Chapter Text
February 2026
All year long Azzi Fudd had tried to tune out mock-draft buzz in favor of locking in on her final collegiate season, but at times it was impossible to escape the noise. Early in the new year, the league (finally) sorted out the lengthy CBA negotiations. Like any sane fan of women’s basketball, she’d turned on news alerts notifications to see where free agents signed in the aftermath. That also meant that she’d get the occasional alert about fellow prospect’s statlines, Unrivaled updates, and trades. One morning, she opened her laptop for a Madison Reed Zoom meeting and was bombarded by notifications one after the next. As she moved quickly to turn on “Do not Disturb”, the ESPN banner flashed across her screen…
“Curt Miller trades Wings’ #1 Draft Pick to Expansion team Portland Fire”
“Holy fuck,” she muttered before realizing she’d forgotten to mute the call.
“Everything ok, Azzi?” her boss questioned.
“Um, y-yup I’m so sorry about that my phone is blowing up. Turning it off now,” she replied, fumbling to turn her phone off and avoid thinking about what that might mean for her future after UConn.
Portland lingered in Azzi’s head long after the meeting finally ended. She closed her laptop and leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. She tried (and failed) to distract herself by picking up one of the many books she was only part of the way through with. After 20 minutes reading the same page over and over again, she finally caved and turned her phone back on.
Huzz-kies ’26 🐺💙🏀:
KK: Hope you own an umbrella, girly pop
Sarah: 🔥👀
Jana: Ain’t no way you’re gonna be 3,000 miles from us Fudd
What did I do to the universe to deserve this punishment
Caroline: Az
Earth to Azzi
Hellooooo are you alive??
KK: They better lock in and check their 3 pt line measurements are fr when you pull up
RELEASE ‘EM
Sarah: Imma be sat watching you and Gabby in that rivlary
Azzi: Oh my god y’all need to chill
Can we please refrain from talking about this
Idc about anything other then going back to back next month
Jana: Heard queen
KK: Girl boo
Caroline: Ok we can pause this convo
Azzi: Thank god
She chucked her phone across the room and let out a deep sigh. Two more months in Storrs. One more chance to cut the net again… To win Geno a 13th Championship… To prove to everyone she was stronger than ever, both mentally and physically.
Unfortunately for Azzi, she couldn’t get the thought out of her head.Expansion teams were chaos by nature. Unknown expectations, rosters pieced together like a collage, new cities and fans… but that was all strangely exciting. Yes, she’d be far from her family and from UConn, but she could reinvent herself in Portland. Be the face of a franchise in a small-market women’s sports powerhouse. Okay yeah, it was rainy, but that sounded better than being in hot ass Texas.
“Azzi Fudd, Portland Fire,” she whispered. Damn. That kinda had a nice ring to it.
May 2026
Fresh off of beating Texas by a smooth 17 points in Phoenix and delivering on their back-to-back goal, Azzi was drafted #1 overall by the Fire. The move was sudden. After the parade, she enlisted her brothers to help her gather up all of her things to ship to her new apartment in Oregon. She’d barley had time to say goodbye to everyone before arriving in Rose City (which she learned via Google on draft night). It was far easier to pack everything up in Storrs than it was to unpack and settle in. Boxes filled with UConn gear took up the majority of the living room, proof of the fact that days earlier she was a Husky and now she was living her dream of being a professional athlete. Nights of Zillow deep dives (and a crash course on the new CBA housing rules) led her to leasing an apartment in the Pearl District on the Fire’s dime. But as the boxes emptied, it was clear that the bookshelf by the window would only be half full. She remembered walking by a huge bookstore when UConn played in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament her sophomore year, and honestly she’d jump on any excuse to not spiral into existential crisis. Plus, making her apartment more like hers sounded like a good idea.
She stood in the maize of books at Powell’s in awe. It was everything she’d imagined and more. Her curls, covered slightly by her hoodie (turned makeshift umbrella), were damp from the drizzle of the rain outside. She was halfway through the romance section, reading the blurb on the back of Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, when the noise level shifted around her. Azzi liked bookstores because they were quiet. In Storrs, she’d gone occasionally but the magic of the stillness slipped away as her stardom grew and calm outings inevitably turned to meet and greets. This time, though, the hum of excitement and phones weren’t directed toward her. Azzi looked up and, curiosity winning out, decided to follow the sound towards the center of the bookstore. That’s when she saw her.
Paige Bueckers sat at a long wooden table beneath a handmade sign advertising a Portland Thorns media event. She was dressed casually, wearing a black and red team-issued jacket, blonde hair neatly in a slicked back bun, familiar smile plastered on her face as she signed posters and talked to fans adorned in scarves and kits.
Azzi stopped dead in her tracks.
No fucking way.
She knew that face. Not personally, but they were well acquainted (in Azzi’s mind) via late-night doomscrolls, Sports Center Top 10 highlights, one phenomenal IG story-like that KK referred to as “sexy soccer girl gate”… Up until now she was just a blue check Azzi pretended (unsuccessfully) not to notice.But here she was. Paige Bueckers. In real life. Ten feet away.
Azzi hovered near a staff-picks display, pretending to read while taking a few sneak looks at the blonde.
She looked relaxed, settled, like she belonged there. Despite only being in the city for a day, Azzi thought it all felt very Portland. Of course, they’d tuck a sports star into a bookstore and act like it was normal.
Azzi was in the middle of her third not-so-subtle glance when she was met with Paige’s blue eyes staring back at her.
The blonde’s smile faltered for half a second, surprise flashing across her face before something clicked. Recognition. She mouthed, No way, barely audible to the droves of fans that surrounded her.
Azzi laughed under her breath. So she knows.
Paige signed one last soccer ball in a hurry and pulled in the staffer next to her to whisper something- presumably excusing herself. She stood up and weaved through the small crowd until she was standing in front of Azzi, hands tucked into her jacket pockets.
“Okay,” Paige said, with a smirk. “Am I trippin’ or are you actually here right now”
Azzi smiled as she fiddled with the strings on her damp hoodie.
God damnit if I knew I was gonna interact with Paige fucking Bueckers I would’ve actually tried to pick out a decent outfit for this.
“I can confidently say I am here right now,” Azzi replied.
Paige laughed. “You’re Azzi. Right?”
“Guilty.”
“And you’re in Portland because…?” Paige trailed off, clearly already knowing.
Azzi shrugged. “Fire drafted me. Like, basically five minutes ago.”
Paige’s eyebrows raised and she grinned. “No way. That fast?”
“Yup. I’m delirious right now. If you told me I was still in Connecticut, I’d believe you, but then again, I don’t know why you’d ever tell me I was still in Connecticut,” Azzi laughed nervously.
Paige grinned. “Oh right Miss UConn…” her hand moved from her pockets to just over her heart as she lamented “God you cooked my Seminoles this year.”
“You went to FSU?” Azzi questioned.
“For like, five minutes,” Paige winked, “our league doesn’t have crazy age eligibility rules like y’all”
Azzi let out a quick exhale laugh. She paused before asking, “So, how do you like Portland?”
Paige could sense the sincerity in Azzi’s question. She smiled before saying “Man, I love it. It’s calm but at the same time there’s a lot going on. It rains a lot, but it’s gorgeous in the summer. Trust me. And we’ve got the best fans in the world here. You’ll see soon enough”.
Azzi grinned. Paige could sense the relief on her face and silently applauded herself for easing Azzi’s fears. They stood there for a moment, the noise of the store fading slightly around them.
“So,” Paige said, glancing at the book in Azzi’s hands. “Romance?”
Azzi held it up defensively. “Don’t start. It’s- it’s research.”
“Research? For what?”
“Um….” Azzi trailed.
Paige laughed at the curly-haired girls’ inability to provide a real excuse for reading romance. A staffer nearby cleared their throat. Paige sighed. “I’m supposed to go do more media stuff.”
“Tragic,” Azzi said. “You and attention.”
Paige smirked. “You could hang around. Make it less painful.”
Azzi raised an eyebrow. “Careful. People might start making assumptions.”
Paige’s grin turned a little cocky. “Let them.”
They held eye contact a beat too long for two people who had technically just met.
“I’ll see you around, Fire” Paige said finally, stepping back. “You know we do share a facility.”
Azzi smiled. “So I’ve heard, Thorn.”
She watched Paige disappear back into the crowd, then turned back to the shelf and exhaled.
“Welcome to Portland,” Azzi muttered under her breath.