the rookie | andrew benintendi

x | mine

Watching Andrew limp around was a modern form of torture, Ari had concluded. Though Andrew was walking, he seemed to be in a lot of pain. This was on display currently, as he attempted to gather his things from around the room.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Ari asked as she sat on the bed, watching.

"I'm fine," he lied, wincing as he took a step.

"Like I believe that," she said, shaking her head as she stood up. "Just rest. Tell me what you want me to pack and I will."

"I told you--"

"You're just going to make it worse," Ari interrupted. "I know you like to pretend your fine but you're hurt, Andrew. The only way to fix that is to rest and give yourself time to heal."

Andrew looked over at her for a few moments before sighing, knowing she was right. He sat down, and for the next 10 minutes, he instructed her on where to put things. They had to leave soon after, but Ari had convinced Andrew to let her carry his bag. It wasn't too heavy, but Ari already felt bag enough about the injury. Though watching him limp around didn't help, either.

Andrew went right to the trainer when they arrived at the field. As much as she wanted to hear an update on his injury as soon as possible, Ari went to the batting cages. Unlike other players, who had routines, she didn't do this every day. She only hit before BP when she was stressed or in a slump.

The hours before the game inched by. Ari just wanted to start the game so maybe she could stop thinking about Andrew. He was on her mind a lot, but today was a little bit more painful. It hurt to see him in the dugout, rather than on the field.

"You alright?" Andrew questioned as Ari leaned on him. The Rays were about to take the field for the last game of the series, but Ari had a while to wait before she was needed.

"Yeah," she answered quietly as Andrew wrapped an arm around her waist.

The game moved quickly until the top of the third when Ari led off. She was quickly down 0-2 -- a theme in the game so far -- and knew she had to swing at anything close.

The third pitch delivered was low and inside: a perfect pitch for her to hit. As soon as she saw the ball fly off the bat, she knew she had hit a home run. She dropped her bat, watching it fly as she began to jog around the bases. She stomped on home plate, high fiving Dustin and Mookie before walking into the dugout. She held her hands up, high fiving her teammates as she made her way to where Andrew was sitting at the end of the dugout. He held up two hands and she high fived him, grabbing onto his hands as she grinned.

"That one's for you!" she exclaimed. He grinned at her before turning back to the field. She put her batting gloves and leg guard away before sitting next to him. Her fingers brushed his thigh and he grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together. She looked over at him, blushing.

"Some's going to see, Andrew," she whispered.

"No one can see us from here," he whispered. "It's not like they can prove this means anything anyway."

Still blushing, Ari nodded.

Ari's one run was all the Red Sox needed to win, as they shut out the Rays 1-0. The team got home late, and though Ari had slept on Andrew for most of the flight, she was still exhausted. After changing when she got home, she went straight to bed.

In the middle of the night, Ari was awoken by a loud clanging noise. She rolled over, groaning. The clock read 4 A.M., and she wondered why in the world anyone would be up at that hour.

She got up, going to see what had caused the loud noise. She found that the light was on in the kitchen. Upon walking in, she found Andrew sitting on the floor, picking pieces of something up and putting them in the trash can.

"What are you doing up?" Ari questioned.

Andrew jumped, turning to her. "I couldn't sleep," he said. "Sorry."

"It's alright," she said, sitting down across from him. She could now see that he had dropped cereal. Shaking her head, she began to help him clean up.

"You can go back to bed," Andrew said. "I can clean this up myself."

"No, it's fine," she said, brushing her hair out of her face. "I'm already awake. I don't know if I'd be able to fall asleep."

They continued to clean up for a few more minutes. Ari helped Andrew up before sweeping the floor to make sure that everything was clean. Afterwards, they both decided to watch a movie rather than trying to go back to bed. Ari made popcorn as Andrew turned on the TV, scrolling through the TV shows and movies. When Ari joined him on the couch, she decided on watching a show entitled Psych: it was one of her all-time favorites.

She explained what the show was about briefly before picking one of her favorite episodes. Andrew appeared to be slightly confused at first but quickly caught on. However, he seemed more focused on Ari than on the show. He was holding her hand again, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. He kept glancing over at her like he wanted to say something. Ari tried to ignore it, but it bothered her. What was he so nervous about? She had had about enough of the teasing.

"Another episode?" Ari asked once the first episode was over.

"Sure," Andrew said. She clicked 'next episode' as Andrew leaned towards her, taking a piece of popcorn. He kissed her cheek -- something he had yet to do -- before continuing like nothing had happened. That was it for Ari, who stood up and turned to him.

"What does that mean!" she exclaimed. "You can't just do all this and not tell me what it means!"

Andrew looked up at her, speaking calmly. "Come here."

Hesitantly, Ari sat back down. She looked down at her hands, not daring to look him in the eye.

"I should have done this a long time ago," he began, "And if I don't do it now, I'm never going to get the nerve to do it again. Please look at me, Ari." She complied.

With that, Andrew leaned forward and kissed her. For a few moments, she couldn't move. Even after all the hints, she was completely shocked. For once, she had been right about someone's feelings for her.

She barely even realized that she had begun to kiss back. She was so focused on the way his lips felt, finally pressed against hers, that she the fact she was kissing him didn't sink in until he pulled away. She looked over at him with wide eyes, waiting for him to speak.

"Does it make sense now?" he questioned, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"All this time..." Ari trailed, trying to comprehend it all.

"I've felt this way since the first day I met you, Ari," he said, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "Brock always told me you felt the same, but I never believed him. When you told me that you liked someone on the team, I had to know who it was. I wanted you to know how I felt, but I didn't mean to hurt you. If I did that, I'm sorry."

"You didn't hurt me. I understand that you wanted to know just as bad as I did. I was just frustrated because I didn't know how to handle my feelings," Ari said, chuckling to herself. "I think it's pretty clear how I feel now."

"Can I tell you something else?" Andrew asked. Confused, Ari nodded. "I don't think I've ever wanted to kiss anyone as much as I want to kiss you right now."

Grinning, Ari kissed him again. She leaned into him, running her hands through his hair. His hands moved to her waist, holding her against him.

"What does this make us?" Ari questioned, moving away.

"What do you want it to make us?" Andrew countered.

"I want to call you mine, Andrew."

Smiling, Andrew leaned in, whispering against her lips, "I'm all yours."

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bless tf up everyone the ship is sailing

10.11.17