Bueckers Burn @bueckersburn - Tumblr Blog

Frequent Flyer - Epilogue (1/2)

Masterlist ao3

Pazzi (WNBA Paige x Nurse Azzi)

Word Count: 26.5k+

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a/n: good news and bad news. good news is there's another 20k words of this epilogue. bad news is tumblr won't let me post the whole thing at once. i had to format this half kinda weird to get it all to fit. anyways, enjoy over 26k words of nurse azzi and down bad paige from azzi's perspective

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Azzi Fudd couldn't believe she was actually dating Paige Bueckers. And not in the sense of wow I’m dating one of the most famous and talented female athletes of this century and the gay awakening of every woman under the age of thirty, but more in the sense of wow, I can’t believe I actually fell for this annoying blonde dork.

Dating Paige had been different than what she’d thought it would be. Sure, Paige was still the same irritating, overconfident, cocky, talkative, stubborn, way too competitive blonde that walked through her emergency department doors months ago, but Azzi had gained access to a different side of Paige. A side Azzi quickly realized most people weren’t privy to.

Simply put, Paige was a complete and utter simp for the nurse. At least, that’s what Azzi liked to tease her for rather regularly. But it was true, and Paige had no ground to stand on to deny it, no matter how hard she seemed to try. She was softer around Azzi than anybody else. The nurse saw it in the way her eyes would melt into warm pools of blue the second they landed on her. Heard it in the way her voice went soft around the edges when she spoke to her. Azzi was convinced that if someone were to look up “heart eyes” in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Paige staring at her as the definition.

Paige also treated Azzi in a way the nurse hadn’t expected. She remembered small details Azzi barely even realized she’d shared. The way Azzi liked her coffee, exactly how she liked her scrubs folded, the songs that always got her out of a bad mood. Azzi hadn’t made a new playlist since she started dating the blonde, Paige constantly curating new ones with songs she thought the nurse would like.

Paige would text with random check ins. Sometimes they were reminders that she missed her or was thinking about her, sometimes they were thoughts Paige definitely should have kept to herself. It got to the point that her coworkers teased her relentlessly for smiling at her phone so often, always aware of who was on the other end.

Paige would show up to the hospital with lunch, coffee, or her favorite snacks, as if she had some sixth sense for when Azzi needed a pick-me-up. Sometimes she’d show up with food or coffee for her coworkers too. She was infuriatingly charming, worming her way into the hearts of everyone in Azzi’s life.

Paige showed she cared through the little things. The playful teasing when Azzi was stressed, the way she’d wrap her arms around Azzi from behind while she cooked. Or the way she’d insist on reading aloud to her when Azzi was too exhausted to focus, but desperate to finish the chapter of whatever book she was currently reading. She had never been so taken care of or spoiled in her life.

And then there was the chaos. Paige left her things everywhere. There were half empty water bottles and gatorades perched on chairs and counters. Protein bar wrappers and empty candy bags in between the cushions of her couch and on her bedside table. Her clothes were draped over door handles and piled on the floor in the bathroom and the foot of her bed. When Azzi did laundry, half of what came out of the washer was Paige’s.

She had a toothbrush at Azzi’s apartment and a toothbrush for Azzi at her own. Paige always used Azzi’s expensive shower products, annoying her to no end. But she’d go out of her way to buy the same shampoo and conditioner to keep at her place for when Azzi stayed over.

She never stopped talking, always had to be touching Azzi in some way or another, and was always moving. Tapping her foot, bouncing her knees, rearranging something, or fiddling with her phone or Azzi’s things.

She was tempted, on more than one occasion, to tell Paige she needed to see a psychiatrist. Not because she was worried about her, exactly, but because as a nurse, it was obvious to her that Paige’s brain was wired a little differently, and she could see how much untapped energy was bouncing around inside her. But every time she opened her mouth to say it, Paige would flash her those ridiculously bright blue eyes and start rambling about some random thought she’d had in the last thirty seconds, and Azzi would immediately lose the nerve.

Paige was also impossibly clingy, but in a way that made Azzi feel like the center of her world. Every chaotic habit also somehow felt like an act of affection. It was loud and messy and exhausting, and yet Azzi couldn’t imagine her life without it.

And the flowers? Azzi was beginning to think Paige was single handedly responsible for the success of the US flower business. Paige had actually bought so many flowers for Azzi within the first month and a half of their relationship that it got to the point where the nurse had to sit her down and have a conversation about it.

At the time, Azzi had the day off, and Paige planned to head straight to the nurses apartment after her shoot around ended. Azzi knew the blonde’s time management skills were subpar, to say the least, and had figured she’d have some time before she arrived. She was in the middle of a true crime documentary when she heard the knock at her door, pressing pause and making her way over.

She opened the door to find Paige on the other side, clearly fresh out of the shower with her hair still damp, down in waves, and a giant bouquet of flowers wrapped in brown paper, tied off with a ribbon in her right hand.

“Hey lover,” Paige said, pulling Azzi in for a hug. The paper wrapping the flowers crinkled against her back with the action.

“Don’t call me lover,” Azzi chastised, accompanied by a roll of her eyes. Returning Paige’s hug and subtlety inhaling her increasingly familiar scent.

“Whatever you say, kitten,” the blonde acquiesced, breath warm against Azzi’s ear from where her head tucked into the nurse’s shoulder.

Azzi shoved Paige off of her at that, giving her a stern look. “Ew. That’s so much worse.”

Paige couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction. “Yeah, I can’t even lie. Kitten’s pretty fucking foul. My bad s-”

“I will kick you out,” Azzi said, interrupting her before she could continue to amuse herself. “You’re not funny.”

“I’m very funny, Az,” Paige responded, unperturbed. She smacked a loud kiss against Azzi’s cheek before letting herself further into the apartment.

“These are for you,” the blonde said, handing her the admittedly stunning bouquet of flowers in her hand. Azzi couldn’t help but to bring them to her nose, taking a deep inhale of their delicate scent.

Paige started opening cabinets. “Why don’t you have any vases?”

Azzi let out an exasperated sigh. “I think we need to talk.”

She gently set the bouquet on the countertop. Paige’s entire body went rigid at her words before she turned to face the nurse, eyes wide with panic.

“Not like that.” Azzi clarified quickly, realizing how it sounded. “Just… sit down for a second.”

She interlaced her fingers with Paige’s, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze as she walked them to the couch. When the nurse sat down, she wasn’t even the tiniest bit surprised when Paige sat so close against her she was nearly on top of her.

She was quickly growing used to the blonde’s clinginess and incessant need to be touching at all times. Azzi rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed by Paige's proximity. But on the inside, she secretly adored it. She relished in the fact that the blonde couldn’t seem to be in her presence without the need for some sort of physical contact. It made her feel like a love sick teenager, giddy at the attention.

“Look, Paige,” she began, thumb brushing wide strokes across the knuckles of Paige’s hand. “We need to talk about the flowers.”

“You don’t like them?” Paige asked, voice filled with genuine concern. “I know pink are your favorite, but I’ve gotten you so many pink ones I thought I’d switch it up this time,” she explained.

“But if you don’t like them I can go get different ones right now,” she said, standing up, clearly serious about her offer.

Azzi immediately yanked her back down. “No. I love them, they’re beautiful. That’s not the problem.”

Paige’s head cocked to the side in a way that resembled a confused puppy. “Then what is the problem?”

Azzi paused, not knowing exactly how to phrase her words without sounding unappreciative.

“Do you think maybe there should be a limit?”

At Paige’s befuddled look, the nurse continued. “There’s just… so many.”

Paige scoffed. “Bro, I don’t buy you that many flowers.”

“Less than two months ago, I owned two vases. Now I own twelve.”

“That is a lie,” Paige argued. “You don’t even have a single vase in any of your cabinets.”

“That’s because all twelve are already filled with flowers!”

Paige blinked. Once. Then again. She turned her head, surveying the apartment. Azzi could see the moment she fully took in her surroundings by the slight pink rising to her cheeks.

There were five vases filled with stunning bouquets just within eyesight. One on the coffee table in front of them, two more on either side of the tv, another on her kitchen table, and a fifth by the small entry table next to her front door.

And that wasn’t even taking into account the flowers out of her direct field of view. There were at least three more bouquets in her bedroom that Paige had delivered during her last couple of away games, one in each bathroom, and a couple in the guest bedroom.

“Oh,” Paige said sheepishly. “Shit. Sorry. I– I just…”

She trailed off, gaze dropping to where their hands were still intertwined. Her thumb rubbed an absentminded circle against Azzi’s knuckles, like she was working up the confidence to say whatever she was going to say next.

“I see them,” she started quietly. “Like, I’ll be walking past a store or that little stand on the corner, and they’re just… there. And they’re pretty and smell really good, just like you. Not that you smell like flowers. Well, not that you don’t either. You smell like vanilla. Is vanilla a flower? I’m not sure, but I just meant– they’re also pretty and they also smell really good…”

She finally glanced up at Azzi, a small, almost embarrassed smile tugging at her lips. “They just make me think of you.”

Azzi felt her chest tighten.

“I know it’s stupid,” Paige rushed, words tumbling over each other. “But I want you to treat you right. You take care of people all day long, and I just–” She shrugged, cheeks growing even pinker. “I guess flowers felt like the easiest way to say, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about you. I hope these make you happy or think of me when I’m not around’. Especially when I’m traveling for a game.”

She squeezed Azzi’s hand a little tighter. “And,” she said softly, “they don’t last forever. So I keep buying them.”

Paige swallowed, eyes earnest. “I can stop though. If it’s too much,” she offered.

“No!” Azzi all but yelled, far too abruptly and far too loud, if the way Paige jolted was any indication. She cleared her throat, trying to gather her bearings, face warming slightly at her accidental outburst.

“No,” she said softer this time. “I don’t want you to stop. I really do love them. And I love that they remind me of you.”

She saw Paige’s shoulders relax just a fraction.

“I just–” Azzi exhaled, tilting her head back against the couch. “I feel ridiculous and so ungrateful saying this, because it’s such a good problem to have. But sometimes it feels…,” she droned off, building up the courage to be honest with the blonde. To be vulnerable with her.

“Sometimes it just feels like I’m drowning in proof that you care about me, and I don’t really know what to do with that.”

Paige frowned slightly. “That’s… bad?”

“No,” Azzi said quickly, shaking her head. “Not bad. Just… new.” She looked back at Paige, eyes soft. “I’m not used to it. To being thought about like this. Or spoiled. Or…” She gestured vaguely around the apartment. “Needing to take an allergy pill when I wake up because the pollen count is so high inside of my own apartment.”

That earned her a small laugh from Paige.

“I don’t need you to keep proving anything to me,” Azzi continued, thumb brushing gently over Paige’s. “I already know you’re thinking about me. I know you care. I can see it in the way you look at me. I hear it in the way you speak to me. I can feel it in the way you touch me. You don’t have to keep buying me flowers to make it real.”

Paige’s jaw tightened, insecurity flickering across her face. “I just don’t want you to ever feel like I’m taking you for granted.”

Azzi leaned in then, forehead pressing gently against Paige’s. “You could never.”

She lifted their intertwined hands, pressing a soft kiss to Paige’s knuckles. Then another to the sharp edge of her jaw for good measure. “I just… don’t want you feeling like you have to get me new ones every other day to prove you care about me.”

Paige swallowed. “I told you. They don’t last forever.”

“Neither do muffins from my neighbor’s sympathy basket,” Azzi muttered.

Paige blinked. “Your what?”

Azzi groaned, dropping her head into Paige’s shoulder. “She saw all the deliveries. She thought someone died.”

Paige burst out laughing, the sound bright and unrestrained, arms immediately wrapping around Azzi. “Okay, yeah. That’s on me.”

Azzi smiled against her neck. “All I’m asking is maybe… slow it down a little? Save them for days when you really miss me. Or when you want to celebrate something. I don’t need them every time you pass a flower stand.”

Paige nodded slowly. “Okay. I can do that.”

She pulled back just enough to look at Azzi. “But I’m still gonna get you them sometimes.

Azzi smirked. “I’d be suspicious if you didn’t.”

Paige’s grin softened. “Good. Because I like giving you things.”

Azzi’s chest warmed, her earlier guilt melting into something steadier. “I like you,” she admitted quietly.

Paige leaned in, pressing a kiss to Azzi’s lips that started soft, but quickly escalated.

“Then we’re good,” she mumbled against her mouth.

—

Despite the fact that the two had been dating for a couple of months now, they still hadn't had the official girlfriend talk. Though it becomes clear to Azzi that Paige thought they had been girlfriends for a while when Paige is begging the nurse to meet her teammates.

It was Azzi’s second day off of the week, and after completing her morning workout and some necessary errands, she caved to Paige’s many texts begging her to come over. Which is exactly how she found herself curled up in Paige's ridiculously comfortable bed, buried beneath soft sheets as she tried to force herself not to fall back asleep for a second nap of the day. She couldn’t help it though. She always slept better in Paige’s bed. Or more specifically, with Paige next to her.

Azzi was still somewhat grumpy about the fact that she had been rudely pulled out of her comfortable sleep, curled into Paige’s side, by the obnoxious and incessant ringing of the blonde's phone.

Said blonde was notably less irritated by the rude awakening when she realized why her phone was blowing up.

“Az, come on,” Paige all but begged. “It’ll be fun, I promise. And if it’s not, we can dip early. Swear.”

Paige’s teammates had decided to go out tonight, and had apparently deemed Azzi’s attendance mandatory. The blonde had been pacing in front of the bed trying to convince Azzi to go with her for the past ten minutes as the nurse tried to read. Both women too stubborn for their own good.

“C’mon,” Paige dragged the word out, giving her a pleading look. “Please?”

“But why do I need to go?” Azzi asked for the umpteenth time. Finally putting her book down for a second. “I’ve only got a few more chapters left and your bed is so comfortable. Why can’t I just stay here and read and you can crawl into bed with me when you get home hammered at god knows what time in the morning like usual?”

Paige fired off a text before leveling the nurse with a glare. “Okay, I have a few problems with what you just said.”

“First of all,” she began, holding up one finger. “Sometimes, I have a drink or two with my teammates. I do not get ‘hammered’ and come home at ridiculous hours of the night. That is not our ‘usual’.”

“Second of all,” she continued, another finger joining the one she was still holding up. “My comfortable bed and your stupid, boring book will still be here when we get back.”

“It’s not boring,” Azzi rebuked.

“And third of all,” Paige added a third finger, shoving her hand towards the nurse with a wave and ignoring her defense about her book. “I really, really want you to come.”

“But why?” Azzi whined, frowning when she realized she sounded like a petulant child. “You always let me stay back and read.”

Paige let herself fall onto the bed dramatically, turning her head to look at Azzi. “Cause everyone wants to meet you.”

“I’ve already met a few of them,” Azzi tried to argue, weakly.

“Nai and Lyss don’t count,” Paige said, resolutely.

Azzi scoffed. “Yes they do.”

Paige shook her head. “No they don’t”

“Why wouldn’t they count?”

“Because,” Paige’s brows furrowed in concentration, seemingly trying to come up with a reason for her prior declaration. “You technically met Nai on accident. And you only know Lyss cause she follows Nai around like a lost puppy.”

“Hmph, if that’s not the pot calling the kettle black,” Azzi muttered under her breath, turning back to her book.

She wasn’t even able to open it to the page she’d left off on before she felt a pillow smack her in the side of the head with a thump.

“Paige!” Azzi admonished. “What the–”

“I heard that,” she scowled.

Azzi giggled, and the scowl slipped off of the blonde’s face, replaced with half-lidded eyes and a soft, lopsided smile.

The nurse sighed at the love drunk look on Paige’s face. She set her book down on the bedside table, officially giving up on reading it for now.

“Is it really that important to you that I go?” she asked, reluctantly.

Paige’s eyes widened in eager anticipation, sensing her opportunity.

“Yes,” she nodded so violently Azzi was concerned about a contrecoup injury and damage to her brain.

The nurse pinched the bridge of her nose, already regretting the words about to come out of her mouth. “Fine. I’ll go.”

Azzi didn’t even have time to brace herself before the nurse was launching herself at her full force, tackling her back into the bed and peppering obnoxiously loud kisses all over her face. With one final sloppy kiss pressed to her cheek, Paige pulled back, hovering over Azzi with a massive grin the nurse couldn’t help but mirror at the blonde’s excitement.

“I can’t wait for you to meet everyone,” she enthused. “They’re all gonna love you. And they’ll see that you’re real.”

Azzi's eyes narrowed at that, confused. “Real?”

The nurse’s arms snaked around the blonde’s back, hands stroking absent patterns across broad shoulders. Paige visibly melted into her touch, eyes going unfocused as they gazed at Azzi beneath her.

“What do you mean they’ll see that I’m real?” she questioned again after a moment, realizing Paige had most definitely lost her train of thought based on the way she was staring at her with unfocused eyes.

Paige blinked at her, mind trying to catch up to Azzi’s question. Then she groaned, letting her head fall into the crook of Azzi’s neck with a huff.

“It’s Nika’s fault,” Paige grumbled into her skin.

Those were three words Azzi had heard quite often in the past few weeks. Ever since Nika had been traded to the Wings just a month into the season, the blonde had been subjected once again to the antics Paige had told her plenty of stories about from their time together in college.

“She doesn’t believe me,” she mumbled.

Paige popped her head back up. “She told everyone you weren’t real,” she informed the nurse, distraught. “That I made you up.”

Azzi snickered at that. Visualizing Paige vehemently defending her existence to her teammates as Nika discredited her story.

“It’s not funny,” Paige scolded her. “She literally sees me on the phone with you all the time. She’s seen my wallpaper. And I’ve shown her like a million pictures of you,” she continued.

Azzi felt her chest warm at the reminder that the majority of the blonde’s camera roll was composed of pictures of her. She wasn’t a fan of most of them, claiming they were unflattering and she had been caught off guard or asleep when Paige took them, but Paige adored them. She claimed she needed to have something to look at while Azzi was at work or when the blonde was out of town for away games so she didn’t forget what the nurse looked like.

“She told everyone that they’re AI generated,” the blonde continued. “I don’t even know how to do that, Azzi,” she practically whined.

Azzi pursed her lips, “I know you don’t,” she said sympathetically. “I still have nightmares about that AI baby you tried to make.”

“It was supposed to be ours,” Paige reminded her, distraught.

Azzi leveled her with an unimpressed look. “It was terrifying. It looked like a light skinned Chucky. You had to sleep with the lights on for a week.”

“Okay, okay,” she grumbled. “I thought you said you wouldn’t bring that up anymore. I don’t want to think about it. I thought it was gonna be cute. Not… that,” she shuddered at the memory.

Before she could tease her further, Azzi’s phone started ringing, lighting up with the name ‘DiJonai Carrington’. Azzi groaned out loud, swiping to answer.

“Put her on speakerphone,” Paige ordered.

Azzi reached for her phone on the bedside table. She shoved the blonde off of her as she answered, sitting up and ignoring her request.

“Hey, Nai,” she said brightly into the phone, angling her body away from Paige who was now trying to grab at it.

“Azzi,” Paige said, trying to get her attention.

“You’re coming out with us tonight,” DiJonai informed her, like she had no say in the matter. “Non-negotiable.”

“Okay, first of all–” the nurse began, ready to tell her she’d already reluctantly agreed to go before she was cut off.

“Azzi,” Paige said, louder this time, not wanting to be ignored or excluded. “What’s she saying? Put her on speaker.”

She heard DiJonai let out a huff of laughter on the other end of the line, obviously registering the situation Azzi was in.

“Are you with your lesser half?” DiJonai asked sarcastically.

She looked at Paige, narrowing her eyes at her in false suspicion. “Why yes, she is with me.”

The blonde smacked her lightly on the arm, gesturing to her phone. “Put it on speaker,” she said again.

Azzi rolled her eyes, but acquiesced. “You’re on speaker,” she warned DiJonai.

“‘Sup DJ,” Paige said obnoxiously loud.

“She can hear you, you don’t have to yell,” Azzi chided.

“Don’t call me that,” DiJonai said, voice crackling through the speaker. “I shouldn’t have to keep telling you not to call me that.”

Azzi smiled. She loved the relationship between Paige and DiJonai. Their dynamic was always entertaining. Comprised of squabbles and insignificant arguments, but the nurse could feel the love they had for each other. She appreciated that Paige had someone looking out for her when she wasn’t around.

The blonde relished in getting on pretty much everyone’s nerves, but Azzi suspected there were a few people she took extra joy in provoking. Herself and DiJonai being at the top of that list. It was something that the two of them bonded over, leading to an unexpected friendship Azzi was incredibly appreciative of.

Paige smirked, waggling her eyes at Azzi as if to say ‘watch this’.

“Fine,” she started, a shit eating grin overtaking her face. “I’ll just call you N–”

“Don’t even say it,” DiJonai cut her off, voice the epitome of a mother’s warning. “Azzi, take me off speaker. I’m already at my limit with her.”

Azzi grinned at the blonde, who looked thoroughly scolded.

“She’ll behave,” she reassured the woman on the other end of the line. Paige nodded at the nurse in a silent agreement to abide by the promise she made on her behalf.

DiJonai let out a long exhale. “See, this is why you need to come tonight. She’s more tolerable when you’re around.”

“Hey!” Paige exclaimed, insulted.

Azzi placed a quiet, placating kiss against her lips to soothe the blow of her teammates' words. If Paige’s glazed eyes and sappy smile were anything to go off of, it worked.

“Paige already convinced me,” she told DiJonai. “Apparently, I need to prove to Nika that I’m real, and not a figment of Paige’s imagination.”

DiJonai burst out cackling at that, causing Paige to pout.

“It’s not funny,” Paige protested, for the second time in the last ten minutes.

“It’s so funny,” DiJonai contested, still laughing. “Az, did you know she told everyone Paige’s pictures of you are fake?”

“So I’ve heard,” Azzi confirmed, smiling softly at a still pouting Paige. She placed her legs in the blonde's lap, knowing she’d appreciate the contact.

Warm hands immediately found purchase, one resting against the inside of her thigh just above her knee, the other interlacing her fingers with Azzi’s free hand.

“Like Paige could ever figure out how to do that,” DiJonai continued. “Remember when she tried to see what your future kid would look like? That thing was disgusting.”

Paige’s mouth fell open, a look of exaggerated betrayal overtaking her face.

“You showed her that?” Paige squawked.

‘Sorry,’ she mouthed, squeezing the blonde’s hand. “I had to show someone. It was really disturbing, babe.”

“It’s fine,” she mumbled quietly, just for Azzi to hear. “I showed my therapist.”

Azzi laughed at that.

“What’d she say?” DiJonai asked, startling Azzi, who had forgotten she was still on the phone for a second.

“Nothing,” Azzi lied. “She’s just trying to figure out what to wear tonight.”

That seemed to distract DiJonai, who immediately began describing exactly what the nurse should wear. Letting her know it was the perfect opportunity to wear the miniskirt she bought when they went shopping together last week. It was still in one of the bags in Paige’s closet that she hadn’t managed to take home yet.

Paige perked up at the word ‘miniskirt’.

“Miniskirt?” she asked, eyes slowly roaming Azzi’s body up and down like she was already picturing her in it. The nurse felt herself warm at the look in her eyes. “You bought a miniskirt?”

“She bought two,” DiJonai supplied, unhelpfully.

“Thank you for that,” Azzi said sarcastically.

Paige snatched the phone out of her hand. “We gotta go, see you at 10,” she said before hanging up and tossing Azzi’s phone somewhere towards the bottom of the bed.

Azzi scowled at her. “That was rude.”

“So was keeping your new ‘miniskirt’ a secret,” she countered, pulling at the nurse's waist until she was straddling her.

Azzi laughed, letting her arms fall around Paige’s shoulders. “I wasn’t keeping it a secret.”

“No?” Paige asked, hands stroking her thighs, thumbs coming up to rest just beneath the hem of her sleep shorts.

“No,” Azzi confirmed.

“Hmm,” Paige hummed, doubtful. She brought her lips to Azzi’s neck, placing them against her pulse point. “How come I haven’t seen it yet, then?”

Azzi let out a soft breath at the feeling of Paige against her skin. She tilted her head, giving her more access to her neck. “I was keeping it a surprise. Waiting for the right occasion.”

Paige pulled back reluctantly, resting her forehead against the nurse’s. “And tonight’s the right occasion?”

“It is according to Nai,” she said airily, eyes trained on Paige’s lips.

Paige reared her head back at that. “I don’t think I like when you say her name with that look in your eyes,” the blonde said with a frown.

Azzi grinned with a roll of her eyes. “Come here,” she said, pulling Paige in and connecting their lips.

She took Paige’s bottom lip between her own, tracing it with her tongue, moving to deepen the kiss when Paige’s phone began to ring obnoxiously. The nurse began to withdraw, separating her mouth from the blonde’s.

“Ignore it,” Paige said, pulling Azzi back into her. The kiss lasted for all of another fifteen seconds before her phone rang again.

The blonde groaned dramatically, glowering when Azzi peeled herself off of her after a final, chaste peck.

“I’m gonna start getting ready,” she told the blonde, heading for the bathroom. Suddenly extra grateful that Paige bought duplicates of Azzi’s makeup so she didn’t have to keep bringing her own back and forth between their apartments.

A couple of weeks ago, the nurse had been surprised to find all of her usual daily wear makeup products neatly organized on Paige’s bathroom counter, plus a few extras. Apparently, the blonde had taken a picture of everything she used at her own apartment after the nurse had offhandedly complained about going to work barefaced more often than she’d like. Paige had told her she didn’t need makeup, that she was stunning without it. But surprised her with what slightly resembled an at-home-sephora worth of products.

She currently had the bathroom door open as she got to work. Listening in and smiling at Paige’s half of the conversation. She couldn’t hear Nika, but she did hear the lingering frustration in the blonde’s voice at having been interrupted by the Croatian.

“This better be an emergency, Nika,” she said when she’d finally answered on Nika’s third call.

“Yes, she’s coming.”

“No, fuck you, bro.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you again.”

“No!”

“I swear to god, I will ask for you to be traded again.”

“Whatever, you’re an idiot.”

“Yes, okay,” she groaned. “I will.”

“This whole conversation could have been a text.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you soon.”

It was silent for a moment, the only sound the soft patter of Paige’s footsteps getting closer. She walked into the bathroom, arms wrapping around Azzi’s middle from behind. For a second she just watched Azzi through the mirror with an expression of awe as she finished the last touches of her lip combo. Azzi set the gloss down on the bathroom counter and met blue eyes through the mirror.

“Your mom?” she asked, referring to the phone call.

Paige scoffed. “You think you're so funny.”

Azzi turned in her arms, her own coming to rest against Paige’s shoulders.

“Are you gonna tell me I’m not?” she challenged.

But Paige didn’t hear her, eyes zeroed in on her lips. Heavy lidded and dazed, as if she were in a trance. She moved to close the distance, but Azzi swerved her when she realized what was about to happen. The blonde’s lips collided with her cheek at the last second.

“Wha–”

“I just finished my lip combo,” the nurse explained.

Paige’s lower lip jutted out in a pout. “Seriously?”

Azzi shook her head affectionately. She moved one of her hands from Paige’s shoulders to hold her jaw between her thumb and two fingers. She leaned in to place a featherlight kiss against her pout, pulling back with a grin.

“Get ready,” she told the blonde, moving to exit the bathroom and get dressed for the night. Paige shut the door, planning on rinsing off before they left. The nurse helped herself to Paige’s closet to find a shirt and jacket for the night.

When Paige came out of the bathroom, skin still tinged pink from the heat of her shower, Azzi was already dressed. The blonde froze in her steps when she saw the nurse. Eyes slowly tracking her from head to toe, lingering at her skirt.

When her gaze finally met Azzi’s again, her blue eyes were nearly entirely eclipsed with dilated pupils. “Fuck,” she muttered, crossing the few steps between them.

“You had this here the whole time?” she asked, hands finding purchase low on Azzi’s hips against the smooth leather of her skirt.

It took far longer for them to leave than it should have, but neither Paige’s eyes nor hands would stop wandering. And Azzi wasn’t actually bothered enough by it to stop her, though she’d pretended like she was.

They finally made it out of the apartment a solid hour later than they had originally planned. The blonde tried to get them to skip all together, despite the fact that she had been begging her to go, not so long ago. Azzi ended up having to redo her lip combo, while Paige ended up having to scrub said lip combo off of her own face, as well as other parts of her body.

When they walked into the venue Azzi was instantly overwhelmed by music blasting through massive speakers. Troves of people were packed together under flashing lights as they moved to the beat of a bass so loud the nurse could feel it vibrate in her chest. Much to Azzi’s amazement, Paige had somehow managed to spot Nika in the crowd near the bar. The blonde interlaced their fingers, keeping the nurse close to her as she began to lead them through hoards of people to her teammate.

“Yo! Nika,” Paige called out once they were within shouting distance.

Nika turned around at the sound of her name, eyes scanning the people in front of her before landing on Paige, then lighting up when they landed on Azzi beside her as they approached her at the bar.

“Holy shit,” Nika said, appearing to forget about Paige entirely when she realized who was standing next to her. “You’re actually real.”

Azzi let out a soft laugh, disentangling her fingers from Paige’s to offer it out to the Croatian in greeting. “I’m Azzi.”

“You’re hot,” Nika said, shaking the offered hand. “Like… really hot.”

She felt Paige’s hand come to rest low and possessive on her hip, a not-so-subtle claim. Azzi caught the proud smirk she wore out of the corner of her eye.

“Chill,” Paige warned.

Then she broke out in a grin bordering on arrogance. “Told ya.”

“You sure she didn’t like… buy you or something?” she asked Azzi, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Like she couldn’t comprehend that the nurse was actually there with Paige.

“Nika!” Paige chastised.

“No offense,” Nika clarified, with her hands up. “You’re just, like, so hot. And Paige is so…”

“Annoying?” Azzi supplied, deadpan, accompanied by a twitch of her eyebrows.

“Hey!” the blonde exclaimed.

Nika broke out into a shit eating grin of approval. “Oh, so you do know her.”

The three of them fell into easy conversation after that. Azzi and Nika talking and laughing like they were old friends catching up, rather than two people who had just met. Paige chimed in now and then, but seemed mostly content to simply watch Azzi with a lovestruck grin plastered on her face.

They were interrupted by the bartender handing Nika her drink before he turned to Paige and Azzi to take their orders. As soon as they spewed out their requests, the bartender got to work. Azzi reached into her small purse, hardly big enough to hold her phone and a tiny wallet. She had barely begun to lift the wallet out of her bag when she felt Paige lightly smack her hand, making her drop it.

“Whatchu think you’re doing?” Paige asked with a bewildered look. Like Azzi paying for their drinks was completely unfathomable.

“I was trying to get my card out,” Azzi glowered at her. “Before you hit me.”

“Not happening,” she informed her, pulling her own card out from the back of her phone. “And I didn’t hit you. I tapped your hand.”

“That was a smack,” Azzi argued. “The bartender probably thinks I’m a victim of domestic violence. He’s probably waiting for me to signal for help.”

The blonde scowled, opening her mouth to argue, but was interrupted by the guffaw Nika let out. The noise startled both women, who had forgotten about her presence for a moment.

“Dude,” she nudged Paige. “I think you finally met your match, twin. She’s perfect.”

The blonde blushed at her words, a shy smile on her lips. Azzi let out a soft laugh, both at the sentiment of Nika’s words, and at Paige’s reaction.

Nika took a long sip of her drink, letting out an exaggerated sigh after she swallowed. “Fuck, that’s good,” she said.

She looked at the girls expectantly. “I’m gonna head back to everyone else. We got a big booth in the back left corner, come find us after you get your drinks.”

“Bet,” Paige nodded. “You gonna go tell everyone you were wrong? Tell em’ you’re an asshole and my girlfriend is real?”

“Yeah. Real out of your league,” she smirked, shoulder checking the blonde lightly as she walked past her towards the rest of the group. The bartender appeared back in front of them with their drinks. Paige handed him her card, telling him to start a tab for the night.

As soon as he walked away and Nika was out of sight, having disappeared into the crowd, Azzi turned to Paige with a small smirk and the glint of a challenge in her voice.

“So… I’m your girlfriend now?”

Paige turned to face her fully, expression one of utter confusion.

Azzi hated how adorable the blonde looked with her eyebrows furrowed and head cocked to the side in bewilderment. “What do you mean? Of course you are.”

“Hmm,” Azzi hummed noncommittally. “Funny. I don’t remember that conversation.”

“Azzi,” Paige began, exasperated. “We’ve been together for almost three months now. What are you talking about? What else would you call us?”

The nurse took a sip of her drink to hide her smirk of amusement at the beginnings of what was sure to be another ‘Paige spiral’.

“I mean, we’ve been dating. Yeah,” Azzi replied. “But there's a difference between dating and girlfriends. There’s a shift. A conversation. And I don’t remember having that conversation.”

Paige’s blue eyes went wide with panic. “Shift? What shift? What– what are you talking about? You date your girlfriend. That’s how it works, Az. There’s no difference.”

Her eyes scanned Azzi’s face rapidly, as though she was trying to determine the truth of her own words before she spoke again. “Is there a difference? What’s the difference?”

Azzi pursed her lips in an attempt to hold back a smile at the blonde’s alarmed ramble.

“Dating is a blanket term. Girlfriend means commitment, and exclusivity,” Azzi rationalized, secretly enjoying the consternation overtaking Paige’s face as she explained.

She turned to make her way to the table Nika said to meet the rest of the team at, but only made it a half a step before she felt Paige’s hand wrap gently around her arm, literally dragging her back into the conversation the blonde was clearly nowhere near finished with.

“But I– we’ve been committed. And exclusive,” she paused, eyebrows furrowing so intensely Azzi was worried she’d need botox in her near future. “Have… has this not been exclusive? Have you been seeing other people?”

The nurse finally decided to take some pity on her, recognizing just how distraught this conversation seemed to be making the blonde, whose shoulders were pulled so taut they nearly reached her ears.

“Baby, I see you more than I see my own shadow. When would I have the time to see other people?”

Paige visibly relaxed at her words, shoulders easing as she let out a tense breath. “Are you not committed?” she asked quietly, still trying to figure out what she was missing.

“I spend pretty much all of my free time with you. I’m about to meet your entire team,” Azzi responded easily. “And I sleep with you more than I sleep alone at this point. So I’d say I’m pretty committed.”

“Yeah,” Paige nodded emphatically, more so to herself than the nurse. “Okay. Yeah. Exactly. We’re exclusive and committed and we're dating and so… you’re my girlfriend,” she continued, voicing her train of logic outloud. “Right?”

Azzi laughed softly and full of endearment. “Is this,” she made a broad gesture to all of Paige, “you asking me to be your girlfriend?”

Paige’s eyes went wide again. “I– I didn’t know I had to ask. I thought you already were,” she pouted.

Azzi sighed, deciding to take mercy on her official girlfriend, pulling her in for a quick kiss that left the blonde visibly dazed.

“Guess I’m your girlfriend, then,” she said with a small shake of her head, interlacing their fingers together between them. “I should probably cancel the other dates I had scheduled for this week, huh?”

“That’s not funny,” Paige scowled, taking the glass out of Azzi’s hand and setting both of their drinks on the bar top. She pulled Azzi in by the waist to embrace her firmly. The nurse’s arms came up around the blonde's shoulders, squeezing tight and breathing her in. Melting at the contact and the warmth of her. I’m so fucked, Azzi thought to herself. I’m basically in love with an idiot.

After they sorted out the status of their relationship, the two girls grabbed their drinks and made their way to the rest of the group hand in hand.

Azzi was good with people. She knew that, deep down. It came with the territory of her job. She was charming and well spoken. She could hold a conversation with just about anyone. But even with that knowledge, she still felt a nervous anticipation coursing through her body as they approached the table.

Because this wasn’t just a table full of ridiculously tall and athletic women. It was a table full of people who mattered to Paige. The blonde must’ve sensed her hesitation, the way she always seemed to do. Like picking up on every miniscule shift in Azzi’s energy was instinctual. She felt Paige squeeze her hand before leaning towards her.

“They’re gonna love you, Az,” she said, breath warm against her, lips softly caressing the shell of her ear as she leaned close so she could hear her.

Azzi returned the squeeze to the blonde’s hand, drawing strength from her touch and taking a deep breath to steel herself before they closed the final distance to the table.

DiJonai saw her first, letting out an inebriated squeal. “Azzi!”

She was blocked in by NaLyssa, and began aggressively shoving her girlfriend out of the booth so she could get out and properly greet the nurse.

With a few curse words and a glare thrown at NaLyssa for her apparent lack of urgency to let DiJonai exit the booth, she engulfed Azzi in a hug. Effectively separating her hand from Paige’s, much to the blonde’s dismay.

“Hey, girl,” she said, pulling away and holding Azzi by the shoulders to look her up and down in appraisal. “You look good, Az.”

“Well, you basically dressed me,” Azzi laughed softly.

“I did a fantastic job,” DiJonai replied, eyeing her up and down again with a smug smile. “God damn.”

Azzi was about to return the compliment when NaLyssa spoke up.

“She’s right, you look great,” she said, giving the nurse a quick side hug in greeting.

DiJonai smirked, looking directly at Paige when she spoke next. “Y’know Azzi, if Lyss and I were ever gonna have a third–”

“Okay, bruh,” Paige’s hand came to rest possessively at her lower back. “Y’all can back off. You’re not funny.”

Azzi looked up at her girlfriend, eyes alight and filled with affection for Paige.

“They’re kinda funny,” she murmured just for the blonde to hear.

The glare Paige aimed at her lasted only a second, before she rolled her eyes with a reluctant smile. DiJonai finally relented, slipping back into the booth with NaLyssa following in after her. Paige turned to the rest of the group, proudly introducing Azzi to her team.

After the initial introductions, Azzi slipped into the booth beside NaLyssa. Paige sidled in right after, pressed tightly against her, thigh to thigh. The blonde slipped an arm around Azzi's shoulder as the group immediately began hounding the nurse with questions. They were easily impressed with Azzi's career, and the nurse had them cackling with some of her funnier hospital stories of crazy patients, and injuries so absurd they almost sound made up. They weren’t though. People really are that stupid.

“Wait,” Maddy said, a look of horror on her face as she interrupted Azzi’s retelling of a frat boy's injury last week. “He willingly stuck a firework up his asshole?”

Azzi took a sip of her new drink, the one that Paige had refreshed a few minutes prior. “Mhm,” she nodded.

“And he lit it?” Arike chimed in, appalled.

“Yup,” Azzi confirmed.

The wide variety of expressions on the faces looking back at her made Azzi chuckle. Some were cracking up, others utterly mortified, a few a healthy mix of both. Nika seemed delighted. Paige just looked proud, eyes never straying from Azzi’s face.

“Is he okay?” Arike’s fiance, Lala, asked with genuine concern, looking a little green.

“The explosion caused some pretty severe burns and damaged part of his bowel,” she said. “He needed a colostomy. But he’s going to be okay.”

“Why would he do that?” Maddy asked, unable to make sense of the kid’s choices. “Like why would he think that’s a good idea?”

Azzi just shrugged, having long given up on trying to understand the reasoning behind people’s stupid decisions.

“Probably trying to impress his frat brothers,” Nika supplied, grinning. “They’re always daring each other to do stupid shit. Pretty much all share a singular brain cell.”

“It’s a brotherhood,” NaLyssa added, sarcastically.

“Who needs friends when you have enemas like that,” Azzi joked, laughing at her own pun.

The only one who seemed to get it was DiJonai, who burst out laughing. DiJonai was much smarter than most people seemed to give her credit for. It was part of why they became friends so easily. She actually understood most of what Azzi talked about.

Everyone else stared at the two of them in confused amusement.

The group continued like that, swapping stories and laughing over many more rounds. Azzi could feel the alcohol settling warmly into her blood, loosening her lips and smoothing the sharp edges of her usual restraint. The initially overwhelming noise of the bar had blurred into a distant hum, and she found herself enjoying the night without constantly overthinking.

She was always aware of Paige's presence, the way she stayed pressed against her. The hand against Azzi steadily grew bolder with each drink. It rested against the nurse’s shoulder, before sliding down, low on her waist like it belonged there. Her fingers would brush against her thigh, tracing idle, absent minded patterns beneath the hem of her skirt, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake and sending a small thrill up her spine.

The nurse relished in the subtle attention. In the way the touch was meant only for her. Never performative or excessive, just a quiet constant in the chaos of conversation. A reminder that the blonde’s attention never truly left her.

At a certain point, the conversation inevitably came back to Paige and Azzi, and their relationship. The group did not hold back on embarrassing the blonde. The nurse's cheeks hurt from grinning so hard.

“I’m not even exaggerating, Azzi,” Arike began, swinging her drink around drunkenly as she spoke. “We’ve basically had to ban your name at practice.”

“It’s true,” NaLyssa confirmed. “She’s not allowed to mention you more than three times.”

“She usually goes through all three before we even leave the locker room,” Nika added.

“I had to ban both of your names in our house,” Lala informed them. “Rike started to drive me crazy with all her complaining about how often P talks about you.”

Paige scoffed, insulted, and glaring at the group. “You guys are being dramatic. I do not talk about her that often.”

She shifted her head to look directly at Azzi trying to convince her of the truth of her own words. “I don’t talk about you that much.”

“Yes, she does,” someone said, but Azzi didn’t catch who it was, too enraptured by earnest blue eyes. She heard a few grumbles of agreement from the rest of the group, contradicting Paige’s assertion.

“It’s cute,” Maddy defended.

“It’s annoying,” Nika corrected. “I had to switch seats on the plane the other day. The only seat left was next to coach. I had to listen to him berate me about every single time I was out of position against Vegas.”

The Croatian downed the rest of her drink in one large gulp before continuing. “And that was still better than hearing Paige talk about how she couldn’t wait to see Azzi for three hours straight.”

They kept going. Telling anecdote after anecdote of Paige being completely and utterly down bad for the nurse. Airing out information Azzi was certain the blonde never intended for her to know.

Like the fact that Paige had a picture of her hanging up in her locker. One she looked at before games. Or that Paige apparently kept a running list on the notes app of her phone of Azzi’s go to order at every restaurant, ice cream parlor, and coffee shop they’d ever been to, just so she’d know exactly what to get her next time.

Each story only made the nurse fall that much further for the hopelessly devoted, and endearingly dorky blonde. The way she cared for Azzi was so pure. Selfless and constant in its nature. It left the nurse a little breathless every time she noticed it. Every time she was reminded that it wasn’t just visible to her, but to everyone else as well.

But Azzi caught the slow bloom of red creeping up Paige’s neck. Saw the way her jaw worked as she clenched and unclenched it, like she was holding something back. Felt the way the thumb tracing steady patterns against her waist faltered. The teasing was getting to her. She was genuinely a little self-conscious at the way her teammates continued to rag on her. Paige wasn’t laughing anymore. It was subtle, but she was shrinking in on herself. And the realization hit Azzi like a slap in the face.

The thought of Paige being genuinely self-conscious sent a sharp squeeze through her heart. Something instinctive flared inside of her. Protective and immediate. Without drawing attention, Azzi shifted her hand from her half empty glass and slid it beneath the table. Her fingers settled warm and sure on Paige’s thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze before staying there.

“It worked, though,” Azzi said to the group. The urge to defend Paige had her speaking before she could second guess herself. “It’s all a part of her charm.”

She could feel the way her words seemed to reassure the blonde. Her posture shifted back into its typical relaxed confidence, no longer looking like she was subconsciously trying to make herself smaller. Her jaw unclenched, replaced with a cocky grin. And the hand at her side slid just a little bit lower, thumbs resuming their idle patterns.

“Don’t encourage her,” Nika admonished. “She is not charming.”

Azzi smirked.

“I don’t know,” she said slowly. “I’m into it.”

She didn’t get to say anything else before she felt Paige pull her impossibly closer against her side, leaning in and placing a soft, lingering kiss, against her temple.

After Nika fake gagged at the display, the rest of the group broke off into separate conversations, paying no mind to Paige and Azzi in their own little bubble.

“Thanks,” Paige murmured quietly, keeping her voice low enough for only the nurse to hear.

Azzi’s gaze fell to Paige’s mouth for a beat, taking note of the small and sincere smile she saw there, before flicking her gaze back up to meet bright blue eyes.

“I know I like to give you shit for it all the time,” the nurse started, eyebrows pulled together in sincerity. “But I don’t ever want you to feel embarrassed for something I’m actually really grateful for.”

“I’m not,” Paige reassured her quickly. “I could never be embarrassed for how I feel about you.”

Azzi’s breath caught in her throat at Paige’s words. She’d meant the actions, the thoughtfulness. The way Paige showed up for her, not the feelings themselves. Apparently they were one in the same for the blonde. She saw no distinction. The realization settled heavy in Azzi’s chest.

Paige continued, blissfully unaware of the way the nurse’s heart was pounding in her chest, full and warm. “I just didn’t need everyone laying it all out there all at once. Especially in front of you.”

“I thought it was sweet,” she told the blonde softly, tracing random patterns on Paige’s thigh with the hand that still rested there.

Paige pursed her lips as if to hold back a smile, slightly rolling her eyes as she shook her head, face growing just a touch flushed at the nurse’s words.

“You’re okay, though?” Azzi asked her girlfriend.

“Yeah,” Paige reassured her, a grateful smile gracing her lips. “I can handle it.”

“Good,” the nurse breathed out, still trying to settle the rapid thrum of her heart. “Because I don’t know if I could stop teasing you if you asked. And they just gave me a lot to work with.”

“I like when you tease me,” she informs her with a shrug. “It’s your love language.”

Azzi rolled her eyes, but couldn’t deny the truth of the statement. She brought her glass to lips to hide her smile. It was nearly empty, more watered down than actual drink at this point, but she took a sip anyway. Just to give herself something to do other than kiss the blonde next to her in front of her entire team.

“You want another drink?” Paige offered, nodding at her nearly empty glass.

Azzi’s gaze never strayed from blue eyes, alight with adoration.

“I’m good,” she told her, biting her lip through a small smile at the blonde’s attentiveness to her needs.

When she finally tore her eyes away from Paige’s with more effort than she cared to acknowledge, she caught the gaze of DiJonai. The woman had ended up across from them in the group’s ongoing game of musical chairs. It was a constant shuffle every time someone got up to pee or order another round.

Although there was no chance she’d overheard their conversation, DiJonai must have seen the entire interaction. The small but knowing smile curving her lips giving her away.

She gave Azzi a subtle wink of approval. Azzi pretended to scratch an itch under her eye with her middle finger, surreptitiously flipping her off.

The group stayed until last call, finally making their way out of the bar when the music shut off and the overhead lights turned on, the establishment’s not so subtle attempt to urge everyone out. They said their goodbyes, Azzi promising to join them again soon. Paige’s arm found its place back on her waist, phone held loosely in her free hand, opened to the Uber app.

“Mine or yours?” she asked Azzi, attempting to place a lingering kiss on her cheek that landed closer to her eye as Paige swayed slightly off balance.

“Yours,” Azzi answered without hesitation, her words coming out only slightly slurred. “Your bed’s the comfiest.”

She let her head rest against Paige’s shoulder. Grateful that most of Dallas was already asleep, leaving her free to cling to the blonde without fear of someone taking a photo. Paige seemed to share that sentiment, letting her own head rest against Azzi’s as she ordered the car.

When their ride pulled up, Paige guided her to the car, opening the door and allowing the nurse to enter first.

“I can feel you staring,” she scolded the blonde, weakly.

“You’re the one who wore a miniskirt, bro,” Paige mumbled in defense, climbing in behind her, a hint of pink creeping across her cheeks.

Azzi had scooted to the far side, directly behind the driver. Paige slipped in from behind the passenger seat and wedged herself into the middle, pressing herself against the nurse's side like she couldn’t bear to be separated by even a few inches of space.

“Paige,” Azzi complained, wriggling. “Your legs are way too long for that. There’s not enough room. Scoot over,” she tried pushing her back to her side, but the blonde planted her feet and refused to budge.

“Quit bein’ dramatic,” she argued. “You got a ton of room.”

Azzi, in fact, did not have a ton of room. Her left side was pressed completely up against the door, and the already very limited space for her knees was being thoroughly encroached upon by Paige’s own legs.

But she was far too tired, and Paige was far too warm against her for the nurse to argue. A large hand moved to rest high on Azzi’s inner thigh. She let out a deep sigh of defeat, wrapping both her arms around the blonde’s left, and allowed her heavy head to fall against Paige’s shoulder.

She let her eyes fall closed, breathing in Paige’s scent, a heady mix of her cologne and something uniquely her. She felt the blonde place a kiss to the crown of her head, as the car picked up speed, music playing faintly out of the speakers.

“Thanks for coming tonight,” Paige said quietly, voice so close the nurse could feel the sound waves travel from her mouth straight into her ear. The timbre settling over her like a warm blanket.

“I had fun,” she told the blonde, sleepily. Eyes too heavy to open.

“Yeah?” Paige asked.

“Mhm,” Azzi hummed, tipsy smile on her lips. “I always have fun with you.”

The nurse really did try to stay awake. Tried to pay attention to the words coming out of Paige’s mouth. She briefly registered something about how everyone loved her and how pretty she looked. But she felt her body grow heavier. The soft circled Paige traced on her bare thigh in combination with the comforting hum of her voice quickly lulling Azzi to sleep.

Azzi fell asleep in the back of the Uber, smushed between a car door and her girlfriend. Knees crowded and shoved roughly against the back of the driver's seat, with Paige’s foot stepping on her own. She had never been so uncomfortably at ease in her entire life.

—

Until now, Paige never pressured Azzi to attend, or even watch, a game. Which the nurse was both grateful for, and a little bit suspicious of. Paige didn’t know it, as it was not something she wanted to admit to the blonde, but she had purchased the league pass, and watched every one of her games. Azzi told herself it was purely from a place of medical concern.

After Paige’s concussion, she was concerned about the blonde getting hurt again. And she knew Paige downplayed any and all injuries, not wanting to worry the nurse. So Azzi took the matter into her own hands, watching every game with a meticulous eye. Paying mind to any contact Paige came into, looking out for minute expressions of pain on her face. Watched for any indication of discomfort in the way she moved after a tough play or a physical drive. And there were plenty of them.

Within less than a week of the season beginning, Azzi decided she despised whoever was in charge of the league. Physicality was part of the game, she understood that, but the extent of it was beyond excessive. It was reckless. The lack of calls, the lack of accountability, the way players were expected to just absorb it all without consequence made her stomach turn. Her own experience flashing through her mind.

As the season continued, she saw season ending injuries every week. Watched careers get cut short because profit was prioritized over protection. Because someone higher up decided money mattered more than the well being of the players. And the minimal time between games made her furious.

Paige had given her the schedule casually, not because she expected Azzi to watch any games, but so she’d know when she’d be away. When she’d be close, and when she’d be halfway across the country. The nurse hadn’t even meant to analyze it. But once she noticed the back-to-back games, the tight turnarounds, and the stretches with barely a day in between, she was pissed.

She had paced angrily in front of Paige’s couch, hands flying around as she ranted. Paige had sat there quietly, eyes tracking her every step with rapt attention. The nurse went off at the blonde about the dangers of inadequate recovery time, cross-country flights, disrupted sleep cycles, and inflammation that never gets a chance to reduce.

“Do you know what back-to-backs actually do to your body?” Azzi asked her angrily.

“Make us tired,” Paige joked in response, a failed attempt to ease the nurse’s obvious agitation.

Azzi stopped pacing. “Tired is what you feel after a poor night’s sleep. This is cumulative trauma, Paige.” She gestured vaguely at the blonde’s knees. Her head. “Your muscles don’t fully repair in twenty-four hours. Microtears need time. Glycogen stores need time. Your nervous system needs time.”

She started pacing again, aware of the way Paige’s eyes continued to follow her every move. “Reaction speed drops, coordination slips, and suddenly you’re half a second late on a cut or a contest.”

Azzi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down from the frustrated state she’d worked herself up into. But it was ineffective.

“That’s when injuries happen, Paige. Non-contact ACLs. Ankle tears.” Her mind was going a mile a minute, overwhelmed with images of Paige injured.

“Concussions because your neck muscles are so fatigued they can’t stabilize your head on impact.” Her voice caught despite herself. Her mind flooded with images – memories – of an unconscious blonde being rolled through her ER doors on a stretcher, blood pooling at her temple. “Second-impact syndrome is rare, but it’s real. All it takes is one missed call and one overworked body.”

Paige finally rose from the couch, moving into the direct path where Azzi continued to pace, halting her in her steps. Her hands came up to cup Azzi’s jaw delicately, holding her like she was something fragile. Her thumb wiped away a tear she hadn’t realized had formed, let alone fallen.

“Azzi,” the blonde said, so gently the nurse almost didn’t hear her over the panicked beating of her heart. Paige placed a delicate kiss to the corner of her mouth before letting their foreheads rest against each other.

“Breathe, baby,” she instructed the nurse, encouraging her to match Paige’s deep inhale, and slow exhale. Azzi did. Eventually feeling her heart return to an appropriate rhythm.

“I’m gonna be okay, Az,” she whispered into the small space between their mouths. Thumbs never ceasing their gentle strokes across sharp cheekbones. “I promise.”

“But, what if–,” Azzi began.

“No,” Paige cut her off. “You can’t do that. Can’t think about all the small stuff that could go wrong. It’ll drive you crazy.”

“I just…,” Azzi exhaled deeply. “I worry about you.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re secretly the biggest overthinker I’ve ever met,” Paige teased.

“Shut up,” she sulked. “No I’m not.”

Paige laughed softly. “Yeah, you are. But it’s okay. I worry about you too, ya know?”

“What do you mean?” Azzi asked, confused.

“Your job is more dangerous than mine,” she said. “Like– way riskier.”

Azzi blinked. “No it is not.”

“Yes, it is,” Paige challenged. “You’re surrounded by knives that are literally designed to cut into people’s skin. And needles. And I just learned that oxygen tanks are basically bombs if they’re dropped. Or if there’s a flame near them.”

“How are you just finding that out?” Azzi wondered out loud. There were signs everywhere indicating the danger of oxygen tanks and flames. Paige has undergone hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy as a part of her recovery plan on multiple occasions. Azzi knows for a fact that there are many highly visible O2 flame warnings all over the place.

“What if a patient brings in a lighter?” Paige continued, ignoring Azzi’s astonishment. “At least I know the people I’m going up against. I know they would never intentionally try to hurt me. At least most of them,” she mumbled the last part.

“You have no idea who you’re treating. You gotta watch out for drunks and paranoid drug users. People do unpredictable things when they’re scared and hurt,” she explained.

“When I dropped off lunch for you the other day there were literally four different people in handcuffs,” she reminded her. “And don’t even get me started on that massive dude strapped to the bed by his hands and feet screaming he was going to kill everyone.”

Azzi huffed out a small laugh at the memory, despite herself. “That’s different.”

“It’s really not, though,” she said gently. “Everything has some inherent level of danger if you really think about it. I could slip in the shower and crack open my head. I could step off a curb wrong and trip into traffic, get hit by a car. Or even–”

“You’re not making me feel better,” she told the blonde.

“Sorry,” Paige said, getting back on track. “My point is, you can’t worry about what might happen to me with my job. Just like I can’t worry about every dangerous thing that could possibly go wrong for you with your job. It would drive us both crazy. We’d never get anything done.”

She held Azzi’s jaw a little firmer now, one hand sliding around to the nape of her neck. Fingers kneading firmly into the flesh, helping dissipate some of the tension there.

“We can’t worry about the little things we can’t control. Can’t think worst case-scenario everytime. And I know that probably goes against your nurse instincts,” she said. “But we gotta stay where our feet are.”

The nurse didn’t speak, letting Paige’s words settle.

“Can you do that for me?” she asked quietly, voice low and sincere. Her blue eyes searching Azzi’s face.

Azzi closed her eyes. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Then she closed the distance between them. She kissed her with intention behind every movement, trying to show her appreciation for the blonde without words. They both melted into it, one of Azzi’s hands slid up to cup Paige’s jaw, the other rested over her heart, letting the steady rhythm ground her.

“I still can’t believe you just learned oxygen is flammable,” Azzi murmured against Paige’s mouth, a smile tugging at her lips.

So as worried as it made her to see Paige hit the ground or collide with a hard screen, she couldn’t look away. Wouldn’t let herself catastrophize and think about the worst-case scenarios constantly firing in her head like her instincts demanded her to. Instead, the nurse would spend the next time she saw the blonde – whether it was that night after a home game or the day she flew back from an away game – helping her recover.

Forcing her to ice her knees and seemingly endless bruises. Heat treatments where she knew she needed them, rubbing and kneading sore muscles. Azzi could tell the massages were definitely Paige’s favorite. She’d get soft and warm and pliable under the nurses skilled hands.

Paige would eye her suspiciously, like she wanted to ask how she knew she needed the care Azzi was providing. But much to the nurse’s appreciation, she never asked. Seemingly content just to have her practiced hands ease her pain.

Azzi was currently laying against Paige’s chest beneath the covers, dressed in one of the blonde's oversized hoodies and her own small sleep shorts. The sun had set hours ago, the only light in the room coming from the warm glow of the lamp on Paige’s bedside table, casting shadows across the sharp edge of the blonde's jaw. The weather outside was warm and stiff, typical of Dallas summer heat, but Paige seemed to have her thermostat permanently set to a crisp 63º. Azzi had a hunch that the blonde kept it extra low in her presence, knowing the nurse’s tendency to get cold.

In fact, Azzi swore the blonde used to keep her apartment at least five degrees warmer when they first started dating. But the first time it had been extra cold in the apartment, Paige had suggested she borrow one of her hoodies and stay close to “conserve body heat”. After that, the temperature was never raised again, the blonde far too happy to have Azzi seek out her warmth and borrow her clothes. Azzi never called her out on it though, she enjoyed it just as much as Paige did. Though she’d never give the blonde the satisfaction of knowing that.

Paige’s hand drew absent minded patterns against her back, slowly luring her to sleep, when her voice cut through the comfortable silence.

“Hey…” the blonde began, hesitant in a way she normally was not.

Azzi adjusted her head slightly so she could peer up into deep blue eyes that flickered uncertainly between her own.

“Hmm?” the nurse acknowledged, unable to keep her gaze from straying to Paige’s mouth for a quick glance before catching herself and returning her focus to blue eyes.

And of course Paige noticed, the corner of her mouth quirking up into a familiar cocky smirk before she leaned down and captured Azzi’s mouth in a quick and affectionate kiss before she could roll her eyes. When the blonde pulled back, her eyes half lidded and a goofy love drunk smile on her face, she seemed to gain just enough confidence to say whatever had her hesitating just moments prior. Though it wasn’t eloquent.

“Would uh– would you ever wanna like… come to one of my games?” She asked. The question came out rushed and quiet. Eyebrows arched up and eyes darting across the nurses face in anticipation.

Azzi didn’t answer right away. Her relationship with basketball was rocky – infinitely better than when she’d first lost it. But she hadn’t been inside of a gym in years. The idea of physically sitting in an arena and watching what was once her greatest passion before it was cruelly ripped away from her caused a dull ache in her heart.

But it brought so much joy to the woman she was falling for, and she didn’t have it in her to deny the blonde. Not that she’d ever admit out loud that Paige held so much power over her. Paige clearly interpreted the silence as discomfort, because she started rambling, and Azzi could hear the blonde’s heartbeat pick up in her chest beneath her ear.

“I mean… you can say no. I’m not tryna like pressure you or anything. It won’t hurt my feelings if you say no, I swear. I know anything basketball, especially going to and watching a game prolly isn’t at the top of your ‘things I wanna do list’ after everything that happened at UCLA, but–”

Azzi sat up at that, effectively cutting Paige off, eyes narrowing in suspicion at the rambling blonde. “How do you know about UCLA?” the nurse questioned.

Paige’s entire body stiffened abruptly. “I– uh… what?”

“You said I probably wouldn’t want to do anything basketball related after everything that happened at UCLA,” she explained slowly. “I’ve never talked to you about UCLA.”

“Um… are you sure?” Paige tried, face turning redder by the second. “I think you mighta–”

“Paige,” Azzi deadpanned, sitting up fully now, the blonde following suit. She refused to make eye contact with the nurse, suddenly seeming to find the walls of her room to be fascinating.

Azzi watched her silently. Took in the way her hands refused to still, the way her face and the tips of her ears were dusted red. Her eyes traced Paige’s features. The nurse let out a huff mixed with disbelief and amusement, forcing herself not to smile as she put the pieces together. Despite her best efforts, the corners of her eyes crinkled when she spoke next.

“Did you… did you google me?”

Azzi didn’t think it was possible for Paige to get any redder, but she was quickly proven wrong. Paige went completely still for the second time that night. The nurse couldn’t control the onslaught of laughter that overcame her at Paige’s unintentional confirmation.

“Oh my god. You totally googled me!”

Paige collapsed back onto the bed, flipping onto her stomach to dramatically bury her face into the pillows as she grumbled out a weak and mumbled, “shut up, bro,” into the feathers. Azzi pulled the pillow out from under Paige's face, causing the blonde to faceplant into the mattress with a humiliated groan.

“Nuh-uh,” Azzi contested. She felt giddy at the sight of Paige caught and so obviously flustered. “You’re not getting out of this so easy. Explain yourself,” she paused for a second, before adding fuel to the fire on Paige’s face. “Stalker.”

That got Paige to move. In a blur of movement she all but tackled Azzi back down into the bed, pinning her down with the weight of her warm body, caging the nurse beneath her, her forearms bracing her weight on either side of Azzi’s head.

Azzi was grinning up at her, making a concerted effort to ignore the butterflies flying rampant in her stomach as a result of the blonde pressed against her. Of the eyes peering into her own. It felt like she was staring into her very soul. She brought a hand up to tuck an errant stray of blonde hair behind Paige’s ear before giving her a quick peck on the tip of her nose to ease some of her embarrassment.

“You could’ve just asked me, you know?” she said softly, carding her fingers through the fine hairs on the nape of Paige’s neck.

“I know…,” Paige began, resting her forehead against the nurses. Azzi adored the way the blonde melted into her. The way she always seemed to draw strength from their proximity.

“It was before we were dating,” she confessed. “When you made me go fourteen days without seeing you. Your instagram was private, but I found some articles.”

“Some articles?” Azzi questioned, with an eyebrow raised. Tucking away the fact that Paige had tried to find her instagram in the back of her mind for future use.

“...And some film,” Paige admitted begrudgingly.

Azzi felt her heart swell with affection, “You’re such a creep,” she teased.

Paige pulled back at that, a pout overtaking her face. “I am not a creep.”

“Baby, you googled me,” Azzi said carefully, like she was breaking bad news to a small child.

“I wasn’t bein’ creepy. I was being…” Paige paused for a second as she thought of the right word. “Studious,” she finally decided on, with a nod.

“Studious?” Azzi repeated, voice laced with disbelief.

Paige groaned, collapsing fully on top of Azzi, burying her face in the nurse's neck. “Yes, studious,” she confirmed. “I was doing research, okay?”

“Hmm,” Azzi acknowledged, grinning uninhibitedly at just how much of a complete and utter dork her girlfriend was now that she couldn’t see her. Azzi's arms snaked around the blonde, holding her tight against her.

“I didn’t read everything,” Paige mumbled into her neck, breath warm against the nurse's skin.

“No?” Azzi asked.

“Nah,” Paige confirmed, shaking her head. Her blonde hair tickled Azzi with the motion. “I wanted to hear the rest from you.”

The nurse didn’t respond with words, instead squeezing Paige just a little tighter, and placing a lingering kiss against the crown of her head. She could feel the blonde smile against her, nuzzling even closer.

One of her hands came up to card through Paige’s soft, wavy hair, the other still holding her close. She felt the blonde’s breathing beginning to even out, moments away from drifting to sleep. Azzi took in a long pull of air, before letting it out with a deep exhale.

“I’d love to go to one of your games, P,” she said gently into the comfortable quiet between them.

Paige shot up at that, suddenly wide awake.

“Seriously?” she said, eyes darting wildly across Azzi’s face, clearly looking for any hesitance or doubt.

Azzi smiled softly, nodding softly before capturing Paige’s lips in a gentle kiss. “Yeah,” she said when she pulled back.

“Epic,” Paige said with an enamored look and goofy grin. The epitome of heart eyes.

Azzi scowled at her. “I’m not going if you start saying ‘epic’ after I kiss you,” she declared.

Paige chuckled softly before rolling off of Azzi and pulling the nurse against her chest, tangling their legs together beneath the covers.

“If I promise not to say ‘epic’ will you tell me about you and basketball?” she asked quietly.

Azzi brought her arm across Paige’s stomach, finger curling into her worn t-shirt as she tucked herself fully against the blonde. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Paige whispered earnestly.

“Everything?” Azzi laughed softly at the sincerity in Paige’s voice. At the way her girlfriend couldn’t even hide admiration.

“Yeah… like, when did you start playing? And why? And how did you get so good? Were you always a shooting guard? Have you ever puked during a game? Did you ever–”

“Oh you mean everything, everything,” Azzi interrupted with a smile.

Paige adjusted her head to look into Azzi’s eyes. The nurse felt her breath hitch in her throat at the intensity of Paige’s blue eyes. “Azzi, I literally wanna know every single thing about you.”

Azzi was worried she had spontaneously developed afib from the way her heart was beating so erratically and irregularly in her chest.

—

Azzi almost threw up twice before she found her seat. She followed the rows and numbers down towards the floor, heart beating faster with every step. Paige had her courtside. But she hadn’t been this close to a basketball court in years. Standing so close now made her feel like a ghost of who she used to be. The sound of people filing in, pregame music blasting through the speakers, and sneakers squeaking against the court all culminated in an overwhelming mix of noise.

She took a breath to steady herself, looking at the ticket on her phone to confirm she found the right seat. Her fingers lifted, brushing the back of the chair before forcing herself to sit and demanding her heart to settle in her chest.

She could do this because she was doing it for Paige. For the woman who showed her support for Azzi in a million different ways, a thousand times a day. And though it was no longer the case for her, basketball was still everything to Paige. And Paige was quickly becoming everything to Azzi.

Azzi had her phone out, mindlessly scrolling through her email to give herself something to do when a small voice pulled her out of it.

“Nurse Azzi!”

She looked up at the sound of her name, a smile pulling at her lips when her eyes landed on the small boy who said it. He was hobbling his way towards her, propped up on crutches he clearly still had yet to perfect the use of, his blue cast gleaming under the arena lights. He grinned at her like this was the greatest day of his life. And honestly, it probably was.

“No way,” Azzi said softly as she tucked her phone away, standing to face him. “Hey, Tre.”

The boy beamed, then turned to his father.

“I told you it was her,” he exclaimed.

“Nice to see you again, Azzi,” his father said with a knowing smile, sitting down in a seat one over from the nurse.

“You fixed my ankle,” Tre told her, like she might not remember.

Azzi crouched down to meet him at eye level, instinct taking over.

“I remember,” she said with a genuine smile. “You broke it during basketball tryouts. Paige said you told her you didn’t even cry, right?”

She glanced at Tre’s father out of the side of her eye when he heard him huff in response to her last sentence. But the boy recaptured her attention.

“Yeah,” he nodded enthusiastically, beyond thrilled that Azzi seemed to remember him. “And Paige signed my cast and said she’d get me tickets. I didn’t know I’d be this close though.”

He looked at the court, eyes wide and filled with awe. Then he turned back to Azzi, eager to fill her in on what he deemed the most important updates of his life.

“They took that cast though,” he said, frowning at the memory. “They wouldn’t let me keep it on. Told me I had to get a new one and that one was just for a little bit. I told them it was a special one because Paige signed it, but they didn’t listen.”

Azzi let out a soft huff of laughter at his rambling and expressive eyes.

“I got to choose the color of my new one though!” he told her, perking up again. “I chose blue. Because it’s my favorite. Do you like it?”

“It’s a really good color,” she told him. His smile widened at the nurse’s approval. “How’s your ankle feeling? Have you been doing what your doctors told you?”

“Mostly. It gets itchy and I shove stuff down there to scratch it, but sometimes the stuff gets lost down there.” Tre shrugged, unrepentant. “I wish I could still see you instead. My new doctor’s kind of an a-s-s hole,” he spelt out.

“Tre,” his father scolded. “Watch it.”

“I didn’t say it, I just spelt it,” he argued, wobbling a bit before catching himself. “That doesn’t count.”

Azzi had to bite back a smile.

“Sit down,” his father instructed. “Before you fall.”

The nurse watched the boy climb – rather ungracefully – into the seat next to his dad. Azzi moved to take her own seat, finally registering the fact that it was directly next to the young boy.

Azzi sat back in her seat slowly, realization dawning on her, loosening something in her chest before her heart swelled in the newly loosened space. Paige had picked the game. Paige had picked the seats.

It was too much of a coincidence for it to be anything but intentional. Far too thoughtful to be anything but Paige’s doing. Her girlfriend knew how uncomfortable of an environment it might’ve been for Azzi, even though the nurse would never say it out loud. So Paige went out of her way to make it as comfortable as possible for her in the only way she could.

“I’m so happy I’m here,” Tre said to her, eyes earnest. “I’m so glad you came too, Nurse Azzi.”

Azzi swallowed, eyes flicking briefly to the court before returning to Tre.

“Me too,” she said, and meant it.

He studied her for a minute, opening his mouth before snapping it shut. Like he couldn’t decide whether or not to say what was on his mind. Azzi huffed a laugh, deciding to make the decision for him.

“What’s up?” she questioned.

“Um,” he paused. “Will you sign my cast?”

Azzi stalled for a second, brows furrowing in slight confusion.

“You want me to sign it?” she double checked, thinking maybe she misunderstood.

“Yes please,” Tre confirmed. “You’re the one who fixed me. And you said you used to play basketball before. My dad and I watched some of your games. You were really good.”

Azzi blushed slightly at that, looking over Tre’s head at his father for confirmation.

“We uh– we might’ve found a few of your UCLA games,” his dad admitted, rather shyly. “Tre googled you after we were discharged.”

Azzi raised her eyebrows at him, at a loss for words.

“Sorry,” he said, a faint blush visible even against his dark skin. “You’re shot is impressive, though. You’re his new favorite shooter.”

“So will you sign it?” Tre asked, calling her attention back to him before she could think of a response to his father.

“Yeah,” Azzi agreed. “I’ll sign it. You have a pen?”

Tre radiated excitement at her answer. “I got one right here!”

He shifted his leg so Azzi could see a sharpie sticking out from the tiny gap between his cast and his leg.

She crouched down, pulling it out. “Is this for signatures or for scratching?”

Tre glanced at his dad before leaning closer to Azzi so he wouldn’t hear.

“It’s for both,” he whispered loudly.

Azzi laughed. “I won’t tell,” she whispered back.

She uncapped the marker, hand faltering just before it connected with the hard outer shell. She deliberated for a second before signing her name in a way she hadn’t done in years. The same way she used to sign fans jerseys and posters. With her first name and her old number. When she finished, she recapped the sharpie and tucked it gently back into his cast, returning to her seat beside him.

The players came out of the tunnel a few minutes later, interrupting Tre’s dramatic retelling of how cool everyone thought he was when he showed up to school the following day with crutches and a cast. His eyes were focused on the players in front of him.

Tre’s father excused himself to use a bathroom before the game started, thanking Azzi excessively when she offered to keep an eye on his son so he didn’t have to hobble behind him. Paige only put up a couple of shots before beelining straight towards where Tre and Azzi sat. Azzi rolled her eyes at the bewitched smile overtaking the blonde’s face when her eyes caught sight of her.

“What’s up, superstar?” she asked Tre, offering him a fistbump. The boy practically glowed under her attention.

Then her eyes shifted to Azzi.

“Hi,” she said softly, a stark contrast to the way she spoke to Tre. Her eyes were half lidded, staring at the nurse with the most obvious heart eyes she’d ever seen.

Tre launched into some story Azzi barely heard, focused entirely on the way Paige interacted with him. Laughing at his rambling and asking questions to engage him. Tre’s father found his way back, shaking Paige’s hand and thanking her for the seats. Before Paige turned to rejoin her team, she lightly nudged the blue cast with her foot.

“Want me to sign it?” she offered.

“Really?” the boy’s eyes widened comically large.

“‘Course,” Paige said, crouching down and pulling the sharpie that was lodged half way in the cast.

“I use it as a scratcher, too,” Tre informed her.

“Smart kid,” Paige smirked, tongue poking out as she carefully signed. “My little brother used a stick when he broke his arm, but it snapped off and he lost it in there.”

Tre blushed, clearly not as inclined to offer up information about losing stuff in his own cast as he was to Azzi. The nurse supposed it was doctor-patient confidentiality.

Paige capped the marker and wedged it back in the cast, making Tre giggle.

“Nurse Azzi signed it, too,” Tre told the blonde, rotating his foot so Paige could see.

Paige angled her head to inspect it closely, then her eyes snapped up to Azzi’s in recognition. She’d seen Azzi’s signature on many different documents. This one wasn’t the same and she knew Paige discerned the difference.

“Is– was that,” she stuttered.

The blonde stood up and cleared her throat, regaining some of her usual swagger.

“You’re gonna wanna keep that, dude,” she told Tre. “That’s a super rare autograph. Basically a collector’s item. Super valuable.”

Her gaze found its way to Azzi, eyes softening with adoration. The nurse saw the way Paige had to drag her eyes away from her, forcing herself to focus her attention back on Tre.

“I’ll have the rest of the team come and sign it after the game,” she told him.

Azzi grabbed her wrist just before she left. Paige let herself be pulled towards her girlfriend with zero hesitation, looking down at her with glossed eyes. The nurse released her wrist, pulling away with a subtle stroke of her thumb against Paige’s pulsepoint.

“Maybe you could find something else for the team to sign?” she suggested. “Casts usually smell really bad when they come off. Don’t make his parents have to suffer through keeping that.”

“Yeah,” Paige nodded, visibly dazed from the proximity to Azzi. “Okay. I’ll uh– I’ll find a ball or something.”

“Okay,” Azzi pursed her lips so as to not smile at her.

The blonde blinked a couple of times before shaking herself out of her stupor.

“See you after,” she said, turning to jog back to the rest of her team and warm up her shot.

Tre’s dad leaned forward to address Azzi.

“Thank you for that,” he said. “I think you might have saved our house from some pretty noxious fumes.”

Azzi chuckled. “No problem.”

Tre’s head kept swinging between Azzi and Paige, brow furrowing as he considered something.

“Are you and Paige in love?” he asked.

Azzi blanched. Luckily she was saved by the overhead speakers announcing the beginning of the starting line ups. Tre was thoroughly distracted and Azzi made it through the rest of their time without any more invasive questions.

By the time the game ended and the arena cleared out, Paige texted Azzi to meet her in the player tunnel, letting her know she would find her as soon as she took a quick shower. DiJonai found her first.

“Hey, Az,” she said, giving her a hug. “Your girl begged Arike to take her spot for media, so she should be out soon.”

Azzi let out a laugh, picturing how that conversation must’ve gone in her head.

“How you feeling?” DiJonai asked with genuine concern.

They spoke for a bit. Azzi reminded of how grateful she was for how close they had grown. That she could be honest and open with her, free to speak her mind without trepidation. The two women were deep in conversation when Paige sidled up to her, throwing an arm over the nurse’s shoulder. She did a quick sweep for cameras before leaning in and pressing a wet kiss to her cheek.

“Ew,” Azzi groaned.

The nurse made a face of disgust she didn’t really feel, making a show of wiping the moisture off of her face.

Paige pouted and DiJonai laughed, giving the both of them a hug goodbye before heading off. The blonde’s arm returned around Azzi’s shoulder as she began to lead them in the opposite direction of her teammate, heading towards her car.

“So,” Paige began, giving Azzi’s shoulder a little squeeze. “First game, what’d you think?”

Azzi rolled her eyes, more than aware that her girlfriend was fishing for compliments.

“You’re three ball could use some work,” she said, slipping on her practiced face and tone of boredom.

“Oh, okay, Curry,” Paige mocked. “You gotta fix your standards. Not everybody can master your perfect release, Az.”

“Clearly,” the nurse agreed.

Paige clicked her tongue. “Seriously, what’d you think?”

“I thought you were cute with Tre,” she said. Letting Paige sit without a compliment to her game for another moment. The blonde was happy to hear any praise apparently, still smiling proudly at Azzi’s prior compliment. She steered them left down a tunnel Azzi didn’t notice.

“And…?” she egged on.

“And you played really well, Paige,” she finally relented.

Paige frowned. “That’s it?” She dropped her arm from the nurse’s shoulder.

Azzi blinked at her. “What do you want me to say?”

Paige looked taken aback. “I don’t know. But it’s the first time you’ve ever seen me play and all you gotta say is ‘played well’?”

“Who said that was my first time watching you play?”

“I mean… I wasn’t expecting like a full on scouting report, but I kinda thought you’d give me more than–”

Paige’s brows furrowed, finally processing Azzi’s words. “Wait, what?”

“What?” Azzi asked, innocently.

“What you just said.”

“What’d I say?”

“That wasn’t your first time watching me play?”

“No,” Azzi said simply.

“Wait,” Paige said, still looking lost. “‘No’, that’s not what you said? Or ‘no’, that wasn’t your first time watching me play?”

“The latter,” she answered.

“Ladder?” Paige said, now completely disoriented. She glanced around like maybe the nurse had spotted a ladder she was somehow missing.

“No, I said ‘latter’,” Azzi clarified, trying not to laugh.

“I know,” Paige said, starting to get frustrated. “I heard you loud and clear. But I don’t get it. What ladder?”

“Latter, Paige,” she said, trying to enunciate more clearly.

“What ladder?” Paige asked again, voice rising.

“No, I– ugh,” Azzi groaned, realizing this was going nowhere.

Azzi sighed, finally turning to face her fully. “I’ve seen you play before.”

“What?” she guffawed. “When?”

“I bought the League Pass,” she admitted quietly.

Paige shook her head, stunned. “You’ve been watching me?”

Azzi met her gaze now, unflinching. “Yeah.”

“For how long?”

“Since you almost gave me a heart attack showing up in my hospital with your head split open,” Azzi responded, unhappy at the memory.

“But that was before the season even started,” she said with furrowed brows.

Azzi just shrugged. She started walking again, hoping she was headed in the right direction. Paige stayed frozen behind her.

“Wait,” Paige said, jogging to catch up. “Have you been watching every game?”

Azzi could feel her cheeks heating up. “I don’t trust you to tell me when you’re actually hurt. I need to see for myself.”

“And what do you think?” Paige urged.

“I think I was right. You don’t tell me shit,” she snarked.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Paige grinned.

“I think,” Azzi paused, deciding to tell her girlfriend what she was desperate to hear. “You're one of the best players I’ve ever seen. Watching you is… an experience.”

Paige didn’t respond at first, a giant grin splitting her face. Then her steps slowed as she seemed to piece something together.

“I knew there was no way you just happened to know what muscle I needed massaged after games,” she lit up. “I just assumed Nai was feeding you insider information.”

They approached a door that Paige pushed open, holding it for Azzi to walk through. The nurse didn’t understand how they’d ended up in an underground parking lot based on the path they took, but she didn’t question it.

“Oh, she is,” Azzi confirmed. “I have multiple sources. But firsthand observation is one of the most important.”

Paige sighed, happy and content. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered.

Azzi assumed she said it more to herself than for the nurse to hear. But the awe in her girlfriend's voice made her smile regardless.

They reached Paige’s car, and she followed Azzi to the passenger side to open the door for her.

“Thank you,” Azzi blushed, still prone to getting flustered when Paige opened her door like it was second-nature. Even though she did it every time.

Just as Paige made her way to the driver's side, Azzi reached over the console and pushed the door open from the inside. The blonde climbed in with a shy smile, a slight flush coloring her cheeks.

Azzi looked at her with a proud smile. Paige just stared at her adoringly. She exhaled deeply, shaking her head.

One of Paige’s hands came up to hold her by the hinge of her jaw, thumb stroking gently beneath her eye. She opened her mouth to speak and Azzi felt her eyes widen in slight panic, half expecting those three words to come out of her mouth.

Something like recognition flickered in her blue eyes.

“You’re perfect,” she said instead.

“Paige,” she started, not sure what she intended to say, only that she needed to say something.

But Paige didn’t give her the chance before she pulled forward, closing the distance and kissed her. It was unhurried and tender, and Azzi melted into it instantly. Her hand found the front of Paige’s hoodie, fingers curling into the fabric like she needed something solid to hold onto.

She felt Paige smile against her mouth, and then deepened the kiss just a little. When they finally pulled apart, they stayed close, foreheads pressed together, breathing each other in.

“Thank you for coming today,” Paige said into the space between them, her breath warm against Azzi’s face. “I know it wasn’t easy for you.”

Azzi opened her mouth, ready to deny Paige’s statement. To lie and say it was no big deal, that she didn’t almost throw up or back out. But Paige cut her off.

“I saw your face,” she told her. “When you walked in.”

The blonde pulled back, leaning her head against her seat to study Azzi’s face.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked softly.

The tenderness in her eyes had Azzi nodding before she could even really think about another response. She would say yes to anything Paige asked when she looked at her like that.

“When’s the last time you went to a game?” she questioned, eyes still open and earnest.

Azzi averted her gaze from blue, staring at the way Paige’s fingers played with the sleeve of her own hoodie. She lifted her eyes back up to Paige’s just before she spoke.

“Not since I tore my ACL,” she confessed, her voice sounding unsteady to her own ears.

Paige’s eyes widened in surprise before something that looked an awful lot like guilt overtook her features. Blue eyes squeezed close.

“Fuck, Azzi,” she said, voice breaking.

When she opened her eyes again, the typically bright blue was clouded with emotion.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she croaked. “I– I wouldn’t have pushed you to come. I shouldn’t have pushed you to come. I’m sorry.”

Azzi was speechless. It looked like it hurt Paige more than it had hurt Azzi. She felt that instinct to protect Paige consume her. Her hand reached out instinctively, resting against the side of Paige’s neck, fingers gently stroking the baby hairs at the nape.

“Paige, you have nothing to be sorry for,” she told her resolutely. “I wanted to go.”

“But–”

“No,” Azzi cut her off, desperate to ease the guilt swimming in her eyes. Desperate for her to believe her. “If I really didn’t want to go, I wouldn’t have.”

“You might not know this,” the nurse whispered, leaning closer conspiratorially. “But I’m a little bit stubborn.”

Paige laughed at that, some of the warmth returning to her eyes.

“A little bit is an underexaggeration," she muttered.

“Seriously, though. I’m glad I went. I like watching you play,” she reassured her. “Besides, you sat me next to Tre. How could I not have enjoyed it?”

Paige narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“What makes you think I sat you next to Tre?” she probed. “That could have just been a coincidence.”

“Coincidence, my ass,” Azzi scoffed. “That was 100% a Paige move. Don’t even try to deny it.”

She looked like she was going to try, but then snapped her mouth shut. She smiled shyly at the nurse instead.

“I knew it wasn’t gonna be painless,” she admitted. “I didn’t realize the extent until now. But I thought having something familiar… a reminder of the life you’ve built helping people now that you don’t play anymore, might make it hurt less.”

Azzi bit the inside of her cheek, squeezing her eyes shut to stave off a wave of tears that threatened to well up behind her lids. The urge to cry had nothing to do with sadness, but with the weight of being understood and cared for so thoroughly.

“Take me home,” she ordered. “I miss your bed. I didn’t get to nap today.”

“Yes ma’am,” Paige chuckled softly.

She turned on the ignition, placing her hand on the gearshift to put the car in drive. But just before she did, she removed her hand, turning to face Azzi with a look of contemplation on her face.

“Wait, can I ask you one more question before we leave?” she asked.

Azzi groaned, letting her head fall against the back of the seat. She had officially reached her daily limit of intrusive questions and emotional vulnerability. “Now what?” she huffed.

“Did you actually see a ladder back there, or were you just messing with me?”

Azzi blinked, processing the question. Then she burst out laughing.

—

The day Azzi knew Paige was it for her, that she was undeniably and irrevocably in love, was after one of the worst shifts of her life. Losing a patient was never easy. Losing a child was a different kind of pain entirely. Hearing the agonizing screams of a mother learning her eight month old daughter was gone and never coming back was something you never forget. It haunts you. It erodes your soul quietly, until your heart feels split open in your chest. Raw, exposed, and bleeding long after the shift ends.

So when Azzi finally made it home, she was emotionally and physically drained. She didn’t even have the energy to shower off the events of her shift, instead collapsing on the couch and sobbing until sleep finally overtook her. She was woken up an hour later by the sound of her phone ringing, only one contact with the ability to automatically bypass her do not disturb.

“Fuck,” she mumbled outloud into the suffocating quiet of her apartment. She had completely forgotten she’d told Paige she would come over once she was off.

She debated ignoring it, but knew that would only make the blonde worry and most likely cause her to show up. The last thing she wanted was for Paige to see her in her current state. She didn’t answer until the last ring, finally swiping right.

“Hey,” she said, voice rough with sleep and grief.

“You fall asleep?” Paige chuckled.

When she only hummed noncommittally in response, she heard movement on the other end of the line, like Paige was shifting the phone closer to her ear. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah,” she lied, but her voice cracked.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Paige questioned, and the way she asked was so gentle and sincere it nearly broke her.

Azzi willed the tears pooling in her eyes not to start falling again. Helpless against the quiver in her lower lip at the worry evident in Paige’s voice. She tried not to let the sob building up in her chest burst free as she exhaled shakily.

“Nothing. Just tired. Long shift,” but the excuse sounded weak to her own ears. She knew Paige wouldn’t let it go if she heard too much more. “I’m not gonna make it tonight. Rain check, okay?”

“Az–”

She hung up swiftly before she broke all over again, clutching a pillow to her chest, helpless to the tears streaking freely down her face. She heard the ding of her phone, certain Paige was texting her concerned after her abrupt hang up, but she didn’t have the strength to pick it up and respond. Too spent to give the blonde the reassurance she probably deserved.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, only knew that she must’ve fallen back asleep. Because she was stirred from her wretched slumber by the sound of knuckles rapping gently, but urgently, against her front door.

It took far more effort than she cared to admit, but she trudged her way from the couch to the front door, too out of sorts to think about who could be on the other side when she swung it open. She opened her mouth, ready to tell whoever it was off, only to freeze at the sight in front of her.

Paige stood in her hallway in loose sweats and a big t-shirt, with her hair pulled back haphazardly into a loose bun, glasses askew on her face, and a plastic grocery bag filled with god knows what in one hand. Azzi probably would have laughed at how distressed her girlfriend looked at the sight of her if it were any other day. But seeing the worry on Paige’s face made her acutely aware of her current state. She was still in her scrubs, hair surely a mess of matted curls, with stained tear tracks streaking her face.

“Azzi,” Paige breathed out. It sounded the way Azzi felt. Raw and painful, but filled with an added layer of agonizing concern.

Azzi pressed her palms tightly into her eyes, trying to stave off another round of tears. How do I even have anything left to cry, she thought to herself dejectedly. Her shoulders began to shake with the weight of her grief.

She briefly registered the sound of plastic hitting the hardwood floor and the click of her door closing before she felt Paige’s arms wrapping tightly against her. One arm snaked around her waist pressing her close, the fingers of the blonde’s other hand coming up to the back of her neck, holding her tight against her chest.

The feeling of security, the warmth, the familiar smell of Paige only made her cry harder. Her own hands found purchase in the blonde’s t-shirt, clutching to her like a lifeline. Paige walked them slowly over to the couch, cooing soft reassurances the entire way.

Paige had managed to maneuver them so that Azzi was essentially laying on top of the blonde, face tucked into the crook of her neck. She held her close, rubbing circles between her shoulder blades and placing gentle kisses to her temple. Azzi wasn’t sure if it had been five minutes or thirty before her sobs finally slowed and humiliation began to settle heavy in her chest, piling on to the anguish that already felt like it would live there forever.

With one last sniffle she finally extricated her face from where it was practically molded into the blonde’s neck. “Sorry,” she mumbled, voice strained from tears and disuse.

Paige looked at her carefully. “Baby, why are you saying sorry to me right now?” she asked, baffled.

Azzi shrugged weakly. “For– for all that,” she mumbled. “For breaking down.” She refused to meet Paige’s gaze, terrified of what she might find there. Paige liked her because she was strong, because she never broke. And she had just shattered the illusion.

With a shaky hand, Paige cupped her cheek delicately, forcing the nurse to meet her eyes. What she found wasn’t disappointment, or judgement, or anything else she had been scared to see. Paige’s blue eyes were filled with concern and tenderness. And something else Azzi was scared to name for an entirely different reason.

“Azzi, you never have to apologize to me,” she said softly but absolutely. “Especially not for this. I want to be there for you– be the one you come to. Not just for the easy stuff. But when you’re hurting, too.”

She brushed her thumb gently across Azzi’s cheek, holding her like she was something precious. “I– I want to be your person.”

“You’re gonna make me cry again,” Azzi mumbled, tucking her face back into Paige’s neck. Overwhelmed by the sincerity in her voice. By the affection in her eyes.

“S’okay. I’ll hold you through it,” Paige whispered back, carding her fingers through dark curls. Working gently through the tangles.

Azzi didn’t respond with words, just squeezed her arms around Paige tighter and placed a kiss against her neck. They laid like that, tangled silently in each other for a few more minutes before Paige finally spoke again.

“C’mon,” she urged gently. “Let’s go shower, stinky.”

“Excuse me?” Azzi questioned, eyebrows raising in a weak challenge.

“Not a bad stinky,” Paige clarified, standing up from the couch, stretching her arms above her head before offering a hand out for the nurse. “You just smell like hospital disinfectant.”

Azzi let the blonde help her up before glaring at her. Paige threw her hands up in surrender.

“Hey, I like the smell,” she said. “But I know your ass is gonna be pissed with both of us if you climb in bed without showering.”

“Fine, whatever,” Azzi murmured, letting Paige pull her into one more embrace before leading them to the bathroom in her bedroom with a hand on the small of her back.

The bathroom light felt too bright, too harsh against the dull ache behind Azzi’s eyes. Paige reached past her to turn it down, dimming it just enough to soften the edges of everything. It was such a small thing. But the action held so much thought and intention it made Azzi’s chest ache all the same. Paige turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature with practiced ease, testing the spray with her hand before nodding to herself. Steam began to curl into the air, fogging the mirror.

“Can I?” Paige asked quietly, fingers already hovering at the hem of Azzi’s scrub top.

Azzi nodded, not trusting her voice not to break.

Paige moved slowly, like she was afraid of startling her. She lifted the shirt over Azzi’s head, careful not to tug at her hair. Her hands were warm and steady as she helped her step out of the rest of her clothes.

There was no rush, no teasing. Just gentle touches that grounded the nurse. Paige let her actions speak for her. Carefully retying Azzi’s hair into a bun on the top of her head, knowing it wasn’t a hair washing day.

When Paige guided her into the shower, the warm water hit Azzi’s skin and something inside her finally gave way. Not in sobs this time, but in a deep, shuddering exhale. Paige followed her in, fully clothed at first, until Azzi let out a quiet, incredulous laugh.

“You don’t have to–”

“I know,” Paige said easily, already reaching for the soap. “But I want to.”

She slipped out of her t-shirt and sweats quickly, then stepped back under the spray with Azzi, positioning herself close enough that their bodies touched, Paige’s presence a steady anchor behind her.

Paige lathered the soap between her palms and began washing Azzi’s arms first. Long, careful strokes. Up and down. Over wrists that shook slightly, over forearms that carried more weight than anyone ever acknowledged. She rinsed them clean, then moved to her shoulders, thumbs kneading gently into tight muscles until Azzi sagged back against her chest with a quiet, broken sound.

“That’s it,” Paige murmured. “I got you.”

She washed her back next, tracing the lines of her spine, the contours of her muscles, like she was memorizing every inch. Like she was something sacred. When Paige turned her gently to face her, Azzi kept her eyes closed, trusting completely as Paige cleaned the day from her skin. The smell of hospital, the invisible heaviness, the grief that clung to her like a second layer.

Paige knelt briefly to wash her legs, hands reverent and patient. Movements steady and certain. When she stood again, she rested her forehead against Azzi’s, water cascading around them, steam wrapping them in something close and private.

Azzi finally opened her eyes. Paige was watching her like she always did. Like Azzi was something worth worrying over, worth showing up for.

Azzi leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Paige’s lips. Slow and deliberate, full of everything she couldn’t say. Paige kissed her back without hesitation, without question, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

When the nurse pulled back, her breath was coming out in shallow puffs, overwhelmed by the sudden need for the woman in front of her.

“Paige,” she breathed out breathless, and desperate to even her own ears. “Touch me.”

The blonde hesitated. “Azzi–”

“Please.”

Paige pulled back, looking her in the eyes, searching her face for any signs of uncertainty. Any hint of doubt. Azzi grabbed her hand, bringing it to where she needed her most. “Please.”

“Okay,” Paige whispered against her mouth before capturing her lips in the most gentle kiss Azzi had ever experienced in her life. The hand Azzi had guided south didn’t touch her yet, instead moving to her waist.

Paige held her steady, fingers pressing tightly into her sides as she deepened the kiss. Her lips firmer, tongue tracing against the Azzi’s bottom lip in teasing swipes.

She gently urged her backwards, pressing her against the shower wall. The sensation of the cool tile on her back a stark contrast to the burning heat of Paige’s body against her front. She gasped at the contact. Paige took advantage, swallowing the sound and pushing her tongue into Azzi’s mouth. The feel of the blonde’s tongue caressing her own caused goosebumps to spread across her bronze skin.

Paige’s lips moved to her neck, slowly. Sucking burning kisses into her skin there. Nipping carefully with her teeth against the strained tendon of Azzi’s neck before soothing it with her tongue. Focusing on a particularly sensitive spot until she was gasping and writing beneath her.

Only then did she move, mouthing across Azzi’s collarbones to her chest, sucking a bruising kiss just above the nurse's heart, before taking a nipple into her mouth, teasing it into a stiff peak and laving it with her tongue. She did the same on the other side before slowly kissing her way lower until she was on her knees.

Paige traced her tongue across the contours of Azzi’s stomach. Taking her time, as if refusing to leave a single inch of skin untouched. She ran her tongue across her belly piercing, moving slowly down her navel. Her hands never ceasing their movements. Alternating between kneading her ass and her tits. She sucked one final bruise into the nurse's hip before finally descending lower.

The first swipe of her tongue against Azzi had the nurse releasing a breathy moan she was unable to swallow down. One hand came to tangle in wet blonde hair, pulling her closer against her, the other splayed against the tile wall for balance. Paige licked through her slowly, tongue all wet heat, lapping up everything Azzi had to offer.

“Fuck,” Paige moaned into her, the vibrations adding to her pleasure. “You taste so good, baby.”

Azzi couldn’t help the moan that clawed out of her throat at the words.

Paige was worshipping her with hungry restraint. Every movement felt intentional, like she was savoring every reaction she pulled from Azzi. She lingered where the nurse was most sensitive, paying mind to every touch and sound she pulled. Responding to the way her body arched and softened beneath her. The heat building steadily between her legs impossible to ignore. Coiloing low and deep in her stomach.

Azzi’s breath was coming out in broken gasps, her head tipping back against the tile as the warm water cascaded over her shoulders. Paige didn’t let up, her tongue working deep through her. Alternating in its pressure and patterns. Every nerve ending felt exposed. Like a live wire beneath the onslaught of water and tongue.

Paige’s hands were everywhere and nowhere all at once, like they couldn’t decide where to land. Where to settle. Steadying her hips, kneading her ass, tracing deliberate paths up her sides where he thumbs pressed just enough to remind her she wasn’t going to fall.

“Paige,” Azzi whispered, voice wrecked. More plea than name. Her hands tugged the blonde upwards, suddenly overcome with the need to have her close.

Paige seemed to sense her desperation, rising slowly. Dragging her body back into Azzi’s until there was no space left between them. No room for air. Azzi barely had time to take note of the slick covering Paige’s mouth and chin, glistening with evidence of her need for the blonde, before she kissed her hard.

Her mouth was hot and claiming, allowing the nurse to taste herself as their tongues clashed. She swallowed every sound Azzi made. It wasn’t rushed, but deep, slow, and devastating. Paige caught Azzi’s bottom lip between her teeth, pulling back slightly before releasing it with an audible snap. She soothed the bite with a swipe of her tongue. Kissing her deeply again. Slow and hungry. Her mouth felt like liquid fire. Far hotter than the water cascading down their bodies.

Paige kissed her like she had all the time in the world. Like she intended to take her apart piece by piece and put her back together whole again.

Azzi melted into it, fingers digging into Paige’s shoulders, grounding herself there. Leaving crescent marks in pale skin from the intensity of her grip she’d apologize for later. Though Paige would have no qualms with the memory of Azzi’s desire carved into her skin.

Paige’s thigh slipped between her own, deliberate and teasing. Azzi gasped into her mouth at the pressure. The blonde groaned softly at the sound, pulling back just enough to rest their foreheads together.

“So perfect for me, baby,” she whispered hotly against her mouth.

Be began to guide the nurse’s hips in a steady grind against her. Azzi was so wet she couldn’t tell the difference between the water dripping between her legs and her own slick.

“Shit, Az,” Paige murmured, breath fanning over her lips. “You feel s’fucking good.”

The praise hit her harder than it should have. Azzi shuddered, overwhelmed all over again. But this time, with want and desire instead of grief. Paige felt the shudder wracking through the nurse’s body and responded immediately. Hands tightening against her, encouraging the incessant roll of her hips against a flexed thigh. Lips never parting from where they worked against her skin for more than a breath.

“I got you,” she said, pressing hot open mouthed kisses against the corner of her jaw, just below her ear. “Let go, baby. Come for me.”

And Azzi did.

It wasn’t explosive in the typical way she normally experienced with Paige when they were intimate. It was all consuming. Heat spread through every nerve ending like liquid fire. Her body pulled taut before going boneless against Paige’s as the last of the tension she’d been carrying all day slipped free.

Paige held her through the aftershocks, movements slowing but never stopping as she helped her ride it out. Murmuring soft praises against her temple as her hands moved soothingly. Lips posessive against her skin.

Only once Azzi’s breathing finally began to even out did Paige shift them completely beneath the spray again, careful to avoid wetting the nurse’s hair. She pressed gentle kisses along her jaw, her throat, her shoulder. Soft and affectionate. Grounding her back in her body. The water rinsed away the sweat and the ache, leaving only warmth and closeness behind.

Azzi rested her forehead against Paige’s shoulder, utterly spent. Emotion pressed tight against her ribs. “You’re way too good to me,” she murmured faintly.

Paige frowned slightly at her words, wrapping her arms tightly around Azzi’s middle, hands splaying wide against her back. “That’s not possible, Az.”

The blonde placed a lingering kiss to her temple, willing her to believe her next words. “You’re perfect.”

She finished washing Azzi then, taking her time to carefully remove the makeup from her face with a soft cloth and gentle swipes. Washed away the last of the suds from her body with slow hands and lingering touches. In no rush to let the moment end.

When she shut the water off, she grabbed a towel for Azzi first, wrapping her in the soft terry cloth before pulling her close against her body once more. Arms holding her firmly against her. Azzi rested her head in the juncture of Paige’s shoulder and neck, feeling the blonde’s warmth seep through the towel straight to her heart.

She grabbed a second towel for herself before leading Azzi back out into the bedroom, arm wrapped around her waist. Always in some sort of contact, like she was worried Azzi would disappear if she let go for even a moment.

She grabbed a pair of sleep shorts and one of her many hoodies that now permanently belonged to the nurse, slipping it over Azzi’s head. She helped her pull her arms through the sleeves, gently reaching inside of the cuffs that extended long past Azzi’s hands to pull them free. When they slipped out, she brought a hand to her mouth, pressing soft kisses against each knuckle.

Then she knelt in front of her, helping her step into the sleep shorts.

“I can dress myself, you know,” Azzi muttered, holding on to Paige’s broad shoulders for balance anyway. She lifted each leg into her shorts when the blonde tapped her thigh, signalling for her to do so.

“Yeah well… I’m better at it,” Paige replied with a small, teasing smirk. The smirk was gone as quickly as it appeared. Replaced with a look of what Azzi could only describe as adorable concentration, as she focused on her sliding the shorts over long legs and the firm swell of Azzi’s backside. Gently pulling the waistband into place over her hips.

The sight of Paige on her knees before her, dressing her so carefully, taking care of her like she was something worth revering had her heart aching in an entirely different way than it had earlier in the night.

The blonde was just so tender with her. So patient. So loving. Azzi didn’t know what she did to deserve someone so good. She didn’t know how to express everything she felt for the woman in front of her. Didn’t have the words.

So instead, she carefully pulled Paige back up to a standing position, and stepped into her, closing the already minimal space between them. She curled one hand in blonde hair, the other clutching the front of the towel Paige still wore, and pulled her into a searing kiss. Trying to convey everything she felt for the blonde through the movement of her lips. When she pulled back, Paige looked dazed. Her eyes half-lidded, and a lopsided smile on her face. Like she still couldn’t believe Azzi was hers.

The blonde exhaled deeply, eyes tracing all features of the nurse’s face. She gave her one last lingering kiss before stepping back to dress herself. As soon as she was in a pair of boxers and one of Azzi’s old oversized t-shirts, she was back in Azzi’s space. Hands finding her waist like they belonged there, forehead resting against the nurse’s.

“You hungry?” Paige asked her quietly, breath puffing gently against her lips.

“No,” Azzi replied, with a small shake of her head. But her stomach contradicted her words with an audible grumble.

Paige pulled her head back slightly to level her with an unimpressed look. “When’s the last time you ate?”

Azzi paused at that, eyebrows furrowing as she tried to remember. “Um…,” she thought out loud. “I think I ate…” she trailed off in thought.

“Nope,” Paige interrupted. “S’ been too long already if you gotta think about it that hard.”

She slowly dragged her hands from Azzi’s waist, letting her touch linger before interlacing their fingers and all but dragging her out of the bedroom.

“You’re the medical professional, Azzi,” Paige scolded as she led them down the hall to the kitchen. “You know how important it is to eat. I shouldn’t be the one who has to tell you that.”

Azzi rolled her eyes at the blonde’s dramatics. “I wasn’t hungry.”

“Doesn’t matter. Your brain needs nutrients. Brain energy conversion and all that? Isn’t that what you tell me all the time when you nag me to eat those nasty–”

“Oh shit!” Paige cut herself off, eyes going wide when they landed on the plastic bag on the ground near Azzi’s front door.

She dropped the nurse’s hand and practically sprinted towards it. Azzi watched her, a faint smile on tired lips. Amused by, but not unused to, her girlfriend's random spaz outs.

“What’s in there?” she asked curiously, as she took a seat at one of the barstools in front of the kitchen island. Paige made her way over with the bag, pulling out the seat directly next to Azzi and moving it so she could stand pressed entirely against her side with no space between them.

Normally, Azzi would tease her for her clinginess. Her inability to simply sit next to her without room for air. But in that moment, Azzi was silently grateful for it. Soaking up the contact. The warmth of the heat that radiated off of her body pressed against her side. She set the bag on the counter before beginning to pull an absurd amount of stuff out of it.

“Well,” she started, suddenly shy. “You sounded upset on the phone… so I picked up some stuff that I thought might help. But I didn’t know what was wrong so I just tried to prepare for the basics.”

“I kinda forgot I needed to put this in the freezer,” Paige said with a frown, as she pulled out a container of chocolate ice cream that more likely resembled soup than a frozen treat at this point.

Azzi let out a soft huff of amusement, leaning her head against Paige’s arm as she watched her shove the melted ice cream to the side with a pout.

“It’ll refreeze,” the nurse reassured her, turning her face to place a small kiss of appreciation to the blonde’s arm before resting her head again. Paige continued pulling random snacks out of the bag. Some she already knew were Azzi’s favorites, and others she figured the nurse might appreciate trying.

“I think that might be a lost cause,” Azzi said, nodding to the cottage cheese.

“What?” Paige looked appalled at the sentiment. “It’s fine. It can be recooled. Just like the ice cream.”

“It’s warm to the touch,” Azzi countered. “Borderline hot.”

“But you love cottage cheese,” Paige argued.

“Not when it’s spoiled.”

“It’s not spoiled.”

“Take a bite then,” Azzi challenged.

“Ew, bro,” Paige made a face of disgust. “I’m not touchin’ those gross, clumpy, milk curds. You know that.”

“It’s not that bad,” Azzi started. “You just like to be dramatic. It’s good when it’s cold. And it’s good for you.”

“Hell nah. It’s like if cheese had acne,” Paige retorted, and Azzi couldn’t help the small smile pulling at her lips. “There’s no way a bowl of blended cheese brains is good for you. I don’t care what your science says. It’s a lie.”

“You have such a way with words,” Azzi teased with a small smirk. Drained, but apparently never too drained to goad the blonde.

“If basketball doesn’t work out, I could be a poetry writer,” Paige said, overly self assured.

“A poet,” Azzi corrected.

Paige gave her a light hearted glare. “You could be the grammar police. Like, badge and all,” she grumbled sarcastically.

“Only if I get handcuffs too,” she pondered. “I wouldn’t mind putting you in handcuffs.”

She caught the subtle hitch in the blonde’s breath. The way her eyes glossed over briefly before she realized she’d stalled out. Azzi huffed a quiet almost-laugh at the reaction.

Paige shook her head like she could physically clear the thoughts forming in her mind, cheeks faintly pink. “Whatever,” she murmured. “So you’re really gonna throw out the cottage cheese?”

“It’s been sitting out for hours, Paige,” Azzi said dryly. “I love cottage cheese. But I draw the line at spoiled milk.”

“Fine,” Paige grumbled, pushing it to the side. “You’re lucky you’re so pretty.”

Azzi’s stomach swooped at the words, before it growled again. Louder this time, as if begging for attention. Or at least, food. She felt her face warm slightly at the sound.

“Okay, okay,” Paige said, digging through the bag. The nurse was genuinely confused how there were still more items inside of it. Her counter was currently littered with random snacks, a small bouquet of pink peonies, a book Azzi had mentioned wanting to read in passing, a sudoku book, and two different crossword books Paige thought she might enjoy because she was ‘such a nerd’.

“I know exactly what you need,” Paige declared, pulling two things of cup-a-noodles from the bag and holding them up like trophies. “Comfort food.”

Azzi lifted a brow at the conviction in her voice. “Comfort food,” she repeated, dubious. “That’s what you’re calling that?”

“Yes, Azzi,” Paige scoffed. “It’s soup. It’s warm. It’s comforting. And it’s… soupy.”

Azzi opened her mouth to argue, but her stomach betrayed her with another growl. She sighed. “Fine.” She reached for the cups.

Paige snatched them out of her reach before she could touch them. “I’ll make them.”

“Paige…” Azzi hesitated. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

The blonde stared at her, visibly offended. “Azzi.”

“Do you not remember what happened the last time you tried to make me breakfast?” Azzi reminded her, gently. “Or the fact that we literally met because I had to stitch your hand back together after you sliced it open in your kitchen?”

Paige groaned. “Okay, first of all, there was no need to bring up breakfast. You promised we’d never talk about it again.” She pointed a finger accusingly. “And second, this is literally two steps. Water and a microwave. I’m not gonna mess that up.”

“You’re supposed to boil the water and let it sit,” Azzi corrected her. “Not microwave it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Paige shot back. “I didn’t realize I was dating Martha fucking Stewart. The microwave is faster and just as good. I’ve made these like a hundred times.”

Azzi still looked unconvinced.

Paige narrowed her eyes. “Go sit down. Pick a movie. I got this.”

After another second, Azzi relented and shuffled toward the couch. She faintly heard Paige mutter, “No faith in me, I swear,” under her breath.

“Can you dump out the veggies?” Azzi called back.

“What?” Paige yelped. “Azzi Fudd wants me to remove the vegetables?”

“They’re not real vegetables,” Azzi argued. “They’re just dehydrated lumps of salt.”

Paige laughed. Azzi flopped on the couch unceremoniously. She heard the crinkle of plastic, then the faint rattle of freeze-dried bits hitting the bottom of the sink.

Azzi groaned as she flicked through a seemingly endless selection of recommended titles on Netflix. “There’s too many. I don’t know what I’m in the mood for.”

The microwave door thudded shut, followed by a rapid series of beeps as Paige punched in the time. Paige plopped onto the couch beside her, arm immediately coming to wrap around Azzi’s shoulders. “So indecisive,” she murmured, pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek. The low hum of the microwave filled the apartment, steady background noise as she continued to scroll.

As it turned out, Azzi’s lack of faith in Paige’s ability to cook something as simple as cup-a-noodles was warranted. After a couple of minutes of scrolling – Paige suggesting different movies only for the nurse to veto them all – Azzi noticed something wasn’t right.

“Do you smell burning?” Azzi asked with a frown, moving to sit up from where she sagged against the blonde.

Paige sniffed the air in an exaggerated display. “No,” she denied. “It smells like–”

She was cut off by the ding of the microwave, signaling their ‘comfort food’ was ready. “Be right back,” Paige said, jumping up off the couch. Far too excited about something as trivial as microwavable soup.

Azzi barely had time to open her mouth before she heard the microwave door open, followed immediately by a high-pitched scream. Then the door slam shut. Azzi was on her feet in an instant.

She saw Paige tearing through the kitchen in a blind panic, knocking over the utensil jar as she fished out a pair of tongs. When she yanked the microwave open again, Azzi caught a glimpse of orange flames licking up the sides of a collapsing styrofoam cup, thick black smoke pooling inside her previously spotless microwave.

Paige clamped the tongs around the melting container and dropped it into the sink. She flicked the faucet on full force, sending water blasting on the engulfed noodles. The flames hissed as steam and smoke curled toward the ceiling.

A second later, the fire alarm went off.

“Paige,” Azzi shouted over the alarm, already waving a dish towel uselessly at the ceiling. “Why was it on fire?”

“Oh my god,” Paige groaned, red in the face, dropping the tongs into the sink with a clang. “Okay, okay, I’m handling it.” She glanced around, then climbed onto the counter without hesitation.

“Paige–” Azzi started, immediately alarmed for entirely different reasons. “Get down. Do not climb on the counter.”

“Relax,” Paige shot back, reaching for the alarm. “I’ve done this before.”

“That is not reassuring!”

Paige stretched up on her toes, one hand bracing against the cabinet, the other poking at the alarm until it finally cut off with a click. There was a beat of silence, the only sound coming from the faucet continuing to pour water over thoroughly burnt noodles.

They both froze for a second. Paige still perched on the counter, breathing a little hard, hair slightly frizzed, and cheeks flushed. Then she hopped down, grinning sheepishly as she turned off the faucet.

“Why is it always like this with you?” Azzi asked, continuing to uselessly wave her dish towel around at the lingering smoke.

Paige crossed her arms defensively. “Okay, first of all–”

“Paige,” Azzi cut her off, dropping the dish towel onto the counter.

“This was not my fault,” she said immediately. “You distracted me.”

Azzi blinked, incredulous. “I– what? How is this my fault?”

“You asked me to dump out the veggies,” Paige continued, counting on her fingers. “Then you made me choose a movie, which you refused to commit to, by the way. My brain can only handle so much at once!”

Azzi stared inquisitively at the charred remains of the cup-a-noodles slumped sadly in the sink, gears turning in her head. “Did– did you forget to put water in it?”

The blonde avoided eye contact. “Maybe.”

“Paige.”

“You were flirting with me earlier!” Paige began to defend herself, naturally shifting the blame to Azzi. “That’s on you. You can’t expect me to cook and process handcuff implications.”

Azzi stared at her for a long second. Then she laughed.

Not a quiet huff. Not a tired exhale. A real laugh, surprised and unguarded, bubbling up out of her chest before she could stop it. It was the first time she’d laughed since her shift from hell had started. Paige’s expression softened instantly. She crossed the kitchen in two steps.

“You’re laughing,” she said gently, hands settling at Azzi’s waist. “I missed that sound.”

“You set soup on fire,” Azzi justified her outburst, still smiling, forehead dropping to Paige’s shoulder.

“S’really not my fault,” she pouted.

Azzi shook her head, but the smile continued to tug at her mouth despite herself. “You forgot the single most important step. Really the only step.”

“Okay, wow,” Paige said. “There’s no need to rub it in. I was trying to be nurturing.”

“You nearly burned my apartment down.”

“I saved your apartment. It coulda burned down completely. I was a hero,” she attested. Her delusion never failed to amuse Azzi.

The nurse shook her head, exhaustion settling back in now that the moment had passed, but lighter somehow. “You’re banned from my kitchen. From any kitchen.”

Paige grinned, pressing a kiss into Azzi’s hair. “We can discuss that later. I’m gonna order us something to eat. And order you a new microwave…”

By the time they finally made it to bed, teeth brushed, bellies full, and hair still smelling faintly of smoke, Azzi was bone-tired. Her mind felt heavy, her body even heavier, weighed down by the torrent of the many emotions she’d experienced in such a short period of time.

She curled into Paige on her side, fitting against her like she was made specifically for her. Azzi’s head rested over Paige’s heart, cheek pressed to her chest, while their legs tangled together beneath the sheets. Paige’s arms wrapped around her without hesitation, one hand sliding beneath the hem of Azzi’s t-shirt, tracing slow, absent patterns over warm skin.

“You wanna talk about it?” Paige asked quietly into the silence between them.

Azzi sighed, heavy and reluctant, not wanting to get into it. To relive it. But she felt like she owed Paige at least somewhat of an explanation for her breakdown. Especially after the way she had taken care of her. The way she had stayed with her, steady and patient.

Before she could find her voice to respond, the woman holding her spoke again.

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to,” Paige said, as if reading her mind. “It’s okay.”

And Azzi could tell she meant it. That she could tell her she’d rather not talk about it and Paige wouldn’t push the subject. Would be perfectly fine holding her through her sorrow, despite never knowing the cause. That knowledge gave the Azzi the strength to continue.

“Lost a kid today,” she began, her chest growing tighter as she spoke. “A baby. Not even a year old.” She focused on the warmth of Paige’s hands tracing slow, calming patterns against her bare skin. Beneath her t-shirt, across her shoulders and down her back. “I just keep hearing the mom’s screams in my head… seeing her face,” she managed to choke out.

She felt more than heard Paige’s breath hitch in her chest. “Fuck,” she breathed out.

“It’s okay,” Azzi continued, telling herself just as much as Paige. “It’s not the first time. Won’t be the last. Part of my job.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier,” Paige murmured.

She squeezed her eyes together tightly, wondering what she did in another life to deserve the woman beside her. Someone so steady, so present, so… perfect. Paige didn’t press for details. Didn’t insist that it wasn’t her fault or that everything would be okay. She simply acknowledged her hurt and held her through it. She was exactly what she needed in that moment.

She let herself melt against the blonde, eyes closed, heart aching in so many ways. Aching with grief of a loss, with pain for the mother who lost her child. With love for the woman holding her.

Her eyelids grew impossibly heavy. Every inhale brought the calming scent of Paige. Warm and safe. She felt the knot in her chest loosen slightly. And in that moment, she knew she was done for. Paige was it for her. Her person. She was undeniably, irrevocably, in love.

—

Unbeknownst to Paige, the blonde had confessed her love for Azzi on multiple occasions. Three, to be exact.

Paige, however, did not remember any of them. As much as Azzi wanted to tease her for her apparent love and lack of decorum, she didn’t know how to bring it up without sending the blonde into a full blown panic. So she let her girlfriend remain blissfully unaware of her slip ups.

The first time it happened, they had been dating for less than two months. Paige had gone out with her team to celebrate a tough win, and had a few too many drinks. She’d shown up to Azzi’s apartment close to three in the morning completely hammered.

The nurse had been sound asleep since the moment she got home from her shift, and was awoken by obnoxious pounding on her front door.

She climbed out of bed completely disoriented, bonnet slouched to the left side of her head as she made her way out of her bedroom, trudging past the kitchen, through the living room to get to her front door. She looked through her peep hole to figure out who the hell was making that much noise in the middle of the night on a Monday.

She’d never admit it out loud, but she softened as soon as she realized who was on the other side of the door, irritation giving way to affection for the clearly inebriated blonde. She unlocked the door and swung it open with a hand propped on her hip, doing her best to come off as irritated for having been woken up, rather than elated to see the woman standing in front of her.

“It’s three in the morning,” she said firmly, in lieu of a greeting.

“Hi baby,” Paige purred, entirely undeterred by the nurse's demeanor as a sloppy, goofy grin overtook her face at the sight of Azzi.

She stumbled through the threshold straight into Azzi’s arms, essentially melting into her as toned arms wrapped tightly around the nurse's waist.

Paige shoved her face into the crook of Azzi’s neck. “Missed’you,” she slurred.

Azzi sighed, keeping Paige steady with one hand as she shut her front door with the other, before returning the blonde’s embrace.

“I missed you too,” she admitted, knowing full and well Paige wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning.

“You have fun?” she asked, as she rubbed circles into Paige’s back. The smell of alcohol and Paige’s cologne engulfing her senses.

“Mhm,” the blonde responded. Voice equal parts sleepy and intoxicated. “Woulda been mor’fun with you there.”

Azzi huffed out a soft laugh and her drunken, exhausted state. “I don’t know. Seems like you had a pretty good time.”

“S’ always more fun wit’ you,” Paige slurred, stubborn no matter her condition.

“C’mon,” Azzi said, trying to extract herself from the vice grip Paige had on her. “Let’s get you to bed.” The nurse was bearing the majority of the blonde’s weight at this point.

Paige pulled her face back slightly at Azzi’s words. “Mm, to bed, huh?” she said, trying to waggle her eyebrows provocatively. From the nurse’s professional opinion, it looked more like she was having a stroke. “You tryna fu–”

“To sleep, Paige,” she cut her off before she could slur out the rest of her sentence.

The blonde caved immediately, happily letting Azzi guide her through the apartment into her bedroom. She brought her into the en suite bathroom first, carefully wiping her face with a damp towel before all but brushing the blonde’s teeth for her. Paige stared at her with adoration and half lidded eyes the entire time. The dazed look and droopy smile never leaving her face.

By the time Azzi got her stripped out of her pants, into a baggy t-shirt, and tucked beneath the covers, the blonde was barely awake. Laying on her stomach, arms folded underneath her head and her face half buried in the pillow.

Before Azzi climbed in next to her, she made her way into the kitchen. She grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and some ibuprofen from one of the drawers, making her way back to her room with the newly acquired items. She set one of the water bottles and the pills down on the nightstand beside Paige, before gently stroking the blonde's cheek to stir her awake.

“Hmm,” Paige hummed in contentment, leaning into the contact, eyes still closed.

“Sit up, baby,” Azzi said softly. “I need you to drink this before you sleep, okay?” she told the blonde, holding out the second bottle of water.

“N’thank you,” Paige said, already half unconscious.

The nurse breathed a laugh out through her nose. “Paige,” she said with a little more authority this time. “Sit up. You need to drink.”

Paige groaned, pushing herself up and flipping herself on to her back unceremoniously until her top half was somewhat propped up on her forearms behind her. When she looked at Azzi, her bottom lip was jutted out in a full pout. “Fine.”

Azzi smiled, shaking her head gently. “You’ll thank me in the morning,” she said, carefully cupping Paige’s cheek to direct the water into her mouth. The blonde diligently downed the entire thing before collapsing back into the bed.

“Good girl,” Azzi mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to a flushed cheek. The nurse couldn’t help but to snicker at the blonde's visible reaction to her words.

She peeled the covers back, climbing in beside Paige, who immediately draped herself to lay almost directly on top of Azzi. She tucked her face into the crook of the nurse's neck, tangling their legs together.

“Y’smell s’good,” Paige mumbled. Her hand snuck beneath Azzi’s shirt, resting on the warm skin of her stomach. “Feel so good too. Skins s’soft.”

Azzi placed a kiss to the side of the blonde’s head, grateful that Paige was too out of it to call out the way her heartrate picked up in her chest. “Goodnight, Paige.”

Paige sighed deep and content. “G’night,” she murmured. “Love you, Az. S’much.”

Azzi froze as soon as the words were out of the blonde’s mouth. Entire body going still, a stark contrast to the way her heart began to pound furiously against her chest. She held her breath until her lungs burned, demanding air.

“You what?” she finally breathed out, but Paige was already deep in sleep, breathing heavy and steady against her neck. It took Azzi far too long to follow suit, Paige’s drunken words ricochetting in her brain.

When Azzi woke up the next morning, it was to Paige groaning in pain beside her, one hand covering her eyes, the other clutching her head. She’d had no memory of how she ended up at Azzi’s apartment, let alone of the words she said.

It happened two other times. And both times, Paige was completely wasted, with no recollection of the prior night the following morning.

The first time Azzi told Paige she loved her had been a complete accident. The words just slipped out, much to Azzi’s chagrin.

Paige had returned from an away game in LA earlier that afternoon, and Azzi had the next three days off of work. Paige was downright exhausted, so Azzi offered to pick up dinner on her way to the blonde’s apartment.

Paige tried to convince her that they should order in so the nurse didn’t have to go out of her way. But Azzi knew it was only because the blonde was desperate to see her after three nights apart. She rejected her offer to doordash, electing to pick up dinner the old fashioned way. She was almost to the Thai place when she received an incoming call from Paige, affectionately rolling her eyes before swiping to answer.

“Let’s just doordash,” Paige said before Azzi could even say a word.

“Who is this?”

“Ha. Ha. So funny,” Paige retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Come be funny in my apartment. In my bed. While we wait for our food to be delivered.”

“You can’t doordash every meal, babe,” Azzi chastised.

“Yes I can,” Paige said defiantly. “I’m an ambassador, remember?”

Azzi rolled her eyes.

“Hey!” Paige admonished. “I could literally hear that eye roll through the phone.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Azzi replied, grinning despite herself.

Paige groaned over the line. “It’s gonna be forever before you finally get here.”

“It won’t take me more than 30 minutes, Paige.”

“Exactly Azzi. That’s forever. It’s already been three days. I honestly can even remember what you look like anymore.”

“How are you so dramatic all the time? Doesn’t it get exhausting?”

“I actually find it refreshing,” Paige snarked.

“You’re a pain in my ass.”

“I like your ass. A lot. One of your top three body parts.”

Azzi pulled into a parking spot in front of their local Thai place, grabbing her purse off of the passenger seat and taking her phone off of speakerphone, bringing it up to her ear.

“I’m going to hang up.”

“No, wait! I’m sorry,” she rushed out. “I like all of your body parts. Don’t hang up.”

Azzi chuckled at her dramatics. “I just pulled up. I have to order. You want Pad Thai right? Cause you’re basic?”

Azzi heard Paige scoff from the other end of the line, “That is not basic. It’s classic.”

“Mhm,” Azzi hummed, making her way inside.

“Man whatever, my order is way better than that nasty veggie plate you get,” she goaded.

“You mean stir fry?” Azzi corrected. “Stir fry is not a nasty veggie plate. It’s good. And you’d know that if you weren’t so damn stubborn and just tried even one bite of it.”

“Why would I try it if I already know it’s nasty? You don’t even get it with a good protein. You get tofu, Az. Eughck. Sicko. I can’t believe I’m dating you sometimes.”

Azzi rose to the bait. “Tofu is not nasty, you just have the palate of a four year ol–”

The nurse cut herself off, taking an audible deep breath. “You know what? I’m not having this argument right now.”

“Why not?” Paige challenged, testing Azzi’s patience. “‘Cause you know I’m right and you’re wrong?”

“I’m not wrong. Tofu is a perfectly valid protein, you’re just anti-growth,” Azzi said, slipping into line.

“Anti-growth?” Paige repeated. “Azzi, I’m six foot. I’m very pro-protein. Very pro growth.”

“You regularly order off of the kids menu when we go out,” Azzi shot back. “Your opinion is invalid.”

“Hey, the kids menu is good,” Paige defended. “It’s reliable. Unlike tofu. That shit tastes like a sad sponge.”

“That’s a skill issue,” Azzi snapped. “If you season it properly–”

“Why would I need to trick my food into tasting good?” Paige interrupted. “That’s how you know it’s bad.”

Azzi scoffed. “I cannot believe I’m dating someone who ordered chicken tenders at a Japanese restaurant.”

“That was one time!” Paige admonished. “And you know I hate seafood.”

“I know. Still doesn’t make it better. They had other adult options.” Azzi sighed. “Look, I have to order, okay?”

“But–”

“I’ll see you soon. Bye Paige, love you.”

As soon as she pressed the end call button, Azzi realized what she’d done.

“Oh no,” she whispered. “No, no, no.”

Her heart beat violently against her ribs as the weight of what she’d just said crashed down on her. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing time to reverse itself. Hoping that Paige hadn’t heard it.

Her phone lit up immediately. An incoming call from Paige.

Azzi declined it so fast she nearly dropped the phone. She rushed through her order at the counter, words tumbling out too quickly, hands shaking as she paid. Before she could even step aside, her phone buzzed again. Decline.

Again. Decline.

After three more calls, the blonde began to text.

5:42pm – Paige Bueckers: Azzi

5:42pm – Paige Bueckers: Pick up the phone

5:42pm – Paige Bueckers: Now

5:43pm – Paige Bueckers: U can’t just tell me u love me for the first time while we’re arguing about tofu and then not answer my calls

5:43pm – Paige Bueckers: Azzi

5:43pm – Paige Bueckers: Answer. The. Phone.

5:43pm – Paige Bueckers: Azzi be so ffr rn and pick up the phone

5:44pm – Paige Bueckers: Azzi Jazlyn Fudd

5:44pm – Paige Bueckers: U can’t ignore me forever

Azzi powered her phone off. Panic clawed at her chest, making it hard to breathe.

She hadn’t meant to say those words. Not out loud. Not like this, not now, not over the phone. And especially not first.

She did mean them. Of course she meant them. She was head over heels, completely, terrifyingly in love with Paige. She had never felt anything like it for anyone else, and the intensity of it made her chest ache. But Paige didn’t need to know that. Especially not like this. But the words had just slipped out.

Azzi had never said I love you to anyone before. The idea of saying it was horrifying enough. Actually having said it outloud? Even worse. Paige thinking Azzi was the first to admit it? The worst. Paige was never going to let her live it down. Fuck, fuck, fuck, she thought to herself. What the fuck did I just do.

She spent an agonizing amount of time attempting to slow her racing heart and correct her shallow breathing. She had no idea how much time passed like that, until a voice calling her name from the restaurant startled her out of her thoughts. Her order was ready. Her shaky hands grabbed the bag and she muttered a quick “thank you” before she beelined for her car.

She spent another ten minutes taking deep breaths to try to calm herself before starting the drive to Paige’s apartment. Her palms slick with nervous sweat against the steering wheel. She spent the entire drive there debating whether or not she should turn around and go to her own place instead, but realized that Paige would definitely show up at her door if she did that.

When she pulled into Paige’s apartment parking lot, she spent another fifteen minutes talking herself through a gameplan. I’ll just play dumb, she thought to herself. I’ll tell her she misheard me, or she made it up. It’ll be fine. She made one last attempt to steel herself before taking the quickly cooling takeout from her passenger seat and making her way up to Paige’s apartment.

Her knuckles barely brushed Paige’s door before it swung open, revealing a shellshocked blonde. Paige’s mouth hung open, eyebrows hovering near her hairline.

“Azzi, what the fuck,” Paige said, voice a mix of awe and disbelief.

“What?” Azzi asked innocently, trying to keep her voice steady. Proud of how unbothered she sounded.

“What?” Paige echoed, baffled. “Don’t ‘what’ me. You know what!”

Azzi stepped inside, brushing past the blonde who was far too stunned to move aside for her. She placed the – now less than warm – takeout on the kitchen island.

“I got dinner,” she said, too casually, moving as though nothing had happened.

“Azzi.”

“Paige,” Azzi deadpanned, refusing to meet her eyes, busying herself with taking out the containers of food from the bag.

The blonde began closing the distance slowly, deliberately. “Azzi.”

“What, Paige,” Azzi replied, her heart hammering.

Step by step, Paige advanced. And step by step, Azzi retreated. Until finally, her back collided with the counter. Paige loomed over her, hands braced against the surface behind the nurse, effectively caging her in.

“Azzi.”

The way Paige said her name held a world of emotion.

“Stop saying my name!” she snapped, half panicked, half flustered.

“You love me,” Paige said quietly, but with undeniable conviction. Her eyes glimmering with something Azzi was too distressed to try and name.

Azzi’s throat constricted. She shook her head fervently in lieu of the words refusing to form.

“You love me,” Paige repeated. Her voice broke slightly, half way through, soft yet unyielding.

Azzi tried to duck her head, but Paige caught her face gently between two hands, forcing her to meet the stormy blue eyes she adored. Her eyes were so deep, and so full of emotion Azzi worried she might drown in them.

Paige’s thumbs swiped gently across Azzi’s cheekbones, eyes darting all over her face like she was trying to memorize every feature, every moment. She let her forehead fall against the nurses.

“You love me,” Paige whispered, softer now, coaxing and intimate. Like saying it gently enough would finally get Azzi to admit it.

Azzi’s eyes fluttered closed, and she nodded. Nearly imperceptibly. Paige exhaled against her lips. A mixture of disbelief and relief puffed warm against her mouth.

“Say it,” she urged.

Azzi inhaled, steadying herself against the surge of emotion, forcing herself to look directly into impossible blue eyes.

“I love you, Paige,” she said, finally, fully, without hesitation.

Paige’s lips were on her own as soon as the words left her mouth. Her lips were soft but insistent, warm and intoxicating. Azzi responded instinctively, pressing closer, her hands tangling in blonde hair, pulling her flush against her.

It was the kind of kiss that carried longing, panic, and relief all at once. Everything Azzi wanted to say but didn’t have the words to express. Every brush of lips, every tilt of head, every sigh and breathless whimper between them spoke volumes. Paige’s hands stayed cupped around Azzi’s jaw, thumbs tracing her cheekbones, anchoring them both in the moment. Azzi’s fingers roamed from Paige’s hair to her back and shoulders, memorizing the curve of her body. The subtle tremble in her spine.

Their breaths mingled, shallow and rapid, hearts beating in a shared chaotic pulse. Azzi could feel the strength of Paige’s conviction in the way she held her. Steady and unwavering, like she’d been holding her love for the nurse in her own chest just as tightly.

Paige broke the kiss just enough to whisper against Azzi’s lips, her words hot and trembling. “Fuck, I love you, Azzi.”

But she didn’t stop there. “I… I think I’ve loved you since I first saw you,” Paige said, each word raw and jagged with emotion. “And every time I see you, every time I hear your laugh, your dimples, your smile, it’s like… like my heart is going to explode in my chest it just feels so fucking full. I miss you even when you’re right here. I– God, I can’t explain it. It’s so much, Azzi. I’ve never felt anything like this for anyone. I love you so much it hurts. So much it… It’s like I don’t know how to breathe around you, how to exist when you’re not touching me or looking at me. And when you are it’s… I’m just– I’m– fuck.”

Azzi’s chest tightened, her fingers twisting in the blonde’s t-shirt to hide their tremor. She was helpless to the tears welling in her eyes at the sincerity in Paige’s words. In the relief of hearing her say everything she felt out loud. At the fact that it was reciprocated. That Paige loved her just as much.

Azzi kissed her again, deeper this time. Slow and consuming, as if she could imprint every piece of herself into Paige through the movement of her lips. Filled with the of the kind of love that settled deep into her bones and refused to let go.

═══════════════════

a/n: please let me know what you think! i love reading your comments and thoughts. i'm working on finishing up the second half of this epilogue, hoping to have it out soon

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