Childhood

"Finally my legs feel so fucking free." Nika was now stretching her legs out in the aisle next to her. She didn't care if there was anyone coming her way because she would've told them that if you waited patiently on this plane ride for 9 hours, you could wait a minute more.

Nika and Kate had just arrived in Croatia and had stood up for the first time in 9 hours apart from the few bathroom trips they took. It was now 2PM the following day but their bodies were still on Connecticut time, believing it was 8AM.

In this moment, Kate truly didn't know how to feel. Kate had only been to Europe once when she was very little. Kate couldn't wait to explore Croatia and see where her partner grew up. It felt surreal for her. One minute she's in the Midwest. The next, she's on a dream vacation with the only person she would want to spend it with.

Getting the luggage's from the overhead and exiting the plane only took 2 minutes. They were in one of the first rows of this massive plane so they were very grateful for that. Kate doesn't get how Nika does this plane ride so much though. But Kate assumed knowing you'll see your family would definitely help.

As Nika and Kate were getting off the plane, they were greeted with several flight attendants saying 'Welcome to Croatia' in their native language.

Customs took very quick to Kate's surprise because Nika had all of these tricks when it came to airports and booking flights. Nika and Kate walked hand in hand to where the conveyers were that plopped out their suitcases. Soon, nerves started to build up inside of Kate. In a few minutes Kate was about to meet Nika's parents. And that scared the shit out of Kate.

The anxiety was showing on Kate's face and it was quite obvious to Nika. "What're you nervous for?" Nika tried to read Kate's face more, but Kate immediately put her head down when Nika asked that question.

"It's nothing really. I'm just nervous to meet your parents that's all. Like people are so much more different in real life than what people see on a screen. I don't want them to see me and realize I'm a terrible fit for their daughter. I just don't want them to hate me."

"Hey, hey look at me baby." It didn't take longer than a second for Kate to look at the Croatian.

"My parents having been dying to meet you ever since the day I talked about you to them. They're gonna love you more than they already do."

Those words from Nika's mouth eased Kate. Kate was so grateful to have someone like Nika to reassure her, no matter how many times she stresses about a situation. Kate has seen Nika get mad at people for the tiniest things. But not once has Nika ever gotten mad at Kate. It felt out of the ordinary for her to do such a thing.

Nika and Kate got there luggage's and started to make their way towards Nika's parents car. Nika's reassurance towards Kate seemed to fade away because each time there foots made noise on the concrete, Kate's anxiety seemed to be creeping up again. Nika held Kate's hand tighter which eased it once again. Nika knew Kate like the back of her hand.

"Nika!!" Nika looked up to see her father, Darko starting walking away from his car a little to get closer to the couple. Nika and Kate let go of each others hands as Nika hugged both of her parents.

"And this must be Kate?" Kate forward her attention to Nika's mother, Roberta, and smiled at the woman. "Nika she is so beautiful." Nika and Kate both laughed as Roberta brought Kate into a hug and Darko did the same.

Nika and Kate got in the back seat of Darko's car as he put their suitcases in the trunk.

"So how was the flight girls?" Darko looked into the mirror on top of the center console as he made his way to the main roads of Zagreb.

"I would normally say its long but Kate was there so it was fine." Nika looked down at the girly who was resting her head on her shoulder.

"What about for you Ms. Kate?"

"That was probably one of, if not, the longest flight I've ever taken. I don't know how Nika manages to do flights like that. But it was worth it because this is my first time stepping foot into Croatia and I couldn't be more excited.

"Well I hope you like our country."

Kate lifted her head up from Nika's shoulder just taking in the view of Croatia. Damn was it beautiful. As soon as Kate stepped foot out of the airport, she could already feel the air that was different from how it was in America. The mountains were breathtaking, the architecture was so different and had so much personality. Kate couldn't fathom how Nika grew up here. In all honesty, Kate could see herself living in a place like this even for a few months.

Roberta turned on the radio and Magazin was playing. 'Ti Si Želja Mog Života' (You Are The Wish Of My Life) was playing and it was a very calm song. Kate could feel herself relaxing to the song and rested her head back on Nika's shoulder. Kate could hear Nika softly humming to the song. Kate looked up at Nika who drew her gaze to the blonde, smiling while still humming.

It didn't take long for Kate to shut her eyes and drift off to sleep. Despite the airplane seats morphing into beds, Kate still struggled falling asleep. She managed to sleep for about 4 hours knowing Nika was there, but couldn't manage any more.

As Kate fell asleep, Nika's parents began talking to her in their native language and Nika did the same. They told Nika how much they both really liked Kate and how much they believed she complimented her. Nika felt great hearing them say those words. She never really mentioned Dayton up to them after the first time she had told them about him. Even then they didn't really have a good vibe from him.

Kate had woken up just in time when they arrived at the Mühl's house. It wasn't how she expected it to be. It was a medium sized house with a bunch of unique features to it. It felt so cozy like a house she would never want to leave.

"This place is so beautiful Mr. and Mrs. Mühl." The two older people appreciated Kate's compliment. They could tell how genuine Kate was and how much she meant what she said just by the expression she had when she first stepped into the house.

"Please, call me Roberta and call him Darko. Nika, why don't you show Kate your room, where you guys will stay." Nika nodded at her mom as she put her arm around Kate's waist. Nika and Kate headed down the hallway to Nika's room where they will be staying.

"Your parents are so good at English babe." Kate was impressed with their English. Then again she didn't really know how long they have spoken English for. A lot of people in Europe seem to know English.

"They've known it for quite a while. Obviously it's not their preferred language to speak but they like meeting people who speak English. It helps them get better at it." One thing Kate noticed between Nika and her parents was how much stronger her parents' accents were when speaking English. Kate has seen videos of a younger Nika where her accent used to be so much more stronger. But since she's been in America for so long, the American accent is starting to rub off on her.

When Kate stepped foot into Nika's childhood bedroom, she was immediately breathless. It was exactly like Nika's room in Connecticut, but a younger version. There was her jerseys hung up from when she played basketball in Croatia, her first ever basketball, and so much more.

"Nika, I-, this room is so you."

"Well I am me after all." Kate rolled her eyes in response as Nika kissed her cheek. All the two girls wanted to do right now was lay on Nika's bed and sleep. They couldn't though. Their sleep schedules would be more fucked up than what it already is. So instead, they decided to walk around Nika's neighborhood.

Nika and Kate walked out of the front door and started to walk hand in hand. They were sharing airpods listening to Nika's playlist full of Croatian artists Nika wants to get Kate into.

"So how do you like Croatia so far? I know you haven't experienced much yet but from what you have."

Kate looked around, looking at the mountains in the background, the cloudless sky, taking it all in. "It's actually unbelievable. Like right now I'm walking the same footsteps a very young Nika has walked y'know?" They both chuckled. "It's so so so much more different than America. Like people just wave and say hello to you even if your a total stranger. It's just so friendly."

"Well I'm glad you enjoy Croatia and the people here. I'm grateful I grew up in a place like Zagreb. I love Connecticut with all of my heart but this, this is my home." Kate moved her head up and down. Kate 100% understood that. If Kate was born and raised here, she would never stop talking about it. Although this was Kate's first time in Croatia, it definitely wasn't her last.

Nika and Kate were on a walk for about a half hour before they decided to head back to the house. Nika showed Kate around the house a little more before they went back to Nika's room and watched TikTok.

It was nearing 8:15 PM when Nika started to smell a familiar dinner Nika loved. They headed towards the kitchen where they saw Darko and Roberta cooking up lamb.

"You guys made Peka?!" Darko and Roberta's attention went directly towards Nika whose jaw was dropped. Nika grew up on Peka, it was one food she could eat and never get tired of.

Roberta could tell Kate was wondering what the hell Peka was because of the confused expression on her face. "Peka is a dish that is usually with lamb or fish. You could do both if you want but we like lamb. You normally can find it near the coast at restaurants or from local families with their farms but we want to make a special dinner for you."

Kate was in awe of how welcoming and sweet Nika's parents were. They were treating Kate very warmly as they insisted for her to wait at the dining table and Darko would serve her, her food.

The table was set up so beautifully. There was red wine in the middle with a wine glass next to each plate. There was a candle in the center of the table. There were plate mats underneath each of the plates with a fork and knife on opposite ends of the table. It just looked so perfect.

As soon as the bite of lamb and peppers reached Kate's taste buds, her eyes rolled to the back of her head in joy. The amount of flavors she was tasting was insurmountable. Nika moved in closer towards Kate and raised her eyebrows at her.

"So I'm assuming you like the meal then darling." Kate was taken back from the new pet name. She wasn't complaining at all though. Nika could call Kate whatever she wanted. Well as long as it wasn't something bad but she knew Nika would never do that.

Kate was a little hesitant to say these next words incase she would mess them up, but she decided to just go for it because she had been practicing this phrase over and over again for the past few weeks. "Ova hrana je stvarno dobra." (This food is really good).

Darko and Roberta's eyes widen as they gasped as Nika looked at Kate and smiled.

"Hvala (Thank you) Kate! I see you've been practicing your Croatian."

"Just a little bit." Kate didn't really want to lie to Roberta. She wasn't entirely wrong, she was practicing Croatian. Just not expanding her vocabulary from the five words she learned.

Kate had finished her plate down to the very last crumb. So what if she was a big back, she enjoyed the meal and that's all that mattered. At this point Nika and Kate were extremely exhausted. So they thanked Darko and Roberta for the dinner and decided to catch up on some rest.

When they got to Nika's room, they both decided to quickly shower. The disgusted feeling among both of their bodies were mutual. Despite being exhausted, they both knew they wouldn't be able to fall asleep if they felt dirty.

They both crawled into Nika's bed facing each other. Kate looked into Nika's eyes as Nika kept peppering kisses on the corners of Kate's mouth, her jawline, and eventually her neck.

"Baby aren't you tired?"

"I'm never tired when it comes to you princess." Kate rolled her eyes as she lightly pushed Nika. Kate gave Nika a stern look and Nika eventually gave out. "Fine. I just hope you enjoyed your first day here even though you might be exhausted from all the traveling you've been doing. I can't wait for the next few weeks."

"As tired as I am, to know I'm with you makes me the most awake and alive person in the world. Now enough of the talk and hold me, I'm about to pass out."

Without hesitation, Nika put her arm fully around Kate's waist as Kate turned around. They both drifted into a sleep and couldn't wait for what day days ahead of them had awaiting.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

It had been a few days of Nika and Kate being in Croatia. Nika had shown Kate as much as Zagreb as she could. She was leaving the most special place for there last day in Zagreb until they went to Zadar. They would be coming back to Zagreb just not for another 5 days.

Nika decided to rep out her UConn Jersey and black shorts as they were heading to the one place Nika loved most in her town.

When Nika and Kate arrived at there destination, Kate's eyes immediately went to the basketball court. She noticed Nika bring a basketball in her car but she wasn't sure what her intent was with it. This was it though.

Nika snaked her arm off of Kate's waist as she made her way into the center of the basketball court. "This court right here. This court is what made me the person and where I am today. I spent countless hours each day just balling my heart out. Whether it was with my Dad, Hana, friends, or alone."

Kate started to walk closer towards Nika looking all around.

"So what you think of the court princess?"

"I think the courts beautiful. I think its more beautiful knowing that this court made you where you are today." Nika smiled as Kate as she took both of her hands in hers.

"Without this court baby, I don't know how my feelings would be for basketball. If I would've been as motivated to play as I was. Which means I never would've gone to UConn. Which means I never would've met you." Kate smiled as she looked down at Nika's lips. Nika dropped the basketball letting it roll on the ground as she put her arms around Kate's lower back and connected her lips with Kate's.

"So how about we 1v1 princess?" Nika smirked as she went to grab the basketball again.

"I had no idea we were coming here. I would've worn more basketball clothes." Nika looked Kate up and down as she wiped her thumb across her bottom lip.

"Well you've got a hair tie and basketball shoes on so I think that's all that matters." Kate rolled her eyes and walked over to Nika and snatched the ball out of Nika's hands before she could react.

"My ball first." Nika waved Kate off as Nika began to pull her hair up from a messy bun to a slick back ponytail.

"First to 5. Let's see what you got princess." Nika passed the ball back to Kate as they were at the top of the 3 point line. Nika was in full game mode. Kate was an opponent now.

Kate immediately faked a shot and started dribbling to her left. Kate was now near the block with Nika right in her face. Kate decided to take a big chance and instead of trying to hit a layup, she walked a few feet out towards the corners and hit a fade away which caught Nika off guard.

Nika murmured something in Croatian under her breath, a curse word Kate assumed, as they were at the top of the key again. This time Kate decided to go full sprint towards the basket and ended up being blocked by Nika.

"Aw yea baby!"

Kate rolled her eyes after the Croatian celebrated. Kate grabbed the basketball and passed it to Nika. Nika decided to straight up hit a three and she made it which got Kate mad. Nika got to cocky though and decided to hit the same shot which she airballed the next time.

As much fun as the two girls had, it was extremely hot outside but they decided to suffer through it. Nika came out victorious 7-5. Kate wasn't too shocked though because she knew how great Nika was on defense. And she was proud of how much Nika took pride in that too.

"1v1 again sometime princess, what do you say?" Nika put her arm around Kate's waist as they made their way to Nika's car to grab water.

"What so you could beat me again?"

"Well maybe. You're not entirely wrong.'

"Oh I'll be practicing babe just be ready. I'll have you weak in the knees."

"You already do." Nika went to place a kiss on Kate's cheek but she kept struggling because Kate kept pushing her face away. Eventually Kate gave in letting the girl place her soft lips on the side of her face.

Before they decided to leave and head back to Nika's house, Nika surprisingly brought a Croatian Flag with them and Kate wanted to make Nika do a photoshoot with it. Nika was so fucking gorgeous Kate wondered why she didn't do modelling.

On the way home, Nika was still bragging about how she won in the 1v1. Kate kept laughing at the girl in how big her ego was there at that moment. Kate could never find it annoying. This was the first time the girls played against each other since that last game in the regular season. Only this time they didn't hate each other. Only really, really liked each other.

Nika (@nika.muhl) added to their story

Authors Note:

Ok so I dont wanna spoil to much but all good things must come to an end

Maybe not yet but soon

Also me and Unrivaled literally had a whole convo on insta?!

Also I've been learning Croatian and Ti Si Želja Mog Života is my fav song

I also love playing it on guitar too and singing it

Once again hope yall enjoyed