by me
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nothing exciting. I'm running out of things to do with these two.
Disclaimer: FAKE!
Dedicated to: Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who truly are two of the best the
game has ever seen.
Notes: In honor of the 500th.
Glavine collapsed on the couch after he showered, wearing just his towel, and
shut his eyes, drained. It didn�t surprise him a bit when fingers trailed
gently through his hair. He sighed.
�Are you ok?� Greg finally asked softly.
�Better now,� Glavine murmured, shifting his legs so Maddux could sit, which
he did.
�I hate to say it, but��
�I know, I know. You told me so.�
�You haven�t eaten in two days. It�s 95 fucking degrees. I know you had no
energy, Tommy. You shouldn�t have been pitching.�
He sighed again, knowing the other ace was right, knowing it wasn�t what his
team needed. �I thought I�d be ok.�
�And still...� Maddux murmured, seeming to not hear him. �Still...I was proud of
you.�
Glavine opened his eyes. �Why�s that?�
�You were still out there. You were basically a one-pitch pitcher today, and
that one was sub-par because you�re too weak to run the bases, much less
throw 80 pitches. And you still fight. Never give in. It�s�impressive.�
�Thanks,� he said softly. �But we lost because of my stubbornness. And that�s
nothing to be proud of.�
Not replying, Maddux just reached for his hand, and Tom sat up, scooting
closer to him. Greg took the opportunity to kiss him. �Well, I love you
anyway.�
�Don�t, you�ll catch whatever I have.�
Maddux rolled his eyes. Because he hadn�t had AMPLE opportunity to catch it
over the last couple of days. �I will not.�
�I�m not...entirely sure I�m over it,� Tom admitted sheepishly.
�Lunch not sitting well?�
�Lunch...already didn�t sit well.�
Maddux sighed and flipped on the TV to watch the rest of the game. �Come here.�
Tom leaned against him willingly, liking Maddux�s arm encircling him. Greg
toed his spikes off and lifted his legs to the table in front of them.
Glavine knew the left one still had an ace wrap for the calf muscle and
the right one a compression wrap for the heavily and deeply bruised shin.
They were both hurting. Greg raised Tommy�s left hand to his mouth,
kissing the index finger where the hindering blister was. Glavine closed
his eyes again, much more inclined to doze with Greg against him.
Greg watched the game in silence. It wasn�t a particularly good one, though he
was certainly glad to see the shutout go away. After the top of the ninth
Tim came bouncing into the locker room, something that surprised Maddux a
little. The kids usually stayed in the dugout.
He went to his locker for a moment, then came into the lounge, settling
himself in an armchair � cross-legged � still in his full uniform except
for the shoes. He was talking quietly on his cell phone and Maddux had to
smile. Young love.
Sheffield crushed a ball about 425 feet, but it didn�t affect the final
result, and the Braves lost 7-3. Maddux woke Glavine up gently, urging him
to his feet and towards his locker to get dressed before everyone came in.
After watching Tim interact with Foster with an amused look for a few
minutes � until the rookie noticed and threw a pillow at him � Maddux went
back to his locker to get dressed, too.
Glavine sat down next to him as he pulled on his shoes. �Are you sure you�re
ok to start tomorrow.�
�I�m much more ok to start tomorrow than you were today.�
�Well, I was being stubborn and stupid.�
�You said it,� Maddux grinned, and pulled him to his feet. �Let�s get you
home.�
*
*
*
*
*
The next day, Greg felt better on the mound than he had all season. He mowed
down Cubs hitters for 7 innings, and he insisted he could go another one
or two, but he was told that 80 pitches in that heat was quite enough on
three days rest. The bullpen continued its fine work, though, so it didn�t
matter.
�Thank you, thank you, thank you,� Tommy murmured plopping down next to him
and catching the game ball he was tossed. �I was beginning to think we
were completely jinxed.�
�I think everyone forgot,� Maddux grinned, referring to their 500th combined
win. It took us, what, 8 tries?�
�Seven or eight.�
Smoltz turned from his locker down the row and looked at the two of them, who
did look slightly conspiratorial. �Did you guys do something cool today?�
They looked at him. �Oh, that�s right! Congratulations, you two officially
rock.� He turned back to dressing.
�Because we didn�t when we had 499,� Greg muttered lightly.
�Well,� Glavine sighed, reaching his hand out, �we are one of the best duos
the game�s ever seen.�
Maddux took his hand and met those clear blue eyes with a slight shiver. �Yes.
We are. In so many ways.�