SWEAT DRIPS DOWN your face and neck as you run the ball down the court, fully confident in yourself as you glide into a beautiful open lay-up. cheers erupt throughout the stadium as iowa gets a two-point lead over uconn.

it was the final four round of this season's march madness tournament, and everything was on the line. your team had taken many hits and conquered many schools to get to this game, and you were well prepared to do the same to uconn tonight.

you as well as any of your teammates had no problem admitting how skilled uconn was, especially with two extremely talented comeback players: paige bueckers and aubrey griffin.

they were uconn's resident superstars, with their poise and energy being unmatched and unbeatable. as the pair of them were recovering from a torn acl, they were determined to make their last season at uconn their best.

"let's go, y/n!" your teammate, kate, cheers as she bumps her chest with yours. you smile widely as you make your way over to the iowa bench with uconn calling a timeout.

"alright, girls, this is the home stretch right here," coach bluder yells in the huddle, "take what you want, and take it with hawkeye pride!"

she nods to kate, your team's captain, as she steps aside to let her speak.

"okay, caitlin, great job dropping threes on them, just make sure you're still balancing your deep shots with drives to the basket," she advises the brunette. caitlin nods in response, dragging a towel over her face and adjusting her hair band.

"y/n? you're a beast tonight, keep that shit up, yeah?" she compliments, "coach, is it okay if she tries guarding griffin? i think she would be a better matchup for her in this final quarter."

"you got it, kate, i trust you. y/n, you okay with that?"

you freeze for a second at the mention of the name, but agree with a smirk nonetheless, "yeah, i got her."

"okay great," kate starts, eyeing you suspiciously, "everyone else: whatever you're doing just keep it up and push harder. our main priorities on the court are getting caitlin the ball and clearing paths for y/n to drive."

"alright!" coach bluder steps back in, "hawks on three! one, two, three-"

"HAWKS!"

the active lineup disperses from the group as they scatter back onto the court, you jog up to number forty-four, a player you were more than familiar with.

you nod to the taller girl, "griffin."

"l/n," she nods back as she tries to hold back a smile.

you smirk back in her direction before locking back into the game, immediately defending the girl with no intent of letting her score.

were you undeniably in love with this girl? yes, without a doubt. but were you going to let that stop you from winning the championship? hell no.

you see paige bueckers inbound the ball to kk arnold as she starts to dribble the ball to the hoop at a steady pace.

she fakes a pass to nika and tries to send it to aubrey, but you anticipated this move, easily intercepting the ball and taking it down the court.

aubrey lets out a quick "damn" as she watches you disrupt the play like it was nothing. she is quick on your heels, trailing you with set purpose. the rest of the uconn girls adjust smoothly, speeding across the floor to run defense.

you dribble the ball a little bit behind the three-point line with one arm stretched out toward aubrey, trying to create some space.

your hand hovers over her waist as you attempt to distract her, "c'mon griffin, let me breathe," you joke, still bouncing the ball steadily.

you make eye contact with hannah and hold up a fist to signal what play you should run. she immediately understands, running up to you and setting a screen.

you break away from aubrey and pass the ball to caitlin, who pretends to shoot a corner-three, but passes back to you as you run right under the net.

you leap into the air and send the ball into the net, but as you're mid-jump, you feel a hand pull at your arms in an attempt to block you. still, you power through and send the ball against the backboard in hopes of it falling through.

the sudden grasp surprises you, making you lose your balance as you feel your ankle roll underneath your weight at the landing.

the unsteadiness causes you to fall to the ground right behind the post, forcing you to brace yourself with your arms behind you.

you hear a whistle blow, presumably at the interaction you were just part of. you are entitled to one free throw and the opportunity to complete a three-point play.

you want to celebrate but are too busy clutching your ankle in pain on the floor. wincing, you try to stand up on your own but fail miserably.

you hear someone's sneakers hurriedly squeak against the wood floor and look up to surprisingly see aubrey holding her hands out to you with hints of concern on her face.

your eyebrows are furrowed as you glance at her but reach for her nonetheless. she pulls you up with ease and wraps an arm around your waist as you shift your weight onto your unaffected leg.

"you okay, superstar?" she asks you with a laugh.

"i'm good, griffin, thanks," you pant with a grin despite the aching pain coursing through the lower half of your body.

"you gotta cool it with these plays, man, people are gonna think you're good at basketball or somethin'," she jokes.

you laugh, glad that she was able to lighten the mood despite your potential injury. for a moment it's just you two, the way it had been only in private and behind the scenes.

you were so caught up with each other that both of you failed to notice your respective teams looking over with sly faces and knowing smirks.

eventually, kate and gabbie had rushed to your side, each holding one of your hands to escort you back to the bench for inspection.

"where does it hurt, y/n?" the on-court physical trainer asks.

"my ankle," you start, "i think i sprained it."

"sit here, i'll get you some ice. try to roll it around, massage it out."

"wait," you say before she leaves, "is it okay if i just make the free throw real quick? i swear i can handle it, i'll come right back here when i get it."

"if it's okay with bluder, then sure. i'll be right back," she states before disappearing to the locker rooms.

meanwhile, at the uconn bench, aubrey was getting very intensely teased by her teammates.

"you know there's like thousands of people and a bunch of cameras in here right?" paige asks with a smirk, "thought y'all were keeping it private?"

"yeah, well i couldn't think of anything else in the moment so..." aubrey confesses, rubbing a hand down her face.

"you're so whipped, bro, it's insane," ice comments laughing, "like one second you were standing behind me, the next you're sprinting to the baseline like you runnin' a marathon or somethin'."

"yeah, for real, i literally felt a gust of wind on my face when she ran past me," kk adds.

"alright, y'all can shut up now," aubrey rolls her eyes, "actin' as if y'all not down bad for your partners either."

"just sayin'," paige shrugs, "you not gonna hear the end of this."

"from us and from the media," ice says, "even the damn iowa girls prolly won't forget this."

------

"question for y/n," a young female reporter starts in the back of the room starts, "in the fourth quarter, you got tangled up with paige bueckers from uconn, resulting in a mild injury. viewers couldn't help but notice that the first person to your aid wasn't any of your teammates, but aubrey griffin, uconn's senior guard. any comments on that?"

"yeah, uh paige was a dog for that one," you laugh, rubbing your hand over your jaw as you recall the interaction, "we're cool, though, it wasn't anything too serious. we laughed about it after the game, i don't know if y'all saw that but yeah, it's all good.

and aubrey...man, that's my girl. we've been close friends for awhile and all i really gotta say is that i appreciate her helpin' me out and all that. it definitely surprised me, if that's what you're asking. i didn't expect her to beeline to me like that," you chuckle as you feel blood rush to your cheeks at the thought of her shamelessness.

"yeah, i don't think any of us expected that," kate teasingly mumbles into her mic from beside you, making you and the crowd of interviewers laugh.

------

"griffin!"

"hey, l/n."

the brunette turns around with a smile at the sound of your voice. she was just walking out of the gym with her teammate, nika, but tells her to go ahead. the girl in question simply smirks at her knowingly before jogging up to the team's bus.

you shamelessly check aubrey out - she's full in her uconn nike tech set and her hair done up in her signature high bun. her team just lost the game but she was still glowing gorgeously.

she's carrying her custom uconn backpack with one strap on her shoulder, long fingers curled around the fabric. god, she just got out of a game - a loss even - and still managed to look so damn fine.

"how's the ankle?" she asks, pointing one finger to your foot.

"feelin' a little better," you shrug, "it's still a little hard to walk on but i'm toughin' it out."

"yeah?" she smiles, "i think i know how to make it feel a little better..."

without hesitation, the taller guard dips down to place a kiss on your lips that have been pulled into a sweet grin since the start of the conversation.

you pause, placing a hand on her chest as you survey your surroundings to ensure complete privacy.

"y/n, i really don't care right now," she groans as she notices your hesitation, "if you don't want me to kiss you i can just dip-"

you cut her off with a laugh, pulling her back into you and finally getting a taste of your girlfriend.

her free hand drifts down to the nape of your neck, her thumb tracing your jawline as she eagerly kisses you back.

"you're cute," you giggle against her lips.

"man, shut up," she chuckles, jokingly pushing you away before wrapping a strong arm around your shoulders and walking you to your bus.