a/n: the ending sucks, but what’s new? i can never figure out how to end fics lol
•••
It was a nice summer day, so Dells decided to take you out on a date to the field he plays at. You two have been seeing each other for a while now, two and a half months or so, having met two months before you started dating, and things were slowly becoming more and more serious.
“What are we doing here?” You wonder as Dells parks the car and reaches into the backseat for something. He retrieves a catcher’s mitt, a bat, and baseball.
“We’re gonna play some ball,” he says happily. You get out of the car and follow him to the field. He hands you the bat, pressing a single kiss to your cheek before running off to the pitcher’s mound.
“You better go easy on me, Dells! I’m not as fast and strong as the people you play,” you yell to him. He laughs and shakes his head, getting ready to throw the first pitch. Thankfully, he throws it slow enough and you actually make contact with it, hitting it straight towards him. He catches it with ease and gives you a thumbs up.
“Nice job! Think you can handle a faster pitch?”
“Uh, no! That was perfect.”
“Oh come on, you’re no fun.”
“Shut it, Dells, just throw the ball.” You chuckle and get ready for the pitch. You notice he takes a moment before getting into position, staring at you with a happy expression on his face.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” you cheekily say.
“Shut it and get ready for the pitch,” he teases.
“I’ve been ready!” He continues and throws the ball, but this time, you miss it and it hits the fence behind you.
This goes on for an hour or so, occasionally switching positions and sharing kisses during breaks. You were having a lot of fun, until the sun suddenly disappeared as clouds rolled in.
You were in the batter’s box, looking up at the grey sky. Suddenly, Dells is right next to you.
“Was it supposed to rain today?” You wonder. Dells’ hand takes a hold of your hand as he shrugs.
“I don’t think so.” Right as he finished thunder boomed and rain began to slowly pour down onto the field. Then, it was a sudden downpour, soaking the both of you immediately. You run straight to the dugout, laughing loudly together. Dells sets the bat, glove, and ball down on the bench and stands next to you as you watch the rain fall.
“Looks like we aren’t going to be playing anymore,” he says, wrapping his arm around your shoulder after he notices you shiver a little.
“Yeah. So, I guess that’s the end of our date?” You awkwardly say, not really wanting the date to be over yet. Dells looks down at you with a small grin and a mischievous look in his eyes.
“It doesn’t have to be.” You raise your eyebrows in question. Dells removes his arm and drags you out onto the field, in the rain.
“Johnathan!” You scream, gasping out in shock. The cool rain soaks you even more, but Dells has no care in the world.
“It’s just rain! What, are you scared of it or something?” He jokes, smiling widely.
“No. I just don’t like being wet and cold.”
You and Dells keep playing and spinning around, chasing each other. You end up sliding in the mud when Dells makes a sharp turn, throwing you off.
“Johnathan Michael Dellamonica!” You scream out, laying on the ground, defeated. He runs right over to you and helps you up, laughing the entire time.
“It’s not funny!” You can’t help but laugh as well, keeping a tight hold on his arm as you stand up in the slippery mud.
“We should get going now,” he suggests. You agree as Dells carefully runs back to the dugout to grab his things.
You clean yourself up a little bit with a towel Johnathan had in his car before hopping in.
“You can borrow some of my clothes,” Jonathan tells you as you step into his home. “The shower is upstairs, second door on the left. You can go up now and I’ll bring you a towel and some clothes.”
“Thanks. It’s the least you can do after making me fall in the mud.” Dells laughs and rubs your cheek softly.
“I’m sorry, baby. But it was kind of funny.” Your hands push against his chest, making him back away a little.
Turning around, you head upstairs to the bathroom and quickly jump into the shower, turning the water as hot as you could stand it.
“It’s me, I have a t-shirt and sweats for you on the counter,” Dells’ voice calls over the water. You don’t respond since he backs out before you can say anything. You finish your shower pretty quickly, just wanting to cuddle up next to Dells before heading back home.
Once you’re dry and dressed, you walk back to the living room, finding Dells in a different outfit and surrounded by blankets and snacks. He senses your presence and glances up from his phone.
“You look so damn adorable,” he says, setting his phone down on the table to give you all of his attention.
“Your clothes are comfy,” you mumble, falling onto the couch next to him. He pulls you right into his arms and looks towards the tv.
“They’re saying that the storm is going to get worse,” he begins. Nodding, you rest your head on his shoulder, pulling a blanket around you.
“How worse?”
“Strong winds, thunder, lightning. I…” Dells pauses, shuffling in his seat a bit.
“What?” You gaze up at your boyfriend. A nervous look flashes in his eyes.
“I don’t think it’ll be safe to drive home in,” he shyly responds. You know exactly what he’s hinting at.
“Just say you want me to spend the night,” you tease, reaching up to kiss his flushed cheek.
“Will it make you happy if I admit it?”
“Yes.”
“Then yes, I want you to spend the night with me.” You both laugh and cuddle close to one another, watching the TV as the weatherman explains what is possible with the weather.
“Looks like we’re going to be here for a while, so do you want to watch a movie?” Dells asks. He still sounds nervous, which confuses you. But then you realize that this is the first time that you’re sleeping over at his house.
It was a big step in your relationship, since you’ve only gone on dates and have only stayed at each other’s places for a few hours; not the entire afternoon and night.
“Yeah, sure. Got anything good?” He points you over to a case filled with DVD cases. After a lot of debating, you settle on Forrest Gump, as it’s a classic.
So, you two make some frozen pizza that Dells had in his freezer and cuddle up on the couch once it’s done. You two sat next to one another, close enough to feel each other’s body heat.
Halfway through the film, your food now long gone, Dells wraps an arm around your body and pulls you closer to him, making you lean against him.
“Can I, uh, well, there’s something I’ve been meaning to say, or tell you, or get off my chest,” he stutters, beginning to breathe heavily.
“What is it, Dells?” You wonder, sitting up from his chest. He quickly glances down at your entwined hands before staring into your eyes.
“I think I love you,” he whispers. You freeze, not expecting those words one bit.
“Wh-”
“You don’t have to say anything back, I just wanted you to know how I feel. I love you and I care for you a lot.”
“I feel the same,” you murmur, copying Dells’ actions and looking down at your hands. “I love you, Jonathan.”
“Really?” A huge smile crosses his face, bringing his hands up to your face to cup your cheeks and pull you in for a kiss.
“Yeah. You’re a great boyfriend and so damn sweet, there’s no doubt in my mind that I love you.” You go right back to kissing him, enjoying the feel of his soft lips on yours.
“Come with me, it’ll be fun!” Dells begs you through the phone. He had to go to some picnic that the d-backs were having, with all the guys and family members. You had yet to meet anyone on his team, aside from Ty, because they’re brothers and all.
“I'm not family, though!” You say, not really feeling up to go to some picnic filled with people you don’t know.
“So? Fotch is bringing his wife, Garvey’s bringing his girlfriend, Barone’s girlfriend is coming. It’s not just family, babe.” A defeated sigh leaves your lips, shaking your head.
“I still don’t know, J. Maybe give me some time to think it over.”
“That’s fair. Are you still coming over later tonight for our movie night?” He asks, changing the topic after sensing that you sound a little uncomfortable.
“Yeah, I’ll be over after dinner.” And that’s the end of the conversation.
As you promised, after dinner, you make your way over to Jonathan's with your overnight bag.
“Hey,” he greets you with a sweet kiss, letting you inside. Once you’re settled in his bed, cuddled up, he brings up the picnic again.
“I don’t want to pressure you into going, but I’d really love you there. These guys are like my brothers, excluding Ty because he’s my actual brother, but I’d love for you to meet them,” he says quietly. Your eyes fall shut, wanting to get out of it so bad, but the tone in Dells’ voice convinces you. He sounds so sincere and a little hurt that he has to even make an argument.
“I'm awful around new people, Dells. You know that.”
“I know. But what if I promise to stay by your side the entire time until you warm up to everyone?” Thinking for a moment, you finally agree, and the way Dells’ entire expression changes, you know that you made the right decision.
“Thank you so much, baby! it may not be the most eventful, but it’ll be fun. The guys are great and really fun to be around, for a short while. and wait til you meet Maz, he’s the best.” He goes on and on about each guy, telling you what they’re like and what to expect when you meet them; seeing him so happy and excited made your heart burst with love.
Days pass, and the picnic is finally here. Dells told you to dress casually, since it’s nothing too fancy or formal; they always play a round of ball during the picnics, so he told you to expect that.
Around eleven in the morning, you arrive at Jonathan’s, extremely nervous and scared of how today was going to go. After a few minutes of waiting for him to finish getting ready, you head to the park that the picnic is at.
“Everything’s going to be fine, babe,” Dells reassures you, taking a hold of your hand before getting out of the car. “I’ll be right by your side, (Y/N). I promise.” With that, you two get out and begin walking towards the slightly large crowd. you entwine your hand in his once more, squeezing it gently to calm your nerves.
“It’s okay. The guys are all really laid back, you’ll be okay,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to your temple. Taking a deep breath, you smile as you approach Ty and let go of Dells to give him a hug. But, you go right back next to Dells’ side.
“Do you want to meet everyone first, or get something to eat? I think Murray’s dad is making burgers and hot dogs.”
You both fill a plate with food and take a seat at one of the many picnic tables under the pavilion.
“I think the guys are going to play a game of ball in a few, after everyone eats,” Jonathan says you, taking a bite of his burger.
“That’s fine. I’ll sit in the dugout and watch. Do you have enough players?”
“Why? You wanna play with us?” He teases, pushing his shoulder against yours.
“No. Just wondering how you guys are going to play when you’re in your original positions.”
“We switch. It’s complicated, but we’ve kind of mastered a way of making it work.” You chuckle and continue eating your hot dog, glancing around the group. You can’t really tell who Dells' teammates are and who are family and/or friends. Just then, a few guys come and sit down in front of you, one of them being Ty.
“Hey, what’s up, Dells?” The one with blonde hair says. Your boyfriend greets them and wipes his mouth.
“(Y/N), this is Maz and Zapata, two of my teammates. Guys, this is my girlfriend, (Y/N).”
“Nice to meet you,” Zapata sticks his hand out for you to shake. You shyly shake it and smile nicely, doing the same with Maz. The five of you eat and talk amongst yourselves. Dells kept looking over at you, noticing that you’ve already started to warm up to Maz and Zap.
“Alright! Who’s up for a game?!” Garvey announces, gathering all of the guys. Your food was now long gone and the sun was high in the sky. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hot so it felt nice out.
“You gonna come to the dugout?” Dells asks. He stands, reaching for your hand to drag you with him.
“Yeah.” You follow him and the guys to the field and take a seat on the bench in the dugout, watching as the guys take their place. David and Palacco sat with you, making conversation to pass the time until they were up to bat.
As the game went on, Dells kept pitching until it was his turn to bat. And every time he finishes a pitch, he glances over at you and smiles, making sure you’re okay and having fun. After a while, he calls you onto the pitch during a break.
“Having fun?” You wonder, coming to stand in front of him. He sets his hands on your waist, his thumbs rubbing over your shirt. Dells nods and leans down for a kiss.
“You’re all sweaty,” you mumble against his lips, smiling and breaking the kiss.
“That tends to happen when I’m pitching for forty-five minutes,” he chuckles. You can feel everyone else’s eyes on you two, making you a bit nervous.
“I’m gonna head back to the dugout, they’re all staring.”
“They’ve just never seen such a beautiful girl,” Dells replies cheekily, tapping your butt.
The game continues after that and you can tell just how close Dells is to these guys. They seemed like brothers, laughing and having fun. Another forty-five minutes later, they take a second break. During this time, Dells decided it would be good to get a few practice hits. He called you over to pitch the ball to him, which he’s shown you how to do so many times.
All eyes were on you as you swung your arm back and threw the ball right towards your boyfriend. Unfortunately, his hit went directly back at you, coming in contact with your thigh. You scream out after the realization of what happened hits you.
Dells runs right towards you, grabbing your shoulders and helping you to the ground. The entire team surrounds you, wanting to help in any way they can.
“Baby! I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was going to go right back at you!” Dells blabbers, tears in his eyes. You, on the other hand, kept your tears in.
“It’s fine, Johnathan. Just, can we move back to the dugout or the pavilion?”
“Yeah. Can someone help me carry her?” Maz comes to the other side of you and helps you up, wrapping your right arm around his shoulder and helping you limp back over to the picnic area. Dells sits you down and begins to examine the quickly forming bruise on your left leg.
“Damn, princess, I’m so sorry,” Dells apologizes even more, using a new nickname as well. You giggle and shake your head, taking his hand in yours.
“It’s fine, J. It’s not broken, it’s just a bruise.”
“I’ve gotten hit with a baseball before, you don’t have to pretend it doesn’t hurt.”
“I’m not saying it doesn’t hurt, I’m saying I’ll be fine.” Zapata appears behind Dells with a bag filled with ice. Your boyfriend puts it on your thigh right away, making you flinch at the temperature.
“I think we’re gonna go home,” Dells announces, running his hands through his hair. You could tell he felt awful but didn’t want to show it in front of everyone.
“That’s probably the best idea,” Ty speaks up, resting his hand on your shoulder. All of the guys give you a hug goodbye before your boyfriend and his brother help you to the car, despite telling them that you’re fine to walk by yourself.
Once you’re back at Dells’ place, you lay on the couch as he gets you a real ice pack, wrapping it in a rag and pressing it to your thigh.
“Are you sure you’re okay? It looks pretty bad.”
“Jonathan. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, I am fine. Yeah, it hurts, but it’s not unbearable. I know you didn’t mean to hit me, I’m not mad. I am a little upset you decided to leave the picnic.” He sighs and runs his hands over his face.
“I didn’t want the guys seeing me like this, an emotional wreck. And I honestly didn’t want to be there anymore, I wanted to spend some time with you after what I did.”
“I’m just saying, I would have been fine if you wanted to continue playing.”
“I didn’t want to.” You smile and reach for his hands. He re-situates himself so that he’s laying between your legs, his head on your chest, and his hand on your leg. His fingers trace over the mark he left as light as he can. Your hand comes up to the back of his head, playing with his hair.
“I’m really glad you came with me today,” he says, nuzzling his face into your neck and humming happily. “The guys loved you.”
“I’m glad I agreed to go. They’re all so nice and fun, especially Maz.”
“You better not leave me for him,” Dells jokes, though there was a hint of seriousness in his tone.
“I don’t know,” you play along, “he probably won’t hit me in the leg with a baseball.” Jonathan sits up with an unamused expression on his face, making you break and laugh loudly.
“I’m just messing with you, babe. I won’t ever leave you for any of your teammates, I promise.”
“You little fucker,” he whispers, his tone lightening a lot. He gives you a long, passionate kiss before laying back down on you.
“Let’s go up to your room,” you say, trying to sit up. Dells grabs the ice pack and walks behind you on the way to his room. You get situated and cuddled in bed, Dells spooning you from behind. Once again, his hand fell to your thigh.
“I love you,” he whispers into your ear, snuggling closer to you to keep you warm.
a/n: this isn’t exactly what i wanted it to be, but whatever 🙂 it’s the first thing i’ve written in a week, so it’s a little rough. also the ending sucks bc i didn’t know how to end it. and the title. i spent 10 minutes trying to think of one and literally couldn’t. so it sucks
•••
It’s been a tough year for Dells. He blew the conference playoffs during college, eliminating their team right then and there, so he was obviously very nervous to be getting back after the season ended.
His summer league team just started, which he’s done for a few years already, but this season was different; he was terrified of being humiliated again.
“I don’t want to go,” Dells complains as you lay in bed together in the morning. Dells had his arms wrapped around you tightly, not planning on moving anytime soon, even though he needs to leave in a little while.
“You have to, babe. Ty’s gonna force you to go anyways, and you know what he’s like when he’s mad.” Dells groans and snuggles closer to you, making you smile. He’s always so cuddly and soft in the morning and at night, it’s your favorite.
“But I don’t want to,” he continues.
“Johnathan, get up. You’re going to be late.”
“Will you come with me?” He begs.
“If I say yes will you actually go and have fun while playing?”
“I’ll go, but I can’t promise that I’m going to have fun,” he offers. You shake your head and sit up, making his arms fall onto the bed, where your body just was.
“I’m gonna get up and shower, then we can leave.”
“How about we stay here for a few more minutes, not shower, then get ready? It’s gonna be hot, so why shower and get all nice and dressed up only to sweat like a pig?”
“Pigs don’t sweat,” you reply cheekily. Johnathan laughs and sits up with you.
“You know what I meant. It just doesn’t make sense to shower then go and sit out in the summer heat and sweat, only to come home and shower again.”
“Fine, you make a good point.” Johnathan makes some sort of noise and pulls you back into his arms, flopping back down onto the bed.
“Just a few more minutes,” he whispers.
You were now sitting on the bleachers of the baseball park where the D-Backs are playing. Dells was in the dugout, bored out of his mind as they waited for the rest of the team. To pass the time, you took out a notebook and began to sketch the field, something you usually do during summer league games.
You hear your name being called, and when you look up, you see Dells is standing at the fence. Placing your things in your seat, you hop down to meet him on the other side.
“Hey, is everyone here yet?” You greet him with a kiss.
“No. Maz isn’t here, but you know how I told you that he was being scouted by multiple teams?”
“Yeah?”
“The draft was today, and he wasn’t picked.”
“Damn,” you mumble. Johnathan seems very upset over this; you know how close the team is and Maz is basically like a brother to Dells. He was excited to see him get drafted, the whole team was, really.
You take a hold of Johnathan’s hands and squeeze them, letting him know that you’re here for him.
“Do you want me to get you some water?”
“No, we have some in the dugout. I just needed to see you.” You smile and reach up to cup his cheek. He nuzzles into it and closes his eyes.
“You better stay awake, Dells. Ty will be pissed if you’re falling asleep during a game.”
“Well don’t caress my cheek like that.” A laugh escapes your lips and you drop your hand.
“Good luck out there,” you say, leaning up to give him a kiss. He holds you there for a few more seconds before backing away, facing you the entire time until he disappears into the dugout. You take your spot back on the bleachers and wait for the game to start.
The D-Backs were a bit rough today. Dells wasn’t at his best, everyone was off and distracted, resulting in them losing pretty badly.
Dells tried his hardest to throw strikes. But as the game went on, he started losing his energy, just as he did during the conference playoffs in college. As soon as you started to notice he was slowly breaking down, you knew the game wasn’t going to end well.
And as you expected, the D-Backs ended up losing five to one. Dells was visibly upset and distraught, almost beating himself up. You walk back to your car and wait for your boyfriend, ready for a long night of talking, cuddling, and comforting.
The team finally walked up the stairs from the field, trudging and dragging their legs; they looked exhausted and heartbroken. Dells was the last one, far behind everyone else. He kept his head down as he stepped into the passenger seat of your car.
You quickly say goodbye to everyone else, comforting them in their own ways, especially Maz. Ty gives you a sympathetic look while motioning to your boyfriend, patting your back before you get into your car.
The drive home was silent. You didn’t want to bring the game up, knowing it would just upset Johnathan, but you also didn’t know how to make him feel better until he told you what was wrong, on a deeper level than just losing the game.
Arriving back at your place, you let Dells do his own thing, thinking that he wanted to be alone for a while. But to your surprise, he stays by your side.
“Take a shower with me?” He softly asks, The hurt in his eyes and the breaking in his voice make you cave in right away. So, you two strip and stand under the warm shower stream, letting Dells lean against you and just hold you close to him.
He doesn’t say anything, only asking if you can wash his hair and if he can wash yours. You go along with whatever he wants to do, wanting to keep him happy.
Once you’re finished with your shower, you get dressed in a t-shirt of Johnathan’s and a pair of shorts. You climb under the covers and try to figure out how to bring today’s events up, but Dells catches your attention.
He’s still sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor. Sighing, you scoot over and gently run your hands up his bare back, resting your head against his broad shoulder.
“Babe, lay down. You’ve had a really tough day, you deserve the rest.” It was silent for a moment before he spoke up.
“Do I?” You’re slightly taken aback by his unexpected response.
“Yeah, you do. You did the best you could today and-”
“That’s the thing, (Y/N)! I didn’t!” He turns around to face you. “I did the same thing that happened at STAC. I blew our chances of winning.”
“You can’t beat yourself up over this, Dells. You guys will have next year. Please, come lay down with me?” He sighs heavily before turning his bedside light off, crawling under the covers with you. You pull him right into your arms and begin to stroke his back softly.
“It’s gonna be okay, babe. I’m sure the guys aren’t upset with you. Everyone was off and wasn’t at their best. Don’t feel bad.”
“In the middle of the game, Ty came up to me and told me that he wasn’t going to take me out of the game. Then demanded that I don’t make him look stupid. But guess what I did? Made him look stupid.”
“Johnathan, stop. Again, I’m sure he was just annoyed with Maz not being drafted and the other team being completely new.”
“Still.”
“How about tomorrow we make plans with the guys and get some closure from this game? Talk things out now that everyone has had the night to let things settle in. You up for that?” You wonder, reaching up to thread your fingers through Dells’ hair; it was his favorite thing in the world, you playing with his hair.
“Yeah. I just don’t want them to be upset with me. I tried my hardest-”
“And you did a great job. Everyone saw that you were trying your hardest, okay? And Ty can’t stay mad at you for long, honestly. He’s your brother.”
“I hope. Will you come with me if the guys agree to it?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
“You want to talk about anything else? Get anything off your mind?” You ask, knowing that there was more to his sadness.
“No, just keep holding me and I’ll be fine. I’m already feeling a lot better.” You grin and tighten your grip a little, continuing to play with his hair.
“Everything will be okay, Dells. I promise.”
“Thank you for being such an amazing girlfriend,” he whispers into your neck, placing a few kisses to the spots he could reach.
He sighs heavily and closes his eyes. Eventually, he falls right asleep as you text the entire team about the idea you had, continuing to play with his hair as he slept.
