Chapter Text
“So … what are your plans for Christmas?” Ashlyn asked Ali.
“I think Kyle and I are going to my mom’s this year,” Ali replied. “Nothing says Christmas like palm trees, right?”
Ashlyn laughed. “Absolutely.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, the usual Harris clan gathering. Grandma will make her famous mac n cheese, Chris will start an argument with Mom over something stupid, and I’ll end with a few beers on the beach.” She offered a grin. “Gotta love Satty Beach.”
“I’ll have to come see for myself someday,” said Ali softly.
Ashlyn chose not to respond, trying to hide her grin as she pulled Ali closer. Alone moments at camp were few and far between, and given that their newfound relationship remained a secret from their teammates, it was bound to stay that way.
They snuggled, actually watching the movie for once, although eventually all it took was one soft kiss against the corner of Ashlyn’s mouth to turn into a full-blown makeout session. They hadn’t gone much further than that, and they weren’t going to, not at camp anyway, but Ashlyn couldn’t deny she might change that, given the opportunity. Ali’s swollen lips, the dark whiskey of her eyes, the feather-soft touches she loved to tease Ashlyn with … they did things to Ashlyn.
Ali did things to Ashlyn, in a way that both thrilled her and unsettled her. There were a thousand arguments against it, and only one for it, but Ali was Ali and that outweighed everything else.
At least Ashlyn hoped so.
They’d quickly mastered the art of appearing normal, so by the time their other teammates returned to Ashlyn’s room, she and Ali were stretched out on separate beds, eyes on the TV and looking for all the world as if that’s where they’d stayed all night. (As long as Ashlyn kept the neck of her hoodie at the right angle.)
Several days passed before they got the chance to be alone again, this time an early morning walk to the nearest Starbucks.
“So I guess we should talk about this,” Ali said.
Ashlyn blinked, recalling the previous words out of Ali’s mouth. “If it’s going to rain? Um, okay. Well, it is cloudy, and it’s kinda dark over -”
“No. Sorry, I didn’t mean that.” Ali did this thing where she sheepishly ducked her head when she was flustered, and it was just about the most adorable thing Ashlyn had ever seen. “I meant, you know, this thing between us.”
Ashlyn shoved her hands in her pockets as they walked, contemplating her response. It shouldn’t have surprised her that Ali spoke up. After all, it had been Ali who had first remarked on their mutual attraction (“I just really like you, Ashlyn”) and Ali who had first kissed her (“If nothing else happens, I had to do that”) so of course Ali was about to determine whatever this thing was.
If there was one thing Ashlyn knew about Ali Krieger, it was what Ali wanted, Ali got.
“Camp is ending soon,” Ashlyn said slowly. “We may or may not be teammates.”
Ali reached over to squeeze her arm. “We will be. You’ll make it, I know it.”
Ashlyn grinned at the sidewalk before collecting herself. “You go back to Germany.”
“But I’ll be back,” Ali said quickly. “The holidays, and then January camp.”
“And then back to Germany again.”
Ali stopped walking, turning to Ashlyn and pursing her lips. “What are you saying, Ash? Have we just been wasting our time? You knew all along I’d go back to Germany. I just thought we’d … I don’t know. We’d figure it out. Because I meant what I said, I really like you, Ashlyn, like a lot. I’m not saying we have to put a label on this, but whatever it is, I don’t want it to end.”
She trailed off in a mumble, which Ashlyn found both endearing and annoying at times, but she was becoming well versed in interpreting Ali’s mumbles. Looking around to make sure no random teammates were in sight, Ashlyn stepped into the doorway of a closed shop and pulled Ali close by the waist.
‘We can Skype,” she began. A smile spread across Ali’s face, but she let Ashlyn continue. “Spend all our money on international calls. Go old school and write letters. Because I really like you, too, Als, and if this is the only way we can be together right now, it’s enough for me.”
“And Christmas isn’t too far,” Ali reminded her, beaming. God, she was beautiful. “We can get together while I’m here.”
Ashlyn threw caution to the wind and leaned in for a long, thorough kiss, loving how responsive Ali’s body was against hers and caring not one bit about the comments of scandalized passers-by. She grinned when Ali finally pulled away. “I always knew Christmas was my favorite holiday.”
~
Christmas wasn’t supposed to be like this.
For one, it was humid as hell. In both DC and Germany, Ali’s Christmases were at least usually cold even if not white. But Miami was warm and rainy, and that meant humidity, and in turn that meant Ali’s hair looked like crap.
For two, she wasn’t going to see Ashlyn. Frankfurt hadn’t given her as much time off as she thought they would, and so Ali only had time for a few days with each parent. Ashlyn had been sweet and understanding, which was a lot better than Ali herself was taking it.
“What’s up, Scrooge?” Kyle teased, dropping beside her on the couch.
“Shut up, Kyle.”
He gasped in outrage, holding one hand over his heart. “Alexandra Blaire! Your words wound me.” He threw an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. “Seriously, bb. You’ve been moping around all day, even though your presents were clearly far more expensive than mine. Will you tell me what’s wrong if I dye my hair blond and take up soccer again?”
Ali didn’t reply. All those Skype dates, the early morning/late night phone calls, and yes, even the letters in Ashlyn’s loopy script - all they’d done was make her yearn for Christmas even more. She’d agonized over what to get her, dismissing present after present until she found one that said something she hadn’t yet been able to herself.
Ali Krieger was pretty sure she was in love with Ashlyn Harris.
Because that wasn’t something she could say over Skype (even if she didn’t have a shirt on) or over the phone (although that didn’t apply to shockingly dirty things, apparently). It was something she wanted, needed, expected – but not planned, not yet. It had to happen naturally.
And now she wouldn’t be able to.
“I just miss her, Kyle,” she finally said, softly enough she hoped her mom and step-dad wouldn’t be able to hear. The last thing she needed was Deb grilling her on the mysterious girlfriend-she-hadn’t-yet-called-a-girlfriend.
“Oh girl, you have it bad, don’t you?”
He didn’t need a response.
Ali tried to put Ashlyn out of her mind. Mike and Deb came in with hot chocolate and cookies, and they settled in for a lazy afternoon of Christmas movies. Halfway through Elf, Ali’s phone lit up with a familiar face, and she dashed out of the room, oblivious to Kyle’s teasing.
“Merry Christmas, baby!”
She could practically hear Ashlyn’s smile through the phone. “Merry Christmas, honey. Did you get spoiled?”
“No, because the one thing I really want is three hours away.” Ali carefully closed her bedroom door. “I miss you, Ash.”
Ashlyn sighed. “I miss you, too. This sucks, you know? You’re so close, but you might as well still be in Germany.”
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know, maybe I can change things and stop in Orlando before going to DC.”
“No, you can’t do that,” Ashlyn replied, but Ali could hear her reluctance to say so. “You only have a few days with your dad. Camp isn’t too far away. We’ll make it. We’ll be fine, babe.”
“Of course, but …” Ali hated the petulant tone she couldn’t erase from her voice. “I wanted to see you and I can’t and I just really miss you.”
“I know, babe. I know.”
Both girls fell silent. Ali wished she hadn’t been so whiny, but everything she said was the truth. She thought about telling Ashlyn what had been weighing on her mind since CONCACAF qualifiers, that with both the World Cup and the Olympics coming up maybe it was time to end her time in Frankfurt, that if the team did well maybe it would make the WPS a viable option. But she hadn’t completely decided, and until she did, she wasn’t going to breathe a word to anyone. So finally she settled on asking Ashlyn about her gifts, and they chatted mindlessly for another half hour until Ashlyn’s mom called for her in the background. After another round of saying how much they missed each other, they hung up.
Ali slipped back under Kyle’s arm in the living room, leaning her head against his shoulder. He squeezed her tightly, and she was grateful for it, but not a minute later his phone went off and after looking at it, he left the room.
“Mom! Can you come in here? I can’t find the …” Kyle yelled a few minutes later, trailing off into a mumble. Shrugging, Deb headed for the kitchen.
Ali managed to enjoy the next few hours, watching movies, reading a book she had gotten in her stocking, and even dozing off for a cozy nap. Kyle was fidgety to an almost annoying point, and she was willing to bet anything his secretive texts were from some new guy.
They’d just finished a dinner of leftovers when the condo front desk buzzed. Deb returned to the dining room with an amused expression.
“Alex, apparently there’s a package for you. I told them to send it up.”
If it was possible for someone to burst into smile, Ali did. It was from Ashlyn. She knew it. It was just like her to send a gift when she couldn’t be there herself. In the short span of their relationship, Ashlyn had already proven herself to be a fan of the romantic gesture, somehow managing to figure out how to send flowers and chocolates in Germany. (Secretly, Ali suspected one of her teammates, probably Nadine, was a co-conspirator.)
She parked herself outside the door, unable to wait, and Kyle followed, teasing her relentlessly.
“I bet it’s flowers. A bunch of red roses. Oooh! No! I bet it’s a singing telegram, one that matches the color of your eyes with something ludicrous. What rhymes with brown?”
The doorbell hadn’t finished a ring before she flung the door open and gasped.
It wasn’t flowers.
It wasn’t a singing telegram.
It wasn’t a delivery at all.
Tall and tattooed, Ashlyn stood in front of her, a ridiculously large gift bow on top of her head. She was beaming. “Merry Christmas, Als.”
Ali launched herself at her, wrapping her legs around Ashlyn’s waist and making her stumble backward. They were kissing and laughing at the same time, and Ashlyn spun her around before gently lowering her to the floor.
“Ash! What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to give you your present.” Ashlyn struck a pose with her hands out to her sides. “Tada!”
Ali looked her up and down. If possible, Ashlyn had gotten even more stupidly attractive since their last camp. “Mmm, I can’t wait to unwrap this.”
Ashlyn swallowed, glancing at the door that had somehow gotten shut. (Kyle, they would find out later, but only after he took a picture.) “In your mom’s house?”
Ali winked. “I hope you can keep quiet.” She couldn’t stop touching Ashlyn, running her hands up and down her arms, squeezing her hands, brushing her hair out of her face. “How are you here?”
Ashlyn pulled her in for a hug, and Ali breathed in her smell. Like everything else, it was better than she remembered. “When we got off the phone, I just thought, what am I doing here? You were only three hours away. So I asked Grandma, and she told me to go get my girl. Oh, and she sent cookies, but I ate a few on the way because I got hungry, and … why are you looking at me that way?”
“I just can’t believe you’re standing in front of me.”
Ashlyn shrugged. “I sent Kyle a message on Twitter, which was kinda weird since we’ve never met but a girl’s gotta use what tools she can find, right? And he talked to your mom, and here I am.”
“No.” Ali kissed her again, briefly wishing Kyle had warned her so she would have more on than sweats and a messy bun, then took one of Ashlyn’s hands in both of hers. “I cannot believe that you came all this way to see me, on Christmas Day. You’re so amazing, I’m so happy … Ashlyn, I love you.”
Ashlyn froze, and for an infinite heartbeat Ali was convinced she had ruined everything, but then Ashlyn grinned and there was that damn dimple and she took Ali’s face in her hands and everything was so, so right. “I love you, too, Alex.”
They held each other’s gazes for a moment before kissing again, slow and sensual. Ali wanted to do that forever, but eventually she forced herself to stop. “Best Christmas present ever,” she mumbled against Ashlyn’s lips, before turning her around and leading her into the condo.
Mike, Deb, and a Kyle who was beside himself with glee were waiting in the foyer. Squeezing Ashlyn’s hand, Ali pulled her forward. “Mom, Mike, Kyle, this is Ashlyn, my girlfriend.”