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plot: in which, everybody thinks they're enemies

trope: college rivals x established relationship

pairings: wbb! reader x shakira austin

warnings: foul language

a/n: love kira downnn (bless u unrivaled for putting me onnn) 😩 who we want next? bc our rooks are showing out! sonia citron, kiki iriafen, saniya rivers, te-hina paopao, paige bueckers, and makayla timpson are the options 🫶

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Let's go back to when this all started. College.

Ole Miss was playing South Carolina. Now, there wasn't any rivalry of sorts between the two teams. It was only between two players. Whether Shakira was playing for Maryland or Ole Miss. She and y/n always got into it. Every single time. Either the trash talk got too personal or the physicality got too...well, physical.

But, mixed in with their hate for each other, there was lust.

They were both insanely attracted to each other. And unfortunately, they were both too scared to actually do anything about it. It didn't help that nobody knew, so they couldn't ask for advice. They refused to actually admit they were attracted to each other. Their teammates had no idea. Not even their parents knew.

Shakira was on y/n's ass the entire game. Pushing up against her, hooking her arm under the basket, talking all kinds of shit. To everyone else, this was normal behavior. To her? It was confusing. Because it wasn't just the physicality. It was the way she touched her waist. The way she pressed her body into hers when it wasn't even necessary.

It was beyond confusing. But even more than that? It was pissing her off because she had no access to the basket.

It was the 4th when Saniya passed her the ball and when she went for the basket, Shakira hooked her arm. No foul was called. She was furious. "Are you fucking kidding me? That was a foul! Are you fuckin' blind? Open your fuckin' eyes!"

Kira scoffed, amused by her little scene. "Stop whinin' like a bitch. You already up ten. Go sit your ass down."

Y/n pushed her off, not in the mood for her mouth. "Ain't nobody talkin' to you! How 'bout you make me!"

She shoved her back in anger, "I will! I ain't scared of you!"

She scoffed, everyone quick to get in between them. "Get the fuck out my face! You not gon' do shit!"

Obviously, she took that like a challenge. "Meet me in the lobby and I'll show you how I can do shit!" Shakira remarked as her teammates pulled her away from the scene before she caught an ejection. Now even if y/n wanted to pull up in the hotel lobby, they would never let that happen. "Nah, you come find me if you want it so bad!"

Aliyah's eyes widened as she grabbed onto y/n's waist to fully turn her around. "Oh, my god. Do you have a death wish? Coach is gonna make you run suicides until you're dead."

"It's worth it," she shrugged, taking the towel Zia tossed her to press to her face.

"How was that worth it?"

It was a quarter to midnight. It's been hours since the game. Aliyah was fast asleep in her room, as they shared a dorm together. She got up for a glass of water when she heard the knock on their door. She groaned, assuming it was just Saniya, who constantly begged to stay over because her roommate snored and they had an extra room that wasn't being used. "At this point, we might as well get her a key."

She unlocked the door, "what did I tell you about wakin' us up in the middle of the night-" it was not Saniya.

She had an 'S' in her name but she was not Saniya.

Shakira wore a smug smile, leaning against the doorframe with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "You seem surprised."

She blinked, trying to put on her best poker face until she realized, she sucked at poker- or well, Uno. "Why are you here?"

"You invited me, remember?" She teased, the flashbacks of the game coming to y/n's mind. Fuck. Anytime she blacked out in games, she always went way too far. Still, she couldn't help herself. This was kind of fueling her ego. "I see you wanted it so bad," she smirked. Little did she know, this didn't embarrass or intimidate Shakira.

It took her an entire hour to finally build up the courage to come here. She wasn't gonna let this girl intimidate or make her feel embarrassed for something they both wanted. "Yeah, I do. You gon' let me in or what?"

Now that...that caught her off guard.

Sucking in a nervous breath, she glanced over Shakira, taking her all in. Her curls were pulled back into a bun, college hoodie on, hands tucked into the pockets of her sweatpants looking so fucking good. How the fuck was she gonna say no? I mean come on. Aliyah was literally don't the hall. She couldn't do this now. Not here. Wait--Why the fuck was she even considering this?"

Shakira huffed, tired of this hesitation and denial. She took matters into her own hands. Without any warning, she leaned in to capture her lips, y/n stumbling back in surprise. She slid her hands around her waist to keep her steady as she deepened the kiss the second she felt y/n kiss her back. She kicked the door shut with her foot.

Y/n pulled away, staring at her in shock as if she didn't welcome her tongue down her throat a second ago. Kira smirked, pulling her body closer, "don't act so surprised. You far from innocent, baby."

She rolled her eyes, already annoyed with her arrogance. "Whatever."

Shakira smiled, pressing a soft peck to her lips, already obsessed with her just one kiss in. "That's okay, baby. You gon' be my girl by the end of the night anyway."

"Says who?"

This night was far from over.

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It was day 2 of Unrivaled. Shakira was in the training room with her Lunar Owls teammates, mid conversation when y/n had walked in. They went quiet, watching as she walked over to a table where a trainer was. "Don't let me interrupt," she comments, amused with the lack of conversation when she walked in.

Their eyes glanced over to Shakira, all of them very familiar with the rivalry these two had, and continued to have in the W. "Chill. You ain't that special," Kira retorts.

Y/n smirked, ignoring the comment as she requested something from the trainer to help with the soreness in her knees. Their conversation continued in the background but it was a little more tense than usual. "Is the soreness just in your knees?" He asked as she took a seat on the table.

"Uh nah, it kinda goes up to my thighs but that's not a basketball issue. That'll go away in like a day or so." She explained casually, not noticing the way Kira's eyes wandered over to her, a little smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. Skylar was the only one to clock that. She was not stupid. She felt the tension, and it wasn't because of hatred.

"Alright, I'm gonna put some of this on your knees and if the soreness continues, keep applying this." He explained, handing her a container of the medicine. She nodded, leaning back comfortably as he applied some of the medicine to her knees.

She hopped off the table when he finished and walked to the door, slowing down as she passed by Kira. "You got starin' problems," she said before casually making her exit.

Shakira rolled her eyes, already imagining the things that were gonna happen when she got home. "You got starin' problems," she mocked under her breath, too scared to actually do it when she was still in the room.

"Okay, what was that?" Courtney spoke, asking the question everyone wanted to.

"What do you mean?" She asked, staring up at the ceiling obliviously.

Skylar rolled her eyes, "you know exactly what she meant, Kira." 

"Wait- I'm lost. Why do y'all hate each other?" Cameron questioned. Their eyes all found Kira again, waiting for her to explain. Nobody really knew either. They just knew those two had been getting into it since college.

"We don't hate each other," she denied.

Courtney scoffed, "Y'all literally be ready to throw hands- don't lie now."

Later on, y/n was at the practice court, taking a little break when the social media admin came over to ask her some questions. "Rank your crashout moments from least to favorite." She pursed her lips in thought, just as some players from the Lunar Owls joined the practice court. Shakira walked past her, both of them making eye contact momentarily.

"That's a good one. Uh, I don't think I have a least favorite. All my crashouts have been very justified. I'd probably just say my favorite is from my time in SC, the game we had against Ole Miss, only 'cause of the events that followed after." She answered, a smile pulling at her lips when she seen the confusion on the admins face.

She wrapped up content for the day and went to walk out. She passed by Shakira and smiled before smacking the ball out of her hands just to mess with her. It took everything in Kira to hold back a grin as she turned to look at y/n, trying to act mad. "What was that for?"

"My amusement," she retorts, walking out the doors.

"Play too much," she mumbled under her breath as she picked the ball back up.

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"How come your place look better than mine?" Kira complained, resting her head on her girlfriend's lap as some reality TV played on the TV. They obviously had two separate apartments because nobody knew they were a couple and they didn't have plans on telling anyone. The only people who knew was their family, and that's it.

"Yours is nice too," she replied, focusing on the TV.

Shakira sighed, trying to gain her girlfriend's attention but she was so focused on the stupid TV. "How are your knees?"

Of course she received the most basic response. "They're fine."

She huffed, reaching over to grab the remote and turn off the TV. "Hey! I was watchin' that." She rolled her eyes, moving over to climb onto her girlfriend's lap, making her quickly realize what the problem was. "Okay, I see. You want my attention."

"You were lookin' good today," she smiled, feeling her hands slide around her waist.

"Me? Look at you." She brushed some stray curls from her face, now focusing on the color. Kira squints, "what are you thinking?"

She smiled shyly, thinking back the red hair she had when they shared their first kiss. "I just...I kinda miss the red. The blonde's cute but...the red was somethin' else."

"Really?"

"Yeah- but I mean, you don't have to. I was just sayin'." She assured, pressing a peck to her lips. She kept that thought in the back of her head, but now, she needed her girlfriend, desperately. "Take these off," Kira mumbled, reaching for her glasses. She could see up close so it was fine.

"Did I do somethin'? Cause you been all over me- not that I'm complaining." Shakira smiled as her words, pressing a kiss to her cheek and moving them down her jaw. "I just miss you. We finally get to spend time together 'cause we hardly see each other..being on different teams."

"You sure you not gon' get sick of me?" She teased.

She laughed, smacking her shoulder, "shut up! I can literally never get sick of you."

With a cocky smirk, she flipped her onto her back, pulling one of her legs over her waist and Kira smiled up at her. There was never a stern dominant or submissive role between them. They switched all the time. It just depended on how they were feeling in that moment. "No hard feelings when I kick your ass on the court, right?"

Shakira scoffed, rolling her eyes, "you're so delusional it's cute."

"I know you ain't just call me delusional." She scowled playfully, and she grinned, pulling her hoodie over her head. "I did. You gonna punish me for it?"

"Obvious-" a knock on her door echoed through the apartment. Shakira groaned, holding the pillow over her face in a dramatic manner. Y/n sat up, "who is it?!"

"It's Skylar!"

Shakira's eyes widened, "fuck. What do we do?" The last person they needed to find out was y/n's W teammate and Kira's Unrivaled teammate.

"Just-- go into the bedroom. She won't go in there." She got up and ran over to the door, waiting until Kira was in their bedroom before pulling it open. She plastered on a smile and opened the door, "heyyy. I didn't know you were droppin' by."

"Me either. I just wanted to stop by, see how you're settlin' in." She stepped inside, taking her shoes off and pushing them off to the side. "I'm not interrupting anything, right? I should've called."

"No, no, you're good. I was just..watchin' TV." She assured, scratching the back of her neck nervously.

They took a seat on the couch and Skylar furrowed her brows, picking up the hoodie laying there. It looked very familiar. "Um..is this Shakira's hoodie?" She gulped, quickly shaking her head, "what? No, no. That's mine." She took it from her hands and tossed it onto the chair in the corner.

"Oh, okay. I just saw her wearin' that earlier so.."

"Oh, yeah, that's weird. Guess we just have the same hoodie."

After a long conversation, Skylar left, and y/n walked back over to her bedroom. She knocked on the door and Kira sat up, pausing the tv that was on the mute. "Is she gone?" She nodded, pulling off her shirt and sliding her shorts off. "Alright, where were we again?"

Shakira smiled, holding onto one of the pillows. "I recall a conversation about a little punishment.."

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Court, T, and Tash were in the gym, talking about God knows what when they seen Shakira walk in, ready to get a workout in. Y/n was doing pull-ups in the corner, minding her business, occasionally laughing at whatever she heard the trio say. "Kira! What that on yo' leg?" Court asked.

"Is that a bite mark?" T frowned in confusion.

Tash squints, "who bit you?"

"It's just a bruise! Chill!" She chuckled, sitting down on one of the mats to stretch.

They still wasn't dropping it. They knew a sex mark when they seen it. "Who did it?"

She shook her head in amusement, "my girlfriend. Can y'all drop it now?" They all made sounds of celebration, mixed with shock. Y/n glanced over, a small smirk on her lips before moving on to work on her arms.

"You got a girlfriend?!"

"Who is it?" T asked, a lot more invested now.

"Do we know her?" Tash questioned with a big grin.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I'm not tellin' y'all."

They all groaned, heads falling back in exasperation. "You got a secret boo and we can't know who it is?" Court complained.

Tash glanced over to y/n, the woman just doing some bicep curls. "Y/n, you know who it is?"

"Why would I know?" She retorts. "'Ion even like her."

Shakira rolled her eyes, biting back a smile. "That wasn't even necessary."

She smiled sarcastically, "it was necessary for me."

She continued her stretches, purposely making them look as sexy as possible to distract her girlfriend. And it was working. She got distracted so much she just gave up on working out. "Okay, I'm done." She mumbled, picking up her bag and making her way out as Kira giggled like an evil villian.

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After receiving a call from Shakira, she was leaving her apartment to head down to hers. The elevator got to her girlfriend's floor and she stepped out, walking down the hall to stop at her door. She pulled out her keys, because they obviously had keys to each other's places, and unlocked her door. She pushed it open and walked inside, kicking off her shoes and pushing them to the side.

"Where you at?!"

"The bathroom! Close your eyes too! No peeking!" 

She sighed, walking over to the bathroom and shutting her eyes. She knocked on the door and Kira pulled it open, taking her hands to guide her inside. "Okay, you can open them." She slowly opened her eyes, and they widened at the bright red hair. "Oh, my god. It's back."

She smiled shyly, "do you like it?"

"Do I like it? I fuckin' love it. Holy shit. You look...wow, you're fucking gorgeous." She pressed a kiss to her lips before reaching up to run her hand over the red curls.

"I figured it was about time to bring the red back. We had some good times." She nodded in agreement, so fascinated with it. So many flashbacks of them in the beginning of their relationship coming back to her. They had some of the best times during the red. Moments nobody but them knew about. And she was ready to create more. "Get ready, babe. I'm taking you out on a date tonight."

Her eyes brightened, smiling excitedly, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go book a reservation. Take your time, baby." Kira grinned, bringing her into a quick kiss. "You're the best." Y/n pressed a kiss to her cheek, hand patting her waist before stepping out to go make that call.

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It was January 27th. Lunar Owls vs Vinyl. Shakira vs Y/n.

During games, their energy completed shifted. Their relationship was nonexistent on the court. It was about basketball and only basketball. It had always been that way. Nothing was changing that. No matter what happened out there, they'd still fall asleep in each other's arms tonight.

It was Q2, and even thought it was 3v3, they were still getting physical, talking shit, locking arms. Kira was going for the lay, an open look at the basket when y/n purposely hooked her arm to drag her down. It was a basic tactical foul but that didn't mean Shakira liked it. She immediately got up and shoved y/n. "What the fuck was that?!"

She just laughed, only further pissing Kira off. "Stop throwin' a tantrum and shoot your free throws."

Lish and Court both pulled her back to keep her focus on the game but that mocking laugh from y/n was beyond frustrating.

It was Q3. Shakira had to get her lick back on y/n before she returned to the bench. So, she only did what y/n did. Her arm hooked around y/n's and pulled her down so she hit the floor hard. She didn't hesitate to pull herself up and get into Kira's face, the redhead grinning and nodding as she talked her shit. Her eyes flickered to her lips momentarily and she leaned in to press a peck to them before their teammates were pulling them away.

Everyone was shocked. Both of their teams. The staff. The fans. The refs. Y/n was completely baffled and taken off guard as Jordin and Rae had gotten in between them. Kira even shocked herself. When she got a look at her lips, she completely forgot they were on the court and kissed her out of instinct, something she always did when they argued off the court.

Y/n was still thinking about it when she walked over to the free throw line. She could see Kira smiling in the corner of her eyes. Even thought it was accidental, she wasn't gonna act like she didn't enjoy that little kiss. She always enjoyed kissing her girlfriend. But hey, it did ease the tension.

Lunar Owls won 67-57.

Back in the locker room, her teammates were raving about it. "Nah 'cause why did you do that?!" Court laughed, all hyped up about it.

"It was an accident," she defended weakly.

"How do you accidentally kiss someone? Much less someone you hate?" Allisha deadpanned.

"Wait, wait- how is your girlfriend gon' react about this?" Courtney asked, always so nosy, and proud.

Shakira shrugged, very nervous about it. She didn't know how y/n was gonna act when they talked. She didn't see her smile after it. She just looked appalled. It was hard to tell if she was okay with it or not.  "I have no idea. I'm not lookin' forward to that conversation..."

Skylar wore a knowing smirk, and Kira peeped it but didn't say anything. After everyone left, it was just them. "Somethin's tellin' me, you don't hate her as much as you claim."

Shakira smiled, leaning back in her chair comfortably. "Maybe. You gonna tell anyone?"

She shrugged, "not my secret to tell. But hey, y'all are very cute together."

"Thanks, Sky."

Kira stepped inside her girlfriend's apartment. She locked the door behind her and made her way to the bedroom. The door was creaked open. A Cinderella Story was playing on the TV when she entered. Y/n was laying against the pillows, a bowl of popcorn in her lap. "Hey beautiful. I was gonna order some food but I was waiting for you."

She hummed, walking over and moving to lay down beside her. "Skylar knows."

She reached over to pause the movie, glancing to her girlfriend. "Did you tell her?"

"No. She just figured it out."

"Do the others?"

She shook her head, "I don't think they know."

She nods, moving to rest her head on Kira's shoulders, her arms immediately wrapping around her frame, still a little surprised she didn't mention the kiss. "You're uh...you're not mad?"

She chuckled softly, finding that ridiculous. "No. Why would I be mad?"

"...because I kissed you on TV for the entire world to see."

"It's fine. Diana kissed Simone. It's not like they got dating rumors." She dismissed, not at all bothered by the kiss. It merely caught her off guard. It wasn't like she hated it.

Shakira smiled, her mood turned back up again now that she knew y/n wasn't upset with her. She pulled her closer, bringing one of her legs over hers. "So you liked the kiss?"

She hummed, glancing up with soft eyes and a gentle. "It was good but...I think I need a better one."

She chuckled, leaning down to connect their lips softly, passionately. "You're my favorite secret."

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