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Just a Friendly Match ~ America x Reader

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(Author's Note: Since the silly title was too long...)
Just a Friendly Match – Basketballer!America x Basketballer!Reader


    _____ blocked her opponent's shot easily and snatched the basketball out of her hands. She swiftly passed it to another guard and the opposing team fled to the other half of the court. Her teammate passed the ball back to her, and _____ crossed half court at a steady dribble.

    She called out a play and her team ran it. A post player set a pick for her as she drove to the basket, and she scored an easy layup. The buzzer rang and the crowd erupted in cries of victory. The girls on _____'s team then shouted together for the other team with three cheers of “Hip, hip, hooray!”, along with two cheers for the referees and one for themselves.

    Alfred jumped off the bleachers and ran over to _____, embracing her in a warm hug, not caring that she was covered in sweat from head to toe. She hugged him back and he spun her around, both laughing. Then he set her down and leaned in. . . .


    Alfred felt the knock of a fist against his head. “Hey, Jones! You awake, man?”

    He raised his face from his desk quickly only to find his basketball shoes sitting less than three centimetres from his nose. _____ was staring at him with an annoyed look on her face, dressed in her (school colour[s]) basketball uniform, a big number (favourite #) displayed on the front. She was one of his closest female friends, but she acted so much like a guy around him that he often treated her like one. It kind of annoyed him from time to time, but that didn't stop him in the least from liking her as more than a friend. 

    “Did you forget that we have a game against you guys in basketball today? What are you doing sleeping on your desk?” She gestured at the desk with one hand as she spoke. “School ended a full ten minutes ago, y'know. It's a wonder your teacher didn't kick you out of her classroom.”

    Realisation struck him. Horror flashed across Alfred's eyes and he leapt to his feet. He rushed to gather up his things, quite stressed. “Craaaaappp! I have 5 minutes to be on the freaking court! If Coach catches me late, I'm dead! Thanks, _____!”

    _____ just rolled her eyes and picked up the shoes he'd forgotten to grab in his hurried exit. She made her way toward the gymnasium with a smirk. “We're gonna beat them so badly today.”


    Alfred sprinted to the locker room, sliding his backpack onto the ground and changing into his uniform as fast as he could. Slipping on his basketball socks, he realised something important was missing. “Where the heck are my shoes?!”

    A knock on the locker room's door sounded. “Alfred, you in there?”

    He rushed to the door and opened it to find _____ standing there with his shoes in hand.

    “Figured you might need these.” He gratefully took them and came back out after fetching his water bottle. “'Bout two minutes 'till go time. You'd better hurry it up.”

    While Alfred quickly put on his shoes and tied up the laces, _____ jogged over to her team and led stretches. The guys also had begun stretching, but they were not stretching together. Alfred was the captain, but since he was running late they started without him. (Author's Note: Because guys don't tend to be as organised as girls, they didn't do group stretching without their captain, ehehe. ^^)

    While Alfred finished tying his shoes, he watched _____ subconsciously. Even while she was just stretching she looked graceful. By this time his shoes were tied, so he walked over to where his coach was standing, clipboard in hand.

    “Alfred! Jog two laps to warm up!” ordered his coach.

    “Got it Coach. Sorry I'm late.”

    “Waste time apologising and you'll run more.”

    That shut him up. Gosh, Coach is harsh sometimes.


    ---


    After Alfred finished his second lap, the girls' coach blew his whistle. As if it were an official game, the girls lined up on one side of half court while the boys lined up on the other side. The whistle sounded again and both sides walked forward, clapping before stopping to shake everyone's hands. Alfred and _____, the captains, were on the ends of their lines, so they were the last people to shake hands.

    “Good luck.”

    “Don't go easy on us just because we're girls, 'k?”

    “No problem,” he replied with a mischievous smirk, letting go of her hand.

    The teams returned to their benches except for the starting five, who debriefed with their coaches for twenty or so seconds before walking out onto the court. It was really like a real game, only the coaches were refereeing and the captains were in charge of leading.

    The whistle blew again. Jump ball. The tallest player of each team walked to the centre, and one coach threw the ball into the air between the two. Tip!

    Instantly the game was in the boys' favour. They were scoring at least two shots for each one the girls made, with the occasional 3-pointer thrown into the mix. _____ was working her tail off, but they were just too fast, too strong, and too accurate. She could tell her teammates were faltering, so she called out to the refs, asking for a time out, and as soon as the ball went out of bounds the whistle sounded.

    “The four of you ladies who were playing need to get some water and sit down,” she instructed. She then grabbed her own water bottle and took a drink. Glancing over at the boys faces, _____ saw they looked calm, even though they were sweating just as much (if not more) than the girls were. A few of them were smiling. Alfred was speaking with an encouraging expression on his face, but he didn't exactly look proud of them. She wondered what he was saying. Perhaps he was angry they were beating the crud out of ladies? _____ inwardly chuckled at that thought.

    Then he looked up at her. His smirk from before had changed into an empathetic smile. Instantly _____ was ticked off. She didn't want pity. She wanted respect. Scowling at him, she turned back to her water bottle. She drank a few gulps and spoke to her team.

    “We need to get our heads in the game, girls.” She knelt down on one knee. The girls were standing around _____ in a circle, except the four who had been on the court alongside her. They were sitting on the bench as they had been told. “Look, I know they are boys, so naturally they are tough; but this is the type of competition we are going to need to practise with if we are to be able to play at the state level and succeed. You ladies are doing well,” she smiled, “but you need to step it up and be aggressive right back if we're going to catch up. We've got to toughen up our defence and make our shots. It's only the second quarter. I believe in you all. We can do this. Let's smack those cocky smiles off their ridiculous faces.”


    “Okay, guys, listen up,” said Alfred as he faced his team after _____ called the timeout. They seemed proud of themselves, and many were smiling. “We are doing a great job, but I think we're playing too hard.” A few annoyed grunts and groans escaped a few of the boys' throats. “Stop that grumbling. They're girls, remember? Just because they play basketball doesn't mean they are indestructible. It doesn't mean they can't get tired either.” He looked over at the girls and made eye contact with _____. He smiled at her, but she frowned, turning to speak with her teammates.

    “You're just wanting to go easy because you like _____,” one boy said.

    “Sh-shut up!” Alfred was thankful that his cheeks were already reddened by the physical activity so his blush didn't stand out. “That's not the reason. It's not very hero-like to beat up girls. Let's slow it down a bit for the rest of this quarter so we can give them a bit of a rest. On offence don't shoot until you have a completely clear 3-point shot or it's 100% wide open. Don't just let them make shots, but no direct blocking, okay? Just make them shoot from outside the key, but don't try to intercept their passes. You got it?” They gave their consent and put their hands in the middle. “Team on three!”

    “One, two, three—team!”


    The boys' cheer was heard and the whistle blew. _____ brought the girls together. “Hands in the middle. Fight on three, okay? Make it really aggressive. One, two, three—”

    “FIGHT!”

     The girls walked back out onto the court. It was the boys' ball, so the ladies set themselves up for defence. _____ looked at the girls on the court. Most were fresh off the bench. “Let's sweat, shall we?” They nodded in reply, lowering their bodies by bending their legs and resting their weight on the balls of their feet for swift movement.

    The whistle blew again and the boys passed in the ball. They didn't go for a drive though. They all were standing outside the 3-point line for some reason, just passing the ball around. The girls stepped out a bit, closer to where they stood, but not so close that they would get passed in an instant by a quick drive.

    What the shnaz is that guy doing? _____ thought, questioning Alfred's motives. She stepped closer to him as he caught the ball, furrowing her brow and frowning in concentration.

    “What's the matter, _____?” he teased. “Can't get the ball?” Alfred palmed the ball and held it out in front of him, his other palm facing the roof in a questioning manner.

    _____ was too frustrated to respond at this point. She snatched at the ball, but he passed it away before she could get it. He had the most annoying smile that ever existed plastered across his face. She scowled like no tomorrow.

    The ball was being passed back to him when she she darted forward and grabbed it, catching him off guard. She dribbled swiftly down the court before anyone else could catch up and made a layup. The rest of the players reached that end of the court and one of the guys took the ball out of bounds.

    “Run our half-court press! Then we go man-on!” _____ shouted, spreading her arms wide. Others did the same as they got into position.

    The boys passed in the ball and tried to work their way out of the press without going too hard. One of _____'s teammates grabbed the ball from one of the guys and took a shot from inside the key. It swished and the boys took the ball out of bounds again. They passed it to one of the faster, larger boys and he took off down the court, ticked that they hadn't gotten around the ‘weak’ press before. _____ sprinted after him.

    As his feet left the ground for a jump shot, she jumped with him. He shot and swung his arm down as gravity began to return him to the wooden gym floor. _____ was right beside and slightly behind him. She shrieked in horror as his elbow became the only thing in her sight, and everything went black.


    “_____!” cried Alfred, rushing over to her side and she lay unconscious on the hard ground. He then stood and glared at the teen who'd just scored two points. With dampening eyes, Alfred grabbed the jersey of the taller boy and began shaking it. “What have you done?!” The boy just stared, aghast, with his mouth hanging and no words coming forth. “What if you killed her with your stupid, flailing arm?!” Alfred thrust the boy away by his jersey, pushing him back a few steps. He crouched back down by _____ and picked her up gently, making sure to support her head with his arm in the process. Calming his breath, he walked to the boy who'd knocked _____ out and stated, “I'll take her to the nurse. You all can continue the game if you want, but I'm done.” The boy reached out a hand to apologise but chose to stay silent as Alfred walked away, his injured treasure in his arms.


    Alfred stepped into the nurse's office. "Hello? Aunt Emma?" The nurse wasn't really his aunt, but all the students called her 'aunt'.

    When the short, strawberry blonde-haired lady stepped out from behind a curtain, he let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, my! Alfred, what happened?" The middle-aged woman rushed over to him and looked at the poor girl in his arms.

    “Unconscious. She got whacked really hard in the face.”

    The nurse looked at the girl's head, noticing the bruise beginning to form on the top part of the bridge of her nose and her forehead.

    “Is she going to be okay?”

    “Bring her back here to one of the beds.” Aunt Emma began leading Alfred to the closest made bed and pushed aside the curtain. “Luckily she wasn't hit in the eye or directly on the nose,” she said as she gestured for him to lie her down. He did so, making sure not to jerk her around too much. “Then there would have been a much bigger problem.”

    The nurse put the blanket over the girl and continued. “I think she will be fine, even though she must have hit her head when she collapsed as well. She will have a bad headache when she wakes up, but she shouldn't have any long-term injuries.”

    Aunt Emma saw the concerned look on the boy's face. “Don't worry, Alfred. She'll be better in a jiffy!” She flashed him a sweet smile before gesturing to the door. “You can head on back. You're probably needed at practise, right?”

    “Nah, they don't need me. Uhh, can I... Maybe stay here for awhile?” He slightly blushed as he spoke.

    “Only if you really want to. There's nothing much to do but wait, though.” Pointing toward a chair that was folded up against the wall, she said, “You may use that chair to sit. If you have any questions or need something, you can just ask. I'll just be in the adjacent room working at my desk.” Then the nurse left.

    Alfred walked over to the sink and picked up a white washcloth. He turned on the tap and wet the washcloth before walking over to _____'s bedside. She looked so peaceful lying there on the pure white bedsheets. He brushed a few stray strands of (h/c) hair out of her eyes and pressed the washcloth to her forehead. Alfred knelt on the cold ground beside her bed and took her hand in his, pressing it to his lips. She'll get better... I know she will...


    ---


    Alfred sat in the metal foldable chair. It had been over a half-hour since he'd laid _____ down on this bed and he was really starting to worry. He still held her hand and had watched her lovely face the entire time. Maybe she had just fallen asleep after becoming unconscious. The bed was comfortable, after all. Her chest rose and fell at a steady pace, so that was probably the case; but Alfred couldn't keep himself from being concerned. What if she wouldn't wake up? He clasped his free hand across his mouth. What if she's in a coma? The thought horrified him and he felt his heart start beating faster as he fretted.

    He tried to calm himself by shaking his head. No, no, no; that isn't it... That couldn't happen... She's too strong for that... Alfred got to his feet and set _____'s hand back on the bed. He leaned down to _____'s face and whispered in her ear, “Please wake up...” He lifted his head and saw that her brows were furrowed. Perhaps she was dreaming of something unpleasant. Alfred frowned at that and removed the washcloth from her face. He gently brushed some hair out of her eyes before placing his forehead on hers and saying the words he'd been wanting to say for months. “I love you.”

    He then stood up straight and saw that her face was no longer tense. _____ once again looked peaceful, so he smiled and placed the washcloth back on her forehead. Turning toward the door, Alfred took a step to leave the room before his jersey got caught on something. He looked back to see _____ weakly holding onto his shirt. It still looked like she was asleep as she murmured a few fairly distinguishable words.

    “Al... Don't go.” Her tired tone of voice sounded somewhat distressed. So she was having a bad dream after all. Alfred thought it was cute that she spoke in her sleep, but why was she calling for him to not leave? Was he leaving her in her dream?

    He removed her hand gently from his jersey and bent down to softly kiss it. “I won't leave you, _____.” Then she lifted her hand and caressed his cheek. Alfred looked up at her face to find her (e/c) eyes open and shining at him. On her lips was a sweet smile.

    He blushed profusely and turned his face away. “Uhh, y-you need to rest. W-why don't you go b-back to sleep?”

    “Don't wanna. You have my hand. Why're you holding my hand, Alfie?” _____'s adorable smile never faltered as she spoke. Alfred felt her squeeze his hand gently, and he blushed more at the nickname. She rarely called him by his first name, let alone by a cute nickname like that.

    “Ahh, erm. Sorry...” He tried to set her hand back onto the bed without facing her, but she wouldn't let go.

    “Alfieeee... Come baaack.”

    He still faced away as his face became redder than a tomato. There was a pause before he spoke again. “Err, I.. I think you're tired, _____. C-can you let go, please?”

    “Why?”

    “Uhh, 'c-cause I need to tell your coach that, umm, y-you're alright and s-stuff.”

    “But you said you wouldn't leave.” She pulled on his hand like a whining toddler and pouted.

    “_-_____, I, uhh... Erm, since you're awake I should, umm... Th-there's a granola bar on the table next to you if you want it; and, uhh, there's also aspirin and a cup of water if you, err, have a headache.”

    “Headache, hmm?” She had a thoughtful, but somewhat pained look on her face. “I do have one. But I think it's because you're being such a stupid, oblivious idiot.”

    Startled, Alfred turned to look at her and saw that she was sitting up straight with angry brows and a scowl on her face. She grasped his hand more firmly, and his face flushed as she pulled him closer to her side. She turned to face him. “You brought me here and sat with me the whole time, right?” He averted his eyes and nodded, feeling extremely awkward as she stared at his rose-coloured face. He slightly turned his head, but she grabbed his face and made him look at her. “Look at me, Jones!” He complied reluctantly and felt his cheeks heating up from her touch and intense gaze. 

    “Well, if you bothered to care for me so thoughtfully and even put a freaking wet washcloth on my head to help keep me cool and set everything out for me that I could possibly need, shouldn't I recognise your actions with some sort of thanks?” She picked up the washcloth and held it in front of his face with her free hand as she spoke about it. Then she put it on top of his head. “Wouldn't that be the most reasonable thing to do?”

    The washcloth fell to the floor, making a soft thud noise. It was ignored. Alfred had no clue how to reply. “Uhhh...Y-yes, I-I guess?” _____'s face was about a foot and a half from his. He tried to look away again, but she grabbed his face again.

    “Listen, stupid. What did you say to me before you tried to leave?”

    Alfred's face looked horror-stricken. She heard that?! “Ahh, err, umm....” His reply was quickly spoken. “I-if you heard me say something, th-then why don't you tell me what I said?”

    “So you did say something?”

    “Uhhhh....” Dangit, she didn't hear? He internally whacked himself on the head with a baseball bat as his face reddened even more. Now I'm just digging myself into a deeper hole. Alfred was stumped. Did he dare tell her?

    “What was it you said, Jones?” She raised herself until she was even closer to his face than before. Now she was kneeling on the bed, not sitting on it, and her left hand was still clasped onto Alfred's right one. He searched her face for any sign of emotion other than the variation of strange hostility she was displaying. Her cheeks were not flushed as far as he could tell, but maybe it was just the lighting. The best word he could think of that described her countenance was intense. He looked at her eyes to find her familiar (e/c) ones staring deeply into his. It was like she was staring into his soul, and he instantly felt even more awkward.

    “Wh-what I said was... Ermm.... I...” His voice disappeared.

    “Hmm?” She leaned in even closer and raised her eyebrows; and he blushed even harder—if, indeed, that was physically possible. Her breath was causing his glasses to fog slightly.

    He couldn't wait any longer. His dream from earlier that day had deprived him of what he wanted at the last minute, and now might be his only chance to get it back. Alfred took his free hand and reached behind _____'s head, bringing her mouth to meet his. He then proceeded to close his eyes. 

    Her hand slipped out of his. Well, the end's the end, thought Alfred. He opened his eyes to see if _____ was about to pull back and slap him, but to his surprise her eyes were closed. She was raising her arms to rest them across his shoulders and around his neck as she deepened the kiss.

    _____ leaned back, causing Alfred to lose his balance and fall forward. He crashed onto the white bed, landing next to her, and the two separated. Alfred looked at her with loving eyes. She was blushing, finally. He smiled. “I said, 'I love you.'”

    Then _____ dug her knuckles into his head, catching him by surprise. “Figured as much.” She stopped and grinned at him teasingly before removing his glasses and setting them aside. “You always stared at me when you thought I wasn't looking. Be more sneaky, idiot.”

    “You saw that? Haha, I guess maybe I should have—” His voice was cut off by her finger stopping his lips.

    “What's done is done, Jones.” She looked into his eyes, unveiled as they were without his glasses. Her (e/c) eyes melded with his blue ones; and she started playing with his ‘obnoxious cowlick’, as she liked to call it. “No need to imagine what you could have done. Think about now.” They fell silent, faces red, but emotions happy.

    Alfred brushed a few of _____'s stray hairs behind her ear and smiled. He then brought her forehead to his lips and kissed it for a few moments. So this is what it feels like... To finally have your love be returned.

    He released his kiss and she looked up at him. “Al.”

    “Hmm?”

    “You missed.” That said, _____ kissed him gently. Though he was very much caught off guard, he couldn't help but feel that this kiss was much sweeter than the first.


    ---


    After awhile, some brief conversation was heard coming from the nurse's office, followed by a few pairs of somewhat heavy footsteps. _____ and Alfred bolted upright. The boy stood to his feet in a hussle, trying to appear as though he'd been standing there the whole time. Standing in the doorway were both coaches and the boy who'd knocked _____ out during the game. Their eyes were wide, and the boy's jaw dropped. Both Alfred and _____ had completely forgotten about the game and wore similarly stunned faces.

    “Ah, uhh...” Alfred started.

    “I'm feeling better, Coach. Alfred here made sure I was okay. He gave me the best of care, though I wasn't really hurt that badly.” She emphasised the 'care' bit teasingly and smiled brightly.

    Consequently, both coaches burst out laughing while the boy just stood there, mouth still agape. Soon everyone was laughing except the boy, who was still very confused. Neither Al nor _____ felt embarrassed anymore.

    Alfred's coach spoke between laughs. “I see you finally got your girl, eh, Al?”

    “Sure did!” Alfred leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek and she punched his shoulder. “Ow! Haha, she's as good as new. Maybe even better.” He smirked at _____ and she rolled her eyes. Then he turned and walked toward the boy who'd knocked her out. “So no worries, bro,” he said patting his shoulder. “Thanks to you, this treasure is finally mine.”

    “B-but—”

    “Oh, stop talking about me like I'm a thing, Alfie.” _____ got to her feet and tried walking over to them; but she swayed a bit, lightheaded.

    Alfred rushed over to her to steady her. Then he smirked. “Y'know, I think I'm gonna have to carry you all the way home. You're walking around like a baby trying to walk.” He swooped her up into his arms, bridal style. The coaches smiled, remembering their high school days and how they always teased the girls who inevitably had become their wives.

    Instantly _____ began whacking Alfred's chest with her fists and struggling. “Oh, no, you don't. You put me down, Alfred F. Jones! Put me down this instant!” He reluctantly obliged, making a depressed face, and she sighed. “Fine, if you insist...” His eyes brightened, and he threatened to pick her up again. “But you have to carry me on your back.”

    “Aww, little _____ wants a piggy-back ride!”

    “Shut up, Jones.” 

    Alfred bent down and _____ clambered onto his back. By this time the coaches had started walking out of the room. They bid the nurse farewell and were quietly joking with each other as they left. Alfred soon followed, carrying _____.

    “Thanks again, Aunt Emma!” he greeted with a goofy grin.

    The blond nurse smiled and waved in return. “Bye, bye, now.”

    In the doorway stood Alfred's teammate, still staring in immense befuddlement. He scratched his head as he began following everyone else.“Ayayay... I am so confused. How did all of that just work itself out?” (Author’s Note: Lol, this guy is too amusing. :XD: You can imagine him as anyone you want.)


    _____ clung to Alfred's back as he carried her home, legs around his waist and arms around his shoulders. In his hands he carried both of their backpacks. He feels so warm. This warmth was unlike any warmth that _____ had ever felt before. She could feel his strong muscles under his basketball uniform.  Strong in body and in character... She sighed and hugged him tighter. I'm a lucky girl.

    “Err, _____, you're choking me.”

    “Ahh, sorry, Al.” She loosened her grip and straightened herself. “Y'know, I can probably walk now.”

    “You sure?”

    “Positive.”

    Alfred set her down and put on his backpack. He reached out and took her hand in his free one, refusing to hand her her backpack.

    There was a short silence before _____ spoke. “Y'know, it's been awhile since I've been this happy.” She was facing straight ahead with a smile on her lips. Alfred felt pressure on his hand; he looked over at her. She stared at the ground, slightly blushing. “I know it might seem weird for me to say so... And I'm sure you never would have guessed it before, but...” The girl stopped in her tracks and turned away.

    Alfred stood in front of her, setting her backpack down, and turned her face toward his. She was crying, and she released his hand to rub her eyes with both of hers.

    “I'm so sorry, I just—”

    “—Don't apologise, _____. Crying is natural. Cry all you need when you're with me.” He embraced her tightly as her tears flowed onto his jersey. “The Hero will protect you...


I'll always protect you.”
Haha, I wanted to write a short one-shot... I guess it was kinda long. ^^' I hope you like it, even so. Sorry if America is a bit OOC.

Please tell me your thoughts. ^^

IF YOU LIKED IT PLEASE TELL ME WHY. :3 Please don't just run away after adding it to your favourites. :(

Story © me
America
© :iconhimaruyaplz:
© 2014 - 2024 Sunbeargirl
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stillprocrastinating's avatar
omg u made me cry! :')

that last bit... it got me... caught me off-guard :'O

i do not cry... ever... & you've done it! :']

i can't stop! :'3

you've broken me!!!!!!!! :'D


to answer your question... it may just be me... but i feel loved when they look after me... that is why i love this... & that last line... I...

(& btw i personally don't care that it's quite long)