Ginny x Mike prompt: Tons of trade rumors swirling around Ginny and Mike trying to remain calm (and failing miserably) *HUGS!*
hi, i didn’t write what you asked for because i only checked the prompt once and omg i’m the worst, sorry, but here’s this thing. x
try, try again
There was a distinct lack of noise and commotion in the Padres clubhouse as Mike walked through the door.
He hitched his bag higher on his shoulder and made his way through the room to his cubby in almost total silence. Blip looked up from his phone, his lips turned down, and gave Mike a brief nod before turning his attention back to his screen.
Mike sighed and dropped his bag. He rolled his shoulders in an attempt to release the tension from them, but it didn’t work.
He sat down heavily in the leather padded chair and unlaced his shoes before tossing them aside.
From the couch in the middle of the room, Mike picked up snatches of a whispered conversation between two rookie recruits who tussled over control of the TV remote.
“…Doesn’t want it..”
“Well, I want to hear…”
“…Deal’s supposed to be huge. Said she’s going to Atlanta.”
“No, she’s going to Washington, idiot.”
“Hey,” Mike spoke and the sound ripped through the air like a crack of thunder. He stared down the two men until they let the remote hit the seat between them. He moved his gaze to the TVs above their heads to see a video of Ginny, walking down the red carpet of last year’s Sports Illustrated Media Awards. Her hair was loose and curly, and her multi-colored dress fit her like a glove.
She stood beside some guy she’d been crazy about for months. Mike couldn’t remember his name.
“Don’t you two have something you should be doing?” Mike asked his attention back to the two rookies who went still under their captain’s gaze.
The two outfielders shuffled off the couch in a hurry, making their way down the long hallway and out of their captain’s sight.
“You don’t know if—” Blip began, but Mike cut him off.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Ginny’s at home here, and it’s not like—”
“I said,” Mike interrupted once more. “I don’t want to talk about it. Shit happens. That’s baseball. No reason to tie ourselves into knots because a player might leave. People leave all the time.”
Mike’s mouth snapped shut and he stood in a hurry, unbuttoning his lavender shirt, and hoping against hope that Blip wouldn’t comment on his last statement.
“If anyone can decide to stay, it’d be Ginny,” Blip spoke lowly. “The front office will pay whatever to keep her if she wants to stay.”
Mike ignored the pang in the middle of his chest. There was no way he could tell Blip that he might’ve given Ginny everything she needed to leave. That he was the catalyst behind her even considering…
He pulled on his old hoodie and shook off his jeans before sliding into an even older pair of soft athletic shorts.
Mike shrugged. “She’s a ballplayer. She should do whatever she can to keep doing that.”
Mike shoved his bag into his cubby and walked away before Blip could counter with something that made more sense than he was willing to admit.
He walked down the deserted hallway to the therapy suite, hoping to get Kiki to work on his back even though he wasn’t starting that night.
When he opened the door, he drew the attention of the two people in the room and immediately wished he’d just stayed put and listen to Blip ignore his wishes to talk about Ginny.
The woman herself looked over her left shoulder and straight into his eyes.
His gut clenched and his hands curled into fists when she turned back towards Kiki without so much as a nod in acknowledgment.
“Mike,” Kiki said with a wide grin on his stupid face, blue eyes twinkling with the same relentless mirth they always held. “If you hang out for a few minutes, I’ll get to you next.”
“I can come back.”
“Or you can wait. Two minutes.”
Mike nodded and hopped onto the table directly behind where Ginny sat. His eyes trailed down the slope of her neck, her head tilted to the side as Kiki stretched her right rotator cuff.
“Sit tight, Baker. I’m going to get some ice and a wrap.” Kiki smiled and tucked her arm securely against her body before and telling her to leave it there until he got back.
Mike stayed in his spot behind her, following the gentle cadence of her breath and motion of her back with his eyes.
Ginny shifted on the table. Her shoulders are taut and climbed towards her ears as the seconds ticked by.
Mike cleared his throat and frowned when Ginny jumped a little at the sound.
“Are you just going to ignore me?” he heard himself ask before he could even process he spoke.
Ginny shrugged her left shoulder and kept her eyes forward. “I think everything you had to say you said last night, don’t you?”
Mike sighed and hung his head for a moment before he got up and walked around the table to stand in front of her. He crossed his arms and widened his stance, doing his utmost to look imposing, but failing if Ginny rolling her eyes was any indication.
“What are you doing?” Mike asked.
Ginny motioned around the empty room with her left arm. “Not much captain, but I have a feeling I’m about to be scolded for something.”
“Imagine my amazement and annoyance,” Mike began ignoring her sarcasm. “When I get up this morning to texts and ESPN alerts about Ginny Baker, starting pitcher for the Padres, World Series champ, considers a trade to an East Coast team.”
Ginny moved her gaze away from his. “They’re just rumors.”
“Bullshit. And we both know it. So why, Gin?”
“Maybe it’s time to be on my way. Three years with a team is a lot. We’re not all lucky enough to play for one team for our entire careers, Mike, and you—”
“For fuck’s sake,” he said angrily. “Don’t do this. If you’re going to leave, at least be honest about the fact that you’re running away from this.” He finished as he motioned between the two of them
Ginny laughed spitefully. “Who do you want to be, the pot or the kettle?”
“Let’s recap,” Mike started. “Last night I kissed you. This morning, there are trade rumors. If you asked to be moved because of me, the least you could’ve done is told me instead of having me find out on FS1.”
“Not everything revolves around you, Mike.”
Mike scoffed. “Maybe not, but this? I think so. I’m sort of the expert on running away when shit gets difficult.”
“I’m shocked you’re acknowledging that.”
“And I’m also the expert on knowing it won’t fix anything. If you really want to leave because you think it’s best, then go. Don’t just run away because this got complicated.”
“You said you shouldn’t have kissed me!” Ginny exclaimed much louder than she intended. “You said it was a mistake.”
Mike shook his head. He took a step closer to the table and leaned down. “I never said it was a mistake.”
“Yes, you did.”
“I didn’t.”
“Mike, I remember every word—”
“Then tell me what I said.”
Ginny swallowed hard and locked eyes with him. Her lip trembled, but she rolled her shoulders back so she sat up straighter. “You said you shouldn’t have kissed me.”
“Yeah. Did I say it was a mistake? Did I say I regretted it?” Mike prodded.
Ginny blinked and shook her head. “Saying you shouldn’t have done something is a statement of regret, Mike. I can read between the lines.”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you because I should’ve waited until I wasn’t your captain and teammate. Because you have a code and I respect you for it. Because I know what it’s like to kiss you and now I can’t because we still play on the same team. I shouldn’t have kissed you because I shouldn’t have put you in this position before there was anything we could do about it. Not because I regret it. How you could come to that conclusion out of everything else that was possible, I’ll never know.”
Ginny sat on the table, mouth agape as she stared at Mike. “I’m sorry, what—”
“I’m tired, Ginny. We are at the tail end of my final season. I almost left once before because I couldn’t face up to this. You were brand new to this game and I was… in love but also more than a little lonely. I understand that now.
“But Ginny, almost running didn’t fix anything. It only made things worse and if you leave because of this or me, then we’ll just be stuck where we have been for three years. If you don’t want this, or me, that’s fine. I’ll deal with that. But there’s a whole room of guys out there that’ll be really hurt. And I’ll be devastated, too.
“I swear I’m not trying to pressure you for more. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I should’ve waited until I was free from this game and told you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you because I love you. But I didn’t. And now we’re here. So don’t leave because I fucked up. Please. Even if you don’t want me. Just, stay. Stay here.”
Mike sighed and took a step back. Ginny’s eyes were wet, but no tears slid down her cheeks.
“You’re so stupid,” Ginny whispered and Mike couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, I know.”
Ginny hopped off the table and strolled up to him, stopping a hair’s breadth away. She tilted her head back and let a slow smile break across her lips. “You should’ve said this last night,” she whispered.
“I panicked and then you left so quickly I almost thought you disappeared.”
Ginny’s breath tickled across his bottom lip as she laughed. “If I ask you to kiss me now, are you going to say something dumb again, or will you just keep kissing me until I ask you to stop?”
Mike moved his head until his lips were perfectly in line with hers. “I don’t know. Let’s try it and see.”
FIN
