ꨄ — 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 | 𝟒.𝟑𝐤 paige brings her team home for christmas and reunites with her sister after 2 years, but people change and her sister certainly has 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦 | 𝟏.𝟗𝐤 paige comes back home to help her sister get ready for prom
ꨄ — 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 | 𝟐.𝟏𝐤 azzi and paige develop feelings for their teammate but she doesn’t care ꨄ — 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 | 𝟑.𝟔𝐤 (𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫) paige and azzi let jealousy get the best of them and the next day they find themselves heartbroken
ꨄ — 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 | 𝟐.𝟕𝐤 paige has to do the worst thing imaginable and let her childhood sweetheart go
ꨄ — 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 | 𝟒.𝟔𝐤 (𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲) paige’s childhood sweetheart comes back to her
ꨄ — unwritten
𝐀𝐳𝐳𝐢 𝐅𝐮𝐝𝐝
ꨄ — 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 | 𝟐.𝟏𝐤 azzi and paige develop feelings for their teammate but she doesn’t care ꨄ — 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 | 𝟑.𝟔𝐤 (𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫) paige and azzi let jealousy get the best of them and the next day they find themselves heartbroken
ꨄ — unwritten
𝐊𝐊 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝
ꨄ — 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝟐.𝟎𝟓𝐤 on call kk sees that her long distance girlfriend is talking to her ex and after talking with paige and azzi, she calls her girlfriend to get reassurance ꨄ — 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 | 𝟏.𝟑𝐤 (𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐 𝐨𝐟, 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞) kk and her girlfriend finally see each other after months apart
ꨄ — 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 | 𝟑.𝟑𝐤 kk doesn't expect to get clipped for revealing her celebrity crush. she also doesn't expect her celebrity crush to see that clip
ꨄ — 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞 | 𝟏.𝟎𝐤 kk becomes obsessed with finding the mysterious cheerleader who always seems to disappear
ꨄ — unwritten
𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠
ꨄ — 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞 | 𝟐.𝟖𝐤 sarah made the mistake of falling in love with her older teammate, and now it's days away from senior night and sarah is realising she's not ready to say goodbye
ꨄ — unwritten
𝐉𝐮𝐉𝐮 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬
ꨄ — 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 | 𝟏.𝟓𝐤 you feel helpless when juju gets hurt during a game
ꨄ — 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 | 𝟐.𝟎𝟕𝐤 a game between usc and uconn brings juju right to the girl of her dreams—literally and then a moment between the two of you during the game goes viral
ꨄ — 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞 | 𝟏.𝟖𝐤 juju's girlfriend isn't out to her family yet and juju is tired of waiting
ꨄ — 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 | 𝟑.𝟔𝐤 a fwb situation with juju turns into something more when she spots you, drunk and laughing, with kiki rice
ꨄ — unwritten
𝐔𝐒𝐂 𝐖𝐁𝐁
ꨄ — unwritten
𝐔𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍 𝐖𝐁𝐁
ꨄ — unwritten
𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬
ꨄ — 𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 - 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 | 𝟏.𝟕𝐤 bella has fallen for the senior whose about to leave
ꨄ — 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐫 - 𝐊𝐚𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 | 𝟐.𝟏𝐤 kahleah doesn't play when it comes to her rookie
𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 — cowgirl!paige bueckers x cowgirl!reader
ꨄ — summary: paige's childhood sweetheart comes back to her
ꨄ — word count: 4.6k
ꨄ — warnings: seven year time skip, yearning, paige #needsthat, and anything else? i do not know
ꨄ — authors note: lol the first part is based yes, the first part is inspired by Meredith Grey (my queen who should’ve been a neurosurgeon 💔)
soulmated so hard reader couldn’t return to their town ever again, also i was gonna make reader engaged but then i thought that would be too much angst
(i don’t like this 😔)
there was gonna be a smut scene and a scene after that of them properly talking but then i thought “hm, no” so no, sorry
also this is not edited and i hate writing part twos cause i feel like there’s so much pressure but whatever, enjoy
Coming back to Montana this time around seemed final. Like you weren't going back to New York. And in some ways, you weren't.
New York and Harvard were good to you. You graduated from Harvard with your bachelor's degree, then applied to HMS—Harvard Medical School—you got in and graduated with your doctorate, then headed to New York to complete your surgical residency program at Mount Sinai Hospital.
You completed your residency program last year, passing your boards and now you were officially an attending general surgeon.
Your father was so proud of you. For everything. Even if he had hoped you would travel the world and not stick yourself into school, he was just happy if you were happy.
And, you ended up in New York, so he couldn't be too upset.
Your father loved New York, he visited as much as he could when you moved there, mostly because he wanted to see everything New York had to offer, but also because you had refused to go back to Montana.
You had made a point to not go back to Montana ever again after the catastrophe that your friends had dramatically dubbed, ‘The Heartbreak of 2019’. Your father understood and never pressured you into coming back, in fact, he was kind of glad you wouldn't come home, it gave him an excuse to get outta town and see what else was out there aside from cows and horses and dumbass wranglers.
But now, you had no choice but to return home.
Your father had a heart attack.
He had returned home only days ago after visiting you in New York, and from what you could tell he was as healthy as a horse, making a point to prance around your kitchen while making you breakfast and slow dance with you in the living room when he visited.
Her father, Bob, had been the one to find him. Apparently, from what Bob told you, your father hadn't shown up for their weekly beer when Bob went over to yell at him for being late, he found your father passed out in the living room. Bob rushed him to the hospital and the doctors told him your father had a heart attack.
You just about had a heart attack when you found out. You called your friends over to help you pack, and they busied themselves with helping around the house.
They cleaned your house, booked your flights, helped pack your bags, sent an email to your job about you needing to go out of town, and all of you came to a collective agreement that Alex should go with you because everyone agreed he was best fitted to help with the situation.
As you sat beside a snoring Alex on the flight, you couldn’t help but feel nauseous. This was the first time you were coming back to Montana. Even if it was only to make sure your father was okay, you couldn't help but think about Paige.
Is she okay? Is she still working for her father? Is she in a relationship? Is she married? Did she have kids? Is she happy? Did she even still live in Montana?
Five hours later you were touching down at the airport. Your fathers ranch hand, Ryan, was waiting for you so that he could take the both of you to the house, where you would drop your stuff off, then to the hospital to see your father. Ryan smiled half-heartedly and gave you a tight hug, being as close to your father as he was, Ryan was definitely worried about your father too.
The drive to the ranch was filled with chatter, maybe it was Ryan's way of distracting himself so that he didn't stress too much, but Ryan asked a lot of questions. He asked about New York, and about your job, and teased you relentlessly when you told him you were a surgeon—not that he didn’t know already, your father had a habit of bragging to everyone that you were a big shot surgeon in New York.
Ryan drove up the driveway and dirt kicked up as the truck went by. You passed the bunkhouse and Ryan’s house, and you couldn’t help but stare. Your father told you all the time whenever he made changes with the ranch, but staring at it in real life was a different feeling.
When you got to the house, Ryan and Alex unloaded the bags and you stood at the bottom of the steps staring up at the house.
It had been seven years since you last saw this house. Staring up at the house, you were suddenly hit with the memories of what happened seven years ago. The argument. The tears. The anger. And Paige walking out.
The both of you had said some cruel words to each other the last time you were together, so you wouldn’t say you would be thrilled if you were to see her. If she even lived in Montana anymore.
You shook your head, wiping the memory away and walked up the steps.
You opened the front door, clutching the doorknob and paused. Everything looked so different and yet still the same.
You walked the rest of the way in, popping your head into rooms as you went, just to see if your dad changed anything.
Alex and Ryan followed behind you and you guided Alex to a guest room and let him get situated.
Then you reached your room.
As you opened the door and laid eyes on your room, you were suddenly transported back to seven years ago when you left. The month you left, you cleaned out your room and it still looked as untouched as the day you left.
Childhood trinkets, pictures, and random things you collected when you were younger were left behind, almost frozen in time.
Your eyes surveyed the room taking everything in, then your eyes caught something.
A cowboy hat.
Paige’s cowboy hat.
Sitting on your desk. Just as untouched as everything else. Looking the same as it did all those years ago.
You walked to your desk and just as your fingers grazed the side of her hat, you heard a voice behind you.
“Looks the same, huh?” Ryan asked. He stood in the door, staring around the room with the same expression you had.
“Your dad didn’t change anything. He said he wanted it to be the same for when you came back home.” Ryan glanced at you, “Guess he knew you would come back eventually.”
You laughed, though it sounded more like a sigh, and hummed, “Guess he did.”
It was quiet for a minute. Ryan let you take the room in one more time before he said, “You wanna unpack or head to the hospital?”
“I’ll unpack later. Let’s go.”
You walked through the hospital and Ryan directed you to your fathers room. You walked in to find your father sitting up, watching TV. There was no one else in there which made you let out a sigh of relief.
Your father lit up when he saw you, and he laughed, “If a heart attack was all I needed to get you to come home, I would've had one years ago,”
You hit him on the arm, being careful of the lines and wires connected to him, “That is not funny,” and you glared at your father, “And don't forget, you were the one who wanted me to leave, so don't act otherwise.”
Then you softened.
You took in what your father looked like, and he seemed to be in good condition.
You reached out and brought your father into a hug, which was instantly reciprocated, and you mumbled into his shoulder, “You almost gave me a heart attack. Don't do that again,”
Then you hit him on the shoulder again cause you knew he was going to make a joke about him actually having a heart attack. You hugged your father closer, then leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, “Please don't do that again, dad. I can't lose you.”
Your father rubbed your back letting you hug him for as long as you needed, “It’s not exactly something I can control, sweetheart, but I’ll try,”
You giggled, “That’s all I’m asking for, dad.”
Then you turned around to find Ryan and Alex lurking in the door, you turned back to your dad, “D’you remember Alex?”
“Of course I remember Alex,” Your father waved his hand for Alex to continue to walk in, “How you been? How's that little boy with uh…remind me again?”
Alex smiled, “Simon. The one with the liver thing…yeah, he's in recovery now.”
Your father clicked his fingers, “That's the one. Simon…funny boy, glad to hear he's getting better.”
The last time your father came to visit, he came to the hospital with you and met one of Alex’s patients, Simon.
Simon had a ruptured liver cyst and your father spent quite a lot of time hanging out with him till your father had to go home.
The three of you—well four when Ryan came inside—stayed and talked for a while. Your father asked you and Alex about work, and if you were going to visit more often now that you've come back—a question that you avoided answering—then you asked Ryan about the ranch. You asked about what the wranglers were doing and if everything was smooth sailing after the storm last week.
Ryan said Bob and someone else came over to help but he didn't say who and you had a guess on who it was but judging by the look your father gave Ryan when he mentioned it, you had a feeling you didn't want to know.
Ryan and Alex went off to find something to eat as it was coming into the afternoon and neither of you had eaten all day, plus your father was complaining about the hospital food, so he sent them off to find him something.
It was quiet once they left, your fathers attention went back to the TV and you moved to the seat in the corner where the rolling table was placed. You started at the table in curiosity, you were bored waiting for Ryan and Alex to come back, so you noised around in your fathers stuff.
The table had some papers, a pen, your fathers laptop and a folded newspaper.
You looked through the papers and quickly moved on because it was work stuff for the ranch, then you picked up the newspaper. You looked at your dad and laughed, “They still make these?”
Your father didn't answer, not that you cared your attention was solely on reading through the news.
As you read through it, your hand holding the back up moved and the bottom piece of the newspaper fell down.
Your eyes instantly snagged on a picture of Paige.
Paige.
Standing in front of a house.
Her house.
Your house.
“ “I’m gonna build a big ol’ barn for my workshop,” Paige inhaled the smell of your perfume and smiled, then she placed a kiss on your neck, then she whispered, “What do you want?”
You paused, “Me?”
Paige’s head came up from your neck and she smiled shyly at you, “Yeah, you. What do you want?”
You grinned and leaned up pushing Paige onto her back. You hovered over her, your hands on her chest and said, “I want a white house, with blue shutters. And a room at the back so I can see the mountains.”
Paige nodded, her smile getting bigger, “Anything else?”
You laughed, “Yes. I want a big ‘ol porch that wraps around the entire house. So we can drink tea and watch the sun go down.”
Paige just stared at you. God, she was so in love.
“I can do that.” She said, nodding.
You leaned down, brushing your lips over hers, “You promise?”
Paige connected your lips and brought you into a deep kiss, separating only to say, “I promise.” ”
White house. Blue shutters. And a big porch.
She remembered.
You were knocked out of the memory by the sound of your fathers voice, “125 Paradise Trail,”
“What?” You mumbled looking back to your father. He was staring at you with a knowing look on his face and he said it again, “125 Paradise Trail,”
That was Paige's family's address. You were familiar with it, obviously as you had basically grown up there.
Your father sighed in exhaustion at your cluelessness, “There's the main dirt road that leads to their house and two turn offs, one to their ranch, and the other one, the first one, leads to that,” he pointed to the newspaper, “house.”
Your lips were parted and you kept looking between your father and the picture.
You didn't know what your father wanted you to do with that information, it wasn't like you could just go back to Paige. This wasn't some fairytale, this was real life.
“Go.”
Looking back at your father, he sat up staring at you with a newfound fire in his eyes. “Go.” He said firmly.
You sighed, “I can’t, dad–”
“I made a mistake all those years ago, sweetheart.”
You closed your eyes and sighed, “What are you talking about, dad?”
“Look at me, sweetheart.” Your head lifted and you stared back at your father and he sighed, “I always felt like I trapped your mother. Like I kept her from her potential. Kept her from doing something good, from becoming someone great. And when she died I promised myself I wouldn't do that to you. I promised myself that I would encourage you to go out into the world, and be someone. Be someone who matters. Do something that matters.”
Tears slowly filled your eyes as your father continued, “And you did, sweetheart.” Your father smiled proudly at you, “You became a surgeon. You save lives everyday. You are someone, and you are someone important.”
“The mistake I made seven years ago was not letting you remember who loved you before that. Before you become someone important.”
Your father was quiet for a moment.
Then, “Paige has loved you for twenty-five years. She has been in love with you since you were fifteen. She loved you before you became someone important…and it’s my fault that that you never got to experience a love like mine and your mothers.”
“Dad, that's not your fault–”
“Go to her, sweetheart. She still loves you and I know the only reason you haven't come back is because you thought you would have to go through the pain of seeing her move on, but she will never move on if it isn't with you.”
You stood up and walked over to your father and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “I love you, dad.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Now go.”
You smiled at your father and rushed out of the room. You came face to face with Ryan and Alex, and both of their arms were filled with food. You gave them a once over look before asking Ryan for the keys to his truck. He gave them over with a look of confusion but you didn't spare the men a second glance as you raced down the hallway and out of the hospital.
Still in the hallway, Ryan and Alex looked at each other in confusion before shrugging and making their way to your fathers room.
As you drove, you suddenly felt a pit in your stomach.
What if this went badly? What if this is a mistake? Should you have even come back? That's silly, of course you should have. But should you be going to see Paige right now?
Before you could spiral any longer, you were suddenly at the bottom of Paige's family's long dirt driveway. You remembered your fathers directions and turned off at the first curve in the driveway.
You drove down, and tall trees—probably maples—lined the dirt driveway that led to her house. You could see it in the distance and as you got closer you realised it was everything you dreamed of when you were younger.
You parked the truck, and got out. You stared up at the house, your hand coming up to cover your eyes from the sun, and it almost took your breath away. Everything, from the big porch down to the blue shutters, it was all that you had imagined.
Suddenly, you heard a sound to your left. Turning to the noise, you were greeted with a sight that did take your breath away.
Paige.
She looked older, more mature. Her hair was shorter, and even from afar you could still see her beautiful crystal blue eyes.
She looked just as beautiful as the day she left.
“Hello.” You said nervously.
Paige stared at you. You couldn't tell what she was thinking.
“Nice house.” You said, gesturing to it.
She was silent.
You sighed, “I shouldn't have come. I’m sorry.”
But just as you turned to open the door, Paige spoke up, “You wanna come in?”
Her voice was deeper and her country accent was more prominent. It would have been hard to understand but you had spent all day with your father getting used to the country accent again. Your accent disappeared a long time ago.
You paused and turned back to stare at Paige. She shrugged, “You wanna see it? I have drinks in the fridge. If you want.”
You stared at Paige, then at the house, and nodded, “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Paige nodded and then the both of you stood there staring at each other for a moment longer, just taking in how different the other was.
Then Paige walked towards the house and you followed behind her.
Paige walked through the door and just before you stepped inside, you paused. You took a deep breath then you walked in.
The house was mainly empty, so empty that it echoed whenever you took a step. Paige walked off somewhere, presumably to the kitchen, which left you to wander. You walked to the right and entered a large room. There were huge glass windows on the side that let in the sunlight. It was exactly as you had imagined it would be.
Paige's boots echoed from behind you as she came back towards you and passed you a beer. She nodded her head towards the hallway, gesturing for you to follow her and you did.
She led you upstairs to the back and entered a room. As you walked in and took it all in, the sight took your breath away.
Through large windows, you could see the mountains. The rocky mountains that you loved staring at when you were a child. You didn't know how many times you had stopped and watched the sun set behind those mountains when you were younger. Then you remembered, “And a room at the back so I can see the mountains.”
You felt like your heart was about to beat out of your chest.
This room was the only one with some kind of furniture in it, at least that's what you assumed, but if Paige lived here full time, maybe it wasn't.
A blue couch was placed in front of the large windows, a blanket folded on top of it, with a pillow off to the side. And a radio sat on the window sill. Nothing else was in the room.
Paige sat down and gestured for you to do the same.
The windows were open allowing you to hear the chirps from the birds and rustling of the leaves, aside from that, there was no noise. Paige didn't try to start a conversation and neither did you.
You wanted to, but you were at a loss for what to say.
What do you say to the girl you've been in love with for years and then yelled at her ‘I hate you’ after she broke up with you and said you were too clingy then you left for seven years and didn't come back until your father went to the hospital and the only reason you did come to see her was because you saw her in the paper and your father gave you a talk about his mistakes and how she still loves you, but if he didn't, you would have never went to see her and you would've went home having ignored her the whole time you were back?
Exactly. It was difficult.
But you needed to say something. Anything. Anything would be better than silence.
“I saw you in the paper,”
Well, that's certainly a start.
Paige shifted her head towards you, “Yeah?”
“Yeah, I, uh…I was visiting my dad at the hospital,” Paige frowned at that, “Then I saw your picture, and Dad told me where to go,”
Paige nodded slowly.
“Are you selling it?” You asked, which was a stupid question because obviously if she wasn’t selling it, it wouldn’t be in the paper.
Paige shifted awkwardly, “Yeah, maybe, I don’t know yet,”
You pursed your lips, “It’s a beautiful house, anyone would be lucky to get it,” Then you quickly added, “Only if you’re planning on selling, of course,”
Paige didn’t say anything as she stared at you. There was something in her eyes, something you hadn’t seen in a long time. You shifted nervously under her gaze.
She must’ve noticed because soon after that she averted her gaze to the window, then she changed the subject, “So…how’s New York?”
Your head snapped towards her, confusion all over your face.
Paige chuckled, “Your dad brags about you to everyone, I’ve heard a bit about what you’ve been up to but I wanna hear it from you. You’re a surgeon right?”
You nodded, of course Paige had heard about you, “Um, yeah, New York is amazing. This city is so loud and constantly moving but I like it. And work is good too, I like helping people and I have a lot of friends. Life in New York is…really good.”
Paige stared wistfully at you while you talked. She helped her father take yours to the hospital and had visited a few times but she didn’t know you had come back, but she wouldn’t expect any less, he was your father after all.
What did catch Paige off guard was you coming to the house.
Paige would always regret that night. Building your house was, in Paige’s mind, a way to find forgiveness and peace within herself. Once she had accepted that you weren’t coming back, she built the house in hopes that one day if you did return, you and her would fall right back into each other.
Paige was a little nervous about being around you again. You were both older and mature, clearly very different but still somehow the exact same, and yet, Paige felt like there was a barrier. Something keeping the two of you from really connecting again.
“That’s good.” She found herself saying, “That’s…great. I always thought you were gonna end up doing something important,”
The memory of your argument came back to you and you turned away from Paige, “Mm, you did.”
Then you shook the memory away. That was then and this was now. You didn’t know if you could go back to before but you could try to be friends, if Paige wanted that.
“What about you?” You asked after a few quiet moments, “Do you still work for your father?”
“Yeah,” Paige nodded, “Dad made me ranch hand a few years ago so I do that, but I also help around town, y’know the same things I used to do before…” She trailed off, suddenly feeling awkward and you understood why.
You leaving wasn’t exactly a conversation starter. It was more of a conversation ender. Clearly.
It was silent after that.
The both of you watched the sun start to set, and you smiled.
This moment. Right now, was what you had envisioned when you thought about the house, and the room at the back. Albeit, you and Paige were married in that future.
The sun slowly disappeared and Paige got up to close the windows to keep the bugs out, when she did the radio turned on. It spooked the both of you as neither of you had turned it on but maybe it just needed signals. Who knows?
The soft strum of a guitar filled the room.
You and Paige very unsubtly glanced towards each other recognizing the sound of Chris Stapleton’s ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ and the memory that came with it.
Paige turned her body back to you and said, “Do you…remember?”
“The bar? Yeah.”
It was one of the first dates you and Paige had gone on. You had always wanted to go dancing at the bar downtown but you were too young, so Paige had surprised you and got the bar owner to let the two of you in only if you didn't order alcohol and Paige came back the next day to clean up.
You were so happy, and one of the first dances that the two of you had was to ‘Tennessee Whiskey’.
Paige exhaled then walked towards you with her hand held out, “Would you like to dance, darling?”
You smiled and placed your hand in hers, “I would like that very much,”
Paige smiled back at you and pulled you up off the couch. She twirled you before bringing you close and placing her arms on your waist. Your arms landed on her shoulders and the two of you swayed side to side, listening to the music and enjoying being in each other's embrace again.
With the song playing softly in the background, the sun now officially setting and you and Paige being so close to each other, it created a tension in the room that wasn't there before.
You looked towards Paige and found her staring right at you.
Now that you were closer, you could see all of her.
You could see her blue eyes, that never failed to make you nervous when she stared at you for too long. You could see the light scar on her nose from when she fell and headbutted the fence post. You could see the light flush on her cheeks that you couldn't help but kiss when you were younger because she looked so beautiful. You could see the pink of the lips that you had kissed too many times to count.
But most of all, you could see Paige. And you knew she could see you too.
“Paige,” Said so softly, so quiet that if Paige wasn't inches away from you she wouldn't have heard it.
She leaned forward ever so slightly and her eyes were trained on yours watching for your reaction. Watching to see if you really wanted this again. Wanted her again.
You closed the distance and pressed your lips against Paige's.
You sighed in complete bliss. Kissing Paige after so long felt like you had finally come home. Paige's hand came up to cradle your face and she tugged you closer, you went willingly and fell deeper in her.
The kiss was soft. A chance to relearn each other, but it got hungrier. Paige hasn’t been with you for seven years, she craved you.
Paige tapped your thighs, a signal for you to jump, but also for you to decide if you wanted this too.
You needed Paige like you needed air to breathe. You jumped into her arms and wrapped your legs around her waist. There was no hesitancy in Paige's movements as she held you up, and walked to her room, all while kissing you.
And that barrier that was up? And that connection that Paige was looking for? Well, it turns out that sleeping with the girl you've been in love with for ten years tends to fix all that other stuff.
𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 — cowgirl!paige bueckers x cowgirl!reader
ꨄ — summary: paige has to do the worst thing imaginable and let her childhood sweetheart go
ꨄ — word count: 2.7k
ꨄ — warnings: hopeless lovers, ‘white house and blue shutters’ type beat and nothing else
ꨄ — authors note: i hate the title of this, and i hate the summary, if you have a different one, let me know but i do not hate this fic, i actually really like it and i do have a part two planned but i don’t know when that’s coming
this is inspired by the movie ‘The Notebook’ and the show ‘Yellowstone’ the inspo from yellowstone is really only the place and being the child of someone who owns a ranch and i’m sure y’all will be able to get what part is inspired by the notebook
also this is not edited, enjoy tho and is in fact a filler until i lock in and finish the azzi fudd work which is now at like 10k+ words and i’m not even halfway done so yay for me (and i still have to edit that)
closing thought, i cannot believe this is my first time writing a just paige fic, i do have some planned but you probably won’t see those for a longgg time.
You were always meant for something more.
You were never meant to stay in Montana and be a rancher's wife. You were meant to see the world, and learn, and cry, and laugh, fall in love, experience heartbreak, get married, and have children.
You were meant to live a life worth living.
That's all Paige ever wanted for you.
You and Paige had grown up together, side by side, never apart, and never too far behind the other.
You father and hers had also grown up together. Your family and Paige's family had lived side by side for centuries, dating back for generations and generations. It was basically written in the stars for you and Paige to be as intertwined as you were.
And at some point that wild and free friendship you had growing up blossomed into something more.
Paige had fallen in love with you like it just made sense. Like you made sense. Like her plan was always to end up in your arms.
Paige knew that you were, without a doubt, so much smarter than her.
Paige had some smarts, like which pasture to move the cows to in different seasons, and how to keep the bears from coming too close to the city, but you were smart smart.
You were placed in all AP classes, and excelled in every subject, and ran multiple clubs around the school.
But as the two of you got closer to reaching eighteen, it suddenly hit Paige that you weren't meant for Montana. You weren't meant for her, and her life.
She never expressed this to you, but you could feel her pulling away, and you knew she was thinking about the future too.
You had applied to all the Ivys—Brown, Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Yale, etc—mostly for yourself but also at the request of your father.
When you were young, just a baby, your mother passed away. Your father had always lived with the regret of not letting his wife explore the world and live her life the right way.
They too had been high school sweethearts, and when your mother stood her ground and told him that she wasn't leaving Montana to go to some fancy school in the east, your father had proposed to her right then and there, and they got married on their ranch.
But when she died, he often looked through picture books and reminisced, and there was a large part of him that wished he could go back and tell her to leave. To go and live a life worth living. He would forever regret not telling her to go, but he could make sure you did.
He grew up telling you stories of places and cities all over the world. The dazzling lights that sparkled on the eiffel tower. The concrete jungle where dreams were made of, New York. The city of angels, Los Angeles.
Your father wanted you to live a life better than the one he thought he subjected your mother to.
Paige agreed, but you didn't care. You love Paige, and you love your home. Applying to Montana State was for Paige, because you wanted what your parents had.
High school sweethearts who settled down on their ranch, had a child who they chased around the yard, early mornings sipping coffee on the porch and late nights drinking beer and wine in the same spot.
You wanted that. And you wanted it with Paige.
“I think my dads gonna let me build a house soon,”
You and Paige lying down on the blanket, talking about anything and everything while having a picnic. You had ridden down on the horses and had set up right next to the river.
Paige was determined to become the ranch hand by the time she turned eighteen, but that was only because she got a whole house to herself if she did, and her father didn’t think that Paige living by herself was a good idea, so he told her that if she could play by the rules, live in the bunkhouse and behave herself that he would let her build herself a house.
You hummed, “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, he’s been hinting at it lately, so I’ve been planning,” Her hand that was wrapped around your waist pulled you closer and her head fell into the crook of your neck.
“I’m gonna build a big ol’ barn for my workshop,” Paige inhaled the smell of your perfume and smiled, then she placed a kiss on your neck, then she whispered, “What do you want?”
You paused, “Me?”
Paige’s head came up from your neck and she smiled shyly at you, “Yeah, you. What do you want?”
You grinned and leaned up pushing Paige onto her back. You hovered over her, your hands on her chest and said, “I want a white house, with blue shutters. And a room at the back so I can see the mountains.”
Paige nodded, her smile getting bigger, “Anything else?”
You laughed, “Yes. I want a big ‘ol porch that wraps around the entire house. So we can drink tea and watch the sun go down.”
Paige just stared at you. God, she was so in love.
“I can do that.” She said, nodding.
You leaned down, brushing your lips over hers, “You promise?”
Paige connected your lips and brought you into a deep kiss, separating only to say, “I promise.”
You didn’t talk about your impending college applications, or the possibility of you not being there.
In that moment, in your small bubble, you were planning for a future that was already set.
Life has a way of reminding you that you can’t have everything.
You got your letters back from all schools you applied to, and you were dreading having to tell Paige.
Telling Paige would mean coming to the realisation that you wouldn’t be together in the future, at least not physically.
Unless…?
You decided to just rip the bandaid off and tell Paige, so one night while Paige was over at your house, you brought up college.
“Paige,” You said quietly.
Paige was laying her head on your stomach, her arms wrapped around your waist with the rest of her body stretched over your bed. One of your hands rested on her head, gently running your fingers through her hair, your other hand was rubbing her back.
This was a normal position to find the two of you in. You knew Paige was working hard everyday at her ranch and every night when she came to see you the only thing she wanted was to feel you in her arms, with the added bonus of you either rubbing her back or raking your fingers through her hair.
Paige was always so tense during the day, and only you were able to make her relax.
She hummed sleepily, the noise vibrating against your skin.
“Paige,” You said again, this time louder and effectively getting her attention.
She moved her head, now looking up at you and said, “Yeah, mama, what's up?” Her country accent was stronger when she was sleepy. You loved it.
You looked into her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, and you sighed, “I need to tell you something.”
She sat up, now becoming serious, “What is it, baby?”
You took a deep breath, “You know how I applied for all those colleges, and I was waiting to hear back?”
She nodded, “Yeah, of course, it was all you talked about for weeks when you were panicking about what your college essay should be about.” The last part was said teasingly, and you blushed as you remembered it.
“Well, I got in.” You said quietly, pausing to look at Paige to see her reaction.
She grinned, “You serious? All of them?”
You nodded, a smile coming onto your face as you noticed her grin growing.
Paige shot off the bed, cheering and jumping around. You laughed as you watched her jump around your room, then she came back to the bed and grabbed your ankles, pulling you down to the bottom. Your legs wrapped around her waist and she picked you up, yelling, “My girl is so smart! Damn, baby!”
You laughed and Paige smiled softly, then she placed a kiss on your shoulder, then one on your neck, and one by your ear, pressing kisses softly into your skin until she got to your lips.
She kissed you deeply, her hand coming up to land on the back of your head and you unwrapped your legs from her waist letting Paige place you down gently.
“I'm so proud of you, darling,” She whispered into your lips, as she kissed you again.
You smiled and leaned into the kiss, wrapping your arms around her head.
Then it came time to tell her the real news.
You separated from Paige and giggled, pushing her away and she chased your lips.
“Wait,” You laughed softly, “I have something else to tell you,”
Paige hummed, “What else, mama?”
You exhaled, “I'm not going,” Your voice was shaky, like you knew Paige wouldn't like what you had to say, and she definitely didn't.
She pulled away from you, her hands hanging loosely by your hips like she couldn't be far from you even though she was shocked, “What? What are you talking ´bout, baby?”
“I'm not going.” You said firmly, now having the confidence once you finally said it.
Paige fully pulled away from you, “Why?”
“Because I can’t,” You sighed
“Yes, you can,” Paige frowned, “Is this about me?” She gestured to herself.
Yes. I can't leave you, Paige. I love you.
“No,” You stated, but your eyes shifted to the side, a tell tale sign that you were lying.
You knew that Paige would beat herself up if she was the reason you were staying. She always believed you were meant to leave Montana, and be better. She thought you would be happier in the city, where every opportunity was at your fingertips, but you were happy with her.
Paige scoffed, she noticed your eyes shift. She noticed everything about you.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I'm not,” You said unconvincingly.
“Yes, you are,” Her voice started getting louder. Now Paige had never and would never yell at you, but sometimes her voice raised just the slightest to let you know she wasn't playing around.
“No, I'm not.” Your voice got louder right along with hers.
Paige sighed, “Baby, you can't stay for me. You can't stay for your father either. You know as well as I do that he wouldn't want that.”
You scoffed, “Paige, I can do whatever I want,”
“I know you can, baby, but I'm telling you, that if you stay, you will not be happy,”
Her voice was desperate, she needed you to understand what staying meant.
“I'm happy right now, or I was until you started getting upset.” You reached out and grabbed Paige's hands and pulled her close, “I want this life…with you, Paige. I want to watch the sunrise on our porch. and horse rides. I want moving the cows to a different pasture. I want to watch the wranglers act stupid. I want late nights and back rubs. I want you. I just want you.”
Paige teared up as she listened to you go on.
“I want that with you too, baby.” She whispered, then her forehead came to rest against yours and she whispered again, her voice breaking, “But, I can't do it.”
You pulled away, “What?”
Paige sniffled, “I’m sorry, baby.”
Paige moved quickly, slipping her boots on, and grabbing her jacket all while you watched, standing frozen as she moved around. Paige reached for her hat then hesitated and left it sitting on your dresser.
“What are you doing?” You whispered, finally finding the strength to say something.
Paige's hand hovered above your doorknob and she had to take multiple deep breaths before she found the strength to turn around and look at you, “We're over.”
Your breath was knocked right out of your chest.
You stuttered as tears filled your eyes, “W–what do you mean?”
Paige's eyes turned cold, “If all that's keeping you here is me then we're over. I don't want to see you. I want you to leave.”
“P-Paige, w-wait, what are you talking about?” Your breath stuttered, and your hand shot out to the nearest piece of furniture to keep yourself stable.
Then Paige turned downright cruel, “I was hoping you would leave so that I wouldn't have to see you as much. You've always been clingy, I thought if you left I would finally have some space.”
You blinked and tears rushed down your face. You couldn't believe that Paige was saying this. Paige couldn't believe she was saying it either. If you looked closer you would see her hand tremble as she clutched the doorknob.
Paige knew the only way you would leave is if you and her weren't together anymore, so she had to do the worst thing she's ever done, and break up with you. A choice she would come to regret later.
Then your sadness turned to anger. You grabbed the closest thing to you, which happened to be a textbook for school, and you threw it. Not at Paige, never would you aim to harm her, but you did throw it in her general direction.
“Get out,” You screamed. Then you grabbed another book and threw it again, “Get out!”
Paige didn't flinch at the books being thrown by her but she did flinch at the pure rage that filled your voice.
She turned and opened the door and she was halfway out until she heard you again.
“Paige.”
Her head tilted slightly
“I hate you.” You whispered.
Paige slammed the door before you could see her shoulders shake as tears rushed down her face and the realisation of what she did hit her.
She covered her mouth to quieten her sobs as she walked down the hallway in your house.
She walked past your living room, not noticing the figure sitting in the rocking chair until they spoke, “You broke her heart.”
Paige flinched, her heart beating fast until she realized it was just your father.
She stumbled over her words, “U-uh, s-sir, I didn’t—”
Your father interrupted her, “My daughter was always meant for more, Paige. You know this. I know this. Hell, the whole damn town knows this.”
Paige nodded in agreement but she didn't dare open her mouth. She just broke this man's only childs, only daughters, heart, and it didn't matter if she thought of him as another father, you were his baby. He would always defend you. Over anyone else.
He continued on, “So even if this was the worst way to do it, if it gets her out of this damn town, then let it be. I love my daughter and I would love for her to stay beside me forever, but I've already kept one woman from her dreams, I can't keep this one too.”
He gazed wistfully out of the window beside him. The moonlight shone through and your father sighed, “She's going to be heartbroken. She will probably never forgive you,”
Paige looked down, fighting tears again.
“But she will live a life worth living…and that is all a man wants for his daughter.”
Sensing that the conversation was ending, Paige nodded towards the man and turned around, walking out of the door.
A month later, which was a busy month for both you and Paige. Paige busied herself with avoiding you and stuck herself into working. You busied yourself with packing and saying your goodbyes.
She didn't show up to your going away party and you didn't go look for her. Her family did show up and say goodbye but you just wanted the party to be over.
You left the next day. And if you waited by the door for an extra hour then that was no one's business but your own.
5 hours later you had touched down in Massachusetts.
Harvard University for medical school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thirty-four hours away from Montana. Thirty-four hours away from Paige.
Paige would regret not leaving earlier or moving faster, and you would regret not waiting longer. But you didn't know that.
first sophomore in high school to win gatorade national player of the year. then in the very same year, she tore her acl and mcl at just 16 years old. injured three years in a row when she was 18 and 19, and when she tore her acl and mcl again at 20 years old. in spite of it all, she ended her college career an all american, final four mop, and national champion. and now? the #1 pick of the 2026 wnba draft. she was made for basketball
Everybody better lock the fuck in and get yo wigs ready cuz we starting the ROTY Campaign and All Star early. Y’all only got an hour to mourn this loss we tight on schedule!!
650+ points, 100+ rebounds, 100+ assists, nearly 100 steals, scholar athlete of the year, usbwa all american, ap all american, wbca all american, banner on the wall at gampel, naismith poty finalist, fully healthy season, career high averages in nearly every statistical category, leading the nation in 3pm, top 5 all time at uconn in 3pm. and still a national champion and the mop. an unforgettable final season and career. thank you for it all #35 🩵 your impact and your legacy here won’t be forgotten i can promise you that. i can’t wait to see where this beautiful game takes you next. this is only the beginning. i’m riding with you forever
𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞 — kk arnold x reader!uconn!cheerleader
ꨄ — summary: kk becomes obsessed with finding the mysterious cheerleader who always seems to disappear
ꨄ — word count: 1.0k
ꨄ — warnings: slight (actually imma be honest it's not slight) stalking and stalker-ish behaviour, lemme know if there’s anything else
ꨄ — authors note: just a quick lil something while i stress about finishing the azzi fudd work. ay, i actually really liked this, i don't really like writing part twos (even though i've done it before, don't @ me) but this one has potential
also, omg, that notre dame vs uconn game had me on the edge of my seat, but i knew my huskies would get the dub and i'm hoping azzi is saving her shots for the final four because that whole game i was yelling that she needs to shoot the ball, and if she is saving her shots for the final four then i already know she finna light south carolina's ass up
KK had only seen you a handful of times, but she knew with absolute certainty that you were the most beautiful girl she had ever seen—and the most elusive.
Every time KK thought she had managed to find you, you disappeared. Like you were never there.
For a while, KK thought she was going crazy, that she was hallucinating, until your Instagram account popped up in her suggestions after she stalked the UConn cheerleading account just to find you.
KK, for reasons unknown even to herself, didn’t follow you; she just stalked your account every once in a while and tried to convince herself that she wasn’t completely obsessed.
The handful of times that she had seen you were mainly during games while you cheered on the sidelines, and the send-off that UConn did for the basketball teams when they were leaving for the tournament.
KK always made a beeline straight towards you during the send-off.
In her freshman year, she tried to ask you out, but she got nervous, and her hands kept gesturing between you and her, and, of course, you, not knowing what she was talking about, thought she was asking for your pompoms. KK swallowed the question and took the pompoms with a fake smile and went on to hype up the crowd with as much energy as she could after you unknowingly rejected her.
After the loss in the final four, KK returned even more set on finding you. But it seemed life was working against KK because everywhere she looked and everywhere she went, you were never there. Even after KK asked half the cheer team for your schedule—which she got weird looks for before they told her—and stalked all your social media accounts for your favourite spots, she never found you.
The team noticed KK’s weird behaviour and chalked it up to her being sad about the loss, but after Paige peeked over KK’s shoulder while she was stalking your account, they badgered and badgered until KK finally told them what was going on.
She explained the situation, and after enduring the hours of teasing and dumb ideas being thrown out, Azzi wondered why KK didn’t just wait outside the gymnasium for you while you were practicing.
A pretty straightforward and obvious idea, that KK shot down because that's “creepy and stalker like,” which Azzi countered with, “You’ve pretty much followed her around campus, and you’ve already stalked all her social media accounts, so waiting outside the gym for her should be pretty normal for you.” Then KK mocked her, which led to them arguing until Paige intervened with one of her brilliant ideas.
“Let’s all just follow her around campus.” Her idea got blank stares because KK, trying to follow you around and talk to you, was one thing, but the whole team? That was just insanity.
But Paige was quick to explain that she didn’t mean follow you around like creeps, but instead, if any of them were to come across you while walking around campus, to wave you down and make small talk while waiting for KK to show up to talk to you.
But that plan failed too because none of the girls ever spotted you long enough to wave you down. Instead, they got glimpses of you in passing and disappointed stares from KK after she ran halfway across campus to talk to you, only to be disappointed because it was the wrong girl or you had already walked away.
But what about the games? Well, it was the same then, too. KK saw you during warm-ups but couldn't go over because of Geno and CD; then she was focused during the game, and then whenever she thought she could catch you after the game, you disappeared, again.
KK did consider at some point just giving up but she couldn’t. She had to see you and talk to you and wonder if this persona she had made up of you in her head was real.
The meeting KK was waiting for finally happened in March.
It was another send-off for the basketball team and, again, KK made a beeline straight towards you.
You held your pompoms towards her—because that’s all you thought she came to you for—and KK had a small grin planted on her face as she took the pompoms from you and turned around to hype the crowd like she did the year before.
When it was time to go, the rest of the team made their way to the bus, all of them passing KK and giving her nudges and cheeky grins, trying to hype KK up enough that she would just tell you how she felt.
KK felt nervous as she turned to look back at you. She swallowed and smiled shyly, and you smiled right back, reaching out to grab your pompoms from her, clearly seeing that she needed to go.
Just when KK opened her mouth to talk to you—although KK didn't know what she was going to say as all thoughts left her mind when you smiled back at her—you talked first.
In a voice as sweet as sugar and as silky as ever, you said, “Good luck, KK, I'll be cheering you on.”
KK was sure her heart skipped a beat.
You smiled at KK one last time before turning back to your team, and KK blinked slowly, trying to come back from the sound of your voice and what you said, that is, until she was knocked out of her daze by Geno yelling in the background that she needed to get moving.
From the moment KK walked away from you, all that sounded in her head was you. Your voice and what you said, “Good luck, KK, I'll be cheering you on.”
“I'll be cheering you on.”
“Cheering you on,”
“You.”
Not the team, not anyone else, KK.
You were cheering for KK.
KK lived off that high for the whole of the tournament, and when UConn became national champions, it was still the only thing that KK could hear.
𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞 — sarah strong x reader!uconn!player
ꨄ — summary: sarah made the mistake of falling in love with her older teammate, and now it's days away from senior night and sarah is realising she's not ready to say goodbye
ꨄ — word count: 2.8k
ꨄ — warnings: crying, out of this world yearning, idiots in love over here
ꨄ — authors note: i left this on a cliffhanger because i'm evil (i promise i'm not) but interpret the ending however you want
also omg it is criminal how little sarah strong works there are, so if y'all like sarah here you go
Most people, when they meet Sarah, immediately assume she doesn't like them. And it's not hard to come to that assumption when the whole time someone is talking to Sarah, her facial expression is one that usually resembles either boredom or judgment.
At first, most of Sarah's teammates—apart from KK, of course—didn't really know how to converse with Sarah because she always gave off the impression that she was disinterested, or annoyed with them, so they just stuck with topics she would talk to them about, like basketball.
But, of course, everyone has a soft spot, and Sarah's is you.
Sarah met you while she was on her recruitment trip at UConn. She was 17 years old and trying not to give away just how impressed she was with UConn's sports facility.
You were 19 years old, and technically supposed to be all-knowing now that you were entering your sophomore year, but you still had that look in your eye like you were still figuring all this out, too.
Sarah knew who you were, lockdown defender and when needed a sharp-shooter, you helped lead the Huskies to an almost undefeated season your freshman year until you were injured in the final four against the Louisville Cardinals.
It was basically a doomed season anyway, with Paige out with an injury and Azzi on a minute restriction, along with others who were injured, but leading the Huskies through a season like that with little to no players definitely let others know that you were a basketball player to watch.
Sarah found herself drifting towards you during her visit and hoped that nobody noticed, but Geno and CD caught everything, so when you had to leave practice—which wasn't really practice, it was more so the others practiced and Geno let you yell at them so that you would feel included—to go to rehad, Geno asked you to take Sarah along and show her what happened when you played stupid—because yes, Geno was salty that you got injured during the final four because he knows you could've won it all.
The whole time you spent together was filled with chatter and laughter.
Sarah didn't know what was happening to her. She wasn't a girl who giggled or laughed so hard her stomach hurt, and yet, a couple of hours spent with you and suddenly, Sarah was laughing like she had never felt joy before.
Sarah spent a couple of hours with you, but it felt like she had known you for years. You were funny and smart, you got Sarah's humour, which meant no awkward silences after she made a joke because people didn't get her. You were also very transparent about your injury; there was no tense silence when she asked about it, you were honest about how you felt about it and what you were thinking when it came to the future of your career.
Sarah felt so comfortable with you. Like she could say anything, do anything, ask anything, and there would be no judgment, nothing but pure understanding from you.
It felt like you understood what Sarah was thinking before she even thought it.
That was what finalised UConn for Sarah.
Sarah had met a lot of people, met a lot of coaches, met a lot of players, but she had never felt as understood as she did sitting with you while you went through your rehab knee stretches.
Later that night, when Sarah went to Geno's house, she was ready to sign the contract that second.
Geno raised his eyebrows in CD's direction, and she nodded back—those two are evil masterminds, that's for sure.
UConn lost in the final four that season, a hard loss for everyone on the team, but mainly the seniors.
It was hard to send Nika and Aaliyah off with no championship, but you all still showed your support at the draft, with Paige obviously being the loudest one.
Before you knew it, and before you got to really enjoy your off-season, summer conditioning started, and it was time to see all the freshmen.
Sarah, Allie and Morgan were so adorable, it was honestly criminal.
Sarah immediately latched on to you, becoming “your freshie” as you and everyone else called her.
And as conditioning went on and the season started, they started noticing that you were the only one Sarah really smiled for or seemed happy to be around.
During practice, you were the only Sarah wanted to run drills with (when they got to choose, which was rarely ever because Geno had a system) and during team dinners or team bonding, Sarah only sat next to you, and she didn't talk to people outside of the team unless you included her.
Sarah didn't know why her face felt flush and red after you praised her for something she did during practice. She didn't know why she felt her mood improve after you had done something as simple as smile at her, or give her a high-five.
Sarah didn't know it was a crush, which felt like a childish name for what she was feeling when the thought popped up.
The upperclassmen basically sniffed out Sarah's crush-not-crush on you like hound dogs—and they found it very amusing—but the younger ones thought Sarah just stuck close for advice.
You weren't oblivious; you knew Sarah had a crush on you, but you thought it was an admiration thing, an innocent crush that Sarah would get over as the season went on.
She didn't.
For Sarah, as the season went on, her crush-not-crush on you only grew, especially after the game against USC, and Sarah blamed herself for the loss. You sat next to her and distracted her. You told her about your losses and injuries and embarrassing moments during basketball, and it helped. Sarah felt understood whenever she spoke to you.
She told you about how she really felt about the game, and from the bus ride to the hotel to the bus ride home, all you did was reassure her that it wasn't her fault.
Other things had happened earlier in the game that could've been different, that would've changed the whole game.
Winning the national championship with you by Sarah's side was all she wanted. The feeling of lifting that trophy with both of you side-by-side filled Sarah with an unexplainable feeling. A feeling that she wanted to feel over and over and over.
Later that night, after champagne showers, you and Paige passing the net between each other, music so loud you're sure the whole hotel could hear it, and seeing all the UConn alum pull up, like Diana, Sue, Maya, Aaliyah, and more floating around, you found yourself lying in bed next to Sarah.
She wasn't allowed to drink, and her mom, Allison, made you promise that you would watch her. You nodded and saluted her while promising you would keep watch over Sarah, and Allison walked away with a knowing smile on her face.
So, you found yourself watching over Sarah all night, keeping her safe despite being very intoxicated yourself. Then, when it was so late, it was basically the next day, you dragged Sarah to her hotel room and made her calm down and go to sleep.
Now, you lay across from her, watching her sleep, like an Edward Cullen wannabe.
You knew exactly what you felt for Sarah, but you couldn't do anything about it. You wouldn't do anything about it.
Sarah was just starting her career, she had a lot to learn, a lot to accomplish, a lot to do, and even though you were very successful in your own right, fans and the media often always made relationships the focal point when it came to women's sports, you wouldn't be able to bring yourself to do that to Sarah's career.
She didn't deserve to have her career put in jeopardy because you had feelings.
Suddenly, Sarah's hand reached out, and you froze, watching her hand move around aimlessly, trying to feel for something.
Her hand then found what it was looking for and latched onto your hand, bringing it close to her chest. Sarah held your hand and squeezed it tight. This wasn't uncommon for Sarah to do when she couldn't sleep, especially when you were laying with her.
You watched her try to fall back to sleep, but her breathing didn't return to its normal pattern. Then quietly, she murmured sleepily, “Come closer.”
You blinked softly, not moving, unsure. You shouldn't have felt this awkward when you had cuddled before, but for some reason, you felt nervous.
Sarah frowned sleepily, eyes still closed. She squeezed your hand again and tugged you closer, making it clear what she wanted.
You finally moved over, and Sarah curled into you like this is what she's been waiting for all night. Her head lay on your chest, hands still interlocked, and your head lay on top of hers.
You watched Sarah relax, and when her breathing returned to normal, and you were sure she had really fallen back to sleep, you whispered, like you weren't sure if you even wanted to say it.
“I love you.”
No reply.
Just the quiet breathing from Sarah.
This was it. Your last season. Your last everything at UConn.
You weren't ready to leave the girls. You knew you weren't ready, but you can't stop it. You tried not to think so much about the future by burying yourself in basketball, and for the most part, it worked, but during the late nights, when you could hear your teammates arguing and the freshmen laughing, you let yourself think about it.
It was hard enough saying goodbye to Paige after the championship. You both clung to each other, bawling your eyes out, and you cried again when she got drafted, but only in private cause that was embarrassing.
Now, it's your turn.
You couldn't even imagine how hard it was for Paige to leave Azzi, and now you were sitting in your room, thinking about what it's gonna be like to leave Sarah, although you and Sarah weren't in a relationship.
After that night, you didn't say anything and fell asleep. Sarah didn't say anything when she woke up, not that you expected her to; you knew she was asleep.
But since that moment, you have been having an internal fight with yourself about whether you should distance yourself or not. You thought distancing yourself would make leaving easier, but after not being able to stay away from Sarah for two days, you decided to scrap that idea. You were just going to have to endure the hurt.
Sarah, on the other hand, found herself clinging to you in every possible way.
She was your partner in every drill, hoping Geno wouldn't notice that she ignored his system—he definitely noticed—she spent all her free time in your room, whether she was doing school work, watching a movie, scrolling on her phone, sleeping, or literally just wanting to lie on your bed. She was soaking up as much of you as she could before you left.
Sometimes you would have a later class, and come back late to find Sarah asleep in your bed, curled on your side of the bed like that helped her sleep.
It didn't fully hit Sarah until days before senior night that this was actually your last year. You were declaring for the draft and leaving in two months.
Two months.
That's all the time she had left with you.
Sarah turned her head towards you. Currently the both of you were lying on your bed watching a movie, Sarah's pick. You weren't really paying attention, finding something much more interesting to watch on your phone, Sarah was curled into your side, and she was relaxed until she remembered senior night was days away.
You felt Sarah move, and when you looked down at her, you noticed her eyes were trained on you.
“Can I help you, Lizzie?” You smiled cheekily.
Sarah rolled her eyes at your nickname for her that you took from her middle name, Elizabeth.
She avoided looking at you, “I'm just thinking.” She said, her voice was lower than usual.
“Yeah? About what?” You asked, putting your phone down and turning all your attention to Sarah.
She huffed, “About you…leaving.”
You sighed, you've been trying to avoid talking to Sarah about this knowing you weren't ready for it, but now you couldn't.
You reached your hand out and grabbed her chin, making her look at you. Now, Sarah had no choice but to make eye contact with you.
“What about it?” You asked softly, dropping your hand. You wanted Sarah to be able to tell you how she really felt, which she had never struggled to do before, but you could tell she needed a little push tonight, especially when the topic was you leaving.
The room was quiet, the only noise being the movie, which was now background noise to you and Sarah.
You didn't talk after that; you just let Sarah find her words.
Then she said, “I'm not ready.” Her voice is close to a whisper and wavering, “I'm not ready for you to leave.”
Her chin wobbled, and as soon as she was finished talking, tears fell down her face, quick and relentless.
You reached out in an instant and wrapped your arms around Sarah, bringing her close to you. She cried silently into your chest, clutching your top like it was her lifeline, “Please don't leave me.”
Please don't leave me.
Your heart broke. She whispered it like a mantra, still sobbing into your chest.
You just held her closer, “I can't stop it, baby.”
Baby. The name slipped out before you could stop it. Either Sarah didn't notice or she chose to ignore it, but she held you tighter, continuing to whisper, “Please don't leave me.”
Sarah didn't cry when she won the championship or when Paige left. In fact, there were only a few rare moments when you did see her cry, and when she did, she hadn't cried like this. She hadn't cried as hard or as much. And yet, the thought of you leaving was enough to bring Sarah to tears.
“I know, I know.” Sarah said softly, “I know you can't stop it, but please, don't leave me behind. Don't forget me.”
Your eyes watered, “I'm not gonna do that, sweetheart.” Another nickname slipped out, “I'm never gonna forget you.”
“Yes, you will.” She whispered into your chest, “You're gonna get drafted to a team in a city far away and leave me behind. You're gonna have another best friend, and you're gonna replace me.”
You hugged Sarah tighter, your heart breaking with every word she said.
“That's not gonna happen, Lizzie.” You said while running one hand through her hair, the other tugging Sarah closer.
“Yes, it is,” Sarah said stubbornly, clinging closer to you.
Your hand left her hair and grabbed her chin, tilting her face to look up at you.
“No, it's not.” You said firmly.
Sarah looked drained. Tear stains covered her face, her eyes were red, and she sniffled every five seconds, and yet, despite all of that, you thought Sarah looked beautiful.
You grasped her face in your hands and looked right into her eyes, saying, “You're my number one girl, Sarah, I'm never gonna forget you. Or leave you. Or replace you. You're gonna be with me forever.”
“Don't say that.” Her voice was lower than a whisper, and she kept tugging her bottom lip into her mouth.
You'll admit you did get a little distracted watching Sarah bite her lip, but you focused again and couldn't help the small grin that was fighting its way onto your face. “Why not?”
“Because it'll just make it harder for me when you leave.”
“Okay, sweetheart, I won't say it again.”
You grinned triumphantly when Sarah blushed. Now that she had finished crying, and her thoughts of you leaving had semi left her mind, she could actually focus now, and hearing you call her sweetheart turned Sarah into a blushing mess.
“Don't say that either,” She said shyly, leaning forward to hide her face in your chest.
At this point, you had pretty much figured out that Sarah still had a “crush-not-crush” on you, but just like you thought last year, you would not jeopardize her career, which meant you had to turn your feelings off so that you didn't do something reckless like kiss her.
You didn't say anything after that. You just held Sarah closer.
You would think that after all that crying Sarah would be the first to fall asleep, but it ended up being you. Sarah's face was tucked under your chin, and she was curled into your chest listening to the sound of your beating heart.
Then, Sarah whispered, so quietly she wasn't even sure she had actually said it.
the power of wattpad and juju watkins and kk arnold edits has brought me backkkkk 😝
just kidding i’ve been lurking for a while doing absolutely nothing, feeling no motivation whatsoever, but after seeing a jumorea edit i got to thinking and then suddenly i was writing.
i have a few works planned and only one finished and i’m not sure when i’m going to post it but just know i am writing
(sneak peek: sarah made the mistake of falling in love with her older teammate, and now it's days away from senior night and sarah is realising she's not ready to say goodbye)
(another sneak peek: after years of loving azzi in secret, you can now love her out loud)
y’all like them or no? lie to me
anyways i’m backkkk, did you miss me? cause i missed you
Like, I don't even know if you take requests or if you'll take this, but I'd love if you could write something about Kahleah Copper. I love your fics. Keep writing!
𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐫 — kahleah copper x reader!rookie!teammate
ꨄ — summary: kahleah doesn't play when it comes to her rookie
ꨄ — word count: 2.1k
ꨄ — warnings: age gap, swearing, injury, if there’s more let me know
ꨄ — authors note: i’m so sorry this took way longer than usual to write, i was somewhere with no internet so i couldn’t write or post a draft and when i did come back my brain just wouldn’t work so like i said this took way longer than usual to write, but here it is, way shorter than originally planned and less dialogue but i really wanted to get it posted for you anon, i hope you like it.
also when i do take requests of new people to write for i like to watch videos and old games of those people so i can accurately write them which did push the writing further along, and requests are always welcome, thank you so much!
this is phoenix mercury kahleah so yahhhhh (also trying the small font thing and i don't know how i feel about it yet, tell me what you think)
You were a smart-mouthed, national champion, sharp shooter and number 1 draft pick in 2024.
Kahleah was a certified crashout, traded to the Mercury, gold medallist and one of the league's leading scorers in 2024.
So, when you were drafted to the Phoenix Mercury, the media had mixed emotions.
Everyone had known for months that Phoenix was getting the first pick, but it was a toss-up between you and Caitlin Clark on who was going first.
People online talked about what the dynamic would be like if you or Caitlin went to the Mercury, and they often said that with Diana's fiery personality and Kahleah's no-nonsense persona, and you, with your smart mouth and below-the-belt trash talking, would either fit right in or you would clash.
Fans and media outlets went back and forth leading up to the draft, some saying it would be better if you went number 2 just so you didn't have to be in Phoenix, others saying Phoenix was right where you belonged.
And as luck had it, you were drafted number 1 to the Phoenix Mercury.
On your first day, everyone seemed nice enough. Tasha and BG were very welcoming. Diana actually brought you a gift basket, which made you laugh when you found a UConn sweater tucked inside. The only obstacle was Kahleah.
She came over, introduced herself and said welcome, but that was it.
No hug, no dramatics, no nothing else, which you expected. Based on the videos you had seen of her, you knew Kahleah wasn't someone who played around. If she wanted something done, she did it herself, or made someone—who she knew was fully capable—do it for her.
You kept your trash-talking to a minimum, not wanting to get off on the wrong foot or start something with the wrong teammate, so you tucked that part of yourself away and decided that when you played actual games, then you could trash-talk.
Everyone on the team had seen the infamous clips of you talking shit and getting cheeky on the court, and when you didn't say anything during training, they all just assumed you were locking in to fight for a spot on the roster. Kahleah thought otherwise.
You quickly found out in pre-season training that Kahleah wasn't interested in making friends—or making any more friends; she seemed content with the friendships she already had.
But it wasn't that she didn't want to be your friend; Kahleah just didn't want to make friends with someone just for them to get cut. So, she was waiting to see if you made the roster before she became friendly with you.
And when you did make the roster, she became more than friendly with you.
It started slowly, a greeting in the morning in the form of a wave, a nod, or even a verbal good morning.
Then, she was offering the pre-training snacks that she had extra of (she really just brought another one for you) and after exchanging numbers, Kahleah started texting you to ask what your coffee order was to bring it to you when she knew you wouldn't have time.
It was the small things that brought the two of you closer, and you often found yourself reaching out to Kahleah for advice.
Kahleah, for the first time in a while, found herself eager to be around another person, which was strange because Kah didn't like most people, let alone 22-year-olds with smart mouths.
The two of you grew closer with Kahleah offering her veteran advice, and you soaking it all up. Late nights at the facility were spent together under the guise of practicing, but the team knew better.
And somewhere deep down…so did you.
Soon, it was late nights at each other's apartments where your connection only grew, and while she was getting to know you, Kahleah found herself becoming overly protective (possessive) of you.
Anyone trying to converse with you often found themselves being stared down by Kahleah, who was always lingering in the background.
Players being too rough with you on court found themselves getting into it with Kahleah, who didn't take you being shoved around lightly.
It was amusing to say the least. Well, you thought so anyway. The other teams didn't agree.
You were well aware of the dynamic between you and Kahleah. She was the all-knowing veteran, and you were the advice-wanting rookie. Even though you were fully capable of defending yourself, especially on court, there was some part of you that loved that Kahleah stood up for you. Defended you.
Maybe that was sick, but you liked it.
You weren't sure on what exactly was going on with you and Kahleah, but the way she seemed so set on defending you, being around you, and always watching you, you had a feeling you would find out soon enough.
It was game day.
Phoenix vs Indiana.
You vs Caitlin.
Caitlin's rookie year was going well; everyone on the Mercury thought yours was going better, but they were biased, so you paid them no mind.
You weren't one to entertain the rivalry, knowing Caitlin had enough of those between Paige and Angel, but the media didn't care. A lot of people online were saying it was the championship rematch, and some were even saying this game would determine who was winning rookie of the year.
You tuned it all out during practice and warm-ups, and Kahleah was right next to you the whole time. Her presence brought you comfort, and even though she didn't say anything, she could read your emotions all too well and knew that you were feeling slightly nervous about this game, which wasn't like you at all.
Kahleah knew this game was about you, but seeing you going through warm-ups quietly, not making much conversation, made Kahleah's instincts flare up. You weren't usually nervous before games; losses never bothered you, you were always going throwing insults back and forth with Diana, and you were always ready to talk smack and back it up on court. Kahleah knew she had to watch you extra carefully during this game.
The game started slowly with both teams fighting to get an early lead, with Phoenix managing to get it after a 3-pointer made by you.
Phoenix didn't let go of the lead once, and alongside Kahleah, both of you worked together like magic. Kahleah always found you behind the line, and when you were being double-teamed in the corner, Kahleah found a place for you to thread the perfect pass to her.
Alongside Kahleah, you were going crazy.
She had managed to get your confidence back up, and with the win basically already in the bag, you started to mouth off to a couple of Fever players.
You were hitting below the belt, saying the sickest stuff while still teetering on the edge of the joke being funny.
You were basically just playing around at this point because you knew Phoenix was walking away with the win, so you were just going back and forth with Aliyah Boston.
The two of you had been aggressive against each other all night, and you couldn't help but throw Aliyah's mess of a life back in her face. You laughed it off, but Aliyah? She took it personally.
She was shoving you, pulling on your jersey, over-excessive blocking, just overall being a pain in the ass. You guessed she probably learnt some of that from Caitlin.
And Kahleah had been watching the whole time.
She was there every time Aliyah pushed you, every time she tried to bulldoze you to the ground and trust, Kahleah tried to reign it in, knowing this was your game and your time, but Aliyah tried her at the wrong time.
Then, at the end of the third quarter, after stealing the ball from Aliyah, she chased you up the court, and you passed the ball to Kahleah, but Aliyah wasn't chasing the ball.
She ran forward and fell onto your back, putting all her weight onto you.
The sound of the whistle pierced through the sound of the screams coming from the fans.
You hit your chest on the court and laid there for a few moments, your brain trying to make sense of what happened. There was pain in your chest, but also on your back, and you stayed completely still, trying to catch your breath.
The arena was silent, everyone trying to get a closer look, but all you heard was the pounding footsteps on the floor.
Kahleah's heart dropped when she saw you go down, and all she could see was Aliyah.
Aliyah, who had been pushing, shoving, and yelling at you all night. Aliyah, who just bulldozed you to the ground, possibly taking you for the rest of the season.
Kahleah usually let people handle their own shit; occasionally, she'd step in for support, but not with you. With you, she was always there; she would always be there.
Kahleah threw the ball, not caring or bothering to see where it ended up, and she took long strides towards you and Aliyah.
Aliyah had already gotten up and was now rubbing her chest, clutching her head like she was the one lying on the floor in agony.
Kahleah internally rolled her eyes. When she reached Aliyah, she got in her face and yelled, “What the fuck was that?”
The players on the floor came rushing over as soon as Kahleah reached arm's distance between her and Aliyah. They knew what Kahleah was like on the court about herself but with you? It was a different kind of energy.
Aliyah tried to shove Kahleah out of her face but Kahleah wasn't having it, and she pushed her hands down, “Nah, don't try get out of this, don't you fucking lay hands on her.”
Aliyah scoffed, “She's been coming at me all night, and she's a big girl; she can handle herself, she doesn't need you to come to her defence like she's a child.”
The other players shared looks between themselves, and the refs on the sidelines had quietened, not knowing what to do. The fans were laser-focused on what was happening, some cheering for Kahleah, others booing for the interruption.
“Yeah, I don't really give a fuck, you don't put your hands on her, got it?”
Kahleah placed her hand on Aliyah's chest and pushed her back slightly.
Aliyah stayed silent and looked away, looking towards her teammates with a small grin on her face. It was so obvious Kahleah felt something for you; now Aliyah could use that.
“What, scared your little girlfriend—”
Aliyah barely got a chance to start her sentence before Kahleah was surging forward to grab her.
The Mercury players on the floor managed to grab her just as she grabbed Aliyah's arm. They dragged her back to the bench, while she was yelling back at Aliyah, “What did I just say, bitch?”
The medic had come over while Kahleah was yelling at Aliyah, and they had picked you up to take you to the medic room.
You watched on the TV as Kahleah and Aliyah were ejected for the argument. The thrill of Kahleah getting into trouble for you sent a shiver up your spine.
You knew she didn't just do that for anyone. For her to do that meant that she was already in deep with you.
Kahleah was taken to the locker room, where she had to sit for the remainder of the game. You joined her after the medic cleared you, and the two of you sat in silence.
Kahleah knew she had a no-nonsense persona and that she didn't take shit from anyone on court. She also knew that you could handle yourself, on and off court, but when she saw Aliyah fall on top of you, on purpose, she couldn't stop herself from defending you.
Your eyes traced Kahleah's side profile, and you watched her chest rise and fall softly as she sat in your locker space, deep in thought.
The game ended, 86 - 95 to Phoenix.
Before your injury, you finished with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, all to Kahleah, who finished with 36 points.
The light from the moon and the stars lit up your apartment. You and Kahleah were sitting side-by-side on your couch, exhausted from the game commotion and celebrating the win earlier.
“You didn't have to do anything, you know that, right?” You mumbled
“I know,” Kahleah replied, her voice soft, “I wanted to let you handle it, but…” and instead of getting sentimental, she said, “You know you're my rookie, right? I gotta look after you.”
You didn't mention her avoidance of being sentimental; you just smiled and leaned against her, curling into her side.
Kahleah adjusted her body to make you more comfortable, and the two of you talked quietly until you both drifted off to sleep.
It was a long and exhausting day, but one thing was clear: to everyone who watched, to everyone who was at the game, to everyone who was in the game, Kahleah Copper did not play about her rookie.
