𝙼𝙾𝙾𝙽 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺. 𝙿𝙰𝙸𝙶𝙴 𝙱𝚄𝙴𝙲𝙺𝙴𝚁𝚂

Bonus III

A/N: Warning: long ass chapter and amongst other things ;) also, last bonus chapter for Moon and Back, so I'm sorry if I missed anything and if there are any mistakes.

NCAA Tournament Championship 2025

The arena was electric. A raw, unfiltered roar pulsed through the air, rising like a tidal wave as the final buzzer blared and the scoreboard sealed history. Thousands of fans erupted from their seats, their cheers overlapping into a single, thunderous wall of sound that seemed to rattle the rafters.

It was overwhelming. It was alive. The building itself seemed to pulse with joy, an organism of noise and light and relentless, riotous celebration.

But Paige wasn't hearing it.

Not when she had won the most important game of her life. Not when her life long goal was finally fulfilled. Not when after so many ups and downs and so many hardships, she could finally leave UConn knowing that she left on a very positive note.

If you would've told Paige five years ago that she had left UConn with a ring—she would've shrugged her shoulders because from the beginning she knew that she wasn't leaving without that ring.

Now, if you would've told her that in her final year at UConn she would fall in love with a girl, more specifically, her teammate and closest friend, Aubrey Griffin's younger sister, she would've laughed straight in your face.

Yet here she was, looking for her in the sea of friends, family, reporters and cameramen that had swarmed the court.

She was already wrapped in hugs by her mom, dad, brothers and sister and everyone else. She was congratulated, by coaches, past and present—hugged by Geno with a rare mist in his eyes, clapped on the back by assistants, kissed on the cheek by her high school coach who'd flown in just for this.

The fans were still cheering, some confetti still falling, coating the court in multiple colors. Cameras flashed everywhere, people crowding everyone, yet all that faded beneath the weight of one thing: she hadn't seen her yet.

Paige scanned the crowd again, heart pounding harder than it had all this time.

Then there, wrapped in a tight hug from Aubrey, she saw those familiar braids, that outfit she'd seen her in before they departed from each other.

Paige didn't wait.

She was already moving, her body moving before her head could even process it. Brushing past people, muttering her 'excuse me' even though they seemed worthless to use over the loud noise.

And once Aubrey opened her watery eyes, she could see Paige approaching. And with a smile on her lips, she pulled back just in time for Paige to wrap her arms around Azalea from behind, gently lifting her off the group as she tucked her head in the crook of Azalea's neck, spinning once or twice as she heard the familiar sound of Azalea's beautiful laughter.

Azalea's head tilted back against Paige's shoulder, her laughter contagious and soft as she held onto Paige's strong arms tightly, though she knew that Paige would never let her fall.

Right now Paige couldn't care less about the thousands of fans watching, the cameras filming and capturing every moment, about Azalea's family being right there because Azalea was right here.