#went to a women’s basketball game even though I know nothing about basketball

[bapeach]

Accidental love

Another long fic and I'm honestly very proud of it! I don't know anything about torn ACL's or anything so if stuff is wrong, just ignore it. I hope you enjoy! Constructive criticism is always welcome :D Find my masterlist here :) Pairing(s): Paige Bueckers x female!reader  Word count: 9.1k+  Warnings: depression, life-changing accident, cursing, happy ending Summary: After a life-changing accident, Y/N finds peace in her new life, but when Paige Bueckers faces her own injury, their worlds collide. ------------

Paige Bueckers

Of course, it was a name you knew. You’re a student at UConn, so if you didn’t know of her, well, you’d be living under a rock. Paige Bueckers is UConn’s star player. The golden student. The future of women’s basketball. A legend in the making… 

You could go on and on about the things you’ve heard about her. She always seemed to be present in your life in one way or another. A mumble in the hallway as you go to class, an edit on your TikTok fyp, a celebration post on UConn’s Instagram page…

You don’t know the girl personally, having only been in the same room as her a few times when you went and watched some of her games. You’ve heard a lot of good things about her. You respected her grind, the way she gave her all to basketball and was a great team leader. You’ve also heard she’s a sweetheart off the court and always tries to make people comfortable. She’s also really pretty, which you’re sure is a contributing factor to why she’s so loved. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. 

You’d had your own fair share of admirers because of your looks. You’d caught plenty of girls fawning over you as they ogled your muscles, giggling when you sent them a flirty wink. If you were honest, you were quite the player when you first came to university. You’d messed around with a few girls, never really getting into anything too serious. 

You just didn’t have time for relationships. You were too busy studying biomedical engineering while also having a job and hobbies. And boy, did you have hobbies. Ever since you were young, you were a very active kid. Your parents always had to beg you to come inside, only being able to persuade you with promises of weekends at the indoor playground/kid gym.

Growing up, you stayed active. You went for a run every morning and swimming at least once a week. You didn’t join your school’s sports teams because how could you only choose one? You spend every weekend doing a different sport until you run out, only to start over. Basketball, boxing, soccer, baseball, hockey... you did it all. Your all-time favorite, though? Rock climbing.

You think there’s nothing better in this world than rock climbing after a long week. Wind ruffling your hair as the bright sun shines on your back. Climbing as high as you can, your muscles burning as you strain them to their limit, your chest tight as you gasp for breath. But it’s all worth it, because in the end, when you reach the top and have a full view of the horizon? It feels like you’re on top of the world. Like you’re untouchable and all your hopes and dreams are within reach.

The thought of climbing always filled you with warmth and excitement. Even after climbing the same rocks over and over, you still felt in awe every time you made it to the top. Knowing that no matter what, at the end of the day, you could always count on the dusty stones beneath your fingertips always made a smile grow on your face. 

Well. That was before the accident, at least. Now the thought of it makes you feel a dull throb in your chest. 

The last time you went climbing, you’d gone with some fellow enthusiasts. It was a group of strangers you’d met at the indoor climbing hall. Their little club ranged from new climbers to experts, and you’d clicked with them immediately. The guide you went with was a middle-aged man who had over 20 years of experience, so you were excited to maybe learn some new things. He was a really nice guy, happy to see someone your age be so excited about his favorite activity. When you partnered up with him, you didn’t expect anything to go wrong. Daredevils like yourself never really think too much about the consequences of your actions or things that could go wrong, otherwise you’d be too afraid to do half of the things you do. So that day was like no other. At first at least.

When you had reached 3/4ths of the climb, it happened. Even now, 2 years later, you’re not sure what exactly happened. You only know that one moment you were gripping onto the rocky wall and the next you were falling. When you think about it, it all feels like a dream. It didn’t take you long before you hit the ground, but it somehow felt like ages.

You remember how distraught your guide was when you finally woke up in the hospital. You didn’t understand anything he was saying at first. He was crying too hard, stumbling over his words as he kept apologizing. Something about malfunctioning equipment? 

When the doctor walked in, you immediately knew something was very wrong. Your chest filled with an unbearable ache when you saw the sad frown on his face. After that, everything is pretty much a blur. You didn't hear anything after the words “paralyzed” and “never walk again” were spoken. Everything became muffled as your ears started buzzing. You felt your chest tighten, and this time not in a good way. You were drowning on dry land.

The next months were some of the darkest moments of your life. You felt like your world was ending. And it kind of was. Everything you thought you were, gone in a matter of seconds. Bound to a wheelchair for the rest of your life. You shut everyone out at first, but soon realized you couldn’t bear all of this alone. Your family was your greatest support. They were your greatest fans, always celebrating your wins, and now they were here to mourn your greatest losses with you as well. 

You lost quite a lot of friends after the accident. It was hard being friends with your sporty friends when you could only think about how you wished you could join them. Your friendships didn’t all end on a bad note, though. You knew that if anything was wrong, you could still call them, and they’d show up in a heartbeat. 

You also gained a few friendships. Some people you met at therapy, support groups, online forums,... You also found a friend in the guide you were with that day. While you hated him at first, too filled with pain to think clearly, you’d talked to him at a later point. He apologized profusely once more, but you forgave him quickly. It’s not like it was his fault. Besides, it was hard to hate him, the way he looked at you with so much guilt. He had kind but wise eyes, prominent smile lines, and his hair was graying a little, but he was still full of life and filled with passion. You knew this accident would haunt him for the rest of his life, and he didn’t deserve that, so you made sure to stay in touch with him. If only to let him know you were doing well and make sure he was too.

You still often think about the days when you could be wild and free. In the two years since the incident, you’ve changed a lot. You’ve calmed down greatly, becoming a lot more mature and wise. While you used to be the go-to friend for a crazy time, you were now the friend people came to for advice. You missed your younger self, but still felt like she was a part of you. You’d gone through so much, the change was only natural. And honestly? You were proud of the person you’d become. Sure, you weren’t perfect and still had your days when you felt like you couldn’t breathe and like the world was against you. But overall, you were at peace with your life. It’s also not like you’d fully lost your playful self. You still loved teasing your friends, pulling pranks, and causing mischief.

So yeah, while you didn’t know Paige personally, you definitely felt like you knew a lot about her from the media, the people around you, and even some of her friends. You’d met Azzi a year ago when she got injured during a game. She’d been destroyed when she realized she wouldn’t be playing again any time soon. Having to find something new to do, she’d made her way to the library, where she bumped into you. You started talking, and before long you two became pretty good friends. You listened to her situation and told her what you’d been through. 

At first, she’d apologized profusely, feeling bad about how she complained about not being able to play for a few months while you’d never get to do your favorite things ever again. You’d made sure the younger girl knew it was okay, and that you didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t be upset just because you’d also gone through something. You’d spent hours with the girl talking about the adventures you used to go on and how much your life had changed. You made sure to tell her how happy you were despite everything, letting her know that no matter what, she’d be okay. 

While you don’t talk as much as you used to anymore, now that she’s back on the court, you still text each other every so often, smiling as you pass each other on campus. You didn’t blame her for becoming busy, you were excited to see her play with that bright smile on her face. You made sure to cheer her on and text her congratulations on her wins and “You did well” messages when the team lost. The girl appreciates you more than you know. Without you, she wouldn’t be where she is now. She’d learned so much from you.

Somehow, during your whole friendship, you’d never really met the team. Not that you really felt the need to. She had her friends, and you had yours. There was no need to mix up the groups. That being said, you didn’t really think you’d ever meet Paige or become close with her.

You were curious, though. As you wheel out of the library, you hear Paige’s name all around you. Two girls leaning in close as one gasps her name. A group of guys with their mouths dropped open as a video on their phone says the star athlete’s name. A professor walking past with a frown, mumbling, “... yeah, Paige Bueckers…”. 

When you reach your dorm, you open your laptop and search “Paige Bueckers” on Twitter. You immediately feel a pit in your stomach. The first tweet you see is a video with the caption “I’m gonna cry, I feel so bad for her”. You click the video and see why the basketball player was being talked about everywhere. At first, it looks like a normal clip from their most recent game. You see Nika passing the ball to Aaliyah, who passes it to a sprinting Azzi, who finally passes it off to Paige. You blink, and suddenly the blonde is on the floor, clutching her knee as tears stream down her face. You can see the worry and fear on her teammates’ faces, and the distraught but knowing look on Paige’s. A torn ACL. No doubt about it.

For a moment, your own accident flashes in your mind. The weightlessness as you were falling. Waking up and realizing you can’t move. You shake away the thoughts, blinking the haze from your eyes. You grab your phone to text the girl something, anything to make her feel better, but you pause. Right now, the last thing she’ll care about is a stranger texting her she’ll be okay when they probably don’t have any idea what she’s going through. Your thumb hovers over Azzi’s contact, but you end up closing the app. The brunette is probably too busy to talk, being too worried about her best friend. “I’ll talk to her soon,” you think to yourself before going on about your day.

You were right about talking to her soon. Only a week after the latest UConn tragedy, you see her. You were tucked away in your favorite corner of the library, a worn copy of your favorite book lying in your lap. You were surrounded by colorful pens, post-its, stickers, and tabs as you added new scribbles in the margins of the book (don’t worry, you’d gotten your own copy after the first time you read it).

Finishing a tiny doodle on the inside of the cover, you look up and see the younger girl. Beaming that wide smile of hers that could light up a dark room. The type of smile that makes you return the gesture before you even realize what’s happening. When she reaches your table, she greets you happily before looking back. It’s only then that you realize she’s brought company.

There she is. UConn’s basketball miracle in all her glory. Paige Bueckers. 

You look her up and down. She’s wearing her blue UConn tracksuit, her hair is in a bun, and she’s holding two crutches under her arms. Her usually bright blue eyes have become a darker color as a frown is set on her face. She didn’t want to be there, she wanted to be in her room, wallowing in her bed with a pint of ice cream. She doesn’t understand why Azzi felt the need to drag her out of the comfort of her own dorm to go meet some stranger that would give her the same stupid pitying looks she’d been getting from everyone around her. 

“Hey Ace,” you send her a grin before looking back towards the injured girl. “Hey, I’m Y/N,” you nod at her. She only frowns at you until Azzi turns and sends her a pointed look. “Paige,” the blonde sighs. You hide your amused smile, knowing she’d get even more annoyed if she thought you were making fun of her. 

“I figured it was finally time some of my favorite people met!” the brunette beams. When you catch her eye, you have a silent conversation with her. You knew why she was here with Paige. She was hoping you’d be able to help her best friend the way you’d helped her. You can tell by Azzi’s body language that she’s slightly on edge, not sure how you’d react. You send her a reassuring wink as you start talking, “About time! I’ve heard a lot about you, Paige,” you say gently. The girl only hums in response. 

You see Azzi frown for a second before her signature easy smile makes its way back to her face. “I was thinking we could all go for coffee,” she says, looking at you with hope in her eyes. “Sounds good to me!” you grin as you start packing up your stuff. Once you’re done, you glance over at Paige, who is looking around with a bored expression. You’re not offended at her not wanting to spend time with you. You knew what it was like to feel your world crash, and you’d also tried pushing people away. The blonde maybe didn’t want to be around you right now, but you’d make sure she realized that she’d be okay.

You put your bag on your lap before wheeling your way around the table so you could be right beside the basketball players. You see Paige’s eyes widen as she takes you in, only now having realized you were in a wheelchair. You let her observe you for a moment, seeing her emotions swim in her eyes. You could tell she was shocked and a bit embarrassed, but you also saw her frustrations as she clenched her jaw and started frowning again. “So that’s why Azzi wanted me to meet her. Just so she could tell me that whatever I’m going through is nothing compared to what she has to live with,” Paige thinks as she tries not to roll her eyes. 

You simply send her a smile. You don’t mind the anger that seems to radiate off of the girl. You know she’ll probably say and do stuff she doesn’t mean in rage, and you don’t mind being the person all that fury is aimed at. You know that at the end of the day, she won’t mean any of it, and you’d rather she tries to hurt your feelings than her sunshine best friend.

“Let’s go then, shall we?” you say with a raised brow and a tiny smirk before you start wheeling away. You lead the way through campus to your favorite coffee shop, making small talk with Azzi. You try to include Paige as well, but you don’t talk to her all that much, not wanting to overwhelm her. When you arrive at the shop, the brunette holds the door for you and Paige with a smile, her eyes twinkling. You thank her before following the blonde in. 

“Your usual?” Azzi asks as she walks in behind you. “Yes please, thanks Princess,” you say with a playful wink, a wide grin on your face. The brunette shakes her head in amusement, her eyes crinkling as she smiles. You make your way towards a free table in the back, waving hi to the barista that always calls you his favorite regular. Paige follows not long after, while Azzi waits in line to order the drinks. Once Paige sits down with a huff, slightly out of breath as she rubs the spots where she leaned against the crutches, you don’t say anything at first. The silence isn’t exactly fun, but it’s not a bad silence either.

When your friend makes her way to your table, you smile softly at her as you accept your drink. “Thanks, Ace.” “Of course,” she replies, her voice soft. She looks over at Paige for a moment before clearing her throat. “Listen, P, I know you’re hurting. Not just physically but mentally too. And I know how you feel like it’s the end of the world, but I promise you, it’s not. When I went through my injury and couldn’t play, I spiraled too. But then I met Y/N, and she made me realize that everything would be okay. I know you’re not happy about being here, and I don’t want you to feel like you’re not allowed to be sad, but please just… talk to her. Y/N is an amazing friend to have, not just because she knows what it’s like to lose stuff, but just because she listens. She really listens, and she has a way of making you feel a little lighter on days when things seem impossible.” 

You look at her as she’s speaking, your smile soft as your chest feels warm. It was nice to hear her say such sweet things about you and trust that you’ll be able to help someone else she cares so much about. 

Azzi turns to you before continuing. “And Y/N, please don’t think we’re only here because I want you to help P. I’ve always wanted to introduce you two. I feel like you two could be great friends!” You lean over to grab her hand and give it a little squeeze. Of course, to anyone else it might’ve looked weird, the way you and Azzi hadn’t spoken in a while, and she only seemed to come back to you for help. You knew that wasn’t the case, though. The brunette was the definition of kindness. I mean, she has the nickname “The People’s Princess” for a reason. You didn’t feel offended at all, knowing this only proved how much she trusted you and how much you’d helped her in the past.

Paige’s jaw stays clenched a little longer, her brows furrowed. “I don’t need her help. I don’t need anyone’s help,” she thinks angrily to herself. When she looks up at her best friend, however, she falters. She knows Azzi doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. “I guess… if Azzi speaks this highly of her, then… she can’t be that bad.” You see her soften as she gives the brunette a soft nod. She turns to you, sighing softly before giving you a tentative smile. You grin at her as mischief swirls in your eyes. “Yeah, we’re gonna work out just fine,” you think.

As you drink your coffee, you talk about everything that’s been happening in your life lately, asking Azzi for details on what she’s been up to since you last talked. You make sure to ask Paige questions too, getting to know her more as well. You keep the conversation away from basketball or your own accident. There was a time and place for that conversation, and it wasn’t here and now. 

You stay in the coffee shop for hours, just chatting about everything and nothing. You manage to make both girls laugh a lot, one time even making Paige laugh so hard, her coffee comes out of her nose. She’d looked pretty embarrassed, her face turning a bright red, but she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. 

You’re in the middle of telling Paige a story about something you and Azzi had done a few months ago when the brunette’s phone went off. You pause your conversation as you look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Oh shoot! I gotta go, uh, do you guys mind if I head out?” she rambles, already getting up. You look at Paige, who’s already looking at you. You grin at each other before turning to Azzi. “Don’t worry, we’ll play nice,” you smirk. 

Once the brunette leaves, you think for a moment Paige will go back to her quiet self, but you’re wrong. “So? What happened next?” she asks, her eyes wide in a childlike wonder. Warmth blossoms in your chest. The people weren’t wrong when they praised the type of person the star athlete is. She was sweet, paid full attention to what you were saying at all times, and she was funny as hell. 

You continue the story, making the blonde chuckle and shake her head in disbelief. “There’s just no way Azzi did that.” You shrug with a smirk, “It’s all true.” She looks at you a little longer, eyes squinted, as she tries to find out if you're lying. When she realizes you’re not, she chuckles again as she leans back. 

You continue to look at her and notice her demeanor change. Her smile slowly leaves her face as her body becomes tense again. Somehow you’d managed to not make her think about basketball or her injury the whole time you were at the coffee shop, but now it seemed to all come back in one big wave. 

She frowns, leaning forward as she hesitantly meets your eye. “So… Are you finally gonna tell me to just suck it up and stop moping about my knee? Because at least there’s a chance I’ll still be able to play?”

You look at her for a moment. “Nope.” You push away from the table as you start rolling your wheelchair to the door. “W-Wait, what?” You hear Paige stutter, her chair screeching from how hard she scoots it away from the table. You grin, hearing the clattering behind you as the blonde struggles to grab her crutches to follow you. You thank the girl holding the door open for you as you roll into the warm afternoon sun. Paige huffs as she finally reaches you, a frown on her face. You can tell she’s not really upset, though, the way her lips are curling into a small smile.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your dorm… well… wheel you to your dorm…? Wheel to your dorm as you hobble along…?” Your eyebrows are furrowed as you rub your chin, trying to find the right wording. You hear Paige snort beside you as she starts moving. “Oh my god, bro, just shut up.” 

You stick your tongue out in response before speeding up a bit to match her pace. You two don’t talk for a moment, enjoying the nice breeze as birds whistle around you. “I had fun with you today, Paige,” you smile up at the girl. She smiles back at you. “I had fun with you too… I’m sorry for how I acted earlier, it’s just… it’s been really hard,” the frown from earlier makes its way back onto her face.

“Don’t worry about it, P,” you say with a smile. The girl returns the gesture, hearing you call her her nickname. “So uhh, you don’t want to tell, y'know, all that stuff about how it’ll all be okay?” She asks hesitantly. “Would you believe me if I did?” You ask without any judgment in your voice. “I’m not sure… probably not,” she says as she looks over sheepishly. “Then there wouldn’t be any point to it, would there?” You tease. 

She looks back ahead of her, but you stare a little longer. “I’ll tell you about my accident some day, but not right now. I don’t wanna tell you and have you just end up feeling bad, y’know? We had a good day, let’s not ruin it with my sob story,” you grin as you send her a wink.

Once you reach the blonde’s dorm, she looks at you with reluctant eyes. She doesn’t want to say goodbye just yet. “Give me your number, we’ll text,” you demand, not really giving her a chance to say no, but you both know she wouldn’t. You see her relax a little as she hands you her phone. Once you’ve put your number in and added a cheeky contact name, you give her back her phone. 

“Text me, alright? I know where you live now, so if you don’t, I’ll come find you,” you say with a teasing wink. “Yes, ma’am,” she grins. You two say your goodbyes before you make your way to your own dorm. You haven’t even made it out of the basketball player’s hallway before you hear your phone ding. Your stomach flutters and your chest feels warm. You were excited about your new friendship and were looking forward to getting to know the legendary player on a deeper level. 

Over the following weeks, you two continue to text every day, hanging out in the coffee shop a few more times too. Sometimes Azzi joins you, but more often than not, it’s just the two of you. You learn more about Paige’s family and friends and how life was living in Minnesota while she also gets to know you more. 

You can’t say every day you spend with the blonde is an amazing day. The girl’s injury was still fresh, so she was often grumpy and sad and found it hard to enjoy having to sit still in some coffee shop or library when she’d rather be out there playing ball. You never got upset with her though, you’d been there before, and you knew she just needed some silent support. 

One afternoon, your phone rings, bringing a smile to your face. You know who’s calling before you even look. “Hey, P,” you say, your grin clear in your voice. “Hey Y/N/N, whatcha up to?” she mumbles. “Just hanging out in my dorm, watching a show. What ‘bout you?” you reply, leaning back on your bed as you stare at the ceiling. “M’bored, you should come over… Some of the girls are coming over later… You should meet them,” she says. When you close your eyes, you can see her sitting in her room, one hand holding her phone as the other rubs her neck shyly.

“Sounds nice,” you murmur. You hear a soft sigh of relief on the other end. “Yeah?” Paige’s voice crackles through the phone, her tone hopeful. “Mhm,” you hum, “I’ll be there in like… 20 minutes?” “Ugh, 20 whole minutes?” she whines as you chuckle at how childish she could be. “Oh, I’m sorry? Do you want me to put my wheelchair in turbo mode?” You joke. “Oh my goddd, stoppp,” she groans, muffling her chuckles behind her hand. 

When you first made jokes about your injury and wheelchair, Paige had completely frozen, not knowing how to react. It had taken her a while, but now she was used to your stupid little jokes and knew you made them because you liked making people laugh.

You laugh softly at her reaction before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. You get out of bed, hopping into your wheelchair with ease, having been through this whole thing what feels like a million times before. You quickly get ready, grabbing a book Azzi had been wanting to borrow for a while and putting it in your bag before heading out. 

You were excited to see Paige and Azzi again and were curious to see what their other friends were like. You were pretty nervous, though. You’d be the odd one out in their usual little bubble. You didn’t let that stop you from going over, though. You’d never really been afraid to take leaps, and weren’t going to start now either.

When you make it to Paige and Azzi’s dorm in record time (the wind must’ve helped you make it there so fast…), you let your presence be known with your signature knock. Paige opens the door almost immediately with her trademark grin. “Hey P,” you smile as you wheel your way inside. “Hey Y/N/N,” she replies. “So, when’re the others gonna be here?” you say as you follow her towards her room. “Don’t know. Half an hour maybe?” she shrugs as she plops down on her bed. You nod your head as you look around. 

You’d been in the blonde’s room a few times already, but you still liked seeing if anything had changed. Her room was filled with the usual clutter, clothes thrown on the chair in the corner, a few water bottles next to her bed,...

She pats the space next to her, inviting you in. You wheel closer before heaving yourself onto the bed. Blue eyes follow your every move, ready to jump into action if you need help. Once you’re comfortable, you lean back and smile at her. “Grey's Anatomy?” you ask, your head tilted in question. Paige’s face immediately lights up as she leans over to grab her laptop. You continue the show where you’d left off last time before you hear commotion in the living room. 

You look over at Paige, who looks back at you with a pout on her face. You chuckle, sitting up a little straighter to hop back into your wheelchair. Once you’re seated, you wait for the blonde to grab her crutches and lead the way. You laugh softly at her huffing and puffing, knowing she’d rather watch her show right now than hang out with her team.

When you make it to the living room, you see KK, Nika, Ice, and Azzi chatting as they shrug off their jackets. When they notice Paige and you, they quiet down. “Y/N! Hey, I didn’t know you were here,” Azzi beams at you. “Guys, this is Y/N, the girl I’ve told you about, the one that helped me during my recovery,” she says cheerfully. KK, Nika, and Ice smile kindly at you before introducing themselves. 

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you guys,” you smile. “Only good things, I hope?” Nika teases. “Meh,” you reply with a smirk. The girls laugh before finding a spot to sit as you guys hang out. They leave 2 spots open on the couch for Paige and you, making you send them a thankful smile. 

You sit down and get to know the girls a little better. You could see why the UConn team was such a close-knit group. The girls were funny, sweet, and protective and treated each other like family. 

After a while, KK and Ice get bored and decide to turn on Paige’s PlayStation to play Fortnite. You continue to talk to everyone, laughing at the funny stories the girls tell you about Paige, trying to embarrass her. The blonde’s face turns a bright red as she complains about them being jerks, but her bright smile doesn’t leave her face. Your heart feels like it’s grown two sizes with how happy you’re feeling.

“Oh wait, Ace, I’ve got that book you asked for,” you say. You look towards your bag, seeing it near KK. “Hey KK, d’you mind grabbing my bag for me?” you ask the gaming girl. “Hm?” she hums distractedly. “Grab it yourself, bro,” she says, completely focused on the game. You see Azzi open her mouth to say something, but you hold up your hand to stop her. You send her an evil grin as mischief swirls around in your eyes. You make your face neutral, maybe even a little pouty, as you let out a sad sigh, “Alright.” 

You grab onto your wheelchair a little louder than necessary as you lean forward to move into it. KK’s head whips around so fast, you think she might’ve given herself whiplash. “WAIT, NO!” she yells, her eyes wide as she scrambles to get up to grab it for you. You don’t think you’ve ever seen anyone move as fast as her at that moment. 

The girls around you slap their hands in front of their mouths to stifle their giggles. The younger girl looks at them with a pouty frown, feeling bad for forgetting you couldn’t easily get up to grab something. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles as she hands you the book. You send her a wink and a grin, letting her know you were just joking. You weren't offended about the fact she seemed to have forgotten. It showed you that the girls didn’t just see you as someone with a disability.

She sits back down next to Ice, sticking her tongue out at the still laughing girl. “s’not funny,” she mutters, staring at the TV as she continues the game. You could get used to hanging out with these girls. You loved the way they constantly teased each other, but never went too far. Many people were too scared to make any type of jokes around you, too focused on your impairment to realize you were also just a person. 

20 minutes go by before a phone rings. You recognize the ringtone as Paige’s and look towards the sound. Her phone is lying on the table near Ice and KK, who both look over for a split second before their attention goes back towards the TV. “KK, gimme my phone,” Paige demands, leaning forward to grab it from her. “Get it yourself,” the younger girl quips back, not even glancing at the blonde. Paige looks over at the other girls for a second, a “Seriously?” clear on her face. 

She grins before copying you. Sigh. “Fine,” she mutters, grabbing onto her crutches, making them bang against each other. KK looks back and deadpans at her. “Go ahead,” she says dryly, turning back to her match. 

“Bruh, what the hell,” Paige huffs as she gets up to grab her phone. You let out a deep belly laugh at the annoyed look on her face. The blonde turns to you with an unamused frown, as you send her an innocent smile and a shrug. 

You guys hang out for a few hours before it’s time to head back to your dorm. Your chest feels light when you say your goodbyes. Each girl gives you a hug with the promise of hanging out again soon. When you make it back to your room, you see you already have 2 texts from Paige. “had fun 2day, thanks for coming over” and “think KK likes you more than me”. 

That night, you go to bed with a wide smile on your face.

Days go by, and you stay in touch with all of the girls, but you mainly hang out with Paige. Today was another one of your planned hangouts, this time at your dorm, but the second the blonde arrived, you knew it wouldn’t be all fun and games. She’d just gone to physical therapy for her knee, and her face looks thunderous. She hadn’t slept well, constantly waking up because of her knee, she’s sick and tired of not being able to play, and physical therapy had gone horribly. 

When she walks in, she wordlessly flops down on your couch as she stares at the ceiling, a frown etched into her face. You go over to your fridge, grabbing a bottle of water for the both of you before returning to her side. You give her the bottle and wait patiently for her to talk. “I fucking hate this,” she fumes. “It’s been weeks since the game, why is everything still so… so… ughhhh,” she groans, unable to find the words. You give her arm a squeeze in support, but she shrugs you off, shooting upright as she continues her heated rant. 

You stay calm as you listen to her, knowing she needs this moment to blow off some steam. When she quiets down, heaving from all the talking, you quietly try to comfort her. “I know it sucks, P, but you need to just keep going, don’t give up. You’ll be on the court again soon enough, and it’ll be like you never left-” you can’t finish your sentence before Paige interrupts. 

“NO, YOU DON’T FUCKING GET IT!” she yells, her frustrations high. You wince slightly at the volume but don’t say anything. You give the blonde a moment to calm down and let everything sink in. You’re not offended, you know people say things they don’t mean in moments like this. 

Once she realizes what she just said to you, the one person who understands more than anything, she looks at you with guilt in her eyes. Her blue eyes having become a shade darker as they look at you sadly. You see tears starting to well up before she leans forward, putting her face in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she whimpers in shame. You lean forward again, softly grabbing her wrist to take her hands away from her face. You hold one hand between yours as you catch her eye. You give her a gentle smile, letting her know you’re not upset.

“I shouldn’t have yelled… I shouldn’t’ve said that,” she mumbles regretfully. “It’s okay, P,” you murmur, giving her hand a squeeze. “You’re not mad?” She looks at you like a kicked puppy. You shake your head with a smile, “I’ve been through worse. I’ll survive a pretty girl raising her voice at me.” She gives you a tiny, sad smile, leaning her forehead against your entwined hands.

You start telling her your story. The story of how you grew up, playing every sport under the sun, up until that one dreadful day. You tell her about the dark, depressive hole you fell into after you woke up paralyzed, the way you pushed everyone away, and how you thought nothing would ever be okay again. The whole time you’re talking, she looks you in the eyes, barely blinking as she listens intently. Her jaw clenches as her eyes become glassy when you talk about your depression. When you finish talking about what it was like the first few months after the accident, you pause for a moment, letting everything sink in.

“How’d you do it…?” She asks, her voice cracking with emotion. “It was hard… really fucking hard,” you start. “I pushed everyone away at first, but my family never gave up on me. They helped me realize that while it really fucking sucked… I was still alive. And I would find new things to care about. And I did!” You smile. “With all my free time, I started looking for new hobbies. I found out pretty quickly that I don’t have the patience for puzzles, and I poked myself one too many times to enjoy cross-stitching,” you say with a playful grin, making the athlete breathe out a little laugh.

“I learned that I have pretty good rhythm, so I was able to pick up playing the guitar and the piano pretty easily. I realized that doodling really helps me unwind after a long day, which is funny because it’s the complete opposite of how I used to relax. I got better and better at drawing and tried out a bunch of different mediums, but my favorite is still pencil drawings. I’d always loved reading but never made enough time for it, but now I try to finish at least one book a week… Uhh, I bought a PlayStation which I play on maybe a little too much, but you know what that’s like, Ms Fortnite addict.” You tease. She rolls her eyes, but you can tell that she’s no longer feeling so bad, a tiny smile decorating her face. 

You let silence fill the room for a moment. “I’m not saying this in a way of being like, ‘Stop complaining and get over it’, but I promise P, things will be okay. You’re the Paige Bueckers… It’s gonna take a lot more than a torn ACL for you to stop being you. Have some faith.” You send her a comforting smile as you squeeze her hand. She nods at you, her muscles relaxed as she finally lets out a relieved sigh. “Thanks… for everything,” she breathes. You shake your head with a smile, thinking it’s silly she’s thanking you for being her friend. “You don’t need to thank me for that… but you’re welcome. And thank you for including me in your group of friends… I don’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun.”

You two talk for the rest of the afternoon, ordering a pizza when dinner time arrives. After you’re done eating, you migrate to your bedroom, letting a movie play in the background as you keep talking about everything and nothing. You’re sitting on your bed, telling Paige a story, waving your arms animatedly as her blue eyes stare into yours. “... And then she looked at me and I almost passed out from laughing! You should’ve seen the look on Ace’s face!” you say, hiccuping a little from laughing. The blonde laughs along, her chest feeling warm at the sound of your laugh.

“So what’s up with that nickname anyway?” she questions as she leans her head on her hand. “Ace?” You ask. “Well, her name’s Azzi, but people call her Azz, so then I started calling her Ace, as in A C E, like in a deck of cards. The ace cards are the highest cards in the deck, and I think of her quite highly,” you explain.

“Okay, but doesn’t it depend on the game?” she asks, tilting her head like a confused puppy. “Hm?” “Well, isn’t the ace card the lowest in certain games?” she says with a raised eyebrow. You can’t help laughing as she says that. “God, are you always this negative?” You tease, giving her a little push. She rolls her eyes as she scrunches her nose, sticking her tongue out. 

You continue talking until the sky becomes dark. Paige looks out the window, a slight frown growing on her face at the thought of having to leave. “Do you wanna stay the night?” you ask nonchalantly, but you feel your heart beat a little faster. Her bright blue eyes find yours immediately as she looks to see if you’re joking. “Yeah, sure, if that’s cool with you,” she says as she fiddles with her necklace. You smirk at how nervous she seems. “I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t, now would I?” She slaps your arm lightly to shut you up. “Go ahead and grab some clothes from my closet,” you tell her, hopping into your wheelchair to go get ready for bed in your bathroom.

When you return, you freeze for a moment, your heart swelling at the blonde dressed in your clothes. When she looks over at you, you start moving again, letting her use the bathroom as well. A few minutes later, she returns, looking around a little sheepishly. You pat the bed next to you, sending her a calming smile. You continue talking a little longer, but slowly feel your eyes grow heavy. You fall asleep to Paige’s tired mumbling. The last thing you remember is a soft hand grabbing yours, entwining your fingers before you doze off.

After that night, your relationship with Paige changes. You feel like you’ve somehow become even closer to her and are happy to call her your best friend. You’re rarely seen without the other, always attached to the hip. You make sure to come with her to physical therapy for silent support, while she often joins you in the library as you finish another book on your list. Your favorite hangout spot is the coffee shop where you two properly talked for the first time. You make sure to go there every week, sometimes even being joined by the girls on the team (who you’d all gotten to know pretty well by now).

When the end of Paige’s recovery nears, you’re a little nervous. While you never blamed Azzi for getting too busy to hang out a lot after she recovered, you would still be upset if the same happened with the blonde. All your worries were for naught, however, when Paige continues to call you every chance she gets, sending you quick texts when she can’t. She often adds silly selfies as well, just to make you laugh.

You’ve known you’ve had a crush on the girl for a while now, but you never said anything. Paige needed to focus on getting better without any distractions. You also didn’t want her to think your whole friendship was based on you having a crush on her, so it was best you just kept quiet.

Paige, in return, was also too scared to tell you about her crush. She loved the friendship you two had and didn’t want to ruin it just because she’d caught feelings. She was afraid that every glance, every touch, and every soft smile was just you being a good friend. She couldn’t bear to lose you after everything you’d done for her, so she kept her mouth shut.

Azzi, being the observant friend she is, immediately knew about both of your feelings when she’d “caught” you two asleep on the couch, holding each other close. She made it her mission to get you two together. She started off by trying to convince Paige to confess, but that didn’t work out well, seeing as the blonde was too scared and always shrugged her off. Her next plan was to try to make you confess, knowing you were the bravest person she knew. That sadly also didn’t work, seeing as you were too considerate of others to think about your own feelings when you knew Paige could end up getting hurt. 

So here she was, back on plan A. “Come onnn, P, she’s head over heels for you, I’m telling you!” The blonde rolls her eyes so hard it gives her a bit of a headache. “Azzi, please, we’ve been over this before, let it goooo,” Paige groans, feeling butterflies flutter in her stomach at the thought of you liking her back. “No! I’m not gonna let this go. You two mean so much to me, I just want you guys to be happy,” she says with a sad pout on her face. Paige lifts her head from where she’s lying on her bed to look at the brunette, and groans again at the kicked puppy look on her face. She could never say no to her when she made that face.

Paige sighs and stares at the ceiling for a moment. “...How sure are you?” She mutters, looking over at Azzi with desperation in her eyes. The brunette gives her a soft but excited smile. “110%, P. You know I wouldn’t say this if there was even a slight chance I was wrong.” The blonde’s cheeks turn a soft pink as a happy yet slightly embarrassed smile shows on her face. “Okay then, how do we do this?”

You’re hanging out with a friend when you hear the familiar ringtone go off. You excuse yourself for a moment, picking up the phone. “What’s up, P?” You grin. “Hey Y/N/N!” You can hear the smile in her voice. “You’re coming to our next game, right?” she asks. “Uhm, hello? It’s your first game back on the court, of course I’m coming,” you tease, sounding slightly offended she felt like she had to ask. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she chuckles, “jus’ wanted to be sure.” “I’ll be your biggest cheerleader, don’t even worry about it,” you promise. “Ight, I’ll hold you to that,” she replies before you two say your goodbyes.

When the day of Paige’s first game back arrives, you know the blonde is bursting with nerves. You meet up with her before the game to wish her good luck and to encourage her. Her leg shakes up and down as she bites her nails. Her eyes flit around the room as she nods along to what you’re saying, but you know she’s not listening. You roll closer to her, grabbing her hand and pulling it away from her mouth. You give it a gentle squeeze as she finally looks at you. “Don’t worry so much, P. You’ve been working your ass off for this moment, and you’re gonna do great, okay?” you say, trying to reassure her as much as you can. Her shoulders loosen as she finally takes in what you’re saying.

“Thanks, Y/N/N,” she mutters with a small smile. You give her a wink before you leave to wish the other girls good luck and to find your spot before the crowd starts filtering in. While Paige is extremely nervous about her first game back, she’s more nervous about what’s going to happen at halftime. She really hopes she won’t embarrass herself. She walks back over to her team, quickly going over everything again to make sure everything would go exactly the way she’d planned. 

The first quarter of the game flies by before she even knows it. She already scored 12 points, giving UConn the advantage. As she sits on the bench, listening to coach Geno, she looks around. Her eyes immediately find yours as you send her two thumbs up. She grins before locking back into the game. 

The second quarter goes by even faster, making Paige’s stomach clench with nerves. They were now 9 points ahead, so it was still anyone’s game. First, however, it was time for halftime. 

The blonde wipes her sweat on a towel, looking over at Azzi. The brunette gives her a reassuring smile before walking over to you. You don’t expect her to walk over but smile at her nonetheless. “Hey Y/N/N, how much do you trust me?” she grins. You raise an eyebrow at her, but the smile on your face doesn’t disappear. “With my life,” you reply. She sends you a beaming smile, giving your shoulder a squeeze as she wheels you onto the court. You chuckle as you ask her what’s going on. She simply says, “You’ll see.” 

Paige walks up to you, fiddling with her hands nervously. She bends down on one knee and starts talking, her voice quivering a little. “Y/N… I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” You open your mouth to tell her off, but she holds up her hand before you can say a word. “I know, I know, I don’t need to thank you… but I want to. When you entered my life, I was going through a very difficult time. I felt like I was drowning on dry land… But you? You were like my life buoy, not letting me sink. You’re this amazing, strong person, and you’ve made me want to be like you. To never give up and to look at life in a positive way, even when things go wrong.” She swallows harshly. You grab her hand and give it a squeeze, speechless at the girl's words. Your chest feels warm as your heart feels like it’s about to burst out of its cage.

“The past few months have meant more to me than you could imagine, and… I fell for you harder than I thought I ever could… So… I want to ask you this,” she says, still nervous but a bit more confident as she sees the adoration in your eyes. She stands up and accepts the flowers Nika gives her. She hands them to you as she steps aside. 

Your eyes tear up as you see the scene in front of you. The whole UConn team, as well as the opponent's team, are standing there. All holding various items. A few girls are holding cardboard signs with the words “Will you go out with me?” on them. Your free hand flies to your mouth as you look up at Paige. The blonde is already staring at you lovingly with a soft smile. You chuckle at the amount of love you’re feeling right now as you nod your head at her. You can barely hear the crowd cheer around you as you feel your blood rushing in your ears.

The star player’s smile becomes even wider as her eyes crinkle. She grabs your hand, placing a kiss on it as all players start making their way towards you. You get handed all kinds of gifts from the blonde. Your favorite book annotated by her, a Lego set you two had talked about getting, a new pack of expensive pencils, a guitar pick maker, and a bunch of other things. You feel so incredibly seen by her that you find it hard to keep your tears at bay.

Once you’ve received all the gifts and thanked Paige a bunch, you make your way back to your seat. You hear a few “congrats” aimed your way as fans smile widely at you. When you turn back to the court, you see the blonde already looking at you. She sends you a flirty wink, making you chuckle as you shake your head in amusement. While the circumstances of you two meeting weren’t the best, you thank your lucky stars that the universe guided you to the Paige Bueckers. UConn’s star player. The golden student. The future of women’s basketball. A legend in the making. The girl that stole your heart but gave you hers in return.

[nsfwitchy2]

Well today has been an interesting day lol

Very fun, just to be clear, I have had a very fun time

But also, very interesting XD

[luvnoirs]

MORE PAIGEEE

senior night

paring: paige x fem!reader synopsis: paige asks you to be her girlfriend during senior night warning(s): none ! (sfw) word count: 1.2k

a/n: this was a request (i changed it just a bit) and i feel like i kinda rushed it a little cause i wanted to hurry and give y'all something so im sorry for that 😭

you only had one goal tonight: do not cry.

it was senior night at uconn tonight and since you were extremely close friends with the women's basketball team, you stood in the crowd cheering on as the seniors on the team began receiving their plaques. you knew that regardless of their decision to stay at uconn or persue their career beyond college, your friendship with the girls would never falter. you would even call them your sisters and you successfully held back tears at the sight of watching them be recognized for all their hard work and contribution to the huge legacy that uconn holds.

though as one particular blonde started walking across the gym floor along with her family members, you felt your heart tug.

you had just seen her before the game, wishing her good luck with a swift kiss on the cheek and a sweet smile. if you two weren't in front of a sold-out crowd and cameras showcasing the game on national television, you would have given her that kiss on the lips like you've been doing for the past few weeks.

at first, you two thought it was nothing. it was normal for friends to kiss each other, right? though with one too many shots at ted's one night and an entire dorm room to yourself, one thing led to another, and shortly, the two of you became casual sex partners. you both agreed not to let it ruin your friendship and that it was just for fun, but you couldn't help but start feeling something that was more than platonic for the girl.

though the complicated friendship between you and paige might've been a secret to everyone else, it didn't go unnoticed by your friend azzi. the girl was constantly nagging you about the two of you making things official, but you simply didn't have the courage to tell paige how you really felt about her.

moments later, all the seniors began to line up to say a special speech, and one by one they all went, leaving paige to be the last one to speak.

she grabbed the microphone from aubrey and spoke, "uh, i can't put into words what this program has meant to me—what you guys have meant to me..."

and as she continued speaking, you felt your smile grow. even before you and paige started seeing each other exclusively, you've always been friends and loved each other, so you know exactly what she's been through and how much she struggled behind closed doors.

you can remember being there to comfort her last season when she was out due to her injury. paige had shown up to your dorm, her usual happy expression replaced with a straight face and watery blue eyes. you two had spent that night watching tv and talking about the most random topics to take paige's mind off of missing the season as she snuggled into you on your couch.

and ever since that day, it has become your ritual. paige spent at least one night a week over at your dorm, even sleeping over until the next day some times. she even bothered to stop giving you a heads up and just used the spare key that you had given her to let herself in whenever she pleased.

you let out a quiet laugh at the memory of her walking in while your back was turned, and she thought it would be a good idea to scare you. and after that day, she swore to never sneak up on you again after ending up with a nasty bruise on the side of her face due to the force of your fast reflex.

"and one more thing—and i just know she's gonna kill me for this, but i've spent these past few days trying to figure out how to do this." paige said as the crowd grew quiet in anticipation.

your eyes squinted in confusion as you watched her. you were just as confused as everyone else.

"but tonight is special, so i thought, why not do it tonight? a huge reason why this won't be my last senior night is because of a very, very special woman who has helped me through my tough times and has, in general, made me a better person. without her, or, of course, my fellow teammates, i'm not sure i would have made it through this season so far, and i just want to thank her for being there for me."

the crowd erupted in more cheers, some even shedding a few tears, while you stood with your mouth open, wondering what the hell she was talking about.

"i don't want to make this too sappy or take up too much of your time, so with that being said, i want to ask y/n to come up here, please."

your heart sank. at first, you thought you were hearing the wrong thing, but since the team already knew where you were seated, they all turned towards you and began cheering. i stood in shock as they gestured for me to come down onto the gym floor as the rest of the crowd began clapping and whistling. i watched as a few of the teammates started jumping around with red and pink balloons and a few signs, one of 'i love you'. you wondered how they even managed to hide that.

with a hand over your mouth, you began excusing yourself as you made your way past the fans and down the stairs to the main floor. paige stood in the middle with the microphone still in her hand and a huge smile on her face. your feet felt like they were glued to the ground, and she must've noticed, so she began walking towards you instead.

"y/n, i couldn't tell you why i didn't do this sooner because, honestly, i've loved you since our freshman year here..."

and as paige continued, you felt yourself finally cry. with a huff, you tried to wipe them away before they fell but it was just too many tears escaping at once. her long legs allowed her to reach you in no time and she lifted her free hand to softly wipe the tears that you failed to catch with the pad of her thumb.

"... so, i want to ask you to officially be mine," paige handed the microphone to aaliyah who was nearby, and grabbed my face with both of her hands. "will you be my girlfriend?"

you barely had any time to blink because, as soon as you said yes, the blonde engulfed you in a hug, lifting you off the floor to even spin you around. the crowd loved it.

"paige!" you laughed, as she finally placed you back on your feet. you placed your hands on top of your head in disbelief. "you... i can't believe you did this! you could've asked me on a regular wednesday afternoon, and i would've said yes."

paige scoffed, "you know i'm extra and gotta go all out."

your response was cut short by the rest of the team bombarding you with hugs and more cheers.

"you guys were behind all this?" you asked them, and they all nodded.

"girl, everyone knew about you two. it was so obvious." ice said knowingly, and the rest of the team nodded in agreement. "and jana you owe me ten bucks."

"you guys did not make a bet on me." paige said in disbelief, and jana shrugged.

"i didn't think you would actually do it.”

and as the rest of the team went on in conversation, you grabbed your girlfriend's hand and placed a kiss on the back of her palm.

"i love you."

[sellasstories]

I’D LET YOU

word count: 4.5k

pairing: paige bueckers x azzi fudd

⚠️warnings⚠️

explicit smut, underage drinking, underage drug use (it’s just weed), swearing

prompts:

paige and azzi make inappropriate jokes but they’re apparently not jokes

paige and azzi can’t keep anything from each other

paige and azzi do anything ?for the bit?

It was a rare off weekend for the UConn women’s basketball team, and they’d decided to have a little party. After a few too many competitive drinking games, someone had suggested some team bonding, which is how they’d ended up sitting on the floor in an attempt at a circle.

“Truth or truth, and this is for everyone. What is your type and why is it athletes?” A very drunk Christyn addressed the room at large, giggling at her own joke. The answers ranged from wholesome (Carol, understanding the demanding schedule) to obvious (Olivia, competitiveness) to dirty (Amari, stamina). The room went crazy at the last one as Amari merely shrugged with a slight smirk on her face.

Then it was Azzi’s turn, and she was determined to get a bigger reaction. “I just love other athletes’ bodies. Like come on, have you ever ridden someone’s abs?” She couldn’t hide her self-satisfied grin as everyone shrieked.

Finally, the chaos calmed down. “So moving on from that bullshit, I think it was Paige’s turn..?” There was still shock in Christyn’s voice.

Paige had a mischievous look in her eyes as she opened her mouth. “I was actually gonna say something similar. I feel like no one else appreciates how hard we’ve worked to look like this,” she paused to make direct eye contact with Azzi. “I mean, who else would ask to ride my abs?” She winked at her best friend, ignoring the gags coming from around the circle.

Christyn stepped into the middle of the circle looking distraught. “Ok, game over! This got too weird… everyone go drink more or something, I’m terrified.”

Everyone listened, breaking off into smaller groups. Paige and Azzi ended up together, as they always seemed to. Pressed against each other on the sofa, they looked entirely too close, as their friends always thought they did. “You’re such a little shit,” Azzi giggled, leaning further into Paige.

Paige punched her lightly on the arm. “You’re one to talk when you literally started it! I was just taking the opportunity you gave me,” she raised her hands in surrender.

Azzi’s voice lowered to a whisper. “You know everyone’s gonna think we fucked now, or at least that we did that, right?” And she was right. Their constant attachment and well-known need for each other had raised eyebrows even outside of the team environment. Paige was just relieved that Azzi didn’t sound too concerned about it.

“Let’s be honest, they probably already think that anyway. I say it was worth it for the bit,” the blonde shrugged good-naturedly, her smile widening as Azzi shook her head before resting it on Paige’s shoulder.

Paige couldn’t help herself. “You know what would be really funny though? What if we actually did, like as a joke?”

It was Azzi’s turn to punch her in the arm. “Paige Madison Bueckers, shut the fuck up.” Her head never moved from Paige’s shoulder, the exasperation in her voice not enough to hide the smile on her face.

Paige tried to hold back her own laughter. “I was just trying to be a good friend.” She turned her head to whisper in Azzi’s ear. “I’m sure we’d both have a lot of fun, and I know I could make it better than whatever you’re getting right n-“ She was cut off by Azzi’s hand on her cheek shoving her away.

Azzi’s eye roll was nothing short of theatrical. “Keep talking like that and I’ll have no choice but to think you’re serious. You want me so bad it makes you look dumber than you already are,” she smirked.

“You wish,” was all Paige offered as a retort. They sat in comfortable silence, Paige’s arm finding its way around Azzi’s shoulders, as it always did.

What was not typical for them was Azzi’s hand slowly coming to rest on Paige’s stomach, innocently sliding lower before stopping just above the waistband of her pants. Even though Paige was wearing an oversized t-shirt, she suddenly felt like the thin layer of cotton separating their skin might as well not have been there.

Trying to control her erratic breathing and her train of thought around why Azzi seemed to be pressing so hard, Paige knew that she had to stop whatever was going on. They had both felt the sudden shift in energy, and Paige did not want to confront the weird feeling in her stomach.

“Do you want another drink? I think I’m gonna get something else.” The loudness of Paige’s voice shattered whatever moment they’d been having and Azzi quickly moved her hand as Paige went to stand up.

“Sure, I’ll just have whatever you’re having,” the dark-haired girl answered quickly, not looking up to meet her best friend’s eyes.

Nodding slightly, Paige walked away. She’d barely taken a step into the kitchen when she collided with Aubrey, the concerningly blue drink that her teammate had been holding spilling all over her shirt.

The taller girl steadied herself with a hand on the counter. “Shit, sorry, P, I didn’t-“

“What the fuck is in this, Aubrey?” Paige cut her off. “And why is it so blue?” Her mostly white shirt had quickly taken on the hue of the mystery concoction.

“Bleed blue, baby!” Aubrey grinned, dragging out the last syllable. “For real though, I don’t even remember, but definitely a lot of food colouring at the end. Because I wanted it brighter, you know?”

Nika came over to see what the commotion was about. Seeing Paige’s ruined shirt and the mostly empty cup in Aubrey’s hand, she rolled her eyes.

“Aubrey Griffin, you can’t be doing this shit in my house.” Nika’s words were definitely angrier than her tone, but Aubrey still had the sense to look somewhat guilty under the Croatian’s hard gaze. “Clean this up or find someone sober enough to help you, because I need it gone by the time I come back,” Nika continued.

She then turned to Paige. “You, come with me to pick out something of mine to put on. There’s no reason for you to go all the way to your room to change.”

Nika shot Aubrey a final look over her shoulder as she led Paige away. “You having fun?” She asked once they were out of earshot.

Paige thought while Nika looked through her closet. “I mean, mostly? Az has been kinda weird, and obviously this-” she gestured at her wet T-shirt “-wasn’t great, but I’m always happy to be hanging out with the girls.”

Nika was laying out shirts similar to Paige’s on her bed. “Azzi’s been kinda weird? You’ve both been a bit off actually, everyone has noticed. Something going on with you two?”

Paige knew that her friend meant no harm with the question, but it was really asking a lot more than she wanted to answer. Since Azzi had stepped foot on the UConn campus, she’d brought a certain new intensity to her and Paige’s dynamic that no one else had noticed because they hadn’t known them previously.

The fact that at the whole team had picked up on it, Paige argued with herself, was largely due to Azzi ramping it up even more recently (come to think of it, since a half-remembered, tension-filled drunk exchange between them at Azzi’s birthday party), and Paige was doing very little to discourage it.

Pushing all that out of her mind, the blonde attempted a nonchalant shrug. “Nah, I think we’re both still adjusting to Azzi being here. I know it’s been months, but it’s taken a while to really sink in because it’s so different from any other time we’ve spent this much time together.”

Paige realized that she was maybe still getting too close to the truth with that train of thought. She focused her attention on the series of shirts laid out on the bed. Avoiding Nika’s unconvinced look, she grabbed a cropped tank top that she figured would still match with her outfit.

After turning away to put it on, Paige faced Nika again, holding her wet shirt awkwardly. “Don’t worry about that, I’ll take care of it,” Nika said unexpectedly. Paige raised an eyebrow in surprise. The Croatian just looked her up and down and whistled. “Something tells me you need to go talk to Azzi, maybe sort this thing out.”

Grabbing the shirt from Paige’s outstretched hand, Nika did a bad job of hiding the smirk on her face as she lightly pushed the other girl out of the room.

Paige made her way back to the kitchen, thankfully managing to get her and Azzi’s drinks without incident this time.

Stepping into the living room, she immediately noticed Azzi sprawled on the same couch that she’d been on. “Az, I got our dr-”

“Paigey!” Azzi exclaimed, cutting her off. She reached out both hands, making grabbing motions. “Come here, I missed you.” She grabbed Paige by the ribs, her hands coming to rest on the blonde’s waist.

Paige bent down to get a closer look at her friend’s face. “Hey, you good?” She asked softly, tilting Azzi’s chin up.

The dark-haired girl blinked at her. “I’m okay, just high,” she confessed, looking around. “Someone had a pen and I took a few hits- you should too, I feel so good.” She sank farther into the couch, pulling Paige down beside her.

“I think I’m fine for now,” Paige replied as she carefully placed the drink she’d gotten for Azzi out of her reach. They lapsed into silence again, Paige eventually cracking open her drink and allowing Azzi a few sips despite her earlier resolution to cut the younger girl off.

As she sipped her drink, Paige couldn’t ignore the feeling of Azzi’s eyes burning into her side, or the fact that her best friend’s hands were still in the same spot on her waist.

Azzi, on the other hand, didn’t know what to do with herself. It was absolutely crazy that Paige had decided to put on a shirt that gave her a perfect, unrestricted view of the blonde’s defined abs, especially after the conversations they’d been having. It had to have been on purpose, and Azzi didn’t see how that was even fair, especially in her current state.

But as much as she tried to make herself ignore it, she couldn’t look away, realizing way too late that her hands were still incriminatingly clinging to Paige’s waist. Really, Azzi reasoned, it would be weirder to move them now.

So Azzi’s eyes remained glued to Paige’s stomach, and Paige pretended to remain oblivious, though she wasn’t opposed to any of the attention that she was getting.

Eventually, Paige neared the end of her drink and Azzi’s eyes began to droop, the younger girl letting out a pointed yawn. “Can we go home soon?” She asked softly.

“If you want to,” Paige was was quick to respond. “You still feeling it?”

At Azzi’s nod, the older girl stood up again. “Let me go say goodbye real quick. I’ll be right back, and don’t do anything stupid this time,” she scolded playfully.

Azzi had no intention of doing anything other than trying not to fall asleep on the couch. She was still coming to terms with how good Paige looked, and she’d realized she’d much rather do that away from the room full of people that she was currently in.

A gentle hand stroking her cheek woke Azzi up, and she realized that she must not have accomplished her earlier goal. She raised her head, gazing adoringly at Paige. “Let’s get you home,” the blonde murmured. She wrapped her arms around Azzi’s biceps and pulled her to her feet.

Interlocking their hands, Paige led Azzi out the door and along the familiar path to her dorm.

Suddenly, Azzi stopped in her tracks. “Wait, I wanna sleep in your room,” she said, looking at Paige hopefully.

Paige shook her head, throwing an arm around Azzi’s shoulders. “We can sleep in my room if you want, let’s just get anywhere you can lay down.”

Azzi giggled even though Paige wasn’t trying to be funny. Truthfully, it was less about what her best friend had said and more about her sudden feeling of giddiness that was making her a lot less tired. Still, she squeezed Paige’s hand once in acknowledgment.

Once they got the Paige’s room, the blonde tried to get something from her closet for Azzi to wear, but was met with heavy resistance.

“Paige, I’m fine,” Azzi rolled her eyes as she dragged out the last syllable. She flopped onto Paige’s bed and gestured at her friend. “Come lay down, I wanna hang out.”

Giving in, Paige flopped down beside her. “I thought you were tired. That’s why we left, isn’t it?”

Azzi turned to look at her. “I was, but I’m not really now. Maybe it was all the noise or something.” She sat up suddenly, a mischievous look on her face. “Guess what I still have?”

Paige raised an eyebrow. “No idea, what?” She watched in confusion as Azzi pulled a pen from the pocket of her jeans.

“Azzi, where did you get that? I have to go give it back now,” Paige groaned.

“Not if we’re still using it,” Azzi argued. “I don’t even know whose it is,” she continued unconvincingly. “We can always give it back tomorrow, anyway. Just a few hits, please?”

Folding under the weight of Azzi’s gaze, Paige took the pen from her friend’s outstretched hand and brought it to her lips. Satisfied, Azzi laid back down.

They passed the pen back and forth a few times, not saying much as they stared at the ceiling. Finally, Paige spoke. “This is probably enough.” She got up to put the pen on a shelf out of their reach, definitely feeling its effects. “Do you wanna, like, watch a movie or something?”

Azzi shook her head. “Just wanna talk. I like… right now a lot.”

Paige wasn’t completely sure what that meant, but she crawled back onto the bed, not complaining when Azzi scooted closer and threw an arm around her neck and a leg over her hips.

Azzi buried her face in her best friend’s neck. “You smell nice,” she mumbled.

“Mmm,” Paige made a noise of acknowledgment, but as Azzi fell silent, the older girl’s mind started to drift to places she was very much trying to keep it out of. Azzi herself had said that she wanted to talk, so why wasn’t she talking?

Ordinarily, Paige would’ve been fine to start a conversation, but she was worried about what might come out of her mouth. Especially when Azzi moved her hand down to start rubbing Paige’s stomach again.

Paige’s eyes fluttered closed, the pleasant sensations doing nothing to dispel her urge to talk about what she thought she’d noticed that night.

“You know I’d let you, right?”

Once it slipped out, the confession didn’t seem all that bad in her hazy mind.

Azzi’s clouded eyes met Paige’s as the dark-haired girl propped herself up on an elbow. “You’d let me what, P? We weren’t even talking about anything,” she giggled, stopping the circles on Paige’s stomach.

Paige couldn’t hold back her laughter either, and she figured there was no harm in telling when this whole situation would probably just become another one of their funny stories.

“I meant I wasn’t really joking earlier… I’d totally let you ride my abs, if you wanted to.” Paige laughed even harder, not even believing what had just come out of her mouth.

“Oh my god, you can’t just say that when I’m laying on you like this,” Azzi pouted, dropping her head.

Paige’s voice deepened. “Are you not comfortable? Get more comfortable, then,” she challenged.

“What do you mean?” Azzi breathed, suddenly refusing to make eye contact.

Paige took a deep breath. “I think you know what I mean.” She looked pointedly to Azzi’s hand still in its place on her stomach.

Suddenly uncertain, Azzi sat up, sliding so that she was completely straddling Paige. She wasn’t sure if she’d even meant to do it, but neither of them could deny how good it felt when she ground her hips against Paige’s as she went to lay down again.

Now frozen with both hands braced against the bed on either side of Paige’s head, Azzi experimentally rolled her hips again. This time, Paige’s hands came up to grab her ass, both of them letting out unmistakable moans.

They both released shaky breaths, mouths hanging open as they stared at each other.

“Why’d you stop?” Paige asked, her eyes half closed. “Feels good,” she lifted her hips up slightly for emphasis.

Azzi groaned. It was more her own actions that had scared her, but if Paige was into it, surely it wasn’t all that bad.

Dropping down to her elbows, she started to move her hips again, Paige’s hands on her ass helping her get more friction. With her head buried in Paige’s neck, Azzi was close enough to the blonde’s mouth to hear every little sound she made, something she was very grateful for.

They got lost in the feeling of each other for a moment before Azzi remembered why they were in this situation. “I want to,” she said quietly.

“Want to what?” Paige slid her hands up to Azzi’s hips so she could sit up.

Azzi looked away from Paige’s burning gaze. “Ride your abs,” she whispered. “I wanna see how they- how you feel.” She covered her face with her hands.

Unfortunately, Paige wasn’t letting her off the hook that easily. “With all that still on?” Shamelessly dragging her eyes down Azzi’s body, the blonde put her hands behind her head and waited.

Azzi tilted her head to the side. Fuck, this was really happening. “You could’ve just asked to see me naked, you know.” Her hands moved to the button of her jeans.

Now in her underwear, Azzi toyed with the waistband of Paige’s pants. The dark-haired girl looked at her best friend questioningly.

Paige nodded slightly. “Go ahead,” she encouraged. She lifted her hips, pulling her shirt over her head as Azzi moved to pull off her pants. Sitting back on the blonde’s thighs, her hands twitched as she considered removing her panties.

Somehow, Paige knew what she was thinking about. “Just take them off, you know it’ll feel better,” the older girl grinned, hands still behind her head. Much to her delight, Azzi obeyed her, quickly discarding the offending article of clothing.

Watching Azzi hover over her stomach, Paige resisted the urge to tell her best friend how good she looked. Azzi lowered herself and Paige’s eyes flicked down to watch the movement, her breath catching slightly as she saw how wet Azzi was.

First rocking her hips tentatively, Azzi ground harder against Paige’s toned stomach with every roll of her hips. Finally daring to look her best friend in the eye, Azzi still wasn’t prepared for the intensity of Paige’s stare to have almost an identical effect on her as the feeling of her clit dragging against the blonde’s abs.

“Enjoying… the… show?” Azzi panted, biting her lip as she continued her desperate movements.

“Obviously,” replied Paige. “Feel good?” She failed to hide her cocky smirk.

“Obviously,” Azzi attempted the same cocky tone, but it came out closer to a moan. She closed her eyes and threw her head back, hands coming up to massage her tits.

Feeling hands running down her sides, Azzi opened her eyes. Gritting her teeth, she made herself stop moving as she looked down. “Did I say you could touch?”

Paige’s hands shot away like she’d been burned. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Just want to help.”

“Here’s what you can do for me,” Azzi took Paige’s hands in hers. “Either you can sit there looking pretty and watch, or-” she moved Paige’s hands to her ass, “-you can actually help.”

Feeling Paige’s grip tighten, Azzi started to move her hips again. Paige’s stomach flexed as her hands pulled Azzi down, and the younger girl moaned loudly at the added pressure on her clit.

Azzi felt her whole body start to get hot as her orgasm built. “Just like that, P,” she praised.

“You close?” Paige’s voice sounded wrecked.

“Mm-hmm,” Azzi’s hands squeezed Paige’s ribs as she chased her high. “Paige, please,” she whined desperately.

Finally, the tension in Azzi’s lower stomach released and her mouth fell open as her orgasm washed over her. Paige felt the younger girl spasm against her stomach as her hips stuttered.

Once her breathing calmed down, Azzi flopped on top of Paige unceremoniously. “You were right,” she conceded. “That was good.”

Azzi felt Paige shrug. “I had to show you what you were missing out on, especially the way you couldn’t stop staring at my abs after I put on that shirt.” Paige’s stomach tensed as she laughed, and Azzi winced at the contact against her sensitive pussy.

“So you did do that on purpose!” She gingerly climbed off of Paige and stood up. “I’m gonna go clean up.”

As soon as she turned her back, a camera flash went off and made her immediately turn back around. “What are you doing?”

Paige looked sheepish. “Taking a photo of my stomach? You know, for the memories?”

“That doesn’t even make sense and you know it,” Azzi giggled. “No one can ever see that, though, understand? Like at this point it might as well be a photo of me licking your-” she quickly cut herself off as she saw Paige’s mischievous grin. “I’m not doing that. It’s gross.”

“So you’ll put your pussy on my abs but on your tongue is gross? You’re so mean,” Paige pouted.

Rolling her eyes, Azzi crawled back onto the bed. Switching between making eye contact with Paige and the camera, she made a show of licking a long stripe up Paige’s stomach.

“There you go, you fucking freak,” she said exasperatedly.

“You’re the freak who actually did it,” Paige retorted.

Azzi happened to glance down as she stood up again and mentally kicked herself. She’d been so wrapped up in her own pleasure that she’d forgotten about taking care of Paige.

Laying down beside the blonde, Azzi cupped Paige’s face in her hands. “When were you going to tell me?” She asked softly.

“Tell you what?”

“Baby, you’re soaked. Were you going to suffer all night?” Azzi couldn’t believe how stupid her best friend was sometimes.

Paige shifted awkwardly. “I hadn’t thought about it, honestly. It’s fine, I’m fine,” she looked away.

Azzi rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time. “Let me take care of you.” Her hands ghosted over Paige’s torso.

“I don’t remember this being part of the deal,” Paige said evasively.

“So you’re saying you don’t want it?” Azzi teased. Paige opened her mouth and closed it, knowing she wasn’t winning that argument. She hoped the relative darkness of the room was hiding the redness of her cheeks.

Azzi’s hands went lower. “I thought you’d want to feel good-” she rubbed Paige through her underwear, “-but I guess I was wrong, huh?” Paige inhaled sharply, only getting used to the sensation right before Azzi pulled her hand away.

Paige almost whined. Now that she’d been made aware of how worked up she was, the ache between her legs was only getting stronger. “Need it, please,” she whispered. Azzi smiled triumphantly.

“P, just relax,” her hand slid lazily into Paige’s underwear. “I got you.”

“M’kay,” Paige closed her eyes as she let her body respond to her best friend’s touch. Azzi tried to be as gentle as possible, still not sure why Paige was acting the way that she was.

Azzi settled into the bed and closed her eyes, using Paige’s sharp intakes of breath as a guide while her fingers explored.

“So good, Az,” Paige murmured. Her eyes were still closed, so she didn’t see Azzi’s soft smile.

Deciding that she seemed relaxed enough, Azzi focused her attention on Paige’s clit. Seeing how her hips bucked against Azzi’s hand, the younger girl felt another small pang of guilt.

While Azzi’s fingers worked, Paige, her lips sealed shut, grabbed the dark-haired girl’s other arm and squeezed.

“You’re okay,” Azzi soothed. “So good for me.”

“So- fuck- close,” Paige ground out.

Soon, her hips were lifting off the bed and more expletives were falling from her lips as she came.

Azzi guided her through it, finally sliding her hand gently out of Paige’s underwear. Paige finally opened her eyes and was confused to see Azzi opening the camera on her own phone.

“What are you doing?” She asked, voice still shaking slightly.

“Taking a photo,” Azzi deadpanned, doing a peace sign for the camera. Paige reflexively copied her, not getting it until the flash made Azzi’s two outstretched fingers glisten.

“You’re nasty,” Paige said in disbelief. Azzi dissolved into laughter.

She held her hand out to Paige. “Put them in your mouth.”

“WHAT?” Paige moved her head away. “No shot I’m doing that.”

“So my fingers can touch your pussy but not your mouth? You’re mean and a hypocrite,” Azzi mocked what Paige had said earlier.

“Fine, but this is all you’re getting,” Paige relented, sticking out her tongue and pressing the tip against Azzi’s finger pads.

Grinning like a maniac, Azzi took the photo. Then, she put her fingers in her mouth and sucked, making sure to capture Paige’s shocked expression in what she knew was going to be one of her favourite photos of all time.

“There is something wrong with your brain.” Paige declared. “Also send me that,” she said, immediately calling her point into question.

“You know I will,” Azzi promised. “We should clean up now, though. This is starting to actually get gross.”

Paige groaned but still swung her legs out of bed. The two girls walked to the bathroom.

“Oh my god, your hair!” Azzi giggled as they stared at their reflections. It wasn’t even just Paige’s hair. With her bitten lips and shiny eyes, she looked wrecked. Azzi, on the other hand, looked completely normal, except for her red eyes.

“This is so unfair,” Paige complained, grabbing a washcloth. Azzi just smirked.

After they’d cleaned themselves up, Paige was finally able to convince Azzi to change into comfier clothes. Cuddled up in Paige’s bed, they laid awake with the weight of things unsaid, but neither girl was brave enough to speak up.

Eventually, they both fell asleep, and if Paige got a little too excited the next morning when she saw 6 photos from Azzi, that was no one else’s business.

[the-guilty-writer]

Young (Tennis) Love

Request from anon: So reader(female teenager it's not a problem if she's adopted or not) plays tennis since childhood(ok tennis rules and it's self indulgent)and now there's a big championship in DC and ofc the whole team is there to cheer for her. So she wins and while everyone congratulate her with derek being so proud of his babygirl, her crush comes up to her to congratulate her. They are giggling and slightly flirting with each other while the team watches this interaction stifling their laugh at Derek's shocked reaction. And she explains to them later on and derek makes a mental note to have a "talk" with her.

Derek Morgan x daughter!reader

Summary: After winning a tennis match, your dad, Derek, and his team aren’t the only ones there to congratulate you.

A/N: First, I apologize for this being so overdue. Life has been kicking my ass. Second, I know nothing about tennis, so I hope this is okay. I changed the plot a tiny bit because I didn’t want to keep you waiting any longer.

CW: alcohol consumption (it’s Hotch and Rossi. Still sober), the BAU women are the best adoptive aunts, Derek is a protective dad, I think that’s it.

---

Derek Morgan had been shocked when you were five years old and chose tennis out of all the sports in the world. Seriously… why couldn't you have picked basketball (though he would have quit his job and coached you all the way to the WNBA himself) or baseball (he knew enough to get you through high school) or soccer (at least then he could have been a little league coach)? Instead, you picked a sport he, himself, had never cared for.

Truly he only had himself to blame. While in line at the store, he had spent a second too long ogling at Serena Williams on the cover of a sports magazine. He was enchanted. You were enchanted. And the next thing he knew, Derek Morgan was adding a pink children's tennis racket to the cart.

It all payed off though- the classes you took as a kid where all your dad could do was sit on the sidelines, the weekends spent on the court where he tried his best to help but kept messing up, the late-night pick ups after you’d spent hours practicing, the even longer weekends filled with tournaments watching the sport that he eventually learned to appreciate for you - because you were playing in the finals of the east coast championship.

It took every ounce of control your dad had, not to be cheering as loudly for you as possible. He watched you, his baby girl, the same one who had carried around that little pink racket like a teddy bear, prepare to do the most important serve of your life thus far. Penelope sat next to him, holding his arm to keep him from springing forward. JJ and Emily were sitting on either side of Spencer, who was very quietly explaining to them the physics of the game, though neither one of the women were paying attention to him. Hotch and Rossi were sitting back in their seats. They were sipping on some very expensive whiskey that Rossi had snuck in, looking a little too much like they were trying to recreate Wimbledon.

You swung with speed and your opponent couldn’t catch it in time. A double bounce meant another point for you. Derek held his breath, waiting for the umpire to call the score. He was too nervous and excited to remember it himself.

“40-30.” To you. One more point and you’d win the whole thing.

He saw you take in a deep breath before serving, and the game began. You and your opponent wasted no time, getting into the nitty-gritty fast. At one point, you almost missed and Penelope let out a muffled gasp. Still, you went on without getting flustered and came back faster and stronger. All those early morning workouts you had done with your dad were paying off. When your opponent began to tire, you were still light on your feet. The ball came at you at a perfect angle, and you took your chance - sending the ball back at a speed your opponent could no longer handle after going too hard at the beginning. She swung back desperately and it landed out of bounds.

The umpire called the game, with you as the clear winner, and the entire BAU team erupted. Hotch and Rossi got to their feet to clap. Spencer bounced on the balls of his feet with a simple “wooo” as Emily and JJ jumped up more excitedly beside him, cheering with delight. Penelope squealed with joy. And Derek, well… he was cheering too, with happy tears streaming down his smiling face.

You beamed up at him, taking in the biggest moment of your life so far. Every late night and early morning, every party you missed to get in extra practice time, the horrible cardio workouts, and the long days spent training in the summer heat or bone-chilling winters were worth it. Your opponent came over to congratulate you, and you shook her hand politely. Your coach, who was standing by the locker room, ran over to wrap you in a hug and escorted you into the locker room.

“She’s growing up,” Hotch sighed. The rest of the team nodded in agreement, but Derek was still watching where you had disappeared behind the locker room door, his eyes filled with pride.

“Let’s go see your baby girl,” Garcia said, putting a gentle hand on his arm. Derek turned to her with a smile, and a happy tear. She hugged him tight, before they followed the rest of the team out of the stadium.

---

The team stood outside the players’ entrance with the rest of the gathering families. With such a huge event, they were having difficulty tracking you down and in their line of work, they couldn’t help but think of the worst.

“I’m sure she’s fine, Derek,” JJ said, trying to comfort him.

“Yeah yeah… I know…” But Derek could still feel the tension in his chest and hear the panic in his tone. But he wouldn’t relax until he saw you emerge from the crowd. You were looking around for them, trophy in hand and bag slung over your shoulder, scanning the mass amounts of parents talking with their kids in search of your own unconventional little family.

It was Rossi who spotted you first. “Hey! There she is!” He sounded like a proud grandpa.

Your dad smiled brightly and called to you. “Baby girl!”

The sound of your nickname caught your attention and you turned to see the entire team standing there with open arms. A beaming smile spread across your face as you ran over to them. Derek caught you in his arms, spinning you around while the rest of the team clapped and shared their congratulations with you.

“I’m so proud of you,” your dad whispered, on the verge of happy tears.

“Thank you,” you whispered back.

“My turn to hug the little champion!” Garcia squealed with excitement. You received hugs from everyone on the team (including Reid, surprisingly), thanking them for coming to cheer you on.

You’d just finished giving out the last of your thank you embraces when someone called your name. The entire team turned to see a boy standing a little ways away, waving shyly in your direction. Your face heated and you turned to your dad. “I’ll be right back.”

He nodded, taking your bag and trophy from you before watching you walk away.

“What’s that about?” Emily asked.

Derek didn’t bother to answer. He was too busy watching the doe-eyed expression, shy smile, and rather ditzy giggle you had as you talked to the young man. All the signs of young first love.

JJ sighed. “Oh, I remember those days,” she said in a teasing manner. “And if he’s coming to her sports games you know it’s serious.”

Penelope joined them just in time to watch the young man hand you a flower, making your smile brighter.

“Oh!” she cooed. “That is so sweet!”

Emily smirked. “Looks like someone’s in lov-”

“Prentiss,” Derek cut her off. “Don’t.”

The women of the BAU giggled at your dad’s reaction, giving one another knowing looks. In their heads they were already planning a girls night out to ask you about everything. Derek, on the other hand, made a mental note to give you a different kind of talk later.

[dorizardthewizard]

HSM (2006) rewatch pt 9

9: Who’s Michael Crawford?

Guys I think Chad might not like women

Jokes aside, him complaining about Gabriella "casting a spell" on Troy and then reminding Troy he’s his most loyal best friend – like, why emphasise loyal? You scared someone’s taking your place hm 🤨? So far in this movie Chad has called two things frightening - theatre and all its unmanly implications, and the "female mind". Makes ya think.

Okokok I know it's just a "haha women amirite" jock moment but I find it more entertaining to interpret his actions as him having a crush on Troy that even he doesn't realise. That legendary requiem for Chad x Ryan video essay does it more justice it's hilarious

Also the spirit of my old eng lit teacher possessed me and needs you all to know that Chad calls Gabriella an "elevated IQ temptress" and earlier in the cafeteria he rags on Troy for auditioning for a "heinous" musical. This is rather dramatic language, which contrasts his jock bro personality. Moving on.

Chad carrying his basketball around everywhere is funny but it makes for good symbolism whenever he tries to give it to Troy and bring him over to the side of basketball, heteronormativity and conventional gender roles

Chad: So my point is, if you play basketball, you're gonna end up on the cereal box. Chad: If you sing in musicals, you're gonna end up in my mom's refrigerator Troy: Why would she put his picture in her refrigerator?

"You're gonna end up in my mom's refrigerator" is hilarious out of context. Respect to Chad’s mum even though I’ve never seen Phantom of the Opera, Troy is so baffled hahaha

Wait wouldn’t he know this already? I feel like with being childhood best friends he’d had seen the inside of their fridge by now, unless she recently put it in

But lowkey I understand how a teenage boy would be so put off by musicals after that, I used to be OBSESSED with Lion King like it was my personality from year 3 to 7, so my brother got sick of it and hated the movies so much. Fate paid a cruel trick on him when his class did a unit on The Lion King AND THEY EVEN WENT TO WATCH IT IN WEST END. I WAS SO JEALOUS AND HE WAS HAVING SUCH A SHIT TIME

Chad if you really need Troy to be there THAT MUCH for you guys to focus on the game then maybe you’re not a great team or athletes? Honestly at this point Chad being annoyed that Troy is spending more time with someone else is starting to make more sense as a motivation

Also homeboy might want to focus on his studies a little, Troy's buckling down in the library but Chad's still carrying nothing but his basketball <3

[fmhiphop]

FM Interviews: JayBlac Talks Ultimate Rap League, Streaming On Caffeine, And What Battling Means To The Culture

JayBlac, a Philadelphia rap battle host and commentator with a deep appreciation for all things hip-hop, is inextricably linked to the art of battle rapping. Battling was an early fascination for him. He and his friends would watch rappers battle each other. They would then take what they learned and practice on each other. Speaking on his own exposure to the art, Jay said he and his closest friends "got pretty crazy" and "did damage to each other." With this particular connection to the sport, it's easy to see what led to his relationship with The Ultimate Rap League. Last month, URL hosted their live Kings vs. Queens 4 event via Caffeine, an interactive streaming platform with over 20 million users. The streaming giant is home to sports and gaming content, but one of its biggest draws comes from a partnership with URL.  JayBlac, one of Caffeine's most prominent battle hosts, sat down with FM to talk about the event, as well as the many sides of battle culture—the good, bad, and the ugly.  Diversity And Visibility On The Scene Sometimes there's a bit of a clash between progress and authenticity, especially when it comes to hip-hop. But Jay believes the field is pretty diverse. "You have battle rapping all different countries. Any race you want to see battling, you have it," he said. "Even in the UK. You come from a certain background or religion; trust me, they have it. You've got Jews, you have Christians, you have a certain type of walk of life that you experience, and you kind of want to root for your side of the team."  And in terms of gender, the Kings vs Queens event proves women can hold their own. "Throughout this culture, the men and women are divided in terms of battle rap," Jay said. He explained that you might have men vs. men, women vs. women, or a mixed battle, And though many people come to see the men only, they end up finding that there are just as many talented women. After this event, when it was all said and done, I think a lot of the ladies garnered way more respect. And some of those guys, it went down.  Recognition On The Battlefield However, battling still isn't the most mainstream part of hip-hop. With battle rap being a little more of an "invisible" side to hip-hop, it can be hard to get the appreciation you deserve. Jay thinks battlers are definitely appreciated, just to a certain extent. "We appreciate what the leagues do for us," he said, "We do get our names out there for the most part." However, "I feel like they're not appreciated who they want to be appreciated by." He mentioned artists like Jay-Z, Drake, and Joe Budden will chime in occasionally. However, it's not as often as some MCs would like. He compared the reaction to battle rap to basketball, saying people have no problem shouting out their favorite player. Though he doesn't want to tell anyone to do it, he admitted it'd be cool to see people do that with their favorite MCs. Rest in peace, Pat Stay, but once he passed, he got a lot of love from huge celebrities. That would have been dope if y'all did it while he was here. No Holds Barred Some of hip-hop's greatest rappers started off battling, and Jay believes those individuals have an advantage. "DMX, Biggie, Jay-Z did it, Kendrick Lamar—they're not scared of anything…they know when to take shots back at people." He added that battling experience "gives them a competitive edge to perform better than anyone else out there."  As for artists looking to get into battle, Jay says the art form isn't for the weak. Have very tough skin. This is not Lollipop Land; this is not Disney World. You will get spoken to. This culture is savage. Get ready to be hit in the mouth verbally. Whether that be on Twitter or in the ring for a battle. There's nothing soft about this. Be ready for war. Whether you want to be an MC or a fan.  Highlights from Kings vs. Queens 4 are available online. The entire stream is available as well. JayBlac has a wide array of content. You can find his Caffeine content here and his YouTube content here. URLTV KVQ4: Top 5 Bars Written by Kimberly Stelly | Letterboxd | Instagram | Twitter  Edited by Nikita Serdiuk  Follow and like FMHipHop on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and Facebook!  Read the full article

[luminalunii97]

I've seen non Iranians admiring the Islamic Republic national football team for not singing the national anthem. And then they were confused as to why iranians were happy that the team lost. Yes not singing the anthem might have consequences for them, but it won't change the fact that these people went to visit Raisi, the Islamic Republic president and bowed to him, posed happily for pictures while we were dealing with Kiam Pirfalak news, and said they don't care about politics and what's going on Iran in an interview, stating that they will focus on the game only. Not singing the anthem is nothing in comparison. And you might think they were under pressure. So were other athletes in Iran, let's see what they did:

Picture on the right is Elnaz Rekabi, an Iranian rock climber who was the first athlete to take off her hijab during Mahsa Amini protests to show her solidarity with people. She's currently under house arrest. she wasn't the first Iranian woman ever doing that. On the left, that's Shohreh Bayat, her story is so sad.

In many interviews I've seen of her, she always cries when she says her story. She was to referee the final of the Women's World Chess Championship a couple of years ago. While in another country she decided to wear her hijab loosely in an act of rebellion. She got warning from Islamic Republic twice and everytime she made it worse. She was asked to apologize but she refused, saying that she wouldn't apologize for what she believes in. At last, even though she wasn't ready to leave everything behind and start from scratch in a foreign country, she decided to ditch the compulsory hijab completely and never come back to Iran, because her life would be in danger if she did. Because of her choice she can't come back to visit her family anymore. her family supported her which made the authorities to force her father to resign (her father was the president of chess association in Gilan, Iran).

Then we had Iranian national beach soccer team. I think they were the first group who refused to sing Islamic republic national anthem. And after they got threatened to sing the anthem, they did something even more iconic. One of the players cut his imaginary hair after he scored.

Then we had these two scenes after scoring. They were recreating an inhuman thing Islamic republic did. The guy on the right is Khodanoor Lajei. He was murdered on bloody Friday in Zahedan. He was a Baloch guy. I'm going to post about Balochs and the thing that's been done to them by Islamic republic in details. For now know that this guy got killed in protests but this picture of him is for a couple of months back. He insulted a Basiji guy or something, Islamic republic police chained him to a pole in the middle of the city to make him an example for others, after beating him. When he asked for water they brought him a cup but they put it out of his reach in front of him and laughed at his thirst. (You see why we hate Islamic Republic, IRGC and Basij?!) The picture got out only after his death because Baloch people didn't think the rest of Iran would care about them enough to react. That broke my heart unspeakably much.

With so much bravery, our national girl's basketball team has been posting photos without mandatory hijab ever since the protests have begun.

Last but not least, Parmida Ghasemi, iranian archer ditching mandatory hijab inside of iran. She took it out for receiving the prize and while she was being photographed.

(Btw, non of these women "forgot" their hijab accidentally. If you're iranian you learn to never forget your hijab since you're 7, the age you start school. Without a formal head wearing you won't be allowed to attend school classes. When you grow up with it, you'll get used to it. You have no idea how weird it feels to not wear a veil in public, I'm still getting used to it.)

we've witnessed many iconic brave moves by our athletes but non of them said we don't give a shit about what's happening in Iran before the game. I'm not saying they won't be redeemed one day, I'm just saying they should work to win their respect back.

[thatfragilecapricorn30]

His Type

s7 msr | 1k words | ao3 | tagging @today-in-fic

It was Sunday night and Mulder and Scully were both on her couch, drinking beer and relaxing. Mulder was watching the basketball game on TV, while Scully read a medical journal, leaning against the arm of the sofa. Her legs were spread out so that her feet rested on his thigh and occasionally he would squeeze her arch, just to hear a little giggle. Scully was incredibly ticklish, a fact that Mulder was delighted to discover.

When a timeout was called, she nudged his leg.

“Mulder?” Scully prompted.

“Yes, my love,” he responded, eyes still focused on the TV.

“You have a type,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“A type?” he questioned. He wasn’t sure what she was talking about, maybe blood type? It would make sense since she was reading JAMA.

“Your type in women.”

At that Mulder looked over at her, still unclear about what she was asking. Her facial expression was completely neutral and gave nothing away. Sometimes Scully had a killer poker face - like now - and it always made his blood pressure increase because he was worried he did something to upset her. What was especially nerve-wracking was that Mulder had been involved in conversations like this before, with previous partners, and he knew that there could be landmines at every turn, just waiting for him to step on one with no warning. Though, thankfully, those kinds of mind games weren’t usually Scully’s style.

“My type in women,” Mulder repeated, before taking an extra long sip from the beer bottle to buy himself time. Was she referring to Diana? He thought they were past that whole situation.

Scully continued, “Well, I’ve met a few of your exes and they all look similar. Even the woman who thought she was a vampire had that look.”

“And what look is that?” Mulder wanted to know.

“Brunette, tall, leggy,” she easily ticked off on her fingers, like she had her whole hypothesis prepared well in advance.

“And bitchy,” she added under her breath, though Mulder decided to ignore that and fixated on something else.

“How do you even know what Kristen Kilar looked like?”

Scully shrugged, “I read the case file, Mulder. Her driver’s license was included. It also listed her height.”

“Well, how do you know she was ‘leggy’?” he demanded, putting air quotes around the word.

Scully just gave him a look. Fair enough, he thought.

“I never knew you looked at that,” Mulder commented, a little touched at her interest in what he was doing while she was gone.

“I read through all of the case files you worked on while I was missing. As soon as I got back. My mother told me a little about what it was like and I was worried about you, Mulder.”

This conversation had started out odd, but it was taking a pleasant turn. They had already talked about their feelings for each other and how far back they went, but it was nice to learn about how much she really did care about him, even in their second year working together. Scully should have been concerned about her own health after a three month abduction and coma, but instead was reading past case files to assess Mulder’s wellbeing. How did he get so lucky?

Because of this, he decided to throw her a bone:

“Okay, so I may have a type with some of the women I’ve dated,” Mulder conceded, “Though, I can assure you I never went out searching for women who looked like that. It just kind of happened.”

Mulder examined her face again for any insight into her thinking, but still came up empty so he decided to ask, “Scully, you’re not actually worried…”

He trailed off, couldn’t even bring himself to say the words ‘that I’ll choose someone else.’ The idea was completely preposterous.

Scully just smiled. “No, I’m not worried. I was thinking about us and past relationships and it suddenly occurred to me that I’m a deviation from the norm. I wanted to see what you would say. For all I know you could pull out a scrapbook with pictures of a bunch of past red-headed girlfriends.”

She said the last part completely seriously, but winked at him to show she was joking. Mulder rolled his eyes and pulled the magazine from her hands. It was his turn to ask some questions.

“Well, what about your type?”

“I don’t have a type,” Scully stated proudly. “You look nothing like my ex-boyfriends.”

Mulder tugged on her ankle. “I’m not talking about looks. Am I just another older man in authority to you? Are you going to leave me for Skinner?” he teased. They had recently discussed her past relationship history and she had admitted that several of her past partners had similar attributes.

She pulled her foot back and narrowed her eyes. “I told you that in confidence Mulder, not for you to use it against me! Anyway, you’re hardly older and you’re not in authority over me, so it doesn’t apply.”

“I think our birth certificates would beg to differ,” Mulder said with a laugh.

“Three years is nothing, Mulder.” Scully grabbed a pillow to throw at him, but he deflected it easily and moved over her body, playfully pushing her into the cushions.

He kissed the dip in between her clavicles and worked his way up her neck. He could feel her breathing change and he was pleased when her arms came around him to grip his shoulders.

“Really? No authority at all?” he asked with a smirk that she couldn’t see.

Before this went any further, Mulder wanted to set the record straight; he sat up so he could look down at Scully and make full eye contact. Her cheeks were tinged pink and her hair fanned out like a silk halo on the couch cushion and she looked up at him with big blue eyes, her face open and vulnerable

He gently cupped her cheeks and turned serious.

“You’re so beautiful. Not just in looks, but your mind too. There is no one else, past, present or future, for me. Except you. You’re my type.”

Scully was very still beneath him and didn’t say anything, but she pulled his hand from her cheek so she could kiss his palm and whisper “I love you” against his fingers. It wasn’t the first time he had heard those words but every time he felt his heart grow bigger. He would never get tired of it. Mulder moved his hand away so he could softly kiss her lips.

After a few kisses, Scully pushed him away.

“Mulder? I think maybe you can have a little authority over me,” she said with an eyebrow quirked. He was confused, until she rolled her hips suggestively underneath him and then Mulder understood immediately.

“Oh really?” he inquired, his hands inching up under her shirt to span her waist. “I’m in charge?”

Scully nodded, pupils starting to dilate. Her breath hitched as his hands moved farther up and he settled his hips more firmly against hers.

Oh he liked this idea a lot. Maybe having a type wasn't so bad...

[theunholygrails]

Foolish Games Part 2

Masterlist

A/N: Introducing new characters and some drama! Percy is still sexy as ever :'(.

Warnings: BJ

I woke up to a door slamming so hard it joined the symphony of my pounding headache. I groaned, hoisting myself over the back of the couch to investigate to intrusion. A brunette head of long sweeping hair rushed through the foyer, barreling towards the kitchen. A familiar mop of black hair hurried after.

Reyna was speaking so fast in Spanish my brain scrambled to keep up. I noted lots of curse words followed by a series of sentences too fast I was surprised she even knew what she was saying. Percy was answering in slow measured words, probably fighting a hangover of equal measure. I ducked behind the back of the couch, reaching for my phone plugged in on the coffee table.

It was noon. 2% battery and a couple messages from friends. Nothing from my ex thank gods. Five from Annabeth being nosey. I opened my uber app, squinting in the sunlight breaking through the cream curtains. I managed to get my driver secured.

A door slammed and I winced, peaking to check that they were in another room. I did not immediately spot my dress in the chaotic. I grimaced remembering the midnight swim. When I sat up I finally noticed the white tshirt I wore and the basketball shorts. And then I went rigid remembering what happened after the swim.

“Motherfucker,” I whispered.

Now I really had to get out of this house. I checked the arrival time of my driver. Three minutes away. Great. I made my way on shaky knees to the large wooden front door. My keys were still in the collection dish. I grabbed them quietly and turned the door handle a fraction of an inch before another door slammed open and Reyna came barreling back into the foyer, brown eyes landing promptly on my guilty ass. Behind her, Percy pursed his lips into a thin line and raised both of his hands to lay on top of his head. His biceps strained nicely against the thin t shirt.

“The fuck is this?” Reyna whispered.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” I babbled.

“It’s just Noa, Rey. Gods,” Percy said.

“I can see that, Percy!” She snapped. I was glad her spear was not strapped across her back this morning. “Why is she sneaking out of my house in your clothes?”

“People were swimming last night. Her clothes got wet.”

“I’m sure the fuck they did.”

“Zeus, Rey! You ended it with me. Why does it even matter?”

“Because I still fucking love you! I’m sorry, okay?” She burst out crying and Percy instantly pulled her against his chest. The memory of being in those arms drove me out the door like a nest of hornets.

~~~~

“I’m just saying. You have nothing to feel sorry for,” Annabeth paused to sip her iced coffee. “Unless they get back together and then you sleep with him. But as of right now, you’re good. Trust me. Been on the Percy train. We’re still friends. You’ll get over it. Just a harmless rebound for both of you.”

I groaned, laying my chin on the cool metal table parked outside our favorite coffee shop positioned between our New York apartments. Just two Manhattan women enjoying their Sunday afternoon. The air was cooling as fall neared. I pulled my baseball cap closer to the top of my sunglasses.

“Should I call him?”

“Maybe tomorrow. Let him deal with his relationship drama. Reyna is a lot to deal with. Still nothing from fuckface?”

“Nope and that’s fine.”

“Good for you. We will hydrate you, get you a good dinner, hit the gym before work in the morning and then get back on our bad bitch mental track. Agreed?”

~~~~

“Good Monday, yogis,” I chirped from my desk at the corner of my studio.

The third class was beginning to trickle in and I was settling into my rhythm. Hot yoga was next and hopefully I would sweat out all the negativity I’d allowed lately. I was in the middle of emailing back a potential client when someone rapped at the wood of my desk. I glanced up to a blonde male who waved gently.

“Heya, sansei Noa,” he said.

“That’s karate. Can I help you?”

“Do you do trial classes?”

I hit send on my email and closed my laptop. The guy was built like a poser with the defined muscles and chiseled jaw but his voice was soft and tempered. He was clean shaven and dressed like a basic gym bro.

“Normally you have to schedule them beforehand because of class size,” I gave my standard answer.

“Right, my bad. Sorry. I was just passing by the front and it looked like the kind of place I needed right now. Can I go ahead and pick a date then?”

I was staring too long into his pale blue eyes, honed in on the polite response. A nice change from the daily demanding consumers. “You know what? Ive got space right now if you like? Have you ever done hot yoga?”

A brilliant white smile showcasing sharp canines. “My favorite.”

“Perfect. I just need a name, number and email to get you a file started.”

He leaned large hands on my desk. “It’s Luke Castellan.”

Before he could give the contact information, I cut him off. “Wait. I know you.” His tanned skin paled significantly.

“I…”

“You’re supposed to be dead!” I blurted out.

His eyes skated around the room and he leaned in closer. “That’s not supposed to be public knowledge. I assume you’re a demigod?”

“Luke, you trained me. We took fucking sculpting together. The Apollo table was right next to the Hermes one for fuck’s sake.”

He winced. I heard a murmuring from the rest of my class I was disturbing with my volume. I collected my shock finally. “Take a seat if you want. We should talk after class. I need to start.”

“Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry Noa.”

I waved him off and walked over to my yoga mat. I sat cross legged and drew in an even breath to smooth out my emotions.

It was a slow 30 minute class. Each pose and movement dragged on. Finally, I dismissed the group and nodded Luke outside. He was waiting on the bench outside of the studio I split renting with a few other instructors. I sat next to him, wiping sweat from my face with the towel slung over my pink sports bra.

“Alright, talk,” I said.

“Not much to say. I was given a second chance at my hearing. Here I am. Starting over.” A shrug of well-defined shoulders. The muscles flexed beneath his gleaming sweat. His red tank top stuck to his chest and stomach. “I wish I remembered you, truly. That time is such a blur in my life.”

“It’s ok. You were a lot older than me and to be honest I had a massive crush on you so I probably hid most of the time.”

A surprised smile slipped across his lips. “I’m assuming the betrayal helped you get over that?”

I laughed outloud, slapping his knee. “No shit! So where are you staying these days?”

“Just around the corner actually. Got a job at the local gym.”

“Yeah I bet the fuck you did.” I squeezed his forearm between both of my hands. I wanted to roll my eyes at me falling back into my school girl giddy at him. Betrayal of the gods aside. He was even more gorgeous than ever. The scar down his face gave him a dark sexy vibe. Like a bad boy even though he claimed he was rehabbing himself now.

“So how, did you feel about the class?”

“I mean, I’d like to sign up for it a couple times a week, that’s for sure. And I’d like to take you out to dinner to make up for not remembering a beauty like you.”

I almost bit my cheek biting out the response of “Yes!”

“You’ve got my number,” he said, chuckling quietly. “I’ve got to get to work.” He shouldered his gym bag and excused himself.

The bike back to my apartment was spent reliving my tween fantasies about bad boy Luke. I opened my apartment door and screeched seeing a man sitting at my kitchen counter. Percy turned to face me.

“You know you live in New York? You should really lock that.”

“It was!” I snapped.

A quick grin. “Yeah. But it was easy to break into.”

I dropped my bag onto the floor and brushed past him to get a protein shake from the fridge. “I have to shower and get prepared for my night classes.” I told him.

“I know. I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t either.”

He paused, studying my face in the shitty lighting of the single bulb hanging between us over the counter. “Are we good, Noa?”

“Of course. What’s a little head between friends?”

“Okay…I can’t read you. Can you not play tough just for a minute?”

I chugged the shake and set the bottle down between us. I leaned my arms on the chilled counter, bun knocking against the light. “Honestly, Percy. I’m fine. We are good.”

“Reyna moved back in.”

“You’re engaged again?”

I drank from the empty bottle to give myself something to do. He watched me with those green eyes. He’d known me for far too long. He was nearly impossible to deceive, but I was determined today. The fact that I had dreamt of fucking him two consecutive nights was irrelevant if he was off the table. Even if his lips did look incredibly juicy tonight. Even if they had done near illicit things to me just nights ago.

“I don’t know. She said she wanted to work on things. And it’s her dad’s house, so I can’t ask her to go and I don’t want to go to my mom’s and admit defeat.”

“You know you could stay here, Perc.”

He worked his jaw silently, then rubbed his hands over his face. “Thanks. I do know. Even if we aren’t officially back together, I think we should work on it…” he trailed off.

“And not tell her about you eating me out?” I leaned closer because I was mean to both him and myself. Because I knew this top combined with this angle gave him a simple opportunity. And he took it.

His tongue slid out between his lips as his eyes flicked down, stayed, then dragged deliberately back up. “Probably not,” he agreed.

For a long moment neither of us said anything. He had more to lose now than me. We were no longer on equal playing fields. So, I left the ball in his court. “I’m going to go shower.”

I was done washing in the first ten minutes. The second ten was giving him a little wiggle room to decide. I had my hand on the faucet to cut off the water that was beginning to go cold when I heard the door creak open. I watched through the fogged glass, catching a hold of my breath. I watched as he tugged his shirt off. My stomach flipped over itself when he reached for his jeans. What had I done?

The opening door let in a rush of cool air, perking my skin to attention. My eyes raked unapologetically over his naked, aroused body. His dark hair quickly slicked against his stubble covered jaw. His eyes were no longer the sea green but murky like the deep water of the ocean.

“Hey,” he said quietly, cautiously.

“Hey,” I giggled, reaching out to touch his rough jaw. He winced, catching my hand with his. “We probably shouldn’t kiss again.”

“Sure, whatever you want, Percy. What can I do to you?”

He groaned, turning his mouth into my palm, scraping teeth against the vulnerable skin. “Touch me,” he said.

My free hand instantly planted against his chest, scraping at the muscle. His eyes fluttered closed, head tilting back to expose his throat. I slid my other hand into his thick hair, tugging it tightly between my fingers and pulling to grant myself more access to the strong column of his neck. I bit it first, backing him into the tiled wall when he shuddered. I kissed over the reddening skin and moved my hands to his flat stomach, feeling the shuddered breaths beneath my touch.

“Like this?” I asked.

His reply was unintelligible. I kissed down his chest, moving my hand lower still as I went. When my fingers brushed over the v-line of his hips, I shifted my route away from the center and to his thighs. An annoyed grunt escaped his lips. “Hush,” I scolded, getting my knees under me. The now cold water was hitting the back of my neck and flowing down my body. I placed my hands on the inside of both his thighs, trailing them upwards and upwards until he nearly contorted when I gripped him. He let out a scandalous string of curses that quickly turned to moaning silence when I took him into my mouth.

He unraveled in minutes and I let him cum all over the breasts I had teased him with earlier. I rose in front of him, my own rosy cheeks mirroring his. “Now we’re even.”

[mmmthornton]

Stolkien Roommates AU Thots

They're both ~30 years old

Tolkien works a pretty cushy tech bro startup company where he feels uncomfortably like he's there as a "diversity hire" even though the place doesn't really hire a lot of women and all of his managers are white dudes.

Still, he gets paid well and has the income to live pretty good.

He has a 2br apartment that he rents for himself and uses the spare room as an office, but decides to rent it out so he can save money for a down payment on a house (yay boring 30's people things).

Stan is working as a waiter and doing online classes to be a vet tech.

Him and Nichole are in the same D&D group and she's worried about him living with his obnoxious and loud roommates while trying to make positive moves in his life.

During the interview, Stan asks how Tolkien knows Nichole and he mentions that they dated back when they were kids.

Stan: "Aw cool, and you guys stayed friends since then?" Tolkien: "Well yeah, when you're the only two black kids in school you have a lot of shared experiences i guess." Stan: " : [] "

Stan: "...I didn't realize until seeing your name written out, are you named after JRR Tolkien? That's cool!" Tolkien: "Yes, and I hate that nerd crap. Its just what my dad was into." Stan: (slowly putting away the earmarked copy of The Silmarilion he keeps on him at all times) "Ah, i see..."

Despite the incredibly awkward first meeting they are a good fit and Stan moves in.

One day Tolkien comes in to the living room to see Stan on the couch staring at the TV and flipping through channels / videos without really looking at any of them.

Tolkien: "....you...okay man?" Stan: "Fine. What? No, I'm fine." Tolkien: "Its...okay if you're not, if there's something I can do please let me kn-" Stan: "Okay its nothing but my insurance fucked up and i had to reset something but my medication refill happened to be riiighhht at that cusp so for the next five days while I wait for my insurance to kick back in I'm out of my meds well technically i could get my meds but without insurance its like $200 for a weeks worth which is bullshit because our healthcare system is designed by out of touch billionaires but overall i'm fine, its fine." Tolkien: " :[] "

Tolkien would probably invite him to play basketball with Craig and the guys to get him out of the house and out of his own head then.

I like the idea that they're both people who benefit from and are willing to give the benefit of the doubt to others when they come up on personal and difficult topics.

They're also both the same level of "extraverted but appreciates chilling out with a video game and weed" which makes for very good roommate hangs.

Nichole and Stan end up hosting some of their D&D games from the place and even convince Tolkien to join them in some of their nerdy bullshit. IDK i just love Stan and Nichole being dorky besties who paint minis together.

I think Nichole would be the one to notice more when their habits and mannerisms are bleeding into each other like 👀👀👀

Nichole: "Wow Tolkien, since when do you like the Souls games?" Tolkien: "Stan's been playing through them on my PS4 in the living room; its pretty neat and the monster design is sick." Nichole: "Mhmm."

Nichole: "Hey Stan, that's a nice sweater! I don't think I've seen you wear something that wasn't a graphic t or a hoody!" Stan: "Thanks! Tolkien and I went shopping since I needed more professional stuff and he turned me on to this 'color block' look." Nichole: "Mhmmmm."

I also think Tolkien would have some Rich Kid habits like, he gets Hello Fresh deliveries but just kinda forgets about it/is too lazy to use them so it ends up in the trash before Stan moves in.

Stan is way more reluctant to throw out food so he asks if he can use the stuff in the box rather than just put the whole thing in the trash, and ends up making some of the weeknight meals that they have together.

This is good for both of them because 1) Tolkien probably shouldn't order out for food so much and 2) Stan probably would skip meals (either too busy or just not feeling up to it) if the food wasn't already basically right there.

Thats all i got for now, enjoy this self indulgent mess lol.

[thewritetofreespeech]

hello! can you write scenario for akashi, aomine, kise, and kagami where their s/o is jealous of all the attention they're getting from other girls?

awwww. adorbs! certainly ^_^ 🖤

Jealous S/O

Akashi

It’s not a surprise that he was popular.

Akashi was smart, handsome, rich. Great at academics, and sports, and the youngest student council president in the history of Rakuzan. You didn’t believe in people being perfect, but if ever someone was going to get close it would be Akashi. He really lived up to the ‘Emperor’ nickname.

And what was an Emperor without his court.

“What’s wrong [Y/N]?” You look up from the pavement as you walked to class to see Akashi staring at you. His gaze focused, but soft & concerned. “You seem distracted.”

“Oh…it’s nothing.” You tuck your hair behind your ear. Prepared to let this go. Of course, Akashi wouldn’t let it though. He continued to stare at you until you finally broke down and told him. “It’s just them.”

The red head turned to look where you had jutted your chin towards the girls, huddled behind one of the pillars in the court yard whispering & staring, and your boyfriend let out a sigh. “Ah yes. Them.” He doesn’t seem surprised by their presence. Nor their borderline stalking. You should have guessed that he knew they were there. “I just choose to ignore them. However, if they are making you uncomfortable, I can order them to stop.”

You shook your head. You didn’t want to cause trouble. And although it was annoying, you didn’t want to break another girl’s heart over their rejected feelings. “It’s not a big deal. It’s the burden of dating the ‘Emperor’ I guess.” His lips scrunch. Though the nickname stuck over time, you know he doesn’t actually care for that title. “I just feel a little bit like one of those women in a historical K-drama. You know, like someone is waiting in the wings to knock me off so they can take my place near the emperor.” Sometimes you kind of feel like I should start checking my lunch for poison or glass.

Akashi scoffed a little. Then leaned in to kiss your cheek. “That’s never going to happen.” He assured you. “My heart belongs to only you. And, if anyone were to hurt you, I’d gouge their eyes out.”

Perhaps it’s poor form to giggle at such a threat, but you do. He really was so protective of you. You really had no reason to be jealous, because no one was going to take Akashi away from you.

You continue on your way to class. The ‘court’ suspiciously hanging back more than usual after that day.

Aomine

The street ball court was a buzz as usual whenever Aomine played.

His ‘quick game’ with the challenges on the court had turned into a full basketball brawl that had lasted for hours. One-on-one after one after another.

Not that you minded. Watching Aomine play, and seeing him happy, was always thrilling. He always looked so cool when he played; giving his all, even against weaker players. You chuckle to yourself. He really was a terrible guy to take such joy in crushing people. But then what did that say about you when you were so turned on by it?

“That dark skin guy is so hot! Do you think he’s foreign?”

You turn away from the court to a gaggle of girls, some your age, some older, watching the game as well from the side lines. Some had noticed the game and come to watch. Others had come with their own boyfriends. You frown a little as they continue to whisper and gush over your boyfriend. Getting moodier by the second.

“Yo, what’s up?” You look up from glaring at the lines on the court; just in time to see Aomine place his ball he was holding in one hand against your head. “You look pissed. Are you not having fun?”

“Not really.” You confess, batting his hand away. You weren’t having fun now. He was talking to you, but those girls still couldn’t take their eyes off them. “Can we go now?”

“What?? But things are just getting started.” He lifted his shirt up as he whined to wipe the sweat from his brow and you could practically hear the siren like squeals from those thirsty ass bitches.

“I don’t like the crowd here.”

Aomine seemed to catch on, and looked to the side to see who was annoying you. You have to assume he expected to see some guy making you uncomfortable, based on his expression, but looked surprised when he saw it was just a bunch of girls; totally playing it off like they weren’t staring at him a moment ago. “What can I say babe? I can’t help it if girls think I’m super hot and junk.” His cockiness and smirk were not attractive at the moment.

You continue to pout, but just long enough for Aomine to lean in and give you a peck on said pout. “Let me kick this guys ass and then we can go. ‘Less you wanna stick around and make ‘em jealous back. We can do gross couple stuff until they get weirded out and leave.”

You chuckle again at the offer. Appreciating the gesture he was trying to make. “Go play your game and then we can go. If we’re going to do ‘gross couple stuff’, I’d rather do it in private where we can enjoy it.”

Aomine gave you a big grin, followed by a loud, “yes ma’m!”

Of course, he slaughtered the guy in the next game. Leaving him to sulk off back to his own girlfriend; who was indeed in the pack and not looking too happy about it. You both leave after that to finish your date. Aomine proud as a peacock for the rest of the afternoon from the ego boost.

Kise

It was hard, dating a model.

You knew of Kise’s profession before you started dating, of course, but you had no idea how hard it would be on your relationship.

Girls stopped him every chance they got to ask for his autograph, or gush over his new photobook. He of course was courteous and polite. Turning on that model charm. He always thanked them for their patronage of his work and they promised to always support him. It had been bad before, but ever since his game was televised this past season, it had grown into a circus. Not only was he the beautiful blonde-haired boy they all admired, but now he was also the super-hot jock they all drooled over. You could barely go out on a proper date anymore without being accosted by some female vying for his attention.

“[Y/N]-cchi, what’s wrong? You look upset.”

“This is ridiculous!” You told him, and you weren’t just talking about his huge sunglasses & stupid hat he was wearing to try and be ‘incognito’. It wasn’t working even a little bit, so now it was just doubly stupid. “Why can’t they leave you alone for 10 minutes?!”

“They’re my fans [Y/N]-cchi. I can’t disappoint them!”

“Right. Don’t disappoint them. Why don’t you hang out with them today then?” You mutter sullenly. Prepared to leave.

Kise seemed to realize what was going on, and just how upset you were, as he reached out to grab you hand. “I don’t want to hang out with them [Y/N].” You turn back around when he said your name like a real person. Not the cute little way he did it as part of his act. “I don’t want anyone else but you. They only like me because I’m handsome and a model.” Humble too, you think to yourself. “They don’t really care about me. You do! I don’t want to lose that. Please forgive me.”

He did genuinely look hurt, and you have to believe that he meant it. You sigh. It wasn’t totally Kise’s fault. “It’s alright Ryouta.” You tell him. He seemed to perk up a little at that. “If you could maybe not lay it on so thick for them in the future, I would appreciate it.”

“Of course [Y/N]-cchi!” He cheered with a beaming smile. Already back to his normal self. “I’d do anything for you!”

It doesn’t stop of course. But Kise kept true to his word and politely asked to be left in peace. Most respected that. Some weren’t as understanding of his needs. You just appreciated that he was trying to keep them at bay. Fangirls were weird.

Kagami

After practice, you and Kagami went to Maji Burger, as per usual. And, as per usual, people were staring at your table.

Most of the time they were staring at the loud, tall teen scarfing down his body weight in hamburgers. Amazed at his own personal eating contest. However, more recently, the people staring were girls from your school who had also come here. And they were staring at Kagami only.

He was completely oblivious to it, but Kagami was actually really popular; even before Serin started wining so much. He was tall, athletic, built. He’d come from America, which was so cool for a lot of the students around here. Plus, he had this whole ‘bad boy basketball star’ vibe going. If they only knew how much of a sweet heart he really was. Actually, scratch that. If they knew that would only make it worse.

“Hey, what’s up [Y/N]? You’re not eating. Do you not like your food?”

You look up from your own, normal portion on the tray, then back down as you play with your food. “It’s just hard to eat when people are staring.”

Kagami blinked. Then looked around to see what you were talking about. “I don’t see anybody.”

“Of course you don’t….” You mutter under your breath. He never did.

“What does it matter?” He asked. “It’s not like I can stop people from looking at me. They have eyeballs. It’s a free country.”

“That’s not the point Kagami. It’s not that they’re looking at you. It’s the fact that they’re looking at you.” You’re trying to be discrete here, but subtle or discretion never really got through to Kagami. “They wanna fuck you.”

Kagami choked on his burger halfway devoured in his mouth. “Don’t say that!” He scolded you. Once he’d recovered from his near-death experience.

“Well, it’s true. Maybe that’s a bit much, but they definitely look at you that way, and it’s annoying.”

“How can you even tell?”

“Because it’s how I look at you.” You muttered under our breath again. Fidgeting with our soda straw to avoid eye contact.

Kagami heard you again though and now you were both blushing in the booth. “Well…the only one I’m interested in looking at me that way is you.” He muttered back. “The only one I’m interested in looking at that way is you.” His leg moved forward under the table to touch yours. Simple, secret, intimate.

You smile softly as you realize it was stupid to be jealous. Kagami had no guile. He was honest to a fault, which was another of his amazing qualities. He genuinely didn’t see those other girls because he was only focused on you. So let them stare. There was no way they were going to take him away from you.

[cloudy-leonhart]

AOT veterans with a Filipino S/O!!

[author note: did I write this as soon as I posted the first part?? yes. I like writing for this, it’s so fun lolol up next, Marleyan Warriors!!]

Summary: not much, just the AOT vets with their filipino S/O.

Gender Neutral Reader.

Recommended Song: Buwan - Juan Karlos.

Theme: Fluff, Modern AU.

TW: Swearing.

Characters: Hange, Levi, Miche, Erwin, Moblit, Nanaba.

Hange Zöe

Honestly they fully immersed themselves in your culture, as you know Hange LOVES learning about new things, discovering about your culture, they probably forced you to go the Philippines with them.

They started asking people for directions in english?? You had to step in translate for them, in which they responded to ask to teach them the language.

Yes they keep a small notebook of words they think are interesting. Yes even swear words are in there, not to mention they absolutely just butcher the way you say it.

One time when you both came back, Hange told Erwin that Bakla was a word for a good man, and they laughed their asses off watching Erwin tell people he was Bakla LMFAO.

They actually visited your province, they met your family and was surprised at the fact that they owned a whole farm, they tried to learn with your siblings on how to harvest rice, they nailed it btw.

they named your carabao, Sawney, and your chicken, Bean.

And respectfully so, your family started to call their animals by the name Hange gave them.

They started to cry about the fact that you guys had to go back, and like every time, your mom and dad encouraged y’all to bring filipino snacks back home, in which you did, because you knew that you’d probably miss it when you flew back home.

You guys have a tradition of going to the Philippines for your guys’ anniversary.

THEY SUPRISINGLY LISTENS TO FILIPINO MUSIC

They were the one to suggest Aegis to Levi but they prefer someone like Jireh Lim.

Favourite song is probably, Buko. They love the guitar in it.

Levi Ackerman

He first found out you were Filipino when he caught you packing a balikbayan box for your family back home, (for those who don’t know, balikbayan box is a box full of your country’s snacks to send back to the PH for your family to try.)

He had asked you what it was, and you answered that it was for your family back in the Philippines, in which he responded with helping you, and mainly scolding you about the way you packed it.

“Idiot, pack it like this, so you have more space to place stuff.”

When he first went to the Philippines, he first noticed the cleanliness of the hotels, he looked at you with a ‘is this why you’re so good at cleaning?’ look. 

God when I say your parents loved him, YOUR PARENTS ABSOLUTELY ADORED HIM. He would clean for your mom, and not only that, your mom approved of his cleaning technique, yes she told you to marry him that second.

And that you did, you had your first wedding with you family in the Philippines, and another in where you guys currently lived.

Bye, he absolutely looks AMAZING in a Barong. Your dad helped him slick his hair back.

Your mom and him, bonded of cleaning, sometimes when your mom needs help removing rust on her pans, she calls Levi.

like Hange he and you go to the Philippines for y’alls anniversary. 

Please save this man from the streets, I’m not saying it to be mean but this man almost gave his wallet to a bunch of kids who were hungry.

You gave money instead because you didn’t want your man to be broke lmfao.

He loves seeing you so happy while you’re in the Philippines, he just thinks it’s adorable when you speak your language.

Aegis listener, absolutely no discussion, mans listens to them while cleaning, he listens to “Sayang Na Sayang” religiously.

when Aegis plays in the house, you know it’s a cleaning day lmao.

Erwin Smith

Please, remember when I said Hange told him bakla was a word for a good man, yes, that’s how he found out you were Filipino, you literally was so dumbfounded, you waited for him in the living room, your friend’s laughing over the phone, man thought he did something wrong until..

“Erwin, can you tell me why you’ve been telling your friends you’re fucking gay??”

Yeah he’s got trust issues now. But he wasn’t that shocked to find out you were filipino, he just thinks it’s neat, he butchers pronouncing shit, he tries to learn filipino jokes??? It’s really bad, like you need to stop him from telling your family to save HIM from embarrassment.

He knows how to cook barbecue lmfao, he sits at your family’s barbecue spot and cooks for them, your dad appreciates the help so much lmao, also he loves drinking the gulaman whenever he’s there, your dad gives it to him for free because, he basically considers Erwin his son now. His awkward, barbecue-cooking, son.

You guys go on hiking in Mt. Butalao, yes you sneak peeks when he’s climbing because his muscles flex, and he sweats. You guys go on a double hiking date with Miche and his S/O all the time.

He was kind of fearful when you went to a province to get in touch with your grandparents, he watched you help their carabao back into their pens, he’s scared of carabaos, don’t blame him-

Surprisingly he’s as good as your dad in basketball, bye I just know the women of your community comes to watch him, he’s ripped, you’re jealous but you don’t say it lmao.

He’s got those jeep keychains lmfao, the fact that he kinda looked like a lost puppy when you’re traveling, like so many people, so little space-

please educate him, he’s confused on everything-

he probably listens to Eraserheads, Huwag Mo Nang Itanong. Yes his ultimate song. 

Miche Zacharias

probably the only veteran that knows what to do?? Beside Moblit?? He knows how to bless, he knows to call your parents nanay and tatay. He also loves going to where there’s a lot of Filipino street food because he loves the smell, he prefers the smell of bananaque over anything, hotcakes are a close second.

mf was scared when your mom suddenly said, “Oh yeah, I kept your childhood spider.”

YOU OWNED A MF SPIDER?? You were all like ‘omg i miss him’ he was a little scared bitch omg.

You had to explain that you would buy them from the local toy store and you and your friends would make them fight each other to the death.

HE THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE SMALL- IT’S A WHOLE MF TARANTULA BYE

you know those dyed chicks you get from winning a game, yeah, he was attached to one you guys won, but as always, they weren’t going to live long, I think he sulked for a whole 2 days. He named the chick Richard AHAHA.

ah yes, absolute unit in basketball, yes you and Erwin’s S/O would watch them play basketball together with your guys’ dads. Yes y’all gossiped about how hot they were in tagalog.

Just saying, Miche got some that night. 

He doesn’t fit in tricycles- neither does he fit in jeepneys lmfao- he kinda has to sit on the ground if you force him to fit, in which he has to awkwardly crawl to get out lmfao.

He literally looks godly while hiking, you guys don’t go to your parents’ house when you first arrive, you guys hike.

You guys go whenever y’all feel like it honestly.

“hey hey, reader, Mahal Kita.”

He listens to anything in filipino honestly, he likes chill filipino songs like Tell Me Where It Hurts by MYMP.

Moblit Berner

He’s a researcher, he makes sure he doesn’t disrespect the culture.

he knows to bless and all that jazz like Miche.

Wait but your family loved him as soon as you told them he was a doctor lmfao?? He’s in nursing.

He’s basically already apart of the family, all your little siblings call him kuya Moblit, he absolutely thinks it’s adorable.

when you guys are sending a balikbayan box, he places toys he bought for your little siblings in the box, with a note written and translated by you for them.

Moblit also knows about poverty in the Philippines, he’s apart of an organization where they give to those who can’t afford real food, even when he’s back home with you, he donates from abroad, everyone knows him as the generous kuya.

honestly I can see him as someone who’s also known by your community, people call him kuya Moblit or tito Moblit, it’s very wholesome when a kid asks him to carry them.

This man looks so nice and kind on the outside but when you guys are at your tita’s bday party and there’s a whole mf buffet, he’s a whole beast.

You know when your uncles have like, food stacked on their plate, and like a cup of buko pandan at the side?? yes, him. definitely.

He’s kinda like sasha in this au, he loves the food so much, he probably finished a filipino dish by himself (it’s the palabok)

he’s also a god at making ice candy?? like he’s so good at filling up the plastic with the liquid lmao.

you guys adopted a stray dog in the community and his name was Moblit, your family takes care of him while you guys are back home.

genuinely, it’s mostly wholesome with him, he doesn’t really do anything wrong besides butchering pronounciation.

Moblit probably watches boxing with your dad though, it’s just too accurate not to be true.

More of a movie watcher than a song listener, his favourite movie so far is Four Sisters and A Wedding.

he cries every filipino movie, them do it to you.

Seven Sundays, he cried for days straight.

Nanaba

Nanaba found a filipino flag from your collage years in a box, asked you about it, then encouraged you to visit the Philippines because she wanted to meet your family. 

Okay but your family thought she was a guy because of her hair?? 

your siblings can’t say Nanaba, so they call her Ate Nana.

She was kind of jealous of your bond with your family, she knows she shouldn’t be, but she couldn’t help it since her and her father’s relationship absolutely sucked.

And you know this, you had talked with her about it too, it was kinda like a, “are you okay?” and “it’s nothing.”

You had to drag her out to family events, eventually, she started to feel like she was apart of the family, she went swimming with the fam, did karaoke nights, she was basically in the family now.

She felt really happy that you decided to help her educate herself in your culture, and that your family openly accepted her into your family.

when you and her married, she wore a baro’t saya for the wedding reception and she looked absolutely gorgeous in them. She took your last name.

Your mom taught her to do the tinikling dance, and she mastered it easily, you of course danced with her.

she kinda had a guilty pleasure of going to McDonalds in the Philippines, SOLELY FOR THE ROOT BEER FLOAT, that stuff be bussin.

she forces you to go to McD’s whenever’s there’s a new flavour released.

Nanaba loves going on the jeepney, she likes the fact that you ring a bell when you have to get off and she does it every time you guys use a jeep for transportation.

Nanaba knows one word in filipino and that’s Mahal, she uses it so weirdly though, but she’s adorable so you let it pass.

“Reader..erm, I mahal?? you?..” 

she’s both a listener and a movie watcher, she listens to more modern filipino singers, like Patch Quiwa.

Favourite movie is when Vice Ganda’s in it, she just thinks all his movies are funny.

[alittleimagine]

just a favor pt. 1

derek hale x reader 

prologue

Derek looked tense. You understood why- it wasn’t every day a person brought a fake significant other for a holiday dinner with their parents- but, it simply wouldn’t do. 

You had this. You were going to be the best fake girlfriend the Hales had ever seen. Hell, if Derek’s purported terrible taste in women was true then you were likely to be the best girlfriend they’d ever seen fake or otherwise. 

Now you just had to make Derek believe it. 

You jotted down ‘basketball fans’ in your notebook and tapped the pen to your lips. “We should probably discuss any pet names.” You said. Your natural inclination was to watch him until his ears turned pink again, but he already looked ready to lose it at any moment and that was the opposite of your goal this time around. Instead, you kept your eyes on your paper, even if you watched him from the periphery. 

When you’d met with him days ago to start getting details together it was obvious he had no idea what he was doing. That was fine, you had plenty of experience with fanfiction and Hallmark movies.

From the corner of your eye you could see Derek glance your way. He didn’t look alarmed, per se, but he was far from relaxed. 

“Pet names?”

“Yeah. You know- honey, babe, snookums?” There was no way in hell you would ever seriously call Derek snookums, but if calling him things like Sugar Butt or Honey Bunches made his ears turn that pretty shade of pink you would have some fun with it. “If we’re going to use any kind of nickname we want to get in the habit so it sounds normal and not weird.” 

You angled yourself toward him, dropping the pretense of reading the same five lines on your notebook. 

He furrowed his brow, looking deep in thought. “I don’t know. Jennifer hated pet names.”

Jennifer. Hated enough that even sweet Kira had ranted and raved for weeks after she dumped Derek. If this was going to work, you thought, he could not talk about her. 

“Okay. New rule number one. If you want your family to believe you are over your heinous ex, it’s best not to mention her.” You said. “As far as you’re concerned any mention of Jennifer should prompt a ‘Jennifer who?’ in your mind. New girlfriends don’t like the mention of old girlfriends.”

He winced. “You’re right.”

“Also, screw whatever Jennifer liked or didn’t like. I’m asking 

Derek Hale, what you’re comfortable with.”

For a moment he said nothing, then nodded resolutely. There was the slightest loosening of his shoulders and you smiled to yourself. 

“You can call me whatever. Except snookums.” He added in a rush. 

You snorted. 

“I don’t know what I’ll call you though. It might just be Y/N.” 

“That’s fine. Go with whatever feels normal. I’m probably going to call you babe. Or Derek. Or D- you can blame Stiles for that one. Who knows.” You shrugged. Without thinking about it, you wrote ‘babe’ onto a separate line of the notebook. 

“Are you really taking notes?” The car slowed as you pulled up to a light and Derek took the opportunity to look over at the little blue and gold journal you’d been fiddling with for most of the car ride. 

“Not quite,” you said, unsure how to properly explain it, “I’m never going to review the notes or study them. But, jotting things down just helps me organize my thoughts and remember things. We’re planning a classic fake dating holiday shenanigan here- you want me on my A-game.”

“I can’t believe you even agreed to this.” He muttered as he started driving again. 

Malia and Kira had not been surprised at all when you’d told them. Kira had spit out her apple cider when you barged into the coffee shop you’d planned to meet them at and declared that you were now dating Malia’s cousin (Kira never failed to give you a good reaction), but after hearing the rest there had only been knowing nods. 

When you’d moved to Beacon Hills Derek had been almost a year into the ill-fated relationship with Jennifer. You’d been introduced to both of them at the same time by Stiles and Jennifer had seemed like a perfectly friendly person, but the face Stiles made when they turned their backs had been plenty indication that she was not the most well-loved. 

You never spent any time with Jennifer directly. As you began to fold more and more into the close circle of friends you noted that she never went to movie night and she never joined the girls for sushi. Lydia had insisted that they’d tried to be nice and include her in the beginning, but that hadn’t lasted long.

“There was pretty much zero chance I would turn this down.” 

The truth was Derek was a babe and so much your type it was almost painful, but you’d always assumed he didn’t like you very much. When he’d asked you to fake date him you’d figured either he didn’t dislike you as much as you’d thought or he was really desperate. Either way, you couldn’t say no.

“Because you’re a little crazy?” 

You flicked his arm with your pen. “Never mind, rule number one is don’t ever call your girlfriend crazy. Don’t call any woman crazy just to be safe.” You said.

“Noted.” He looked like he was trying not to smile and that was reassuring. “But, really, why would you say yes to a Thanksgiving pretending you’re my girlfriend in front of mostly strangers?” 

You shrugged. “How often does an opportunity like that come up?” He didn’t need to know that you wanted to become friends and that it wasn’t hard to pretend to be head over heels for him. “Besides, you looked really desperate. Who was your next option? Stiles in a dress?”

The image flashed in your head the moment you said it. 

“I should have said no. That would have been hilarious.”

“If you’d said no I would have had to fake some terrible accident.” 

You snorted. “And they say I’m dramatic.” You tapped your pen to the paper and wracked your brain for anything you might have missed. “Okay, let’s walk through it.” You said as you turned in the car seat to face him.

“Kira and Malia will arrive tomorrow morning, and they are prepared with our basic story. Which is as simple as possible. The more detail you give unprompted, the easier it is to spot a lie. I got to town, thought you were way hot,” Derek flushed and you added another mark to your mental tally, “but you were with Jennifer. You guys broke up, you got over it, we were hanging out with everyone else, you realized I am also way hot, we got together. Simple.” 

Derek, blush slowly fading, nodded again. “And if they ask for details we tell them about running into each other a couple of times on our own. At the pizza place first. Then the coffee shop the next time. And talked.” He said it like he was still trying to memorize every detail.

“I kissed you first. And tada, we’ve been together since then.” 

You’d kept it all simple and common on purpose. No one questioned such an every-day story. Both of Derek’s sisters had been to Beacon Hills to visit him since you’d moved to town so there were restrictions to keep in mind as well. 

A thought struck you. “Hey, pull over into the next gas station.”

Derek glanced at you quickly. “You need something?” He asked, already flicking the turn signal on. 

“Park to the side.” You said, then waited until he’d pulled all the way into a parking spot to unbuckle your seatbelt. You looked at him very seriously. 

The crease in his brow deepened. “Is everything okay?” Hesitantly he turned his body to face you. 

“We need to kiss.” 

“What?” Forget his ears and neck, you were sure Derek was red to the tips of his toes. He gaped at you and looked around the car once as though some invisible passenger had more information. 

“Relax. Breathe.” You had discussed physical contact days ago. He knew to expect casual touching from you and cheek kisses were a given. He knew that there was a chance you’d have to kiss-kiss because, as you’d said, ‘assuming we won’t is a surefire way to have a kiss demanded’. “I’m not talking making out, heavy tongue action, getting steamy in the 7-11 parking lot.”

He ran a hand over his face. 

“But, chances are the occasion for us to kiss will come up. I don’t know about you but I don’t typically make out in front of my mom, but kissing on the lips seems pretty standard.” When he nodded you went on. “So we should probably not have the first time we kiss be at that awkward moment. No one will believe us if we can’t even find each other’s lips.” 

Derek leaned his head back against the seat and took a deep breath. “You’re right.” He said. 

“I know. I usually am.” 

He rolled his eyes but it seemed like the casual arrogance was doing something to relax him. He sat up straight and turned to you again. “Let’s do this then.”

You adjusted in the seat, folding a leg under you and leaning forward. You expected Derek to be hesitant like he’d been about every other step of the way, but he seemed resolute when he reached forward to wrap his hand around the base of your skull and pull you in.

The kiss was chaste- nothing but a warm press of his lips to yours, but the heat of his hand against your neck was extremely distracting. 

You pulled back first, schooling your expression into something you hoped read amused and not like you wanted to give that another shot. 

Derek quickly sat back into his seat. His face gave nothing away, but you thought you could see pink crawling up his neck.

The place where his hand had been only a moment ago now felt cold. Unconsciously your hand moved to cover the spot while you leaned back in your seat and buckled up. “There.” You said. Your voice was steady and casual. “Now that that’s done, we can keep going.”

Derek cleared his throat and glanced your way before he buckled his seatbelt and pulled out of the parking spot. 

There was a tension in the car that you hadn’t felt before the practice kiss. It could not be allowed to continue. 

You reached down to pick your notebook back up. You clicked the pen open and tapped it against your bottom lip. “So, let’s be honest, which of your sisters is going to want to embarass you most?”

Derek groaned. 

[fmhiphop]

FM Interviews: JayBlac Talks Ultimate Rap League, Streaming On Caffeine, And What Battling Means To The Culture

JayBlac, a Philadelphia rap battle host and commentator with a deep appreciation for all things hip-hop, is inextricably linked to the art of battle rapping. Battling was an early fascination for him. He and his friends would watch rappers battle each other. They would then take what they learned and practice on each other. Speaking on his own exposure to the art, Jay said he and his closest friends "got pretty crazy" and "did damage to each other." With this particular connection to the sport, it's easy to see what led to his relationship with The Ultimate Rap League. Last month, URL hosted their live Kings vs. Queens 4 event via Caffeine, an interactive streaming platform with over 20 million users. The streaming giant is home to sports and gaming content, but one of its biggest draws comes from a partnership with URL.  JayBlac, one of Caffeine's most prominent battle hosts, sat down with FM to talk about the event, as well as the many sides of battle culture—the good, bad, and the ugly.  Diversity And Visibility On The Scene Sometimes there's a bit of a clash between progress and authenticity, especially when it comes to hip-hop. But Jay believes the field is pretty diverse. "You have battle rapping all different countries. Any race you want to see battling, you have it," he said. "Even in the UK. You come from a certain background or religion; trust me, they have it. You've got Jews, you have Christians, you have a certain type of walk of life that you experience, and you kind of want to root for your side of the team."  And in terms of gender, the Kings vs Queens event proves women can hold their own. "Throughout this culture, the men and women are divided in terms of battle rap," Jay said. He explained that you might have men vs. men, women vs. women, or a mixed battle, And though many people come to see the men only, they end up finding that there are just as many talented women. After this event, when it was all said and done, I think a lot of the ladies garnered way more respect. And some of those guys, it went down.  Recognition On The Battlefield However, battling still isn't the most mainstream part of hip-hop. With battle rap being a little more of an "invisible" side to hip-hop, it can be hard to get the appreciation you deserve. Jay thinks battlers are definitely appreciated, just to a certain extent. "We appreciate what the leagues do for us," he said, "We do get our names out there for the most part." However, "I feel like they're not appreciated who they want to be appreciated by." He mentioned artists like Jay-Z, Drake, and Joe Budden will chime in occasionally. However, it's not as often as some MCs would like. He compared the reaction to battle rap to basketball, saying people have no problem shouting out their favorite player. Though he doesn't want to tell anyone to do it, he admitted it'd be cool to see people do that with their favorite MCs. Rest in peace, Pat Stay, but once he passed, he got a lot of love from huge celebrities. That would have been dope if y'all did it while he was here. No Holds Barred Some of hip-hop's greatest rappers started off battling, and Jay believes those individuals have an advantage. "DMX, Biggie, Jay-Z did it, Kendrick Lamar—they're not scared of anything…they know when to take shots back at people." He added that battling experience "gives them a competitive edge to perform better than anyone else out there."  As for artists looking to get into battle, Jay says the art form isn't for the weak. Have very tough skin. This is not Lollipop Land; this is not Disney World. You will get spoken to. This culture is savage. Get ready to be hit in the mouth verbally. Whether that be on Twitter or in the ring for a battle. There's nothing soft about this. Be ready for war. Whether you want to be an MC or a fan.  Highlights from Kings vs. Queens 4 are available online. The entire stream is available as well. JayBlac has a wide array of content. You can find his Caffeine content here and his YouTube content here. URLTV KVQ4: Top 5 Bars Written by Kimberly Stelly | Letterboxd | Instagram | Twitter  Edited by Nikita Serdiuk  Follow and like FMHipHop on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and Facebook!  Read the full article

[13uswntimagines]

You’re in Wubble Now (Bino x Teen!Reader)

Request: R is Sue and Megan daughter(14 years old) ? Like what is being at the wubble together?

Authors note: Hey dudes, I really don’t know much about basketball, or its players, but I hope you enjoy this! Hit me up with requests, questions or if you just wanna say hi!

You smiled brightly up at the sky, enjoying the way the sun fell on your face. You had missed the feeling of the sun on your face and cleats on your feet for the past 4 months you had spent in quarantine. You were glad that wubble included an outdoor area where you could practice your juggling in. You didn’t want to lose your edge over your Aunt Tobin.

You glanced down at the ball, flicking it up to balance on your toe-box, before starting to practice the various tricks you knew how to do. All the while moving towards the place that you had designated in your mind as “goal”. As you neared the area, you tapped the ball a little too hard, sending it careening over the small fence and directly onto the outdoor basketball court. You groaned loudly as it collided with one Sami Whitcomb. 

“I’m so sorry,” You tried to cover your giggle with your hand, but failed. 

“Trying to take her out so Chicago Sky has the advantage kid?” Jordin Canada laughed, sapping a hand on your shoulder, and you shot her a cheeky smile. You and your Aunt JJ had a running joke that the Stars were your favorite team, though you were rather partial to Portland, just to annoy your mothers. 

“Hey short stack, you’re good with your feet, but are you any good with your hands?” Sami joined in the banter, spinning the soccer ball on her finger before tossing it back to you. You smiled and caught it on the top of your left foot and began to juggle again. 

“Are you kidding me? She’s got Pino’s height and none of Bird’s skills,” Breanna Stewart joked, resting her elbow on the top of your head. You huffed. Yes, you were short, and the USWNT always liked to remind you of that, but next to your mom’s teammates, you were practically a dwarf and they didn’t mind telling you about it. 

Just because you preferred soccer didn’t mean you weren’t any good at basketball. Hell, you and your mom had done nothing but play pickup games in the driveway since the whole COVID thing started. You weren’t terrible, to begin with, but you had definitely gotten better if you did say so yourself. You had even pulled the basketball version of a nutmeg on your mom. Plus, you never backed down from a challenge. 

“I think I could take you,” You smirked, puffing out your chest. The women laughed at your adorableness. They knew just how competitive you were, they had seen it in your determination to make the U15 soccer team, and in all of the stories about you, Sue had shared with them. 

“Be careful what you ask for kid, just because you’re a Rapino-Bird doesn’t mean we won’t whip your ass,” Jordin said seriously, (gently) bumping your shoulder. You set your jaw in a way that they had come to recognize as your ‘I’m going to win any way I can’ face. 

“Sounds like a challenge to me,” Sami laughed at how cute your determined face was, patting your upper back in a way that reminded you of your mom. 

“Oh, you’re on. 2v2 me a Sami vs you and Breanna” You nodded at Jordin, who flashed Sami a wink. They couldn’t let the soccer players teach you everything, now could they. 

****

The game was going well for you, as you and Sami were up by 12, and you were about to extend that lead. She crossed you the ball, bouncing it in between Breanna’s legs. You collected it, realizing that if you tried to dribble, you’d most likely fall victim to Jordin’s marking. So you took the shot, Jumping up just outside of the three-point area. Jordin, not expecting the move, bumped into you milliseconds after the ball had left your fingertips, sending you careening into the concrete floor. 

“You alright kid?” Sami asked, watching as you got back to your feet, and gasping when you turned around. 

“Shit, Sue’s going to kill us,” Jordan mumbled when she saw the gash that had formed just above your right eyebrow, and the red substance that was seeping down your face, staining your brand new Re-inc popsicle shirt. 

“Kill you is more like it,” Breanna smirked, shoving Jordin’s shoulder lightly. 

“And I’d be more worried about Megan,” Sami murmured as she took a closer look at your cut. 

“I’m fine guys,” You grumbled, pulling your head out of Sami’s gentle hands and turning to find the basketball. The rapid movement caused even more blood to drip down your covered face, and land unceremoniously on the pavement. 

“Yeah, let’s get you to the medic,” The women rolled their eyes at your insistence, Jordin grabbing one arm, and Breanna grabbing another while Sami placed a hand at the center of your back to get you moving forward. 

The walk to the First aid room had been relatively uneventful, as the women wouldn’t budge on their stance that you needed to get checked by the doctors (though several other players sent you worried looks as you passed them). 

“I’m going to need to call one of your mothers down here for consent to treat you,” The doctor said quietly, handing you a piece of gauge and motioning for you to hold it to the cut that was still freely bleeding. You rolled your eyes at him and nodded for Sami to call your mom. She was always more level headed than Ma when you got hurt. You should have guessed that they would be together and that they would not be happy to find out that you’d been hurt… again. 

“What the fuck happened?” Megan exclaimed, bursting into the first aid room, racing over to you and glaring at the women who were accompanying you. It was kinda funny cause even though she was so much shorter than them, they all shrunk under her gaze. 

“Meg, chill.”Sue interrupted, stepping between her wife and her very afraid teammates. Megan may have been short but she was called your mama bear for a reason.“What happened?” Your mom asked you directly, crouching down so she was eye level with you, and taking the soaked gauze from your grasp. You sighed dramatically. 

“We were playing a game of pickup, and I got bumped. They freaked out,” you scoffed, waving your hand at the three women who were still covering inter you Ma’s gaze. 

“I think our response was well deserved,” Sami grumbled, gesturing towards you. So maybe there had been a lot of blood, but your Aunt Ash had always said that head cuts always bled more. 

“It was just a scratch,” You rolled your eyes, your annoyance leaking into your tone, sure that if it had been any one of your mom’s teammates, you would still be outside on the field, enjoying the sun. 

“Yeah, like Kelley’s nose during the World Cup,” You am sent you a pointed look, and you froze. 

“I don’t stop in the middle of games,” you grumbled, pouting and crossing your arms, pulling off a flying squirrel impersonation that would make the woman proud, “and plus this is nothing compared to the time Aunt Toby took me surfing” You pointed out, shivering just thinking about the experience. The almost drowning part hadn’t been the worst part, the cuts from the coral on the bottom had. 

“You got caught under a wave and almost drowned,” Sue said sternly, forcing you to look her in the eyes, and grabbing another wad of gauze, as you had bled through the first two. 

“See, this is just a baby cut compared to that, or liked the time I went skateboarding with Emily,” You shot her a grin, and she sent you back a grim smile. 

“Yeah, that time you broke your collarbone,” 

You huffed. It had been Lindsey’s idea for you to try and jump the fire hydrant, and Emily’s fault that she hadn’t cleared the sidewalk for you. If you had followed through with the landing, you probably would have creamed the family of 4 just trying to enjoy their day. 

“I’m going to have to put stitches in,” The doctor interrupted, peeling back the gauze and setting up to treat your cut. 

“You’re not allowed by yourself with our teams anymore,” Megan huffed, glaring at the three women who were watching your interaction with their captain in awe. 

“Hey, it’s not our fault the shrimp-“ Jordin started to protest, only to be cut off by a glare from her Captain. 

“I don’t want to hear it,” Sue said, her voice dangerously low, before turning back to you. “You’re benched for the rest of the season kid,” She finished, cupping your cheek. You closed your eyes in frustration. You didn’t want to have to sit on the bench with your ma. 

“Hey, I’m not that bad,” Megan pouted at you, obviously offended by your reaction. You loved your Ma, you did, but you had way too much energy to not be able to play sports, even though you probably had a concussion. 

“No, you're not,” You said back lowly, and Sue laughed at your sad face. She knew that there would be no way to stop you from playing sports, but maybe the promise of cuddling with your Ma would at least give your cut time to heal. 

“Love you, my dear,” Megan whimpered, placing a careful kiss on your cheek, followed by another from Sue.