[FIC] (Baseball) Infatuations and Fantasies
Title: Infatuations and Fantasies
Rating: R, for language and infidelity
Pairing/Characters: Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter (NYY)
Summary: Set around '01-'02, Alex is in New York for a series against the Yankees. He and Derek are good friends, but Derek has a different idea.
Word Count: ~1,500
Disclaimer: Nothing here is true because it's all in my head.
Notes: A big thanks to Google Docs and pen and paper for allowing me to write this. BECAUSE WINDOWS XP THINKS IT'S FUNNY TO CRASH AND NOT BOOT UP. (Thus begins the 5 hour freakout and 5 hour restoring process and ends up with a newly reformatted laptop and everything backed up.)
Notes 2: This is written for bats_and_balls's prompt - five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told and also for prompt 010. Years for fanfic100 and the table is here.
Before Cynthia, there had been Jess, Samantha, Carrie-Ann, Rob (if anyone asks about that night, it’s Rebecca), and finally Erin, who he thought was “the one” until she broke his heart because she slept with his next door neighbour back when he was still in Seattle and on the road. It ended up being only a blip in his timeline because a few months later, he was in Texas and just broke the record for the highest-paid athlete ever. So really, it was her loss.
Things with Cynthia, they are great. She makes him smile whenever he sees her - out of the shower, first thing in the morning when he wakes up in their bed, the moment he comes home after a long road trip and sees her on the couch - the little things. He feels amazing when she is around, no pressure, no anything.
So the sixth looks to turn out to be “the one”.
But she doesn’t make his heart thump like Derek does. Whenever Derek is around, his palms get sweaty, his mouth goes dry, and his mind goes blank. It is ridiculous, really. He thought by now, after so many years, he would be over the infatuation. He tells himself that he is over it, but when Derek is nearby, his body tells him that he isn’t, not by a long shot.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Derek asks him easily. They are standing on the pitch at Yankee Stadium, one team waiting for the other to leave so they could use the field to practice before game time.
Alex’s mouth dries up, his hands damp underneath the battling gloves. “It’s great,” he grins, a little too forced for a casual chat between two friends - two really good friends. It is the main reason why Alex never acted on his feelings, other than the fact he writes it off as a harmless crush. The bottom line is that they are friends first, anything else second.
“So, you swinging by after the game tonight?” Everyone knows that they never sleep in their hotel rooms whenever their teams play against each other. After Alex signed that contract with the Rangers, Derek joked that he could finally stop sleeping on the shoddy air mattress on the floor in Alex’s tiny room. He was right - he stayed in the guest bedroom next to Alex’s own room when Alex finally bought a house in Texas.
“Definitely,” Alex replies and notices most of his teammates have returned to the visitor locker room already. “Hey, I gotta go, see you at the game.”
The game goes by in a blur, Alex can barely concentrate on the field when Derek is staring at him from the batter’s box and vice versa. He’s rarely like this. When he’s on the field, nothing can distract him. He’s been over this countless time before. But this time it feels different; he doesn’t know if there is something in the air or if they change the light bulbs that are shining down from the stanchions, but fuck, he knows that he isn’t a hundred percent on his game right now.
It turns out that it doesn’t matter because the Rangers score enough runs to win the game easily, and he barely has to field any hard grounders towards his way. Even Pudge can see the relief on his face after the game. Alex shakes his head when his catcher walks by and asks him if he’s okay. “Everyone has an off night,” Alex explains. And he brushes it off as part of his overly active imagination; seeing things when there’s nothing there at all. It’s not the first time this has happened before.
Alex waits for Derek as he bums around in the players’ parking lot, awkwardly saying goodbye to the Yankees’ players, especially when the newer players look like they are ready to jump Alex for being in the “enemy’s territory”. He should have just taken a cab to Derek’s instead of nodding when Derek said he’ll give Alex a ride back.
It’s worst now that he isn’t a new kid on the block. In fact it looks ridiculous now, when only a few years back it would have been rather adorable and would have made the tidbits in tomorrow’s newspaper column.
Just as Alex starts to walk away from Derek’s car to find a cab, Derek finally emerges from the shadows of Yankee Stadium
“Sorry to keep you waiting, you know how the media is when you lose an ugly one like this,” Derek explains, tossing his bag into the backseat as Alex gets into the passenger seat.
Alex nods. He knows what it is like on some level. But he’s never been in Derek’s shoes, not in that position and not in a city like this. He can’t imagine playing in a city where every action and every mistake is scrutinized turned into headlines the next day. At the same time, you’re invincible when you bring back a championship. No, he can’t imagine it.
-
It’s not like he fucking grew a conscience in the last five minutes. They have never done anything other than hang out like bros when they are together. But Alex knows a come-on when he sees one, especially when he’s seen it in action first hand when they hit the bars.
But there aren’t going to be girls and bars tonight.
It happens before his brain catches up. It happens as clothes are shed, pooled on the floor and forgotten along the way to the bedroom. Both only seem half-surprised when they realize they both know what they’re doing.
And just like that, it is over quickly. Derek lets Alex jerk him off before he tosses the condom away.
They microwave the takeouts from earlier, now cold since they were busy doing other things instead of eating. (Derek called it in before he left the stadium, but bad timing really, since they were in the bedroom when the delivery boy dropped by.)
It is an awkward silence, both pretending it isn’t as they watch another edition of SportsCenter on TV. Alex jabs his chopsticks into his lo mein. “Why did you do it?” He wants to know. This is going to change everything and nothing. He understood this the moment Derek kissed him in the car. He has no illusion of being anything more than what it was.
Derek shrugs. “I just wanted to know. Isn’t that what you wanted? The way you look at me whenever you think it isn’t obvious.”
Alex nods slightly, like he understands Derek’s reasoning. His eyes are glued to the TV screen.
It was a rather harmless crush, like crushing on the prom... queen when you know you’re never going to have a chance with her, so you just sneak glances when she walks by, but really, you have better things to do and more important things to think about. But the fantasy is still there and it is just good wanking material.
Sex with Derek is great, he can agree on that as he stuffs the rest of the lo mein into his mouth. But it loses its charm quickly when he knows that this is a one-time deal and the fantasy is gone.
Derek is looking at him, searching for some sort of reaction on his face, but Alex is giving away nothing. So Alex smiles, the one he’s perfected over the years when he is with the media, when he has his pictures taken knowing the camera is on him. “Let’s just finish our food and go to bed. I’m exhausted,” he says. He wants to spit out a scathing remark, something to hurt Derek, and he has one too. The engagement ring is tucked away in his sock drawer, and he is just waiting for the right time to pop the question. He knows that Cynthia isn’t a fan of Derek - she thinks he’s a bad influence. And Derek shares the same sentiment because he thinks Alex can do better.
But Alex keeps it to himself, downing the rest of his beer. It won’t matter in the long run because he’s going to ask her to marry him whenever Derek likes it or not.
Derek leans over and kisses him, lightly on the mouth. He pulls away just as quickly, again searching for something in Alex’s eyes. Mistaking Alex’s open mouth as an invitation to another kiss, Derek leans in. “What are you doing?” Alex asks, putting his hand out and pushing Derek back. “This was a one-time thing,” he says and he can see the hurt in Derek’s eyes. There. He stands up, “thanks for dinner,” and walks to the familiar guest bedroom.
Before Alex slides into bed, he calls Cynthia for their nightly chat when he’s on the road. “I love you,” he tells her softly, like he really means it. She laughs and teasingly scolds him for being silly but returns the sentiment nonetheless.
Alex falls asleep to the sound of light rain that is beginning to fall over Manhattan.
Rating: R, for language and infidelity
Pairing/Characters: Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter (NYY)
Summary: Set around '01-'02, Alex is in New York for a series against the Yankees. He and Derek are good friends, but Derek has a different idea.
Word Count: ~1,500
Disclaimer: Nothing here is true because it's all in my head.
Notes: A big thanks to Google Docs and pen and paper for allowing me to write this. BECAUSE WINDOWS XP THINKS IT'S FUNNY TO CRASH AND NOT BOOT UP. (Thus begins the 5 hour freakout and 5 hour restoring process and ends up with a newly reformatted laptop and everything backed up.)
Notes 2: This is written for bats_and_balls's prompt - five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told and also for prompt 010. Years for fanfic100 and the table is here.
Before Cynthia, there had been Jess, Samantha, Carrie-Ann, Rob (if anyone asks about that night, it’s Rebecca), and finally Erin, who he thought was “the one” until she broke his heart because she slept with his next door neighbour back when he was still in Seattle and on the road. It ended up being only a blip in his timeline because a few months later, he was in Texas and just broke the record for the highest-paid athlete ever. So really, it was her loss.
Things with Cynthia, they are great. She makes him smile whenever he sees her - out of the shower, first thing in the morning when he wakes up in their bed, the moment he comes home after a long road trip and sees her on the couch - the little things. He feels amazing when she is around, no pressure, no anything.
So the sixth looks to turn out to be “the one”.
But she doesn’t make his heart thump like Derek does. Whenever Derek is around, his palms get sweaty, his mouth goes dry, and his mind goes blank. It is ridiculous, really. He thought by now, after so many years, he would be over the infatuation. He tells himself that he is over it, but when Derek is nearby, his body tells him that he isn’t, not by a long shot.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Derek asks him easily. They are standing on the pitch at Yankee Stadium, one team waiting for the other to leave so they could use the field to practice before game time.
Alex’s mouth dries up, his hands damp underneath the battling gloves. “It’s great,” he grins, a little too forced for a casual chat between two friends - two really good friends. It is the main reason why Alex never acted on his feelings, other than the fact he writes it off as a harmless crush. The bottom line is that they are friends first, anything else second.
“So, you swinging by after the game tonight?” Everyone knows that they never sleep in their hotel rooms whenever their teams play against each other. After Alex signed that contract with the Rangers, Derek joked that he could finally stop sleeping on the shoddy air mattress on the floor in Alex’s tiny room. He was right - he stayed in the guest bedroom next to Alex’s own room when Alex finally bought a house in Texas.
“Definitely,” Alex replies and notices most of his teammates have returned to the visitor locker room already. “Hey, I gotta go, see you at the game.”
The game goes by in a blur, Alex can barely concentrate on the field when Derek is staring at him from the batter’s box and vice versa. He’s rarely like this. When he’s on the field, nothing can distract him. He’s been over this countless time before. But this time it feels different; he doesn’t know if there is something in the air or if they change the light bulbs that are shining down from the stanchions, but fuck, he knows that he isn’t a hundred percent on his game right now.
It turns out that it doesn’t matter because the Rangers score enough runs to win the game easily, and he barely has to field any hard grounders towards his way. Even Pudge can see the relief on his face after the game. Alex shakes his head when his catcher walks by and asks him if he’s okay. “Everyone has an off night,” Alex explains. And he brushes it off as part of his overly active imagination; seeing things when there’s nothing there at all. It’s not the first time this has happened before.
Alex waits for Derek as he bums around in the players’ parking lot, awkwardly saying goodbye to the Yankees’ players, especially when the newer players look like they are ready to jump Alex for being in the “enemy’s territory”. He should have just taken a cab to Derek’s instead of nodding when Derek said he’ll give Alex a ride back.
It’s worst now that he isn’t a new kid on the block. In fact it looks ridiculous now, when only a few years back it would have been rather adorable and would have made the tidbits in tomorrow’s newspaper column.
Just as Alex starts to walk away from Derek’s car to find a cab, Derek finally emerges from the shadows of Yankee Stadium
“Sorry to keep you waiting, you know how the media is when you lose an ugly one like this,” Derek explains, tossing his bag into the backseat as Alex gets into the passenger seat.
Alex nods. He knows what it is like on some level. But he’s never been in Derek’s shoes, not in that position and not in a city like this. He can’t imagine playing in a city where every action and every mistake is scrutinized turned into headlines the next day. At the same time, you’re invincible when you bring back a championship. No, he can’t imagine it.
-
It’s not like he fucking grew a conscience in the last five minutes. They have never done anything other than hang out like bros when they are together. But Alex knows a come-on when he sees one, especially when he’s seen it in action first hand when they hit the bars.
But there aren’t going to be girls and bars tonight.
It happens before his brain catches up. It happens as clothes are shed, pooled on the floor and forgotten along the way to the bedroom. Both only seem half-surprised when they realize they both know what they’re doing.
And just like that, it is over quickly. Derek lets Alex jerk him off before he tosses the condom away.
They microwave the takeouts from earlier, now cold since they were busy doing other things instead of eating. (Derek called it in before he left the stadium, but bad timing really, since they were in the bedroom when the delivery boy dropped by.)
It is an awkward silence, both pretending it isn’t as they watch another edition of SportsCenter on TV. Alex jabs his chopsticks into his lo mein. “Why did you do it?” He wants to know. This is going to change everything and nothing. He understood this the moment Derek kissed him in the car. He has no illusion of being anything more than what it was.
Derek shrugs. “I just wanted to know. Isn’t that what you wanted? The way you look at me whenever you think it isn’t obvious.”
Alex nods slightly, like he understands Derek’s reasoning. His eyes are glued to the TV screen.
It was a rather harmless crush, like crushing on the prom... queen when you know you’re never going to have a chance with her, so you just sneak glances when she walks by, but really, you have better things to do and more important things to think about. But the fantasy is still there and it is just good wanking material.
Sex with Derek is great, he can agree on that as he stuffs the rest of the lo mein into his mouth. But it loses its charm quickly when he knows that this is a one-time deal and the fantasy is gone.
Derek is looking at him, searching for some sort of reaction on his face, but Alex is giving away nothing. So Alex smiles, the one he’s perfected over the years when he is with the media, when he has his pictures taken knowing the camera is on him. “Let’s just finish our food and go to bed. I’m exhausted,” he says. He wants to spit out a scathing remark, something to hurt Derek, and he has one too. The engagement ring is tucked away in his sock drawer, and he is just waiting for the right time to pop the question. He knows that Cynthia isn’t a fan of Derek - she thinks he’s a bad influence. And Derek shares the same sentiment because he thinks Alex can do better.
But Alex keeps it to himself, downing the rest of his beer. It won’t matter in the long run because he’s going to ask her to marry him whenever Derek likes it or not.
Derek leans over and kisses him, lightly on the mouth. He pulls away just as quickly, again searching for something in Alex’s eyes. Mistaking Alex’s open mouth as an invitation to another kiss, Derek leans in. “What are you doing?” Alex asks, putting his hand out and pushing Derek back. “This was a one-time thing,” he says and he can see the hurt in Derek’s eyes. There. He stands up, “thanks for dinner,” and walks to the familiar guest bedroom.
Before Alex slides into bed, he calls Cynthia for their nightly chat when he’s on the road. “I love you,” he tells her softly, like he really means it. She laughs and teasingly scolds him for being silly but returns the sentiment nonetheless.
Alex falls asleep to the sound of light rain that is beginning to fall over Manhattan.