Bragging Rights
Pairing: Paige Bueckers x Reader
Fandom: WNBA-Dallas Wings/ Washington Mystics
Summary: Rivals on court, lovers off — only one gets bragging rights.
A/N: thank youu bby for the help….✨✨
🏷️: @paigeshirleytemple , @cowboybueckers , @unknowgirlypop , @yailtsv , @nicebellee , @sitawita , @thatonesuschix , @vamptizm , @elalfywhore , @starfulani , @authentic-girl03 , @paxaz535 , @azziswrld , @jadasogay , @paigeluvvr , @melpthatsme , @lessi-lover , @courtsidewithlani , @elswhore , @italyyy , @lightsgore , @private-but-not-a-secret , @aubreygriffin , @issilovesherself , @graceeeeeesblog , @sayurireidotcom , @let-zizi-yap , @latenighttalkinqwp , @fairyblossomsav
“You nervous?” Paige whispered beside me, her pinky grazing mine under the hotel duvet.
It was past midnight and the city outside our shared room in D.C. hummed quietly. My phone sat face-down on the nightstand, untouched since dinner. We didn’t need distractions tonight — not with what tomorrow meant.
I turned my face toward hers, catching the way her eyelashes fluttered against her cheekbones. Even after three years together, and playing beside her for almost all of college, this girl still made my heart stutter.
“A little,” I admitted. “First game against you. First game where we’re on opposite sides of the court. It’s like… UConn civil war.”
She chuckled, soft and low. “Lover vs lover. Rookie vs rookie. Edwards vs Bueckers.” A pause. “You know the headlines tomorrow are gonna eat this up, right?”
“Oh, they already are,” I said, letting my head fall back into the pillow dramatically. “Aaliyah was cackling in our group chat about it this morning.”
Paige rolled over onto her side, propping her head on her hand. “You ready though?”
I turned to face her too. “You know I am. But it’s weird not being on your bench. Or hearing you call for me when I sub out. Or seeing you point and smirk at me when you hit a three.”
Her eyes softened. “I miss that too. A lot. I miss your hand in mine during the anthem. I miss walking back to the dorms with you after film. Miss you sitting on the counter stealing my hoodie when I’m cooking.”
“Good thing FaceTime exists.”
She leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Not the same as you in my arms.”
I grinned. “Cheesy.”
“You like it.”
I did.
The next morning was chaos.
The league announced we’d be doing a joint pregame presser. Apparently, they couldn’t resist the storyline — the three UConn girls now divided, all starting, and very much the center of attention.
Paige and Aziaha from the Wings.
Aaliyah and me for the Mystics.
The media room buzzed with energy when the four of us walked in, each of us sporting our team warmups and very different colored shoes.
Reporters lit up like Christmas.
“Okay, okay,” one of them started, laughing, “there are a lot of angles here, but I’ll just start with the basics: how does it feel going up against each other after years of being teammates, especially for Y/N and Paige?”
Paige grinned and nudged her mic. “We knew this day would come. Didn’t expect it to be so soon, though.”
I laughed. “Yeah. And definitely didn’t expect to be doing a joint press conference about it.”
Another reporter raised a hand. “Y/N, Paige — any bragging rights or bets on the line?”
Before either of us could answer, Aaliyah leaned into her mic, expression mock-serious.
“No PDA unless one of them drops 20,” she declared. “If neither does, no kiss at all. But if Y/N outscores Paige, she gets a courtside kiss on the cheek.”
Paige blinked. “Lili has spoken for the both of us, I guess…”
I nudged her leg beneath the table. “Better lace up, babe.”
She raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Oh, it’s like that?”
Aziaha leaned back with a grin. “This is gonna be good.”
As we filed toward the tunnels afterward, Aaliyah pulled Paige and me aside.
“No funny business,” she warned, mock stern. “No forehead kisses. No hand-holding. No whispers.”
Paige groaned. “Can we at least do our pregame handshake?”
Aaliyah narrowed her eyes, then sighed. “Fine. But you either do it now or wait ‘til tip-off. Cameras will eat it up.”
We exchanged a look.
“Tip-off,” we said in unison.
The gym buzzed at capacity. The crowd had energy that reminded me of Gampel on a championship night. All eyes were on us — not just because we were rookies, but because we were those rookies. Paige and me. The couple. The headline.
During warmups, I locked eyes with her across the court. She gave me a wink, then hit a smooth left-wing three. I narrowed my eyes and sank my own shot from the right.
We didn’t speak until we stepped up to center court.
“Now?” she whispered.
I nodded.
Our handshake was quick — the same one we used to do in college. Fist bump, snap, pinky lock, finger heart. The crowd lost it when we did it. So did Aaliyah, shouting from behind me: “I said no PDA!”
“Handshake doesn’t count!” I called back.
Then the ball went up, and it was game on.
The first half was intense.
We traded buckets, traded blocks.
I managed a couple nice drives and even caught a slick behind-the-back pass from Aaliyah that turned into a three.
Paige responded with a jumper and a couple jaw-dropping assists that made the crowd gasp.
“You guarding me now?” she teased during a switch.
“Always.”
Midway through the third, I got called on a reach-in — which sent Paige to the line.
She blew me a dramatic kiss before shooting.
“Ma’am,” I deadpanned, “that’s PDA.”
She smirked as she sank both free throws.
Late in the fourth, it got wild. Down by two, I hit a step-back three over Paige with 14 seconds left.
“You’re welcome for the highlight reel,” I muttered.
She didn’t say anything — Chris used his time out, that gave them possessions of the ball.
With 13.4 seconds in the game Aziaha inbounds it to Paige, and without too much thinking.
Or hesitation, she smirked at me and then hit a CLUTCH three in my face to tie it at 84.
And then—she leaned in as I was frozen with shock and gave me a quick peck on the lips.
“I want the bragging rights,” she whispered. “And I’m gonna get ’em.”
I come fully out my shocked daze and shoved her shoulder playfully. “Nah babe, that’s all me. I gotta humble you after your two-game streak.”
Overtime felt like a battle of wills.
The Wings were hitting everything early.
Paige fed Aziaha for a corner shot and scored on a pull-up, putting them ahead 88-84.
But then… we rallied.
Shakira hit a midrange. I drove, got fouled, hit both free throws. 88-88.
With 12 seconds left, I in-bounded, got the ball back, faked a give-and-go, and kicked it to Sonia in the corner.
Splash.
91-88.
Paige tried to tie it, but her three rimmed out.
Chaos.
Bodies on the floor.
Sonia came up with it and held tight as the buzzer sounded.
Game.
We won.
My final stat line: 21 points, 10 boards, 6 assists.
Hers: 20 points, 9 boards, 7 assists.
I found her midcourt in the mess of hugs and cheers and chaos. She smiled.
“You got me,” she said, proud and out of breath.
“I got you,” I said, cupping her jaw and kissing her — quick, but lingering just enough.
Aaliyah whooped from behind us. “Okay, okay! Y/N earned it!”
The crowd ate it up.
Cameras flashed.
The league’s official account had already tweeted something about UConn reunion turned rivalry and love and buckets in the District.
At the postgame presser, it was madness.
A reporter asked, “Y/N — how does it feel to outscore your girlfriend and win the game?”
I bit back a grin. “Feels like I dropped buckets and got the girl.”
Another reporter laughed. “You going to use that as your Instagram caption?”
Paige leaned into the mic. “She already told me she’s been saving it in drafts since the schedule dropped.”
They were right.
I posted it an hour later:
“Dropped buckets and got the girl 💋”
📸: Me hitting that three
📸: Paige kissing me midcourt
📸: Scoreboard
📸: Us postgame, her hand around my waist
📸: A kiss on the lips, blurry and backlit by stadium lights
The comments? Exploded.
@uconnwbb: We taught them well.
@wnba: Lover vs Lover. But always Team Love 💕
@aaliyah.edwards: Don’t say I never gave y’all anything 😭
@paigebueckers: I’m demanding a rematch. And I’m dropping 30 next time.
I commented back: “You can try, baby 😘”
And just like that, basketball Twitter had a new favorite couple rivalry.
And me?
I had the win, the bragging rights, and the girl.
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-Thank You For Reading!💚💙
-prettygirl-gabi✨️💗
