Happiness Is A Butterfly

Nika and Kate had been in Croatia for roughly a week. As each day passed, the more and more anticipated they were for the next. Currently, the two girls were spending a few nights in Zadar. Today was their second day/first full day there. The two girls had spent the past week touring Zagreb, practicing Kate's Croatian, or hiking mountains with Darko and Roberta. Nika's family was big on hiking so her parents really appreciated it when they found out Kate wanted to go hiking with them. It's not an easy task to do, so for them to know someone who would be such an important figure in their life was willing to do something like that, it brought ease to Nika's parents.

As each day passed by, it was a day closer to Nika asking a big question to Kate. Every night, when Kate was going to bed, Nika pretended to fall asleep with her. Once she felt the blonde's breathing slow down and knew she was passed out, Nika would reach for her phone and text KK. Nika and Kate spent every minute together so it was impossible for Nika and KK to plan the big question. If Kate would want to be Nika's girlfriend.

Nika didn't want to do something small but she didn't want to do something to big. She wanted to put effort into this event but not to an extent like she is getting down on one knee for Kate. Not something as big as what Paige did for Azzi.

Currently, Nika and Kate were walking along the beach with their hands intertwined with one another. The beach was surprisingly empty, and the water was as clear as glass.

"They don't got beaches like this in Iowa huh?" Nika nudged Kate as Kate rolled her eyes facing the direction of the water. "I mean we've got beaches in Connecticut. Maybe not as great as this but we do."

"If you're trying to convince me to transfer to UConn its not working babe. It's also probably too late to transfer anyway. I'm not going to betray my friends so I can see you all day. That sounds like hell on earth."

"You know you miss me when I'm not there. Don't lie."

Kate loved spending as much time as Nika as she could. And maybe if it was Kate's freshmen year in college things would've been different. Kate was a Hawkeye since day 1, she had a family in Iowa who loved her and she loved them.

"Besides babe, it's fun getting to be rivals with you. You know how much I'm waiting until Iowa and UConn meet again." Kate rested her head on Nika's shoulder as they continued to walk along the beach. Both of their shoes in Nika's backpack, as their bare feet meet the sand on the ground.

"Listen Nika, I know I've said this so many times before but, thank you so much for taking me to Croatia with you like genuinely. Thank you for letting me meet your family. Everything here is just so perfect. Like the sky, the weather, scenery, mountains...you."

Nika nuzzled her head into Kate's neck which brought goosebumps all across Kate's body. She could feel the Croatian underneath her smiling into her neck.

"All I do is for you, princess. You're more perfect than anything else in the world. More perfect than anything I've ever owned. Look at me in the eyes for a second princess." Without questioning it, Kate immediately locked her eyes with Nika. Kate was confused as to why Nika wanted to look into her eyes at this moment, but at the end of the day, she would do whatever Nika asked her to.

Nika looked into Kate's greenish blue eyes. God those puppy eyes. "Your eyes baby, they're more gorgeous than that ocean. That ocean, sure I can look into it and get a sense of fascination for a few minutes but then I'd get bored. But your eyes baby, I could get lost in them forever. I'm completely blown away by you every time I look into your eyes."

Without saying a single word, Kate locked her lips with Nika's. What was she supposed to say after that? The girl who holds such a close place in Kate's heart, manages to captivate Kate every time with the words she says.

"So how do you feel about this being your last year at Iowa?" In all honesty, Kate didn't know how she felt. This would be her 6th year with the team. She's seen people who were incoming freshmen and then graduate. She loved the Iowa team with her whole heart but she couldn't wait to hopefully play professionally in the big league."

"I'm excited but sad at the same time. I'll miss playing with the girls and our top tier chemistry. But I also feel like I've been playing there so long like someone's trapped me in there and I'm finally close to the end." Both of the girls couldn't help but laugh at that. "I just hope I can advance my basketball career further and get selected by a team in the 2024 draft."

"Of course you're going to be selected in the draft. Are you crazy girl?! Whoever doesn't select you is hella crazy. Every team needs your optimism and your speeches."

"What about you though babe?"

Nika loved UConn. She couldn't imagine a life without the place. Without the team. But in her body she knew she was ready to go further in her career and play in the WNBA.

"UConn is my home away from this home here y'know. I just can't wait to hopefully not be waived by a team and I can make the cut. Ever since I was a little girl, I would try to find channels or people anywhere who would live stream WNBA games. It was a dream of mine to play in the league. Soon it will be a reality."

Nika and Kate finished getting ready in their hotel room. Nika told Kate to wear something nice but not too too nice. It didn't have to be a suit or anything, just something a little bit formal. While Nika was in the bathroom she decided to text KK about how everything was going to go down.

Throughout the trip, Nika and KK thought of a plan for Nika to rent out a whole restaurant for 2 hours. Nika knew Kate loved dessert and would never decline that offer. So on the cake will be written 'will u be my girlfriend?' KK proposed the idea and at first Nika hated it because of how corny and cringey it was. But then for those reasons Nika agreed with the idea. Kate loves all things corny and cringey so Nika knew Kate couldn't say no to her.

It was now around 7:30PM when Nika and Kate arrived to the restaurant. They decided to sit outside where they had a view of the ocean and mountains. As they were making their way to the outside deck, Kate was quick to notice why there was nobody there.

Once they sat down and the waiter was gone, Kate decided to ask Nika. "Babe I don't want to be rude but like, why is there nobody in this restaurant. Is this place a terrible restaurant? Are you setting me up right now?" Nika smiled at Kate's worry and put her hand on top of Kate's, circling the back of it with her thumb.

"No baby. If you're worried if this place will poison you then you don't need to worry because it won't. A lot of restaurants in Croatia are surprisingly empty. There's so many restaurants in Zadar, you'll be lucky to find 3 families in one restaurant. Besides, it's still kinda early. People in Zadar like to stay up late. I chose this time so there would be no interruptions."

"That's very thoughtful of you. Thanks baby."

"Anything for my princess."

Throughout getting their appetizers and entrees, Nika and Kate talked about literally anything that came to their minds. They chatted about how goofy Coach Bluder and Coach Auriemma looked when they were yelling at someone on the team, to chatting about what planet they would wanna visit if they were able to. To no surprise, they both said Uranus.

It was now time for the waiter to ask if they would like dessert. Underneath the table, Nika crossed her legs praying and hoping that Kate would say yes to dessert.

"Yes please, just bring us whatever you want. This is my first time in Croatia so I think you and the chefs should surprise us. Or well me."

Nika felt a massive weight off her shoulder as she heard Kate say those words to the waiter. Thank the lord Kate has never been to Croatia before.

As the minutes were passing by, nerves started to fill up inside Nika's body. Nika was not one to feel nervous or scared about anything. This though, this felt different. Maybe it was because Kate was someone Nika truly cared about. Still, Nika had to keep a 'straight' face.

"Are you okay Nika?" Nika was staring at the table like she was about to kill it until she heard Kate's words. She looked up at Kate's face who had a concerned expression on.

"What? Me? Oh yea I'm fine. Why?" Kate looked underneath the table which made Nika now confused as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Because I can feel the vibration of your non-stop shaking. You're not one to be nervous I just don't know if your okay and if there's something I could do to calm your nerves."

"Oh yea I'm fine-" Just as Nika was finishing her sentence, in the blink of an eye, the cake which would be asking Kate the big question was propped down on the table. "That's why."

Kate stood there with her mouth agape, in disbelief. Kate kept looking back and forth between the cake and Nika. Worry started to takeover Nika. Why was Kate so silent? Nika knew this would be a bad idea. Damn you KK. But just then, a smile formed on Kate's face.

"I'd love to be your girlfriend Nika." At that moment, Nika pushed the cake to the side as both of them bent over the table to connect their lips.

"Oh wow. You're my girlfriend? I'm your girlfriend?! The girl who tried to get in a fight with me is my girlfriend?! A few months ago Kate would've been shocked at this."

"I can say the same to my younger Nika self. But you see everything works out because now my princess is my girlfriend."

The two girls finished eating the cake, watching the sunset go down. After that they decided to walk around the town, where the music was loud and the streets were lively.

"Sorry if I scared you for a moment and when I stood there in disbelief."

"That was okay baby there's no need to be sorry."

"No its just that believe it or not, I was going to ask you if you would be my girlfriend to this trip just like at a later time. I was thinking more so when we were on the plane ride home so if you said no there was no escaping me. But this, this was much better."

"Well your idea was very very clever. We can still act out that moment if you want to."

"Uhm duhh."

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

The end of the trip was near the end. The following two weeks flew by. Tonight was their last night in Croatia and they were spending it none other than in the Mühl house. Needless to say, both of the girls were very excited to be back in America where there was air conditioning wherever you went, but did not want to deal with the fact that the next time they would see one another was a school vacation (if there school breaks lined up) or if Iowa and UConn had a game against each other during basketball season.

Currently, Nika and Kate were laying in Nika's bed listening to whatever album Nika was playing on her turntable. As much as Nika loved listening to music with her airpods or max's, records were always her way to go.

"For someone whos so tough like you Nika, it comes to a surprise for me that you like Adele."

Adele's song 'Love You In The Dark' was currently playing. Kate was laying on Nika's chest as Nika was playing with her hair, and both of them staring at the ceiling. The sun was exposed a little bit by Nika's almost fully closed curtains.

"Adele is one of the greatest vocalists of our generations. She keeps it real and she's hilarious. How could I not love her?" Nika patted Kate's shoulder signaling for Kate to sit up for a second.

Nika slowly approached her way to her vinyl shelf. She took her hands out of her grey sweatpants and began looking through her vinyl's. She took the vinyl 'Norman Fucking Rockwell' out of the shelf and took the record out. Nika then put the record on the turntable, flipping to the song that was most familiar to both of the girls.

As soon as the music began playing, Nika went back to Kate, sticking her hands out and the blonde gladly accepted.

"I promised we would dance to this song before we left, so here we go."

Nika pulled Kate into her chest. They were slow dancing slowly to the beat of "Happiness Is A Butterfly" by Lana Del Rey. Not a single word was exchanged to one another. The only words exchanged were when Nika and Kate locked eyes with each other, both singing the words 'I just wanna dance with you' to the other.

This was the Nika and Kate moment. The moment both of them would cherish forever. The one that sounded sweet and a casual thing, will now hold a very special place in both of the girls' hearts.

It was now the afternoon of the next morning and Darko and Roberta have now dropped Nika and Kate off at the airport. Unfortunately, Hana didn't come to Croatia while Nika and Kate were there. Kate wasn't to saddened though because she knew she would meet Hana sometime in the future.

Unlike coming to Croatia, the airport was now very crowded since it was mid-day. Everyone was hustling, trying to not miss their flight. They both loved how it was normal- how crazy and hectic airports were. Everyone in the airport is catching a flight for different reasons. Some people are there to visit a loved one, for work, for a vacation, for the death of a person who was dearly close to them, etc. All different reasons. Nika and Kate were now heading to Connecticut. This time Kate wasn't going with Nika to her apartment then leaving the next day. No, instead this time, Kate had a connecting flight from Connecticut to Iowa. So this was there last time spending every minute they could with each other before they parted ways again.

Because of TSA precheck, getting through security was a breeze again. They walked around the terminal finding their gate. Once they found their gate, they had just enough time to get something to eat quickly before they had to get on the plane.

Nika and Kate were the first in line to get on the plane. They used the same airline to Croatia and back, and the same exact seats were booked.

Once Nika and Kate got settled in their seats, Kate turned over to Nika with a mischievous grin.

"Nika...?" Nika furrowed her eyebrows wondering why this girl had this smile on.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" When those words came out of Kate's mouth, Nika got up walking along the aisle pretending to escape Kate. Kate knew what she was doing and was laughing when the Croatian came back to the seats.

"Obviously." The two girls stared into each other's eyes for a moment trying hard to not crack a smile. It was pointless to do so because the two girls spent a minute cracking up.

The plane ride was spent with the girls talking the whole time. Both of them were exhausted but they wanted to soak up as much time with each other as possible. Even when the flight attendants handed them their food, they would lock eyes with each other even if they accidentally dropped a piece of steak or something on their lap. They both needed to remember this moment. The whole 9 hours of them talking.

Once they landed in America, both of them were in denial. Right now, they were glued to the hip. But in 5 minutes from now they would be apart going there separate ways. Nika wished they were in the back of the plane right now. So it would take the longest for them to get out. Customs was no use either because Nika had all these tricks to get through everything quickly.

Nika and Kate walked to Kate's connecting flight. On the TV screen was "Iowa City, IA."

"Whelp, I guess this is my stop Nika." Without saying a word, Nika wrapped her arms around Kate. "Its okay baby we're going to see each other again."

Nika started to have tears run down her face as Kate wiped them away.

"Yea I know but, we don't know when we will see each other again. School starts in a few days and its going to be much harder to see or talk to you."

"I get that but we're so strong babe. We will make it through whatever obstacles God throws our way. I know that and you know that."

Nika nodded, trying her hardest to stop her tears from falling down.

"Group A going to Iowa City, Iowa is now boarding. I repeat, Group A going to Iowa City, Iowa is now boarding."

"Well I guess that's my cue. I'll see you later baby." Kate connected her lips with Nika's, feeling the saltiness of her tears overtake her lips.

"Goodbye, princess."

And so with that, Nika stood in place, watching as Kate was making her way towards Group A. Every step Kate walked, Kate turned her face to the left, seeing Nika just standing there.

As soon as Kate sat down at her seat, she couldn't take holding it in anymore and tears now began to fall rapidly down her face. She couldn't take seeing Nika cry so she didn't want to cry in front of Nika. This time, Kate had to be the one to reassure her.

As Nika watched Kate's plane take off, Nika began to have second thoughts. How was long distance supposed to work now? They would both be busy with school and basketball. They would have no time together texting or calling. But Nika tried everything in her power to push away these thoughts.

Kate (@katemartin03) shared a new post

Zagreb, Croatia

❤ Liked by azzi35, caitlinclark22, and 187,436 others

katemartin03 Girlfriend told me to post this

view all comments

user1 Dayum Kate looking mighty fly 😍

caitlinclark22 Come back to America

→ katemartin03 If ur there, no

→ caitlinclark22 Ur so mean

user2 Hope you had fun there!

→ katemartin03 Thanks!

→ user2 OMG?!

→ user7 U won at life

user3 GIRLFRIEND? AS IN NIKA MUHL?!

→ user4 RIGHT LIKE THEYRE SO CUTE

→ user5 It was bound to happen and I support it

paigebueckers Ayo blondie, whos ur gf

→ katemartin03 Whos urs?

→ paigebueckers Thats a good question

user6 Nika and Kate r the way to my heart

→ user8 To bad they're together

mollydavis14 U look so good Katey

→ katemartin03 U always look good Molls

user7 Idk if I wanna be Kate or Nika

caitlinclark22 Commenting twice cuz my ship is TOGETHER

→user9 I love how much u love them

user10 I'm so happy for u and Nika

→ user11 The switchup is crazy

→ user12 fr

→ user10 I realized my mistakes and I like them as a couple

→ user11 good

nika.muhl Because u look so good in it baby 😍

→ katemartin03 U always look good 😋

→ user12 I NEED AN AMBULANCE

aaliyahedwards_24 The photographer sucks but U look beautiful K

→ katemartin03 Ikr. And thanks Lilli

→ nika.muhl Shut up Lilli

user13 Im so single

user14 Babe wdym? I wasnt in Croatia w u?

→ user15 Delulu at its finest

sydney.affolter Stunna Money Martin 🤑

→ katemartin03 Dont boost my ego Syd

gabbie.marshall Ur style is getting better Kate

→ katemartin03 Better than urs

→ gabbie.marshall Not. A. Chance.

user16 Im from Croatia how did I not know u were here

user17 Editors pls use this photo

→ caitlinclark22 omw

→ user17 CAITLIN?!

user18 Zdravo (With Croatian rizz)

Authors Note:

Sry this chapters so rushed I just need us to get down

into the drama and nitty gritty soon

I also start school tmrw so idk how frequent I can post

Pls save these 3 following rookies from their teams: Kate Martin, Nika Mühl, and Kamilla Cardoso

But yea thats it

Hope yall enjoyed it