Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 37
Dozens of lights from cameras flashed as Treize entered the room that had been sealed off for a press conference immediately following the last pre-game of the season. Taking his seat at a desk with a bouquet of different microphones at the head, he nodded to the many faces of the press that were waiting anxiously to ask him questions. "Good afternoon, everyone," he greeted pleasantly enough.
Hands shot in the air, each with their owner calling, "Coach Khushrenada!"
Turning to a young woman in a business suit standing beside her camera man, the head coach gestured for her to go on as the other became quiet. The petite brunette smiled brightly at being called on first and began, "First off, congratulations on your win against the Wolverines, Coach Khushrenada. No doubt, you're proud of your men today."
Inwardly sighing in relief at how the conference was starting, Treize grinned, "Why thank you. Yes, I am very proud of how they all performed. They're a hard-working team and I think that we all now know who the better of the two teams is and will always be."
Slightly tilting her head, the same young woman asked, "And what of your reaction to Duo Maxwell's catch? Did you feel that he was saving up something like that just to throw back your comments about him early on this year?"
'And just like that, the moment is gone,' the head coach sighed deeply in thought, a deep frown marring his face. Hands raised again when he didn't answer right away, all asking about the braided running back's catch during the game.
* * * * * *
Relena- still dressed in her red and gold, mid-drift revealing, short skirted cheerleading outfit- was running for the physical therapist's room. When she arrived, the door was just beginning to open as Sally was stepping out. Their eyes met and the braided young woman smiled warmly before gesturing with her head for the cheerleader to enter.
Without hesitating, Relena flew into the room and gasped sharply at the deep bruises that spotted Wufei's chest as he carefully buttoned the front of his grey blouse. When he looked up to find the worried eyes on him, he pushed himself the padded examination table onto his feet. Opening his arms, he chuckled deeply when his lover flew into them with her bead burrowing into his shoulder.
"I'm all right, Lena," the wide receiver reassured quietly. Rubbing her back, he explained, "I just had the wind knocked out of me. It looks a lot worse than it actually is. Nothing to fret over."
Against his shoulder, the cheerleader just nodded and held on as tightly as she could while mindful of his bruises.
As they finally pulled back, Wufei kissed his girlfriend soundly and took her hand in his own. Looking up, he found that Catherine and the remainder of the cheerleading squad where making their way into the doorway with relief in their eyes at finding the Chinese athlete fairing well.
His smile saddening a bit, the wide receiver gently brushed back his lover's bangs from her eyes and told her quietly, "I have to get back to the locker room. Zechs said that Dorothy was on her way to talk to the team. It shouldn't take very long."
Fighting off her teams of relief, Relena still couldn't trust her voice. Instead, she just gave him a bright grin and nodded. With a friendly smile, Catherine entered the room and rubbed her squad leader's shoulder. "We'll be waiting here with her, Wufei. Better not keep the owner waiting."
"Thank you, Catherine," her Chinese friend replied sincerely. Lightly kissing his girlfriend's gold-glittered cheek, he quickly headed down the hall.
In the locker room, most of the team was engaged in a lively whispering discussion when the wide receiver entered. Duo, Heero and Trowa all ended their own quiet conversation when their friend joined them. Frowning deeply, Wufei asked, "What's going on?"
An icepack taped to his chest, Trowa gestured towards Mueller's opened and empty locker. Blinking in shock, the raven-haired athlete muttered, "Well, shit." His friends all nodded to the sentiment.
Just in time, Dorothy entered with a wide smile for her team and the coaching staff right behind her. "Hello, everyone." The players responded in kind as those standing around took their seats at the benches. All eyes on her, the owner noted the anticipation and tension in the air. "I want to begin by telling you all that I know you all played to the best of your ability out there. For that, I could not be more proud of you," she began.
Several heads bowed and faces winced at having to remember the way that the game turned out. While they knew that the Cougars were a force to be reckoned with, they never could have imagined what they were really up against. A large piece of the morale that had been building up was gone.
"Now, as we all know, next week begins the regular season and so the wins and loses will start counting," Dorothy went on. "I have no doubt that you will all be able to shake this off before then. It will be another home-field game, so we will have that to our advantage."
Looking to the empty locker that several eyes were glancing to, the team owner sighed deeply, "As I am sure that you have already assumed, Mueller is no longer a member of this team. I simply could not stand for his behavior last week, but I was not about to keep him from playing for the league, either. I have recently confirmed that he had signed on with the San Francisco Cougars."
Gasps and loud murmuring spilled throughout the team. Wide-eyed, the young men looked from one stunned face to the other. Raising her hand, Dorothy brought the room to a still once more as all attention drew back to her. "I hope that you all understand my position. And again, thank you for giving everything that you had out there. Good day, gentlemen."
At that, the blonde owner turned and headed out of the locker room. Clearing his throat when the discussion between his team stirred up once more, Zechs ordered, "All right, everyone. Clean up and head home. We'll be back here first thing in the morning to go work more on our biggest problems from today."
There were a few groans of aches and minor pains as everyone started getting to their feet. Shuffling from the room, they made their way down the hall for the showers. Rising from his spot on the bench, Duo moved to the empty locker with a deep frown. While a part of him was glad that he wouldn't have to deal with the trouble that the tight end caused him, he was also disappointed that Mueller couldn't see past whatever made him so angry to get to know him better.
Suddenly, the running back was spun around and pressed back against the cold metal as his lips were taken in a fierce kiss. His violet eyes widening, Duo quickly saw that the locker room was empty all but for himself and Heero. Moaning, he closed his eyes and met the kiss wholeheartedly. Hands gripped hair and clothes tightly as they held on to each other as if they were drowning. When they finally pulled back, their lips were swollen and they were panting heavily for air.
With a satisfied smirk, Heero said breathlessly, "I've wanted to do that ever since that catch. You were amazing out there."
A blush heating his face, Duo pressed their foreheads together and grinned widely, "Thanks, 'Ro. But I wouldn't have been able to pull it off if you hadn't been patient enough to practice with me."
Tilting his head, the quarterback lightly traced a finger over his partner's jaw. "Well, you were the one that put the real work in," he commented. "I'm proud of you." Quickly closing the distance, he pressed their lips together soundly before winking and walking off for the showers.
All but falling back onto the bench, Duo was smiling like a love-sick high schooler. Glancing down, he sighed, "Well, its gonna be another cold shower for you in a bit, buddy."
* * * * * *
That evening...
Mueller headed up to the hotel where he knew Alex was staying. A baseball cap on his head and a heavy sweater on his back to block the cool night air, no one was aware of his identity. When he reached the designated room and knocked, he was gripped by the back of the neck the moment the door opened. Gasping out in pain when he was slammed up against the wall, he looked with wide eyes into the fierce gaze burning into him.
As the door slid closed to lock in the sound-proof room, a panting and red-faced Alex screamed, "Why the hell didn't you tell me that Maxwell could catch!? That bastard's press conference was on earlier and he said he had been working on it for months now!"
Caught off guard, Mueller sputtered, "I-I only knew about it for a couple weeks now." Just as his partner opened his mouth to yell some more, his own eyes narrowed as he shouted, "I had to watch my own ass, Alex! Dorothy only gave me the chance to sign onto this team once she was sure I hadn't leaked that out to you! I would be out on the street now if I went back on that!"
Slowly calming at that, the blonde running back took a few deep breaths and released the hold on his lover. His face losing its red and wild look, he shook his head, "I'm sorry. It's just... that kept today from being what it should have been. Now, the others actually have something to be excited about."
Rubbing his right shoulder against the throbbing, the tight end snorted, "Christ, man. If I knew that you were going to take it this hard I would have told you about it."
Alex shook his head again, "No." Gently rubbing the back of his teammate's neck, he met his eyes and sighed deeply, "I'm really sorry that I hurt you like that. You're right, you had to look out for yourself in that situation. I don't blame you for that. I'll take to Treize and let him know what's going on, since he wasn't too thrilled either. But it'll be fine."
With a small smile, Mueller shrugged, "All right. How about we go out and get some air? Maybe we can go to dinner and catch a movie or something."
Completely easing at that, his partner smiled and nodded, "Sound like a plan to me." Heading for the closet, he removed a windbreaker. In the doorway, he carefully rolled up the long sleeves of his shirt to look over the puncture holes inside his elbows. Pulling them back down, he turned back to his teammate and asked, Ready?"
* * * * * *
Meanwhile...
Pushing back a couple wisps of red hair from the side of her face, the social worker smoothed them with the others pulled back in a bun at the back of her head before. She adjusted her dark framed glasses and jotted a few notes in her memo book.
"Well, I must say that you have a beautiful home, Mister Yuy," she complimented with a warm smile as she headed towards the front door with the quarterback. Closing her memo book, and extending her free hand smartly, she stated, "I will certainly pass on my highest of recommendations on to the Chicago office upon the return to my own here in town."
Heero took her hand and shook it firmly as he replied, "Thank you very much, Mrs. Flannigan. I appreciate your taking the time for this inspection."
A polite exchange of farewells later, he saw his guest to her car and closed the front door behind him on the way back inside. Quatre ran out of the living room after having listened in on the results of the look through the house.
Beaming, the agent was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he informed, "I just got off the phone with Hilde. She and Solo were able to get clearance with the kids' teachers since this isn't even a full week of school for any of them."
The pieces of his puzzle falling into place, Heero rubbed his hands together nervously. "That just leaves one more thing to do." The sound of a car pulling into the parking lot had him chuckling deeply, "And not a moment too soon."
Duo and Lady Une soon entered with a bag of groceries in each hand from their 'emergency' run to the supermarket before it closed for the night. Clearly confused, the running back asked, "Who was that we saw pulling out of the driveway just now? This place is too secluded for a lost fan to get lucky enough to find it."
Snickering, Quatre took the bags from his client's hands. Just as confused as her braided friend, Lady Une looked over her shoulder as she followed the Arab to the kitchen. When they were out of earshot, the agent whispered to her, "We'll explain in a moment." Satisfied with that, the young maid smiled and nodded firmly.
His violet eyes filling with worry over how quick Quatre left as a sure sign to give some privacy, Duo questioned, "What's going on?"
Taking a deep breath, Heero answered, "That was a social worker from the office here at Pittsburgh. She was making an inspection of the house and going over some of the details of the law when it comes to your situation."
Brow furrowing, the braided running back frowned deeply, "Okay. What for?"
"Well, I wanted this to be a surprise for you and the kids," the quarterback explained. "You've been saying for some time how you have your family at every first game of the regular season. I hope that you don't mind, but I took the liberty of seeing if it were possible to have the children stay here with us for a week instead of only staying at a hotel for a day or two at the most for the game this weekend."
Stunned, Duo's jaw fell slack and his eyes widened like saucers. For a moment, Heero winced in fear that he had overstepped his bounds.
Finally finding his voice, the American breathed, "Y-you mean that you went through all of the channels so that you could do this for us?" Biting his bottom lip, his partner nodded.
Throwing his arms around the team captain's neck, Duo kissed him deeply. "So what's the verdict, then!?" he inquired in a rush when he pulled away, panting heavily.
Heero blinked in shock at the sudden kiss. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around the slightly shorter football player and replied, "Well, she's giving the all-clear to the Chicago office for a week-long stay here. The only rule is that you have to have them back at the apartment building so they can be interviewed next Tuesday. Hilde and Solo also cleared the leave with everyone's teachers."
With a sharp laugh, Duo hugged his neck tightly. As he rained kisses on his teammate's face, he said with each one, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Small tears filled his eyes and his voice hitched in his throat. Strong arms wrapped around him securely when he became silent.
After a long time in each other's embrace, the running back pulled back to meet brilliant cobalt as he wiped at his own eyes. Smiling, he sniffled and asked, "Do the kids know about this yet?"
Gently wiping a tear that his partner missed, Heero grinned and responded quietly, "Not yet. I wanted you to have the honor." Looking to his watch, he suggested, "But you may want to tell them soon so they can get packing. Their flight leaves tomorrow afternoon and lands just after our practice wraps up."
Not needing another word, Duo ran into the living room and sat before the vidphone at the coffee table. Flipping the monitor open, he dialed his home. Solo answered in a couple rings and her image appeared.
In seeing his friend, the blonde smiled, "Hey, little bro." Already knowing what the call was most likely about, he winked, "I'll get the kids for 'ya."
Heart pounding in his chest, Duo grinned, "Thanks, Solo." It only took a moment for his 'brother' to gather up Hilde and the little ones to get together before the vidphone. Chucking deeply, the running back thought aloud, "Thank God for wide screen."
Jamie sat atop Flora's lap as she smiled and waved, "Hi, Daddy!" The others followed in suit. Heero stood behind the monitor with a smirk on his face and arms folded as he listened in.
"Hey, gang," the braided athlete waved back. Forcing a frown, he sighed deeply, "Well, I just needed to call and let you know that I won't be coming home this week." His children all gasped, but did their best not to show their disappointment. Quickly regaining his smile, Duo said, "Because you're all coming out here for a week!"
Wide-eyed, Marcus was the first to process his words and shouted, "You mean it!?" Nodding, the young father-to-be laughed as his children jumped around with shouts and cheers. Solo and Hilde just laughed and accepted hugs from their little charges as they continued to whoot and holler. Heero snickered to himself and shook his head in amusement.
Allowing them a moment to celebrate, Duo waved his hand once more and called, "Okay. Okay. But I need you to listen." His children all gathered in close again, the anticipation in their eyes. "You need to get packing tonight because your flight leaves tomorrow afternoon," he informed. Looking up to his partner, he smiled, "And make sure to give Heero a hug and a big thank you for all of this when you get here for making this happen."
Flora nodded enthusiastically, "Sure thing, Daddy." Her siblings all responded with their own happy affirmatives. Through the receiver, Heero heard all of the children give a chorused, 'Thank you, Heero!' His smile growing and his heart warming, he eagerly looked forward to those hugs.
As he blew a kiss to his family, the running back promised, "We'll see you all real soon. Have a good night, everyone."
"Good night, Daddy!" came the cheerful reply.
The celebration resumed with more jumping and cheering on the other line as Duo closed the vidphone with a wistful smile brightening his face. Rising to his feet, he wrapped his arms tightly around his teammate. "I don't know how to thank you," he whispered while burying his head in a strong shoulder.
Lightly rubbing his back, Heero replied just as softly, "No need. I'm glad that I could do this for all of you." They pulled back for a quick kiss. A smirk tugged the quarterback's lips as he said, "Now to tell Lady Une that they're coming."
Chuckling deeply, Duo suggested, "We just better make sure she'd sitting down at the time." He quickly removed the digital picture display that he always kept on him and smirked, "Better have this on hand for proof, too." Hand-in-hand, the pair laughed as they made their way to the kitchen.
TBC...
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