Progession - NYY Fic
Title: Progession
Fandom: New York Yankees
Pairing: Kyle Farnsworth/Scott Proctor
Rating: PG-13
Theme Set: Gamma
Disclaimer: None of this ever happened, nor do I insist that the events hold truth in writing them.
Notes: Written for the 1sentence challenge community. It is my second submission to the community, and though it's unbeta'd, I know you all love me and will understand. Obviously, my job's cutting away at my time like it's not even funny, so I'm sitting here, in the dark of my hotel room, and praying that this little piece does not go away hated in the minds of those who read it.
On a side note, I had a very, very odd sorta-Yankees-fandom-plot-bunny, which is unsurprising (seeing how I've definitely got a kink for it) *g* and I'm seeking advice on whether I should write it or not. [hint: there's guns and uniforms and Proctor and Farnsworth and yes, it's definitely a kink.] Drop me a line, and I'll explain it all out nice and pretty when I get the chance.
First 1sentence entry: Heaven Beside You, Black Hawk Down.
#01 - Ring
Scott remembers the feel of slippery grass beneath the rubber soles of well-worn sneakers, the soft warmth of Suzie Cuttingham’s hand in his, and the limitless joy that the school playground had brought him as a child as they all fell down; he’ll eventually have to pretend that the heat against his skin and the pain in his head is not from the recollections of his childhood, but something much, much worse.
#02 - Hero
Only when the sun shines just right or the night comes alive with the sounds of crickets and rushing brooks, Scott begins to feel that maybe--and this was before the severe repression took its toll--his father was once a pretty good guy.
#03 - Memory
And it’s memories like that of his younger days and of his father that eventually lead him into the dark where it seemed like the only way out was standing before him; hidden smirk, eyes laughing behind tinted lens, and a ball cap shading a good half of a handsome face.
#04 - Box
Beneath his bed there is an ancient army corps trunk he bought from some thrift store in Arcata on the west coast, and though he has never looked in it, and his friend is fairly certain the rattle they hear every time the black leather box is moved is the poor man’s soul after a bullet went directly through the trunk and into his body, or so Kyle says.
#05 - Run
After the game (Dodger Stadium, fifty-thousand in attendance, thirteen innings, and Vin Scully is getting tired by the eighth) he wants nothing more than to run, so he does (or tries); Kyle follows, and Scott can’t find it within himself to be bothered by the fact that Kyle still doesn’t speak.
#06 - Hurricane
They have both agreed that Rock You Like a Hurricane is by far the worst thing that has ever happened to a pitcher.
#07 - Wings
Before he discovers Valium and late night television, he dreams of burning feathers, steaming cars, and broken wings lying in the middle of backcountry roads to the symphony of gasoline spilling out over concrete as the fire slowly spreads.
#08 - Cold
Kyle says he has the flu, but Scott is pretty sure it’s more commonly known as withdrawal.
#09 - Red
When the young scowling girl decked out in scarlet and white shoves a baseball and an uncapped Sharpie into his hands, he tries not to wince as he runs his finger over Boston’s emblem before signing the kid’s ball and all the while knowing the piece of shit was headed for the trash anyway.
#10 - Drink
It’s been seven months since the accident, and it’s been six months since Scott’s been sober or even well enough to walk around without his cane, but it doesn’t stop Kyle from dragging him into an AA meeting uptown, cane or no fucking cane.
#11 - Midnight
Kyle still calls every night, sometimes before the eleven o’clock news and occasionally during Leno’s monologue, and Scott wishes the guy could trust him because he’s really thrown all those sweet little bottles out weeks ago.
#12 - Temptation
With every passing day, the desire to stumble into the car and drive away grows, and Scott’s starting to wonder why the hell he even stays.
#13 - View
They watch the sun set from the top of the world, and just as the last golden rays of the day slip behind a neon glow of the cityscape, time--and just for a moment--seems to stop.
#14 - Music
The beat of music is far too loud, the reporters are far too rude, and the fans are far too...fanatic, but he’s grinning like an idiot with a swept series on his back.
#15 - Silk
Many drinks (Coke, seltzer water, club soda) and sultry-eyed women looking their way later, Kyle confesses to him that the feel of a woman in his hands is better than a baseball ever felt, and Scott nods, half-listening, but knowing exactly where he’s coming from.
#16 - Cover
Scott studies the crew as they pull the cover out over the field, hypnotized by the way rain bounces off the clear plastic in a beautiful synchrony that sounds like the beat of his heart.
#17 - Promise
The doctors can make no promises whether he will ever be able to play again, can hardly tell him anything at all, and slowly, he is starting not to care.
#18 - Dream
There is a fine line that separates dream from reality, and frankly, Scott cannot remember when the dream he has been living in turns into a nightmare, black shadows and dark corners and fire-breathing nothings waiting for him like the Reaper’s hand.
#19 - Candle
Black tendrils of smoke waft up into the air, and the candlelight throws eerie shadows across the stone walls of the church Kyle has forced him to attend since...since.
#20 - Talent
Moose grins in the dugout, and Posada looks up at him admiringly; Kyle gags sarcastically, and Scott laughs because if there’s one man who deserves to be mooned over at the moment, it’s definitely Mike.
#21 - Silence
He knows firsthand that silence can be deafening, but not so much as the explosion when flame met gasoline in a deadly waltz over the cracked asphalt of Road 17.
#22 - Journey
Jet lag weighs Scott down, but the victory he’ll see at the destination point and the twitch of grin on Kyle’s lips when it happens makes the trip worth it.
#23 - Fire
The snow feels like fire on his body, and maybe if you ask the Duane Reade bottle why Scott Proctor is sitting out on the balcony during a storm, it may possibly be able to answer much more coherently than the man in question.
#24 - Strength
He knows he doesn’t need it to get through the night; it’s only the addiction he has to kick, not the chalky taste on his tongue as he waits for the pill’s magic to spread like wildfire in his body and launch him into a comfortable fog where everything is a little less confusing.
#25 - Mask
One dark Sunday morning, Scott gets out of bed and decides for the first time in months to forget to take whatever the silent doctors have him on, and a small smile works its way onto his face as a black mask of indifference and bitterness slowly begins to peel away, revealing the man he used to be.
This is a turning point.
#26 - Ice
“They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem,” Kyle says as Scott clutches his Pink Floyd albums to his chest protectively, grinning while the ice breaks around what was once considered a friendship.
#27 - Fall
The ball rolls off the mound milliseconds before he falls to the dirt, blood running down his temple and stars exploding from behind his eyes; earth and scarlet dirty his uniform as teammates careen toward the middle of the field, and the stands are as silent as the grave.
#28 - Forgotten
There lays a feeling beneath the surface of broken men, long since forgotten and never once indulged, but that night in the hospital when Scott sits down beside him (eyes wide, hands wringing) makes Kyle want to bring that back to surface.
#29 - Dance
Scott can throw a good game, but the guy cannot dance; Kyle knows this now...as do the millions viewing their sweep in New York on Sunday evening.
#30 - Body
It sends electric shocks through him, Scott’s hand brushing against his on the flight into Los Angeles.
#31 - Sacred
He is going to pretend that Scott is not flicking his silver Zippo open in the back pew of Kyle’s local church.
#32 - Farewells
Nobody asks Scott to say goodbye to years worth of memories on that bleak Sunday morning in that dark cemetery lawn, and Kyle’s not going to be the one to tell him the services have been over for hours and it looks like it’s going to rain.
#33 - World
It’s been a good season, just good enough to get them to the world series, and even though Kyle’s fixed on not getting his hopes up like last time, a part of him is praying, praying, praying for that chance to put another genuine smile on Scott’s face again.
#34 - Formal
He dreams of big band swing that make the dance floor beneath the soles of his shoes vibrate, black tuxedos bringing out the sharp features of shadowy men he hardly knows, women in gauzy red dresses that clung to their bodies like plastic wrap, and the foretelling of a coming storm over the smell of champagne and expensive Cuban cigars.
#35 - Fever
Once again, he knows Scott will never admit to his going through withdrawals, so Kyle will call it the flu, bring him some soup and the morning paper, and everything will feel fine.
#36 - Laugh
They’ve all made mistakes tonight, it seems, but Jeter makes up for it in the bottom of the ninth with a grand slam and a winning smile as he rounds the bases; Kyle buries his head in his arms, laughing, as Alex shoves Jeter onto the bench and whoops a victorious cry that drowns out the thunder of the crowd.
#37 - Lies
There is a bitter taste on his tongue as Scott tells him he really, truly, does not need help up the stairs to his apartment.
#38 - Forever
“I love you forever, you know,” Stone says so blindingly honest that Kyle feels his heart swell, and there is no other place he would rather be than on the floor of his living room, watching Spongebob and filling out Scooby Doo colouring books.
#39 - Overwhelmed
She leaves him with nothing but a sweet kiss that is so much like their first and a sad sentence with dark eyes best in a tired face: “You’re always gone, even when you’re here.”
#40 - Whisper
The wind brushes past him as he makes his way down the beach, unfurling against his skin like her whispers and her embrace.
#41 - Wait
It’s spring, and five or so months since they won the world series, and Scott’s telling him to hang around after practice, there’s something they need to talk about.
#42 - Talk
He’s saying something about ‘being there’ and ‘sticking by me’ and ‘you’re a great guy, you know that,’ and all Kyle can concentrate on is the fact that once again, this conversation never seems to veer off in the direction he’s been hoping for for the past year.
#43 - Search
Two years he’s been going to church regularly, and still, Kyle can’t seem to find what he’s been looking for all along.
#44 - Hope
And then (it’s not how he’s always expected it) Scott’s hands are on his shoulders, and hazel eyes are piercing through him, and all that Kyle’s ever believed in is lost in oblivion as cold concrete seeps through the damp of his uniform and the locker room disappears in the haze.
#45 - Eclipse
Tonight is the night that the moon really turns red, and the irony of it all’s not lost on Kyle.
#46 - Gravity
The Laws of Gravity or Physics or whatever states that flying is not possible for a human without proper machinery or a particularly sane mind never took into fact that a soft mattress and a willing participant could make it happen with a little work.
#47 - Highway
Another three months, and Kyle’s vetoing Scott’s latest music selection, and Scott’s grinning through his false bewilderment as Kyle stands strong on his refusal to listen to The Wall yet again, and the road’s slippery in the last of the melting snow along the I-5 winding along the mountains leading out from Los Angeles, and neither saw that turn.
#48 - Unknown
So badly, Kyle wants to reach out and touch Scott; on his hair, his lips, his heart, but he can’t he can’t he can’t, so he settles against a gravestone and watches as Scott bites down on a knuckle and stares down at the marker with wide, disbelieving eyes.
#49 - Lock
There is a lock on the army corps trunk beneath Scott’s bed, and though it is unlocked and rusted enough to crumble underneath the slightest of pressure, Kyle knows Scott will never open the thing, knows Scott thinks the guy’s soul lives in that fucking box, and for a while, Kyle finds it annoying, but now he kind of understands.
#50 - Breathe
“Kyle, stay with me, man,” Scott pleads, and Kyle looks to him through the smoke and the smell of gasoline, struggles with words that he knows will be his last, and then nothing, nothing.
Fandom: New York Yankees
Pairing: Kyle Farnsworth/Scott Proctor
Rating: PG-13
Theme Set: Gamma
Disclaimer: None of this ever happened, nor do I insist that the events hold truth in writing them.
Notes: Written for the 1sentence challenge community. It is my second submission to the community, and though it's unbeta'd, I know you all love me and will understand. Obviously, my job's cutting away at my time like it's not even funny, so I'm sitting here, in the dark of my hotel room, and praying that this little piece does not go away hated in the minds of those who read it.
On a side note, I had a very, very odd sorta-Yankees-fandom-plot-bunny, which is unsurprising (seeing how I've definitely got a kink for it) *g* and I'm seeking advice on whether I should write it or not. [hint: there's guns and uniforms and Proctor and Farnsworth and yes, it's definitely a kink.] Drop me a line, and I'll explain it all out nice and pretty when I get the chance.
First 1sentence entry: Heaven Beside You, Black Hawk Down.
#01 - Ring
Scott remembers the feel of slippery grass beneath the rubber soles of well-worn sneakers, the soft warmth of Suzie Cuttingham’s hand in his, and the limitless joy that the school playground had brought him as a child as they all fell down; he’ll eventually have to pretend that the heat against his skin and the pain in his head is not from the recollections of his childhood, but something much, much worse.
#02 - Hero
Only when the sun shines just right or the night comes alive with the sounds of crickets and rushing brooks, Scott begins to feel that maybe--and this was before the severe repression took its toll--his father was once a pretty good guy.
#03 - Memory
And it’s memories like that of his younger days and of his father that eventually lead him into the dark where it seemed like the only way out was standing before him; hidden smirk, eyes laughing behind tinted lens, and a ball cap shading a good half of a handsome face.
#04 - Box
Beneath his bed there is an ancient army corps trunk he bought from some thrift store in Arcata on the west coast, and though he has never looked in it, and his friend is fairly certain the rattle they hear every time the black leather box is moved is the poor man’s soul after a bullet went directly through the trunk and into his body, or so Kyle says.
#05 - Run
After the game (Dodger Stadium, fifty-thousand in attendance, thirteen innings, and Vin Scully is getting tired by the eighth) he wants nothing more than to run, so he does (or tries); Kyle follows, and Scott can’t find it within himself to be bothered by the fact that Kyle still doesn’t speak.
#06 - Hurricane
They have both agreed that Rock You Like a Hurricane is by far the worst thing that has ever happened to a pitcher.
#07 - Wings
Before he discovers Valium and late night television, he dreams of burning feathers, steaming cars, and broken wings lying in the middle of backcountry roads to the symphony of gasoline spilling out over concrete as the fire slowly spreads.
#08 - Cold
Kyle says he has the flu, but Scott is pretty sure it’s more commonly known as withdrawal.
#09 - Red
When the young scowling girl decked out in scarlet and white shoves a baseball and an uncapped Sharpie into his hands, he tries not to wince as he runs his finger over Boston’s emblem before signing the kid’s ball and all the while knowing the piece of shit was headed for the trash anyway.
#10 - Drink
It’s been seven months since the accident, and it’s been six months since Scott’s been sober or even well enough to walk around without his cane, but it doesn’t stop Kyle from dragging him into an AA meeting uptown, cane or no fucking cane.
#11 - Midnight
Kyle still calls every night, sometimes before the eleven o’clock news and occasionally during Leno’s monologue, and Scott wishes the guy could trust him because he’s really thrown all those sweet little bottles out weeks ago.
#12 - Temptation
With every passing day, the desire to stumble into the car and drive away grows, and Scott’s starting to wonder why the hell he even stays.
#13 - View
They watch the sun set from the top of the world, and just as the last golden rays of the day slip behind a neon glow of the cityscape, time--and just for a moment--seems to stop.
#14 - Music
The beat of music is far too loud, the reporters are far too rude, and the fans are far too...fanatic, but he’s grinning like an idiot with a swept series on his back.
#15 - Silk
Many drinks (Coke, seltzer water, club soda) and sultry-eyed women looking their way later, Kyle confesses to him that the feel of a woman in his hands is better than a baseball ever felt, and Scott nods, half-listening, but knowing exactly where he’s coming from.
#16 - Cover
Scott studies the crew as they pull the cover out over the field, hypnotized by the way rain bounces off the clear plastic in a beautiful synchrony that sounds like the beat of his heart.
#17 - Promise
The doctors can make no promises whether he will ever be able to play again, can hardly tell him anything at all, and slowly, he is starting not to care.
#18 - Dream
There is a fine line that separates dream from reality, and frankly, Scott cannot remember when the dream he has been living in turns into a nightmare, black shadows and dark corners and fire-breathing nothings waiting for him like the Reaper’s hand.
#19 - Candle
Black tendrils of smoke waft up into the air, and the candlelight throws eerie shadows across the stone walls of the church Kyle has forced him to attend since...since.
#20 - Talent
Moose grins in the dugout, and Posada looks up at him admiringly; Kyle gags sarcastically, and Scott laughs because if there’s one man who deserves to be mooned over at the moment, it’s definitely Mike.
#21 - Silence
He knows firsthand that silence can be deafening, but not so much as the explosion when flame met gasoline in a deadly waltz over the cracked asphalt of Road 17.
#22 - Journey
Jet lag weighs Scott down, but the victory he’ll see at the destination point and the twitch of grin on Kyle’s lips when it happens makes the trip worth it.
#23 - Fire
The snow feels like fire on his body, and maybe if you ask the Duane Reade bottle why Scott Proctor is sitting out on the balcony during a storm, it may possibly be able to answer much more coherently than the man in question.
#24 - Strength
He knows he doesn’t need it to get through the night; it’s only the addiction he has to kick, not the chalky taste on his tongue as he waits for the pill’s magic to spread like wildfire in his body and launch him into a comfortable fog where everything is a little less confusing.
#25 - Mask
One dark Sunday morning, Scott gets out of bed and decides for the first time in months to forget to take whatever the silent doctors have him on, and a small smile works its way onto his face as a black mask of indifference and bitterness slowly begins to peel away, revealing the man he used to be.
This is a turning point.
#26 - Ice
“They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem,” Kyle says as Scott clutches his Pink Floyd albums to his chest protectively, grinning while the ice breaks around what was once considered a friendship.
#27 - Fall
The ball rolls off the mound milliseconds before he falls to the dirt, blood running down his temple and stars exploding from behind his eyes; earth and scarlet dirty his uniform as teammates careen toward the middle of the field, and the stands are as silent as the grave.
#28 - Forgotten
There lays a feeling beneath the surface of broken men, long since forgotten and never once indulged, but that night in the hospital when Scott sits down beside him (eyes wide, hands wringing) makes Kyle want to bring that back to surface.
#29 - Dance
Scott can throw a good game, but the guy cannot dance; Kyle knows this now...as do the millions viewing their sweep in New York on Sunday evening.
#30 - Body
It sends electric shocks through him, Scott’s hand brushing against his on the flight into Los Angeles.
#31 - Sacred
He is going to pretend that Scott is not flicking his silver Zippo open in the back pew of Kyle’s local church.
#32 - Farewells
Nobody asks Scott to say goodbye to years worth of memories on that bleak Sunday morning in that dark cemetery lawn, and Kyle’s not going to be the one to tell him the services have been over for hours and it looks like it’s going to rain.
#33 - World
It’s been a good season, just good enough to get them to the world series, and even though Kyle’s fixed on not getting his hopes up like last time, a part of him is praying, praying, praying for that chance to put another genuine smile on Scott’s face again.
#34 - Formal
He dreams of big band swing that make the dance floor beneath the soles of his shoes vibrate, black tuxedos bringing out the sharp features of shadowy men he hardly knows, women in gauzy red dresses that clung to their bodies like plastic wrap, and the foretelling of a coming storm over the smell of champagne and expensive Cuban cigars.
#35 - Fever
Once again, he knows Scott will never admit to his going through withdrawals, so Kyle will call it the flu, bring him some soup and the morning paper, and everything will feel fine.
#36 - Laugh
They’ve all made mistakes tonight, it seems, but Jeter makes up for it in the bottom of the ninth with a grand slam and a winning smile as he rounds the bases; Kyle buries his head in his arms, laughing, as Alex shoves Jeter onto the bench and whoops a victorious cry that drowns out the thunder of the crowd.
#37 - Lies
There is a bitter taste on his tongue as Scott tells him he really, truly, does not need help up the stairs to his apartment.
#38 - Forever
“I love you forever, you know,” Stone says so blindingly honest that Kyle feels his heart swell, and there is no other place he would rather be than on the floor of his living room, watching Spongebob and filling out Scooby Doo colouring books.
#39 - Overwhelmed
She leaves him with nothing but a sweet kiss that is so much like their first and a sad sentence with dark eyes best in a tired face: “You’re always gone, even when you’re here.”
#40 - Whisper
The wind brushes past him as he makes his way down the beach, unfurling against his skin like her whispers and her embrace.
#41 - Wait
It’s spring, and five or so months since they won the world series, and Scott’s telling him to hang around after practice, there’s something they need to talk about.
#42 - Talk
He’s saying something about ‘being there’ and ‘sticking by me’ and ‘you’re a great guy, you know that,’ and all Kyle can concentrate on is the fact that once again, this conversation never seems to veer off in the direction he’s been hoping for for the past year.
#43 - Search
Two years he’s been going to church regularly, and still, Kyle can’t seem to find what he’s been looking for all along.
#44 - Hope
And then (it’s not how he’s always expected it) Scott’s hands are on his shoulders, and hazel eyes are piercing through him, and all that Kyle’s ever believed in is lost in oblivion as cold concrete seeps through the damp of his uniform and the locker room disappears in the haze.
#45 - Eclipse
Tonight is the night that the moon really turns red, and the irony of it all’s not lost on Kyle.
#46 - Gravity
The Laws of Gravity or Physics or whatever states that flying is not possible for a human without proper machinery or a particularly sane mind never took into fact that a soft mattress and a willing participant could make it happen with a little work.
#47 - Highway
Another three months, and Kyle’s vetoing Scott’s latest music selection, and Scott’s grinning through his false bewilderment as Kyle stands strong on his refusal to listen to The Wall yet again, and the road’s slippery in the last of the melting snow along the I-5 winding along the mountains leading out from Los Angeles, and neither saw that turn.
#48 - Unknown
So badly, Kyle wants to reach out and touch Scott; on his hair, his lips, his heart, but he can’t he can’t he can’t, so he settles against a gravestone and watches as Scott bites down on a knuckle and stares down at the marker with wide, disbelieving eyes.
#49 - Lock
There is a lock on the army corps trunk beneath Scott’s bed, and though it is unlocked and rusted enough to crumble underneath the slightest of pressure, Kyle knows Scott will never open the thing, knows Scott thinks the guy’s soul lives in that fucking box, and for a while, Kyle finds it annoying, but now he kind of understands.
#50 - Breathe
“Kyle, stay with me, man,” Scott pleads, and Kyle looks to him through the smoke and the smell of gasoline, struggles with words that he knows will be his last, and then nothing, nothing.