Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 36
The hum of the fax machine coming to life filled the air of Treize's office.
Carefully looking over the document that he just received, the head coach smiled widely while taking the seat at his desk. Holding up the signed document, he smirked to the screen of his vidphone, "Fortunately for you, trades in the middle of a season are not unheard of this day and age. That said, congratulations, Mueller. As of this coming Monday, you will officially be a Cougar."
With a deep sigh of relief, the tight end grinned, "Thank you, Mister Khushrenada. It will be an honor working with you and Mister Noventa."
Nonchalantly waving his hand, the tall man responded, "We're on the same team, now, my boy. Just call me Treize. And the pleasure is all mine. We could use someone like you here. I look forward to meeting you in person after the game this weekend."
Exchanging farewells, the call ended. As the vidphone screen went black, Treize looked over the contract once more with a deep chuckle. "You suffer yet another loss, dear cousin," he smirked darkly.
* * * * * *
After a week of preparation and anticipation, game day came with a chill in the early-September air and a clear sky. Humming to himself, Duo burrowed deeper into the bare chest underneath him. "Don wanna wake up," he slurred sleepily while willing the sunlight to go away.
Heero chuckled deeply and kissed his braided head gently. "We have to start getting ready, Maxwell," he chided lightly. "You don't want me to call Quatre in here to make sure you get up, do you?"
Quickly sitting up, suddenly alert and wide-eyed running back exclaimed, "Hell no! That guy's a regular sadist when he gets in his 'agent' mode." He all but jumped out of the bed and headed for his half of the dresser that he and his partner had been sharing.
Duo moved into Heero's room the same day they returned from their stay in Tennessee- after where the nightmares returned and their intentions were made clear. And it was something that they were both enjoying. Falling asleep and waking in each other's arms was better than either of them imagined such a thing to be.
The quarterback slipped beside his teammate for his own half of the dresser. Without looking over as he removed his socks and other articles of clothing, he asked, "So are you ready for the game?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," the running back shrugged. Reaching for the hem of his deep blue nightshirt, he lifted it to reveal the scars on his body and the gold cross that lie securely against his chest. "How about you? Nerves getting to you yet?" he asked while slipping on a long-sleeved black top.
Slowly pulling on a deep green T-shirt, Heero replied honestly, "Actually, they are a little bit this time. There's a lot more at stake today than any other game that I've played to date. Hopefully, the others are holding up."
Duo remained quiet as he zipped up the front of his blue jeans, but nodded. This game held a great deal of importance for all parties involved. There were going to be a lot of people watching the game to see which team could walk the walk as well as talk the talk.
Once they were finished changing, they headed downstairs for the breakfast that Lady Une was preparing for them.
* * * * * *
Within the locker room, the Wolverines could hear the crowd stomping their feet and clapping their hands in the stands above them. From the time that they arrived for an early warm up before dressing, there was a line of people that had camped out from the night before waiting to get in.
The whole morning, there was an energy in the air around Pittsburgh in anticipation of the game that millions had been looking forward to.
All over, the game was making headlines before it even began. 'The Cougars against the Wolverines, sure to be the best pre-game face-off in history,' is what the experts were already calling the event.
Using the mirror at the back of his locker, Duo smeared on a black line of grease under the length of each eye. Heero was lacing up his cleats. The remainder of the team prepared themselves in a rare quiet moment in the locker room.
In the air, there was a tension like no other time before. Eyes glanced nervously from one fact to the other, shoulders drew taunt and sweat was already starting to bead on several brows.
Zechs and the coaching staff entered with grim expressions. As the young men looked up to them, the head coach smiled warmly just before beginning his pep talk.
In their booth high in the stadium, Tim and Adam smiled widely into the camera on them. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to witness the most anticipated pre-game match-up in decades. This is sure to be a David verses Goliath confrontation that will leave everyone on the edge of their seats," the former announced.
Nodding, Adam added, "Already, there has been an interesting turn as Mueller Clayton will be sitting the bench for this game. After the fight between him and Duo Maxwell at the Miami game last week, I think it's pretty clear to who was the instigator." The said tight end was already sitting on the bench in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with his head lowered a bit so the cameras couldn't get a good shot of him.
On the field, the Cougars were introduced to the roar of boos from the crowd. The white lettering and the deep blue of the players' uniforms shimmered under the sunlight as they waved up to the stands, ignoring the less-than-pleasant greeting.
A smug smile on his face, Treize took his place at their sideline and waited for their opponents to be welcomed into the stadium. Walking to his starting running back, he asked, "Are you ready for this?"
"I've been born ready for this," Alex replied with a sneer. His own eyes highlighted with grease smears, he looked back to the other side of the field as the Wolverines charged out to the deafening cries and cheers from the hometown crowd.
For the coin toss, Heero, Duo and Trowa represented their team as Alex and two of his own comrades met them in the middle. The whole time that they were walking towards each other, the two running backs were locked in a stare down. Nodding firmly to his former teammate, the Japanese quarterback greeted in a friendly tone, "Good to see you, Denton."
Snorting, Alex kelp his eyes on his braided replacement and growled deeply, "Whatever, Yuy. Just make the damn call." Heero and Trowa shared a surprised look. Clearing his throat, the referee turned to the Wolverine captain.
With a deep breath, Heero called, "Heads." The coin was flipped and when it landed, the referee raised his hand to announce that it had fallen to the ground on tails. At that, the Cougars' captain said that they would have the first possession of the ball. Wishing the players good luck, he picked the coin back up and ran to the sideline.
A smirk tugged Alex's lips as he chuckled deeply, "Be sure to pay attention, Maxwell. You're about to witness greatness firsthand." His violet eyes narrowing, Duo watched as the trio walked off laughing. Just as taken aback by the comment, his own teammate remained on the field with him before they returned to their own sideline.
* * * * * *
Only eight minutes into the game, Alex was on a streak in breaking through the defensive line. No matter what the Wolverines tried to throw at them, they just couldn't keep the Cougars from making a quick and steady progression down the field. "Fuck, he's good," Duo muttered to himself as he watched Alex taken down close to the end zone after a fifteen-yard run.
"Come on, you guys," Trent growled deeply in frustration, his hands folded on his head as he watched his team get back into position. "Make something happen and stop those bastards. They're already making you look like idiots out there."
Zechs remained calm and cool as always as he looked on. Howard was pacing back and forth, prepping his own men for when they would have their turn.
On the next ball snap, Alex easily charged into the end zone as the crowd yelled and booed the poor efforts of their team to stop him. "And at no surprise, the Cougars are first to put a score on the board," Trent commentated as the running back was hugged and slapped in celebration by his teammates.
As he was on his way back to Treize's side, the blonde removed his helmet to point and smirk smugly at Duo on the other side of the field. Growling deeply, the braided running back's eyes burned and his face reddened. Tightly gripping his helmet, he slid it on and made himself ready for his turn to strike.
With their first possession of the ball, Heero handed Duo the ball for the first four snaps. Each time, the braided athlete had ten or more yards run in, but they were still out of reach of scoring with twenty-six yards to go.
"I have to say that after that exchange from Denton earlier, Maxwell is sure throwing that attitude right back in his face with his own skills. But the Wolverines will have to start changing their tactics soon now that the defenders are gaining strength," Alex stated.
Knowing that, Heero opted to throw the ball. As soon as the ball was in his hands, two guardsmen broke through the offensive line while nearly trampling Trowa in their efforts. Wide-eyed, the quarterback tried to backtrack and avoid them but was taken down by one of his attackers. During his fall, the ball snapped loose and was covered by the second guardsman for the Cougars to regain possession from that spot.
"Goddamn it!" Howard cried, throwing his baseball cap to the ground. Wufei aided a shaken Trowa onto his feet as Duo did the same for Heero. Along with their teammates, they ran back to their sideline in growing aggravation at not having scored.
Two more touchdowns for the Cougar later, the Wolverines still did not have the chance to answer with a score of their own. All the while, neither head coach showed any emotion as they watched and made calls from their lines. Well into the second quarter, desperation was sinking in and taking hold of the Pittsburgh team. Heero grunted as he threw the ball for Wufei more than thirty yards down the field.
As he jumped for the catch, the Chinese receiver was knocked from the front and back by two blockers in mid-air that he didn't even see coming. With a sharp cry of pain and surprise, he crashed to the ground roughly enough that he bounced from the force. There was a groan from the crowd as Relena rose from her place on the bench with wide eyes and a sharp gasp, crying, "Wufei!"
The blockers bent down over their fallen target. "This is a man's game, boy," the first of the pair sneered through his helmet. Groaning, Wufei pushed himself onto his stomach to glare up at them heatedly. "You kids better get back home to your mommas before you get hurt." Laughing, the pair ran back to their team.
Shaking his head, the wide receiver moaned as he got himself to his feet. From her place on the sideline, Relena lowered the hands from either side of her face with a deep sigh of relief. Catherine and one of the other cheerleaders at either side of her rubbed her back and offered a one-armed hug in support.
Mueller snickered quietly to himself, shaking his head in amusement. "That's how the game's supposed to be played," he said to himself, looking on to the Cougars as they laughed and congratulated each other on the other end of the field.
Zechs did all he could to rally his men during the half-time intermission back in the locker room. There was no strategy that he could clearly come up with when trying to outman such a dominating opponent. In just the first two quarters, they had thrown nearly everything they could at the Cougars only to have it fail.
By the forth quarter, a good number of people in the stands were beginning to clear out of the stadium. Tim fought back a yawn as he informed the listeners and viewers, "At no surprise to anyone, the Cougars have been domination over the Wolverines for the entirety of this game, folks.
"Pittsburgh has possession of the ball but if they cannot gain at least two more yards for this first down for their next attempt at ten, San Francisco will then regain. The score is 35 to 9 with only ten minutes left in the game. It looks as though Goliath has won this match."
Groaning deeply, Trowa pushed himself back up off the ground after being taken down by the defenders he tried to hold back once again. "They're so damned strong," he shook his head as he got back into his team's huddle. "I just can't keep a good hold on them." His fellow offensive line panted heavily and nodded in agreement.
Heero sighed deeply. "I know." Rubbing the back of his neck, he repeated, "I know. We're all tired and out of options here."
Cobalt locked with violet and Duo nodded firmly, "Let's do it, then. Throw it to me." The quarterback smirked and nodded firmly.
Looking to the offensive line, Heero ordered, "Whatever you have left, use it to keep those sons of bitches off Maxwell's ass. We can't come back to win, so this is the only shot we have to keep from looking like total asses today."
Duo swallowed roughly and groaned to himself, "Yea, no pressure, Yuy." Quickly finding their third wind, Trowa and his line nodded with a grim determination etched on their faces. Clapping heir hands together, the offensive team shouted, "Break!"
Everyone set into their positions alongside where the ball was placed thirty-one yards away from the goal line. "Let's just get this over with," Treize grumbled from his spot. "There's no way they're going to score."
Standing behind Trowa as the center bent over to place his hand on the ball, Heero held his arms out and called, "Set! Set!" Bending at the knees, Duo dug his cleats into the hard ground, eyes narrowed and focused straight ahead. "Hike!" the team captain yelled.
The moment that the ball reached his partner's hands, the running back charged just a couple yards ahead of him and turned. Eyes wide, Treize froze stiff and cried, "What the hell is going on!?" Alex and the rest of his teammates jumped from the bench and onto their feet to watch the sudden change of play in shock.
Howard folded his hands together and squeezed his eyes closed. Trent was gripping his hair as if he were about to pull it out of his head from nervousness. Zechs held his breath as his own players charged to their line to gape. "Come on," he whispered. "Come on."
Turning to face his housemate, Duo opened his arms and Heero tossed the ball to him just as a few guardsmen were charging through their protection, only feet away from the running back. The cries of his oncoming attackers reaching his ears, the braided athlete screamed as his fingers gripped the ball tightly.
The heat off of him once all attention turned to his partner, Heero cried out, "Yes!" He began to remove his helmet for a better view as all of the defenders stopped and watched Maxwell with wide, disbelieving eyes.
From where they were watching the television in their living room, popcorn and other snacks flew in the air as Hilde, Solo and Duo's children started jumping and crying, "He caught it! He caught it!"
Quatre and Lady Une were already on their feet as the elated agent raised his arms and shrieked, "He caught it!"
"Duo Maxwell just caught a toss!" Tim shouted as he and Adam jumped to their feet, eyes wide in shock. Laughing, he yelled over the outburst of cheers from the crowd, "Duo Maxwell just caught a toss! I don't believe it!"
Treize ripped off the headphones from his ears with a cried, "Goddamn it! That did not just happen!" He threw the headset to the ground as the Wolverine sideline was busy erupting in excitement. Stunned, Alex's mouth hung open as he shook his head in disbelief at what he had just witnessed.
Quickly turning on his heels, Duo met his oncoming attackers head on, dodging and weaving past each as he had if he had just been handed the ball. One pair of hands avoided after the other, he made his way through the thin opening left for him and was soon running alongside Wufei without any opposition catching up. "Run, you son of a bitch!" his Chinese friend laughed wildly just as his own steam ran out. "Keep running!"
Without looking back, Duo charged on into the end zone to the thunderous applause and cheers from the crows all around. "Unbelievable! Touchdown, Pittsburgh!" Adam screamed as he bounced up and down. "And head coach Khushrenada is showing the most emotion I've ever seen him display during a game!"
Knocking over the water jug beside the benches, Treize hollered, "Fuck!" Several of his men backed up and away in fear. "Someone tell me that did not just happen!?" the head coach ranted at the top of his lungs.
Running towards each other, Heero and Duo laughed and hooted loudly. Jumping into his partner's waiting and open arms, the running back threw his helmet off and raised his hands in the air with a shrill cry, his braid coming loose from its bun. The others soon caught up and nearly knocked the pair down in a round of hugs and celebration.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Zechs replaced his baseball cap and just smiled widely as everyone around him jumped and yelled. Dorothy folded her hands just before her face with a proud grin from her box high in the stadium. Even Mueller had a little smirk on his face as he shook his head I watching his teammates on the field.
As he and his teammates headed back to their sideline, Duo looked to the other side where Treize and Alex were standing together with red faces. Smirking, he pointed and winked to them before blowing a kiss. Their faces reddening even more, the coach and running back looked away.
Shaking his head in wonder, Tim announced, "It may not be an actual win for the Wolverines, but they've managed to keep this game from being a disaster today! What a rollercoaster ride this turned out to be!"
The moment they stepped into their sideline, both Heero and Duo were bombarded by their teammates and coaching staff. In the stands, Quatre and Lady Une were still on their feet, cheering and yelling for their friends along with the spectators around them.
Allowing a moment for everyone to greet and congratulate him, the braided running back politely excused himself while pulling Heero aside. "I'll be right back," he whispered into his partner's ear. "I have to make a call to my family."
With a warm smile, the quarterback nodded, "Tell them I say 'hello.'" Duo winked and ran off into the locker room for his cell phone. Sighing deeply, Heero looked back to the stands as the audience continued to cheer and applaud as if celebrating a win.
All things considered, it actually was a huge win.
TBC...
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