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 Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 12:36 am
Gabby enjoyed the sound of that squeal just a little too much. But when Efflo shame-walked into the field, it was clear he'd won this round. His sense of power returned, and he was able to handle teaching Efflo baseball without performing an act of indecency on a public field. This was a very good thing. He was kind of getting to like Amity - he'd hate to get kicked out.
Gabby walked over to the mound, which was far across from Efflo. "Can you hear me?" He called out. "Just swing your bat a few times, get the hang of it. Then, I'm going to throw the ball, and you have to hit it. Easy, right?"
Riiight.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 12:46 am
“Of course I can hear you!” he yelled back, looking indignant as his ears flicked forward. As if he wouldn’t be able to hear him, it was insulting to even think about.
He lifted the bat, attempting to swing it like he had his keyblade. It was about the best frame of reference he had to this sort of thing. The bat was shorter than the weapon had been and thankfully, it threw him off balance a lot less. After a few swings, he turned back to Gabby, positioning the bat in the air.
“Like that?” he called back. “I think I’m ready…”
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:09 am
Gabby watched him swing, letting him get the hang of it, and the feel of the bat, before even putting his ball in the glove. "Yeah, just like that." He offered, nodding in approval. "Now the trick is, keep your eye on the ball. I'm serious, don't try to watch it connect, just keep your eye on the ball and swing while you do. Usually, it connects - if you don't suck."
Pressure much?
Gabby swung his pitching arm back a few times, with the ball in hand, just to stretch out and limber up. Actually, he felt no more limber than before - he just knew this was what pitchers did.
When he was ready, he called out. "Throwing now!" And leaned his arm back, all the way, before throwing the ball hard at the boil.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:27 am
Thanks for the encouraging words, Efflo thought. He narrowed his eyes; he would show the dragon a thing or two. He braced as Gabby readied to throw, steadying the bat in position.
Efflo, absolutely no experience with sports, would have thought that his boilfriend might go easy on him. Maybe throw a couple easy hits before getting down to the harder stuff. But, of course, all that assumed he was dating anyone other than Gabby.
Thus, the ball sailed past him at lightning speed and Efflo swung too late, too hard. The force of his swing spun him around and he nearly tripped, catching himself at the last minute. He scowled at Gabby, before running to retrieve the ball. Once he had it in hand, he realized he faced a dilemma. Already one point down, he realized he’d never actually thrown a ball that far before. The length of the field stretched before him. What if the ball didn’t make it to Gabby? He’d be mortified.
So he sprinted over to the dragon, handing him the ball and giving him a swift punch in the arm, daring him to say anything. Then he was back to his post, picking up the bat and settling a glare on the boil. At least he was good at running.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:45 am
Gabby bent over in laughter when the swing went wide, missing the ball completely and sending Efflo in a twirl. He'd managed to quiet down to a chuckle by the time Efflo got to him, and he winced, still laughing, at the punch. Jack, this was going to be fun. He waited until Efflo was back at the mound, before - of all things - kissing the ball.
"I'll try to go easier on you, this time." He winked. He briefly considered throwing underhand like a ghoul.. but he had more respect for Efflo than that. He just threw a slower, more steady ball, and silently wished his boilfriend luck.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:57 am
“Kiss it again and that’s all you’ll be kissing!” he warned. It’s not that he was jealous of the ball, really, it wasn’t. He was just mad that he missed. Honestly. Efflo hoped that Gabby meant what he said, because any other outcome would have had him using the bat to hit a large, more dragon-like target.
He prepared himself again, crouching, as he got ready to swing. With the ball not whipping along at Mach 5, it was easier to follow and Efflo shouted happily when the bat connected with a resounding CRACK. He’d done it; he wasn’t entirely useless at sports! Take that Gabby! He jumped around a little bit, triumphant.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:03 am
"So fiesty." Gabby's tone clearly indicated that he loved that about his boilfriend. When the bat cracked against the ball, Efflo started dancing, and Gabby hopped up into the air, his wings beating once to give him enough lift to catch the ball before it got any farther than past him.
"Yooooou're out.." He really was going to end up kissing nothing but the ball at this rate, but he couldn't help himself. As he landed on the ground, he started jogging towards Efflo. "Now that you've figured out how to hit, here's the rest of the rules of the game. You see those little white things, all in the corners there? You have to run to each of them, before I catch the ball." He'd reached Efflo, and held the ball up in front of him teasingly. "Before I catch it. Though if I catch in mid-air, you're automatically out. If I don't, you have to make it to one of the white bases - you're safe there. If I come get you with the ball, and you're not at a base.." Gabby took the ball, put it in his glove, and then palmed Efflo's rear with the glove and ball. "You're out. Got all that?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:16 am
Out? What did out mean? He didn’t like the sound of out when he first heard it, and he liked it even less when Gabby jogged over to explain it. Efflo narrowed his eyes at the ball waving in front of him, “Well, why didn’t you tell me that to begin with! That first one doesn’t count.”
He squeaked, squirming away from Gabby and his glove. Efflo turned around to face him, huffily fixing his shorts. “What happens when I’m out?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:20 am
Squirming just made Gabby try to bug him more. He kept tugging at the hem of those little shorts, moving to the other side once Efflo batted him away from the first. "Well, if this was a real game, when you're out, you have to go sit back down without any points. So it's a total loss, really. You don't want to be out. You want to be-" He prodded Efflo's stomach with a finger gently. "In."
After that, he hopped back, and jogged to the mound again, still grinning like a cheshire cat. "Get ready, I'm not holding back this time!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:40 am
He whined, at this rate his shorts weren’t going to last the game. He wasn’t really sure he was going to either. But he was determined to impress his boilfriend, and to prove himself. Efflo stepped onto the base, setting up the bat to swing.
"Do your worst!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:48 am
Despite the challenge, Gabby cared about Efflo just a little too much to actually do his worst. Nonetheless, he threw a fastball, but attempted to make it as straight as possible, unlike him. He crouched, prepared to catch it if it came up over his head, but damn it, those shorts were so distracting..
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:52 am
Fortunately for Gabby, his first pitch earned a swing and a miss. Efflo cursed quietly, kicking at the ground before fetching the ball. He didn’t hesitated as he lobbed it back with surprising ease; he was too intent on making sure he was going to hit the next one. Eye on the ball, eye on the ball, he thought as he repositioned himself with a little shake of his hips.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 3:31 am
Efflo was trying to keep his eye on the ball, but when he shook his hips, Gabby's eyes were anything but. So really, it wasn't his fault when he threw his next pitch high and outside. He'd been distracted. He would have tried his best to do another straight throw, but.. just..
His grin was fading into more of a pout. Were they done yet?
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 3:37 am
He shot his boilfriend a look of disbelief, not even dignifying that throw with a swing. Again Efflo retrieved the ball and threw it back. “Did you honestly expect me to hit that?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 3:42 am
"Huh?" He caught the ball and shook his head, trying to parse the question as if he wasn't really listening. "Oh. Oh, whatever." Criticizing his throw was definitely going to make him focus better, so when Gabby threw his next pitch, it was sleek, and right down the middle. If Efflo missed this one, he pretty much would never let the boil live it down.
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