tennis slash - The International Diner (2)
Title: The International Diner (2)
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Pairings: Andy Roddick/Marat Safin/Roger Federer; Mardy Fish/Juan Martin Del Potro
Other Players: Maria Kirilenko, David Nalbandian, Guillermo Coria, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Lleyton Hewitt
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This did not happen.
Summary: AU. ATP in a diner.
Author's Note: This will be more like a collection of stories in this AU, like a TV series.
Chapter 2 - How Andy Roddick Became the Level-Headed American (for a day)
Andy Roddick should know by now that his days are easier to deal with when the "night befores" involve both Roger and Marat. When it's only Andy and Marat, things can be dangerous because Andy needs that voice to bring him down to earth.
Even though Marat had been teasing Roger not Andy regarding the ladies, Roger got stuck dealing with business and had to give a rain check so Marat dragged Andy to the club to find them. Their leader, Maria, was easy enough to find: she was the one dealing with all the pickup lines. The only other one Andy remembered from the diner was the other hot blonde. Turned out her name was also Maria, though the group called her Makiri.
She didn't seem to mind in the slightest that both Marat and Andy stayed around her. She also admitted that it was she, not the leader Maria, who had the idea of inviting Marat here. Although neither usually mentioned their arrangement to strangers, Makiri was the one who asked if Marat and Andy ever hooked up. Although Marat deflected the question and Andy couldn't answer out of shock, she said she wouldn't be surprised but was more interested because she wanted them both in bed with her.
Marat smiled brightly and may have tried to talk Andy into the plan but they had been interrupted by Maria and the other two Russians, needing to leave because Elena had to be awake for the three hour drive home.
They were in the parking lot and Andy was digging for his keys when Marat pinned him against the car. "We don't need her," he hissed as he pressed closer, his hands wandering under Andy's shirt.
The end result was hot, long and, due to the small confines of the back seat of his car, rather uncomfortable. Andy had fallen asleep afterwards, thankful that he'd been able to wake up in time for his morning shift.
But, although he had only two beers last night, he hadn't recovered from Marat.
Certainly not in time to deal with his first entry into the kitchen. He opens the door in time to see a blur pass him and hear Sam say, "Get over yourself."
It would be a long day, indeed.
* * * * *
Mardy thought it would be a quiet day at work. The boys were off and he knew that Andy would arrive in a grouchy but subdued mood once finding out that Roger had been busy.
"Morning, sunshine."
He had forgotten what it means when Novak is off and Marat works the later shift. They must deal with Guillermo. The guy once had his own Argentinean restaurant but was recently forced to sell. Rather than stay out of the business for awhile, he ended up here, acting as if he was one of the best and could take over the diner.
Whereas everyone else knows Marat convinced Roger to hire him because the guy owed Marat money and the Russian feared he'd never see him again.
Mardy forces a smile, then gets ready for his shift.
Guillermo doesn't take long to irk someone. He enters the kitchen with the first order, making a show of stretching to reach the spot they belong. Lleyton tries to suppress a grin, finally having someone on his side regarding the height issue.
Any goodwill doesn't last, as Guillermo says, "Arugula omelet. Don't scorch it this time, Sam."
Sam had been glaring at him for the show regarding the high orders so he was already irritated before that. "There have never been complaints."
"I was quite surprised because I was sure the customer would return it."
"Well, it was fine." Andy has just entered the kitchen, passing Guillermo exiting, when Sam mutters, "Get over yourself."
John chuckles at Andy's startled look, explaining, "The battle begins early today."
* * * * *
Mardy tries to pick his battles when it comes to Guillermo. Sam frankly doesn't care one way or another about pissing him off and, in a better mood, neither does Andy. But Mardy has always been the peacemaker - he imagines that there would be a lot more broken dishes otherwise.
So it stuns Mardy to hear this strange, kind voice from Guillermo. "Why, this is a pleasant surprise!"
Andy is already looking at Mardy, who doesn't have a clear view of the front door. Mardy mouths, "What's going on?"
He expects Andy to tease but he's quite serious. "He grew up with the Neanderthal."
"Oh." At first he doesn't see the issue. That is, until Guillermo leads both Nalbandian and Juan Martin to a table. He can't help but notice the stiff posture of Juan Martin, as if he would rather be anywhere else.
Mardy can't help but wonder what's going on. They are in his section but he doubts there will be any clues. What he can see is that Guillermo is still talking to them by the time Mardy approaches their table and Juan Martin looks even more uncomfortable.
"Ready to order?"
Juan Martin's mood warms up at the sound of Mardy's voice, but it's quickly dashed by something Nalbandian says. Juan Martin tries to be polite as he says, "Would you stop fixing me up with him? No offense, Guillermo, but I'm not interested."
Mardy does catch the Spanish word for waiter in whatever Nalbandian says but clearly it wasn't so nice because the next thing out of Juan Martin's mouth is a huffy "Don't you ever say that to me again! I'm sitting at the counter." He jolts up and storms over to an empty seat.
Andy is covering the counter patrons so Mardy is a bit disappointed but he knows that the young man is angry at whatever the older Argentines told him.
Mardy sees The Four F's at the next table. They are mesmerized by the display in front of them. Fernando and Feliciano give appreciative glances Mardy's way, as if checking him out, while Ferrero says, "I didn't think you had it in you!"
Now he is really irritated, sure he's been insulted without having done anything. Mardy doesn't realize he's angry until he blasts through the door to the kitchen and John flinches at the rush of air that follows.
Andy walks in slowly after him, barely avoiding getting hit in the face by the swinging door. "Hey, what happened? I was chatting with a customer at the counter and then I see your guy storm toward my station and sit down. Was it Guillermo? It had to be Guillermo, that little prick."
Unfortunately for them, Guillermo decides to enter the kitchen and hears Andy. "Right, it has to be about me because your Fishie can do no wrong."
Andy cautiously watches Mardy, who is clearly steamed. Mardy says, "I didn't do anything! You were talking to those guys and I was doing my job by coming over to ask for their orders. If you wanted to flirt with Juan Martin, I would have left you alone but he clearly wasn't interested."
"You'd rather him think he has a chance with you, even though everyone knows you're nothing but a cocktease. Even Nalby does but your boy doesn't want to hear that."
Mardy's eyes narrow into slits, ready to attack as he snipes, "I'm sorry he turned your sorry ass down."
Everyone else is stunned to hear such contempt from their mild-mannered coworker. Sure, the words have been heard - when joking around - but this is clearly not a joke. Sam has his hand with the spatula near the counter, ready to break up a fight if needed.
Andy tries to be jovial as he says, "You two return to your corners. No fights during the morning shift."
Guillermo says, "Of course you take..."
Sam interjects, "Would you rather deal with Mardy's bodyguards?" He nudges John, who had been tuning this out, but quickly gets him to stand tall. Andy tries not to laugh because, while John may be a foot taller than Guillermo, no way would he ever use that size to his advantage the way Sam is implying.
The ploy works, the Argentine slamming out the door and returning to his post. Andy turns to Mardy, saying, "You need to cool off. I'll take the Neanderthal table and please don't speak to him when you return to The Four F's table."
Mardy nods, sitting in the chair by the open door. Andy heads out of the kitchen, immediately seeing Juan Martin at the counter. He had forgotten that little factor.
"Good morning. Do you know what you want?"
Juan Martin shakes his head, staring at the menu but not really looking.
"Did you hear that?" pointing to the kitchen.
"Tell Mardy it was stupid to get him involved. I didn't mean to cause trouble."
"Exactly what was said regarding him? The table of Spanish guys thought it was entertaining but I have a feeling it was insulting and..."
Juan Martin holds his hand up to get Andy to stop talking. It takes him a minute to reply because he wants to be clear. "After I turned Guillermo down, David said that I should get my head out of the clouds and forget about the waiter who will use me and break my heart. Then Guillermo agreed, saying he's nothing but a..." Andy can tell the guy doesn't really want to repeat the rest but he needs to say it. "nothing but a whore who gets off on getting guys to give him good tips."
Andy had thought what Mardy deducted was bad; this was even crueler than he imagined. "I'll be nice to him today because it's my job. Next time you talk to David," making sure not to call him by the nickname, "let him know that I will be ready to punch him out if he should ever disparage my friend again. Got it?"
* * * * *
Marat arrives at work, immediately greeted by Andy. "I'm so glad you arrived early today."
The Russian turns to Guillermo, who is trying to hide a scowl. "You had trouble getting along without me? How sweet."
"Not what I meant. I am tired of playing mediator."
"You as mediator? I thought you're the one usually having problems with him."
Guillermo opens his mouth about to defend himself but the glare from Andy shuts him up. He retreats to the kitchen to get ready to leave.
Marat glances at Andy. "Are you certain you're not the one fighting him?"
"Drop his debt, Marat, so he can get fired."
"On what grounds? I know you don't like him but that's not enough reason..."
"He called Mardy a whore while he was serving a customer."
"I'll let Roger know so he won't be back."
Chapter 3 - The Power of the Specials
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Pairings: Andy Roddick/Marat Safin/Roger Federer; Mardy Fish/Juan Martin Del Potro
Other Players: Maria Kirilenko, David Nalbandian, Guillermo Coria, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Lleyton Hewitt
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This did not happen.
Summary: AU. ATP in a diner.
Author's Note: This will be more like a collection of stories in this AU, like a TV series.
Chapter 2 - How Andy Roddick Became the Level-Headed American (for a day)
Andy Roddick should know by now that his days are easier to deal with when the "night befores" involve both Roger and Marat. When it's only Andy and Marat, things can be dangerous because Andy needs that voice to bring him down to earth.
Even though Marat had been teasing Roger not Andy regarding the ladies, Roger got stuck dealing with business and had to give a rain check so Marat dragged Andy to the club to find them. Their leader, Maria, was easy enough to find: she was the one dealing with all the pickup lines. The only other one Andy remembered from the diner was the other hot blonde. Turned out her name was also Maria, though the group called her Makiri.
She didn't seem to mind in the slightest that both Marat and Andy stayed around her. She also admitted that it was she, not the leader Maria, who had the idea of inviting Marat here. Although neither usually mentioned their arrangement to strangers, Makiri was the one who asked if Marat and Andy ever hooked up. Although Marat deflected the question and Andy couldn't answer out of shock, she said she wouldn't be surprised but was more interested because she wanted them both in bed with her.
Marat smiled brightly and may have tried to talk Andy into the plan but they had been interrupted by Maria and the other two Russians, needing to leave because Elena had to be awake for the three hour drive home.
They were in the parking lot and Andy was digging for his keys when Marat pinned him against the car. "We don't need her," he hissed as he pressed closer, his hands wandering under Andy's shirt.
The end result was hot, long and, due to the small confines of the back seat of his car, rather uncomfortable. Andy had fallen asleep afterwards, thankful that he'd been able to wake up in time for his morning shift.
But, although he had only two beers last night, he hadn't recovered from Marat.
Certainly not in time to deal with his first entry into the kitchen. He opens the door in time to see a blur pass him and hear Sam say, "Get over yourself."
It would be a long day, indeed.
* * * * *
Mardy thought it would be a quiet day at work. The boys were off and he knew that Andy would arrive in a grouchy but subdued mood once finding out that Roger had been busy.
"Morning, sunshine."
He had forgotten what it means when Novak is off and Marat works the later shift. They must deal with Guillermo. The guy once had his own Argentinean restaurant but was recently forced to sell. Rather than stay out of the business for awhile, he ended up here, acting as if he was one of the best and could take over the diner.
Whereas everyone else knows Marat convinced Roger to hire him because the guy owed Marat money and the Russian feared he'd never see him again.
Mardy forces a smile, then gets ready for his shift.
Guillermo doesn't take long to irk someone. He enters the kitchen with the first order, making a show of stretching to reach the spot they belong. Lleyton tries to suppress a grin, finally having someone on his side regarding the height issue.
Any goodwill doesn't last, as Guillermo says, "Arugula omelet. Don't scorch it this time, Sam."
Sam had been glaring at him for the show regarding the high orders so he was already irritated before that. "There have never been complaints."
"I was quite surprised because I was sure the customer would return it."
"Well, it was fine." Andy has just entered the kitchen, passing Guillermo exiting, when Sam mutters, "Get over yourself."
John chuckles at Andy's startled look, explaining, "The battle begins early today."
* * * * *
Mardy tries to pick his battles when it comes to Guillermo. Sam frankly doesn't care one way or another about pissing him off and, in a better mood, neither does Andy. But Mardy has always been the peacemaker - he imagines that there would be a lot more broken dishes otherwise.
So it stuns Mardy to hear this strange, kind voice from Guillermo. "Why, this is a pleasant surprise!"
Andy is already looking at Mardy, who doesn't have a clear view of the front door. Mardy mouths, "What's going on?"
He expects Andy to tease but he's quite serious. "He grew up with the Neanderthal."
"Oh." At first he doesn't see the issue. That is, until Guillermo leads both Nalbandian and Juan Martin to a table. He can't help but notice the stiff posture of Juan Martin, as if he would rather be anywhere else.
Mardy can't help but wonder what's going on. They are in his section but he doubts there will be any clues. What he can see is that Guillermo is still talking to them by the time Mardy approaches their table and Juan Martin looks even more uncomfortable.
"Ready to order?"
Juan Martin's mood warms up at the sound of Mardy's voice, but it's quickly dashed by something Nalbandian says. Juan Martin tries to be polite as he says, "Would you stop fixing me up with him? No offense, Guillermo, but I'm not interested."
Mardy does catch the Spanish word for waiter in whatever Nalbandian says but clearly it wasn't so nice because the next thing out of Juan Martin's mouth is a huffy "Don't you ever say that to me again! I'm sitting at the counter." He jolts up and storms over to an empty seat.
Andy is covering the counter patrons so Mardy is a bit disappointed but he knows that the young man is angry at whatever the older Argentines told him.
Mardy sees The Four F's at the next table. They are mesmerized by the display in front of them. Fernando and Feliciano give appreciative glances Mardy's way, as if checking him out, while Ferrero says, "I didn't think you had it in you!"
Now he is really irritated, sure he's been insulted without having done anything. Mardy doesn't realize he's angry until he blasts through the door to the kitchen and John flinches at the rush of air that follows.
Andy walks in slowly after him, barely avoiding getting hit in the face by the swinging door. "Hey, what happened? I was chatting with a customer at the counter and then I see your guy storm toward my station and sit down. Was it Guillermo? It had to be Guillermo, that little prick."
Unfortunately for them, Guillermo decides to enter the kitchen and hears Andy. "Right, it has to be about me because your Fishie can do no wrong."
Andy cautiously watches Mardy, who is clearly steamed. Mardy says, "I didn't do anything! You were talking to those guys and I was doing my job by coming over to ask for their orders. If you wanted to flirt with Juan Martin, I would have left you alone but he clearly wasn't interested."
"You'd rather him think he has a chance with you, even though everyone knows you're nothing but a cocktease. Even Nalby does but your boy doesn't want to hear that."
Mardy's eyes narrow into slits, ready to attack as he snipes, "I'm sorry he turned your sorry ass down."
Everyone else is stunned to hear such contempt from their mild-mannered coworker. Sure, the words have been heard - when joking around - but this is clearly not a joke. Sam has his hand with the spatula near the counter, ready to break up a fight if needed.
Andy tries to be jovial as he says, "You two return to your corners. No fights during the morning shift."
Guillermo says, "Of course you take..."
Sam interjects, "Would you rather deal with Mardy's bodyguards?" He nudges John, who had been tuning this out, but quickly gets him to stand tall. Andy tries not to laugh because, while John may be a foot taller than Guillermo, no way would he ever use that size to his advantage the way Sam is implying.
The ploy works, the Argentine slamming out the door and returning to his post. Andy turns to Mardy, saying, "You need to cool off. I'll take the Neanderthal table and please don't speak to him when you return to The Four F's table."
Mardy nods, sitting in the chair by the open door. Andy heads out of the kitchen, immediately seeing Juan Martin at the counter. He had forgotten that little factor.
"Good morning. Do you know what you want?"
Juan Martin shakes his head, staring at the menu but not really looking.
"Did you hear that?" pointing to the kitchen.
"Tell Mardy it was stupid to get him involved. I didn't mean to cause trouble."
"Exactly what was said regarding him? The table of Spanish guys thought it was entertaining but I have a feeling it was insulting and..."
Juan Martin holds his hand up to get Andy to stop talking. It takes him a minute to reply because he wants to be clear. "After I turned Guillermo down, David said that I should get my head out of the clouds and forget about the waiter who will use me and break my heart. Then Guillermo agreed, saying he's nothing but a..." Andy can tell the guy doesn't really want to repeat the rest but he needs to say it. "nothing but a whore who gets off on getting guys to give him good tips."
Andy had thought what Mardy deducted was bad; this was even crueler than he imagined. "I'll be nice to him today because it's my job. Next time you talk to David," making sure not to call him by the nickname, "let him know that I will be ready to punch him out if he should ever disparage my friend again. Got it?"
* * * * *
Marat arrives at work, immediately greeted by Andy. "I'm so glad you arrived early today."
The Russian turns to Guillermo, who is trying to hide a scowl. "You had trouble getting along without me? How sweet."
"Not what I meant. I am tired of playing mediator."
"You as mediator? I thought you're the one usually having problems with him."
Guillermo opens his mouth about to defend himself but the glare from Andy shuts him up. He retreats to the kitchen to get ready to leave.
Marat glances at Andy. "Are you certain you're not the one fighting him?"
"Drop his debt, Marat, so he can get fired."
"On what grounds? I know you don't like him but that's not enough reason..."
"He called Mardy a whore while he was serving a customer."
"I'll let Roger know so he won't be back."
Chapter 3 - The Power of the Specials