Telephone - Apolo Ohno/Shani Davis
Title: Telephone
Pairing: Apolo Ohno/Shani Davis
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not real, all fiction, some actual events used for inspiration. I know nothing about these athletes.
Notes: Ficlet for parka_girl. 524 words. Set during the 2002 Olympics - background is here.
You try to convince Shani to stay, but you should know by now that he doesn't do anything he doesn't want to. He's gone right after the opening ceremony, off to Italy and the Junior Worlds and anywhere else that you're not. You haven't really talked since the arbitration panel, and it wasn't like you were allowed to talk to him then, either, so you find out he's left when you get back to the room after an interview and all his stuff's gone.
Your dad says maybe it's better, no distractions from your races and without Shani there no one will mention all the controversy. You know he's right, but you miss Shani pretty much instantly and you can't help feeling like this is all your fault, even though you know you didn't do anything wrong.
His phone doesn't even ring, just goes straight to voicemail, and you're not sure whether you should take that personally or if it's just the time difference, but you can't believe how much you miss talking to him. You have other friends on the team, but it's not the same. You can't help thinking about what it would be like if he were here, and you're having an amazing time, but you know Shani deserves to be here.
He finally calls you after the 1500 finals, after all the drama's over and the medal's finally around your neck (you're only taking it off to sleep, because you're half-worried that if you leave it unattended, vigilante Koreans will steal it). You're back in the room, trying to get some rest before another interview, because you didn't get any at all last night, with the race and the controversy and the drug testing and all the media, and all you want to do is sleep. But when you see Shani's number on Caller ID, you don't think twice before picking up.
"Hey man, how's Italy?" Your voice is almost gone, adrenaline and exhaustion and everything else, but other than that, you almost sound normal.
"Good. I saw the 1500. Are you still alive?"
You laugh and maybe it'll be okay. "Just barely. I think I've been banned from South Korea for life."
"Don't worry about it. It'll blow over. Or we'll go somewhere else."
You hear the word we and you can't stop yourself from grinning. "Yeah? What are you doing after this?"
"We'll think of something, man. After you guys win that relay."
"I miss you." You didn't even mean to say it, but there it is.
It hangs in the air for a little while before he answers. "Miss you too."
You want to keep talking, until he has to go or your phone dies, but you've just been awake too long and you can't think anymore. You yawn, not a pre-race one, but for real, and Shani hears it.
"Okay. Talk to you later. Kick ass at the relay, man."
"Night, Shani." You don't even know what time it is anymore, but you hang up and fall asleep instantly, medals tight in your hand and for the first time since you got here, everything feels right.
Pairing: Apolo Ohno/Shani Davis
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not real, all fiction, some actual events used for inspiration. I know nothing about these athletes.
Notes: Ficlet for parka_girl. 524 words. Set during the 2002 Olympics - background is here.
You try to convince Shani to stay, but you should know by now that he doesn't do anything he doesn't want to. He's gone right after the opening ceremony, off to Italy and the Junior Worlds and anywhere else that you're not. You haven't really talked since the arbitration panel, and it wasn't like you were allowed to talk to him then, either, so you find out he's left when you get back to the room after an interview and all his stuff's gone.
Your dad says maybe it's better, no distractions from your races and without Shani there no one will mention all the controversy. You know he's right, but you miss Shani pretty much instantly and you can't help feeling like this is all your fault, even though you know you didn't do anything wrong.
His phone doesn't even ring, just goes straight to voicemail, and you're not sure whether you should take that personally or if it's just the time difference, but you can't believe how much you miss talking to him. You have other friends on the team, but it's not the same. You can't help thinking about what it would be like if he were here, and you're having an amazing time, but you know Shani deserves to be here.
He finally calls you after the 1500 finals, after all the drama's over and the medal's finally around your neck (you're only taking it off to sleep, because you're half-worried that if you leave it unattended, vigilante Koreans will steal it). You're back in the room, trying to get some rest before another interview, because you didn't get any at all last night, with the race and the controversy and the drug testing and all the media, and all you want to do is sleep. But when you see Shani's number on Caller ID, you don't think twice before picking up.
"Hey man, how's Italy?" Your voice is almost gone, adrenaline and exhaustion and everything else, but other than that, you almost sound normal.
"Good. I saw the 1500. Are you still alive?"
You laugh and maybe it'll be okay. "Just barely. I think I've been banned from South Korea for life."
"Don't worry about it. It'll blow over. Or we'll go somewhere else."
You hear the word we and you can't stop yourself from grinning. "Yeah? What are you doing after this?"
"We'll think of something, man. After you guys win that relay."
"I miss you." You didn't even mean to say it, but there it is.
It hangs in the air for a little while before he answers. "Miss you too."
You want to keep talking, until he has to go or your phone dies, but you've just been awake too long and you can't think anymore. You yawn, not a pre-race one, but for real, and Shani hears it.
"Okay. Talk to you later. Kick ass at the relay, man."
"Night, Shani." You don't even know what time it is anymore, but you hang up and fall asleep instantly, medals tight in your hand and for the first time since you got here, everything feels right.