Hey guys, Taka's back, and I'm not dead. Well, what to say here? Okay, uh, Valentine's Day fic, one of the pairings I mostly like in this fandom. I have to thanks WolfyTheRuff for helping me in this, and we wanted to dedicate this story to Cryandia (We know you like the ship, and we hope you like the fic). Well, enough with me talking.
Enjoy
Today was a very special day for many people. A day filled with love and joy (oh, and chocolate, can't forget that), and all things equally wholesome and sexy. For Lynn, the day was also special, but for a different reason. She'd be heading to see a live game of baseball. Yes, she's has seen them before in the stadium, and even more on the television, but the excitement to see the two teams battle for the victory under the cheers of the crowd. Kind of like the Romans with gladiators, except for the fact that nobody died (most of the time).
She was making her way towards the house of a friend. She had to say, she was surprised when Francisco texted her two days prior. It was nice of him to offer her an extra ticket he had, cause apparently his other company wouldn't be able to make it. From what he told her, his mother would give them a ride towards the stadium. She had everything she needed, baseball cap showing how proud she was of the regional team, a small bag on her back to keep any valuable belongings, like her phone and some bucks for snacks, and her lucky baseball in her hand. Gotta do what you can to help the team. Unfortunately she didn't have her team's lucky T-shirt, because there was something sleeping over it on her bed. And since her mom had forbidden her to wake up Lana, she had to go with her usual sport attire.
She arrived at the house where she assumed was her destination. Yes, she had the address, but she had never been to his house before. It was small, one floor only, it had blue walls with a dark grey ceiling. She walked through the stone slab path leading towards the door, where she rang the doorbell. The ding dong echoed outside, soon followed by steps from the inside. In a matter of seconds, the door opened, revealing a teen slightly taller than her, wearing an attire mostly composed of light blue and white. Same went for the cap he wore facing forward.
"Oh, hey Lynn!" He greeted and waved, sporting a goofy grin. While he could be tough on the field, that almost never applied outside of it.
"Francisco, my dude, how ya doin'?" Lynn asked casually.
Under that calm demeanor, though, it felt like there were butterflies in her stomach. Although they managed to grow closer to each other and become good friends, he was also her crush and she couldn't help but feel nervous around him at times. The good kind of nervous, the kind that makes you want to be around them more even despite keeping the crush a secret, (or at least look like that. After she gave him a love letter, that topic was never brought up) out of fear of feelings not being reciprocated. Lynn wasn't one to fear much things, but everyone has their weak spot. If she couldn't have him as a boyfriend, she would still want to at least have him as a regular friend, and she didn't want to risk losing that too.
"Uhh… Lynn? You alright?" Francisco asked, suddenly bringing Lynn back to Earth. She realized that she had zoned out into her own little world. Her cheeks heated up in embarrassment.
"Oh! Yeah, just got zoned out in my head is all."
"No problem, know how it feels. They say some have the capacity to think about nothing at will."
That was as confusing to Lynn as to why he liked to dress as a comic super hero from time to time. He signed her to come in, and so did she. The living room was nothing very special, a couch, a TV, a small carpet, a center table, and connections to other rooms of the house. Even if Lynn wasn't one to be interested in design, the grey walls looked a bit ugly with the wooden floor. Maybe hang some photos or paint it another color.
"Mom, my friend's is here!" He shouted. Lynn heard footsteps coming from a hallway. From there, a woman showed up, probably on her mid thirties. She had a pair of black leggings and a white shirt, followed with a pair of beige sandals. She had a darker skin color than Lynn, similar to her friend, and black long straight hair, falling behind her shoulders. She also had a pair of small fake gold earrings. Nothing too fancy, but also not bad looking.
"Oh, so you're the Lynn my honeybunny always talks about?" She said, as she made her way towards Lynn, and offered her a hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you!"
Francisco blushed and groaned at the nickname, while Lynn just giggled. "MOM!"
Lynn shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too, Miss...uh..."
"It's Antunes. Juliana Antunes."
"Well then, nice to meet you, Miss Antunes."
"Do I look old for you to call me a 'Miss?'" She asked, giggling a bit. She then looked at her pulse watch. "Oh my, we're running out of time. I'll go grab the keys, and let's go."
They dashed towards the Antunes' car, a silver SUV. It wasn't as big as Vanzilla, but also definitely much more spacious. Truth be told, it was rare that she was able to ride in a car without being squished between her siblings and the door. One of the advantages her friend had for being an only child, she supposed.
"So, Lynn, what do you like to do?" Francisco's mother asked, as she pulled the car out of the parking spot, and made her way into the road. "My son said you also like sports, right?"
"Yup, name any sport and I betcha I've played it before. Soccer, hockey, basketball, that sorta stuff." She brought up an arm and flexed her biceps. "Don't wanna brag, but I'd say I've got years of practice under my belt."
"Wow, that's impressive. Never saw someone like that from where I came from. We usually only have soccer, and back in the day, we had true legends back there. Pelé, Garrincha, Sócrates, Ronaldo. Not these pussies that only act like they're hurt."
"Mom!" Francisco said, a bit embarrassed at her choice of words.
"What? It's true? Soccer is not what it used to be back in the day. Ever heard of those names, Lynn?"
"Yeah, like you said, true legends. At least on my team when we play soccer, there's no pretending. Wish I could say the same about the show they put on TV." Lynn replied.
"Finally someone that sees it!" She exclaimed. "Now I understand why you like her, honey, she knows what's the best!"
"MOM!" He exclaimed, and Lynn noticed a slight blush coming from him. She could only laugh. Honestly, Lynn could guess 'mom' was the only word Francisco could say.
"So… honey," She laughed again at the nickname. "Your mom knows what's up, and you don't have to be embarrassed. She just wants what's best for her little honeybunny." Heh, if only she could call him that as more than just to tease him.
"Stop! Why do you all love to tease me?!" He crossed his arms and faced the window, as the two girls continued laughing.
The rest of the ride was quite calm, with them talking about other sport legends or just listening to the radio, until they arrived at the stadium. The mother dropped the two of them, explaining she had some errands to solve, and she'd get the two after the game. They saw the car turning the corner, before they faced the jumped out of the car and thanked Ms. Antunes for the lift.
"No problem. Have fun at the game, sweeties!" She said before driving off. Now Lynn blushed in embarrassment as well. The two ignored that and turned around.
They entered the colossal building, grabbing a few snacks for the match (cheering makes people hungry), and went towards their seats. It wasn't the best Lynn had ever watched a game in, but you don't choose your beggars. The game was still a few minutes away from starting, so they had some time to kill.
"So, how's family?" Francisco asked.
"They've been alright, nothing really new aside from Lisa nearly blowing up the house with her chemicals the other day. That's normal with my family, though."
"In my house, we call it blowing news." He said, and the pun was so terrible Lynn felt even Luan would groan. "Mine is even more boring. Usually just me and mom, dad only comes home at night, so it's quite monotonous."
"Heh, y'know, I'm probably one of the bigger contributors to the noise that comes from our house, but it'd be nice to have some peace and quiet every once in a while, too." She said. "And forget sleeping in late, you're pretty much forced to be a morning person at my house."
"I doubt someone can sleep a lot with that many people in your house. You want some more zzz's, just show up in my house, no one will bother you."
That comment sounded a bit awkward, but then again, Francisco was one of those that didn't care for almost anything. But before she could reply, they noticed that the game was about to begin, so the focus changed from each other and set into the play. Their team would be hitting first, which meant...basically, that they could cheer or curse depending on how well the batters could hit.
Lynn, ever a superstitious person, made sure to do every good luck ritual of hers that she felt was necessary the night before, right before bed. She hoped it would be enough for the team she was rooting for.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Francisco asked her.
She was in the middle of jogging in a small circle before she stopped. "Good luck rituals, can't be too careful when you're pulling for your team's winnings."
"Oh, okay then." Francisco said, as he stood up and began copying what she was doing. "If it helps them win, then why not!" Besides, it looked fun and he had to admit… Lynn looked adorable when she did those good luck rituals. Not that she had to know that. They soon finished that up and ran into the building to the game as fast as they could manage.
The match began, the players were set to one more game of baseball. The announcer was doing his job of announcing what was happening like someone wouldn't be paying attention to the game. The first batter went to his position, and held the bat over his shoulder. The ball came flying towards them, which he swang with all his strength. The crowded jumped from their sheets and cheered at the performance.
"Ahhh!" Francisco exclaimed. Lynn took a couple seconds to turn around and notice he had a dark stain on most of his clothes, and a cup of soda was spilled on the floor.
"Oh dammit, sorry!" Lynn apologized, a bit embarrassed.
"No no, it's okay… I'll just...I have to get this cleaned up. My mom hates seeing this shirt dirty."
Without being able to reply, Francisco ran out of his seat and headed towards the nearest bathroom to clean his dirty clothes. The last time he ruined a team uniform before...let's say she wasn't very happy. She had an obsession with that, for some reason. Lynn felt a bit sad for being left alone, but the game soon caught her attention.
Francisco, meanwhile, suddenly got pensive. "This is the first time I've actually… done something with Lynn. Sure, I've sometimes come over to her house, and we play sports together… but this is the first time we've actually gone out for something together." He thought to himself.
After a few minutes struggling to find his way to the lavatory, and occasionally seeing one play or another, he finally managed to find a bathroom. Sure, the most destroyed, smelly and graffitated that he could imagine, but a bathroom is a bathroom, and it had (some) working sinks.
As he began washing his shirt the best way he could, he heard clappings and cheerings every once in a while. But that wasn't exactly his thought right now. Hey, he was with a girl he liked, doing something they liked, and his mother wouldn't shut up about how much he should try to make an advancement. He wasn't exactly in desperate search for a girlfriend or a date or anything like that, but he thought it would be nice to try.
There's this love letter the last year, and maybe that's the point where they began to get closer together. He wasn't sure if she liked him like that, but she seemed determined when writing. He just wished she had a letter he could read by himself, and not needing to ask his mother for help to reading. She wouldn't stop talking about how he was growing up or something like that. He thanked he wasn't Lincoln. He heard some stories coming from the boy himself when he said the words girl, date, and synonyms.
He faced himself in the mirror. He began to feel his face heat up, so he turned on the faucet and splashed his face with some cold water, which helped a bit. His father wasn't home most of the time, he either worked full week or was in a business trip. His mother, on the other hand, gave some good advice. Like, women should know how others generally think, right? She gave him very good advice, 'specially when it comes to things that happens in their homeland, and not in America. He remembered when she told him some of the difference.
"We only fix things once everything is ruined."
Wait, what? Yes, that was true, but it was not what he was trying to remember. He had to keep that in mind if he ever hoped going back to his homeland.
"Back there you have to break some rules or the rules will break you."
He was starting to understand once again why they came to live in Michigan instead of staying back in Brazil.
"Sometimes, the best thing to do is being lazy and follow your heart. Just be chill, and it will likely work."
Yes, that was it! Well, kind of it. He'd try an approach if the situation asked for it. If it didn't, he'd have other opportunities. He was with a girl on Valentine's Day, some could call that a victory already. He was one of these people, and so he would go on if the chance showed up. You have to fight the fights you can win.
He felt his pocket vibrating, and when he took it off, he noticed it was his company.
Where r u? U've lost 2 rounds already!
Wait, two rounds? Did time pass that quickly? He took a look at the shirt he spent cleaning, and it was good enough for his mother's standards, or he hoped so, at least.
Sorry, got distracted. Coming back.
He ran out of the bathroom, and ran back to his seat. During the trip, he took a moment to check the score, their team was losing by one point. Well, there's still one round left, and even so, sometimes you just can't win every match. He soon arrived, with a clearly pissed Lynn waiting for him.
"Where were you? I've been waiting for a while!"
"I know, I know. Had a few problems back there, hehe." He lied, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ohh, I see then. Well, c'mon, the next round is coming up soon."
"Yeah, sure. Did I miss anything?"
"It looks like they forgot how to play! How are we losing to these guys?"
"Hey, sometimes we can't win every match. We have better days, maybe they just aren't in their best moment."
"Yeah I know, but what about the good luck rituals we did? That had to count for something, right?"
"Eh, I dunno. Guess the other team made more of those than us, maybe." He looked up and suddenly noticed something. "Hey, is that us on the big screen?"
Francisco pointed out to the big screen, which usually showed the plays and the score, now it had a heart shape drawn in. It was the kiss camera, both of them were aware of its existence and how it works. Everyone was looking at them, the ones around directly to them, the others on the screen.
"Y-yeah, we are…" Lynn stuttered, her cheeks turning a dark red. She averted her eyes, wondering if she should go for it. But she didn't exactly have the courage, for some reason. Yes, the resident daredevil of Royal Woods, Lynn Loud, actually hesitated. She knew it would be awkward for him, and she was so certain that the boy wouldn't be interested, so she began singing to the camera, trying to indicate that they weren't a couple.
Just then, she felt something touching her cheek. As she was looking at the screen, she saw that Francisco was the something touching her. The crowd cheered, Lynn's face got redder than a tomato, while Francisco just chilled in his seat, with a light blush on his face. That's what his mother meant with, when sometimes life just gives you the opportunity you needed.
"W-w-wha...w-wa…" Lynn wasn't able to speak, while the crown went back to watching the game, and Francisco just giggled a bit of how cute she looked.
"Hey, come on, it was just a peck, not a French." He said.
Just hearing him mention frenching at all, in any context but especially this one, was enough to make all the blood from her brain flow right to her face. As if it couldn't have been red enough already.
"Oh, wow, this is something I wouldn't expect to see. Come on Lynn, just relax. Let things roll naturally. You know, back where I come from, we have an old saying, 'bad luck on the game, good luck on love'."
After about a minute, Lynn finally managed to calm down and get back to enjoying the game. "Huh, that's interesting. Where are you from, anyway? I don't think you ever mentioned it until now."
"I'm Brazilian. Lived most of my life there, enough to learn some...different things."
"Yea? Like what?"
"Well...we learn that, sometimes, if we want the best for us, we can't simply play by the rules, ya know?"
"Well, I gue-" Lynn was interrupted when Francisco advanced again, this time in her mouth. Sure, it wasn't long, and they didn't go full romantic mode, but still, it was on the lips.
"We're also known to be very affectionate, ever told you that?"
Lynn giggled. "Yeah, I can tell."
"Am I going too fast? Or you think you can catch up to me?" He teased her.
"Oh please, nothing beats Lynn Loud!" She challenged.
"Well then, you better hurry. I'm winning 2-0." He said. "Maybe I should give you an advantage?"
With that, she grabbed him by the shoulders, brought him up to her face, and kissed him on the lips as well. She held the kiss for a few seconds and then let go. Now it was his turn to go beet red.
"Looks like I'm catchin' up."
"O-Okay, fair enough." He said, his face, still red. "So, it's a draw then?"
Before Lynn could answer, they heard the announcer call the end of the game. And they had lost. For 2 points. But honestly, at the end, neither of them were really paying attention to it anymore. They just followed everyone leaving the stadium, and waited a few minutes to finally find their ride back. They climbed into the back seat and the car drove off.
"So, how was the game?" Francisco's mom asked.
They both blushed a bit, looking away. "It was cool." They both said at the same time. They didn't notice, however, that Ms. Antunes was smirking and looking in the rearview mirror. Also, they seemed to be a little more closer together.
"I bet it was. Francie, dearie, be sure to tell me all about it when we get home. And I'm sure your family's dying to know the details too, Lynn."
Francisco would maybe shout 'mom' again while Lynn giggled, but they weren't really paying that much attention. They just looked at each other, speaking without thinking.
"Eh, I'm not sure. Most aren't that connected to sports. Only my dad."
"Yeah, sure. But I think they'd like to know about your little scene."
They froze in their place. "Wait, what-"
She laughed a bit. "The game was passing on a TV when I passed on a coffee shop. You know they show the kiss cam, right?" There was no reply from them. "You two were so cute together. Now, you two better be ready for a long trip. Traffic is terrible when everyone's trying to leave the stadium."
The two of them stared at each other, a bit afraid, a bit confused, and a bit tired. Hey, cheering for your team is exhausting (just like washing a shirt in an old fashioned way). Francisco felt something touch his shoulder, to see Lynn laying on it. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her a bit closer. Soon, he felt sleepy as well, so he laid his head near the window, and soon the two began snoring. They just relaxed in each other's company, relaxed, and not noticing when his mother snapped a picture of the couple.