tennis slash - Travelogue Anthology (1)
Series: Travelogue Anthology (1)
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Rating: PG (for nearly the whole series)
Disclaimer: This did not happen.
Summary: Series of short fics all involving the travel of the tour.
Author's Note for Series: I don't know how long this will take but since all the fics are stand-alone, you won't be left hanging. This is the ever- changing list of what should be in the series. If there's something you want to see, here is the request post (please read the guidelines).
Title: From Auckland to Barcelona: 2012 (Distance)
Pairing: David Ferrer/Tommy Robredo
Author's Note: This particular fic was inspired by this song. Combination of two requests from calzamante that fit together so naturally and make a great starting point.
December is a time for getting spoiled and, as far as David is concerned, it has nothing to do with Christmas gifts.
David enjoys having several weeks in a row he can wake up with Tommy’s arms around him. Having the Davis Cup final in Spain allowed them an extra week - most certainly helped him sleep when trying to come down from the high of the del Potro match.
Now that he’s in New Zealand, knowing that the grind of the tour starts again… it’s tough. As it is now, he probably won’t be back in Spain until the Barcelona event. He won this event last year and he thinks this was the stop he visited the wildlife zoo, though he wouldn’t want to be quoted about that. Part of the beauty here lies in the fact that he’d just left what resembles the winter season in Spain to land in the middle of summer.
Hopefully, Tommy will be able to practice by the time he’s able to return. It would make everything easier if Tommy was back on the tour so David can have relaxing nights again.
* * * * *
Tommy cannot wait for the tour to stop in Barcelona. Sure, he made the trip to see David play the Davis Cup quarterfinal but that was a one night surprise.
Barcelona would be the start of a nice few weeks for them. David will have a week off before Madrid, where at least Tommy can convince his trainer to make the three-hour trip by train and work on rehab while Tommy gets reacquainted with the other players.
David has been asking if he’s ready for practice. Tommy is kind of afraid what David means by practice. If it’s about whether Tommy can hang on the court with one of the grittiest players on the tour - well, no he’s not ready for that. He’s not even sure at this point if his body would ever be ready for that again but no way would he voice that concern. David worries enough without adding Tommy’s career worries on top of everything else.
Right now, the point is to get back on the tour. He’s still got some time left and he wants to enjoy everything about the tour while he can.
He doesn’t want to hear the heartbreak in David’s voice from the distance. Just like he doesn’t want David to hear the heartbreak in his own voice about his body betraying him.
Title: Jamaica: 2012 (Culture)
Pairing: unrequited Gael Monfils/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, possible Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/Dustin Brown
Author's Note: This is the one that led to the idea of doing Travelogue in the first place. Watching Dustin against Baghdatis and then Jo get beaten easily by Haas back to back got it on paper.
While Gael has known Jo since before they were teens, how they both fell in love with Jamaican culture came in different ways.
For Gael, it was his family. His father always had Bob Marley music playing. Gael didn’t necessarily understand the music at that young an age but he couldn’t deny loving the beat. Once he began to really listen to the lyrics, it was easier to understand why his father was more easygoing than most parents of upcoming tennis players.
He didn’t really see a way for tennis and reggae to mix… until he overheard Jo on the practice court singing “Buffalo Soldier” and decided to surprise him by making it a duet. Jo’s smile that lit up his face (that at the time the world wouldn’t yet see after every victory) was one that Gael would seek to reproduce from him.
While other French players looked at the two as if they were speaking another language, Gael loved that he had this bond that Jo didn’t have with anyone.
Or so he thought, until he began spotting the van. It was tough to miss that beaten-up beast of a vehicle in the parking lot along with the player cars. It was even tougher not to notice how distracted Jo was when the van appeared, as if it had powers of its own.
When Gael finally met the owner of the vehicle, he shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was to see a Jamaican tennis player speaking German on his phone. Dustin went on about how he and Jo had met in Jamaica years earlier when playing a few Challenger events there. How Jo never mentioned actually visiting Jamaica, much less their trek to the poorer villages, is an absolute mystery.
There’s no mystery as to why Jo never mentioned Dustin. Jo totally has an unrequited crush on this guy and, as infuriating as that is, Gael has to admit that he likes hanging around them together. Dustin was probably the only player on tour who genuinely didn’t think Gael was a crazy man on the court - because he was even crazier.
As opportunities would come in which Dustin actually played on the main tour, it was both the best and the worst of times as far as Gael was concerned. Jo and Dustin actually played a doubles final together, which only made the annoyance more because that was one thing Gael was nearly certain he and Jo could never share.
Title: Basel: 2011 (Disrespect)
Player: Marco Chiudinelli
Notes: Based around the wild card mess at Basel last year. Request from calzamante
Basel is both the best and the worst event on the calendar.
It is positive in the sense of reminding Swiss fans that there really is more to tennis than tracking where in the world is Roger Federer.
It is negative in the sense that they see exactly how the tour is for you on a regular basis. You’re not really surprised that the wild card was rescinded in favor of one of Roger’s rivals wanting an early shot at the Greatest. Hearing all the silly apologies when you end up back in the main draw due to dumb luck just makes you wish for a punching bag.
You want it to be a positive week but it’s just not going to happen and you’ll be back to dredging through the challenger events in hopes of another headache of a moment on the main tour.
You’d like to say that you’ll skip Basel next year due to the level of disrespect but you don’t have luxury being Roger… or even Stan, who may be in Roger’s shadow but at least has made enough money off that connection to tell off the director if he wished. You just have to accept that you’ll get screwed over again.
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Rating: PG (for nearly the whole series)
Disclaimer: This did not happen.
Summary: Series of short fics all involving the travel of the tour.
Author's Note for Series: I don't know how long this will take but since all the fics are stand-alone, you won't be left hanging. This is the ever- changing list of what should be in the series. If there's something you want to see, here is the request post (please read the guidelines).
Title: From Auckland to Barcelona: 2012 (Distance)
Pairing: David Ferrer/Tommy Robredo
Author's Note: This particular fic was inspired by this song. Combination of two requests from calzamante that fit together so naturally and make a great starting point.
December is a time for getting spoiled and, as far as David is concerned, it has nothing to do with Christmas gifts.
David enjoys having several weeks in a row he can wake up with Tommy’s arms around him. Having the Davis Cup final in Spain allowed them an extra week - most certainly helped him sleep when trying to come down from the high of the del Potro match.
Now that he’s in New Zealand, knowing that the grind of the tour starts again… it’s tough. As it is now, he probably won’t be back in Spain until the Barcelona event. He won this event last year and he thinks this was the stop he visited the wildlife zoo, though he wouldn’t want to be quoted about that. Part of the beauty here lies in the fact that he’d just left what resembles the winter season in Spain to land in the middle of summer.
Hopefully, Tommy will be able to practice by the time he’s able to return. It would make everything easier if Tommy was back on the tour so David can have relaxing nights again.
* * * * *
Tommy cannot wait for the tour to stop in Barcelona. Sure, he made the trip to see David play the Davis Cup quarterfinal but that was a one night surprise.
Barcelona would be the start of a nice few weeks for them. David will have a week off before Madrid, where at least Tommy can convince his trainer to make the three-hour trip by train and work on rehab while Tommy gets reacquainted with the other players.
David has been asking if he’s ready for practice. Tommy is kind of afraid what David means by practice. If it’s about whether Tommy can hang on the court with one of the grittiest players on the tour - well, no he’s not ready for that. He’s not even sure at this point if his body would ever be ready for that again but no way would he voice that concern. David worries enough without adding Tommy’s career worries on top of everything else.
Right now, the point is to get back on the tour. He’s still got some time left and he wants to enjoy everything about the tour while he can.
He doesn’t want to hear the heartbreak in David’s voice from the distance. Just like he doesn’t want David to hear the heartbreak in his own voice about his body betraying him.
Title: Jamaica: 2012 (Culture)
Pairing: unrequited Gael Monfils/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, possible Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/Dustin Brown
Author's Note: This is the one that led to the idea of doing Travelogue in the first place. Watching Dustin against Baghdatis and then Jo get beaten easily by Haas back to back got it on paper.
While Gael has known Jo since before they were teens, how they both fell in love with Jamaican culture came in different ways.
For Gael, it was his family. His father always had Bob Marley music playing. Gael didn’t necessarily understand the music at that young an age but he couldn’t deny loving the beat. Once he began to really listen to the lyrics, it was easier to understand why his father was more easygoing than most parents of upcoming tennis players.
He didn’t really see a way for tennis and reggae to mix… until he overheard Jo on the practice court singing “Buffalo Soldier” and decided to surprise him by making it a duet. Jo’s smile that lit up his face (that at the time the world wouldn’t yet see after every victory) was one that Gael would seek to reproduce from him.
While other French players looked at the two as if they were speaking another language, Gael loved that he had this bond that Jo didn’t have with anyone.
Or so he thought, until he began spotting the van. It was tough to miss that beaten-up beast of a vehicle in the parking lot along with the player cars. It was even tougher not to notice how distracted Jo was when the van appeared, as if it had powers of its own.
When Gael finally met the owner of the vehicle, he shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was to see a Jamaican tennis player speaking German on his phone. Dustin went on about how he and Jo had met in Jamaica years earlier when playing a few Challenger events there. How Jo never mentioned actually visiting Jamaica, much less their trek to the poorer villages, is an absolute mystery.
There’s no mystery as to why Jo never mentioned Dustin. Jo totally has an unrequited crush on this guy and, as infuriating as that is, Gael has to admit that he likes hanging around them together. Dustin was probably the only player on tour who genuinely didn’t think Gael was a crazy man on the court - because he was even crazier.
As opportunities would come in which Dustin actually played on the main tour, it was both the best and the worst of times as far as Gael was concerned. Jo and Dustin actually played a doubles final together, which only made the annoyance more because that was one thing Gael was nearly certain he and Jo could never share.
Title: Basel: 2011 (Disrespect)
Player: Marco Chiudinelli
Notes: Based around the wild card mess at Basel last year. Request from calzamante
Basel is both the best and the worst event on the calendar.
It is positive in the sense of reminding Swiss fans that there really is more to tennis than tracking where in the world is Roger Federer.
It is negative in the sense that they see exactly how the tour is for you on a regular basis. You’re not really surprised that the wild card was rescinded in favor of one of Roger’s rivals wanting an early shot at the Greatest. Hearing all the silly apologies when you end up back in the main draw due to dumb luck just makes you wish for a punching bag.
You want it to be a positive week but it’s just not going to happen and you’ll be back to dredging through the challenger events in hopes of another headache of a moment on the main tour.
You’d like to say that you’ll skip Basel next year due to the level of disrespect but you don’t have luxury being Roger… or even Stan, who may be in Roger’s shadow but at least has made enough money off that connection to tell off the director if he wished. You just have to accept that you’ll get screwed over again.