Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hey there, handsome.”

Minji saw Yoohyeon roll her eyes from where she stood on third base, watching Minji jog up to her and step on the plate.

“You’re awfully cocky for someone who had to walk to first. Not a single hit from you this game and we’re already halfway through,” Yoohyeon teased, adjusting Minji’s helmet before slapping it playfully.

“Not my fault your pitcher sucks and I took advantage of it,” Minji retorted. “I wasn’t gonna strike out on some sloppy pitches.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yoohyeon replied, focusing on the pitcher wearing the same white and blue uniform she did. “You just wanted to see me.”

“Oh, always,” Minji said, amusement coating her voice. It might’ve been a little tease, but Yoohyeon didn’t need to know how true the statement was.

With that, the pitcher threw the ball. Horrifically, and Minji saw her chance to run when the catcher missed the disaster of a curve ball thrown her way, letting it fly right past her and roll through the grass towards the stands.

In just a few seconds, Minji was sliding over the home plate just as the catcher tried to tap her out, scoring another point for her team. She might not have gotten any hits this game, but damn it if she hasn’t run like hell whenever her teammates did. The fact that she loved to run straight towards third where Yoohyeon was, was totally irrelevant.

The batter playfully smacked her helmet as she passed by, earning a loud laugh from Minji. She jogged up to her dugout, ignoring the boos from the stands. Yeah yeah, an away team scoring in their home. They can deal.

She felt her brain rattle from all the smacks to her helmet she received in congratulations, not to mention the amount of times her ass was slapped playfully. Still, she couldn’t stop smiling from the steal she just did.

After she got the attention off her, she stood on the ledge to watch the game.

Her team was two outs in, and there were two more women on bases first and second. The opposing team still hadn’t switched out their pitcher despite her numerous fuckups already. Really, the only outs they’ve managed to get was from the fielders running for their lives whenever one of Minji’s teammates managed to hit the ball into the air and right into their mitts. Yubin would’ve been a better choice, but unfortunately she was out because the coach overused her too much during practice. Poor girl. Maybe she’d pitch for a bit on Sunday.

“Get ‘em, Sing!” She cheered for her friend up to bat, red hair matching their black and red uniforms. It had been a pact in the team to dye their hair red for the season, which strangely motivated everyone to play better. It motivated the team so much that they were ahead nine points now in the seventh inning. One more, and the ten run rule would kick in for the next half hopefully, and end the game early. Embarrassing for Yoohyeon’s team, which are usually really good, hence them being Minji’s team’s rivals, but that pitcher simply wasn’t doing them any favors. Seriously, Minji felt like she needed to talk to their coach or something, if only to save Yoohyeon the embarrassment.

Speaking of which.

Yoohyeon looked properly focused on the game, her uniform hugging her in all the right places. White jersey with blue letters spelling ‘Bulldogs’, white pants stained with dirt and grass from sliding and rolling around in it, and a blue cap on her head. Her leather mitt was on her left hand, ready to catch any ball thrown her way. Her eyes were intense, never straying from the field in front of her. Minji wasn’t kidding when she called Yoohyeon handsome. It made her want this game to end even faster, if only so she could sneak away with Yoohyeon for a late night… celebration. Preferably, in Yoohyeon’s apartment.

And suddenly she heard a loud thunk, the sweet glorious sound of a ball making love to a bat and being sent to the goddamn moon. Oh, Siyeon hit a home run and Minji was too busy being horny to see it. Whatever. She still cheered loudly as she proudly watched her friend run around the bases, passing by a Yoohyeon who was just shaking her head in amusement. Meanwhile, the other girls on Yoohyeon’s team seemed mad or disappointed. Always taking the game too seriously to the point of hating Minji’s team for playing fair and square. Honestly, Yoohyeon and Yubin were the only two Minji could tolerate, just because they were respectful whether they won or lost.

Well… she more than tolerated Yoohyeon.

Soon enough, Siyeon was running into the dugout, with Minji accepting the tackle with a loud cackle.

“Well done, Sing!” She congratulated, bumping her helmet-clad head against Siyeon’s. Siyeon let out a laugh of her own as she pulled away.

“What do you think? Think I’ll go pro after this?” Siyeon asked jokingly, yet Minji knew there was an undertone of genuineness. Siyeon was one of the few girls here that played out of enjoyment and because she wanted to go pro. It was a passion that Minji could only admire and encourage.

“I think you’ll be the mvp of the season if you keep it up,” Minji responded sincerely, earning a toothy grin from her friend.

Soon enough, they saw a commotion on the field and in the dugout. Batter number seven struck out, so it was time to switch.

Minji took off her helmet and switched it for her cap, adjusting it on her head, and slipped her mitt onto her left hand. Time to take up Yoohyeon’s place.

As she walked out onto the field, she saw Gahyun making her way to the pitcher’s mound. She quickly jogged up and clapped the girl on the back.

“Strike ‘em out, Gahyunie,” Minji encouraged the rookie, earning a sheepish grin from her.

“I’ll do my best,” the younger girl responded. She was a new recruit, but her arm was a damn beast. Truly, the kid earned her spot on the team as a pitcher, and with Bora’s personal training as the team’s catcher, then Gahyun was ready in no time.

Minji sent her a reassuring grin before taking off to third base.

Now that she was in position, she looked around for her… friend on the opposite team among the white and blue. Minji managed to get a glimpse of the 07 jersey walking in the dugout, already with a helmet on her head. Last Minji checked, Yoohyeon was second up to bat this half. Alright. Yoohyeon would arrive to her soon enough then.

The field change finally ended. As a shortstop, Dongie was nearby with a small fond grin towards their resident pitcher, while Siyeon was off center field looking like a damn wolf with her piercing gaze. Goodness, Siyeon, let loose a little.

But, well, Minji wouldn’t ever tell her that.

The bottom half of the inning kicked off with the Bulldogs’ batter striking out with three consecutive fast balls. Damn. Two more outs then. Hopefully, after Yoohyeon makes her way to Minji.

And so, the person of her affections saunters up to the home plate, metal bat in hand, gloves on, and a blue helmet on her head. The angle also let Minji get a fantastic view of Yoohyeon’s ass. Nice. Much more interesting than the game in front of her.

Minji might be crazy, but she thinks Yoohyeon turned her way and winked at her before putting up her bat for a swing.

First pitch, a sinker that definitely sunk a little too low. Ball. Minji saw Gahyun shake her head in disapproval. Always a perfectionist. Second pitch, fast ball right where Yoohyeon loved to hit… and she missed. Strike. Third, another fast ball, another strike. Fourth, a curve ball and-

Oh, there it goes.

The ball landed somewhere in the outfield, somewhere between Siyeon and the right fielder and too low for anyone to reasonably catch it before it bounced. Yoohyeon’s long legs carried her over first and second base, on her way to third when first base threw the ball towards Minji. Minji managed to catch the ball in her mitt and stop Yoohyeon in her tracks. Always playful that one was, a cheeky grin on her face. She should’ve been running back towards second, but no, there she was.

Playfully, Minji swatted at Yoohyeon’s shoulder with her mitt, effectively giving her team the second out. Seriously, Yoohyeon could have a little more urgency even if her team was losing by a milestone. Still, Minji couldn’t help the amused grin that took over her face.

“See ya, beautiful,” Yoohyeon said, walking off the field. Minji shook her head fondly and threw the ball towards Gahyun. Loser.

From there, it only got worse, with the batter after Yoohyeon striking out in three pitches again. Minji had half a mind to think Gahyun’s pitching was on purpose, if only to bring Yoohyeon towards her, but no one really knew the extent of Minji’s feelings for her rival, and even then, Gahyun wouldn’t fuck up her pitches for something like that. Most people simply thought they enjoyed playful banter, some thought they were just friends. And, well, yeah but…

Whatever.

“I wanna get drunk,” Bora said as she slipped off her padding gear.

Minji raised an eyebrow, grabbing her stuff from her locker in the locker room to take a quick shower. She wishes she could go straight to Yoohyeon’s place and shower there, maybe steal one of Yoohyeon’s t-shirts again, but alas, she had to celebrate with her team.

“Coach would hit you with a bat,” Minji responded, letting her hair down from its tight bun. Freedom, at last. Truthfully, Minji agreed with Bora, but they had to keep in shape for practice tomorrow, and then the next game the day after. Damn game weekends.

But, they allowed her to see Yoohyeon.

She felt someone throw an arm around her shoulder. “So, care to explain your weird friendship with a certain lucky number seven?” Handong asked, her jersey unbuttoned and untucked from her pants.

Minji scoffed and shrugged off Handong’s arm. “ Nothing you need to know about. We’re just friendly.” More than friendly, but her teammates didn’t need to know about her fraternizing with the enemy for the better part of two years.

Handong only laughed before striking up a conversation with a half-naked Bora.

Minji could only let out an imperceptible sigh as she stripped out of her uniform. God, she hated stupid and pointless rivalries, but for some reason the league and newspapers loved to paint them as such, and now the actual teams believed they were rivals for some reason. Thank goodness Yoohyeon and Yubin were smart enough not to buy into that shit.

And thank goodness Minji didn’t buy into it either.

***

After a celebratory dinner at McDonald’s, Minji packed her duffle bag in the shared hotel room of Handong, Siyeon, Gahyun, and Bora. Minji didn’t use the same travel as the rest of the girls, often taking her own car, and if they were in Yoohyeon’s town, then she opted out of staying in the same hotel as the rest of the team. She was always on time, sometimes even being earlier, so coach never complained about less costs for a stray team member.

“Hell are you going?” Bora asked from her place on one of the beds, a sleeping Gahyun on her lap and an almost asleep Siyeon on her shoulder. Either they were exhausted or the movie they were watching was just that boring. Meanwhile, Handong was taking a long shower.

“Staying somewhere else.” Minji shrugged, double checking she had everything before slinging her bag onto her shoulder. They had afternoon practice tomorrow at Yoohyeon’s university, with Yoohyeon’s team having a morning practice. The evening and night were supposed to be for resting for Sunday’s game.

No rest for the wicked.

“Okay, can I know where this somewhere else is?” Bora asked, raising an eyebrow. Always skeptical, never receiving an answer.

“Somewhere I won’t get shitfaced and will be able to be on time for practice tomorrow,” Minji reassured, slipping her shoes on and grabbing her keys. Her gear was in her car so… she was good to go. She couldn’t help the rush of excitement she felt at finally being able to see Yoohyeon again after the last few months.

“I hope it’s not to see that damn Bulldog.” Bora wrinkled her nose. “She just looks annoying.”

“You don’t like puppies, Bora?” Minji asked, choosing to deflect. Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and headed to the door. “Kiss Handong goodnight for me, would ya?”

“Disgusting!” Handong called through the bathroom door. Minji snorted in amusement as she walked through the hotel room door.

She sent a quick text to her coach about where she would be, if only so her coach wouldn’t be worried about Minji’s whereabouts. A worrywart that one was. Her coach was also respectable in that nature, that she doesn’t take rivalries seriously, so Minji trusted that her coach would let Minji stay with Yoohyeon from the rival team without any complaints. In return, her coach simply sent her a thumbs up.

The drive to Yoohyeon’s place was kind of nerve wracking. Even after two years of doing this, Minji and Yoohyeon didn’t share their numbers. Yoohyeon never offered, and Minji thought it was simply something a little more intimate. They were friends… with benefits. Any talking they do is mostly during games, and even then it’s just flirting. Still, Minji was stupid and caught feelings for the resident Bulldog third baseman. Who also knows how to bat ridiculously well.

Goddammit.

Soon enough, she arrived at Yoohyeon’s apartment building. She grabbed her bag from the backseat and got out of the car after parking. Her gear was thrown haphazardly in the back seat, but Minji didn’t need to think about that. There was someone waiting for her. Hopefully.

She took a deep breath as she stood in front of Yoohyeon’s door. The girl should be in already. There wasn’t a win for her team to celebrate, and she had early morning practice so…

Minji knocked three times.

She waited a few seconds, contemplating her life choices, when the door swung open to reveal a half-naked Yoohyeon. Yummy, but goodness, what if it wasn’t Minji? Yoohyeon could be confident in her body all she wanted, except Minji was the only one who kind of wanted to see that body too. And lick it. Be quiet.

“...Why are you shirtless?”

“A girl can’t wear whatever she pleases in her own home?” Yoohyeon rolled her eyes with a  grin as she opened the door wider.

“I’m not saying that, but why would you answer the door like that? What if it wasn’t me?” Minji scolded, bending down to untie her shoes. Seriously, did Yoohyeon have no shame?

“Why? Jealous someone else might get to see these?” Yoohyeon teased, patting her abs. Yum. Quiet, Minji.

“I was more worried about you getting a formal complaint from a neighbor. But if you think you’re that desirable, then I’ll allow you to believe it.” With that, Minji finally stood up to properly greet Yoohyeon with a genuine smile. “Hey there, handsome,” she murmured before bringing the younger girl into a slow kiss, her heart flying faster than one of Gahyun’s pitches.

“Hi there, beautiful,” Yoohyeon responded just as quietly into Minji’s lips. It was moments like these, soft and quiet and intimate, that made Minji delusional.

Minji hummed before pulling away. This time, she was the one to pat Yoohyeon’s abs, simply because she could. And they were right there , seriously, not even the strongest could resist them. Did they become more toned since the last time Minji saw them or had it just been that long? Didn’t matter. Yoohyeon was still just as irresistible as always.

“Can I use your shower?” Minji asked, already making her way towards Yoohyeon’s room, hearing a commentator speaking from the tiny TV she had in there. Oh, the game was on.

“What’s mine is yours,” Yoohyeon responded, flopping back onto her bed without a care in the world.

Minji rolled her eyes, but let her bag drop on the floor at the foot of her bed. Instead of digging through it though, she turned towards Yoohyeon’s dresser and dug through the drawers for a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. Really, her bag was just to keep up appearances, as if Minji didn’t feel right at home in Yoohyeon’s apartment and arms.

Quickly, she hopped in the shower, happily using Yoohyeon’s shampoo and soap. It was a small thing, really, but she’ll take anything at this point. Even if it was simply smelling like Yoohyeon.

Afterwards, she grabbed her toothbrush from its place next to Yoohyeon’s. She couldn’t help the rush of warmth that went through her at the thought of Yoohyeon having not removed it from last time. Delusional.

When she finished brushing her teeth, she stepped back into the bedroom, noticing how Yoohyeon looked half asleep already, even though her eyes were still focused on the game.

“Nationals and the Mets?” Minji asked, grabbing her mini blow dryer from her bag and plugging it into the outlet next to the bed. She took a seat on it and began drying her hair on the lowest setting to not cause too much noise.

“Yeah,” Yoohyeon responded, not seeming too interested in the game. A Dodgers fan through and through, but the Dodgers weren’t playing tonight last Minji checked. Minji was a diehard Mets fan though. Plus, Red Sox but they didn’t have a game until next week last she checked the calendar.

They silently watched the game while Minji dried her hair. Nothing too interesting happened, mostly the players getting outs really quickly. Washington was leading by one run, but it was still only the seventh inning. New York could catch up. Minji was too tired to care properly, but still, go Mets!

Finally, Minji’s hair was sufficiently dried. She unplugged the dryer and wrapped the cord around it as she stood and walked towards her bag. There, she put it away and grabbed her phone to put it to charge on the nightstand instead, noticing the barrage of texts from Bora. More accusations that Minji was in bed with the enemy. Well… yes.

She sighed, double checked her alarm was on, and finally got cozy by cuddling up to Yoohyeon.

Instantly, Yoohyeon’s arm was around her back, pulling Minji closer until her head rested on the younger girl’s chest. She threw an arm around Yoohyeon’s waist and let out a content sigh at the feeling of Yoohyeon’s warm hand slipping under her shirt to land on her back. Perfect.

“You can go to sleep, Yooh. I know you have an early morning,” Minji reassured quietly. Really, Yoohyeon wasn’t a fan of either of the teams currently playing, and Minji knew very well they wouldn’t be doing anything tonight with Yoohyeon this tired. That was fine, really, but Yoohyeon should at least get some sleep.

“S’okay,” Yoohyeon responded just as softly, her other hand coming up to run up and down Minji’s arm. “Wanna watch the game with you.” And, well, if that didn’t add to Minji’s doubts about their actual relationship.

They stayed like that until the end of the game, with Minji also fighting back sleep. There were no crazy plays in the game, maybe a home run or two, but Washington ended up winning. Congratulations to them, but Minji was much more interested in the baseball player next to her.

Yoohyeon shut off the TV with a loud yawn, dropping the remote somewhere on the ground. She then brought the blanket up further, effectively tucking both her and Minji in.

But still, she gets to spend the night with Yoohyeon, holding her close with no worries in the world.

“I’ll leave you some breakfast in the morning,” Yoohyeon murmured, pressing a kiss to Minji’s head.

Oh, yeah, Minji was definitely in love with this Bulldog.

***

The way it all started wasn’t that interesting.

Two years ago, Minji was a second year student, not as bright eyed as a freshman thinking that college comes with more freedom, but not as depressed as the senior students. She had been on the team since her first year, but hadn’t had the chance to properly play in the game. Benched the whole time, and mostly used as a pinch runner for her speedy and tactical self. If she could steal a base, she’d do it, no matter the risk.

Then, the senior students graduated, and Minji practiced hard to make up for the disastrous loss of about half the hitters on the team. The coach noticed that Minji had a weird affinity for telling where a pitch is going. She wasn’t particularly the best at batting, but damn, could she get on base at least. So, she was tentatively put in the lineup as a hitter.

While Minji got very few hits in, mostly bunts that allowed her to run like hell, she was a master at stealing bases and scoring runs. Honestly, the only reason she was still a hitter and not a pinch runner was simply to fill up that lineup of hitters. Siyeon was their heavy hitter, and Handong did well enough in hitting to carry some of the load, not to mention Minjeong and Yunjin have hit some home runs to garner them some respect. The rest, though? They push everyone else forward with simple hits and run as fast as they can.

Minji’s first game of the season was against the Bulldogs.

It’s not her team’s first game against them, nor will it be their last, but it was certainly Minji’s first time batting against them. She had been forced to study how they pitch, and Gahyun, although a freshman at the time, had helped her out. Seriously, there’s a reason the university gave her a full ride athletic scholarship for her arm, even if they weren’t too keen on using it yet. A waste, truly, but at least it gave Gahyun more time to help Minji study up.

Bora was also a great help. A seasoned catcher since she was a kid, and highly respected in college baseball. She pointed out the tells the Bulldogs’ catcher was giving, how she leaned to one side to catch a fastball and the other side for a sinker. Minji wouldn’t really be paying attention to the catcher, but it was good to know nonetheless.

Of course, the Bulldogs had secured a new pitcher by the name of Lee Yubin too.

This wasn’t necessarily unexpected. Minji’s nerves weren’t made of steel, but she worked well under pressure regardless. Just study the ball, figure it out, and act accordingly. If Minji could practice against Gahyun’s crazy pitching that left her head spinning, then she could handle pitchers she was unfamiliar with.

And, well, Minji was only kind of right.

Yubin was ridiculously good. Not Gahyun good, thankfully, but good. Minji was seriously put to the test against the careful pitching, but in the end, she actually managed to get a proper hit in. Not a bunt like usual, but a proper hit landing somewhere in the left field, allowing her to run like hell to second base and slide in just as the second baseman tried to tap her out.

From there, it was simply to operate with familiarity. Sidestep away from the base enough that she’ll get a headstart in running, but don’t go too far in case the pitcher tried to out her.

Funny enough, that’s exactly what happened. As Yubin kept pitching, she occasionally spun around to throw a ball to second, forcing Minji to slide right back onto base. She was safe every time, but Yubin was making her work for it. It strangely earned more of Minji’s respect.

Eventually though, Minji saw her chance in the form of the catcher getting into position to catch a slider. Yubin hadn’t thrown one of those yet, so either they were her best pitches or the worst.

Evidently, it was the latter.

When Minji saw that ball go slightly off course, she was halfway to third already. Fuck it. If she got an out, then it was fine. It was just the first inning, and Yunjin and Handong had struck out, so she wouldn’t drag it on any longer. There was still a while to go before the game ended.

And yet, Minji made it to third safe and sound, hearing cheers and boos from the crowd as the catcher threw the ball just a second too late towards the girl on third.

“That was nice,” she heard the girl on third say, throwing the ball back towards the pitcher before a hand came down in an offer to help. What?

Minji blinked in bewilderment, especially when she saw the girl. Pretty brown eyes, pretty and short brown hair in a tiny ponytail, and a friendly grin. A Bulldog offering a Rooster help in standing up. Okay.

Minji wasn’t one to indulge the people’s beliefs that they were rivals. So, with only a slight blunder of surprise, she took the offered Bulldog’s hand. “Thanks.”

When she was up, she dusted herself off a bit. No way was she getting out that stain without a good wash, but it was better than nothing. She could see Sooyoung getting ready to bat again, so Minji got into position to run again.

“I’m Yoohyeon,” the Bulldog said. Was she seriously talking now? She also looked ridiculously relaxed, which, well some people didn’t take the game as seriously. Minji wasn’t bothered by it though. They all had their reasons for playing.

“I’m Minji,” she responded. Pitch three ended up being a ball. Two strikes and one ball for Sooyoung so far.

“This your first year hitting?” Yoohyeon asked. Pitch four, ball again. Come on, two more and Sooyoung gets to walk.

“Yeah,” Minji replied, watching Sooyoung shake herself off.

Yoohyeon hummed. “So listen,” she began. Pitch five, ball. Yubin couldn’t possibly be getting tired already. “Let’s make a deal. My team wins this season, you come to our celebration.”

Minji raised an eyebrow. Cocky. Fair enough. “Only if you come to mine when we win.”

Yoohyeon smirked. Pitch six. Strike.

From there, Minji found a new motivation beyond doing right by her team to steal bases. She simply wanted to make it to the strange Bulldog. Yeah, it was a dumb bet, but the only thing Minji had to lose was the game. All she had to do was not do that.

And her team didn’t lose this first game, thankfully.

However, from Minji’s place on third base, she watched Yoohyeon swing, and it was clear she was one of the Bulldogs’ best hitters. The movements were practiced and fluid, and if it weren’t for Yeri in the left field almost jumping over the fence to catch the ball, then Yoohyeon surely would’ve made a triple run home run this game.

They shared banter whenever one was on third base, which definitely earned a few side eyes from her teammates in the dugout, but Minji didn’t care . She enjoyed baseball, but she also loved talking to people regardless of what team they’re from. A Bulldog was just one more person to become friends with.

Afterwards, some of the girls wanted to drink and party. Minji would indulge in the former, knowing practice with a hangover was a bitch. And there was always a party on campus anyways. If they had to settle for a frat party, so be it.

Funny enough, the Bulldogs ended up showing up. How they heard of a party on Minji’s campus, she didn’t know, but it obviously ticked off an already drunk Bora, who began to mutter expletives under her breath.

“Okay,” Minji said, taking away the drink Bora was pouring for herself. “You’ve drunk enough. Go dance with Singnie. She’s being shy again.”

“What?!” Bora damn near shouted, but it felt muted against the blasting music. “Singnie?! Shy?! Not on my watch!” And off she went. Whipped.

Minji shook her head fondly, and dumped the drink in the sink, all the while she saw the Bulldogs’ third baseman and hitter leaning against the wall, looking strangely attractive in her letterman jacket and matching backwards cap. Minji didn’t think her type was cocky jocks, but, well, her secrets were her own.

Feeling bold, she approached.

Yoohyeon raised an eyebrow, a lazy grin on her face.

“Didn’t think you’d want to be seen in cahoots with a Bulldog,” she commented loudly over the music, taking a sip on the drink Minji totally didn’t notice she’s been nursing all night. Responsible. Minji liked that.

Minji rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall next to Yoohyeon. “Most I’ll get is weird looks, questions, and maybe a Bora that’ll scold me. I don’t really care.” She sent the hitter a questioning look. “Why are you guys here, though?”

Yoohyeon shrugged. “Bored. Some of them wanted to party, but it’s really not my scene, you know?”

And the girl sent Minji a look, and Minji knows that look and what it means. A silent invitation to get out of there and hopefully somewhere more private. Should she? She could ignore it. Truly, because Yoohyeon wasn’t asking outright. Hell, Minji could walk away and she’s sure Yoohyeon wouldn’t be bothered. But…

“My place is nearby if you want to hang out,” Minji offered, her heart beating a mile a minute. Bora absolutely can’t find out about this.

At her words, Yoohyeon’s grin widened into a proper smirk.

“Sure.”

Of course, they slept together.

It was… nice. More than that, really. It wasn’t particularly rough like people sometimes did thinking everyone else liked it, but it wasn’t gentle either for it to be considered too intimate between strangers. Yoohyeon always asked for consent, a gentlewoman, and knew just how hard to grip Minji’s legs, hips or waist. If Minji wanted it harder or faster, then Yoohyeon listened happily. All in all, a fantastic night. Five stars, ten out of ten, would do it again. Bonus points for Yoohyeon having a nice set of abs for Minji to run her nails down.

As Minji came down from her high, Yoohyeon propped herself up on an elbow.

“So? Not bad for a Bulldog, eh?” She said, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly.

Minji snorted and lazily smacked her shoulder. “You’re so full of yourself.”

“Well, you were just full of me, so…” That earned her another smack to her shoulder and a hearty laugh from Minji.

“Shut up and go to sleep,” Minji responded, already turning onto her side so that Yoohyeon couldn’t see Minji’s lingering grin.

“I thought you liked me whispering dirty things in your ear-”

“Shut up!”

With that, Yoohyeon gave a laugh of her own and threw an arm around Minji’s waist, tugging her back against her front. Oh, cuddling? With who is supposed to be a one night stand? Ah, well, Minji didn’t mind. And Yoohyeon was nice and it felt good to have somebody in her bed after winning a game. Especially someone sexy as hell.

Surprisingly, Minji found it easy to sleep that night. Yoohyeon must’ve exhausted her.

The next morning was expected for a one night stand.

Minji woke up to no one in her bed, which, ouch, but again, expected. She chose not to think too deeply about why it stung.

And then she saw Yoohyeon’s letterman jacket still haphazardly thrown on the floor.

Minji’s brows furrowed as she stood from bed. She’s sure her phone has blown up with texts from her team, but it didn’t matter right now. She instead reached down to pick it up and put it on. She also grabbed the stray pair of boxers and put them on. They were left on her floor and she was picking them up, okay?

She stepped out of her room, being greeted by the sweet smell of breakfast. Is that where the Bulldog went?

Turning the corner, she came face to face with Yoohyeon, shirtless, her hair still tussled from sleep and her sweatpants hanging low on her hips, looking even more delicious than the pancakes she was making.

“Mornin’ sleepyhead,” Yoohyeon greeted through a yawn, flipping a pancake. “Hope you don't mind me using your kitchen.”

And, well, no Minji didn’t mind, actually. It was a trade, really. Minji got to ogle Yoohyeon, and Yoohyeon got to use Minji’s kitchen. She chose to ignore the fact that she won in both scenarios.

“As long as I get to eat too,” Minji responded, jumping up to sit on the counter next to the stove. Yum. And Minji wasn’t talking about the food.

“Only if you give me a kiss,” the Bulldog retorted, stacking the final pancake and shutting off the stove. She then stepped between Minji’s legs and wrapped her arms around her waist.

Minji hummed, draping her arms over Yoohyeon’s shoulders and leaning down to do as asked. “Mornin’...” she mumbled against the younger girl’s lips. This was… strangely intimate for a one night stand, but Minji couldn’t find any reasons not to indulge.

And then Yoohyeon pulled away with a bright grin, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and Minji realized she was in trouble with this Bulldog.

Breakfast was full of the same banter and flirting, but Yoohyeon still had to go for practice before her team sent out a search party, which meant Minji did have to give back Yoohyeon’s clothes. And Minji really did think it’d be the last of Yoohyeon she would see, besides the game they had coming up, but, well, life is kind of funny like that.

Because when Minji’s team won again against the Bulldogs, guess where Minji had her own private celebration?

Right back in her apartment with Yoohyeon.

Since they had to win three out of five games to advance, then one weekend alone wasn’t enough. The following weekend, three hours away at Yoohyeon’s university, they lost by one lucky run against the Bulldogs, and somehow, Minji ended up in Yoohyeon’s apartment. This back and forth continued through the following seasons, with each of them somehow finding each other whenever one was in town for a game, celebrating in each other’s apartments. Neither of them won those seasons, though.

So, really, not that interesting how it all started.

And yet, Minji wouldn’t trade it for the world.

***

Minji pouted as she stirred awake and didn’t feel a warm body next to her.

She sighed, realizing that Yoohyeon probably left for practice already. This was supposed to be casual, and only something they indulged in whenever they had game weekends at each other’s universities, but literally everything they do is far from casual. Kissing, cuddling, flirting, hell, making breakfast , and all without the intention of following it up with sex. They stayed over at each others’ apartments, simply because they could, and what was it Yoohyeon told Minji? ‘What’s mine is yours.’ Right. Because that was totally a casual thing to say. It messed with Minji’s mind, but she was also stuck in this loop with Yoohyeon, and she wasn’t sure how to break out of it.

Minji shook her head, deciding to wake the hell up.

As she stretched with a yawn, her eyes noticed a note on top of her phone. She smiled, suddenly all thoughts about whether they were just a fling or not were thrown out the window.

Good morning gorgeous :)

I left you breakfast in the microwave. I would’ve woken you up so we could eat together, but you looked so beautiful while you slept, it would’ve been a crime. Plus, it was a long game, so you need all the rest you can get before your practice.

I’ll try to come home before you leave so I can give you a goodbye kiss, yeah? For now, you’ll just have to get through the day with the one I gave you while you slept ;)

Minji snorted when she finished reading the note. She wouldn’t have minded eating breakfast with Yoohyeon. She wouldn’t have minded spending any time with Yoohyeon, really, even if she sacrificed sleep for it. Being half asleep for practice was better than being half asleep for a game.

Sigh.

Minji stood up from the bed, still fondly looking over the note, before slipping it into her bag in a pocket where it won't rip on accident. Small things that she does that Yoohyeon doesn’t need to know about.

With that, she finally managed to grab her phone. Some of the girls were up and at ‘em in the group chat, some were probably still asleep. Most likely Siyeon. Minji ignored them in favor of going to eat the breakfast Yoohyeon made her.

It was a lonely affair. Yoohyeon’s apartment felt like home to her, but truthfully, she’d rather the real inhabitant be with her too. Even if this was an on and off thing, and it kind of hurt to know that Yoohyeon only saw her as a fling, Minji couldn’t help but hope. Hell, what kind of person made breakfast for their fling they held tenderly the night before? Sweet and silly Yoohyeon apparently.

Still, Minji heartily ate the pancakes, remembering that first morning after and how Yoohyeon looked right at home in Minji’s kitchen. Minji thinks she should’ve seen this coming, knowing how the way to her heart was through her stomach, but it’s too late now.

Once she finished, she cleaned up around the kitchen. Yoohyeon had already gotten to most of it, but Minji also planned on making her a post-practice lunch and didn’t want to leave behind an even bigger mess than before. Sigh. The things she does for a girl who doesn’t love her back. Probably. Minji would let herself be a little delusional for a little longer.

With that, she let out a sigh and decided to crawl back into Yoohyeon’s bed and watch some TV. Of course, she first dug through Yoohyeon’s closet for her Bulldog letterman jacket, feeling warm and at home in it.

She chose to laze around for about an hour and a half, still ignoring the texts from her teammates. She was supposed to be practicing more of her hitting today, so she already had everything she needed in her bag. No need to see whatever everyone else was fighting about.

Afterwards, she decided to start working on Yoohyeon’s lunch. Nothing crazy. Especially knowing how the Bulldog’s kitchen isn’t necessarily the most stacked one in the world. All Minji knew was that the meal had to be big enough to support an athlete’s stomach fresh out of practice.

The rest of the time was spent doing just that. Make lunch, get dressed, make sure Yoohyeon’s jacket was back in the closet as if it was never disturbed, and head out.

Honestly, though? Minji just wanted to turn back around and head back inside.

***

“Still not sharing where you went?”

Minji sighed as she got ready to bat, Gahyun pitching and Bora yabbering away behind her.

They were in a batting practice room. Small, nothing quite like being able to practice on a real field, but Minji wasn’t looking to hit anything. She just wanted to swing or bunt, and Gahyun didn’t need all that much space to pitch anyways.

“No, Bora, but it seems like you’ve made up your mind about my whereabouts already,” Minji replied, not bothering to swing against Gahyun’s killer fast ball. “How fast was that one, Sing?” She called.

Siyeon took a look over at the speed meter. She whistled. “Over 100 miles. Gahyun has a big league arm.”

“Okay, a little more specific this time,” Gahyun insisted.

“Uhh… 105,” Siyeon corrected. “A few decimals away from breaking a record, kid.”

Gahyun pumped her fist, her competitive streak not failing her yet. She then got ready to pitch again, meaning Minji had to get ready to bat.

“I am curious, though, how is that Bulldog in bed?” Handong piped up from her place on a chair next to Siyeon.

Minji was so startled by the question that she didn’t even notice when Gahyun threw the ball. “Nothing you need to know about, Dong.”

“So you have slept with her,” Handong confirmed, earning an eye roll from Minji.

“You can’t prove that.”

“You’re fraternizing with the enemy!”

“I’m getting sick of your shit, Bora!” Minji shot right back, not really meaning it. Seriously, she’s been dealing with all of this for the better part of two years. This was nothing.

“You know we’ll support you with whatever, right?” Siyeon chimed in gently. Minji thinks this is worse than when her parents sat her down already knowing she was gay as hell.

Minji let out another deep sigh, getting her bat into position to swing.

“I mean, as long as you guys are okay with me being in love with her.”

She thinks this was the first time Gahyun ever fumbled a pitch.

***

Minji couldn’t help the sense of utter relief she felt when she stepped through Yoohyeon’s front door, trusting that it was already unlocked for her.

“Hi, gorgeous,” she heard Yoohyeon greet her from the couch, lazily sprawled on it while she played on her switch in a pair of boxers and a sports bra.

“Hey, handsome,” Minji greeted right back, kicking off her shoes in the entrance before making her way to Yoohyeon and crawling into her arms.

Yoohyeon easily accommodated her, pressing a kiss to Minji’s hair. “You stink,” she commented, but made no move to push Minji off. “Thank you for lunch,” she said a little more quietly, placing her switch on the ground and wrapping her arms properly around Minji’s waist.

Minji hummed, raising herself up enough to peck Yoohyeon’s lips. “Thank you for breakfast,” she murmured before burying her face into Yoohyeon’s neck.

The Bulldog tugged her closer, rubbing a hand up and down her sweaty back. Minji really should go take a shower, but she’s so comfy here too. Sigh.

“Um, Minji?” Yoohyeon piped up softly, maybe nervously. “Would you like to go out to dinner together?”

Dinner? Out? Usually, Minji’s dinner was Yoohyeon in these cases with some home cooked food or takeout, but actually going out and sitting in a restaurant together? Unheard of. Minji couldn’t help the spark of hope in her chest, nor could she help the way she immediately squashed it. Stop jumping to conclusions.

“Sure,” Minji agreed casually. Just like their relationship.

She felt Yoohyeon give a happy wiggle under her, making her let out a soft laugh. She sat up enough to straddle Yoohyeon’s lap, patting the younger girl’s stomach.

“I’ll go take a shower then,” she said, quickly pecking Yoohyeon’s lips again before hopping off her lap. “Can I steal something to wear? Didn’t bring much for the weekend.”

“Always. What’s mine is yours,” Yoohyeon replied, sending Minji a soft yet blinding grin, looking absolutely ecstatic. Cute, and all it did was send Minji’s heart flying.

With that, she went to do as said. She happily hummed a tune while she showered, excited over being able to do something sort of normal with Yoohyeon. Yeah, they were running the risk of one of their teammates seeing them, but it’s not like they were trying too hard to keep this a secret anyways. They were just… private. At least, that’s what Minji convinced herself of.

Once she was done, she stepped out of the bathroom with only her towel wrapped around her, finding Yoohyeon sitting on the edge of the bed tying her shoes, half dressed in just a pair of jeans.

Yoohyeon looked up at the sound of the door, her shoe-tying briefly pausing to look Minji up and down.

“ Later ,” Minji emphasized, tilting Yoohyeon’s chin up to press a quick kiss to her lips. “I have to get ready.”

The Bulldog pouted, reaching out to hold Minji’s hips and tug her into straddling her lap. Unfortunately for Minji, she was very weak to anything Yoohyeon related, so she followed easily.

“But you look so pretty already,” Yoohyeon tried to persuade, her hands landing on Minji’s thighs, sliding them up until she was holding Minji’s waist from under the towel. “We can order in, just stay in bed the rest of the night,” she murmured, her lips brushing against Minji’s.

Minji hummed, her hands cupping Yoohyeon’s face and tugging her into a slow kiss. Then, she abruptly pulled away, one hand dropping to firmly press against the other girl’s shoulder. “Later,” she said quietly, before hopping off Yoohyeon’s lap.

Yoohyeon still pouted, but she didn’t push anymore. Patience looked good on her.

They silently got dressed, with Minji’s clothes being 90% Yoohyeon’s. Seriously, she hadn’t packed for going out, mostly a pair of casual clothes to rest or travel in. Yoohyeon taking her out to eat was one hell of a welcome surprise.

She sincerely hoped that her heart could keep itself in check tonight.

Although, when Yoohyeon leaned in to press a chaste kiss to Minji’s lips, murmuring “you look beautiful”, Minji knew she was in trouble.

***

“Here it is,” Yoohyeon said, holding open the door to the restaurant.

It was a nice little italian hole in the wall, family owned judging by the photos and newspapers up on the wall. Not formal, like Yoohyeon said, but nothing like McDonald’s after a baseball game. Nice. It was nice, and Yoohyeon was being the perfect gentleman with her bright brown eyes as she held out her arm to Minji.

They quickly took a seat at a table, sitting next to each other rather than across from each other. Minji wanted to be close to Yoohyeon, to pretend that this was a proper date rather than a simple dinner outing. Yoohyeon, for her part, looked content as she scanned the menu, not taking notice of Minji’s inner turmoil.

“They have some good pastas on the menu,” Yoohyeon commented quietly, leaning in to say it into Minji’s ear. Minji suppressed a shiver.

“You pick for me, then?” Minji responded, closing the menu, otherwise she would’ve picked everything on it. She was starving, and Yoohyeon knew how she got when she was hungry.

Yoohyeon hummed, placing her own menu on the table before wrapping an arm around Minji’s shoulders. Did they look like they were on a date? Hopefully.

Easily, Yoohyeon rattled off their orders, with Minji only putting up a slight fight when Yoohyeon ordered something bigger for her. She didn’t really want Yoohyeon to pay for it all, but Minji was too hungry to care as well. Plus, it fit her little fantasy of this being a date.

Conversation was low and easy. It always was. Yoohyeon is a quiet person by nature, but she knew how to hold a conversation, keeping quiet and listening to Minji, being witty when she could, and just overall sweet and charming Yoohyeon.

When the food arrived, conversation was quickly forgotten. Minji’s stomach waited for no one, not even Yoohyeon. She chose to ignore the amused laugh from Yoohyeon. At least the food was spectacular.

Afterwards, Yoohyeon paid like a true gentleman. Swoon. It also meant that they could finally go home and…

“Ready?” Yoohyeon murmured as she and Minji walked down the sidewalk.

Minji took a deep breath. It was nothing new, and she was somehow still excited for it. It might hurt later down the line, when the haze of being in love washes away, but for now, Minji wanted to spend the night with Yoohyeon.

“Ready.”

***

Minji let out a content sigh as she laid with her head on Yoohyeon’s bare chest.

It was… late. Minji wasn’t sure how late, but it was late. Cars were fewer outside from what she could hear, and the neighbors had piped down too. None of that really mattered right now. It had been a few wonderful hours with Yoohyeon, tangled in sheets together, and Minji was happy.

“Ready for the game later today?” Yoohyeon whispered, a finger twirling a strand of Minji’s hair. Damn, it was late late. Didn’t matter.

“Of course. I’ll make sure to dress up just for you,” Minji responded, tracing the line of Yoohyeon’s abs. Yummy. But Minji already left her mark on them in the form of hickeys scattered around Yoohyeon’s torso.

“Oh? I’m flattered. Gonna wear sexy lingerie under your uniform for me, babe?” Yoohyeon continued.

“Going commando actually,” Minji shot back, earning a loud laugh from Yoohyeon. She loved it like this, being able to feel the rise and fall of Yoohyeon’s chest right under her cheek.

“God, you imagine? It sounds painful as hell,” the Bulldog commented, her hand now moving to properly hold Minji. Safe.

Minji hummed, already feeling the effects of the late hour and their late night activities, yet she still wanted to stay in this tranquil bubble with Yoohyeon for a little longer. Later, they would play a game, and win or lose, Minji would have to make the drive back home without Yoohyeon.

Maybe the distance is what made all of this easier. If she was surrounded by Yoohyeon 24/7, she’s not sure what that would do for her. Really, these game weekends were good, great even, or the regular weekends in the off-season where Minji could drive up and down to spend it with Yoohyeon. Minji would get her fix before resuming her regular college schedule. No need to think about her maybe unrequited feelings when Yoohyeon wasn’t around.

But, well, when Yoohyeon was around…

Minji pressed a kiss right against Yoohyeon’s pulse point, feeling Yoohyeon let out a small sigh of her own.

Addicting. Yoohyeon was addicting.

***

Top of the ninth inning, and the Roosters were ahead by three runs. Maybe more if Minji could steal third and then run to home.

Yubin was put to pitch for a bit today, making it so the Bulldogs’ defense was a bit stronger. Thankfully, Minji’s team had some incredibly good offense. Regardless of today’s outcome, Minji knew she’d be seeing Yoohyeon the following weekend. A fantastic thing to look forward to.

She chanced a glance towards Yoohyeon, finding the girl focused on Yubin’s upcoming pitch. It was kind of hot, seeing Yoohyeon finally letting her competitive side show. Minji needed to tell her, so, the second she saw that ball go flying, she ran like hell.

It was close, with Yoohyeon’s mitt holding the ball coming down to tap Minji’s thigh just as her foot touched the base, but the umpire called out a ‘safe!’, so Minji was in the clear.

“Damn,” Yoohyeon said, throwing the ball back to Yubin. From what Minji could see up on the scoreboard, Soojin got her second strike. It was fine. Just one out so far, and Siyeon would be up next anyways. “That desperate to see me?”

“You kidding me?” Minji responded, dusting off her pants. “I’m ready to make out with you right here.”

“Oh, well don’t let me stop ya,” Yoohyeon replied cheerily. Strike three. Soojin is out.

Minji snorted, watching as Soojin stepped away and Siyeon took her place. If Siyeon got a home run, with Sooyoung on first and Minji on third, Minji would treat her to dinner for a whole week.

“Still sure you’re gonna win this?” Minji teased, slightly side-stepping off base. Yeah, it might be bad luck to start gloating now, but her adrenaline was running high after stealing third and from being around Yoohyeon.

“Hmm, maybe, maybe not. As long as I get to see you next weekend,” Yoohyeon smoothly replied.

With that, Siyeon swung against the incoming pitch, sending the ball flying over the fence. Heavy hitter indeed.

Minji happily jogged back to home, knowing Sooyoung and Siyeon were making their rounds around the bases. Although Minji wanted to gloat a bit more, she knew the second half of the inning was left, and Yoohyeon was a damn good hitter.

The dugout congratulated Minji for stealing third (again), and then an even bigger congratulations to Siyeon for a home run. The gap was wider now, which relaxed them all a bit, but Minji has seen bigger miracles at other games.

Minjeong ended up striking out, effectively ending their turn to bat, and allowing the Bulldogs to try and catch up. It wouldn’t be easy, but it was possible. But hey, the more these games drag on, the longer Minji could sneak away to see Yoohyeon.

God, she was hopeless.

***

Thankfully, the Bulldogs didn’t catch up, but it was damn close.

Like Minji thought, Yoohyeon would probably do something crazy, like hit a grand slam. Fortunately, that only brought the gap closer, but in the end, the Bulldogs lost. If they lose one more game, then they’re effectively eliminated, and the Roosters can move on up. Minji was tempted to play sloppy, if only to give the Bulldogs an advantage and let her see Yoohyeon for longer.

But, well, her teammates deserved better than a player who cared more for someone on the opposing team.

With a sigh, Minji shifted her bag higher on her shoulder and stepped out of the locker room, freshly showered and ready for the long drive home. She probably wouldn’t be able to see Yoohyeon before she left, but those were the consequences of their unspoken arrangement.

And yet, there was Yoohyeon, also freshly showered and looking comfortable in a pair of sweatpants and a simple t-shirt as she leaned against the wall.

“Hey, beautiful,” Yoohyeon greeted, a dorky grin lighting up her face at the sight of Minji. She pushed off the wall to meet Minji in the middle.

“Hey there, handsome,” Minji responded, ignoring the side eyes from her teammates as they came out of the locker room behind her. “What brings you ‘round these parts?”

Yoohyeon snorted. “First of all, it’s my university. Second…” She brought a hand up to gently tug at the strap of Minji’s bag, Minji letting it slip off her shoulder easily. The Bulldog then slung it onto her own shoulder, holding out her free hand. “I wanted to say goodbye to you properly.”

Minji easily slipped her hand into Yoohyeon’s, immediately intertwining their fingers as they began to walk. This was one hell of a surprise, but an extremely welcome one nonetheless. Seems like Yoohyeon was on a roll this weekend.

“Aren’t you feeling chivalrous,” Minji commented, swinging their hands between them. She felt giddy, as if they had just started dating, when that was so clearly not what was going on here. Still, it made her hope.

The Bulldog let out a sheepish laugh, looking uncharacteristically shy as she walked Minji to her car. Again with that look. Minji likes to think she knows Yoohyeon well by now, but she really can’t understand why Yoohyeon was acting like this.

“I just… I’m gonna miss you, I guess.” Yoohyeon shrugged, slowing their walk until it felt like they weren’t going anywhere with how slow they were going. A crawl, more like. “Plus I… um…”

She paused, shifting nervously on her feet before wordlessly reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone.

“Would you… want to exchange numbers?” She asked, barely restrained hope in her voice, and although it was dark, Minji could still make out the little glimmer in Yoohyeon’s eyes.

This was… another surprise. Three for three it seemed like. Three strikes, and it seemed like Minji was out. Or, more like, she was irrevocably in love with Kim Yoohyeon.

“Okay,” she responded, having to let go of Yoohyeon’s hand to grab her phone from her bag. She unlocked it and handed it over to Yoohyeon, taking Yoohyeon’s phone in turn.

The process was quick and simple, but it felt like it meant something more. Maybe Minji was just going crazy.

They quickly got back to walking, Minji now with barely restrained excitement coursing through her. Wasn’t she just thinking about how not having Yoohyeon’s number was beneficial? Yet here she was, not putting up a simple boundary, not even questioning their relationship. God, she was weak.

“Here you are,” Yoohyeon murmured, slipping Minji’s bag off her shoulder and handing it to her. Minji quickly unlocked her car and threw it into the backseat. It was a mess back there. She chose to clean it another day, far into the future.

She turned back towards Yoohyeon, seeing the dejected puppy look on her face. Without further ado, she reached up to cup the younger girl’s face and tug her into a slow kiss. They were in public. No need to put on a show, even though she’s sure someone will tell Bora and Bora will yell at her. Who cares, really.

Yoohyeon gently pushed her against the side of the car, the hands on her waist warm even through the shirt. Minji let out a breath through her nose, enjoying the feeling of Yoohyeon pressed against her front. It wouldn’t be for five days until she could feel this again, in her own bed. Oh, she looked forward to it.

Minji couldn’t resist the urge to tangle her fingers in Yoohyeon’s short hair, gently scratching at her scalp and pulling a low moan from her lips. Well, guess there was a show.

“I’m gonna miss you too,” she mumbled into the kiss before pulling away, but not going far.

Yoohyeon rubbed their noses together, making no move to pull away. “You sure we can’t have a quickie in your car?”

Minji snorted. “Trying to get your fill of me before I go?” She murmured.

“Yeah,” the Bulldog replied sincerely, puppy eyes in full effect. Or maybe those were their natural state.

The older girl didn’t have a response for that, simply humming and kissing Yoohyeon softly once again. “You’re too impatient,” she teased gently.

“You’re the one who said you would go commando today for me.”

That pulled a laugh out of Minji. She gently smacked Yoohyeon on the shoulder before tugging her into a hug, feeling right at home.

She felt Yoohyeon let out a sigh and press a kiss to her head. This was… uncharted territory. Possibly the most unknown one to Minji. She could accept dinner out in a restaurant, Yoohyeon wanting to say goodbye, and Yoohyeon asking for her number. But this? Simple intimacy and yearning from Yoohyeon? It made Minji dizzy.

Too much.

“I should go,” she murmured, needing to get her thoughts in order and wanting to do it on the long drive back home.

Yoohyeon leaned back and pouted. “Sure no quickie?”

At that, Minji relaxed with another laugh. “I’m sure, Hyeon. You go home and rest. I’m lucky I don’t have any classes tomorrow and can sleep in all I want.”

Yoohyeon nodded in agreement. “Text me you got home safe?”

And… ah. Yoohyeon was so sweet, and Minji knew this would probably be a regular thing for them both now.

“Of course,” Minji responded, pecking Yoohyeon on the lips before properly pushing the Bulldog away. “Shoo before I do something crazy.”

Yoohyeon let out a laugh, and Minji half thought she would reply with a little quip, but surprisingly, Yoohyeon did as told and stepped away from Minji. Minji wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or not.

“I’ll wait up for your text.” Stupid and sweet Yoohyeon.

“You have class tomorrow,” Minji pointed out.

Yoohyeon shrugged, slipping her hands into her pockets. “I’ll do it anyways.”

And, god, Minji needed to go, even if she really didn’t want to.

“I refuse to be responsible for your lack of sleep,” Minji said, finally opening the door to the driver’s side. “Goodnight, Yoohyeon.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Again, dumb and soft look on Yoohyeon’s face.

With that, Minji quickly slipped into the driver’s seat, got herself buckled in and turned on the car, and easily peeled out of the parking space, waving to Yoohyeon as she drove off.

She had a lot to think about on her drive home it seemed.

***

At around two in the goddamn morning, Minji walked through the door to her tiny apartment.

It wasn’t much, the kitchen and living room being an entire room, and Minji’s bedroom leading to the single bathroom, but she had no roommates, so it was perfect for her. Yoohyeon was her only consistent visitor, hangouts with the girls being either in public or at Dongie’s much bigger and nicer place. Rich girls. God.

Whatever. This had been her place since she started uni, and she was fond of it thank you very much.

Although tired and sluggish, she still got ready for bed. There was no rush to sleep, not when she could sleep in tomorrow.

Dirty clothes in hamper, bag thrown in closet, shower, brush teeth, minimal skin care routine because Minji really wasn’t up for the full thing at this hour, and crawl into bed. Simple.

And then she remembered there was one more thing on her list.

With surprising speed that didn’t match her tiredness, she grabbed her phone off her nightstand and unlocked it. She started a new chat with the new number in her phone, letting out a snort at what Yoohyeon named herself.

I made it home safely.

Was that okay? Stop worrying, Minji. You’ve seen Yoohyeon naked.

Minji stared at her phone for a moment longer, assuming and hoping Yoohyeon was asleep and didn’t actually stay up to wait for her text. Alas, she saw those three dots appear.

Yoohyeon (best lay ever): good :)

Yoohyeon (best lay ever): im glad youre okay

Yoohyeon (best lay ever): that means i can finally stop playing the show and go to sleep

You are not Ohtani or Freeman

Yoohyeon (best lay ever): not yet im not!

Dork.

Goodnight Yoohyeonie :)

Yoohyeon (best lay ever): goodnight beautiful :)

And that was that.

It wasn’t the best sleep ever, but combined with exhaustion and the sweetness Yoohyeon always manages to show her, she thinks she slept peacefully.

***

The rest of the week wasn’t too interesting.

Between classes and Minji practicing her swings (Gahyun wouldn’t let her catch a break ), she also received messages from Yoohyeon throughout. They weren’t much, both of them too busy to have a proper conversation, but Minji still managed to smile at Yoohyeon’s dumb memes that she doesn’t understand half the time. In turn, she sends Yoohyeon funny baseball puns that she’s sure get an eye roll from the other girl. Familiar. That’s what it was.

So, yeah, Minji’s routine was only slightly changed, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

And like this, Friday quickly arrives, and with it, another game between the Bulldogs and Roosters. God, those names were stupid as hell.

Whatever. Minji couldn’t help the giddiness at being able to flirt with Yoohyeon on the field.

“Hey there, handsome,” she greeted, familiar and excited from seeing the primarily blue uniform on her home turf.

“Hey,” Yoohyeon responded, a glint in her eyes, probably also realizing how familiar this was. Bases loaded, and all Minji had to do was walk onto third. The difference is that the game was super close, and part of Minji hoped the Bulldogs pulled ahead in the following inning, if only so Yoohyeon would stay the weekend.

“You planning on losing in the next inning?" She asked, teasing.

“Not a chance,” Yoohyeon shot back, and there goes a strike for Soojin, at least she had two balls already. Hey, maybe Minji won’t have to steal home base this time around and she could just walk right- nevermind strike two.

“I can’t promise a proper celebration if you win, y’know. Bora is already on my ass about us so I have to prove my loyalty,” Minji commented. Ball three. Goddamn Yubin and that arm.

That pulled a small laugh out of Yoohyeon. “It’s alright. I’d prefer watching the Dodgers game tonight if you’re up for it.”

Ball four. Guess Minji was walking. Poor Yubinnie must be tired.

“Couldn’t think of anything better.”

***

In the end, the Bulldogs managed to pull through, all thanks to one Kim Yoohyeon.

Honestly, her swinging was an art that Minji could stare at all day. Perfected from years of practice and from emulating some of her favorite hitters, because god Yoohyeon wanted to go pro. Of course she did, and no one deserved it more. There were times when Yoohyeon might not take a game too seriously, because she loved the fun of it too and she had a hell of a mind to know if it was a lost cause or not, but when she did get serious? She was beautiful.

Gahyun had to be taken out before she exhausted herself to the point of hurting herself, with one of their backups being thrown in. Yeri wasn’t perfect, but she had a good arm. Unfortunately, Yoohyeon was just… good. So good. And when there were women on base already too? Yoohyeon managed to push them a little further than Minji’s team.

The happy sparkle in her eye, the slight smile that Minji would love to kiss, and the sound of the ball hitting the bat solidifying the home run she just made, she was perfect in Minji’s eyes, and made her want to do even better.

Minji wasn’t lying when she said Yoohyeon wasn’t Ohtani or Freeman, or even Betts or any one of those Dodgers hitters. But god could Minji see Yoohyeon eventually becoming better and better.

So, of course they celebrated by watching the Dodgers game against the San Diego Padres. Nothing quite like a good rivalry.

In classic Yoohyeon fashion, she was half naked in just some Dodgers boxers, hair unbrushed after a shower, looking right at home in Minji’s bed under her Red Sox blanket. It shouldn’t be doing things to Minji, but it does. Sigh.

“Hi,” Minji murmured as she crawled into bed, pressing a kiss to Yoohyeon’s cheek and joining her in a similar state of undress. Yoohyeon hummed, eyes sleepy but still focused intently on the game, and easily accepted Minji into her arms with a kiss to her forehead. Minji let out a content sigh at the feeling of Yoohyeon’s skin against hers, the warmth comforting after a long game.

“Dodgers are gonna win, you’ll see,” she said quietly, and Minji could hear the confidence in her voice. It nearly made Minji think that Yoohyeon knew something she didn’t.

“Baby, they’re down by two and it’s the last inning already,” Minji pointed out. Unless if Freeman pulled a home run out of his ass, Dodgers would lose.

And yet, as if Yoohyeon managing to win the game for the Bulldogs today was some sort of prophecy, Freeman swung and got a home run, pushing the two other men on base forwards and effectively ending the game with the Dodgers ahead by a point. Thank goodness Minji didn’t bet on this game tonight.

Yoohyeon gave a small fist pump with a laugh, and Minji couldn’t help but join her. Yoohyeon was infectious.

“Told ya,” Yoohyeon gloated, hugging Minji tightly and nosing her hair. She was so cute when she was excited, even if she was rubbing it in Minji’s face.

“Yeah, yeah,” Minji grumbled, desperately trying to hide her smile in Yoohyeon’s neck.

“What does that feel like, though? Hitting a home run?” She asked quietly once Yoohyeon shut off the TV.

Yoohyeon took a deep breath, seemingly deep in thought.

“It’s like… like a shooting star NASA can’t catch. Except you sent it up into the air. That feeling you get in your arms is unmatched, like they know how to send the ball back where it came from. You don’t want to do anything else, I mostly run on autopilot, but you just want to sit and watch the meteor shower start, y’know?” She explained gently, reverently, as if she was sharing some sort of secret. “I dunno what I’m talking about.”

“No, I like that,” Minji reassured, hugging Yoohyeon tightly. “It sounds nice. Magical even. Maybe I’ll get to hit one one day and see what it’s like.” It was mostly a joke, Minji didn’t hit home runs. Minji waited and stole and walked and bunted and maybe got a hit or two, but she didn’t get home runs.

Yoohyeon pressed a kiss to her head.

“I know you will.”

***

The weekend passed by almost the same as last weekend.

These things are normal for them, at least as normal as they can be. Friday was downtime, Saturday practices then sex, Sunday game, and then they waited to do it again the next time either one of them was in town. Last week was a slight deviation with Yoohyeon taking her out to eat, which Minji totally still didn’t think about and debated returning the favor with a local pizza place. Ultimately, she decided making Yoohyeon some dinner to come home to was a better idea.

So, when Minji stepped through the door to her empty apartment after an excruciating practice, she quickly got to work. She showered, got dressed comfortably in some shorts and t-shirt, dug around through Yoohyeon’s bag to steal her letterman jacket, and began making dinner for when Yoohyeon arrived.

As Minji cleaned up the kitchen as best she could, humming along to the song she was playing from her phone, Yoohyeon walked in through the unlocked door.

“Hey,” Minji greeted, not looking up from the dishes she was washing, the sleeves of Yoohyeon’s jacket rolled up. “Made us dinner. Thought you might be hungry.”

She heard shuffling from behind her before Yoohyeon’s warm body pressed against her back, arms wrapping around her waist. “Hi,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to Minji’s neck and gently swaying them to the beat of the song. “Have I mentioned how much I enjoy seeing you in my jacket?”

Minji hummed, finally shutting off the faucet and leaning into Yoohyeon’s embrace. “Maybe. I’m not sure if I remember.”

Yoohyeon continued their gentle swaying, slipping her hands under Minji’s shirt to hold her waist. Minji couldn’t suppress the slight shiver that ran through her at the feeling.

“You know, we should have sex while you wear it. Just the jacket,” Yoohyeon commented.

That got a startled laugh out of Minji, the thought of it surprisingly enticing. Why not boost Yoohyeon’s ego? Minji sometimes felt more like Yoohyeon’s than a goddamn Rooster anyway.

“You have to shower then eat. Then we can talk about it,” Minji responded, bringing a hand up to pat Yoohyeon’s cheek, already knowing that she would agree to anything Yoohyeon asked of her. “Shoo. I’ll make you a plate, alright?”

Yoohyeon pouted, but kissed Minji’s cheek in parting. “Thank you,” she mumbled before padding away to do as told.

Minji shook her head in fondness for Yoohyeon, and in disappointment for herself for being in love with this fool. Because really, she was just setting herself up for heartbreak, and Yoohyeon just made it so much worse.

Soon enough, Yoohyeon popped out of the bedroom, freshly showered and very much half naked.

“Why are you always shirtless?” Minji asked, handing Yoohyeon her plate and taking a seat next to her on the couch.

Yoohyeon shrugged, digging in without a care in the world. “Easy. Plus, you like my abs.”

Well, yes. Yes, Minji does. Stop ogling.

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” she scolded lightly instead, beginning to eat from her own plate too.

A few more moments went by where they ate in silence.

“Wanna have sex with you in my jacket after this?”

Minji sighed and shook her head, incredibly and utterly endeared by this Bulldog.

“Sure.”

Yoohyeon cheered with a small fist pump.

***

“Would you hold it against me if we eliminated you this time around?”

Yoohyeon’s brows furrowed as she walked out of the bathroom, hair messy from Minji’s fingers running through and tugging at it during their… activities. And yes, the jacket never came off, which is how Minji found herself now, deliciously sore, ready for bed, and wearing the damn letterman and nothing else. It needed a wash.

“I’ve never held it against you before. Why would I start now?” Yoohyeon responded, crawling over Minji to lay against the wall on the other side of the bed.

“I dunno,” Minji admitted. Really. It was late, and her brain wasn’t braining. Some things she kept in the back of her mind, especially with Yoohyeon, were now all she could focus on. How many ways could she lose Yoohyeon? Would baseball be one of them? Maybe it was the jacket’s fault for making her feel safe and Yoohyeon’s.

Yoohyeon sent her a reassuring grin, throwing an arm over Minji’s waist. “Then why worry about it? It’s part of the game. Someone has to lose, I’d just be mad if you didn’t give it your all. You’re sexy when you’re focused.”

Minji snorted, relaxing. She allowed Yoohyeon to lay her head on her chest, immediately bringing a hand up to gently scratch at the Bulldog’s scalp. Yoohyeon’s weight over her was comforting. It always was.

“If you do eliminate us tomorrow night,” Yoohyeon began quietly, once Minji felt like she was on the edge of sleep, “Make sure you win the whole season. I can’t have gotten eliminated for nothing.”

And, god, Yoohyeon really deserved a better team, one where she didn’t have to pull home runs out of her ass and where Yubin had to exhaust her arm pitching. The Bulldogs were good, but they’ve grown sloppy, and everyone can see it. She doesn’t even want to think about what it might feel like for Yoohyeon.

She pressed a kiss to Yoohyeon’s head, feeling the moment her breaths evened out.

“For you,” Minji murmured into the quiet. “I’ll win it for you.”

***

The Bulldogs were eliminated.

It wasn’t… it wasn’t Yoohyeon’s last chance at winning a season. Minji tried to comfort herself with that fact. It wouldn’t even be Minji’s last chance. The university was already sending her offers of graduate programs on campus, scholarships, anything to keep her on the team. But…

She saw the way Yoohyeon’s smile was strained as she shook hands with Minji’s team, her neck and jaw tense with frustration and disappointment. Yoohyeon and Yubin gave it their all, but two people can’t pick up the slack of the rest of the team. It sucked, and Minji didn’t have any words for them. This part was never easy. It didn’t matter how often it happened, it didn’t matter that there were more chances, at some point, people start to wonder if there’s any point to even trying anymore.

Minji will be damned if she doesn't win the whole thing.

***

“Did the balls do something to you?”

Minji huffed, taking another swing at a ball and missing.

She was on field getting some extra practice in. The pitching machine was already set up and Minji was in full gear. Yoohyeon’s words about home runs were all that was going through her mind in the moment, and god did she want to experience it.

She hadn’t talked to Yoohyeon properly after the game. Yoohyeon already told Minji she wouldn’t hold it against her, and Minji believed her, but she still chose to give the Bulldog some space for the time being. Having Yoohyeon’s number was still strange, and she wasn’t quite sure how else to use it, so she’ll leave it up to Yoohyeon to text her. Even though it was Tuesday and Minji was stressing about what it meant for them already.

Yoohyeon didn’t owe it to her, she tried to convince herself. Yoohyeon didn’t have to talk to her every day. It was normal. Minji has gotten used to it, but the week of Yoohyeon sending her memes has made her greedy, it seems. Stop worrying, Yoohyeon was probably just wallowing in her frustration.

“Just practicing my swings, Singnie,” Minji replied, managing to hit a ball deep into the outfield. Still not a home run. She needed to train her strength she guesses. Metal bats were already a bitch to handle, but being able to generate enough power to hit a home run with them would be a lot of work, especially since that simply wasn’t her job.

“I can see that.” Siyeon watched Minji take another swing, sending the ball straight over the foul line. “Want some pointers?”

And, well, Minji would always be grateful for Siyeon’s easy going nature. She could be a little shit when she wanted to be, but she knew better than to push. If Minji said she was practicing some swings, then Siyeon wouldn’t question it.

Siyeon obviously knew better about hitting home runs than Minji, and it seemed like she managed to pick up on what Minji was doing anyways. She taught her to find her sweet spot, where she’s most comfortable hitting and where she can generate the most power based on her height and other shit like that Minji hadn’t thought much about before. Weirdly technical, but if she wanted to win, she had to learn.

She was exhausted by the end of it. Morning practice, classes, then her own personal practice, and she just wanted to be in bed staring at her phone and wondering if Yoohyeon will text her that night.

“Thanks, Siyeonie,” Minji gasped, hauling the pitching machine back to storage with Siyeon’s help.

“No problem,” Siyeon grunted. “Just don’t steal my spotlight.”

Minji huffed out a laugh.

She wouldn’t dream of it.

***

That night, Yoohyeon called her.

Minji fumbled with her phone for a moment, having already crawled into bed and accepted that Yoohyeon wouldn’t text her that night. She guesses she was right, before picking up the call.

“Hey,” she tried for nonchalant, even though her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her throat.

“Hi,” Yoohyeon replied softly. Minji heard some slight shifting in the background. Probably Yoohyeon getting comfortable in bed. “I’m sorry.”

Minji blinked. “What for?”

“For… I dunno. Being MIA, I guess. I told you I wouldn’t hold losing against you, and I don’t. Really. The Bulldogs could’ve done more, but they didn’t, and I was too frustrated to talk to anyone.” Yoohyeon let out a small sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t owe me an apology,” Minji murmured. Really. This was all new to them. To her . They didn’t talk over the days they were away from each other, and a phone number didn’t change that. It was just casual. It was fine, even if Minji’s heart clenched every time she thought about the look on Yoohyeon’s face from that Sunday. “Sometimes I feel like I owe you one,” she admitted.

“You don’t,” Yoohyeon quickly corrected. “You don’t owe me anything. My team… they don’t take it seriously. Not for themselves, and not for anyone else. You do. It might not be something you see yourself doing forever, but you give it your all anyway. You respect them, and that’s something I can’t say about my team.” Yoohyeon fell quiet for a moment. “It’s something I admire about you. Always have. And that’s why I have to apologize to you, because you did something my team couldn’t, and I didn’t handle it well.”

This was not doing anything for Minji’s feelings. She pulled her phone away from her cheek to muffle a groan into her pillow. She wasn’t mentally equipped to be handling this conversation right now.

“Minji?” She heard distantly. She hummed as she put the phone back up to her ear. “How was your day?”

Another question they never asked each other. Minji squashed the spark of hope in her chest.

“Practice. School. Practice. But it’s been like that everyday since the game,” she responded, turning onto her back. Her bed wasn’t big, but it felt like it without Yoohyeon.

“Double practice? So you haven’t been home all week to see what I left you?”

“Excuse me?” Minji sat up quickly.

“In your closet? Minji, what clothes have you been wearing if you can’t even look in there?” Yoohyeon teased.

Minji was thankful that Yoohyeon couldn’t see her blush through the phone. Her floor was a mess of clothes that she hadn’t bothered to pick up, but at least they were clean enough to wear for the time she was out of her apartment. Honestly, she just dug through her clean clothes bin after doing the laundry and called it a day. No closet needed.

“Uh…” Minji replied intelligently, opening up her closet and…

“See it now?”

“Yoohyeon, if I’m caught with this, I’ll get smacked by Bora,” Minji said, pulling Yoohyeon’s letterman jacket off the hanger. Blue and white, a large ‘B’ on the front, ‘Kim’ on the back, and the number 7. Similar to Minji’s red and black one, just that her number was 17.

“I know, but you already wear it more often than I do. I’ll make a secret Bulldogs fan out of you yet.” God, Minji could just hear the smile in Yoohyeon’s voice, and she could imagine how it looks too. All charming and endearing and utterly kissable.

“The same way I know you’re a secret Mets fan?” Minji shot back, slipping the jacket on. She thinks she wears it more than her own jacket, gathering dust in the back of her closet.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Baby, your mitt is blue with orange stitching. Those are Mets colors.”

“It was all I could get at the last minute that fit my hand!”

And what a wonderful hand it was. “You keep telling yourself that, but I know about the secret Lindor jersey you have in your closet.”

“You’re seeing things now?”

“I’m seeing you in my bed, actually,” Minji teased, sliding back under the covers, feeling as if Yoohyeon’s arms were around her now with the jacket.

“I mean, I could send you some nudes if you miss me that much.”

That got a loud laugh out of Minji, finally feeling as if something has been righted in the world. They were okay, Yoohyeon was okay.

“Maybe when I’m not ready to crash for the night.” Minji let out a yawn, feeling bold. “I don’t have any games this weekend. Devils and Panthers are still duking it out, so… would it be okay if I came up there?”

Yoohyeon was silent for a few moments, and Minji immediately wanted to take back her words. Stupid, this wasn’t how it was done between them. Why would she ever push for more? Just because Yoohyeon-

“Okay,” Yoohyeon breathed out, interrupting her thoughts. “I’ve got nothing going on. My door is always open for you, you know that. We can go out to eat again on Saturday if you want?”

And… Minji didn’t realize how much she needed to hear the steady reassurance from Yoohyeon.

“Okay,” Minji agreed quietly. “I’ll drive up after my morning classes on Friday?”

“Perfect. I’ll have lunch ready for you. Or dinner depending on how your stomach works.”

Minji giggled, feeling her exhaustion begin to catch up again. “Alright. I’ll let you go then, okay? Don’t play The Show for too long.”

“I am literally Freddie Freeman.”

Minji rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, handsome.”

“Sweet dreams, beautiful.”

With that, Minji reluctantly hung up the call. As she placed her phone on the nightstand to charge again, she couldn’t help the rush of excitement she felt. Yoohyeon wanted her there. Wanted Minji in her apartment, and wanted to take her out to eat. Usually, on weekends where Minji might be playing a nearby team, she would just spend the night, have sex with Yoohyeon if they weren’t tired, and do whatever she usually did, minus play against the Bulldogs. It was less time with Yoohyeon than usual. This time? There weren’t any games for either of them. There was probably going to be more time spent between each other, and Minji was so excited.

She thinks she slept a little easier that night.

***

Friday evening finds Minji walking into Yoohyeon’s apartment.

“Yoohyeonie?” She called out, no one on the couch or kitchen. She toed off her shoes in the entryway and stepped further inside.

In the bedroom, she found Yoohyeon deep into a game of The Show.

“Hey,” she greeted, not taking her eyes off the screen. “There’s food in the kitchen.”

The sight was… strangely domestic. Minji comes home after a long day, there’s food waiting for her, Yoohyeon is playing a game in a sports bra and sweatpants, and it looks like home.

Probably standing there gaping like an idiot for too long, Yoohyeon looked over in concern.

“Hey,” she said a little more softly, leaning back against the headboard. She looked Minji up and down, a satisfied grin overtaking her face. “You look good in blue.”

Minji huffed out a laugh, sitting next to Yoohyeon and dropping her head on her shoulder. “And you look good with your abs out for me to objectify.”

Yoohyeon let out an amused laugh, raising her arms. “Go right ahead. They’re all yours.”

The older girl snorted, getting more comfortable, with Yoohyeon wrapping an arm around her shoulder and doing exactly what Yoohyeon told her to. Trace her abs with a hand.

“Throw a curve,” she said, watching as an animated Anthony Banda set himself up for a pitch.

“Must I?” Yoohyeon questioned, throwing the curve anyway. Strike. “I must.” She pressed a kiss to Minji’s head. “You’re so smart.”

“Smarter than you, that’s for sure.”

“I welcome you into my home and you insult me?” Yoohyeon asked, dramatic gasp and all.

Minji hummed, leaning up to plant a proper kiss on Yoohyeon’s lips, effectively distracting her from the game. Whoever was on the other side was probably wondering what was taking the pitcher so long. Little did they know that Minji was making sure Yoohyeon paid more attention to her than the game.

“Baby,” Yoohyeon breathed out, pulling away slightly. “Let me finish this and I’m all yours, okay?”

Well, fuck.

Minji took a deep breath, getting her heart under control. The effect Yoohyeon had on her surprised her sometimes. Sometimes she wondered if this is what a home run felt like, electric and addicting.

All the mini makeout session did was cause Yoohyeon an automatic ball in the game, but she quickly got back to it. Her calls were a little sloppy, and Minji preened at the thought of it being her fault, that Yoohyeon wanted to end the game quickly so she could spend more time with Minji.

In the end, the in game Dodgers won by a single run against the Yankees. As god intended.

“Done,” Yoohyeon said, shutting off her playstation and placing the control on the floor. She shifted them both so that Minji was plopped on the bed under her, making them both giggle. “Hi there.”

“Hi,” Minji whispered, bringing Yoohyeon down into a soft kiss. “How’re you feeling?”

Yoohyeon sighed, trailing kisses over Minji’s jaw and neck. “Better,” she mumbled, nipping at Minji’s skin. “You make it better.”

Minji hummed, a hand tangling itself in Yoohyeon’s hair. She was starving, but she always melted under Yoohyeon.

“A-Anything you want to do today?” Minji managed to breathe out, now with one of Yoohyeon’s hands slipping under her shirt.

The Bulldog brought her lips back over Minji’s, making her sigh. “Food.” Kiss. “Sex.” Kiss. “Game.” Kiss. “You.”

The older girl couldn’t help the giggle she let out, cut off by a small moan when Yoohyeon cupped her chest over her bra.

“Minji,” Yoohyeon breathed out, deepening the kiss further. “Baby.”

At this point, Minji realized she probably wasn’t going anywhere. Yoohyeon had already shown Minji what wearing her letterman did to her, and it seemed like she was ready to do it again.

Until Minji’s phone started blaring.

Minji groaned, pushing Yoohyeon away. Yoohyeon, however, seemed very reluctant to pull away since she just resumed her attack on Minji’s neck with a squeeze to her chest.

“Yooh,” Minji mumbled, shifting enough to pull her phone out of her pocket. She squinted. “It’s Bora.”

This time, it was Yoohyeon’s turn to groan, hand slipping out of Minji’s shirt and head dropping on her collarbone.

Minji took that as her queue to answer the call.

“Fuck do you want?”

“The hell has your panties in a twist?” Bora replied, and Minji could just see the eye roll in her mind. “Whatever. You and I are going out tonight.”

Minji froze. Yoohyeon, being so close to the phone that she could probably hear Bora, snapped her head up in confusion.

“...That’s gonna be a little hard for me to do, Bboya,” Minji said, running her free hand through Yoohyeon’s hair. She tilted her head curiously, and Minji was struck by the image of a puppy. She couldn't resist the urge to give Yoohyeon's chin a quick scratch.

“You literally do nothing on Fridays except mope around your apartment and eat a concerning amount of ramen. You need fresh air to get your head out from between that Bulldog’s legs.”

Yoohyeon choked on a laugh, burying her face into Minji’s neck with her shoulders shaking in silent laughter. Minji bit her lip, knowing Bora would probably yell at her if she laughed.

“She can hear you, Bora,” she decided to reply instead, knowing the jig was up.

“...WHAT?”

There was no way for them to contain their laughter after that.

***

Food, sex, and the game. Just like Yoohyeon said.

Honestly, Minji doesn’t know when was the last time she relaxed properly. Weeks consisted of practices and classes and wondering if she wasn’t crazy about the signs Yoohyeon was sending her. Weekends were spent at games and sometimes in Yoohyeon or Minji’s apartment, where Minji got to scratch that itch inside of her. Or more like Yoohyeon did it. Whatever.

The point was, Minji was always busy doing something or the other, but right now, she didn’t think about any of that. There were no games, there were no classes or practices. She didn’t even have to stress about whether or not her feelings were reciprocated or not. She just had to trash talk the Dodgers and laugh whenever Yoohyeon got riled up, knowing that the marks over her body were all done by the Bulldog herself.

“You wish Devers was better,” Yoohyeon scoffed. “Look at Mookie! That swinging is an art form.”

“Let’s remember his roots in the Red Sox, Yoohyeon. Also, Kiké Hernández too.”

“Okay, but Kiké was a Dodger before he was a Red Sox. Then he went back, so what does that really say?”

“That he was traded and it wasn’t really his choice? Unlike when he willingly signed with the Red Sox?”

“Well-” Yoohyeon huffed. “Yeah… But he also got better with the Dodgers!”

“He got an eye test and realized he needed glasses. Him being in the Dodgers had nothing to do with it.”

Yoohyeon grumbled. “Stop being so smart.”

Minji giggled, pressing a kiss to Yoohyeon’s cheek. “You’re so cute with your baseball nerdiness.” Another kiss. “Even if you forgot Kiké was traded and needed glasses.”

Yoohyeon then proceeded to exhaust Minji again… by tickling her.

Minji’s not sure if she’s laughed this hard without Yoohyeon around before.

***

The weekend was blissful.

Saturday meant they got to eat breakfast together for the first time in a while and rechristen the counter with their insatiable libido. They lazed around all day, sometimes playing against each other on The Show, and then went out to eat at the place Yoohyeon had brought her to. It was nice and blissful.

Minji didn’t tell Yoohyeon she was learning to swing better, to try and get a home run. She wanted it to be a surprise, to show Yoohyeon that she took the sport seriously and that she wanted to see what Yoohyeon saw. Magic.

Sunday meant Minji didn’t have to leave so late. She woke up next to Yoohyeon, ate breakfast together again, and did everything all over again.

It made her think of what could be.

The drive back to her own place was bittersweet. She had gotten the news of the Panthers kicking ass and moving on up, so that meant the Roosters would be facing off against them this weekend. If Minji’s team won, then they’d move on up to the finals against whichever team won between the Knights and the Owls. Evidently, there weren’t a lot of women’s college baseball teams in the country, so the season was handled pretty quickly.

She was going to win the whole damn thing.

***

“I can’t even look at you.”

“Stop being so dramatic, Bora.”

Bora huffed, watching Minji through the corner of her eye as she dropped her bag on the bench in the locker room.

“I talked to you while you were busy getting it on with the enemy.”

“That’s an overstatement.” It was. It really really was. Especially since Yoohyeon stopped.

“I’m not sure what’s worse, knowing you two are having sex or that you have mushy feelings for her,” Bora grumbled. At least Minji knew Bora well enough to know that Bora is just dramatic and doesn’t truly care.

“Are we finally talking about Minji and Bulldog number seven?” Handong asked as she stepped through the door, Siyeon trailing behind her. “Because I really want to talk about it.”

“She called me while they were having sex.”

Minji rolled her eyes, beginning to get changed for the first game against the Panthers. “ You called me . And we were not having sex.” She paused for dramatic effect. “We were making out.”

“Close enough.”

Handong couldn’t hide her disappointment. “I thought the Bulldog would be kinkier than that honestly.”

“Mind if I ask why you’re thinking about that at all actually?” Minji couldn’t help the slight flare up of possessiveness. Yoohyeon wasn’t hers, calm down.

Handong shrugged. “Call it morbid curiosity.”

Minji snorted, shaking her head fondly as she heard Bora grumble to herself while throwing her clothes a little forcefully into her locker. They’re such losers, but Minji loved them anyway.

But right now, she needed to kick ass against those freaks in orange out on the field.

***

A goddamn sweep is what Minji’s team did.

That first game on their own territory, Minji went in with a mission. Yoohyeon told her to win the whole season, so that’s what Minji was gonna do. Maybe it made her a little hasty, a little too trigger happy with swinging the bat before she was ready, and she definitely got a scolding from the coach about it ‘not being her job to be a power hitter’, but it felt nice when she managed to hit the ball enough for her to run all the way to third. Her record was second base, so she was proud of herself. In the end, Roosters manage to secure another goddamn ten run rule game. It felt good.

Game two, Minji played it a little safe. The scolding from her coach smacked some sense into her, plus a little pep talk from Siyeon which was… embarrassing, but Siyeon was sweet and didn’t judge. Maybe it wasn’t crazy for Minji to eventually get a home run. Still, they won against the Panthers by two runs. Not an electric game, but a win is a win.

Over the weekend, Minji had been calling Yoohyeon regularly. It was… nice. She thinks. She likes being able to hear Yoohyeon’s voice whenever and make her feelings worse than they already were. She liked laughing like a moron whenever Yoohyeon made a dirty joke or fought with someone in The Show. In turn, Yoohyeon listened to her recount the games, and Yoohyeon always told Minji she was proud of her.

It was nice.

The following weekend meant that Minji had to travel out of the city, and unfortunately, the Panthers’ home base was far from Yoohyeon, so Minji wouldn’t be able to see her. Still, she managed to talk to Yoohyeon every day and get her fill of the drug that was a Bulldog on the other side of the line.

Game three was an incredible win for the Roosters. It had gone into overtime with two extra innings. Roosters scored a run, Panthers did too. Panthers got two runs, Roosters tied it up. Minji was exhausted. She doesn’t think she’s run as hard and fast as she had that game before. Every base she tried to steal was successful. Honestly, the most incredible game of her career. Who else could say that? No one. No one could.

God, if only stealing Yoohyeon’s heart was as easy.

Still, as she celebrated with her team, she couldn’t think about that.

Not when they were going to the finals.

***

The first thing Yoohyeon said when she picked up the call was an excited “Congratulations!”

Minji giggled quietly, not wanting to disturb her teammates that were sleeping on the bus, or a Gahyun that was knocked out on her lap. She couldn’t resist poking a cheek, cooing at how Gahyun’s brows furrowed and her lips formed a small pout. Such a cutie.

“Thank you,” Minji whispered. “Sorry, I’m on the bus and the girls are sleeping.”

“Oh? Couldn’t wait to talk to me, baby?” Minji bit her lip at the name. It wasn’t new, but it made her stomach warm anyway.

“You wish,” she shot back, running a hand through Gahyun’s hair when she saw the girl shift. “I was just bored.”

“You wound me.” Yoohyeon let out a soft laugh. “Hey, uh, I know you guys have a weekend off before finals, so if you wanna come up here for that weekend…”

Minji’s heart fluttered. Yoohyeon was asking to see her, have another weekend of bliss together.

“Okay,” she replied softly, containing her eagerness. “I’ve missed you,” she let slip, hoping the rumble of the bus drowned out her voice enough.

And yet, Yoohyeon was just as soft when she responded. “I’ve missed you too. Get some sleep, okay? I’ll see you this weekend.”

The older girl felt a sense of relief go through her. She wasn’t crazy. This was… casual, yeah, but they cared about each other, they missed each other. It was okay. She wasn’t crazy.

“Alright. Don’t wait up for me,” Minji said, knowing that Yoohyeon won’t listen to her.

“I’ll be playing The Show. Text me.”

Minji shook her head.

“Goodnight, handsome.”

***

She thinks she needed that weekend with Yoohyeon.

As soon as she stepped through Yoohyeon’s apartment door, Yoohyeon practically tore off her clothes. Minji wasn’t complaining, having missed Yoohyeon too damn much. And she was just… weak.

She had the brief thought that maybe when Yoohyeon says she misses Minji, she really just means the sex they have. Minji could miss it too, but she misses everything about Yoohyeon, her sweetness, how she always makes sure Minji was fed, how she lets Minji win every argument over baseball, and especially their conversations in the middle of the night about anything and everything.

And yet, when Yoohyeon starts talking about the most mundane things, like how the barista at the coffee shop got her order wrong, or how Yubin fell asleep with her face in a textbook, or how she won ten consecutive games on The Show (that’s… a concerning amount of time on the game) and was super proud of it, Minji knows that Yoohyeon missed her almost as much.

Almost.

Because she still didn’t think Yoohyeon felt the same way about her.

***

Women’s College Baseball World Championship. That’s a goddamn mouthful.

Finals. Simple and to the point. Anyone who needed to know, knew.

Yeah, that’s where Minji was.

First weekend would be held over at the Knights’ home field, which actually was about thirty minutes from Yoohyeon’s place. Minji thought about it. Tossed it over in her head. Could she go see Yoohyeon? She could, it was within reasonable distance of where her team’s hotel was, but she’s not sure if Yoohyeon would be a curse or a blessing. Yoohyeon has a nasty habit of exhausting her in one of the more fun ways that existed, but Minji needed all the rest she could get.

“We don’t have to have sex, y’know. I’m happy with you just being here.”

Guess Minji would be staying the nights over at Yoohyeon’s.

And, again, it just made her hope beyond hope that Yoohyeon felt the same way about her. That Yoohyeon wanted her there because she was Minji, not because she was a good fuck.

That Yoohyeon loved Minji too.

***

They lost the first game.

Minji bit her lip, feeling painfully disappointed. It was fine. It was one game out of the five that they could play. They could even lose the next one and make an epic comeback in game three. It was fine .

And yet, it didn’t feel fine. She felt like it was a bad omen of what might come, that she wouldn’t keep her promise to win the season for Yoohyeon.

Her bad mood must’ve been noticeable, because when she walked into Yoohyeon’s apartment, Yoohyeon furrowed her brows and easily brought Minji into her arms.

“You did great out there. Saw it on TV. You stole every base,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to Minji’s hair. “I know it sucks.”

Minji buried her face into Yoohyeon’s shoulder. “It does.”

“Yeah, but you play another game on Sunday, so you can’t mope forever, right?”

And… Minji kind of appreciated how Yoohyeon didn’t try to tell her that they’ll do better next time, that it was okay. She did her best, and they lost, but they got to play another game. That’s all she could do.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, leaning back slightly to kiss Yoohyeon softly.

She would hit a home run.

***

“Are you up for going somewhere today?”

Minji glanced up from her phone and towards Yoohyeon next to her on the bed. It was Saturday evening, and practice ended early today so…

“Depends. Where?”

Yoohyeon shrugged, her cheeks flushing slightly. Aww.

“I just… I realized we never play directly against each other?” Yoohyeon said. “We’re either batting or on third base. I don’t think we’ve ever pitched against each other, or even played a regular game of catch and I just… I dunno where I’m going with this.”

Minji thinks she has an idea, her chest feeling light. “Do you wanna go to the field and play for a bit? Just us? I don’t wanna exhaust myself, but I can do a little practice with you.”

Yoohyeon looked like Minji just handed her the world on a platter.

***

It was strange being on the Bulldogs’ home field without having to play a game. Or without the rest of the Bulldogs.

Still, Yoohyeon was downright skipping in her sneakers and backwards Dodgers cap. Since Minji had now indefinitely stolen her letterman jacket (which she was obviously wearing now), Yoohyeon was now wearing the only blue baseball jersey she had in her closet: Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor with a big orange number 12 on the back. Minji was very proud to have brought Yoohyeon over to the dark side.

“You look good in Mets blue,” she commented.

“I look better in Dodgers blue,” Yoohyeon replied, affronted. “Never disrespect me like that again.”

Minji let out an amused scoff, deciding to pitch first. Watching Yoohyeon swing from third base was incredible, but she wanted to know what the pitcher saw, see that swinging from the front row. Minji might not be a pitcher, but she knew how to throw at least.

“Here,” Yoohyeon murmured, slipping off her hat and placing it on Minji’s head. “Gotta wear my helmet.”

Minji adjusted the hat with her free hand, raising an eyebrow. “You worried I’ll hit you on the head with a ball?”

“Can never be too safe,” Yoohyeon responded cheekily, stepping over to her bag to grab her helmet from it.

Minji shook her head fondly, adjusting her red and white mitt on her hand. Go Red Sox, she guesses.

“Ready?” Yoohyeon called, stepping up to the plate and getting comfortable. She looked right at home.

“Be honest with me,” Minji began, gently kicking her own shoes to release some dirt and standing sideways. “Did you pick this university because they had the same colors as the Dodgers?”

“I plead the fifth!”

Minji laughed, finally throwing the ball. Oh, that was kind of a beautiful strike.

“That was sloppy!” Yoohyeon called, teasing. Minji rolled her eyes as she reached down into the huge bag of baseballs for a reload.

“Shut up and bat,” Minji shot back, already ready to go.

Minji threw a few more, some going straight through, others being hit by Yoohyeon inside the park. It was nice, wonderful even, shit talking each other with no malice and just overall having fun with a sport they usually compete in. There was no pressure here. It was all fine.

Yoohyeon smirked. “I’m hitting this one out of the field.”

Minji had no doubt about that. Still, she threw the ball when she saw Yoohyeon set herself up and…

Yeah, it was gone.

“What are you doing?” She asked, watching as Yoohyeon began running towards first.

“Home run, Minji!” She yelled back, laughing like a kid. Minji couldn’t help but join her in her laughter. No longer feeling the pressure of the second game on her. She could just… enjoy the game.

Maybe she just enjoyed playing against Yoohyeon.

“Alright, get over here. It’s my turn to bat.”

After Yoohyeon did her celebratory lap, they quickly got situated. Minji threw back the balls she had pitched to at least keep the field somewhat tidy before she got ready with the bat.

She swung at the first pitch, managing to send it flying. Not a home run, not even close, but she would do it before the season ended.

Yoohyeon whistled, following the ball with her eyes. “That one was sexy. I noticed your swinging has changed?”

Minji shrugged. “Yeah. Siyeonie has been giving me pointers.”

Yoohyeon snapped her head back towards Minji. “You could’ve asked me, you know.” She pouted.

“Yoohyeon, you live three hours away.”

“That’s besides the point.”

The older girl snorted. “Baby, are you jealous of my own teammate?” She teased, getting ready to bat again.

“Yeah,” Yoohyeon admitted. “Maybe I am,” she said, a little softer. “You get to see them every day, and I just get you on some weekends.” She shrugged. “It’s easy to miss you.”

And Minji was very embarrassed to admit that she nearly melted through the dirt.

“I know,” Minji responded, adjusting her grip on the bat. “It’s easy to miss you too.” She swallowed thickly.

At that, Yoohyeon sent her a gentle grin, getting ready to pitch.

“I knew you were desperate for me.”

“Let’s remember who’s holding the metal bat and who isn’t.”

***

“Hey.”

Yoohyeon hummed sleepily, already under the covers and tugging Minji back towards her front.

“Am…” Minji bit her lip, unsure of how to ask. It had been nagging at her for a while, but she tried to push it down. But she thinks she should bring it up, if only because they were doing a strange dance that she wasn’t familiar with.

“You know… if you ever- if you ever find yourself interested in someone, a girl, or something, you can… you can tell me. If you ever want to get a girlfriend, I’d understand,” Minji said quietly, tensing up as if bracing for impact.

Yoohyeon was eerily silent and still. Minji nearly thought she had fallen asleep until she spoke.

“Okay,” she breathed out. “I’ll let you know.”

Minji thinks her heart shattered in her chest.

***

Roosters won game two, but just barely.

Minji was sloppy. Her head was somewhere else ever since her tiny late night conversation with Yoohyeon. She missed some obvious chances to steal bases, mostly getting tapped out when she tried, but it was hard when there was no golden girl in blue waiting for her on third, or when said girl just told Minji that she’ll ‘let her know’ if she ever wanted a girlfriend. That just meant she didn’t want Minji as a girlfriend either.

Maybe she was crazy.

Still, Siyeon went ham on those swings, getting more hits than strikes which was wonderful. Bora made some excellent plays as the catcher, Gahyun’s arm was as glorious as ever, and Handong made a super cool jump catch on a ball headed towards the left field. These girls were good, and Minji felt bad that she couldn’t give it her all despite the fact that they won by a single run.

She vowed to change that on Friday.

***

“What’s wrong?”

Minji blinked in bewilderment, slowly crawling under her warm Red Sox blanket after a long drive back home.

“Why do you think something’s wrong?” She responded, hoping Yoohyeon wouldn’t keep pressing the issue.

“I saw you on TV. You looked distracted, and you were just… you weren’t there, Minji. Something’s wrong.” Yoohyeon sounded so worried and gentle, and Minji rubbed the tears out of her eyes.

“...Not sure.” Lie. “Just… a lot to think about.”

Yoohyeon was quiet for a few moments. Minji bit her lip in the hopes that it would distract her from the way her heart throbbed painfully.

“You know, I miss having you here slandering the Dodgers, funnily enough.” Yoohyeon let out a soft laugh. “I dunno. You’re just… you’re good to me, and you say you’re not a big fan of the sport as I am, but you somehow know more than me. Your cooking is absolutely divine, you have an eye for pitches that I wish I had, and it’s cute how you have a Red Sox blanket but I don’t have a Dodgers blanket despite me being obsessed with them.”

Minji let out a soft laugh of her own. “What are you doing, Yoohyeonie?”

“Listing things I miss about you,” she admitted. “I miss you like crazy, I didn’t think it was possible. Is it weird? That I miss you this much? Even though I saw you yesterday? I really wanna kiss you right now, Minji.”

Minji took a sharp breath, her free hand fisting the blanket. How is it that Yoohyeon could break her heart and make it race all over 24 hours? She’s not even sure what she was sad about at this point.

“I’m wearing your jacket right now,” she whispered, wanting to share something too. “It used to smell like you, but now I miss it. It’s also been a while since you were in my bed. Too many laundry cycles for your scent to stay on my sheets. I miss you and how you always find some excuse to kiss me because I want to kiss you just as badly- I want you to touch me just as badly. So, no, I don’t think it’s weird.”

She heard Yoohyeon breath out a small ‘Fuck’ that she doesn’t think she was supposed to hear. “You’re making it very hard for me not to take Yubin’s car and haul ass towards you.”

“You know my door’s always open for you, baby,” Minji easily responded, hoping to god that Yoohyeon could hear the smirk in her voice.

“I’m hanging up before I do something stupid. Like auto theft and making sure you don’t leave your bed for the rest of the week.”

Minji let out a loud laugh, finally feeling at ease. Yoohyeon was an honest person. If there was some other girl, she would’ve said so. Integrity. That’s what Yoohyeon had a lot of, and Minji loved it so much.

“We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” Minji teased. “I’ll let you go then. You have classes.”

Yoohyeon groaned. “Swear I sometimes wonder if you think about my classes more often than I do.”

“Maybe.” Minji yawned, thinking that she could probably sleep peacefully now that Yoohyeon talked her out of it. “Goodnight, Yoohyeon.”

She heard Yoohyeon let out a sigh of her own. “Goodnight, Minji.”

***

Game three was much better.

The Roosters won, and Minji actually helped out this time. Only two of her attempts to steal bases got foiled, but the rest? She was on a high. Her talk with Yoohyeon earlier in the week finally got her head screwed on straight, and their nightly calls only reassured her further. Yoohyeon at least liked her. Even if their… more intimate activities were to end, she doesn’t think she’d lose Yoohyeon. It hurt, a lot, but it wasn’t the end.

There was still one more game to play.

***

Game four on Rooster territory.

If they won this game, they took the whole season, and Minji was so nervous.

It had already gone into various extra innings, with them now in the thirteenth inning. Thirteen innings. This might have been the longest game of Minji’s life, but she would see it through, even if all the pressure was on her.

The Knights were ahead by two runs. Yeri was up at second, ready to run, and Dongie was in first. Nayeon and Yunjin had both struck out, which sucked, simply because Minji could either walk, hit, or strike out now. A home run from Minji would really save their asses right now, ending the game and effectively winning the season.

So, yeah, she was under pressure.

She let out a deep breath as she stood in the batting square, holding her bat in her hands in front of her. This was it. She was taking the whole damn season. Siyeon had told her not to steal her spotlight, but her friend would just have to forgive her.

She signaled that she was ready.

The first pitch was a ball. A really bad one too, having flown too high. Minji shook herself off. Good. Keep that focus.

The second pitch was another ball, far forward, and thank goodness Minji stopped her swing just in time. She hoped Yoohyeon was watching. She hoped Yoohyeon would see Minji hit that fucking home run she’s been exhausting herself over.

Third pitch was a strike, entirely Minji’s fault. Trigger happy. Swing happy. Whatever. Point is, she swung and she missed.

It was the fourth pitch that Minji saw it.

The trajectory, by what she could tell, was going straight for that sweet spot Siyeon told her to find. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. The ball could sink even further and make Minji secure a strike. She could play it safe, not swing at all and risk getting a strike anyways, or her third ball. Yoohyeon said it. She would play another game. Hell, she would play two more games.

She swung.

The ball went flying.

Minji remembered those words from Yoohyeon all that time ago, how it feels like you just sent out a shooting star, how NASA wishes it could capture it. There’s electricity crackling up her arms from the bat’s vibrations after hitting the ball this hard, her legs are moving on autopilot even as Minji’s eyes focus on the ball that is still going, that sense of surety that the ball will make it over the fence. Slow motion, Minji thinks. Everything is in slow motion. Centerfield tries and fails to jump over the fence and catch the ball, the crowd in red and black stands up and roars, the dugout is going crazy. Even the pitcher seems sort of awestruck from the pitcher’s mound. This was a college game, what would it be like in the big leagues?

That’s not something Minji dreamed about. Ever. She loves baseball, truly and utterly loves it. There’s no other sport like it. It brought her friends, it brought her Yoohyeon, it brought her love. She loves how it can be slow at times, she loves how quickly a game can turn around. She loves baseball, but she never could see herself going pro. That was for Siyeon, who dedicated her life to the sport and to being one hell of a hitter, or for Gahyun who has an arm that could rival some big names, or for Yoohyeon who scores home runs in her mind before she hits them.

Right now, she lets herself dream for a second, a stadium bigger than this, a crowd wearing her team’s colors, even bigger stakes on the line. Maybe a World Series? She’s starting to think like Yoohyeon.

Yoohyeon… was she watching? God, Minji hopes she is. Wills it into existence the way Yoohyeon wills home runs from the Dodgers.

Soon enough, she’s back on home base being tackled by her team. Her head was still kind of rattled from the home run- the winning home run, the one she wasn’t supposed to go for because that’s not her job , but she did anyway. The home run.

Everything afterwards was kind of dizzying. Of course Siyeon got mvp of the season, and no one has deserved it more in Minji’s eyes. And afterwards, they were both sprayed by champagne because who cares about keeping up appearances when they were supposed to be celebrating such an incredible win? And among the crowd there was Yoohyeon watching her fondly- wait, Yoohyeon?

Minji quickly slipped past her teammates, heading towards the girl in a striking red jersey that Minji knows must be killing her inside to wear.

“Hey-” Yoohyeon was cut off by Minji’s lips landing on hers in a hard kiss. Yeah, this was putting on a show, but Minji absolutely deserved to after her performance tonight. Briefly, she thought this was wildly cliche, but who cares? Truly, who cares?

Ignoring the whoops from some of her teammates, Minji pulled away to see Yoohyeon looking a little dazed but still satisfied.

“Congratulations,” Yoohyeon said, cheeks flushed from the cold and hopefully Minji. “I knew you could do it.”

Minji wanted to retort that no, Yoohyeon didn’t, but she couldn’t find it in herself to. She just wanted to get away with Yoohyeon, celebrate this win in a way only Yoohyeon knew how to.

Alas, teammates are her priority.

“Come celebrate with the team?” Minji asked. Maybe she was a little cruel, after the Bulldogs were eliminated by the Roosters, but god she wanted to share this with Yoohyeon. She wanted Yoohyeon.

And yet, Yoohyeon didn’t look hurt at all, just proud and accepting.

“Let’s go.”

***

The celebration was obviously a party.

Handong oh so graciously hosted it, totally not because it was the biggest space. Minji’s team was scattered throughout with other friends and classmates. She’s sure most of them would wake up hungover as hell tomorrow, or in each other’s beds. Seriously, the day Handong and Bora get their shit together is the day Minji would throw her own party in celebration.

Speaking of figuring shit out…

“Wanna get out of here?” She asked Yoohyeon, who was leaning against the wall looking as familiar as the day they met in her varsity jacket, backwards cap, and a red solo cup in hand.

Yoohyeon sent her a smirk, eyes flashing with something achingly familiar. No rest for the wicked tonight.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

***

A much more fun celebration occurred in Minji’s bedroom that night.

Minji let out a soft laugh against Yoohyeon’s lips, too tired to keep going, but too full of adrenaline to pull away. She never wanted this night to end, wanting to stay with Yoohyeon in this moment forever.

“You’re incredible, you know that?” Yoohyeon murmured into the kiss, not pushing any further, but also not rolling off of Minji. Minji has no complaints.

Minji hummed, at this point their kiss felt more as if they were simply brushing their lips against one another. “Say that again?”

“I’m in love with you.”

Pause.

Minji slightly leaned back, opening her eyes to see Yoohyeon looking down at her with all the fondness in the world. Okay, so Minji wasn’t crazy and it wasn’t something right out of her wildest fantasies. Yoohyeon was here, naked, kissing her, under her Red Sox blanket, and she told Minji she loves her.

“Really?” Was all Minji could ask, voice soft and awestruck as she cupped Yoohyeon’s face in her hands.

“Yeah,” Yoohyeon responded simply. “Realized I kind of missed seeing you more than usual during the off-season, and then I got to thinking about it and just accepted that at some point you had charmed my pants off.” She sent Minji a shy grin. “Plus, you told me to let you know if I ever wanted a girlfriend, so… that’s what I’m doing.”

Minji snorted, accepting the double entendre for what it was. Stupid and comforting. Just like Yoohyeon.

“Well, for the record, I realized I was in love with you over a year ago, so I win,” Minji retorted, successfully earning an amused grin from the Bulldog.

“Did you seriously turn this into a competition?”

“Our rivalry is alive and thriving in my heart.”

This time Yoohyeon’s shoulders shook with silent laughter as she finally rolled off Minji, making sure to keep her in her arms. She pressed a kiss to Minji’s hair, murmuring something unintelligible.

“What was that?” Minji whispered.

“I love you,” Yoohyeon repeated a little louder, still soft and affectionate and confident, because of course she’d be shy asking for Minji’s number but not when confessing.

“I love you too,” Minji replied, her heart soaring as high as her home run today. Was it totally surprising that Yoohyeon felt the same? Only a little. Minji knew something was different this time around, but she didn’t think it’d happen like this. She didn’t think she’d be high on adrenaline, being held closely by Yoohyeon in her own bed.

“Can I take you on a date and actually call it one?” Yoohyeon asked, her hand warm where it rested against Minji’s lower back.

“When do you plan on doing that?” Minji nosed at Yoohyeon’s neck, content with everything that happened today. “Season’s over.” It clicked in her mind there that, well, how was this all going to work?

Her… something, probably girlfriend, maybe, hopefully, let out a yawn. “Yubin can lend me her car on her busier days on campus. You can stay over on the weekends if you want, leave on Monday so you don’t have to leave late at night and make me stay up.” Yoohyeon ignored Minji’s protest of ‘that wasn’t her fault now was it?’ “At least, until I transfer down here.”

“Transfer?” Minji wouldn’t let herself hope just yet.

“Yeah.” The Bulldog shifted to get a little more comfortable, tugging the blanket a little higher. “Bulldogs… aren’t what they used to be, as much as I love them. I did the most this season, and so did Yubinnie, but we can’t do it all on our own. It’s my career y’know? Gotta do what’s right for me, and your uni was a good choice. They offered me a hefty scholarship to make sure I play for them. Binnie too, so…”

Minji blinked.

“I hope you know you’re gonna have to dye your hair red. Team rules.”

The younger girl let out a loud laugh. “I’ll make it work when we get there.”

“Good.”

It was quiet for a few moments longer before Yoohyeon spoke up.

“So… would you like to be my girlfriend or do you want me to take you on that date first? Because I feel like we’ve done things a little backwards,” she said, sliding her hand over Minji’s bare back to emphasize her point.

That brought out a laugh out of Minji. God, she loved this stupid Bulldog.

“You’re gonna have to try a little harder than that.”

She could just feel Yoohyeon’s challenging smirk being sent her way.

“I’m looking forward to it.”