Feliciano smiled to himself, mumbling happily. He skipped along the corridors, stopping once he reached the entrance and scanned the gates for signs of his brother. He sighed softly when there was no sign of Lovi, but carried on anyway, making his way over to the sports building. Once inside, he walked over to the lockers and placed his bag on one of the benches, then opened it and took out his football strip. Changing quickly, he ran out onto the field, beaming when he saw the other team members. They, in turn, smiled and waved at him, calling out greetings and gentle taunts.
"Hey, Feli, good to see you. Late again? looking for your brother? That guys a lost cause. Anyway, its time to warm up."
The mixture of voices surrounded him, and he basked in the centre of attention, hi-fiving some of the boys, waving to others. His smile fell slightly when he heard one of them mention his brother, but he ignored it, knowing by now that it was useless to try and change their mind about Lovino.
The boy's chatter was interrupted by the sound of a megaphone.
"Alright, that's enough. Practise is starting, everyone. 5 laps to start."
Feliciano, along with everyone else, looked over to where the voice was coming from. A tall, muscular blond stood with one hand on his hip, the other loosely holding the megaphone. A whistle hug around his neck, signifying his position as the group's coach.
His name was Ludwig Beilschmidt. He had been the top player of the boys' senior team, and now, in his first year at college, had returned to be the coach to the boys mixed-year team. He was something of a legend in the school, having been both sports captain and head boy, and, unsurprisingly, hero and idol to a good number of both girls and boys throughout the school. Feliciano was no exception. He felt his face flushing as he caught the older boy's eyes, and started running, easily keeping pace with the others. His mind ran along with his feet as he jogged around the playing field.
Oh my gosh, did he see me looking at him? No, he couldn't have, he was too far away. Ahh, get it together, Feli! He's never going to notice a junior like you!"
He continued running, completing each warm up exercise as Ludwig called them out. Once they had completed the set, Ludwig called everyone over, making them sit in front of him as he explained the plan for the day.
"is everyone here? Good. Now, as you all know, we have the interschool tournaments coming up. This will be preparation for nationals, so if everything goes as planned we could potentially be representing our school at the highest level."
His piercing blue eyes scanned the boys in front of him, seeing the mixture of eager and worried expressions. His voice relaxed as he continued.
"I know it seems scary now, but we have an excellent plan. As long as we stick to the training schedule I've come up with, there should be no reason why we can't go as far as there is. I believe in you. All of you".
Was it just Feliciano's imagination, or did he looked directly at him when he said that?
"So, with that in mind, let's play some games, ja?"
"Yeah!" A cheer went up through the group, and they sorted themselves into groups, eager to begin playing and improve their skills. Once everyone was settled, Ludwig spoke again.
"So, today we shall be working on passing. If we want to win, we need to make sure that each of us works in tune with everyone else at every moment. To do that, you all need to be able to pass faultlessly to each other, to kick the ball and know that it will reach the other player without you having to look. I don't expect you to be perfect, but by the end of the day I want you all to be able to have the basic gist of it, alright?"
Nods again. "Alright, go!" He blew the whistle, signalling the start of the games. The group was divided into four teams, each playing on half of the two fields. Feliciano took his usual position as striker, ready to receive the ball and score.
He lost himself in the game, relishing the feel of the wind in his hair as he ran, the thump of his feet as he hit the ground, and the slight weight of the ball as he kicked it square into the goal. He let out a yell as he scored the first goal, looking around at his teammates, seeing the same joy mirrored on their faces. They didn't waste any time though, and turned their attention back to the game, remembering to implement Ludwig's advice and focus on the presence of each other at all times.
As he predicted, this did not always work, with players occasionally missing a pass, fumbling a strike or, in one painful instance, losing their footing entirely and sending half the team tumbling to the ground with them. Ludwig sighed and placed a hand over his face when he saw the jumble of limbs on the ground, then made his way over, giving each of the boys a helping hand up. They all smiled ruefully when they saw him, rubbing the injured spots.
Ludwig, to his credit, did not seem annoyed, and simply chastised them gently, "This is exactly what I meant about knowing where everyone is at any moment. Łukaseiwicz, please try to keep your attention on the field instead of the birds, please?"
The boy in question waved a hand jauntily, seeming unconcerned at the laughter surrounding him. "Yeah. I'm, like, sorry."
Ludwig frowned, but didn't chastise the boy further. "Well, so long as you're more careful next time. Now, back to play."
"Yes, coach!" the boys chorused, and resumed their positions. The session ended when Ludwig blew the familiar two-tone whistle, waving everyone over to the front of the building. Feliciano stood with the rest to hear his appraisal of the practise.
"Well, good job, everyone. You're beginning to get the hang of it. Just remember to focus. Łukaseiwicz, the birds are not here to watch you play, so try to keep your attention on the pitch, not the sky. Jones, Williams, the pitch is not the place for fighting. I don't care if you two are the headmaster's sons, if you wish to tackle each other like that, do so off the pitch."
Everyone turned to a near-identical pair of blond boys with glasses. Laughing, the shorter-haired one turned to the other and threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Aw, man, he knows I don't mean it, don't you bro?"
The shorter teen sighed resignedly at his brother and shrugged his arm off. "yeah, I'm pretty sure you do, actually" he said quietly, but smiled anyway.
Ludwig cleared this throat, making everyone turn their attention back to him.
"Good game, everyone. Well, that's it for today. Now, have a good weekend and remember, morning practice starts at nine AM sharp tomorrow. No excuses for being late. Off you go! Dismissed!"
Feliciano smiled and joined in with the general chatter, then followed as everyone made their way back into the building to shower and change. He was happy. This is what he wanted, a life full of laughter and friendship. He listened vaguely to the talk as he showered and changed, putting his clothes and towel in the bag he kept in his locker. As everyone began to file out, however, he felt his smile falter. His team had won 4-3, everything was going well, he had the championships and nationals to look forward to, so why did he feel a sudden sense of guilt?
Lovino. No matter how good Feliciano was at school, no matter how popular and liked he was, it wasn't enough. Not until Lovi got to share that too. The trouble was, he didn't seem to want it. The more Feli tried to share his happiness with him, to use his popularity to make sure Lovi got included with everything as well, the more his brother seemed to isolate himself from school, until it seemed like there would never be a way to bridge the gap between them.
Picking up his bag, Feliciano turned to leave, his thoughts still on his brother. He wasn't concentrating on his surroundings, however, and bumped into someone on the way out. He lost his footing and almost stumbled, a hand reaching out to catch him. He grabbed their arm, reflexively, and began apologising.
"oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't looking, I'm sor-"
His words trailed off as he looked up, bright green eyes meeting piercing blue. He gasped.
Oh no! Now I've done it! Calm down, Feliciano!
He felt his face flush and heart pick up as he stared at Ludwig. The blond stared at the boy for a long moment, his face passive, then looked away, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as if in thought. Feliciano was sure it was nothing but his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw the faintest hint of a flush on Ludwig's normally pale face.
"um, coach? I'm ok now. You can let go of my arm."
"hmm? Oh, yes, of course." Ludwig released him, stepping back and allowing Feliciano to pass him. The younger boy scurried past, eager to get outside and away from his idol. He had barely gone a few paces before he heard a voice call him back.
"Vargas, isn't it?"
Feliciano whipped his head round, terrified that he had done something wrong. His face paled, blush turning to white in an instant.
"y-yes?" he stuttered.
Ludwig stood in the doorway, his face still pensive. His voice was thoughtful as he asked,
"Do I know you from somewhere? Perhaps a playdate when we were young, or something?"
Feliciano gulped nervously. Is that all? I haven't done anything wrong? He thought for a moment. Ludwig did remind him of someone, with his blond hair and serious expression, but Feliciano would never admit to it. The thought of that person stirred painful memories, memories he had tried so hard to forget. Instead, he deliberately made his voice sound cheerfully confused.
"I don't think so, coach." Oh, god, was that the right thing to say?
Ludwig nodded, evidently satisfied with the boy's answer. He looked at him, his expression relaxing into a faint smile.
"Well, no matter then. You played well today, Vargas. Keep this up and you could be a formidable asset to the team in the championships."
Feliciano felt the blush returning to his face. Stammering, he replied "u-um, thank you, coach. That means a lot. Um, well, I should get going. My brother is probably already home from school, so my grandfather is probably wondering where I am. I'll be at practise tomorrow, I promise. Well, goodbye!"
He ran off down the corridor and out of the entrance, feeling his heart hammering in his chest. He knew his face must be bright red, and he placed his hands on his cheeks, trying to calm his racing pulse.
It was just a coincidence, you idiot! What makes you think he would ever take any notice of a silly little boy like you! One little word of praise and you turn into a gushing, stammering mess. Pull yourself together and grow up!
He tried to listen to the voice of reason in his head, telling himself that he was reading far too much into a casual, likely throwaway remark. His mind fervently tried to ignore the other, smaller voice that was remembering the heat of Ludwig's body and the feeling of being caught by that strong, muscular arm. He ran out of the school and towards his home, profoundly grateful that it was long past the end of the day and so no one was there to see his blushing face.
Back in the locker room, Ludwig stood with the hand that had caught Feliciano held in front of him, a faintly puzzled expression on his face.
Why does that boy seem so familiar? He said he was sure we have never met, but something about him…
A memory tugged in the back of his mind, the image of a small child in green dungarees and a white top, with shining auburn hair catching the sunlight in golden strands. He shook his head determinedly.
I'm sure I am just confusing him with someone else. This is not the time to be caught up in fantasies. We have a tournament to win.
He slapped his face lightly and turned to go out of the room, taking a quick glance around to check that no one had left anything behind, then locked it, before walking back to the main office to drop the keys off and sign out at the reception. As he made his way through the familiar corridors, he couldn't help but see the pictures and trophies of his last year at school still lining the cases along the hall.
He gave a greeting to the teachers he saw who still remembered him, stopping once or twice to discuss his work at college and thank them for their continued teaching. He said a brief greeting to the receptionist, who smiled at him and wished him well on his course, as well as the games, then walked across the car park and got into his car. He started the engine and drove off, his thoughts already planning the upcoming matches. As he drove, he couldn't help his mind returning again and again to tomorrow, and the prospect of seeing the promising, curiously familiar young striker again.