Chapter Text
“Are you going to post me for my birthday tomorrow?”
Paige froze quickly at the casual question Azzi asked while they were on the phone. Paige had been at their last UConn game only three days ago, but had flown back to Dallas for an event with Maddy. Unfortunately, with a pair as tight as Paige and Azzi, three days already felt too long.
“Uhm, probably not, princess.” Paige responded lightly, trying to play it off as a joke and butter her up with the playful nickname.
“What? Why not?” Azzi looked confused, and Paige wracked her brain for a response. Although they both knew that having a WNBA and WCBB relationship would mean less of seeing each other, it also meant that they both knew Paige’s schedule by heart. This made it incredibly difficult to have planned an entire flight, visit, and party for Azzi. Obviously, that didn’t matter and Paige did it anyway, because nothing could stop her from treating her princess like a queen.
“Well, you know how the fans are. They’ll make it weird.” While that was true, Paige wanted nothing more than to make an extravagant post for Azzi. She was the greatest simp of all time, after all. However, that was supposed to be with pictures of the two of them together, which would (hopefully) come later in the day.
“It’s not like you don’t like watching our ship edits. Besides, they’ll think we broke up if you don’t.” Azzi started to get a little defensive about the topic, and Paige knew she had to start brushing it off soon to prevent it from becoming a bigger issue.
“Well, why does it matter what everyone thinks? I love you and you know that, why do they have you to know that too?”
“They’re either going to say something weird about us being together or about us breaking up, so why not let them know I’m yours and let them make edits about the truth?” Azzi’s voice was rising along with Paige’s panic. It was difficult for Paige to plan surprises, but impossibly more difficult for her to lie to her girls face.
“I don’t know, Azzi! I just wasn’t going to!”
“P. I’m just asking for a collage on your story. A little note on the side. All I want is to show the world that I’m in love and that I have someone who loves me back. I want a post at midnight with a red heart and I want to be able to repost it! Why won’t you post me!!” Azzi had always got quieter the more angry she got, and now she was barely whispering, with tears threatening to leakout.
Kayleigh looked up from her phone to stare at Azzi - having never played with Paige, she wasn’t really sure what she was like, but she had heard all about Paige and Azzi’s cooperative bond. It was unlike her to get upset, especially over something so trivial.
“Chill, dude. I’m not posting you. It’s not that big of a deal.” Paige had already felt her heart breaking, wishing that she was there to wipe away Azzi's tears. Soon. At her own words, Paige winced internally, already thinking of all the ways to instantly apologize, but managed to hold back on saying the words.
“Fine. I guess you’re okay with letting the world thinking you’re up for grabs, the “finest WNBA player”, and all. Why don’t I just go ahead and tell everyone you’re single myself?” Azzi hung up with a muttered “love you” (they never could hang up without it, no matter what).
Paige let out a long breath and nervously laughed. That had gone a lot worse than expected, and she was really regretting it now. She had just wanted to surprise her girlfriend on her big day, but now she was impossibly mad at Paige.
Maddy looked at her in slight shock from across the couch. She had been listening to the whole conversation once it had shifted to the topic of Azzi’s birthday, having known about Paige’s plan.
“It… could’ve gone worse?”
Paige groaned and flopped face first into the couch cushion, accepting defeat in life as a whole. “How, Maddy? HOW could that have gone worse?”
The team mother simply shook her head and walked to the kitchen, patting the blonde's head on the way over. Paige muttered into the cushion, Maddy catching glimpse of phrases like “happily married…. Doesn’t understand…. Stupid relationship…. Gets to live with her husband… in STORRS,”
Maddy chuckled and tossed Paige’s practice shoes at her head. “Get up and stop moping, let’s go shoot some hoops and you can whine about it later.”
~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~
While Paige normally kept a good sleep schedule, it was off season and her mind was racing with how to make it up to Azzi so she wasn’t pissed off when she saw her tomorrow. And still, she wanted to be her girlfriend’s first birthday text, even if she didn’t expect a response.
After typing out the longest and most extravagant text, which she had been planning on even without a mad Azzi on the other side, Paige waited up until the second clock ticked all the way to midnight.
She sent the text, not expecting too much of a response considering the other woman’s hasty exit from their last conversation. However, she instantly got a short reply of, “thank you, I love you too Paigey." which she felt short-lived relief at, until the follow up of, "Glad you can at least still admit it in private.”
Paige winced, not for the first time that day. Alright, still mad. She supposed she deserved this, although she wasn’t sure why her usually mature Azzi was quite so upset.
——————————————————————————
Waking up at 3 the next morning meant that Paige barely got 2 hours of sleep. However, by the time she rolled out of bed, finished packing her most important items, called an uber and checked in to the airport, she had almost missed her 5AM flight.
Luckily for her punctuality, it was delayed, yet it was very unfortunate for her meticulously planned out day. Just before boarding the plane, she shot out a text to Azzi, reading, “I love you and hope you have the best day! I’m going on a drive to middle of nowhere Texas with Maddy and Arike, so my signal might be shot for a bit :(“
Paige then turned off her location for Azzi, and sent one last text to the group chat of all of the most important people she had trusted to help pull off her plan. This meant it had all of her former teammates who were still at UConn (minus Ice, the worst secret keeper of all time), a few extra Storrs friends, and Kayleigh, putting aside their brief rivalry (which was a complete lie that the two of them leaned into for the public as a joke), as she figured her girlfriends roommate would be pretty useful to have in contact. “Boarding the plane now! Kayla please come get me around 9:30, and everyone who sees Azzi today - please talk me up and make her like me again! She's just a weeeee little bit mad.”
Caroline read the group text - always the early riser - and rolled her eyes. She had her work cut out for her, but she hadn’t earned the title of group therapist for no reason.
While Paige took off, Caroline went and got some extra goodies aside from her original gift. Azzi was under the impression that the team was hanging out together in Caroline’s room before going out to dinner, which was where she would receive the bulk of her gifts. Obviously, it would be with Paige’s surprise party, but Caroline now needed to make sure Azzi wouldn’t storm out of it.
Coming back with (healthy) chocolates, protein powder, energy drinks, flowers, and a dream, Caroline set to work assembling a cute basket and making Azzi a nice breakfast too. Unusually, they had morning practice today, but that also meant that Azzi would be waking up earlier than normal, around 7.
When Azzi replied to Caroline’s midnight text, Caroline figured she had woken up. Giving the brunette 15 minutes to get up and dressed, she then knocked the girls room door down. Once she answered, Caroline (sweetly) dragged her to her own apartment. Greeted with a nicely lit hallway, a fresh breakfast, small gifts, and flowers, Caroline had Azzi instantly smiling. They made easy conversation for the next half an hour or so, discussing their plans for the day (Caroline kept having to sip at her juice a little violently to hide giggling about lying right in Azzi’s face.)
However, when she returned and found Azzi quickly tapping through her stories and scrolling through her “tagged in” posts, she saw her friends mood instantly change. She had figured that if she also didn’t post Azzi, the curly-haired girl wouldn’t find Paige’s absence as all that strange. Unfortunately, the brunette simply look gut punched before looking up at Caroline and smiling quickly as she entered the room.
Caroline figured that this was a chance for her to bring it up, seeing as how the conversation had to be soon and she was known for reading people incredibly well. “Paige didn’t post you?” She asked, settling down gently next to Azzi.
“Well… no.” Azzi whispered, not even wanting to say anything poorly of her girlfriend.
“Want to talk about it?”
“I don’t know. Obviously it’s not a big deal. She doesn’t need to prove her love for me to anyone except me. But now I’m going to be getting all of these DMs from people asking if we broke up, and everything is going to be about my dating life and not my plays on my last year. It’s supposed to be my year!” Azzi took a quick breath before continuing, “Not that I care if everyone talks about my dating life. In fact, that’s kind of my goal if she posted me. It’s just, I would rather it be “Paige and Azzi are so in love” rather than all these tabloids of “Paige and Azzi breakup rumors: the timeline of where it all began”” Azzi chuckled despite herself, picturing the headline with her hands.
Caroline took a deep breath. Yup. Definitely above her pay grade. However, she loved both of her friends, so she sucked it up and prayed practice would come soon and distract Azzi.
“Okay, take a deep breath girl. Remember, Paige can post you any day. Obviously your birthday is special, but she can tell the world she loves you whenever she wants. And I know it’s frustrating because she’s the 'hottest thing in Dallas', but you’re the hottest in the Storrs, for real.” They both giggled at the generous glazing of their tiny college town. “The tabloids can talk but I know you don’t read them anyways. Maybe just don’t go on TikTok today.” She added with a grimace, knowing all too well that social media was more brutal than the actual news outlets.
Azzi gave a small smile, and, always one to open up to Caroline's gentle prodding, said in a weak voice like a child. “I know I’m only 23, but I’ve known Paige for so long. I’ve known she was the one for me for almost 8 years. Romantically, maybe for like 6. But still. She’s always been there. But even with our ups and downs, I feel like we've stayed stuck in the same stage of girlfriend. I know I’m 23, and I know we’re at different stages in life. And I know it’s hard. But I love her and she loves me and I just wish that was enough sometimes. Obviously it’s more important, and I want her to chase her dreams and I never want to be in the way of that, but it sometimes feels like she’s always chasing a basketball over me. Which, obviously. But once she retires from the W, I’m still there. Right? So shouldn’t I count for something a little more?” Azzi’s eyes watered as she hugged her knees to her chest and sat quietly in her thoughts.
Caroline put her arms around her, stroking her hair and allowing her to just lie in her arms for a while, gently murmuring sweet words and talking Azzi down from a spiral. “You’re so deserving, sweetie. Everyone sees it, and just know that Paige does too. In her own terms,” she quieted, still hugging her friend. Azzi relaxed into the embrace of her longest friend and Caroline allowed her to close her eyes before they had to leave.
Soon, it was time for their morning practice. As she packed her bag in the bathroom, she quickly texted Paige. (She did so in the group chat just to emphasize her point. It was also an added bonus to feel some sort of victory at the embarrassment she was giving the girl that caused her so many issues this morning). The text simply read, “bueckers you are so screwed.”
In the locker room, everyone else who was aware of the situation and in the group chat was being extra kind to Azzi - not just because it was her birthday. It left Caroline mostly alone before their 10:00 practice. Everyone’s phone buzzed at the same time, but Azzi didn’t really notice, with overlapping sounds of KK screaming the happy birthday song and Kelis playfully clapping her hands in Azzi’s face. Azzi seemed like she was trying desperately to not push both of them over, while still grinning at her favorite people. The newest text read, “I just landed, WHAT do you mean? Kayla you better be here or I’m going to shave your head.”
Caroline ignored the threat and replied “very screwed, Paigaloons. I expect generous compensation for my work. Even though I might’ve screwed you over more.”
“I’m going to shave your head too. I brought clippers I swear I mean it"
“KAYLA WHERE ARE YOU”
CD called the girls onto the court to begin stretching, and Caroline put her phone down.
Paige set her phone down after climbing into Kayla’s car, groaning into her hands. Kayla just shook her head at the sight in front of her, bringing her suitcase to the trunk and pushing it in. “You know, you really could’ve just posted her.”
Paige looked up and glared before succumbing to a rather distraught facial expression that was fighting to rule her face for eternity, “yeah, but then I would post her twice in one day, which is weird. And it makes the second one feel less special.”
Kayla rolled her eyes at her and they drove in silence the rest of the way to their first location. After checking in with the restaurant, they made sure Azzi’s dinner was paid for and they went around decorating the room they rented out. Azzi didn't have the entirely wrong image of what her party would be like, as she was still going to dinner with her teammates, she just wasn’t expecting her girlfriend to crash it.
They then went to the trampoline park, making sure their rented room was decorated with the right banners, that their trampoline room had a little basketball hoop, and of course contained a foam pit.
Finally going to a little outdoor spot that they had shared their first picnic the day Azzi moved into UConn, their third, fourth, and fifth anniversary, and many a long and quiet nights, Paige anxiously paced the ground. She cleared a path, lined it with flower petals, and made their own little picnic spot. She checked in with the photographer she had hired for the entire night, and the florist.
~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~
With practice wrapping up, everyone knew they couldn’t let Azzi mope on her own. Her one class of the day ended at 3, where KK surprised her at the end of it. She chatted the entire walk back to their apartment, managing to lighten Azzi’s mood significantly.
Bringing her into Caroline’s apartment, most of the team was already waiting for her. She rolled her eyes, having already told everyone that 4:30 was far too early for a dinner reservation. However, they had argued that they wanted to be the first ones in Ted’s and thus needed to finish early.
While her teammates were arguing over what she should wear, Azzi couldn’t help but notice the absence of texts from Paige. She knew she didn’t have great signal, but normally Paige would fight for her life for some sort of communication. As the group decided on a flowy white mermaid dress she owned, Azzi was almost embarrassed by the sigh of relief that came out of her as she got a familiar ring in her hands.
“Hey baby! Happy birthday! How’s my princess been today?” Paige’s voice filled her ears and she instantly relaxed, forgetting most of her perils of the day.
“Great, Paige! Thank you for the text, it was so sweet.” Azzi was instantly smiling again. “Where’s Maddy and Arike? Don’t they want to say happy birthday to the princess?” She teased.
“Uhm, they’re filling the car with gas, we’re about to head back. I’ll tell them you say hi though, and I’m sure they say happy birthday back.” Paige found herself nervously adjusting her white collar that was under a purple sweater vest. She tried the keep the phone close to her face and not show her surroundings too much. “I miss you and I hope you have a great time with the team tonight! I should probably get going though, just wanted to check in. Love you!”
“Love you,” Azzi murmured, a soft smile appearing on her face. All of her teammates watched and sighed in relief at the seemingly repaired relationship, before quickly going back to bickering when she looked at them.
Azzi soon found herself laughing in her favorite restaurant in the area with her favorite people in the area. It was one of the happiest she had been in a while, and yet she knew that she couldn’t be the happiest without the presence of one person.
Azzi opened her mouth with a smile, joking with one of her favorite lines, “guys, I’m going to say it.”
Everyone groaned, “no, Azzi, you’ve been doing so good! It’s been, what 18 hours since you said it?”
“I miss Paige.” Azzi cackled as everyone at the table erupted into various emotions. KK was so over it, hitting a choking emote. She watched other teammates pass around bills with a grumble (they loved to bet on her misery of missing her girlfriend), and some just smile and try to casually console her. Through her laughter, she didn’t notice Caroline violently typing on her phone under the table.
~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~
Paige walked into her favorite restaurant - their favorite restaurant. She had just received the go ahead from Caroline, but allowed herself to soak up the scene in front of her for a few moments. Her teammates, all of whom she missed so much. They were all laughing, teasing Azzi for something she had just said. Her eyes then moved to Azzi, although her ears had been focused on her warm, fluttery laughter the second she entered the door. Azzi looked stunning, her own makeup done (which she’d been doing a lot of herself ever since media day), in a white mermaid silhouette dress. It hugged her defined hips perfectly, and cascaded out to make it look like she left a glowing path wherever she walked. Her collar bone was clearly visible, leaving caramel skin open for anyone to see. She looked incredible. Paige couldn't believe she was hers.
Paige figured she had little time left before the moment was over, so she focused on her girls beautiful smile and laugh as she walked over. Many of the girls sitting on the other side of Azzi saw Paige first and giggled, giving her away. Azzi was already turning around to see what was happening just as Paige grabbed a tray and walked up the them as if she was a waiter, “You ladies all right?”
All of the girls who had seen her and had expected her all burst into laughter, missing their dear friend. Meanwhile, Azzi was still processing that she wasn’t actually a waiter.
Paige had found her eyes long before Azzi even realized she was there, and maintained eye contact softly, gazing down on her birthday princess. Her girl, who she loved so much. She was so excited to see her.
Azzi finally recovered, at least mentally, and she loved Paige so much. She couldn’t even believe she was physically here, and she wasn’t quite sure how, but she missed her so much and she was just excited and happy and having the best birthday ever, so she wouldn't question it. Azzi started to tear up, but she was still frozen in place.
“Is this okay?” Paige whispered nervously, scared by Azzi’s silence and lack of movement. To her, it was just the two of them back at the favorite restaurant, just as it had been 6 years ago, when Paige had first leaned in for a kiss.
Azzi finally snapped out of it and jumped into Paige’s arms. The tray that the blonde was still carrying for some reason crashed to the floor as she hugged her right back. Arms coming around to cradle the head of her girl, feeling her slot into her place in Paige’s arms after far too long. Too long for them, at least.
“I love you so so much. Thank you for coming. I missed you so much…” Azzi cooed soft words into Paige’s ear as she twirled her hair behind her back.
“Happy birthday baby,” Paige whispered back
When the two finally decided to pull apart at a little cough from Yanna, they held each other at arms length to give each other a little peck on the lips. After not seeing each other, they were both hungry for more. Their lips collided with more force, yet was just as quick due to KK screaming, “OK so boom, that’s not what we finna do!”
The whole team laughed but was grateful for the interruption. Paige stuck her tongue out at the girls, but reluctantly took her mouth off of Azzi’s neck. They still hung on to each other and the whole team moved down one to allow for Paige to sit next to Azzi. There still wasn’t quite enough room and Paige ended up on Azzi’s lap.
“Woah, this is NOT how it’s supposed to work. I’m the birthday princess! Everyone knows you’re the masc anyway!” Azzi teased. Paige grumbled before getting up and letting Azzi sit on her lap instead. The team pointedly look away as they snuck another kiss.
“Don’t miss her much anymore, hm Az?” KK asked, with a devious glint to her eyes. Azzi tried to ignore it, but Paige noticed.
“What? Did she say she misses me?” She asked, confused and curious.
“Hmm does she never admit that to you?” KK definitely had something up her sleeve and was already giving Azzi away.
“Kamorea!” Azzi hissed, a light smile betraying her
Paige still didn’t know what was happening, but liked teasing her girl as much as the rest of the team - although their opportunities were rare, her being the princess and all - “No, I can’t say that she’s ever said anything about missing me when I’m away…”
The team burst into various emotions once again, and Azzi looked furious and conflicted, while Paige looked in confusion at the bills being traded around the table for the second time in the past 10 minutes.
“There is no way you guys even thought this thoroughly about your bets,” Azzi groaned, “I mean, when were you guys even going to see Paige to ask?” She paused, before, “OMG! You all knew?!”
The team smiled sheepishly, while Azzi sighed, figuring it made sense. Her team knew her too well and knew how to hide things from her, and Paige had definitely needed some inside help to plan an entire flight without her knowing.
“If it helps, I had no idea.” Ice piped up, glaring at Paige in the process.
Everyone starting shouting and teasing Ice about her horrible secret keeping skills, eventually causing her to whine, “okay, fine, but I’m still her friend!”
Azzi smiled as her team felt complete again. She was still missing a few of her favorite graduates, but she had her current team and her favorite alumni who was also her favorite person. Most of the time. Speaking of,
“Man, Paige, you’ve got to thank Caroline and KK, they’re really the only reason I haven’t ripped your head off today,” she said, lightheartedly.
Paige could tell it was a sore spot still, and instantly repaired it, “yeah they helped a lot. But really, baby, I just didn’t want to post you until we had pictures of us together. To prove just how much of mine you are. That we will do anything it takes to see each other,” It was all true, to an extent, just not all of it yet.
Azzi instantly softened, a look of guilt blooming across her face. “Okay, well now I feel like a dick. I’m sorry for being a baby, I should’ve known you better.”
Paige smiled, “it’s okay, baby,” she teased her with the name she had called herself. “Speaking of, let’s ditch these losers and go get our own pics.”
While that was exactly what they left to do, they made sure they still got pictures with the rest of the team before actually leaving. Paige gave KK a sloppy kiss on the forehead and their family was happily reunited again.
~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~
Paige had thought ahead about the weather in November in Connecticut, and handed off a purple cardigan she had brought just for Azzi. They now matched in their white and purple ensembles, walking hand in hand around campus. While Azzi thought they were just walking and catching up (a lot can happen in three days apart), Paige was carefully leading her a little off campus.
When their conversation had a bit of a lilt and they had been walking in comfortable silence for a while, Paige nervously opened her lips,
“Azzi, you know I’ve loved you ever since I met you.” Azzi looked up into her eyes, smiling but simply nodding, content and relaxed around her favorite person. Paige took a deep breath before continuing,
“I know you think it was platonic for the first few years, and I guess it was, but I never wanted it to be. Even if it was, I was okay with that because I still had you. All I ever wanted was to be near you, to talk to you and hear your voice. I wanted to touch you, hear your laugh and see your smile. I knew my future had you in it, but I always wanted it to be living with you, forever.” Paige looked directly into the brown eyes she had memorized at a young age, and felt tears beginning to form.
“I will be, Paigey. Once one of us retires, or if we’re on the same team by some miracle. I mean it.” Azzi earnestly interrupted her. Paige looked at the girl she loved so much and gave a watery nod before continuing shakily, hands still intertwined,
“I knew you were the one ever since I met you. I wouldn’t ever date, love, or kiss anyone else because it wouldn’t be you. I’ve spent sleepless nights worrying about you, but they’ve all been erased by one night in bed sleeping next to you.”
Azzi looked at her, worry creasing her face now. “I know, Paige. Where is all of this coming from?” Azzi whispered into the cold night.
Paige’s eyes suddenly began to glow, and it took Azzi a second to realize it wasn’t just herself hallucinating Paige being an angel (it wouldn't be the first time). She looked up to where Paige had been leading them and gasped.
Azzi instantly recognized their special spot, but even before that noticed the sweet and classic decorations. She saw the rose petals on the path that led to their willow tree, under which normally sat a picnic Paige had planned for them. This time, there was hundreds of small candles framed by more rose petals in a heart shape. It was simple, cliché, and so perfect.
Paige bit the inner corner of her lip nervously. “Good?” She whispered,
Azzi practically collapsed at the word as it confirmed that she wasn’t imagining it and that it wasn’t just a romantic gesture. It was actually real. Paige held her up, pressing her close to her side, because of course she did. Paige had been supporting her for her entire life, so it only made sense that she was still there during the most important moment in both of their lives. Paige would always be there. “I’ve got you.” She murmured,
Realizing this, Azzi looked up, steadying her breath and step, whispering back, “perfect. Just like you.” She brushed a kiss on Paige’s nose, making her giggle.
“Watch out, princess, you’re supposed to save that for last.”
Paige took her hand again and led her to the center of the heart, never taking her sharp blue eyes off of Azzi’s beautiful brown ones. Once they reached the middle, she still whispered, as if they were in a bubble that could be burst if either of them moved too fast or too loud.
“Is this good enough of a photo opp for the princess?” She asked, with a watery laugh.
Azzi just looked at her with love and realization at how well planned this was, seeming to glow as Paige dropped to one knee, still holding Azzi’s hand. Azzi was grateful for the contact still grounding her, else she probably would’ve collapsed again. It was as if she let go, spoke too loud, or breathed too fast they would wake up from their dream.
“Azzi Fudd. Ever since I met you, you’ve been changing my life. You might be the baby,” Azzi scoffed, although tears were already forming, “but you were always the one teaching me so much. You taught me what unconditional love meant. You showed me that love is love, and that it will always beat everything else. You showed me how to work hard, how to bounce back, and how to keep a smile on your face. You’ve shown me pure joy, and caught me at my lowest. And, you have admittedly taught me how to ball, because you’re the princess to coach for a reason.” Azzi laughed, tears now rapidly streaming down her face. She let go of one of Paige’s hands to wipe at her eyes and cup her mouth.
“You have made me so much happier than my career ever will, and I know that our love will last longer than anything… even plastic in the ocean.” Azzi rolled her eyes, rather unsuccessfully because of the tears in them. “I know we’re young, but I’ve known you were the one since we were so much younger. Please, Azzi, will you make me even happier than when I first laid eyes on you and-“ Paige looked down and cursed, loosing some eloquence in the process.
“I never held out the ring!” Paige looked stricken, but Azzi just laughed at her, another tear dropping at the process.
“How do you forget to open the ring box? Isn’t that all there is to a proposal?” Azzi paused, “This is a proposal, right?”
Paige rolled her eyes, “Yes, Fudd, it’s a proposal.”
Azzi stuck her tongue out and teased, “Well, normally, a proposal has a ring!”
Paige groaned and let go of Azzi’s remaining hand to pull the box out of her white pants (Azzi was beginning to realize the white dress picked out by her teammates was also not coincidental). Azzi fell to the ground at the loss of contact and the final, final realization that it was real.
Paige opened the box to reveal the silver band attached to the princess cut stone, surrounded by a cascade of small gems around the main stone. “Azzi Fudd. Will you please, please, please, marry me?”
Now that Azzi had fallen, they were both kneeling on the ground. Azzi’s tear-filled eyes met Paige’s watery blue ones, and she nodded.
“I’m afraid I still need an answer, Miss Fudd,” Paige teased
“Excuse me, that’s Mrs. Bueckers, to YOU,” Azzi retorted, slamming her lips into Paige’s.
Paige let the kiss continue for a few seconds before breaking it off, “Azzi, we’re messing this all up! The ring is supposed to go on before the kiss.”
Azzi scoffed, “Please. None of this is how it’s supposed to go, P. I’m on the ground, you forgot the ring, I’m not wearing nails…” Azzi’s eyes widened a little, “Oh my gosh! I’m not wearing nails!”
Kayla came bounding out of a nearby bush waving around press-ons and screaming, “I GOT YOU QUEEN!!” Azzi nearly fell over with laughter and gratitude, had they not already been on the ground. “Nice to see you, K,” she smiled at the girl.
Kayla grinned at them and hugged Azzi with a grin. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered before setting to work.
Once her nails were applied and emergency setting powder reapplied by Kayla, they had both mostly collected themselves.
“So, do you want to see the photographer?” Paige asked sheepishly.
Coming out of the darkness herself, their photographer smiled at them. “Definitely some of the cutest pictures I’ve gotten, but so chaotic,” she teased. “Why don’t you pretend to redo it all, the 'right way', so we get some real pictures, and still have the originals.”
Paige sighed in relief, glad she had hired someone so professional. They rewalked the path together, going twice just to make some funny poses one more time. The went through the rest of the motions of a typical proposal, smiling so hard it hurt. However, once it came time for Paige to actually put the princess ring on her soon-to-be-fiancé’s freshly manicured finger, it all started crashing in again.
She looked up to see Azzi tearing up too (she was actually standing this time). Slowly, never dropping eye contact, she slid the diamond onto Azzi’s left ring finger.
Both of them now profusely crying, Azzi dragged Paige up by her hands. They both laughed as they simultaneously went in for a kiss, this time holding it out for as long as they wanted - the longer, the better, as they were getting their moneys worth on that photographer.
Their photographer then posed them romantically for another hour, before allowing them to enjoy their alone time. “Don’t worry, we’ll get the photos back in, like 2 hours. I put a crazy rush on it,” Paige whispered with a smile. They were still whispering, planting gentle kisses on each others heads, and barely speaking. They didn’t need to, unspoken words doing more than they ever could.
By the time it hit 9, (the walk, proposal, and pictures had taken an entire 3 hours), Kayla groaned from her spot back in the bushes, reminding them of her presence.
“Okay, I love both of you, I really do, but I’ve been sitting here ALONE and COLD for even longer than you two because y'all walk SO SLOW. PLEASE, can we go party?!” Paige chuckled, not making any move to get up.
Azzi stirred a little, sitting up from her spot against the willow trunk to look at Paige. “We’re still all going to Ted’s?” Azzi hid it well, but she was nervous about already going into a public area with her brand new ring that she has personally barely registered.
Paige, always being able to read Azzi’s mind, shook her head quickly. “No. No, of course not, baby. I rented out a trampoline park for our family and friends, obviously.” She grinned as she watched Azzi slowly grow more and more excited, eventually squealing and jumping up and down, having gotten up.
“What are we waiting for!! Let’s goo!!” Azzi tried to pull Paige up, who slowly got up on her own accord.
“Oh, my dream proposal. Cute.” Kayla muttered, but she was ignored.
“And you said you weren’t the baby,” Paige teased Azzi as she led her to the car she had parked around the corner.
~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~
Paige smiled at her fiancé and nodded her forward. Azzi took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to be met with a wall of sound. A quick glance told her that only her nearest and dearest were here, but a lot of people happened to be near and dear to Azzi and Paige, so it ended up with a lot of people. All cheering for her happy ending. She instantly teared up again, but upon recognizing the music to be “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND” by RAYE, she started strutting down the front hallway, waving her ring above her head.
Paige, never one to steal the show, especially during the rare occasions when Azzi finally felt ready to leave her shell, stood on the side behind the doorway. Kayla, who had left at the same time as them but drove a different car, waited with her.
“You know, I know I complained a lot about driving you around and helping you so much today, but I’m really really happy for you. You deserve someone who loves you, and so does Azzi. I’m proud of you, really,”
Paige smiled a mischievous grin, and Kayla groaned. “No! Do not ruin this moment! Do not use my kind words against me! No one will ever believe you when you tell them what I said.”
Paige simply shook her head in response, deciding to drop it in favor of watching her fiancée, and they both peaked around to watch Azzi show off her ring. Azzi noticed her absence and turned around to see a hint of blonde hair disappearing around the door, slipping behind the brick wall. Knowing Paige, she ran outside where she knew she would find her waiting patiently and picked her up bridal style.
The cheers this time down the hall were possibly even louder, and after Azzi set Paige down, they were bombed on all sides with different friends and family hugging and questions, and the two of them felt themselves suffocating under all of their teammates.
Somehow managing to push through their team, the Fudd family reached Paige, having had already hugged Azzi. Even though they were invited by Paige herself, she was so excited to see them and hopped into their inviting arms.
“I know you’ve been for a long time, but welcome to the family,” Katie whispered into her shoulder. Jose and Jon both hugged her tightly, pretending not to have tears in their eyes. Tim just pat her, hard, on the back, and excused himself to the restroom while wiping at his eyes.
Everyone wanted to hear about how their proposal went, but Azzi and Paige laughed at the mention of it. Paige was willing to share their mess, but Azzi looked around and tugged playfully on the sleeve of her button-up shirt.
“C’mon Paige! We have an entire trampoline park!! Please come play with me?” Even without the puppy eyes, Paige does everything she’s asked, especially from Azzi.
The story of their unique proposal managed to spread across the park, hopping from trampoline to trampoline after they told only a few. People would walk up to them, pushing Paige and teasing, saying, “she’s right, you know! It’s not a proposal without a ring!”
Paige took each one good-heartedly, groaning in embarrassment only after they left. Azzi joined in on the teasing each time, but would afterwards intertwine her left hand into Paige’s just to let her feel the ring.
After a few mixed drinks, it was nearly midnight and everyone was still celebrating. Paige got a text from the photographer, and she grinned as she proudly showed Azzi the incredible photos. They laughed, reliving the night that felt so long ago. Paige started on her instagram post, deciding to only use the ones they posed for after their mess, rather liking the idea of keeping their real proposal story a secret.
She was captioning it, saying, “my dear Azzi, happy 23rd birthday! I hope we can survive much more than 23 years of marriage. This night was so special, princess.” She included images of the scenery, princess ring, proposal, and kiss afterwards. She approved all of them with Azzi, but then fussed around with the order of the images.
As she clicked the post button, it loaded for a little more than 10 seconds. By the time it was labeled as posted, she looked at the clock that read 12:00. She nervously looked at Azzi to see if she noticed, only to find her reloading it and showing her phone to Paige - “posted, 12:00 11/12”.
“So, uhm. Midnight is ambiguous anyways. How do we know which day it wants to be in? It’s fine, right?” Paige nervously rambled, fidgeting with her chain as she looked into Azzi’s distant eyes.
Finally Azzi burst into laughter, “Yes, Paige, it’s amazing. You’re amazing. Stop worrying!” She insisted, instead taking Paige’s chain into her own hands, tugging her into a kiss. “You did so good today,” Azzi murmured in her ear as she gave it a small nip.
Soon, after a few small stumbles, they quickly said goodbye to everyone and to thank them all for coming, before Azzi desperately pulled her into the car by the hand.
Though their kisses were fast, messy, and consistent, the princess cut ring shimmered consistently through it all, reminding them both of how important this day was to them.