Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 90
Since the Cougars had the first possession during the first half of the game, the Wolverines had their shot to score at the start of the second half. Carefully jogging to the spot of the football at the Cougar's twenty-one yard line, Heero rubbed his hands together. Bending at the waist, he and his teammates gathered around to huddle.
"We're going to have to get a little fancier this time around," the quarterback yelled over the noise surrounding them. "Run, fake to pass for a throw, throw, run, run. Until I have more time to get adjusted with my leg, we're going to have to keep the ball on the ground more often for this possession."
Noting the change up for the faked pass, the others were satisfied enough that it should do the trick in throwing their challengers off. And, of course, there was the complete understanding in regards to the decision to run the football more often than throwing it this time around. It would mean a lot more work on Duo's part, but there was not a person there who did not think he was up to it.
During a brief pause, not a word of opposition rose against the play breakdown. Clapping their hands together, the team broke their huddle and took their places. Along the way, Trowa brushed his braided friend's shoulder. Leaning in when their eyes met, he reassured, "Don't worry. We're not going to let them get to Yuy again."
Inwardly breathing a sigh of relief, Duo smiled and clasped the center's hand in a firm handshake. "I trust you, Tro," he replied sincerely. "Thank you." Nodding firmly, the tall athlete turned to take his mark.
Long, sharp cleats dug into the ground for firm footing as the two teams glared heatedly at one another.
Arms stretching out, Heero shouted, "Set! Set! Hike!" In a breath, he spun with the football the moment it reached his fingertips and handed it off to the running back as he flew past.
Never hesitating for a second, Duo looked for an opening in the barrier straight ahead. He knew that there would not be one. So, he plowed through to make his own. Already sore from prior attempts of the same, he pushed and shoved his way through the hands and bodies that stood in his way.
Once free, he ran as if his life depended on it. Several paces in, he realized that his helmet had come loose on him once again. Silently cursing to himself, he continued to charge ahead. Nearly frantic, Treize was running down the sideline after removing his headset. "Get that son of a bitch, now!" he screamed to his defensemen. "Take his head off!" Not far off, Alex's eyes widened in surprise over the ruthless order.
Fast as their feet could carry them, the linemen and their teammates went after the running back. Sensing the tacklers on his heels, Duo growled deeply and dug in harder. He knew that once he was caught, they would not be merciful in how they handled him. Prone as he was without his helmet, he was not about to stop anytime soon. All the while, he cradled the football in his right arm close.
Slowly rising from his seat, Tim stated, "Maxwell is without his helmet and a sea of green and blue is closing in on him. If he's taken out by a tackle by these giants, he could be in serious trouble. We've already seen what they were able to do to Yuy."
Back at the point of the snap, Heero and the rest of the offensive line who were not busy protecting Duo as best they could stood with wide eyes. Pale with worry, the quarterback's hands reached up to grip at the top of his helmet. As the linemen and blockers closed in on his partner, he whispered, "Run out of bounds. Get out of there before they kill you."
Already coming to the same idea, Duo made his way close to the white barrier that ran along the Wolverine sideline. With the advantage of stopping the play clock when he ran out of bounds, there was the added bonus of not having to risk a tackle at the hands of the Cougars in his state.
With his sidelined teammates running and cheering him on, most of them were shouting for him to cross the line. There was a movement caught by the corner of his eye. A quick glance revealed a defenseman coming up from the side fast. A couple of feet ahead, another Cougar was running up and a third tackler was closing in from behind.
In the last possible second, Duo dove over the line. Stumbling into safety, he collapsed and rolled on top of himself for a few feet before coming to a stop. Unable to halt themselves, the three men that nearly took him out collided together violently. There was a painfully loud roar from the crowd as the spectators got to their feet.
First to reach Duo, Howard laughed hysterically as he helped the running back to his feet. Throwing his arms around his shoulders, the old man cheered, "That was incredible, kid! You just got us forty-eight yards with that one play!"
Violet eyes wide, the American looked back to the field with a gasped, "Wha!?"
Sure enough, when he looked back to the place he stepped out of bounds, he had covered nearly half of the field from where he started. One of the referees placed a marker showing the ball was to be placed at the Wolverine's thirty-one yard line. Already, he had his team at field goal range and well on the way to scoring a touch down.
Heads lowered and shaking, the Cougars headed to their new mark as Duo was pulled into hugs and slapped on the back by the his ecstatic teammates. Zechs ran into the scene, smiling, "I've never seen anything like that, Maxwell! Great job!"
Snickering, the running back shrugged, "I wasn't even paying attention to how far I got. I was just worried about not getting killed out there!" Still laughing, he ran back onto the field to be welcomed by the offensive line with more embraces and slaps to the back.
"Unbelievable!" Tim exclaimed. "That run was one of the longest to happen in any Super Bowl. And it was one of the longest of Duo Maxwell's career. Covering nearly fifty yards, he has proven yet again why he is the best in his field. And the Wolverine team is as thrilled as the crowd."
Heero ran up bearing his lover's helmet. Smirking, he asked, "Forget something?" Gratefully accepting his head gear, Duo slipped it back on and secured the chin strap just as the quarterback wrapped an arm around his shoulders and whispered to him, "You scared the hell out of me back there. But that was one of the most awesome things I've ever seen."
Flushing, Duo winked with a husky, "Aw, you're just saying that so you can get into my tight pants tonight." He chuckled at the blush on his partner's face that he earned with that little remark. An amused smirk on his lips, Trowa cleared his throat and gestured with his head for his friends to fall back in line for the game to resume.
Suddenly remembering where they were, the quarterback and running back hurried to their new places. Hunching over the football and wrapping his fingers around it, the Latin center smirked to a less than confident Septum and Tsuberov, "What's the matter, boys? You're not looking so well all of a sudden."
Their eyes widening and quickly narrowing, the linemen growled deeply. "Set!... Set!" Heero's voice cried over the stare off. "Hike!" Pushing the football back, Trowa's long arms opened to intercept the linemen with a grunt of effort.
Just behind the center, Heero danced around to hand the football off to Duo. Passing his lover, the running back cradled his right arm to his chest and charged for wall building before him. All of the offensive line's attention was centered on him in his approach.
"He doesn't have the ball!" Treize hollered from the sideline. "Get to Yuy! Maxwell doesn't have the ball! Pay attention, you idiots!" Just as Trowa had promised Duo, the offensive protective line had become a shield for Heero. Driven to keep the Cougars from getting to their team captain again, they became impenetrable.
With only the blockers that were covering the receivers to worry about, the quarterback had seemingly all the time in the world to wait for one of his catchers to break free. Wufei was the first to shake his man off and raised his arm in the air. All too late, the linemen soon caught onto their mistake in focusing on Maxwell.
Before the Cougars could get anywhere near him, Heero sent the football flying. Charging down the field, Wufei kept his eye on his target the whole time while dodging his shadow. While the blocker dove to take him down, the receiver leapt into the air with his arms stretched out. Making the catch, he landed cleanly and managed to run an additional five yards for a total gain of seventeen. The Wolverines were now only fourteen yards from scoring another touchdown.
Pacing back and forth along his sideline, Treize could not bear to watch the next play and closed his eyes. While he did not see what happened, he heard the end result when the audience came to life once more with fervor. Cries and swears from his team clarified who the crowd was cheering for.
When he opened his eyes, Chang was celebrating along with his teammates in the end zone. Still beaming on the way back to their elated comrades at their sideline, the receiver looked down to the football in his hands and shook his head in wonder.
It was now 24-17 in favor of Pittsburgh. Staring numbly at the score board, the Cougars' coach's fists clenched at his sides. His offensive team returned like animals with their tails between their legs.
Back in the commentator's booth, Tim shook his head and snickered, "I can't recall seeing a more driven team than the Wolverines. From Heero Yuy's brave showing after having a broken leg bone set back to Duo Maxwell's endlessly impressive heart and talent to Wufei Chang's consistency in being a go-to man..." At a loss of words for a second, he shook his head and sputtered, "T-there's not a person on that team that has not been giving everything they have out there today!"
His counterpart smirked, "That's right. And it's the very reason Pittsburgh is now ahead on the scoreboard for the first time this whole game. Whoever comes out on top in the end, the Wolverines have absolutely nothing to be ashamed regarding the efforts they put forth tonight. It's made for the most exciting Super Bowl in decades."
Just before the punt to his special team so that his own warriors could take the next possession, Treize stalked over to Septum and Tsuberov by the water jug. Gritting his teeth, he hissed, "Come with me."
Swallowing roughly, the linemen nervously stayed behind their coach as he led them around the table where no other ears lingered or eyes followed. Shielded by the large containers and fans used to cool off the players, Treize folded his arms and glared heatedly at his henchmen.
On the other side of the table, Alex had just run up to the cooler for a drink before having to take to the field again. "Apparently you did not do a good enough job when I told you to take Yuy out of the game," the voice of his coach snapped quietly. Nearly dropping the cup that he was in the process of filling, the running back's eyes widened and back stiffened.
"Look, coach, we did the best that we could out there. Any more damage and it would have looked even more suspicious than it did." Blinking in surprise, Alex quickly identified that voice for Tsuberov. Water from inside his cup began to spill out as his hand began to shake.
There was a deep sigh before Treize demanded in a quiet, yet threatening tone, "I'll deal with any of those suspicions. You just do what I tell you. Have you even bothered looking at the scoreboard!? We are losing and he's one of the key reasons why! I don't care if you break the same leg again and end his career, I want him out!"
Nearly white as a sheet, Alex gasped sharply. He never even noticed that his cup was overflowing with water since he forgot to shut the valve off.
So what had happened to Yuy wasn't an accident, after all.
'It's not right,' the running back thought to himself. 'This isn't right!' The cup fell away from his hand as his arm fell to his side. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself, "I wanted to win this clean. I wanted to win this fairly."
That little voice that had been taunting him returned to chide, 'What is fair about your using drugs, hm?' Jolting with that little bit of harsh reality as though he saw a ghost, Alex panted heavily. 'How are you any better than them?' his endlessly nagging voice questioned.
Droplets of sweat ran down the sides of his face and his heart began to race out of control. "My God," he breathed. "I'm not. I'm not any better than them."
"No better than who?" he heard Treize ask. Spinning and gasping, he was suddenly face-to-face with his head coach. Arms folded and an eyebrow raised, the tall man inquired, "Who are you talking to?"
Forcing himself to swallow and calm himself, Alex straightened and cleared his throat. "No one, sir," he replied. Pleasantly surprised at how steady his voice was, he continued, "It was nothing. Just... a little shaken up over how we could be losing right now."
Treize tilted his head and commented, "You're not looking so well. Are you feeling all right?" His tone was empty of any real sympathy or concern.
Just as Alex's mouth opened and closed as he thought of a response, his teammates were calling for him to get onto the field. Throwing his helmet on and securing the chin strap, he nodded, "I'm fine, coach." That said, he ran out to join his offensive line. Frowning deeply, the head coach watched his departure silently.
Last to get into his team's huddle, Alex was lost in his thoughts over his new revelations and missed the play rundown. "Denton!" the quarterback's voice finally shouted over the audience to gain his attention. Wide-eyed, the running back looked into the fierce eyes watching him. "Get you head together!" the captain demanded. "We're throwing for two then running for three."
Nodding, the blonde athlete yelled back, "Got it!" Their hands clapped and the huddle was broken so that they could take their marks.
Simply going through the motions for the first two plays, Alex was numb from head-to-toe. Not even really paying attention what was going on around him, his actions were on autopilot. By the time the third play came along, his team was at their own twenty-one yard line. He could easily run that distance to score a touchdown if he broke free.
'No better than them. No better than them," the voice continued to whisper. Roughly shaking his head to focus, the running back growled quietly to himself. Looking up to the stands where his family was sitting, he found his father yelling and cheering him on along with his mother and siblings.
As he stared at them, he could heard his father recanting his motto, 'If you can't be the best, there's no use trying.'
There was a brief pause when the voices stopped. And out of the blue, a third voice declared, "I don't care." Gasping, the Alex looked ahead as his eyes widened. That last statement came directly from him.
What more was he willing to sacrifice? How much more loss would there have to be simply for the chance to say that he was the best at something? And was any of it worth it in the end?
Blinking in surprise, the running back tried the line again on for size. "I don't care." Hands clenched at his sides, he cried, "I don't care about the best anymore! Not at this price!" The words were lost to the cheers and cries from the crowd for any of his teammates to hear.
The ball was snapped and he ran forward to scoop it into his arms on the hand off. His gaze focused on the barrier ahead of him, Alex never paused in his charge. The moment he collided with the red-and-gold clad defenders, he allowed himself to be knocked off of his feet and pushed back.
On his way to the ground, he allowed the football to fall free of his grasp.
"Denton has lost the ball! Denton has lost the ball!" Tim shrieked. "Fumble!" Adam was on his own feet and watching the scene in disbelief, his jaw hanging wide open.
Wolverine and Cougar alike frantically piled onto the football before it rolled away too far. Scrambling into the mass of confusion, Alex also dug in to come up with the prize to appear as though his slip was an accident all the more.
Hands gripping the top of his capped head, Treize stood dumbfounded along with his team. On his own feet, the running back's father shared a mix of shock and disgust over the fumble. Everyone in the stadium was up and leaning in for a look to which team managed to get hold of the football amidst the tall mass of bodies.
"Oh come on," Duo muttered as he looked on anxiously with his own teammates. "Just let us get this one break."
Running into fray, the officials were blowing their whistles and started pulling bodies off of one another to get to the bottom of the heap. For every Wolverine that was cleared away, there was a Cougar removed as well.
As it came down to the last five players wrestling violently, there was one more green-and-blue uniform than there were red-and-gold. Seeing that, Tim stated, "The Cougars got it back. It looks like they recovered from the fumble."
Shaking his head adamantly, Adam decreed, "No, I think Pittsburgh has it. Pittsburgh got to the ball first." Their little dispute continued even as a player from each side was pushed away by the referees.
The last Wolverine in the pack of three suddenly jumped up and ran with the football raised in his hand. "It's Pittsburgh!" Tim shrieked just as the crowd exploded and the officials pointed their arms in the direction of the Wolverines' end zone on the other half of the field to confirm the changeover. "Pittsburgh did come up with the ball! They now have possession!"
While the Wolverines' sideline showed the team shouting and jumping in elation over their break, the Cougars were anything but pleased as their own returned from the field. Treize gripped the faceguard of Alex's mask and pulled him close. "What the fuck just happened out there?" he shouted in his player's face.
Still pale and sweating, the running back frowned deeply, "Sorry, coach. I'm suddenly not feeling so well."
His coach's face reddened as he opened his mouth to yell at him when professor O hurried in to tell Treize, "He does look to be under the weather. I best take him back to the examination room to make sure everything is all right."
In hearing the suggestion, something crossed Khushrenada's face that Alex could not quite read. But instantly, the man's rage faded into something almost like concern. Nodding firmly to the therapist, he replied, "Right. Keep me posted on his condition."
Too relieved to wonder more about why the sudden change in his coach, Alex gladly followed O down into the tunnel below the stadium. Just before descending into the dimly lit corridor, the running back peered over his shoulder as the Wolverine offensive team took the field. Slowly, a small smile tugged his lips.
Half-way through the third quarter, Pittsburgh capitalized on the turnover. Duo ran in another touchdown that made the score 31-17.
TBC...
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