Chapter Text
It was theirs to lose. That’s all they’d heard since the day they beat Germany. They’d said it themselves, they had the ability and the talent to go and win it. They believed it, the fans believed it, the whole country believed it. Football was finally coming home to England, they’d been through every hurdle, they’d beaten Germany, Ukraine and Denmark and finally got to the final of the euros for the first time and then the trophy was in reach, the first one since ’66, but then they lost, on penalties and the whole world came crashing down.
There was so much talk about them doing it, winning the euro’s for the first ever time, bringing the country together in a time when people were only just starting to get back to normal, to bring hope and happiness to the entire country, and they failed. They lost. Mason didn’t remember much in the moments after the match ended, he remembered three things in total; one, was the sound of footsteps and cheers as the Italian players ran and celebrated together, two was the crushing feeling falling over him, almost as if the pressure that was on them to win this had collapsed on top of them, and three, the fact Declan was no where to be seen from where he was originally right next to him.
It was a hand grasping the back of his neck which brought him back to his senses. Mason raised his head wearily, looking up to the gaffer who was squeezing his neck gently, whispering gentle reassurances to him, which he barely paid attention to, before he moved on to the player next to him.
Mason blinked twice, one fast and the other slow as if to clear his vision from invisible tears, turning his head frantically trying to find the person in particular he was looking for. His heart thudded when he found him. Even from this distance he could see that Declan’s eyes were red, his body shuddering as he withheld the sobs he so wanted to let out.
He didn’t realise he was walking towards the slightly younger male, until Chilly reached out his hand, trying to pull him into a hug. Mason half heartedly patted the older mans hand before carrying on the short distance left to his best friend. Declan looked an even bigger mess up close, his eyes were bright red, tears were creeping up in his eyes as the taller man moved to meet him halfway.
The moment Mason felt Declan’s arms wrap around him, it felt like he could breathe again, letting a deep breathe out as he felt the taller boy bury his head in his shoulder. He could feel the trembling of his best friends body, as he fought and failed to keep the tears in bay. One of his hands crept round his back, rubbing the taller boys back, knowing it was a comfort to him.
Dec had always been the one who loved physical contact the most out of the two of them, whether it was an arm slung around his shoulder, or a hug, or poking him. It was his love language. Dec hugged almost everyone and it was a fight to keep him from touching anyone else at times. He was a giant puppy in human form, that’s how everyone used to describe him even when he was at Chelsea and even now at West Ham, he was known for being a leach for physical contact. His whole body just vibrated whenever he had physical contact with the ones he loved.
He knew from their almost daily facetimes during lockdown about how much his best friend had struggled with not being to see anyone, let alone hug anyone or have physical contact with them at all. This was different though, his best friend was clinging to him for dear life, like if he let go of Mason then the whole world was going to crumble, and if Mason was honest, he didn’t want to let go of the younger boy either.
Mason could feel the faint drops of his best friends tears dropping down into his jacket, his arms tightening around him as his own tears began to drop as well. The two of them couldn’t have been in the hug longer than a few minutes, but for the two of them it felt like a lifetime, a well needed lifetime. No words had to be spoken between the two of them, their presence alone helped anchor each other back down to Earth, it’s how they’d always been, words weren’t always needed at times.
Declan took a deep breathe in, squeezing Mason one last time before releasing him, moving one of his arms so it was wrapped across Mason’s shoulder, still keeping him in a half hug, as his other hand went to wipe across his face, trying to hide his tears from the rest of their teammates and the prying cameras that would be focused on their team. He kept Mason tucked into his side, not letting willing to let his best friend move any further away. It was almost like if Mason left, he’d crumble to the floor and break into pieces. The two of them stood their, side by side, not letting go of each other, blanking out into their own thoughts.
It was only when Declan felt a tug on his hand that he blinked back into reality, still not letting go of Mason, he looked across seeing Kieran interlinking their hands, mouthing a “come on.” at the two younger boys, before pulling them over to the huddle their teammates had begun to make, refusing to let go off the two until they were firmly in the grasps of their other teammates.
The two of them still didn’t leave each others side, even as they were slotted into the hug, Chilly trying to reach his arm around the both of them, knowing that physical comfort helped ground the both of them. Declan took a shaky breath in, as he looked at his devastated teammates, feeling another arm creep across his back, lifting his head to look at the skipper, who sent him a reassuring smile, before ruffling Dec’s hair gently.
Throughout the medal ceremony, the two of them stayed next to each other, not wanting to let go. They were forced to separate to individually get their medals, but as soon as they got them, they were back next to each other, grounding each other, holding each other up until they got to the locker room, where they’d be able to break, away from the cameras, without judgement from the fans.
It was a night full of tears and full of heartbreak, every single one of them was absolutely devastated, but they’d be back. They’d always be back, as long as they had each other, their own anchor, keeping them afloat when all they wanted to do was sink. It had happened time and time before, when Declan left Chelsea, Mason was his anchor and when Mason was getting social media abuse, Declan was his anchor. They were family.