tennis slash - The Falcon (7)
Title: The Falcon (7)
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Players: eventual Novak Djokovic/Andy Murray, David Ferrer/Juan Carlos Ferrero, Marat Safin, Viktor Troicki
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This did not happen.
Summary: AU. Novak goes to Spain to look for inspiration to create the Next Great Superhero. This chapter: the villain comes into focus, in both the current novel and Novak’s previous novel.
Novak has notes scattered about on the table as he waits for David at lunch. One particular scrap of paper won’t leave him alone:
Every villain has to have a secret connection to one of the good guys.
Ever since that nagging feeling about the Philippe drawing, Novak has wanted to utilize this particular nugget in the story. While Novak doesn’t know if Andy’s reaction that day had any meaning whatsoever, it works better here if there was a hidden feeling beyond recognition. As if his heart had been breaking all over again.
Pablo doesn’t like the way Charlie reacts when Philippe is involved. Pablo is generally a peaceful person but the fact that his sworn enemy is also the one who has made Charlie so closed off makes Pablo want to physically harm him. Make Philippe realize that he shouldn’t be so careless when it comes to someone as amazing as Charlie. Pablo has lived without Charlie around but he doesn’t want to go back to a life like that.
David slams the drawing in front of Novak. Novak looks up at him with confusion, thrown by the force.
"There’s your Charlie. Agree?"
Novak looks down at the table. "Seriously?"
"Yes."
Novak pulls the other drawings out of his notebook and lays everything side by side. "It’s awesome! This is what I was envisioning. How did you…"
"Andy knows Charlie is based on him so I did kind of a caricature while I was in his room." Novak does a double take at that, every part of that sentence throwing him off. "The colors were too bright in the other versions but making the blue in the suit like the color in his country’s flag instead of turquoise made everything else click."
"Oh." Novak needs to take in all this information. He never considered David sneaking around for the sake of the drawing. Still, David isn’t wrong. "How did he react to that news?"
"Andy was amused. Said that’s probably the best he’s ever looked on paper."
Novak smiles easily at that information. "That’s good. Especially now that I’ll be alone with him." At David’s confused look, Novak explains, "Andy invited me to the tournament in Barcelona as his hitting partner. He called this morning to say he got a wild card into the main draw. He wants me around to calm his nerves since he’ll otherwise be alone."
"How are you ‘calming his nerves’?" David laughs at the shocked reaction from Novak at that question. "You’re either lying to me or yourself if you haven’t thought about this from the beginning."
"I…I’m not interested in Andy in that way."
"You two will be sharing a bed because he’s going to have some small closet for a room at this tournament. I know enough about how tennis events work. Hookups…"
"This is a professional arrangement."
"Boys bonding in an unfamiliar city…"
Novak gives an evil grin as he cuts David off, "Thank you, Ferrero."
David narrows his stare but his answer is a rather lighthearted "Fuck off."
"You’ll have to face him eventually."
David bites his lip, then says softly, "I know. Have to go down to the academy next week to talk to his father about… something. Juan Carlos will likely crash the meeting but…" He shakes his head as he says more to convince himself, "It doesn’t matter as much as he thinks."
* * * * *
"Do you think I’m an idiot?" Juan Carlos asks by way of announcing himself in the lounge. Marat is alone and sitting on the couch, absorbed in a tennis match on television. It’s from Monte Carlo, the first of the clay Masters events and that is the start of exciting times at the academy.
Marat gives a quick glance, having no clue how to take that question. "I don’t know if you mean professionally or personally. I don’t want the wrong answer to cost me a job."
Juan Carlos sees Roger Federer appear on the screen and rolls his eyes, then focusing on the Russian. He says calmly, "I have nothing to do with your job or else you would have been fired years ago. I mean the question personally and this isn’t about you specifically. David won’t speak to me. I never thought he’d stay this angry."
"Juan Carlos. Stop playing games. That’s what I enjoy and it worked when it came to Tommy but it’s not you." Marat’s attention goes back to the television and mouths a "Wow."
"My father has a meeting with him scheduled in a few days. I need to figure a way for him to listen by then."
Marat moves to the edge of his seat as the match captures his attention though he’s also considering Juan Carlos’ problem. "How about this? I’ll talk to David first. We know he can’t stand me so maybe I can set him off so he won’t be so bottled up when he sees you…" Suddenly, he yelps, "Are you kidding me! How did he do that?"
Juan Carlos asks, rather bored, "What’d Roger do this time?"
"Well, no. The French kid is kind of schooling Federer in the second set. Roger has been invincible this year. I saw this kid here with Rafael Nadal. That day he was kind enough to do all that promotional stuff for the academy? Had no clue who this kid was but should have figured that a French tennis player hanging around Rafa would have to be pretty good himself."
This has Juan Carlos look at the television just in time to see another backhand winner zip by Federer. Juan Carlos wasn’t at the academy the day Rafael Nadal came by so he never saw any of the people with him. Yet Juan Carlos has this nagging feeling he’s just seen this kid. "He’s Rafa’s age?"
"Yeah. Only ranked one hundred but nice to know that the one-handed backhand lives on with the younger generation."
Juan Carlos sits down on the couch, focus staying on the screen. Not a player Juan Carlos would call physically imposing but the power on the shot is throwing Federer off. Hmm. French. Young. Power. Blond hair. Red polo shirt and white shorts. Juan Carlos can practically hear Novak’s voice in his head throwing out keywords. He mumbles, "David drew him as the villain."
"How’s that?"
Juan Carlos shakes his head, knowing that mentioning any more about Novak’s novel will only make Marat say something irritating. He slouches back and checks his watch. "I have an appointment at four o’clock and figure he’ll be a half hour late."
"You’re going to watch the match with me?" Marat finally turns away from the television and gives Juan Carlos a flirty smile.
"I guess. It’s not every day a new player appears that has a jaded instructor this fascinated. I must see what’s the deal with this kid Richard Gasquet."
* * * * *
Novak has just finished packing for the trip when the phone rings. He goes to the phone, expecting Andy’s name to appear but it’s possibly the worst person to be calling right now. Best to get this over with now, rather than hear the voice message. His voice is harsh when he says, "What do you want?"
"Hello to you too, Nole." Novak kind of hoped his mind was playing tricks on him. Given his conversation with David earlier, he’d have even accepted his parents’ meddling over this.
"Are you going to pretend we’re still friends?"
"I’m not calling for a fight."
"But you are since I clearly want nothing to do with you."
"That was Jelena’s decision…"
"Don’t do this to me. Say what you want and hang up."
"I finally read the book. I told you before I couldn’t… I’m sorry."
Novak moves to the armchair and covers his eyes with his arm. "I don’t care if you’re sorry for falling for Jelena."
"No, I mean I’m sorry that you fell for me. I assumed like everyone else it was about her, which is why I never read it. But it’s not about Jelena, even though it’s got her name on it. She got mad because you distorted the facts. The thing is, you did distort it but that’s because those facts were about me. You and I were the ones who travelled to Germany with just a backpack and slept in a tent under the stars… which Jelena admitted was a beautiful chapter that she wished was true. I’m sorry that I was your first love and I didn’t feel the same way. The first kiss scene in the book was a lot sweeter than the reality of me storming out of the house. That was probably best to rewrite anyway."
"Viktor…"
"I didn’t think it was fair of me to tell Jelena due to your history with her. It’s just that I want to ask her to marry me. I have a ring picked out but I don’t want there to be secrets… this is really your secret, not mine, but whether she sees that is another story."
Novak shuts his eyes, feeling tears already wanting to fall. He says carefully, "I have to finish packing. I need time."
Buzz. Buzz. "That’s okay. I’m not asking her until she and I go to the French Riviera this summer." Buzz. Buzz. "That’s not mine. I think you have another call. I’ll let you finish. Enjoy your trip."
Viktor hangs up and Novak disconnects. Next thing Novak knows, Andy’s surprisingly energetic voice comes on. "Hey, Nole. My ride just arrived so I’ll be at the station in about twenty minutes. You’ll probably regret coming along, given the amount of work still to do." When Novak doesn’t answer, Andy sounds a bit panicked when he says, "Novak, are you there?"
"Not really but yeah. Twenty minutes."