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Sebastian cracks open his eyes to a blinding light that shines through the window sill. It causes him to squint a little. He stretches out his hand to the phone and peeks at the time. It is 6.58am, a bit too early to start the day. After putting down the phone, he rolls his body over and notices the figure beside him still sleeping soundly in the same bed. There is some mumbling going on but Sebastian could not dissect the words from the sounds. Maybe it is Finnish but Sebastian is not sure. He just chuckles at the way it sounds. The German then shifts closer to his beau to give a better look. The blond hair on his boyfriend Kimi is shining under the sunlight. It makes the hair more golden than it usually is. Those shut eyes on the Finn makes him look like an innocent young boy. Sebastian stretches his hand and tempted to reach his boyfriend but the German chickens out in the end. Kimi might wake up from the touch. Sebastian wants this moment to stay as long as possible because he enjoys watching the man sleeping. The coherent breathing and shut eyes give Sebastian a peaceful and calm feeling.
Things seem perfect until the phone rings out of the blue from the alarm clock of Sebastian's phone. It provokes his veins, distracting him from appreciating the beauty of his beau. Sebastian scrambles around the bed for the phone to minimise the sound but it is too late. The alarm has triggered Kimi to awake. When Sebastian turns his sight back to Kimi, Finn's eyes are already wide open. Those tiny grey eyes fixing on him are just like a little puppy cluelessly staring at his owner, as if he is doing something stupid.
"Morning... Kimi." Sebastian manages to utter in the midst of the awkward silence.
"Morning, Seb," Kimi mumbles, then lets out a yawn. The Finn grabs the bed sheet and pulls over his head, curling himself into a ball. Sebastian's mouth agape to Kimi's action. His disappointment lets him drop back on the other side of the bed, he lets out a huge sigh before shutting his eyes.
Stupid alarm clock.
A couple of door knocking sounds follow not long after Sebastian closes his eyes. There is also a voice coming from the opposite side of the door.
"Wake up, boys! There is a big game today!"
Sebastian's eyes turn wide when he hears the familiar voice. His mind is triggered when he hears the words 'big game'. Surprisingly, Kimi's eyes are turn wide as well. Normally the Finn would shield himself from the noises and his trainer had to drag him out of the bed for every non-racing day. But Kimi voluntary gets himself up within a minute today. That never happens on a non-racing day. Especially Mondays. His lips curls upward, which is a bit unusual in the mornings after a bad race. Without realising, Sebastian's lips curl slightly upwards as well. It seems like yesterday's incident has washed away from the Finn's memory.
Today is not racing or even practice day. Instead, the boys are required to do one of those casual PR events organised by the team. But Kimi seems delighted about this one. Probably because this one is different as it does not involve any talking. His smile lasts throughout their way to the dining hall, even when the drivers greet the staffs they arrive with a wide grin. Kimi is a bit chattier than usual, responding more than a single sentence to the staffs.
"Morning boys! Are you ready for the big game?" Maurizio's voice is heard as soon as he walks into the room. There is a big smile plastered on his face. Both Sebastian and Kimi switch their sight to the voice and respond positively to their boss with a yes. Maurizio swiftly walks over to Sebastian and places a hand over his shoulder before he continues, "I expect a hat-trick from you, Sebastian!"
"Well that's a requirement, isn't it?" Sebastian replies with a grin while slipping his shoulder away from his boss. The grin fades away swiftly when he glances over his shoulder. The truth is, Sebastian has not touched a ball for years and it would be lucky to even score one or two. But now that his boss has patted the luck away, he probably could not score anything.
Damn.
"Kimi, what about you? Can you score a goal tonight?" Maurizio asks.
"Bwoah, I'll try," Kimi replies.
"Hey, hang on! I see a favouritism here. Why Kimi doesn't need to score three goals?" Sebastian chips in.
"You're German. You're supposed to be good in football." Maurizio replies.
"Right. You have a point." Sebastian says as he struggles to put on a smile.
Damn you, Germany. Why did you have to win the World Cup?
Sebastian could see Kimi giggling in the background during the conversation. His lips flatten to Kimi's laugh. Sebastian folds his arms and says, "Are you looking down on me, Kimi? For your information, my footballing skills are better than badminton."
"Whatever," Kimi replies. He then clasps his hand to Sebastian's and says, "Do you know? We haven't been teaming up for a long time. I mean the type that we don't have to compete with each other."
"Yeah, you're right. I'm so looking forward to this evening." Sebastian replies. He shifts closer to Kimi and gives a peck to the lips. He then whispers, "Can't wait."
The weather at the evening is quite cooling. The sun is not too striking and the wind just mild. It is a perfect weather to play football. There red flags and banners waving in the stands. Sebastian could hear fans calling his and Kimi's name. The whole atmosphere just feels great. Everyone in the stadium has a smile on their faces, even from the opposition team. They give each other handshakes and chat a little during the warm-ups. There are some retired footballers joining them today but Maurizio has constantly reminded him that he and Kimi are the face of the charity match. There are donors that will donate a huge amount of money for each goal they score. When the Ferrari boss giving Sebastian some gestures from the stands, the pressure starts reeling in.
As soon as the game starts, Sebastian could feel an intimidating aura from the opponents. Sebastian's eyes turn wide as he senses the speed of the players picks up within a minute or two. Before he could actually warm up himself, there is already a scoring attempt from the opponent at the 6th minute. Thankfully the goalkeeper manages to deny the goal. Sebastian thought this is just a charity match but the other 21 players on the pitch think otherwise. When he realises it, he picks up his pace and tries to get the ball. However, he is not able to be fluid as he wanted on be on the pitch. There seems to be another person trailing his every move. Sebastian tries to get rid of the person but the guy keeps clinging to him like a shadow. There is another defender who eyes Sebastian like a hawk. Whenever the F1 star tries to move forward, the defender would come towards him. There are times Sebastian loses possession because of it. It is only until the 25th minute Sebastian finally gets a chance to score. One of his teammate whips the ball towards him but he misses the cue. Sebastian's heart sinks when the ball rolls just before his foot.
"Sebastian! What are you doing??!!"
Sebastian could hear an unpleasant voice front the stands. He glances to the stands and Maurizio's face has turned dark. As times goes by, the face turns darker and darker. This is not good. He then glances to Kimi. His teammate, on the other hand, tends to move forward at every opportunity. No one seems to be marking the Finn. Maybe he could score one if he is lucky. Kimi does get his chances at the first half. His first attempt comes during the 31st minute. But the opponent's goalkeeper manages to see through Kimi's plan and denies the goal. The second attempt is just before halftime. The ball goes into the net this time, but the lineman decides that Kimi's goal is offside. The crowd boos in protest but the referee's decision stands.
"Where are the goals? Nobody wants to see a goalless match. How are you supposed people to donate money for something like this?" Maurizio roars at Sebastian and Kimi during the halftime break. Sebastian winces at those harsh words. On the surface, it is just a charity match. But underneath the friendly match, there is still ego involved in his boss.
"Hey! Don't worry. We'll get some goals."
Kimi's words calm Sebastian until the second half starts. Sebastian feels ants all over his body when the opposing team scores an opening goal at the start of the second half. Another one comes after 2 minutes which freaks him out. Negative thoughts start to flow into his mind and his quality drops drastically. Sebastian could not keep the ball for long. Every time the ball is taken away from him, his heart sinks.
"Seb, focus. I need you."
It is Kimi's voice that brings him back to the pitch. The Finn gives him a pair of stern eyes before running back to his original position. Minutes later, Kimi taps in a goal and the whole atmosphere changes. The crowds are cheering louder and the players in yellow jerseys become more composed. Kimi manages to snatch another point from a cross from the midfielder to level the game.
Sebastian shakes off the negative feelings and focuses on the game. As soon as he gets the ball from the opponent, two people from the opposition team come over to mark him. Sebastian could not move further up by himself. The best bet is to pass the ball. He scans through the pitch for a black space. There is a figure with a yellow jersey running towards the blank space, waving his hand to him. Sebastian narrows his eyes and notices that is Kimi. It is Kimi. He flashes a lopsided smile and whips the ball towards the blank space. Kimi runs towards the area and touches the ball. He whips the ball and it goes into the net.
It is not him who scored the goal, but Sebastian feels all over the moon. He could see Kimi run towards him with a big smile on the face. Kimi gives a bear hug without any warning to Sebastian, it shook him a little.
"We did it!" Kimi says.
Kimi's hug gives him the confidence that he needs. But just when Sebastian gets his gear up, the final whistle blows. Sebastian could feel his heart a lot lighter. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. A few of his teammates come over to hug and congratulate him. A standing ovation is given by the crowd for the three goals Kimi scored. Flags and banners waving towards the football field. Kimi waves to the crowd as a thank you gesture before walking towards Sebastian with a sunshine smile. The type where the Finn's eyes almost seem shut.
"Didn't know you can play football," Sebastian says as he gazes at Kimi's tiny eyes with a wide smile.
"Why not? Everyone with feet can play football." Kimi replies with a nonchalant tone. The Finn gazes back at Sebastian but his smile slowly fades away. He lowers his head and utters, "Uhm... sorry that you didn't score any today."
"Oh, it's okay," Sebastian replies with his smile remains.
It is true that he did not score any goals for the football match today. But he is still happy and blessed for the biggest goal that he scored years ago which is the man standing in front of him.