j a y . @studeteer - Tumblr Blog

Jun 3

tag - two

pairing: paige x azzi au: shark taggers synopsis: azzi moves to cape cod after accepting a temporary job at an old, rusty marine center. she immediately clashes with paige, whose working style is the complete opposite of hers... or the enemies to lovers story with a pinch of sharks. wc: 3k JAWSome fact of the day: sharks have better night vision than cats ────୨ৎ──── masterlist────୨ৎ────

“Nice of you all to finally show up.” Piercing blue eyes stared into Azzi’s soul.

For a second, Azzi forgot where she was and what the blonde even said.

There was something almost unbearable about being stared at like that. She felt the intensity of those eyes penetrating her bones. She felt judged without even uttering a single word.

“I heard you guys had quite a night. I didn’t expect you to be up this early.” Phee helped herself on the boat.

“You and I, sister!” Nika huffed, hauling herself after Phee. “But duty calls!”

The rest of the crew followed them, unaware of Paige’s eyes on Azzi’s.

Azzi fought the urge to look away as heat crept up her neck. She didn’t even know why she had the sudden, ridiculous feeling to explain herself.

Explain what exactly?

The blonde hadn’t said anything to her directly, yet it felt like she was being evaluated as she stepped onto the boat.

Oblivious to the silent staring exchange, Phee went ahead and hollered instructions to Kelsey, Ines, and Nika.

“Oh, I forgot. P, this is Dr. Azzi Fudd. She is joining us this summer. She specializes in acoustic tagging systems, data analysis, migration prediction, and all those research logistics.” Phee stood beside Azzi whose gaze was still fixed on those sharp blue eyes. “Azzi, this is Paige Bueckers. She is our skipper.”

The audacity for Paige to smirk her way down had Azzi all heated up. The blonde came down from the upper deck and stood in front of her. She was a couple of inches taller than Azzi, and her eyes looked even more surreal and intense up front.

“Welcome aboard, Azzi.”

It was the first name basis that made Azzi’s stomach twist, but for whatever reason, it was to be determined.

"Thanks.” Azzi heard the flatness of her voice, and she couldn’t be bothered by the way Paige lifted her eyebrow, as if challenging her.

“Great! Now that introductions are out of the way, let’s start our day.” Phee patted both of their shoulders and moved past Paige to help Ines set up her tablets.

Neither moved.

“Don’t you have a boat to steer?” Azzi’s question unfazed the blonde as she snickered and pulled a cap from her back pocket to put on her head.

“Try not to fall off my boat, princess.” Paige smirked before turning around and making her way to the helm.

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Princess.

Azzi had been called a lot of things but never something that was sweet yet irritating at the same time. And it irked her so much that she was thinking of it more rather than focusing on what Phee and Ines were discussing.

The boat cruised at eleven knots. There was an occasional spray over the bow, but so far, it was a peaceful ride.

Azzi could hear Nika and Paige talking at the helm station. She could her them laugh at something Nika said.

“Dr. Fudd?” Ines looked at her.

Azzi blinked and tried to compose herself. She didn’t want to be unprofessional and unfocused, but it was hard not to when Paige had taken up residence in her thoughts.

“Are you okay? You’re not getting seasick, are you?” Phee frowned, tilting her head with worry in her eyes.

“I’m fine. It’s just been a while since I did this.” Azzi’s smile was soft and convincing.

“If you need to take a moment, just let me know.”

Azzi was grateful for Phee’s offer that she missed the silence of the helm station and Paige glancing at them.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for making you repeat what I missed, Ines, but what was it about the receivers in the drop-off area?”

“You’re good.” Ines smiled brightly, pushing one of her tablets to Azzi. “When we reach the drop-off, we’ll use the receiver’s coordinates to locate the mooring. The receiver is anchored just above the seafloor, sitting in roughly twenty feet of water. KP will hook the line, and we’ll slowly lift the receiver using the small davit at the back.”

Azzi nodded, tracing her eyes over the information on the tablet. They weren't that far from the receiver, and not far offshore. Looking up, she could make out the sand dunes in Monomoy in the distance.

A light breeze drifted through the open side window, carrying the smell of salt and diesel. Neither of which did much to cool the air already warming under the June sun at eight in the morning.

Azzi turned her attention back to Ines’ tablet. She read the data and looked at the sample photos Kelsey took last week.

The sharks, Azzi suspected, were probably justt being sharks.

But there was something missing in the data that Azzi couldn’t point out.

Ines continued to explain that for the last four weeks, the acoustic receivers around Monomoy had been recording detections from tagged white sharks at frequencies no one had expected. Instead of passing through the area and continuing along their usual routes, some sharks appeared to be swimming around a particular spot.

“This is Jimmy.” Ines pointed at some red dots on the screen. “He had been detected repeatedly over five consecutive days. And there’s another one that appeared on multiple receivers along the same stretch of coastline.”

“It does look like they’re taking residency.” Azzi picked up her notebook and wrote something, missing Ines' amused eyes.

“Yes, it’s why we’re thinking it’s a new feeding hotspot.” Phee rubbed the back of her neck, already anticipating the day’s hard work.

“How long were the receivers deployed under water?” Azzi asked, not looking up from her notebook.

Phee and Ines exchanged a look. They both knew the answer, but they didn’t understand why Azzi seemed focused on it all of a sudden.

“Nine months.” Paige appeared beside the table, a coffee cup in hand.

This made Azzi stop writing and look up.

“I deployed them with Kelsey nine months ago.” Paige explained without Azzi having to ask her what she was doing.

“Right, thanks for that information.” Azzi’s tone was clipped, annoyed that Paige joined them. She was doing a great job removing the blonde out of her head a few minutes ago, only for the said blonde to resurrect in her head and in flesh.

“Do you think it has something to do with the receivers?” Phee asked, reeling both Azzi and Paige back to the topic.

“The detection logs from the data look odd. One receiver logs hundreds of detections over a given period while a neighboring station recorded a fraction of that.” Azzi showed her notebook. It had neat penmanship and a sketch of arrows and circles that looked like the graph on Ines’ tablet. “You can see there are gaps where sharks appeared to vanish entirely before reappearing again. The receiver we’re going to retrieve recorded more detections than any other station in the array.”

Paige studied the sketch for a moment before looking at Azzi. “That’s a lot of conclusions to be drawn out from a receiver we haven’t recovered yet.”

“I’m not drawing any conclusions. Simply stating my observation.”

“Do you ever consider that the receiver’s recording more sharks because there are more sharks?” Paige continued to challenge Azzi.

“The discrepancy is significant.”

“So is the seal population.”

“The other stations don’t show the same increase.”

“Maybe because the other stations are not near a seal buffet.” A smile tugged at the corner of Paige’s mouth.

Before Azzi could form a reply, Nika smoothly slid between where Azzi was sitting and Paige was standing. “Alright lovebirds, that’s enough foreplay for today. We've reached the station and we have some data to retrieve!”

Azzi gripped her pen a little tighter than necessary.

Paige Bueckers.

A skipper, questioning her thoughts and intelligence.

Paige Bueckers.

The skipper who looked entirely unbothered by the interruption, saluting her way back to the helm station to anchor the boat.

Paige Bueckers.

The infuriating woman who Azzi wanted to launch overboard from her own vessel.

Paige Bueckers.

The bane of Azzi’s existence.

She couldn’t wait for the receiver to be hauled onboard. Never in her life had she needed validation this badly, not even in the aftermath of what happened at the Chris Dailey Marine Research Institute in Juneau where it left her scarred for almost two years.

She wanted to prove to Paige she was not chasing a nonexistent problem.

But she didn’t know why.

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Kelsey and Nika were already moving, grabbing the hooks and shackles, preparing the davit’s cable for attachment. Metal clinked against metal as they worked. Paige eased down the throttle until the boat finally came to a halt next to a yellow buoy.

Kelsey was quick to fasten one of the cables while Nika kept the vessel steady against the swell. Once the connection was secure, Kelsey gave a thumbs up.

“She’s ready!”

The davit motor whined to life, and Azzi found herself holding her breath. She could feel Paige behind her, waiting as well.

It felt like forever before the receiver broke through the water. Nika groaned at the sight of it.

Barnacles, a lot of them clung on the device. They crusted nearly every inch of the receiver, packing thickly around the frame and casing. They all looked at it as it dripped seawater onto the deck as it swung from the davit.

“Well, isn’t she pretty?” Kelsey muttered, locking the chain in place.

Azzi bit back a smile.

The receiver looked exactly what she had imagined it would be. It had been sitting untouched underwater and months of exposure might have caused the receiver to malfunction.

Unable to help herself, she glanced over her shoulder. Paige had already turned away, moving inside back to the helm station without a word.

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It took two hours for Kelis to clean the receiver properly before Ines could download the data. By the time sunset came, Azzi was ready to call it a day. Phee suggested they save the data analysis early next morning.

Azzi exited the marine facility and checked another text message from Charlie.

The teenage boy had been blowing up her phone, askign her to stop by at the restaurant and try his grandmother’s chowder. She had given him her number last night after he dropped her off at her apartment.

Apparently, she did need a new friend. Even in the form of a tall and lanky seventeen-year-old boy.

Azzi pocketed her phone and crossed the street to Husky on Board.

It looked different at night. It felt livelier and Azzi noticed a handful of fishermen sat around crowded tables, eating late dinners and swapping stories from the water. She smiled at herself as she walked in and was greeted with the smell of sizzling seafood and fresh bread.

She barely had time to choose a table when she heard a familiar laugh. Her attention was pulled toward the bar where she saw Nika and Paige sitting on a pair of stools, with Charlie behind the counter showing them something on his phone.

To Azzi’s nightmare, Charlie spotted her before she could turn around. He waved at her like an excited puppy, which prompted Nika and Paige to look at her.

There was a fight or flight response building in the pit of her stomach, and it took her a few seconds to make a decision. A few seconds too late when she saw Charlie’s grandmother appear beside him and waving at her to join them at the bar.

Guess she was going to sit with the devil reincarnate herself, then.

She let out a sigh before walking toward the group. She could feel Paige’s eyes boring into her with every step she took.

It had b een a long day and the worst part was she didn’t know why the blonde disliked her.

If there was a reason for it, Paige had never said it loud. Not that Azzi expected her to. So why was she so hung up on being disliked? She was not staying in Taurasi Point permanently. She could just be civil and ignore Paige for the rest of her stay here.

But Azzi had spent more time thinking about it than she cared to admit.

She had replayed every conversation they had that day, which admittedly wasn’t many. The frustrating thing was that nobody else appeared to notice Paige’s hostility towards her. Which only made Azzi feel ridiculous for caring too much.

It had only been less than twenty-four hours since she met the skipper, yet Paige somehow managed to have a zip code in her head. All settled and moved in. Oh, how badly she wanted Paige Bueckers evicted from her thoughts.

Azzi forced a smile when she stood between Nika and Paige.

“Hello.” It was so absurd for her how a single word suddenly felt like an effort.

She looked att Paige, trying her best not to dwell on the irritation that immediately surfaced whenever they found themselves in the same space.

Paige smiled. A small one, but it was sneaky and teasing.

Nika’s eyes moved between the two of them.

Once.

Twice.

And then she had enough.

She coughed, feeling the tension suffocating her.

“I think that’s my cue to go. I actually have a very important thing to do back in the marina that I have no idea what it is but it’s very important that I have to leave.” Nika rambled, getting out of the stool and out of Paige and Azzi’s internal war. “Good evening and goodbye, Dr. Fudd.”

Neither stopped her, and Nika could care less as she slammed down some dollar bills on the counter and never looked back.

Charlie’s grandmother chuckled at the turn of events and offered to heat up her chowder for Azzi.

“Azzi, sweetheart. Let me get you a bowl of my famous chowder and some bread. Paige and Nika said you guys were out all day on the boat. You must want a comfortable meal after all of that.”

“Thank you.” Azzi smiled sweetly.

Before Charlie could object, his grandmother rested a hand on his shoulder and steered him toward the kitchen with her.

And then there were two.

“Good evening, princess.” Paige smirked.

That nickname again.

Azzi didn’t know where Paige had gotten it from, or what part of their short, unpleasant acquaintance had made her think she had earned the right to call her that.

It sounded harmless but there was something abut the way Paige said it that made Azzi feel as though she was missing the rest of the joke.

A joke made at her expense, no doubt.

She wanted to retort but she was tired and she decided she would deal with Paige in another time. She was promised good food, so she would eat good food.

Azzi smiled at the blonde, barely.

“Good evening, skipper.”

Paige’s reaction was subtle, but it was there. Azzi saw the flicker of annoyance in those blue eyes before disappearing behind an amused chuckle.

Interesting.

“How was your first day on my boat?”

“Good.” Azzi answered, reaching for the saltshaker to keep her hands from shaking.

“You survived and had not fallen offboard.”

“You have to give me credit for that. The swells weren’t too bad, and it wasn’t my first time on a boat.” Azzi resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Paige gave another chuckle before returning to her drink.

They seemed to have reached a temporary ceasefire, and Azzi appreciated that more than she probably should have. It allowed her a moment to sit in peace and, unfortunately, notice things she had spent the better part of the day trying not to notice.

Paige was goddamn attractive.

That was hardly a revelation. Azzi had arrived at that conclusion the first time she saw her this morning.

The blonde hair had been pulled back into a neat bun, and it had remained that way ever since. It was practical for being out ont the water. Paige even tried to tame it by putting on a cap, but somewhere along the way, a few loose strands had escaped.

Her multiple piercings in one ear had Azzi oddly captivated. It was a stupid thing to focus on, but Azzi found herself wondering when Paige had gotten them and how it looked cool on her.

Her nose was unremarkably straight and beautiful. It complemented her strong jawline and the rest of her attractive facial features.

“You’re staring.”

Azzi choked back her saliva. She was deadass caught and she racked her brain for an excuse.

She found none but found Paige smiling instead.

There was no graceful way out of this situation, but a lie was a must.

“I was not.”

Paige’s smile remained as she sipped her drink.

Azzi was already preparing to explain more and defend herself, despite having very little to work with, when Charlie appeared from the kitchen carrying a tray.

The timing couldn’t have been better.

“Grams’ special meal for the special marine biologist.” Charlie placed the tray in front of Azzi, and the smell alone was enough for her to forget the whole ordeal of being caaught staring at the blonde skipper.

Charlie was called by one of the customers, and it was back to the two of them alone. Paige watched her scoop a spoonful of chowder and couldn’t help herself be entranced the way Azzi ate.

It was an innocent thing to look at.

But Paige found that Azzi had her way to make ordinary things — like eating — look majestic and difficult to ignore.

“This is so good.” Azzi moaned her satisfaction.

Paige had to bite her tongue before she could say something stupid. She looked back at her drink before creating a disaster. She shook her head at the stupidity of it all and sighed before responding to Azzi.

“Nana’s food always hit the spot.”

“I am starting to agree.” Azzi took another spoonful, hiding a smile of her own. “You were staring, by the way.”

This time, it was Paige who choked on her drink.

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Azzi leaned back from the chair she was sitting on. She heard Phee sigh beside her.

It was early in the morning, and they were already facing a big problem. The data looked compromise.

“When marine growth accumulates around the receiver housing, like those barnacles Kelise removed yesterday, it can alter how the detection works.” Azzi explained. “It seems the receivers are experiencing biofouling. It's why it created irregular acoustic detections that changed the receiver’s sensitivity.”

“What do you think we should do?” Phee asked, already not wanting to hear the answer.

“There is no question that sharks are around the area but if we need a solid proof that they have a new feeding spot, we need accurate data.”

“We can deploy a new receiver.” Ines suggested.

“We can.” Azzi sighed.

“But?” Phee looked at her curiously.

“A replacement receiver will tell us what happens from today onward. It won’t validate the last couple of weeks of detections if they were real. I still want to believe the sharks are spending a lot of time there, but we need to know if it’s a genuine hotspot. But right now, I can’t tell whether we’re looking at an unusual concentration of sharks or an unusual receiver.”

“So no to a replacement receiver?” Ines asked, interestedly. She had been excited to know more about how Azzi thought of the issue and how her mind worked.

“No.” Azzi replied, opening her notebook to Ines and Phee. She already sketched and outlined her findings and solutions an hour ago. “If we’re going to determine which is true, we need independent verfication. What I’d like to do is deploy a PAVA.”

Ines sat up a little straighter. Now that was something she understood. Or at least understood in theory.

She had little experience working with a device like that and even less experience working in a small marine facility with not much resources to work with. This brought her so much hope, and she found herself looking at Azzi with renewed interest.

“We can have the PAVA work simultaneously with the recovered receiver. If the receiver’s detections continue and the PAVA confirms them, then the hypothesis of the sharks having a new feeding ground becomes stronger.”

“I have to hand it in you for thinking outside the box.” Phee whispered. “How much does it cost?”

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“Are you out of your goddamn mind?”

Azzi was alone on the R/V Hangover, checking her stuff and preparing for their trip to tag a great white sighted near Nauset Beach. Kelsey went back inside the marine center to grab a few additoinal items and let Phee and Ice know they were ready to go.

She looked up at Paige striding toward the boat.

Fuming.

“Excuse me?”

“I heard you suggested getting another kind of device to fix the receiver problem yesterday.” Paige stopped at the edge of the dock.

“You heard it right.” Azzi carefully placed the acoustic tags on top of the cooler. “Is there a problem?”

“The problem is that we already have receivers that work perfectly fine and we can deploy replacement receivers, if needed.” Azzi could see the muscles in Paige’s jaw shift in anger.

“I already discussed this with Dr. Collier and the rest of the team.”

“Dr. Collier and the rest of the team are far too easy to win over by you. Of course, they agreed!” Paige scoffed.

“I don’t know what is it to you, but I’ll explain it like I’m talking to seven-year-old child.” Azzi moved closer to the edge of the boat, so the only thing between them was the water. “We need a portable acoustic validation array to validate the pings we got from the receiver. We need passive listening data and not just visual observations. Replacing the receiver will give us more data, but what we need is confidence the data we got is valid.”

“And that confidence you need just happens to cost a thousand dollars or more.” Paige stepped onto the boat aggressively. Each foot was planted with a hard thud.

Without Azzi moving from where she was standing, the distance between them disappeared almost immediately.

"I think the marine center hired you to help them.” Paige’s eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke with a low voice. “Not give their bank account a heart attack.”

Azzi was not given a chance to reply as the blonde moved past her toward the helm station. Paige had left her with her mouth open and thoughts tumbling over one another.

#paige bueckers #azzi fudd #paige x azzi #pazzi #azzi fudd fanfiction #paige bueckers fanfic #jay's shit

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