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Ricky Rubio was having one of the best nights of his life. Normally he didn't celebrate the 4th, since he wasn't an American, but tonight he sure was enjoying this whole independence thing. Here, surrounded by his teammates and friends, he spent the night laughing and joking. It was almost perfect.
But everyone could feel the gaping hole where Zach out to be. Thankfully, Jimmy was still in California and had been unable to come to the party, not that they didn't want him there, it was just that he wasn't Zach.
Ricky was pulled from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see the smiling face of Andrew, and couldn't help but smile back.
“Wanna go for a walk?” He said softly. Ricky wasn't quite sure what this was about, but Andrew was smiling, so he just nodded and stood up. They walked hand in hand down the gravel trail towards the barn. Suddenly, he heard pounding footsteps behind them.
“Ricky,” Lily, one of the team's shooting coaches, caught up them. “I have some bad news. I tried so hard to talk Thibs out of it, but he just wouldn't listen to..”
“Lily, slow down,” Ricky said. His heart was pounding. He knew what she was going to tell him, but he asked anyway. “What's wrong?”
“You've been traded,” she whispered. “To the Jazz. They want you on a plane tonight, you know, to convince Hayward to stay. I'm so sorry.”
Beside him, he heard Andrew’s sharp intake of breath and felt the man tighten his grip on his hand.
“It's alright Lily, really. It's not your fault.” He heard himself say. “You mind if we just have a second?"
“Yeah, absolutely. I'm so sorry.” She repeated, turning away. They watched her walk back to the fire, her shoulders uncharacteristically slumped.
He turned to look at Andrew and saw his own fear reflected in the taller man’s eyes. They looked at each other for a long time, neither willing to break the silence between them. Because if they spoke, they both knew what had to be said. Finally, Andrew took a deep breath and spoke, his voice cracking.
“Ricky, you know this means we, we can't…”
His words hung in the air between them smoke.
“I know.” Ricky whispered. He felt a lump in the back of his throat. “I know.” And he did. As much as he didn't like it, he knew this would never work when they were on two separate teams. With the games and the travel, they'd barely get to see each other. But that didn't make saying goodbye any easier. Perhaps it made it worse, because the problem wasn't that they weren't right for each other or they weren't in love, it was just that the world was pulling them apart. Yes, this definitely hurt more.
Andrew leaned in kissed him gently, and Ricky tangled his fingers in the other man’s hair, pulling him closer. After a minute they broke apart, and neither could miss the awful finality in the motion.
“I love you.” Ricky said, feeling the lump in his throat growing alarmingly.
“I love you too.” Andrew replied without hesitation.
“Maybe someday when this is all over…” Ricky trailed off, not exactly sure what “this” was, or when it would be over. But Andrew just nodded. He understood what Ricky was trying to say, because he always understood Ricky’s half thoughts.
“I should go, you know, get on a plane. I'm sorry.”
“Me too.”
Ricky walked back up the path, painfully aware of how much more alone he was now. Above him, fireworks burst into life in the night sky. It felt odd that people were still celebrating despite the fact that Ricky's whole life had just come crashing down around him. This was the first time in his NBA career he had been traded, and he finally realized why it was such a big deal. It wasn't just that he was leaving the Timberwolves organization, he was leaving his best friends, his coaches, his home, and the best guy he'd ever met. A surge of loneliness rushed through him. Ricky finally felt the tears he had been struggling to hold back. They rolled down his face, and he made no move to wipe them away. Then he picked up his pace. He had to get all the way to Utah tonight.
Andrew stood in the darkness for a long time, his heart heavy. The words he never got the chance to say hung in the air around him like ghosts. He watched the fireworks with an unreadable expression, fingering the ring that was in his pocket