#angie watches the rookie

[imaginespazzi]

Part 10: The Bridges Burned Around Us

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 11

Be good to me, and I'll be good to you (but please don't be too good to be true)

(In which an apologetic writer finally finishes a chapter that took much longer than necessary)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Fluff and Angst

Words: 10.2K (seems fitting for chapter 10 lol)

TW: Swearing

A/N: Hello my lovelies :) I am so incredibly late with this I know but considering it's really the length of two chapters, I think I should be forgiven. Despite how long this took me, I don't really know how I feel about this chapter because it's both filler but also pretty important so honestly it does feel a little all over the place. But I hope y'all like it anyways. I do suggest quickly skimming over Part 2 before you read this just to jog your memory a little bit. I did edit as I always do but there's probably typos/mistakes, so feel free to point those out. As always, let me know what you liked, what you disliked and what you'd like to see in the future. Have a wonderful weekend my loves <3

May 2033

“What the hell Bueckers?” Coach yells, glaring daggers at Paige who has the audacity to at least look a little embarrassed as she reaches a hand to help the rookie she’d just knocked over with far too much unnecessary force. Azzi narrows her eyes at the scene, confused at Paige’s atypical behavior. It wasn’t uncommon for the vets to rib the rookies a little bit, hell they had a whole ragging initiation ceremony planned for this weekend to welcome the newest members of their team, but Paige seemed to have a personal vendetta against Angie Davis.

When they’d watched the draft together, Azzi could’ve seen sworn she’d seen a flash of uncomfortableness flicker in Paige’s eyes as the commissioner announced that the Valkyries, with their third pick acquired via Atlanta, were picking Angie Davis from Stanford University. The blonde had stiffened but only for a split second and Azzi had chalked it up to nothing because really, what beef could Paige possibly have with a 22 year old? Except clearly something was bothering the Minnesota native because this is the fifth time today itself that Paige has fouled the girl so hard that her body had almost slightly bounced as it hit the floor. 

The first time, everyone had found it amusing because who didn’t laugh at a rookie getting a taste of the league. The second time, Coach had rolled her eyes but the rest of the team had still found it pretty funny. And then as it continued, Azzi could tell her teammates were just as confused by Paige’s behavior as she was. They might not know the blonde as well as Azzi did, but in the last month or so they’d discover that the basketball superstar was really just a ball of golden retriever energy. Since they’d started training camp recently, they’d seen that Paige always practiced hard but she also had the time of her life doing it. They’d seen that she might practically bulldoze her teammates in her eagerness to be a good defender but she’d always be the first one to help pick them up with a teasing grin on her face right after. Except apparently not with Angie. With Angie, there was nothing but brute force and the first couple of times, before Coach’s clear irritation had started to seep onto her face, Paige hadn’t even bothered helping the rookie up. And although Azzi would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that a part of her found this aggressive display of strength just a tad bit attractive, she also knew it was completely unlike her Paige to be acting like this. 

“So,” she says softly, lowering her voice purposefully as she sidles up to Paige in the locker room after practice, “are we going to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” there’s a smirk on Paige’s face as she takes a step closer towards Azzi. 

The brunette narrows her eyes, “you know what.”

“What I know,” Paige whispers as she ghosts her hands across Azzi’s hips, keeping her movement innocuous as to not alert their other teammates who are engrossed in conversation not too far away from them, “is that I’m pretty sure you’re just looking for a way to get close to me.” 

“You’re so fucking full of yourself,” but she can’t stop the faint blush that’s creeping up  her cheeks as Paige’s hot breath fans across her face and her gaze shifts to the blonde’s sweat sheened biceps that are on fully display under her flimsy tank top. 

Paige notices it immediately as her smirk widens, “appreciating the view baby?”

“Shut up,” Azzi shoves her back lightly, “don’t try and distract me.”

“‘I’m not even trying. I just have that effect on you,” Paige shrugs coyly as she pushes herself back into Azzi’s space.

The brunette’s eyes dart over to her teammate for a brief second, making sure the rest of them are still occupied with their own conversations as she takes her own step towards the blue-eyed woman, the edges of her lips turning up into a smug grin when she hears Paige’s breath hitch, “and what about the effect I have on you?”

There’s something thrilling about hiding this from their team, something sexy about having to keep their hands to themselves when they’re constantly desperate to touch. It was torture in a way, having Paige so close and not being able to kiss her or hold her. But that only meant that when Azzi did finally get to do all of those things, it felt like finally coming up for air; like after being deprived of her oxygen for so long, she could finally breathe. 

Last time around, they’d kept it a secret from the world but everyone who meant something to them had known. Their old teammates for one. This time, especially since they hadn’t quite defined what this was, they’d chosen to keep it even closer to their chests. It had been Paige’s idea this time and Azzi thinks maybe she’d proposed it just to beat the brunette to the punch-maybe she’d even been a little disappointed by it- but she thinks that they probably do need a little more time; a little more time to trust that this time they wouldn’t go up in flames, that they wouldn’t burn everyone else around them. 

“You don’t- you don’t have any effect on me,” Paige stutters. 

“Is that right?” Azzi asks coyly, taking her shirt off at a ridiculous slow pace, enjoying the way blonde’s eyes are immediately drawn towards her toned abs, “none at all?” 

“N-no,” Paige gulps as she watches the brunette finally get rid of the offending t-shirt and she’s left in nothing but a sports bra that does little to hide the curves underneath. 

“Appreciating the view baby?”  Azzi smirks, repeating the older woman’s words from before she slyly runs her index finger across the purplish red hues of a hickey Paige had left on her collarbone from the night before. 

“You’re so-”

“Bueckers,” a loud voice interrupts Paige’s groan as the two of them spring apart, everyone in the room turning to look at their Coach leaning against the doorframe, “in my office. Now.”

It feels a little bit like they’re college students being reprimanded again but there’s this nagging intuition in Azzi’s gut, as she watched Paige sheepishly follow Coach into her office, that she’s missing out on some important information. Something churns in her stomach at the thought of it. Things had been near perfect so far; they were climbing back up to what they had been, maybe climbing their way to something better but Azzi thinks that if another gust of circumstance tries to shove them down again, they might not be able to get back up this time. Because this time, they’re not climbing alone. This time, they have Stephie and at the end of the day, she’s all that matters. 

“So is Paige’s car broken or something?” Tessa’s question catches Azzi off guard as she shakes herself out of head and looks at her teammate with confusion. 

“Uh no why?”

“I mean it’s just every time she shows up somewhere, it seems she’s in your car, with you. So I just figured something must be up with her car, why else would y’all be carpooling literally every single day unless-” there’s a sparkle in Tessa’s eyes as she leans casually against her locks, “unless there’s another reason?”

“What other reason could there be?” Azzi’s voice is unusually high-pitched as she avoids Tessa’s perceptive eyes and instead glares daggers at a spluttering Jana, “her car’s in the shop. That’s it. That’s definitely it. That’s the only reason I’m driving her around.”

“Aw that sucks,” Laila says with an oblivious empathetic smile, “I mean we could help out if that’s the case? With carpooling.”

“I don’t think-”

“What a lovely idea Phelia,” Tessa smirks and Azzi knows just by how guileful it is, that the former Gamecock is absolutely onto them, “what do you think Azzi? Maybe we can make a little chart for who drives Paige to practice huh? Be welcoming to our teammate?”

Resisting the urge to flip off both Tessa and Jana whose shoulders are shaking with laughter, Azzi settles on a sugary sweet smile instead, “I don’t think that’s necessary-”

“Oh we’d be happy to help,” Tessa chirps happily and Azzi’s suddenly wistful for the moment back in her senior year when she’d dropped the South Carolina guard for an easy layup. 

“And that’s very kind of y’all but,” she reaches over to squeeze the younger girl’s shoulder tightly, making her grunt in discomfort, “I think Paige is okay. It just works better if it’s one person. Less complications, you know?”

“Won’t somebody please think about the complications,” Jana snickers. 

“I’m so confused,” Laila says, a frown on her face as she looks weirdly at her teammates. 

“It’s nothing,” Azzi says shrilly as she slings both her and Paige’s bags on her shoulders, rolling her eyes when both Jana and Tessa giggle at the domesticity of the action, “don’t worry about it, Phelia.”

“Y’all are acting strange,” Laila shrugs as she starts to make her way out of the locker room and Azzi’s rounds on the other two women. 

“Whatever you think you know Tess,” Azzi raises a finger in warning, “keep it to yourself.”

Tessa makes a point to make a zipping motion across her lips as her eyes glimmer with mischief. 

“Thank god,” Jana gasps dramatically, “I was so tired of having to deal with these two all by myself. Do you know how hard it is Tess? I’ve been doing it for YEARS.”

“You poor soul,” Tessa coos, “I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you. They’re kind of disgusting.”

“You peeped that already? Damn Azzi, do you realize how sickening y’all must be for Tessa to have already figured it out?”

“No forreal,” Tessa teases, “if you don’t want people catching onto your shit, I suggest y’all stop eyefucking every other second.”

“Fuck all the way off. Both of you,” Azzi grunts as Jana practically howls with laughter.

“You kiss your daughter with that mouth Fudd?”

“I dunno about Stephie,” Tessa drops her voice so only Jana and Azzi can hear her, “but I bet she kisses Paige with that mouth huh Az?”

Azzi groans, hiding her bright red face in her hands as her teammates' jovial laughter echoes through the locker room.

*** 

Paige is eerily quiet as she climbs into the passenger seat and Azzi knows immediately by the way she doesn’t try to coax her way into driving, that whatever conversation she’d had with Coach, likely hadn’t been a pleasant one. There are a thousand and one questions taking birth in her mind but Azzi doesn’t voice any of them, knowing Paige isn’t ready to answer them. Instead, she laces her fingers through Paige’s, resting them on the other girl's lap as she rubs a soothing circle against the back of her hand, a promise of whenever you’re ready to share, i’ll be ready to listen. 

They’ve fallen into a routine of sorts, one driven by that fact Paige has practically moved into Azzi’s house at this point. Their day started with them dropping Stephie off at school before the two of them would go to training or practice or whatever basketball activities they had planned. Then, they’d go to pick up Stephie from school and Azzi would drop her and Paige off at Curry camp while she ran various errands before circling back to pick them up. It’s domestic as hell and there’s a part of Azzi that’s still a little fearful; perhaps they’re trying to fit the puzzle pieces of their separate lives into each other a little too quickly. But she thinks that maybe those puzzle pieces had never really been disconnected, because sometimes she thinks their existence might just be an extension of each other’s. 

“You know,” Azzi begins softly when it becomes abundantly clear Paige isn’t going to speak first, “I’m okay with the fact that you’ve probably fucked other people. I mean other than the woman you married as well that is.”

“What the fuck?” Paige’s head whips towards her so quick, it must hurt just a little bit, “where the fuck did that come from?”

Azzi shrugs, “I’m just saying-”

“Why are you just saying?” Paige's eyes widen in panic as she possessively tightens her grip on the brunette’s hand, “are you about to tell me about someone you hooked up with? Because I’mma be honest Azzi I’d rather jump out of this moving car then hear about some whore who had the audacity-”

“Audacity? You do realize I was-”

“Say you were single and I actually will jump out of the car,” Paige warns, “but no actually dude what the fuck?”

“Well you see,” Azzi says carefully, “I’m trying to figure out why you’re being such a bitch to our new rookie and after careful deliberation, I’ve come to the conclusion that she’s gotta be a hookup gone wrong because why the fuck else would Paige Bueckers, who has a hard time killing a spider, be so unnecessarily mean to this poor girl?” 

There’s silence in the car for a second as Paige opens and closes her mouth, unable to get a word out, until she doubles over laughing, the sound of it echoing all around them. Azzi can’t help the soft grin that flitters across her face, relieved at seeing the way the tension begins to dissipate from the blonde’s shoulders. And Azzi swears that when Paige laughs, it feels a little bit like the sun has come out again; like the flowers are blooming and birds are chirping and everything is right in the world again and she thinks the sun should probably be jealous of the warmth Paige exudes because at least against the silhouette of Azzi’s sky, Paige burns brighter than the sun ever will. 

“You-you think I fucked Angie?” Paige finally manages to splutter out between peals of laughs, “baby she’s barely 22.”

“Hey,” Azzi pouts, “you always did go for younger women. Like me for example.”

Paige narrows her eyes, “you’re literally one year younger than me.”

“One year and a couple of days,” Azzi corrects. 

Rolling her eyes Paige uses both hands to hold Azzi’s non-driving one, “Azzi I swear to you that I have never in my life hooked up with Angie fucking Davis.”

“I know,” Azzi confesses, eyes still focused on the road ahead of her, “so what exactly is your problem with her then Paige?”

“You couldn’t have just asked me that?”

Azzi shrugs, “felt like I needed to make you laugh first. So tell me Bueckers-” before she can continue, she feels lips being pressed to her cheeks and can’t help the crimson tinge it elicits on her face, “what- what was that for?”

“Because you’re a little bit of a sap and I’m glad you’re my sap,” Paige grins, “all mine.”

“You’re trying to change the topic.”

“I am not.”

“Paige.”

The blonde sighs, leaning her head back against the headrest, “can we talk about it tonight? I wanna tell you I promise- I just- I think we need to sit down so that I- I can explain it to you properly.”

“That feels ominous,” Azzi’s stomach clenches at the seriousness in Paige’s voice as she turns onto the street for Stephie’s school, “should I be worried?”

“No,” Paige says firmly, bringing their enclosed hands to her mouth so she can brush a kiss across Azzi’s knuckles, “it’s nothing we can’t get through.”

Azzi nods as she pulls into the school parking lot, mustering up a reassuring smile of her own as she squeezes Paige’s hand. But there’s still a speck of fear dancing around in her gut; it’s this constant fear of losing Paige again that she doesn’t think she’ll ever truly be able to sweep out of her system. They’ve been doing so good these last few weeks -like they’re collecting together the scattered pages of everything we used to be and binding them back together with strings of all that we can become- but sometimes Azzi finds herself afraid that it might all just disappear, that a gust of wind might blow everything out of her hands all over again. 

“HI MAMA. HI MISS BUECKS,” she’s shaken from her thoughts by the backdoor opening as Stephie barrels into the car, the happiness in her voice contagious as she leans over the console to kiss Azzi and then Paige, before hanging between them and tapping at her own cheeks. The two adults laugh as they simultaneously press their lips to the little girl's cheeks, causing her dimples to deepen as she giggles between them. 

“How was school Stephie-bean?” Paige asks, peering over her own shoulder to make sure Stephie buckles herself in correctly as Azzi backs the car out. 

Stephie scrunches up her nose is distaste, “it’s school Miss Buecks. It was so boring. Except for lunch. Lunch was great. I love lunch.”

“You’re so real Steph,” Paige nods seriously, “lunch is the best and school is so bor-”

“Paige!”

“C’mon Az, I’m not gonna lie to the kid.”

“Exactly Mama,” Stephie chimes in loyally from the backseat, “lying is bad.”

Azzi rolls her eyes as Paige twists her hand to hold it out for Stephie to high-five it from the backseat, “the two of you are insufferable.”

“What does that mean?” Stephie asks, tilting her head in confusion. 

“It means we’re her most favorite people in the world,” Paige winks at the little girl as Azzi shakes her head fondly, choosing to keep the you’re more than that, you two are the reason my world keeps turning that tastes sugary sweet on the tip of her tongue to herself as she continues to drive. 

“What do y’all want for dinner?” she asks instead, ready to make a mental note of ingredients she might need to pick up from the grocery store while Paige and Stephie are at Curry Camp. 

“Actually,” there’s a slight nervous lilt to Paige’s voice and when Azzi looks over, she finds the older woman fidgeting anxiously with her thumbs, “I was thinking that maybe um- maybe y’all could come over to mine tonight? Maybe I can cook?”

They haven’t stayed at Paige’s since that first disastrous night. It hadn’t been on purpose per say; it was simply just easier to stay at Azzi’s, especially with Stephie to consider but perhaps a part of it had been subconscious self-preservation on the younger girl's part. Something about sleeping over at Paige’s feels more purposeful; like she’s fully letting herself step back into the other’s girl world and this time with the promise to not run away in the morning. It’s scary but when Azzi sees the hopeful look on Paige’s face as the blonde bites her lips, she thinks it’s worth it to take the leap; she’s ready for it. 

“I think that would be nice,” she says with a soft smile, “I’ll pick up some clothes for Stephie while y’all are at camp.”

Paige beams and Azzi can tell she’s itching to lean over to grab her hand or kiss her touch her in any way but there’s still the little fact they still haven’t quite told Stephie anything about them yet that stops her from doing any of the above. 

“What do you think of that Stephie bean? You wanna have a sleepover at my place tonight?” she redirects her attention to the little girl instead. 

“YES PLEASE,” Stephie squeals, practically bouncing on her car seat before a frown crosses her forehead, “but um-” she hesitates, “you um- you can’t cook Miss Buecks.”

Azzi bursts into a laughter as an offended look clouds Paige’s face, “excuse me? I absolutely can cook.”

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie says, her condescension-filled tone as adult as she can make it be, “you burned my eggs three times this week and then Mama had to make them all over again and we were almost late for school,” the little girl smirks through her ramble, “but that’s okay because I don’t mind being late for school because like I said school is really boring.”

“Okay but what about the one time I didn’t burn the eggs?” Paige haughtily crosses her arms over chest, “have we all just forgotten about that?”

“Pretty sure they were a little undercooked and saltless that one time-OW,” Azzi’s snicker is cut off by a pinch to her stomach, “do you want me to crash the car woman?”

Paige ignores her, turning back to look at Stephie with a betrayed expression, “you said you liked them?”

“I didn’t want to hurt your feeling Miss Buecks,” the little girl wails and Azzi feels a mix of pride and love bloom in her heart at the kind soul she’s raised, “I’m sorry Miss Buecks but I just-” Stephie reaches as far as her seatbelt will allow to cup Paige’s hand in her tiny hands, “I really don’t think you should cook Miss Buecks.Please. I don’t wanna die yet. I’m too cute to die.”

“You know what Stephie bean,” Paige taps the little girl’s nose, “I think you might be even more of a drama queen than me-”

“Don’t sound so proud,” Azzi mutters under her breath. 

“Shhh,” Paige chastises, never looking away from Stephie, “but alright sweetheart. I won’t cook. How about we order pizza?”

Stephie lets out a delighted cheer as Azzi grumbles, “more junk food? I swear to god Bueckers you’re completely ruining her diet.”

“On the contrary, I think I’m finally fixing it. You poor thing,” Paige coos at Stephie dramatically, “I bet your Mama was torturing you with nasty green things all day every day before me huh?”

“No no no Miss Buecks, veggies are good for you,” Stephie recites loyally and Azzi grins triumphantly at Paige. 

“Oh dear Stephie you’ve been brainwashed-”

“Excuse me? Don’t try to corrupt my child out of her good habits.”

“I’m not corrupting her,” Paige defends as Azzi makes a left turn into the parking lot for Curry Camp, “I’m just teaching her the wonders of grease and oil and all the other fun things that adults lie are bad for you.”

“Paige you are an adult.”

“But a fun one,” Paige smirks, waggling her eyebrows at Stephie through the mirror as Azzi stops the car right outside the building, “right Stephie-bean?”

“The fun-est-est-est-est,” Stephie choruses back as she begins to unbuckle herself so she can latch onto her mother’s neck from behind. Paige takes the opportunity to climb out of the car so she can grab Stephie’s sports bag from where it’s kept in the trunk.

“You be good for Miss Buecks and Uncle Twin at camp today okay?” Azzi whispers to the little girl, “and I better hear that you made all your shots.”

Stephie scoffs, “you know I never miss Mama.”

“That’s my girl,” Azzi grins as she nuzzles her nose against the little girl’s before Paige opens the backdoor and Stephie unlatches herself from her mother, only so she can go barrelling into the older woman’s arms instead, “Stephie-bean you know you can walk.”

“But Mama,” Stephie whines, wrapping her hands tightly around Paige’s neck, “I’m too tired to walk-”

“Stephie,” Azzi sighs. 

“You don’t mind carrying me, do you Miss Buecks?”

“Of course not,” Paige grins, “whatever you want sweetheart.”

Stephie looks pointedly at Azzi, “see Mama? Miss Buecks doesn’t mind.”

“Of course she doesn’t,” Azzi shakes her head, “alright off you two go. I’ll see you guys in a bit.”

“Bye Mama,” Stephie waves, “hurry back okay? We’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you guys too,” Azzi says warmly, blowing a kiss at both of them. 

It’s uncanny how similar the two of them are, when both Stephie and Paige make a show of catching the kiss and bringing it to their heart before looking at each other and giggling over their own silliness. It makes Azzi’s heartache in the best way possible. And as she watches the two of them start walking up the stairs, Stephie rambling and Paige hanging onto every word, she thinks that as long as life gives her the two of them, she’ll never ask for anything else. 

***

The first thing Azzi notices when she walks into the gym, arriving a little before camp finishes so she can say hi to her mentor, is Stephie sulking as she glares at Paige from the other side of the court. Confused, because it’s rare to see her daughter looking at the other woman with anything but pure adulation, Azzi follows the little girl’s line of sight to see what could possibly have upset her. A fond smile crosses her face as she sees Paige crowded by a bunch of children, all of them watching the superstar with wonder as she demonstrates her shooting technique. Paige swishes the ball into the basket and one would think she’d just scored the game-winning shot in the finals, by the way the gaggle of kids around her let out enthused cheers. 

The blonde has always had this aura that draws people to her -Azzi would know; she’d been one of the first people to succumb to it (not that she’d put up much of a fight)- but there’s something different about the charisma Paige has with kids. Perhaps it’s because of her own childlike innocence that’s still intact despite her age, but it’s clear that the little ones adore her. Azzi watches as one of the little girls animatedly tries to mimic what Paige had just demonstrated, looking upset when the basketball barely touches the rim. 

“I’m never gonna make a basket,” she hears the girl pout. 

Paige ruffles the kid’s hair before lifting her up onto her lap, “of course you are. You just needed a little bit more height. Here try again,” she says as she urges the girl to shoot again now that she’s higher off the ground. This time the ball falls magnificently through the hoop and the child whoops. 

“OH MY GOD COACH P I DID IT,” she squeals, hiding her face in Paige’s neck and while Azzi finds the whole thing quite adorable, when she looks over, she realizes that clearly Stephie is not nearly amused as she watches her daughter’s face transform into a scowl. 

“Riley and Ryan used to make the same face any time I gave another little girl too much of my time,” Azzi grins as Steph appears by her side, the former Warriors guard bumping her shoulder as a sign of greeting, “I split the kids into groups, half with Paige and half with me. Kept Stephie with me cause you know I thought I was her favorite but she’s been glaring at all the kids with Paige this whole time.”

“She’s uh- she’s a little possessive,” Azzi chuckles, eyes still on her daughter who finally looks away from Paige, before angrily shooting the ball at the lowered basket in front of her. 

“NICE SHOT TWIN NIECE,” Steph cheers as Stephie makes the shot, the little girl’s face unmoving as she gathers the ball back and gets ready to shoot again. Sometimes Azzi thinks, as she claps with pride, her daughter’s laser-focus attitude might rival her own. Maybe it’s a mother’s bias -she’d call it intuition- but she’s certain Stephie’s going to be a basketball phenomenon one day. 

“That was so pretty Stephie-bean,” Paige is beaming as she approaches Stephie, the little girl from before holding her hand, “you think you can show Claudia here how you get that arc on it?”

“No thank you Coach Bueckers,” Stephie’s voice is perfectly polite as she makes a point to not look at the two people who’ve just entered her space, but Azzi catches the split second when her gaze shifts irritatedly to the way Claudia’s hanging off of Paige, “I’m a little busy right now. Maybe another time.”

“Oh she’s good,” Steph whistles lowly as Paige’s mouth falls open at not being referred to as Miss Buecks, “she’s gonna have Paige groveling after camp I bet. She’s gonna get whatever treat she wants.” 

Azzi groans, “that is not a good thing. Do you know how much junk food she manipulates Paige into getting her?”

Steph laughs, “she spoils her huh?”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Azzi mutters but there’s a wistful grin on her face, “It’s part of why Stephie adores her so much cause she knows Paige would give her the world if she could.”

“I don’t think it’s just Stephie who adores her,” Steph bumps his shoulder against her and Azzi blanches at the knowing tone in his voice. 

“That’s not- I mean- I don’t- I don’t know what you mean,” she stutters out. 

Steph rolls his eyes goodnaturedly, “oh come off it Az. It was obvious when y’all were kids and it’s still obvious now.”

“When we were- you knew?” 

“Of course I knew,” Steph scoffs, “I’ve been married for more than 20 years to the same girl I fell in love with at 15 years old Az, I know a thing or two about what love looks like. Of course I knew.”

“I’m just getting clocked left right and center today what the hell,” she grumbles but there’s a part of her that’s slightly relieved about the people around them slowly figuring it out. She thinks she should maybe be a little more embarrassed about how obvious they apparently are -have supposedly always been- but honestly she kind of loves that their love is so bright, that it’s impossible to not see it. 

Love. The word sends a shiver through Azzi. It’s not a foreign feeling to her at all, especially not when it comes to Paige. If she’s honest with herself, it’s a feeling that has never left. She’d tried as hard as she could; shoving it underneath a rock of you’re not allowed to feel this way that weighed heavily against her chest. But it had always been there and as soon as Paige had waltzed her way back into Azzi’s life, the blonde seemed to have found a way to shovel it right back out. And that four-letter-word isn’t buried anymore; it’s right there on the tip of her tongue and every time Paige smiles at her -eyes crinkling with only for you-, Azzi’s this close to let it slip through her lips. She’s just waiting for the right time.

“Hey Stephie-bean can I fix your form a little bit,” her attention is drawn back to her surroundings as she watches Paige try to get Stephie to look at her again but her daughter is nothing if not stubborn. 

“That’s okay. It’s almost time to go home and I’m sure Uncle Twin can help me with my form Coach Bueckers,” the little girl says contemptuously to a gobsmacked Paige before gesturing at Claudia, “how about you just keep helping her instead.”

“Sheesh that’s one petty kid you’ve got there Fudd,” Steph remarks before stepping to the front of the court and blowing his whistle, “alright y’all it’s 5 o’clock. Great job today! I hope you guys had a lot of fun and learned some good stuff and I’ll see y’all back here tomorrow!”

The former player diligently high-fives all the kids before they disperse towards their awaiting parents. Azzi can tell Stephie’s still irritated when the little girl barely hugs Steph, shaking herself out of her Uncle’s arms much quicker than she normally would as she all but stomps her way to her mother. 

“Woah there Stephie-bean,” Azzi says gently, falling to her knees in front of her daughter, “what’s wrong?”

Stephie pouts miserably, “I’m mad at Miss Buecks. She’s been helping other kids this whole time.”

Azzi has to bite her lip to keep herself from smiling, amused by the child’s dramatics, “baby you know that’s Miss Buecks’s job right? She’s here to coach all the kids.”

If possible, Stephie’s frown deepens as she kicks her feet stubbornly, “she can coach them,” she says matter-of-factly, “but why does she have to carry them and give them hugs. She should only do that with me.”

“Stephie-”

“And camp is over now and she’s still with stupid Claudia,” Stephie whines as she uses her hand to turn Azzi’s face towards Paige, “see?”

The we don’t call people stupid lesson that she was just about to give her daughter dies on Azzi’s lips as her eyes fixate on where a stupid pretty young woman who she knows to be Claudia’s mother is staring up at Paige with a stupid flirty smile. Azzi has no idea what the blonde is saying, but she’s sure it can’t be that funny to make the woman tilt her head back in laughter, left hand reaching out to flick Paige’s bicep and lingering far longer than necessary. 

“You know what Stephie-bean I think it’s time to home,” and really she feels just a little guilty with how she’s about to use her clearly upset daughter, “how about you go call Miss Buecks over.”

That’s all it takes to get Stephie running towards her and Azzi follows cautiously behind, only getting further irritated at how Claudia’s mother seems determined to step closer and closer to Paige and the clueless blonde does absolutely nothing to stop it, continuing to smile politely at the other woman. 

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie comes to a halt in front of Paige, interrupting whatever conversation was going on as she practically forces herself in between the two women, “Mama says it’s time to go home.”

Despite the jealousy simmering her heart, Azzi can’t help that her heart skips a beat at the way Paige’s whole face brightens up at seeing Stephie; clearly relieved at the little girl using her nickname again. 

“Give me one second sweetheart. I’m just a little busy talking to Claudia and her mother-”

“Mama,” Stephie says loudly, cutting Paige off as she turns to Azzi, “do you know if Aunty Chérie is in town?”

“Um- I- uh-” the brunette stutters, not having expected her little girl to bring that up as her gaze flickers towards a frozen Paige whose smile is completely gone, her body going rigid at the mention of Clémence.

“I was just thinking,” Stephie barrels on casually, “maybe we could go see her and she could give me cuddles and kisses since app-ently Miss Buecks is too busy to give them to me-”

The little girl cuts herself off with a squeal as she’s suddenly lifted off the ground and into Paige’s arms; the blonde peppering her lips against every inch of Stephie’s face. 

“Never ever too busy for you and I’m especially never too busy to give you kisses Stephie-bean.”

“Promise,” Stephie holds out her pinky finger and Paige diligently intertwines her own through it, pressing a kiss to their now interlocked pinkies. 

“Promise.”

Shaking her head fondly at her menace daughter’s antiques, Azzi fixes Claudia’s mother with a sweetly saccharine smile as she wraps a possessive hand around Paige’s bicep. She can feel the blonde’s eyes immediately drift towards her, clearly a little thrown off by her forwardness. It had been Azzi’s go-to-move in college whenever Paige’s fanclub would get a little too handsy. She’d sidle up into her girlfriend’s space, marking her territory as subtly as possible. Azzi knows this is a little different. It had been easier back then to play the action off as a protective best friend  warding off boundary-less fans; really it was uncanny the things two girls could get away with under the guise of friendship. But it’s different now that they’re actual adults and she can see the clogs running Claudia’s mother’s head as she starts to piece everything together. 

“Hi I don’t think we’ve properly met. I’m Stephie’s mom, Azzi, nice to meet you,” Azzi says finally, holding out her hand that isn’t still clasped firmly around Paige’s bicep, “I think it’s usually your husband who picks Claudia up from camp right?”

“I’m Stacie,” the woman says, primly returning the handshake, “yeah my husband’s usually the one who picks her up but I had a little time today-”

“Don’t lie Mommy. I heard you on the phone saying you wanted to come pick me up so you could meet Coach Bueckers-”

“Claudia,” Stacie hisses as Azzi narrows her eyes at the woman. 

“You said it’s cause you think she’s really hot-” Claudia manages to get out before her mother furiously clamps her hand over her mouth. 

“Azzi,” Paige whispers under her breath, wincing slightly as the shooting guard unconsciously tightens her grip, unable to keep the irritation of her face as she all but glares at Claudia’s mother. 

“You know kids, they say anything,” Stacie tries to justify, cowering under the sintering heat of Azzi’s stare. 

“Right,” the brunette nods with faux understanding, “well if you’ll excuse us, I think it’s time for us to go unless-” she turns her gaze onto Paige who looks innocently back at her as she hides a smile against Stephie’s stomach, “unless you’re still busy that is?”

Paige shakes her head affectionately as she tugs her arm out of Azzi’s grip, only so she can lock their pinkies together, the angle of it just out of Stephie’s line of sight, “never too busy for you,” she repeats, “let’s go.”

*** 

“Mama, will you tell Miss Buecks that I’m not speaking to her,” Stephie says as soon as the three of them get settled into the car. 

“What,” Paige shrieks, twisting her head around to look at the little girl who decisively looks away, her tiny hands crossed over her chest. 

“Stephie,” Azzi sighs exasperatedly, stretching her legs out in the passenger seat; Paige had insisted on driving this time and she hadn’t bothered fighting against it, “babes I thought you’d gotten over it? You were literally just talking to her.”

“That’s cause I forgot I was mad when Miss Buecks gave me my kisses but I rem-ber now,” Stephie explains. 

“Remember what?” Paige asks frantically, “Stephie-bean what did I do?”

The little girl in question makes it a point to turn her nose up and look directly at Azzi as she answers, “Mama will you tell Miss Buecks that she knows what she did.”

“I really, really don’t. Stephie sweetheart please tell me so I can fix it,” Paige tries again, and Azzi lets herself marvel at how the normally jittery-woman seems to have endless patience for her little girl. 

“YOU GAVE THE OTHER KIDS HIGH FIVES AND CUDDLES AND HUGS AND YOU EVEN LET CLAUDIA ONTO YOUR LAP,” Stephie bursts out emphatically, “you’re not supposed to do that with anyone but ME.”

“I-” Paige looks over helplessly at Azzi who holds her hands up in surrender, determined not to get in between the two of them and their dramatics. 

“You didn’t even ask Uncle Twin to let me be on your team,” Stephie accuses and then like she’s suddenly remembered that she’d made a bold assertion a couple of minutes ago, “Mama could you please tell Miss Buecks that I said all of that.”

Azzi rolls her eyes, “I have a feeling she might have heard you.”

“Did you like the other kid’s hugs more than you like mine?” the little girl prods, her eyes suddenly glimmering with tears. 

“Oh sweetheart of course not,” Paige consoles immediately, “I could never like anyone’s hugs more than yours, you know that. Your hugs are the best things in the whole wide world. And Stephie-bean, I thought you wanted to be with Uncle Twin, you said you missed him.”

“Wanted to be with you more,” Stephie pouts stubbornly, “I don’t wanna share my Miss Buecks with the other kids. I don’t want you to hug them or carry them and you definitely can’t give them kisses.”

“I didn’t even give any of them kisses,” Paige protests. 

“Stephie, Miss Buecks is a person, not an object. She’s allowed to hug or carry or kiss-” Azzi tries to explain but is almost immediately interrupted by Stephie who gives her an unamused look. 

“Well is she allowed to hug and carry and kiss Claudia’s Mama then?”

Azzi’s mouth falls open as Paige barely holds in her chuckle at the little girl’s cheeky question, “she absolutely is not allowed to do that.”

“Exactly,” there’s a satisfied grin on Stephie's face as she takes in the still dumbfounded expression on her mother’s face. 

“I just- I meant the kids. She’s allowed to hug or carry or kiss the kids-”

“NO SHE’S NOT.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Paige moves her hands up and down in a calming gesture before she reaches for Stephie hands, “how about this? From now on, I won’t carry any of the other kids and I definitely won’t give them any kisses. But can I at least give them one hug? Just one tiny little hug?”

Stephie ponders over the request for a second, “okay,” she agrees finally, “but only one hug and it can’t be longer than three seconds okay? And then you come and give me three of them right after?”

“Done. I’ll come give you five hugs right after,” Paige grins happily as the two of them shake on it before she turns back around to start driving them towards her house.  

“Mama you can tell Miss Buecks that I’m speaking to her again,” Stephie smiles toothily at Azzi through the rearview mirror. 

“Really?” Azzi responds sarcastically, “I couldn't have guessed.”

“You know,” Paige drops her voice so Stephie can’t hear them, “you’re being pretty sassy for someone who was just as irrationally jealous as a five year old a couple of minutes ago.”

“I was not jealous,” Azzi says indignantly, repeating herself when Paige’s smirk deepens, “I have no idea what you’re talking about Paige, I was absolutely not jealous.”

“Whatever you say baby,” Paige hums quietly as she turns the music up in the car, grinning at Stephie through the mirror when one of their new favorites comes on. 

Azzi preemptively covers her ears as her soft “oh please don’t start singing-” is immediately drowned out by the two other people in the car beginning to sing at the top of their voices. They barely know the lyrics and they’re definitely not on key and really Azzi’s poor ears are bleeding, but as she’s coerced into reluctantly joining in, she thinks this could still be her favorite sound in the whole wide world. 

They’re so enthralled in their cacophony -in each other- as they pull up to Paige’s house, that it takes them a far longer than it should to notice the figure on her porch. It isn’t until they’ve parked in the driveway, and Azzi’s gone around to grab her and Stephie’s overnight bag from the back while Paige lifts Stephie onto her shoulders, and they’re finally making their way up the three steps that lead to the deck, that they finally do. 

All chatter comes to a halt as the boy -well that’s not quite right; not when he towers over Paige and Azzi as he stands up from where he’d been sitting on the lawn chair. It’s been almost four years since she’d last seen him in person and even then he’d been a fleeting face in the crowd. She’s seen plenty of his clips from the rookie year he’d just finished in the NBA but it isn’t the same as seeing him in the flesh now. So much has changed; the baby fat is gone from his face, he’s lankier and longer and there’s a discernible aura of confidence around him; as is expected from a 20 year old man. Yet, as Azzi lets her gaze wander over him, she sees what she’s always seen. She sees that same innocence, that same kindness, that same drive in his eyes that she’d always found reflected in his sister’s eyes too. She looks at him and she still sees a mini version of her Paige. 

*** 

October 2022 

“AZZI,” Drew screams as he runs across the arrival gate, his carry-on suitcase practically abandoned for the flight attendant with him to begrudgingly pick up. 

“DREW,” Azzi’s smile widens as the little boy comes to a halt in front of her, his arms immediately wrapping around her waist, “oh my god you’ve gotten so much bigger little dude.”

Drew scrunches his nose up at her, “you literally saw me like a month ago.”

“And I think you might have doubled in size since,” she ruffles his hair before turning to the flight attendant who’s not so subtly checking her out, “thank you so much for getting him here safely.”

“Oh just doing my duty m’am, especially for a pretty lady like you,” the man says and Azzi winces at his dated flirting technique. 

“This is Azzi,” Drew introduces, irritation seeping into his voice as he tightens his grip on Azzi’s waist, “you know how I told you I’m flying out for my sister’s birthday, this is my sister’s girlfriend and it was her idea to fly me out to surprise my sister. Because you know she’s her girlfriend.”

“Right,” the man grimaces and Azzi has to bite back the laugh threatening to escape as he hastily hands Drew’s suitcase over before barely managing a half-hearted grin, “I um- uh- well I should get back to the uh- plane or something. Tell your- tell your sister happy birthday.”

“Thanks again,” Azzi calls after the man as he all but runs away from them, shaking her head fondly down at Drew who’s giggling into her side. 

“You think if I tell Paige he flirted with you, she’d get him fired?” he asks cheekily. 

“There’s a nonzero chance that she’d at least try,” Azzi agrees as the two of them start making their way out of the airport and towards her car. 

It’s a chilly fall morning and the sun has barely risen in the sky but Drew seems more awake than ever as he practically bounces into the passenger seat, clearly excited to see his sister who has no inkling that he’s coming. The idea had come to Azzi a week or so ago as she’d racked her head for ideas of what to do for Paige for her birthday. She’d done a good job putting up a front for the rest of their team -avidly cheering for them from the sidelines during practice- but Paige had been struggling these last couple of weeks. Azzi knows firsthand what it’s like to watch everyone else play the sport she loves while nursing her own injury and no matter how many i’m fine don’t worry about me spiels she got from her girlfriend, Azzi knew it was killing the point guard to not be out there with their team. 

If she could, Azzi would have liked to have miraculously fixed Paige’s torn ACL as her birthday gift but that was wishful thinking. So instead she’d decided on cheering Paige up with the other thing she loved more than playing basketball: spending time with her baby brother. It didn't take that much convincing to get Bob Bueckers -who’d seen just how despondent his daughter had been those first couple of weeks in that gloomy hotel- to allow Drew to take the first half of this week off of school. From then on, the main difficulty had been keeping it a secret from Paige who seemed to have sixth sense for when something was going on behind her back. It didn’t help that Drew had come close to spilling the beans more than a handful of times. But they’d somehow managed it and this morning, Azzi had rolled out of her girlfriend’s arms much earlier than she would have liked to, ready to give Paige the day she deserved. 

She glances at the clock. It’s almost 8 and Azzi knows that Paige is probably beginning to stir awake. She can almost picture the likely confusion on her girlfriend’s as she’d reach out for Azzi, only to find the spot next to her empty. As if on cue, the sound of a phone ringing vibrates around the car and Drew’s eyes light up at Paige’s name flashing on the media-board. 

“Don’t say a word,” Azzi warns him as she picks up the call. 

“WHAT THE HELL AZZI. WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?” Paige’s irritated voice echoes throughout the car, “DO YOU KNOW HOW RUDE IT IS TO MAKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND WAKE UP ALONE IN THE MORNING? ON HER GODDAMN BIRTHDAY?”

Despite Azzi’s warning, Drew snickers loud enough for the speakers to pick it up  and the brunette fights the urge to hit her head against the steering wheel when Paige lets out a dramatic gasp. 

“OH MY GOD ARE YOU WITH ANOTHER GIRL. ON MY BIRTHDAY?”

“No Paige I am not with another girl-”

“Well it sounds like there’s a girl with you.”

Drew opens his mouth to protest, clearly agitated with his voice potentially being mistaken for a girl’s but Azzi’s quicker, immediately clamping a hand over his mouth. 

“I am not with-”

“Wait. Why did that voice sound so familiar?” Paige asks and Azzi can picture her scrunching her nose through the phone, “it can’t be any of the girls. I think I saw all of them in their apartments while I was looking for you but it sounds so-”

“It’s no one,” Azzi says hurriedly, “I’m just picking up something for your birthday.”

“I don’t want anything for my birthday,” Paige grumbles, “just wanted to wake up to my beautiful gorgeous girlfriend but no, you couldn’t just let me have that.”

A soft blush, tinted with hues of you make my imperfection feel perfect, creeps up Azzi’s cheeks as Drew teasingly waggles his eyebrows at her, “I promise I have something even better for you.”

“What could possibly be better than morning se-”

“Celebratory cuddles. Right yes what could be better than morning celebratory cuddles,” Azzi babbles, ignoring the weird look Drew gives her as she tries to prevent them from falling in the ditch her girlfriend is unknowingly about throw them into, “oh my won’t you look at that, that sign has all the reasons I shouldn’t try to talk and drive.”

“Baby what? Are you having a stroke. That’s not a thing-

“Oh it totally is and I really have to hang up. Love you baby, see you soon!’

“Azzi-” a loud beep rings through Paige’s protests as Azzi rushes to cut the call, slumping back in her seat with a sigh. 

“Morning celebratory cuddles?” if she wasn’t so embarrassed she would laugh at the side-eye Drew shoots her, “y’all are so weird.”

“Watch it. I will send you back to Minnesota.”

“No you won't,” it’s uncanny how Drew has Paige’s exact smile as he goofily grins at her, “you love Paigey way too much to do that to me.”

Azzi rolls her eyes fondly, “yeah maybe just a little bit.” 

There’s peaceful silence in the car for a while as Drew leans back in his seat, looking thoughtfully out the window. Azzi feels excitement bubble in her stomach in anticipation for Paige’s reaction to seeing her little brother. For as long as she’s known her girlfriend, she’s always known just how special Drew is to her; he’d been more a child to her than a brother and although it hasn’t been that long since Paige has seen him, Azzi could still hear the wistfulness in her voice every night she’d said good-bye to him on the phone. She feels giddy just knowing that seeing Drew again will put that earnest, loving smile she loves so much on Paige’s face. That smile, Azzi thinks, might just be the reason her world keeps turning. 

“Hey Azzi?” Drew says slowly, “can I ask you something?”

“Course you can kid. You can ask me whatever you want,” Azzi reaches out to squeeze the little boy’s hand as he fidgets in his seat. 

“Do you-” he hesitates, sucking in a deep breath, “do you think two people can stay together forever?”

Azzi’s taken aback by the gravity of the question, not having expected to deal with heavy-hitting ones like this so early in the morning. And really the truth is Azzi doesn’t know how to answer this question. It’s the kind of question her own brain conjures up sometimes and she has to distract herself from the way it makes her heart constrict because what if two people can’t stay together forever?

“That’s a heavy question,” she says finally, “where’s this coming from?”

Drew shrugs and his tone teeters on the edge of defensiveness when he answers, “just some things I think about sometimes.”

“I don’t know,” she says carefully, “I’d like to think some people can. I mean my parents have been together for a really long time and I’d like to think they’ll stay together forever.”

“How about you and Paigey?” Drew prods. 

There’s an answer of yes that tastes like asphalt on the top of Azzi’s tongue and so much of her wants to spit it out and have that be the answer she gives Drew. But there are these uneasy shackles of uncertainty, of what if’s, of who knows what the future could do to us, that stops her. And she doesn’t know why she’s so scared of saying yes. Because if she’s honest with herself Azzi can’t really fathom a forever without her girlfriend; not when sometimes it feels like instead of a heart, it’s Paige that beats rhythmically against her ribcage. 

“I really, really hope so,” she whispers. 

“Azzi,” Drew’s voice is coated in sincerity and the brunette hums in response, “you won’t ever hurt my Paigey will you?”

And there it is again, the unpredictability of what could happen next that’s beginning to feel a little suffocating. She wants to give Drew a resounding no because Azzi would rather drive a dagger through her skin before letting Paige get so much as a paper cut but life is so fickle and she’s scared of making a promise she can’t keep. So she makes one that she swears she can. 

“I promise that I will try my absolute best not to hurt your Paigey.”

***

May 2033 

“Well,” Drew Bueckers sneers, his tone filled with contempt as he takes in the way Paige, Azzi and Stephie are practically wrapped into each other, don’t you guys just look so fucking cozy.”

There’s a sinister tension-filled quiet as the three adults -god it’s weird to include Drew as an adult but Azzi supposes that that’s what he is now- look between each other. 

“Umm you owe me a kiss,” Stephie cuts into the silence.

“What?” Drew scrunches his face at the little girl. 

“You said a bad word,” Stephie says matter-of-factly, “and Mama says whenever someone says a bad word around me, they have to give me a kiss. So Miss Buecks,” Drew's eyes narrow at the nickname as the little girl lightly taps Paige’s shoulder, “can you turn around and move closer so he can give me a kiss?”

“You don’t, you don’t have to do that-” Azzi tries to intervene. 

“Yes he does Mama,” Stephie interupts her indignantly, “rules are rules right?’

“Stephie-”

“Rules are rules,” it’s Drew who cuts Azzi off this time, his previously stoic face morphing into something warmer as he takes a step closer to her daughter and presses his lips against her turned cheek, “there you go. Am I forgiven for saying a bad word now?”

Stephie grins up at him and Azzi feels a wave of this is how it always should have been pinching at her heart she watches the two of them. 

“You’re forgiven but you have to promise not to do it again.”

“I don’t make promises like that kid,” there’s an unspoken accusation as Drew keeps up a smile towards Stephie but his eyes dart for the briefest second towards the two women around him, “but I promise I’ll try.”

“Okay,” Stephie accepts happily as she reaches over Paige’s shoulder to press her own lips against Drew’s cheek. 

“What was that for?’ he asks a little dazedly. 

Stephie shrugs, “because I think I’m gonna like you.”

“Drew,” Paige whispers finally, gently letting the little girl off of her shoulders, “what are you- what are you doing here?”

“What? A guy can’t just come visit his sister anymore?” there’s an unfamiliar hard edge to Drew’s voice -a stark contrast from how he’d been with Stephie- that makes Azzi flinch. 

“Of course he can but I just- you didn’t- you didn’t tell me you were coming,” Paige presses. 

“Well we've been talking about me coming down for a while but it just hasn’t happened and so I thought- I thought why not just come surprise you but-” Drew purses his lips as he gestures to the trio in front of him, “I think I might be the one who’s surprised.”

“Drew-”

“Actually you know what no,” he clenches his jaw, voice dripping with barely controlled anger, “I’m actually not surprised. Not surprised at all. Because really this- this is exactly what I should have expected from the two of you.”

“Maybe,” Azzi nibbles at her bottom, “maybe we should go-’

“NO,” both Stephie and Paige yell out in tandem as the little girl immediately clutches onto the blonde’s thighs. 

“I don’t wanna go. Miss Buecks tell Mama I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re staying right here with me,” Paige reassures the little girl as she turns her gaze back to Azzi, “you’re not going anywhere okay?”

“Paige-”

“I asked you to stay tonight and you’re going to stay. End of discussion,” Paige says firmly and Azzi lets out a reluctant sight. 

“You asked her to stay? As in stay the night? Oh my god,” Drew scoffs maliciously. 

“Drew,” there’s a warning tone in Paige’s voice as she deattaches herself from Stephie, keeping her voice low, “not right now okay?”

Her brother rolls his eyes, grunting out a “whatever,” but listening to his older sister like he always had and suddenly Azzi feels nostalgic for the little boy she had once known. 

“You’re so tall,” she blurts out, grimacing slightly when he turns to her with a frown. 

“Excuse me?”

“I mean I knew that. I’ve seen some of your highlights and I knew I mean- I knew you were taller and that you’ve gotten bigger and that you’d look stronger and all of that but I just-” Azzi gulps between her babbling, “you just- you look different Drew.”

There’s a shine of warmth in Drew’s gaze for a second but it flickers away faster than it had appeared and his eyes are cold with flecks of betrayal as he looks at Azzi, “that’s what happens as people get older isn’t it? I wouldn’t look so different to you if you’d been around to see me grow up.”

There’s venom laced in every word and Paige immediately opens her mouth to argue with him, but Azzi wraps a hand around her wrist to stop her. Because even if the words seep into her skin and infect it with bruises of guilt and regret, Azzi thinks she probably deserves them. She’d been in Drew’s world for so long and then one day, she just hadn’t been. She thinks he probably could have spewed something even more poisonous and she just might have deserved that too. 

“Are you sleeping over too, Uncle Drew?” Stephie asks softly, unaffected by the tenseness of the adults around her. 

“Uncle Drew?” Drew asks slowly. 

Stephie nods with a grin, “Miss Buecks called you Drew and that’s when I figured it out. Mama and Miss Buecks have told me stories about you and there’s some pictures of you from when you were littler at Nana and Pop's house,” she rambles and Drew’s eyes soften at the idea of Stephie knowing of his existence, “ and just in case you don’t know who I am even though you should,” she gives him a pointed look as if everyone should know who the little girl is, “I’m Stephie. And you’re my Miss Buecks’s brother so that means you’re my Uncle Drew.”

“Right that um-” Drew clears his throats, “that makes sense Stephie.”

“So Uncle Drew, are you sleeping over too?”

“Yeah, yeah I guess I am.”

“YAY!” Stephie squeals as she laces her fingers through Drew and begins to pull him towards the front door, “so Uncle Drew what’s your favorite pizza topping?”

Something wonderful flutters in Azzi’s chest as she watches the two of them interact -it’s a little bit like seeing the past and present harmonically blend into one- but despite that, despite the reassurance that Paige squeezes against her hand, there’s an uneasiness lingering in the back of her mind. That wretched but familiar fear of the future weaves itself through her heart. Between the frostiness from Drew and whatever secret Paige is keeping from her, Azzi can’t help but wonder if these last couple of weeks had simply been a mirage. She can’t help but wonder if this bubble of happiness that they’ve built is about to be burst by a needle of circumstance again. 

[letsgetrowdy43]

Meet the cast—

Au Masterlist!!

Evangeline “Angie” Chandler

Played on the U17 and U18 USNTDP team in 2017-19

Her first kiss was Quinn when she was 16 in a game of seven minutes in heaven the summer of his draft, they never told anyone, and they never speak on it.

There was a rumour in the program that Jack and her were secretly hooking up in their senior year, and the boys who weren’t that close to her would chirp her for it. Up until Jim put and end to it and lost his cool at a few boys while watching one of their practices.

She to this day still leads the program in all time assists, passing jack early in their second season on the team and ending with an even 190.

She was prom queen and Alex was her prom king at their senior prom (Trevor was very jealous of the crowns)

Trevor Zegras referred to her as the glue of the team in her draft interview, and it gained her the very short lived nickname “sticky” that she loathed.

She had the biggest crush on Matthew Tkachuk when she was 16 after staying with the Hughes and the Tkachuks for Fourth of July. It didn’t last too long because Luke told him the moment he noticed how blush she was, and he killed the vibe.

She attended the University of Minnesota for two years and a half, where she was an alternate captain both years, and that’s where she figured out her love for the leadership aspect of the game.

Lindy met her, and immediately knew she was gonna be the “glue” of this team and was exactly what they needed if they wanted to fix their chemistry and make it to the playoffs.

Jesper gets in his first fight in her first game against the Rags when someone absolutely slams her into the board post whistle, he’s the only guy close enough and the sound of her hiss of pain was enough for him to see red.

Nico Hischier

The embodiment of “looks like he could kill you, is a cinnamon roll”

When Lindy brought up the idea of a girl being on the team Nico was the first guy to give the okay and push for her to join them. He even set up a meeting with the league officials to argue her case.

Met her one time before her joining the team when she came up for an impromptu visit during Jack's rookie year. Jack was not very happy with the excessive flirting between them and at many times in her trip, nearly locked her in his and Ty’s apartment to keep them from seeing each other.

Referred to her as Ethereal once, and then got the shit chirped out of her

The summer following their 2023 playoff run he asked her out for the first time, and she gave him a hard no, and poor baby was so crushed

He had a really hard time understanding why she was so stubborn with her love life until the newest boy in the locker room, Luke, was like “Maybe it’s cause she’ll never be taken seriously if anyone finds out she’s sleeping with her captain?” And then it all kinda made sense after that

He never asked her out again after that, he cared more about her being comfortable around him than he did about getting a date

She kissed him for the first time in a hotel conference room while the team was all out celebrating a big win, and then left him in a panic, but he was all blushed and in love walking back into the party as she hid on the other side of the room.

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[f1-birb]

For the ABC list, can you do number 3 with Sewis?

Like Seb is just being adorable and stuff?

3. "Can you stop being so cute please? It's distracting."

Lewis groans loudly, rolling over and pulling his pillow to cover the back of his head as Seb laughs beside him. He presses his hands down firmly, muffling the sound of Seb's ringtone and subsequent answer, then mourns the loss of warmth at his side as Seb gets out of bed. He smiles against the mattress when a kiss is pressed to his exposed shoulder blade, and he eases the grip on one end of the pillow so that he can hear his husband shuffle out of the room.

When Seb isn't back within five minutes, he shifts, rolling out of bed and snatching up the zip-up hoodie he'd never be caught dead in in public. He tugs it on, zipping it halfway as he follows the low hum of Seb's voice.

It takes him to the kitchen, and he leans against the doorframe, a soft smile curling up the corners of his mouth. Seb is on the phone with Charles, he can tell by the fond exasperation as his husband reassures the younger man about whatever it is he's worried about. It fills his chest with warmth, just how much Seb cares about the younger drivers he's taken under his wing.

Seb looks up at him, shrugging haplessly with a smile and Lewis blows him a kiss before heading back to bed to wait for him.

~~~

He waves at George as the younger driver heads into the Mercedes garage, continuing down the pit lane and smiling at a few of the mechanics as they hurry past him. He keeps his pace casual, enjoying the beautiful weather with the sun high and bright, wanting to make the most of it before he has to commit to any of his media responsibilities.

As he nears McLaren, Lewis spots Lando pacing in front of his garage, a pensive look on his face. Before he can say anything to the younger man, Sebastian appears and suddenly Lando looks relieved.

He watches as his husband smiles warmly, saying something he can't quite make out but whatever it is makes Lando laugh, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that makes him look even younger than he is.

He can understand why Lando's possibly feeling some nerves, memories of the catastrophic end to Lando's Q3 last season flashing through his mind, the terrifying moment where none of them knew if Lando was okay after spinning and hitting the barrier. He can still hear Seb's furious radio messages.

So seeing Lando grinning now, blushing slightly when Seb gently cups his face then pats his ribs, it sends a warm feeling through him, and he waves as he passes them both. He winks at Seb and blows him a kiss, and laughs when Lando jokingly pulls a face.

~~~

It's no secret that Mick and Sebastian are close. He thinks it's sweet that there's a full circle, Seb being there for Mick in a similar way that Michael was for Seb. It's also no secret why Mick has needed some of that support, with how differently Haas has treated him compared to how a lot of other rookies have been treated by their teams.

It makes Lewis angry, but also pleased, knowing the plan Toto is working on behind the scenes that he's been sworn to secrecy over, been explicitly warned that he can't even tell his husband about. He wishes he could, if only to ease up some of Seb's well disguised worry, but he knows it's only a matter of time.

Mick's visiting them at the moment, Angie coming with him as a playmate for Roscoe, and Lewis peers over the top of his sunglasses to watch them run around the garden. He turns back to his tablet, flipping the document he's reading to the next page when there's a sudden squeal that grabs his attention.

Seb's got one of the water guns they'd bought for when his niece and nephew are over, and he's chasing Mick around the garden with it. The younger man is laughing, doing his best to avoid being hit and making a mad dash for the other water gun left on the deck. The dogs chase after him, loving the game, and he finds himself stuck watching his husband laughing so freely. It's adorable and he says as much when Seb runs past him.

"Can you stop being so cute please? It's distracting."

Lewis throws a spare tennis ball at Mick when the younger man fake gags, and then yelps when his feet are hit with a cold jet of water.

"Make me."

It's a veiled threat as much as it is a joke, and Lewis has tucked his tablet away and is on his feet running before the next jet of water comes.

I've never actually written sewis before so I hope I didn't do too badly 😅

[angie-j-kay]

ok off the top of your head, your three most developed OCs:

what's their favorite color

are there any movies that would make them cry

how do they handle scary things/horror?

Thanks for the ask, and it's nice to meet you!

Okay, so my three most developed OCs in What You Cast Out are Tracey, Sarah, and Reliquus.

Favorite color Tracey: It's black. She's actually pretty uncaring about color, but black is a neutral color that matches everything and freaks people out, so she gravitates towards that. Sarah: Sarah loves greens and blues, with a hint of purple or pink sometimes to spice things up. She's not unaware of the irony in her liking green, but will roll her eyes and get annoyed if anyone brings it up. Reliquus: The Reliquus... if they have a favorite color, it's probably something outside of the human visible range and doesn't have a name in any human language.

Movies that would make them cry Tracey: Don't tell anyone, and she will deny everything if you ask her about it, but she cried her eyes out at The Shape of Water. Sarah: Just about any sappy romance will do it, bonus points if it's a queer one. At the point in the story we meet her, any movie involving sibling relationships might also trigger a fit as well. Reliquus: I legit cannot even imagine the Reliquus watching a movie at all. Fiddler on the Roof, maybe?

Horror and Scary Things Tracey: Tracey has already survived things that would land most people in a hospital, and come out the other side... okay, maybe "okay" isn't the word, lol. She's quite good at compartmentalizing the fear, most of the time, but she does have limits. Mostly, she prioritizes getting to safety over the indulgence of panicking. Sarah: If Sarah has someone to protect, such as her niece and nephew nearby, she will go full Mama Bear and focus on protecting them at all costs. If it's just her, she's a lot more normal about it: screaming, having to fight back panic, but probably still surviving it. Reliquus: The Reliquus is the horror, thank you very much. And they're slightly offended at the implication that they're not the scariest thing in the room right now. You might want to start running.

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What You Cast Out: A Tale From Little Egypt is a dark fantasy novel set in Southern Illinois. It follows a rookie police officer and an autistic punker as they investigate a murder, leading them back to the place the punker ran away from as a child and the things she told herself she must have imagined.

Monsters will attack. Elves will get high. And while all hell breaks loose, the locals will continue to complain that nothing interesting ever happens in Southern Illinois.

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The novel is published in serial zine format on my Patreon and Ko-Fi pages. The first two chapters are already out for my supporters, ready to be downloaded and printed at your convenience!

All of the art on the chapter covers is made by me, a combination of watercolor, collage, and just a smidge of digital manipulation for the covers themselves. NO AI WAS OR EVER WILL BE USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF MY ZINES.

If you like this post, I'd love it if you shared it so more folks could see it. The more people share this post, the more people will be able to read the novel!

And if you'd like to join my taglist, let me know!

The current taglist: @wedgie-of-destiny, @nightacquainted, @storminmywake, @brokenandlonelysouls, @tattur, @theamazingchickenman, @solstice-muse-collective, @axl-ul, @tucsonhorse

[pop-roxs]

hoo okay I can already tell this is gonna be long but manga thoughts!! i only read up to roughly 150 I think (Also hi hi I’m off anon! anxiety has been overcome >D<)

quick lil context of me even getting into this also! so my roomie and I have a tradition of watching really bad animes during finals weeks and this time my rookie suggested we watched black butler 2 (still so funny it’s just 2 not season two not book of ___ no. just two. Peak comedy) first half of that was laughably bad and then like ep 7 onward it was frustratingly good. Some bizarre pacing some bizzare writing choices but I liked it overall. anyways over winter break out of nowhere I got manga spoilers on my tiktok for Agni’s death and. It emotionally devastated me bc I loved him sm bc of the like one ep in 2 where he appeared. i told my roomie that and we decided to like actually watch the good parts of the anime so I could get a taste of the actual plot (and eventually we watched s1 lmao)

so yeah that bit didn’t impact me as much when I actually read it but 😭 Agni I miss you dearly you’re like one of the only people I’d trust to hold my drink in this series I KNOW you would take care of it and not spill anything. Also, I read the entire (post campania) manga while procrastinating studying for my organic chemistry exam bc chemistry is a pain in the ass and I didn’t want to look at it

right um. Other arcs. so the school arc has some BIZARRE pacing- (and i never got used to the just casually dropping the F word even if it was used iba like historical context) I was half skimming some of the pages bc I thought it was gonna be basically a fluff filler arc so that end caught me off guard- deffo enjoyed the soma content though! i sure hope he stays happy and nothing awful happens to make him stop smiling! hahah fuck.

Emerald witch arc is kinda funny to me. like yeah, okay queen of England, send this 13 (14?? I forgor) year old child to a different country to deal with werewolves. this isn’t even ur country girly what. Wolf and miss sullivan (can’t spell her first name) r fun characters I like their addition a lot. Could’ve done without the uh. weird scenes with sullivan but. whatever. (The scenes with finny taking care of ciel also were so sweet Omg I will cry- finny is probably one of my top 5 charas I love himmmmm he scares me tho )

that being said I fuckcking RECOGNIZED that shit was chemicals as soon as I saw that circle thing oh my FuckKING GOD. I literally put down my phone and stopped reading for a good while. I’m reading this manga to procrastinate my ochem I did not need it to insert itself like that >:’(((( it was good though I liked the arc a a lot (my roommate fucking burst out laughing when she saw me being angy and asked why.)

Sascha and Walmart will (sorry sir you are just not memorable) were cute! Hope we get more content of them in the future, or just more reaper lore. Please. I’m going insane all I want is lore (Also my roomie had already told me abt the reaper backstory so that didn’t rlly surprise me). Will and grell showing up for like one chapter was funny as hell, you know will was pissed bc that whole convo could’ve totally been an email or a pigeon or whatever. i missed them though so im not complaining

Idk what to call the next arc. the return of the school guys was… funny ig?? i have to be honest I kinda disconnect whenever they appear I just don’t really care for them 😭 the whole band group off was so funny though and the tonal whiplash was something I was NOT prepared for. It wasn’t as jarring as the paving of the school arc but like hWUH THATS A LOT OF PLOT AND BIG REVEALS HAPPENING REALLY FAST NOW-

love othello though. I’m a forensics chemistry major and I love the forensics part of it significantly more than chemistry so seeing a funny guy doing that is so very !!! ya :D also love the dynamic with Grelle. they’re both trans and besties you can’t change my mind- ALSO OTHELLO JUST . THROWING HIS SCYTGE AND THEN BIDING BEHIND GRELLE. Love him. ronnies still my fav dont get me wrong I am endeared with his talk-shit-while-getting-his-ass-beat mentality but othello is very close behind

wish we had more reaper lore . I would kill to know these guys backstories- Ronald and sascha seem so much you her compared to their coworkers it eats at my brain. sascha especially like aaaaaa kid what happened for you to end up here :(? MAN (also I could fight abt the reaper lore for so long. they don’t deserve this. this shits unfair. AGH…

i had more stuff that I wanted to say but forgot. sorry if this isn’t very understandable i just wrote as I thought of things- basically. reapers my beloved . I’m begging for lore please . soma my king I hope you’re okay. when will Ronald come back PLEASE he’s been gone since like campania 😭

BRO ROOMMATE ANON REVEAL!! i hope you dont mind me still using the roommate anon tag,,

agnis death def threw me off. i wasnt expecting yana to kill him off, especially after having him around for so long. that whole scene was very surprising. and yes i agree with you!! hes probably the most wholesome character in black butler next to some others like the phantomhive servants and soma.

i actually quite liked the school arc(and a lot of people in the fandom would agree w me)! but i get how you wouldnt. i personally was only mostly focusing since i just wanted to get back to grelle T^T.

i didnt really like emerald witch at first. i was mad when it had the honor of being the 100th chapter. but its grown on me since(n yeah those scenes were weird..).

i LOOOOVEEE SASCHA!!!!!! THEYRE SO CUTEEEEE X33333 they remind me of my best friend since they both have that same cheery vibe. like little guy is just making the best out of their afterlie and havin some genuine fun. i fw it. grelles outfit was also sooo hot in that chapter gaw dayum. i want a piece of that reaper PLEASE

you can call the return of the school guys the boy band arc. it was weird but i really enjoyed it.

i find it funny how everyone automatically says that othello is trans. one look at the silly science man provokes the Feeling.

trust me man, everyone wants more reaper lore. i am clawing at yanas feet and begging her to tell me what in the ever living fuck happened to grelle in her time as a human. WHAT THE FUCK KINDA LIVES DID THEY LIVE. WHAT DROVE THEM TO SUICIDE.

i understood everything you wrote, dw!! :3 im hoping soma is ok as well </3

[piscesangelina]

Chenford stans last night after hoping that we’d get some crumbs in the new episode:

[piscesangelina]

*outside ABC’s offices, screaming through a megaphone* GIVE 👏🏽 US 👏🏽 UNDERCOVER 👏🏽 LUCY 👏🏽 AND 👏🏽 DADFORD 👏🏽 IT’S 👏🏽 WHAT 👏🏽 WE 👏🏽 DESERVE 👏🏽

But I agree so much! Tamara’s backstory and her current storyline both have so much potential, and I’m excited to see what they do with her. So hopefully, if there is a season four, she’s in it.

Why, you’re welcome! :D And yes - we NEED season four! 🙏🏽

According to my stepsister (who's a huge fan), Dylan Conrique (Tamara's actress) has posted on her Instagram about being on set for the show a LOT in the past month-ish. So I definitely think we're going to see more of Tamara before this season ends

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO TAMARA IF LUCY GOES UNDERCOVER? WILL ALL MY DADFORD DREAMS COME TRUE?

I genuinely like Tamara so much, and I think they could do really cool things with her character.

Thank you @piscesangelina for blessing my inbox in such a way - 😘

Now, who do I talk to about confirming season 4?

[karihighman]

Personal Tag Game

Thanks for the tags @emilynthephoto & @sylvies-chen!

Last TV Show: well, that I finished rewatching would be 90210. Last TV show I watched an episode of would be Law & Order: SVU.

Last Song: “Can’t Keep My Eyes Off You” by Mack Wilds (ironically from 90210 haha)

Currently Watching: always watching The Rookie & One Chicago! But, film wise over these last couple days, been really into survivalist films like San Andreas or animal-themed action-adventure a la Rampage 😅 (sooo I guess anything w/Dwayne Johnson coincidentally too LOL)

Currently Reading: does my own manuscript count?! Haha, that was legit the last thing I read. But I did buy Shipped by Angie Hockman a week and a half ago & started reading it! It’s my first true romcom & it’s great so far!

Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better: @jennilouwho4-blog @rookieblueaf @dedlund82 @londonrih @sylviebrettsey @bradfordsschen @lucyupstead @sherlockcrossing @heatherc1212

y’all don’t have to if you don’t want to or if you’ve already been tagged/done it! Or if anyone else sees this & would like to do it, feel free!

[wildcardaces]

@ruby-static "cloud nine"

Where dan mentions he used to have a crush on JPG and anna just has to fucking know why

Anna: so YOU used to like JPG?

Dan: yep.

Anna: ...ok, why?

Dan: i dunno why but i used to be able to watch him balance his checkbook and I'd be on cloud fucking 9!

Anna: *snrk*

Anna: rookie does that now.

Dan: yep but the difference is that they're married

Anna also takes the moment to roast dan lightly. He takes it in stride though!

Anna: what happens if you pepper spray a goose?

Shawn: anna, itll get pissed off.

Anna has a good question, shawn awnsers honestly

And the finale!

"His eyes are so strange mai, they're red!"

Mai: i know, it doesnt seem to bother him though

"Do you think its a genetic mutation?"

Dan: *angy penguin sounds*

"Oh-"

Mai: ok, thats enough. Up we go! Of to baby jail with you.

Dan: **LOUD ANGRY PENGUIN NOISES**

dan gets a good old fashioned veterinary check up and he isnt keen on it. So mai ends up putting him in gay baby jail XD

[letsgetrowdy43]

okay so I’m visiting the uk with my family rn and i might be a little drunk… what would the team do if angie let loose at the bar? Ik nico would be on top of that right away or just as drunk as her but if nico wasn’t there what would the rest do?

-🍹

I feel like Angie is so uptight in their day-to-day lives so getting a few drinks into her and watching her unwind is almost jaw-dropping. But there are a few times, mainly after big wins or on holidays, when she gets a little out of hand.

Like dancing on top of the bar, taking shot after shot with randoms kinda nights where the boys are just chasing her down and trying to get water into her before she does something a little too stupid.

New Jersey locals love her though!! She's like their golden girl and they love partying with her!

I feel like it's always Jonas or Timo, the Swiss players mainly that take on the role of making sure she is safe. Often picking her up off of the bar counter, catching her when she stumbles, switching out her gin and tonics for water, or even just shutting her up when she is a little too loud.

There have been very few occasions where its that out of hand, but no one blames her, its all in good fun!

She has almost been in one bar fight, with a Rangers fan after the playoffs in 2023, but Dougue threw her over his shoulder and walked away with her before she could get a swing in.

Nico is always on getting her home duty though, which is kinda what really starts their drunk rendezvous. He's drunk, she's drunk, she has “fuck me” eyes, and he can't deny her of anything.

She is also a massive flirt, which Nico is often at the other end of. When she denies her feelings for him, it would often get aimed at other hookups or even the small fling that she started with one guy in her rookie year. But for the most part, she's almost always flirting with Nico, which Nico has no issue with, because a drunk giggly, blushing Angie is one of the prettiest sights he's ever laid his eyes on!

[lepusrufus]

Lil' Mia and Miranda thing since I dragged you guys down the rarepair hell with me~

---

Lab equipment was really not meant to blend well within a lived-in home. And it didn't. The plush carpet on top of wooden floors giving way to the smooth lab flooring that squeaked under boots not appropriate for the setting created an odd contrast. Not that that was uncharacteristic for Miranda, any of her workspaces falling perfectly under the description of an organized mess, with particular emphasis on mess.

With Rose sleeping peacefully in the room generously, suspiciously so, provided by Miranda, Mia decided to stretch her legs by walking around the manor, the baby monitor connected to her phone. The building was relatively big, albeit quite old, tucked in the woods somewhere between the Beneviento house and the factory, with a tunnel conveniently connecting it to the labs running under the town. It had close to no spatial organization, bedrooms and labs and storage rooms alternating by patterns known only by the so-called goddess, or most likely not even by her.

Mia did not trust the woman. Not with the memories of the prison cell and the kidnapping of her daughter for experiments still fresh in her mind. But, the tiredness of motherhood and the odd loneliness that came with being the only two inhabitants of the house that were capable of coherent speech as of now, had her longing for some company.

It was an easy task finding Miranda, the soft cries of Eva guiding her down a short hallway to a lab door left ajar. Inside, the woman was sat at a desk, a laptop with half written reports and notes in front of her, pushed out of the grasp of the fussing infant in her arms. Miranda was far too busy trying to calm her daughter down enough to fall asleep to notice Mia leaning on the doorframe, curiously observing the scene. Oddly human, in her failing attempt to get her child to stop crying, when at any given time she could get anyone to kneel before her and bend over backwards to her every whim. Yet a small infant was giving her so much trouble.

"Need a hand?" Mia offered with a small chuckle. Should she even offer her help?

"I am fine thank you." But a slightly louder wail from Eva came with perfect timing to disprove her words.

Miranda's shoulders seemed to slump ever so slightly as her eyes closed slowly, the usual makeup replaced by dark circles, testimony to the long hours spent going through decades of research and reports while also caring for her newly reborn daughter. It was oddly bittersweet, to see a woman so dignified otherwise all but beg the small child to go to sleep so she could finish her work.

Work, Mia concluded, that was rather essential for the whole place, and also her home for now, to continue existing the way it was. With a sigh she walked up to the desk and gently stoked Eva's short brunette hair. "Here, let me hold her. At least until you finish typing whatever it is you're doing," she said waving a hand in the direction of the forgotten computer, who's screen had turned black by now.

There were a few long seconds of hesitation, but a weary glance at the mountain of files on the other side of the desk that she was yet to go through convinced Miranda to finally allow her daughter slip into Mia's arms. It took maybe five minutes of cooing and a one sided conversation made in silly voices to turn the cries into giggles, small hands trying to grasp at Mia's finger that was ticklishly caressing puffy cheeks. Exhausted from crying, Eva's eyes slowly fluttered shut and she was gingerly lowered into a crib set by the desk, one of the many scattered around the house.

Miranda watched the scene unfold with uncharacteristic softness slipping by the icy mask of her steely eyes. Even goddesses can be caught by surprise it seemed, and whether it was due to the apparent skills that Mia had with calming Eva down or at how she was willing to help despite their precarious position was up to debate.

"Shouldn't you be better at this," Mia asked, pulling one of the chairs closer to sit in. "I know it's been, what, two or three centuries or something but haven't you done this before?"

Her question was obviously poking fun for the most part, but Miranda couldn't help the tired sigh that crawled its way from the depths of her now useless lungs.

"No, actually. I haven't," she responded curtly as she grabbed one of the files and opened it in order to transcribe its contents in a digital file. "At least not on my own," she added upon remembering the numerous subjects she helped raise during her time working with The Connections.

"Oh? Did you have a sweet loving husband once upon a time? Do tell me more," Mia said leaning her chin on her palms as if she were a teenager at a sleepover talking about crushes, although the memory of Ethan clawing its way to the forefront of her thoughts made her grimace slightly, until she pushed it back down in the depths of her mind.

It was foolish perhaps, acting like that around a woman that could, and would with the right motivation, kill her in the blink of an eye. Truth be told though, Mia was bored out of her mind, so what better way to pass the time than push Miranda's buttons, especially when she seemed too tired to retaliate.

The so-called goddess grimaced, at least ten different reasons to find the thought outrageous flashing through her mind and, settling on the most obvious one, looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "I was a nun."

Mia leaned back in her chair, looking at the black head covering hanging from a hook behind the door, together with black robes. She had to wonder if they were the same ancient ones or if she replaced them every once in a while.

"Yeah, I couldn't tell," she chuckled. "A nun turned goddess. How ironic don't you think."

"Worshipping was never quite up my alley. And neither were men," she replied flatly, turning the pages in front of her and typing the relevant information in the file she had open on the screen.

Mia's eyes widened slightly with an amused oh. "So was she raised by the convent then?"

Was this information really to be given out? Mirada did not like talking about her past, or personal information in general. Gods did not need backstories, they simply were.

She sighed. "No, no. Her parents died when she was four and with nobody else to look for her, she was brought to us." Miranda gave a small shrug, pausing to type up decades old results on lycans. "I was the newest there, so the nuns dumped her on me. I was so mad at first, but she's always been such a brilliant little girl, even back then. She would ask for a bedtime story and did not complain when I'd start reading from one of the medical books I stole from the merchant. There was just something about her that made her grow on me."

With the paragraph done, she pushed her chair back, quietly so as to not have its legs scratch against the linoleum floor, and walked to another, smaller desk pushed against a wall. From there, she walked back to the crib where the small infant was sleeping peacefully, a small doll in hand. Doll that Mia recognized immediately, as an identical one was by her own daughter's sleeping form, back in their room. It was a small replica of Angie, plush and soft to the touch, unlike its real life wooden counterpart, the white dress made of delicate silk. Both toys had been made by Donna herself as gifts.

"But as you can guess, she was well past a toddler when she was placed in my care," Miranda finished, leaving the doll just by her sleeping daughter's side.

"So you suck with babies," Mia concluded with a grin. She would have laughed, but had enough clarity of mind to be quiet.

Miranda simply gave her a tired glare before rolling her eyes. She went back to her desk and opened a new file to be transcribed, this one on the reservoir's structure.

"I can care for them," she started, an odd almost imperceptible strain in her voice. "It just gets trickier when it's my own daughter and not an act."

Mia nodded absent mindedly, eyes darting to Eva. To see a woman with such power and ruthlessness, who could level the whole town to the ground if she so pleased, show such raw genuine affection towards the child made some of the notions in her brain crumble to the ground. Miranda was still the same woman who, ironically enough, experimented on more children than she cared to count, but then again Mia was also a willing participant in said experiments so was she really that much better?

She definitely was, Mia concluded, choosing to ignore a small pang at her heart when she watched all the ice in those gray eyes melt into tenderness while looking at her daughter. Instead, she started toying with one of the many pens scattered on the desk.

"Since I'm staying here, I don't mind helping you out with her," Mia said quietly, keeping her eyes on the small giraffe doodle she was doing on a napkin.

It wasn't for Miranda's sake really. She simply wanted the best for Eva, the child completely innocent unlike the atrocities committed by her mother throughout the last few centuries. Besides, it would be nice for Rose to have a friend not unlike herself, given the yet to be understood power both girls possessed.

"There's no need-"

"Consider it a thank you for letting us stay here, without a sniper pointing at my daughter's head at all times," Mia finished, a slither of ire slipping into her tone on the last words, the memory of a rookie agent panicking and pointing his gun to Rose for the unforgivable crime of being a hungry crying child seared behind her eyelids.

Miranda sighed, an odd sense of relief washing over her. After centuries of trying to bring her back, you'd think the she would do anything to spend each and every second with Eva, not letting anyone else care for her in any capacity, but truth be told, the prospect of not facing motherhood completely alone, even if Mia was helping her solely out of some sense of obligation, did not sound half bad.

"As you wish," she finally said, going back to the half written paragraph her mind drifted away from minutes earlier.

[don-dake]

《女人俱樂部》 | 《Never Dance Alone》 (2014)

Had a recent rewatch after a good number of years. Still as enjoyable as ever. I was not wrong to include this as one of my favourite series from TVB, if not the ONLY one still, from post 2010 back then!

Eight years ago (has it been so long?!) when it first aired, this series pleasantly surprised me with its strong script, better than usual production standards and strong performances from almost everyone in the cast, even the young rookies playing the younger versions of the seven main female characters.

(TVB series were already steadily becoming irredeemable rubbish a few years prior, so going in with low, very low expectations and finding myself actually truly enjoying this series came as an unexpected welcome!)

That this series boasted the return of some actors — namely, Carman Lee 李若彤, Rachel Lee aka Loletta Lee 李麗珍, Fennie Yuen 袁潔瑩, Angie Cheong 張慧儀, Gloria Yip 葉蘊儀, Elvina Kong 江欣燕 and Flora Chan 陳慧珊 — who hadn't been seen onscreen for some years then, actors of whom I have fond memories of from my childhood, that was icing on the cake!

(Sadly, what was thought to be a second wind for some of these actors was not to be. With the exception of Carman Lee who had been and still is active in the Mainland China market, the others have more or less gone back into oblivion…)

And now, eight years later, this series' themes of time and friendships found, lost, and found again (if really lucky), are still as relatable and as relevant as ever.

Perhaps more so now than before, as I get even closer in age to the characters on the older side in this story.

Unofficially ‘inspired’ by the 2011 Korean film, “Sunny”), the story is well paced, the two different timelines of the late '80s and 2013 are interspersed well and complemented without over-shadowing each other.

A TV series also allowed for more development of the main characters (of which there were more than usual too) in this story and gave an audience time to know them better.

In all honesty, I thought this adaptation was better than the original movie in a lot of ways; I much preferred the lighter set up of “Never Dance Alone” for one, unlike the original where things tethered on the imminent passing of one of the friends, and the resolution for the friends in the movie had too much of a ‘fairy godmother saves the day with monetary and other tangible rewards’ cliché to it.

NDA's happier and more relatable conclusion resonates better with me.

I also appreciated the fact that efforts were made to cast younger actors who physically resembled their older counterparts. For one, it made relating between the past and present that much easier, and two, it also indicated that if someone in production cared enough about a not-too-crucial detail like that, it probably meant this production had more sincerity and earnestness in delivering a series to be remembered (which they succeeded, in my opinion).

In a culture where there is little room for fussiness, and TV series are churned out in quantity over quality — most meant to be watched and quickly forgotten as soon as the next one comes along — and certainly made more for entertainment value than any real artistic merit, “Never Dance Alone” stands out in being not just another ‘time-filler’ series but a series that strived to tell a good story and has much heart in it, even if its heart was transplanted from a donor named ‘Sunny’.

↑ Third bar from the top shows one of M Club's competitors to be a group called ‘Sunny’! Easter egg? :)

TVB may not have officially acknowledged ‘being inspired’ by the Korean film, but someone in production seemed to have stealthily done so through a blink-and-miss-it shot of the scoreboard from the dance competition the characters took part in in the finale episode.

[piscesangelina]

Tamara is basically Lucy’s daughter now, and honestly? I’m here for it.

[followyoursecretsmutblog]

reunited II.

Summary: A few years ago, Walter Marshall had a friend named Skylar Holland while in SWAT. She was someone that he could trust and always go to. But he started pulling away, pushing her away, and ultimately moving from SWAT to become a Detective. Now, after transferring to become a Detective, Skylar and Marshall have to work together again.

reunited.

Sitting at my desk, I cradle my head in my hands, re-living what happened the night before and this morning.

What have I done? This could have ruined everything!

Not that I gave it a chance to be ruined in the wee hours of the morning. I snuck out of my own house before he woke, like the coward I am.

Damn him for being so attractive! I thought my silly crush was done with after I left. 

I met many men who were gorgeous, and looked like Gods.

But they weren’t him. The one man I wanted but couldn’t have. 

I drop my head on my desk, hitting it softly, cursing myself when my door opens and smacks against the wall.

My head jerks up while my hand instinctively reaches for my gun.

Oh shit.

Marshall stands there, chest heaving as if he just ran a marathon. His clothes are different, so at least he went home. But he doesn’t look too happy.

He slams the door shut, putting the lock in place. “What the fuck, Skylar?” He growls, crossing his arms across his chest.

The same chest that no doubt has scratches from my nails. Oops.

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“You just fucking leave me? In your own goddamn house?” He is seething, his jaw tight.

“I...went to the gym...?” He just continues to stare. 

“What the hell was I supposed to do? Wait for you to wake up and say, ‘Hey thanks for the great sex, but I’m in the middle of a mental breakdown over fucking my best friend, so if you could just see yourself out, that would be great. See you at work!’”

The heat from his glare burns through me, every muscle in my body tense, I can feel my insides turning to liquid. My nipples harden, and I clench my jaw in response.

Traitors.

My heart continues to pound in my chest, but his glare doesn’t let up, he doesn’t speak. 

With quick steps, he rounds my desk, pulls me up and shoves my chair out from under me.

“Mars-” I squeak as he uses one hand to shove my chest down onto my desk as his other skirts over my bottom, fingers playing with the hem of my skirt. My panties no longer dry from his man-handling. 

I start moving, trying to get him off me, but the pressure of his hand holds me still. My skirt is lifted slightly, fingers grazing my inner thighs, searching. My legs start to shake, his teasing touching sending my body into overdrive. My eyes rolling to the back of my head.

Oh God, what those fingers can do.

Finally, after what felt like forever, his fingers push my panties aside, a greedy finger slipping inside, causing a moan to slip from my mouth as my eyes close.

“Fuck, you’re so wet already.” He growls, pulling his finger out. I make a noise of protest, only causing him to chuckle. 

Marshall lifts my skirt to rest on my hips, my panties the only thing in the way. He uses a finger to trace the lace, slipping his fingers under every now and then. 

The heat of his body and the feeling of his hard cock against the back of my thigh is making me dizzy. He fists my panties, and before I knew it, he tore them off me, the rip echoing in the mostly quiet room.

He curses at seeing just how wet I am, watching as my excitement slips from my lips to my thighs. With one last ‘fuck’, he pushes his hand forward, two fingers entering me, their rhythm quick and hard.

It doesn’t take long for my orgasm to approach, whimpers fall from my lips, wanting more. “Don’t stop.” I moan, clenching around his fingers. He doesn’t stop.

Not until I am right at the edge. He pulls out, his other hand leaving my back as I hear the rattle of his belt, causing my knees to almost buckle from just the sound alone.

“Stay.” He growls when I lift off my desk slightly. My body freezes, my skin hot against the cool wood. 

His hand slides into my hair, tugging slightly as the tip of his cock teases my entrance. I bite my bottom lip to keep from making any noises, spreading my legs so he could have better access.

“Such a good girl.” He moans, sliding the head of his cock against my pussy lips before shoving himself inside me in one thrust.

The moan that escapes me should have embarrassed me, but from the way his cock twitched inside me, I knew he loved it. His thrusts were fast and hard, leaving both of us gasping for air. 

“You leave me, in the middle of the night.” A hand smacks my ass, the burning sensation adding to my pleasure, causing me to clench around him again. “With no idea where you went.” Smack. “If you were even okay.” Smack. “Without so much as a note.” Smack. “After everything that happened last night.” Smack, smack. 

“What happened last night? I don’t remember.” I taunt.

Growling, he says, “I shouldn’t even let you come now.” His grip tightening in my hair as he pounds into me mercilessly.

So fucking good.

He pulls out just as I am about to come. My first thought is that he was actually going to leave, but I was wonderfully mistaken. 

He pulls me up, spins me around, and picks me up, setting my ass on the lip of my desk. A hand around my throat, he forces me to look at him, his eyes blazing, cock at the ready to slam onto me. “Ask me to make you come.”

“No.” He smirks, the bastard.

His hips move forward, his thick cock slipping effortlessly inside my slick opening, fucking me with new vigor. I watch as his eyes drag away from mine, slowly sliding down my body, stopping at where we are joined.

“Fuck, your pussy looks so good taking my cock.”

“Stop talking, you’re ruining it.” I gasp, moving one of my hands between us, my fingers rubbing my clit in time with his thrusts.

“You might want to tell that to your pussy, love. It’s clenching around me so tight, I’m worried I’ll be buried in you forever.” 

God, I hope so.

He grabs my hand, pulling it away from me so the only thing I feel is him. “Marshall.” I moan louder, earning a quick slap on my thigh.

“Quiet. Or you don’t get to come and I will make you suck me off instead.” He threatens, his pace picking up as our orgasms come faster.

I want every part of him. Now.

“Ask me and I will. Ask me, and I promise I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you everything.” He leans forward, the new angle hitting all the right spots.

“Please.” I close my eyes, feeling him all around me and inside me. “Please. Yes.”

He reaches down, rubbing my clit with the perfect pressure. My mouth opens slightly, but no sound comes out, pleasure taking over. He dips his head, lips sucking on my neck, teeth grazing ever so softly against my skin. 

I was done for.

Warmth spread down my spine, jerking into him. My hands grip the edge of the desk, my entire body shaking from my orgasm that was rushing through me, making me have to gasp for air.

Keeping his face buried, Marshall thrusts a few more times before spilling into me, filling me again.

We are quiet, his softening cock still inside me, his face in my neck, and my hands lightly playing with the hem of his sweater. Our breathing the only thing that could be heard.

Shifting his hips back, he pulls out, adjusts himself, and pulls his jeans back up, much to my disappointment. 

He takes a moment to collect himself before he looks up. His eyes no longer holding the fire that was in them when he first came into my office. They look like the perfect shade of blue.

“Fuck, Sky.” He sighs, raking his fingers in his hair. “I thought I lost you again when I woke up and you weren’t there.” Dropping his hand, he adjust my skirt. “It was the worst feeling I have ever had.”

“I’m sorry. Truly. But, I didn’t know how to deal with the aftermath.” I confess, moving my hand to tangle into his curls. “I have never had sex with my best friend before. Your friendship means everything to me, and I thought I ruined it because I couldn’t keep my legs shut.”

“I wasn’t complaining.” He cracks a smile, causing a giggle to escape me. “Besides, last I checked, it takes two to have sex. You weren’t the only one there last night and you sure as hell weren’t the only one thinking that.”

“Walter...” 

“You should have woken me. We could have talked about it.”

“You hate talking. You have always been a man of action.”

“I will always talk to you.” He whispers, eyes boring into mine. His arms wrap around my waist, pulling us closer together. “I never knew until you left all those years ago how much you meant to me. And after I got you back, you left again.”

I watch him, not knowing what to say. “When I woke up, I was expecting you to be freaking out. I never would have thought you would be gone. I thought-fuck, when I woke up I thought you regretted it. Regretted me.”

“No!” It comes out fast and loud, startling us both. “I don’t regret it, I just didn’t know how to take it. I thought you would leave me again. I was worried when we came back here you would treat me like I never existed.”

“I was angry at myself, and I took it out on you.” He says, biting the inside of his cheek.

“I was angry, too. That just means that we are human.”

“I always thought my life was complete, I had Angie, then Faye and a job I loved. But, one day I met this rookie joining my SWAT team. I knew it then, and I know it now. You are everything to me.” He says, his lips brushing against mine in a soft kiss.

[hyuniejinie]

I was tagged by @squishy-woozi to do this super interesting tag game ^3^

Rules: List your favorite rookie group since you got into kpop til current year. Only 1 group per year is allowed! (Watch me ignore this part in my very first year :’D)

2013 - ToppDogg & BTS

I really can not choose one of them, because I was with them both since shortly after their debut and they are very dear to my heart for that ^^” Can you even count ToppDoog anymore though as they go by Xeno-T now and are basically only... not even half of the members anymore? Anyways, these were my first groups that I saw debuting and seeing their very different paths until today is kinda… very sad ;; and just shows how different your journey in that industry can go depending on your company.

Honorable Mention: Boys Republic (who I only got to stan early 2014, but love VERY VERY MUCH TOO AND I’M STILL NOT OVER THEIR INOFFICIAL DISBANDMENT, DON’T TOUCH ME!), AlphaBAT (I saw them debut, but I have no clue anymore what they are up to now cause they had a similar faith as ToppDogg and it makes me very sad ;;)

2014 - GOT7

GOT/ suffered the same faith as B.A.P, Astro and so many groups I stan now: Angi showed them to me, I decided to not be interested somehow and then went back to stanning them a bit later :’D This is the thing I somehow often do. By now they’re one of my top faves and that new album title is scaring me cause if this is bad news then I don’t wanna hear it ;^; also fun facts nobody cares about: Ale visiting South Korea? Biggest GOT7 stan. I dunno what happens to me the moment I touch Korean ground, but that GOT7 stan switch turns on for the whole time I’m there x’D maybe cause the Hard Carry comeback happened when I visited South Korea for the first time and then Spinning Top happened the time I was there for a short trip ^^”

2015 - Monsta X

I only got into Monsta X a year after their debut :’D I actually checked out the Trespass MV when it came out, but 2015 was a wild year in every way and I simply didn’t have the time and energy to get into them properly. To then start stanning them in 2016 and since then they own a big part of my little heart ;;

Honorable Mention: Seventeen (who I wouldn’t be the slightest interested until 2019, because I always thought they were overhyped. I was wrong, okay xD”)

2016 - Astro

My story as an Astro stan is such a weird one as I did look into them when they debuted thx to Angi stanning them, but I refused to get into them cause most of them seemed so young to me and back in the day huge age gaps just felt weird.I did listen to their music ever since then though and then started to actively stan them in 2019 while I was in Japan and had some time to for once actually decide on a group to stan voluntarily :’D

2017 - Golden Child & ONF

No, I can’t decided once more cause I did start stanning both in 2017. I didn’t really have time to focus on either group though which was why I would casually listen to their songs until last year (ONF) and this year (Golden Child). I guess I missed out on a lot of great groups right when they debuted ^^”

2018 - Noir

The first group in a very long time that I’ve been with since their debut days. I love them so so much ;; they’re the cutest bubs and after meeting them in person last year I’m just very smitten with them ;; they work so hard and deserve so much more recognition. Airplane Mode has been released in 2018 and I’m still listening to it on repeat ever since. It’s 5ever a bop **

Honorable Mention: Stray Kids (who I only got into in January 2020 - as you might have realized: I’m slow in staning :’D)

2019 - Jus2

I told myself to not mention subunits, but I don’t have any other group to mention here. Tbh I casually listen to newer groups, but I don’t stan them. Maybe because I stan enough groups as it is and I don’t have the time to commit to others ^^”

2020 - I have none to mention here

*points at 2019* I really don’t have time to invest into any other groups anymore. I reached my limit ^^” considering that I work fulltime, stan all those other groups and have other hobbies ^^” Also 7 years is a long time... maybe I should start retiring :’D

This was super fun and interesting to do ^-^

I tag @goldenkookiebites @jjsungie (feel free to not do it if you don’t want to :3)

[typingtess]

Tiptoeing through the "Watch Over Me" guest cast

Bill Goldberg as DOJ Agent Lance Hamilton Back from "Decoy", this season's second episode. Goldberg with Kyle Harimoto and Daniela Ruah.   With the Hellcat.  

Caleb Castille as FBI Special Agent Devin Roundtree Played Evin Watson in In the Vault, Darryl "Chino" Hill on Wu-Tang: An American Saga and Ron Garland in Tell Me a Story.  Guest starred in episodes of 9-1-1 and The Rookie. On set.   With LL Cool J.   With Daniela Ruah.  

Alexander Bedria as FBI Special Agent Randall Cejudo Played Santiago Miartin Heimler in Mayans M.C.  Guest roles include Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami, 90210 (2011), Scandal, The Newsroom, Ray Donovan and The Orville.

Evander Holyfield as NCIS Special Agent Sutherland Evander Holyfield was the undisputed Cruiserweight Champion in the late 1980's and the Heavyweight Champion in the 1990's.  Mike Tyson bit part of his ear off in a fight called "The Sound and The Fury" in 1997.

Most of Holyfield’s acting credits are from playing Evander Holyfield.

Elizabeth Faith Ludlow as FBI Special Agent Mia Calvillo Was Mona in Satisfaction, Arat in The Walking Dead and Cas in Another Life.  Appeared in episodes of The Vampire Diaries, Resurrection, Castle Ridge, Powers, Hindsight, Halt & Catch Fire and The Resident.

Was Frost in "The Terminator Conundrum" episode this season on NCIS: New Orleans.

Tye White as Aiden Hanna A last minute addition to the press release.  Aiden was last seen in “Talion”, the season eight finale.

Patrick Hume as Willy Guest roles include In Justice, Raines, Knight Rider (2009), Ben & Bruman, Whitney, Sons of Anarchy, Key & Peele, Eagleheart, Justified, Surviving Jack, Days of Our Lives, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Grinder, Rush Hour, Lopez, Angie Tribeca, Secrets & lies, Rosewood, In the Dark, SWAT (2019), The Rookie and Criminal Minds.

Becky Wu as EMT Saito Played Amy Yamada in Desperate Housewives and Tina in comedy The Working Dead.  Guest starred in episodes of The Young and the Restless, Dollhouse, Eleventh Hour, Ghost Whipserer, Hawthrone, Greek, All My Children, General Hospital, Rake, Grey's Anatomy, Code Black, Colony, American Horror Story, Chance, 9-1-1, Hawaii Five-0 (2018), This is Us and Lucifer.

Amani Atkinson as Owen Appeared in episodes of Stumptown, Insecure, Liza on Demand and Deadball.

Written by Kyle Harimoto wrote “Omni”, “Merry Evasion”, “Chernoff, K”, “Command and Control” (episode 150), “Granger, O.”, “Ghost Gun”, “Kulinda”, “767”, “Se Murio El Payaso”, “Assets”/“Liabilities”, “Venganza”, “Superhuman”, “One of Us" (with Bill Goldberg), "Let Fate Decide" (season 11 premiere), "Decoy" (with Bill Goldberg) and "Answers".  He co-wrote “Three Hearts”, “Leipei”, “Humbug”, both ends of the “Matryoshka” two-parter, “Smokescreen” part two and "Searching" (with Bill Goldberg).

Directed by Dan Liu who is new to the program.  He directed three episodes of The Walking Dead and two episodes of Fear the Walking Dead.