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"Blood, Sweat and Tears"Written By: SkyLark DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gunman Wing, nor it's
characters. I just love playing with them. Pairings: Eventual 1x2 and other pairings that
I am working out Warnings: Swearing, violence, mentions NCS, lemony
goodness Rating: NC 17 Plot Bunny Assistance From: Eos and Tora Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm
and Summary: Duo Maxwell is a footballer with an attitude,
when he's traded to another team fur begins to fly. "Blood, Sweat and Tears" Chapter 79 In his stunned stupor, Alex did nothing to prevent Dorothy
from lowering the hood from her head and walking past him to enter
the apartment. Shaking his head, he closed the door and turned to
hiss at her, "What the hell are you doing here? How did you get
past security?" Calmly raising her hand, the team owner replied, "First,
there are things that are even out of my control when it comes to
the decisions of matters like trading and signing on. I had a lot
of pressure on my shoulders to make something happen my first year
in." Brushing her brown wool coat, she sighed, "Unfortunately,
you were the one that had to be affected by that." "I understand that you would be upset with me,
but that anger has only grown over the months instead of ebbing as
it eventually does. Then with that scene you made at Mueller's funeral..."
She shuddered and shook her head, unable to continue with that line
of thought. Snorting, Alex growled, "Where the fuck do you
get off telling me what I believe and what I don't believe?" Taking a deep breath, Dorothy said quietly, "I
know what he meant to you. And I know that his loss devastated you.
But you're a logical person. You know that there is no direct blame
in his death." Dorothy shook her head sadly, "There's not a day
that goes by that I don't think about Mueller. Knowing the kind of
person that he was, I can't imagine him wanting fingers pointed and
anger between the people that he was closest to." Alex was barely able to keep from panting in effort to keep the voices back. Blinking in confusion, he heard himself ask, "W-what do you owe us?" Slowly releasing the breath that she had been holding, the team owner responded, "I owe it to you to let you know that you can call me anytime if you need anything. Anything at all. A friend, financial help, whatever it is that will make you happy. While you may not be a part of my team, you are still family and I am not about to forget that." Removing a small card from her coat pocket, she left it on the living room table beside her. "You have every line that I own on that card," she stated when their eyes met again. "There will not be a time that you would not be able to get a hold of me." His jaw falling in shock, the running back opened and closed it. Finding his voice at that moment was a bit difficult. Satisfied that she said her peace, Dorothy tightened the coat tie around her waist and nodded firmly, "Good night, Alex. It was good seeing you again." Without another word, she slipped from the room through the door as her former player stared at the card on the table. Like a skittish cat, Alex cautiously approached the offering when the door to his apartment closed behind him. Hand trembling, he reached out and took the card up to read the simple message above the hand-written numbers, 'Any time.' Swallowing roughly, the blonde athlete sat back down onto his couch. Eyes will glued to the card in his hand, he snorted, "Bitch is just trying to clear her conscience. She doesn't really care." He reached up with his other hand and moved to tear the small paper. For a long moment, he just sat there like that. Biting his lip in thought, he decided against his intent. "Maybe... just in case," he told himself as he reached for his wallet and slipped the card inside. 'After all,' that little voice whispered, 'how many people do you have that you can call on?' * * * * Zechs entered the locker room just as his team was wrapping up their preparation for their first of only three practices before the American League championship game. Everyone halted whatever they were doing at the time to watch him. Smiling widely, the head coach nodded, "I'd like to welcome back a familiar face." At that, Scott Dailey stepped into the room to a round of cheers and applause. Bowing his head shyly, the blonde receiver graciously accepted the pats on the backs and one-armed embraces that he received from his teammates. Bruised ribs finally healed enough for Sally to give the 'ok' for his to rejoin the others, he was ready and willing to do his part. Wufei and John Bolton were nothing but wide grins in having their counterpart back. Raising his fingers to his lips, Zechs let out a loud whistle to bring order once more. "All right, everyone," he began, "we have a lot to cover in a short period of time for our face off against Houston. Let's hit the field and get started." With a cheer, the team stayed on his heels on the way from the locker room. * * * * After a rigorous five hours, the head coach decided to go over some video footage of Houston taken from the prior play off games. Wincing at some of the hard hits and eyes wide in awe at the tenacity of the Boars, the Wolverines took careful mental notes on what they would be up against. Howard stood at the front of the room beside the projector as the feed continued. Smirking, the old man shrugged, "Basically, as you can see from this footage, we're screwed." The room filled with laughter and relief settled once more at the tension break. Chuckling deeply, the offensive coach reassured, "No team is infallible, boys. The Boars may be the returning Super Bowl championships, but there are weaknesses in them just as there are weaknesses in us. We just have to keep working on our strengths and exposing where they fall short." Trent walked up the other side of the screen and nodded, "We're going to be going over those Achilles' heels in both the offense and the defense with our teams now. Defense, follow me and offense stay here." * * * * The following two practices were much the same- the first five or more hours being the more grueling part followed by an intense study of the competition. It was a method to keep the team both physically and mentally fresh for the game. By the time Friday night rolled around, Heero and Duo were once again aching from head-to-toe. Despite their discomforts, they had a lot to look forward to that evening. It was their kids' first sleep over. Having planned the event for over a week, they were looking forward to it nearly as much as the little ones. Hilde, Solo, Quatre and Lady Une had offered to help but both athletes kindly declined and had their friends 'take the night off' to be with their significant others. After all, eventually it would only be the two of them in charge of these kinds of events. No time like the present to get broken in. In the kitchen, Duo checked over his list of items and checked them off. "Ice cream. Check. Chips. Check," he muttered to himself as he walked around the room to double check that they had everything they needed. Just returning from the movie rental store, Heero entered with a pile of DVDs and a kiss for his lover. Smiling, Duo returned the gesture in kind. When they pulled back, he held up the list in his hand and announced, "We're all set in here." Nodding firmly, Heero gestured to the movies in his hand. "Marcus, Tai and Flora helped me pick out films that everyone will like. Every phone has a copy of the numbers for our guests' parents in case we need to contact them. So, I think we're pretty much set." "They're here!" Camille's voice cried from the living room. At that announcement, the athletes grinned and for the front door together. Stepping outside and onto the front porch, their eyes widened and they froze. A line of cars was wheeling up the driveway. Back when they had agreed that each of the children could invite two of their friends for the night, imagining twenty-four kids and seeing twenty-four kids were two entirely different things. One-by-one, their guests and parents stepped from their vehicles and approached the estate with their arms filled with things to tide them over for the evening. Chuckling deeply, the running back wrapped an arm around his stunned partner and reassured, "Just look at it this way- if we can survive tonight, we can survive anything." Unable to argue with that, the quarterback snickered and nodded his agreement. Descending the stairs, the couple greeted their visitors with wide smiles and handshakes. * * * * In the whirl wind of giving out treats, cleaning up and setting up the films that the lot could enjoy, the night went by in a blink. Before long, all of the children were curled up in their sleeping bags and sound asleep in the living room well past midnight. Standing in the doorway, Heero and Duo looked at the crowded scene with small smiles. His body already heavily leaning against his lover, the running back sighed, "They look so innocent when they're sleeping." He and the quarterback enjoyed a quiet chuckle at that. All of those aching and sore muscles really kicked in once they had a moment to relax. Duo's hair was just about to come undone from its braid after all of the running around that evening. For his part, Heero's eyes were drawing heavy and he fought to keep them open. Pulling his braided head off the shoulder that it was propped Duo shrugged, "For a pair of amateurs at this, I think that our first sleepover went well." With a small smile at the sight of his partner's frayed hair, Heero gently brushed back a few loose wisps at the side of his face and nodded, "Yes, it did." Yawning widely, he commented, "I'm tempted to try and sleep standing up like this. I'm too sore to climb the stairs for our room." The running back snickered, "No kidding." Stretching out the kink between his shoulder blades, he stated, "Now the question is whether we feel ambitious enough to cook a full-on breakfast like we originally planned for when they start waking up... or do we just make a doughnut run and break out the fruits and juices instead?" Cobalt and Violet met once more as the couple nodded at the same time, "Doughnut run." Smiling, they took each other's hand and forced their muscles to work so they could head up to their room. Silently, they thanked whatever Deity was listening that they did not have a practice the following day. * * * * There was one more gathering at Murray's the night before the championship game. Holding up his drink in their secluded corner of the bar, Wufei toasted, "Here's to a great season, however tomorrow turns out." His friends all shouted 'Here here!' as they brought their glasses together. Appraising his glass of water, Trowa smirked, "I might need an actual drink by this time tomorrow to numb the bruises I'm sure to get. Nearly every game the Boars have played, they've caused an injury to a player on the other team." Quatre winced and muttered, "Don't remind me. I get worried about you enough as it is." Having heard that little sentiment, the center placed a hand on his partner's hand to squeeze it. When their eyes locked, Barton smiled and winked in reassurance. "Well, with any luck, the Boars will be the ones nursing a bruised ego tomorrow," Relena commented. Sighing, she grumbled, "I'm tired of hearing those smartass, cocky remarks from their players and coach whenever they're interviewed." Wufei snickered and kissed her temple in silent agreement. Duo grinned, "It'll be a good game, either way. It's always a good idea not to get hopes up, but I really think that there is a shot we could beat them. For just one game, anything can happen." Nodding, Heero piped in, "Look at a lot of the teams that were supposed to be in our place. That's proof enough that you can't assume anything in the post season." After a swig from his nonalcoholic drink, he said, "I feel good about where our team is right now." His arms folding behind his head, Wufei responded, "Hell, even Austin and Fellows are practicing at the top of their game. Everyone's giving everything they have and no one is treating this as our last game. That's half the battle right there." His companions all nodded. For a long moment, the band of 'brothers and sisters' sat in silence as they gathered their thoughts over the approaching day. Slowly, the nerves seemed to creep in a bit at the reality that they would be playing the most important game of their lives up to then. Sitting up, Duo grinned widely and suggested, "Why don't we change subjects here?" He was answered with sighs of relief and enthusiastic affirmatives. * * * * The morning of the game, there were red and gold ribbons tied to the tall gates leading to the Yuy household. Letters and messages of good luck and congratulations on their hard work thus far from the fans were strung along the spokes. As they drove past the sight with wide eyes, Heero and Duo smiled at the support they were being sent. More so than any other game day, the electricity in the air could be felt all the way to Patriot Stadium. Crowds of people were lining the parking lot with their red and gold jerseys and face paint. When several people recognized the quarterback and running back passing through, they ran towards the vehicle in hoards screaming and cheering. "Do we head for the secured lot?" Heero asked. Shaking his head, Duo smiled, "Nah. How often do we get to actually be with our fans on a day like this?" Not about to complain about that, his lover smirked and parked the car with the spectators. When they stepped out, the athletes were given a heroes' welcome as they were given pats on the back and given words of encouragement. Handshakes were given, photos were taken and autographs were signed while the couple made a crawl for the secured doors leading beneath the stadium. Shouting their thanks over the crowd, they waved and headed past the security guard. When the door closed behind them, they settled in the realization that there was no turning back. Fate was waiting,
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