The room that was once a refugee just for the two of them gets invaded by two bickering women who find their star players sharing a bed while touching foreheads in silence. Even the sound of the door was not enough to grab their attention, leaving Dina and Zoe in a stunned silence for a moment, Dina notices the way Yuki’s hands tightly hold Hannah’s waist while Zoe focuses on the different kind of grin coming from her idol. She saw countless interviews, highlights and lowlights of Hannah, and she doesn’t remember ever seeing a glimpse of that.

A smile that doesn’t fit her usual three. Although Hannah is known as “Ice Queen,” because the media likes to exaggerate how impressionless she is, she actually smiles, gets upset and speaks her truth in multiple interviews every year. But Zoe actually paid attention to her favorite player, and Hannah just circles through three different smiles. A polite one, mostly used in interviews and social media appearances, a cheerful one, almost imperceptible, when she does a play she likes or a teammate makes a tough shot and a warm smile, something reserved for team hurdles and tape watching, a glimpse into her actual personality; but this one is completely different, Zoe notices how Hannah is beaming, as if the smile expanded throughout all of her face, her eyes filled with admiration and completely new.

“Wow! Get a room, hello?” Dina breaks the silence, gathering the attention of the two women.

Hannah instantly loses her smile, not because she looks away, but because her whole body is pushed away like she has the plague. Yuki shoves the shorter woman away in a matter of seconds, one hand covering her face while the other is on her stomach. The loud thud of Hannah’s body hitting the floor is quickly followed by the loud cackle from Dina.

Letting out a small “oh” while covering her mouth, Yuki looks from the bed at her friend that decided to stay on the floor, in the same position as she fell, Zoe, is the first to act, approaching Hannah and extending her hand to her, while trying to contain a smile, she says, “A-are you okay?”

Hannah takes the hand offered from the rookie, using it as a way to push herself up, shaking her head slightly, she mutters, “I’m fine, just betrayed and with a sore back.”

“More like a sore ass,” Dina adds, receiving an angry glare from Zoe.

Yuki lets out a groan while still checking on her friend from far away, “I’m sorry, I just got scared and didn’t want anyone thinking anything.”

“We were thinking nothing…” Zoe lies.

“I was, I for sure am sure that you two were canoodling, and I am sorry that we pussy blocked you two.”

“Don’t say pussy block Dina, it’s disgusting,” Hannah reprimands with a frown, sitting on one of the chairs and murmuring a quiet and late “thank you” to Zoe.

Feeling the embarrassment of being caught creeping up on her spine, trying her best to stop herself from blushing, Yuki takes a deep breath as she explains, voice almost stable but faltering just enough for the other people to notice, “It’s just that we were talking and I would hate for Hannah if she had rumors especially at the beginning of a season where she needs to prove herself.”

Letting the room fall into silence for a second, Yuki tries to see if any of the two women who entered the room are buying her story. Seeing the barely contained grin from Dina and the worried look from Zoe, she hastily extends her palm to Hannah, “C’mon, tell them that we were doing nothing!”

“Huh… Yuki was worried about her injury and I was helping her.”

Zoe, also trying to keep her voice neutral but failing and making it clear how curious she is about this whole situation, “But, why were you on top of her? If— if you don’t mind me asking.”

The situation seems important for everyone in the room for different reasons, Zoe is curious and interested on the gossip, Yuki is embarrassed, worried and desperate, while Dina is just happy to see other people suffering, the only one who mentally checked out of this moment is Hannah; but, despite the fact that she doesn’t care, she notices that Yuki does for the both of them and probably someone else too, so she explains with a tired smile on her face, “We got a bit emotional, and I wanted to give my friend a hug, we weren’t kissing, I am no woman to kiss someone while they’re on a hospital bed, and if I were, what would be the point of lying? Zoe is openly bisexual and Dina is a slut, they can’t judge.”

Zoe laughs, while Dina dramatically gasps, “Are you slutshaming me? I could cancel you in a second, you know that, right?”

“It wasn't meant to be derogatory. It’s just a descriptor, if I wanted to be mean, I would mention your paint efficiency last year because that was depo—”

Cutting her off, Dina turns to Yuki with a big smile and a deep desire to change the subject, “So! Did ya break your leg?”

Happy that they aren’t talking about her biggest secret and most wanted desire, Yuki answers with a light tone, “Yeah, I’m probs gon’ lose a month or two but I think Star can sub for me pretty well until I’m back.”

“I don’t think she’ll start, she’s not good enough, "Hannah argues while grabbing her phone from the side table, also happy that she doesn’t need to focus on this conversation.

“W-why’s that?”

Dina once again interrupts with a shrug, “‘Cause she sucks? The only star in her is her name.”

Rolling her eyes, Hannah explains, “She doesn’t suck, she just wouldn't be good enough at what we need in the starting line up, I think that besides Yuki she’s probably the best rebounder in our team, but still the league is pretty guard heavy and she can’t defend the perimeter to save her life, the reason why Barbara is so important is because she can rebound well enough and defend bigs and guards alike, so we will probably put her at the center and run Zoe at the four.”

“Me? N-no way! I-I can’t guard the perimeter either or rebound as well as Star, wh—”

Zoe immediately goes quiet when she receives an intimidating look from Hannah, one eyebrow slightly raised and although her gaze is meeting Zoe’s, it is almost like she is looking through her. With a factual tone, she asks, “Then why are you on the team if you can’t do anything?”

Shame, sadness and anger all flood the rookie’s mind, she wants to defend herself and say something, but the stern look from her idol is enough to shut her down, even if she actually believed she was good enough to earn a starting spot, she would never brag about her abilities like that, lowering her head to the floor, she breaks eye contact, a quiet resignation, silently agreeing with Hannah’s sentiment.

Until she receives a light slap at the back of her head, looking up, she meets the also disappointed eyes of Dina, but the furrowed brows and slight pout on her face announce her anger to everyone in the room, “Bullshit, Rook, you can’t let someone talk to you like that, where’s your balls? Like, literally you’re the only one in this room that has them and you’re still the biggest pussy, nah Rook...” Dina steps in front of Zoe, pointing her finger at an unbothered Hannah as she continues, “You’re gonna prove to this annoying ass doubter that you’re good enough to play starter minutes, and while you’re at it, you’re also gonna get the rookie of the year! I’m gonna be your vet! I’m gonna be like your… Shifu— Yeah, the little rat! And you gon’ be Tigress and this fake ass blonde is gonna cry at your ceremony."

All of the reaction the speech receives from Hannah is another raised eyebrow, while on the other side of the room, an uncertain Yuki interjects, “I… I mean, if we’re getting technical here, and rookie of the year is the goal, Tigress didn’t win it.”

Dina turns to her with a string of annoyance in her tone, “What? Of course she does, she’s like, one of the five.”

“Yeah, see, in this example Zoe is already one of the five, she’s starting, Shifu was training Trigress to make her the Dragon Warrior, which Shifu didn’t do… She lost at the end...”

Hannah adds, “And he also couldn't make that gray tiger guy the Dragon Warrior, so he’s a failure just like you, Dina.”

This time, Zoe gets offended, slightly raising her voice, she argues, “Hey! Don’t call him a failure, he’s a great fighter and he taught the Furious Five, so he does do something.”

“Why are you dissin’ me for? I’m sticking my ass for you and you leaving me like that, look, I mess with you and I wanna humiliate Hannah, so I’ll let that slide, Trigger.”

“You mean Tigress, right?”

“Nah, you not cold as Tigress yet, she’s like my personal GOAT, besides Larry Legend of course. For now, you can be Trigger, or cocaine.”

Hannah, once again, a little confused, asks, “Is her nickname cocaine ‘cause her hair is white?”

Crossing her arms in front of her body, Dina holds her head up high, a proud smile on her face illuminating the room, “Hell yeah. I’m cooking, you can thank me later.”

“I mean, I'd rather be called Rook tha—”

With a smile on her face, Yuki interrupts her, “Speaking of it, Trigger, can you fetch me some Gatorade? I can’t really move, y’know.”

Zoe stares at her center for a moment, feeling the betrayal sink in. One single look is enough for her to know that "Trigger" is going to contaminate every teammate in a matter of hours, especially since two of the most influential players have already decided to call her that. Shaking her head, she gets up, asking, “What kinda of color?”

Dina is the one answering, pointing between Hannah and Zoe, “All of ‘em, why don’t you help her bring them here, Don?”

“In what mad world would I be doing rookie duties with her?”

“Can’t you just be nice? I wanna talk with Yuki, alone.”

Hannah lets out a sigh, gently placing her phone on the bedside table, tilting her head towards the door while looking at her rookie, she says, "I'll go with you, let’s let Dina bother our bedridden center.”

While Zoe doesn’t waste any time, almost skipping after Hannah, Yuki yells out, “Rude! I can walk, I– It just hurts.”

The two women are left alone, Dina replacing the Point Guard in the chair, sitting with legs wide open, she lets the silence linger on for a few seconds while she thinks of the funniest way she can bring up what she saw. On the other side, Yuki is wondering why Dina is sitting like a rude person on a bus. She meets the blue eyes of her Shooting Guard with a confused expression, a little worried about what could be so important that Hannah couldn't hear.

“So… Since when have you been in love with the Tiny Monster?"

“Don’t call her th–” Her first reaction is to immediately defend her friend, Hannah doesn’t like when people talk about her height, but as soon as the information of what was said registers, Yuki moves back on the bed, hands covering her mouth, eyes wide open as she almost falls from the bed, her flushed cheeks betraying her just like she did with Zoe, trying to keep her voice stable, she continues, “W-what? No— of course not? I, she 's my friend? There’s nothing here, what? There’s truly nothing.”

“Huh, that’s crazy… I swear I saw something…” Dina pouts, her gaze moving to the ceiling as she pretends to reminisce on what she saw when entering the room.

An uncomfortable laugh leaves Yuki’s body as she lowers her hands, making a pacifying gesture. Her smile disappears as soon as she begins to say, “No, of course not, I— we were just close, she’s straight as a rock.”

Dina smiles again, a malicious, almost evil expression appears on her face, her blue eyes brightening at the thought, with a soft touch, she gently brushes her fingers against Yuki’s cheek, fixing one strand of her behind her ear, with a voice filled with desire, she purred, “So if you’re not in it, I can get her right? ‘Cause I know that she’s not straight, and I would love to have her for me, I need to build chemistry with Hannah, and I know some great exercises for two that we could do.”

Plump lips meeting Hannah’s, her face being overcome with a pinkish flush as they kiss, Hannah losing her breath just like she does when playing, eyes almost closed as she moves closer and closer to the source of her desire, the difference in height being noticeable as the shorter woman has to always be looking up, her gaze, almost pleading, as she stares at the blue eyes of Dina. These thoughts flood Yuki’s mind: that smile, the same one she is receiving at the moment, being directed at a yearning Hannah, that same hand brushing against her face, touching every part of Hannah's body. Everything about it makes her disgusted.

It makes her sick, Yuki’s heart races as her hands close in fists, shivers run down her spine, she doesn’t know if Dina is being truthful, and frankly, she doesn’t even care, she hates the idea of anyone seeing Hannah like that other than herself, pushing Dina’s hand away, Yuki hisses through clenched teeth, trying her best to stil be composed, “Don’t say shit like that about her, or better yet, don’t talk to me about it.”

“Fine, I won’t say, I’ll do.”

Yuki holds Dina’s wrist, a tight grip as her furious glare meets the smug-filled gaze of the Shooting Guard, “You’re an asshole, you know that, right?

Dina's smile only grows wider. She pulls Yuki closer, in a whisper, she asks, “So, are you gonna tell me, or will I have to get it out of a moaning Hannah?”

Pushing her away, Yuki lets out a groan, fixing her hair with her hands as she leans back in the bed, looking away from Dina, she admits, “Fine, you dick, yes, I like her. No, I don’t want you trying anything with her, happy now? Dumbass.”

“Oh yeah, I’m golden, especially since I’m straight, so it would’ve sucked to date Hannah.”

Yuki feels the anger come back, this time not at Dina, but at herself. Closing her eyes and resting on the bed, she starts to think about being somewhere else, pretending that she doesn’t hear the excited hums of Dina after finding out her biggest secret.