Feliciano couldn't keep a grin off his face as he ran to school, filled with both relief and excitement. Everything was looking up now. His doubts and fear from the day before had disappeared on hearing that Lovino would get a chance to redeem himself. He was profoundly happy that Lovino had agreed to the school's proposal at all, knowing how unbelievably stubborn his brother generally was, it was nothing short of a miracle that he had accepted it as gracefully as he had. On top of that, his team was likely to go to the championships, maybe even the nationals, and who knows where they could go after that! The giddyness built up in him and he laughed aloud, practically skipping along the street.

His mind sobered for a minute as he thought of the competitions coming up, feeling a flash of panic. Ludwig clearly had high hopes for him. What if he let them down? Granted, he was only one member of the team, but everyone relied on each other, that's what Ludwig had said yesterday. What if he wasn't playing his best? What if the other teams were more focussed, stronger, faster, better?

He felt a familiar panic threatening to close his throat and tried to quell it, remembering what Roma had told him. Just breathe, Feli. Nothing is going to go wrong. Just focus on your breathing and everything will be fine. He took a few deep breaths, filling his lungs with air. It did help, somehow, calming his heartbeat. He shook his head, determined not to let himself doubt. Everything will be fine. It will be. It has to be.

He ran into the school, the gates luckily open early for the clubs that needed access. He checked his watch. 8.55. Oh, I'm cutting it fine. Better go and get ready!

Gentle jibes filled the room as he opened the locker room door, the few students who had also arrived in the nick of time ribbing each other as they changed hurriedly. Feliciano greeted them, then they all ran out onto the field, where Ludwig had already initiated practice warm-up. He frowned when he saw the stragglers arrive, just as the clock chimed nine.

"You're late." He frowned, his usual stern expression deepening. Feliciano felt his heart jump into his throat.

"Sorry Coach. Won't happen again. Really sorry Coach." A chorus of apologies replied.

"Hmph. Just make sure to be on time next time. We are preparing for competitions. Now is not the time to be lazy."

"Yes Coach." The boys chorused again. Ludwig looked satisfied, motioning for them all to join the warm-up drills. They all complied, rushing to start the exercises along with the rest of the team.

"Vargas." Feliciano stopped as he heard his name being called. He turned back hesitantly, seeing Ludwig staring at him with a slight frown. He gulped, nervous.

"Y-yes, Coach?"

Ludwig seemed to realise that he was scaring the smaller teen, and made an effort to relax his expression.

"Calm down, Vargas, you're not in trouble. But as you are one of our star players, I expect you to set an example to the others. That means not being late, alright?"

Feliciano nodded frantically, torn between panic and overwhelming happiness at the praise. "Yes, coach. I'm really sorry. I had something at home, that's all."

"Oh? Nothing troubling, I hope. I don't want you over exerting yourself if there's something on your mind. We need everyone to focus completely on practicing for now."

Feliciano shook his head, making his voice light as he replied. "N-nm, Coach. In fact, it's all good now! Everything's just great!"

Ludwig raised an eyebrow, but as Feliciano offered no other explanation he simply smiled slightly and said "oh, well, that's good then", before turning to face the field. He raised an arm and blew the whistle, signalling everyone over.

"Alright! Now that everyone's here, let's do roll call. Bondevik."

"Here." That from a bored-looking boy with pale hair and a cross-shaped hairclip holding one side of his bangs back.

"Honda."

"here." A quiet reply from a smaller boy with dark hair in a neatly parted style.

"Fernandez."

"Here!" A tanned boy with a smiling face answered.

"Jones."

"That's me! The hero's here!" The boy who had fought yesterday called out, voice full of swagger. Ludwig sighed, while a ripple of laughter ran around the group.

"Laurinatis."

"Here." A tall boy with long brown hair called out.

"Łucasiewicz."

"Like, here." He stood lazily with one hand on his hip, apparently paying more attention to his nails than his coach.

"Steilsson."

"Here." Another boy with pale silver hair replied, his expression laconic.

"Vargas."

"Here!" Feliciano called out.

"Williams."

"I-I'm here." The boy in question answered, his voice sounding surprised, as if he didn't expect his name to be called.

"Yong Soo."

"He~re." A boy with dark hair and a playful expression answered.

"Wang."

"Here!" Answered an oriental boy with dark brown hair and eyes.

"And lastly, Zwingli."

"Here." A stern-faced blond boy answered seriously.

"Right. If everyone's here, let's begin practice. Same as yesterday, work on passing and see how we go. I trust you to divide yourself up into groups. Now, GO!"

The boys scattered into two groups of five, with the remaining pair acting as goalies.

On the whole, the practice seemed to go well, with the groups broadly coordinating, although there were still a few collisions. As before, Feliciano played as best as he could, trying to concentrate on his footing and the placing of his team. He couldn't help his mind turning to his brother, however, worrying about the meeting taking place inside the headmaster's office. As much as he tried not to let his feelings affect his play, he knew he was distracted and missed several goals. To his great relief, none of his teammates mentioned anything, most of them knowing or at least guessing the reason. After all, expulsion was a gossip-worthy topic in any school, and Lovino's behaviour had been the source of many rumours, as well as outright bets.

The same could not be said for Ludwig, however. Seeing one of his pupils so obviously preoccupied was not something he could ignore. They were in a stage of crucial preparation, he couldn't afford for any player to get distracted, no matter the reason. He remembered that the boy had said something about a problem at home, although he had said it was apparently sorted. He made a note to ask him about it after the practice, privately of course. No matter how bad a player was, no-one deserved to be called out in front of their peers.

I hope he's alright, whatever it is. I really can't afford to lose a player like him at a time like this.

Once practice ended, the boys all went back into the small building, following the same routine as the day before. Feliciano held back from joining in the chatter, his thoughts now fully occupied with concern for his brother.

"Feli."

He looked up from where he sat on the bench that ran along the middle of the room. Alfred stood in front of him with a concerned expression. Matthew stood behind him, looking equally worried.

"You ok, dude? You were playing kinda off today. Something up?"

Feliciano's face must have showed his worry, as the taller boy sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "You wanna tell us what's up? You don't have to, but we're here if you need anything. Right, bro?"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah. I don't know if I can help, but I'll do whatever I can."

Feliciano smiled lopsidedly at them. "Thank you, but I'm fine. It's Lovi."

Alfred laughed. "Hah! When is it not that guy!" Matthew hit his brother, punching his arm.

"OW! Dude, what was that for!" he yelled.

Matthew simply glared at him, then pushed him aside and knelt in front of Feliciano. His voice was quiet as he asked gently "what about your brother, Feli? Is it something to do with his...issues at school?"

Feliciano hesitated, then eventually nodded. He rubbed a hand over his face, wiping away a stray tear.

"He's in a meeting with Mr Kirkland right now."

The two boys looked at each other at the mention of their stepfather, knowing full well how many times Lovino had been sent to his office in the past. Alfred spoke first.

"Is that good? Or not?"

Feliciano laughed softly as Matthew elbowed his brother again. "you are so insensitive, you idiot" he muttered. He turned back to Feliciano again.

"but I guess his question is valid. I know our father can be a little, um, brusque, at times. But is this really the last chance for Lovino? From what I gather, dad really doesn't want to have to expel a pupil, if it can be prevented at all. Is that what this meeting is about?"

Feliciano shook his head. "No, not really. Well, the opposite actually. Mr Kirkland sent a letter to Grandpa with a bunch of terms and stuff saying that if Lovi agrees, he won't be expelled. He didn't want to do it at first, but we argued and eventually he came round and agreed to it. I kind of hit him though." He flushed slightly and looked away from the pair, his voice trailing off.

"So what? I hit Mattie all the time. Don't I, bro?" He looked at his brother for backup.

Matthew smiled tersely. "Yeah, you do. And it freaking hurts. You are a terrible shot at baseball."

Alfred looked highly affronted. "DUDE! I am not! I kinda, just, don't see you. You need more, like, presence or something. Like me!"

"no, thank you. You're quite enough on your own. I am not going to be more like you." Matthew's face seemed to express mild horror at the mere thought.

Feliciano laughed at the brother's banter. The two turned back to him, pleased that their ploy had worked.

"So it's all right then?" Matthew asked, his expression serious again.

Feliciano nodded. "I think so. He has to see the school counsellor. But that's good, because-" He stopped himself before mentioning Antonio, somehow knowing that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell the headmasters sons that the new staff member had something of a history with the pupil he was supposed to be helping.

"Because?" The two looked confused.

Feliciano shook his head. "Nothing. Lovi has agreed to it, so it's all gonna be great! I just hope he hasn't yelled too much. Grandpa is there too, so he shouldn't get too mad. Hopefully."

The other two shared a look, but didn't say anything further. Matthew stood up and stretched.

"well, if everything's ok I guess we'd better go. Right, Al?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. See ya on Monday, dude! I'm gonna go shoot some hoops!" Saying that, he went over to his locker, leaving Matthew stood in front of Feliciano. He cleared his throat slightly, feeling more confident now that his brother had left.

"we're going to stay here too, though. Dad ran me and Al here in the car, so he's taking us back too. You can join us if you want, or I can stay with you until the meeting ends?"

Feliciano shook his head again, standing up to face Matthew. "n-nm. I'll be fine. Thank you for asking."

"ok. In that case, I'd better go and find my idiot brother." Matthew smiled and went over to collect his things. Feliciano watched him for a second, then turned to his own locker.

A voice cut through the silence in the room. "Boys? I thought I heard voices. Why are you still here? Practice ended almost half an hour ago."

The two jumped, looking up to see Ludwig standing in the doorway. Matthew spoke first.

"oh! I'm sorry, coach Beilschmidt. I was just talking to Feli. I'll, er, be going now." He gathered his things and hurried past Ludwig, shooting a worried glance at Feliciano as he left.

Feliciano was left in the room with Ludwig. He felt his heartbeat pick up again, suddenly scared. This is bad. Why does this keep happening?

Ludwig looked along the corridor "I'm actually glad you're still here, Vargas. I was hoping to catch you before you left."

Feliciano's face paled. This is about my playing today. Oh, god, he's gonna kick me off the team. Please no. First Lovi, now me, grandpa's gonna be mad.

Ludwig obviously noticed the panic on the teen's face.

"It's alright, Vargas. I just need to discuss today's practice with you. Sit down." Feliciano looked even more panicked, but lowered himself back onto the bench. Ludwig took a seat across from him.

He cleared his throat. "I won't drag this out. I think we both know you weren't at your best today. I understand that everyone has their off days occasionally, but I know you can play better than this." He sighed.

"You mentioned something about a problem at home, although you said it was sorted. That being said, is there anything going on that I, or the school, should know about? If something is going to interfere with you attending practice regularly we need to discuss it now so that we can make alternative arrangements. I don't want to have to take you off the team, but if it comes to it I need to be able to get another player as soon as possible. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Feliciano bit his lip, torn between voicing his concern or keeping up the cheerful act. Honesty won out, and he looked up at Ludwig with worried eyes.

"Well, actually, there is one thing. It's my brother..."

Ludwig sighed, his expression grim. At Feliciano's words, he remembered the other Vargas boy, Lovino. Although he had only been on the team for a few weeks, he had showed real promise. Unfortunately, his argumentative attitude and inability to play well with others had led to him being dismissed not long after joining. Ludwig had not seen him since, and had in all honestly not given him a second thought. He was too concerned with the players he had to think about those who might have been, after all. Careful to measure his voice, he asked

"What about him?"

Feliciano bit his lip again, his mouth quirking in a worried smile.

"He's in a meeting right now, with the headmaster."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. Clearly he didn't change his behaviour, then. He resisted the urge to reply sarcastically, choosing to stay silent instead. It appeared to work, however, as Feliciano began to explain. His voice was slow at first, then rapidly picked up until he was almost babbling.

"He, um, hasn't been a...good student for a while, well since the start of the year really. He doesn't show up for class or do his work and he's always messing around and arguing with the teachers and talking back and things and I didn't really notice 'cause I was busy with school and practice and stuff but I guess it was getting worse cause when I got back from practice yesterday Antonio was there and we haven't seen him for years and apparently he's going to be a teacher at the school, well not a teacher, a psychologist, or a counsellor, something like that, and basically unless Lovi has 'sessions' with him like three times a week for a whole term and agrees to a whole bunch of other stuff he's gonna get expelled. Only he was saying that he wasn't gonna do it and grandpa and Toni were really worried so I said I'd make him agree and we argued a bunch and I kind of hit him, which I feel really bad about but it seemed to work 'cause he agreed to it after all, and now he's in there with them all and I'm just worried 'cause he really needs to not mess this up and I couldn't concentrate on playing because I was thinking about him and I'm really really sorry and I promise I'll play better next time so please don't kick me off the team!"

Ludwig, to his credit, listened to this outburst remarkably calmly, seeming unbothered by the little Italian's fast babble and apparent ignorance of the full stop. He understood well enough, however. He looked down at the boy in front of him, seeing Feliciano flushed-face and panting slightly from talking so fast.

"So, what you're saying is he is currently in a meeting to decide his future, and your distraction this morning was due to worry over your brother. Is that about it?"

Feliciano nodded, tears beginning to prick at his eyes.

"yes, coach. I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to say.

Ludwig sighed, then, amazingly, reached over and ruffled Feliciano's hair. The boy looked up at him in surprise, his face radiating confusion. "Coach?"

"ah, sorry." Ludwig drew his hand back, embarrassed, then cleared his throat again.

"I'm glad you told me, Vargas. That being said' Feliciano's face paled again 'I really don't think there's anything to worry about" Ludwig continued.

Feliciano tilted his head in confusion. "If, as you say, your brother had already agreed to terms the school has given him, then this meeting is only a formality. I suspect that even if he were to demonstrate his usual behaviour it would not change the outcome. Your brother will be fine." Ludwig smiled in what he hoped was reassurance.

Feliciano smiled back weakly. "You think so?"

Ludwig nodded. "Yes." He checked his watch. "What time did this meeting start?" he asked.

Feliciano thought for a second. "Um, I think it was at nine."

"Alright. It's just gone 11o'clock now. I can't imagine it will have taken that long. Do you want to go and see if he is finished?"

Feliciano nodded, back to his smiling self. "Si! Er, I mean, yes please, coach."

Ludwig smiled despite himself at seeing Feliciano's sudden mood switch. "Alright then. Dismissed." He stood up and walked out of the room, pausing a moment in the doorway to look back at the boy. Feliciano was now humming to himself happily, his worry now completely forgotten.

"I'll, er, see you for practice on Monday, Vargas. Don't be late this time, please."

Feliciano whipped his head around at hearing Ludwig speak again. Flustered, all he could stammer out was "er, yes coach! I'll be on time. I promise!"

Ludwig chuckled quietly and went out of the room, leaving Feliciano standing where he was, blinking rapidly in confusion. His heartbeat quickened again. You idiot. Is that all you could think of? Stupid, stupid! He shook his head, trying to dispel his thoughts. He gathered his coat and bag and slammed his locker shut, then went out into the corridor.

Right. Time to go see Lovi. This meeting had better have gone well.

Authors Note

Fernandez: headcanon name for Brazil. I needed a character that would realistically play football, and he would likely be the best. His first name would probably be Jose or something.

Wang: Leon, not Yao. In this, Leon lives with Yao and has his surname, and isn't related to Arthur. Matthew and Alfred's relationship will be explained in the next few chapters.