The first game Tzuyu ever played was a success. The adrenaline of playing versus another team of strangers from another high school, instead of in the comfort of basketball practice with her friends, felt addicting to her. 

A month later, despite Tzuyu's inexperience compared to her teammates, after some wins and some losses, they managed to qualify for the regional stage. 

Two months later, with the team synergy improving with each game, they reached a performance peak they never had seen before. They had qualified for nationals. 

Three months later, they had won every single elimination match, and they were in the national finals. 

"We're gonna play against the best high school from Busan... and apparently, the country. I've heard about them... They haven't lost a single game, even in the early qualifier matches. They really mean business." Jeongyeon said, as they prepared to start the last practice session before the big day. 

"It's irrelevant that they've won every single match so far, because if we win this one, none of those is going to matter anymore. It's the finals, and this is where it ends." Tzuyu said, fire burning in her eyes. 

Chaeyoung grinned, looking at her with a proud smile.  

Tzuyu revealed herself to excel at defense. She was fast, had the best reflexes and she read the opponents' body language like nobody else, predicting what they were about to do with stellar accuracy. She would figure out the other's team strategy in a blink of an eye. That way, they could adapt the Grenade Duo's strategy in the best way to counter play.  

Even though they wanted to practice twice the time and twice as hard, the girls knew it wouldn't be smart to work themselves to exhaustion, with higher risks for injury, right before the big day. They had to trust all the work they'd done so far, so the last practice was less physically demanding and more focused on reviewing strategies. 

"Good job everyone!" Chaeyoung gathered the girls in a circle in the locker room. "Go home, eat and rest. And stay positive for tomorrow. Don't let their reputation and the rumors you've been hearing intimidate you." 

"We're going to do so smooth they won't even be able to lay their eyes on the ball. We'll win before they even know what's happening to them." Mina said with a mischievous smile. 

Tzuyu extended her hand towards the center of the circle and looked around. The girls smiled and put their hands on top of Tzuyu's. 

"Let's do this." 

With that, the girls threw their hands in the air, smiles on their faces as loud cheers echoed in the locker room. 

--- 

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung walked home together, hand in hand, just like the usual. 

“Rest a lot. I’ll text you when I get home.” Chaeyoung said, grabbing both of Tzuyu's hands and squeezing them. 

Tzuyu nodded with a smile. 

Chaeyoung kissed her cheek and took a step back, without letting go of her hands just yet. When she was about to turn and walk away, Tzuyu refused to let go of her hand, making Chaeyoung look back at her with curious eyes. 

“My mom isn’t home. Keep me company.” Tzuyu asked with that cute voice and puppy eyes that Chaeyoung would never be able to resist. “Please.” 

Chaeyoung chuckled. 

“You’re such a baby.” 

--- 

After a heavenly early dinner made by Chaeyoung, they sat on the couch, watching some TV. Chaeyoung snuggled closer to Tzuyu, resting her head on her shoulder and her hand on her thigh. 

Chaeyoung buried her face in her neck, leaving light kisses on her skin, making Tzuyu shrink with the tickling sensation. 

“Chaeeee…!” Tzuyu whined, giggling. 

As a response, Chaeyoung turned her body to Tzuyu and placed her hand on her neck so she wouldn't escape her teasing. 

“Why are you so cute?” Chaeyoung whispered, sending a chill down Tzuyu's spine. 

“Why do you do that?” 

“Because the cute and embarrassed Tzuyu is my favorite.” 

“Really? I thought rough Tzuyu was your favorite.” 

Chaeyoung stopped kissing her neck and pulled away a bit, just enough to look at her eyes. 

“I love them both.” And she leaned forward, kissing Tzuyu's lips now.  

Tzuyu smiled into the kiss, her arms snaking around Chaeyoung's waist to pull her closer.  

“Your mom… Isn’t going to… Appear… Anytime soon… Is she?” Chaeyoung asked between kisses.  

Tzuyu stopped the kiss and looked intensely at her eyes.  

“No.” The whisper caressed Chaeyoung's lips, making her trembled with the lust both in Tzuyu's eyes and deep voice tone. 

Chaeyoung outlined Tzuyu's jaw line with her finger, then running her thumb through her lower lip. She leaned in and stopped right before her lips touched Tzuyu's.  

“So... I’m going to…” Chaeyoung grinned as Tzuyu closed her eyes. “Take a shower.” And she got up.  

Tzuyu opened her eyes to find her running upstairs, a low giggle still audible.  

“I hope you know I hate you, Son Chaeyoung.” Tzuyu said.  

Even after months, she was still the same tease, leaving Tzuyu when she couldn’t leave her.  

She waited a couple minutes to be sure Chaeyoung was in the bathroom to turn off the TV and get up. She walked to her room and laid down on her bed, her hands behind her head and eyes on the ceiling. Chaeyoung didn’t normally take long in the shower, so Tzuyu waited patiently for her while her mind thought about what she should do when she was back. 

Five minutes later, the door opened and a Chaeyoung, rolled in a bath towel with dripping hair, stepped in, meeting Tzuyu with wide eyes.  

“Hi.” Tzuyu said, enjoying her reaction already.  

“I-I thought you were downstairs so I didn’t get dressed…” 

“Well I think you don’t even need to get dressed.” Tzuyu whispered, as the sound of the door locking echoed.  

When Chaeyoung looked to the source of the sound, Tzuyu was already about to pin her to the wall next to the door, both hands above her head. She had a height disadvantage she wouldn't be able to overcome (not that she wanted to, but a bit of a fight could make things more interesting). Tzuyu smirked, proud of her victory, and closed the distance between their lips 

Chaeyoung gripped on her waist and pulled her closer, gluing their bodies. Tzuyu dived her hands in her wet hair, the kiss getting more intense by the second. Before it got too intense, Chaeyoung broke the kiss. 

“Maybe we should go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow. I did tell everyone to get some rest.” Chaeyoung muttered between her already irregular breaths.  

"And I say you don't tell me what to do. You're not the captain here." Tzuyu gently lifted her chin and breathed against her parted lips. 

Chaeyoung closed her eyes and gulped, feeling the chill run through her body as Tzuyu got rid of the towel hiding her body.  

“Okay, I changed my mind. Rough Tzuyu is definitely my favorite.” 

--- 

“Girls.” Chaeyoung called, the team gathering in a circle. “Let’s do our best. We're going to aim for the win with everything we've got, but above all, let’s have fun and show them how strong we are!” 

They shouted their name three names and group hugged. Chaeyoung exchanged a look with Tzuyu, finding a big and confident smile.  

The team entered the court, being greeted by loud shouts and chants. People screamed their names and motivational words. Chaeyoung felt like a professional player for a moment, and she couldn't help but rejoice. 

Mina and Minkyung found Momo sitting next to her apparently new BFF Yebin in the first row. They screamed their lungs out and held a large banner saying 'GO GO GRENADES!'. In smaller letters, both the girls seemed to have added in a rush "Momo loves Mina" and "Yebin loves Minkyung.". They'd had so much fun doodling with their red pens last minute there were now small red hearts covering a big chunk of the sign, overpowering the main message. Maybe they should feel embarrassed, but it was actually the sweetest thing they could have done to give them the extra motivation to win the game.  

More cheers echoed when the other team entered. Tzuyu looked at them and couldn’t stop her chin from dropping. Every single one of them was taller than herself, and she'd been called a giant her whole life. But she remembered one thing she'd learned from Chaeyoung, which was that height was not everything. That alone was not enough to scare her. 

Tzuyu looked at Chaeyoung to find her with a slightly off-putting expression. It wasn't like her. 

“Chae?” 

“Tzuyu, that…” Chaeyoung pointed to the other team, her eyes fixed ahead. Tzuyu looked back at them, but saw nothing out of ordinary besides the height. 

“Yes, they’re giants, but remember, height is not every-“ 

“No, it’s not that. That girl, with the red hair... It’s Nayoung.” 

Nayoung… The girl that made fun of Chaeyoung for her height back in elementary school and didn’t let her join in the team. That was the . Right there, in the other side of the court, getting ready to play against them.  

Tzuyu balled her fists. She could see her arrogance just by her posture and the way she looked at them. Tzuyu stepped in front of her girlfriend, blocking her vision from her, and placed her hands on her shoulders.  

“Chae. You’re the best basketball player I know and the best leader any team could have. Let her arrogance be her own enemy and keep your cool.” 

Chaeyoung met her eyes, searching for confidence and strength, allowing her lips to show a smile. Their cute moment was interrupted when a happy song started and the cheerleaders entered the court, following the leader, Xiao. They presented their amazing choreo that always amazed both the team and the audience. And of course, as always, Xiao made a point to kiss her girlfriend, Eunseo, right in the middle of the court, before retiring her team to the bleachers. A tradition that melted most hearts in the audience – and the one of a certain girl on the team. 

Coach Mino gathered the girls to say a few words while the opponent team's cheerleaders presented their performance.  

"Remember your strategies and focus! You guys can win. Remember, don't let them intimidate you. Eyes on the ball, eyes on the team, eyes on the basket."  

Chaeyoung, Mina, Jeongyeon, Minkyung and Sowon would start the game. Tzuyu stayed in the bench with Eunseo to analyze the opponent team's strategy before she went on to play. Eunseo normally started in the bench as well, she was too reckless with managing her energy and didn't endure playing for long periods of time. She usually played towards the end of the game, to give the final energy boost and sprint around the field like nobody else. 

The referee stood in the center with the ball in his hand. Sowon walked to dispute the ball, but when Chaeyoung noticed Nayoung would be the one to do it, she stepped in. 

"I'll do it." Chaeyoung said, earning a confused look from Sowon. "Keep an eye on the tallest with black hair."  

Sowon nodded and backed away. 

Chaeyoung looked up and met Nayoung's eyes. 

"Son Chaeyoung... I couldn't believe it when they told me, but now I'm seeing it with my own eyes."  

"Im Nayoung." Chaeyoung uttered, trying to keep her face clear of any evident reaction.  

"I'm appalled. Never in my life would I have thought I'd see you wearing a basketball team uniform. And you're the captain! How many millimeters did you grow since last time?" Nayoung teased, lightly tapping the top of Chaeyoung's head. 

"Well, who thought I would have the honor to kick your in the national finals?" Chaeyoung looked fiercely at her, without flinching.  

"Such confidence. Less talk and more playing, no? We can talk at the end of the game."  

"Deal." Chaeyoung smirked, fixing her headband underneath her bangs. 

Chaeyoung wished she seemed confident, because deep down, she was way too nervous. 

"Prepare." The referee said, taking the whistle to his mouth. 

"Had your sugar today? Your hands are shaking, you know." Nayoung said just before the whistle blew. 

Chaeyoung hissed. The ball flew high in the air and both girls jumped. Nayoung won the ball, taking a run past Chaeyoung, and the shorter girl couldn't even grasp what happened fast enough. Since when was she so fast? When she turned, the ball was with the black-haired girl, but just as Chaeyoung asked, Sowon was guarding her. Trusting her skills, Chaeyoung stayed on that side, waiting for her team to steal and pass her the ball. 

The tall girl from the other team jumped to shoot the ball, so Sowon jumped too, trying to block it. But instead of trying to score, she passed the ball behind her back, to Nayoung. No one was expecting it, so Nayoung was unguarded, receiving the ball and passing it to another member, who managed to pass through Minkyung and score the first two points for their team. 

"Nice one, Subin!" Nayoung shouted, patting the tall, black-haired girl, who just smiled. 

Tzuyu observed attentively in the benches. Her heart ached seeing Chaeyoung look so obviously nervous. She couldn't practice what she preached, and Nayoung's presence was definitely taking a toll on her. 

The Seoul team managed to score right next, using their strategy. Jeongyeon passed the ball to Mina, who sprinted past Nayoung, with a satisfying smile on her lips, and successfully passed the ball to Chaeyoung. The giant, Subin, and another player tried to stop her, but she did not falter – passing swiftly between them, she scored two points for their team. 

Subin started the next play. Nayoung nodded at her and received the ball, passing it to her teammate, Yuha, who passed it to Nayoung again, when she ran past Mina. The ball jumped so fast between their hands that the defensive players couldn't even lay their eyes on the ball or understand where it went. Subin jumped again, Sowon blocking her way to Nayoung, as she already knew the trick. But it turned out Sowon fell right into a trap, as she left Subin unprotected and she easily scored. 

The opposite team seemed to be impossible to predict, and the Grenade Captain Chaeyoung was the most frustrated in the team. It was becoming impossibly exhausting to even steal the ball from them, let alone score. Even though they weren't getting their asses completely kicked, the girls panted and wheezed while the Busan team didn't seem to be nearly as worn out. They made it look so easy. 

"Damn, they are really... annoying." Eunseo sighed. 

"That's exactly the right word. Annoying." Tzuyu muttered, eyes fixed on their opponent's movements. 

The first quarter ended, and Chaeyoung looked at the score board – 20/25. They rested for the two minute break, coach Mino approaching them for some pep talk and a few strategic tips on the weaknesses of each of the opponent players – as for the team strategy, he was just as clueless. 

Second quarter went by, meaning they'd finally have their 15-minute break. Chaeyoung let her body fall to the bench, drinking some water. She looked at the score board once again. 34/42. They kept on losing, and Nayoung kept on getting advantage on them. Chaeyoung closed her eyes and let her head drop, smashing the empty water bottle on her hand, releasing the frustrating she was keeping inside. Just why, and what were they missing? 

"Chaeyoung... you're the captain of the team, which means you're responsible for the morale. If you're frustrated and out of focus, you're only going to play recklessly and you're going to pull the whole team down with you. Do you understand your responsibility?" Coach Mino approached her with a stern look on his face. 

Chaeyoung bit her lip and looked away, feeling the whole team's eyes on her. 

"I know that Nayoung girl has a real attitude problem, but her focus is razor-sharp and I can tell she passed that on to her team. She's trying to play mind games with you and you're only letting her win by getting your personal issues in the way of the game." 

Noticing Chaeyoung tense and shrink on the bench, coach Mino's face relaxed and he laid a hand on the captain's shoulder. 

"Chaeyoung, I'm only saying this because I know what you're capable of. I know you're better than this and so are you. You can lead the team to victory. You can prove your worth, right here, and right now. I trust you... and all of you." He eyed each of the girls in the team. "Don't we all trust captain, girls?" 

Cheers echoed and the girls swarmed Chaeyoung, wrapping her in tight hugs and messing her hair. The captain finally loosened up a bit, and then two warm hands cupped her cheeks, making her open her eyes and meet a squatted Tzuyu in front of her, wearing her beautiful smile. 

"It's not over until the timer reaches zero. We've got 20 more minutes. We all trust you" Tzuyu said. "Come here." 

Tzuyu got up and pulled Chaeyoung with her. 

"Girls, gather." Tzuyu said, almost a demand. "Listen up. They're really good, alright. But not for sheer skill." The girls shared confused looks. "Every single play and formation they do is rehearsed to the finest detail. That's all." 

"What do you mean?" Mina asked. 

"Have you noticed that when someone gets hold of the ball, they make a sign with their hand?" More confused, and now intrigued eyes. "The core of their strategy is mind games. As expected from a team lead by Im Nayoung. They will try to have you believe you figured them out, only to change their strategy once again, then again, and then again. But their main goal is to circle the ball around the field as much as possible to throw you guys so off-balance, confuse you, and wear you out so much, it would be impossible for anyone to block the shot. Only then do they aim for the point." 

"The hand signs are a code for the formation they're supposed to take. Each of them has a specific order. For example, when they raise a balled fist, the ball goes Subin, to Nayoung, Subin again, Sooyoung, back to Subin and if she's alone, she will shoot. If not, she will pass the ball to the girl on the other side, Nara." 

The girls had their chins dropped. 

"How did you manage to memorize that?" Jeongyeon asked. 

"I've been observing, isn't that my role?" 

Tzuyu explained the other signals she got, the positions they would take in the court and the switch order.  

"So, the way to counter this – play extra defensive. Throw them off their formations instead of chasing after the ball. That's been your biggest mistake. Each of you focus on one person to guard no matter what. I'm not asking you to memorize everything I just said, just keep a close eye on that player and you'll be able to steal the ball if it goes to them. That way, you also save energy and then it will be you making them run, instead of them doing that to you. Since we're overall shorter, we also have an advantage in catching the spiked passes, which they rely on a lot since they're faster. By forcing them to pass the ball above, you'll hinder their accuracy too and you can use the chance to try and throw the longer-limbed girls off balance."  

Tzuyu explained who would mark who. "Let's see how this goes and how they react. I'll stay in the bench with Eunseo, and we'll switch in a bit." 

Just as Tzuyu recommended, they marked an opponent and they seemed surprised by the sudden change. They were making their strategy much harder to execute, and they even managed to steal the ball a lot of times, making the counter attack easy. 

Chaeyoung smirked as she stole the ball to Nayoung and sprinted towards their side of the court, passing the ball to Mina who was ready to dunk the ball. 

The audience went wild, screaming “GRENADES!” over and over again. Chaeyoung's spirit was higher than ever, and she believed they could actually win now. 

The opponent team called for a minute break. 

“They know we figured them out already. We don't know what they're gonna do now. Take care, they might actually have a backup plan. They're unpredictable. Eunseo, get ready, we’ll switch for the last quarter.” Tzuyu said. 

Eunseo nodded, confidence all over her features and fire in her eyes. 

Indeed, they changed their signals, positions and switch orders. Tzuyu bit on her lower lip, trying to get every change. Their team was now struggling again, but they seemed more motivated than before.  

Two minute break before the last quarter. Tzuyu looked up at the score board. 50/56. They were close, yet still behinf. Tzuyu and Eunseo would be switching with Minkyung and Jeongyeon. Tzuyu was sure they could turn the game.  

Tzuyu stepped in the court and felt her heart racing. She needed to do good. And she would. For Chaeyoung, for the team and for the sake of their team's victory.  

When the other team was about to start, they made another signal Tzuyu didn't recognize. They'd changed it again?!  

But this time, the play didn't go so smooth. Subin passed to Sooyoung, who got cut by Eunseo, and threw a death glare at Subin, pointing at Yuha, apparently arguing that was where the ball was supposed to go. They got lost, losing the ball in their attempt to switch it fast between them. Eunseo passed to Mina, who scored two more points for their team. 

There was less than 3 minutes left for the game to end and they were closing the distance. 

Nayoung’s team kept on messing up their strategy, losing themselves and passing the ball to who wasn’t prepared to receive it. Even worse than that, they were mad at each other. The tension among the opponent team was evident, as if the guilt was being shoved around for each failed play, making the girls feel guilty, accused, and lose focus. Their supposedly strong team spirit seemed to be crumbling down. 

Sprinting towards the other side of the court, Eunseo scored, equaling the points. 

The exhaustion slowed them down, allowing the other team to score again, gaining advantage once more, with a mere 30 seconds until the game ended. 

The ball was with Nayoung, and if they allowed her to score, the game was lost. Chaeyoung kept on pressuring her at a close distance. Nayoung managed to pass the ball to Subin, but Sowon was guarding her, stopping her advance. The seconds were running out. Subin jumped, and Sowon jumped too, ready to block it. 

Déjà vu. Subin passed the ball behind her back to Nayoung. The latter was predicting it, ready to grab the ball. But she wasn't ready for Eunseo, the speediest player on the team, who had spent the whole game saving energy, launching herself in front of her to grab the ball just one inch from Nayoung's hands. 

“CHAE!” She called, making Chaeyoung push herself to run towards the other side of the field. 

Eunseo launched the ball, and Chaeyoung grabbed it successfully. But there was not enough time to run and dunk it, not to mention the other team was already running back to defense. Seeing Tzuyu unguarded, Chaeyoung made up her mind. 

“TZUYU!” She had no choice, she had to put all of her faith in Tzuyu. 

Tzuyu didn't expect Chaeyoung not to run for the dunk. She was just behind the three point line when she received the ball, the timer showing 00:03. 

As if her body reacted without her brain's permission, Tzuyu aimed for the basket. 

Both teams froze, just as the whole audience went silent, the ball flying towards the basket.  

The score board changed. 71/70. The buzzer sounded. 00:00. Game over. 

The audience went wild. Tzuyu was motionless with the shock. When she looked around, her whole team surrounded her and lifted her in the air. 

The school's supporters all screamed for Tzuyu's name as she was raised in the air. 

When Tzuyu was put on the ground again, Chaeyoung launched herself to her body, kissing her lips, ignoring the thousands of eyes on them. 

“I knew you could do it. I knew I could trust you.” Chaeyoung said near her ear, hugging her close. 

Tzuyu hugged Chaeyoung back, and seeing her teammates holding the trophy high in the air made her come down to earth. 

“We won. Chae, we won, didn’t we?” 

“We won.”  

The others joined them, handing the trophy to their leader. Chaeyoung accepted it with a huge grin, celebrating with their teammates and coach Mino. National High School Champions... That was certainly a moment they would never forget.  

Mina looked at her girlfriend in the bleachers to find her crying like a baby, hugging Yebin while both jumped in their seats. Mina elbowed Minkyung, pointing at them.  

“They’re embarrassing.” Mina joked.  

“But adorable.”  

Xiao's squad ran to the middle of the court to join the celebration, but the leader didn't seem very keen on doing any actual cheering for anyone else than Eunseo. The latter bawled her eyes out, hugging her cheerleader girlfriend. Out of context, one would think Xiao had won the game and not Eunseo. 

In the middle of the celebration, Chaeyoung took a look at Nayoung's team. Some of them were actually crying, while Nayoung kept her stone cold posture.  

“I’ll be right back.” Chaeyoung said, and Tzuyu only nodded.  

She crossed the court in their direction. Nayoung turned to face her, arms still crossed and her face emotionless.  

“Didn’t you want to talk when the game was over?” Chaeyoung asked.  

“You're right, I said that. You won. Happy you finally proved yourself?” Nayoung scoffed. 

“Yes, I’m really happy, actually. You guys were awesome. It was a great game, so thank you for giving your everything.” Chaeyoung extended her hand.  

Nayoung looked at it and frowned. 

“Let’s play again in the future.” Chaeyoung added with a smile.  

Nayoung looked at her eyes for a few seconds, finally accepting her hand shake. Chaeyoung grabbed her hand firmly, shaking it a couple times.  

“And don’t forget - height is not everything. The higher the climb, the higher the fall.”  

She smiled and turned, walking back to her teammates.  

“Wait.” Nayoung called, making Chaeyoung stop in her tracks and look back. “It was a... good game. Your team work is... outstanding. We failed on that front and underestimated you. You deserved the win.” 

Chaeyoung was beyond surprised.  

“And thank that new girl you just kissed. She was the reason you guys won. The only one who managed to figure our strategy out throughout the whole championship.” 

“Yeah, I know. Tell your team mates they did great too. And thank you, Nayoung. I hope next time we play together, it will be as professionals.” 

Nayoung showed the hint of a crooked smile as Chaeyoung turned on her heel, back towards the team she had lead to victory. She took the sight as one she would never forget. Chaeyoung had won the national championships, and with it a trophy. But along the way, she'd won something worth way more than that – she thought as her eyes shifted to the tall, beautiful girl, being passed around in the air. 

--- 

A/N: T__T another completed story...  

First of all, I'm sorry for the long wait (will I ever stop apologizing for this? C:) 

I hope you all loved this story as much as I loved writing it! Thank you, as always, for your support, comments and votes! <3 

And, of course, a huge thanks to my girlfriend, ups, editor kekeke <3 

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Editor's Note: I once got hit with a basketball on my face while playing at school so this whole fic left me uncomfortable. But for that very same reason, I thought Tzuyu was a really relatable character. Only I didn't fall in love with the girl that threw the ball in my face, we actually nearly fought in class so... 

Seriously, I'm done with being serious and lame in my notes, I need to move on... to embarrassing Marli. 

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Don't worry guys, I'm used to it c:  

For the announcements now. I'll be away for a bit, to focus on preparing my next stories. As I told you before, the next one will be a Satzu story! I can't promise when I'll be posting it, because I know if I promise it next week, it'll be next month, so, please bear with me ;--; (actually next week is next month, but you guys get it, right?) E/N: Please someone give this girl a calendar or season's greetings or something for Christmas, thank you.  

(why don't you do it? C':) 

Okay, let's be serious now. When the next story is up, I'll be announcing it on Twitter, @LeonaMarli so, follow me if you will c: 

I'll try hard not to take 1497129 years, so please wait patiently! 

Thank you everyone, and see you soon <3