Touch Football mega thread

[nola_eleanor]

There was a field not too far from Phoenix Effect that was too small for all the various sports leagues in the city to have snapped up for weekend practices or games, but big enough for the fairly flexible game of touch football, so that's where they played. People came and went for most of the afternoon, though the game itself only lasted an hour and change. Almost everyone played, but there were several people watching, choosing to cheer or heckle or talk amongst themselves as it suited them.

When everyone got together enough to actually start the game, they divided into two teams, with Matteo as the referee. Zach's team was made up of Hazel, Max, Hanne, Nori, Nick, Alex, and Oliver; Kyle had Elspeth, Joel, Carrie, Caleb, Irene, Sam, and Elena on his team. It wasn't a blowout, but Zach's team won by a few touchdowns and were crowned the victors. Despite a couple minor accidents, everyone came out of it in one piece. More or less.

Comments

Dani

[nola_buckybarnes]

Joel felt so guilty about being MIA—ugh, that little turn of phrase hit a lot closer to home these days—for so long that he actually showed up for the game early, hoping to maximize his time with Elspeth and everyone else. It wasn't their fault he'd woken up one day and remembered he was a Super Soldier.

Which reminded him—he needed to keep focused and not get too into the game. It'd be easy to forget himself. Thank God this wasn't tackle.

There were only a few other people milling around the field when he walked up, and he wasn't sure how many were just random passerby. One face, though, he definitely knew. Like, really, really knew. The same way he knew Steve.

"Wanda?" he said, keeping his voice low. The incredulity still came through loud and clear.

[nola_wanda]

Dani had finally convinced herself to go to the park like Oliver had asked. She went early, well before the game was supposed to start, hoping it would be quieter and less crowded. Really, her plan was to stay just long enough that she could see Oliver. The library was waiting for her, after all; Ian might be waiting for her.

She was standing a little way away from anyone else, unsure of what to do until Oliver arrived, when she heard her name. Well, one of her names. Dani turned in the direction of the voice, knowing it wasn't Oliver's, eyes widening in surprise.

"Bucky?" It wasn't really a question, though; he couldn't be anyone else. The sense of recognition was stronger, surer than it had been with Pietro, which was confusing in its own right. She barely knew Bucky beyond fighting together, a few shared words, and things the others had told her. Was it just because she remembered being Wanda longer now than in that first shock of memory when she'd met Oliver, or did it mean something about her, or about Bucky, or about why they were here?

[nola_buckybarnes]

Joel huffed out a laugh of surprise and went straight to her, opening his arms. "Am I glad to see you!"

Sam

[nola_quicksilver]

It was kind of nice to have something normal and wholesome to look forward to after all the tumult of the past few days. A nice touch football game in the park with friends on a beautiful spring day! What could be more carefree than that?

Of course, they were also folding in a meetup with other universe-displaced people. But that was just efficient scheduling.

By the time Sam and Oliver arrived at the park, others were already there, though the game wasn't even close to starting yet. Way at the other side of the field, Sam's chess nerd friend Zach was setting up some goal markers, and he cheerfully raised his hand to them in greeting before going back to what he was going.

Oh, and he was Hank McCoy now.

Oliver stopped in his tracks, his elbow jamming sharply into Sam's side. "Scott! I mean, Sam—whoever—are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

[nola_cyclops]

And Sam thought nothing about today would be more exciting than efficient scheduling (that was not a joke). But Oliver hadn't needed to elbow Sam (ow) -- Sam was seeing what Oliver was seeing, and also not in the least worried about being called Sam and Scott interchangeably. And how could he not be called Scott when he was looking across a field at Hank McCoy?

Now that Sam knew what he knew about himself and his life as Scott, it all seemed so obvious. Of course Zach was Hank; of course Hank was Zach. He grinned and turned to Oliver. "Yes, I see Beast too."

God, who knew how many of them were here!

And if he could be anyone, Sam was so glad Zach was Hank. He and Hank had butted heads a hundred times, and both of them had their share of being right or wrong in their disagreements -- Sam knew he, at least, had come to take Hank's words as a conscience barometer and a reminder of the impact of his actions.

But the most important thing was that Hank was family. They had known each other since they were kids; the younger, more fun Scott had made good friends with Hank and it was the kind of bond that had stuck; in times of crisis, Sam trusted Hank with his life.

"I can't believe he's here." Thousands of memories crashed over Sam anew.

[nola_quicksilver]

"When are you going to tell him?" As far as Oliver was concerned, it wasn't a question that Sam, Beast's friend in their previous life as well as this one, needed to be the one to break the news. And there was no way he already knew, right? Not while looking that stupidly lighthearted.

Nori - before game

[nola_buffy]

It felt surreal, the way that she and Nori had been kind of co-existing, movingly easy around each other, both wary and on high alert. Carrie had been looking, as much as anyone could look, for people from their lives as Slayers, but it seemed like they weren't around. Maybe they had died and this was a new life. Maybe Slayer memories lingered in the next life.

Whatever the reason, Carrie was glad Nori was here; that Faith was here. So why not play a dumb game of football? Why not try to share space and a life and see what happens?

Carrie was dressed in cute workout clothes, of course, and waved at Elena as she caught sight of her. "That's who I go running with," she told Nori, as she put her bag down and started to stretch. Looks like she would know a few people here.

Hazel and Kyle, before the game

[nola_jeangrey]

Katie had really enjoyed her morning with Caleb and Scottie. Grounding her new sense of identity with people who understood but didn't look at her like she was their dead ex-wife or whatever had been a good thing. She didn't feel like the Katie that had existed prior to painting the mural, but she felt a little less unmoored. She didn't even mind when Caleb headed off to warm up.

And catching a glimpse of Hazel helped, too, because Hazel was Katie's favorite person, and the guy she was with looked cute even from a distance. It was nice to be reminded of Katie's concerns. She smiled and waved.

[nola_lucy]

It was a good day to be Hazel. She got to be outside in the sunshine, and she was going to lovingly kick her boyfriend's butt at touch football, and she was going to maybe make some new friends while hanging out with two people she already adored. Win-win-win. Hazel was wearing a University of Wisconsin t-shirt knotted at the back--it had been a friend from home's and was too big for her--and her leggings were already covered in paint splatters, so she wouldn't mind if they ended up with grass-stains too. She was ready.

Hazel had her arm around Kyle's waist and was leaning into his side when she saw Katie wave. "She's here!" She took Kyle's hand and excitedly led him over to Katie, whom she immediately pulled into a one-armed hug. "Hi!" When she pulled back, she gestured between her two favorite people. "Katie, this is in boyfriend Kyle." Her smile widened when she said boyfriend; yeah, she was gushy. "Kyle, this is my best friend Katie."

[nola_jeangrey]

Yes, a hug from Hazel was exactly what Katie needed. “Hi boyfriend Kyle,” she said, eyeing him. “I’ve heard good things.”

Kyle laughed, and sure, he was a little nervous about this, but only a little. “Hi best friend Katie,” he responded in kind. “I’ve also heard good things.”

Okay, he was a sweetheart. Katie could approve this. She whispered in Hazel’s ear “I like him.”

Zach, after the game

[nola_cyclops]

It had been so strange to play sports with Hank McCoy, like Sam -- or Scott -- had done hundreds of times before -- and yet also do it for the first time. It was a different game, they were on opposite teams, they had different names, but it still kept bringing back memories. Countless ones, large and small, from a life spent more or less together.

When the game was over and people had started breaking off into smaller groups or leaving, and after Oliver had gloated, of course, about winning(!), Sam couldn't wait any more. He headed over to Zach, still smiling, although he could feel his shoulders moving back, his spine straightening, his 'fearless leader' form activating. "Good game," he said, by way of greeting.

[nola_beast]

"Thanks!" Zach said cheerfully, because who could feel bad after running around in the park on a beautiful day, playing a friendly game of football? He was still feeling energized. "Your team gave us a run for our money, though."

[nola_cyclops]

"We didn't work together very efficiently," Sam said with a nod, "But not a bad effort. You're good at this."

[nola_tristan]

It was all fun and games until you accidentally tripped over your beautiful teammate on the field! Sure, Hanne had made it to the end of the game, but Max was worried about her leg. As soon as the game was over he made a beeline for her, even though she had been a stranger a couple of hours ago.

"I'm so sorry. I hit you hard back there! I'm so sorry! Can I take a look at your leg? It's not creepy, I'm a nurse, and I'm worried it's worse than it looks. Did I mention that I'm sorry?"

[nola_yvaine]

Hanne wasn't exactly a stranger to getting tripped, bowled over, or dropped due to years of dance classes, but it had still startled her when she'd ended up on the ground in the middle of the game. She brushed it off quickly, though, and went right back to playing, focused more on the game than on her leg. The pain was bearable, after all, and the fairly minor bleeding over her shin had stopped within a few minutes, so she wasn't worried.

But the guy responsible was worried, which was sweet, and he was a nurse and also attractive, so Hanne relented. "It's not that bad, I promise. But if you want to check it out, sure." Hanne walked over to where she'd left her bag and sat down on the grass next to it, legs extended out in front of her. She pulled a small towel and a water bottle out of her bag and took a long drink. "I'm Hanne, by the way. We didn't have a lot of time for team bonding beforehand."

[nola_tristan]

“Max,” he replied, looking up at her with a smile before training his gaze back to her leg, gently feeling for swelling. “Are you feeling much pain?"

Joel

[nola_eleanor]

Elspeth honestly didn't know why she let Kyle talk her into playing touch football. If she'd woken up hungover she probably would have blown the whole thing off, but she'd slept surprisingly well and it only took two cups of coffee and a breakfast burrito to have her feeling downright chipper. Maybe it was the prospect of meeting a bunch of new people, at least some of whom had to be fun to flirt with, or maybe she was just enjoying the excuse to wear her favorite pair of athletic shorts, which made her ass look great. Either way, she was in a good mood when she got to the field, and it only got better when she spotted Joel.

"Hey hot stuff!" she called out, stopping where she was. He was clearly talking to someone--a girl, cute from what Elspeth could see--but he could go back to her later. It had been way too long since Elspeth had seen Joel, so as soon as he glanced in her direction, she smiled and crooked her finger in a 'come here' motion.

[nola_buckybarnes]

It was another few minutes before Joel came jogging over, smiling but looking a little tired around the eyes. "Hey!" he said, reaching out for a hug. "Looking forward to the game, killer?"

[nola_eleanor]

Elspeth was happy to wrap her arms around him; Joel gave good hug, and tucked up against a hot boy was one of her favorite places to be. "I can think of like half a dozen games I would much rather play now that you're here, but I guess I'll settle for football. If I have to."

Oliver

[nola_wanda]

After Joel left to talk to someone else, Dani scanned the newly-arrived faces for another familiar one. When she found Oliver's, she waited until he was looking in her general direction before lifting her hand in a wave.

[nola_quicksilver]

Oliver's face lit up. He couldn't help it—even if Dani wasn't his exact Wanda, he still felt a similar peace knowing she was nearby. He ran her way immediately, saying, "You came, hi!" with slight breathlessness that was unbecoming of a Quicksilver.

Katie

[nola_wanda]

With the game starting soon, the people who were actually playing had to group up. Dani decided to stay, for at least a little while, so she headed for the sidelines. In particular, she aimed for the woman Oliver had pointed out to her as the one who was, like Dani herself, someone Pietro knew but from a different universe.

"Can I sit here?" she asked Katie, pointing to an open space next to her.

Re: Katie

[nola_jeangrey]

Katie was glad she had come. She’d finally gotten to meet Hazel’s boyfriend, she’d spent some time with Caleb, she’d caught the eye of the woman she’d made out with for most of last night... and now someone completely beautiful wanted to sit next to her! Lucky Katie. “Yes, please sit here,” she replied happily, looking up at Dani. “I’m Katie.”

Nick

[nola_eleanor]

Elspeth had been a little disappointed when Zach had snagged the new-hottie-named-Nick for his team so she couldn't, but on the bright side, it meant she could spend most of the game looking at him instead of lined up next to him. And boy, did she. She made sure she was across from him whenever she could, indulging in some very enjoyable eye contact and meaningful smiles. So what if they lost? Kyle had promised this would be a bonding experience and look, here she was, bonding.

After the game she ended up talking to a few people, but as soon as she extricated herself from that series of short conversations, she made sure to find Nick. "I hope you weren't planning on leaving before saying hi or at least undressing me with your eyes a couple more times."

Re: Nick

[nola_orion]

Nick loved that this game had been dreamed up, that he got to play, that he had spent part of his day running around in the sunshine making eyes at beautiful women. This was Nick’s perfect day. When the woman from the field made her way over, well, could a day get more perfect? Because it just did. “Looks like i’m saying hi,” he replied with a grin. It was clear he was doing the other thing, too.