Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 76
There were very few things that ever got under Sylvia's skin. Lies were one of those things. And the fact that she had caught her husband in a lie had her silently seething.
Ever since that televised interview from Dorothy warning Treize about 'people living in glass houses', she was on edge as to what her cousin through marriage meant. Clearly, there was a reason behind that threat. Whatever it was, she had caught the brief flash of fear on her husband's face before he brought on that smile of his. Something had him worried.
And then there was that lie.
Seated before her lit vanity, Sylvia stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was bothering her to no end what it was that Treize was obviously hiding from her. Until a couple of nights ago, she believed him to be incapable of being anything but open and honest with her.
Now... now she was not so sure.
The gentle knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. "Are you almost ready, darling?" Treize called from the hallway. "We should be leaving for the game soon."
Forcing a smile so it would be heard in her voice, Sylvia turned her head towards the door and called, "I'll be right there, sweetheart." Quickly finishing with her hair, the young woman grabbed her light white shawl to wrap around her bare shoulders for the slightly cool breeze that was being predicted for San Francisco that night.
"Ah," the head coach grinned proudly as his wife stepped out into the hallway. Gently kissing her head, he complimented, "You look magnificent as always, my dear." Lowering her head, Sylvia made to look coy rather than respond with words.
With a gentlemanly bow at the waist, Treize offered an arm with a polite, "My lady, our chariot awaits." Arm-in-arm, the couple headed for the stairs together.
Her stomach churning, Sylvia bit her lip against the nausea. If he was capable of telling her lies about to whom he was simply talking to on his cell phone, what else was he capable of hiding from her? In the end, there was only one person that she knew had the answers.
Somehow, she had to get a hold of Dorothy.
* * * * * *
On the other side of the nation, in the domed Skyward Stadium in New York, Adam commentated, "Well, folks, we could be witnessing the end of the Wolverine Cinderella story here. With just over a minute left in the second quarter, Pittsburgh is down by ten points at 24-14.
"After the halftime break coming, the Troopers will have the first position to make another score to add to their lead. If that happens, there will be little likelihood for the Wolverines to come back from that big of a gap."
Heero yelled to his teammates during their huddle over the crowd of Trooper fans peppered with large sections of Wolverine supporters, "Goddamn it, guys, we have to try to score at something here! Someone has had to have picked up on a weak spot in their defense by now!"
Equally frustrated over their situation, the others shook their heads. With half-time approaching quickly, the last thing any team wanted was to enter the intermission down by more than a touchdown. Especially in this case, where the Troopers would have possession of the ball at the start of the second half of the game for another chance to score.
"Let me have another go at it," Duo hollered just to be heard. "If there's not an opening this time, I'll just make one!" Turning to Trowa, he shouted, "I'm going to break past your right side. Do whatever you can to watch my ass out there!"
The center nodded firmly, "Got it!"
Past the guard mask of his helmet, there was a look of concern on Heero's face at the suggestion. After witnessing his lover's head nearly being taken off by the defensive line any time he tried to break through, he was a bit ill at ease with the thought of another risky attempt.
Still, if anyone knew what he was capable of, it was the running back. It was that realization that made the quarterback hold his tongue.
With a deep breath, Heero called, "All right. We'll go for another run then a throw right after! There's just over a minute left, let's make it count!" Their hands clapping at once, the team broke their huddle and went to their positions.
From where they were marked, they were only thirty-one yards from scoring. A long enough distance on its own, it seemed like miles thanks to how difficult their challengers were making any progression for them.
Violet eyes narrowing in determination, Duo dug his cleats into the hard ground. Keeping his focus on his goal at the end of the field, he calmed his breath and focused himself to what he needed to do. Heero's arms went up as he shouted, "Set!... Set!... Hike!" At that, the running back charged forward just as his partner turned towards him with the ball.
Just as he said, the American broke on Trowa's right. Using everything that he had, the center and his fellow offensive line did everything they could to make an opening in the barrier forming there. While they managed to create a gap, it was a small one.
Securing his arms around the football as soon as he had it, Duo went head on into the wall forming in front of him. With a deep growl, he knocked his attackers back as their arms and hands grabbed him. Each step was a difficult one, the weight of the bodies on top of him working to strip the ball from his possession while bringing him down.
In the midst of his struggle, the chin strap to his helmet came undone and his head guard fell away. Despite that, he kept moving. If anything, the loss of his helmet only made him work harder to shake the linemen off of him.
From somewhere within, the running back would not allow himself to fall. Even when an arm wrapped around his neck, he pushed forward and kept going. The cheers and cries from the crowd were no longer audible, nor the yells from the sidelines or on the field. His eyes still narrowed on the end zone, Duo dug his feet into the ground with each step and pressed on.
Helpless to do anything, Heero watched on with wide cobalt eyes. The moment he saw that helmet fall away, his heart fell into his stomach. As much as he wanted his lover to just allow his attackers to bring him down, he was awestruck at just how strong he was to not quit despite the odds against him. Wufei and John, also unable to get involved in removing the linemen from their teammate, looked on with just as much shock.
Those New York blockers and other defenders that were on the field just stopped and laughed. As many of their own that were working at taking the Wolverine out, they certainly weren't needed. It was only a matter of time before the braided athlete ran out of steam. Smug smiles tugged their lips as they figured that they might as well enjoy the show.
"Unbelievable!" Adam laughed from the commentator booth. Leaning forward at his shared desk, he exclaimed, "Maxwell has at least five defenders on him, lost his helmet in the process, and he's still going! He's been dragging them along for ten yards now!"
Beside him, Tim shook his head and smirked, "That's the one thing about Maxwell. He has more heart than most in the league. This is just another display of that."
Crying out in effort, Duo managed to shift and move enough to lose some of the hold on him. Once his legs were able to move more easily, he picked up the pace and shed the last of the bodies on him. The bun at the back of his head came loose to shed his braid as he sprinted without a challenger.
"Maxwell's broken free!" Adam shrieked over the microphone.
The New York defenders that had sat back and watched were suddenly gaping with wide eyes in shock as the running back sprinted on towards the end zone. "Goddamn it!" Coach Gibson screamed from the Troopers' sideline as he threw his headset to the ground. Face red, he yelled, "Somebody stop that bastard!"
Finally snapping out of their stupor, the linemen and blockers all charged after the opponent. It was only a few paces in that they all realized that there was not a chance of catching up to Maxwell once he was running free and clear. Without looking back, Duo continued to charge down the field towards his goal.
"He's at the ten yard line! The five! Touchdown, Pittsburgh!" Tim cheered in the booth as he jumped from his seat.
In the end zone, the running back slammed the football into the ground with his braid flying behind him. Raising his arms over head, he led out a loud, "Waahhooo!" Instantly, arms wrapped around him as his teammates caught up to him.
At the Wolverine sideline, the team was jumping, embracing and hollering along with the crowd. Shaking his head in amusement, Zechs watched Maxwell being warmly congratulated by his offensive line as he muttered, "Crazy son of a bitch." A wide smile on his face, the head coach raised his arms to applaud.
Heero ran into the end zone laughing as he opened his arms to his partner when he reached him. Jumping up so he was caught around his waist, Duo threw a fist in the air as he let out another yell. When he was brought back down to the ground, he was rewarded with a tight embrace from the quarterback before they jogged back to their sideline.
There was an entirely different scene at the New York sideline. As his team walked back with their shielded heads lowered, Coach Gibson was still red-faced while screaming at each of them. For the Troopers that had been sitting out, they looked to the scoreboard in a daze at seeing that they were now only leading by three points.
In a game that they were predicted to trample the Wolverines, it was quite the blow to be at the half-way point with such a thin margin between them.
Howard threw his arms around Duo the moment he stepped across after retrieving his helmet. "God, I love you, you little shit!" the old man called over the deafening mix of boos and accolades from the audience. "That was just the shot in the arm that we needed."
As they pulled back, the American chuckled, "Thanks, Pops."
Only twenty seconds remained on the clock and the end of the first half was called since the Troopers would have the first possession of the second half of the game after losing the coin toss. A rejuvenated Wolverine team stormed to their locker room beneath the stadium while a dumbfounded group of Troopers walked down to their own.
Bouncing as he reached the head coach's side, Trent snickered, "Did you see the look on those bastards' faces? You would have thought someone just kicked their puppy."
Zechs laughed and nodded, "Let's just hope the guys can keep the momentum going for the second half."
At the back of the pack, Duo was suddenly stopped from joining the others in the locker room when a hand grabbed his arm and slammed his back against the closest wall. Eyes wide, he found himself being fiercely kissed by his lover. Moaning and quickly responding, his violet eyes drifted closed and his arms wrapped around the quarterback's neck.
When they pulled back, Heero panted heavily, "That was a ridiculous stunt you pulled back there." Kissing along the running back's jaw line, he muttered, "You could have been hurt. Or worse. I never saw anyone try anything like that before."
Duo snickered "And you loved every minute of it."
"Goddamn right I did," Heero growled lowly as their eyes met. "You have no idea what a turn on that was. You don't know how hot that made me." Quickly closing the gap between their lips, he took in another deep kiss in the empty corridor.
Flushing at that, the running back actually pondered whether or not they might have a moment to... "Yuy? Maxwell?" Zechs's voice called from down the hall. "Where are you two?"
Both Heero and Duo sighed deeply at the interruption. Smirking, the team captain claimed his partner's lips in one last kiss and vowed quietly, "Later." With small smiles, the couple joined hands and headed to the locker room together.
* * * * * *
Following an exciting pep talk over half-time, the Wolverines took the field ready and anticipating their chance to take the lead. During the Troopers' first possession, the red-and-gold defenders became in impenetrable wall. New York did not even make it close enough to kick a field goal to add to their lead.
At the last failed attempt for a first down, the Pittsburgh athletes were only more charged. Coach Gibson was going down the line, yelling and screaming at his players as they bowed their heads. "I don't think I've ever seem him this worked up before," Darren commented.
Zechs turned towards him and grinned, "That's because he doesn't even know what to do right now. He thought that they would be way ahead of us at this point, just like everyone did."
Back on the field, Wufei looked down the field from where his team was positioned with sixty-seven yards before the end zone. Eyes narrowing, he told himself quietly, "If Maxwell can carry five people for ten yards, I should be able to out run a couple of blockers."
"Set!" Heero cried over the roaring fans. "Set! Hike!" On that cue, Wufei sprang forward, paying no mind to the blocker that was fast on his heels.
Up until that time, he was paying too much mind to his towering opponent. Zigging and zagging in his run, the receiver made his way further down the field. The New York blocker was far too tall and built to be able to maneuver quickly enough to stay on top of him.
Finally, Wufei managed to clear himself as he spun himself to look back to where Heero was dodging linemen and defenders falling upon him. Waving his arms to catch his friend's attention, the receiver nodded firmly when they made eye contact. Amidst the struggle happening around him, the quarterback planted his feet still and hurled the football onward for his target.
The moment that ball took flight, Wufei ran on, knowing that it was going to soar past him if he stayed where he was. Managing to keep clear of further attempts to block the catch, the Chinese athlete jumped as the ball fell towards him. Two blockers jumped with him, their arms stretched out in hopes of knocking the football away or catching it for themselves.
Sweat dripping down his face, Heero watched the ball and muttered, "Come on. Come on. Get to him." Beside him, Duo froze with wide eyes as he held his breath along with the rest of his teammates.
His fingers stretching out a few inches longer than his challengers', Wufei came up with a perfect catch. Ignoring the painful noise from the crowd, the receiver landed to his feet and ran as fast as he could go. It took a moment for the blockers to realize that neither of them managed to stop the catch before they hurried after Chang.
By then, it was too late to catch up. Wufei soared into the end zone unopposed.
"Pittsburgh scores again!" Tim hollered, jumping up and down along with his counterpart. "Pittsburgh scores again! They just took the lead 27-24!" Another celebration in the end zone with Wufei at the center of it took a moment to break up before the offensive team headed back to their elated comrades at their sideline.
The extra point soon following brought the Wolverines to 28.
Worn emotionally and physically, the Troopers never fully recovered. The tides had completely turned on them in that any effort they put forth was met only by stronger resistance that knocked them back.
At the last knee down, the score was 35-27 in favor of the Wolverines. Charging the field to celebrate with their teammates, the Pittsburgh players exploded along with the audience.
Dozens of fans rushed to the scene to congratulate the winners as Adam's voice spoke over the feed, "I know that there were few who believed this would ever happen. But, Pittsburgh is sending New York packing for the season! After an exciting run, they'll be moving on to play against the winner of the second American league game that is in progress right now."
Meeting in the middle of the field, Zechs and Coach Gibson exchanged a firm handshake as the red-faced man grumbled a 'Congratulations' before walking off without another word. All around, there will still shocked faces on the New York players as they offered their own sentiments and pats on the backs of their competitors.
* * * * * *
Water and other beverages were sprayed around the locker room as the celebrating continued amongst the Wolverines an hour later. In the background, a television was airing the game between the Kansas City, Missouri Pikes and the Houston, Texas Boars. The winner of that game would be their competition for the next and final game before the Super Bowl.
Over the noise in the room, one of the players called, "Hey, quiet, everyone! The game's just about finished!" Instantly, a hush fell over the team as they all turned to the wide screen. Being snapped the ball, the white-and-green-clad quarterback of Kansas City took a knee.
Jumping and cheering with their home crowd, the red-and-black-uniformed Houston athletes charged the field to take part in their own celebration.
Eyes wide and skin paling, the Wolverines froze as they continued to watch the television. Taking a deep and unsteady breath on account of his own anxiety, Zechs kept his own eyes to the screen as he announced, "Congratulations, guys. Next week, we take on the returning Super Bowl champions for the past two seasons."
A nervous smile tugging his lips, Duo snickered, "Great."
That sarcastic sentiment pretty much summed it up for the whole of the team.
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page