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plot: reader grows a crush on her olympic teammate sabrina ionescu

trope: friends to lovers

pairings: wbb black reader (jackie's younger sister) x sabrina ionescu

a/n: been obsessing over sab lately xx

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"You need to open up your wallet for once, Jackie," y/n expressed in exasperation, handing the bag of food to her sister as she climbed into her Mercedes. "Nah, that's what you for," Jackie retorts, pulling out the container to eat. They were on their way to pick up their friend Kahleah Copper at the airport. She was picked for the USA team as well, so y/n offered to pick her up the airport since the training camp was in Vegas where she obviously lived.

"Why'd you get extra?" Jackie asked, seeing the fourth container after she was only supposed to get three.

"It's for Kelsey's girlfriend," she answered.

"Hate for you to find out from me, but you bought this for no reason 'cause she already left Vegas. She on tour, remember?" Jackie chuckled at her mess up, taking another bite of the taco. Y/n sighed again, "then I guess I'll give it to Diana."

"That's racist."

Y/n turned her head, completely baffled by the accusation. "How is that racist? Diana's always eatin' somethin'." Jackie chuckled again, "you talkin' 'bout offerin' a hispanic some tacos." She scoffed, now realizing Jackie was just fucking with her. "First of all- that's not funny. Second of all, she's Argentinian and these are Mexican tacos so it's not at all the same. Trust me, I been to Argentina and there's a clear difference in the tacos."

"I thought that taco place was Puerto Rican?" Jackie queried.

"You probably right."

They got to the airport and parked in the lot. She shot Kah a text to let her know she was there and where she was parked at. A minute later, Kahleah was running over to the car, and they jumped when she came out of nowhere knocking on the window. She rolled it down, holding a hand over her chest, "you scared the shit outta me, Kah! You don't come outta nowhere knockin' on people's windows."

"My bad," Kah chuckled, still catching her breath a little bit. "You got room for another?"

"Uh, yeah? What's up? You bring a friend?" Y/n asked, brows scrunched in curiosity.

"Somethin' like that..." Kah trailed off, and that's when Jackie grabbed her sister's chin to turn her head. Straight ahead was Sabrina Ionescu, struggling to pull both of Kah's suitcases with her own two. Jackie was quick to get out and help her as y/n kinda just stared at her. "Her plane landed after mine and she was gonna Uber but I said she could just come with us since we goin' to the same place," Kah explained.

"Oh, okay. That's cool with me," she nodded, and Kah smiled, moving to help them with the luggage. Everything fit in the trunk, and then they climbed into the backseat and Jackie back in the passenger. Sab leaned over with a smile, grabbing y/n's attention, "I just wanted to say thank you for being okay with me coming. You have no idea how appreciative I am."

"It's no problem. I'm sure you'd do the same for me," y/n replied coyly.

"I would," Sab smiled softly, giving her shoulder a small squeeze before sitting back in her seat.

"I smell food. Did y'all go to that place I told you about?" Kah asked, leaning over the seat cause she knew Jackie had it. "Yeah, it's good," Jackie spoke, sipping on her drink she made her sister buy before picking her up. She took out the box and handed it over to Kah, along with a bottle of water. "You like Puerto Rican food?" Jackie asked, looking back at Sabrina.

"Yeah, I had it maybe once and it was really good," Sab answered.

"Y/n got an extra one for Kelsey's girlfriend so you can take it instead," Jackie said, picking up the box and passing it to Sab. "Thank you. Are you sure she won't mind?" Kah nodded, "yeah, she's on tour, remember? I think she's supposed to be performing in Thailand tomorrow."

"Really? You guys think she's gonna make it to the finals at least?" Sab asked, opening her box to eat the food as she felt like she was starving. Airplane food wasn't very good at times. "She's got a show the day before the game is scheduled so I'm not sure," Jackie added with an uncertain shrug.

"Well, I think she is. If I were her, I would jump on a flight immediately after the show just to see my girl win gold. You can never go wrong with a good grand gesture." y/n stated bluntly, glancing in the mirror for a split second to see Sabrina, but they made eye contact and she immediately put her eyes back on the road. Sab smiled to herself, "so, you like grand gestures, huh?"

"Yeah. You don't?" She raised a brow, glancing at her in mirror and they made eye contact once more.

Sab took a bite of her food and shrugged, "depends on who's doing it."

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It was day three in training camp. Everyone was working super hard and so far, it seemed everyone had pretty good chemistry so it was easier to work together as a team. Kelsey seemed to be having a difficult day, so y/n being the caring person she was, had decided they were gonna have a sleepover. Somehow the word had gotten to Stewie, and she ended up telling one of the girls, which is how it came to Sabrina finding out.

That's where they currently were. Sabrina was asking y/n if she could join them. She wasn't even sure why Sab would ask. It's not like she was best friends with any of the Aces players...given the history between the two teams. So, she was confused about Sabrina's sudden interest in them. Though, A'ja did say it was good for them to be friendly with each other off the court.

"Soo...can I go?"

"Uh, I mean, if Kels is okay with it-"

"I'm cool with it." Kelsey spoke- practically coming out of nowhere and pulling open the passenger door.

Sab smiled, happily pulling open the backseat door to climb in. Y/n just hummed, walking around her car to climb in the driver's seat. "I invited Syd. She's lonely," Kelsey mumbled, her eyes glued to the phone as she waited for a text back from her girlfriend. "Why is she lonely?" Sab asked, looking to y/n because Kelsey's head was clearly somewhere else.

"Her girlfriend is out of state," y/n explained.

"Mine is out of the country," Kelsey muttered, tossing her phone into her bag with frustration coursing in her movements. Y/n went to speak but she was only cut off, "-I don't know why I encouraged her to go on tour. I am so stupid. I even helped her create the stage. Now she's never home, and she barely has time to call- let alone text me."

"I thought it was sweet that you encouraged her to tour for her fans one last time," Sab added to help with her sour mood. She knew Kelsey didn't actually regret it. She was clearly just missing their time together. Kelsey smiled, remembering the night she helped create the stage- which had totally been by mistake but she knew it was all worth it. "True...but I still miss her."

"I'm sure she misses you too," y/n added sympathetically.

In that second, Kelsey's phone began to ring and she immediately grabbed it and answered the call excitedly. They chatted the whole way to the house and Kelsey's mood had significantly changed, but the second her girlfriend had to hang up, it was saddened again. Y/n was hoping Sydney could help cheer her up. In fact, as they entered y/n and Jackie's shared house, they could here Syd was already there by her loud music echoing the halls.

Y/n walked into the kitchen, noticing her cat Hero laying on top of the cabinets as Syd was rummaging through her friend's fridge. "I thought Jackie was playin' when she said you live off ramen and energy drinks. You ain't got shit in this fridge but that and hot sauce. We gotta order in," she expressed in exasperation.

"I didn't know it was a crime to not know how to cook," y/n muttered bitterly.

"My girlfriend cooks," Kelsey frowned, her eyes dropping in sadness, sitting in the stool as Syd smacked y/n's arm for the comment. "I can order a pizza," Sab suggested, setting a hand on Kelsey's back with comforting pats to her back. As soon as she said that, the doorbell rang. "You expectin' someone?" Sab asked, directed towards y/n with a tight smile on her lips.

"Uh..not that I know of." She walked down to the front door and pulled it open, immediately raising her brows at the huge bouquet of flowers sitting on her porch. She picked them up and carried them to the kitchen, all three of them turning to her with collective thoughts of confusion. "You got a secret admirer?" Syd joked, and y/n rolled her eyes, "as if anyone would like me enough to send me these expensive ass flowers."

"Does it have a name card?" Sab asked, walking over and searching to bouquet for one. She located it quickly and smiled at the name. "No secret admirer. Just Kelsey's girlfriend being a sweetheart." Kelsey shot up from the stool and grabbed the heart shaped bouquet box with urgency, left hand picking out the card to read it. "Oh, my god."

Syd scoffed in offense, "why didn't I get flowers?"

"Be serious," she deadpanned.

Outside the house, A'ja parked the car and Jackie thanked her for the ride before climbing out with her bag. She was very annoyed with her sister completely leaving her behind. She must've forgotten they carpooled together. It wasn't the first time this has happens- and each time, it was just as annoying. She walked over to the door and pushed it open, groaning at the fact that her sister had yet again left it unlocked.

Stepping inside, she shut the door behind her and locked it, then kicked off her shoes and pushed them to the side. She could hear the chatter in the kitchen and headed to it so she could confront her sister. "What if these are guilt flowers?" Y/n suggested quietly and Syd shot her a look, "you tryna call KP's girl a cheater?"

"I mean...who sends their girl some expensive ass flowers randomly? There's gotta be a reason...and Kez ain't exactly the face of loyalty." Y/n expressed, receiving a glare from Syd. And unfortunately Kelsey heard her say that, and she was not gonna let it slide. "Just 'cause you've been single all your life, don't mean you can shit on other people's relationships. You've clearly never been loved before 'cause random flowers are very common when your partner loves you."

"Preach," Jackie mumbled, glad someone finally told off her sister 'cause she always had too much to say.

"Sorry- that was rude of me. I just hate when people try to label her a cheater. I really didn't mean to snap at you like that," Kelsey said apologetically. She smiled softly, not taking it to heart, "it's fine, Kels. I shouldn't have said that. Guess I was just projectin' 'cause of my own issues."

"Got that right," Jackie comments again, opening the fridge to grab herself a water.

Y/n rolled her eyes in annoyance, "I thought you was stayin' wit' A'ja?" Jackie scoffed, wondering where she heard that, "no? I own half of this house, y/n. I'm not just gon' leave for your convenience." She retorts and opened the water before sending a small smile to Kels, "I'll be in my room. Let me know if you need anything, Kels." She patted her shoulder in support before turning to leave. "Oh yeah, just ignore your other teammate standing right here," Syd says in exasperation.

"Pizza should be here soon," Sab added, and Kelsey got up and picked her up box of flowers. "I'm gonna set these in the living room." Sab perked up at her words, "I'll join you."

"We should watch a movie," Kelsey proposed, walking down to the living room as the rest of them just followed her. "Have y'all watched squid games yet?" Y/n asked, sitting down on her couch and Sabrina not-so-subtly pushed Syd out the way so she could sit next to her. "I watched it with my girlfriend. Did you know she's gonna be in season two?" Kelsey smiled at thought of her, gently setting down the box of flowers.

"I didn't know that. Let's hope she doesn't die first," y/n joked and Sab nudged her arm, "you can't say that." She winced, shooting Kels an apologetic smile, "my bad."

They ended up watching a movie of Kelsey's choosing and towards the end, her and Syd were knocked out. Y/n was still awake and surprisingly, Sabrina stayed up with her. She got up and turned off the TV, then began to pick up the trash and pizza box left on the coffee table. Sabrina got up to help her and they carried it to the kitchen to throw away. "This was really sweet of you to do for Kelsey."

"She did the same for me when I was going through my own share of problems. It's the least I could do for her," she replied, brushing it off with a shrug as she walked around the kitchen island to pour herself a glass of Hennessy as she'd probably be staying up a little longer than she planned. Sab really admired how much she cared for her friends well-beings. "Still, you're a really good friend. I didn't even notice she was so down until you pointed it out."

"Well, you're not exactly best friends with any of us so I didn't expect you to," y/n mumbled, and Sab blinked at her little attitude towards her. "I'm sorry- did I do something to offend you? You've been pretty hostile to me all day and I don't understand why?"

Y/n sighed, running her hand down her face in exasperation, "look, I don't even know why you're here, okay? You've never liked us. Just 'cause we teammates now don't mean that automatically makes us best friends. You're the entire reason I tore my acl at the height of my career." Sab frowned, a little hurt by her words, "I said I was sorry, y/n. You know I didn't mean to trip you. It was an accident, a really bad one, and if I could go back and change what happened- I would in a heartbeat."

Her eyes fell, the overwhelming feeling or guilt bubbling up in her stomach, and she went to speak but Sab spoke again. "I came here 'cause I wanted us to get to know each other outside of basketball. You don't have to be my friend, but I want us to at least find some common ground. And if you're not up to that, I can go."

She wanted to say no, and push her away, but the last thing she needed was tension with her USA teammate. She wasn't too sure about becoming friends, but- as A'ja told her before, a little common ground wasn't so bad. "I'm open to that."

Sab smiled softly, but quickly dropped it so she didn't seem so soft. "That's good. Uh, what's your favorite color?"

Y/n chuckled, patting the stool beside her and Sab was quick to take a seat. "I don't have a favorite color. I'm indecisive."

Sab stifled a laugh, "indecisive?"

"Don't laugh! You can't laugh!"

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They were in Paris, France for the 2024 Olympics, currently getting ready to play against Belgium.

They were growing significantly closer, and y/n was starting to feel things...that weren't...friend only vibes. Only her Aces teammates knew about it 'cause they cornered her and she spilled. A'ja and Chelsea constantly teased her about it as Kelsey was always trying to set them up together. For example, they went out to dinner, Kelsey was sat next to Sabrina and she would immediately make y/n switch seats so they could sit together.

The whole time y/n was dealing with the teasing of her friends, Sabrina was going through the same thing with hers. Stewie constantly teased her, and don't even get her started on Kah. But, it was entirely her fault that Kah even found out. She knew Kah and y/n were close friends so she ended up asking her a few questions about y/n and that's how she picked up on the crush. Honestly, the whole team knew- even the coach, but they were very oblivious of it.

As of now, they were arriving at the bus and y/n had cut in front of Jewell to get on the bus first because she liked to sit in the very back by the window. While she was doing that, Sabrina quickly cut in front of Jewell so she could find her seat next to y/n. Jewell frowned at their audacity, "bruh? Y'all could've at least said 'excuse me' damn." Jackie snickered in amusement, nudging her to hurry up 'cause she was holding up the line.

"What are you doing?" Sab asked, peeking over y/n's shoulder with curious eyes.

Y/n pursed her lips awkwardly, "drawing. It helps with the pre-game nerves."

Sab smiled, "that's cute."

"It is?"

"Yeah. I typically throw up when I'm nervous so I'm not really one to judge," Sab shrugged, and y/n couldn't help but chuckle at the reference. "Throwing up is genuinely terrifying..so it's definitely not for me."

She chuckled softly, peeking over her shoulder again but y/n was hiding the book under her leg. "What are you drawing? C'mon, don't hide it from me! I won't judge you, I promise." Y/n sighed, pulling the book from under her leg to show the blonde. She took it into her hands and smiled, raising a brow at her friend, "Simone Biles?" She nodded awkwardly, her braids falling over her face in attempt to hide her flustered appearance.

"You got a crush on her?" Sab questioned, glancing down at the drawing once more. Y/n pushed her braids from her face, and took the book back into her hands before Sab tried to skip to another page- which she was not about to let happen. "It's Simone Biles. You can't blame me. She's....perfect, and even more prettier in person."

Sab smilled, holding her hands up in fake surrender, "hey, I'm not judgin' you. If she was my type, I'd definitely have a crush on her. But, I typically go for taller people." Y/n remained pretty calm, but in her head those words were definitely making her freak out. Taller people? She was tall people, right? Well...more like an inch taller than Sab but it still counted! So why did she find herself asking the dumbest question ever. "What is your type?"

"Y/n! Kez wants to say hi!" Saved by the bell? Nope. More like saved by Kels...or Kez, apparently? It's almost like she heard Sabrina needed a save.

Kelsey leaned over the seat and held out the phone to her friend. Y/n took it into her hand and held it to her ear. "What's up, Kez?" She greeted. "Ain't nothin' up over here. But, I hear you got a lot goin' on over there..with Sabrina? That's a hard one to bag. How's it goin' so far? Y'all kissed yet?" Y/n almost wanted to roll her eyes at the teasing undertones from the singer. "I'm not answering that."

"Aw, you're still stuck in the friend phase. I went through the same thing with Kels...only I bagged her way faster than this. But, don't worry, eventually one of you will give in, trust me, I'm an expert in this." Kez gloat in a cocky tone, typical behavior from her. "I'm sure you are, Kez. Is that all? Cause yo' girlfriend is lookin' at me like I'm stealin' up her minutes."

"When's the last time you had sex? You're snappier than usual." She asked with a concerned frown on her face.

"Oh, my god. Goodbye, Kez." Y/n quickly pushed the phone back in Kels hand and she chuckled in amusement before sitting back down.

"What was that about?" Sabrina queried.

"You don't wanna know."

» »

It was the 3rd QTR against Belgium when Y/n got fouled really bad, I'm talking fully elbowed in the face during a rebound fouled. She hit the floor pretty hard- the other girl landing on top of her which didn't help the circumstances at all. Even when she could barely see, she still managed to shove the girl off her, "fuck off me," she sneered.

Sab grabbed her arm to pull her up, the other girl's teammates helping her up also. "Fuckin' bitch, man," y/n spat, feeling like her eye got knocked out of its socket. Sabrina got in front of her to check on her eye and before she knew it, the girl had grabbed her arm to push her out of the way. "What the fuck?" She winced, almost losing her balance but y/n was quick to steady her.

"Don't fuckin' touch her." Y/n let Sab go and pushed the girl back even harder so she fell harshly onto the floor. Her teammates rushed to pull her away, and Alyssa started talking her shit to one of the other girls when they tried to get involved. DT stood back watching it all unfold with a grin on her lips. They were both ejected from the game, unsurprisingly. It felt pretty worth it to Y/n though. She was never one to take anyone's bullshit.

Jackie checked in for her. She sat at the bench and Kelsey made sure someone got an ice pack for her eye. Y/n winced as Kels took the ice and pressed it to her eye to help with the swelling. She was definitely gonna have a black eye but at least it wasn't worse than that. "I can hold it myself," she frowned, feeling like she was being babied. "Then stop tryna move away," Kels scolded, grabbing her hand to put it over the ice.

She huffed, holding the ice to her eye. She glanced up from the floor to pay attention to the game. The amount of booing in the arena towards the USA was honestly giving her a headache. The fourth QTR passed by fast, and they were up by many points. They were down to the final seconds and Sab was wide open in the long range- the buzzer was gonna go off so she shot the three and held a finger up to her lips to silence the hostile crowd.

"That was hot," y/n whispered under her breath.

Back in the locker room, she was one of the lasts to change 'cause coach had pulled her away for a scolding about getting into fights. It annoyed her to some extent because she didn't even get physical until the girl put her hands on Sabrina. It's not like anyone else wouldn't have done the same thing. She stood up after lacing her shoes and Sab walked over to her. "I know you got in trouble, but if it helps- I just want you to know, it means a lot that you stood up for me like that."

"Yeah- that makes me feel a little better," y/n mumbled shyly in reply.

"In case you haven't figured it out yet. That last shot was for you. I know how much you love grand gestures." Sab smiled, pressing a kiss to her cheek and walking out, rendering her speechless. She genuinely couldn't muster up a single thought.

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It was an eventful night. They played Nigeria, and celebrated y/n's birthday. She even shot the game winner. Despite being away from her other friends and family in the US, she had a really good birthday with her teammates in Paris.

"Night, lil sis." Jackie hugged her sister before going back down the hall to get to her own room. They all had their own personal rooms staying in the Olympic village, obviously. Y/n was unlocking her door when she was tapped on the shoulder by Sabrina. "Hey, what's up?" She greeted, pulling her hands together masking her nervousness.

"We didn't really get a lot of time to talk today so I never got to say happy birthday. But, I had also gotten you something and well- I obviously didn't get a chance to give it to you." She rambled anxiously, holding the box in her hands, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"That's really nice of you. Thanks," y/n smiled warmly, unlocking her door and pushing it open with her foot. "Did you wanna come in?"

"Sure," Sab nodded, and she followed her inside. Y/n quickly picked up all her clothes discarded on the floor. She was in a rush this morning so that explained the mess. On most days, she was a clean person. "Sorry 'bout the mess. I was in a rush this morning," she mumbled, throwing all of the clothes back into her suitcase as Sab sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's okay. My room is currently a disaster so I'm in no position to judge."

She kicked off her shoes and coat before she was finally ready to sit down. She didn't sit too close to Sab 'cause she didn't want to weird her out or anything. Sabrina handed her the box, their fingers brushing together as y/n took it into her hands. She unwrapped the bow tie and pulled open the box, her eyes widening at the diamond bracelet. "I noticed you wear a lot of jewelry so I figured you might like it," Sab explained, searching her eyes for a positive reaction.

"It's gorgeous. I love it. You really didn't have to get me anything though-"

"I wanted to," Sabrina persisted, gaining a smile from her. "Thank you, Sab. It means a lot." She went in for a side hug but Sabrina fully embraced her, and y/n swore she felt her inhale her scent when her face was buried into her neck. When they pulled away, Sab took the box to pull the bracelet out, wanting for her to try it on just so she was sure the sizing was right.

Y/n hooked it on and smiled in satisfaction, "perfect fit."

In those seconds, the room grew quiet and the more Sab looked at her, the more she needed to confess. And y/n was thinking the exact same thing. "I need to tell you somethi-" "I like you-" they both paused, and y/n really wanted to rewind what she said but the embarrassment already set in and she couldn't control what came out of her mouth next. "I like you, way more than a friend. I really don't mean to make this awkward- I just felt like you should know 'cause we're teammates and-"

Her words were immediately cut off when Sabrina leaned in and pressed their lips together, her hands gently cupping her face in a delicate hold. It went from soft and sweet to desperate and greedy with a quickness. The blonde wasn't wasting no time. She climbed onto her lap and pulled away to lift her shirt over her head, discarding it to the floor carelessly.

"Sure you don't wanna take this slow?" She mumbled through the kisses, feeling Sab tugging on her shirt with a desperate whine.

Sab pulled away and lifted y/n's shirt over her head, throwing it so the side. She attached her lips to her neck, subconsciously grinding into her, "no. I need you now."

Now this was her element. "You need me, baby?" She teased, reaching behind her back to unhook her bra. Before Sab could utter a response, she was flipped onto her back within a second. She smiled, resting her head back against the soft pillow. "Did I mention I had two presents for you, birthday girl?"

"Oh yeah? And what's present number two?" She smirked, pushing a knee between her legs. She was gonna take her time and enjoy every second of this.

Sab leaned up, breath fanning over her soft lips, "me."

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