captain–kitten:

CS AU: Pitch ( + perfect baby ficlet courtesy of actual goddess @killians-dimples)

Pitcher Emma Swan skyrockets to fame when she is called up by the San Diego Padres to become the first woman in Major League Baseball. Emma must prove herself to her teammates, starting with team captain and veteran catcher Killian Jones, while shouldering the expectations of a nation. Will the pressures both on and off the field be too much for the young superstar? Or will she end up being the savior her team (and captain) needs?

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“I can’t -” her inhale is pulled in tight through her teeth, exhale just as sharp. The cheers are deafening from the stands, the noise overwhelming. Her hands won’t stop shaking and she just – she can’t. “I can’t do this.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

His face mask is pushed over his head, his hair a mess beneath. There’s sweat lingering in the hollow of his throat and dirt smudged just beneath his chin and she focuses on it, trying to calm her breathing. His words aren’t gentle like she assumed they might be, but hard around the edges – his eyes just as sharp. 

And it oddly helps calm her frayed nerves a bit.

“You think you’re the only one with a tragic backstory?” he shifts closer into her space, tapping her hip once with his glove. “You don’t get to this. Focus. Take a deep breath. And throw the bloody ball.” He smiles, one side of his mouth rising to catch the other in a slow smirk. “Into my glove, if you please.”

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