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plot: reader leaves ny liberty to commit to france for the olympics

trope: rivals with tension basically

pairings: biracial wbb player x kelsey plum

a/n: was my oc the inspo for this..? yes 😭 this is like if keziyah was a wbb player and the roles were reversed, if u read my kelsey book you know what i mean

..more one-shots to come soon! 🫶

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"You feelin' good about today?" Gabby grinned, throwing her arm around Y/n's shoulders as they walked into their locker room. They'd be playing Team USA for the gold medal today and she hadn't spoken at all the entire ride to the arena.

"I'm feeling lots of things. Hopefully one of them is good." She shrugged, grabbing her team kit hanging up in her locker next to Gabby's. "Don't beat yourself up. That last game wasn't your fault. We still won." She said, reaching for her own stuff. "It's not like I did you any favours though," she muttered.

"You got benched. It happens to the best of us. That foul was bullshit. Don't worry about it anymore. We need our focus on the US tonight. You're our best chance at this. You're the best with 3s. You hardly miss." Gabby said with her usual words of encouragement. Before she could ponder up a response, coach walked in and called her to his office.

She got up and followed him, stepping inside and taking a seat, also accompanied with an assistant coach. "What's this about?" She queried.

"You're not in trouble, so no need to worry. I just want to make sure you understand your position tonight. I do not want to have to remove you for another game." He said with concern creeping in his voice. "That was one little foul, coach. I just needed some room to shoot and she was crowding me!" She pointed out defensively, causing the assistant coach to shoot her a warning look, needing her to calm down.

"Look, it won't happen again. They'll probably put Gray or Young on me tonight and I can keep my cool with them." She assured, leaning back in the chair, still subconsciously twisting the ring on her finger. "Well, we don't think that optimistically. We think you're going to have some troubles tonight. They're going to put the only person who's ever been able to successfully guard you. You need to be prepared for that."

She hummed, pulling her lip between her teeth, hating to even think about her rival in the W. "Kelsey won't be a problem. She hasn't played me in two years. I'm not the same person I once was. She can't get under my skin. Trust me. I can keep my calm."

"Okay, I will trust you. But don't think because this is the finals, that I won't bench you if you cause problems." She nodded firmly at his words, "I understand, coach."

They walked down the hall, Gabby and Y/n walking beside each other as they came closer to the tunnel. "Let's go win some gold, yeah?" She smiled at her words, nodding in agreement. They did their handshake before Gabby ran out when her name was announced. She ran out after her, getting very loud cheers because they looked at her like the one who would be able to end USA's streak. Which was a lot of pressure to have on your shoulders. It was a good thing she had her teammates to help ease it.

She walked over to their bench and sat down, pulling her legs up to cross. A woman handed her a pair of headphones like she normally did before her games. She took them and pulled them on, canceling out the noise in the arena. They didn't bother her, aware of her pregame rituals. That included some calming meditation.

Taking a calming breath, she relaxed and pulled the headphones off, opening her eyes up again. "You ready?" Gabby asked, setting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm ready," she confirmed, handing the headphones back to the woman.

They walked out to the court after USA and turned for the national anthems. It was a little ironic given she was both American and French. She was born in America, and moved to France to live with her mother when she was six after her father died. She played for France since she was a teenager. It was her first basketball family. She only took a leave from them to join the WNBA's New York Liberty because her dad was from New York and she wanted to feel closer to him.

She placed her hand over her chest for the US anthem. She would never forget where she came from. Win or lose, she'd still be making both of her country's proud. That's what her mum told her on the phone before the game. They all put their arms around each other as the France national anthem played next. The audience sung along with them.

Once it was finished, they all turned and walked up to each other to shake hands and exchange pins and such. She went to shake hands with A'ja Wilson but the woman just pulled her into a friendly side hug and they exchanged pins. They understood the whole pressure thing and were often compared throughout the tournament. She also gave a playful smile to her Liberty teammate Breanna. It was definitely gonna be fun to play against Stewie and Sabrina.

The starting line up for each team was announced. For USA it was, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, and A'ja Wilson. For France it was, Marine Fauthoux, Valeriane Ayayi, Gabby Williams, Y/N L/N, and Janelle Salaun.

Walking out to the court, she shared high fives with her teammates before glancing up at the stands, overlooking all the fans and many cutouts of her face funnily enough. "Where is she?" She mumbled to herself, worry beginning to settle in. "Do you see her?" Gabby asked, and she shook her head, a frown on her lips. "I told her not to drive by herself," she spoke in concern.

"Hey, just take a breath and relax. She'll show up. She's probably just running a bit late. You know she'd never miss this. Don't worry," Gabby reassured. She wasn't allowed to ponder on it very long because the game was starting she needed to be in her position. They had Napheesa Collier on her, surprisingly, because Collier had never been very good at guarding her in the W.

The ball went back to France and Gabby passed it to her and she shot the ball for a 3, only to fall short. "Fuck," she muttered, running back to the other side of the court. Breanna would shoot a 2 after that. They failed to get a rebound due to Wilson's pretty good defense, but as they ran back to the court, Breanna missed a layup and went to rebound but Y/n smacked the ball away into Marine's hands.

Unfortunately, Young got a deflection and they had to run back to US's side of the court. Collier passed to Gray who passed to A'ja, the woman making a two. They came back to their side and the ball found it's way into Y/n's hand for the 3, which she missed as it bounced off the rim into A'ja's hand. The ball got back to them but during a pass, the ball hit Y/n's foot, calling the whistle. It went to Breanna, but she ended up traveling the it came back to France.

Y/n got the ball, and she was open for the 3 but given how off they've been, she passed it to an open Gabby. She shot the three and made it in to finally give France some points. The game went on, and nothing super interesting happened, except for a simple foul call. Coach kept her in but replaced Marine with the other Marine, Johannes.

The game resumed and Marine passed to Gabby who ran in to shoot a 2, giving them a 1 point lead. A'ja had the ball but Y/n smacked it from her hand right into Gabby's. They ran back to the opposite side but a foul was called on Chelsea Gray. During a transition, Napheesa and Y/N tripped over each other and a foul was called on her as she was still laying on the court in disbelief.

"How was that on me?" She scoffed, taking Gabby's hand to pull herself up. "I don't know," she shrugged, equally confused with that call as Coach pulled Ayayi out and put Rupert in.

The game resumed, Rupert went for a clean block on Stewart but nope, the refs felt differently about that block. Breanna was given two free throws, both of which she made to give US a one point lead. It was low scoring game and Y/n really did not like that because she knew US was better offensively with putting points on the board. And so far, all her shots had been completely off and it was really unlike her.

She had to depend on her defense, and her defense was pretty good. She was very versatile. Breanna went to the rim but she blocked her former teammate clean. Gabby tried to revive from it but stepped out of bounds with the ball. She couldn't help but smile seeing Stewie shoot her an annoyed look as her teammates were giving her pats of encouragement and support.

But her smile quickly dropped upon seeing who US decided to put in the game. And of course they had Kelsey guarding her. How thoughtful of them. "Good luck with your girlfriend," Gabby teased, patting her shoulder before going to her position. "Very funny," she muttered sarcastically, adjusting her headband as she walked over to get in front of Kelsey.

"You look really distracted," Kelsey commented, searching for who to pass the ball to.

"I'm not," she replied back bitterly and Kelsey used that to throw the ball to A'ja. "If you say so," she shrugged, stepping back in bounds. A'ja tried to shoot but it bounced off the rim and she grabbed it back for a rebound, trying again only for it to bounce off again, right into Y/n's hands. She ran back to her side and passed it to her teammate, who passed to her teammate and then Johannes who went for the 3, only to miss it. Rupert got the ball for a rebound but was blocked from behind and Gabby retrieved it.

After two more failed attempts by Gabby and Johannes, the ball got to Jackie Young. It got to A'ja, but she was fouled by Rupert during a failed attempt for a two. They regrouped and got back to their positions as A'ja was given two free throws, one of which she missed. Y/n got the ball, and passed to a more open Johannes, but they fell short on a two.

France soon got the ball back and Gabby passed to Y/n who was being heavily guarded by Kelsey. She got the ball around her and shot for a two but it bounced off and she tried for the rebound but Breanna got her hands on it first. She got it to Kelsey, who passed to Collier for a two, but it fell short and she was fouled. Coach pulled Gabby out, but still kept Y/n in. US pulled out Breanna out for Alyssa Thomas.

They gave Napheesa two free throws, one of which she made. The ball landed back in Y/n's hand and she wasn't open for the 3 so she passed to Sarah who passed to Johannes for the 3, and she missed. The ball came back to USA, and somehow got to Alyssa who was completely crowded under the basket. She passed to Kelsey, and she fumbled it but got it back. Y/n attempted to get the ball out of her hands but hooked her arm in the process and catched a foul.

"Are you kidding me?!" She turned in disbelief, running over to the nearest ref to argue that call. "I didn't shove her! You made that up!" She argued, but her teammates were quick to grab her and pull her back before she dug herself even further into trouble. "You suck at your fucking job! Bitch." She cursed in French as she walked back to her position, the crowd booing as well.

Kelsey got two free throws and made both, practically rubbing salt in the wound. The ball went to Johannes as they ran back to their side. She passed to Y/n and she ran through the circle, throwing the ball up to get her first points of the 1st QTR. As they ran back to the US side, she couldn't help but look in the stands for her.

Another foul was soon called and Alyssa Thomas got two free throws for it, only making one. The ball got to Y/n and they got back to their side of the court, she and Johannes passing it back and forth. Y/n just got sick of waiting and charged her way through, jumping to throw the ball into the hoop for another two points.

Kelsey got the ball, and pushed her way through, getting the ball to BG who got that in without breaking a sweat. After Johannes missed, it went to Thomas, who passed to BG and obviously she made it in again. The ball went back to France, and Johannes passed it to Y/n who was contemplating on shooting a 3. The time was running out and just before she jumped to shoot, Kelsey made a comment. "How's your mom?"

She faltered for a second, shooting the 3 but it bounced off the rim and the time ran out, ending the 1st QTR 9-15. "Aw, was that my fault, bunny?" Kelsey mocked before running back to her teammates. Johannes walked over to her, putting an arm around her, "don't worry about it. We'll get it back."

Gabby ran over to her, "hey! Look who's here!" She pointed up in the stands behind the bench where her mother was standing, waving her over. "Mum!" She ran past everyone and jumped over the railing to get to her mother. She threw her arms around the much shorter woman. "I got stuck with security, bunny. I'm so sorry!"

"Mum, don't call me that," she whined, looking around to see if anyone heard her.

"Oh shush. You have better things to worry about! Go on now! I'll be right here cheering you on, bunny." She said, pressing a kiss to her cheek and patting her back, pushing her along. Y/n went to jump over the rail again but her mom smacked her arm and pushed her in the direction of the stairs. "I love you!" Y/n blew her a kiss before running down to get to Gabby and Marine.

"Yeah, we're all cheering you on bunny!" Gabby nudged her best friend with a teasing smile. "We can't win without our precious bunny!" Marine added, shaking the taller girl with a laugh. "Fuck off," she scoffed, a smile creeping up her lips as they walked back through the tunnel together.

They came back for the 2nd QTR, and after a failed shot from BG, it came back to France. She retrieved the ball, just in the middle range deciding if she should take the shot. But Kelsey was on her so she passed to her more open teammate. She took the shot, but she missed and it came back to Kahleah Copper who ran in for a two.

Johannes passed to her and she shot for a three and it bounced off but her teammate Alexia caught it for a rebound to get them two points. They high fived as they passed each other. "Don't shoot it, you know you're gonna miss," Y/n spoke, taunting Kelsey. She stepped back and shot it for the three but it bounced off the rim into Johannes hands.

Y/n ran back towards her court quickly and Johannes threw a long pass and she caught it for the lay up whilst dodging Brittney Griner's hand. She could hear her mum cheering the loudest as always. She ran back to the US side getting close enough for Kelsey to hear her, "aw, what that my fault, babygirl?" She mocked.

Alyssa Thomas had the ball and passed to Stewie but the pass was a bit too high so when she jumped she collided with Rupert and the ball fell out of bounds. Coach called Rupert and Johannes out for Gabby and the 19 year old Dominique to check in. Y/n didn't know when she'd be called out and replaced with Lacan next but that was also fine with her. She was prepared to play most of the game.

USA also checked in Jackie for Kelsey so that almost made Y/n relieved cause now she didn't need to worry about Kelsey getting under her skin. There was three more turnovers from what Y/n could recall, it was a very choppy start to her. She remembered what she and Gabby had practiced and wanted to see if she could pull it off and now was the time. She faked the three and launched the ball across the court into Gabby's hands. Gabby shot the three.

After another turnover, Gabby passed to Y/n and she drove in, spun and went inside for a two. The ball came to Aja and she tried for a two, and a rebound but was fouled on her way up. Nothing surprising when you had two people guarding you under the hoop. Soon enough France called a timeout, the scores 18-20 with USA taking the two point advantage.

After Breanna's missed three, Y/n got the ball and passed to her teammate, who passed to Ayayi and she shot them a two. After another missed shot on USA, Y/n gained the ball and passed to Gabby but Breanna jumped in front to grab the ball. She tried for a running two but didn't quite make it in. There was a call for a foul though and she'd get to go to the free throw line. Stewie made one of the two free throws.

A'ja made another two and the ball came back to France. Y/n passed to Badiane but she was too guarded and threw it back. The shot clock was running out so Y/n had to go for the long three. She jumped to shoot the ball, and it swished right in to get the crowd back on their feet, even the men's France team up on their feet cheering for her.

As her teammates ran over to her she looked out in the stands for her mum and put up heart hands for her. Her mum smiled warmly and blew her a kiss. Getting back to the game, it kept on, there was maybe two more turnovers, and a foul on USA'S part. Kelsey was back in the game guarding her instead of Chelsea Gray now.

It was almost a blur when it happened but Gabby ran to the inside for what looked like a two but instead she launched the ball to Y/n and she jumped and shot them a two to give France the lead. With what she could recall was 8 seconds left on the clock, USA had the ball, A'ja ran in for a two, it rolled off the rim and Napheesa hit it back to make a two and tie up the score with France to end the 2nd QTR.

"Tell your mom I said hi," Kelsey said, moving her hand off of Y/n's waist to rejoin her team.

Gabby put her arm around Y/n to tug her away, noticing she was staring at Kelsey a bit too much. "What'd she say to you?" Gabby asked as they walked towards the tunnel for halftime. Y/n didn't answer, not to be rude but just because she was a bit distracted and could barely hear over the noise. She walked over to some security and an assistant coach, "hey, can you guys call my mum to the locker room so I can talk to her?"

After they agreed, she continued walking with Gabby. "She keeps bringing up my mum. There's something she knows," she explained to her best friend. "Really? But she's only met your mum like once," Gabby said in confusion as they walked into the locker room. "I know, that's what's confusing me," she mumbled.

She walked into her assistant coach's office as he agreed to let her use it to speak with her mother privately. Gabby was also present, spinning around in the chair as she thought of more plays. Finally the door opened and her mum Elise walked in with that comforting smile on her face. "Hi darlings. What is this about? Did you need a pep talk because I've never been very good at those but I can try. It was more your father's thing."

"Mum, what have you been up to?" Y/n questioned, getting straight in to it.

"Whatever do you mean, bunny?" Elise frowned in confusion, but Y/n knew when her mum was lying. She always twisted her wedding ring when she was. "Mum, you know how much I hate Kelsey Plum, right? You remember what happened?"

Elise rolled her eyes at her daughter's dramatization. "You get the grudge holding from your father. It was one little tech. How is it her fault that you could not control your temper? Kelsey is a sweetheart." She said with a small shrug of her shoulders. Gabby pursed her lips awkwardly, finding it hard to resist a chuckle.

"A sweetheart? She is anything but a sweetheart. She embarrassed me in front of dad's family." Y/n argued, receiving a bored look from her mother. "You're feelings are valid, but it does not mean you are right. I talked to her and she didn't even know dad's family was there. And even if she did, that ejection was completely on you."

"Why are you defending her? You're always trying to get us to be friends. It's like you think we're gonna be teammates or something," she complained, causing her mother to avert her eyes to the floor. Gabby noticed the reaction and stood up, clearing her throat, "I should go. This looks like family stuff."

"No, you stay," Y/n pulled her back down into the chair and she nodded, sitting there with a small awkward smile.

"Mum...please tell me you approved the contract with Liberty already." Elise sucked in a breath, shaking her head, "I don't think Liberty is best suited for you anymore. There are much better options open for you. Like maybe the WNBA championship team wanting you on their team..."

"Oh, my god. Mother, you didn't. No. I'm not going to the Aces. That's ridiculous. They've been my rivals since I joined the W." Y/n expressed in disbelief. "That would be pretty cool though. You joining your rivals and helping them 3-peat," Gabby added with a supportive smile. She squints at her, "you're not helping." Elise smacked her daughter's arm with a glare, "be nice. Gabby is right. Imagine how great that would be for you."

"I'm not doing it. I'm not signing the contract so cancel whatever meetings you planned for me," Y/n stated stubbornly, taking Gabby's hand and pulling her back up. "Sorry, Ms. Elise," Gabby smiled apologetically before being dragged out by her stubborn best friend.

Gabby pulled Y/n to the side before they could get back to the locker room. "Y/n, seriously, I love you and you're my best friend, but this is a very important game and you cannot play when you're upset. Go apologize to your mum or I'll drag you back in there by your ear. I'm not kidding."

She sighed, "fine, I'll meet you back in the locker room."

"Good bunny," Gabby smiled, patting her cheek with a wink. She laughed sarcastically, pushing her away before going back to see her mum.

When she returned to the locker room in a much better mood, their coach gathered them all around for a talk. They first gave Y/n an applause for her work in the 2nd QTR to which she made sure the whole team was applauded because it was all a team effort. They discussed some more plays and obviously had the usual pep talk from coach. Soon, it would be time to get back out there for the 3rd QTR.

"Hey Y/n, you know your girl Kelsey was flirting with me out there," Alexia said from across the locker room, interrupting the conversation between Y/n and Leila. "Fuck off, no she wasn't," Y/n scoffed in disbelief, cracking a small laugh with her friend. "I'm serious. She was," Alexia insisted, causing Y/n to just shrug, "so what? I don't care. She's not my girlfriend. Flirt back if you want."

"You wouldn't mind if I got her number after the game?" Alexia asked, squinting her eyes.

"I couldn't care less, Lex." Y/n shrugged, getting up and following Marine out of the locker room. "I won't tell you what to do, but if you flirt with Kelsey in any way or even dare to ask her number, I will fight you," Gabby stated firmly before flashing an innocent smile and running out after her best friend.

"I'm so confused. I thought she hated her?" Alexia looked to the other Marine with confusion. "She does, but like we all know she secretly wants her. She's her girlfriend who's not her girlfriend." Leila answered, grabbing Y/n's hair tie that she forgot and quickly rushing out to give it to her.

Beginning of the 3rd QTR, Y/n passed to Ayayi who swished in a two. After that A'ja missed a two and the ball came to France. They passed it back and forth throughout, Gabby attempted a three but it hit the rim bounced off and Y/n luckily regained in. She ran back, just contemplating where she wanted to shoot it. She got closer to the line and shot in a nice three pointer, her teammates on the bench cheering her on.

Ayayi had gotten knocked down by A'ja so Y/n ran over and helped her up. "You good?" She nodded and they returned back to their positions. After a foul was called on Badiane, she noticed Kelsey checking in. Fantastic. The ref tossed her the ball and she threw it to Ayayi before stepping back in bounds. Ayayi passed it to Gabby and she ran towards her, she passed it and Y/n swished in a long three. USA called a timeout.

Gabby ran towards her with a grin, and they did their infamous handshake. "I literally love you, oh my god," Gabby exclaimed, throwing her arms around her and the team joined it in for a group hug.

Back into the game, the checked in Kahleah Copper. Y/n didn't even know if the bench was an option for her anymore seeing as Coach still hadn't checked in Lacan for her. She jumped up to grab the ball as it bounced on the rim when Kah tried for a two. She ran back to her side and tried to pass to Gabby but Kelsey smacked the ball out of bounds mid air.

Y/n groaned in frustration, running a hand down her face but quickly moving back in position to guard Kelsey who now had the ball. She passed to some of her teammates and Y/n got distracted guarding them so she had barely notice Kelsey on the side. She ran over to her just as Kelsey launched the ball towards the bucket. It swished right in for a three. "Too slow. You haven't changed," Kelsey taunted.

Ayayi ran inside for a two but good defense from Stewie threw her off and she missed the shot. Kelsey grabbed onto the ball and ran, throwing the ball to A'ja who laid in an easy two. After some more plays and a foul call, there was a timeout called. She sat down and took a water, leaning forward to listen to her coach because the crowd was very loud and her hearing was quite terrible, yet somehow she always heard Kelsey's little comments.

As she stood up to get back in the game, she was held back. "Lacan's in for you," they said. As much as she was thankful for a break, right now did not seem like the right time especially given USA was finally remembering that they knew how to shoot and not just defend. But she trusted Leila so she didn't argue.

Johannes ran for a layup but was knocked down and the ball came to USA. Kelsey shot a three all as Johannes was still down. She groaned to herself as her team was arguing that a foul should've been called on USA for knocking down Marine.

Getting back to the game Lacan ran in for a beautiful two which gave Y/n energy to actually stand up and cheer. Leila smiled and blew a kiss to her from across the court. Gabby smirked when she seen the annoyance that washed over Kelsey's face at the little interaction. "That's my girl! Let's go!" She shouted with the proudest look on her face. She hadn't even noticed there was a foul called. Leila got one free throw because of it and she obviously made it in.

Stewart ran in for a two, made it in and now it was back to France. Lacan got the ball and ran in, laying in a two for her team. "Yes! Come on, Leila!" Y/n cheered. Kelsey got the ball and her pass to Kahleah was too high so it was yet again another turnover on USA. They checked out Kelsey for Sabrina Ionescu and Stewart for Napheesa Collier.

Y/n took her water bottle as she watched the game continue. After some sips of the cold drink, she grabbed another hairtie to secure her locs. She sighed upon seeing Leila's throw get blocked by A'ja Wilson. Four more points were made by USA and now they were one point up on France.

Wilson got a piece of another block, this time on Gabby. Leila was fouled by Jackie Young. This game was nothing short of entertaining. Coach called Leila out to check Y/n back in as Jackie checked out for Kelsey. She adjusted her uniform and got into position, taking the ball into her hands and throwing it to Sarah.

Soon it was passed back to her by Johannes and she tried for a three but her foot was off balanced and messed up her throw. It didn't help that the crowd cheering thinking she was gonna make it in. That shot really frustrated her. They continued and Copper was fouled by Rupert. That also annoyed her just a bit. "You guys really love fouls," Kelsey said as she stood beside her.

"Keep running your mouth and the next foul is gonna be on you," Y/n shot back, grabbing onto her waist to move her to the side into a better position. "How romantic of you, bunny," she teased, patting her lower back.

Back into the game Napheesa got the next points, and a few more plays happened that she let slip from her mind, only wanting to focus on the good calls being made. There was about 44 seconds left on the clock when she threw the ball to Johannes. She jumped high and shot a three over A'ja Wilson. "There we go, beautiful," she smiled, blowing her a kiss and Marine smiled, blowing one back to her.

"You flirt with all your teammates?" Kelsey asked in a sour tone. "Why? You jealous, ma chérie?" She smirked, a teasing glint in her eye as she hoped to get under her skin. Kelsey just smiled at her, "aw, but isn't ma chérie a name reserved for your lover? Bit scandalous of you to call me that, no? People might start to suspect things." She rolled her eyes, tuning back into the game not giving her the satisfaction of a response.

Five seconds left on the clock later. A'ja had been fouled as she tried for a rebound, nothing short of surprising there. She got two free throws, something that also annoyed her. With the five seconds left, Johannes ran for a half court shot but it was too short and the clock ran out. The score was 43-45 with USA in the lead.

She gathered around with her team, exhaling softly. "We cannot lose tonight."

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"I can't believe I'm doing this," she exhaled, shutting her eyes as she rested her head against the steering wheel. "Would you like a minute alone, bunny?" Elise asked, setting a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it as an attempt to soothe her nerves. "Yeah, you can go in without me. I'll meet you in five minutes, Mum."

"Okay, bunny. Take your time." Elise gave her shoulder a squeeze before stepping out of the car. She walked down the parking lot and used the pass they sent her to enter. After getting directions she made her way up to an office where Nikki Fargas and Becky Hammon would be waiting for her and her daughter. Becky opened the door to let her in, noting the lack of a basketball player with her.

"She will be up in five minutes. She just needed some time to gather herself. It's a tough change for her." Elise explained, taking a seat in one of the chairs. "That's completely fine. We understand." Nikki reassured.

Roughly eight minutes later, she entered the office, a nervous smile on her face. "Bonjour- I mean, hi, sorry for the wait." She stammered out, extending her hand kindly. "That's okay, we get it," Becky reassured. She shook Nikki's hand next before taking a seat next to her mother who immediately took her hand into hers.

Whilst this was all going on, the Aces team were sitting in the locker room gossiping all about it, and mostly just what they thought of Y/n. "What if she says no?" Tiffany questioned aloud, not directed at anymore, more just a pondering moment that escaped her thoughts. "Then we'll just go back to winning without her," Kelsey shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why so negative? Let's all think positive," Sydney expressed, causing them to just shoot her a look.

"Anyways. I think she's gonna say no 'cause she hates KP," Kierstan added with a shrug of her shoulders. "Whoa, hate is a strong word. She's just acts like she dislikes me to cover up the truth," Kelsey corrected. Alysha furrowed her brows in confusion, "and what truth would that be?"

"She likes me," Kelsey smiled, shrugging her shoulder.

"Really? I thought she was feelin' me in that one game," Syd frowned, almost looking offended. "Nah, she just finds you funny," Kelsey chuckled, her words making Syd grin. "Sounds like we gon' get along just fine then."

About thirty minutes later, they were all laughing and joking around when Becky knocked on the door and pushed it open, her and Nikki walking in. "So, I'm sure you're all well aware of who was arriving today.." Becky began, extending her hand and Y/n walked in a slight smirk on her face. "Meet your new teammate, Y/n L/n. She'll be playing with us for the remainder of the season and next."

"Bonjour. I hope we can move on from our past...encounters, and embrace each other as teammates. Either way, I'm just here to play some good basketball." She spoke, trying to sound nonchalant because she was normally a very quiet person compared to her cockiness and arrogance on the court.

A'ja got up first, outstretching her hand to her new teammate. "Welcome to the Aces. We are so happy to have you." She smiled taking her hand, "thank you. That means a lot." The rest of the team went up after A'ja, all greeting her with the same warmness and welcoming A'ja did. Kelsey was last, taking Y/n's hand into hers, both of them smirking at each other, though Y/n had a slight glare to her eyes. "Welcome to the Aces. I'm here if you need anything."

She nodded slightly, "yeah, I'm sure you are." Kelsey smiled to herself as she let go and returned to her locker.

"Are you joining us for practice today?" A'ja questioned. "Uhh, I have my mum with me today-"

"She can stay and watch," Alysha added, really wanting to see how she practiced. "Uh, okay, cool. I'll check with her and if she's cool with it, I'll join y'all for practice." She said, leaving the locker room to get her mother who was waiting in the hall. "Mum, you wanna stay and watch practice?" She asked. Elise stood up with a warm smile, "of course. I would love that, bunny."

Becky and Nikki escorted her mother to the gym as she returned to the locker room to change. She didn't have any her personal training clothes but they already had some for her. Her number on her jersey was 44 as always. Her dad loved that number so that's why she chose it. It was like having a piece of him out there on the court with her.

Alysha was kind enough to show her where her locker was and where everything else was. The locker room was empty now, so she was by herself, just how she liked it. The Liberty team always gave her space, but she had a feeling the Aces weren't like that. She seen many clips of them and she knew they would get on her nerves in the best way.

She changed into some shorts and a muscle shirt because she hated sleeves when she was practicing. It was more of a sensory thing. She had a deal with Nike so those were the shoes she always wore on the court and in practice. On her way to the gym, she realized she didn't know where to go. Luckily, Kate Martin found her in the hall. "Are you lost?"

"Uh, yes, I believe so." She chuckled awkwardly, and Kate snickered lightly, "I'll show you the way. Don't worry, I got lost a lot when I first got here." She reassured kindly.

They walked down to the gym and immediately did she see Kelsey talking to her mother, and of course Elise was just eating up whatever she was saying. She never understood why her mum liked Kelsey so much. She swore that woman could do no wrong in her mum's eyes. "Bunny! Come here!" Elise called, waving her over.

"Mum, stop calling me that." She groaned, walking over to where her mum sat.

"Oh hush." Elise pulled her to sit down, her other hand still set on Kelsey's shoulder. "I just invited Kelsey to join us for dinner tonight. That sounds wonderful, does it not?" Her face dropped, jaw clenching slightly, "uh, you mean dinner at my apartment or at a restaurant?" Elise scoffed lightly, "at your apartment of course. Don't worry darling, I'll cook tonight."

"Why can't we just invite the whole team? Why just her?" She questioned through gritted teeth. "Everyone else is busy," Kelsey shrugged, a smile settled on her face. "I wasn't talking to you." She scowled, and Elise hit her arm, shooting her a glare, "enough. Where are your manners?"

"Back in France where I should've stayed," she retorts sarcastically, getting up and walking away.

"She'll come around. Don't worry." Elise assured, patting Kelsey's shoulder.

»»

"Come in, darling. She's just upstairs getting all dolled up." Elise spoke, pulling the door open wider for Kelsey to step inside. "It smells good in here," she comments, kicking off her shoes to put to the side where the others were. "Thank you, though I suppose it'll smell good no matter what. Bunny is a bit of a clean freak. Gets it from her father."

"That makes sense. She always smells really good during the game," Kelsey smiled, following the older woman into the kitchen. The apartment was super clean and even the moving boxes were organized in the living room. The kitchen and the dining room were all set up so clearly it was more prioritized than the living room. "Excuse the boxes, we're still unpacking."

"Are you gonna be living with her?" Kelsey asked, taking a seat on one of the stools as Elise attended to the food.

"Oh dear god, no. I actually leave tomorrow morning. I just wanted to make sure she went through with the contract. I'll still be living in France. It's too...painful, to live in the states." Elise explained, and Kelsey nodded, understanding her reasoning. "Anyways, enough about me. How have you been? I heard about the divorce. And don't feel obligated to talk about it if you wish not to."

Kelsey shrugged nonchalantly, "It's okay. I'm honestly really over it. I wish I could say it was a mutual divorce, but it wasn't. We had lots of problems and I just didn't feel like putting in the effort to fix them."

"Makes sense," Y/n mumbled as she stepped into the kitchen, pulling her cardigan close to her. Kelsey scoffed under her breath, "what's that supposed to mean?" She smiled, leaning against the counter to face her, "it means what you think it means. You just don't know how to fight for what you want." Elise sighed at her daughters taunting words.

Kelsey wasn't as fazed, just leaning forward with a small smile rested on her lips, "yeah, and what makes you think I wanted him? What if I wanted someone else?"

"Then maybe you should fight for them, 'cause acting all nonchalant won't get the job done," she shot back just before her mother pulled her back so she wasn't so close to Kelsey anymore. "That's enough of that. Show our guest to the dinning room. I'll bring the food in." Elise instructed.

"Fine. Come with me." She spoke through gritted teeth, still really on the edge about this whole dinner. She couldn't wait for it to be over. The only thing she wanted to be with Kelsey was teammates, and nothing more. She didn't want a friendship with her. She felt that would just be unnecessary. This whole thing was a waste of time to her anyways. It's not like one dinner would change anything. She would still go to bed hating her.

She took a seat at her new table, not bothering to pull out a chair for her guest. Kelsey just internally rolled her eyes as she pulled out the chair across Y/n and sat down. "How do you feel about Vegas?" She asked, attempting to start a conversation even if it was small. "It looks ugly in the day time. I hate the heat. But I do enjoy the casinos and clubs so there's that," she answered bluntly.

"Clubs? You actually go to clubs? You?" Kelsey blinked, the idea bringing disbelief.

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes, actually. Who knew you could have fun," Kelsey snickers and she just rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry- it's just, you're really stuck up most of the time." She just blinked at her words, "how is that an apology? You just insulted me again." Kelsey pursed her lips, shaking her head, "does it really count as an insult if it's true?"

"I'm not stuck up! If anyone's stuck up, it's you!" She argued defensively.

"You're really easy to anger," Kelsey mumbled, leaning forward on her elbows with a small smile.

Before she could reply to that, her mum walked in, holding a large serving dish of pasta. "Bunny, go be a dear and fetch the wine and breadsticks." She nodded, quickly getting up to do that. "Would you like to know why we call her bunny? It's the cutest little story," Elise spoke, serving Kelsey some of the pasta because she insisted on it.

Kelsey grinned, "I would love to hear it."

"One morning, we were lounging about in the family room and Y/n asked to put a movie on. Her father put on Alice in Wonderland. Y/n never finishes movies but she did on this one and she became obsessed with it. She'd watch it all the time. We thought she was obsessed with Alice.." Y/n walked in with a heavy sigh, knowing the story, "but she was obsessed with the rabbit. Why are you telling her this story? It's so embarrassing."

"It's not embarrassing. It's a special memory of your life from the time your father was still with us. He's the one who gave you the name, not me." Elise said, ushering her to sit down.

The dinner was surprisingly nice, though most of it consisted of Elise and Kelsey chatting and Y/n adding in a comment every few minutes. "It's quite late. I should get to bed." Elise yawned tiredly, pushing out her chair. "Thank you so much for joining us for dinner. It was lovely." She said towards Kelsey with a thankful smile. "Thank you for inviting me. This was really nice."

"Goodnight, lovelies. Make sure you wash the dishes, bunny." Elise said, pressing a kiss to her cheek before excusing herself. She stood up to gather all the dishes and Kelsey did the same. "Oh- you don't have to help. I've got it." Kelsey shrugged, "it's the least I can do. Just let me help, okay? Don't be so stubborn."

"I'm not stubborn. I just don't like you." She scoffed, carrying out the dishes to the kitchen and setting them in the sink to rinse. "Why don't you like me? Give me one good reason." Kelsey asked, leaning against the counter with curious. She switched off the water and turned to face her, "because you're an asshole, on and off the court. You literally got me suspended."

Kelsey scoffed, running her hand down her face in exasperation. "Are you seriously gonna pretend that's what this is about? This has nothing to do with the playoffs. Tell me the real reason you hate me, cause we both know it has nothing to do us on the court."

"You want to know why I hate you? I hate you because you gave me the best and worst night of my life and then you left without so much as a goodbye. You said you cared about me and you went right back to that boyfriend of yours like I didn't even exist to you. Because that is what you do. You make me fall for you, and then you just leave when I don't fit your straight girl agenda. That's why I hate you, Kelsey. So, I would really appreciate if you just leave my apartment." She wiped her eyes before turning back around to the sink.

Kelsey pursed her lips, shrugging her shoulder slightly, "you don't hate me. I know you don't hate me."

"Are you serious?" She scoffed in disbelief, turning off the water again and turning around to look at her. "You can't even accept that someone actually holds genuine hate for you." Kelsey nods, "yeah, cause I know you don't actually hate me." She rolled her eyes, finding this unbelievable, "and what makes you think that?"

"You searched for me after the game. You were in tears and you still searched for me. Not your mom, not Gabby, not your coach, just me. You just wanted me. That's not the behavior of someone who hates me." Kelsey stated, very sure of herself, and obviously Y/n couldn't even meet her eyes. The Olympics loss was still very fresh, and it still affected her so the fact that she brought it up so casually took her back a little. She couldn't even remember the 4th QTR because she completely blocked it out. That's how much that loss hurt her.

"So what? That doesn't prove anything." She dismissed. Kelsey sighed in exasperation, "okay, clearly we're not getting anywhere here. So, what do you want me to do? Do you want an apology?"

"No, I want you to take fucking accountability." She expressed in frustration, going over to her, leaving hardly any space between them as she pushed her against the counter. "I want you to admit that you hurt me. I want you to be sorry. Is that so hard, Kelsey? Is it so hard to treat me with some fucking respect? How would you like it if I just fucked you and left like it meant nothing, huh?" She leaned closer with a daring look, their breathing intensifying.

"I am sorry. I am. Okay? I didn't mean to hurt you like that, baby." Kelsey spoke, moving her hands up to cup her face gently, bringing her closer. "You don't mean it," she breathed out, their lips just an inch apart. "Yes I do." Her hand slipped around her waist before switching them around until her back hits the counter. She pressed up against her, one thigh slipping between her legs before she brought their lips together in a heated kiss.

Kelsey smiled against her lips, slowly sliding her hand underneath her sweatpants, "you forgive me yet?"

"Fuck me and I'll think about it."

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