◎ c h a r l i e (spinnets) wrote in valesco,
@ 2012-10-17 21:30:00

Entry tags:

Axe!
Charlie bit back his groan as he watched the extra set of weights magically slide onto his bar. He'd already reached his usual limit, but with the playoffs fast approaching, it was no surprise that his captain was pushing him harder. The training area was empty besides the two of them, for now, and Charlie liked it that way. His other teammates always managed to distract him; at least with Axe he knew he could get seriously clobbered if he lost track of his regiment. As Axe spotted him, because what good was lifting weights when you knew they couldn't crush your chest because of spells, Charlie huffed, face turning red with exertion.

His eyes shut tightly as he lifted the bar off of its ledge and sucked in a deep breath.

"You're---going---to---" he pushed his arms forward, using all of his strength to raise the bar once more, "--kill----me!"

Somehow, he'd managed to lift the bar back up and before another weight could slide onto either end Charlie sat up and pushed himself to the end of the bench. Taking deep breaths, he grabbed for the nearest towel to wipe the sweat off his face. He looked over his shoulder at Axe with winded grin, "Are you looking to break both my arms?

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incharge
2012-10-17 11:50 pm UTC (link)

Axe had been subdued since his birthday party, but one of the lucky things about being a surly Frenchman was that people rarely noticed when the snits were put on and when they were real. Then the fiasco with Broadmoor… people, his teammates specifically, had been so understanding, even sympathetic. Winning the match would have been a boost, of course, but accidents happen. Kendall had the misfortune to get in the way of a deadly-aimed bludger, that was all, and Axe so rarely made gaffes such as this.

Somehow, it made everything worse, knowing his teammates supported him so strongly, so blindly, with all that he was doing to undermine that trust. Rather than let himself go, as his new crash-and-burn strategy would practically suggest, Axe was channeling all his frustrations into keeping himself in fighting condition. The irony bit at him with every lap run, every weight lifted, that he couldn't even do the sabotage part correctly. That was him, shit at love, shit at work, shit at life.

Or maybe, he thought, flicking the weights into their corner, it was that he was too good at all of these things and somehow outsmarted himself of keeping them. Yes, he laughed dryly, that was certainly what it was. What a year it was turning out to be.

Breaking into a slightly cold sweat about the crack that Axe couldn't say for certain was a careless jest or a tongue-in-cheek reference to their unfortunate Seeker, he turned away and muttered, "Only if you continue talking." Then he felt poorly, which was a sure sign of his mental distress, as he rarely felt that way. If Spinnet were to make a crack about Broadmoor, it was only as a sign of their peculiar brand of camaraderie, not out of spite. "I'm certain your girlfriend would take issue with that, though."

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spinnets
2012-10-18 12:36 am UTC (link)

Charlie pulled a face, "She would, she loves my beefy arms."

Of course he then had to lift his arms and make a muscle, rather proud of himself and the way he'd managed to bulk up this season. He didn't look too ridiculous, but he definitely was not the baby-faced Keeper he had been when he first joined the Kestrels. He was an all-star, a champion player! While this season had definitely not lived up to last year's, the Kestrels were still a top five team and Charlie was determined to use these last few weeks to move themselves up in the ranking.

"And you say girlfriend like it's a bad thing," Charlie said pointedly, swinging around on the bench to face Axe. Never had he once spotted his captain with the same woman twice, and while Charlie could certainly relate, it was a nice feeling to have someone to go to when the hard day was done. Maybe Axe's surly disposition could be solved by a good woman.

"Penny's given me advice on matches, she keeps a very good eye on things," Charlie said, puffing his chest, "and not only that, she gets me free pumpkin pies and sex in public places."

He could feel the slap and pinch he would most definitely receive from his girlfriend at that last bit, but it was true. Well--not so much now, as they weren't in hiding anymore, but it wasn't as if they didn't have sex in a park and----Locker room talk didn't count when it came to boyfriend courtesies. "What's so terrible about that?"

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incharge
2012-10-18 12:59 am UTC (link)

With a snort, Axe summoned his towel and wiped rather needlessly at his face and neck before draping it across one shoulder. "That you are a quarter of a century old, yet insist on tying yourself down?" It was an old, half-serious, half-joking argument between the two of them, and had been since this disastrous affair had arisen with his all-star championship Keeper haphazardly wrapping a splint around a broken hand. That hadn't been broken during a match. Spinnet could shrug and joke back as much as he liked, but that didn't change the fact that his histrionic girlfriend weaved him very smartly and deftly into her web. Now, if he were to be dating someone else, someone like—

Well, perhaps that didn't matter. The likelihood that he would find fault with any of Spinnet's girlfriends were high, he just happened to choose the one with whom it would be highest. Axe fully acknowledged (to himself only) that he was very much like a child not wanting to share his toys. He did not deserve real commitment, so any and all instances of it appearing elsewhere in his life baffled him.

Instead, he chose a different vein of conversation, and said sweetly, "And it is somehow that I manage to have all these things without such a weight around my neck." His gaze fell significantly on the weight rounds in the corner as he rubbed his hands on the towel absently. "To have them very recently, as a matter of fact."

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spinnets
2012-10-18 01:54 am UTC (link)

"Who the hell is making you pumpkin pie?" Charlie let out in feigned astonishment. Of course, that wasn't the most interesting bit of information that Axe had let slip. Axe never let anything slip, and to have that kind of hint, with that kind of obvious 'ask me more' tone, how was Charlie to resist? His sister was Delilah, he was made to be a gossip monger.

He stood and leaned against the barbells, not at all trying to hide his amusement and interest. Charlie put a hand out, "You can't say that and not give me the details. How recent and how public?"

His chin went up; there was no way that Axe could beat a public park, and he was ready to use that story to top his captain's. Though, the more he thought about it, Axe was French---wasn't Paris the love capital of the world? Charlie was sure that people snogged and shagged on every street corner there. It wouldn't be surprising if it was true, but he decided to keep that musing to himself while he gestured for Axe to continue his story.

"Spill it because I don't believe a word of it with how high strung you've been lately." If Axe was recently getting laid (or eating pumpkin pie), the veins in his neck wouldn't be bulging so badly. The end of the regular season could really take it out a bloke.

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incharge
2012-10-18 02:46 am UTC (link)

He narrowly avoided making a gagging noise, as pumpkin pie was something his taste buds found supremely offensive, but someone had recently given him a most magnificent batch of muffins. He liked the ones that fed him the most.

Admittedly, there were many fewer instances than before. Last season had been particularly fruitful around this time, possibly because his team was on a winning streak and he wasn't being blackmailed by a madman. Not that it made a difference for this sort of talk, as Axe made it a point to never discuss them directly in the locker room banter men evidently engaged in. He found such dialogues heartily disrespectful, but now that Axe was doing enough out of character things lately, why not? If it helped him solidify his bonds with his teammates for when he most needed them, then, yes. Fine. He would wag his bite around and pound his chest a little, wasn't it such a hardship he was forcing upon himself. Pretending to stroke his chin, Axe turned to face Spinnet.

"There was a bibliothec—how do you… a librarian." That one did make him smile, because she'd been very sweet. "In the rayons—in the—" He gave up. "Bof, I don't know the words. By the books." That had been last week, he thought.

Thinking further back, his brow creased a bit as he again thought of the Night, but Axe tried to shrug off the queasy feelings associated with it. "There was that fille from Caerphilly—Daisy?" He turned away again and busied himself with the laces of his boot, because that night was hazy with a distinctly bitter aftertaste, and he was no longer as good about schooling his emotions from sprawling across his face. He disliked especially talking about a fellow member of the League, but Spinnet was harmless. If he did mouth it around, Axe doubted anyone would take it very seriously.

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spinnets
2012-10-18 03:04 am UTC (link)

His wolfish grin faded and Charlie stared at Axe as if he'd poured a bucket of ice cold water over his head. What had he just said? Had he heard him right? No, there had to be a mistake. He must've meant---Carys. There was a 'y' and a 's' in that name, but Axe was good friends with Llewellyn, and she was married (even though that didn't stop some people but---). No, that didn't make sense.

"Rose?" Charlie supplied, feeling his chest seize. Please, please don't be Rose. He knew that she and Octavius had broken up, so---but Octavius hated Axe and to hookup with him so quickly after a break up that she'd caused (of course he knew all the confusing details!)---Nope. No. It couldn't have been Rose.

But it didn't make sense to be anyone else. There were no women on the Catapults with a name remotely like Daisy, a daisy was a flower, the name Rose must've been lost in translation with Axe and Charlie suddenly felt very, very sick. He had to---confirm this, however, and he desperately hoped Axe was talking about some Caerphilly cleaning lady or--or groupie. Groupies didn't discriminate when it came to what team the player they got to shag was on.

"Knightley?" Charlie tried to keep his voice level, but with how shocked at this news (if he was thinking right, which didn't happen often so hopefully--) he also felt his face grow very hot. Axe most likely did not recall Octavius from the numerous times Charlie had brought him along, as that was his captain's nature, but Rose most definitely knew who Axe was and---it----his mind was not able to accept this as truth, he needed to hear it from Axe. "The chaser? The blonde one?"

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incharge
2012-10-18 03:39 am UTC (link)

Murmuring a noise of assent, Axe said, "That is she." A bit of unease followed, because he wondered why he always forgot her name. It wasn't so ridiculous, he supposed, being that he was never particularly good with names and rarely bothered to learn them. She always happened to be around moments he was most keen to forget, so he must block her out with them.

One would think being in such scenarios would burn her name into his brain, but he was never the most logical of creatures.

"I do not remember it well," he said, finally sitting on the bench when he could fidget no more. "You made certain there was more than enough alcohol for that." Axe raised one eyebrow in mock sternness. Mostly. It was his own fault he didn't have the discipline to control himself, he supposed. Twice this year, he'd imbibed and both times he'd apparently drunk himself into a near oblivion. If there were deities or forces he believed in with any amount of sincerity, Axe supposed he'd be thanking them that no one knew about these little transgressions. The idea of his contract being revoked over drinking was almost enjoyable compared to the reason it might be now.

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spinnets
2012-10-18 08:28 pm UTC (link)

Holy mother of goddamn shit.

Charlie was not a man of many thoughts, but he knew that his conscience was being put to a test. Not a very long test, because the answer of what he should do in this precise moment came to him quickly, but the idea that he'd have to choose between Octavius and Axe had never been something he'd thought he'd have to do. Of course there had been parties and things like that, but Charlie dragged Octavius wherever he could and he was getting better at listening to his friend. His friend! His best friend, who'd been stuck up in trees stark naked with him, who lied for him to other prefects and---

----he was the goatfather of his bloody goat for Heaven's sake!

"Well, shit," Charlie said, running a hand over his face. "Shit---shit, shit, shit." He walked away from Axe, around the barbells and the bench. Axe and Rose hooked up at the party that Charlie had thrown for Axe. He hadn't even been expecting Axe to drink, he always liked being the sober one to make fun of the rest of them when they were hung over the next morning. AXE AND ROSE? Merlin, she must've been bloody wasted as well, Charlie knew she wouldn't do that to Octavius, even if they were----sort of broken up and----his mind could not handle this!

They were barely broken up! He couldn't know this and not tell Octavius! But locker room talk was confidential, it was like talking to a nun or something, he couldn't---Charlie puffed his cheeks and turned back to Axe, feeling ready to explode.

"I forgot I had to be somewhere!" he squeaked, shutting his mouth. Charlie realized that this was not going to go well, at all, no matter what he decided. He moved quickly to pack up, "Somewhere---not here!"

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