Lonely ~ {John Maine/Mike Pelfrey}
Title: Lonely
Pairing: John Maine/Mike Pelfrey with past John Maine/David Wright and implied David Wright/Jose Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't know them, don't own them. It's lies, all lies.
Notes: Request fic for sheep_mambo ♥ She wanted a kind of sequal to Japan where Pelfrey finds out what happened between Maine and Wright. (POV changes with the *** marks.)
"You think he knows?"
Pelfrey's own words echoed in his mind as he slammed his room door behind him.
The question had started out innocent enough. It began in Pelfrey's gut on the first day of practice, having caught Wright staring at him one too many times. Only growing as Spring Training went on. Then that look. That knowing look he got from the third baseman, one that lasted only a few seconds, after he had mentioned Maine.
It scratched at his brain until it finally came out as he lay back on Maine's hotel room bed, letting is fingers idly trace through his hair. "Wright's been acting funny 'round me. You think he knows?"
"'Bout what?" Maine had replied as he lay on his stomach next to him. An arm draped across Pelfrey's torso and eyes closed, drained from the day's workout.
"...us."
Whatever 'us' was.
It had started out innocent enough. Expected Maine to just shrug it off. How the hell would he know? Wright isn't quick enough to catch on to stuff like that. And that would be it, and it would be out of Pelfrey's mind forever.
But instead of the reassuring words he had always come to expect from his fellow pitcher, he got an uneasy look. Maine shifting his position on the bed, sitting up and bringing his knees to his chest. Avoiding eye contact. Then the explanation.
The explanation that, yeah, Wright did know. Why? Well, because Wright already knew that about Maine, so why not? And how he already knew? Oh right, that little thing.
That little thing that happened in Japan. Three times.
Pelfrey felt like a weight was sitting on his chest as he stared at Maine. He couldn't formulate words. All he could do was run. Leave that room that they had been sharing their nights in.
So there he sat at the edge of his own bed, mind swirling. He reached a hand down into his bag, pulled out his mouthguard and bit down hard on it. Pain shot through his jaw, but Pelfrey saw it as a welcome distraction.
***
Maine walked up to his locker and dropped his bag down. Pelfrey had the locker next to his. "Hey," He said with a half-hearted smile.
Pelfrey continued to change as if he wasn't there.
"Okay, so you're still not talking to me."
Another awkward silence. Maine looked around the clubhouse. Most of the guys were already dressed, just sitting around having idle conversations. Turning back to Pelfrey he lowered his voice, "I don't understand why you're making me go through all this fucking guilt. I already said I was sorry."
"Asshole." A short, emotionless response was all he got.
"Asshole?" He said in a hiss. "You're the one who's been avoiding me for over a week. I'm not the one being an asshole."
Pelfrey finally looked at him, but with a cold stare. "I'm not the one screwing half the team."
Maine went to shove him and received and even harder push back from Pelfrey who was all too ready for a fight. In the scuffle, Maine tripped over one of the legs of his chair and they both fell to the ground. Pelfrey went to throw a punch but four sets of hands were already on his arms pulling him up off of Maine. Three more teammates lifted Maine up and held him back.
"What the hell do you two thing you're doing?" Glavine yelled as he releases his grip from Pelfrey's arm. "One of you could have broken something. You think this team can afford to lose a pitcher right now?" The veteran gave them both a hard look before turning and walking off.
After a moment the rest of team began returning back to what they had been doing too. Pelfrey looked down to his left to see Wright still holding onto his arm with one hand, having been one of the four to pull him up. He gave him a bit of a shove as he snatched his arm out of the hitter's strong grasp and returned to his locker.
***
Pelfrey sat along the third base line, pretending to stretch. He kept himself somewhat removed from the rest of the team during practice that day, mostly trying to avoid any other problems. Getting into clubhouse fist fights wasn't exactly the best thing for a rookie to do.
He jumped as someone suddenly sat down next to him. "'ello there Pelf." It was Reyes.
"Hey, Jose." Mike said looking back down at the grass. They sat in silence for a bit.
The shortstop, who most of the time found it nearly impossible to sit still, drummed his fingers on his knees. "Ya know, baseball 'es great," he finally said out of nowhere.
"...Uh-huh." Where was this going?
"Sometimes though, it's..." Reyes pressed his lips together, thinking of the right word, "...lonely, yeah?"
Pelfrey looked back up at him. He was staring out at the field where Wright was taking some ground balls.
"Yeah." Pelfrey responded, understanding his meaning.
***
Faint light forced it's way around the edges of Maine's hotel room curtains. He had thought a good night sleep would clear his mind, but hope of that was long gone as the digital clock shone a red 3:47 and he continued to study the patterns in the ceiling.
Just as he was thinking about checking his bag for a bottle of NyQuil, a knock came on the door. He threw his sheets off and turned on a light, thankful that he wasn't the only person still awake at this hour.
But before he could even get the door open all the way open a figure stepped in and closed it behind himself. A hand came up to Maine's jaw and tilted his head up right before he felt lips brush against his own. He took a step back in shock to see Pelfrey standing in front of him.
He hesitated a bit before once again closing the distance between the two, fingers beginning to make their way up under his black t-shirt.
Questions raced in Maine's mind, but as their mouths met once more it all went blank. It wasn't a moment for words, he thought, letting Pelfrey's tongue trace across his pulse point as he pulled the younger man back down onto the bed.
Pairing: John Maine/Mike Pelfrey with past John Maine/David Wright and implied David Wright/Jose Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't know them, don't own them. It's lies, all lies.
Notes: Request fic for sheep_mambo ♥ She wanted a kind of sequal to Japan where Pelfrey finds out what happened between Maine and Wright. (POV changes with the *** marks.)
"You think he knows?"
Pelfrey's own words echoed in his mind as he slammed his room door behind him.
The question had started out innocent enough. It began in Pelfrey's gut on the first day of practice, having caught Wright staring at him one too many times. Only growing as Spring Training went on. Then that look. That knowing look he got from the third baseman, one that lasted only a few seconds, after he had mentioned Maine.
It scratched at his brain until it finally came out as he lay back on Maine's hotel room bed, letting is fingers idly trace through his hair. "Wright's been acting funny 'round me. You think he knows?"
"'Bout what?" Maine had replied as he lay on his stomach next to him. An arm draped across Pelfrey's torso and eyes closed, drained from the day's workout.
"...us."
Whatever 'us' was.
It had started out innocent enough. Expected Maine to just shrug it off. How the hell would he know? Wright isn't quick enough to catch on to stuff like that. And that would be it, and it would be out of Pelfrey's mind forever.
But instead of the reassuring words he had always come to expect from his fellow pitcher, he got an uneasy look. Maine shifting his position on the bed, sitting up and bringing his knees to his chest. Avoiding eye contact. Then the explanation.
The explanation that, yeah, Wright did know. Why? Well, because Wright already knew that about Maine, so why not? And how he already knew? Oh right, that little thing.
That little thing that happened in Japan. Three times.
Pelfrey felt like a weight was sitting on his chest as he stared at Maine. He couldn't formulate words. All he could do was run. Leave that room that they had been sharing their nights in.
So there he sat at the edge of his own bed, mind swirling. He reached a hand down into his bag, pulled out his mouthguard and bit down hard on it. Pain shot through his jaw, but Pelfrey saw it as a welcome distraction.
***
Maine walked up to his locker and dropped his bag down. Pelfrey had the locker next to his. "Hey," He said with a half-hearted smile.
Pelfrey continued to change as if he wasn't there.
"Okay, so you're still not talking to me."
Another awkward silence. Maine looked around the clubhouse. Most of the guys were already dressed, just sitting around having idle conversations. Turning back to Pelfrey he lowered his voice, "I don't understand why you're making me go through all this fucking guilt. I already said I was sorry."
"Asshole." A short, emotionless response was all he got.
"Asshole?" He said in a hiss. "You're the one who's been avoiding me for over a week. I'm not the one being an asshole."
Pelfrey finally looked at him, but with a cold stare. "I'm not the one screwing half the team."
Maine went to shove him and received and even harder push back from Pelfrey who was all too ready for a fight. In the scuffle, Maine tripped over one of the legs of his chair and they both fell to the ground. Pelfrey went to throw a punch but four sets of hands were already on his arms pulling him up off of Maine. Three more teammates lifted Maine up and held him back.
"What the hell do you two thing you're doing?" Glavine yelled as he releases his grip from Pelfrey's arm. "One of you could have broken something. You think this team can afford to lose a pitcher right now?" The veteran gave them both a hard look before turning and walking off.
After a moment the rest of team began returning back to what they had been doing too. Pelfrey looked down to his left to see Wright still holding onto his arm with one hand, having been one of the four to pull him up. He gave him a bit of a shove as he snatched his arm out of the hitter's strong grasp and returned to his locker.
***
Pelfrey sat along the third base line, pretending to stretch. He kept himself somewhat removed from the rest of the team during practice that day, mostly trying to avoid any other problems. Getting into clubhouse fist fights wasn't exactly the best thing for a rookie to do.
He jumped as someone suddenly sat down next to him. "'ello there Pelf." It was Reyes.
"Hey, Jose." Mike said looking back down at the grass. They sat in silence for a bit.
The shortstop, who most of the time found it nearly impossible to sit still, drummed his fingers on his knees. "Ya know, baseball 'es great," he finally said out of nowhere.
"...Uh-huh." Where was this going?
"Sometimes though, it's..." Reyes pressed his lips together, thinking of the right word, "...lonely, yeah?"
Pelfrey looked back up at him. He was staring out at the field where Wright was taking some ground balls.
"Yeah." Pelfrey responded, understanding his meaning.
***
Faint light forced it's way around the edges of Maine's hotel room curtains. He had thought a good night sleep would clear his mind, but hope of that was long gone as the digital clock shone a red 3:47 and he continued to study the patterns in the ceiling.
Just as he was thinking about checking his bag for a bottle of NyQuil, a knock came on the door. He threw his sheets off and turned on a light, thankful that he wasn't the only person still awake at this hour.
But before he could even get the door open all the way open a figure stepped in and closed it behind himself. A hand came up to Maine's jaw and tilted his head up right before he felt lips brush against his own. He took a step back in shock to see Pelfrey standing in front of him.
He hesitated a bit before once again closing the distance between the two, fingers beginning to make their way up under his black t-shirt.
Questions raced in Maine's mind, but as their mouths met once more it all went blank. It wasn't a moment for words, he thought, letting Pelfrey's tongue trace across his pulse point as he pulled the younger man back down onto the bed.