound too shaky.
“Hey yourself. I’ve been looking for you.” Tobin admitted as she sat next Christen on the bench. Christen gladly accepted the drink and looked at her with a disbelieving face that Tobin found adorable. What she wanted to ask was ‘ why the hell would Tobin Heath be looking for me? ’ but she decided to try and control her face and play it a bit cooler.
“Well, you found me!”
“Kelley said you’d probably be out here. Parties not your thing either?” Tobin asked, turning to face her a bit more.
“Nah, not really. I kinda needed some time on my own to stew for a bit as well, you know, clear my head after the loss.”
“I can give you some space if you want, I don’t wanna intrude if you’d rather be on your own right now.” Tobin rushed to say, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. She made a move to stand again but Christen quickly stopped her with a hand on her thigh.
“No, stay. I want you to be here.” Christen assured her.
They stayed like that for hours, talking about anything and everything, their bodies slowly getting closer together as time passed. “Ugh, I just feel like it’s my fault, you know? Like if I’d practiced a little more, pushed myself harder, then we could’ve done it.” They’d finally made it to the topic of the game and even though they’d only met a few hours earlier, Christen found herself opening up to Tobin already.
“Hey, no! I don’t believe for a second that you didn’t try your best out there today. Soccer is about more than just training and goals, it’s about opportunities and sometimes even just luck. You know as well as I do that sometimes these things are out of our control. Don't beat yourself up about it because one day, when we’re both on the National Team together, this'll just be some tiny loss that you’ll barely even remember.” Christen was slightly taken aback by Tobin’s little monologue and even more so by the fact that she found herself believing every word of it. Tobin reached for Christen’s hands and held them tightly in her own. “I meant what I said earlier, you really are an amazing player.”
The air suddenly felt a lot heavier between them. Christen’s eyes glanced down to the slightly chapped lips in front of her and Tobin leaned even closer so their faces were barely an inch away from each other. Just as their lips were about to meet, Christen’s phone started ringing and pulled them apart. Christen sighed and rested her forehead against Tobin’s before picking up her phone. She had to bite her lip to contain her laugh when Tobin dramatically groaned and flopped back against the bench with a pout.
“I should probably answer it, it’s my parents. Hold that thought though.” Christen quickly stood and answered her phone but not before giving Tobin a lingering kiss on the cheek and an apologetic smile. All Tobin could do was watch her go and grin like an idiot when Christen glanced over her shoulder and gave the cutest two-eyed wink ever.
“Dude, you’ve got it so bad.” Kelley teased, startling Tobin out of her Christen-induced daze.
“How much of that did you hear?” Tobin asked with wide eyes.
“Enough to warrant the best friend warning! I mean it dude, she doesn’t do random hookups like you do so if that’s all you’re looking for then I suggest you leave now. That girl is one of the nicest people on this world and I like you man, but if you hurt her-”
“It’s not like that Kel, I promise,” Tobin interrupted defensively. “I don’t know what it is but there’s something different about her; I don’t wanna just sleep with her and forget about it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this before, man. I think I might really like her. I mean she’s obviously beautiful but it’s not just that; she’s really smart and funny and sweet and I feel like I could talk to her forever, you know?” And that’s when Kelley did know because suddenly Tobin had this dreamy look in her eyes as they drifted from looking at her to watching Christen speak animatedly on the phone. Kelley couldn’t decide between throwing up or passing out at how grossly adorable this whole situation was but she was sure about one thing; this was the start of something truly amazing.
***
two
Tobin knew this game would be hard. Chicago had a good team but more than that they had Christen. Christen who was fast and clinical and who would absolutely ruin the Thorns’ defence if they weren’t careful. Christen who’s dazzling smile had been distracting Tobin since day 1. Christen who despite having seen her only a few days ago, Tobin couldn’t wait to see. And yet, this was the same Christen who Tobin absolutely hated playing against.
Yes, she was a nightmare to play against because of her skill but it was more than that for Tobin because every time Christen put on her blue and Tobin wore her red, it was just another reminder that they weren’t on the same team. They’d been together for a while now and it was no secret but that didn’t stop the league from putting them on opposite coasts (whether that was on purpose or not).
Her teammates had been teasing her all the way to the stadium about having to play against Christen. Her mom had told her to try and just focus on the game, knowing full well what was going through Tobin’s mind. Even Christen had texted her that morning to make sure she was okay and wish her luck.
So yeah, Tobin hated playing against Christen and apparently everyone knew it.
As they left the locker rooms, Tobin put her game face on and shook away all the distractions. With Christen captaining the Red Stars, they were far enough away from each other as they walked onto the field, for Tobin to compose herself and remember that it was just like any other game. That didn’t stop Christen from glancing behind the rest of the players and officials to catch Tobin’s eyes after the anthem. Tobin couldn’t help but smile knowing that at least she wasn’t the only one who’s mind had drifted and that her girlfriend was thinking about her too. Christen could always read Tobin almost too well and she gave a small but meaningful look which she hoped conveyed everything she’d say later because after this 90 minutes, they’d be together again.
The game was a pretty close one and when Sinclair put the Thorns up by one, Tobin almost forgot all the negative feelings she had about playing against Christen. That was until Christen scored, just like Tobin predicted. Tobin always felt extremely proud whenever her girlfriend scored but it always stung a little when it was against her. The last 20 minutes, Tobin worked extra hard to try and win the game but ultimately it ended 1-1. She usually felt angry when they didn’t win but today she was just disappointed. Disappointed that she couldn’t get the win and that she always let herself get inside her own head when it came to playing against Christen.
As soon as the final whistle blew, she made her way to Christen. They shook hands and Tobin gave her a small hug and whispered ‘ see you later’ but then she was gone. Christen knew something was wrong as soon as Tobin turned her face away from her during that hug and she made a mental note to check in with her before they all left. After shaking hands with the other players and signing some shirts, Christen made her way to the tunnel, passing Mark who was no doubt also looking for Tobin.
“Hey, Press! Are you good to do some interviews?” Rory asked her but something else had caught Christen’s attention. More specifically, someone. At the far end of the tunnel, she could just about make out Tobin’s hunched over figure, sat with her knees to her chest and her head in her hands.
“Yeah but can it wait a minute? There’s something I’ve gotta do first.” Christen didn’t even wait for a response before making her way down the tunnel. She didn’t say anything at first, just dropped herself down to sit next to Tobin on the floor. For a minute, she thought Tobin hadn’t noticed her there but then the older woman reached out and grabbed Christen’s hand and held it like her life depended on it. Christen wrapped an arm around her girlfriend and held her close. “Baby, I know you hate it when we play against each other but you know it won’t be like this forever, I promise.” She soothed and Tobin squeezed her hand in response.
“I know, I’m sorry, I’m just being dumb. I’m just really mad because I know I missed a bunch of chances and I should’ve done better out there today.” Tobin mumbled when she finally lifted her head. Christen just held her tighter before talking.
“Hey, do you remember what you told me the first night we met?” Tobin gave a small smirk at the thought of that night. “Not those bits, silly. Before that, when we were talking on that bench and I was mad at myself about the game.” Tobin wasn’t really sure what she was referring to, they’d spoken about a lot on that bench and so many other more memorable things happened that night if she was being honest. “You told me that soccer is about more than just training and goals, that sometimes it was about opportunities and just plain luck.”
“You remember that?” Tobin asked incredulously.
“Of course I do! Every time I lose or I’m mad at myself after a game, I always think back to that night. We barely knew each other back then and yet I’ve never believed anyone more than when you said that to me.” A fond smile grew on Christen’s face as she remembered the first night they’d met but she tried not to get too carried away with herself. She grabbed on their interlocked fingers and pulled them both up, her hands coming to rest on Tobin’s shoulders. “Now get up and stop moping! We’ve got media to do.”
“I really love you, you know that?” Tobin whispered, her hands around Christen’s waist.
“You might have mentioned it once or twice,” Tobin didn’t let her continue her teasing. She just kissed her, passionate enough to show she meant it but innocent enough considering there were cameras everywhere (one of which had definitely been filming their little moment). “What do you say we give one joint interview and then get out of here?” Christen asked when they pulled away.
“Deal”
Rory gave a knowing look when Christen returned with Tobin in tow.
“Let me guess, you’re gonna give one joint interview? If it’s okay with Mark then it’s okay with me.” He laughed and led them to another part of the tunnel where a few reporters were waiting. The two women answered the normal post-match questions and both grinned when they were inevitably asked about each other.
“Tobin, what did you think of Christen’s goal?” One asked.
“Absolute garbage, she got lucky!” Tobin teased and earned a light shove in response. “Nah, I think it was a good hit. I see her practicing those types of shots all the time so it’s always nice to see them in a match even if it was against me this time. One of the first things I ever said to her was that she’s an amazing player so it always makes me happy to know I was right.” She added with a proud grin and Christen rolled her eyes at the self-praise mixed complement.
“What is it like playing against each other?” Another reporter asked.
“It's always interesting. I mean, the first time we met, we were playing against each other so it’s not a new thing for us but I think we both agree that it’s definitely more fun to play on the same team. It’s a bit bitter sweet whenever our teams have a match because we get to see each other but at the same time we’re opponents, you know?” Christen said honestly. “I think Tobin finds it a little harder than I do but that’s just because she’s easily distracted.” She added with a sly smile. Tobin feigned offence but couldn’t contain her laughter for long and nodded in unbashful agreement.
So yeah, Tobin hated playing against Christen and she didn’t even care that everyone knew it.
***
three
It was the night before the Utah vs Portland game and they were sat on the balcony at Christen’s apartment. There was a storm that night and Tobin had been taking photos of the lightning. When she sat back down next to Christen, she went onto Instagram to see that there was a video of her on her girlfriend’s story.
“Were you filming me this whole time?” She smirked.
“Not this whole time,” Christen defended, “just most of it.” Tobin just shook her head and wrapped an arm around the younger woman. “You know, we have to give the fans something to talk about.”
“Tomorrow’s match not enough content for them?”
“I don’t think we could ever give them enough content.” Christen laughed and snuggled further into Tobin’s side. After a few minutes, Christen looked up at Tobin and hugged her tighter.
“What are you thinking about?” Tobin asked as she pressed a kiss to Christen’s hair.
“Just that I’m really glad you’re here.” Christen mumbled into Tobin’s sweatshirt. “And that you’ve gotten way better at the whole ‘being on different teams’ thing. You used to be kinda on edge the night before we played against each other but you’re not tonight and I’m really glad about that.”
“Well someone really smart once told me we wouldn’t be on different teams forever so every time we play against each other, I just remind myself that it’s one game closer to us being on the same team. Plus, it’s kinda hard to be on edge when I’ve got the love of my life next to me.” Tobin whispered back softly.
As it got darker, the two made their way to the living room to watch a movie. Half way through, Tobin pulled Christen to sit on her lap and it wasn’t long before the movie was forgotten. Their kisses were slow and almost lazy but neither girl had any intentions of speeding things up yet.
“Ugh, can you not?! I have to sit on that couch as well you know?” Corsie complained as she passed through the living room. With one final peck, the two pulled away and turned their attention to Christen’s roommate.
“We weren’t doing anything!” Christen insisted but Corsie seemed less than convinced.
“Yeah, yeah. Just keep your funny business to the bedroom please.” The Scottish woman called over her shoulder as she made her way back to her room.
“What a great idea!” Tobin stood and began carrying Christen bridal-style to her room as she squealed with laughter.
~
“Wow, I thought you went to Stanford?” Tobin teased as she lined up in the tunnel with her teammates.
“What are you talking about?” Christen asked, trying to sound innocent. She knew exactly what Tobin was talking about. So she messed with the numbers system so she could stand by Tobin in the tunnel, it’s not like she screwed up the whole match, right?
“Well any Stanford student should know how to count and as far as I know, #21 should come after #20, not #23.” Tobin told her with a grin.
“I just wanted more time to wish you luck and remind you that we’re gonna win.” Christen quipped as they began their walk to the field.
“Luck? You’re the one who needs luck!” Tobin said confidently. She just about heard Christen’s sarcastic ‘ sure, babe ’ before they had to separate but she made sure to catch the little smirk on her girlfriend’s face.
The match was one of the most intense ones they’d ever played against each other. Tobin had to remind herself which team she was on when Sonnett fouled Christen and Christen herself had to try not to get involved when Tobin got mixed up in the fight. All in all, the game was absolute chaos and they were both quite glad when the final whistle blew with the Royals winning 1-0.
After talking to Kling and waiting for ages for Tobin to finish talking to the fans, Christen decided that she’d meet up with her later and made her way back to the locker room. She did the normal congratulating of her teammates and then went to have a quick shower. Having changed into her clean clothes (well, technically they were Tobin’s but that’s not important), Christen went to the away team’s locker room to get her girlfriend.
“Uh oh! We’ve been infiltrated by the enemy!” Lindsay called when she walked in. Christen shook her head in amusement and went over to wait by Tobin’s locker. “Toby just went to the shower so I’ll go tell her to hurry up because her better half is here!”
“Thanks, Linds.” Christen called as Lindsey scurried away to find Tobin. About five minutes later, Tobin wandered over, her wet hair in a messy bun, and gave Christen a bone crushing hug. “Hey, you okay?” Christen cooed when Tobin finally let go.
“Yeah, I’m just glad that’s over. You were really good out there today.” Tobin said proudly. She couldn’t help but feel happy that her girlfriend was playing so well and that she’d manage to bag an assist that game too.
“So were you babe. Did you manage to sort everything out with Amy?” Christen asked, remembering the adorable sight of Tobin playing with Ryan and Luke earlier.
“Yeah, we're fine. I think we both just got a little too into it in the heat of the moment but there's no hard feelings. Sorry about shoving Vero by the way. I probably shouldn’t have done that.” Tobin apologised sheepishly, making Christen smile. Christen looked around the room to check everyone was distracted before stepping into Tobin’s space even more.
“I actually thought it was kinda hot.” Christen whispered into her ear and grinned when she saw the slight blush on Tobin’s cheeks.
“Oh, really?” Tobin pulled her in for a deep kiss but it didn’t last long, not with the cheering and wolf whistling of her teammates. When they broke apart, everyone was teasing them. Everyone except Sonnett who was just shifting her weight uncomfortably and staring at her feet. When Christen gave her a curious look, she approached them with a guilty expression.
“Um, hey. I just wanted to apologise for fouling you earlier. I know it was bad and I shouldn’t have done it, especially not to you.” She said. “Sorry Chris and please don’t kill me Tobs.” She added, her hands up ready to defend herself.
“Don’t worry about it. I appreciate the apology though.” Christen pulled her into a hug and patted her arm in assurance whilst Lindsey snickered at her friend’s previously terrified face.
“Speak for yourself, babe. You’re lucky I like you as much as I do, Sonny. Just be grateful I’m not in the mood to throw any punches tonight.” Tobin teased and Sonnett ran to hide behind Lindsey.
“Ignore her, she’s a cavewoman” Christen scolded her girlfriend lightly with a shove.
“Hey! You like that about me! You’ve said on multiple occasions that when I get protective it really tur-”
“Okay! I think that’s our cue to go! Good game everyone!” Christen interrupted with a hand over Tobin’s mouth. Tobin just smirked and allowed herself to be dragged out of the locker room by the hem of her shirt. Maybe playing against each other wasn't that bad.
***
four
Unlike most people, Tobin and Christen were actually enjoying quarantine. Of course they missed being able to play the game they loved but it was really nice for them to be able to spend more time together at home for once. With a career so based around travelling, they were glad to be able to take some time to themselves. They were also glad to be able to use this time to focus more on their company and Tobin was especially grateful for more time to do her art.
They owed everything to the game; their career, their friends, even their relationship started on a soccer field but sometimes it was easy to get too caught up in it all. The last year had been particularly hectic with the World Cup and as much as they loved their jobs, there was nothing better than being at home with the person they loved. Despite moving in together years ago, the only time they actually both managed to be at their Portland home was in the offseason and even some of that was spent in National Team camps. So when the opportunity came for Christen to go home when the pandemic began, they both jumped at the chance to be together again.
It pained them both to opt out of the Challenge Cup but they knew it was for the best. Tobin was a bit on the fence to begin with; she hated a world where she couldn’t play soccer but ultimately, she knew Christen was right and that playing in the tournament was not worth the risks. With the Olympics coming up and so much uncertainty with the virus, they really couldn’t see this tournament being a good idea. That being said, they were still determined to cheer their teams on as much as they could from home. They’d been quite private with their support thus far, just wishing their teammates luck over text and keeping up with the scores. But this game was different. This game was the one they’d both been waiting for. This game was the Battle of the Baes.
Surprisingly for Tobin, they were quite excited to watch their teams face off instead of being in the middle of it for once. They’d been teasing each other about this matchup ever since it was announced and now the day had come, it was no different. Tobin had slept with her Thorns kit on under her sweats just so she could taunt Christen the second she woke up, Christen had decided to decorate the whole apartment in yellow and navy blue and both of their social medias had been more active than ever.
As they settled onto the couch to begin watching the match, Christen had an idea.
“Let’s make a bet.” She knew her fiancée’s competitive nature would never be able to turn this down. “Whoever’s team wins, gets to dare the other to do something.”
“What kind of thing?” Tobin wondered with narrowed eyes but her smile indicated she was already on board with Christen’s suggestion. ‘ How predictable’ Christen thought to herself.
“Anything you want”
“So let me get this straight; if you win you can dare me to do something but if the Thorns win, I can dare you to do whatever I want and you have to say yes?” Tobin checked with a mischievous grin. Christen could practically hear the cogs turning in Tobin’s brain thinking of all the things she could make Christen do. Christen was pretty sure she’d choose something that would end up being enjoyable for both of them- one of the upsides to Tobin not being able to control herself around her. If Christen won though, she was definitely not going to give in that easily (even if Tobin’s puppy dog eyes were very hard to resist).
“That’s the deal,” Tobin pretended to ponder it for a second but Christen knew better than to believe her over-exaggerated thinking face, especially when her lips wouldn’t stop twitching into a smirk.
“Okay, I’m in!” Tobin spat on her hand and extended it for Christen to shake.
“You disgust me.” Christen deadpanned.
“Come on, you love me! It wouldn’t be the first time we swapped spit.” She encouraged her with a cheeky laugh. Christen rolled her eyes and gave a disapproving look but shook the hand anyway before turning her attention back to the tv.
The match got off to a relatively slow start. It was strange for Tobin to be watching her team play without her and actually be enjoying it but she was pretty sure that it had everything to do with who she was watching it with. The Thorns dominated the first 30 or so minutes with possession but in the 33rd minute, the Royals made a dangerous counterattack which led to a corner. Christen was on the edge of her seat as the corner was swung in and landed perfectly at Amy’s feet, all she had to do was tap it in. Tobin flopped against the couch with a groan as Christen danced around the living room cheering. When they got to half time, she couldn’t resist having a jab at her fiancée.
“What was that, Tobs? Utah’s gonna win? I think you’re right!” She mocked. Tobin wandered to the kitchen to get some snacks and grabbed a bottle of wine on the way back. If she was going to be attacked by Christen all night, she wasn’t going to do it sober. “Drowning your sorrows already, baby?”
“I just brought this as a consolation prize for you when the Thorns inevitably come back and win this thing.” Tobin quipped back. As the second half got underway, Christen couldn’t decide if she would’ve preferred to be a part of this match or watch it, it was so exciting. Her excitement was short lived though when in the 67th minute, Lindsey nutmegged her defender and squeezed the ball into the corner of the net. “Oh my God! Did you see that? I taught her that! I knew I loved Lindsey for a reason!” Tobin jumped out of her seat in amazement. Even Christen had to agree it was a beautiful goal but she would never admit that to Tobin.
The next 20 minutes had them both believing the match would end in another draw until in the last seconds of the match, Kelley shot an absolute wonder goal and caught the keeper by surprise.
“Yes!!! What a goal! I knew my Stanford sister would come through for me!” Christen shouted. Tobin sat there dumbfounded for a moment. When was the last time Kelley O’Hara scored a goal like that and what are the chances she does it when Tobin has a bet to win? She couldn’t believe it!
When the final whistle blew, Christen cheered gleefully and pulled her phone out to post a picture of a pouting Tobin on her story- Utah Royals 2-1 Portland Thorns.
“Good game.” Tobin grumbled but couldn’t keep the smile off her face from seeing Christen so happy. “So what’s my dare?” Tobin’s face immediately fell when she saw the devilish smile on Christen’s face. Boy was she in trouble.
~
When Tobin returned to the living room a few minutes later, decked out in practically every bit of Royals merch her fiancée owned, Christen burst out laughing straight away. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this!” Tobin complained again, loosening the thick scarf around her neck and readjusting her bobble hat.
“I can't believe you’re letting me do this! This is gonna be great!” Christen gave her a quick kiss before pulling her phone out to record. Tobin rolled her eyes and reluctantly cleared her throat ready to give her announcement.
“Hear ye, hear ye!” She began in a monotone voice. Christen just raised her eyebrows with a grin and motioned for her to continue with more energy. “I, Tobin Heath of the Portland Thorns, would like to announce that the Utah Royals are the best team in the NWSL, nay the whole world- really Chris? The whole world?”
“Shut up and stick to the script!” Christen called from behind the camera. Tobin shook her head but looked back at her script before speaking again.
“I would also like to go on record and say that Christen Press is the best forward ever and is way better at soccer than me- wait what? I didn’t agree to this!” Tobin interrupted herself again and looked at Christen with her brow furrowed.
“Sure you did! Now, come on! I want you to really shout this last part!” Christen prompted with a beaming smile. Tobin wanted to object. She wanted to tell Christen that this was ridiculous. That she could probably get in trouble with Mark for doing this. But with Christen looking at her like she hung the whole damn solar system, all Tobin did was take a deep breath and raise her arms before screaming:
“Go Royals!”
***
one
Christen didn’t know why she was so nervous. Unbeknown to Tobin, she’d been pacing back and forth in their bedroom for at least half an hour now, the box still sitting at the back of the closet. Tobin was in her own little world, playing Fifa or Mario Kart or god knows what and being completely oblivious to Christen’s worries. Usually she’d speak to her sisters or one of her friends about things like this but she knew she couldn’t this time. Nobody else knew yet and Christen knew that Tobin had to be the first to find out. They’d been waiting for this moment for years now so why was she nervous about telling Tobin? She decided to do it now, she couldn’t wait a second longer without sharing the secret she’d been keeping for the last few months. With a deep breath, Christen grabbed the box from the closet and walked into the living room.
“I have a surprise for you.” Christen said, handing a neatly wrapped box to her wife. Tobin put her PlayStation controller down and looked at her with a confused expression. It wasn’t her birthday. It wasn’t Christmas. Had she forgotten some type of really obscure anniversary of theirs? She didn’t think so but she wouldn’t put it past Christen to celebrate ‘the first time they went to that really nice pizza place down the street’ or something and expect Tobin to remember.
“Umm...why?” Tobin asked, trying not to sound too panicked that she was about to be in trouble. “Did I forget something again?”
“No, it’s not that type of present.”
“Is it a sexy type of present?” Tobin smirked, sitting up on the couch and making grabby hands at the box.
“I wouldn’t say so but you think everything to do with me is sexy so who knows?” Christen teased and Tobin pouted. She continued to look quizzically at the box again but made no move to actually do anything with it. “Just open it!” Christen huffed, she was too excited to wait any longer. She shoved the box into Tobin’s hands and looked at her expectantly. When Tobin opened it, she was even more confused.
“Why did you get me my own jersey?”
“Because,” Christen started, pulling the shirt out of the box fully, “it’s not your jersey, it’s mine.” She turned the Thorns jersey around to show the back: C. Heath-Press #23 . “Surprise! You’re looking at the Portland Thorns’ new star forward!” Christen laughed a little tearily as Tobin stared gobsmacked at her.
“You mean, we’re finally gonna be on the same team together?” Christen just nodded in response and Tobin leapt out of her seat to give her a huge hug. They were both full on crying now at the realisation of what this meant. No more hopping onto planes every time they missed each other. No more counting down the days until National Team camps to see their wife. No more time spent away from the one person they loved most in the world. For the first time since they’d begun this relationship over 12 years ago, they’d finally be able to live together full time. They’d always hoped they’d finish their careers together on the same team but as time went on, Tobin had started to think it was never going to happen. “I can’t believe this is really happening! Wait, how is this happening?”
“Well, after the wedding, I spoke to Craig and told him that I’d be thinking about retiring and starting a family soon and that I wanted to end my career playing with you. It took a lot of persuading but the Royals finally agreed to trade me and I knew Mark was on board because you’ve been asking him to sign me for years now. I would’ve told you sooner but I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case something went wrong.” Christen explained with a grin. Tobin just shook her head in disbelief before kissing her wife soundly.
“The fans are going to be pretty bummed they don’t get to see the Battle of the Baes anymore!” Tobin joked with a lopsided grin.
“We’ll make it up to them by coming up with a really cute goal celebration.” Christen promised (she wouldn’t admit to her that she’d already thought of one- not yet anyway).
“I’m holding you to that!” Tobin chuckled. “And you were right by the way, you in that jersey with our name on the back is very sexy.” Christen rolled her eyes but couldn’t contain her smile. She pulled her wife in for another kiss and held her tight. “Seriously though, I’m so happy we’re gonna be together again.” Tobin hummed, wrapping her arms around Christen’s waist.
“Me too baby, me too.”
~
Tobin walked around the locker room desperately looking for her wife but couldn’t find her anywhere. It was 10 minutes until kick off and she was nowhere to be found with the rest of the team. She knew something was wrong ever since they got up this morning but put it down to debut nerves. Everyone got nervous before their first game with a new team, it was no big deal right?
“Hey, Linds! Have you seen Chris?” Tobin asked her friend who just shook her head in response. She decided to go check the training rooms in case Christen had gone there but she only made it as far as the tunnel before finding her wife. Christen was sitting on the floor, her body curled in on itself, in a position Tobin had found herself in many times before. She hadn’t seen Christen looking like this since college though.
She walked over and crouched down next to her wife, being careful to not startle her too much. “Hey, I’ve been looking for you.” No answer. “Chris, are you okay?” Nothing. “Baby, what’s wrong? Talk to me.” This time she was met with a sniffle and a shaky shallow breath.
“W-what if I p-play really badly?” Christen whispered and Tobin’s heart broke hearing how scared she sounded. The admission sparked a fresh round of tears and Tobin immediately sat against the wall next to her and pulled Christen into her side. She swung Christen’s legs over hers so the younger girl was practically sitting in her lap.
“Why would you play badly today?” Tobin said, rubbing soothing circles on her back.
“I don’t know, just some things people are saying online got inside my head.” Christen mumbled barely loud enough to be heard. Tobin felt her blood boil at the thought of people saying bad things about her wife and Christen felt her grip get tighter around her.
“What things?” Tobin asked through gritted teeth.
“Someone said that the only reason I still get played is because I’m your wife.”
“What? That’s ridiculous! Babe, you’re without a doubt one of the best players I’ve ever seen. You’re annoyingly fast and you read the game extremely well and let’s not forget you can score whenever you want. You’re a two-time World Cup Champion and an Olympic gold medalist! Any team would be crazy not to play you!” Tobin assured her passionately.
“I just don’t wanna let you down.” Christen shrugged and burrowed further into Tobin’s chest. Tobin brushed a few stray hairs out of her wife’s face and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Christen, look at me,” Tobin placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her head up to meet her favourite pair of green eyes. “Nothing you do would ever let me down, especially anything that happened on the field. I didn’t fall in love with Christen Heath-Press the soccer superstar, I fell in love with you, the real you. The one who still gets excited every time we see a dog, the one who steals the duvet from me every night, the one who cried when we watched that crappy movie on our first date, the one who gets up at an offensively early time of the morning but always comes back to bed so I can wake up to cuddles, the one who loves me more than I ever deserved to be loved.”
“Jeez, Tobs. Are you trying to make me cry even more?” Christen chuckled quietly. “I thought you said you weren’t good with words?”
“I’m good with words when they’re about you,” Tobin replied easily with a quick peck on the lips. “Now, you’re gonna go out there and be your amazing, talented, brilliant self and win this for us!”
The first half of the game was extremely close with both sides nearly scoring on multiple occasions. Christen’s nerves settled after the first few minutes and Tobin could see the freedom and happiness she was playing with already. As they left the locker room for the second half, the whole team was determined to make an impact and they did. In the 58th minute, Tobin sent in a wonderful cross that Christen took down with one foot before turning and scoring with the other. The crowd roared and Tobin wanted to cry with pride. As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, Christen ran over to her wife to do the celebration they’d been practicing since the day she joined the Thorns. They both kissed their ring finger before joining them together like a pinky promise.
And it was a promise of sorts. A promise that no matter what club they played for, they were, and always had been, on the same team.