Batting For the Other Team
Title: Batting For the Other Team
Genre: Fluff/Romance
Pairing(s): USUK, Canada/Ukraine mentioned
Word Count: 1,618
Rating/Warnings: 12,
Summary: Arthur and Alfred had been in a secret relationship until it all comes out at Alfred's basketball game. Gauken AU. Done for the ' love' prompt from the usxuk summer camp.
Arthur breathed in and out in even, measured breaths. His feet on the pavement sounded a steady rhythm and Arthur timed his breaths to the same beat. Nothing was more relaxing for him that running simply for the sake of running. It worked like medication for Arthur since he focused on nothing else but his breathing and his footsteps during his early morning run. His evening run was used for thinking, for worrying about what had happened that day so he could get it all out of the way before he tried to go to sleep, but in the morning it was peaceful and so Arthur made sure his mind reflected that.
He jogged along the street, now heading back towards his house. No one else was up at five thirty in the morning but there was faint streaks of light against the horizon. The chill of the morning felt nice against Arthur's heated skin as he slowed his pace. Coming to the end of his run, he slowed to a jog and then to a walk so he had a chance to cool down before he entered his house. It was no good waking his foster parents, they both only had an hour left to sleep.
Stealthily, he entered the house and climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He skipped the creaky stair and took another swig of the water bottle strapped to his waist. Back in his room, he started to stretch again as he cooled down from his run. A soft beep from his phone had him reaching over and glancing at the screen even as he bent over in the middle.
"Al," Arthur whispered to his room when he saw the identity of the sender. He smiled softly; no one else knew that he would be up this early and so would not be averse to receiving texts at what most people would consider a ridiculous time. The fact that his boyfriend was awake and willing to text him at five thirty in the morning just to say hello made Arthur feel even warmer than he did from his run. He pressed the call button, suddenly filled with a need to hear Alfred's voice. The morning had been completely silent and it seemed nice to think that the first thing he heard that morning would be Alfred. A moment later he was kicking himself, Alfred could have fallen back asleep, the call was answered.
"Hey Arthur," Alfred whispered and Arthur knew he was trying to avoid any of his family overhearing.
"Hello Alfred," Arthur whispered back as he toed off his trainers and flopped down on the bed. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Woke up. Couldn't get back to sleep. Thought I'll call you since I knew that you would be up at this time," Arthur smiled at Alfred's answer.
"I appreciate it love," Arthur said, feeling a little thrill at the term of endearment. Their relationship development had been so recent that Arthur still had not got used to using words like 'love'. Alfred using 'sweetheart' or 'darling' had the same effect on him.
"How far did you run today?" Alfred asked.
"Just a mile and a half. Don't want to be too exhausted since I have club after school," Arthur explained and he could almost see Alfred nod in agreement.
"Course. Are you coming to my game later?" Alfred sounded worried and Arthur was tempted to draw it out. He knew that would be cruel and he could not do that to Alfred so he answered honestly.
"Yes, I'll definitely be there, I know it's an important game. I have running but your game doesn't start until five so I should be able to do running and get your game on time. I might miss the first few minutes though." Arthur was apologetic, he hated missing Alfred's games. Alfred just laughed it off.
"Well according to the movies, it's only the last few minutes that matter in basketball so as long as you're there for them, it should be fine," Alfred said teasingly and Arthur rolled his eyes but could not stop the smile on his face. He heard Alfred yawn and realised that even though he was used to getting up very early, Alfred was not so used to it.
"Get some sleep Al. I'll see you on the bus later, okay?"
"Okay," Alfred murmured and Arthur could feel him drifting off to sleep. "See ya later."
"Goodbye Al," Arthur said before hanging up the phone. Alfred really needed to get some more sleep, his game later was really important. He finished off his homework from last night and heard Toris and Feliks start to stir for their day. Soon he heard the shower start and knew that breakfast would be on the table. All of the household were early risers and at six thirty in the morning, everyone was up and alert. Arthur thumped his way downstairs, dumping his bag by the front door before turning into the dining room where a yawning Feliks was setting toast and a bowl of scrambled eggs, the one thing that he had managed to teach Arthur how to make.
"Mornin' Arthur," Feliks said, slurring his words slightly as a yawn almost split his face in two. "Eggs, toast, juice in fridge. Tor's working today so, like, I'll pick you up from your running since I'm totally coming to watch." Arthur froze in the act of scooping scrambled eggs onto his plate.
"Actually I'm staying at school to watch Alfred's game. I can get the bus back from there." Arthur kept his eyes on the table to avoid Feliks' smirk that he knew was spread across his face.
"Ooo Alfred. So that's, like, going well?" Feliks asked and when Arthur glanced at him, he managed to confirm that his foster father was wearing a smirk. Arthur rolled his eyes. Once he had lived with them for a while, Feliks had felt comfortable enough to tease him about things, especially his newly budding relationship with Alfred Jones. What Feliks like to tease him the most about was how much he had complained about Alfred after he moved to that school and then a few months later, he was dating him.
"Yes," Arthur muttered, as his face turned bright red and he stared at the table top as if it could help him with his embarrassing situation."Can we talk about something else, please?" Arthur asked as he took a scalding mouthful of tea.
"Alright. So, like, have you slept with him yet?" There went his tea. Why did Arthur feel like this was not going to be a good morning?
***
Alfred's basketball game was fast and furious and Arthur had remained on the edge of his seat ever since he had joined Lovino, Matthew and Matthew's girlfriend, Katya in the seats surrounding the outside court.
"Go on Alfred!" Arthur shouted, his yell joining with the other parents and friends' voices as Alfred raced down the court with an unusually determined expression on his face. It was the last two minutes and the home team was several points up, there was no chance of the other team managing to catch up but both of them still continued to play as if every point mattered.
"He's really going for it," Matthew murmured as Alfred took a shot.
"Of course, Alfred is so incredibly stubborn that he wouldn't be happy until he's succeeded in getting as many points as possible," Arthur replied as his fists clenched as Alfred got nudged by one of the other team behind the umpire's back. The whistle at the end of the game had the home team cheering and all the students of the school yelling their support. Alfred came bounding over to them, his hair stuck to his forehead in sweat and his cheeks aglow.
"We won! We won!" He hugged his brother and friend before enveloping Arthur into a massive bear hug. "You're my good luck charm Arthur, I love you." With these words, Alfred drew a shocked Arthur up into a long, deep kiss. Neither of them noticed as the other students fell silent in shock but Lovino noticed and narrowed his eyes at everyone. Alfred had kept his relationship with Arthur secret, even from him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't support him now it was public. With a determination and courage that Lovino didn't know he had, he whistled and started to clap.
"Go Alfred!" He ignored a stunned Matthew next to him and clapped Alfred on his back as the couple drew apart, both of them breathing quite heavily.
"Thanks Lovino," Alfred said with a grin, not releasing his grip on Arthur's waist. He glanced past Lovino to a sight that made his grin fade slightly. "Matt?" Lovino turned to see Matthew still staring at them in shock. He cleared his throat and Matthew jumped.
"Er, yes. Good on you Al," the words were weak but at least the smile was sincere. Soon many of the others were cheering and clapping Alfred on the back in support and Alfred laughed as he swung Arthur around. It seemed that everyone's reaction was more than he hoped. He kissed Arthur again and Lovino choked on his laughter as a thought occurred to him. Alfred had not planned his confession to Arthur in front of everyone, it was completely spontaneous. That was so very like Alfred.
"Victory party!" Lovino yelled and there were cheers of agreement as the team and supporters left the court. Lovino looked back and saw Alfred and Arthur were the only two people left behind, still in each other's arms. They would catch up.
Did this originally for the sports prompt but didn't write enough of it in time, so it's now for the love prompt instead. Enjoy!
Genre: Fluff/Romance
Pairing(s): USUK, Canada/Ukraine mentioned
Word Count: 1,618
Rating/Warnings: 12,
Summary: Arthur and Alfred had been in a secret relationship until it all comes out at Alfred's basketball game. Gauken AU. Done for the ' love' prompt from the usxuk summer camp.
Arthur breathed in and out in even, measured breaths. His feet on the pavement sounded a steady rhythm and Arthur timed his breaths to the same beat. Nothing was more relaxing for him that running simply for the sake of running. It worked like medication for Arthur since he focused on nothing else but his breathing and his footsteps during his early morning run. His evening run was used for thinking, for worrying about what had happened that day so he could get it all out of the way before he tried to go to sleep, but in the morning it was peaceful and so Arthur made sure his mind reflected that.
He jogged along the street, now heading back towards his house. No one else was up at five thirty in the morning but there was faint streaks of light against the horizon. The chill of the morning felt nice against Arthur's heated skin as he slowed his pace. Coming to the end of his run, he slowed to a jog and then to a walk so he had a chance to cool down before he entered his house. It was no good waking his foster parents, they both only had an hour left to sleep.
Stealthily, he entered the house and climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He skipped the creaky stair and took another swig of the water bottle strapped to his waist. Back in his room, he started to stretch again as he cooled down from his run. A soft beep from his phone had him reaching over and glancing at the screen even as he bent over in the middle.
"Al," Arthur whispered to his room when he saw the identity of the sender. He smiled softly; no one else knew that he would be up this early and so would not be averse to receiving texts at what most people would consider a ridiculous time. The fact that his boyfriend was awake and willing to text him at five thirty in the morning just to say hello made Arthur feel even warmer than he did from his run. He pressed the call button, suddenly filled with a need to hear Alfred's voice. The morning had been completely silent and it seemed nice to think that the first thing he heard that morning would be Alfred. A moment later he was kicking himself, Alfred could have fallen back asleep, the call was answered.
"Hey Arthur," Alfred whispered and Arthur knew he was trying to avoid any of his family overhearing.
"Hello Alfred," Arthur whispered back as he toed off his trainers and flopped down on the bed. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Woke up. Couldn't get back to sleep. Thought I'll call you since I knew that you would be up at this time," Arthur smiled at Alfred's answer.
"I appreciate it love," Arthur said, feeling a little thrill at the term of endearment. Their relationship development had been so recent that Arthur still had not got used to using words like 'love'. Alfred using 'sweetheart' or 'darling' had the same effect on him.
"How far did you run today?" Alfred asked.
"Just a mile and a half. Don't want to be too exhausted since I have club after school," Arthur explained and he could almost see Alfred nod in agreement.
"Course. Are you coming to my game later?" Alfred sounded worried and Arthur was tempted to draw it out. He knew that would be cruel and he could not do that to Alfred so he answered honestly.
"Yes, I'll definitely be there, I know it's an important game. I have running but your game doesn't start until five so I should be able to do running and get your game on time. I might miss the first few minutes though." Arthur was apologetic, he hated missing Alfred's games. Alfred just laughed it off.
"Well according to the movies, it's only the last few minutes that matter in basketball so as long as you're there for them, it should be fine," Alfred said teasingly and Arthur rolled his eyes but could not stop the smile on his face. He heard Alfred yawn and realised that even though he was used to getting up very early, Alfred was not so used to it.
"Get some sleep Al. I'll see you on the bus later, okay?"
"Okay," Alfred murmured and Arthur could feel him drifting off to sleep. "See ya later."
"Goodbye Al," Arthur said before hanging up the phone. Alfred really needed to get some more sleep, his game later was really important. He finished off his homework from last night and heard Toris and Feliks start to stir for their day. Soon he heard the shower start and knew that breakfast would be on the table. All of the household were early risers and at six thirty in the morning, everyone was up and alert. Arthur thumped his way downstairs, dumping his bag by the front door before turning into the dining room where a yawning Feliks was setting toast and a bowl of scrambled eggs, the one thing that he had managed to teach Arthur how to make.
"Mornin' Arthur," Feliks said, slurring his words slightly as a yawn almost split his face in two. "Eggs, toast, juice in fridge. Tor's working today so, like, I'll pick you up from your running since I'm totally coming to watch." Arthur froze in the act of scooping scrambled eggs onto his plate.
"Actually I'm staying at school to watch Alfred's game. I can get the bus back from there." Arthur kept his eyes on the table to avoid Feliks' smirk that he knew was spread across his face.
"Ooo Alfred. So that's, like, going well?" Feliks asked and when Arthur glanced at him, he managed to confirm that his foster father was wearing a smirk. Arthur rolled his eyes. Once he had lived with them for a while, Feliks had felt comfortable enough to tease him about things, especially his newly budding relationship with Alfred Jones. What Feliks like to tease him the most about was how much he had complained about Alfred after he moved to that school and then a few months later, he was dating him.
"Yes," Arthur muttered, as his face turned bright red and he stared at the table top as if it could help him with his embarrassing situation."Can we talk about something else, please?" Arthur asked as he took a scalding mouthful of tea.
"Alright. So, like, have you slept with him yet?" There went his tea. Why did Arthur feel like this was not going to be a good morning?
***
Alfred's basketball game was fast and furious and Arthur had remained on the edge of his seat ever since he had joined Lovino, Matthew and Matthew's girlfriend, Katya in the seats surrounding the outside court.
"Go on Alfred!" Arthur shouted, his yell joining with the other parents and friends' voices as Alfred raced down the court with an unusually determined expression on his face. It was the last two minutes and the home team was several points up, there was no chance of the other team managing to catch up but both of them still continued to play as if every point mattered.
"He's really going for it," Matthew murmured as Alfred took a shot.
"Of course, Alfred is so incredibly stubborn that he wouldn't be happy until he's succeeded in getting as many points as possible," Arthur replied as his fists clenched as Alfred got nudged by one of the other team behind the umpire's back. The whistle at the end of the game had the home team cheering and all the students of the school yelling their support. Alfred came bounding over to them, his hair stuck to his forehead in sweat and his cheeks aglow.
"We won! We won!" He hugged his brother and friend before enveloping Arthur into a massive bear hug. "You're my good luck charm Arthur, I love you." With these words, Alfred drew a shocked Arthur up into a long, deep kiss. Neither of them noticed as the other students fell silent in shock but Lovino noticed and narrowed his eyes at everyone. Alfred had kept his relationship with Arthur secret, even from him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't support him now it was public. With a determination and courage that Lovino didn't know he had, he whistled and started to clap.
"Go Alfred!" He ignored a stunned Matthew next to him and clapped Alfred on his back as the couple drew apart, both of them breathing quite heavily.
"Thanks Lovino," Alfred said with a grin, not releasing his grip on Arthur's waist. He glanced past Lovino to a sight that made his grin fade slightly. "Matt?" Lovino turned to see Matthew still staring at them in shock. He cleared his throat and Matthew jumped.
"Er, yes. Good on you Al," the words were weak but at least the smile was sincere. Soon many of the others were cheering and clapping Alfred on the back in support and Alfred laughed as he swung Arthur around. It seemed that everyone's reaction was more than he hoped. He kissed Arthur again and Lovino choked on his laughter as a thought occurred to him. Alfred had not planned his confession to Arthur in front of everyone, it was completely spontaneous. That was so very like Alfred.
"Victory party!" Lovino yelled and there were cheers of agreement as the team and supporters left the court. Lovino looked back and saw Alfred and Arthur were the only two people left behind, still in each other's arms. They would catch up.
Did this originally for the sports prompt but didn't write enough of it in time, so it's now for the love prompt instead. Enjoy!