[fic] Match
Title: Match
Word count: 972
Pairing: Jet/Zuko
Rating: PG
Summary: Sometimes you win without even playing.
Note: I guess there was no way I'd make it through Jetko Week without writing a perfect_info story! For day four, "Games," something fluffy and pointless, as a break from all the ANGSTANGSTANGST that I've been rolling around in lately. ;3
***
"So when's your first game, anyway?"
Zuko looked up from his laptop. He'd been so intent on arranging the first round of matches that he hadn't heard Jet come in. "What? You mean in the tournament?"
"Yeah," said Jet. He sat beside Zuko on the couch, draping one arm along the back of it. "Do you know who you're playing yet?"
"I can't play," said Zuko. He turned back to the screen. He'd been tempted to just assign the pairings at random, but there was too much of a range of playing ability in the competitors. Mr. Fujiwara, who ran the American Go Association's Ba Sing Se office, had stressed that the tournament needed to be friendly to amateurs as well as professionals. So Zuko had painstakingly recorded the rankings of every player, and was now in the process of matching the lower-level players with each other, so that they wouldn't all be crushed in the first round.
"What? Why not?"
"Because I'm the one who donated the prize money."
Jet laughed. "You're that sure you'd win?" he asked, his tone good-natured.
Zuko felt his cheeks heat a little. "I'm 3rd Dan, now. I'd probably place, at least."
"Aren't there any other pros in the tournament? What about that guy we had over to dinner that one time…Ben? Sven?"
"Ken Obata's 5th Dan, but he made the semi-finals of the Ing Cup this year, so he's in China. All the pros who signed up are only 2nd Dan or lower."
"Huh." Jet peered at Zuko's half-finished chart, probably looking for other names he recognized. Zuko had made some friends in the city's Go community over the past few years, and he dragged Jet along to AGA parties and functions whenever he couldn't get out of them. "I guess it would be pretty tacky to win back your own money."
Zuko chuckled. "A little."
"So what will you do? Just…referee or something?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"What does a Go ref do, exactly?"
"A lot of paperwork," said Zuko. He sighed and closed the laptop with a soft click. "Piandao's letting me cut down my hours at the shop, though, so it won't be too bad."
Jet picked the computer up off of Zuko's lap and moved it to the coffee table, setting it on top of handwritten notes about hotels for the out-of-state players. Then he turned sideways on the couch and leaned back until his head rested on Zuko's thigh. "There is an upside to all this," he said seriously.
Zuko grinned and ran his fingers through Jet's hair. "Oh?"
"You'll be able to keep playing games with me."
Zuko laughed. "Our games aren't that long. I could play you and still be in a tournament."
"Oh, I know," said Jet. "But if you were going to be competing, I couldn't risk sabotaging your confidence."
Zuko shook his head. "My confidence."
"Yeah," said Jet. "I know you get all upset when I beat you."
"That's true," said Zuko. A few years ago, he would have argued that Jet had only beaten him in an even game once, and that it hadn't really counted besides. Now, he just laughed. "It's pretty traumatic."
"I'll try and go easy on you," said Jet. He remained solemn for a few more seconds, brow forrowed, then laughed and surrendered to his usual grin. "How many people signed up, anyway?"
Zuko didn't have to check the list. "Thirty-nine," he said.
Jet whisled softly. "That's a lot, right?"
"Yeah. Two or three times what it used to be."
"That's great!" said Jet, his grin even wider.
Zuko knew Jet wasn't just humoring him. He'd been interested and helpful all along the way, sitting down with Zuko to draft the proposal to the AGA, strategizing how best to promote the tournament within the Go community and how to get unaffiliated players to join. He'd been an officer of the Gay Student Union at BSSU for thee of his four years there, and had organized dozens of events. He was good at wrangling people and could navigate bureaucracies far worse than anything the AGA could come up with. Zuko wasn't sure how he would have managed on his own - not this well, certainly.
"I know you were worried," said Jet.
"I worry about everything."
"Still."
Zuko bent down to kiss Jet's forehead, his palm against Jet's chest. "This is all your fault, anyway."
Jet tilted his head a little, so that their mouths met. "How's that?"
"It was your idea to use my trust fund as prize money." Zuko's voice was very soft, with Jet's face so close to his. "I'd still be ignoring it if you hadn't said anything."
Jet blushed a little, a rare thing for him. "I was just being practical, you know?"
Zuko shifted on the couch, until he was lying down with his back to the cushions. Jet stretched out in front of him, and Zuko curled an arm around his waist. "Then I'm a very lucky man to have you and your practicality on my side," said Zuko. He kissed the back of Jet's neck.
Jet's hand closed over Zuko's, and he pressed back against Zuko's chest, pleasantly solid and warm. It wasn't quite winter yet, but the loft apartment got cold at night. "Maybe I'm just greedy," he said, "and that's why I understand greediness in others."
"You're not greedy, Jet."
"Sure I am." Jet rolled over, until his arms were folded up between their chests and his head was tucked under Zuko's chin. "I just got everything I wanted."
Zuko kissed the top of his head, the arm around him tightening. "I guess I did, too."
"Like your Go tournament?" Jet asked. His voice was muffled.
"And other things."
***
Word count: 972
Pairing: Jet/Zuko
Rating: PG
Summary: Sometimes you win without even playing.
Note: I guess there was no way I'd make it through Jetko Week without writing a perfect_info story! For day four, "Games," something fluffy and pointless, as a break from all the ANGSTANGSTANGST that I've been rolling around in lately. ;3
***
"So when's your first game, anyway?"
Zuko looked up from his laptop. He'd been so intent on arranging the first round of matches that he hadn't heard Jet come in. "What? You mean in the tournament?"
"Yeah," said Jet. He sat beside Zuko on the couch, draping one arm along the back of it. "Do you know who you're playing yet?"
"I can't play," said Zuko. He turned back to the screen. He'd been tempted to just assign the pairings at random, but there was too much of a range of playing ability in the competitors. Mr. Fujiwara, who ran the American Go Association's Ba Sing Se office, had stressed that the tournament needed to be friendly to amateurs as well as professionals. So Zuko had painstakingly recorded the rankings of every player, and was now in the process of matching the lower-level players with each other, so that they wouldn't all be crushed in the first round.
"What? Why not?"
"Because I'm the one who donated the prize money."
Jet laughed. "You're that sure you'd win?" he asked, his tone good-natured.
Zuko felt his cheeks heat a little. "I'm 3rd Dan, now. I'd probably place, at least."
"Aren't there any other pros in the tournament? What about that guy we had over to dinner that one time…Ben? Sven?"
"Ken Obata's 5th Dan, but he made the semi-finals of the Ing Cup this year, so he's in China. All the pros who signed up are only 2nd Dan or lower."
"Huh." Jet peered at Zuko's half-finished chart, probably looking for other names he recognized. Zuko had made some friends in the city's Go community over the past few years, and he dragged Jet along to AGA parties and functions whenever he couldn't get out of them. "I guess it would be pretty tacky to win back your own money."
Zuko chuckled. "A little."
"So what will you do? Just…referee or something?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"What does a Go ref do, exactly?"
"A lot of paperwork," said Zuko. He sighed and closed the laptop with a soft click. "Piandao's letting me cut down my hours at the shop, though, so it won't be too bad."
Jet picked the computer up off of Zuko's lap and moved it to the coffee table, setting it on top of handwritten notes about hotels for the out-of-state players. Then he turned sideways on the couch and leaned back until his head rested on Zuko's thigh. "There is an upside to all this," he said seriously.
Zuko grinned and ran his fingers through Jet's hair. "Oh?"
"You'll be able to keep playing games with me."
Zuko laughed. "Our games aren't that long. I could play you and still be in a tournament."
"Oh, I know," said Jet. "But if you were going to be competing, I couldn't risk sabotaging your confidence."
Zuko shook his head. "My confidence."
"Yeah," said Jet. "I know you get all upset when I beat you."
"That's true," said Zuko. A few years ago, he would have argued that Jet had only beaten him in an even game once, and that it hadn't really counted besides. Now, he just laughed. "It's pretty traumatic."
"I'll try and go easy on you," said Jet. He remained solemn for a few more seconds, brow forrowed, then laughed and surrendered to his usual grin. "How many people signed up, anyway?"
Zuko didn't have to check the list. "Thirty-nine," he said.
Jet whisled softly. "That's a lot, right?"
"Yeah. Two or three times what it used to be."
"That's great!" said Jet, his grin even wider.
Zuko knew Jet wasn't just humoring him. He'd been interested and helpful all along the way, sitting down with Zuko to draft the proposal to the AGA, strategizing how best to promote the tournament within the Go community and how to get unaffiliated players to join. He'd been an officer of the Gay Student Union at BSSU for thee of his four years there, and had organized dozens of events. He was good at wrangling people and could navigate bureaucracies far worse than anything the AGA could come up with. Zuko wasn't sure how he would have managed on his own - not this well, certainly.
"I know you were worried," said Jet.
"I worry about everything."
"Still."
Zuko bent down to kiss Jet's forehead, his palm against Jet's chest. "This is all your fault, anyway."
Jet tilted his head a little, so that their mouths met. "How's that?"
"It was your idea to use my trust fund as prize money." Zuko's voice was very soft, with Jet's face so close to his. "I'd still be ignoring it if you hadn't said anything."
Jet blushed a little, a rare thing for him. "I was just being practical, you know?"
Zuko shifted on the couch, until he was lying down with his back to the cushions. Jet stretched out in front of him, and Zuko curled an arm around his waist. "Then I'm a very lucky man to have you and your practicality on my side," said Zuko. He kissed the back of Jet's neck.
Jet's hand closed over Zuko's, and he pressed back against Zuko's chest, pleasantly solid and warm. It wasn't quite winter yet, but the loft apartment got cold at night. "Maybe I'm just greedy," he said, "and that's why I understand greediness in others."
"You're not greedy, Jet."
"Sure I am." Jet rolled over, until his arms were folded up between their chests and his head was tucked under Zuko's chin. "I just got everything I wanted."
Zuko kissed the top of his head, the arm around him tightening. "I guess I did, too."
"Like your Go tournament?" Jet asked. His voice was muffled.
"And other things."
***