#timberwolves

[warhead]

[all444glo]

COUNTRYBOY! ANTHONY EDWARDS HEADCANONS

CountryboyAnt! who’s been calling you “sadity from the city” since y’all were ten, like it’s your middle name.

CountryboyAnt! who was always into some kind of trouble—sneakin' out past dusk, getting caught in trees he wasn’t supposed to be in, or “borrowing” tools without askin’.

CountryboyAnt! who you watched get his mouth washed out with soap too many times to count, always grinnin’ through it like it was a badge of honor.

Countryboy!Ant who proudly taught you your first curse word, whispering it behind the shed and grinning like a devil when you repeated it.

CountryboyAnt! who practically lived at your grandparents’ house, always roughhousing with your cousins and brothers, eating up all your food

Countryboyant! who you forced along with your brothers and cousins to do fashion shows.

CountryboyAnt! who you “couldn’t stand” but wouldn’t let nobody else talk about him.

“I don’t even like him like that.”

“Then why you get mad when Keisha said his breath stink?”

“…'Cause that’s my problem with him, not hers.”

CountryboyAnt! who used to flip his eyelids and stick his tongue out at you during church service until y’all got swatted with the fan or popped on the thigh.

CountryboyAnt! who held your hand at your grandma’s funeral while tears streamed down his own cheeks.

CountryboyAnt! who was your first kiss—right outside the church, behind the van, with your breath still tasting like peppermint.

CountryboyAnt! who’d fight over you at the drop of a dime—“She might be from the city, but she ain’t soft. Now move 'round, nigga.”

CountryboyAnt! who made you ask random boys if they wanted to fight him for a dollar, just 'cause he wanted a reason to swing.

CountryboyAnt! who was always strong for his age—built like a ol John Henry by 13, lifting heavy stuff for neighbors in exchange for cold pops and corner store money.

CountryboyAnt! who stole you a barn kitten and swore it “followed him home” just so you’d stop crying that day.

CountryboyAnt! who snuck you out at 2AM to go riding his granddaddy’s horses, whispering stupid ghost stories the whole way.

CountryboyAnt! who made you help him steal sugarcane from someone else’s land, both of y’all chewing on it ‘til your teeth hurt.

CountryboyAnt! who dreaded every summer ending, watching you load up your bags like it was the end of the world.

CountryboyAnt! who rode his bike into town for good Wi-Fi just to see you buffer on a pixelated Skype screen.

CountryboyAnt! who got scouted young, sent to a private school in the city, and stopped coming back. Even for summers—too busy, too absorbed in his new world.

CountryboyAnt! who you lost touch with after his grandparents passed, but whose face stayed familiar on ESPN and Instagram feeds.

CountryboyAnt! who still had the same attitude, same potty mouth, just with better teeth and a hell of a lot more money.

CountryboyAnt! who donates back to the town quietly—renovating schools, keeping the rec centers open, making sure the football field still got lights.

CountryboyAnt! who shows up to your granddaddy’s funeral, hugs you longer than anybody else, and whispers, “Damn, Sadity city girl—you grew up on me.”

CountryboyAnt! who convinces you not to sell your grandparents’ land, promising to help restore it and turn it into something beautiful.

CountryboyAnt! who called up your cousins and brothers, cussing them out good for not drivin’ down to help fix up the house— “Y’all act like I’m askin’ for the damn moon.”

CountryboyAnt! who helps you fix it up in his off-season, barely letting you do any work.

“We should do that TikTok where we introduce ourselves and the work we did.”

“Y/N, you ain’t even done shit—”

“That’s the joke!”

CountryboyAnt! who’s a true gentleman—you don’t do no heavy work on the land, you’re busy tending the garden or servin’ him and his friends tea or lemonade, keepin’ everything sweet and smooth

CountryboyAnt! who learned hoodoo from his great-grandmammy, whispering affirmations and laying protection charms under your windowsills.

CountryboyAnt! who plants a money tree on the east side of your land and nails horseshoes above the doors, "just in case."

CountryboyAnt! that has railroad spikes scattered all across your land.

CountryboyAnt! who helps you scribble Psalms in white chalk onto your floorboards before layin’ down hardwood.

CountryboyAnt! who makes sure every corner of your home is blessed and sweetened before he builds it up.

CountryboyAnt! who you fix a home-cooked meal for when the work is done—he takes one bite and breaks down, whispering', “You cook just like your Granny…”

CountryboyAnt! who can’t keep his eyes off you, imagining every curve and line beneath the dust and work clothes, already planning you alls whole life.

CountryboyAnt! who won’t say he missed you out loud, but damn near begs you not to leave again.

CountryboyAnt! who watches you bent over, hands covered in dirt and paint, and damn near loses it—thinking about how hard he wants to make you forget all that work

CountryboyAnt!who still has that heavy, corn-fed build—strong enough to toss you over his shoulder and start running.

CountryboyAnt! who teases you by tracing his fingers over your skin while you’re distracted, making you shiver but keep on building.

CountryboyAnt! who groans when you show up in shorts, jaw tight, knuckles flexing like he’s fighting a demon.

CountryboyAnt! who couldn’t handle the tension and just said, “Fuck it,” then fucked you right there in your unfinished home.

CountryboyAnt! who talks filthy when he’s close, his accent dragging out every syllable—“Ain’t no way you walkin’ ‘round like this and expectin’ me to act normal. You see what you do to me, baby?”

CountryboyAnt! who can’t help but fuck you slow and deep the first time, foreheads pressed together letting you hear all of his noises.

CountryboyAnt! who eats you out with reverence, sayin’ little prayers into your thighs like he’s anointing you.

CountryboyAnt! who breaks the bed frame but swears it was “already loose.”

CountryboyAnt! who makes you ride him with your moomoo on, hands firm on your hips like he built you.

CountryboyAnt! who calls your pussy “home” every time he’s buried in it—“Ain’t no place I’d rather be.”

CountryboyAnt! who pulls out, spits on it, and goes right back in with a smirk—“You said you could handle it, right?”

CountryboyAnt! who takes you outside, bent over the hood of his truck, stars overhead, and the cicadas loud. Making you scream his name loudly, reminding you no one is around to hear

CountryboyAnt! who lays with you after, hands on your stomach, whisperin’ “you gon’ be mine forever, right?”

[sonokido]

shes got that DAWG in her

[szas0mega]

some of your love — anthony edwards (1)

a/n: i got the idea to make anthony edwards a country man from @all444glo ’s “COUNTRYBOY! ANTHONY EDWARDS HEADCANONS” 🤗 y’all should definitely read that!!

READ PART TWO HERE!

READ PART THREE HERE!

synopsis: you and anthony edwards had the strongest bond in your town. you both had been childhood best friends eventually turned lovers. both of your lives had led down different paths, bringing you both to colleges thousands of miles away from one another. but what happens when five years later, after no communication, you both are reunited?

c/w: angst and comfort (mainly angst)

word count: 8.6k (she’s long lol)

pairing: anthony edwards x black!f!reader

PARTYNEXTDOOR ~ Some of Your Love

Listen to PARTYNEXTDOOR ~ Some of Your Love by CLO$ED DOOR [P] #np on #SoundCloud

you were your mom’s favorite child. out of her four kids, you were the second to youngest and the most behaved. you always helped her around the house, tending to the animals on the farm and preparing meals for you and your siblings. you helped her with washing and hanging laundry, and even helped with babysitting your younger sister when your brothers were too busy or didn’t care enough.

you never disobeyed her, in fear of ruining what you believed to be a strong and loving dynamic you had with her. your father was a deadbeat, which only led to your mom being stricter and more involved in you and your sibling’s lives. and you didn’t mind one bit. you never wanted to upset her.

so when you had truly upset her for the first time since your childhood, it had really rocked you. the first time that you ever cursed was in the eighth grade. you were raised to be a polite, demure, and respectable young lady, with your mom threatening to wash your mouth with soap and water if it ever came to it. the threats that you knew she would never act on had intimidated you enough though, training you to keep your lips sealed and your anger at bay.

what you did know, was that even though your mom threatened you from time to time with a soap rinse, she actually did act on it with her other kids. and even some that weren’t hers. aka anthony.

anthony edwards, the little country boy that lived just two houses down. always stayed over at least once a month at your home, playing games with your older brothers and stealing your mom’s grits and meatloaf until there was almost none left. anthony who was an aspiring nba basketball player, spending the majority of his days playing ball with your brothers in his backyard. anthony was like a third son to your mom, staying by her side and making her laugh while she cooked. walking with you and your siblings to school. anthony who was way taller than your brothers combined and was only one year older than you, making a friendship with your entire family. and that included you.

when anthony had taught you another way to let off steam — through the power of a good curse word — you actually believed it would help. but when you had accidentally believed that you could blurt the word “fuck” in the confines of your eighth grade science class, you didn’t believe the level of trouble you had gotten yourself into.

from getting sent home to receiving the first beating of your teenage years, you swore you’d never curse again. you also swore that you’d never speak to anthony again. which ended up being a lie.

because that evening, when you’d been sprawled out on the middle of your bed in your room, being sent upstairs with no dinner as punishment, you heard him.

at first you heard the crackle of the tree that stood right outside your window, but you blamed it on the wind or one of the geese outside. but then you caught sight of a hairline that was all too familiar. and there anthony was, balancing on a weak tree branch and the small casing on the outside of your window.

you immediately shot up from your spot on the bed, unlocking the window and ushering him in quietly. if your mom knew you had a boy — let alone the insanity of anthony — in your room alone, you’d probably never be allowed to leave again.

“ant, what are you doing here?” you’d harshly whispered, dragging him to sit with his legs crossed beside you on the ground. “i thought you were a goose or something,” you replied seriously, but the comedic glint in his eyes coupled with the sarcastic smirk on his lips made you giggle. you were thankful that the only light bleeding into your room was from the lamp on your desk; you’d hope it was enough to hide the growing blush on your cheeks.

“i ain’t no goose na, just came to check on my fouled mouth girl,” he sarcastically replied with his typical southern drawl, finding humor in your punishment. he zeroed in on your eyes, smile faltering slightly when he realized your eyes were bloodshot. you’d been crying.

all the humor had drained from his face at the realization, wanting nothing more than to hug you and reason with your mom that this was all his fault. he hated to see you upset knowing he was to blame. he hated seeing you upset in general.

you explained to him why you cursed, that your mom was far more upset with you than she ever had been before, and that you hadn’t eaten. he listened intently, now with one of his hands rubbing reassuring circles on the palm of your hand. when you had finished explaining to him what had happened, he looked at you in pity. then he smiled, a gracious honoring to show that you were going to be okay.

“i’ll be right back,” he curtly proclaimed, shooting up from his spot on the ground and back to the window. before you could even question it, he was out the window and down the tree. you’d transitioned from your legs crossed and sat on the ground to fully laying sprawled out on your bedroom floor, bored once again.

it wasn’t until a half an hour later that he returned through the window that you left unlocked, a brown bag in hand. you were confused as to what was inside it until you smelled some of the most delicious cornbread and collard greens ever. the only food that can smell that good had to have been from your mom.

“how did you-“

“i just said hello to ms. m/l/n and asked for some food, told her practice was long today,” he grinned, pulling out two meals on disposable plates and aluminum wrap.

“and how did you manage to get two?” you giggled, taking a plate from his extended arm.

“blamed it on puberty,” he sarcastically replied, taking his seat next to you on the ground. you both unwrapped the meals and ate through laughs and conversations. before you knew it, it was already 11:30 pm and you both had school the next morning. you had immediately stood up and cleaned everything from the floor, not noticing anthony watching in the corner by the window.

when you had finished, you made your way over to him as he had one leg out the window and the other in your room, balancing himself with his thighs. you got close to him, but not enough to be invasive.

“thank you for tonight, ant. you know... the food and all,” you softly smiled, rubbing one hand over your upper arm out of nerves. he stood up from his spot on the windowsill, and took a large step to you before engulfing you in one of his classic hugs. his warm presence coupled with his hands running up and down your back made you feel the calmest you’d felt all day.

he slowly retreated, now just a few mere inches away from you. you could see his neck physically craning downward to look you in the eye before he brought his lips to your forehead in a swift and steady motion. your cheeks heated furiously, and you hoped that your lamp light was dim enough to hide it once again.

“sleep well, goose,” he teasingly whispered, a soft chuckle escaping your lips at the new nickname as he made his way out the window and down your tree, walking back to his house.

｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈• ｡ﾟ

ever since that night, the next few years turned into more occurrences like that one. when he’d come over to hang out with your brothers, he’d always stop by your room to say a quick “wassup goose?” before heading to their room. when he’d stay over for dinners, he’d always sit in between you and your brothers, making small conversation with you and making you laugh.

and as you both entered and went through high school, that bond only strengthened. he’d begun to get more publicity for his starstellar basketball skills and nba prospects, making headlines in your town’s local newspaper. yet he never changed with you.

after late night practices, he’d climb through your window and study with you on the floors of your bedroom. he’d quiz you on science terms that prepped you to not only do well on the exams but for what you wanted to become: a veterinarian.

he’d give you quick hugs in the hallways, invite you to his basketball team’s home and away games, and even have you sit court side of his home basketball court at night when he practiced his threes and you studied anatomical terms for your AP science classes. you’d grown to have an inseparable bond, one that many of yours and his friends would tease you about.

but you both didn’t care, just yearning for more time together before the eventual outcome of it all: his graduation.

him being in the same graduating class as your brothers meant that once he left, you’d be alone. your senior year without him. you couldn’t bear the thought of it.

when anthony and your brothers graduated, both yours and his mother threw a conjoined graduation party for the three of them. the entire block was invited, with the party being held in the park in the county next to yours.

anthony’s friends and family had surrounded him the whole day, throwing piece of cakes and celebratory items around. it was truly a fun day. it was the kind of distraction you needed if you wanted to be around him without crying. you both didn’t interact with each other much at the party, both pulled in different directions to appease the guests that attended.

it wasn’t until the party had ended, and it was just you, anthony, and his mom that were left to clean up the remaining trash. your brothers had left with your mom to celebrate at home so that your mom could cry in peace without prying eyes. you volunteered to stay back, not wanting to miss a private moment with him.

anthony’s mom had driven multiple times between the park and her home to bring back anything they needed. on her last trip, she offered to drive you both home when anthony quickly declined, reassuring her that he would get you and him back to the neighborhood safely. he had his car, so you were sure it would be a quick and easy drive.

the minute you both sat in his car, you looked down at your lap before you felt the tears well and eventually fall. and he was quick to notice.

“hey hey, what’s wrong?” he quickly quipped, his hand now lightly lifting your chin to look at him. the look in your eyes absolutely destroyed him; he felt like thousands of shards had been thrown directly at his heart.

“i’m just sad about you leaving is all. leaving your friends, your town, me….” you mumbled the last part, hoping he wouldn’t hear it. but of course he did. because with him leaning across the car’s console to look you right in your eyes, there was nothing he couldn’t hear other than your shallow breaths and quickened heart beat.

he wasn’t even going to college that far away, only two hours to be exact. but with his growth in popularity and next shot at joining the nba, you felt that this was the beginning of him slipping from your fingers.

“i’m only going to be a couple hours away, and i’ll always come back to visit, you know that goose,” he countered with the southern drawl that you grew to love way too much. “now stop crying before you turn me into a waterfall too,” he joked, making you both laugh before he put the car in ignition.

the rest of the drive home was silent, other than the light hum of the radio and the wind blowing through the open car windows. after around 15 minutes, you’d both arrived at the front of your house. you dreaded having to get out and saying somewhat of an official goodbye, you wanted nothing more than to just sit with him in the car for the night until he had to leave.

and he felt the same way. because you both had made no effort to move, just sat in silence and looking ahead through the window at the silhouette figure of your mom cleaning in the kitchen. after a few minutes, he finally spoke.

“well, i guess this is it,” he asserted, eyes still focused ahead.

“yeah,” you silently concurred, your heart breaking after the one word response. you slowly moved to unbuckle your seatbelt, trying to prolong time. but you couldn’t. you opened the door, exiting the car languidly as you made your way to the front of your house. he followed closely behind, his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixated on the ground.

as you both stood under your porch light, you looked up at him and already found his brown irises on you. soft and comforting, like he was telepathically communicating with you that he also didn’t want to do this. you felt your eyes welling with tears once more as you practically lunged yourself into his arms, your arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

he met you at your height, his head finding its way to the crook of your neck, hands tightly grasping at your waist to keep you closer. like you could slip away. you both stayed in that position for a few minutes before you pulled back, just slightly. because then in that moment when your eyes reconnected, you felt it.

the urge to do something that you knew would change the dynamic between you two forever. but somehow that thought wasn’t as daunting as it used to be, knowing he’d be gone for far too long.

as if on command, you both brought your lips to the other, meshing together like you’d somehow done this before. his lips felt as soft as they had on your forehead in the eighth grade, and just as comforting too.

your lips moved slow at first, but quickened when you pulled him closer. he brought his hand to the back of your neck, angling your head so that he could get more access to your now bruised lips. he couldn’t believe he was in this position right now. and that it hadn’t happened in the last fifteen years of friendship.

after another minute of silent stolen kisses, you pulled away. now with your hands on his chest to stabilize you from how lightheaded you felt.

you smiled. smiled at the fact that you now had this moment with him forever. your first kiss and it was with the boy that you had loved so dearly.

“bye ant,” you whispered, thumb running over his cheekbone one last time. “don’t forget me,” you were only half joking.

“i could never, goose,” he remarked, a smirk playing at his lips at the fond nickname he used every now and then. you lightly slapped his arm at the remembrance of that night in eighth grade. “you’ll hear from me soon,” he casually replied, as if you both hadn’t just made out for the last five minutes. he bent down to give you a prolonged kiss on the cheek, which only made your cheeks rush with heat.

he pulled away and lightly jogged off the two front steps of your porch, making his way back to his car. he sat himself in the driver’s seat, now putting his car in reverse and gave you one last wave.

and even though you felt your heart breaking all over again, you held onto his last words to you. because even with the distance that would form, you could at least hold on to that promise.

for now.

｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈• ｡ﾟ

you were always fond of washington, d.c. you loved the idea of being in such an important place, filled with enclaves of different cultures and historical sites. you’d visited once in high school, and immediately felt drawn to the city. more than anything, you felt drawn to the fact that you were surrounded by your people through and through. it was just like back home, not wanting to feel singled out or racially excluded. it was on that field trip that you had convinced yourself that you would relocate there after graduating college.

and that’s exactly what you did. because now, one year post-grad and a few months into your veterinary program in d.c., you couldn’t have been happier. you felt like you had been getting your life on track without giving so much as a thought to your life back home.

of course, you still maintained connections with your siblings and mother. but there was something about going back home or remembering its existence that floored your mood entirely. maybe it was the reminder of constant studying and no time to enjoy being a kid. or maybe it was him, your ant.

you and anthony hadn’t spoken since he left for college. he completed one semester of college before joining the nba, being drafted to the minnesota timberwolves as the first overall pick. since then, he’d made headlines across the nation, but specifically in your town’s local newspapers.

you remember being in your final semester of high school, and all that surrounded you was his name and face. he hadn’t even texted you. not for any birthdays or updates on his life. he hadn’t even responded to your congratulatory text for being drafted.

as the years went on and texts remained unanswered, you’d lost hope in your relationship with him. but more than that, you’d become depressed. your mother had mentioned how ant would still check in on your brothers, which only worsened your mental health at the thought of being intentionally ignored.

why was he ignoring you? had you done something? you were thankful that you’d already applied to colleges by then or else you feared that your depression and lack of motivation to do anything would have ruined your career.

but now, years later, you were fully independent and in the city of your dreams, pursuing your dream job! you couldn’t be happier. even when you’d turn on the tv and saw his face during a game or on the post-game nba tv shows, you were happy. or when you were at work, talking with your colleagues and they’d casually mention how well anthony and his team played in a game. you didn’t budge, not wanting them to know you had any sort of affiliation with him.

you now worked as an assistant to the lead veterinarian in a local but small vet clinic that was smack dab in washington, d.c. it was a dream job. you had great coworkers that were more friends than colleagues and you lived alone with your pet cat. you couldn’t complain.

which is why tonight, when you and your three favorite coworkers were assigned the late shift at the office, you had no complaints. it was now 11:37 pm on a frigid november night, and you and your coworkers had been debating over whether this season of love island was intentionally made to instigate racial wars or if it was just the audience’s fault.

you and your three coworkers — kyla, denny, and michelle — were holding down the office as the main vet, dr. robinson, had to head home earlier that day. you loved when it was just the four of y’all in the space and there weren’t as many clients due to the cold weather. you were really just getting paid to yap with one another.

“alright alright, as much as i love a nicolandria discussion, we have to eat. so who is going to get the food?” you asked, eyes widening when all three of them had pointed at you.

“whoever asks has to be the one who’s most hungry, therefore, should be the one to get the food. i don’t make the rules,” denny shrugged, getting kyla and michelle to cackle at your despair.

“aren’t you the man here?” you quickly shot back, making kyla and michelle laugh harder as denny’s smile quickly turned to a faux frown.

“nah come on, i’ll go with you y/n,” kyla offered, already rising from her seat at the front desk and making her way over to the coat closet. you stood up shortly after, having a squinting battle with denny as you also made your way to the coat closet, which was located in the staff room on the other side of the office.

you and kyla had chatted with each other for a bit while slipping your coats on when you heard the bell chime over the entrance to the clinic. “dang, whoever just came in must have a real emergency if they pulling up right now,” kyla joked, finishing up the last few buttons on her coat.

you heard a disgruntled voice on the other side of the door, rambling about an issue that their dog was having. but weirdly, the client was met with silence. where were denny and michelle? you thought to yourself.

you heard denny try to put together a sentence, but he was stammering. what the hell?

you heard the client’s voice again try to coax a response out of your coworkers, but they were a met with deafening silence. you made your way to the door to exit the staff room but paused abruptly. you listened a little longer to the voice that had been venting, your eyes widening slightly. why did this voice sound so familiar?

“girl you good?” kyla asked, confused by your silence and stiff posture. you didn’t reply but slowly opened the door, afraid of who might be on the other side. and you were right to fear it.

because the eyes that met yours on the other side of the clinic were familiar. painfully so. the brown irises — that were somehow so stark that you could see it from where you stood across the office — widened at the sight of you too. ah, so the shock was mutual.

your hands had fallen to your sides, the gloves you’d carried slipping through your fingers to the floor before you even got to wear them. your mouth had fallen so far down that had it weighed a ton, you’re sure it would’ve caused a hole that fell to the earth’s mantle. you couldn’t even voice the thousands of thoughts that had flown through your head before denny’s voice cut in.

“nigga what the hell is anthony edwards doing at my job?” he screeched. it appeared that he was so starstruck that he hadn’t spoken until now. twins. michelle let out a high pitched yell, which caused kyla to run from behind you and join them, highkey fangirling at the sight of an nba star at their place of work. living in d.c. meant that you all had seen your fair share of celebrities, politicians, and world leaders. but when one of the most well-esteemed nba players in the country happened to stumble into your local vet clinic, of course you were all astounded. well, you were for different reasons.

because as your coworkers continued to lose their minds at the sight of him, you hadn’t budged from your spot in between the staff room and main desk. your eyes hadn’t left his, your mouth still open, but your heart rate picked up. similarly, anthony’s gaze never wavered, highly fixated on the way you looked at him like he was the last person you expected to see.

anthony had worn a casual fit — grey sweatpants and a black hoodie that had been pulled to cover his head. you felt ridiculously underdressed in your pink scrubs, even though you were literally at work. maybe you felt silly because you were the only one in pink while your coworkers were in green scrubs. or maybe because your curls were thrown into a bun that had no real shape, depicting your exhaustion.

or maybe you felt underdressed because he looked just as handsome as he did on tv. if anything, more so. when your colleagues had finally quieted down, they noticed the awkward silence and prolonged stares between the two of you.

“uh…do you two know each other?” michelle broke the silence, eyes switching between you and anthony’s stoic positions. you both hadn’t answered, but anthony’s mouth moved to form some kind of explanation for your silent stares. but instead of hearing what he would’ve said, you spoke.

“w-what are you doing here?” you hated how shaky your voice sounded. like you were intimidated or genuinely impacted by his presence. which of course you were, but he didn’t need to know that. you gulped, trying to find any strength left within you to avoid choking on your building tears in front of everyone.

“we had a game against the… the wizards. but my dog, he’s uh … sick, or something,” he staggered out, the bass in his voice both familiar and beautiful. he started to lose some of his southern accent, but if you listened closely — which you did — you could hear a hint of it. you’d been so taken aback by his presence that you didn’t even notice the english bulldog in his arms. despite the whispers from your colleagues, anthony was only looking at you, like the prying eyes to the left of him were non-existent. was he nervous too?

“well we can surely help you with that! if you could just provide me with the symptoms and when this all started?” michelle investigated, opening a new patient form for him. as denny and michelle asked anthony more questions, you felt yourself being dragged back to the staff room. you didn’t even fight it as your eyes re-focused from anthony to your new surroundings, a wide-eyed kyla staring back at you.

“girl what the hell is going on?” she inquired, pulling you both to sit side by side on one of the benches in the room. “how the hell do you know anthony edwards?”

“i-we um… grew up together,” you recalled, looking around the staff room as a distraction. you felt your cheeks heat at the sudden flashback of memories with him. were you going to cry? scream? run outside and punch him square in the jaw? hug him? you really didn’t know.

“we were best friends but we lost contact, i-i don’t know why,” you trailed off, now feeling choked up when you remembered your last interaction with him. how his lips felt, how he looked at you like there was nothing more that mattered to him then being with you in that moment. you were now picking at your thumb nail, finding any distraction to keep yourself from crying in front of kyla.

“i see,” she curtly responded, looking at your face to judge what emotions you held in. you could tell she had more questions but didn't want to pry. instead, she pulled you lightly by the arm to give you a hug, her other arm running up and down your back. you felt like you could cry, like you needed to, but nothing came out. weirdly enough, you only felt that urge when thinking about him or looking at him. weird.

your hug with kyla was cut short when michelle burst into the room, an exhilarated expression on her face. her excitement must’ve been through the roof because she didn’t even notice the solemn expression on your face before she enthusiastically spoke.

“y/n, you’re on patient room 2. aka anthony edwards. aka the best shooting guard ever!” she blustered, hopping up and down. and your face fell, your heart rate quickening as you took in the new information.

“w-what do you mean i’m assigned to him? i didn’t ask to-“

“well it doesn’t matter, you’re going. also he requested you so,” she trailed off happily before changing the topic. “plus this will be such a good experience to add to your resume, so come on!” of course he requested you. michelle was now pulling you away from kyla’s grasp and into the hallway.

she had quickly handed you anthony’s dog’s files, prepping you with the summarized information and before you could even protest, she opened the door and forcefully pushed you into his room before closing the door quickly behind you.

at the sight of your harsh entrance, anthony stood up immediately with his dog in his hands, eyes searching your face. you hadn’t been this close to him in years, and you weren’t ready. you weren’t ready to take in the soft expression in his eyes, how tall he actually was in comparison to you, and his soft lips. again.

a full minute had passed of you both staring at each other, again. you cleared your throat as a way to break the silence, which only brought his gaze from your eyes to your lips. damn it. you bit down on your bottom lip, hard. any chance to distract yourself from his intense gaze would be a win in your book.

“are you o-“

“can you please place—” you cut him off, glancing down at the name of his dog before continuing “—ant. jr on the table please.”

you turned away from him and to the station of medical supplies, effectively cutting the eye contact. did this nigga seriously name his dog after himself?

once you had slipped your gloves on and turned back around, you found anthony standing even closer to you, with ant. jr on the small table in the middle of the room. you took a deep breath to gather the stability in your voice before beginning the preliminary screening.

“so after looking at ant. jr’s chart, i’m seeing some higher than average rates of constipation. did he eat something unusual or new in the last few days?” you examined, pressing your two fingers to either side of the dog’s stomach. you tried your hardest to maintain your professionalism as you kept your eyes trained on the dog, ignoring the intense weight of his eyes.

“nah, he’s been straight,” he replied, “but every time i pet him here he starts whimpering or some shit,” anthony finished, bringing his hand right next to yours. the heat radiating from his hand was enough to make you retract from the dog, not wanting the skin on skin contact to throw you off from the task at hand. but sure enough, when anthony pressed down slightly on the left side of his dog’s stomach, he whimpered loudly.

your eyebrows furrowed, zeroing in on the dog’s lower stomach. you speculated that he must’ve swallowed something inedible when anthony wasn’t looking. but you wouldn’t be sure until you ordered an x-ray. before you could deliver a prognosis, you heard anthony’s thick voice cut through the silence.

“i can’t believe you really doing it,” he blurted, eyes trained on you and your careful movements with his dog.

“i’m sorry?”

“you know what i mean, y/n,” he reasoned in the type of tone that insinuated you had to make eye contact with him to get what he was hinting at. but you knew what he meant. you gave in anyway, though, wanting to look at him one more time to prove to yourself that he was real and in fact in front of you.

once you looked at him, you felt your heart flutter. it felt like every time you both made eye contact it couldn’t be for less than five seconds. like if you didn’t prolong the eye contact by at least 20 seconds then you were wasting your time. because now when you truly looked at him, is when you took in his new features. of course you saw him on tv all the time, but to see these changes in person was a completely different experience.

like now his hoodie was lower on his shoulders, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. now he was exposing a bit of his neck and collar bone as well as his forearm. he had new tattoos, you noticed. you knew he always wanted them. you also noticed that his hair was shorter than when you last saw him, and you honestly liked it better this way. but you wouldn’t tell him that.

before you could get deeper into your thoughts, he brought you out of your trance.

“i mean, i can’t believe you’re going after your dream. like you really doing this shit,” he finished, a prideful smile on his lips. and you don’t know why it made your skin bloom with heat. like his opinion still mattered gravely to you.

“i could say the same for you, too. i mean playing professionally and all. i wonder how difficult it must’ve been, you know, to completely abandon everyone you love to dribble a ball for a living,” you chided, eyes widening at what you just admitted. you hadn’t really meant that. but you quickly brought your face to a neutral expression.

on the contrary, his expression also changed at your words, but he didn’t look offended. he looked almost amused that you were being petty. like he wanted to see and feel your rage. if you were a different person, you would’ve left him and his wounded dog in the room with no care. but you cared more than you wanted to admit.

“goose, i-"

“don’t call me that,” your tone was icy now, immediately shutting him up. “you lost every privilege of calling me that when you left without even so much as a phone call.”

all the amusement drained from his face, replaced with sorrow and regret. and you were content with that. for the sake of professionalism, you collected ant. jr’s paperwork and made your way to the door. “i’m going to get michelle or denny to run a few tests. they’ll be back in a few minutes.”

before he could stop you, you were already out the door. you clutched your clipboard to your chest to calm the erratic heartbeat that you could now feel in your ears. as you made a sharp turn from the room, you nearly bumped into your three colleagues. they were perched on their knees, clearly trying to listen to your conversation with the nba superstar. instead of feeling annoyed at their intrusion, you felt yourself laugh quietly before walking past them, leaving them in their awkward positions on the floor as they gawked at your anger at the nba player.

denny followed shortly behind you, oozing with intrusive questions about you and anthony’s dynamic. kyla and michelle had steered away from the conversation, actually taking their jobs seriously and trying to find the issue with anthony’s dog.

you had tuned denny out, glancing at your watch for the time. it was now 12:42 am and you had three hours left of your shift. great.

after a few more minutes of denny’s invasive questions that you chose to ignore, michelle and kyla returned with an x-ray shot of the dog’s stomach. kyla held up the image directly in front of you, displaying what appeard to be a cap to a perfume bottle lodged in his stomach. when you looked up at kyla, she was giggling to herself at the idiocy of this dog.

but before you all could join in on a collective laugh, you heard the door to anthony’s room open. he emerged with his dog in his arms, a confused but reassured smile on his lips as he saw you all at peace over what seemed to be ant jr’s test results. before he could even ask what the results were, kyla chipped in.

“don’t worry mr. edwards, ant jr. just accidentally swallowed what appears to be a perfume bottle cap. he just has to excrete the foreign object and will be perfectly fine,” she reassured him, handing over the dog’s reports and scanned images. “he should feel some relief in the next 24 hours,” kyla concluded, gesturing to the dog’s stomach.

“thanks… to all of you,” anthony replied, eyes only trained on you. you couldn’t even look at him, but your coworkers gawked at his intense stare with your downcast eyes. instead of replying, you awkwardly moved from where you stood to behind the main desk, searching for nothing but an escape from the now immovable silence.

suddenly, denny chimed in with the idea of the century.

“y/n, we’re all still hungry as hell. and you’re still on food duty… maybe ant can join you in getting us some pizza?”

your eyes narrowed at his offer, not falling for his sad attempt at getting you and anthony together alone.

“yeah and we want two pizzas, so you’ll probably need help… you know carrying it and all,” michelle added, now in on the secret plan to get you and anthony out of the clinic.

“i can get it myself, i don’t ne-"

“i’m down,” anthony cut you off, a suggestive smirk on his lips as michelle and denny silently fist bumped in the corner.

you rolled your eyes, slightly playful but mixed with real annoyance.

“i’ll get my wallet.”

“nah, you don’t need it.”

ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈• ｡ﾟ

after living in d.c. for some time, you fell in love with walking around the city at night. it was mildly safe, less crowded, and oddly reminded you of the serenity of being back home with your family.

which is why now, at the convenient hour of 1 am, you’re now strolling on some random street with the 6’4 luminary at your side. he was carrying both the boxes of buffalo chicken pizza, insisting that he didn't want you to lift a finger.

you should’ve known bringing your wallet would’ve been useless. anthony never let you pay for anything when the two of you were together, especially now that you and your colleagues had essentially cured his dog.

you both walked in silence, your shoulders softly bumping into one another as you tried to focus more on the path back to the clinic than his soft breathing. you were about to turn the corner to the street that he now recognized as belonging to your clinic before he spoke.

“we ain’t gotta go back right now… right?” he broke the silence, stopping you in your tracks.

“uh, what else would we be doing?” you awkwardly shifted in your position on the sidewalk, now completely facing him. he had a mischievous glint in his eyes but was met with the deadpan expression in yours.

“i don’t know what you have planned, but no,” you concluded, resuming your walk back to the clinic. you didn’t even make it five steps before you felt him lightly tug at your arm. you regretfully turned back to him and found him unwavering in his stance.

“y’know i don’t like saying no to you, goose, but we sh-"

“oh really? because last time i asked you to do something it felt like a harsh no to me,” you retaliated, arms now crossed in front of your chest. though your stance came off as defensive, it was a grave attempt at trying to calm your nerves.

you visibly saw him gulp, nostrils slightly flaring as he attempted to keep his composure. he was still balancing the pizza boxes in one arm, knuckles becoming even more prominent as he gripped the box. you couldn’t tell if he was about to spark a conversation or crash out.

“you know i ain’t forget about you,” he croaked, his brown eyes further illuminated by the street lamp overhead.

and for the first time in the last few hours, you laughed. a full throaty laugh that had you hunched over, using the nearby rail for balance. anthony’s eyes widened as he watched you belly laugh at something that he didn’t find particularly funny. he stood confused for the next half minute until you calmed down, the sarcasm in your eyes now more evident than before.

“are you fucking serious right now?” you snickered, your fully body laughs now subsided. “niggas these days and their stupid ass lies.”

and for some reason that was all it took for him to corner you in between him and the nearby wall. you felt like the air had been knocked out of your lungs, not by the force of his movements, but the intimacy of it all. he had tossed the pizza boxes to the side, not caring whether they had opened or not. his hands were now on either side of your head and shoulders and you could smell the mint on his breath. damn him for always smelling good.

though the way you both stood would have appeared romantic on the outside, the calm in his demeanor had now disappeared. he stood directly in front of you with a look of anger that you’d only seen him with on the court. but you didn’t back down, instead your gaze shifted in between both of his eyes, glaring at him like he was just another client that had grown an attitude.

“i ain’t no liar, cut that shit,” he snarked, eyes more focused on your lips instead of where they should’ve been. but then a smirk formed on his face. “i see you cursing now though, its cute."

"yeah, well there's a lot about me that you don't know. or deserve to know..." you sassed, now crossing your arms across your chest, bumping slightly against his chest. you hated that his intense gaze was actually getting to you.

"aight, i deserve that," he heartlessly chuckled, now looking down at the pebbles beneath his shoes. "but don't act like i don't know you."

"oh really?" you snarked, fully intending for him to back down. but he didn't. instead, he looked you directly in your eyes like this was some sort of challenge.

"i know that your favorite color is still pink, 'cause you were the only one wearing that color on your scrubs back there," he started. you couldn't believe he noticed that.

"i know that you probably have a cat now, considering you could never stop talking about it in high school," he jeered, making your cheeks heat profusely. "i know that even though you a city girl now, you still go home a lot to help your lil sis with her college shit."

and then he concluded his argument, slowly as if to taunt you. "and i know that you don't even curse for real, but you did just now because you wanted to prove something to me." the southern bass in his voice was now more pronounced and he was inches closer to your face than when he previously started.

you nervously gulped. you couldn't even hide it at that point. okay so maybe he knew some things, but he hadn't seen the woman you'd become. and he didn't deserve to.

"i had a lot going on, and yeah i ain’t reach out but i had my reasons. but i sure as hell ain’t forget you.”

your heart sunk. so there was a reason he chose to ignore you.

“i don’t believe you,” you fired back. “i don’t believe that something so drastic happened that you could still keep in touch with my brothers and not me,” you jeered, arms now floundering in front of you as you tried to anchor yourself in your words. but your voice was failing you as you felt your confidence wavering underneath his dominating presence.

“how the hell you think i could talk to your brothers and forget about you, huh?” he gibed loudly, inching even closer to you then you thought was possible. you were now yelling at each other in the middle of the street. you were even more grateful now that there was no one around to draw attention to him and the argument. “anytime i was with them, i asked about you, i just…”

your brothers had never mentioned that to you. your eyebrows furrowed at his incomplete sentence and the lack of information from your two idiot siblings. silence ensued, pure and weighted silence. you both looked away from each other, anthony’s eyes shifted between both yours and his feet while you looked away from him. he didn’t look at you until he heard you sniffle, his expression altering from anger to concern.

you didn’t know why you were crying. you thought you were over this. over him. but when he looked at you with those eyes that were oh so reminiscent of the last time you were together, you found yourself yearning for him all over again. and you despised it. like all the healing from the last five years counted for nothing.

multiple tears had escaped you now, and you saw anthony’s hand fidget at his side, fighting to wipe them away but wanting to respect your boundaries. your vision had blurred and your head was spinning, overwhelmed by your own emotions as well as his comforting but distant presence.

“the fame, the success, everything… it became too much. i felt like i was drowning with all the attention, and it was never ending,” he started, lowering himself slightly to look you directly in the eyes.

“i never wanted to stop talking to you. you’re all i thought about. you were the only person i wanted with me, but i knew you had your own shit going on. i ain't want you to see me like that… i didn’t want to hurt you, goose.”

and your heart stung at the nickname that he kept repeating throughout the night.

then he waited for you to yell. he waited for the argument, for the angry look in your eyes to multiply tenfold. but he was met with your glassy eyes and another heavy silence.

“i-i waited for you,” your voice cracks, and anthony feels like he was being stabbed in the chest repeatedly. “you would’ve never hurt me by being yourself,” you lamented. “you hurt me by hiding yourself from me.”

anthony couldn’t help but bring his hand to your face, wiping at your now dampened cheeks. and without hesitation, like it was a natural response, your head leaned into his hold. like it was a lifeline. like it was familiar. and it painfully was.

his eyes softened, now shifting between your dazed eyes and your bicolored lips, making you lose composure. because you too were looking in between his puppy dog eyes and dark pink lips.

without so much as a second thought, you lightly pulled him by the collar of his sweatshirt, connecting your lips with his. and it was exactly how it felt five years ago.

his lips were so soft as they tentatively moved in tandem with yours, his hand now moving from your tear-stained cheek to the small of your back. he held you tightly, like if his arm wasn’t anchoring you to his tall frame, you’d be gone. again.

he had lightly pushed you further against the wall for balance. but you didn’t complain. you actually needed the leverage to keep standing. because the way he held you, the way his lips moved on your own, had made your lightheadedness triple.

you felt your legs turn to mush as he used one hand to hold the back of your head, angling your lips to his for better access. his other hand still held you tightly and closely, and you never wanted to leave. his pace quickened, now slipping his tongue beyond your lips, eliciting an embarrassingly loud moan from your throat.

you brought your hands to his cheeks, caressing the cheeks that you had missed so much. you moved from his cheeks to his hair, fingers dwindling with the brushed out coils at the bottom of his neck. but after a few seconds, in a move that pulled at your heart strings, he tugged your hand from his cheek and interlocked your fingers with his.

without removing his lips from your own, he brought your interlocked hand above your head with his other hand still latched onto your waist, rubbing circles on your now exposed skin.

the silence of the area was complimented by his low grunts, your heavy breathing, and your bodies awkwardly re-adjusting on the wall every few seconds. a few seconds had passed of making out before he disconnected your hands so that he could use both hands to lift you off the ground, his hands now gripping at the bottom of your thighs to keep your balance.

you forgot how strong he actually was, not even breaking a sweat as he continued pressing loving kisses to your lips while balancing you. he was always a great multitasker.

it was in this position that you had felt him through his pants. and you were getting dizzy, your head now leaning back on the wall to ground yourself. but he didn’t let up. and you didn’t want him to. because as all of him was pressed against you, you remembered just how much you used to love him. how, at the expense of your growth, you wanted to be with him like this until you both got caught.

but you'd gotten too deep in thought, with your eyes welling at the thought of him leaving again. anthony had continued with his tongue in your mouth, not noticing your now wet cheeks.

anthony had pulled away from your lips to litter your cheeks with open mouthed kisses of adoration. but he stopped once he tasted and felt the saltiness of your tears.

he pulled back further, now taking in what was happening. he placed you back on your two feet as you looked up at him with your shiny orbs.

“c’mon goose, what are yo-"

“i-i’m sorry, i can’t do this,” you cut him off, leaving from his grasp and rushing to the pizza that he had discarded on the ground. you picked up the pizza as well as the small tote bag you’d been carrying, and turned back around to face him. when you’d relocked eyes, he looked like a lost puppy that watched its owner ignore him.

your lips were now bruised and you were still breathing heavily, recovering from what had just happened. but instead of letting another tear slip, you took another step away from him. you straightened your posture, your eyes now firmly locked on his own without so much as a tremble in your lips.

“as much as i want this, i can’t. you hurt me, ant. i’m not letting you back in that easily,” you heaved, your heart breaking with every word you delivered. instead of trying to fight you on it, he stood still, his lips in a thin line of acquiescence.

your knuckles had gone white at the sheer strength you were using to hold onto the now cold pizzas. with a shaky, quick glance at your watch, you saw the time: 1:32 am. shit.

“i-i have to go,” you mumbled, eyes now fixated on the ground. “good luck,” you added, not sure what you were even referring to. you saw his mouth open as if to speak, but you turned on your heel too quick to hear him out. you’d quickly walked back to the clinic, mentally preparing yourself on the way for what your colleagues would have to say.

anthony was left on his own in the middle of the random street. his heart aching and his lips soar.

because now it was you leaving. it was you asserting your boundaries and not leaving vulnerable and hopeless like before. now it was him that was left to question everything, to reminisce longingly with no tools to find the answer.

but why did your heart still ache, even more so than the first time he left?

｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈• ｡ﾟ

a/n: ok so this ended on a cliffhanger LOL but i am still thinking about how to write part 2!! i have ideas tho... i hope this wasn't too long :)

[hisuianserperior]

Deadass my first thought

[whatthehali]

[lovingbasketball]

[chemicalarospec]

this is hilarious