[FIC] (Baseball) You Have Your Roles and I Have Mine
Title: You Have Your Roles and I Have Mine
Rating: R, for language and infidelity
Pairing/Characters: Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter (NYY)
Summary: An off day isn’t a travel day when you don’t go anywhere. Rather, it's a second chance, maybe.
Word Count: ~2,900
Disclaimer: Nothing here is true because it's all in my head.
Notes: A big thanks to sheep_mambo for looking over this. All other mistakes are mine. This is what I do waiting for my team to play when it's a travel day/day off. And who thought I'd write them again, not me at least.
Notes 2: This is for prompt 065. Passing, part of fanfic100 and the table is here.
It has been a long time since Derek wakes up feeling as awful as this. His body feels sore and his muscles ache; he’s tired and irritated. When he tries to move, it hurts like he’s been ran over by an incoming train. When he looks over to the other side of the bed, his mind flashes back to last night and, yeah, no wonder he feels like shit.
He slides off the bed gingerly and takes his time making his way to the bathroom. One look at the mirror confirms that not only does he feel like shit, he looks like shit too. His eyes are bloodshot red. There are mysterious bruises all over his body and bite marks and scratches to boot. He thinks grimly about the condition of his bedmate.
Derek turns on the tap and splashes cold water on his face. He leans in against the sink and stares closely as his reflection; he definitely has seen better days. He brushes his teeth and rubs his face down as well, trying to make the least amount of noise as possible. He eventually finishes and walks back to his closet, where he throws on the first pair of jeans and t-shirt he can find.
He leaves his penthouse with a pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes from the general public. It’s not so much fear of recognition - he’s used this already. But he looks too beat up and definitely off to be in any mood for conversation with his fans. He orders a cup of coffee from the nearest Starbucks and finds a seat in the corner of the store. He knows from experience that he can get away from the crowds from here.
It’s stupid, really. He never meant it go this far. There had been times where he thinks that they are finally going to cross the line that must never be crossed but one of them always pulls back last minute and they remain friends, best friends, rivals, or whatever they are supposed to be at that moment.
But shit, last night something happened that fucked everything up and now he’s going to pay dearly. It doesn’t help the fact that he left his own place without a word. But Derek is sure he would be forgiven eventually.
*
Derek is not relieved to be back at the ballpark. This is supposed to be his escape, his sanctuary from people and the world. Well, it was, under yesterday and the night before.
When Derek got home, he was gone already. The bed still unmade but any evidence of anything that happened was gone.
It is better this way, considering Derek can’t even meet his eyes in the clubhouse.
He gives his usual 100% on the field. Every at-bat, he runs hard to first. Every ball that comes his way, whether by way of groundouts or line drives or even double-plays coming from his right, he fields those with perfect precision.
They lose the first game of the series. It’s no big deal; they’ll come back tomorrow and try again. And he’s out of there the moment the reporters leave him alone. He can shower once he’s back in his house.
Derek hasn’t spoken one word to him the entire day. There’s a reason why they never crossed the line. They had their own reasons - the labels, the roles, bad timing, stupid fights, and the list goes on and on. Almost two decades of history, there is bound to be a reason worthy enough to pretend there is nothing going on between them.
(Derek remembers him eagerly listening to Derek’s draft stories and the life of a pro-ball player. Derek remembers wanting to, so much, but then Derek promised his momma that Derek would always watch out for him. Derek took that promise to heart and yeah of course he wasn’t going to incur the wrath of someone who raised three kids by herself.
They were friends, getting to be better friends every time they talked over the phone or when he came flew and stayed in Derek’s parents’ house. Everyday, they were getting better at maneuvering around each other. Derek could tell, even back then, that they were going to be the best of friends.)
They win the second game. It ends up being a slugfest. Even the Jays bullpen can’t stop the bleeding. But it’s one game. Tomorrow they won’t be as lucky. But today he is, going 3-for-4, and beating out the play for a hard-earned single. And neither of them dares to make eye contact with each other. Derek can see Jorge looking at him with worry, so Derek shrugs and send him an easy grin. He takes off again when his part in the media is done, waits for all of them to be gone before taking off his jersey and pants, and he’s never been thankful for those athletic undershirts that he wears because the bruises/bite marks/scratches are still there, reminding him of what happened.
(Derek remembers all the laughs they shared when he was sitting in the tiny apartment in Seattle and watching SportsCenter in the tiny 21” TV screen. He was barely 21, but just enough to get a six-pack from the store. The cashier barely looked at his ID before ringing up the beer. So each of them ended up polishing off the cans by the time the night was over. Derek remembers him leaning on his shoulder and yeah fuck, they were close and he could have easily done something. But Derek was in New York and he was in Seattle and Derek didn’t want to start something that he could not finish. Didn’t want the taste of him in his mouth and not see him for weeks before having his mouth on his again.
So Derek ushered him into his room while he slept on the floor. At least he got Derek an air mattress, ‘cause it’d be lame if Derek woke up with aches from his back and ruined his game.
So they were best friends by then. Neither of them wanted to ruin that.)
Last game of the series and fuck him if they don’t win this game. It’s Top 14th, bases loaded with one out. He watches Park toss a fastball, but doesn’t get it far enough off the plate and fuck, they all watch it sail out the park. “Fuck,” he mutters under his breath and grits his teeth. Some guy, gets the last three outs of the ball game in quick session and they lose the game and the series.
After the game, the clubhouse is silent except for the noise from the guys shuffling around. Even the media guys are hush-hush, getting their interviews in a hurry and getting out before the silence swallows them alive.
Robbie pulls him aside and asks with worry. “Are you okay?”
Derek laughs. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Did you know that you’ve probably only said less than twenty words in the past three days? Even though none of us wanted to say anything to you, it’s scaring us. If you need anything, man, you know where to find me.”
The second baseman squeezes Derek shoulder and spares him another glance before taking off. Suddenly Derek feels all eyes in the room are on him, except for that one pair of eyes that still haunts him.
(So Derek ended up breaking the news that he’s dating Mariah and uh, well, he ended up not talking to Derek for an entire day before putting the best smile he could afford and the two of them were okay again by night time.
Derek’s faithful. Derek had his chance with him and he was too chicken shit to do anything for all the reasons that he tells himself every time he saw him. So Derek hugged him tighter when it was time for him to leave for Miami again. Because that was the only thing Derek could do.
Derek tried to be faithful. And he had his faith. Neither of them would do anything to ruin that.)
It’s been a week and suddenly Derek realizes it’s like the period two or three years ago when neither of them really spoke to each other and only done so when it was necessary. It scared the shit of the clubhouse and they all breathed a sigh of relief when the two reconciled. Not to mention it leaked to the media that they apparently weren’t friends anymore. So it made everything that much worst.
But really it’s not like it’s entirely his fault. Just because Derek hasn’t approached him but neither has he. So really, it’s either no one’s fault or it’s both of their faults.
(He introduced his girlfriend to Derek and before Derek knew it, she hugged him instead of shaking his hand. He looked happy, really happy, so yeah, Derek was happy too because if Derek couldn’t be the one to make him happy, then someone must take the job.
So now Derek was taken, or slightly-taken depending who asked and he was really in love with his girlfriend. And if a feeling of regret crept up on Derek, he forced it back into the abyss.)
At the end of the week, the bruises finally are fading and the scratches on his back are nothing but invisible lines on skin. Neither of them is talking to each other still. It’s like they’re talking to everyone but to each other. When Derek looks up, he can see him talking to Mark at his stall and they’re suddenly laughing. Jorge looks at Derek again; the frowning deepens on Jorge’s face, but Derek again shrugs and smiles. This really doesn’t bother him all that much.
(When he called to announce his engagement, Derek didn’t doubt for a second that he was the fourth person after his mother and his siblings that got the call. Derek wondered if it was the summer heat in Texas that made people do stupid things. But it really could have just been the lights in Manhattan that made him not do stupid things. So really, no one was keeping scores. So Derek opened up his best bottle of scotch and drank it by himself in his apartment. To celebrate, right?
Derek was still semi-taken if anyone asked. And he was getting married. Derek knew he was going to be a bachelor for the rest of his life.)
It is in Toronto when something between them finally happens. Of all places, and of all the teams they play against, it is Toronto. It makes sense, Derek guesses, because it happened and right afterwards they played against the Blue Jays. So it makes sense that something will happen again when they play in Toronto. And fuck, they’re in Canada, so really it doesn’t count.
(It doesn’t count that Derek kissed him in Toronto when he was still married to her. It doesn’t count if Derek stayed the night in his room in Toronto. It doesn’t count if they almost crossed the line in Derek’s room in Toronto. They’re in Canada, so really, it doesn’t count.)
Derek opens the door to find Mark on the other side of the door.
“Hey, can you come to my room for a second? There’s this weird bug in my room and I can’t get rid of it.”
(Derek remembers being at his wedding and watching him at the altar waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle. Derek’s date is beside him, smiling and probably ready to cry. She reached out to hold his hand, and Derek was relieved to have someone solid next to him, even if it was the wrong person.
So he was a husband and Derek was still taken. When Derek closed his eyes and went to sleep that night, Derek could see his intense green eyes staring at Derek from the altar. Derek knew what he wanted to convey but really, it was all too late.)
Derek should have known it was a trap. But he’s the captain so whatever, he does his best to help a teammate in need. Derek’s suspicion is confirmed when he finds himself face to face with him and “uh, hi,” he says, sitting on the bed. Derek wonders if this is really Tex’s room at all. If Derek leaves now, they can still pretend something/anything/yeah that never happened, but it did, or maybe it didn’t because he doesn’t the bruises to show it anymore, but Derek can still taste his tongue in his mouth and really, there’s nothing stopping either of them now.
(Derek remembers the moment he placed Natasha in Derek’s arms and holy shit, there’s a baby in Derek’s arms. Derek, holding Natasha, looked at him and his wife and they’re amazingly perfect together and that feeling of regret never came back because at that moment, he knew everything was perfect for the two.
So yeah, he’s the husband and the dad and the rival all rolled into one. Derek couldn’t even see friends (or was it best friends, he can’t keep track anymore) in him anymore. But the next day they were best friends again because the two of them were on his porch sitting on lawn chairs with drinking beer out of the bottle. Suddenly Derek couldn’t see the husband and the dad in him. It was like they were kids again in Seattle and in that tiny apartment with one barely old and the other not old enough drinking beer. But when Natasha cried inside the house, that moment was gone and broken and shattered. And if anyone asked, Derek was still semi-taken.)
“So,” Derek says, breaking the silence after standing there for at least five minutes and looking anywhere other than the person sitting on the bed. He remembers vividly of the night they crossed the line in Derek’s penthouse. It was a lie to say that he didn’t remember anything at all, even if there was no proof on his body to say so.
Derek walks over to the bed and bends down to kiss the man on the mouth. “Alex,” Derek finally says, in between gasps and kisses and Alex pulls him down with him. It is the first time he’s said or even thought about Alex’s name in weeks since that time. Instead he was the acquaintance, friend, best friend, frienemy, rival, not-good-enough-for-best-man, husband, father, almost-god-father, teammate, stranger, and whatever other labels and roles Derek could think of for Alex.
(Then one day out of the blue, or by then everyone was waiting for it, he and his wife announced that they were getting a divorce. Derek swore that his wife hated him because apparently it was Derek’s fault that he had turned into someone she didn’t recognize anymore. And Derek didn’t say anything after she slapped him across his face because in a way, it was true. Or maybe she never knew him well enough at all in the times they had been together. The regret was creeping back up but this time Derek was slightly happy and sad for the failing marriage because Derek had thought he and her were going to last forever with their amazing kids and be the family that Derek would never have.
But then happy because now he was only father and teammate and they were getting better at the friends thing again. And they were working towards the same goal and no longer fighting for the same thing on different teams.)
Derek forgets that he’s actually really taken, and not even semi-taken or ‘I’ll pretend that I’m taken for the gossip magazines’, and this is Toronto and Canada and whatever happens here will stay here, he tells himself that as he kicks his shoes off and climbs on top of Alex, kissing him again and again because he’s been waiting for this for almost two decades and he’s finally going to get his reward for being the most patient man in the world.
(Derek breaks up with her when he gets back to New York. He gets a second chance at this and this time this second chance is even better than the first chance because Alex isn’t all the way across the country and he’s less scared, or maybe even more scared of Alex’s mom but at least he’s no longer the first person to break Alex’s heart like that so he won’t be the first name on her shit list. And this time he’s going to make it right, making sure that this will last, taking whatever amount of money they offer and probably much less than he deserves so he can stay in New York forever and ever because Manhattan’s lights never let him do stupid things but this time it’s not that stupid, or at least it isn’t in his mind.
So now really, they are just friends, best friends, teammates and well, you know how the last one will go, as Alex rests his head on Derek’s shoulder, the two of them watching SportsCenter on a 52” HD flat screen TV in Alex’s apartment and this time Derek doesn’t have to sleep on an air mattress placed next to Alex’s bed.)
Rating: R, for language and infidelity
Pairing/Characters: Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter (NYY)
Summary: An off day isn’t a travel day when you don’t go anywhere. Rather, it's a second chance, maybe.
Word Count: ~2,900
Disclaimer: Nothing here is true because it's all in my head.
Notes: A big thanks to sheep_mambo for looking over this. All other mistakes are mine. This is what I do waiting for my team to play when it's a travel day/day off. And who thought I'd write them again, not me at least.
Notes 2: This is for prompt 065. Passing, part of fanfic100 and the table is here.
It has been a long time since Derek wakes up feeling as awful as this. His body feels sore and his muscles ache; he’s tired and irritated. When he tries to move, it hurts like he’s been ran over by an incoming train. When he looks over to the other side of the bed, his mind flashes back to last night and, yeah, no wonder he feels like shit.
He slides off the bed gingerly and takes his time making his way to the bathroom. One look at the mirror confirms that not only does he feel like shit, he looks like shit too. His eyes are bloodshot red. There are mysterious bruises all over his body and bite marks and scratches to boot. He thinks grimly about the condition of his bedmate.
Derek turns on the tap and splashes cold water on his face. He leans in against the sink and stares closely as his reflection; he definitely has seen better days. He brushes his teeth and rubs his face down as well, trying to make the least amount of noise as possible. He eventually finishes and walks back to his closet, where he throws on the first pair of jeans and t-shirt he can find.
He leaves his penthouse with a pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes from the general public. It’s not so much fear of recognition - he’s used this already. But he looks too beat up and definitely off to be in any mood for conversation with his fans. He orders a cup of coffee from the nearest Starbucks and finds a seat in the corner of the store. He knows from experience that he can get away from the crowds from here.
It’s stupid, really. He never meant it go this far. There had been times where he thinks that they are finally going to cross the line that must never be crossed but one of them always pulls back last minute and they remain friends, best friends, rivals, or whatever they are supposed to be at that moment.
But shit, last night something happened that fucked everything up and now he’s going to pay dearly. It doesn’t help the fact that he left his own place without a word. But Derek is sure he would be forgiven eventually.
*
Derek is not relieved to be back at the ballpark. This is supposed to be his escape, his sanctuary from people and the world. Well, it was, under yesterday and the night before.
When Derek got home, he was gone already. The bed still unmade but any evidence of anything that happened was gone.
It is better this way, considering Derek can’t even meet his eyes in the clubhouse.
He gives his usual 100% on the field. Every at-bat, he runs hard to first. Every ball that comes his way, whether by way of groundouts or line drives or even double-plays coming from his right, he fields those with perfect precision.
They lose the first game of the series. It’s no big deal; they’ll come back tomorrow and try again. And he’s out of there the moment the reporters leave him alone. He can shower once he’s back in his house.
Derek hasn’t spoken one word to him the entire day. There’s a reason why they never crossed the line. They had their own reasons - the labels, the roles, bad timing, stupid fights, and the list goes on and on. Almost two decades of history, there is bound to be a reason worthy enough to pretend there is nothing going on between them.
(Derek remembers him eagerly listening to Derek’s draft stories and the life of a pro-ball player. Derek remembers wanting to, so much, but then Derek promised his momma that Derek would always watch out for him. Derek took that promise to heart and yeah of course he wasn’t going to incur the wrath of someone who raised three kids by herself.
They were friends, getting to be better friends every time they talked over the phone or when he came flew and stayed in Derek’s parents’ house. Everyday, they were getting better at maneuvering around each other. Derek could tell, even back then, that they were going to be the best of friends.)
They win the second game. It ends up being a slugfest. Even the Jays bullpen can’t stop the bleeding. But it’s one game. Tomorrow they won’t be as lucky. But today he is, going 3-for-4, and beating out the play for a hard-earned single. And neither of them dares to make eye contact with each other. Derek can see Jorge looking at him with worry, so Derek shrugs and send him an easy grin. He takes off again when his part in the media is done, waits for all of them to be gone before taking off his jersey and pants, and he’s never been thankful for those athletic undershirts that he wears because the bruises/bite marks/scratches are still there, reminding him of what happened.
(Derek remembers all the laughs they shared when he was sitting in the tiny apartment in Seattle and watching SportsCenter in the tiny 21” TV screen. He was barely 21, but just enough to get a six-pack from the store. The cashier barely looked at his ID before ringing up the beer. So each of them ended up polishing off the cans by the time the night was over. Derek remembers him leaning on his shoulder and yeah fuck, they were close and he could have easily done something. But Derek was in New York and he was in Seattle and Derek didn’t want to start something that he could not finish. Didn’t want the taste of him in his mouth and not see him for weeks before having his mouth on his again.
So Derek ushered him into his room while he slept on the floor. At least he got Derek an air mattress, ‘cause it’d be lame if Derek woke up with aches from his back and ruined his game.
So they were best friends by then. Neither of them wanted to ruin that.)
Last game of the series and fuck him if they don’t win this game. It’s Top 14th, bases loaded with one out. He watches Park toss a fastball, but doesn’t get it far enough off the plate and fuck, they all watch it sail out the park. “Fuck,” he mutters under his breath and grits his teeth. Some guy, gets the last three outs of the ball game in quick session and they lose the game and the series.
After the game, the clubhouse is silent except for the noise from the guys shuffling around. Even the media guys are hush-hush, getting their interviews in a hurry and getting out before the silence swallows them alive.
Robbie pulls him aside and asks with worry. “Are you okay?”
Derek laughs. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Did you know that you’ve probably only said less than twenty words in the past three days? Even though none of us wanted to say anything to you, it’s scaring us. If you need anything, man, you know where to find me.”
The second baseman squeezes Derek shoulder and spares him another glance before taking off. Suddenly Derek feels all eyes in the room are on him, except for that one pair of eyes that still haunts him.
(So Derek ended up breaking the news that he’s dating Mariah and uh, well, he ended up not talking to Derek for an entire day before putting the best smile he could afford and the two of them were okay again by night time.
Derek’s faithful. Derek had his chance with him and he was too chicken shit to do anything for all the reasons that he tells himself every time he saw him. So Derek hugged him tighter when it was time for him to leave for Miami again. Because that was the only thing Derek could do.
Derek tried to be faithful. And he had his faith. Neither of them would do anything to ruin that.)
It’s been a week and suddenly Derek realizes it’s like the period two or three years ago when neither of them really spoke to each other and only done so when it was necessary. It scared the shit of the clubhouse and they all breathed a sigh of relief when the two reconciled. Not to mention it leaked to the media that they apparently weren’t friends anymore. So it made everything that much worst.
But really it’s not like it’s entirely his fault. Just because Derek hasn’t approached him but neither has he. So really, it’s either no one’s fault or it’s both of their faults.
(He introduced his girlfriend to Derek and before Derek knew it, she hugged him instead of shaking his hand. He looked happy, really happy, so yeah, Derek was happy too because if Derek couldn’t be the one to make him happy, then someone must take the job.
So now Derek was taken, or slightly-taken depending who asked and he was really in love with his girlfriend. And if a feeling of regret crept up on Derek, he forced it back into the abyss.)
At the end of the week, the bruises finally are fading and the scratches on his back are nothing but invisible lines on skin. Neither of them is talking to each other still. It’s like they’re talking to everyone but to each other. When Derek looks up, he can see him talking to Mark at his stall and they’re suddenly laughing. Jorge looks at Derek again; the frowning deepens on Jorge’s face, but Derek again shrugs and smiles. This really doesn’t bother him all that much.
(When he called to announce his engagement, Derek didn’t doubt for a second that he was the fourth person after his mother and his siblings that got the call. Derek wondered if it was the summer heat in Texas that made people do stupid things. But it really could have just been the lights in Manhattan that made him not do stupid things. So really, no one was keeping scores. So Derek opened up his best bottle of scotch and drank it by himself in his apartment. To celebrate, right?
Derek was still semi-taken if anyone asked. And he was getting married. Derek knew he was going to be a bachelor for the rest of his life.)
It is in Toronto when something between them finally happens. Of all places, and of all the teams they play against, it is Toronto. It makes sense, Derek guesses, because it happened and right afterwards they played against the Blue Jays. So it makes sense that something will happen again when they play in Toronto. And fuck, they’re in Canada, so really it doesn’t count.
(It doesn’t count that Derek kissed him in Toronto when he was still married to her. It doesn’t count if Derek stayed the night in his room in Toronto. It doesn’t count if they almost crossed the line in Derek’s room in Toronto. They’re in Canada, so really, it doesn’t count.)
Derek opens the door to find Mark on the other side of the door.
“Hey, can you come to my room for a second? There’s this weird bug in my room and I can’t get rid of it.”
(Derek remembers being at his wedding and watching him at the altar waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle. Derek’s date is beside him, smiling and probably ready to cry. She reached out to hold his hand, and Derek was relieved to have someone solid next to him, even if it was the wrong person.
So he was a husband and Derek was still taken. When Derek closed his eyes and went to sleep that night, Derek could see his intense green eyes staring at Derek from the altar. Derek knew what he wanted to convey but really, it was all too late.)
Derek should have known it was a trap. But he’s the captain so whatever, he does his best to help a teammate in need. Derek’s suspicion is confirmed when he finds himself face to face with him and “uh, hi,” he says, sitting on the bed. Derek wonders if this is really Tex’s room at all. If Derek leaves now, they can still pretend something/anything/yeah that never happened, but it did, or maybe it didn’t because he doesn’t the bruises to show it anymore, but Derek can still taste his tongue in his mouth and really, there’s nothing stopping either of them now.
(Derek remembers the moment he placed Natasha in Derek’s arms and holy shit, there’s a baby in Derek’s arms. Derek, holding Natasha, looked at him and his wife and they’re amazingly perfect together and that feeling of regret never came back because at that moment, he knew everything was perfect for the two.
So yeah, he’s the husband and the dad and the rival all rolled into one. Derek couldn’t even see friends (or was it best friends, he can’t keep track anymore) in him anymore. But the next day they were best friends again because the two of them were on his porch sitting on lawn chairs with drinking beer out of the bottle. Suddenly Derek couldn’t see the husband and the dad in him. It was like they were kids again in Seattle and in that tiny apartment with one barely old and the other not old enough drinking beer. But when Natasha cried inside the house, that moment was gone and broken and shattered. And if anyone asked, Derek was still semi-taken.)
“So,” Derek says, breaking the silence after standing there for at least five minutes and looking anywhere other than the person sitting on the bed. He remembers vividly of the night they crossed the line in Derek’s penthouse. It was a lie to say that he didn’t remember anything at all, even if there was no proof on his body to say so.
Derek walks over to the bed and bends down to kiss the man on the mouth. “Alex,” Derek finally says, in between gasps and kisses and Alex pulls him down with him. It is the first time he’s said or even thought about Alex’s name in weeks since that time. Instead he was the acquaintance, friend, best friend, frienemy, rival, not-good-enough-for-best-man, husband, father, almost-god-father, teammate, stranger, and whatever other labels and roles Derek could think of for Alex.
(Then one day out of the blue, or by then everyone was waiting for it, he and his wife announced that they were getting a divorce. Derek swore that his wife hated him because apparently it was Derek’s fault that he had turned into someone she didn’t recognize anymore. And Derek didn’t say anything after she slapped him across his face because in a way, it was true. Or maybe she never knew him well enough at all in the times they had been together. The regret was creeping back up but this time Derek was slightly happy and sad for the failing marriage because Derek had thought he and her were going to last forever with their amazing kids and be the family that Derek would never have.
But then happy because now he was only father and teammate and they were getting better at the friends thing again. And they were working towards the same goal and no longer fighting for the same thing on different teams.)
Derek forgets that he’s actually really taken, and not even semi-taken or ‘I’ll pretend that I’m taken for the gossip magazines’, and this is Toronto and Canada and whatever happens here will stay here, he tells himself that as he kicks his shoes off and climbs on top of Alex, kissing him again and again because he’s been waiting for this for almost two decades and he’s finally going to get his reward for being the most patient man in the world.
(Derek breaks up with her when he gets back to New York. He gets a second chance at this and this time this second chance is even better than the first chance because Alex isn’t all the way across the country and he’s less scared, or maybe even more scared of Alex’s mom but at least he’s no longer the first person to break Alex’s heart like that so he won’t be the first name on her shit list. And this time he’s going to make it right, making sure that this will last, taking whatever amount of money they offer and probably much less than he deserves so he can stay in New York forever and ever because Manhattan’s lights never let him do stupid things but this time it’s not that stupid, or at least it isn’t in his mind.
So now really, they are just friends, best friends, teammates and well, you know how the last one will go, as Alex rests his head on Derek’s shoulder, the two of them watching SportsCenter on a 52” HD flat screen TV in Alex’s apartment and this time Derek doesn’t have to sleep on an air mattress placed next to Alex’s bed.)