Clegan Olympics AU Drabble
Gale and John re-watch Gale's cross-country run, and John worries about Gale's well-being. As requested by @lenabutler 😊
We are being real flexible with the word "drabble" here because none of these are going to actually be anywhere near that short!
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Gale and John are sitting at the bar on the upper story of USA House. It’s like a frat party in here, with the music and the lighting, the drinking, sports on the big screen, and rooms full of hot as hell athletes. And yet the two of them, as usual, manage to make it feel like they’re the only two people in the world.
They’ll join the other gymnasts (and a massive crowd of team USA athletes) to watch women’s gymnastics in a bit, but for now it’s just them. Bucky sips on a beer that he probably should not be allowed to have with some competition still left to go. But he’s questionably decided that it’s fine as long as he limits himself to one and then has a lot of water for the rest of the night. Gale, opting for something non-alcoholic this time, denied all of Bucky’s ridiculous virgin drink suggestions and has settled on water. Bucky tells him he’s boring.
“Here,” Gale says, pushing his phone across the bar so it’s in front of Bucky.
Bucky taps the screen to see the title of the video. “Cross country?”
Gale nods and bites down on a tortilla chip from the bowl they ordered to share. “You said you wanted to see my run. So here it is.”
“I do wanna see it,” Bucky agrees. “Even if it scares the shit out of me.”
Gale scoffs. “You’re doing some of the most dangerous tumbling passes in the world. But this scares you?”
“Yes!” Bucky exclaims. He plucks the rest of the chip out of Gale’s hand and pops it into his own mouth. “You’re going so fast. And you have to trust her to get you over safely. All I gotta trust is myself.”
“Hey.” Gale shakes his head and points to himself and Whiskey paused on the screen. “I trust that mare with my life more than any human being on this planet. Now watch.”
Gale patiently talks Bucky through the whole nine minute course, pausing the video to explain things here and there. The alternate routes at some of the obstacles and why a rider would choose to take them or not. What he was thinking at any given moment – change the stride count here, rein her in there, let her have her head over that jump, don’t fuckin’ fall off – and why some of the jumps are harder or easier than others. “These jumps are a lot bigger than they look,” he tells Bucky. “Especially the tables.”
“They look pretty damn big,” Bucky replies, wondering how they could possibly be bigger than he even thinks they are.
He bites his lip as he watches, willing Gale and Whiskey to make it over every obstacle even though he knows they do. When Whiskey trips jumping down a bank, his breath catches when he sees Gale snap backwards in the saddle, his back twisting uncomfortably as he tries to keep himself and his horse straight and steady.
“Did that hurt?” Bucky asks.
Gale shrugs.
“It did, didn’t it?”
“I mean, nothing I’m not used to.” Gale gives him a pointed look that says just watch the damn video, and Bucky closes his mouth for the moment.
When he watches Whiskey spook at one of the spectators though, he gasps as he watches Gale lose his balance in the saddle, his back once again fighting to stay steady. Gale hadn’t mentioned that he’d nearly come off at one point, and Bucky says as much.
“Don’t be dramatic,” Gale says. “I wasn’t even close to coming off.”
Bucky doesn’t relent, though. “No wonder your back hurts all the damn time.”
“I’m fine, John.”
Bucky pauses the video and looks at him. “No, I’ve seen you grimacing cause it hurts to breathe sometimes this week. I’m not stupid.”
The corner of Gale’s mouth quirks up. “As I said, nothing I’m not used to.”
Bucky frowns. “That’s not normal, Gale. It’s not normal for breathing to hurt!”
Gale shrugs. “It’s my normal.”
Bucky stares at him, at a loss. “God, you’re ridiculous.”
“And you’re a hypocrite,” Gale points out. He motions to Bucky’s leg, and Bucky huffs. “That’s what I thought. Now watch the damn video.”
Bucky asks a lot of questions at the end that he didn’t get to ask before. Does Gale wear any protective gear? – yes, he has an inflatable vest with a cord attached to the saddle, so when he falls, the cord pulls and the vest inflates. How long have he and Whiskey been training for this? – six years, not counting groundwork before she was three. Are the water complexes as fun as they look? – sure, if you like getting wet. Does it feel like they’re going as fast as it looks like they’re going? – feels like he’s flying. Are horses scared of water? – some of them. Does Gale ever feel afraid? – Gale hesitates, but he says, not really. A horse can feel if you’re afraid, so you have to act like you aren’t even if you are. You convince even yourself.
Bucky frowns when he sees Gale grimace again as he breathes in. He reaches a hand out, places it hesitantly on Gale’s back, digs his fingers into the tight muscle there. Gale bites his lip and leans into the touch. “You’re an idiot,” Bucky says, even as he offers this little, inadequate massage.
“What? Cause I keep doin’ my sport even when I’m in pain?” Gale frowns, getting defensive. “So do you.”
Bucky shakes his head. “Darling, you wouldn’t believe how much PT, heat, ice, bodywork, and rest I need on a weekly basis. Even before I screwed this thing up.” With his free hand, he points to his knee, which he currently has taped up for extra support due to the mild discomfort he’s been experiencing the last couple days. Then he points at Gale again. “You, on the other hand, seem to do absolutely nothing for yourself.”
Gale shrugs. “I stretch.”
“Oh you stretch, do you?” Bucky mocks. “How often?”
Gale shifts uncomfortably. “…Sometimes.”
“Buck!”
Gale glares at him. “I’m fine,” he says again.
“You are not.”
Gale works his jaw, but he doesn’t disagree again. He sighs quietly as Bucky tries to work at some of the knots in his back, and it makes Bucky smile even though this man and his disinterest in keeping himself functional frustrate him to no end. Gale relaxes under Bucky’s touch, and a strand of hair flops over his forehead as he looks down at the bar top. Bucky watches his shoulders tense and relax, muscles rippling beneath the fabric of his team USA t-shirt. He’s all too aware that they’re in a public place.
He can’t resist leaning in to kiss Gale softly on the lips though. When he pulls away, Gale blinks up at him, that little hint of a smile on his face. “What was that for?”
Bucky shrugs. It wasn’t for anything, really. But also it was for everything.
“You’re an idiot,” he says again, making Gale roll his eyes.
“Hey lovebirds!” Curt calls out. He approaches from behind and shoves in between them. He gives them both a look that’s half grossed out and half amused. “Quit with the PDA and get down there with the rest of us. The girls are on.”
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