Pairing: Paige Bueckers x Former Ex-Teammate! Reader
Summary: Reader is devastated when Paige hard-launches her new relationship, openly giving her the love she once denied.
Author's corner: in honor of paige and azzi lowk hard-launching each other lol (crying)
IT HAD BEEN MONTHS since you last saw Paige. Months since that fight in her apartment where words turned sharp, where silence carried more weight than either of you could bear. The memory of that night still clawed at your chestโthe way her voice stayed calm even when yours trembled, the way she whispered โI just need this privateโ as though the secrecy was harmless, as though the shadows werenโt suffocating you.
โI canโt keep living like this, Paige.โ Your voice had cracked that night in her apartment, frustration bleeding through exhaustion. โYou keep saying you love me, but only when nobodyโs watching. Iโm tired of being a secret.โ
Paigeโs jaw had tensed; her hands shoved deep in her sweatshirt pockets like she was holding herself back. โYou know why, Y/N. The pressure, the media, everythingโI canโt have them knowing. Not now.โ
โNot now?โ Your voice rose, brittle and breaking. โItโs never now with you. Do you even want me, or do you just want me hidden?โ
She looked away then, eyes wet but distant. โItโs not about not wanting you. Itโs about protecting what we have.โ
โI just need this private.โ ย She added.
You laughed bitterly. โProtecting it? Youโre suffocating it.โ
That silence that followedโgod, it was worse than shouting. Because in that silence, you realized she wouldnโt choose you. Not out loud, not in front of the world.
You had begged, not with words but with your eyes, for her to understand. To see how hiding something so precious broke you apart piece by piece. You were willing to give her everythingโyour love, your loyalty, your futureโbut in return she asked for silence. For invisibility. For a kind of love that lived only behind closed doors, where nobody could witness its beauty. And you couldnโt do it anymore.
So you ended it. Or maybe it ended itself.
Months later, Paige had chosen someone.
Now, months later, the world had changed. You had made it to the WNBAโIndiana Feverโs youngest guard, fighting for her place, learning how to breathe under the weight of new expectations. Paige was in Dallas, golden as ever, carrying the spotlight with that same mix of grace and gravity she had at UConn. On the court, her name still carried reverence. Off the court, it was her smileโbright, magnetic, untouchableโthat made her seem like she belonged to everyone.
You had convinced yourself you were healing, that the sting had dulled. Until the night Paige posted a picture with Azzi.
It wasnโt much. Just a simple photoโtwo girls laughing, their shoulders brushing, the kind of closeness that fans had speculated about for years. Paigeโs caption was cryptic, nothing more than a blue heart and a sun emoji. But the internet didnโt need much to burn. Comments flooded in, shipping names revived, theories spun. You told yourself it was just noise, that Paige had always been close to Azzi, that it meant nothing.
And then Azzi posted a TikTok.
It was playful, lightheartedโher lip-syncing about her dinner being covered by Paige. At the end, Paige appeared, playfully rolling her eyes and appearing to stand up from the chair. It was not out of the ordinary, they sometimes do TikToks like this, whatโs different about this compared to the others? But when Azzi liked a comment that read โat least paige is winning off the courtโ your chest collapsed in on itself.
The world tilted, and suddenly you were twenty again, standing in Paigeโs apartment, begging her not to keep you in the dark.
For years, fans had speculated about Paige and Azzi. Their friendship had always been painted as something more, and though Paige had once whispered to you in the dark, โthey donโt know youโre the one,โ you had always felt like you were fighting against a tide you couldnโt control. The comments, the edits, the endless shippingโit gnawed at you, made you wonder if maybe Paige wished it were true. If maybe she wanted that story instead of the one you were writing together.
And now it was true. Or at least, that was the story Paige was telling.
The hard launch came quietly, the way heartbreak always does. A series of photos on InstagramโPaige and Azzi at dinner, Paigeโs arm draped around Azziโs shoulders, their hands intertwined on the table. The interview of Paige, when the interviewer asked if she knew her basketball girlfriend really well.
You stared at it until the letters blurred. Your breath caught in your throat as though the world had been ripped in half.
You told yourself you could ignore it, that you didnโt need to look at the comments. But of course, you did. Thousands of fans celebrating, calling them โendgame,โ โsoulmates,โ โthe love story weโve all been waiting for.โ And in every word, you felt yourself shrinking.
Because once upon a time, that had been you.
But Paige hadnโt been willing to claim you. Not in posts, not in interviews, not even in the small ways that mattered. She had kissed you in shadows and held you when the world was sleeping, but the moment the sun rose, you became invisible.
You hadnโt wanted fame. You hadnโt wanted attention. All you had asked for was acknowledgmentโthat you werenโt just a secret tucked into the corner of her life. And she couldnโt give it.
The interview sealed it. The journalist asked about the rumors, and Paige smiledโa smile that used to be yours.
You turned off the screen before the interview finished, but the words stayed, echoing through you like a wound you couldnโt close.
That night, you lay in bed staring at the ceiling, your chest tight, your hands trembling with the weight of everything unsaid. Tears gathered at the corners of your eyes, hot and relentless. You tried to swallow them, to tell yourself you were stronger than this, but grief doesnโt listen to logic. It lives in the spaces between your ribs, in the silence of an empty room.
It wasnโt just that Paige had moved on. It was that she had given Azzi everything she had denied you. The openness, the certainty, the willingness to be seen. You werenโt mourning just the loss of herโyou were mourning the proof that you had never been enough for her to choose.
The next morning, practice felt heavier than usual. Your teammates noticed the way your shots fell short, the way you avoided conversation, the way your smile never reached your eyes. Aliyah gave you a look once, almost asking, but you shook your head. Some pain couldnโt be shared.
Caitlin Clark noticed. She always noticed.
โHey,โ she called as practice ended, tossing you a towel with that easy grin of hers. โYou okay? Youโve been zoning out all day. I was wide open twice, by the way. You ignoring me already?โ
You caught the towel, forcing a smile. โSorry. Justโฆ distracted.โ
Caitlin studied you for a moment, her sharp eyes softer than people gave her credit for. โYou donโt have to tell me. But if you want to, Iโm here.โ
Something in her toneโsteady, genuineโmade your throat tighten. You werenโt used to being seen like that anymore. Not after months of being invisible to the person you once gave everything to.
โIโll be fine,โ you lied, because you couldnโt unpack Paige Bueckers in the middle of the Feverโs locker room.
But Caitlin didnโt push. She just bumped her shoulder against yours as she passed, leaving a warmth that lingered longer than it should have.
That night, Nika FaceTimed you.
Her face filled the screen, blonde hair pulled back, expression serious. โI saw it,โ she said without preamble.
You didnโt have to ask what. โOf course you did. Everyone has.โ
โY/Nโฆโ Her voice softened, the way it used to in the UConn dorms when she caught you crying after late practices. โAre you okay?โ
The question cracked something in you. You tried to smile, but it trembled. โI donโt know. I thought I was, but seeing her like thatโseeing her give Azzi what she wouldnโt give meโit justโฆโ You trailed off, words splintering into the ache in your chest.
Nika exhaled, leaning closer to the camera. โYou know it doesnโt mean you werenโt enough, right? Paigeโshe has her own fears, her own walls. That doesnโt mean you didnโt matter.โ
โBut it feels like it,โ you whispered. โIt feels like I was just the practice run. The person she kept in the dark until she found the one she was ready to show off.โ
Nikaโs eyes glistened, but her voice stayed firm. โDonโt do that to yourself. Donโt compare your worth to what Paige is doing now. You gave her love, and that love was real. That doesnโt vanish just because she didnโt shout it from the rooftops.โ
You swallowed hard, blinking fast. โIt still hurts like hell.โ
โI know,โ she said quietly. โAnd I wish I could fix it. But promise me you wonโt let this break you. Youโve worked too damn hard to get here.โ
Her words steadied you more than you expected. Because Nika had always been like thatโthe anchor when the storm got too loud.
Everywhere you turned, Paige and Azzi were there. In headlines, in highlight reels, in the laughter echoing across social media. You tried to tell yourself you didnโt care, but your heart betrayed you each time their names appeared together.
The cruelest part was that you didnโt hate them. Azzi was kind, brilliant, deserving of love. Paige was everything you had fallen for onceโpassionate, magnetic, unstoppable. Together, they made sense. And maybe that was what hurt the most.
You didnโt hate them. You hated that it wasnโt you.
Weeks passed, but the ache didnโt fade. Some nights you scrolled through old photos, through texts you never deleted, through memories you couldnโt erase. You remembered the way Paige would tuck her chin into your shoulder after games, the way she whispered, โyouโre my home,โ as though it were a secret too precious to share.
Maybe she had believed it then. Maybe she hadnโt. Either way, it was gone now.
One evening, after a grueling game, you found yourself alone in the locker room long after everyone else had left, though you didnโt notice one person had decided to stay. The echoes of laughter faded down the hall, leaving only silence. You sat on the bench, your jersey damp, your body heavy, and for the first time, you let yourself break.
Caitlin found you sitting alone in the locker room long after the others left.
She sat beside you, quiet at first. Then: โSheโs all over your head, isnโt she?โ
Your breath hitched, not at all surprised at her presence or maybe you are just numb everywhere. โHow do youโโ
โIโm not blind,โ Caitlin said gently. โYou donโt have to say her name. But I see it. Every time you flinch at your phone, every time you zone out in practice. Whoever she isโฆ she hurt you bad.โ
You looked at her then, into those earnest eyes that burned with the same fire you carried on the court. And for a moment, you almost told her everythingโthe secret relationship, the breakup, the hard launch that gutted you.
But instead, you just whispered, โYeah. She did.โ
Caitlin nodded slowly. โThen let me be blunt: sheโs an idiot. Because anyone who gets you and lets you go? Thatโs on them, not you.โ
Her words pierced something in you, something raw and desperate. And before you could stop yourself, a tear slid down your cheek. Caitlinโs hand brushed it away before you even realized she moved.
You looked away quickly, ashamed of the crack in your armor. But she didnโt pull back.
โYou donโt have to be okay right now,โ Caitlin said softly. โBut you donโt have to carry it alone, either.โ
The silence that answered was unbearable.
And for the first time, you let yourself break completelyโsobs wracked through you, violent and unrelenting. You pressed your hands to your face, wishing you could stop, wishing the pieces of your heart didnโt still belong to someone who had chosen someone else.
You whispered her name once, into the emptiness, and it sounded foreign. Caitlin widened her eyes at the name you just uttered.
You didnโt reach out. You didnโt text. You didnโt call. Because love wasnโt enough, not when it had cost you so much.
Instead, you carried the hurt quietly, like an old injury that never quite healed. You played your games, you smiled for cameras, you lived your life. And maybe one day the ache would fade, maybe one day youโd stop searching for her in every crowd.
But tonight, as the world celebrated Paige and Azziโs love story, you let yourself grieve the one that never got told.
The one that lived only in silence.
The one that ended before it ever had the chance to be seen.
But maybeโjust maybeโthere was still a future where the pain didnโt own you. Where your story wasnโt defined by what Paige couldnโt give.
And as much as it hurt, you knew you had to find it.