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“Let’s go, Agatha!” Jen called for the third time. “If I don’t get to see Alice before the game because of you, you can be sure I will destroy this penthouse.”
“You do that and I’ll hex your first born.” Agatha said without caring much, accustomed to her friend's threats at this point.
To her credit, Jen was pretty accustomed to Agatha antics too, rolling her eyes as her best friend slowly made the way from the stairs to her private elevator. With almost 20 years of friendship, they learned how to get along, and neither would ever admit it, but they loved spending time together.
For years, it was just the two of them, living and working together. When Agatha started to build her empire, Jen was there, and the older didn’t need to think about who she would make COO of her company. Jen was there.
Now the names Harkness and Kale were known worldwide, the best marketing and public relationship company you could ask for.
And that’s how Jen met her new girlfriend. Alice Wu-Gulliver, daughter of THE Lorna Wu and player of the NY Liberty. The team was one of the newest clients of the firm, being one of the best on the court, but with almost no digital presence, and, as Agatha had said to the owner, nowadays, the internet was the way to the money.
Jen and Alice met in one of the media days of the team and immediately hit it off. Agatha still needed to meet the whole team, as she was never present during these days, choosing to deal more with the legal part and letting Jen deal with the newest “trends”.
“You know, took you long enough to finally meet the team.” Jen said as they finally started to go down the elevator.
“You know you’re the social one between us.”
“Oh, I know.” She snickered. “Just thought you’d be more inclined to get to know all these athletes, it’s kinda your type.”
“They’re clients, Jen.”
“Actually.” Jen said, stepping out of the elevator and heading to the car waiting for them. “The NY Liberty is our client, the players are just part of it now, if they leave the team, we have no connections to them.”
“Actually.” Agatha said in a mocking tone, raising one finger. “Piss off, Kale, I’m already doing you a favor by going to this game, don’t stress me out.” She entered the car, nodding politely at the driver.
“Alright, girl.” Jen raised her arms in mock surrender. “I’m just saying, you could get some, you definitely need it.” She gave her a look before picking her phone to text Alice.
Agatha just rolled her eyes and ignored her, she wasn’t exactly wrong, but damned was the day Agatha was going to admit that. And it’s not like she never did anything, she would go out sometimes, pick up some girl and take her to a hotel (never her apartament), she just didn’t commit. She was not bound to love and she was okay with it, she was fine sitting alone in her tower, with Jen visiting sometimes of course, but she had little problem going to sleep alone at night.
Her expensive sheets helped go through the night.
That’s one of the reasons she didn’t think too much when Jen asked her to be her company on this game, it was just another game. She didn’t expect much of it, she didn’t even know which team her client was against, just that Lilia Calderu, the owner, said she was going to give them the best seat in the house.
Agatha wasn’t a big fan of sports, she knew the basics of everything, she could say she has a little more leaning to soccer, but basketball… She was not expecting the “best seat” to be almost inside the court.
Jen was thrilled, getting to see her girlfriend so close and pointing that fucking foam finger in Agatha’s face.
Agatha was going to cut it off with Jen’s hand still inside.
“Well, hey there.” And just as Agatha thought this couldn’t get worse. “What brings you here?”
“For fuck’s sake, I’m going to kill myself.” The woman mumbled before locking eyes with the woman by her side. “What are you doing here, red?”
“My girlfriend plays on the team, didn’t Jen tell you?” Wanda asked genuinely puzzled.
“Oops, must’ve forgotten.” The bald one shrugged her shoulders.
“I hate you, I only came because you were crying about being all alone while Alice plays, if you said she was coming I would’ve stayed at home!”
“And now you said yourself the reason why I didn’t mention it.” Jen finally settled down in her chair. “You need to get out more.”
“I get out enough.”
“Doesn't count leave the house to work.” Wanda said.
“Well, I’m getting out of the house, ain’t I?” Agatha lifts up one eyebrow, daring her to make any comeback. “Also, why didn’t you tell me you were dating?” She asked a little more sincerely, letting her facade down, making Wanda’s smile a little more softer.
“It’s new, babe, Jen only knows because they play together and we agreed this would be a nice opportunity for you to meet her.” She explained. “I really thought Jen said I was coming, that’s why I didn’t give any heads up.”
“Alright.” Agatha eyed her a little. “But I want a serious talk with this woman.” She said, before letting it go.
Wanda came to their lives eight years ago. She was 21 in an internship for their company, Jen was 31 and Agatha 32, their names already opened doors where they went, and Wanda…
Wanda was sweet, innocent, the type of face that you look and want to warm up to. Agatha didn’t see that, she saw the sharp mind behind all that, the way she made snarky comebacks at the other inters. That’s why Agatha took her under her wing, she was too much like Agatha herself when she was that age, and soon they had some fucked up kind of motherly friendship.
Jen always said she was happy being the fun aunt, who took Wanda shopping and taught her how to get girls.
“So is anyone else in my company involved with these clients?” Agatha asked as the team began to enter the court.
“You could be.” Wanda said.
“Pardon?”
“Oh yeah, the star player is pretty hung up on you.” Jen adds. “She has this weird crush for years now, Alice says it’s cute how she can’t shut up about your hair and your eyes and your hands and your mind and your–”
“Ok, I get it.” Agatha interrupts her. “So this is what this is about? You’re trying to set something up? Because I’ll have you know, this is totally inappropriate and–”
She was cut mid sentence. Some Rio Vidal entered the court and suddenly what she was saying didn’t matter, she started to understand why Jen said these girls were her type, the woman in front of her was honestly the most perfect person Agatha had seen all her life.
“Yeah, I’m seeing how inappropriate this is.” Jen took her off of the trance state she was. “This is her by the way.”
Agatha only nodded, not trusting herself to make any sounds. It was kinda good for her ego, this goddess being obsessed with her, it was nice knowing she still got it going on in her forties, the girl was clearly Wanda’s age, she couldn’t be more than 30.
But to be honest, when the game started, Agatha started doubting she was even 25. The girl was flying across the court like it was nothing, she was literally everywhere, Jen wasn’t kidding when she said she was the star player.
All in all, Agatha was begrudgingly having fun with her friends. Their team was winning, Wanda and Jen yelled each time their girlfriends as much as touched the ball, that’s how she realised Wanda’s girl was named Natasha, and it was when Alice scored a 3 points that Rio Vidal finally realized she was there.
She turned to see where her best friend was making hearts and smiled as she saw Jen, her whole body freezing when she noticed Agatha Harkness at her side.
“Alice!” She grabbed the smaller by her shoulders, almost yelling at her face. “Did you know she would be here?”
“Yeah, Jen mentioned she was trying to convince her.” Alice gave her a smile, making her believe she knew more than she was saying. “Head on the game, Vidal, we gotta win this and you have someone to impress.” She winked at her and went to her position.
Needless to say, Rio made one of the best games of her career, she scored 52 points alone, standing a little behind on her amazing mark of 74.
The arena was shouting her name, but she could only look at the way Agatha was smiling at Wanda and Jen. She wanted that smile to be hers.
The reporters came at her while she was exiting the court, and Rio Vidal was nothing more than a pyromaniac, just waiting for the best moment to put fire somewhere.
“Hey, Rio!” One of the reporters caught her attention, Darcy Lewis. “You just made an amazing game, one of the best of your career, and just granted the NY Liberty their spot at the playoffs.” She smiled at the girl. “How are you feeling right now?”
“Honestly, Darcy, I’m feeling fucking amazing.” She cheered. “Obviously I wanna thank all my girls, we got this far together and we’ll go further, Lilia’s been not only the perfect owner of the team, but the perfect coach and our goal is to make her proud.” Rio looked around the court, seeing her friends with their girlfriends, Agatha Harkness between them, looking straight at Rio. “And I also want to thank Harkness & Kale company, they’ve been doing so much for the team, for the women's sport in general, it’s awesome to see girls at the top.” She raised one eyebrow at Agatha. “I think everybody knows how I admire Agatha’s job, can’t wait to meet her all alone so we can talk a little bit more and get to know each other.”
“Thank you so much, Vidal.” Lewis laughed as she let the girl go away, she got accustomed to Rio’s demeanor at this point, interviewing her almost every game she was scheduled.
“Well, that wasn’t subtle.” Rio jumped at the voice behind her back.
“Fuck, Lilia, you’re going to kill me one of these days.” She said with a hand clutching her chest.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, you’re worth too much.” The woman smiled. “Go take a shower and get ready, Agatha will be at Alice’s later to celebrate, you can’t meet her like this.” Lilia gave her an once over. “Though I suppose Agatha’s kinda into this.” She pointed at Rio’s sweaty frame. “We’ll meet you there, don’t be late.” And just like that, she was gone.
The opportunity to be with Agatha? She would take that any time of the day. Rio was about to leave and get ready, but Lilia’s comment about Agatha being into her like this made her turn back and walk in their direction.
“I’m not going, Jen.” She heard Agatha say as she approached. “You already made me come to the game, I’m not going to a party either.”
“Pretty please.” Wanda made a pout, earning a sigh from Agatha. Ok, so the red was clearly her weak spot.
“Yeah, Agatha, pretty please.” Rio said with a smirk, startling the other women. “We would love to have you over.”
“We?” Agatha asked amused. “Funny, I thought the party was happening at Alice’s.” She pointed with her chin at the small woman, letting her eyes linger in Rio’s frame.
Rio honestly thought she was going to pass out, Lilia wasn’t wrong, the CEO really was into this.
“You know how they say, her casa, mi casa.” She smiled more, opening her arms and getting a scoff that was just a little bit of a laugh from Agatha.
“Ok, this is getting weird.” Alice intervened. “But she’s not wrong, I'd really like if you come, Jen is very important to me, just as Wanda is to Nat, and we both know you’re one of the most important person in their lives, it’d be awesome if we could get to know each other better.” To give her credit, Agatha sensed she was being honest about it, just as Natasha, who was looking at her with the same pleading eyes.
Because of that, she agreed to be part of the celebration, it would be just them and Lilia, it wouldn’t be such a sacrifice. And if she was just a tiny bit happy that a certain player would be there, it was nobody's business.
——————————————————————————————
Agatha was in heaven. Turns out being at the house of Lorna Wu’s daughter wasn’t the worst place to be.
“Let me guess, she was your gay awakening.” Alice approached as Agatha was looking at some merch on the walls. The player was fresh out of the shower, catching up with Agatha after letting her roam free at her apartment.
Jen was sitting with Lilia in the living room, already tipsy, while Wanda was at Nat’s place, where Agatha found out to be at the same building, waiting for her to get ready too. And so what if she noticed Rio lived on the last floor and was looking at the door from time to time, checking if she was coming.
“Just like from every lesbian my age.” She smiled, turning to face Alice. “You know?”
“Oh, I do.” Alice rolled her eyes. “She mentioned when the team signed with you guys and Jen said it on our first date.”
“Oh, yeah.” Agatha laughed. “She was freaking out about keeping it a secret, I forgot I told her to just say it.”
“Say what?” A familiar voice said behind them. Agatha smiled wickedly while turning, waiting for the reaction.
“She hooked up with my mom.” And just like that Rio Vidal was too stunned to speak.
“Made every lesbian’s dream come true.” She looked Rio up and down, taking in her new clothes.
She was wearing a black cargo pants and a simple white t-shirt. It wasn’t supposed to make Agatha this attracted to her, but it did.
“I honestly don’t know what to say.”
“Yeah, welcome to the club.” Alice patted her on the shoulder when she started to walk away. “I’ll go check on the girls.”
She went to the living room, finding the red-heads already there and leaving Rio and Agatha alone.
“Isn’t she old enough to be your mother?” Rio asked, turning to look at the merch with Agatha.
“Ok, first of all, rude.” Agatha took the glass with wine she was holding to her lips. “Age shaming inside the community? What a shame.” Rio laughed. “And she’s not, she’s barely old enough to be Alice’s mother, Lorna’s only eleven years older than me.”
“Right, my bad.”
“Second, you’re just jealous that because Alice has been your best friend since you were little you never could get with her mommy.” Agatha made a pout, making fun of Rio.
“How do you know we have known each other that long? Are you looking me up?” Agatha only pointed to a picture on the wall of two teenagers together, clearly Alice and Rio. “Right.” She coughed, a little embarrassed.
“Cute.” The older woman smiled. “And third.” She turned to Rio. “You’re the one to talk, giving interviews about how you have a crush on a woman almost twenty years older than you.”
“Who?” Rio asked, confused. “The only woman I say I have a crush on is you.” When no answer came, Rio widened her eyes. “How old do you think I am?”
“For your looks? Maybe 27, for the way you move on the court? 22, 23.” That earned a loud laugh from Rio.
“Well, that’s certainly flattering.” She said once she stopped laughing, finding an unamused Agatha. “I’m 34.”
“You’re not.” She simply said.
“I could show you my ID.”
“You are?” When Rio only nodded, Agatha took another sip of her wine. “Damn, maybe exercising is good after all.”
“Maybe.” They stayed a while in silence, still looking at the wall. “Missing her?” Her tone was provocative.
“Not much, we met a few months ago when I took her and Lilia to celebrate the contract.” She gave Rio a suggestive look.
“Shit, I didn’t know they still had it in them.” She looked over to Lilia in the living room. “Maybe that’s the secret to a happy marriage.”
“Going out with younger women?”
“Maybe.” When Agatha scoffed, Rio fully turned to her. “What? Are you the type to think that a marriage can only be monogamic? Do you think the only way to be loyal is not to look at other women?”
“Calm down, geez, my loyalty is only to me, myself and I, sweety, I don’t care about this bullshit.” She said, getting a little closer to Rio. “I’m old enough to know that what works for someone might not work for another, so as long as everybody is on the same page, you do you.” Agatha took another step closer, entering Rio’s personal space. “But I gotta say, if I was to enter a relationship, I don’t think I would share, what’s mine is mine.” Agatha patted Rio on the cheek and walked away, leaving her empty glass in the player's hands. “Why don’t you be a dear and refill that for me?”
Well, Rio was fucked.
And before she knew, she was on her way to pour more wine for Agatha.
“What were you guys talking about?” She heard Wanda asking when she reached the living room, giving Agatha her filled glass and sitting by her side on the couch.
“Monogamy.” Agatha said, sipping her wine.
“Ew.” Lilia said from the chair she was sitting.
“Hope that’s not near the reaction you have to that word.” Jen said from Alice’s lap.
“Nope, I’m just for you, babe.” She kissed Jen’s cheek. “Rio and I used to discuss it a lot, we were mainly raised by my mother, and for a long time the normal for us was to have an open relationship.”
“We genuinely didn’t know monogamy was a thing.” Rio laughed.
“So that’s the woke agenda they talk about.” Natasha said from her spot on the floor, head leaning in Wanda’s lap, who was sitting right beside Agatha.
“She raised you both to follow the good path and you both fell from it.” Lilia shook her head.
“That’s right?” Agatha asked Rio. “Why were you trying to shame me for supposedly being monogamic back then?”
“Oh, I just like to incite things, it’s kinda my brand.” She shrugged.
“I know plenty about this brand, you have quite the appearance in the media.” Jen tossed a napkin at Rio. “But let’s celebrate!” She raised her glass. “You’re in the playoffs bitches!” She yelled and everyone raised their glasses, vibrating.
——————————————————————————————
“So… you and Rio?” Wanda asked, entering Agatha’s office and throwing herself at the chair in front of her desk.
“I know your parents died when you were young, but they surely had time to teach you how to knock on a door.” Agatha said without lifting her eyes from the papers in front of her.
“They were busy trying to survive the genocide of my people, you know, the one your mother helped fund.”
Something they discovered a few years after they met. Evanora Harkness, the senator, was helping to pass a bill that was funding the genocide of the Romani people in Europe, disguised as humanitarian help, one of the attacks at Russia being the responsible for killing Wanda’s parents.
Evanora’s downfall came when someone found and leaked proof that the money was being used for guns and hate campaigns against Romanis. The case went on trial and she, along with 7 other congressmen, were sentenced to 70 years in prison.
Evanora died two weeks later.
“Touché, red.” She put the papers aside. “What about me and Rio?”
“I know she got your number with Jen this week, didn’t she send you anything?”
“Nothing.” Agatha clicked her tongue. “And thanks for the information, I’ll be sure to sue Jen for leaking private information.”
“Like you wouldn't let her.” She mumbled, raising her arms when Agatha gave her a pointed look. “Ok, but she might text you anytime soon, they’ve been busy training for the game, I miss Nat.”
“Oh, that’s why you and Jen have been whining like little bitches.” Agatha rose from her chair. “They’re playing away?”
“Phoenix.” Wanda rolled her eyes, not even minding that Agatha was actively manhandling her into standing up and forcing her out the door. “The game is today, if you wanna come over and watch, Jen will be there.” She said with half her body already outside the door.
“As touched as I am by the last minute call, I’ll pass it.”
“Please, Agatha, we could teach you the rules so you don’t embarrass yourself when you talk to Rio about it.” She made puppy eyes, Agatha rolled hers in response.
“Fine, I’ll see you later, now go back to work.” She pushed Wanda, putting only her head out after. “Will, if she enters this office without being announced you’re the one being fired.” She yelled at her secretary.
“You know I can’t control this lunatic.” He pointed to the woman skipping down the hall.
“Not my problem.”
She went back to her office, locking the door behind her. Great, now she was supposed to waste her time at night watching a stupid game.
Her phone vibrated on her desk, catching her attention.
Right, she had lied about that.
Rio
sorry for making you wait
practice took longer than i thought
Agatha
No worries, big guy.
Wanda was keeping me busy.
I think you’ll be happy to know I’ll be watching the game.
Rio
happy, pressured
they’re about the same thing
Agatha
You better make me a show.
Rio
you can always count on it, Ags
Agatha
You call me that again and it’ll be the last thing you do.
Rio
so i’m talking to a mad woman?
hot
With that Agatha blocked her phone and went back to work.
——————————————————————————————
The game was going well. The NYL was ahead by a lot, most of it thanks to Rio, and it was already in the last quarter, it was practically a won game, already the second one of the best of three, granting their spot at the semi-finals. It was supposed to be an easy ending, they would play defensive, making some counter attacks, keeping the leverage the max they could while preserving themselves for the next game.
3 minutes on the clock and it happened. Rio was mid air, trying to make a shot, when she felt her whole body being slammed to the ground and an incredible pain on her shoulder.
Everyone was holding their breath as the star player from the league was being carried away from the court. Agatha was already with her phone in hands, ready to text Lilia.
“This bitch over here thinking this is fucking ufc, what the hell was that?” Jen was screaming at the TV. “Fuck, if Rio got hurt she’ll honestly kill herself, Agatha we’ll need to work on something if she’s not allowed to play.”
“You think it was that bad?” Wanda asked, getting closer to the tv.
“Bitch, her shoulder is like a foot away from where it was supposed to be.” Jen pointed to the image of Rio on the floor, replaying.
Agatha couldn’t stop looking at it. It was kinda bad, not nearly as bad as Jen was making it to be, but she had enough dislocated shoulders in her childhood to know it would keep Rio out of the game for at least two weeks. And at this point of the game, it was the end of the world.
She would lose every game of the semis, if they didn’t make it to finals, it was over for Rio.
Agatha checked her phone, happy to see Lilia was sending news.
Old Crone
Do not worry your tits, Harkness, this girl is tough
She’ll be fine, can’t talk much, still got a team to coach
I sended Hela to the doctor with her and will be there myself as soon the game is over
Talk to you later
Agatha
Who’s Hela?
Well, judging by the way Lilia was already screaming with the referee on the TV, she was not getting any answers from her.
“Guys, who’s Hela? Why does this name sound familiar?” She asked from her place on the couch, making both heads turn to her.
“She works with the team, she’s kinda Lilia’s assistant, why?” Wanda eyed her suspiciously.
“No reason.” She brushed it off.
Both women squinted their eyes at her, but decided to turn their attention back to the game.
It ended 67-51 for the NYL, the girls from Phoenix took advantage of the little step back after Rio’s exit, but nothing that couldn’t be stopped.
“Ok, so we’re competing against the Golden State Valkyries next week, the first two games are home, we’ll all go, right?” Wanda asked as she started collecting empty beer bottles.
“That’s actually a really great name for a team.” Agatha said, without leaving her place on the couch. “But you can count me out, I’ve had enough basketball for the month.”
“You know Rio will probably be with us…” Jen said as she got up to help Wanda.
“I imagined it.” Agatha rolled her eyes, picking up her phone. “You guys have fun, I’ll be sure to send good vibes.”
“Ok, I’m not gonna force you.” Jen gave up, making Agatha stare at her suspiciously. “Don’t look at me like that, girl, we already made you leave your tower a lot these last days, you deserve a rest.”
“Well, thanks.” She smiled. “I really deserve one.” She moved her attention back to her phone.
Old Crone
Oh, it’s just Rio’s ex
Rio’s WHAT?
Old Crone
Hehe, just kidding
Rio never gave her a chance
Agatha
Funny.
Are you at the hospital already?
Old Crone
Yeah, I am
Physically, she’ll be fine
I mean, she’s crying like a fucking baby rn, but she was always a perfomer
She will lose the semis though
I’ll be honest, makes me wanna cry like a fucking baby too
But why are you so interested in my top player?
Can’t be just for the sake of the team’s image
Agatha
She really is kind of a baby.
Pathetic.
But I can assure you I just want to know how to make the statement of her dismissal for the games.
My first option was: “after being brutally attacked by a fucking moron of a player who doesn’t know the rules to the game she played her whole life…”
Old Crone
Classy
Agatha
Eh…
It was just a draft.
Old Crone
Gotta say, you look like you took this personally
Something you want to say to your old lover?
Agatha
Fuck, that’s gross.
Don’t ever call yourself that.
I’m blocking you and your wife.
And there’s nothing to talk about, you know I don’t do relationships.
Old Crone
Because the only ones you’ve been were the ones your mother put you in
And it doesn’t even counts, you were a raging lesbians dating closeted twinks for appearances
You should try a real one
Agatha
It wasn’t just twinks
Ralph wasn’t one.
He was dumb as a door, but he was straight.
And I’m not doing this, Lilia.
Rio is just a friend.
A really annoying one.
“Who are you talking to?”
“Your mo–” She stopped mid sentence, seeing it was Wanda talking to her. “Oh, fuck off.”
“Nice save.” Jen yelled from the kitchen.
“I was just talking to Lilia about how to proceed from now on, Rio really will lose the semis.”
“Shit, she must be terrible.” Jen came to the living room. “But let’s not worry, the girls are more than capable of getting to the finals, she’ll be playing there.”
“Absolutely.” Wanda agreed, throwing herself on the couch and resting her head in Agatha’s lap. “Nothing to worry about.” She hummed as the older woman started to caress her hair.
——————————————————————————————
Agatha would never admit it, but she saw both of the games. She would cheer every time the NYL girls made a point, cuss every time the valkyries scored and yell at the referee whenever she felt like it.
The TV showed Rio with the damn sling both games, looking like a maniac screaming the whole game. It was painly obvious how much she wanted to be on the court, helping the team and celebrating each point with them.
Thank Goddess they won both, Agatha was beginning to worry Rio would actually combust if they didn’t get to the finals. Being a best of 5, they were only one win away from getting there.
The next game would be away, at San Francisco, and her friends were already trying to get her to go with them to watch it at a bar.
She would never do such thing.
Not even for a hot player with crooked teeth and big brown eyes.
So she said she was busy with her job as the CEO of a whole company, being fair, she really was. They were doing wonders for the team, their presence online started to catch a lot of attention, with Wanda and Jen always so close to all the girls, they started doing so many of the stupid trends on tiktok and it was actually working.
Not that she was surprised, they were the best for a reason.
And of fucking course Rio was a part of it. Agatha did not download the app just so she could see it. It was absurd just to think she would do it.
She downloaded it because Will was always sending her links with annoying videos and it was easier to just have the damn app than to be opening in the browser. It was just because of that.
She watched the game while reviewing some contracts and studying some possible new clients who reached out to them.
They lost.
Agatha knew it would happen sometime. Since she began watching the games she had not once seen they lose, she knew it would happen sooner or later.
It still pissed her off. Damn, she was really starting to care for the sport.
She immediately picked her phone, starting to write a message.
Agatha
Don’t worry about it.
You guys still have the lead, I’m sure they will catch up.
Rio
not worried
i trust my giraol
girls
fyi i didn’t vry at alk
the bald one gave me a drinh wheb they started losing
i’m fucking edible
Agatha
As long as you are edible, champ.
How many drinks Jen gave you?
Rio
oooops hehe
*incredible[
but you van eat ne if you want
and not so many
the red one is at fauly for the resy
Agatha
I should have guessed it.
How are you leaving?
Rio
uber
Agatha
Absolutely not.
I’m sending my driver to pick up Jen and Wanda, he’ll leave you at your place too.
Go buy some water.
Rio
you’re rich rich
omg this hot ass older rich woman is sendinh her driver to pick me up
i think im ginna cum
Agatha
I’ll block you.
Rio
no, you won’t
im too cutr
alsp
wanda is mad at you
for not letting her know we were textinh
Agatha
She’ll get over it.
The driver is almost there, go wait outside, Wanda and Jen will know him.
Rio
ok
tysm
💚💜
(it’s us)
(im the greeb one)
(youre the ourple)
Agatha put her phone down with a smile. This girl was a huge dork. Such a weirdo.
——————————————————————————————
The fourth game happened on a Saturday. Agatha released Wanda and Jen earlier on Friday so they could travel to San Francisco to watch the game, once again, she passed the invitation to join them.
Now Agatha was very suspicious of the reason they let it go so easily. And she really should be.
It was 30 minutes before the game when she heard a “ding” from her elevator. She immediately sat up, phone in one hand, ready to dial the police and the bat she left under the sofa in the living room in the other hand.
The only two people, beside her, who knew the password to her floor were literally across the country.
She waited for the doors to open, bat in position, only to be baffled by the image of Rio Vidal in sweatpants, a jersey from NYL and holding a box of pizza.
“Well, that’s a nice welcome.” Rio said leaving the elevator and looking around. “Oh, you’re seriously rich, this place is awesome, I understand why you never leave your tower.”
“How the fuck did you get here?” Agatha asked, finally lowering the bat.
“Now you made it really welcoming.” The player turned to her, grinning. “How do you think I got here, Sherlock?”
“Jen.” Agatha said, rolling her eyes. “Fucking hell, I’m really gonna sue her one of these days.”
“We both know you won’t, now, can you help a little?” She pointed her chin at the box of pizza that she was balancing with only her right arm, still using the sling.
“Why are you here?” Agatha picked up the box and made her way from the foyer to the living room, Rio trotting behind her.
“So we can watch the game.” She smiled. “I couldn’t go with the team because of the physiotherapy, so I thought, you were alone too, why not be alone together?”
“Because that completely ruins the meaning of being alone.” Agatha put the pizza on the coffee table and gestured for Rio to sit on the couch. “What do you wanna drink? I have water, soda, beer, juice…”
“Soda is fine, I’m still taking painkillers.” She sat and watched Agatha leaving for the kitchen. “See how we already look like a couple?” She yelled so the older woman could hear. “We’re bickering while you make everything comfortable for me, we should get married.”
“You’re clinically insane.” Agatha yelled back. “I already told you this is just friendship, stop pretending it is something that it’s not.” She returned to the living room with plates and a soda can in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. “Didn’t you drink last game?”
“And that was a mistake I will never make again, I was a wreck the next morning and got a little worse when I got to see the texts I sent you.” She scooched so Agatha could sit by her side. “And you’re the one pretending, my love.”
“I don’t do relationships, Rio.” Against her better judgement, she still sat almost glued to Rio, even if her couch was big enough for them to lie down on each end and not even touch. “And you’re not someone I wanna sleep with and leave.”
“What I’m hearing is that you’re obsessed with me and are too afraid to deal with it.”
“Turn on the TV and shut the fuck up or I’ll make you leave.” She threatened, Rio’s words hitting a little too close to home.
Rio raised her arms and put on the game while Agatha cut some pizza slices for the both of them.
It was cute to see Rio watching a game in person, she would get red from all the yelling, curse in spanish and cheer like a maniac every time they made a basket. It was also really cute when she started crying when they won.
“Congratulations, big guy.” Agatha raised her glass in a toast. “You’ll be playing the finals.”
“I think I’m gonna die.” Rio let herself fall on the couch after jumping around the living room, screaming.
“You’ll survive.”
They stayed in silence for a minute, the faint noise of the TV the only sound between them.
“Can I ask you something?” Rio asked after a while, receiving a nod from Agatha. “About your mother.”
Agatha immediately choked on the wine she was sipping.
“Holy shit, I did not see that coming.” She used the hem of her shirt to dry her face, looking up and seeing big doe eyes waiting. “Go ahead.”
“I think I just always wondered why you used her last name in the company.” She shrugged. “The name obviously traces back to her and I always thought you hated being linked to her.”
“I could lie and say it was so I could give it another meaning, change the legacy behind the name Harkness, which I am by the way.” She gave Rio a stern look. “But I was born in this world, Rio, I know how to play the game and I always knew that a lot of doors would be open for the name alone.” She took a deep breath before moving on. “And I’m not sorry for it, I’ll take advantage of her as far as I can, I deserve it, also, that’s a really amazing name, it would piss me off so much if I could never use it because of her.”
“Fair.” Rio smiled. “To be clear, I’m not judging you, it was just something I wondered.” She leaned, lying on the couch. “By the way, you totally leaked those files, right?”
“Oh, I absolutely did.” She chuckled. “I always knew that she was doing something wrong, I never knew what, not until I met Wanda.”
“That’s why you became close?”
“No, Wanda took an internship at the company and she just looked too much like me for her own good.” Agatha also leaned, lying on the other end of the couch. “She had this dark aura around her, still grieving everything that happened to her, Jen and I took her in and put her through some therapy.”
“Something you could use.”
“Shush or leave.” Rio made an imaginary zipper on her mouth, making a show of throwing the key away. “We discovered about my mother a few years later, Wanda was already hired and important for the company, they met at a few events and I don’t know, the way Evanora talked about her… Don’t get me wrong, the woman was racist with everyone she could, but there was something more there, I got this bug behind my ear, you know?” Rio agreed. “And then another attack against the Romani happened and it clicked for me, I honestly felt like a fool for never thinking of it before.”
“Come on, no one thinks their mom will be secretly funding a genocide, don’t make it so hard on yourself.”
“But mine was and it was so fucking easy to find proof.” She laughed a little. “Do you know how much a group of white rich people, formed mostly of straight man, can be so fucking dumb?”
“I imagine it.”
“So much, Rio. I literally just went to her house while she wasn't there with an excuse to pick some shit at my old room and got in her home office.” She sat up a little straighter, so she could see Rio’s face better. “It was right there in her computer, that not even had a password, a joined google drive, with all the other congressman, detailing their plan with fucking proofs of it, they were lunatics, Rio!” She exclaimed. “Who the fuck does that? Their ego was so big that they just left it there in the open, really believing no one was ever going to find out.”
“I gotta say, I did not see that coming.” Rio laughed. “It’s like printing out an evil plan, label it “The evil plan” and let it loose anywhere.” She shook her head. “Can’t believe you’re her daughter, you’re so smart and amazing.”
“Yeah, well, she couldn’t either, never really treated me like a daughter.” Agatha shrugged and looked at Rio.
She didn't know what made her open up so easily, the only ones to know everything she just said were Jen and Wanda, and they were involved in it, helping to reveal everything without it tracing back to Agatha. But there was something about Rio, about the way she infiltrated her life, honestly, coming up unannounced to her apartment and making herself at home, laying back so comfortable on her couch and making Agatha feel more comfortable that she ever did laying there alone, was a damn good metaphor for what Rio means to her.
“You killed her, didn’t you?” Rio asked so casually, lifting her second can of soda to her mouth, that for a second Agatha thought she heard it wrong. “Like, after the sentence she had a stroke and stayed two weeks in the hospital, until you visited her on her deathbed.”
“Didn’t know you were keeping tabs of where I was.”
“I wasn’t, everybody was talking about how you entered the hospital and 20 minutes later she was dead.”
“She had another stroke, her obituary was public.”
“And what really happened there?” Agatha squinted her eyes, considering her next words.
“She did have a stroke while I was there, that’s not a lie.” She sat up, putting her glass on the coffee table and turning her body towards where Rio was laying. “They kinda warned me that her state was still critic and she couldn’t handle big emotions, but I mean, it’s not my fault I told her that I was the one who leaked the files, that I was going to make sure the name Harkness would only be associated with all the woke shit she despises from now on and that I would sell everything she owned and use her money for it, which again, I totally did.”
“I bet she was not happy.” Agatha could see Rio smirking, something a little like fire in her eyes.
“Oh, she was pissed, throwing a real tantrum.” Agatha looked genuinely happy remembering the moment. “Also, not my fault if when I was backing away from her screaming I accidentally tripped on the wire of the machines that were controlling her vitals, when the stroke begun I was just so worried and in shock that I might’ve forgot to push the button to call someone and when I finally did it was too late.” She sighed. “All they found was me pushing the damn button like crazy while crying over her dead body.”
“Oh, I’m really sure it was so difficult for you.”
“You have no idea, I was trying so hard not to keep smiling in front of everyone.”
Rio laughed loud at that, Agatha honestly couldn't believe that she had this fucking psycho laying on her couch and that everything about it felt so right.
“How did Wanda react to that?” Rio asked after stopping laughing, but still carrying a smile on her face.
“She didn’t.” Agatha revealed looking down, her hair falling and covering her face, blocking Rio’s view. “I never told this to anyone, not even Jen.”
“Oh.” Rio was too stunned to speak. “Why are you telling me?”
“I honestly don't know, I just knew I could trust you.” Agatha shrugged her shoulders, kicking Rio's foot with hers.
“Weren't you worried I would get weird out or something?”
At that, Agatha laughed out loud.
“Please, you're almost whimpering just thinking about it.” She scoffed while Rio had the decency to look embarrassed. “Honey, you're a psycho freak just like me, the last thing I imagined was that.”
“See.” Now Rio was smiling. “Another proof we would be perfect together, you get me, I get you.” She sat up straight, leaning towards Agatha. “We'd be the kind of couple that disgusts our friends and have amazing chemistry in bed.”
“Oh, honey.” Agatha said in a condescending tone, also leaning towards Rio, leaving their faces inches apart. “We'd have the most insane chemistry in bed.” She purred. “But I already gave you my motives.” She got up, starting to gather the things from the living room and taking to the kitchen.
“And I already said I don't agree with them.” Rio said getting off the couch and following Agatha to the kitchen. Just for company, she couldn't help much with just one arm. “Look, we both know that at some point you'll stop pretending this isn't real and we'll get married and live happily ever after.” She said leaning on the counter while Agatha washed the plates. “So why can't you just admit it and save us all this time we're wasting?"
“Oh, we both know that?”
“More like everybody knows.” Rio shrugged her shoulders. “Sapphics on twitter are really crazy over us and when your friends got me drunk they were already picking dresses for when they're bridesmaids.”
“Wait a minute.” Agatha put the last glass in the dish drainer and turned fully in Rio's direction. “I can understand my friends, they're absolutely lunatics and totally out of their minds.” Rio laughed at that. “But what do you mean there's people talking about us on twitter?”
“You don't know?” Rio almost yelled. “We even have a ship name, it's agathario.” She opened her phone and started searching for something. “Look.”
Agatha took the cellphone from the younger one and widened her eyes seeing the results for #agathario. Pictures of her and Rio on that first game showed up, pictures she'd never seen before, and some more from the one time she went to see what the team was recording with her employees. She went there with the excuse to know the team better and get a better knowledge of what exactly they were doing, but who was she fooling? In all the photos she was looking at Rio like she was the only thing in the room and when she was looking away, Rio was looking at her like she hung the moon and the stars.
“You seriously didn't see it? Don't you work with publicity?” Rio took her off of her mind.
“Yeah, but I just give some ideas, I'm more responsible for the legal part.” She gave Rio her phone back.
“Well, I'll tell Will to send you more of this, people can do so many different edits with so little pictures, it's kinda amazing.”
“You talk to my assistant?” Agatha raised an eyebrow, turning back to the living room without waiting to see if Rio would follow her, she knew she would.
“Yeah, we talked a little in one media day and that twink is obsessed with your love life.” Rio said while following Agatha like a lost puppy.
“Oh, so that's how those flowers got to my office.” She sat on the couch lifting a finger up so Rio would wait. “Don't get all comfy, I already sent a text to my driver to take you home, he's waiting for you downstairs.”
“Talk about hospitality.” Rio rolled her eyes, but she had a tiny smile on her face. “You know I'll still win you over.” She leaned down to give Agatha a kiss on her forehead, but almost fainted when she felt the woman turning to give her a little peck on the corner of her lips.
“Better give you a little something to wait for then.” She smiled like nothing happened while Rio was still dumbstruck. “Now be a good boy and leave.”
“I– Yeah… I'll just–” She scrambled over the words, backing away from Agatha. “I'll see you later.” She turned and almost ran into the elevator, her cheeks burning red.
Agatha smiled the whole time.
Maybe that wasn't a bad idea after all.
——————————————————————————————
“We're coming for an intervention.” Agatha sighed, taking off her glasses and massaging her temples. She couldn't have one day of peace in this goddamn office.
“Oh, you brought the big guns.” She said to Jen when she finally looked up and saw that Lorna was in her office too. With Jen, Wanda and Teen for some reason. “Fancy seeing you around these bands.” She didn't bother getting up, she knew she was about to go through something that would drain her.
“I came to see the final and thought it would be nice to visit you.” She smiled while taking a seat, Jen by her side, Wanda choosing to go to the couch at the corner of the office and Teen waiting by the door.
It was two weeks after the night Rio went to her place. The NYL was now getting ready for the last game against the Los Angeles Sparks, both teams won 3 times on the best of 7 and were heading to the grand finale the next day.
Rio stayed out of the first game to preserve herself a little more and only played for half of the second, but she was all back now and playing like her life depended on it.
Agatha went to all of the games in New York. More and more pictures were taken of her with Rio, near Rio or just looking at Rio’s direction and she couldn't even blame the fans, they were looking at each other like they were a married couple on their honeymoon phase. It was honestly disgusting.
“For the love of God, Teen, sit the fuck down, I'm not going to bite you.” Agatha pointed to the couch where Wanda was and the boy went running there. “So, is it safe to say that this is about Rio?”
“What gave us away?” Wanda asked with a fake surprised tone.
“First I would like to know why I was the last one to know about this situationship.” Lorna interrupted. “You and Rio are so important to me, I wish I knew this was happening sooner.”
“Nothing's happening.” Agatha rolled her eyes.
And it kinda wasn't. Rio kept her part in trying to win Agatha, she texted everyday, dedicated all of her points to Agatha, making stupid heart shapes with her hands in her direction and kept sending things to her office by Will.
She even sent a fucking purple plastic flower when she found out that the first one died because of the lack of tact Agatha had with plants. It was stupid. It didn't matter that the flower was now sitting on Agatha's nightstand in her room and is the the first thing she sees everyday when she opens her eyes and makes her whole day better.
It. Was. Stupid.
But even with all that, nothing else happened beside the almost kiss. Of course, they never got alone anymore, their friends were always there, but she knew that it wasn't all, she knew that Rio was letting her take the lead. If anything were to happen, it'll be because Agatha decided to.
“And ain't that the problem?” Jen asked, rolling her eyes when Agatha mimicked her. “Girl, don't piss me off, I'm trying to help.” Agatha raised her hands in surrender.
“C'mon, she's been sending all these nice things, even when they were playing away.” Teen chipped in. “It's cute.”
“We know you, Ags.” Lorna reached for the CEO’s hand across the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We know you're afraid of commitment, but Rio is an amazing girl, she'll never hurt you or let you down like that bitch of your mother did.”
“Oh, I absolutely know that.” She looked down. “My fear is that I'm going to hurt her and let her down like that bitch of my mother did, I mean, I was literally raised to love like that.”
“I'm gonna stop you right there.” Wanda got up and walked to the edge of the table, sitting there and making Agatha look at her. “I'm very sorry if you think that's what love is, but your mother never loved you.”
“Damn, Red, way to kick a fallen dog.” Agatha raised her eyebrows in honest surprise, she did not expect that to be the comfort she would receive. Will was looking at them completely shocked while the other women were waiting for the follow up, a little taken aback.
“Look, we all know that's true, if you went to therapy this would all be solved already.” She rolled her eyes. “She was a fucking cunt who never knew what love was and you're so much better than her.” When Agatha shrugged, Wanda slapped her on the head.
“You’re crazy??”
“No, but you are if you think for even a second that you're like that woman.” Lorna answered for her. “Agatha, I've known you for years and I can see so clearly how you care about the people you love.”
“You've been by my side for 20 years and not once I felt like you were letting me down.” Jen reached for her other hand. “On the contrary, you're the one I run to when I need someone.”
“I don't even think I need to say what you've done for me.” Wanda said. “You changed my whole life for the better and you keep doing it everyday.”
“And even if you try to pretend that you can't stand me, I know you're the one paying for the “new” scholarship that appeared at my college as soon as my dad got sick and we had to spend most of our money on his treatment and I almost dropped out.” Will gave her a little smile.
“I didn't know you knew that.”
“Well, I'm literally your personal assistant, I saw one of the bills.” He looked away a little embarrassed. “I never said anything because I was still trying to find a way to pay you back.”
“Stop worrying about that, Teen, see it as an investment.” She waved a hand dismissing him. “You have a great vision for this business, as soon as you graduate we're hiring you.”
“See.” Wanda interrupted the moment. “You probably take care of us in ways we will never know, you're not going to screw things up with her.”
“You're already taking care of her.” Lorna said. “Lilia told me that you paid for new equipment to help her with physiotherapy.”
“Rio would kill herself if she couldn't play the finals, I just tried to help.”
“For the love of God, Harkness, get your fucking girl before we all kill ourselves on how annoyingly sweet you're both being, just fuck it out already.” Jen said with a smile, contrasting with her annoyed tone.
“Oh, they'll be absolutely worse after.” Wanda said with a fond smile.
“We absolutely will.” Agatha agreed, trying to ignore all the happy screams in the room.
——————————————————————————————
If you ever told Agatha she would be watching a basketball game, using a jersey and a finger foam, yelling at the top of her lungs and all sweaty she would laugh at your face. But there she was, doing all that, because of a dorky player who couldn't stop dedicating hoops to her.
It was a full house, all tickets sold for the grand finale, the pressure was high, but Rio didn't worry for a second.
She wasn't playing for everybody, she wasn't playing for her friends, she wasn't even playing to win. She was playing for Agatha.
That alone made her play the best game of her career. It was easy not to let her head spin with worry when every time she looked to the side, Agatha was there. With her hair all messed up, the vein on her forehead popping, blues eyes shinning like a maniac, voice hoarse from all the screaming.
It was the most beautiful thing Rio has ever seen. To know that such beauty was rooting for her, was all the incentive that she needed.
She wasn't going to lie, it was a complicated game. The girls from the LAS were good, really good, but not as much as her girls, they were all playing like it was the last game of their life's.
When it was only 30 seconds left on the clock and they were winning with a score of 87 to 76, Lilia started crying. She knew it was an unpredictable game, anything could happen, but she trusted her girls so much that she could already feel the taste of the win, and even if they lose, she was so fucking proud of what they achieved this season.
Jen, Wanda, Lorna and Teen were practically celebrating the win already, while Agatha was biting her nails. It was the longest 30 seconds of her life, which really was with all the stops happening in the middle, she really thought she was gonna pass out at some point.
5 seconds left on the clock. The LAS had just scored, Nathasha was starting the game, passing the ball to Alice. She ran until the middle of the court, using her size to pass from some opponents, and she didn't even need to look up, she knew where Rio would be.
With the ball in hands, Rio looked at Agatha, smiled and winked at her and threw the ball without looking at the basket. As soon as the ball left her hands the clock buzzed.
The game had ended with a 3 point shot from Rio, without looking. 94 to 86.
Rio didn't even see the bodies going her way, she just fell to the floor and heard Alice's scream in her ear. The NYL were the champions of the WNBA, they fucking did it.
The fans were going crazy, Agatha couldn't stop crying while being squeezed by Jen, Wanda and Will. Lorna was already in the court, kissing her wife, both crying.
As soon as the players dispersed, Agatha ran towards Rio, who was already waiting for her, arms open in an invitation that was promptly accepted. They both laughed as Rio lifted Agatha up, spinning around the court.
“You fucking did it, big guy.” Agatha said as she was downed to the ground, Rio's arms still around her waist and her arms around Rio's shoulders. “I knew you could.”
“Yeah, I usually get what I want.” She said nonchalantly, but Agatha could see by the way her eyes and her smile shined that she was having the happiest moment of her life.
“Yeah, you really do.” Agatha's smile was softer now, Rio's chest rising in anticipation, knowing full well what would happen next.
But still, nothing could prepare her for how it felt to have Agatha's lips fully on hers, her tongue in her mouth, her body completely pressed into hers.
That felt like winning a hundred WNBAs at once.
They knew they would still have to worry about the press, about their friends and about their personal problems along the way, but at that moment, none of that mattered.
They were the only thing that mattered
The End.