DIORMOON

Today was long. You had a long, tiring, and painful practice starting at 6 a.m. Then, multiple hour-long classes. All you really wanted to do was go back to your dorm, shower, get in bed, and then call your long-distance girlfriend who you haven’t really spoken to today. 

— But walking into your dorm and hearing yelling, you knew you weren’t going to get what you wanted: peace and quiet. 

“Nah, nah, nah, huskies are better!” You heard KK’s loud, cheery voice yelling at someone, making you just sigh. With her around, there will be no peace and quiet, just yelling and chaos. 

You don’t listen to the voice you hear from her phone, barely even paying attention to the conversation, just trying to make your way to your room without being noticed by your very loud teammate — which did not work in your favor. 

“Y/NNNN!! YOU’RE BACK!!! COME SAY HI TO THE LIVE!” You sigh. You can either go say hi and be stuck in the live for the next hour because one thing about KK is she loves her lives and she loves having her teammates with her, or you could just go to your room, but KK will start bugging you.

“I’m tired, KK.” She dramatically pouts. “You don’t have to stay, just come say hi.” She “whispers” to you. 

Before you can say anything, her phone speaks again. “Hi, Y/N!” Was that Grace and Bella? What are they doing on the phone with KK? 

KK just smirks. “You wanna come say hi now?” You sigh again. “Give me a minute to clean up and change. I’ve been wearing this since practice.” KK nods excitedly and goes back to her phone, relaying the message to the live and Bella and Grace. 

You ignore the rest of what she says and just walk to your room, closing the door behind you and immediately leaning against it — taking a breather. After a minute or so, you pull yourself off the door and head to the small bathroom to get a quick shower. 

After the shower, you put on your body lotion and do your skin care routine before getting dressed in cotton shorts and Bella’s black SP5DER hoodie that she left the last time she was here — it still smells like her even though she hasn’t worn it in so long, making you just relax into the hoodie. It feels like you're getting one of her hugs even though she’s in Louisiana and you're in Connecticut. 

You miss her, you wish it wasn’t the most chaotic time in basketball season so you could fly out to Louisiana and see her, but it unfortunately is and you won’t be able to see her until April. That fact makes your mood go down more. You just wanna hug your girlfriend. 

“Y/N, I KNOW YOU’RE HIDING FROM THE LIVE! COME OUT HERE!” KK yells through your bedroom door, making you come back to reality and sigh. You quickly put your hair in a messy bun and put your slides on before exiting your room after grabbing your phone. 

“There she is! Finally!” KK says dramatically to the live, making you roll your eyes, “hi live,” you say before you're even in shot of the camera, sitting down on the couch beside KK. 

“Hi Grace and Bella,” you say once you sit on the couch and see them, “what took you forever? You hiding from us?” Grace asks while Bella just is looking at you, “you? Yes.” Grace just opens her mouth in fake disbelief, but before she said anything else, KK screams “WE SHOULD DO A TALENT SHOW.” 

You cover your ears and glare at her, “have you ever heard of indoor voices? I think your elementary teachers failed at teaching you that.” Bella and Grace laugh while KK stares at you in disbelief. 

“We’re doing a talent show. I don’t care what you say.” KK says while grabbing the phone and looking through the requests. 

“All of these people have pictures of your sister as their pfp or have you.” KK says to you, while you just shrug because what are you supposed to say to that? 

User34: Didn’t Bella say in her last live that she let her girl borrow her SP5DER hoodie….

User12: Is that Bella’s hoodie y/n’s wearing? 

User67: Oh my god, are y/n and Bella dating???

“Alright! I’ve picked someone!” Kk says while letting the screen load. Kk doesn’t notice the comments at first, but once she looks at them, she immediately mutes her phone and puts her hand up by her mouth so people can’t lip-read.

“Hey, they noticed your hoodie. They are guessing about you and Bella.” Kk warns you, pulling your eyes from your phone to look at Kk, then look at the comments and see all of them guessing about your relationship. 

Bella and Grace are looking at something on Bella’s phone, so they don’t notice yet. 

You nod in response to Kk and stand up, walking back to your room while Kk unmutes herself and welcomes the girl that’s on the live now. 

“Alright, y/n will be back in a second. What’s your talent?” 

“I’m gonna sing before he cheats by Carrie Underwood!” The girl says happily. 

“Alright, go ahead.” Kk says while Grace and Bella turn back to the live and pay attention, but it’s obvious that Bella is more focused on her phone because she keeps typing. 

Bella 🏀💞(y/n’s contact name for her) 

Where’d you go? I wanna see you 😩

My wife 🏀💞(Bella’s contact name for y/n) 

Changing. I didn’t know you said you let someone borrow your hoodie, and they’re putting it together that I have it. 

Bella 🏀💞

You’re good. Leave it on if you want. I don’t mind. 

My wife 🏀💞

I thought we were gonna be private? Do you wanna be public? 

Bella 🏀💞

I’m fine with whatever as long as you're with me. 

You smile a little at her text before walking out of your room at the same time as the girl asks Kk, Grace, and Bella to rate her singing.

“10/10” Kk says already looking through the other requests, but looking up as soon as she hears your door and making a confused face once she sees you still in the hoodie.

You just shake your head at her and then head to the kitchen, getting a bag of chips, and then making your way back to the couch. 

User12: SHE’S BACK AND STILL WEARING IT!!!!

User55: The hoodie 🥹🥹🥹

User34: I can’t believe this is real!! Who would have thought Bella and Y/n would be a thing? 

User66: I never thought we would see the day of a husky and tiger live???? Like hello??? My two worlds have collided.

You all see the comments but everyone just ignores them for now, knowing that when you and Bella are ready you’ll address it. 

“This person said “I never thought we would see the day of a husky and tiger live, like hello??” Kk started reading, “always expect the unexpected in women’s college basketball my friend.” The four of you chuckle at that, knowing that before you and Bella, a husky x tiger live would never happen. 

My wife 🏀💞

I miss you ☹️

Bella 🏀💞

I miss you more. We still going to Dallas together during off season? 

My wife 🏀💞

As far as I know yes. But if we don’t go to Dallas we’re going somewhere else, I wanna spend time with you. 

Bella smiles at her phone while reading that, making her the spotlight, “oooooo who got you smiling over there?” Kk yells through the camera, knowing it was you but wanting to cause a little bit of drama, Grace laughs and starts playing along with kk, trying to read over Bella’s shoulder. 

“If you must know,” she says dramatically, “it’s my wife” she just smiles, not caring about the live anymore.

Grace and KK scream like it’s the end of the world while you and Bella are just laughing at the chaos they’re creating. 

User45: Is this Bella and Y/n confirming they’re together?? 

User89: User45 they’re just laughing at their teammates….

“Why are you guys acting like the world just ended?” Bella says laughing, “cause it did.” KK and Grace both say making them both say “JINX YOU OWE ME A COKE” 

If you were to describe KK and Grace as a pair, it would obviously be two peas in a pod. They don’t seem like the people to get along with each other, and actually before you and Bella, they never once interacted even with their jobs with overtime, but now? They’re the best of friends. 

They are always talking, whether it’s texting, calling, on live, Instagram stories, etc., they are doing it. They’re like evil twins. They’re always wanting to know the drama, and if they already know it, they want to tease it —aka what they’re doing now on live. 

Eventually though, things start to calm down. You told the live you had homework to do, so you left to go to your room. About 20 minutes later, Bella said she would be right back to the live and then never came back. Grace and KK stayed on the live for another 25 minutes before they ultimately decided to end the live. 

The flu: 

- She’s immediately making you stay in bed. You are hereby sentenced to bed rest until she says you're good. 

- She makes you take lukewarm baths and puts bath salts in them to help you relax. Most of the time, she has to help you undress and help you get in. You also always make her get in with you. 

“Come on, Mama, your bath’s ready.” You just groan and roll over to the other side. She shakes her head with a small smile but walks over to you and picks you up bridal style - ignoring all of your complaints about her getting sick by touching you. 

She never cares if she gets sick from you because all she wants to do is take care of you and help you feel better. You are her number one priority, so even when you're sick, she’s going to be by your side the entire time. 

Once in the bathroom, she helps you undress and get in the tub. She planned on changing the bed sheets while you were in the tub so they would be all warm from the dryer when you got out of the bath, but one puppy dog look from you, and she was undressing herself and getting in behind you, letting you rest on her. 

“You okay?” She asked after you were too silent for a while. You nod, turning onto your side - letting the water swoosh around you two, and cuddling into her more. “I’m sorry I’m always sick,” you mumble into her chest. She puts her hand under your chin, lifting your head up to look at her. “Don’t be sorry for things you can’t control. I love you, okay? And I love taking care of you. Got it?” You nod in response, still feeling bad, but you know you don’t have to be. 

Bella just kisses your forehead, while her hand comfortingly rubs over your stomach. 

- She will always make you good food. She knows what you can and can’t eat while sick, so she always makes those certain things for you. 

- Cuddles are always a must. Like I said, she doesn’t care if she gets sick; she just wants you to be happy and get better. 

- If you are feeling dizzy, she will make you sit down—just like the bedrest one. She doesn’t let you do anything until the dizziness goes away. If you do actually faint, she becomes the most overprotective girlfriend of all time. 

- If the basketball team comes over, she makes sure to tell them all to be quiet so you don’t get a migraine from their yelling. If they start yelling, she scolds them. If they do it a second time, she kicks them out for the day, saying you need some rest. 

Injury: 

- She takes you to every doctor's appointment. She doesn’t care if your appointments are at 12:30 and she has practice at 12:45. She’s still taking you. She’ll be more than happy to run the suicides knowing you were safe and okay at the doctor’s. 

- She will walk you to every one of your classes. She leaves her classes early to get to yours on time. 

- She has multiple alarms set so you always take your medicines on time. 

- Whenever you start rehab, she knows it’s taking a lot from you, so once you get home, she allows you to just turn your brain off. She will do anything you need done for the night while you sit there and relax. 

- She bought two stuffed animals and cut their stomach to tape them onto your crutches. The fluffing of the stuffed animals makes it more comfortable to walk with the crutches. 

Anxiety: 

- Since meeting you and learning about your anxiety, she’s always trying to find new ways to calm you down during an attack. 

- If you have an attack with her near you, she’s immediately trying to help you. She’ll put your hand over her heart, telling you to copy her, and she’ll start breathing exercises with you. 

“Baby, I need you to follow my breathing. You’re good, you’re safe, but I need you to breathe okay?” She says while holding your hand to her heart. She breathes in, waiting for you to copy her, and then breathes out. You guys have to do that around 10 times before you start calming down enough to not have Bella concerned. 

“There we go.” Bella says, bringing you into her, your head now on her chest while her hands are holding you to her.

“You wanna talk about it?” She mumbles into your hair after a few minutes of letting you just breathe. You shake your head no, not this time. 

But she understands. She never forces you to talk about your attacks. If you say no, that's fine. If you say yes, that’s also fine. 

Instead, she just takes you home. She takes you to the most familiar place to you and lets you just take in the familiarity and relax. 

- If you have an attack without her, she feels guilty when she finds out about it. She’ll ask you questions to make sure you’re doing okay and then give you a very sad but sincere apology, even though it’s not her fault and you know she can’t be with you during every attack. 

- She knows your signs before an attack. She’s watched you enough times before and after an attack to pick up on the signs. 

Ames, Iowa

The Iowa State Women’s Basketball Team was currently leaving the stadium from their recent game. They were hyped. They had finally won after a 5-loss streak. 

Jada, your girlfriend, had 44 points. This was a big game for her. 

The team wanted to get dinner together to celebrate, and Jada wanted you to come with. The team treats you like you’re one of their players even when you couldn’t shoot a 3-pointer to save your life. 

“Cmon baby, we’re leaving,” Jada said, walking up the stairs to get to you and offering her hand. 

You take it while saying, “You played great today. I’m proud of you.”  Jada smiles before leaning in and kissing you, “Thank you, baby.” 

While you guys walk out of the building, she asks you about your day, having not really been able to see you or talk to you today. 

What you guys haven’t noticed is the group of girls that have been following you since you left the court. 

“Jada!” Several voices yell out, making her look around confused.

She sees the group of girls walking up to them and squeezes your hand, “Go to that bench, I’ll come get you when I’m done, okay?” 

You nod and head off to the bench Jada told you to go to. Jada always tried to protect you from the media. She chose public life knowing that’s what would make her go far in basketball. You didn’t, so she never wanted to force you to be a public figure just because you were dating her. 

“Hey guys,” Jada says to the group, that’s all but screaming right now. Multiple asked for photos, multiple asked for autographs. But someone asked, “Who’s that girl?” To one of their friends, not really being quiet, and Jada could hear. “I don’t know, she’s just always with the team. Maybe their manager or something.” 

Jada just shakes her head at them in her business, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead, she keeps signing the posters and posing for the photos.

When the two nosy girls get their turn, Jada gives a smile for their pictures and tries to walk away, them being the last two girls in the group.

 “Thank you, Jada!” The girls yell, while Jada walks away and back towards you, but she hears those two girls again. “She could do better. I mean, look at the girl’s outfit!” They laugh at what the blonde said, not seeing anything wrong with it - but Jada does. 

“Hey!” Jada turns around, her voice tense, “just because you’re insecure and jealous doesn’t mean you need to bully and pick on people. You never had a chance with me, you never will have a chance with me. Wrap your head around that and stop bullying people that are close to me just because you want it to be you.” 

Jada doesn’t give them a chance to respond and instead just turns around and walks back to you. “Cmon, mama, let’s get out of here.” Jada says, wrapping her arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer to her while walking away from the girls. 

— 

“What did those girls say to make you yell at them?” You whisper, your head on Jada's chest while the other girls are sprawled out around you two watching “Twilight.” 

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Jada whispers back. You start to deny her words, but she just gives you a small kiss on the lips. “Everything’s fine, okay? I’m fine, you’re fine, those girls won’t be back. Don’t worry about it.” You just nod, knowing Jada doesn’t want to tell you for a reason, so you left her alone, but it was still nagging you. 

Jada never yells at people, let alone fans, so this was out of character. Fans these days do think they have the right to be nosy in players’ business, though, so maybe it was just something random… or maybe they were judging you, and she didn’t like that? 

You don’t get your answer until after Jada has fallen asleep, and you go on your phone, seeing all of the notifications from all socials. 

A girl nearby saw and recorded the whole thing and posted it shortly after calling out the girls. Now it’s being reposted by so many people and public accounts. 

Watching the video, you quickly realize why Jada yelled. Through your whole time of knowing her — not even just dating, she refused to let people talk badly about you. She doesn’t care if it was your friend, your brother, or a stranger, she’s not letting them talk to or about you like you’re less than. 

So after watching the video, it all made sense, it especially made sense on why Jada wouldn’t tell you what happened. She knows that you would’ve gone into a spiral about your clothes if you knew…and she was right. 

—

A week after the incident, you were still double- and triple-checking your outfit before leaving, sometimes changing outfits 5 different times before settling on something. 

Jada knew you watched the video because why else are you all of a sudden obsessed with how your clothes look or fit? She didn’t intervene until she really needed to, though. 

Jada had been planning a date for Valentine’s Day. She had made it super special and had even planned a whole thing to ask you to be her Valentine. 

Jada was waiting on you to leave your guy’s room so she could drive you to the location, but you were taking quite a while — so long that she was starting to worry. 

“Baby? You ready?” Jada asked through the door. “I just need a few more minutes.” Jada heard, muffled through the door.

“You’ve had 3 hours. Baby, I’m coming in.” While you were about to scream no, Jada opened the door to see all of your clothes sprawled out all over the floor, a pile of clothes off to the side — the pile of clothes that you’ve already tried on and hated, while you are sitting on the bed in your bra and underwear. 

“Baby…” Jada says lowly, looking around at the mess all over your guy’s shared bedroom floor. “I’ll be out in a minute. I just need a little bit more time.” You mumble out, avoiding looking at her altogether. 

Jada sighs, knowing what this is about. She massages the bridge of her nose, thinking about what she’s supposed to say or do, before walking over to the bed and sitting behind you, pulling you to sit between her legs. 

“I know you watched the video of the girls. I wish you hadn’t, but I get it. I get the always wanting to know what people are saying about you.” Jada started, her hands rubbing over your stomach and thighs, while you looked down at your hands. 

“But what they said was wrong.  I promise. You always look beautiful no matter what you're in. Hell, you could pull off wearing a trash bag.” Jada jokes, making you get a small smile on your face.

“There it is. There’s that beautiful smile I love.” Jada says, leaning her head down to kiss you all over your face while saying things she loves about you.

By the end, you’re laughing so much you can’t breathe because of the tickling feeling of her lips on your body.

“Come on. We gotta get you dressed.” Jada says, sitting up and getting off the bed to look at all the clothes on the floor, including the clothes in the pile.

After a few minutes, she picks a mini red dress from the pile of clothes that you already tried on and disliked how they looked. 

“Wear this.” Jada says, handing you the dress. You shake your head, “it makes my thighs look too big.” 

“It makes you look beautiful.”

In the end, you did end up wearing the dress, much to Jada’s happiness. Through the whole night, she kept complimenting you and also did have to mean-mug a few guys, but she was happy that you wore the dress out. 

Today, Paige and Azzi decided that it was a lazy day. No one had a game, practice, or a flight today, so they wanted it to be a calm day. The two moms didn't really want to leave today, so Azzi decided to make homemade pancakes with some eggs while Paige got to wake and change the tiny demon that sleeps across the hall from them. 

“Baby, Lila, it's time to wake up, honey. Mamas are making pancakes and eggs for you.” Paige was trying to sweetly coax her daughter out of sleep while rubbing the toddler’s tummy.

One thing about Lila, though? She loathes mornings. Absolutely hates them. Always ends up crying because her beauty sleep was interrupted. 

Lila grumbled from Paige's attempt at waking her and rolled over, turning her back onto Paige. “No, baby, c'mon. It's time to wake up.” She didn’t give Lila the chance to do anything before just picking her up and setting her on Paige's hip.  

Lila immediately burst into tears at being taken out of her warm bed and into the cold air, her sobbing only getting worse when Paige took off Lila's pants to change her pull-up. ‘Shhh, you’re okay, honey. I know it's cold, just give me a minute, and I'll get you your blanket.’ Lila was basically throwing a tantrum. Kicking her feet, throwing her arms. She was doing everything possible to try to get Paige to put her back in bed. 

“Honey, c'mon, I need you to calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick.” Lila didn’t listen. She couldn’t. She was too focused on the cold and her tiredness. 

Paige picks up her crying toddler, putting Lila’s head on her shoulder and gently patting her back while swaying side to side. 

Eventually, the sobbing calms down and turns into small sniffles.

“You wanna go see Mama now? Huh?” Paige asks Lila, only getting a nod that she felt on her shoulder. 

Paige walks down the stairs and heads to the kitchen, seeing Azzi swaying and singing along to an Olivia Dean song while flipping pancakes. 

Azzi realizes that she had been caught when she hears the little baby laugh that she loves so much. 

She stops swaying and turns fully to face her girls, seeing that Paige had just gone through war with just looking at Lila’s face and pants. 

“Well, there are my two favorite girls. You guys okay?” Azzi said, turning the burner off, setting the spatula down, and walking closer to them. 

“Yeah, everything’s good. Lila just wasn’t really ready to wake up, were you, sweetheart?” Paige answered Azzi before throwing a question at the baby in her arms.

Lila obviously just shakes her head because yes, she in fact wasn’t ready to wake up, but here she is now. 

Azzi chuckles a little before scooping Lila out of Paige’s arms. “You want some eggs and pancakes?” Azzi asks her while walking to Lila’s high chair.

“Mhm,” Lila mumbles out, still super tired and not in a good mood right now. Azzi just nods and then kisses Lila’s head before walking back to the stove to finish the pancakes, while Paige started the eggs. 

—

Pancakes were a terrible idea when you have a toddler that refuses baths. 

Paige cut up Lila’s pancakes and gave them to her with just butter. Lila hated that and requested syrup too. 

After trying to change her mind so many times,  Azzi ultimately had to put some syrup on the toddler’s tray. 

Which leads to now. 

Lila is a mess. Syrup all over her hands, face, clothes, somehow even on her toes too. Paige and Azzi looked at each other defeated, knowing the fight that was about to happen. 

Trying to get Lila in the bath was a chore. She always refused baths, no matter how stinky or dirty she was. Paige and Azzi used to be able to give her a bath every day. That was when she was a baby. Now that she can talk, she always refuses. Paige and Azzi are lucky if they can give her a bath every other day. 

Lila knew what her moms wanted, and she would let them have their way with conditions. She wanted stuff out of them if they were going to always beg her to do stuff she didn’t want to do. 

“Lila, baby, why don’t we go take a warm bubble bath?” Azzi said softly, hoping and praying that she would just agree and there would be no fight. 

“No.” Lila said, still just shoving pancakes and eggs into her mouth. 

“If you take a bath, we can watch Bluey after.” Paige added in, but Lila still just said no. 

Paige and Azzi both sighed; they knew they couldn’t just give up this time because she really did need a bath. 

Paige stands up, taking the plates to the sink, while Azzi grabs all the other things on the table and puts them up. 

Azzi gets to Lila’s high chair and takes off the tray, giving it to Paige so she can wash it later. Right now, giving Lila a bath is a two-man job. 

Azzi picks Lila up and walks to the kitchen, making Lila think they gave up on the bath by cleaning up the kitchen and dining room. 

But once done, they both head upstairs, trying to keep Lila occupied and not notice that they were heading to the bathroom right now. 

“NO!” Lila screamed when she noticed they were walking into the bathroom. She started squirming in Azzi’s arms trying to get down. 

“Lila, stop! You’re going to make me drop you!” Azzi said, trying to get Lila to stop so she doesn’t get injured.

Azzi and Paige quickly walk into the bathroom, and Paige locks the door while Azzi sets the screaming toddler down. 

“Lila, you need a bath. You are covered in syrup.” Azzi said in a stern tone. 

“Take me to the park!” Lila says, crossing her arms. “Do you think you deserve to go to the park with the way you’re acting?” Paige cuts in. 

Lila just shrugs; she knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. 

“How about a movie?” Azzi tries; she really doesn’t want to reward Lila’s behavior by taking her to the park. 

“NO! I want the park!” Lila says, making Paige and Azzi sigh.

They look at each other, communicating with their eyes. “Alright. Fine. You get in the bath and let us clean you, and we can go to the park for an hour.” Azzi says. “Two,” Lila argues. 

“One,”

“Three,”

“30 minutes.” 

“Fine, one hour,” Lila finally agrees, not wanting to get less time. 

Lila lets them do what they need to do to get her clean, and not covered in syrup, and once done, Lila makes them take her to the park right away. 

The next day

You’ve snoozed your alarm the last 4 times it has gone off. You don’t want to go to work today. You don’t want to see her. You don’t want to get fired today, but you know you have to go in at least today.

Today’s Friday, so once the clock hits 5:30 p.m. today, you don’t have to look at her for two days. You just have to survive today.

You groan as you get up, knowing you wasted 30 minutes, so now you have 20 minutes to get all your stuff together and go to the building to take a shower before anyone gets there.

—

Walking into the building was making you want to throw up. You really like this job. You also really like your boss.

Yesterday shouldn’t have happened, yes. But yesterday you was justified, right?

If your boss that you’ve had a crush on since you met started touching you and talking in a low, deep voice, you wouldn’t push her away in that moment,right?

Or are you just that easy?

You shake your head, trying to get out of your head and just focus on the task at hand— showering.

Walking down the hall was quiet. You had to look at all the posters to keep yourself from getting in your head. The last thing you need today is to be thinking about Paige’s fingers in front of Paige.

So walking into the locker room, you start humming a song. Just to make your brain work on something else.

What you didn’t realize is that Paige accidentally slept here and saw you go to the locker room in your pajamas with your work clothes in your hand.

—

12:30 p.m. - After the Afternoon Meeting.

Walking out of the meeting room as fast as you can, you hear footsteps behind you.

“Y/n!”

“Y/n, hey, stop!” You stop right there, immediately sighing that you couldn’t make it to your office first.

You turn around to come face to face with the one person you’ve been avoiding today— her.

“Hey boss,” you say, putting on a smile. She frowns, “Where’d you go last night? I told you to stay in my office until I came back.”

“Oh, I wasn’t feeling well, so I just went home.” You say, telling her exactly what you told the secretary so she doesn’t put the pieces together. “Did you get those designs turned in?” You say, hoping to successfully change the conversation.

“Yes. Can we talk—“

“Y/n! Can you give me a SOP on the pipeline? I’m a little confused.” One of your interns interrupted.

“Yeah! One second!” You say, facing him and then turning back to Paige, “I gotta go. I’ll see you around!” You quickly walk off before she can say anything else.

Paige just frowns. She knows something’s up, and she knows it has to do with her and yesterday.

—

Avoiding Paige has been super hard today. One being that she wants to talk to you, and two being that you are literally her assistant. There’s not a lot of time to just avoid her.

When you left during your lunch, you decided you weren’t going back. You sent Paige a business email saying you quit and that you’ll come to the office over the weekend to get your stuff.

After that, you finally got a breath of fresh air. You don’t have to overthink the looks your coworkers give you; you don’t have to worry about facing Paige again. Everything you were worried about all goes away when you send that email.

Relief is not what Paige felt. Paige felt angry. Paige felt hurt. She felt at blame too.

Paige put the pieces together. She knew you left immediately after you guys hooked up and have been avoiding her since. — It really wasn’t that hard to figure it out.

She knows you probably regret it or you think she’s going to treat you differently in a bad way now. And you’re wrong.

She’s been in love with you since the first week of her business opening. The only thing she would do to treat you differently after that line was crossed? Treat you better than any other relationship you’ve been in.

So after reading your email, and then reading it again to make sure she didn’t just lose her mind, she immediately goes down to the first floor, exits the building, gets in her car, and drives to the address that’s on your work profile.

She’s not letting you quit.

—

Paige wasn’t expecting this. She pays you $ 200k every week. She wasn’t expecting you to live in this run-down apartment, in this creepy neighborhood.

She’s even more concerned and confused when she walks into the apartment building and sees the inside.

She shakes her head. She came here for a reason. She can’t be getting distracted.

Walking past the secretary’s desk— with no secretary— Paige makes her way up the stairs to the third floor.

She’s been practicing what to say to you, but all of that goes out the window when she sees you open your door, rubbing your eyes - she apparently woke you up from a nap.

Once your vision unblurs and you see her, your face pales. “Uhhh, what are you doing here?” You say, trying to hide your nervous tone.

“I wanna talk.” Paige says, kinda sternly. “Now’s not the best time. I uhh have some stuff I need to do.” You say, trying to shut the door, but she puts her foot in the door, stopping you from shutting her out.

“That can wait,” she says, pushing her way inside. “Why are you avoiding me to the point where you decided to quit?”

You stay quiet. What exactly are you supposed to say? I wanted to quit before you could fire me because I decided to let you put your tongue on me?

“Talk to me, y/n. I’m not leaving until I have an answer.”

You sigh. You know what she wants you to say, but do you really want to say it? — No. you don’t.

“We crossed a very unprofessional line yesterday. I needed space.” You shrug.

“An unprofessional line?” She repeats in a very confused tone. “We’re both adults. We can both make adult decisions. We’re allowed to do stuff together.”

“You’re my boss.” You casually say. “We shouldn’t be doing that stuff together.”

“If I wasn’t your boss, would you still avoid me after hooking up?” You stay quiet. You know the answer, and apparently so does she.

“Give me a chance. Just one. Let me take you out on a date. If you don’t like how it goes, then I’ll start filling out your paperwork for you to leave, and I’ll put in a recommendation wherever you go. But I’m not letting you quit until you give me a chance.” She was pleading with you now.

You just stared at her, not knowing what to say. “Please, Mama, just give me a chance. I won’t let you down.”

You left.

You didn't stay in the office like you were supposed to.

You got scared and left.

Paige left for the GQ shoot about 30 minutes ago, which means you had 30 minutes of pure silence. That's bad because that's 30 minutes of silence where you can be stuck in your head overthinking.

What if she fires me now? I can't afford rent without this job. I have some money saved up, though, so maybe that can hold me over until I find a good-paying job. Wait! What if she tells all the CEO’s that I slept with her, so then they won't hire me? I'm screwed. I need to get out of here before she gets back and fires me. Why did I cross that line?

You immediately stood up from the couch, finding and putting on your clothes as you located them. Once completely dressed, you bolted.

Not turning back once, you just needed to get out of there immediately. Although you did tell the front desk worker that you were leaving because you didn't feel good, but that's it.

—

"Babe, I'm saying this in the nicest way possible: you're dumb." your best friend says over the phone.

"Oh, gee, thanks!" you respond sarcastically, sitting on your couch in your super overpriced apartment— that's in terrible condition, may I add.

"Hey, don't do that! You know I'm right. She never once showed any signs that she was going to fire you, right?"

"...no."

"And she wasn't being rude to you or making you feel like an object or anything of the sort, right?"

"Well, no, bu—"

"So you just left for no reason. She's obviously interested in you and you're interested in her, so what's the problem? You've been telling me about her for years, bro! Years! And now that you're finally crossing that bridge, you just run away?"

“It was a mistake! She's my boss; I-I can't just sleep with my boss, you know that. I need to just move on. She's not interested in me, and I can't be interested in her. It's against the rules on every level. Lesson learned: don't sleep with your boss! It makes things complicated." You sighed, sounding like you were trying to convince yourself more than your friend. Mistake? Lesson learned? Really?

"You don't even sound confident in that! Bro, talk to her! You've been with her since her brand was created; you're literally a day 1! She wouldn't ever fire you, let alone fire you because of something you both did!"

You just sat there, letting her words wrap around your brain before you heard water dripping, making you sigh out loud, already knowing where it's coming from.

"Hey, I gotta go; my ceiling's leaking again. I gotta find buckets to put under the leaks."

You tried not to give her time to respond, but right when you pressed the red button, you could hear "TALK TO HER!" before the call ended.

You sigh before standing up to search for these buckets to place under the leaks that the landlord won't send help for. You've been complaining about multiple leaks and broken items for almost a year now. Your shower has been broken for the last two months as well, so you've been getting to work before anyone else and taking a shower in the locker room downstairs. You obviously left the office in a hurry, and now you're stuck smelling like sweat, sex, and Paige's Valentino cologne. Thank God your lease will expire soon.

—

Paige had just gotten back from the GQ photo shoot, slightly behind schedule but only because she had the driver stop at your favorite fast food place.

Paige waved to the front desk worker as a way to say she's back while the worker was on the phone, then got into the elevator heading to the top floor where your offices were located.

Nobody should ever be on the top floor unless they absolutely need to talk to you or Paige, which is why Paige felt comfortable yelling out to you. As she said, she's the boss and makes the rules, so really she could yell as much and as loudly as she wanted to. However, she's aware that you're more introverted and private, so she is still going to respect that you keep your private life private. Including your love life.

"Babe, I got us food!" Paige yelled out, reaching for her keys to unlock her office door, only to find it already unlocked, making her enter in confusion.

"Y/n?" Paige called out, taking her keys out of the door before looking around and seeing no sign of you, none of your clothes on the floor, and her shirt lying on the couch.

She looked around, confused, before setting the food down on the small table beside the couch and exiting the office to go back to the first floor.

"Hey, hey, hey, have you seen y/n? She's not upstairs," Paige says to the front desk worker, her voice laced with noticeable concern.

"She left a little while ago. Claimed she wasn't feeling good, and honestly? She looked very pale and tired," he replies, shrugging before looking back down at his computer, trying to finish whatever he was working on—not knowing that he just punched Paige right in the heart.

She slowly nods before hitting the desk gently as a way of saying 'thank you,' then makes her way back to the elevator.

Walking into her office, she immediately passes the couch, going straight to her desk and pulling her phone out of her suit pocket.

Hey, you doing ok?

delivered at 7:30

Baby?

delivered at 7:47

Alright, message me when you feel better, yeah?

delivered at 8:00

Paige sighs, throwing her phone onto her desk before rubbing her hand over her face.

Did I mess this up? Does she actually not feel good or is she avoiding me? God, I'm such a bitch; this is all my fault. Wait, did I take advantage of her? No. She gave me consent; she has to just be sick, right? Right?

Paige groans, throwing her head against her desk, food long forgotten.

But her overthinking time is abruptly interrupted as one of the interns knocks on her open door. "Miss Bueckers, you need to have those new designs turned in tonight."

"Yeah, I'll get to them. Thank you," Paige rasps out. "Are you okay, boss? You look sad."

Paige puts on a fake smile. "I'm fine, thank you." The intern falls for that, taking her word that she is okay and leaves Paige alone in her office with her overwhelming thoughts.

"Miss Bueckers, you have a photo shoot today at 2 for GQ," you tell Paige after she responds with a "Come in" to your knocking.

"Alright, and I told you to just call me Paige, didn't I?" Paige replies, knowing she's mentioned that a million times.

"Yes, ma'am."

"So then why aren't you doing that?"

"I don't want to be unprofessional, ma'am," you reply after a few seconds of silence.

"Unprofessional, huh?" Paige responds, smirking slightly.

"You also have a sit-down talk scheduled at 4 for an article connected with the photo shoot," you say nervously after seeing her smirk. You try to change the topic but only become more anxious when Paige stands up and walks toward you.

Paige leans over you, shutting the door and locking it, making your breath hitch.

"Anything else?" Paige asks, standing very close to you—invading your personal space—and moving her hand to push back a piece of your hair that was in your face.

"Um, you need to turn in the new shoe drop designs tonight by 10 p.m." Paige then decided to move her hand again, but this time she placed it on your waist, lightly rubbing her thumb in circles through your blouse. "Go on," Paige says in a low, raspy voice.

"Once you get those turned in, we need to post teasers on the PBKicks accounts," you reply breathlessly.

"Is that it?" Paige asks, moving her hand that was on your waist down to your lower back and pushing you closer into her, making you let out a small, breathless gasp.

You turn your head, avoiding eye contact before nodding in response to her question. She clicks her tongue in disapproval before moving one of her hands underneath your chin and lifting your head up to look her in the face. "Use your words."

"Yes, that's it," you whimper out breathlessly, feeling like your stomach is doing cartwheels.

"Good girl." You have to lean closer to Paige after she says that—your knees getting weak.

She chuckles at that and leans in closer to your ear, whispering, "Seems like someone has a praise kink, huh?" You make a small noise between a moan and a whimper, resting your forehead on Paige's chest to hide your flushed face.

Paige just laughs and pulls you to the office couch, sitting down and pulling you onto her lap. "This is unprofessional, Mis- Paige."

"Says who?" Paige responds teasingly, rubbing her hands across your body. "Rules," you stammered out, fighting the urge to grind down on her.

"I'm the CEO, baby; I make the rules," Paige says while gripping your hips hard and pushing you down on her thigh—moving you back and forth—making you moan out loudly.

Paige doesn't say anything and just takes off her tie, shoving it in your mouth. "But you do still need to be quiet, my love; wouldn't want to distract everybody from their work, now would we?"

You nod your head, now moving your hips on your own with Paige just watching. "There we go, baby; doing such a good job for me, huh?"

You let out a muffled moan in response—trying to grind harder, feeling your release building up. "You gonna cum? Hmm?" You nod but quickly become disappointed when Paige grips your hips, stopping you from moving and from your release.

She doesn't say anything and just pushes you down onto the couch and gets on top of you.

"Do you want to do this?" Paige asks, seeking your consent before proceeding. You shake your head yes while also giving a muffled affirmation with her tie still in your mouth.

She smiles slightly, taking the tie out of your mouth and placing it on the couch's armrest. "Words," Paige says again.

"Yes, I want to do this," you whine in a needy tone. Paige leans down and connects your lips, making you moan into the unexpected kiss.

As you both fight for dominance in the kiss, Paige's hand explores your body before stopping at your buttoned blouse. "Can I take this off?" she mumbles against you, prompting you to nod in response.

She pulls away from the kiss and sits up, unbuttoning your shirt and tossing it across the office, her eyes immediately raking over your upper body.

"You’re so beautiful," Paige says as she continues to admire you before leaning down and pressing her lips to your neck. She kisses all over your neck, sucking gently in some places, making you let out quiet, breathless moans.

Paige slowly trails down your abdomen. When she reaches your stomach, she moves her kisses back up to your breasts.

She trails her kisses to the top of your boobs, gently sucking there too before moving her hand behind your back—making you arch into her so it can be easier for her to unhook your bra.

She drags your bra off, throwing it in the same direction as your blouse, immediately kissing all around your chest and giving both of your breasts attention, with you arching into her more.

After a few minutes of Paige just kissing and sucking on your chest, she moves down your stomach, stopping at the waistband of your skirt. "Can I take this off?" she asks again.

"Only if you take some things off; you're too clothed," you reply breathlessly. She shakes her head, amused, before standing up from the couch and taking off her suit jacket and unbuttoning her dress shirt, throwing both of them in the same direction as the other clothes, leaving her in her bra.

You don't say anything and just unbutton your skirt as a way of indicating that she can take it off now. She picks up on this cue, immediately walking closer to you and putting her fingers in the waistband of your skirt, pulling it down and tossing it aside.

She quickly gets back on top of you, bringing you into another kiss.

While you two are fighting for dominance again, she runs her fingers over the wet spot on your panties, making you moan into her mouth. "This wet already?" Paige moans against your lips.

"Mm, fuck, I can't wait anymore," Paige says as she moves down your legs with her fingers at your panty line, looking up at you again—asking if she can take them off. You nod in response; once she receives the green light, she immediately pulls your underwear down and tosses it with the others.

She moves her eyes up and down for a moment, checking you out without any shame whatsoever before growing impatient with herself and lying down between your legs.

She slowly kissed around your thighs, and you groaned impatiently, trying to push her head to where you needed her the most. That did not work, as her head didn't budge; she just chuckled, amused, looking up at you.

"Impatient, are we?" Paige says in that low voice again. "Paige," you whine out, "do something, please."

"Only because you asked so nicely," she replies before pushing her head down and immediately bringing your clit into her mouth, sucking on it.

You moaned out loud, prompting Paige to reach up from her spot and grab the tie, shoving it back into your mouth—all while still circling her tongue around you.

She moved her tongue down your slit, circling around your entrance before pushing inside. You put your hands in her hair, trying to push her closer.

Paige groaned into you at the pressure on her head, the vibrations making you moan louder through the tie.

Paige then stopped thrusting her tongue and moved back up to your clit while moving her fingers down to your entrance—taking over where her mouth had just left.

Paige circles her middle finger around your entrance while sucking on your clit before thrusting that finger in.

You groan loudly over the tie, making Paige let out a little giggle against you. "How many can you take, mama?" she mumbles against you. You don't say anything, but you hold up two fingers.

She makes a small noise of acknowledgment and takes her middle finger out before thrusting her pointer and middle fingers in together.

She takes her free hand and puts it over your mouth—the tie not muffling enough of your loud moans—so she took it out and threw it away.

While she keeps sucking on your clit and thrusting her fingers inside you, you start moving your hips, trying to get closer to her mouth and fingers, which makes her chuckle into you.

"Paige," you whine out, with her humming in response. "Fuck, don't stop, please." You can feel your release getting closer, and so can Paige, only making her speed up more.

You swear you can see stars when your orgasm crashes through you, decreasing a little as Paige works you through your high.

Your whine was the thing that pulled Paige away from you—seeing that you're now overstimulated and don't need to work through it anymore.

Paige leans up from between your legs, bringing you into a kiss—you tasting yourself on her tongue.

You're still trying to catch your breath, and Paige still hasn't said anything. But she grabs you by the waist and turns you both over, so you're now lying on top of her, with her holding your head to her chest.

"What about you?" you say after you've finally caught your breath. "Do you want to do that right now?" Paige asks in your ear.

But before you can answer, there’s a knock at the door, making Paige stand up while saying, "One second." She lays you back down on the couch and covers you with a blanket just in case. Then she walks to the pile of clothes, hurriedly putting her dress shirt back on properly before opening the door enough for her to see the person and for them to see her—just enough for it not to be considered suspicious.

"You have to leave in 10 minutes for GQ magazine. We can't find Y/N, so I didn't know if she told you or not," one of your interns said.

"Oh, alright, thank you," Paige replied, shutting the door as soon as the intern acknowledged her response and walked away.

Paige walked to her small in-office bathroom, grabbed a rag, and wet it before returning to you and gently cleaning you down there while you let out small noises from sensitivity.

"I didn't realize we were that close to time for the magazine shoot. I'm sorry," you said tiredly.

"It's fine; we're not late," Paige assured you while walking over to grab your panties, bra, and one of her spare dress shirts that she keeps in her office in case her shirt gets dirty. She then walked to her mini fridge and grabbed a water bottle.

She helped you get dressed in those clothes, handing you the water after she opened it for you.

"You're going to stay here and take a nap while I'm at the shoot—"

"No, I'm fine. I'm your assistant; I have to be there!" you say, cutting her off and making her raise her eyebrows at you.

"I'll bring one of your interns with me. I already know you have everything written down, correct?" Paige asked in a knowing voice, to which you just nod your head.

"Great! So we will take your notes and go to the shoot while you stay here and take a well-deserved nap, yeah? I'll lock the door when I leave, so you don't have to worry about anyone walking in and seeing you in my shirt and panties. There's snacks and drinks in the mini fridge and cabinets; just make yourself at home until I get back, alright?" Paige said, with her hand on your bare thigh—rubbing small circles with her thumb.

You just nod your head, not wanting to agree with this but also not having a choice. "Good girl," Paige says while leaning in again and giving you a kiss before pulling away to get changed for the shoot.

"I never got to please you," you say, looking up at her with tired eyes. Paige chuckles while buttoning up a new pair of suit pants, as the ones she was wearing are now wet.

Indianapolis, Indiana - All-Star Weekend.

Your rookie year, you weren’t expecting to be a first-time All-Star, let alone a starter, but here you were — a starter for Team Phee.

Getting on the plane to go to Indy was packed and chaotic. Lots of people were heading to the All-Star, so you didn’t want to take a private flight when there were multiple flights already going to the same place, so you got noticed by fans a lot.

— along with Paige Bueckers. You’re assumed rival. Both from college and the WNBA.

During college, the media assumed you and Paige hated each other. They took your jealous arguments as tense insults. They took your playful comments as offensive “jokes.”

They took everything you and Paige did and put it under a microscope — the wrong microscope. The negative microscope.

Because in reality, they were wrong. They are always wrong, no matter how right they think they are.

You and Paige were teammates, not rivals.

You and Paige were roommates, not rivals.

You and Paige are best friends, not rivals.

You and Paige are each other’s biggest fans… not rivals.

You’re not sure what started the ‘rivalry,’ but the media and the fans all read into it — they all gossip about it.

So when fans saw you and Paige sitting next to each other on the plane to Indianapolis, you can imagine how much gossip there was about it.

You and Paige were trending on Twitter and TikTok for so long. Only getting worse as the weekend went on and the Studbudz live got wilder.

—

July 19th - All Star After Party

You and Paige have been avoiding the Studbudz together. They have been outing people left and right with their 72-hour stream — you and Paige don’t want to be one of those couples.

— Although you both have been dating so long, neither of you mind going public; you guys just haven’t yet. You guys are enjoying the privacy. The assumptions of what negative things you guys are saying to each other.

You and Paige thought they were at a different party — they were supposed to be at a different party.

“Mama, hey, here’s your drink.” Paige says walking back to you, KK, and Azzi. She wraps her arm around your waist while handing you the cup she just got for you.

“Thank you, P.” You respond, while taking the cup from her and leaning back into her.

You and Paige just enjoyed your weekend break, and your reunion with each other and your ex-teammates; not knowing you and Paige could slightly be seen on the Studbudz live.

—

2:30 a.m. - All-Star After Party

Everyone was drunk or tipsy. I don’t think there was one person completely 100% sober.

The UConn girls went somewhere else, probably talking with some WNBA players. You and Paige were hanging with Alyssa Thomas, NaLyssa Smith, and DiJonai Carrington.

There weren’t a lot of seats in the area that you guys were in, so you were sitting on Paige’s lap and Nai was sitting on NaLyssa’s.

When you tried to get up — not wanting to hurt Paige’s legs or make her legs go numb — Paige immediately pulled you back with her hand around your waist.

“Paigeee,” you whined out, looking back at her, “y/nnnn.” Paige mocked in the same voice.

You sighed, “Please can I get up?” Paige pretends to think about it — her eyes squinted and her other hand rubbing her chin — “no.” Paige says before pulling you closer and tightening her grip. You sigh and playfully roll your eyes before leaning — no. Melting into her.

She doesn’t say anything more. She just holds you tighter and kisses your forehead.

—

Waking up the next morning, you and Paige quickly realize the internet no longer thinks you guys are rivals…

Because the Studbudz caught everything on live. The arm around your waist, you sitting on Paige’s lap, the whole ‘fight’ you guys had about Paige wanting you to stay on her lap and you wanting to leave, to the kiss on your forehead.

There is absolutely no denying any of it. It was all caught on camera and put under the microscope. You and Paige will have to get used to being public to the media, but the media will no longer make negative rumors about you two.

Azzi couldn’t find Paige. They had just been together, but Paige surprisingly went off to find the Studbudz.

The Studbudz were doing a 72-hour live stream on Twitch for All-Star Weekend. Paige and Azzi had both just been on the stream, but Paige apparently wasn’t satisfied with her camera time and ventured off.

Azzi was fine with that at first; she had the UConn girls with her, so she was entertained for a little while. But once "Love" by Keyshia Cole came on, Azzi set off to find her girlfriend.

"Love" was their song, and hearing it made Azzi realize that she actually missed Paige—even though they had just been together.

Azzi's approach was to look for two hot pink haircuts or a tall man holding a phone on a tripod. There were a lot of blondes there, so relying on that method to find Paige would only make her more lost.

After searching for five minutes, Azzi finally found the person she was looking for. Paige was in a huddle with her arm around Natisha, and everyone was singing along to "Love," while the cameraman had the camera pointed at Paige and T.

Paige, with her Azzi senses, noticed Azzi behind her and pulled away from T, going over to her girl and pulling her into a hug while still singing the lyrics, now directed to Azzi.

Paige—the (drunk) lover girl she is—started whispering into Azzi's ear, “I’m so glad I found you. You’re the greatest thing to happen to me.”

Azzi pulled her head back from Paige’s neck, holding Paige’s face in her hands. “I’m glad you found me too; who knows where you would be without me?” Azzi teased. Paige rolled her eyes playfully before gripping Azzi's waist tighter and pulling her closer. “I would be lost… maybe dead. I can’t live without you. You’re my oxygen.”

“You’re drunk,” Azzi said with an amused smile on her face. “Maybe. But I know what I’m saying, and what I’m saying is true.”

Azzi rolled her eyes, the same amused smile still on her face. She could see the phone in their direction from the corner of her eye, so she grabbed Paige’s hand and started walking. “Come with me.” Paige didn’t respond; she just followed Azzi like a lost puppy, which Azzi still found amusing.

Walking into the V.I.P. section, Azzi pulls Paige to the empty couch; no one else is there right now except for AT, who is on the other side of the room on the phone with her fiancé, Dewanna Bonner.

Paige sits down on the couch, and before Azzi can sit down, Paige pulls Azzi on top of her. “Clingy much?” Azzi asks, not getting up from Paige’s lap but moving to get more comfortable.

“That’s funny coming from you,” Paige responds, her face buried in Azzi's neck.

“I am not clingier than you!” Azzi says defensively—though she is definitely amused. Both Paige and Azzi are clearly clingy with each other, especially now that they are returning to long distance after four years of being in the same state.

“Uh-huh, sure.” Paige’s response is muffled, her face still buried in Azzi's neck while pressing small kisses along her neck and shoulder. Paige is undoubtedly being clingier than Azzi at this moment, but she isn’t admitting that.

“How are you feeling? You’ve been playing basketball since November, and this is your first non-injury break,” Azzi says, changing the subject and wanting to check in on Paige hoping to encourage her to talk.

Paige sighs, throwing her head back to look at the ceiling. “I miss you. I miss UConn. I feel like—I don’t know. Everyone’s doing well, and I’m just stuck. Nothing I do is ever enough for anyone. I score 35 points, but that’s not enough because I’m being selfish and not assisting anyone. I get 6 assists, but I’m passing too much and not scoring. It’s—I get treated like I’m a vet. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Paige feels as though a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. “And Chris—he just keeps talking about ‘togetherness,’ but he’s not helping us. It’s a lot,” Paige sighs aloud. “I really wish my fifth year hadn’t gone by so fast. I took my time for granted; I really did, and I miss all of it so much: Geno scolding me for not scoring, our target runs, Lego sessions—hell, I even miss when Geno was so mad at me that he made all of us run laps.”

Azzi takes a deep breath, not expecting Paige to say all that but glad she actually opened up this time instead of pushing her feelings away.

“People on the internet—they want more and more and more; nothing's ever going to be enough for them, so don’t tear yourself apart trying to satisfy them. They don’t know or see the work you put in for the game or for bettering yourself. They just see the 'flaws.' You have been doing so, so, so well this season. Even if your team's not winning, you’re still having an amazing season.” Azzi pushes some of Paige’s hair away from her face.

“I love you,” Paige mumbles, blinking away the water in her eyes from the ‘therapy session.’ Azzi leans forward, pressing her lips to Paige’s forehead. “I love you more.”

Paige realized that day that even when she’s stuck in her head about her game or feeling emotions about how people are talking about her, she still had Azzi no matter what.

Paige always plans the dates. She never lets Azzi even think about lifting a finger to help.

Azzi knew Paige was having a bad week and wanted to do something for her. She just had to be careful because Paige would argue that she doesn’t need anything and that she plans all the dates.

Azzi knows Paige isn’t the type to go out to expensive restaurants every date night; she values quality time. So, her plan was to make Paige a homemade meal. Most of the time, they either eat food from the dining hall or get fast food, so Azzi was going to make sure she doesn’t mess up.

She’s using one of her favorite recipes that her mom uses, and when in doubt, she can FaceTime her mom if she starts having problems with the instructions.

Paige had a few media interviews today and was going to be in New York for three hours today, not including the two-hour drive there and back. So, Azzi had time, as Paige should only just now be getting to the place.

Along with dinner, though, Azzi bought snacks and has already set them up on the coffee table. She’s also laid out blankets and pillows for a movie night.

Azzi was prepared. She never gets to do this, and she refuses to let this night be anything less than perfect.

Candles? Check! Rose petals? Check! A backup dinner plan? The local pizza place is on speed dial! Everything is already planned; she just needs to set everything up and try to cook a meal without burning it.

—

Azzi has been working for the last four hours, but now she has the remaining time all to herself.

The rose petals make a path from the dorm door to the dining table. The candles are lit and placed everywhere, no overhead lights are on, and the LEDs are set to a dim purple. The living room is set up for movies, with a vase full of roses in the center of the coffee table, and dinner is mostly done and tastes good from what Azzi spooned out to try. All that’s left is the garlic bread that’s being re-toasted in the oven and Paige’s arrival.

Azzi was proud of herself—extremely proud at that. She was able to successfully put it all together and keep it from Paige at the same time. Plus, she made a delicious meal without burning it, which is an accomplishment in her eyes!

She never really cooks. She can do things that are considered easy, but she’s not really a cook. So Paige will be in for a treat when she gets home.

Right now, though, Azzi's going to take advantage of the remaining hour and go take a warm bath.

—

Paige didn’t know what she was walking into. She could smell something delicious from the dorm hallway but chalked it up to one of the neighbors. But when she was standing in front of their dorm door, smelling the exact same aroma? She went wide-eyed: ‘What is Azzi up to now?’

Walking into the dorm, the first thing she sees is the rose petals. She’s confused, but she keeps going — keeps following the amazing smell that she's been sensing since being in the hallway.

When she sees the dining table set up and the food ready to be eaten, she thinks she’s hallucinating. She rubs her eyes and reopens them only to still see — and smell — the food.

But she hasn’t come across her girlfriend yet, and she normally greets her at the door every time she walks in.

Paige turns around to look for Azzi — not before doing a second glance at the table just to be sure she isn’t hallucinating.

—

It’s not hard to find someone in a dorm. There’s barely any room for anything, let alone “hiding.” Paige found Azzi in the bath, headphones on, calm music playing through them, with a book in her hand—a WLW romance book, to be exact.

Paige stood in the doorway for a minute, admiring what she gets to call hers—admiring the side of Azzi that no one except Paige gets to see: the fully relaxed, the fully soft Azzi.

After thinking for a little while, Paige carefully started undressing.

Paige didn’t make a sound; she barely even moved. She didn’t want to scare Azzi.

Carefully walking over to the tub, she pushed back one side of Azzi's over-ear headphones. “Just me, scoot up a little.”

Azzi was slightly surprised before pushing that shock aside and scooting up—letting Paige get in behind her. Once Paige sat down, she pulled Azzi back towards her—Azzi now sat between Paige’s legs with her back to Paige’s chest.

“Hi,” Azzi mumbled, turning her head so her face was on Paige’s neck. “Hi, Mama,” Paige responded, her hand rubbing circles on Azzi’s stomach. “You wanna tell me what’s going on in the dining room?” she asked now leaning her head down to press small kisses to Azzi’s neck and shoulder.

Azzi giggles before saying, “I planned a date! You’ve been having a bad week, and I wanted to do something for you.” Paige looks at her as if she’s scolding her, prompting Azzi to continue, “And I know you like planning all the dates, which is one reason we are still home for this date instead of going out, so you can’t be mad!” Azzi gives Paige her most doe-eyed look, making Paige immediately forget what she was mad about.

—

Paige was blown away. Azzi never cooks but made an absolute masterpiece. The same Azzi who can only make easy dishes like eggs or mac and cheese created a plate worthy of Gordon Ramsay.

Well, Paige might be biased, but she fully believes Gordon Ramsay wouldn’t yell at this plate and would actually love it.

“Azzi, what—how? You need to start cooking like this more! This is so good!”

Azzi laughs out an “okay." “I’m being so serious! This is amazing!” She ducks her head to hide her flusteredness but says a little thank you to Paige.

Paige notices her flushed face but instead of making Azzi look at her and stop hiding from her, she just smirks and goes back to eating while complimenting Azzi after every bite.

—

Dinner was amazing, if you didn’t get the hint. After they were done eating, Paige collected all the dirty dishes and put them in the sink so she could store all the leftovers first. Azzi tried to help; she really did, but Paige was not having it and made her go sit on the couch.

Once Paige had put away the leftovers, she washed all of the dishes herself, not complaining once about her shirt getting wet and not allowing Azzi to step foot in the kitchen.

After the kitchen and dining room were cleaned, and after Paige changed shirts, it was officially time for what Azzi was most excited about: Netflix and cuddles. Who doesn’t love that?

Paige got on the couch behind Azzi, pulling her to lay on top of her. “What movie are we watching?” Azzi asked. “You pick,” Paige responded, pushing some of Azzi’s curls out of her face.

Azzi sighed, not really wanting this commitment. She was the most indecisive person, and Paige wanted her to pick the movie?

Azzi spends at least eight minutes scrolling through Netflix before she randomly lands on something and puts it on before she can think about it. Let’s be honest; they are both going to end up falling asleep during the movie anyway.

As the intro begins, Azzi turns her head to look at Paige. “How was media?”

“Tiring. I’m glad to be home now with you,” Paige mumbles. Azzi leans up and softly kisses Paige.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ You get sick a lot because you have a weak immune system, so they've mastered what to do to comfort you.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ They will always go to the store first to restock on all the things you love, especially when you're sick, and get you a few extra items just because they can.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ Bath oils and salts are always used! They will draw a warm bath for you, add salts or oils, turn off all the lights, and light candles. They will also join you in the bath if you ask.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ If you're having trouble sleeping, Azzi will read a chapter of a book she's reading to you while Paige traces her fingers on your body in a comforting way, helping you fall asleep in five minutes or less.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ Movie marathons are guaranteed! They will let you choose the movies every time without complaint.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ Paige is very serious about her girls no matter what, so she sets alarms for all your medication times to ensure that you take them on schedule.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ Azzi and Paige work together to make you food. They've made it their mission to successfully prepare homemade soup...they haven't succeeded yet, but they're still trying!

𐙚˙⋆.˚ They'll help you move your six blankets and two pillows to the living room just so you can have a change of scenery for a few hours.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ They will also tuck you in when you're on the couch, making sure you're 100% comfortable before getting comfortable themselves so you all can watch something.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ Body aches always happen when you're sick, so Azzi will give you massages whenever you wince, as you'll never actually say your body hurts.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ Paige will help you put on face masks and assist with your skincare routine. You have to tell her step by step what to do every time, but she's slowly getting better at remembering each step.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ Azzi will paint your nails for you. It's more of a comfort thing for both of you instead of a get-better tactic, but you once said you always feel and look like trash when you're sick, so she wanted to help you feel pretty even when you're unwell.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ You hate when Paige turns her games off for you, so when she can tell you want cuddles but she's playing Fortnite, she'll call you over to sit on her lap while she plays. During breaks in the game, she'll put her hand under your shirt and slowly rub your back. You always end up falling asleep on her, and she never cares or complains when she ultimately gets sick.