Fair Territory

Practice the morning after their flights landed is tense. Pete is standing on the steps of the dugout, arms crossed over his chest and an unhappy expression on his face. Of course, that’s not completely out of the ordinary for him, but this time he just looks even angrier than usual. And it has everyone watching their step and making sure they don’t do anything wrong today. The only person who has the confidence to actually approach Pete is Jack.

“So what time do you think practice will be over?” Jack asks, standing on the same step as Pete and bumping his shoulder against his. “Not that I don’t want to be here, but you know. I kind of want to check out the city before the game tonight.”

“We’ll end around ten,” Pete tells him, his expression softening. “We’re having a team meeting in the locker rooms before the game later tonight.”

“A meeting about what?” Jack questions, an uneasy feeling forming. This can’t be good.

“Well about a number of things,” Pete responds, turning to Jack with a small smile, “Mostly about the fact that you all suck and can’t win a single game these days. But that’s not all of it. The second part will probably sit well with you, though.”

“I…What is it?”

“Let’s just say it’s something you’ve been waiting for.”

-

“So, what do you think?” Jack asks, fingers laced tightly with Alex’s as they walk along the sidewalk. “Is Oklahoma as great as you thought it would be?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly have the highest expectations, Jack,” Alex laughs, swinging their arms back and forth. It’s nice, he’s decided, being in a totally different state and having nobody notice Jack. “But it is pretty nice.”

“Despite the fact that you almost got run over by a bike?”

Alex blushes. “Whatever, I didn’t see him.”

Jack laughs and pulls Alex tighter against him. He’s glad that practice got out so early. He was able to take Alex on a lunch date and to the aquarium. They haven’t been able to spend too much time together just hanging out, what with Jack’s games and Alex’s summer league practices. But now it’s just the two of them and he’s going to take advantage of that as much as he can on this road trip. He’s got a lot planned and he really hopes that Alex is on the same page as he is.

“I managed to convince Brendon to switch rooms with me,” Jack informs him as they approach the hotel. “So now he’s with Ryan and I get to be with you. Are you alright with that?”

He watches Alex’s cheeks flush even more and he can’t help but smirk.

“Yeah. I’m okay with that.”

They wait for the elevator, which will take them up to the twelfth floor, where the entire team is rooming. It’s a nice hotel – better than the average ones but not quite as nice as the ones that major league players stay in. But Jack still finds Alex staring around the lobby in awe, clearly not used to staying in such nice places.

The elevator ride is quick, without any stops at any other floor. They step out into the carpeted hallway, lit up with expensive looking lights that line the walls and the place just looks so clean that Alex is having a rough time believing that it’s not the highest rated hotel. Jack leads them down the hall towards the lower numbers, finally picking room 1212 and sliding his key into the card reader. The green light goes off and Jack is pushing the door open, pulling Alex along behind him.

The room is unnecessarily big, considering they really won’t be using it much other than to sleep (and if Jack has his way, maybe some other things). There are two double beds and a decent sized bathroom and a fridge and microwave. Alex is quick to claim the bed closest to the window, collapsing down on top of it dramatically.

“Can I just sleep until the game starts?” He mumbles, face pressed into the pillow and feet hanging over the edge of the bed. “I’m so tired.”

“We’ve barely done anything,” Jack laughs, moving so that he’s lying down right beside him. “Just wait until after the game. I’ve got plans for you.”

-&-

If he had known how upset Flyzik was going to get about Grieco’s meetings with the other team, he probably wouldn’t have done it. Or, at the very least, he would have kept it from him for a while longer. Because having his boyfriend still as his physical trainer and sharing a room with him? It’s not very easy. It sucks, actually. Grieco just feels alienated and alone.

He’s sitting in the hotel room, dressed in sweatpants and one of Flyzik’s hoodies with his laptop in his lap. He’s checking his email and his Facebook and making sure he keeps in touch with everyone back home. That’s a disadvantage of this career – you’re gone from home a lot and you miss a lot of things. Like birthdays and engagements and babies. But he signed up for this.

Flyzik lefts to go hang out with Dallon a while ago – probably around an hour ago. He said he’d be back soon but he didn’t meet Grieco’s eyes and he didn’t smile or anything. So Grieco’s going to assume he’s still pissed and he won’t be coming back at all. Meaning that he’s going to go to the stadium without Grieco and Grieco is going to have to be alone.

You really do deserve it, Grieco reminds himself as he deletes his junk e-mail with one click. You lied to him. Well, no. Not really. He just…didn’t tell him the truth? Is that the same thing? Yeah, it is. Grieco sighs again, about to close his internet browser and just take a nap for the remaining hour he has before the game. But then one e-mail catches his eye. It’s from the representative for the Brooklyn Cyclones, the one he’s been talking to about joining the team. He hesitates, not sure if he wants to open it. Maybe he should just let it be. Cal the guy tomorrow and tell him he isn’t interested anymore and just stick with what he has. Because really, what he has isn’t so bad. It’s nice, actually. He’d like to keep it.

But the curiosity gets the best of him and he double clicks on it, watching as it opens up on his screen and it starts out professionally, addressing him by his full name and reminding him of the last talk they had. And then it starts getting into numbers and stats and finally at the bottom, the very last sentence, it tells him he could be signed for the following year and moved up to the majors by mid July.

Those words…they’re kind of what Grieco has been waiting for. What he’s been working for. And maybe he’s going about this whole thing the wrong way. Maybe he should be patient and wait and see. But this opportunity…it’s not going to come again. So does he take it? And ruin all of the relationships he has right now and have to make new ones? Or does he say no, and stay where he’s comfortable – where he has someone who loves him?

-&-

Martin knew he should have just faked being sick and had someone fill in for him in the game tonight. He knew the second the word ‘meeting’ came out of Pete’s mouth, he was done for. The way Pete looked at him just screamed ‘you’re dead’ and he really could have avoided all of this if he had just played sick.

“As a lot of you have probably observed lately, we suck lately. And by suck, I mean we’re embarrassing the name of the New York Yankees. So how about we suck it up and play like we actually have talent?”

“I agree,” John says loudly, standing up from the bench as he buttons the front of his jersey.”I think lately we’ve gotten really lazy and we’ve forgotten what we’re here to do and-”

“Sit down, O’Callaghan,” Pete interrupts, glaring at him. “I’m not done yet.”

“So recently I overheard a conversation between two of you. And I’m not going to say who they are because that’ll just create more problems than we need. But anyway, what I overheard was extremely concerning and not to mention, upsetting. The upsetting part being that you all knew about this and were hiding it from me.”

And that’s when Martin knows he’s really, really done for now. Pete’s eyes are on him and he feels himself flushing, eyes averting down to his shoes.

“I didn’t realize that the term ‘sleeping with the enemy’ was taken so literally on this team when I joined. I don’t think you guys get the fact that you are the team’s reputation. What you do is what the fans see and that’s what they’re going to base their judgments off of. And if they catch on to the fact that Johnson here is quite literally sleeping with the enemy, well then we’re all going to be in trouble.”

“I don’t think Martin’s private life should be anyone’s business other than his own,” John says, glancing over towards Martin and giving a small nod. “He’s here to play baseball and he’s fucking good at it. So I don’t see why it should matter who he’s dating.”

Martin wishes he could open his mouth and defend himself but his words are gone and he can’t bring himself to do it. The way Pete is looking at him makes him feel like he shouldn’t even be in the room right now. And he’s kind of hoping he’ll get an excuse to leave soon. Because sitting here, with everyone’s eyes on him, is unbearable.

“I don’t care, O’Callaghan. I’m telling you right now, if word of that relationship gets out, Butch Walker will be the first one down here to tell you exactly how he feels about it. The reputation of the entire team is at stake here, thanks to Johnson. And I have to be the one to make sure this team doesn’t get bad press.”

John widens his eyes. “You can’t kick him off the team. You…You don’t have that right. And Martin’s one of our best pitchers! Without him, we’re sure-”

“Sit down and shut your mouth, O’Callaghan. From now on, you’re not the captain of this team.”

“But that’s bullshit!” Gabe interrupts, “Martin’s the one who’s been sleeping with Merrick, not John! You can’t punish him!”

“Gabe, don’t,” John says quietly, shaking his head and giving Gabe a pleading look.

“The captain of a team is supposed to make decisions that benefit every player. You clearly knew about Martin’s relationship and you didn’t say anything. That’s not being a team player in my books.”

The locker room is dead quiet now, all of the players staring at Pete and just waiting for him to attack them for something next. Martin’s heart is pounding. He’s pretty sure his career with this team is over. Pete will find a way to get him kicked off and make it look like it was mutual. He swallows hard and waits for the manager to finally tell him what he’s waiting for.

“I’m not making you go home, since you’re already here,” he says, staring at Martin. “But once we get back to New York, you’ll be sent down to the lower farm team. We’ll say you got injured and you’re working on getting back in to shape.”

“I-right,” Martin stutters, nodding to himself and playing with the hem of his jersey.

“Barakat, you’re the captain now.”

There’s audible protest to that sentence, but it’s quiet, as if nobody wants Pete to really overhear them as he heads out towards the field. They all mutter amongst themselves and Martin sees Jack fighting back a smile. This is what he’s been waiting for, after all.

-&-

“You’re sure you had nothing to do with Pete finding out about Martin?” Alex asks, fingers tracing small patterns on Jack’s bare arm. He’s kind of amazed by how comfortable this hotel bed is right now – especially considering it’s a double, and not really meant to fit two people that comfortably.

“I promise,” Jack reassures him again, “I had nothing to do with anything.”

“Okay. I just…I feel so bad for him, you know? He didn’t do anything wrong. He just fell in love with someone he shouldn’t have.”

Alex feels Jack shift beside him, arm slipping around his back and one leg slipping in between his own. “It’ll turn out okay. Promise,” he presses his lips against Alex’s and now it’s more than obvious that he’s just trying to distract him.

But Alex welcomes the distraction, letting his hands move to the back of Jack’s neck as he kisses back. This is the first time they’re spending the night together, and if he’s honest, he’s a bit nervous. Because Jack has been hinting at things and well. Alex isn’t entirely sure if he’s ready. They’ve been together for three months. Is that long enough to wait? He knows that he loves Jack, but is it too early to say that? It’s been so long since he’s been in a proper relationship that he’s forgotten how these things go.

“You looked extra sexy tonight,” Jack says after pulling away, hand slipping up the front of Alex’s shirt. “In those tight baseball pants. Fuck, I kind of wanted to just grab you and have my way with you right there on the field.”

Alex laughs breathlessly, lifting his arms so that Jack can pull his t-shirt off. “You didn’t look so bad yourself.”

“You know what I was thinking?”

“Hmm?”

“About how much I love you.”

Alex freezes, eyes widening as he looks at Jack. Is he serious? Is that Jack’s sly way of saying ‘I love you’ without him actually really having to say those three words? “Are you…Are we…”

“Yes, Alex,” Jack finally says with a sigh, pressing his forehead against Alex’s. “I love you.”

“You love me?” Alex grins, his heart hammering against his chest and those damn butterflies erupting in his stomach. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“I…I love you too, Jack.”