Chapter Text
It wasn’t that they were trying to keep their relationship a secret. At first, it was too new and they were in the middle of the season and they had bigger things to worry about — like establishing their play style, winning the next game, and finding a balance between their relationship and the game.
Somewhere along the way, it just became natural to keep their tender moments behind closed doors. Their families knew, because of course, they did. Their team knew. But as far as the fans and media knew, they were teammates with an insane connection — the Area 51 connection. Devin is the first to see that there is something deeper.
Devin has watched this team for three years. He’s watched players leave, new stars stay, and even better stars join the squad. When he first joined, Coach Pop immediately told him that they were in a rebuilding era — that they were looking for someone to build the franchise around. Devin was no star, but hopefully he would be a core member of that feat. In the meantime, Pop tried to bring the team back to life with what little energy they had by emphasizing the team as family. When he had to step down, Mitch did what he could when it mattered most.
Coach Pop’s were hard shoes to fill, but Mitch tried his best with the time he had. Still, the connection between Victor and the Rook was unlike anything Devin had ever seen.
In all of his three years, Devin never thought that absolute weapons would come to a team that he was on. They reminded Devin of duos like Kobe and Shaq, Steph and Klay — people he watched as a kid that made him love basketball. But behind the scenes, something brewed beneath the surface between the two. Held gazes, long touches, and an affinity for affection that he’d never before seen.
Which was why the text he’d received from Steph on their day off didn’t surprise him.
ROTY (Steph)
ight so look
vic asked me to go to fuckin coffee
who goes to fuckin coffee in fuckin satx
like. just cook at ur house or smth
Me
okay and?
ROTY (Steph)
what do i wear.
Devin laughed, startling himself with how loud it was. Of course, Steph would be the one to worry about what to wear. If he had been asked to guess who’d be more concerned with their outfit, Devin would immediately pick Vic. The man had to have custom-made clothes, that was always something to worry about when he wanted to go out. But something about Steph caring so much felt new, and adorable.
Me
wear what you normally wear
ROTY (Steph)
this why I shouldn’t ask u shit
unhelpful ass nigga
He laughed again and ran a hand through his hair. The fact that Victor asked Steph out had a million thoughts running through his brain, but he was no instigator. Whatever the two of them wanted to do, he was cool with as long as it didn’t affect game play. So far it hadn’t.
Me
that red jumpsuit you got. wear that
ROTY (Steph)
…
ight
thanks
He left a thumbs up on the message and closed his phone, turning back to the episode of Dragon Ball Z he was watching with his nephew. With his family in town for the weekend, he was stuck on babysitting duty. But with his nephew being seven, he didn’t need to watch him with a really close eye — as long as he didn't wander out of the building, they'd be fine. He dosed off to Goku and Frieza fighting on Namek. It was the longest arc thus far, but his nephew was occupied with each episode and that was all that mattered.
The buzz of his phone woke him awhile later. He blinked slowly, noticing the sun had set and that his TV was turned off. Sitting up, he saw that his nephew was on the other side of the couch with his Switch in hand, the sounds of Assassin’s Creed low to his ears. Devin cleared his throat, and stretched his arms above his head. “How long was I out?”
His nephew looked up from the console. “Two hours. Your phone won’t stop ringing.” Devin frowned, looking down at the device in his hand. The notifications showed four missed calls. All from Steph. His frown grew deeper as he pressed call back.
“The hell you calling me four times for?” he asked when the familiar click indicated the call had been picked up. He stood from the couch as he talked, heading to the kitchen to pull out something to eat. His brother was going to pick up his son later tonight, which meant he was in charge of feeding both of them.
Steph breathed deep into the phone for a few long moments. Devin had to check to make sure they were still connected. “Hello?”
“It was a fuckin’ date, man.” Devin stilled at the words and his heart pounded in his chest. “He asked me out. What the fuck?” Okay, Devin thought. If he knew anything about basketball culture, Steph’s response could be one of two things. “Why would he do that shit? I-,” he cut himself off and Devin furrowed an eyebrow.
“You what?” he asked in anticipation. He didn't want to assume the worst, but he wanted to know just as badly as Steph wanted to say the words.
Steph sighed, and the line went silent between them. The only sound that still made its way to Devin’s ears was the in-game music from the Switch. “I like him too,” he whispered, voice so soft and sounding just a little scared. Devin exhaled in relief, tension he didn't realize existed in his chest releasing with the breath. “But it’s the middle of the season and I don’t want to get distracted.”
Devin knew this. Steph was gunning for Rookie of the Year, and had made it known whenever he could.
“And I don’t want it to be a thing the media gets a hold of. They like to run with shit and,” the last of it was muffled. Devin guessed that he’d covered his mouth with his hand. A silent beat passed before, “If we do this, I want it to be just us.”
This was another thing that didn’t surprise Devin. Steph was an incredibly private person, and through all of the things he’d gone through behind the scenes since starting with the Spurs, he kept his head up and showed up to each practice and each game with 100% of his energy. He was an inspiration, Devin thought. And maybe that was why Victor was drawn to him. People like them, who constantly wanted to evolve and become better at everything they do, were scary that way. But Devin knew his role, he’d spent the last three years learning it very well.
“Then it’s just y’all,” he said into the receiver while cutting onions. “But let the team back you up when it gets down to it.”
Quiet on the line again. “It’s Vic. You think they got pictures of us today?” Devin chuckled to himself. The answer to that was absolutely, but Devin knew just the trick to get that under wraps.
“Let me handle it. Y’all gonna do this, then?”
If they were, and the team was going to be in on it, then Devin would make sure to do his part to keep it personal. They could be as affectionate as they wanted in his presence, and he’d still stand ten toes down when the media asked him anything. “Yeah. Yeah, I…” Devin grinned, overcome with joy at them. If there was anyone on the team who deserved to be this happy, it was Steph.
“Then don’t even worry about it.”
And sure enough, the following morning, when the paparazzi pictures hit the internet, Devin sifted through them. It was funny, he thought, that he could tell exactly when Steph realized it was a date and not "just coffee" like he originally thought. He took that photo, Steph’s eyes and mouth wide in shock while Victor looked directly at him, and posted it on Instagram.
His caption? ‘Spurs brothers for life🖤🤍’.