With Or Without You: Chapter 1, women's soccer rpf fanfic

jenunjen96816

Characters

Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger, Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger

Summary

They're perfect for each other, and they know it, but...Will they or won't they?This is a story about what might have been, what almost was, and what ultimately is.

Note

I originally posted this story a year or two ago, but somehow I have lost all of my stories, so I am going to repost them all again (make take a bit of time, but I will post by relationship so I have at least one thing up for each relationship).This story is pretty much based on real life (ie. Ali and Ashlyn are both soccer players on real teams and the national team) than some of my other stories, but there is some AU/OOC (I made up some stuff, played with dates and timings, etc., partially to help set context and drive the story the best way possible, and partially just because I just don’t know all of the actual facts and history for everyone and everything I referenced in the story). Also, I tried to write a story that was less story-driven (unlike my first two stories) and more just about the relationship between Ashlyn and Ali as the driving force in the story. In addition, I tried writing in the first person, which made writing this story more challenging, and I’m not sure if I have all of the tenses correct. Lastly, I wrote part of the story in flashbacks (which I put in italics), which skip around a bit in chronological order, but hopefully it all still makes sense.This story will contain conflict, drama, angst, and mature themes, but also some sweet moments as well, and, of course, a happy ending.I thank you for reading and for your feedback, and I hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 1

April 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM

Ashlyn’s POV:

I parked my car and looked out the window. It was the first day of Washington Spirit training camp. I had just signed a two year contract as their starting goalkeeper. I was excited. Excited but nervous. Excited to join the best team in the league. Nervous because I knew I was going to see her. It had been five years since we had last spoke. I took a deep breath, got out, and walked into the camp. I headed to the locker room and was putting on my uniform when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and came face to face with her. Ali Krieger.

“Hey”, I said.

“Hey”, she said back. She was wearing a form-fitting tank top. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and she was staring at me with her lovely brown eyes. She looked beautiful, as she always had.

“Ummmm…how’ve you been?” I asked, unsure of what to say.

“Okay”, she said. “I heard you were joining the team.” This is Ali’s third season with the Spirit. She stared at me for a moment expectantly and then said, “So…?” She spread her arms and arched her eyebrows.

“So…?” I echoed back, playing dumb, even though I knew what she was going to ask me.

“So, what the hell happened? You want to tell me why you just took off?” She stood there and stared at me, and I couldn’t tell if she was mad or just shocked to see me after my disappearing act so many years ago.

I stood there, trying to figure out how to answer. Thoughts started to swirl in my head as I time-traveled through the last ten years. I started to speak, and then the voice came:

“Let’s go! On the field!”

I looked at Ali and said, “I guess we should go. Um, maybe we can talk later?”

“I’m going to hold you to that”, she said. She paused and then said, “stud”, and smiled slightly. I just stared at her. It was the smile that used to get me every time, and apparently it still does, even after all these years.

She turned around to walk out onto the field. As I watched her I snuck a look at her fingers. No ring. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. She could have just taken it off for practice.