Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 48
It took some time, but Duo finally managed to get his voice to work. Shaking his braided head, he asked his lover, "Why are you changing your mind all of a sudden? We agreed to deny the fact that we're together so that this whole damn mess can finally be put behind us!"
Heero ran a hand through his hair before meeting the violet eyes on him and answered, "Because it's not the truth. The only reason the whole suggestion was brought up was to protect my image. You were the one who that whatever we did in that conference room was my decision. This is what I want."
Stepping a couple paces back, Dorothy held her tongue and watched her two best athletes discuss their future together. In the end, the matter needed to be decided amongst themselves without any outside influence. That included the influence of their team owner.
A deep frown marred the running back's face as he warned, "You know that once this is out, there's no going back, Heero. Your reputation could be tarnished and all of your hard work up to now could be gone like that." He snapped his fingers at the end to emphasize his point.
"I don't care!" the quarterback cried, his cobalt eyes narrowed. Both Duo and Dorothy's own eyes widened at the outburst.
Calming himself with a slow breath, Heero toned the volume back while keeping the same intensity in his words. "I'm not about to deny what I am anymore. If I lose the respect of fans, fellow football players or anyone else for that matter because of who I am, they weren't worth my time."
Slowly beginning a pace back and forth, the team captain continued, "I'm tired be being 'Mister Fucking Perfect' all the time. If I can't be myself, none of the effort that I've put into my getting myself here has been worth it." Pausing, he turned to face Duo.
With his thumb pointing back to the closed conference room doors, Heero stated, "I want what Trowa and Quatre have. I want to be able to hold your hand and kiss you in public without it being a big deal."
In a couple steps, he closed the distance between himself and his stunned teammate to rest a hand on either of his shoulders. "I'm at my best when I'm with you," Heero whispered. "On and off the field. If that's too hard for people to deal with, to hell with every one of them. This is who I am... and that's nothing without you."
Small tears filled Duo's violet eyes just as he suddenly leaned in to kiss the quarterback passionately. Blinking her shimmering eyes, Dorothy wiped away a few tears before they fell while watching the pair with a warm smile.
Breathless when he pulled away, the running back grinned widely and nodded, "Okay. Let's do this." He took his lover's hands in his own and looked over to the team owner. Sheepishly, he smirked, "Sorry for the last-minute change in plans there, babe."
Laughing, Dorothy shrugged, "Perfectly my fault for not remembering to stay on my toes when it comes to the two of you." She squared her shoulders to take on a more authoritative demeanor as she advised, "I'm glad that you're doing this. It's only fair for the both of you. Just know that I'll do everything in my power to keep this from damaging either of your careers."
At that, Heero smiled, "We know you will. Thank you." Sharing one last, chaste kiss with his partner, he asked him, quietly, "Ready?" Nodding excitedly, Duo squeezed their joined hands tightly.
Duo gave their joined hands a tight squeeze and nodded his head excitedly.
Giving the pair a moment to collect themselves, Dorothy winked to them before leading the way to the conference room. She paused briefly when her hands touched the handles of the double doors to allow one more second for her players to ready themselves. Releasing their joint hands, the pair nodded to her that they were ready.
In a flourish, Dorothy opened the doors and instantly, dozens of camera flashes fell upon them as they entered the room and made their way towards their posts. Quatre was already seated at the further end of the long table in the front of the room. The team owner took up the seat beside him while Heero and Duo took up the remaining two chairs.
Every seat in the conference area was occupied either with a reporter or a friend of the two athletes. The team stayed tightly together in the crammed space, smiling warmly on their comrades.
Video cameras began rolling just before Heero addressed the group, "Before we begin with the conference, I know I speak on Duo's behalf as well as myself by first thanking our coaching staff, friends and teammates for attending and offering their support."
The running back grinned and nodded to the said lot that was warmly gesturing back. "For the reporters here, we know you must have a lot of questions," he began, "but we have something that we'd like to say first."
Quatre blinked and frowned deeply in confusion at the comment, since it was not discussed that his friends wanted to say something before the interrogation. Despite his surprise and uncertainty, he held his tongue and let them speak.
Leaning forward to the bouquet of microphones at the edge of the able, the quarterback stated, "We know what all of you are here to find out, so we'll just get right to it. Yes, Duo and I are involved in a romantic relationship."
Instantly, the room came to life with shocked gasps, cries and murmurs amongst the large group present. Zechs and Noin looked on with dropped jaws, along with most of the team. Relena's hand had slapped over her mouth following her startled yelp. She and Wufei shared a wide-eyed look.
Quatre nearly fell out of his chair at the announcement as he turned to his clients in surprise. Dorothy grinned to him and gently patted the back of his hands that were resting on the table. From her place in the middle of the room, Karen Heckler smirked wickedly, "Well I'll be goddamned."
Over the commotion, Duo continued, "We've been dating since shortly before the pre-season." The talking and gasps only grew louder at that, many of the reporters at such a loss that they were more busy talking amongst each other than typing in their miniature notepads.
Soon over the initial wonder at his friends' coming clean, Trowa gave them a proud smile from his seat. Nodding his head firmly when they looked to him, he winked an emerald eye.
Grinning, the running back had to raise his voice so everyone could hear noise, "Now, who still has a question they would like to ask?" In a breath, the voices rose even more into shouts as hands went into the air to be called upon first.
Heero gestured to a young man in the front row with a nod of his head. Everyone lowered their hands and fell silent as the reporter rose to his feet. Spreading his arms out, he stated, "What do you think this will do to your relationship with your teammates now that they know that two of their own are involved with each other?"
Shrugging, Duo answered, "Considering how professional and open-minded they were when Trowa announced his being gay, I really don't see that this will compromise our camaraderie at all."
"That's right!" one of the starting guards called from the back of the room where the rest of the team was sitting. Applauding and shouting their agreement, the remaining starting line-up offered all the evidence that things were going to be just fine. The quarterback and running back smiled to each other in relief.
Just as their teammates began to quiet again, Heero raised a hand and commented, "In mentioning Trowa Barton, I just wanted to add that he deserves a hell of a lot of credit for having had the courage to be honest with who he was when there was no one by his side to help him. This is a great deal easier for myself having Duo here with me, but Barton was prepared to face whatever came his way alone."
A lump forming in his throat, the said center looked on as small tears filled his eyes. Quatre bit his lip as he watched his lover. They exchanged a warm smile before focusing back on their friends.
Shaking his head of unruly hair, the team captain continued, "I saw first hand a lot of the things that he had to deal with and to this day, I think that he's the strongest person that I've ever known." Duo nodded his head vehemently as his eyes locked onto the shimmering emerald watching them.
Once more, the team erupted in applause, cheers and whistles as they honored Trowa. Anyone within reach patted his shoulder or back in show of their support. Most of the reporters and staffers present joined in on the accolade, unable to argue the bravery that the young man had been demonstrating through his example.
Wiping a stray tear that made its way down his face, the tall center smiled to the pair at the table. 'Thank you,' he mouthed sincerely. He had to clear his throat against another lump that began to form there.
Duo went on, "It's because of his courage to be himself that we decided to be honest with who we are. We're not expecting this to go without some challenges, but we're willing to deal with them together. Hopefully, people are a lot more open-minded and understanding towards this than we're expecting."
Several more questions were fired one after another, each one handled calmly and honestly.
The occasional and rare moments when an inquiry threatened to draw the line, Quatre was quick to put the asker back in their place with a polite smile on his face. One journalist turned the tide and questioned Dorothy, "As the team owner, are you concerned to what this news could possibly do to your franchise?"
Without hesitating, the young woman shook her head, "Absolutely not. I believe that anyone who is a fan of football will still see Heero and Duo as two of the best athletes in the league to hold their positions. Their statistics have certainly proven that."
A smirk tugged her lips as she said, "As such, I think that between their coming out along with Trowa Barton, they're helping to shed new light on some of the stereotypes of gay people. You all looked pretty shell-shocked when they shared their sexual preference with you." Several reporters nodded and murmured in agreement to each other over that sentiment.
Looking over to her players, Dorothy smiled, "And, like Barton, I know that they will continue to carry themselves with the utmost respect on and off the field." The couple smiled their appreciation to her for her faith in them.
Gently pulling back on the long sleeve covering her right arm, the team owner glanced at her watch. She straightened and told the press, "And now, after more than thirty minutes of this, I am more than certain that you all have more than enough to fill your newspaper articles and on-air time slots. That said, this conference is adjourned. Good day, everyone and thank you for your time."
There was a bit of grumbling from a few reporters at not having had more time to ask more questions. Still, they certainly did have more than what they were looking for when first arriving for the briefing so they were not complaining for long.
When the last reporter and cameraman left, Dorothy embraced both Heero and Duo in her arms while whispering to them, "I am so very proud of both of you."
Momentarily taken aback by the gesture, the young men recovered quickly and returned the tight hug. Quatre moved in and offered the same support just as Zechs, Noin and the remainder of the team approached.
Shaking his head in amusement, the head coach smirked, "This is a pretty far cry from your beating the shit out of each other not long after first meeting each other." Heero and Duo both laughed loudly at that one.
Embraces and sincere congratulations were given to the newly announced couple from their group of supporters. After their emotionally charged ordeal, Heero and Duo were more than happy to receive every one.
* * * * * *
By the time Heero Duo and Quatre even returned to the Yuy household almost thirty minutes following the conference, the big announcement was out. The reporters that had been camping out in at the main gates were nowhere to be found since they had what they wanted.
After changing, the trio was joined by Lady Une as they headed for the nice restaurant that Dorothy invited them to on her treat. And so the entire team, coaching staff and closest friends filled up as entire wing of the bar and grill.
Greeting his girlfriend with a kiss and an embrace, Trent gestured to the two men of the hour and smirked, "I take it you knew about this all along. I'm impressed that you never told anyone, including myself."
Lady Une chuckled, "Of course. What kind of friend would I be if I betrayed that kind of trust? As much as I adore you, no one could have ever pried something like that from me." The defensive coach gave an impressed smirk. Kissing her temple, he gently led the way to their table with the rest of the coaching staff.
Heero and Duo's round table was shared with Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and Relena. Leaning in towards her friends, the cheerleader giggled, "So how does it feel to be 'out of the closet' so to speak?"
"Pretty damned good," the running back grinned. Wrapping an arm around his braided partner's shoulders, the quarterback nodded with a small smile of his own.
Dorothy tapped the side of her glass with a spoon and rose from her seat as all eyes turned to her. Raising the drink in her hand, she smiled, "I would like to propose a toast."
With a bow of her head to the guests of honor, the blonde young woman proclaimed, "To Heero and Duo. Many congratulations and warm wishes on your latest, and most important, victory this season."
Cheers, whistles and applause filled the air as the two said athletes found themselves moved speechless yet again that day.
As the sounds from the team faded, the voice of an announcer on the television sets spread throughout the room blared over them, "We have just received some breaking news in the world of sports that will shock football fans all over the nation."
Some of the talking that had begun amongst the group quickly stilled as eyes turned to the screens closest to them. "Just hours ago, we had reported Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell's announcement that they are romantically involved. Since that publicized statement, five other well-noted professional football players have made it known that they are also gay."
Gasps filled the wing as everyone watched the televisions with wide eyes. "Gary Patton, Mike Petrizani, Tim Heaton, James Redfield and Brandon McCarthy are those five individuals. Each one of them on a different team in the league, they are all considered some of the most elite athletes in the sport."
"No shit,' Duo muttered, his own eyes wide as he watched and listened in disbelief. "They're all possible runners to be inducted into the Football Hall of Fame." Recognizing one of those names as a former teammate, he tilted his head and thought aloud, "Though this does explain a lot with Heaton."
Heero turned to him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face. He was wise enough not to bother asking for an elaboration on what his lover had meant by that comment. Some things were just better off left unknown.
On the screen, the young woman continued, "In a recorded interview with James Redfield of the New Orleans Strikers that took place moments ago, he had this to say about this shocking chain of events."
The scene changed to Redfield as he sat behind a desk much like the one that Heero and Duo had sat at with an arrangement of microphones in front of him.
Lights from cameras flashed on the red-headed blocker as he stated, "I think that it's about time that people learned to let go of a lot of the stereotypes when it comes to gay men. There is a lot of pressure in our being athletes to live by a certain standard, but it would all be for nothing if we can't be honest with every aspect of our lives."
A small smile on his face, he shrugged, "I have to admit that I was scared to do this, but it's already nice to know that I'm finally going to be seen for every aspect of who I am. Yuy and Maxwell's announcement helped continue to make the path that Barton started a lot easier to follow.
"They all deserve the credit for having the courage that they've demonstrated. And I think that a lot of people will be surprised to find out just how many of us in this sport, as well as others, are in fact gay."
Flashes still raining on him, Redfield said, "For those who follow the sport and follow us personally, I hope that they'll soon realize sexual orientation does not define who a person is. In fact, it is a pretty minute detail in the grand scheme of things."
Following the brief clip of that interview, the blonde journalist flashed back onto the screen. "This movement is most likely only the beginning," she smiled for the cameras. "Of the five most recent to come forward with their homosexuality, they all believe that there will be more to follow in the world of sports as a whole. And in other news..."
Slowly rising from her seat as the news report shifted gears, Dorothy grinned widely to the three brave men of the evening. Raising her glass once more, she winked, "As toasted earlier, here's to your latest, and most important, victory this season."
Glasses and cheers rose all around the room as the three athletes were given a standing ovation. Small tears in their eyes, Heero, Duo and Trowa shared a smile... the trailblazers of a new day and a new movement.
For each one of them, there were few moments that made them more proud.
TBC...
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