Disagreements - A Punch-Out!! Fic
TW: Description of Graphic Injury
Here's that Gabby Jay fanfic I mentioned, for your viewing pleasure.
Rain poured generously down onto the WVBA headquarters. The night was gloomy, to say the least, and the day had been just as miserable. No matches were booked for the next week, a rare occurrence for the WVBA which often aimed for a match everyday. They had to pull in money somehow, otherwise the whole operation was pointless. At this time, most people had left the building and gone home to be with their friends and family, except for those few who stuck around for extra training and a few reputation points. This left the area in a coat of silence that, whilst eerie for a usually overcrowded part of town, was much needed for some.. In solemn times like this, the sound of rain was the only sound necessary.
The doors to the building opened gently, and a single man stepped out and into the car park. At the sight of the rain, his uplifting demeanour dropped into one of dread. The car park was riddled with potholes and cracked concrete, much like everything else due to the company's neglect, meaning that a trip to the pick-up bay would be an impossible journey through a maze of ankle-deep puddles. That journey would unfortunately be one he’d have to take.. Much to his dismay. He sighed deeply, adjusting the strap of the gym bag resting on his shoulder, and pushed forwards into the open sky. The rain hit like asteroids, heavy and painfully cold, but the best the man could do was simply keep up the pace and pray his taxi had already found its way to the pick-up bay.
Only four steps in he’d already noted that a change of clothes would be needed when he finally got home and, at the rate of his movement, a new hairstyle as well. Every second he found himself brushing cold strands of wind-blown hair out of his face, making his cheeks ruddy and uncomfortable. It seemed that today, the poor man simply couldn’t catch a break.
He paused for a moment, using a nearby tree as some sort of shelter so he could check his phone. The tree did close to nothing to keep the rain away, but at this point he simply couldn’t bring himself to care about the state he was in anymore. His day hadn’t been the best, and a little bit of rain couldn’t make it any worse or better. Not only had he faced another grating defeat in the ring (which he usually didn’t mind.. but cared about for some reason today), he’d also caught sight of people he assumed he could trust talking about him behind his back. Many people he hung around would dismiss his feelings about a thing as insignificant as being talked about, but was it such a crime for somebody to be hurt by words? Surely that could be understood? Nobody wanted to be slandered in the shadows, no matter how little they pretended to care.
People felt that way all the time, it was just natural.. But the unfortunate reality was people in an industry like boxing simple couldn’t express their emotions as openly as others. For some reason it was frowned upon, or even used as a source of ridicule, at least on the more public side. Though, the man didn’t doubt for a second that under all the masculine facades he saw from the others, many of his co-workers had their softer moments behind closed doors.. And that was nothing to be ashamed of. So his own question was, why was he ashamed for feeling the way he did? He never cared about these things, in fact he would usually pride himself on being courageous despite what insults he faced, but he felt he’d suddenly snapped. Before he may have walked away from a ridiculing claim with a glare and a frown, now he wanted to drop knees-first onto the stone cold pavement and rip his hair out. Simply.. Scream into the night sky. And he almost did, as he felt his grip tighten and his fingernails dig every so slightly into the skin of his palms..
He resisted, though. The reason why?
In the distance a walking blur suddenly presented itself in the rain, and the man's eyes fixated on it like predator to prey. Between the poor weather and the confused tears forming in his eyes it was almost impossible to tell what the blur was, though a part of his brain knew for certain it was an enemy. Something he did not want to see. Not tonight, not tomorrow, and perhaps not for the rest of his lifetime. A threat and a disturbance..
Gabby Jay.
The blur pieced itself together in the man's vision, and cemented the theory that it was indeed the pitiful Frenchman from the B-Band. The grey moustache, overly-presented clothing and the over-confident strides were all key features of Gabby.. Whether they were good or bad depended entirely on the person. And for the person watching Gabby like a hawk as he walked to his car, they were all bad, bad and bad.
Co-workers were supposed to like each other, weren’t they? So why was it that at the mere sight of Jay, the other wanted to reach out and strangle him until he was gone? Those should never be thoughts to have about anybody, especially not co-workers..
But here it was justified in the man's head, even if the cohesive part of him told him it absolutely wasn’t. Simply put, Gabby Jay was the cause of all his problems. The bane of his existence at worst and his least favourite person at best.
So, when Jay perked up and turned towards him, he almost screamed.
“Joey! Bonjour, mon brave homme!”
Jay called out to the other, fellow Frenchman Glass Joe, with a distant wave. He held an umbrella in one hand, a polar opposite to the soaking wet Joe opposite him. At the mention of his name Joseph seethed with anger, insulted that Gabby would even dare interact with him after the things he’d done. Joe could hear the sound of his teeth grinding against each other just from the force of his jaw clenching. He was already frustrated heading home, but now he was standing in freezing cold rain, face to face and stuck in a conversation with a man he hated. The only thing preventing him from commiting a crime from the sheer emotion he felt was the focus he had staring at Jay. If he took his eyes off him for even a moment, he knew something ridiculous would happen. That was the way Gabby was.. He just seemed to carry misfortune around with him, even for himself. Joe simply couldn’t fathom living like that, even if his life wasn’t much better in comparison it was still some sort of improvement the way he saw it.
Joseph could have stood there being angry at Jay for the rest of the evening, but was able to snap himself out of his rageful trance with a spark of thought. He wouldn’t be letting his anger go, he was petty enough to keep it attached to him for the next week, but he would be acting on it rather than letting it boil inside of him. Why should he let people off the hook? He didn’t always have to be the people-pleaser. After all, who was really ever there to return the favour?
Instead, Joe used his anger to force himself towards Jay, pulling through the extra weight of the rain crashing down on every part of him as he did so. Jay simply stood there with a blank smile on his face, expecting Joe to open with an equally friendly response. He was particularly confused when Joe walked over and stayed completely silent.. How unfriendly of him.
“What’s wrong, visage aigre? Lose another match?” The older man laughed to himself, though his tone made it hard to tell whether he intended for that to be insulting or not. “Prop that fragile chin of yours up, hm! There’s always retirement if it’s too rough for you.” His soft expression quickly morphed into a forced grin as he stared at Joe’s cold face. Clearly he intended to hit a nerve whilst this interaction lasted.. For whatever reason that may be.
Despite Gabby’s harsh comments, however, Joe didn’t utter a word. He remained in one spot, with rain continuing to run down his gradually numbing features.
“At least speak back, Joey, it’s the least you can do.”
He placed his free hand on his hip, waiting.
“You’re.. Older than me.” Joe’s initial response was half-assed, since he was both freezing and tired.. But he could easily say more if he wanted to. And he planned to as well. “And don’t you dare tell me to retire… you- .. What is it about you and always telling me what to do?" He exclaimed in a sudden outburst. "When I lose, you tell me to give up, when I do something wrong, you tell me I’m stupid. Is it some kind of.. Sick joke? D-Do you think you have authority over me?! You have nothing over me! Nothing!” He grew more and more frustrated as he continued his rant, at times even pulling his hair in distress. Unfortunately for him, Gabby was none the wiser to why he was angry at all.
“Joe..” He stifled a laugh. “Are you concussed?” Jay’s answer was less than satisfactory.
The Frenchman sighed, shaking simultaneously. “I.. Heard you today.. Talking about me..”
“Then you heard me saying how great you are!”
“DON’T LIE TO ME.” He yelled, making Jay recoil where he stood. “You mocked me! You said I was weak you- You said I would be better off.. Back in Paris with Annette and Jules you-” He stuttered, finding it difficult to get any words out.
“Oh.. Joey..” Gabby reached out and placed a hand on Joey’s shoulder, much to his dismay. “Ne mentez pas, you and I both know I’m right..”
At that, Joe just.. Lost it. The sheer audacity this man had to have to insult him to his face at a time like this? He was clearly struggling emotionally, and yet all Jay had to say was ‘You know I’m right’. He knew? How did he know?! What right did he have to analyse him like that, like he was some kind of rat in a cage for him to poke and laugh at?
He just. Couldn’t. Take it.
“SALAUD!” Joe quickly jolted forwards, grabbing Gabby by the side of the head and slamming his face down on the car bonnet besides them. The thud was violent, and was followed only by the most revolting crack Joe had heard since.. Nick. Jay yelped in pain, pulling himself back up and cupping his nose, which was now bent to the side and gushing pure red down his chin.
“Gh- Joe you-” He’d found himself silenced fast, devastated. Tears streamed down his face as his expression scrunched from the pain. “.. My-”
“Suck it up, con, maybe you’d be better off retiring.” Joe hissed with staggered breath, staring at Jay with an almost primal anger as the blood began to show on his hands. “Bon débarras.”
Jay watched silently as the other Frenchman walked away, slowly fading into a blur amongst the rain.
That night both went home silent, but one certainly went home satisfied, despite the day's disagreements.
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