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"Going the Distance"Written By: Clara Barton Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The following
is an intellectual exercise with no intention of profit. That said,
these characterizations, words, and situations are mine. Please ask
before reprinting. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Angst, language, violence, sex, AU Pairings: 1x2x3 Summary: Duo Maxwell has just signed on to join Team Gundam Wing, an upstart League of Legends team looking to win the World Championships. Duo Maxwell, the first openly gay professional gamer. Duo Maxwell, the guy hated by almost all of Reddit. Duo Maxwell, the guy whose own brother hates him. Duo Maxwell, the guy who really just wants to find a team that doesn't hate him. A/N: This fic is an AU that has the boys playing
professional League of Legends. I'm going to try my best to not get
bogged down too much in game terminology or things like that, but,
well, I WILL reference the game and try to explain as much as I can,
as I go. I'm also way too lazy to make up "new" teams for
the league, so I will be using existing teams and players, with the
exceptions of Team Gundam Wing, Zodiac Gaming, and the Valkyries.
So… I will be referencing real people and real teams. "Going the Distance" Chapter Four "For fuck's safe, Wufei!" "What is it now?" Duo glared at the top laner, and Wufei steadily returned his glare. Count to ten, Duo reminded himself. He forced his fists to relax and he drew in a deep breath. "I signalled you to go in for the kill. You waited until the absolute last second, until I died, before you went in to clean up the kill." Wufei arched an eyebrow. "And? I ensured my safety and secured the kill." Duo swallowed his urge to start shouting at his stubborn as fuck teammate. "You did," Duo agreed through clenched teeth. "But if you had joined the fight earlier - when I was still alive - we could have secured the kill and both lived." "We won the game," Wufei pointed out, a bored tone in his voice. "Does it really matter?" "Does it -" Quatre put a hand on Duo's arm, silencing him. "It matters, Wufei," Quatre said, his voice mild. "With Duo dead, and the enemy team's Jungler alive, they could have put pressure on the bottom side of the map and secured objectives. We're lucky we were playing against idiots who didn't press their advantage. But if you play that situation the same way against our opponents this weekend, we won't get off so easy." Duo nodded, glad that Quatre had stepped in to make his point for him. He doubted Wufei would have listened to a word he said - hell, he probably hadn't listened all the closely to Quatre. Wufei's lips compressed. "This is a team game," Trowa said, his normally detached voice irritated. "You can't pretend your actions don't affect the rest of us." "And you can't pretend that your only job is to babysit Yuy!" Wufei shot back. Trowa arched an eyebrow, unruffled by Wufei's tone. "Oh?" "All you do is stay with him until team fights - you don't put down enough vision on the map and you never roam." Instead of a retort, Trowa turned to Quatre and waited for him to chime in. Quatre sighed. "He's... right, Trowa. It's important to protect Heero, but we need you to be more active on the rest of the map as well." Trowa looked at Heero, who shrugged one shoulder. "Okay," Trowa said, his voice even. "I will have more map presence." Duo let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Holy shit. Were they finally making progress? "I guess, while we're not shouting at each other," Quatre continued, "Heero, you need to follow up on Duo's requests for invading enemy territory more. I know you like to build up your lead over the enemy marksman, but if Duo thinks we can make a move, we should try it." Heero looked from Quatre to Duo. It was interesting. Heero and Trowa hadn't offered any resistance to Duo, personally, but they also weren't exactly eager to follow up on his hunches for invasions or pushing objectives some of the times. They second-guessed him a lot. At least, unlike Wufei, they trusted him some of the time, but they still preferred their own judgement to his. Heero shrugged. "If it doesn't feel like a bad call," he allowed. Duo bit down on his first response to that - Heero was going to think any call that wasn't his own or Trowa's was a bad call. Trowa's lips quirked upwards as he looked at Duo, clearly knowing what he was thinking. Duo gave him a look. "We'll follow your lead more," Trowa said. Quatre smiled - actually smiled during a practice for the first time since Duo had joined the team. "And I'll try to be more aggressive in my lane," he said, critiquing himself. "Sometimes I play too passive when I try to concentrate on what everyone else is doing, and I need to stop doing that." "And what about our oh-so amazing newest team member?" Wufei demanded. "Or is he already perfect and we've just been holding him back?" Duo seriously needed to just reach up Wufei's ass and find out what was shoved up there and pull it out. "Duo can definitely work on not playing so aggressively all of the time." Duo turned to Quatre, not bothering to hide his surprise. Quatre looked apologetic. "Most of the times you've got great instincts - but sometimes you want to push too hard or too fast, and it will get us killed and allow the enemy team to gain an advantage. I just think you need to be more cautious sometimes." Caution wasn't something Duo was used to. He knew he played a little recklessly - go big or go home had been something he and Solo constantly said to each other when they had played. But... if everyone else, even Wufei, could accept criticism, Duo wasn't about to argue. "Okay," he said. "I'll try to be more cautious." Quatre smiled at him. He looked tired - hell, it was four in the morning, everyone looked tired. "Great. I think - I think we might have a good chance this weekend. Let's all try to get some sleep and we'll talk specific strategy tomorrow when we head over to the studio." Wufei left quickly, Trowa and Heero soon after, but Duo lingered when Quatre didn't immediately leave either. "I... I guess I wanted to apologize for everything," Duo said to him once they were alone. Quatre turned to him with a frown. "What are you talking about?" "I feel like I've ruined your team," Duo confessed. "Last weekend was - awful. You guys played so much better last year. And this week has been absolute hell - I mean, tonight - just now was the first productive discussion the team has had." Quatre sighed. "I know." He ran a hand through his blonde hair and a few strands fell onto his forehead. "I stay up for hours after each practice and try to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I - I'm not Ralph, which I guess is the biggest problem." "He was your captain last year." Quatre nodded. "And I try to channel him, you know? I look at the map, at the game, and I ask myself, what would Ralph do? But - either I just didn't know him that well, I don't know the game that well, or I just really, really suck at calling the shots." Quatre looked miserable and Duo had to laugh. "I don't think it's because you really, really suck," Duo comforted him. "You make good decisions most of the time - I mean, you're right. You're too cautious sometimes." Quatre gave him a look. "And I'm way lacking in caution sometimes," Duo added and Quatre smirked. "But maybe - I mean part of the problem is that you aren't Ralph and neither am I. When you have a Jungler calling the shots, the game is going to be played differently than when a mid laner calls it. Also - I can't emphasize this enough. I'm not Ralph. My play style is nothing like his. At all. So... if you're trying to make this team play like that team - it's never going to work. For starters, Ralph and Wufei used to roam all over the map and kill everything in their path. I think Wufei would sooner suicide in game than follow me out of his lane." Quatre snorted a laugh, but nodded. "You're right," he sighed. "I just... I guess I need to figure out what we can do differently, to emphasize our strengths. It's just hard right now because all I see are our weaknesses." "I know. But... like you said - tonight we actually managed to have a positive discussion. Ish. And Wufei and I didn't start punching each other like last night," he added. Quatre arched an eyebrow. "You two can't do that again - what would have happened if you had broken your fingers or even bruised your knuckles? We need your hands in perfect condition." Duo chuckled. "Oh man - I really thought you were going to launch into this speech about not hurting each other. But you're just a cold-hearted, calculating bastard - you just want to make sure our hands are okay." Duo smiled, so Quatre knew he was joking, and the blonde laughed with him. "Maybe," he allowed. Duo laughed again and then stood up to stretch. "Hang in there," Duo said and put his arm around Quatre's shoulders when he stood up as well. "Wufei and I will work out our shit eventually." Duo leaned in and gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. Quatre nodded, but he bit his lip and looked at Duo's hand on his shoulder with a slightly anxious expression. Duo instantly stepped back and tried to keep his face neutral. "Sorry," Quatre said and he blushed. "I - I mean, I think you're great, Duo, but I'm not - I -" DUo held up his hands, eager to save both of them from embarrassment. "I wasn't coming onto you," Duo said and he gave himself bonus points for not sounding hurt or irritated. "I was just... trying to be friendly. You've been really touchy-feely since I got here and I thought you'd like the hug. It wasn't anything more." Quatre rubbed his eyes. "Fuck me. I mean - sorry again. I'm sorry." He drew in a deep breath. "It just felt different - and it's probably because I'm really tired and I'm sorry. Can we just pretend it didn't happen?" Duo shrugged. "Sure." Quatre offered him a wan smile and then checked his watch again. "Shit, it's late. We should go to bed. Um - let's all meet for lunch. We need to head over to the studio at twelve-thirty, so we aren't late like we were last time." Duo nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Sounds good. Night." He watched Quatre leave the room and he felt like banging his head against the wall. Seriously. He just - he was only trying to be friendly. Sure, he found Quatre attractive, but he wasn't really attracted to him and he had not tried to make that anything other than a hug. Between friends. "Quatre doesn't read signs very well." Relena's voice shocked Duo into tripping over his own feet as he turned to face her. She smirked at him from her position at the opposite end of the room. She must have come in from the kitchen. Duo shrugged and tried to seem nonchalant. He didn't need Relena pitying him. "I mean, I've been flirting with him for a year now and he doesn't get it. Figures that he's going to think you're interested in him. I mean, the only guys in this house you are interested in are Mysterious Blue Eyes and Mysterious Green Eyes." Duo frowned at her. "I'm not," he argued. "Really?" She crossed her arms. "You're not interested? Is that why you start to drool whenever you see them walk by without shirts on?" "I'm allowed to look if they're going to be parading around half-naked," Duo muttered. Relena nodded in agreement. "Definitely. But I don't think we can call your interest in them merely physical appreciation - or are you going to try to sell me on that just looking line when you get all goofy if you make Heero laugh or you forget what you were saying when Trowa smiles at you?" "How the hell are you that observant?" Duo demanded. She gave him a triumphant look. "Because I'm brilliant. And because it's my job to look out for you guys." "So this is the part where you tell me to keep my eyes to myself." She sighed. "No. I like looking at them too. But this is the part where I tell you that falling in love with two of your teammates and having them ignore you probably isn't going to make you feel at home on this team." Duo rolled his eyes. "I'm not in love with them. It's just - it's just some stupid crush. It'll go away. Besides, I'm kind of dating someone." "Really? Do tell." Duo shrugged. "This guy. Jason. We've met up for coffee a few times - in the morning, so I'm not cutting into practice time." Relena lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. "Like I care. There's nothing in your contract about not dating. You're allowed to have a boyfriend. You're allowed to go on dates. Just remember that the team comes first. But you can have overnight guests - it would be better if you didn't stay over at his house though, in case there's a practice or a scrimmage or something - but otherwise... if he makes you happy, that's great." Duo stared at her. "It's really okay for me to bring a guy over here? To spend the night?" "I mean, you can't fuck him on the dining room table," she said. "Unless I get to watch. I've always kind of wondered... I bet two guys would be pretty hot to watch. So much cock." Duo closed his eyes. The mental image of Relena watching him and Jason have sex on the dining room table was disturbing on so many levels. Not to mention, the way she had said cock... "Okay. This just jumped past weird and into deeply uncomfortable territory. I'm going to go to bed now." "Have sweet dreams," she crooned and he gave her the finger. "Oh, Duo," she called up to him as he climbed the stairs. "Let me know if you want tickets for your boyfriend to see the games this weekend - I can snag some for him." -o- "You want me to come watch you play video games?" Jason seemed pretty skeptical, and Duo couldn't really blame him. It was hard to describe the atmosphere of the studio to someone who had never experienced it. "Only if you really want to," Duo told him. "Honestly, it's going to be pretty weird, and you're going to be in a room with two hundred of my closest haters." Actually, the more Duo thought about it, the less he wanted Jason there. A few hours ago, as he had finally been drifting off to sleep, he had entered the very far fetched fantasy of winning a game and having Jason reward him with a kiss, live in front of an audience and hundreds of thousands of viewers. But he knew the reality would be very, very different. Jason picked up on Duo's change of heart and arched an eyebrow. "Wait a second - you don't want me to go... is this because you're hoping to pick up a cuter fanboy?" Duo rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea. "No," he assured Jason. "I promise you that isn't it. There will be no Duo Maxwell fanboys there today - cute or otherwise." "Well, there's going to be one." Duo shook his head. "Seriously. You don't have to come. It's - it's going to be stupid." Jason crossed his arms. "Are you calling my boyfriend stupid?" Duo stared at him for a moment, but then he had to grin. "Are you calling me your boyfriend?" Jason shrugged one shoulder, and he looked a little unsure. "I guess? I mean - three coffee dates, two kisses, awesome sex on the beach under the stars..." "Wait, what? I think you're confusing me with someone else." "Nah. Just adding in my fantasy date with you from last night." Duo nodded and had to smile. "Oh. Well, was I any good?" "Meh." Duo glared and Jason chuckled. He leaned over the table and whispered in Duo's ear. "I'm sure the real deal will be much more satisfying." Duo shivered and turned his head, grazing his lips across Jason's cheek as he pulled away. "I can't wait for the chance to prove you right," he said. "Will you guys have some kind of party after the game? Any kind of victory celebration? A few kegs and some music?" Duo honestly had no idea, but he imagined the answer was no. "Most of us are underage," he confessed. "I think Wufei's the only one who is twenty one - so it'd be kind of risky to throw a party at the Game house. But... I mean, we could have our own victory celebration in my room..." Jason waggled his eyebrows. "If you lose can we still have a victory celebration?" Duo gave him a look of mock irritation. "What makes you think we're going to lose?" "I don't. I just want to make sure I've got something to look forward to after sitting in a room with a bunch of angry gamer nerds for a few hours." Duo rolled his eyes. "Seriously, dude. You can't call us that." "What? You mean I can't stand up and shout "Duo Maxwell is the sexiest gamer nerd alive?"" Duo snorted. "Sure. If you want security to escort you out and a bunch of rabid homophones to beat the living shit out of you." Jason's humor evaporated. "Is it really that bad?" Duo shrugged one shoulder. "I don't really know. I've never had to deal with any kind of physical violence, but there's a lot of shit that gets said on the internet about the fact that I'm gay. I'd hate to see any of those stupid threats get carried out." Jason nodded. "Okay. So maybe I'll just make a sign that says 'Duo Maxwell is my hero' instead." "Still at risk from those rabid homophobes, but at least security won't throw you out." Jason smirked. "Sounds fair. What time should I get there?" "Well, we play two games tonight - the first one is at five and the second one is right after that, so hopefully it will start around seven at the latest. And we have another game tomorrow afternoon - but it's kind of late, so... if you wanted to stay the night..." Jason smirked. "Oh? So you're thinking multiple victory celebrations tonight?" Duo grinned. "Gotta make sure I satisfy you," he said. Jason chuckled. "All right. I'll hold you to that. I don't get off of work until five - but I'll head over as soon as I can. I might only make the second game, though." "That's cool. We probably won't win our first game anyway. It's against Complexity - they aren't the best team in the league, but they definitely aren't the worst." "And your second game?" Duo hesitated. He felt like a shit friend and a terrible human being, but he honestly felt like they had a chance at winning their second game of the day. "Better odds of winning. It's against the Valkyries - it's an all girl team. And that's not why we have a better chance of winning. They just... had an even worse first game last week than we did and haven't really been clicking all that well." At least, that's what Hilde had told him via Skype and texting. He had watched their game from last weekend on Youtube, and he had noticed a lot of mistakes that had held the team back. "What about tomorrow?" Duo had been trying very hard not to think about their match tomorrow. "It's against Zodiac Gaming," he said. "Your brother's team?" Duo stared at him. "How do you know that?" Jason looked offended. "I'm dating a famous guy that a quarter of a million people hate. You really think I didn't google you?" Duo suddenly felt like an idiot. "Ah..." Jason shook his head. "It's okay. And I get what you said about the story with your ex being long and embarrassing." "Yeah." Duo had actually really, really liked the fact that Jason had no clue who he was or what his history was. "Duo." He looked into Jason's gray eyes. "Fuck all of those assholes. Whatever shit I read about you on Reddit doesn't change the fact that I like you. Or the fact that I'm going to be counting down the hours until our victory celebration tonight." Duo smiled. "You're just in this for the sex," he muttered. "Hell yeah. I'm going to record this and put it on Youtube. I'm going to be famous." Duo snorted. "I hate to break this to you, but I think you'd get a total of four viewers - NoName333, Perfect Soldier 01, me because I'd use it to jack off to, and some dude living in his mom's basement who can't find real porn." -o- "Okay - we're clear on who decides the bans?" Quatre asked. Wufei rolled his eyes, but Quatre stared at him until he relented. "Yes. I'll ban whoever you tell me to. And I won't first pick my own champion unless that's what you want me to do as well. And I will blindly follow Duo to my death over and over again if it makes you happy and gets you off my ass." Duo rolled his eyes. Jesus. Quatre shrugged. "Sounds good," he merely said, ignoring Wufei's sarcasm. "Everyone else ready for this?" Trowa and Heero nodded and Duo offered him a salute. "Ready to go, Captain." Quatre smiled at him and Duo smiled back - hoping the blonde didn't think he was hitting on him again. Quatre reached out and squeezed Duo's shoulder. "I'm sorry again," he said, his voice low enough that the others couldn't hear him. "I appreciated our talk last night - and the hug. It's good to have a friend like you around." It was probably the best apology Duo had ever gotten, and he found himself nodding like an idiot in response. "Okay - we're up," Relena stepped into the holding room where they had been relaxing - or trying to relax - before their game. Trying to relax, because it turned out that Quatre liked to pace back and forth across the room and randomly quiz them about strategy as he did so. Wufei had been buried in a philosophy book, but had taken the time to snap responses to Quatre's questions. Heero had actually brought his laptop and set it up to play a custom League game to warm up. Trowa had commandeered the couch in one corner of the room and miraculously managed to sleep through the drill. Duo, meanwhile, had been glued to the television monitor broadcasting the current game. Zodiac Gaming and the Valkyries had been paired up for the first match of the night, and it was truly a blood bath. Zodiac stomped all over the Valkyries, and the broadcast kept cutting back and forth between showing the map and the cameras fixed on each player's computer. The ZG players were actually smiling, laughing at times when they killed the VK players. It made Duo furious, made him want to punch something - preferably his own brother's smirking face. But it wasn't until the end, when ZG got up and walked over to the opposite side of the stage to shake hands with VK, that he was really in danger of losing his temper. Ralph, the asshole who Duo had replaced on TGW, actually had the nerve to try to feel up Hilde when she reluctantly shook his hand. He pulled her in close and his hands actually squeezed her ass. On air. Relena looked over at him - obviously she had seen it. Obviously the entire League of Legends community had seen it or would see it by this time tomorrow. "The other teams have cleared the stage, so we're good to go and set up," she said. Duo nodded. It was a good thing. If he ran into Hilde right now he'd probably make a fool out of himself by hugging her and promising to kill the guy and she'd just get pissed at him for being protective and a stupid boy and point out that she could kiss his ass just as easily as Duo - better, really, since she spent her free time kick-boxing instead of crying over Reddit. If he ran into anyone on ZG right now... well, Duo was grateful they had the stage to themselves. Or they should have. As the team gathered their backpacks and started to leave the room, ZG walked past them. Duo used to be a fan of their uniforms - the crimson jerseys, the gold lettering that spelled out Zodiac Gaming and the large gold OZ logo. He wasn't so much a fan anymore. Meilin Long, their support player and the only female gamer in the entire league who wasn't a Valkyrie, walked past him first, arching an eyebrow at him but remaining silent. Meilin was okay. They'd hung out a few times, last year, and she was kind of a super bitch - but she was a good league player and she always called her teammates on their shit when they got too cocky. Treize Khushrenada, their top laner and team captain, looked at Duo with disdain. Treize had always hated him - he hadn't wanted to use Duo as their substitute last year for those two games, and he had been one of the most vocal people on Reddit after Solo's arrest, saying that Duo was a distraction and a lack of talent. Zechs Merquise, their marksman, walked by Duo and completely ignored him - as usual - but Duo saw him stop beside Heero, lean down and mutter something in his ear, and then pull away and offer a gaw-clenching chuckle. Ralph Kurt, the bastard that Duo really, really hated now, walked past him with a swagger. That is, until Wufei shoved him against the wall. Instantly, both teams were at each other's throats, pulling at each other's jerseys and trying to push them away. "Whoa, whoa," Relena spoke up loudly. Around them a few event staff gathered, anxiously looking on. "You're a pig," Wufei snarled at Ralph. Ralph looked shocked - about as shocked as Duo felt. Had Wufei just... called out his former teammate and supposed best friend in the world ever? "What are you talking about?" Ralph leaned in close. "Is this about not making it onto our team? I'm sorry - Treize decided not to retire until he's won a World Championship." Wufei growled and shoved Ralph against the wall again, hard enough that his skull cracked against it. "No. This is about you feeling up Hilde Scheibeker onstage in front of a live audience and cameras." Ralph stared at him for a moment and then started to laugh. "Are you serious? You really think I should - what? Treat her like a lady or something? The Valkyries are a joke, 'Fei." Ralph laughed again and patted Wufei's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure one of the ugly ones will put out for you." His comments unleashed a fresh wave of aggression from both teams, and it was at that moment that Duo realized just who it was he was holding back. He had his hands fisted into the crimson jersey of his brother. Solo Maxwell stared down at him, his blue eyes cold, and his own grip on Duo's shoulder like a vice. Duo realized this was the closest he had been to Solo in seven months. And he realized that Solo's grip on his shoulder really fucking hurt. Duo shoved him away angrily. "Get off me," he told his brother. "And teach your team some fucking manners. You know Hilde - you've been to her mom's house for Christmas dinner, you fucking bastard. She's not a joke. None of them are. Make fun of me all you want," he added, glaring at the rest of ZG, "but stay the fuck away from them. They deserve to be treated like professionals." Solo just stared at him. "Let's go," Treize spoke up, his voice bored. "Let Gundam Wing scurry onto the stage and lose. We'll settle this tomorrow." Ralph shook free of Wufei, and the teams slowly stepped apart. Solo turned away from Duo and followed his team. He hadn't said a word to Duo. "You okay?" Quatre asked Duo, putting a hand on his arm. Duo nodded, not trusting himself to speak yet. "Let's go," Trowa suggested, coming up on Duo's other side. "Clear your head and let's win this game." They started walking towards the stage, but Duo hesitated, waiting for Wufei to finish glaring at the retreating back of his former teammate. "You're an asshole," Duo told him. Wufei turned his glare on Duo and opened his mouth, ready to unleash a furious tirade. "But you're a damned decent guy, too," Duo added. He held out his hand. "You can hate me all you want - but I appreciate you standing up to him, calling him on his shit." Wufei stared at his hand for a moment, but then he sighed and reluctantly shook it. "I didn't do that for you - or even for her," Wufei muttered. Duo nodded. "I figured. You're just the kind of guy who wants shit done the right way." Wufei hesitated and then nodded. And then sighed again. "If you want me to first pick Fizz Jungle for you, I will," he said in a long suffering voice. Duo had to laugh. "No - no way, dude." Wufei gave him a look. "I'll explain it when we set up our stuff - Quatre deserves to hear this too." And so, as the five of them sat down in their chats and waiting for the ban phase to start, Duo explained why he didn't want Wufei to first pick Fizz. "It's all I've played for the last week," he told his teammates. "Every team analyst has checked my game history and seen that I've played Fizz Jungle all this week and I've won every single game." "Right. You won all of those games - why don't you want Wufei to pick him for you now?" Quatre asked, a confused look on his face. Duo shook his head. He couldn't believe none of them got it. "You're baiting them," Trowa said, his voice low and amused over the headset. Duo had to lean back in his chair to see him, all the way at the other end of the table, but he saw the smirk on Trowa's face and he grinned back. "Yep." "What are you people talking about?" Wufei demanded. "Last week Cloud 9 banned all of Duo's favorite Jungle champions," Heero said. And of course he got it too - of course Heero and Trowa knew what Duo's plan had been. "And Duo epically failed on Shaco Jungle last week." "You didn't need to remind us of that part," Duo muttered. "So the logical thing to do would be for Complexity - for all of the teams - to ban the same champions against Duo this week as well," Heero continued. "Except he spent the entire week playing Jungle Fizz and winning every game - and some of those games were against top ranked teams," Trowa added. Quatre looked at him with wide eyes. "You sneaky bastard. Now everyone is going to think you're some Fizz master and ban him from you instead of one of those other three." Duo nodded. "Hopefully - and then I'll be able to get one of my best champions." "What if they don't?" Wufei asked. "What if they don't fall for it?" Duo turned to him with a grin that made Wufei's eyes narrow. "In that case, you can definitely first pick Jungle Fizz for me." -o- ~ * ~ |
