USWNT 3.0

54

The semi-final against Switzerland was tomorrow. 

The team was heading to practice with heavy hearts  nobody wanted to play without Alyssa. Mark chose Michelle to be her replacement, since Jenko still had a few days left in her recovery. She got extremely lucky, and with the help of a tremendous doctor, she would be able to come and see the game. Ashlyn, on the other hand, was chosen to play the final game ; the paperwork was slow to come, so Michelle had to reluctantly accept the role. The team wasn't very confident about this coming game ; they were broken, weak, and totally out of control. They were trying their best to focus, and every time someone would give up, one of her teammate would say 'do it for her.'.

Yesterday, late in the evening, some former players came to join the girls. They needed help to overcome adversity. 

Ali was the first one to arrive ; her conferences were over, so she bought two tickets to Lyon, and arrived around 10 PM with her daughter, Maisie. The little brunette jumped into Ashlyn's arms, and the goalie kissed her now wife with passion. The fact that Ali was so close to Alyssa, and almost lost the love of her life that day got her to worry. Now that they were reunited, and that they had the day to themselves, they decided to join Carli and Hope in their room. When they came in, they discovered an sleepy Hope Solo, peacefully relying on Carli's arms. The former captain told them to come in, as her son Gordon immediately ran toward Maisie ; they met some time ago, and became friends. So Ash and Ali sat down on the couch, looking at the two kids peacefully playing, while Carli was running her fingers through her wife's hair. 

Becky joined Whitney in the airport, and they both flew to Lyon on their own, only to discover some of their teammates waiting for them ; Kling jumped onto the defenders' arms, while Arod and Lauren were joking around about something. The five girls then took a cab to arrive around midnight, smiles on their faces : despite the awful events that they would never forget, they had to bring some joy on the team. So when they saw Hao, waiting for them in the corridor, they couldn't hold their screams back. Mark showed them the three rooms he booked them, and they fell asleep hours later, too busy catching up to sleep.  

Another great surprise was Dom, Syd's husband, crashing into training like if nothing happened. Their son Cassius was here too, and it had been so long since the girls last saw him that they were astonished by the way he had grown up. His mother proudly held him onto her arms, while Dom was greeting Serva.

Tobin stood there, smile on her face. When Kealia looked at her, seeming to ask what was making her smile like that, she only said :

"This team is family." 

° 

Jenko woke up, a terrible headache happening right now. 

But the pain immediately went away, as her attention was caught up with a beautiful brunette cuddling by her side. She was dressed in her soccer stuffs, and probably just fell asleep because she was exhausted. The keeper took a look at the watch above them : 2 PM. She gently undertook to caress Mal's back, getting used to those kind of wake up ; it had been several times she woke up like this, the brunette by her side. She knew something had change between them, and also about the way she was looking at the forward. Not a single word was spoken, but it was like a promise : they'd be there for each other, no matter what. 

When Mal woke up, and sat down on the bed, she immediately took her Mac and put some music on. She was the playlist queen, as Jenko was naming her, because she had this weird habit of making playlists for every single time of the day. The keeper smirked when she read the name of this one - which by the way was her favorite - and looked at Mal with loving eyes. The forward rolled her eyes and took her hand in hers. 'Bae's arms" was the name of the playlist, and Mal was playing it every single time they were cuddling.

They sat down in silence, before Mal finally spoke up :

"What will happen when everything is over ?" she shyly asked, concern in her voice. 

Jenko frowned. "You mean, the World Cup ?". She saw Mallory slowly nodding her head, her eyes sending mixed signals. The keeper knew it was a weird question coming from her, but also a natural one. Once this whole tournament thing was over, what would happen to them ? Will they be considered as a couple ? Would they just go back to their lives, Mal playing for the Spirit, and Jenko for Seattle ? "I don't know." 

She was being honest. She wasn't a planner or anything. She just wanted to live life fully. But the only problem was now that she needed Mal by her side for this wish to become true. The forward didn't seem pleased with that answer. Jenko shook her hand, and bit her lips. Mal looked down at them. 

The keeper then looked away. 

"We will go back to our individual lives" Mal said, her voice shaking up a little bit. "In different cities... Different clubs... Will you remember me ?" 

Jenko looked at her, quite surprised. She had never seen Mallory with that lack of confidence, that trouble in knowing everything would be okay. They never dated for real, and their love story began during the road to France. But now that it was finally over, they still weren't defined. The keeper didn't think it was a problem, but it sure was one for Mal. The blonde knew she had to hold her close. 

So that was what she did. Mal wrapped her arms around her. 

"Of course I will" Jenko whispered in her ears. "You're my princess."

Mal slightly pushed her away, frowning. "You promise ?"

"Promises are meant to be broken" the keeper thoughtfully answered, looking intensively in the girl's eyes. "I love you, meathead. I love you more than words can express, and even if I'm not a champion whenever I have to say it out loud, I can say it now. So despite the distance, we will find a way to keep in touch. I am not ready to let you go." 

That was the most beautiful declaration the keeper had never made. Mal knew it meant more than a promise, because Jenko wasn't the kind of person to talk about her feeling, or even feel feelings. 

She kissed her wildly, and they spent two hours just cuddling, Mal running her fingers on Jenko's tattooed arms.  

"I love you too."