Chapter Text
In the years after Alex left what she thought was her “dream job,” life just kept getting better. She got a new job where the pay was better, the bosses valued her, and she got to travel and meet amazing people all the time. Best of all, she knew what she was doing actually mattered to people.
Working in sports media as a person who previously didn't care about sports has changed Alex for the better, she thinks. Every day is a learning experience, and she unearths passion she never knew she had within her. The same can be said of her relationship. She and Kelley are almost three years strong, and the past few years have been a whirlwind.
Alex can still remember the nights they spent at Kelley’s parents’ house, even though they feel like they were so long ago now that she wakes up to Kelley nearly every morning. Allie moved in with Bati when their lease was up, and even though six months felt fast to Alex, she moved her things two floors up to Kelley’s apartment, which quickly became theirs.
Kelley’s life, she insists, has only become richer since meeting Alex, and her generally cheery outlook on life reflects that claim. She loves work, she loves living close enough to her parents that they have dinner twice a month, and she loves Alex Morgan. She sends her flowers at work once in a blue moon, and she shows up from time to time just because she can. Alex is happy, or at least she claims to be every time Kelley asks (multiple times a week).
And Alex couldn't lie to Kelley if she tried. She is happy, blissfully so, which is why it scares her so much to consider something that could completely throw a wrench into it.
“Honey, I'm home!” Kelley sings, breezing into the living room where Alex is on her laptop, responding to emails. She leans in to give Alex a kiss, and Alex grants her one, but crinkles her nose.
“Honey, you're sweaty,” she giggles.
“Practice got wild,” Kelley says. “Don't worry, I'm showering. Care to join?”
“How about I order food while you shower? Chinese?” Alex suggests.
Kelley narrows her eyes. “What's wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“We only order Chinese when we’re on our periods or one of us had a bad day, and unless we've somehow gone out of sync…”
“I just wanted Chinese,” Alex insists. “Kung pao chicken?”
“And lots of fortune cookies,” Kelley says, still not fully believing Alex.
Later, when she lies on the couch with her head in Alex’s lap, she still doesn't believe her.
“You're being quiet, my love,” Kelley murmurs, kissing her knee.
“Just thinking,” Alex says softly. “How's your ankle?”
“It's alright,” Kelley says. “I probably went a little too hard at practice, and I'll pay for it tonight when I'm trying to sleep.”
“Sorry, baby,” Alex says, running her fingers through Kelley’s hair.
“It's okay, it's fun playing with the girls,” Kelley replies. “I never want to be the boring coach on the sidelines just telling them what to do.”
Alex hums her understanding, and Kelley shifts in her lap so she's looking up at Alex.
“Hey,” Kelley murmurs, tapping her girlfriend’s chin. “Talk to me.”
“I got offered a promotion.”
Kelley sits up quickly, looking at Alex with wide eyes. “Dude! That's amazing! Why wouldn't you tell me that?”
“I don't know if I'm going to take it.”
“Okay,” Kelley says slowly. “Why wouldn't you?”
“It's in LA.”
“Oh.”
“Starting in January.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well… what would you be doing?”
“I'd be a producer,” Alex says. “Mostly in the studio there, but there would be a little bit of travel.”
Kelley nods, processing it all. “Do you want to be behind the scenes?” It's something Alex has been talking about for a while now, but only hypothetically.
“Yeah, I think I do,” Alex replies. “It's… a pretty incredible raise, too.”
“I don't see any reason why you shouldn't take it then,” Kelley says decisively. “You've worked too damn hard to pass it up. You were just starting out three years ago, and you've moved up in the ranks so quickly. Of course you were going to outgrow it. LA needs you, and you need something new.”
Alex’s eyes water. “You aren't even going to try to stop me?”
“What? Why the hell would I? What kind of person would that make me?”
“The kind who loves her girlfriend?” Alex asks, her voice raising.
“Hang on,” Kelley says, squeezing Alex’s knee. “Look at me. You can't think I'm letting you go to LA alone. I'm coming, babe. I don't care what I have to do to make it work, I'm coming with you.”
“What?” Alex sniffles.
“I love you,” Kelley says. “I'm in love with you, and my plan involves spending the rest of my life with you. The timing isn't ideal, I mean I have commitments, but we can do a few months apart while I finish out the season with the girls. I don't want to be away from you at all, but I want you to be happy, and if this promotion will make you happy, I'm on board.”
“Kel,” Alex breathes, touched by her selflessness. “Don't you want to think about it a little?”
“Only as long as you do,” Kelley says. “We've been here and spending time with my family and living in my hometown for ages. It's your turn. Tell me where you're going, and I'll follow. It's simple for me when it comes to you.” She lifts Alex’s chin to kiss her lips. “How much time do you need?”
“I don't think I do,” Alex says quietly. “I think I know already.”
Kelley beams, grinning from ear to ear, and grabs a fortune cookie (her third) off the coffee table. She unwraps it and cracks it open, pulling the strip of paper out. “Oh wow, Al,” she gasps. “It says ‘a grand adventure awaits you.’”
“No it doesn't,” Alex laughs, rolling her eyes as she grabs at the paper.
“Okay, it doesn't,” Kelley admits. “It actually says there will be a new love in my life, so you better watch out.”
Alex pouts, tearing the fortune in half and then shredding it into tiny pieces. “There better not be.”
“Oh, it also said you should kiss me,” Kelley says, smacking her forehead as if just remembering.
Alex rolls her eyes again before leaning in to kiss Kelley, her arms wrapping around her neck. “Are you sure?” she whispers. “About moving?”
Kelley grins. “California here we come.”
~
It's supposed to be Alex’s parents’ year to host the couple for Christmas, but once they find out Alex is moving home soon, they're okay with letting Kelley’s family have more time with them. The holiday season feels somber in Atlanta, and even though they're supposed to be soaking up their time together before trying this whole long-distance thing, Alex can't enjoy it like usual.
Kelley does everything in her power to make it feel special, going all out to decorate the house and come up with fun Christmassy activities, but all Alex wants to do is lie on the couch in Kelley’s arms and watch movies, paying more attention to the strong arms around her than whatever is on the Hallmark channel.
Alex stubbornly refuses to pack her things, which results in a blowout fight on New Year’s Eve, emotions running high three days before Alex is set to leave. Tobin and Christen are hosting a New Year’s Eve party so highly anticipated that Alex had a dress picked out six weeks in advance, but Kelley puts her foot down and says there's no way they're going unless Alex gets her shit together.
“You're being completely insensitive!” Alex cries, her face a puffy red mess.
“No, Alex, you are!” Kelley shouts back, throwing a handful of hangers into a box filled with Alex's clothes. “We’re going to go to the party, get wasted, and sleep all day tomorrow to avoid facing the hangover. Then we have one more day together and then we’re road tripping across the country to move all your shit, and I get about three hours with you there before I have to fly back.”
“You offered!” Alex exclaims. “I said I'd have my stuff shipped. You were the one who said you'd come with me.”
“Because I didn't want you driving three thousand miles by yourself with a trailer on the back of your tiny car!” Kelley says, exasperated. They've had this conversation countless times. “Forgive me if I would rather spend your last day here having fun and enjoying our time together than being stressed about packing and all this other trivial bullshit!”
“If you're in such a hurry to get rid of me, I'll call the trailer rental place and just go by myself tonight,” Alex says, flopping on the bed dramatically. “Would that be better?”
“Yeah, Alex, that's exactly what I said, good job listening,” Kelley deadpans, rolling her eyes and turning back to the boxes.
“Baby,” Alex says softly, choking out a sob. “I don't want to go.”
Kelley turns around to see her face streaked with tears that just keep flowing. “Alex,” she sighs, climbing onto the bed to take her girlfriend into her arms. “I don't want you to go either. Or I wish it could wait a few months till I can join you, but it can't wait. And you're going to get our apartment all ready for me and get settled in, and I'll be there so soon.”
“And you'll come see me on Valentine’s Day?” Alex pouts.
“You know it,” Kelley laughs. “And you'll come here if we get to the state championships.”
“When,” Alex corrects. “You're going all the way.”
Kelley smiles, leaning her forehead against Alex’s. “I'm going to miss you every day, but you're going to have the best time, okay? And I'll be there before you know it.”
Alex kisses Kelley’s nose. “No more yelling.”
“If we can finish taping up all these boxes by dinner time, definitely no more yelling,” Kelley bargains. “Then we’ll go to the party, get crazy drunk, have sex on their balcony, get kicked out, have sex in the Uber, then have sex right here till we pass out.”
“Romantic,” Alex laughs.
“I love you.” Kelley swings a leg over Alex’s lap and pins her down flat onto the bed.
“I love you more,” Alex replies, staring up at her in awe.
Kelley leans down for a kiss, but Alex pushes her away. “What?”
“Just stay right there,” Alex says softly, gazing at Kelley’s face. “This is my favorite view of you, and I don't want to forget any of it.”
“You're so dramatic,” Kelley groans, but she does as told, biting her lip and smiling down at Alex. “Let me know when I can get back to ravishing you.”
~
Alex can't imagine long distance can get much harder than when she has to kiss Kelley goodbye at the airport, but then she has to sleep alone in a brand new bed for her first night in an unfamiliar apartment. Then she has to go grocery shopping without Kelley pulling out all the junk food she throws into the cart, and when she goes home and unloads a year’s worth of calories, she realizes she's probably going to die without Kelley.
During their nightly phone calls, Alex does her best to hide her misery, not wanting to bring Kelley down. Kelley’s happy. She loves her job, she loves the girls, she loves having time to spend with her friends—Alex’s friends. Alex likes her job and her coworkers, but she's lonely. It's hard to branch out when she doesn't have a safety net, so beyond happy hours after work and catching up with high school friends, she keeps to herself, giving her plenty of time to think about Kelley and their future and everything that will probably go wrong.
Kelley visits, as promised, for Valentine's Day, and she cries after they make love for the first time in weeks.
“Kel,” Alex murmurs, kissing her forehead. “Was it that bad? I'm out of practice, you know.”
Kelley can't help but laugh. “I just love you and miss you so much,” she says. “I'm sorry, I'm a mess.”
“I miss you every second,” Alex says, but Kelley doesn't stop crying.
“The girls ask about you all the time, so much that I turned practice into an Alex-free zone. When I'm thinking about you and missing you, it distracts me from everything,” she continues. “I'm sorry, I said I wouldn't cry, I told myself we were going to have a happy weekend and I wouldn't bring you down.”
“Stop it,” Alex says, wiping Kelley’s tears with her thumb. “I'm miserable too. So miserable. Selfishly I just want you here with me.”
Kelley sniffles, burrowing into Alex’s neck. “I'm going to miss them so much, but I can't do this any longer than we absolutely have to.”
“Trust me, the second that whistle blows and your girls are state champions, I'm grabbing you and not letting you go till you're here where you belong.”
“It might be hard to pack that way. And drive across the country.”
Alex shrugs. “I'm willing to make the sacrifice.”
~
The run-up to the playoffs isn't easy by any means, and Kelley’s team plays a few hard-fought matches to get to the semifinals. Alex listens to the semifinal match on a radio stream on her computer with bated breath, finger poised over the button to confirm her plane tickets home—no, not home anymore—which she books as soon as the announcer says Starr’s Mill is heading to the finals.
Erin picks her up from the airport to take her back to the O’Haras’ for dinner because Kelley has her last practice with the team. Alex has two sisters of her own, but living in the same city as Erin and seeing the bond she and Kelley share made them close over time.
Kelley’s family has always made Alex feel like one of them. The first time she came over as Kelley’s girlfriend they teased both her and Kelley relentlessly about their terrible secret-keeping skills, and Karen had teamed up with Alex to play Trivial Pursuit and crush everyone else.
Alex whines about how hungry she is almost the entire way home (she tries to ask Erin about her life, but when she hasn't eaten in a few hours she can't think of much else), so she notices the second Erin diverges from the way home.
“Where are we going?” Alex demands. “I thought your mom was making me a snack.”
Erin laughs. “She is, but Kelley wanted to see you first.”
“She’ll see me when she gets home,” Alex whines. “I look awful.”
“You look fine, don't be a baby,” Erin says, rolling her eyes. “She's obsessed with you.”
“She better have snacks,” Alex grumbles, fumbling around in her carry-on for her makeup bag to erase the dark circles resulting from lack of sleep because she was so excited to see Kelley the night before.
When they arrive at the field, the team isn't even out there yet, which Alex knows means Kelley’s going to be late getting back to the house. She sees Kelley talking to someone with a huge camera who she recognizes when she gets closer as Ashlyn. She must be on assignment, but Alex doesn't see a reporter anywhere, so maybe she's just taking B-roll.
Kelley's back is to her, so Alex puts a finger to her lips when Ashlyn sees her and sneaks up to put her hands over Kelley’s eyes. “Guess who?” She can feel Kelley’s cheeks rise, indicating a grin, and she doesn't wait for a response before removing her hands so Kelley can turn around and hug her.
“Hi favorite person in the world,” Kelley murmurs into her skin, burying her face in Alex’s neck. “God, I've missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Alex says. “Now I'm not letting go till you're in California with me.”
Kelley laughs. “Stay for practice.”
“I'm so hungry,” Alex whines. “Your mom is making me a snack.”
“I can make you popcorn in my office,” Kelley bargains. “I just want to be able to look over and see your pretty face on the sidelines.”
Alex sighs. “Fine, if you insist,” she groans. She turns to tell Erin, but Erin and her car are both gone.
Kelley smiles sheepishly. “I may have told her she had no choice but to leave you with me.”
“You're lucky I love you,” Alex says, kissing her quickly. “And that you have food for me.”
Kelley grips her hand tightly and turns her toward the gym building. “Ash, you want to come?” she asks. “My popcorn is amazing.”
“Yeah, sure,” Ashlyn says, folding up her tripod.
Alex was secretly hoping they could make out in Kelley’s office, but she masks her annoyance with a smile. “You can leave that out here,” she says. “I don't think it's going to rain.”
“She's doing this follow me around thing,” Kelley says, shrugging. “For a piece on the team. I don't know.”
“Okay,” Alex says, too focused on the popcorn in her future to care. “You look nice, is that for your interview?”
“What?” Kelley asks, looking down at herself. Given that her usual practice attire consists of running shorts and a T-shirt, the soft off-white blouse that Alex knows she stole from her and pastel blue skinny jeans make her look more like she's ready for a date than for practice. “Oh, yeah, I guess.”
“Is everything okay?” Alex asks, interlacing her fingers with Kelley’s. She can feel Kelley’s pulse racing, and her normally soft, dry palms are clammy.
“Yeah, just ready for the game,” Kelley says, nodding. “I'm nervous, I just want it to be here.”
Alex pecks her on the lips. “You've got this.”
“Yeah, it'd be embarrassing to lose in front of my babe of a girlfriend who just flew across the country to watch us.”
Alex smiles. “I came to see you,” she replies. “That's a win in my book already.”
When Kelley reaches for the door to the gym hallway, Alex braces herself for the familiar smell that's almost weirdly comforting at this point. It reminds her of the butterflies in her stomach after kissing Kelley for the first time and the afternoons she spent lounging in the beanbag chairs while Kelley drew up game plans and eventually distracting her with a make out session or two. But what she finds is different.
It smells like Alex’s favorite candle, first of all, the honeysuckle one she can't find anywhere in LA that she meant to stock up on while she's in Atlanta. The smell is what first alerts her that something is weird, then the way Kelley’s pulse picks up even more, and then the rose petals on the floor.
“What is this?” Alex asks incredulously. “Kel, did you do this?”
Kelley is chewing at her lip and avoiding eye contact, leading Alex toward her office. The door is open, and Alex turns to see if Ashlyn thinks this is weird too. She sees Ashlyn’s camera aimed at them, and Alex is suddenly aware that she really has been filming them the whole time.
“What is going on?” Alex laughs, gripping Kelley’s hand. “It feels like you're proposing or something.”
Kelley turns to Alex, cheeks pink, and lets go of her hand, fumbling in her pocket for something before dropping to one knee. “You didn't have to ruin it,” she says.
“Oh my God,” Alex gasps, both hands flying to her face as Kelley’s hand emerges from her pocket with a small black box with a sparkling diamond ring inside. “I didn't mean to—”
Kelley smiles, biting her bottom lip. “This is where I fell in love with you,” she says. “Where we had our first kiss, where we had our fair share of tough conversations, where I daydreamed about you—still do, by the way. And this is where I want you to say that you'll spend the rest of your life with me.”
“Kelley,” Alex breathes, her eyes flitting between Kelley and the ring, hands clasped in front of her face.
“Will you marry me?” Kelley asks. “Please?”
“Well, you did ask so nicely,” Alex says once she's collected herself. “Yes, of course I'll marry you.”
As soon as Kelley slides the ring onto her finger, Alex bursts into tears, and a cheer erupts as Kelley stands to kiss her and her entire team (and a few alumni Alex recognizes) pops out of their hiding places around Kelley’s office.
“They insisted that I had to do it before I left,” Kelley whispers. “Because some of them think if it weren't for them we wouldn't even be together.”
“They're probably right,” Alex teases, gripping Kelley’s wrists with her shaking hands. “I can't believe this.”
“Really? Because you totally called me out.”
“Well I didn't think you really would!” Alex exclaims.
“You thought it was a coincidence that your mom insisted on taking you to get your nails done before you left?” Kelley asks. “You always talk about how bad you feel for girls who don't have perfect manicures when they get engaged.”
“It's just thoughtless!” Alex insists. She pulls back her left hand to look at the ring again. “My God, Kelley, it’s gorgeous.”
They had gone ring “browsing” when Kelley was in town for Valentine’s Day, and Kelley had claimed that she wanted to be prepared for when she moved there and they could start talking about the future. Alex hadn't expected Kelley to actually do anything until she was moved in and settled. In fact, Alex had started planning her own proposal if Kelley didn't stop dragging her feet.
“I want to see!” one of the girls exclaims, which leads everyone else to swarm Alex excitedly while Ashlyn snaps away and Kelley walks to the fridge, emerging with three bottles of sparkling white grape juice and a huge box of plastic champagne flutes
“I asked for an exception, but no can do,” Kelley shrugs. “We’ll have the real stuff at home.”
“Don't you have practice?” Alex asks, pouting.
“No, we didn't have school today, so I scheduled it for earlier,” Kelley laughs. “I mean, I was hoping you'd say yes and I could take you home and… well. But if you said no I'd have a pretty hard time coaching.”
Alex smiles, taking a champagne flute from her and taking a sip. “Well let’s hope you're as interested in impressing your fiancée who flew across the country as you were in impressing your girlfriend.”
“Eh, you already agreed to staying with me forever, so I think I'm good,” Kelley says, kissing Alex on the lips quickly. “No take backs.”
“I wouldn't dare,” Alex giggles, wrapping her arms around Kelley’s neck and leaning down to kiss her. “But I think the girls would blame me if you lose, so you better win.”
~
Just like a fairytale, Kelley’s team wins in convincing fashion, a 3-1 nailbiter till the end, when Starr’s Mill scores two goals in the last five minutes. Kelley cries and lifts Alex over the barrier to celebrate with her and the team. Alex gets caught in the line of fire when the captains drench Kelley with Gatorade, and the video goes viral on social media because it's the first time anyone gets a glimpse of Alex’s rock.
That night, after all the celebrations have died down, Alex and Kelley go back to their apartment and cuddle up on the couch in pajamas while Kelley tries to figure out the perfect caption for her Instagram, one of the photos Ashlyn sent them in advance of the full set.
She posted a team photo of the girls in their state champions shirt earlier with a whole diatribe about how proud she is, but despite Alex’s protests about how lame it is to post two Instagrams in one night, Kelley can't wait any longer to shout it from the rooftops.
Alex talks her out of cheesy song lyric after cheesy song lyric before Kelley finally settles on “It's the end of one adventure, but the beginning of another. This pretty lady makes me feel like a winner every day.”
As soon as Kelley is settled into Alex's—no, their—apartment, Alex takes her out for brunch and presents her with a ring, one she’s had in her dresser drawer for weeks. She doesn't dare ask how much hers had cost, but she knows it must be more than she spent on Kelley’s because Kelley doesn't know how to do anything halfway. Even so, Kelley tears up and says no, she has not changed her mind, and yes, she wants to marry Alex (right now, if possible).
Alex has to talk her out of a shotgun wedding, but Kelley throws herself headfirst into wedding planning, mostly due to the fact that she doesn’t have a full-time job quite yet. She’s never bored, though, because LA has a lot to offer: soccer, beaches, old friends, and of course, Alex.
Most nights, when Alex comes home from work to a warm dinner on the stove and a soft (but strong) pair of arms to fall into, she can’t believe she got so lucky. Other nights, when tensions are high and someone’s had a bad day, she still can’t believe how lucky she is to have someone who makes even the tough times worth it.