A/N Hello! Today, I was jamming out to Spanish music and I heard this song and was like… CARS. AND FÚTBOL. So, this came up. :3
NOTE: When it says "fútbol", it means soccer for you Americans. Americans are the ONLY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD who call it soccer. It will be fútbol in this because Carmen speaks Spanish and English, but calls it fútbol because that's what it's called in Spanish. She's the one who taught America the sport. She grew up playing it with Spain. Kay?
Wavin' Flag
November 11, 2011: Bayamón, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico
Carmen Jones snorted with laughter as her best friend attempted to slide on a pair of shorts and fell over, landing roughly on his face.
"Ow…" the man who just face-planted groaned from the floor, evicting more giggles from his partner-in-crime. "Damn… That was definitely not awesome."
Gilbert Beilschmidt harshly pushed himself up and rubbed experimentally at his nose to check for blood. Finding none, he stood up and glared at the other nation with his crimson irises. She smiled cheekily and waved at him, sticking her tongue out for good measure.
The duo was currently located in the changing rooms at Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel de Puerto Rico In Bayamón, Puerto Rico, the home of Puerto Rico's National Fútbol Team. Carmen and her troop were getting dressed for a match against Saint Lucia's team for qualification to be in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Puerto Rico was nervous. She had been pushing herself alongside her squad of players for months, and she felt they were as ready as they could possibly. The group already had an embarrassing home loss to Canada two months previously, and tied the three other games they've played so far. They have yet to win.
The more the island thought about it, the more anxious she became. That's why Gilbert was there. He was attending the game for the same exact reason Cars had trained just as intensely as her team did. Moral support. If the German man wasn't there, the brunette would have torn her own arm off by this point.
Prussia, sensing his BFFL's building distress, quickly threw on his red and white jersey and hopped over to his nearly-hyperventilating buddy. He stretched his paler-than-ghosts arm out and wrapped his hands around her shoulders, then proceeded to rub out the knots.
The Hispanic's muscles visibly unclenched as the albino massaged her worries away. She could feel her stress gradually flow out her body and dispel into the surrounding environment. That is, however, until the team's head coach Jeaustin Campos burst into the room.
"Ay, Carmen!" he shrieked in a flustered and cracking voice, thrusting his hands into the air as his clipboard and all the paperwork attached went sailing in various directions. "Héctor Ramos was in a car crash on his way here and he's in the hospital! We don't have one of our forwards! What do I do?" The man screeched all this in one breath and fluent Spanish, but the island nation understood nonetheless.
Puerto Rico's heart all but stopped when what the wailing man had informed her of sunk in fully. They we definitely screwed now. Héctor was one of their best scorers, and they only had two forwards. They didn't even think to have a backup.
But Carmen was determined to not panic. She calmly explained what the coach had said to Gilbert, and asked his advice. Even the awesome Prussia had no ideas.
Jeaustin, not used to being ignored by his troop's homeland nation, yawped even louder.
"Oye, tranquilo!" the irritated and stressed island snapped at her squad's leader.
After some careful consideration, done while her best friend apprehended the freaked out Costa Rican, the female made a rather reckless decision to take matter into her own hands. She had no other options. "I suppose I'll have to play in his place, then!"
Both of the men in the changing rooms froze and turned their heads to face Puerto Rico, pure disbelief and shock etched onto their faces. The darker-haired one of the two fainted as soon as the girl's words registered and the white-haired one whooped in concurrence with her verdict on what action to take.
Carmen was not prepared to forfeit because they lost a man. She wasn't too bad, either, which was a plus. Honestly, what could go wrong?
The focused nation ordered her partner to grab the blacked-out coach and follow her as she strided confidently out of the room and down the hall to where her probably-panicked team members were.
She swung the door open to reveal her troop, huddled together and mumbling things in an anxious mix of Spanish and English. Every one of the males slid their distressed gazes from the tiled ground to the practically sparkling woman in the doorway. Exclamations of glee emanated from the congregation of fútbol players as they group-tackled their nation.
"Oye!" Cars laughed from beneath the dog-pile. "Our problems are solved, chicos!" She truly hoped that the guys would respond positively to her final decision.
Petter Villegas, an Ecuadorian who plays midfield, grinned heartily as the brunette girl explicated what was going to happen. He's seen her with a fútbol; it's quite impressive. "I believe in you, Carmen! Let's win this!"
The dark-skinned man was, unfortunately, the only member of the team who was immediately convinced that the female island could do it. The thirty-six-year-old was always very close to Puerto Rico, since he wasn't born there or the US like the others. He is from Ecuador, and he grew attached to the bubbly female when she took him under her wing to make him a true member of the squad.
The rest of the troop was displeased, to say the least. They were all fully aware that Cars trained just as hard of any of them, but they still were quite vexed by this decision. Females usually don't fare well in sports such as fútbol.
"Are you sure about this, Carmen? We could get someone else, I'm sure…" Marco Vélez inquired the girl wearily, trying to ward her off from playing. He never liked her much anyway, so of course he was the one to speak in dissent.
A few grunts of concurrence were heard from the other men, as well as some 'yeah's and 'sí's.
Puerto Rico was heartbroken when Marco said that. He was even born on her land! How could he betray her like that? When she was about to reply with a loud scream of profanities, she was cut off by Andrés Cabrero, a Puerto Rican midfielder who likes her a lot.
"Ay, lay off! Ella es muy buena. Yo creo en ella," the blonde informed his teammates defiantly, defending his close friend. There was no way he would allow them to speak so terribly of someone he respected deeply. Honestly, it takes a special kind of woman to work out and train among them without a problem. She may have passed out a few times, but it was still rather impressive.
Gilbert felt it was time for him to insert his two-cents. "Ja, morons! Have you even seen her play? She's amazing! She's nearly beaten Spain, even! Keep in mind that Spain INVENTED the damn game! So just shut up and finish getting ready! You guys have a game to win, remember?" He had mountains of faith in his BFFL. After all, he didn't pick useless people to be his best friend.
Carmen's heart swelled after her two buddies spoke. "C'mon, chicos! I promise I won't disappoint you! Let's get out there a kick some Saint Lucian butt!" she cheered, causing her troop to smile shyly at her.
Scott Horta, an American free agent, chuckled at the female's display of energy and determination. "Yeah, guys! I didn't choose to join this team to lose! Let's go!"
Scott's input really got the team going. Almost all of them were yelling happily by that point, revved up for this match. They threw on their red and white striped jerseys with a new gusto, stoked for the upcoming game.
"That's the spirit!" Prussia and Puerto Rico vociferated with ardor in unison. They grinned at each other and hugged as Jeaustin made it to his feet after returning to consciousness.
The coach smiled tom himself as he observed his pumped-up troop prepare. He was very proud of them and how far they had come. He had little confidence in the island's skills, but he had enough in Chris Megaloudis, the other forward, that he chose not to stress over the girl.
:-:-:
As the team lined up to stroll out onto the luscious green field, Carmen began something that comes to mean more to her and the team than she ever expected.
She stomped her feet in a complex rhythm, eventually getting the rest of the troop doing the same. They all slammed their feet down, clapped, and patted their thighs in perfect harmony to form a beat that they all knew too well.
It was their song.
They all hummed the held "oh" and the female nation sang it, all their voices changing pitch in stunning unity. When the first words came, every single team member let their voice go.
Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher.
See the champions, take the field now.
Unify us, make us feel proud.
The team marched in a complicated foot pattern, keeping the time properly for their personal anthem. They made it to the viridian grass of the playing stadium, with fans screaming and calling at them in excitement. The players, however, paid them no mind at all. They were very focused on their unanimity with their cadence. Puerto Rico's voice rang out above all the rest as all the males' voice volumes descended, hers dominating the rest.
En las calles, muchas manos.
Levantadas, celebrando.
Una fiesta, sin descanso.
Los paises, como hermanos.Canta, unir tu voz!
Grita fuerte que te escucha el sol!
El partido ya va a comenzar.
Todos juntos vamos a ganar.Unidos!
The rest of the troop chimed in, forming a gorgeous chorus to back up Carmen's crystal-clear notes. The patrons in the stand were frozen by this point, stunned by the raw emotion behind every word the group cried out. It ensnared the attention of every soul—human, nation, or otherwise—that was within hearing distance, no matter whether or not they could comprehend what was being said.
Seremos grandes,seremos fuertes,
somos un pueblo,bandera de libertad
que viene que va,
que viene que va,
que viene que va,
que viene que!
The men all cut out once again, leaving the next two lines to Puerto Rico.
When I get older,I will be stronger.
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag.
The guys joined in to allow the girl to rest her vocal chords. Their deep, grumbling baritones echoed about the stadium as their put their souls into their lyrics.
So wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag.
Petter Villegaswas the one left singing when the other players halted their streams of air. He closed his eyes and leaned back as his words flew from his mouth and into the hearts of the onlookers.
Danos vida,danos fuego,
que nos lleve, a lo alto.
Campeoneso vencidos
pero unidos, a internarlos.
As soon as Petter completed his section, Chris Megaloudis took over and bellowed out his allocated part. He let his heart leak into his words as he banged his head in time with the beat his teammates were still stomping, clapping, and patting out.
In the streets areheads a-liftin'.
As we lose ourinhibition.
Celebration,it surrounds us!
Every nation,all around us!Singing forever young!
Singing songs underneath the sun!
Let's rejoice in the beautiful game,and together at the end of the day...
We all sing.
Every single Spanish-fluent member of the troop joined in and called out to the heavens, their voices mixing in beautiful harmony.
Seremos grandes,seremos fuertes,
somos un pueblo,bandera de libertad
que viene que va,
que viene que va,
que viene que va,
que viene que!
As soon as Carmen's emotional tenor entered, all the baritones fell dead silent, reveling in the deep beauty of her woven lyrics.
When I get older,I will be stronger.
They'll call me freedomjust like a wavin' flag.
So wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag.Unidos!
Seremos grandes,seremos fuertes,
somos un pueblo,bandera de libertad!
When I get older,I will be stronger.
They'll call me freedomjust like a wavin' flag.
The remainder of the squad chimed in, swirling their voices into a maelstrom of determination, love, passion, and pride.
So wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag,
Now wave your flag.And everybody will be singing it!
And we all gonna be singing it!
With their unanimous cutoff, all the players ceased all movement and remained frigid, their heads hanging down.
After a few seconds of stunned reticence, the crowd in the stands—along with the Saint Lucia team—erupted into an explosive applause.
The Puerto Rico team lifted their heads with huge grins on their faces, and began erratically waving at their screaming fans.
:-:-:
"Yes! We did it! Four to nothing, boys!"Jeaustin hollered loudly as his team tackled him, the whole lot laughing incredulously with joy.
They had indeed done it—they took the field by storm and whooped the Saint Lucia team 4-0.
Gilbert grinned as he lifted his best friend into the air and spun her around like a ballerina. She giggled and wiggled, causing the albino to drop her, but she laughed it off and tackled him anyway.
Tears of pain and joy cascaded down Carmen's face as her team all huddled around her and Prussia, screaming with glee and passion.
The entire cluster of people was bawling, the cries of their success coagulating in the heavy but somehow light air.
Puerto Rico was happier than she had been in quite some time.
Hard work really does seem to pay off.
~End~
A/N Ahahahaha! I suck! :D I made up the personalities for everyone but Prussia—the players and coach are REAL PEOPLE with ACCURATE PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS but the personalities are all mine xD The song they sing is called "Wavin' Flag (Spanish Celebration Mix)" by K'naan. I found it very fitting for Puerto Rico because she has two official languages of England and Spanish and the nation is well-known for its passion for fútbol. I think it makes sense. Just Google all the Spanish, okay? 'Tis not too hard. The outcome of the game, the location, and other things like that are all accurate! Héctor Ramos really didn't get hurt or anything, and he played well in the game and score 2 of the 4 goals. They didn't sing, either. I just thought it was cute. :3 OH YEAH and Carmen normally sucks at singing. Serious, it usually sounds like she's skinning cats alive or something xD But for the sake of this, she can sing nicely.