#Ashley Sanchez imagine

[outsideratheart]

A Future With You (Ashley Sanchez x reader)

A/N: Where did this fic come from you ask? I have no idea and I’m not a huge fan of it but i like to think of it as a spring clean fic. I had to write this so that I can clear my head and make room for another one. Also,this GIF is adorable.

The Washington Spirit had just played their final game of the NWSL season and it didn’t end the way the team wanted. 

You had missed 6 weeks of the season due to international duties which you didn’t mind because in that time you and the Lionesses had been crowned Champions of Europe. A title which you achieved in front of a sold out Wembley stadium. 

Now just over 2 months later the Lionesses are making their return against none other than the World Champions, the United States of America. The fact that an International friendly will be played in front of 70,000 fans is amazing and something you didn’t think possible before the summer tournament. 

“It’s 5 days Ash” you tell your girlfriend as the two of you stand in the departures at Ronald Reagan airport.

Ashley is currently stood with her head buried in the crook of your neck and her arms wrapped tightly around your torso.  

She refuses to move so her reply is inaudible. 

“I feel like I have just got you back. Why do you have to leave?” Ashley pouts as she looks up at you.

You can tell that she is upset that you are leaving. This time, when she drops you off at the airport you would be reunited in just under a week but still the feeling is bitter sweet. You wanted nothing more than to stay with her but you also loved playing for England.

“I have to leave because I’m British remember?” You tease her.

“Oh yes, the accent, how could I forget” 

A small chuckle escapes your lips at her answer. According to Ashley she heard you before she saw you, your accent drew her in all those years ago at UCLA and she has been yours ever since.

You stay entangled in each other arms until the last minute.

“I really do have to go now”  you say whilst checking your watch.

“You know when I next see you, you will be my enemy” she pokes your chest and gives you her best mean face.

“Adorable” you gently kiss her nose.

“Hey! I’m trying to be intimidating” her determination is admirable.

“I know, I’m shaking in my boots, I really am” 

Once again you check the time knowing that you will risk missing your flight if you don’t leave soon.

“I love you Ash, see you at Wembley” 

“I love you too Y/N” 

She watches you walk away, already counting down the days until she sees you again and little did she know you are doing the same thing.

************

Thankfully, days pass by quickly and before you know it, game day arrives.

Although there was nothing at stake in this game nothing about it seemed friendly. Wembley was full with both US and England fans, although the latter seemed to take up more of the stadium. Everyone knew that the winner of this game would have bragging rights going into the World Cup next summer.

As always you are at the back of the line up, eyes forward and focused on keeping your unbeaten streak alive. Since Ellen retired you had taken up the #10 mantle and you were now the number 1 choice for starting centre forward. You feel a little nervous but after the impact you had in the Euros you knew that Sarina made the correct choice and you would reassure her of that tonight.

Ashley grabs your hand as she passes, giving it a gently squeeze before letting go. The action is so fluid nobody picked up on it.

The United States line up and much to your surprise you see Trinity lined up opposite you. 

“Take it in Trin, you will remember this moment for the rest of your life” you tell your Spirit team mate.

You see her close her eyes as she relishes in the moment, the calm before storm if you will.

“Good luck Y/N” 

“You too” 

You quickly hug her before getting back into game mode.

The game is tough but you expected nothing less. England lead 2-1 with ten minutes remaining.

In the 83rd minute you see the subs board but more importantly you see Ashley standing next to it. 

You make eye contact with her as she runs into position. 

“Welcome to Wembley” you hold you arms out as if you own the place but then again if you ask the fans they dubbed the stadium Y/N’s house after you scored the winning goal in the final. 

She shakes her head at your antics before focusing on the game. 

Luckily for you the final whistle is blown and the crowd erupts. England had retained their unbeaten record whilst simultaneously ending the United States’. 

Both teams go into a quick huddle before dispersing with the majority of them staying out to met the fans. You however get dragged off to do media as you had won Player of the match.

You are given a pair of headphones and a few seconds later you can hear Alex Scott’s voice. 

“Here with us now is tonight’s player of the match Y/N Y/L/N” 

Someone off camera gives you the award.

“Thank you. Not a bad way to spend your Friday night right?” You joke.

“No at all. How was it down there?”

You give her a quick recap of the game along with your opinion of your team’s performance but you lose your trail of thought when you see Ashley standing behind the camera.

“Y/N, can you hear us?” 

Still your focus remains on your girlfriend, a smile tugging at your lips. It is only when the camera assistant waves at you do you remember you are on live TV.

“Sorry Alex, I saw a beautiful fan and I got distracted” 

Alex rolls her eyes at your charm whilst Ashley blushes behind the camera.

“I’ll bet. Well I know how much you love your fans so we’ll let you go”

You quickly give your headphones to the technician before walking behind the camera to Ashley.

“You think I’m beautiful” even after the years you have been together you find it adorable how she still gets flustered.

“Just a smidge” you measure the margin with you fingers which earns you a shove.

You grab Ashley’s hand as you pull her over to where some of your family are sitting. You point to a few rows up to where your dad, brother and nephew are sitting.

“I can’t see them” Ashley says whilst scanning the crowd.

You wrap you arms around her waist pulling her close as you try your best to point directly in her eye line.

“I see them” 

You watch as she waves enthusiastically, your nephew reciprocating her energy. 

When Ashley turns back to you she realises just how close you are. She leans forward puckering her lips but you back away causing her brows to furrow in disappointment.

“Too many people?” She asks. 

Everyone knew about your relationship and it wouldn’t be the first time you kissed on the pitch. You often would when the spirit had won but it was different this team as your were opponents.

“No. I can’t kiss you when your wearing this” you tug her her US shirt.  

Your childishness and clear alterer motive make Ashley laugh. 

“Want to swap?” Ashley asks and you nod eagerly. 

Both of you now stand there wearing the opposing teams jersey. You hold your hand and Ashley twirls around. 

“What do you think?” The question seems simple but the way it has your mind thinking is anything but. 

“Y/L/N suits you Ash” Trinity says. 

Turning you see the forward with Hatch and Andi. 

“You ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost”

“Just a glimpse into the future” you reply.

Andi eyes you wearily, she is about to ask you more when a member of the England media team comes over asks for a photo of the Spirit team. 

Around an hour later you find yourself standing outside the US changing room waiting for Ashley, Trin and Andi. Your patience runs out so you knock before hearing a ‘come in’. 

It seems they are waiting on Ashley as you see her packing up the last of her things. 

“The offside call was bullshit” Pinoe says and whilst you know she is trying to get a rise out you, you are tired, sore and ready to take your girl home so you weren’t in the mood.

“It’s only a friendly P, imagine if something like this were to happen at, let’s say the World Cup, oh wait a minute it did but it was in your favour”

Your reply catches the pink haired veteran and the rest of the Locker room off guard. 

“You ready Ladies?” You ask not missing a beat.

“Where are you taking them? You do know we fly to Spain tomorrow?” Becky asks you.

“It is family night at the Y/L/N household and don’t worry I have talked to Vlatko, I will drop them back at the hotel tomorrow morning”

Just over an hour later you pull up to your family home in Richmond. Your life may have changed drastically but this is one thing that remains the same.

“Auntie Y/N” 

You are barely through the door when your nephew comes running over to you.

“Harry, did you have fun?” You say as you throw him over your shoulder.

“Mm-hmm. Did you bring your friends with you?” He asks referring to your team mates.

As if on que your friends walk in.

“I did. I brought Andi, Trin and—“

“Auntie Ash” the 3 years old practically jumps out of your arms and into your girlfriends.

You and Andi greet your parents as Harry is in deep conversation with Ashley and Trinity,

or as deep of a conversation a three year old can have.

Your mum and sister in law are finishing up tea whilst you’re sat in the garden with your dad, brother and Andi as you watch your other team mates entertain your nephew by chasing him around the garden and playing hide and seek.

This is now the second time that day that you are shown a glimpse of your future with Ashley. You let your mind wonder as you think about how Ashley would be as a mum, you begin picturing her with you children running around. It won’t happen for a while but she would make a good mum, that you are certain of.

“Y/N” your dad pull you out of your head.

“Huh—yeah—sorry—what—“ you want to reply to whatever he must have said but you didn’t have a clue.

“Where’d you go?” You brother asks.

“Let me guess, the future?”

The spirit captain knew you well.

“Can I ask you a question?” You look towards your dad and his face changes when he hears the seriousness in your tone.

“Of course” 

“How did you know mum was the one?”

You can tell by the look of their faces that you have caught the three of them off guard.

Your dad has his thinking face on so you leave him to it.

Ashley had been in your live for 7 years and you had been dating for just as long. Is it so wrong for you to think of what your future held, especially with the blonde?

“You’ve been thinking about this for a while haven’t you?” Andi whispers.

You nod your head “How did you know?”

“Something changed over Christmas. When we met up for new years something was different, I couldn’t put my finger on it, you just looked at her differently”

This was true. Over Christmas you and Ashley had a rom com day which turned into a wedding movie day and naturally your future nuptials got brought up and it scared you but in a good way. What followed was dream after dream about Ashley, the two of you getting married, you having children, buying a big house in DC and getting a dog. The latter actually happened when you got home after the Euros. 

“I can talk about you mother until the cows come home but our story doesn’t matter” your dad tells you. 

“It does matter” 

“No Y/N it doesn’t” he voice is stern “That is our story. You cannot compare that to the love that you and Ashley have” 

“I wasn’t—“

“I know how your brain works kid. Let me tell you this, if you are thinking about it then you already have your answer” 

“So if you have learnt anything here tonight Andi, it is that if you look up the word vague in the dictionary you will see a photo of our father” your brother’s smart mouth comment earns him a slap around the back of the head. 

“Great advice dad, I feel so much now” he knows you are being sarcastic but he say your welcome anyways. 

Needing a distraction from adult life you begin watching Ash but you see she is already making her way towards you. 

“What’s wrong?” Ash plants herself on your lap despite there being several seats available. 

“Just thinking” you see your dad and brother staring at you with knowing looks in their and it is only then that you realise you sound exactly like your dad. 

“About?” Ashley tucks a stray hair behind your ear whilst keeping her eyes locked onto yours. 

“You. Us”

It wasn’t the answer she was expecting, her face lets you know that much. 

Before you can reassure Ashley that everything is ok, your mum calls everyone in for tea. 

Despite your hardest efforts you cannot get out of your own head. Ashley absentmindedly plays with the ring on your index finger whilst you give her hand a light squeeze every so often when you catch her staring at you. After one of those times you see her glance at Trin who shrugs her shoulders, both of them then look at Andi who looks at you and you shake your head which doesn’t go unnoticed by your girlfriend.

“Are you sure you’re ok? Something is—off” by now Ashley knew you like the back of her hand so you try your best to distract her, one one thing comes to mind.

You kiss her, really kiss her. For a few seconds your surroundings are forgotten. It is only when you hear your mum clear her throat as she stands behind you ready to clear the table do you pull away.

Straight away Ashley buries her face in your neck with embarrassment.

“I have been thinking about doing that all night. You know how I get, sometimes I just need you” 

Thankfully Ashley accepts your lie and returns to her conversation with your sister in law.

Time at home with your family always passes quicker than you would like and soon enough you are laid in the living room on one of the blow up mattresses whilst Andi and Trin are on the other.

Ashley is on the verge of slummer and you can see her visibly fighting sleep, unlike your other team mates who crashed as as soon as they hit the mattress.

“Thank you for tonight” Ashley mumbles “I love it here, you are happier when you are home” 

Although it was true, your parents would agree that you are much happier when Ashley comes with you.

“You’re my home Ash” your reply is simple but it speaks volumes.

“I know”

You kiss Ashley’s temple before telling her to go to sleep, which she does in a matter on seconds. You on the other lay there like you have had multiple espressos. When you realise that sleep isn’t on the cards you do what you mum always told you to do when something is on your mind, have a cup of tea. The English know that there is nothing a good brew can’t fix.

Waiting for the kettle to boil you raid the fridge for a sweet treat, you had just beaten the World Champions, scoring in the process, surely you deserved it.

“Jackpot” you whisper shout when you see leftovers of the cheesecake your mum made.

You rest against the kitchen counter, going back and forth between cake and cuppa.

“You know it’s almost 3am?” The voice makes you jump but you soon relax when you see a barely awake Ashley walking towards you. Immediately she grabs your arms, putting them around her neck so she can cuddle into you.

“I couldn’t sleep. Cake?” You hold the fork up to Ash who nods before opening her mouth.

“Now it’s just us, will you tell me what’s wrong, please?” Ashley’s voice is soft but you can still hear a little sadness.

“Today has been weird. First I saw you with my jersey on, then you played with Harry and you fit into my crazy family with ease” 

“These are bad things?”

“God no, they are— would you marry me?” The words come out before you can stop yourself.

Ashley could have given 100 guesses of what would come out of your mouth and that was not one of them.

“Are you asking me to marry you?” A small smile forms on her face.

You have to think for a minute. Is this what you are doing? It had been on your mind for the past couple of months, today more than ever.

“I don’t think I am” you stare into the garden. You are confused and overwhelmed.

“Baby look at me” Ashley turns your head with her index finger “Talk to me”

“After the game, you had my shirt on”

“You have already said that”

“Hear me out, please” it was a beg more so than a question “you had my last name on your back earlier then when I saw you with Harry I started picturing how you would be with our children. I cannot stop thinking about our future”

“I think about it all the time. Want to know what I see?” 

You nod your head eagerly.

“I see us, our yet to be named dog” this makes you laugh “Then in a few years I see you with our children, teaching them how to play football and telling them off for not saying water right”

“It is spelt water” you say, your English accent stronger than normal “there is no D in it” 

“I see those things and I get excited, don’t you?” Ashley ignores you comment in favour of staying on topic.

“I do but it’s scary, what if you get sick of me?” 

“Y/N, we have been dating for 7 years. We went from teenage college students to professional adult soccer players. We are going change over the years but I will always love you, that won’t change”

Even half asleep Ashley knew how to calm you down. 

“Mmm, I guess you’re right. I will love you until my last day Ashley, I promise”

Ashley mumbles good.

“Now come back to bed” you quickly put your empty plate and cup in the sink before following her back into the living room.

Feeling a little more like yourself, you decide to have a little fun with your girlfriend.

When Ashley feels you stop she turns to see you down on one knee.

“Ashley Nicole Sanchez, will you marry me?” Her eyes widen “Not now, in the not so distant future”

“Yes Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N, I will, at some point in my life, marry you. Now lets go to sleep” Ashley rolls her eyes at your playfullness then she leans down giving you a sweet kiss before pulling you to bed.

[gamergirl929]

The Bodyguard (Ashley Sanchez x Reader)

You were the strong, silent type, entrusted with keeping the members of the USWNT safe, but when it came to one player, you knew you’d give everything for her, and that player was Ashley Sanchez. 

You cross your arms across your chest, your eyes darting rapidly around the packed stadium, in search of anything ‘beyond the norm.’

You were used to these types of crowds, used to having your head on a swivel where the team was concerned, and as their bodyguard, it was your job to keep them safe.  

You hum, your eyes narrowing when you spot a man standing too close to the barricade, fortunately, a woman makes her way towards him before placing a hand on his back, the two making their way further into the stands.  

It’s in your perusing of the sidelines that you spot Ashley Sanchez, the dirty blonde giggling as she warms up alongside Ashley Hatch.  

“Whatcha looking at?”  

You jump, glancing out of the corner of your eye at Trinity Rodman.  

“Just keeping an eye on things.” You shrug, your eyes again focused on the barricade surrounding the field where the game against Spain is being played.  

You’re unable to bite back a smile when you see Ashley making her way towards the pitch, the blonde beaming as she gives Andi Sullivan’s palms a slap.  

“Did you hear me?”  

You jump, quickly realizing that Trinity was leaning towards you, a brow arched.  

“I should’ve known.” She says, playfully rolling her eyes.  

“What?” You ask, confused.  

Trinity nods to the field, specifically at Ashley Sanchez, the younger girl’s eyes catching yours before her lips split in a grin.  

“That.” Trinity says, giving you a nudge.  

“Was Y/N distracted by Sanchez again?” Kelley teases as she moves to stand beside you.  

Trinity nods.  

“Yep.”  

You scoff, your eyes again on her as she sprints down field, a look of determination on her face.  

“I was not.”  

Emily snorts, joining her teammates in their teasing of you.  

“You totally were, you can't keep your eyes off of her.”  

You roll your eyes in annoyance, huffing.  

“Don’t you have a bench to sit on?” You gripe, the three women gasping.  

“Excuse me, but we all played the first half.” Kelley says her hand on her chest.  

“Well, you aren’t playing now.” You wink, the defender’s eyes narrowing.  

“Wow, rude.” Trinity mumbles, giving you an obviously playful nudge.

Emily grumbles under her breath, nudging you with her hip, a chuckle leaving you as you’re nudged slightly forward.  

It’s soon after that the whistle blows, signaling the end of the game, ending in a score of USWNT 2, Spain 1.  

You slowly stroll onto field watching everyone as intently as you can, though you can't help but allow your gaze to drift to Ashley Sanchez, the girl hugging one of the Spanish players.  

“Jealous?” Emily asks as she slips by, the woman’s brows arched as she backs away from you.  

“I am NOT jealous.” You grumble, the woman shrugging.  

“Sureeeeeeeeee.”  

You roll your eyes, your Y/E/C orbs darting again to Ashley Sanchez, the blonde giggling with Trinity as she and the Washington Spirit forward make their way around the field, shaking hands.  

You give your head a shake as the blonde trips over her own feet, Trinity erupting into a fit of giggles, along with Sophia Smith.  

It’s in that moment that Ashley glances your way, her cheeks flushing as her lips split in a grin, the girl waving your way enthusiastically, a wave you immediately return.  

“Hopeless.” Kelley says, giving your side a pinch as she slips by.  

You exhale loudly.  

“I am NOT hopeless.”  

                                                           ***

You couldn’t deny the fact that when Ashley sat directly beside you at dinner that night, the blonde smiling sweetly, your heart skipped a beat.

“Hey.” She whispers and you glance away shyly.  

“Uhh, hey.”

Ashley smiles, scanning the sharpness of your jawline, the woman smiling as your brows furrow, your eyes intently focused on the menu in your hands.  

You were the strong, silent type, intent on protecting the entire team from wayward fans or anything that came their way, and she was grateful for that.  

You’d seemingly gone out of your way to keep her in particular safe, at least, she perceived it that way, the hopeful thought that you felt the same way as she did flickering into existence within her brain.  

“Ash?”  

She jumps, her brown orbs softening when she realizes you’re leaned towards her, menu in hand.  

“Yeah?” She asks, leaning closer, the scent of her perfume clouding your senses.  

You clear your throat.  

“What in the hell is this? How in the hell do you even say it?” You ask confused, as you point at a specific dish, the shorter of the two of you giggling, so much so that she snorts, drawing the attention of her teammates.  

You attempt to bite back a smile, ultimately failing when the blonde snorts again. 

Meanwhile, further down the table, Lindsey gives Emily a nudge.  

“You think they’ll ever admit that they’re into each other?” She whispers to the blonde who scoffs, another round of scoffs sounding from around the table from multiple of her USWNT teammates.  

Emily snickers.  

“Yeah, as if.”  

                                                           ***

The night air was brisk as you walked with the entirety of the USWNT towards your hotel, which was just right down the road from the restaurant you’d dined at earlier in the night.  

Ashley lets out a small shudder, your eyes darting her way before you, wordlessly, slip off your jacket and drape it over her shoulders, the blonde’s cheeks flushing.  

“Better?” You ask, your hand running down her spine through the fabric of your jacket.  

She nods, wrapping her arms around herself, hugging the jacket to her frame.  

“Better.”  

Ashley was acutely aware of the fact that your hands were swinging between the two of you, the dirty blonde’s breath hitching as your fingers brush.  

You clear your throat, slipping your hand in your pocket.  

“S-Sorry.” You stutter, your cheeks hot and flushed.  

Ashley smiles, stepping closer, your eyes widening when her arm slips around your own, the crook of her elbow resting in the crook of your own.  

“It’s okay.” She whispers, inhaling the scent of your cologne deeply.  

Meanwhile, near the head of the pack, Emily glances over her shoulder, giving Kelley a nudge, the defender’s eyes narrowing as she turns to her fellow Washington Spirit teammate.  

“What?” She asks, drawing the attention of a number of other players.  

“Look at them.” She says, nodding behind her, a number of her teammates turning around, all smiling when she see Ashley’s arm wrapped around your own, your jacket hanging off her shoulders.  

Ashley, who’d had her brown orbs previously shut, opens her eyes the blonde giving your arm a squeeze.  

“Look!” She says, nodding in the direction of a small ice cream shop further down the block.  

“Want to get one?” You ask, the blonde nodding excitedly.  

The remainder of the USWNT share a glance a number of them nodding, grins stretching across the face, the women all having one thing in mind.  

“You guys go.” Kelley says with a smile, your eyes widening when you turn towards her, noting the smirk on her face.  

Trinity nods.  

“Yeahhhh, we’ll see you back at the hotel, alright?” She wiggles her brows, and everyone nods.  

“Uhh, ye-yeah sure.” You stutter, the thought of being alone with the blonde making you stiffen.  

The group sends you a wave before making their way down the sidewalk, a soft mumble from within the group coming from Emily making you snort.  

“But I wanted ice cream...”  

It’s a beat later when Ashley gives your arm a squeeze, smiling as she nods in the direction of the ice cream shop.  

“Well?” She asks with a grin and you nod, unable to stop yourself from grinning back, unaware that you’re being watched closely by someone who isn’t your teammates.

You give her arm a small squeeze.  

“Well, let’s go Sanchez.”  

                                                           ***

You’re unable to bite back a smile when the two of you exit the ice cream shop, Ashley busy eating the sweet treat, the ice cream towering high from its waffle cone.  

It doesn’t take long for her arm to slither back around yours, your cheeks flushing when the blonde holds her ice cream out to you, unwilling to pull it away until you give the cold treat a lick, the taste making you hum.  

“Good?” She asks and you nod.  

“Really good.”  

Ashley gives your arm a squeeze, again turning her attention to the melting sweet in her hand.  

She’s silent for a block or two before she hums.  

“You know, I’m glad they went back to the hotel.” She mumbles and your brows furrow, the two of you stopping in the middle of the empty sidewalk.  

“Why?” You ask, confused and Ashley shrugs, her cheeks pink.  

“Because I...” She pauses, closing her eyes before she inhales and exhales loudly.  

“I like spending time with you,” She says, unable to hold your gaze.  

You smile, turning fully towards her, your hand resting on her waist.  

“Well, I like spending time with you too.” You smile sweetly, and Ashley bites her lip, completely forgetting that she had an ice cream in her hand.  

“Just the two of us?” She whispers softly and you blush, shuffling from foot to foot.  

“Yeah, just the two of us.”  

Ashley smiles, her brow orbs flicking from your Y/E/C orbs, to your lips and back.  

It’s just as she’s about to step forward when you see a trio of men in masks heading towards you, your eyes widening when you put two and two together.  

You push Ashley behind you, the blonde dropping her ice cream as you put yourself between her and the masked men.  

“Give us everything you got, now.” The first man growls, the second stepping forward.  

“NOW, or we won’t hesitate to-

“You’ve got it.” You say, as you reach in your pocket, taking out your wallet and handing it to the men, unwilling to put the blonde behind you in danger.  

You hold your hands in the air, your throat bobbing.  

“Take the earrings off.” The third man says, motioning to Ashley, your eyes widening when you realize he’s holding a baseball bat.  

Hastily, Ashley takes her earrings off with trembling hands, tears slipping down her cheeks as the man jerks them from her grasp.  

“The purse too!” One of them yells, jerking the purse from your hand as you take it from Ashley, fearful that the man would grab her if he could get her close enough.  

“That’s everything we have, just let us go.”  

It’s in that moment that your sleeve falls, revealing the watch on your wrist, a watch you’d had since you were a child, something willed to you by your late father.  

“The watch too!” The man with the bat yells and you hesitate, something that you would come to regret in the end.  

In a split second the man lifts his bat, smacking it against the side on your face, sending you sprawling, but when you realize they’re about to go at Ashley you jump to your feet.  

“You want my watch?” You growl, your words slurring as you turn to Ashley, mouthing the word, ‘go’ over and over and over again each time the blonde shakes her head in defiance.

You turn back to the men, hoping that the woman behind you would take the hint and leave before anything could happen to her.  

“If you want my watch, then you'll have to come get it.”  

Ashley takes a step back, her heels clicking on the sidewalk deafening as the men surround you, your body swaying as your eyes dart between them.

In a beat, one of the three men swing sat you with his bare fist, completely missing as you duck under his punch, landing a punch or two of your own.

Unfortunately, with your attention focused on one man, it leaves you open to the other man who lands a right hook to the side of your face.  

Ashley lets out a scream, hoping to gain someone’s attention which draws the ire of the man with the bat, the man advancing on her.  

He doesn’t get far however when you grab the back of his jacket, tugging him backwards, the man spinning around, his bat cocked at the ready, your fist connecting with the side of his face.  

Your head jerks to one side as the bat connects with the side of your head, sending you sprawling, landing on your arm at an awkward angle, snapping the bone in your upper arm with ease.  

By now Ashley had put distance between herself and the men, still screaming for help all the while as the men reign punches down on you, incorporating rough prods from the bat more often than not.  

You do your best to fight them off, getting to your feet a number of times and landing a few punches before you’re back on the ground, and again being beat down.  

It’s then when you hear it, the high-pitched sound of a siren piercing your ears, making your head throb.

You shuffle backwards against the building, unaware of the amount of damage you’d taken, your vision blurry as you watch the men, who shockingly, and almost immediately give up, their hands in the air, the men no longer as tough when several guns were drawn on them.  

“Y/N?! Can you hear me?!” Ashley cries, gently cupping your cheek.  

“You’re not hurt, are you?” You rasp, grimacing as you put pressure on your broken arm.  

“No, I’m fine.” She says, her voice shaking, her hands trembling.  

You hum, your blurry vision darkening as you lose consciousness.  

“Good.”  

                                                           ***

You grimace, waking to the sound of an insistent beeping, something you expect is coming from your alarm clock.  

You reach out blindly, your eyes still closed as you search for the machine currently sounding off beside you.  

It’s then that you’re hit with what can only be described as earth-shattering pain, your head was throbbing violently, your arms and hands throbbed, so much so that tears sprang to your eyes.  

It was in that moment that realization dawned on you, the realization of what had happened not long ago.  

“Ash!? Are you there?!” You call out, swinging your legs out of bed  your feet placed firmly on the floor.

The clicking of heels draws your attention a moment later, your heart lightening in your chest at the familiar sound.

“Y/N!?!” She calls out, the clicking growing faster before hands settle on your knees.  

“I’m right here, Y/N.”  

Your eyes crack open slowly, the light making you groan in pain, your head throbbing.

“Shhhhhh.” She shushes you, tracing your jawline.  

“Come on, shhhhhhh.” She coos as she guides you back into bed, your face twisting in a grimace as your head hits the pillow.  

Eventually your eyes flutter open, well one eye does, that eye narrowing soon after as the bright lights above you cause your head to throb.  

Though your vision is blurry, and you’re able to only see out of one eye, you can make out the form of Ashley Sanchez sitting at your bedside, the woman still wearing the dress she’d worn to dinner, her cheeks wet with tears as she looks at you with a trembling bottom lip.

You lean towards her, intent on cupping her cheek, that is until you’re made aware of the fact that your arm is in a sling.  

She instead cups your cheek, your eyes fluttering shut as you cover her hand with your own, your knuckles bruised and scrapped.  

“You’re okay?” You ask, the blonde nodding, her hair tousled and out of its ponytail it had been in.  

“I’m fine.” She lets out a sob, the sound tearing your heart in two.  

“I was so scared.” She cries, the woman’s shoulders shaking as she cries.  

You give her arm a gentle tug, the woman allowing you to pull her into your bed, the blonde burying her face in your chest.  

“I thought—I thought—"

She’s cut off by the sound of her own cries, the woman hiccupping softly.  

“I’ve got you Ash.” You whisper, burying your face in her hair.  

“I’ve got you.”  

You only release your hold on her when you hear the sound of footsteps, your only openable eye opening to see a man in a white lab coat making his way towards the two of you.  

“I see you’re awake.”  

Ashley jumps, reluctantly pulling away from you and taking the seat beside your bed, your hand never leaving her own.  

“I’m right here.” You whisper, the woman nodding as she turns to the doctor with a sniffle.  

“How are you feeling?” The man asks, scanning your clipboard intently.  

“Not too great.” You cough, wincing as your whole body is wracked with pain as you repeat your previous statement.  

“Not great at all.”  

“A skull fracture will do that to you.” Your eyes widen, Ashley’s eyes too widening.  

“What?”  

The man nods.  

“It’s not serious, so it won’t need surgery, thankfully. The bad news is you’re dealing with a concussion as well, so we’ll need to keep you for observation.”  

You grunt, the light shift of your body making you groan.  

“And her arm?” Ashley asks, giving your hand a squeeze, and the man hums.  

“Unfortunately, your humerus was snapped in half, it’ll take some time to heal.” He says, pointing out a nearby X-Ray, pointing out the clean break in your arm before he makes his way back towards your bed.

“We stitched up the split in your eyebrow, it’ll take some time for your eye to heal enough where you can open it, and besides a split lip and some bruised knuckles, you’re in excellent shape.” He jests and you chuckle, the sound making Ashley smile.  

“Like I said, we’ll be keeping an eye on you for the next couple of days, and we’ll go from there, alright?” He gives your foot a pat and you nod, grunting when you shift.  

“Anything you can do for the pain?” You ask, exhaling loudly, the man nodding as he pats your foot again.  

“I’ll let the nurses know and they’ll get you set up.”

He smiles before turning on his heels and swiftly leaving the room.  

Your eyelid droops slightly your body sagging in exhaustion, the woman releasing your hand before she cups your cheek, tenderly stroking the bruised skin beneath your eye.  

“Sleep Y/N.” She whispers and you hum, covering her hand with your own.  

“You’ll be, okay?” You rasp, the woman nodding as her index finger drags against the smooth skin behind your ear.  

“I will.” She whispers, your eyes fluttering shut of their own accord, your body sagging as you fall fast asleep.  

                                                           ***

You’re not sure how long you’re asleep for, but when your eye eventually flutters open, you realize you’re indeed surrounded by the entirety of the USWNT, a number of them sitting on the floor or sleeping in random places in the room.  

“Hey you.”

You turn your head, smiling when you see Ashley still at your bedside, the woman reaching for and taking your hand.  

“Hey.” You sigh, your eyelid fluttering.  

“You can go back to sleep; I’ll be here when you wake up.”

You shake your head rapidly.  

“N-No.” You stutter, giving her hand a squeeze.  

“I want to ask you something...” You mumble, the medication in your veins giving you the courage you needed to ask her the question you’d had on your mind since the attack.  

“Hmm?” She hums, stroking your knuckles.  

“What were you about to do...? Before they showed up?” You ask, her eyes widening, her cheeks flushing pink.  

“I-I-I w-w-was...” She stutters, unable to look you in the eye.  

You give her hand a squeeze.  

“Ash, look at me.”  

The blonde turns your way, her eyes widening when you slowly sit up, tugging her forwards.  

“Tell me.” You whisper, the woman’s brown orbs darting from your eyes to your lips and back, much like they had before the attack.

Your breath hitches, your body going rigid as Ashley leans in, her lips pressing gently against your own.  

Your eye flutters shut, your hand gently cupping her cheek as you kiss back, the blonde smiling against your lips.  

Meanwhile, around the room, your teammates each with one eye open watch as the two of you kiss, the Washington Spirit players doing their best to contain their squeals of excitement.

“Looks like she’s in good hands.” Alex whispers, and you pull back, turning your attention to your roomful of teammates.

“Did you hear something?” You ask, your eye narrowed as you inspect each of your teammates closely, that is until Ashley cups your cheek and turns you back towards her, the blonde leaning in, her lips meeting yours again before she whispers.  

“Not a thing.”  

[lostinwoso]

51 w Trinity Rodman or Ashley Sanchez?

A/N: I know I said drabbles but I just do ficlets now instead.

51 “I thought… I thought I lost you.”

Ashley’s eyes are frozen on the TV screen in front of her. The local news channel covering a brutal car accident and one of the destroyed cars that is involved looks exactly like yours, causing the panic to rise inside the forward's chest. 

With shaking hands, she reaches for her phone, dialing your number, praying that you would pick up and greet her with your cheery tone as you usually would. But that doesn’t happen, the phone rings until she gets sent to your voicemail, requesting that the person leaves a message after the tone or just tries to call again later.

Putting the phone down, she lets out a shaky breath. Maybe you just were busy and couldn’t accept the call, but when she glances towards the clock on the wall, above the TV, she notices that you were supposed to be back home almost 10 minutes ago. 

Tears have now found their way inside her eyes and one more watch towards the TV, where they have zoomed into the accident now, makes the tears now roll down her cheeks, almost no hope left inside her that you were fine after the unanswered phone call and the car that looks identical to yours.

Too consumed in the panic that she doesn’t hear your keys jiggle as you open the door to your shared apartment. Stepping inside, you close the door with your heel before making your way to the kitchen to put down the bags from the store, “Ashley? I’m home!”, you yell out into the apartment, confused that your girlfriend hasn’t greeted you yet as she usually would as soon as you are back. 

The moment she hears your voice, she springs up from the couch, rushing into the kitchen. Seeing you standing there, she immediately pulls you into a bone crushing hug.

Returning the embrace, you notice her short breaths and the way your shirt gets wet on your shoulder, “Are you okay? Why are you crying?”, you ask the forwards worried, holding her a bit closer, hoping it would bring her some more comfort. 

“I thought… I thought I lost you.”, she mumbles into your neck, a new wave of tears making her way down her face, but this time in relief that you were fine and in her arms. 

“What happened to make you think that?”, you question while rubbing your hand over her back.

“There was a car accident, and it looked like your car, and then you didn’t answer your phone, and you were running late, so I thought…”, she trails off, not wanting to think about it further.

Pulling back you cup her face in your hands, running your thumbs over her cheeks, “I’m sorry, my hands were full, so I couldn’t reach my phone and the store was busy. I’m really sorry I scared you like that.”

“It’s okay, all that matters is that you are here, unharmed.” 

“How about we order some food and cuddle while watching your favorite movies for the rest of the day?”, you suggest, wanting to make her feel better after the scare.

“Please?” “Alright, get everything ready, I will order your favorite in the meantime.”

[slimthicksonnett]

59 with Ashley Sanchez

“H-How long have you been standing there?” // Ashley Sanchez (740 words)

“I don’t get it! She could have picked anyone.” You whined into the phone, flopping down onto the stiff hotel bed. 

“You don’t get it? Or you don’t want to get it?” Tara answered back. Even a couple of thousand miles away back in Washington, you could hear the smugness in your best friend's voice. 

“She doesn’t like me like that, Tar.” You reprimanded; voice muffled from where you were face down in the duvet.

“But you like her like that.” It wasn’t a question, and you didn’t have to answer it. 

“I mean, maybe? We’re also just best friends.” It was a last ditch effort to defend your pride but a simple snort from Tara crushed any last bit that was remaining.

“Just best friends? So everyone turns down a trade to go back to play in their hometown at a top expansion team just because they don’t want to leave their best friend?” Tara countered, earning a long groan from you.

“I love the Spirit, I’d never want to leave any of you.” Your argument was weak and Tara just hummed in response.

“Right. You love the Spirit so much that you sold the house you’d bought just because Ash asked if you could maybe be apartmentmates?” The question made you blush, thinking about the beautiful two-story home outside of D.C that you’d spent all preseason gushing over to anyone that would listen.

“It made more sense financially and logistically to stay in the city.” You huffed.

“With her, you forgot to add stay in the city with her.” Tara giggled, clearly amused by your frustration.

“Okay fine, yes. Maybe I like her like that!” You conceded, a loud cheer coming from over the phone. 

“There you go! The first step to healing is admitting.” Your teammate sounded less smug now, more soft. But your interpretation of her emotions was interrupted by the sound of something hitting the ground behind you.

Immediately, you jolted upright in the bed. 

Turning around, you were greeted by the sight of a wide eyed Ashley Sanchez.

“H-How long have you been standing there?” You questioned, voice shaky and face flushed a deep crimson in embarrassment.

“You turned down San Diego for me?” Ashley asked, staring at you in some mixture of awe and disbelief.

A brief "oop-" could be heard from the phone before the line went dead from Tara assumedly making the decision to hang up.

“Oh, so that long…” You muttered, staring at the floor as you watched the younger girl cross the room towards where you sat at the edge of the bed. 

“Was Tara telling the truth?” She questioned you again, you didn’t even have to look up to know she was staring down at you with those commanding eyes.

“About which part.” Your voice was distant as you traced patterns on the hotel carpet with your feet.

You were pulled away from your musings though when a delicate hand was placed under your chin, fingers curling strongly to tip your head up so that your eyes were locked on hers.

“San Diego wanted you.” It was a statement, you could only manage a tiny nod as you gulped nervously in response.

“San Diego wanted you, but you stayed at the Spirit. You could’ve gone home!” Ashleys voice was louder now, the disbelief in her tone almost tinged with anger at you for turning down the offer.

“I am home.” Was all you managed in response, watching the way Ashley softened at the sound of your words.

“You are home?” She whispered, tilting her head to the side just slightly in question.

“I’m home with you.” Your voice was gentle. You weren’t sure how you managed to make the statement without breaking eye contact with Ashley but you were glad you didn’t. Because watching her closely revealed the moment that her eyes slipped from yours and down to your lips, lingering there for a moment.

“Y/N…”  Ashley sighed, her thumb brushing feather light against your jaw.

“I’m sorry that was-”

Ashley cut off your ramblings with her lips, soft and full, against yours. Thankfully you recovered quickly from the shock, pressing up into her kiss. It was good as far as first kisses go. And that’s to say that it was a mess. Too much pressure, a clashing of teeth, an odd angle.

But everything about it was so distinctly Ashley that that too felt like home.

Pulling back, breathless, Ashley let her eyes lock with yours again as a smile spread across her face.

“Thank god I picked you to room with.”

[writtenbymisunderstoodnerds]

Secret softy (Ashley Sanchez x Reader)

Based on this request

Sorry this took a while to finish, writers block is a pain. Hopefully this is okay and is kinda what you wanted. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy :)

Warnings: None I think

Words: 2.4k

Three months had passed since I last saw Ashley. We had been together officially for almost four years, but we had been mostly long-distance since the start. With us both being professional athletes, her soccer and me hockey, it didn't leave as much time for visits during on season. We would spend off-season with the other when possible, Ashley had been pretty busy lately, unfortunately. It didn't matter now though, my season was officially over which meant more time with her.

I was trying to enjoy time with Ashley, but I was kind of freaking out. I was going to be going to more of Ashley's camps so we could spend more time together. The only problem was her team didn't seem to like me very much. I knew I could be a bit standoffish when I met new people, but I had tried to be more friendly when I met them. I wasn't actually sure if that's why they didn't like me, it was more an assumption based on past experiences. They were her team, some of her closest friends, honestly, I wanted them to like me. Three years had passed since our first meeting and I didn't know how to change it.

Ashley wrapped her arms around my shoulders, snapping me out of my thoughts, "You okay Y/n/n?"

"I'm fine."

"No, we don't do that. You can be stoic, grumpy, tough, or whatever around everyone else, but not me. If you don't want to talk to me about it, tell me, I won't push. Just don't pretend you're fine when I know you're not."

"I'm sorry. Cuddles?"

Ashley lay down on the couch, letting me lie on top of her, head resting against her neck. It was a lot easier to deal with feelings when wrapped up in the comfort she provided. After a few minutes, all my thoughts just tumble out.

Fingers ran through my hair, making me groan. Ashley always knew what I needed, when I needed it. It's one of the reasons I loved her so much. "My love, it's not that they don't like you. I know what you're going to say, but it's true. They just find you a little bit intimidating, they don't know how to act around you, they don't know how to read you."

"You couldn't have mentioned this like 3 years ago?"

"Don't take that tone with me Y/n. I didn't know how they felt until recently when I told them you'd be around more this season. All you have to do is try to be a bit more open, talk to them, interact with them. A smile every now and then wouldn't hurt either. I know it's not easy for you, but even trying will make a difference."

I sighed, nuzzling my face further into her, "I'm sorry Ash. Okay, I can do that. At least I think. I'm sorry for being grumpy with you. Let me cuddle for a minute then I'll make dinner and we can finish packing, maybe a bath?"

She kissed my forehead, fingers running through my hair, "You weren't grumpy at me, you just let the nerves get the better of you. Don't make a habit of it though. A bath sounds fantastic. I love you grumpy."

I peppered her face with kisses before dragging myself up, "I love you."

---

A smile instantly appeared as arms wrapped around my waist, accompanied by the familiar voice of my girlfriend. "Hi baby."

I turned around, wrapping my arms around her and lifting her up, her legs wrapping around me. My head rest against her chest, enjoying the feeling of her again. Honestly, it hadn't even been that long apart, I had to spend a few weeks at home before joining her. Ashley was my place, my home, my comfort. Anytime we were apart, even for a few days, felt like forever. "I missed you."

Some of Ashley's team were in the lobby hanging back waiting for her. I sent them a quick smile and wave before turning my attention back to Ashley. She pecked my lips, arm wrapping around my shoulder, letting me cuddle against her. Despite what most would think, 90% of the time I was the little spoon and I loved it. "I missed you too. Dinner tonight? We have training this afternoon so maybe 7?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, I'll find somewhere and sort it."

"Thank you. Also, team bonding tomorrow night if you're up for it. No pressure."

"I'll be there."

All I really wanted to do was spend alone time with Ashley. I decided on a picnic on the beach instead of a restaurant. So while Ashley was at training, I went to the store to pick up some of her favourite snacks, drinks, desserts, and of course flowers. At about 6:30, I ordered Ashley's favourite pizza then headed to the beach to set everything up, then texted her where to meet me. My original plan was to pick her up, but I also wanted everything to be set up before she got there.

Right at 7pm, Ashley came walking along the beach. Dressed in sweats and a hoodie, looking as beautiful as ever. "What's all this?"

"Well, I wanted alone time with you and this is more romantic than a restaurant I think. This is okay right?"

Ashley smiled, lips connecting with mine in a deep kiss, "Y/n/n, anything you do is amazing. I love this and I love you so much. Are those flowers?"

"I love you more. Of course, can't have a romantic dinner without flowers."

After dinner, we ended up lying on the beach watching the stars. Ashley cuddled into my side, leaving light kisses along my neck. "How did I get so lucky with you?"

"I'm the one who got lucky Ash. For some reason, you met my grumpy ass and decided yes that is who I want to be with. You are incredible my love, you fill my life with so much love and happiness. I wouldn't give you up for anything in this world. I love you."

"I love you Y/n/n. I will never get over this side of you. Your grumpy ass is stuck with me for life, just gotta make it official."

I laughed, tapping her nose. It was mostly a joke, Ashley knew that I would propose likely in the next couple of months. I just wanted it to be perfect and not that she knew, but I wanted both her team and her family there. "Soon my love."

----

It had been a few weeks since I started coming to camp with Ashley. Since she told me I was kind of intimidating, I was trying to be more friendly. It wasn't the easiest thing, I had always been more withdrawn and perceived as grumpy or tough. I wanted her team to like me so I was trying. They were important to her so I wanted to at least make an effort to get along with them.

Most of them still kept a bit of a distance from me. They were friendly and included me when I was around, but there was still some unsureness on their part. Emily on the other hand seemed to make it her mission to annoy me as much as possible. In a way, it was nice that she didn't seem to mind my so-called grumpiness. It was also incredibly annoying. Despite that, I had a soft spot for her.

Emily ran at me the moment Ashley untangled herself to go get a drink, managing to jump on me before I could stop her, "Emilyyy, get off."

My hair was messed up before Emily dropped back to the ground, tongue sticking out at me. 

"Grump."

"Irritating."

"Yeah yeah whatever, you love it. Some of the girls and I are going shopping, you wanna come?"

"That is the last thing I want to do. Shopping is my nightmare and I already do enough of it with Ash." Emily looked slightly disappointed which made me feel guilty. I also realised this could be a good opportunity to develop my relationship with at least some of them. I couldn't bring myself to go shopping so I suggested the next thing I could think of. "I could meet you for lunch or coffee instead if you guys are doing that."

"It's a date. I'll text you when we're heading for lunch."

Ashley popped up next to me, making me jump slightly at her sudden presence, "You going on a date with someone else?"

Emily wrapped her arm around my shoulder which I instantly tried to push off, but she just wrapped it around tighter. I didn't have the energy for a fight so just let it go. "Yup, I'm stealing your girl."

"You and whoever else you're dragging shopping."

Of course, Ashley got excited at the idea of shopping and decided to go along with them. It wasn't a surprise, Ashley loved shopping and it made Emily go away so I was happy. Now I just had to get her to let me stay back. "Finally. Don't even ask, don't pout, it's not going to work. I'm not coming shopping, you have your girls, I'm going to the gym. Go have fun baby, I'll be there for lunch. I love you."

"Fine, I'll carry my own bags. Just this once. I love you and thank you for trying. By the way, I think Em really likes you."

"She alright I guess. Now go."

Throughout lunch, Ashley was on one side of me and Emily was on the other. Which meant Emily annoyed me while Ashley laughed at me. I admit it helped with the nerves, and stopped me from thinking too much about everything. Emily poked my cheek over and over until I slapped her hand away, poking her cheek instead. I unsuccessfully looked at Ashley for help, her being distracted in conversation.

I groaned, leaning back, trying to be as dramatic as possible, "Why are you hellbent on annoying me? You're like the annoying little sister I never wanted."

"Because I can and you're stuck with me as long as you're with Ash."

"Dammit, that means I'm stuck with you for life."

Emily stopped her annoyance, smiling at me instead, "You going to be with our Ashley for the rest of your life?"

"That's the plan."

A hand landed on my shoulder, running down my arm as lips pressed against my cheek, "I like that plan."

My hand ran along her thigh, kissing her cheek, "I do too."

"Alright, before things get even more gross. How did you two meet? I don't think we ever heard that story."

---

I crawled up the bed, settling myself on top of Ashley, letting out an appreciative groan as her fingers ran through my hair. This trying to be nicer thing was a lot of work. It had meant being more aware of my actions or how I held myself around them. I had never had to put that much thought into myself before. It was honestly exhausting.

"You know I would give up hockey in a heartbeat for you. I miss you so much."

"I know you would, I would do the same, but we both know we would be miserable not doing what we love. What's wrong? You get like this when somethings wrong."

"Ugh, I know. I'm just looking forward to the day when distance isn't part of our relationship. I'm just tired. Putting effort into being nicer and less intimidating is exhausting."

Ashley peppered my cheek with kisses, ending with a soft peck to my lips, "Well you're doing an amazing job Y/n/n. Half the team loves you already and the rest are on the way. You know I appreciate you right? How much you're trying to get along with them."

"You mean the world to me, Ash. Even if it's exhausting or hard, I would do anything for you. This team means a lot to you so it's important to me to get along with them. I'm just sorry it took longer than it should have."

"I'm just happy all the people I love get along."

We spent a while cuddling and making out. There weren't many words spoken, we were just enjoying time together after a couple of crazy days on her end. In our jobs that was the reality, where we barely saw each other all day, only to fall asleep minutes after getting to bed. It left me missing Ashley even though I spent every night cuddled up with her. I missed the awake cuddles, the soft kisses or not-so-soft kisses, the light touches, the comfortable silence, and the random conversations. I could have stayed there all night, but there was team bonding tonight so we had to drag ourselves down to Alyssa and Alex's room.

Everyone was waiting already, fighting over what team bonding was going to be. I made myself comfortable on the floor, leaning back against the wall while Ashley went to join in on the fight. I must have zoned out watching her because I didn't notice Kristie sitting next to me until a hand waved in front of my face.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I get like that with Sam all the time. You make her incredibly happy, you know that right?"

"All I want is for her to be happy so I will do everything in my power to make sure she is. Seeing Ashley happy, makes me happy."

Kristie pat my shoulder, "That's what I like to hear. Keep her that way."

"Yes ma'am."

Ashley had run back to our room for a deck of cards so I was left alone with her team. Since lunch the other day, I had gotten closer to some of the younger girls, but the veteran players were still a work in progress. I hadn't actually been alone with them pretty much ever. Honestly, I felt kind of awkward, like I needed to clarify that I didn't hate them or apologise for being so standoffish, "Look um I know we got off on the wrong foot-"

Alex interrupted me pretty much instantly, "Hey don't worry about it, we've seen how you are with Ash. You may seem grumpy and mean, but really you're a big softy. You treat Ashley like royalty so we like you. You also put up with Emily so you can't be that bad."

"Yeah well, she does that to me. Look I may seem grumpy or uninterested, but I don't mean to. I really like you guys. Even Emily."

"Hey!"

"Also, before you even give me any sort of talk. Ash is my forever, I plan to marry her one day soon, to spend the rest of my life with her. I would never do anything to jeopardize that. I would hurt myself before I ever dreamt of hurting her."

"Good. Welcome to the family Y/n."

Ashley came back soon after the conversation had ended, settling herself in my lap to whisper in my ear, "You okay?"

"I'm more than good my love."

[04mxfutbol]

You Are In Love (Ashley Sanchez x Reader)

A/N: This was requested by @redbullfanatic and I just want to say that I loved writing this! (: I hope you like it, and I hope everyone does as well (: I also hope I did it justice 🫡 also I’m sorry this took me like forever to finish 😭 (crossing my fingers and praying I did it justice)

P.S I’m nervous sweating for this 🥲 lmaoo

Oh and I highly recommend listening to You Are In Love by Taylor Swift while reading this, and make sure the repeat one song option is on 👀

You never understood why people fell in love, never understood how someone could love another person so much. You certainly didn't think you'd fall in love with someone, or understand what everyone said about falling in love.

It never crossed your mind that you could fall in love, but seeing your friends, teammates, be in love with their significant other it started crossing your mind.

Crossing your mind just a little more often, crossing your mind every time you were with the one person who understood you more than yourself.

Your best friend.

It was a late night during the season. You and Ashley had drove to your favorite spot after training, where stargazing was the only time you two seemed to enjoy each others company just a bit more.

And although you both played for the same team, you both always seemed to be caught up on something new.

“You’re like literally the best, best friend I’ve ever had.” Ashley says as she lays her head on your shoulder.

“You’ve had others before me? I feel so betrayed, hurt.” You say jokingly. "Wounded."

“See you’re just the best.”

“Well I am the best.” You say with a smirk. "No one better than me baby."

“Easy now. Don’t be too cocky. I can easily give your spot to someone else.”

“Who? Trin? The girl who can’t cook to save her life. Who’d bake you your sweets when you’re sad.”

“Damn you're so right. I guess I'll have to keep you around." Ashley says jokingly.

"You guess? Wow. I didn't know this side of you Ash."

"You know I appreciate you."

"Appreciate me? Oof. Shot after shot Ash. Come on Ash you love me." You say wrapping your arm around her. "Say it."

"You're so weird sometimes." Ashley says as she pushes you away.

"You love me, say it."

"No."

"Say it."

"No."

"Say it."

"Y/N no."

"Come on Ash say it."

"Another day when you're not threatening me."

"Threatening? So dramatic." You say shaking your head.

Bickering. It's what best friends do. And it went on the whole night.

Ashley never gave in to your ‘threat’ that night.

But that was months ago.

- - - -

You always heard that being in love was something so unique, so magical, so special. They said that falling in love would make you understand what all the fuss was about.

Apparently it also made people crazy, which made you absolutely terrified. How can love make someone crazy? Crazy in love?

It terrified you, how could love make someone crazy? Fears of loving someone was always on your mind.

Because how is that possible? Is it even possible? To be crazy in love?

Is it?

Another question that was constantly crossing your mind.

"Are you listening to me?" Rose asks you.

"I am yeah." You say turning to face her, giving her all your attention.

"So as I was saying, I told Pinoe to grab me food before the game and she forgot it!" Rose shouts, hands on your shoulders as she shook you.

"Devastating." You say shaking your head.

"So much." Rose says with a sigh, defeated, she laid back on the couch. "I was hungry."

Some of the girls from the national team met at Trinity's apartment the night before the gala you would all be attending.

You glanced up and saw Ashley laughing at whatever Trinity was saying. Typical.

"So how's this side of the country treating you?" Rose asks you with a smile. "Good I hope?"

"Good indeed." You answer, looking at Rose with a smile. "I'm liking it here."

Rose smiled at you then looked up at the ceiling, you glanced at Ashley once again only to see that she was looking at you. She smiled at you, the look on her face seemed different, but nevertheless you smiled back and looked back at Rose.

"How's Seattle treating you?" You ask, leaning back on the couch beside Rose.

"You know what? I absolutely love it there, although I don't get enough sun as you can clearly see, but still I love it there." Rose says looking at you.

"Good, you deserve that. A city that truly appreciates you." You say, Rose smiles at you as she hugs you.

"You know Ash, I say tomorrow at the gala we find a good dancing partner." Trinity says as she puts her arm around Ashley.

"That's why I have you though? Right?" Ashley says confused.

"Oh, you're right, crap. Damn you're a terrible dance partner then." Trinity says and laughs.

"Fuck you." Ashley says with a chuckle as she punched Trinity on the arm.

"You're too easy to mess with." Trinity says.

"Whatever." Ashley says as she then glanced at you, but you were so focused talking to Rose you didn't notice.

The night went on for hours, yet you and Ashley had yet to catch up since you had gotten back from your trip. It would have to wait until the following night.

- - - -

It was finally gala night. Everyone dressed nicely, all ready to enjoy the night. Or at least get through the night.

"Are you okay? You're so out of it, come on we have to go inside."

"I'm fine, I'm just tired and want to be in bed."

"Typical."

You walked into the ballroom where many players of the league had already arrived. Luckily for you the gala was being hosted in the same city you played for.

So here you were, alongside your good friend Naomi.

“Nervous?” Naomi asks you as she walks right beside you.

“A little?” You say with a nervous laugh. “It’s our second year but having to socialize is not something I want to do.”

“At least you’ll be able to reunite with Ashley. She said you two haven’t talked since the season was over?”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Right.”

“I have!” You exclaim.

“You two play for the same team, what do you mean you’re busy. Also she’s literally your best friend.” Naomi says as she pulls you to the side.

“I have brand stuff.”

“You’re such a bad liar.” Naomi says shaking her head. “Come on let’s go take a seat.”

You followed Naomi, trying your hardest to not make eye contact with anyone because socializing was something you were trying to avoid.

“Y/N! Where were you! I thought we were coming together.” Trinity says as she hugs you from behind.

“I had to wait for Naomi to get ready, she takes a long time.” You say turning to look at Naomi.

“Don't try putting this on me, I didn’t take long, you were the one who couldn’t find their shoes.”

“Sounds about right.” Trinity says with a laugh. “Ash is looking for you. She’s been looking for you the whole time we’ve been here.”

“I forgot to text her I was getting here late.” You say as you pull your phone. “Yikes, I didn’t see her calls or messages. Whoops.”

“She’s with Sophia and Rose, I think they were grabbing drinks.” Trinity says and you nod.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get this started! Grab the person beside you and let’s dance!” The DJ shouts, as they put some upbeat music.

“Come on.” Trinity says pulling you by the arm and towards the dance floor. “You can look for Ash later.”

“My worst nightmare.” You groan as you’re pulled onto the dance floor. “I’d rather go get a drink.”

“Too late.” Trinity shouts as she starts dancing. “Come on Y/N, dance!”

"Isn't Ash your dancing partner?" You ask.

"Oh well, she's not here and you are, so for now dance with me."

You looked around and saw everyone dancing, you couldn’t just stand there like a statue. You took a deep breath and began to let go, the music filling your ears and you started to dance to the music.

“There we go!” Trinity shouts as she grabs your hands. “Ash is going to kill me for making you dance with me.”

“No she won’t.”

“Oh she most definitely will, she wants to talk to you.” Trinity shouts just enough for you to hear and you furrow your eyebrows.

“About?”

“She didn’t tell me but she said she wanted to talk to you. Seemed important if you ask me.”

“Huh.” You hummed.

“You two have been so weird. What secrets do you guys have hidden?” Trinity asks you which makes you laugh.

“There's no secrets.” You say confused.

Well it may have been a tiny lie. Well you kept a secret, not just from Trinity but also from Ashley, and well just about everyone.

After dancing with Trinity for a good amount of time, you stepped away and went to grab a drink. The lights were dimmed, just enough to know where you were walking.

Heading towards the bar, you bumped into teammates and friends, stopping and chatting before you finally got to the bar. Once at the bar you asked for a drink, non alcoholic, because you didn’t want to say or do anything you’d regret the following morning.

You grabbed your drink and stood in the back. Searching for Ashley.

As you took another sip from your drink you had finally spotted Ashley, who just so happened to look up. You smiled and waved at her, in the darkened room you could still see her beautiful eyes, she smiled at you and subtly waved at you.

“You know you can’t avoid her forever.” Naomi says, startling you.

“Oh my god, you scared me.” You say as you clutch your drink.

“You should tell her you know. You two have been best friends since like forever. Since before I met you, and I met you at college.” Naomi says. “You should tell her you l-.”

“Ah ah ah. I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re best friends. We hang out together and we bake cookies sometimes. We watch movies and we cry together, well she cries to sad dog videos.” You say nonchalantly.

“Your eyes say something else.” Naomi says softly as she reaches for your hand.

“My eyes say I don’t want to be here.”

“If that’s what helps you get through the day.” Naomi says patting your back. "But if you were to ask me, I see something else."

You took another sip, thanking yourself as you chose correctly in asking for a non alcoholic drink. You looked around the room once again and saw Ashley from afar. But looked away as soon as she looked up.

Naomi caught a glimpse in Ashley’s eyes, her face. Naomi smiled as she looked at you.

“The eyes never lie.” Naomi whispers to you as she walks away.

Ashley looked at you the entire night. Wondering why you still hadn’t gone to talk to her.

“You told her right? That I wanted to talk to her.” Ashley asked Trinity.

“For the billionth time Ash, I did. I told her.” Trinity says. “Is it that important?”

“Not necessarily I suppose.” Ashley says with a sigh.

“You know what could help the whole you two avoiding each other for like a couple of weeks now?”

“What?”

“You maybe telling Y/N that you know.. you kind of, maybe, well.. that you l-.”

“Nope.” Ashley says cutting Trinity off before she could finish her sentence. “You give me terrible advice.”

“Says the one who can’t talk to her best friend because she’s too scared.” Trinity says.

“I’m not scared. I’m just waiting.”

“Waiting for what? A sign?”

“Maybe.”

“You got mad at her for taking her shirt off in front of you after you had flicked a ton of flour on her. Ash, babe. Best friends don’t get mad. Plus she’s done that plenty of times in front of you, in front of like everyone, like in the locker room when we all change. And for you to suddenly get mad.. Please, I’m not dumb.” Trinity says as she takes a sip of her drink. "Or blind. There's only one reason that could make it all make sense to me. And I'm sure I'm right."

"She's my best friend. If it's what I'm thinking you're thinking, you're completely wrong Trin."

"Friends to lovers, you gotta love that." Trinity says with a smirk. "On a serious note, who says she doesn't feel the same way."

"I say." Ashley says. "And I never said I feel that way."

"You kind of just gave it away. Also, I think you both feel it and know it deep down." Trinity whispers as she looks up and sees you talking to Naomi. “You both have that look, I just think neither of you realize it or maybe don’t want to see it. OR maybe you two are just clueless. You guys just need a little push.”

"I hate you." Ashley whispers.

"You gotta love me though, or else who would help sad little you." Trinity says patting the top of Ashley's head.

Later on in the night as you were sitting you felt arms wrap around you. You looked up and saw Ashley was the one hugging you.

“Hey.” You say as you hug Ashley back, grabbing her hands.

“Hey.” Ashley says with a smile.

“What’s up?”

"Nothing. Wanted to say hi." Ashley says as she lets go.

“Trinity said you wanted to talk?” You say.

“Oh yeah well I just wanted to ask you if you were coming but you’re here so my question has been answered.” Ashley says with a smile.

“Oh, well, do you want to go out and get some fresh air?” You ask and she nodded.

You grabbed your coat before walking out, knowing she’d get cold soon enough.

“What are they up to?” Sophia asks Trinity.

“I don’t even know anymore. They’re so not… themselves.” Kelley says as she grabs food off of Sophia’s plate.

"They do know we were right here, right?" Rose asks as she looked at the rest of the girls.

"I'm going to be honest, I highly doubt they even noticed us." Trinity says. "They seem to forget that there's other people around these days."

"What do you know?" Sophia asks Trinity, turning around to get a read on her face. "Oh you know something."

"I'm an observer yes, I'm also nosy. Unfortunately this time, I know nothing. Yet."

As you walked out, you both felt the cool breeze on your skin.

“I’m cold.” Ashley says immediately.

“I knew you’d say that, which is why I brought my coat.” You say as you help Ashley put on your coat.

“Thank you.” Ashley says with a smile, buttoning up the coat you had brought out for her.

“That’s what best friends are for.” You say with a smile. “Plus I know you always get cold.”

You both stayed silent, watching people walk by the street.

“So..” Ashley says filling in the silence.

“So?” You ask.

“The gala is great so far don’t you think?”

“Yeah, no it’s been great. I like seeing everyone I don’t usually get to see.” You say nodding.

There’s silence again.

You turned to look at Ashley, something in the look she had made, made you wonder so many things. Could it be? Were you just maybe imagining things?

Yeah. You had to be imagining things. Right? But maybe not? You couldn't prove it, but maybe, just maybe you were seeing just enough to know.

“I like your necklace it’s pretty.”

“Thank you, it was a gift.” Ashley says with a smile and you nod. “I’ve missed you. I know we see each other like a lot but I miss having my best friend around. So we can do things together.”

“Has Trinity not been of any help?” You ask.

“She’s a terrible baker.” Ashley says with a laugh, you laughed as well, knowing well that Trinity was in fact not a good baker.

“I’m sorry I’ve had to put you through such a difficult situation.” You say sarcastically. “You poor poor thing.”

“Shut up.” Ashley says with a laugh, as she lightly punched you. “But it’s been such a pain. I hope you don’t leave me for that long again.”

“I won’t I promise.”

“Good.”

You both smiled and stayed silent again.

The silence wasn't awkward, there was no tension. It felt nice, even though there was silence, you both felt at peace, felt comfortable.

Silence. But this time, this silence was beginning to feel different than before.

You were both realizing it. A different type of silence. A silence you both had never felt.

After a short while, standing in silence, you both walked back inside. But shortly after the Gala was over you had to talk to Naomi.

“Do you mind going with Trinity back to her apartment? Ash and I are going for a drive.” You whisper.

“Drive? Did you tell her that I said that the eyes never lie.” Naomi asks.

“No. We're just heading back to change real quick and then going on for a drive. We haven't seen each other in a while, you said it yourself. We're going to catch up." You say truthfully.

"Okay then. Don't be out too late though." Naomi says and you nod.

After the gala was over, you and Ashley went back to your apartment, changing into some comfier clothes, then heading back out.

"It's a beautiful night out." Ashley says as you drive.

"It always is." You say as you take a quick glance at Ashley who was looking out the window.

"So where are we going? We have lots of catching up to do." Ashley says turning back around.

“I say we go where we usually go. Deal?”

“Sounds great.”

"I do feel like this is going to be a long drive, should we maybe get coffee?"

"My weakness, yes please. There's a drive thru coffee shop a couple of blocks down, it's open 24/7."

"Well bless their souls for being open at midnight." You answer as you drive to the coffee shop.

Once you both had your coffee, you drove down to the closest but also furthest place from town, away from so many lights. To a beautiful scenic view.

You put your hand out, setting it on Ashley’s thigh.

“What?” Ashley asks as she takes a sip of her coffee.

“Hold my hand won’t you.”

“Why?”

“When did you start asking so many questions? You just take my hand. Just hold it you weirdo.” You say as you shake your hand.

Ashley held onto your hand, it felt like you were in high school again. Sneaking out to get snacks and going out for a drive.

The rest of the drive was left in a comfortable silence. Nothing out of the ordinary, just comfortable silence, and the sound of the wind coming through the windows.

You turned for another quick glance, but this time Ashley was looking at you as well. You smiled and looked back at the road.

"What?" Ashley asks as she started to giggle nervously.

"Nothing."

"You're being weird."

"I'm being weird? You're being weird." You say with a laugh.

At the next stop you turned and saw the light of the traffic light reflecting off of Ashley’s necklace.

“I like your necklace.”

“Well you gave it to me for my twenty second birthday.” Ashley says with a smile.

As you arrived, you took out the blanket out from the backseat.

“See I’m grateful you have a truck, but not those big ugly trucks. Just a cool, small truck.” Ashley says, you turn around and look confused.

“What?” You ask with a laugh. “It’s a Toyota Tacoma.”

“Yeah a nice truck.” Ashley says and you laugh.

You continue laughing as you open the back, placing the blanket, then go back to the backseat and grab some pillows.

“Come on.” You say as you extend your hand out to help her on.

Ashley grabbed onto your hand as she got on, coffee still in her hand. You both laid down, legs extended out as you both looked up.

“I love when we come out and stargaze.” Ashley whispers as she pulls on the second blanket. “It’s always so pretty.”

“To get out of all the noise in the city?” You ask.

“That and being able to just stare at the sky with you in silence. Because even when we’re hanging out and it’s silent it’s still so enjoyable.” Ashley says as she turns on her side to face you.

You sat up to take another sip of your coffee, no way you were sleeping anytime soon.

Ashley sat up as well, taking a sip from her coffee as well.

And although there was pure silence, somehow it was also loud.

Naomi’s words were stuck in the back of your mind the whole time, maybe that was what was loud.

“The eyes never lie.”

As you both sat up, Ashley looked down at her hands, she was fidgeting with her fingers. You knew that meant she was nervous.

“Hey, what’s going on? What’s making you so nervous?” You ask, but Ashley didn’t look up. “Ash? Look up. Look at me. What’s going on?”

You scooted closer to her as she looked up and your shoulders brushed against each other.

You grabbed her hand, while looking at her worryingly. Ash was never one to get nervous or anxious when you were around.

“The eyes never lie.”

Naomi’s words ringing in your mind. If there were a mute button on those words, you’d press it immediately.

“I-.” Ashley stopped herself from speaking, you furrowed your eyebrows. “I-.”

“Ash?”

For once Ashley couldn’t speak, couldn’t say what she wanted to say. She was starting to get irritated with herself.

You’re her best friend. Ashley thought. Why was it so hard to talk to you?

“Ash? Ash you’re kind of scaring me here.” You say, Ashley sighed as she placed her hand on your cheek.

That single touch, your heart felt like it was about to jump out.

Ashley was aware of what she had done but her mind, her heart was racing.

And in the silence, the look in each others eyes. You both could hear it, feel it.

While staring at one another, no one chose to speak.

Silence.

And in the silence, you knew. You both knew.

You cupped her face with your hands and then leaned in, connecting your lips with hers.

You both moved in synch, you couldn’t seem to pull away. Neither of you could pull away. As you both kissed in what seemed liked a long awaited kiss, the silence only made it so much clearer to you.

You were in love.

In love with your best friend.

Finally after pulling away, Ashley rested her forehead against yours, bumping her nose against yours, pecking your lips once again before actually pulling away.

Neither of you said a word, the silence seemed to say it all for you both. You grabbed her hand again and just closed your eyes for a few seconds.

The kiss wasn’t awkward, the silence was comfortable.

Ashley rested her head on your shoulder as you both looked at the view in front of you.

“I like you.” Ashley whispers.

“I like you too. If me reciprocating wasn’t clear.” You say softly making Ashley giggle.

You weren’t just going to admit you loved her, not like this. And although you definitely knew, you weren’t going to say those three words just yet.

Ashley smiled as she grabbed your hand, lifting it up and kissing the top of your hand.

Ashley felt her heart pound, but also feeling how at ease she felt with you. Holding your hand this time was not the same as before, this time she knew you had felt the same way.

The drive back was peaceful, comfortable. Still, neither of you had said another word but there seemed to be no awkwardness or tension.

It just felt right.

"I'm going to take you out tomorrow. A real date." You say right before you both went to your separate bedrooms.

"Let's see if you remember that tomorrow morning."

"I'll remember don't you worry."

As you both laid in your separate beds, the bedrooms across each other, you were both staring at the ceiling.

Ashley silently cheered as she kicked her feet against the mattress. She covered her face with a pillow, although no one could see her she hid as if someone could. Her smile never fading away.

You were smiling at the ceiling, hoping and wondering if Ashley was maybe just as giddy as you were. You pulled your blanket over your face, smiling as wide as you possibly could.

The two of you seemed to not get enough sleep. Replaying the entire night over and over in your heads. Or it was possibly the coffee you both had. Definitely the first thing though.

The following morning you got up bright and early to try and make breakfast, but seeing as you weren’t home for a while. There were barely any groceries, mostly just bread, so toast it was.

"Something smells burnt." Ashley says groggily as she lifted her head up from the table.

Burnt toast.

"I have a broken toaster, you can't blame me." You say turning around. It was a lie, well half lie. It was a broken toaster, but you had forgotten you had put toast. Too distracted by looking at her.

Messy hair and a smile on her face as she stretched.

"I like your shirt."

"Thanks it's comfy. Oh and yours." Ashley smiled as she spun around.

"My clothes do look good on you. Good sleep?"

"The best, oh and I'm keeping this shirt." Ashley says as she walks over to you. "Burnt toast on a Sunday type of day I suppose."

"It's my specialty." You say with a smile, Ashley stepped to the side and jumped on the counter. "I'll make a good breakfast with what I can find, and not burnt."

Ashley smiled as she swung her legs.

"Y/N?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have a target picture frame of a family stock photo on your coffee table."

"I haven't gotten to it yet okay? I can't find a worthy picture of going in the picture frame. It has to be nice, pretty, and something I love."

"So a family stock photo is better than an empty picture frame?" Ashley asks.

"Umm, yes."

"You're so weird."

"Well you kissed this weirdo last night." You say turning around to face her.

"Touché."

Although technically you two weren’t official yet, it felt like you two had been together for years now. I guess that's the advantage of being best friends for many years now.

You walked over to Ashley, a smile on both her face and yours. You stood in front of her, in between her legs, big smile on your face.

“I like you.” You say as you leaned in.

“I like you.”

“But we established that already didn't we." You say with a smile, Ashley simply nodded. "Date. Tonight."

"You remembered." Ashley says sounding surprised.

"Hey I keep my word, so tonight. Date?"

"Date."

"Great." You say then lean in to give her a small kiss.

You didn't know if it would get better than this, but if it did, then maybe you would understand everything everyone always said about being in love.

- - - -

Three months. Three months of being officially together, and you had to say they were by far the best three months of your life.

You asked Ashley to be your girlfriend on your third date, it was an unforgettable night.

Today though, today you were out with friends, and with your girlfriend beside you.

"You're so pretty." Ashley whispers as you walked behind the rest of the girls.

"You're beautiful."

Forgetting you were with other people, you stopped on the sidewalk to kiss her.

"We're going to leave you both here, with no ride home." Trinity shouts.

"Come on before they actually leave us." Ashley says pulling away.

"One more." You say with a smile, pulling her back into you and kissing her again.

"Y/N."

"I had to get one more." You say with a grin.

You walked hand in hand, swinging your hands as if you two were in your own little world. In your minds, you obviously were.

Today had made up from the fight you guys had the week before about some absurd miscommunication mishap. Well it wasn't absurd, you thought it was, which is probably why you had gotten into a fight, but you stayed up all night talking and trying to get Ashley to stop being mad at you.

So here you were, going shopping with her and the girls, and that meant buying her a few things. But buying her things isn't what Ashley wanted, she just wanted to spend time with you and your group of friends.

After a long shopping spree, you returned to your apartment. Which was becoming yours and Ashley's apartment, having more and more of her stuff magically appear. But you were loving it.

You loved her, but you weren't telling her yet, not yet. Because as much as it did, you knew those three words are so powerful and mean a lot.

As you got home the first thing you both had gone to do was lay on the bed, and as you both did, you both looked up at the ceiling, music in the background.

Ashley turned to look at you, a smile on her face as she saw you had closed your eyes.

She was going to say it, say those three words. Tell you that she has loved you all this time but didn't want to rush it, she was about to tell you that when she sees you all she feels is warmth and love.

But she held back, wondering if it was too early to say it.

But how could it be early when you both had loved each other for longer than you had initially thought.

Nevertheless you both didn't say it that night.

- - - -

Six months now, six beautiful months. It seemed like the more time passed by, the happier you got, you never thought this much happiness was real. You thought it was all fairytale talk, but it wasn't.

Ashley opened her eyes in the middle of the night, the thoughts in her head couldn't let her sleep. You were also awake, the thoughts in your head also couldn't let you sleep.

The both of you looked up at ceiling, not a single word was said as you held hands.

A few minutes later you both turned on your side, you both looked at each other, the look on Ashley's face was strange, different. You smiled softly at her as she still looked at you differently, you couldn't figure out the look on her face, but it didn't matter you still leaned into her touch.

"You're my best friend." Ashley whispers as she caresses your cheek. Leaning in to rest her forehead against yours. Her whole body seemed to relax in that moment.

It seemed like everything changed, and it definitely did.

You knew it then and there, her words, the strange look on her face, it all made sense.

You knew what it was.

You didn't say anything, you just embraced it all, the warmth, the pure bliss.

She was in love and so were you.

But neither of you had to say it, you both knew it right there. The moment she said it, she knew by your body language.

You both knew.

The silence filled the room again, but it was once again, a comfortable silence.

- - - -

One year. One year with Ashley and it was still as beautiful and magical as it was in the beginning.

So there you were, standing in the kitchen making breakfast for Ashley. You made pancakes with blueberries, trying your best to not burn anything this time.

As you finished plating the food, you felt arms wrap around you. You turned your head and kissed Ashley on the cheek.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, how long have you been up?" Ashley asks as she kisses your back.

"An hour at most." You answer as you flip the pancake.

"How are you not tired? We had training yesterday. And it was brutal."

"Oh I'm definitely feeling it, but nothing can stop me from making you breakfast." You say as you grab the plates and take them to the table.

"You could always sleep in with me."

"If I were to do that we'd be in bed until the afternoon because you never want to get out of bed." You say with a look.

"You’re acting as if you would actually get out of bed. You’re a liar. You know damn well you wouldn’t want to get out of bed either.”

“Okay true but my point still stands.” You say which resulted in Ashley making a weird face.

“No it really doesn’t.” Ashley says shaking her head. "Like at all."

You looked at Ashley, her smile could light up the whole city, you were sure of it.

The moment that went through your head you thought that was so corny, and mentally asked yourself, how did you get to this point?

So far everyone was right, love does make people crazy and apparently corny.

"Something smells burnt." Ashley says making your eyes widen.

"Crap. My toast."

"Oh the irony, burnt toast on a Sunday again."

“Well at least your pancakes are intact, my toast on the other hand, are definitely not intact. The price I pay for admiring you.”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Yes. You’re too distracting.”

“Was it my fault last week when you burnt your pasta? Because I can assure you I wasn’t home when that took place.”

“I was thinking of you.”

“You’re unbelievable.” Ashley says with a chuckle, slightly shoving you.

“You know, Trin says you keep a picture of me in your locker.”

“How can I not? I have one of you in my locker, in my car, in my wallet. The list goes on.”

“Ashley Sanchez is down bad everyone.” You say as you sit beside her. “And down bad for me.”

“You’re so right. I’m not even going to deny it.” Ashley says making you laugh. “But so are you, for me obviously.”

“I’d be crazy not to be.”

“You’re my person. I hope you know that.” Ashley says as she reaches for your hand. “And you always will be.”

“I feel the same way about you.”

Ashley smiled as she looked at you, her eyes shined in a way it had never shined before, eyes so bright and filled with love, admiration, everything.

Your heart was beating faster than normal, your eyes shined bright, you were sure your eyes were in the shape of hearts. How could someone be so beautiful, wonderful, kind, and just so utterly perfect. That someone was your girlfriend.

Even now you still couldn’t believe it.

After finishing breakfast, you both cleaned the apartment, and once that was finished you headed outside.

The entire front yard was covered in snow, the small attempted snowman was beside the door, rocks as the eyes and a piece of raw penne pasta as the nose. Ashley’s signature, as she couldn’t find a carrot in the fridge.

“I can’t believe it’s still snowing.” Ashley says as she looks up, eyes closed and tongue out as she tried to catch snowflakes.

“I can’t believe we train in this weather.” You say as you grab the snow shovel that was leaned against your car.

“Are you really going to shovel the snow right now? Come and make some snow angels with me.”

“If you want us to be stuck here tomorrow, sure.”

“It’s pre season training babe. Come, here I’ll even put some music on, I brought the speaker out. What do you want to listen to?”

“Anything you want.” You say as you shovel some of the snow while Ashley decided on a song.

“Great, Taylor Swift it is.” Ashley says as she presses play. “Now come, we don’t have to go in for training tomorrow.”

You looked up and saw Ashley dancing in the snow, you dropped the snow shovel and ran towards her. You lifted her up and spun her around.

The song playing didn’t register in your mind, so enchanted, so amazed, so mesmerized, and just so focused on what was currently happening.

All you heard was four words from the song.

You are in love

It was as if it was telling you, confirming it to you. What you were feeling was true and real. Then two more words confirmed it all.

True Love.

Ashley laughed as you spun her around, her hands in the air, you spun her around for a few more seconds before stopping.

You smiled, Ashley was still laughing at your antics of spinning her around.

Right then and there, you truly understood, you understood why people said falling in love was so magical, unique, so beautiful. You understood why people lost their minds.

Being in love was the best thing that could ever happen to someone.

Without even registering it, you said the three words you never thought you’d ever tell anyone. But you did.

“I love you.”

You understood why people fight for the person they love.

Because when you are in love, sometimes love can make you crazy. But in a good way.

You helped Ashley back on the ground, her hands went up to cup your face, a big smile as she read your face.

“I love you.”

You smiled as you wrapped your arms around her waist, pulling her in for a kiss. Ashley laughed as she pulled away, her eyes were watery as she looked at you like you hung the stars just for her. She loves you.

“I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, deep in my heart I just always knew I loved you.”

“That makes two of us.” Ashley says as she booped your nose. “I love you. I truly do love you.”

The fears of loving someone were no longer around.

Because you knew, you knew that you are in love.

“I love you."

The song continued playing and replaying over and over. Probably because Ashley didn't know she accidentally pressed the 'replay one song' option. But maybe it was a good idea, because it became your song.

And inside your shared apartment, one day in the next three years, the target picture frame of a family stock photo on the coffee table would be replaced by a picture of you both on your wedding day, for every guest in your home to see. Someone you love was placed in the picture frame, you just had to wait, and it was worth the wait. You always wanted a worthy picture to be placed, a picture of something you loved, in this case it was someone you love.

Your wife.

That is life now. And you were happy it was the way it turned out to be, because it's beautiful and wonderful, magical. You knew what it was from the beginning, and you know now what you feel.

You are in love. True love.

[onlyhereforthestories]

Stay, Stay, Stay (Ashley Sanchez x Reader)

This was a request that I loved writing! I hope you all like and this is my first Ashley fic but expect more!

It had been a long day and you were more than ready to get home to your girlfriend of 3 years. Since coming out to the public in the most subtle way you could (showing your support for the woman at the World Cup and how proud you were of her for being there) you had been noticed more in your normal life. This has led to more pictures and eyes on you no matter where you were and that included at your work. For some reason today seemed to be a day where you noticed the presence of cameras or phones trained at you more and that made you really uneasy.

You were hoping Ashley hadn't seen any of the recent ones yet, so you had time to explain yourself and what happened today before she got the wrong idea. However as soon as you walked through the door to your shared apartment you knew the pictures were already all over social media and the blonde had seen them. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen with a slightly hurt expression on her face and her arms crossed protectively over her chest.

You took a moment to take your shoes and coat off before you made your way towards her, you kept your hands in your pockets and tried to relax your posture so she could see that you were not here to argue. “It's not what it looks like.” Maybe that wasn't the best sentence to start with, but it was the truth and you wanted her to know that from the get go.

The scoff you received in return said that right now Ashley didn't believe you and part of you was hurt and the other part did not blame her. “So you pressed up behind another woman is not what it looks like yeah?” The eye roll didn't go unnoticed by you, and you knew you were in for a hell of an evening if you didn't sort this out.

“You can't see my camera because it's the other side of me and Lily, that was the start of the picture…” You saw the jealous spark flash across your girl's face when you mentioned the models name and so stopped speaking quietly.

“So you're trying to tell me that you were pressed so close to another woman without being ready to take whatever shot you were trying to take? What you wanted some extra time all stuck to her perfect model back?” Ashleys voice was getting louder and louder as she spoke. You could see her working herself up over this and you weren't sure how to help. You honestly were literally there for a second because you both realised the male model who was meant to be facing Lily wasn't ready yet. You were behind Lily so you could get the camera at a good angle between them and facing the sky for the shot of them from waist height.

You couldn't explain that right now because you knew your girl and she was not in a place to listen. She had started muttering about how you would like it if she got all up close and personal with Trin in training. When she headed for the lounge you made to follow only to have a pillow thrown at your face.

You blink a couple of times to process what just happened, you couldn’t think of a time at which Ashley had even threatened seriously to throw anything at you, so you were slightly in shock. When you managed to ground yourself you looked up to see the smaller blonde stood in shock by the coach that had a throw cushion missing from its usual set up.

Taking another few deep breaths you opened your mouth so speak, as you do you see Ashley shrink a little ready for what she thought was going to be an angry response from you. “|I think it would be best if I go into the bedroom for a little while and give you some space and time. I’m sorry you had to see the photo without notice from me but when you are ready ill explain what happened.” Without another word you headed for your shared room to shower and change while your tiny firecracker calmed down.

Ashley was stunned to say the least, she was expecting you to blow up on her for not only getting stupidly jealous but for throwing something at you. She didn’t mean too she was just feeling really overwhelmed by her thoughts and she just needed for you to not be in the room she was. Taking a moment to listen to your retreating form she stayed standing until she heard the shower switch on. She knew you, she knew you loved her more than a lot of things so she knew that whatever the reason behind the picture would be an innocent and honest one. She would explain to you as well that she had been seeing comments about how she had managed to get the hot photographer and that you could do so much better than a world cup bench player so when the photo came out after that it had just been the final nail in the coffin.

When the shower turned off Ashley got up to go to you but when she headed in that direction she saw the cushion and bent down to pick it up. With that an idea came to her mind, you were giving her time to cool off and she knew how to get you to come back. She ran back to the couch, threw the cushion in its place and grabbed her phone connecting it to the surround sound system you had insisted they have set up in the small apartment. She scrolled through the playlist you had made together until she found it, your song.

"I'm pretty sure we almost broke up last night,

I threw my phone across the room at you,

I was expecting some dramatic turn away,

But you stayed"

You had just pulled your joggers on when you heard the first line of one of your favourite songs, it held a massive place in your heart being you and Ashley’s song. It didn’t even take you the first line to realise this was Ashley saying she was calm and ready to talk.

Deciding to have a bit of fun you rummaged in your wardrobe for your old softball helmet which you had always kept. Pulling it on you walked out the room and towards the living space where the music was coming from. As you rounded the corner you made eye contact with the love of your life and got to see the moment she realised what you had on your head.

“I’m ready to talk.” The belly laugh you got in reply was exactly what you were aiming for. It would always be one of your greatest achievements making the woman laugh.

Before you could go to take the helmet off you were being charged at. You put a foot back to brace yourself as Ashley flung herself into your arms, which of course wrapped right around her, one around her waist and the other under her left thigh to hold her to you. She had pressed her head into your neck and was pressing a few delicate kisses there as she whispered her sorry. You squeezed her waist and replied that it was okay.

Ashley was set back on her feet but before she could pull away you started to sway with your arms around her neck. You favourite Taylor Swift songs playing on in the background as the two of you got lost in the moment.

[uswnt-sanchez]

LET ME JUST LEAVE IT AT THIS

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE PLAYERS HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL AND SEEING HIM BENCH SOME OF HIS BEST PLAYERS REALLY PISSED ME OFF. LET START WITH MISS KELLEY OUR NEW COACH/ 3 TIMER VETERAN THE FACT THE SHE ONLY GOT 8 MINS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE WC AND FROM THE START SHE HAD SO MUCH DEDICATION AND FOCUS AND HE BASICALLY TORTURED HER AND THE REST OF HIS BENCH MAKING THEM WATCH HIS HORRIBLE COACHING. ASHLEY SANCHEZ, YOU COULD ASK ME A MILLION TIMES A DAY WHO MY FAV PLAYER IS AND I GIVE YOU THE SAME ANSWER ASHLEY SANCHEZ. NO MINUTES AT ALL SHE IS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST PLAYERS IN THE NWSL AND USWNT AND IT BREAKS MY HEART IN TO SHAMBLES THAT SHE WAS USED SO MUCH THROUGHOUT THE SEASON AND THE GETS CALLED UP TO THE WC JUST TO BE FORGOTTEN ABOUT IMAGINE HOW HER PARENTS FELT WATCHING THEIR DAUGHTER SIT ON THE SIDELINES WHILE HER TEAM IS BEING MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY TORTURED BECAUSE THEIR COACH DOESNT WANT TO SUB IN, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THAT MAN FOR WHAT HE DID TO THAT BENCH. BUT I KNOW SHE WILL MAKE HER NAME IN THAT NEXT WORLD CUP. I FUCKING HATE U VLATKO THE FACT THAT U PUT KRISTIE MEWIS ON TWO MINUTES BEFORE PKS WHEN U KNEW SHE COULD HAVE SAVED UR ASS A LONG TIME AGO WTF I HOPE YOU KNOW HOW FUCKED UP THAT WAS OF U. TO SWITCH SUBJECTS THE PLAYERS THAT PLAYED THE FULL 90 MINUTES OR CLOSE TO THAT FOR EXAMPLE SOPH SMITH, EMILY FOX, NAOMI GIRMA, ALEX MORGAN, JULIE ERTZ, EVERYBODY BETTER BE GIVING THEM A FUCKING ROUND OF APPLAUSE I DONT WANT TO HEAR ANY BULLSHIT ABOUT HOW THEY ALL SUCKED IN SOMEWAY BC TO PLAY EVERY GAME WITH THE SAME ENERGY AFTER UR DUMBASS COACH IS PHYSICALLY TIRING YOU AND YOU KNOW HES NOT GONNA SUB PLAYERS ANYTIME SOON SHOWS HOW MUCH RESPECT YOU HAVE FOR YOUR COUNTRY PROPS TO YOU. ALYSSA NAEHER I KNOW YOU LOST THE WORLD CUP BUT I HOPE YOU WIN THE FUCKING LOTTERY BECAUSE AFTER THAT PK YOU DESERVE THE DREAMM. SPEAKING OF DREAMS SAUCY SONNETT FUCKING DOMINATING THAT WHOLE GAME WAS A FUCKING DREAM I CRYED WHEN I SAW HER ON THE LINEUP. I HAVE SO MUCH MORE I COULD SAY BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ONE THING. JILL ELLIS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW UR UNFILTERED THOUGHTS RIGHT KNOW PLS ANS THANK YOU!

God that felt good to get off my chest.

[violetren]

Aether Chapter 5

Our girl got that wish magic. Except its probably super advanced science. And I don't know how wide a field the wishes can affect. Currently its just her. But then she hasn't tried wishing for a burrito yet so who knows?

I am absolutely delighted by the medical mystery she poses in not being able to have bloods, or hair samples, or any physical part of her basically, taken for testing. That alone feels like a reason the heroes would have to keep her where they can see her. Imagine if Maggie DID turn to crime. MAYBE she still leaves fingerprints but who can be sure? Certainly not Doctor Sanchez!

I laughed a little at the fact that Maggie is the first fictional person I have ever read about getting a new ideal body and being two inches SHORTER than she had previously been.

Nexus being scared 110% makes sense. Even if she hasn't had some awful interactions with other telepaths, which like. She's a superhero. She probably has had a fucked up telepathy battle or two in her time. Just the idea that she has this iron clad defense that she has tested through dozens of trials by fire after said fucked up telepathic battles, and then she gets read by some freaky anomalous dead girl who basically does it by accident and without really realising she's doing it.

Yeah that shit would be terrifying.

I am both surprised and not that Ashley was the one to notice Maggie was watching them. The fact that Maggie figured out she could wish for that and it would happen pretty intuitively was interesting, I wonder what else she will pick up as easily.

I had this moment of excitedly pointing at my screen, and then looking around to see if my cat was in the room (he wasn't, rudely) just so I would be able to point the line out to him (like he'd care) when Ashley was like "You're scarier than the devil." Like yeah, you would know, you also know that isn't as hard to do as it sounds most of the time. Still a good clear point of reference for people who don't know him though I guess.

Also there is something that hits me as very STEM major/doctorate in the fact that prior to death 2 Maggie literally looked at the best approximate proof of her own soul as a computer rendering could give, and then during her stretch in Planck Time™ theorised that this all happened because he soul got burned into the fabric of reality by the machine and the explosion interacting, AND THEN when Ashley was like "I wanna look at your soul" STILL went "Hmm sounds kinda like mumbo jumbo" and STILL wasn't convinced of the idea until she was literally looking back at Ashley's soul.

It was kind of a forgone conclusion that the soul gaze would go well from our perspective because Maggie is the protagonist but I can't help but imagine how hilarious it would have been if the soul gaze ended and Ashley was just like "Oh you're a piece of shit, bye" and went full attack mode. Or just if Ashley had just been like "Ok, what the fuck did I just witness?"

The reality of the text was very good and had such a nice tranquil quality to it that felt tonally appropriate for what the characters had just shared with one another, so I like it better than those errant imaginings. I just think it would have been funny and potentially have spawned a much darker story if explored in earnest.

[trustherkindheart]

I have a 9 year old foster sister who is Mexican American and she LOVES Sofia Huerta. Started playing soccer because of her. And same as that other anon, I didn’t realize before last night that she is the only player who looks like my sister on the team or who has a last name like her. But I’m white, look white, white last name. I didn’t realize what an impact it had on kids until now. I can see the confidence in my sister on the field now because she has someone to look up to. I imagine having so many players of color on the roster has to be amazing for non white kids. They get to have soccer heroes. I’m going to look up the accounts you posted because still lots of work I need to do. I guess my hot take is white fans are probably missing the many layers of importance this squad actually has. I know I did.

That's so awesome!! I'm so happy that your sister has someone to look up to and be inspired by. That's definitely something we as white people can take for granted, and it's something I need to work on.

Ashley Sanchez is also on the squad and is of Mexican decent. She's amazing and while she doesn't currently get a lot of playtime I'm hoping that changes soon!

[gamergirl929]

Bumpin' And Grindin' (Ashley Sanchez x Reader)

You knew your teammates had something planned for your 25th birthday, and that something lead to you being blindfolded and tied to a chair, but who dropped down into your lap was someone you didn't expect, and that someone was Ashley Sanchez.

What happened next was something you didn't count on, the mid-fielder becoming aware of the appendage between your legs, something you'd done literally anything and everything to hide.

Now that your secret was out, how would that change the relationship between the two of you?

Disclaimer: This fic contains smut, specifically g!p smut, feel free to skip it if it's not your thing, anyway, I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think! ❤️❤️❤️

You knew your teammates had something planned, it was your 25th birthday after all, and according to them, it was a big deal.  

And apparently, the plan led you to being sat in a chair in the middle of the room, blindfolded with your hands tied behind your back.  

“Seriously guys, what are you doing?” You ask as you attempt to move, quickly realizing you were trapped considering your hands were tied behind the chair.  

Why you’d agreed to allow your teammates to do this, you didn’t know.  

“Come on.” You grunt, jerking against your restraints.  

“Seriously what’s-- 

You fall silent as a sensual beat fills the room, the women around you beginning to cheer.  

“What’s going on?” You growl, your eyes widening behind your blindfold when you hear someone coming your way.  

“Just lean back and relax." You hear Emily Sonnett snicker and your brows furrow.  

A second later your breath catches in your throat when your waist is straddled, your hands clenching into fists as whoever it is grinds down into your lap.  

The women around you cheer as the person, a woman you suspect, rolls her hips before moving to her feet, the woman rubbing her ass against the front of your pants.  

“Goddamn it.” You sigh, your hips arching slightly, thankfully unseen by those around you.  

They drop back down into your lap, a soft moan leaving your lips, the hips of the person in your lap stuttering momentarily.  

It’s only after that stutter that you realize you’re growing hard, the woman’s core grinding down against the protrusion in your pants.  

She swivels her hips, and you whimper, the owner of those hips' breath hitching.  

You grimace when the blindfold is removed, revealing a pair of brown orbs belonging to Ashley Sanchez, her lips parted as she breathes heavily.  

“Hey! You’re supposed to keep that on!” Trinity chastises her friend, completely unaware of what’s currently going on between the two of you, your member resting against the woman’s core.  

Her cheeks flush as she shifts, your breath hitching when she brushes against your hard cock.  

“I-I-I don’t feel so good.” You stammer, leaping to your feet when Ashley is out of your lap and you've jerked your hands free.

You glance over your shoulder at the blonde who’s staring at the appendage between your legs, the woman, thankfully, being the only one who notices before you sprint away.  

“Jesus, I didn’t think your dancing was THAT bad.” Trinity snorts as she slips an arm around Ashley, the woman staring at the door you’d disappeared behind.  

"What was that about?” Kelley asks, turning to the former Washington Spirit player who shakes her head.  

“I don’t know.”  

In reality, she DID know, it was because there was something between your legs that she hadn’t expected to feel, and something you must’ve been hoping she didn't feel either.

************************************************************************You weren’t sure how long you ran, but eventually, your hotel room door is slamming shut behind you, your heart racing.  

She wasn't supposed to find out, no one was, but now here you were, your biggest secret revealed to the one woman you’d rather not know it.  

You hadn’t been with the USWNT long, which meant you in no way trusted anyone with the fact that you were intersex, several of your teammates from the NWSL knew, but no one on the USWNT knew and you had hoped to keep it that way.  

Unfortunately for you, that was no longer the case, because Ashley Sanchez knew.  

You bury your face in your hands, hoping that the blonde hadn’t decided to tell those around her about what she felt when she was straddling you.  

You can feel tears slipping down your cheeks as every worst-case scenario runs through your mind.  

What if you were kicked off the team?  

What if Ashley told someone?  

What if the media found out? 

You were trembling, outlandish scenarios playing in your mind until a sudden knock pulls you out of your thoughts, your feet moving of their own accord, carrying you towards the door before you tug it open.  

You knew opening the door without looking at who it was, was a mistake, especially since Ashley Sanchez was standing before you, the woman’s brown orbs locking with your Y/E/C’s.  

“Can I come in?” She asks, her voice barely above a whisper, the nervousness in it making you pause.  

You shuffle from foot to foot for a moment before stepping to the side and waving her in, the woman slowly shuffling inside.  

You swallow hard, your back turned towards the woman as you look through the open door, tempted to sprint from the room and disappear into the night.  

You knew you couldn’t do that, not to your team, and not to the woman sitting on the bed behind you, so with much reluctance, you push the door shut and turn towards her.  

Her brown orbs are downcast, staring at her intertwined fingers as she wiggles in her place at the end of the bed.  

“H-Hey.” You stutter, slipping your hands into your pockets, unwilling to look her in the eye.  

She clears her throat, which leads you to picking up your gaze the woman patting the bed beside her.  

Reluctantly, you make your way towards her, staring down at your feet for a moment before you decide to sit down.  

You continue staring downwards, your gaze locked on your feet as the bed shifts beside you.  

Your breath hitches when a tan hand settles on top of yours, which are intertwined and resting in your lap.  

She gives your hands a squeeze.  

“It doesn’t change anything.” She whispers and your throat bobs as you turn towards her, tears in your Y/E/C orbs.  

“It changes EVERYTHING Ash!” You sniffle, pulling your hand away from hers as you move to your feet.  

“No, it doesn’t Y/N.” She says as she too moves to her feet, the blonde approaching you, your back to her as you rest your forehead against the wall.  

“It doesn’t change anything between us, I still feel the same way I did about you before I found out.” She says, her hand resting on your upper back.  

“You and I both know you’ll never be able to look at me the same way again.” You sniffle, tears slipping down your cheeks.  

“I’ll look at you the same way as I've always looked at you.” She whispers, grabbing your wrist and turning you around until your Y/E/C orbs meet hers.  

Your breath hitches in your throat when she cups your cheeks, pushing herself up on her tiptoes so her forehead can rest against your own.  

“Nothing could ever stop me from looking at you the same way I always have.” She whispers, caressing your tanned skin, your eyes fluttering shut.  

A tear streams down your cheek but it doesn’t go far before it’s swiped away by the mid-fielder's thumb. 

You shake your head, attempting to steady your breathing. 

“What if everyone finds out...?” You ask, the blonde shaking her head.  

“They won’t, and if they do, it’ll be when you’re ready.” She smiles softly and you swallow hard.  

Silence envelopes the two of you before you find your voice.  

“What did you mean?” You ask, nervously, the woman’s brown orbs widening.  

“About what?” She asks, her voice soft, barely intelligible. 

“How is it that you look at me...?” You ask, your watery Y/E/C orbs darting from her lips to her brown orbs and back.  

She takes a deep breath, the woman’s eyes fluttering shut before she leans in, your eyes nearly bulging from your skull when her lips meet yours.  

You stay stock still, your lips unmoving as her lips move against yours, the blonde pulling back abruptly.  

“I’m so sorry, I thought...”  

She gasps softly when you lean in, your lips meeting hers again, though this time, you’re kissing back.  

She sighs into the kiss, her fingers tangling in your hair as your lips meet again and again.  

It doesn’t take long for the kisses to grow heated, your tongue slithering into the mid-fielder's open mouth, the blonde moaning.  

You knew you were getting hard, but you didn’t care, the woman’s kisses intoxicating.  

Her breath hitches when you lift her into the air and pin her against a nearby wall, her legs wrapping around your middle.  

Ashley’s hands slide up the back of your shirt, her fingers prodding into your back as you kiss hungrily.  

She lets out a squeak when you carry her to the bed before placing her gently on its surface and climbing on top of her, reconnecting your lips.  

You kiss wildly, moaning into each other's mouths as your tongues tangle, teasing each other.  

You stiffen when Ashley’s hips roll, brushing the erect member between your legs, a groan crawling up your throat.  

You roll off the blonde in embarrassment, shuffling backwards putting distance between yourself and the woman.  

“I-I’m sorry...” You stutter, unable to look at the mid-fielder who slowly shakes her head, crawling up the bed towards you.  

“You have nothing to be sorry about.”  She smiles, your eyes widening as she starts to shift.  

“Ash...?” You watch as the woman slips behind you, her back meeting the headboard before she pulls you back between her spread legs.  

“It’s a part of you, Y/N...” She whispers in your ear, gently kissing your jawline.  

"And I really, REALLY care about you.” She says her throat bobbing as she eyes you hungrily.  

“Every single part of you.” She says softly, kissing your jawline, smiling against the curve of your jaw when you lean back into her.  

Ashley licks her lips, her heart hammering in her chest as she gathers the courage to make the next move. 

“Including this.” She says, your brows knitting in confusion, that is until her hand settles on the front of your pants, covering your hard member.  

“Ash....?” You sigh, whimpering when the woman’s hand shifts, rubbing you gently.  

“Y-You don’t have to.” You say, moaning when she puts a bit more pressure behind her touch.  

“I’m the reason you’re hard.” She whispers in your ear, giving your ear lobe a gentle nip.  

“Now let me take care of you.” She purrs, your Y/E/C orbs watching intently as she palms you through your pants.  

She gauges your reaction as her hand starts moving, rubbing the hard appendage between your legs.  

You whimper, the sound making Ashley moan in response, a sound that makes you whine.  

“Fuck.” You say as her strokes increase in speed, your heels digging into the bed as your hips arch upward.  

“Like that?” Ashley asks and you groan, your brows furrowed, your bottom lip trapped between your teeth.  

“Just like that.” You groan, Ashley’s breath hitching when you grasp her thigh.  

The base of your cock begins to pulse, a telltale sign to you that you were already close.  

“Mmmm.” You whine, Ashley kissing your neck as you begin to shiver.  

“Are you going to come?” She asks and you nod rapidly, the blonde watching as you stiffen, a groan tearing its way up your throat as you shudder.  

Ashley watches as the front of the sweats you were wearing darken, your release filling your bottoms as she continues to rub you, aiding you through your orgasm.  

“F-F-Fuck.” You croak, twitching as you come down from your high.  

Ashley hums, kissing your neck over and over again as you pant heavily, a satisfied smirk stretching across your face.  

“God.” You say, turning in Ashley’s hold before your lips tenderly meet hers.  

Her arms hanging loosely around your neck as you kiss languidly, the blonde smiling against your lips.  

Eventually, you reluctantly part, your forehead resting against hers.  

“I-I just wanted you to know...” You start, swallowing hard.  

“I REALLY, really care about you too.” You confess, the woman smiling as she surges in, gently kissing your lips.  

“Does that mean I get to touch you more often?” She whispers and you chuckle, the woman hugging you to her chest.  

“Ye-Yeah, it does, as long as you want to.” You say and she giggles.  

“Oh, trust me, I want to.” She says and you hum, kissing her lips again. 

“D-Do I get to touch you...?” You ask and she smiles.  

“Yeah, but tonight was about you.” She says, kissing your forehead, your cheeks flushing.  

“Are you sure?” You ask, the blonde nodding, nonetheless, she whines when you roll out of bed.  

“Hey, one of us has come in their pants, and it’s not you.” You jest, wandering to the bathroom before coming back a few minutes later in a crisp pair of boxers and clean pajama pants. 

You immediately take your place back between Ashley’s legs, the woman hugging you to her chest, your face buried in the crook of her neck.  

The room falls silent for a moment before Ashley giggles. 

“I’m really glad our idiot friends talked me into giving you a lap dance.” She confesses and you chuckle, your words slurring as you whisper.  

“Me too.” You hum, snuggling closer.  

It isn’t long after that, that Ashley realizes you’re asleep, the woman smiling as she turns her head, kissing your forehead.  

She simply watches you sleep for a moment, her heart skipping a beat when she realizes the feelings she had for you were returned.  

She leans back in, kissing your forehead again, smiling lovingly as you smile in your sleep.  

“Happy Birthday, Y/N.” She slurs softly before she too falls asleep, for once, thankful for her teammate's ridiculous and crazy antics, antics that eventually led you to where you were now, a year older and the arms of the girl you were hopelessly in love with wrapped around you.

[the-forest-library]

August 2022 Reads

Half a Soul - Olivia Atwater

The Lord Sorcier - Olivia Atwater

The Latch Key - Olivia Atwater

My Imaginary Mary - Cynthia Hand

Inheritance - Katharine McGee

Trick - Natalia Faster

The Fixer Upper - Lauren Forsythe

Thank You for Listening - Julia Whelan

Where It All Lands - Jennie Wexler

Would You Rather - Allison Ashley

Mad About You - Mhairi McFarlane

Seatmate - Cara Bastone

Just Haven’t Met You Yet - Sophie Cousins

Luck and Last Resorts - Sarah Grunder Ruiz

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Sangu Bandanna

When a Scot Ties the Knot - Tessa Dare

So Happy for You - Celia Laskey

Mika in Real Life - Emiko Jean

Misrule - Heather Walter

Alias Emma - Ava Glass

The Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware

On a Sunbeam - Tillie Walden

A Career in Books - Kate Gavino

Cornbread & Poppy - Matthew Cordell

I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy

Nothing Like I Imagined - Mindy Kaling

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb

Vagina Obscura - Rachel E. Gross

Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig

No Cure for Being Human - Kate Bowler

Crying in the Bathroom - Erika L. Sanchez

One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter - Scaachi Koul

I Might Regret This - Abbi Jacobson

You’ll Grow Out of It - Jessi Klein

How Are You, Really? - Jenna Kutcher

Rough Draft - Katy Tur

The Social Anxiety Cure - Frank Steven

All That She Carried - Tiya Miles

The Lazy Genius Kitchen - Kendra Apache

Bold = Highly Recommend Italics = Worth It Crossed out = Nope

Thoughts:

Julia Whelan is an audiobook narrator who became an author, and her second book (which she narrates), Thank You for Listening, features a fun and heartfelt plot about the world of audiobooks. It’s super-meta and a good time. 

Best discovery of the month is Olivia Atwater (thank you @freckles-and-books for recommending her books!). I don’t normally like fae stories, but Half a Soul was just delightful. 

Since my life this year has been a quagmire of weird medical mysteries, it seems that all I do is stay home and listen to audiobooks. And, yeah, I’ve been getting through a lot of them. I increased my Goodreads Goal to 350. 

Goodreads Goal: 272/350

2017 Reads | 2018 Reads | 2019 Reads | 2020 Reads | 2021 Reads |

2022 Reads

[writingwithcolor]

37 Gorgeous Illustrated Book Covers Featuring People of Color

With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo

This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

Internment by Samira Ahmed

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. ChoiFor

The Closest I’ve Come by Fred Aceves

My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Calling My Name by Liara Tamani

Like Water by Rebecca Podos

Imagine Us Happy by Jennifer Yu

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Black Enough, edited by Ibi Zoboi

Ronit & Jamil by Pamela L. Laskin

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds

Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert

Color Me In by Natasha Díaz

I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn

I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver

The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

All of Us with Wings by Michelle Ruiz Keil

The Girl King by Mimi Yu

The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

[youcouldmakealife]

SOTW: Bryce/Jared, various; omission

For the prompt: What does that article about Jared and Bryce actually say?

When pictures of Bryce Marcus and Erin Matheson surfaced on social media, people were assuming the worst. Bryce Marcus, 25, of the Calgary Flames, is wearing a wedding ring. Erin Matheson, 18, the younger sister of Jared Matheson of the Vancouver Canucks, is not.

The pictures weren’t what they looked like.

“It was crazy getting a call from my mom like ‘twitter’s all saying Bryce is cheating on his wife with you’,” Erin Matheson says, with a slightly incredulous laugh. “I was sleeping and I got that call and I was like ‘wait what?’.”

“Bryce is basically my big brother,” Erin says. “And no offence to Jared, but he’s totally my favourite big brother. I graduated high school and Bryce wanted to do something special to celebrate that so we did a little staycation thing. I think it’s kind of weird that everyone just assumed things. He’s family to us.”

Bryce Marcus and Jared Matheson met at a summer development camp for elite Western Canadian prospects in 2015. Marcus was an associate coach, Jared a camper. By the end of the month, they were inseparable.

“They said he was a coach but he mostly just stood around,” Jared says. “Totally slacking as a coach.”

“Jared didn’t listen to anything I told him,” Bryce counters. “He was totally uncoachable. He listens to my advice now though.”

“He has pretty good advice,” Jared admits. “I definitely listen now. He knows the game inside and out.”

“They instantly clicked,” says Rafael Sanchez of the Washington Capitals, who was also a prospect at that camp, and trains with Matheson in Calgary during the offseason. “They’re really different personalities but they complement one another.”

Chaz Rossi, former linemate of Matheson’s on the Calgary Hitmen and current teammate of Marcus’ on the Calgary Flames, also trains with Sanchez and Matheson during the offseason. He disagrees with Sanchez about how different Matheson and Marcus are.

“They’re actually really similar in a lot of ways. They’re really quiet until you get to know them, pretty introverted people, and they’re two of the best hockey IQs I’ve ever met. Really smart guys. I’m not surprised that things clicked when they met one another. People really underestimate Bryce in a lot of ways, which is frustrating to watch. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to deal with every day.”

Rossi is also frustrated with press coverage of Marcus, and unsurprised people assumed Marcus was dating Erin Matheson, who he describes as a ‘cool kid’. “My girlfriend Ashley and I hang out with Bryce a lot,” Rossi says. “We’re tight. So of course everyone was saying that she was Bryce’s secret wife or something. I think it’s really messed up that people think because Bryce plays hockey for a living that he doesn’t get to have privacy. Ash and Bryce were able to brush it off, but it’s messed up.”

<image, selfie of Ashley and Bryce, taken by Ashley Guerin>

<image, Bryce, Jared, Chaz, Raf, and Grace at a restaurant table, taken by Ashley Guerin>

<image, Bryce and Jared and Chaz playing video games, taken by Ashley Guerin>

“We’re all really close during the offseason,” Rossi says. “Bryce doesn’t train with us but he hangs out with our training group and all that. That’s basically our Calgary crew. Whatever happens during the season, we all end up back in the same place, and during the season we’ve got a group chat and everything. And Don and Susan <Matheson> are really welcoming to us too. Basically a Calgary family or something.”

Don Matheson agrees with Rossi that they’re a family.

“Bryce is pretty much a second son to me and Susan,” Don Matheson says. “So at least I have one Flame in the family.”

Jared Matheson groans when he’s told what his father said. “My dad’s been a Flames fan his whole life. It was a little tough when I got drafted by the Oilers. He has Bryce to cheer for, at least. He says he cheers for me when the Canucks play the Flames but I’m not so sure. Depends on the standings, probably.”

The Mathesons, who live in Calgary, almost instantly adopted Bryce into the family, and soon that included his mother, Elaine Marcus. The Mathesons attended Bryce’s wedding, and the two families even share Christmas together.

<image, Elaine and Erin wearing formal attire at an outdoor event>

<image, Bryce and Erin with presents in their laps>

<image, Elaine and Susan with wine glasses, mid-conversation>

“It’s really a comfort knowing Bryce has had a family in Calgary,” Elaine Marcus says. “I feel better knowing that. Bryce lost his dad when he was young, and I think it’s important that he has Don in his life.”

And the hospitality goes both ways — when Jared was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, Elaine was happy to offer him a place to stay.

“Elaine’s amazing,” Jared Matheson says. “One of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. She would even drive me into practice some days, it was like having a mom in Vancouver. It was a big comfort when I was adjusting.”

“He was the perfect house guest,” Elaine says. “He cooks and cleans, unlike someone I won’t name. He was a pleasure to have.”

“It was a relief knowing that Jared was staying with Elaine,” Don Matheson says. “Jared’s really self-sufficient but he’s still young, and you never stop worrying about your kids. But knowing he was with Elaine, I wasn’t worried.”

<picture of Bryce and Jared looking serious mid-conversation, taken by Ashley Guerin>

<picture of Bryce and Chaz on one side of centre ice, in discussion with Jared on the other side of centre ice, courtesy of Getty Images>

We caught up with Matheson and Marcus when the Flames came to Vancouver. They’ve just finished lunch with Bryce’s mother, and managed to find the time to squeeze in a quick interview before they separated for their respective pregames.

“He’s my best friend,” Marcus says, with the earnest seriousness his friends and family all remarked upon. “Some people you just know are supposed to be in your life.”

“I don’t know about best,” Matheson says with a straight face, indulging one of the favourite pastimes of siblings and hockey players alike. “I have a lot of friends.”

“Jared,” Marcus says, in the complaining voice of all siblings facing a chirp.

Matheson grins now that he’s scored his hit.

“He’s my best friend too,” Matheson says.

How is it, being so close to a player on a rival team?

“We put it aside,” Matheson says. “Obviously when it’s game time we both do our best to win, but whatever happens — it’s hockey. You don’t let it define you at the end of the day. Some things are more important.”

“Totally agree,” Marcus says.

Would it be the same if they were to face off in the playoffs this year?

“Absolutely,” Marcus says.

Matheson laughs and disagrees. “All bets are off.”

-Danielle Weber, NHL.com

[04mxfutbol]

Secret (Ashley Sanchez x Reader)

Author's Note: This was requested by someone, but I've been so busy with school and I just now had time to write (I’m on summer vacation) so I'm sorry anon, but hope you and all of you like it (: so some cute fluff 🫶

P.S sorry it’s short.

You watched your girlfriend score another goal, as you screamed and cheered, she pointed at you before making a heart with her hands. You suddenly became shy as you hid behind a good friend of both of you, Karina.

“Is everyone staring?” You ask Karina.

“Yep. But I mean what did you expect she did point at you, in front of thousands of fans, on live television.” Karina whispers and you groan.

You peaked over her shoulder and saw Ashley still looking in your direction. You finally stopped hiding behind Karina and waved at Ashley, sending her a kiss.

“Such a cutie pie.” You say out loud and continue waving at her as she runs back.

After the game had ended Ashley ran over to you, pulling you in for a kiss.

“I’ll see you outside, I’m just going to take the quickest shower.” Ashley says as she held your hand. “Wow you look so beautiful.”

Her words made you blush, as if you two weren’t together for two years now, she had a way of still making you blush and feel so giddy.

“I’ll meet you in the parking lot, but please hurry. I’m hungry.” You say against her lips before kissing her again. “I think I’m addicted to you.”

“You think? Well I don’t think, and I know I’m addicted to you.” Ashley says and you laugh.

“You definitely don’t think most of the time.”

“Harsh.” Ashley says and you smile. “But right. Moving on from being roasted by my girlfriend, should we go to the grocery store and buy food?”

“We shall.”

You and Ashley said goodbye to Karina then headed to the grocery store.

Grabbing a cart you pushed it around the store, grabbing a couple (a lot) of things you need for your home.

“What do you want for dinner? Salmon and rice with veggies? Or is that too basic for you.” Ashley says as she turns to face you.

“I’ve never said that, but that sounds fine with me. I can make dinner while you rest. Although some pasta doesn’t sound bad either. I can make that one viral pasta you fell in love with.”

“That WE fell in love with,” Ashley says correcting you, “But yes that actually doesn’t sound bad at all.”

“Great then we need cherry tomatoes and feta cheese.” You say as you push the cart towards the dairy section.

Ashley followed you as you grabbed the cheese and other things you would need to make the food. While you did that you heard some commotion, turning around you saw people walking towards you. You safely assumed they were fans of Ashley.

Your assumption was correct, Ashley stepped aside to take pictures with the fans, while you watched and smiled at the interactions.

You saw a child approach Ashley and the parent right behind. Ashley crouched down as the small child whispered something to her.

Ashley smiled as she turned to look at you, her eyes seemed to twinkle.

“She wants you in the picture.” Ashley says as she extends her hand for you to grab.

“Who me?” You ask as you reach for her hand. “That’s so sweet.”

You stand beside Ashley as the parent took the picture, smiling and giving the young fan a high five before leaving.

As soon as you got home you changed into comfier clothes, then heading to the kitchen to make dinner.

“You look so good in my clothes.” You hear Ashley say behind you. “So good.”

“Comfiest clothes I can find.” You say with a smile as you cooked.

Ashley wrapped her around you, giving you a kiss on your cheek. Turning to face her you smiled and pecked her lips.

“Can you let me finish the food?”

“No, I want to be with you.”

“Ash.”

“Fine but only because I want to.” Ashley says making you laugh.

You finished making dinner and sat down in front to Ashley. Enjoying the meal you had prepared, you and Ashley talked about many things, but since Ashley had just played a game she was too tired.

So once you both finished eating you walked over to the couch. You let Ashley sit between your legs, her head resting against your chest. As you intertwined your legs you also managed to pull the blanket over your legs.

You put on a movie to help Ashley relax, but also a movie you would want to keep watching while Ashley would most likely take a nap.

As you massaged her head and ran your fingers through her hair you felt Ashley’s hands on your thighs.

“I've got something to tell you. It's a secret, so you can't tell anyone else.” Ashley whispers, you were confused and slightly scared of what secret she could possibly have.

“What is it?” You whisper as if there was other people with you.

“I love you.” Ashley says and you didn’t know whether to sigh in relief or laugh at how cute she was.

“That’s not a secret babe.”

“Can you just act like it is, for me.” Ashley begged making you laugh.

“Okay. Okay. I promise I won’t tell anyone your secret.”

“Thanks you’re the best.” Ashley says as she pulled on the blanket. “I love you.”

“I love you.” You whisper as you continued to massage her head.

You saw her eyes were slowly closing, continuing to softly massage her head, she quickly fell asleep. You reached for your phone as subtly as you could and taking a picture of her. You smiled and leaned down to kiss her head.

You took another picture of her and showing the tv in the background. You went to instagram and posted it with the caption “Cutest person with the most random secret. I love her.”

[ao3feed-snape]

My butterfly 🦋 P.s I'll love you forever (D.M)

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/3nnI44I

by Caro_malfoy07

Carolina has arrived at Hogwarts the school of wizardry and witchcraft for her third year. Her world will change once she arrives there unlike she ever imagined. What will happen to her when a revaluation occurs? When she meets him? And who is he?

⚠️ Contains⚠️ no smut just strong language, mature topics, and violence.

" There she was in mids of the corridor, the light of my eyes, a girl who forevermore changed my life... My butterfly 🦋 " -D.M🐍

" He was in no need of changing rather viewing the world in a new perspective." -Carolina Sanchez

" A classmate, a friend, and a lover who loved me. Not intimidated by past or what others thought about me just loved me for who I became." - Mattheo Riddle

The characters that I do take credit for are the following : ✨ Lizzy Garden ✨Daisy Flores ✨Katie Greenfield ✨ Jason Sanchez ✨Carla Gonzalez Sanchez ✨Enrique Rodriguez ✨Ashley Fernandez ✨Samantha Gonzalez ✨Veronica Johnson ✨ Yulli Xiao ✨Alliah Williams ✨Andrea Michaels

 Credit to Yasminamaro ✨Mattheo Riddle (Marcus Lopez)

Started:✨ 04.22.21✨

Words: 248, Chapters: 2/90, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Carolina Sanchez, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Lizzy Garden, Daisy Flores, Katie Greenfiled, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Jason Sanchez, Carla Sanchez Gonzalez, Enrique Rodriguez, Ashley Fernandez, Samantha Gonzalez, Veronica Johnson, Yulli Xiao, Alliah Williams, Andrea Michaels, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Mattheo Riddle, Albus Dumbledore, Neville Longbottom, Blaise Zabini, Minerva McGonagall, Daphne Greengrass, Astoria Greengrass, Abuelita Nena, Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Severus Snape, George Weasley, Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Pansy Parkinson, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Fred Weasley, Molly Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Charlie Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley, Percy Weasley, Rubeus Hagrid, Cedric Diggory, Susan Bones

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3nnI44I