A/N: What's this? An update that didn't take two months? Miracles do happen! Thank you to everyone for reviewing, I'm glad to see that you like the idea :D.
Warnings: Some football terms, meaning yet another huge A/N at the end of this chapter with explanations. Also some cuddling and Ludwig feeling a bit uncomfortable XD.
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?"
"I'm fine. It looks worse than it is."
"Are you really sure? They did quite the number on you."
"Johan, I'm sure. It takes more than a stampede to keep me down."
"Okay, if you say so."
Johan and Matthew were on their way towards the meeting after an intense round of morning practice. They stopped at the restroom, getting cleaned up before they entered the conference room. Matthew couldn't believe Johan actually showed up at his hotel at 6 AM. He didn't even know they opened their doors at such an ungodly hour. He shouldn't be too surprised though. The meeting was held in the Netherlands, Johan could just go whenever, wherever if he wanted to.
He tried not to flinch as he touched his shoulder. It was the least serious injury he had gotten that morning. To be honest he could barely stand on his legs, but there was no way in hell he would let Johan carry him into the conference room. He would never hear the end of it! He let out a little sigh as he remembered the training. He did pretty good all morning, running laps, kicking a few balls and learning how to fall and land after getting tackled. He remembered how proud he had felt after completing all the trials for that morning. He remembered looking at Johan and laughing after asking him if this was that training from hell he spoke of.
Flash…
"Matt, Matt, Matt. You look so cute when you're laughing. It's such a shame I'll have to wipe that grin off your face." He said, an almost evil smirk appearing on his face. Matthew wasn't impressed though. That rewarding feeling he got after completing the entire schedule was giving him an enormous energyboost.
"Do your worst, darling," he replied as he poked Johan's chest, pushing him back.
"Ohoho! Feisty, are we? Good, it may just save your ass." He walked over towards the dug-out where he kept their phones and made a call. After a few minutes a couple of young boys, wearing football jerseys, showed up. They couldn't have been any older than twelve, thirteen. Matt looked at them, feeling a little confused. What are they doing here?
"Okay boys, are you ready? Show this newbie how it's done."
"Gotcha, coach! Get ready team, we're playing in the 4-3-3 formation! Charge!"
"Okay Matt, show those brats what you've learned today. Dodge whatever it is they throw at you, and try to break through their formation. Go get 'em, tiger!" He said, pushing him forward. All of a sudden Matthew saw his life flash by his eyes when the kids rushed him. Oh boy, that was never a good sign. "Son of a bitch." He muttered.
They were running circles around him, footballs were coming at him from every angle, and he got tackled with such force he was sure it was done by a bunch of those bulky American football players instead of a pack of prepubescent brats. He managed to dodge most of the attacks, but one of them landed a tackle on him, and he fell on his shoulder.
…back
He still didn't know how he survived that stampede, for lack of a better word. Johan probably distracted them with Pokémon cards or something. Do kids still like Pokémon? Whatever, he had bigger things to worry about. Like how the hell did Matthew Williams, Canada personified, get his ass handed to him by a bunch of 12 year old punks? He felt Johan grab his hand, keeping it away from his injured shoulder.
"Matt, don't touch it, you'll make it worse."
"Sorry."
"I just don't want you to get any more injuries. Tell me, what did you think of your first training?" He said, wiping a little dirt from Matthews face with a wet towel. "Well, I… hnmph… dammit Johan, get that thing outta my face," he replied, trying not to laugh. He couldn't help it. He had wanted to stay mad at Johan for pulling that stunt on him, but he knew he couldn't. He had been warned it would get rough, and he promised he would keep the hate at the training grounds. That sweet, caring look on Johan's face as he tried to clean him up wasn't helping either. Did he have to be so damn adorable?
"You're right, you look much cuter with that dirt on your face. All rugged and handsome and molestable." He said, pinching his cheeks before leaning in to kiss him. Matthew met him halfway. After sharing a chaste kiss he broke away, a smile gracing his lips.
"Did you just use rugged and molestable in one sentence? How does that even work?" His hands were in Johan's hair, removing a few pieces of grass that got stuck in it. Johan hadn't gelled it up today, saying his hairdo would get messed up during training anyway, so why bother? Matthew loved it. Not only because it made him look infinitely hotter, it made playing with his hair that much easier as well.
"I'm just awesome like that." He said, wiping the last dirt away. "Et voila, now the world can gaze at your unmuddy mug again."
"Your way with words never fails to amaze me, Johan." He said with a chuckle. "And that training wasn't exactly how I imagined it. I mean, the part before the stampede was, but after that…"
"I'm a painter, not a poet. And you'd better get used to that stampede, you'll be seeing them a lot more during training."
"I fucking knew it. You want me dead, don't you?" He said, a look of mock hurt on his face.
"Who's the dramaqueen now, huh?"
"Hey, I have every right to be a dramaqueen, those kids aim to kill! Who are they anyway?"
"The future of Clockwork Orange. They're the best juniors we have in training at the moment. If they get better they'll play for Orange under 17, Orange under 19, Orange under 21 and the really good ones get to play with the big boys in the national team. Those are also the teams you'll face as the training progresses. If everything goes according to plan we should be able to train with Orange under 17 next month or so."
"So I'll get my ass kicked by those brats for at least another month? Great."
"What happened to that confidence? If you get your act together they shouldn't be able to kick your nice ass next week," he said, squeezing said nice ass, earning a gasp and a punch in the shoulder in the process. He let out a laugh as he ruffled Matthews hair as an apology, leading him out of the restroom.
"Come on, we'd better hurry before Ludwig starts nagging at us."
Matthew was trying to ignore the stares he was getting. It was kinda ironic when he thought about it. He had wished for so long for people to finally start noticing him, and when they did he wished they'd get back to ignoring him. He'd never thought it would feel this awkward when you're being the center of attention. How the hell did Alfred and Francis manage to do it with such ease? He turned his attention to Ludwig when he heard him let out an annoyed sigh.
"Johan, was zum Teufel are you wearing?"
"What does it look like, genius? A football jersey."
"And you didn't change into your suit because?"
"Well, we just got back from training and I didn't want to ruin my perfect on time record. And it'll save us time because we won't have to change outfits again when we have our evening training," he answered with a grin. Ludwig pinched the bridge of his nose and Matthew could tell he was trying not to explode. "Fine, whatever. At least you bothered to clean up a bit. Just sit down so we can get this damn meeting going."
They did as they were asked and for a glorious five minutes the meeting went by rather uneventful. When Ludwig still didn't have to discipline anyone five minutes later he was getting a bit worried. Why weren't England and France trying to bash each other's skulls in? Why wasn't America interrupting him with one of his ridiculous hero-plans? Why wasn't Italy asking for a siesta? He took a look around the room and noticed everyone staring at Johan and Matthew.
Matthew was fidgeting with his pen, feeling a bit uncomfortable at all that attention. Johan, noticing his lovers nervous habit, turned to face him and ruffled his hair, smiling and winking at him. At that very moment Ludwig saw Elizaveta and Kiku try to stop their nosebleeds as they pulled some video cameras seemingly out of nowhere and started taping everything. Meanwhile Matthew was smiling back at Johan, nervousness all gone. And that's when all hell broke loose. All the females in the room (yes, even Belarus, how the hell was that possible?) were blushing and d'awwwing, some of the men were blushing as well, a couple of other men tried to stop their nosebleeds, Italy was being all clingy and even Ludwig felt his face heat up. He hated to admit it, but seeing those two together, in their own world, all smiling and happy was really adorable. He had never paid much attention to the boy, but had Matthew always looked that good without his glasses on and his hair all messy? Not to mention seeing Johan with his hair down, still a little bit sweaty from training, was kind of hot.
Oh crap, he was getting turned on. He had to stop this, right now! He slammed his hand on the table, turning everyone's attention to him. "If everyone is done staring at the lovebirds I would like to continue this meeting."
"We're not done yet," Elizaveta and Kiku said in unison. "Neither are we!" The rest of the room replied.
"For crying out loud, people! It's not like you haven't seen those two before!"
"Not in football jerseys. And they're really cute and hot to boot! Matthew's blushing again, kyaaaah!" Elizaveta squeed.
"Don't worry Ludwig, I got it covered," Johan said getting up. He picked Matthew up bridal style, and carried him towards the door. "What the hell, Johan! Put me down! I can walk just fine!"
"Keep telling yourself that. It took you everything to just walk here, you're about to collapse."
"Am not. I told you already, it looks worse than it is. I didn't get tackled that hard."
"Those bruises on your legs tell me something different, tough guy. And you never did let me check your shoulder properly."
"But I…" Johan shut him up by kissing him. "But nothing. You can't train when you're injured, that'll only make it worse. I'm taking you to the medical staff for a checkup and that's final."
Matthew let out a defeated sigh. "Alright, we'll go for a checkup. Even though it'll be a complete waste of time."
"We'll let the real doctors decide that. Ludwig, carry on with the meeting. I'll call you later for a summary, okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, of course." He received a nod from him before he left the room. The second the door closed behind them the room exploded.
"Oh my God, that was so hot!" "Was that really Matthew? He looked so delicious!" "Did you see Johan smile? I thought I'd die!" "I know, he looked so handsome when he smiled!" "Aww crap, my battery died. Kiku, you taped it all, right?" "I got it all, Elizaveta-san. I'll send you a copy." "A copy? I want one too!" "Me too!" "I want three!"
Ludwig tried not to lose his cool. He'll just let them get it out of their systems so they can finally continue with the meeting. He'll ask Johan if they'll suit up for the next meeting. Or at least gel his hair up and let Matthew wear his glasses and fix his hair. He does not need any more distractions, the meetings were chaotic enough already.
"… uh-huh. Okay. Okay, yeah I got it. Thanks again, Ludwig. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." Johan hung up and wrote down the final notes. It wasn't a long list, meaning the meeting probably got interrupted again after they left. He wasn't too surprised, their meetings never seemed to go anywhere anyway. He put the list on the dresser next to his king-sized bed and turned his attention to the other person sleeping in it.
After seeing the medical staff and getting Matthew wrapped up they went to the training grounds, picking up where they left off. The doctors said the injuries would be painful, but not serious. Matthew made sure to rub the fact that he was right in Johan's face. Johan still didn't want to take any chances and let Matthew do some light training. When he left Matthew during a small break to get something to drink he found him asleep. Not having the heart to wake him he picked him up and took him home. That had been 15 minutes ago, and Matthew still showed no signs of waking up. Johan removed his shoes and shin protectors, and did the same with Matthew. He covered him with a blanket and wanted to leave to get a shower when he felt his arm being pulled.
"Stay."
"Matt? Finally up, huh?"
"I couldn't feel your presence anymore. Don't go." Johan smiled at that answer.
"How can I say no to that face? Go back to sleep, Matt. I'm right here. We can shower in the morning. Just don't go complaining about the smell, okay?" He said, laying next to Matthew and wrapping his arms around him.
"Why should I? I like the way you smell." He replied, snuggling up to him. Johan planted a kiss on top of his head, holding him closer. "You're something else, Matt. Get some rest, we have another busy day tomorrow."
"Mmhh." It didn't take long for Matt to drift off into sleep, and Johan followed shortly after. Normally he wouldn't even dream about going to bed still being so dirty, but he'll let it slide this time. As long Matt was with him like this, everything was just fine.
"Goodnight."
Ludwig put the phone down. He really needed a beer after giving Johan a brief summary about the meeting. A sigh escaped him. Johan and Matthew, some of the few people who actually managed to not start any dumb shit during meetings screwed today's meeting, and most likely any other future meeting until the training was done, up. He had managed to keep the rooms attention after the two of them left, but then Elizaveta got her copy from Kiku, started squeeing again, send everyone in the room a copy, they started squeeing/d'awwwing/nosebleeding too, and he knew it was just a lost cause after that.
"West! Hurry the fuck up with the beer, will ya! I need my beer when I'm watching something almost as awesome as me!"
"Bruder, please stop shouting, my head hurts enough as it is. Here." He handed Gilbert his beer and sat down next to him on the couch. After turning the TV on he felt his headache disappear. Watching the events of that afternoon on a flashy, big screen HD TV wasn't as good as seeing the real thing live, but it was good enough. Stupid sexy cousin and his equally stupid sexy boyfriend.
A/N: I'll try to keep this as short as possible. I got a question about the name Johan in a review, so I'll answer that first.
I know that pretty much everyone here uses Lars as the name for Netherlands. And while that's a great name, it's not originally a Dutch name. It's Scandinavian. Netherlands has great relationships with the Scandinavian countries, and I did meet a few Dutch guys who have names like Lars and Bjorn (also a Scandinavian name), but they're still Scandinavian in origin, not Dutch. So I searched the Internet for Dutch names that were also common during the Middle Ages, and I stumbled upon Johannes (Johan for short). I fell in love with it. You can make great nicknames with it too. John, Johnny, Johnnyboy :D. Hope that explains it.
Clockwork Orange: one of the nicknames of the Dutch national football team.
Orange under (number): The Dutch national youth teams. Under 17 and 19 play only friendly matches and practice matches against the other national youth teams. Under 21 plays official matches. The talents from each group advance a group higher and eventually play in Clockwork Orange. Under 17 are the current European Champions.
4-4-3: The formation the Dutch team plays with. 4 attackers, 3 midfielders, 3 defenders. I've been told this results into attractive and entertaining football.
Was zum Teufel: German for what the devil. I like throwing in random German swears :P.
As you could probably tell, Matt and Johan were in their football jerseys all day. They weren't smelly because Johan has some of that fancy deodorant that prevents you from sweating and smelling up the place ;-). Playing football with your glasses on is just asking for them to get broken, hence why Matt left them in his room. I like to think that he doesn't need them to see clearly. They represent something, I just don't know what yet. If you official Canadians have any ideas, let me know ;-).
The training is done at the Ajax training grounds. I did some research and found out that Ajax has the best youth training facility in Europe. Back in the 90's they were the best club in the world too, winning everything there was. They won their 30th national championship recently, meaning they get to wear three gold stars on their shirt now.
Excuse the ending, but I just had to do it XD. In my headcanon Johan is cousins with Ludwig and Gilbert. They're all Germanic countries, so it's plausible :D. The brothers are staying in a fancy penthouse suite by the way, hence the big screen TV.
Hope you had fun reading, and reviews are always appreciated! Thank you!
