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“Beck, what are you doing?”
Margo finds Beck hauling a cork board at least the size of her into the locker room one day in the back end of season 3. She’s dragging it behind her and it’s making an ear splitting sound on the concrete floor, so Margo swoops in to grab the other end despite not knowing what’s happening.
“Well, I thought we could put together a sort of scrap book for the team,” Beck says. She finishes her journey to the wall just across from the door to the captain’s office and places the board down.
“On a cork board?”
“Yeah, that way everyone can add to it easily and see it. Kinda a mood boost before games, you know?”
Margo places xyr end of the board on the ground as well, and gets a good look at it. It’s massive, big enough to cover at least half the wall she’s lined up for it. Beck dips into the office, coming back out with a hammer and a few nails.
“Wanna help me hang it?”
Margo agrees, and the board goes up in no time. Beck stands back to admire their handiwork before dipping back into the office, coming back with a container of push pins that she places on the edge of it.
“So, are you gonna start it off with a few pictures?” Margo asks. “I don’t have anything physical, but I’ve probably got some on my phone I could get printed.”
“Not on me, but Dunn mentioned that she’s been making her own scrapbook with polaroids, so I’m gonna ask her if she’d be willing to get us started with a few.”
Margo nods. “I don’t trust her not to have absolutely awful pictures of me, though.”
“If you take enough of your own photos, I give you permission to cover up any embarrassing photos with your own.”
“Do I also get permission to take my own embarrassing photos for revenge?”
“Yeah, why not? Wait-” Beck pauses for a moment, and gives Margo a particular knowing look. “That permission doesn’t apply to pictures of me.”
“Damnit!”
Beck laughs loudly, pushing Margo lightly away. “You’re never getting something like that over on me, Nava, and you know it.”
“Doesn’t mean I won’t stop trying, cap’in!” Margo gives a wave as xe exits the locker room, shouting back over xyr shoulder.
Beck smiles, and pulls out her phone. She snaps a photo of the board and sends it to the Flowers’ group chat, explaining the purpose of it. Dunn is immediately excited, confirming Beck’s suspicions that she’d be glad to add her own photos to the board. The idea for the board goes over well, everyone agrees it would be a morale boost on rough days, and that it would be nice to have a memory board to commemorate past seasons and past teammates. Beck gives the board another once over, admiring her and Margo’s handiwork and making sure it’s all straight.
“I should get myself a camera,” she whispers to herself. “Might as well contribute to my own idea.”
***
Dunn brings a small scrapbook stuffed tight with pictures a few days later, and gets to putting them up quickly. She started keeping them around the end of season 1, and started taking more as the season went on and the team began changing faster. Most of the pictures feature the Garden heavily, but she manages to find a few from away games and Margaritoville, even some featuring players from other teams. Dunn is about two thirds of her way through the book when Vito walks in.
“What’s all this?” Dunn turns, photos in both hands and a few push pins held in her mouth.
“Oh, hey Vito!” She struggles to speak around the pins and drops a few on the floor. “Did you see Beck’s text? I had a ton of photos already, so I decided to get started on it.”
“Right, I forgot about that,” Vito walks over to take a look at the pictures she’s already put up. “These are nice. You’ve been getting them together for a while, right?”
“Yeah, I started my own little scrapbook in season 1 when I got a polaroid camera for my birthday, and I’ve kept it up since!”
Vito nods, and looks closer at a few of the photos in the top right corner. “Hm, I don’t know that I recognize everyone. Are these…?”
He doesn’t have to finish the question for Dunn to know the answer. “Yeah, they were gone before you came around.”
She takes a few photos back down to show them off, pointing out Hurley behind the counter at their flower shop, Jorge at batting practice, Bryanayah and Owen playing pool at Margaritoville. She pulls down a picture of Issac without thinking, about to introduce him before she remembers.
“Right, you remember Issac, don’t you?”
Vito is quiet for a moment, taking the photo in his hands. “Of course. When was this photo of him taken?”
“It’s from… season 2, I think? Not quite sure, but I think this was in the Firefighters’ away dugout.”
“Hm, that sounds about right. Maybe it’s from the post season then.”
“Might be!”
They fall into a comfortable silence as Dunn puts up the last of her photos. She stands back to admire her handiwork, and turns to Vito for approval.
“It’s a very nice assortment. But I can’t help but notice there aren’t any photos of you on it?”
Dunn takes another look, and sees that he’s right. There’s at least two photos of everyone else who’s ever been on the team, but none of Dunn herself.
“Hm, seems you’re right. I guess it’s a bit hard to take selfies with a polaroid.”
“Not that hard,” Vito points out. “I suppose it slipped your mind to include yourself in your own scrapbook?”
“Well, yeah, I guess I wouldn’t need pictures of myself in something I owned.”
“But now it’s the team’s photos, and you should be included too, don’t you think?”
Dunn gives a non committal hum, “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll end up there eventually.”
She turns to pick up her bag and put away the last of the pushpins she was holding when Vito stops her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Do you have your camera right now, Dunn?”
“Um,” Dunn ruffles through her bag for a moment, eventually pulling out a bright yellow polaroid covered in pink and orange flower decals. “Yeah, why?”
“I could take a photo to put on the board for you. With your hard work in the background, maybe.” Vito extends a hand for the camera, which Dunn hands over.
“Hey, I really appreciate that Vito. Let me pose quickly.”
Dunn pulls out her phone to smooth out her hair and puts up peace signs, ready for the camera flash. Vito takes the photo with the board in the background, as promised.
“Ok, don’t shake it, that’s not actually a thing you’re supposed to do,” Dunn says, reaching for the photo. They wait together for it to develop, and Dunn’s smile gets wider as she comes more into view.
“You look good, Dunn.”
“And you took a great photo of me looking good, Vito. Thanks.”
Vito hands her a pushpin, yellow like the camera, and hands it over. Dunn smiles somehow even wider, and places it on the board next to a photo of Vito and Margo practicing from earlier in the season.
“There, and now we’re together on the board! How do you like it, my friend?”
Vito smiles softly. “I think it’s great, Dunn. Absolutely perfect.”