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Chapter Text

Calm down time was about half an hour before the beginning of the match. It was enough time for Rob to get Felix settled down in bed with his nightlight and bed time film and for Felipe, having drawn the short straw, to calm Frankie and Felipinho down enough so they could actually watch the match.

The boys were playing Ninja Turtles Top Trumps when Rob rushed down the stairs ten minutes before kick off. He spots one of the pundits on the TV and groans.

“It’s on ITV?” he asked, collapsing onto the sofa beside Felipe.

“Yeah, why?” Felipe asked.

“Nothing, just that git knows nothing about football,” Rob said, nodding towards the TV. It wouldn’t be that much of a problem once the game actually started, and would motivate Rob to get up at half time to go to the toilet instead of making the usual mistake and thinking he can wait until after the match.

“Maybe you should go and ask them for a job,” Felipe suggested, trying to keep the grin off of his face.

Rob clipped him round the ear, attracting giggles from the boys on the floor. He watched them play cards in near silence before pulling Felipe closer.

“Why are they so quiet?” he whispered, suspiciously.

“Told them if they were quiet today they could watch Frozen as many times and they want to next week,” Felipe said.

“We don’t have the boys next week,” Rob pointed out. “Lucy and Raffaela do.”

“I know,” Felipe said, and this time he couldn’t stop the grin. Rob grinned back.

“They are going to hate you.”

“For fuck sake. Felix could have saved that.”

“Would maybe have more chance of catching the ball if he was actually in the box.”

“Bloody hate them. All. They’re idiots. Why do we pay them so bloody much when a bunch of infants could do better?”

Frankie and Felipinho looked between each other and their parents, then at the football game on the TV.

“The blues have four and the reds have one,” Felipinho read from the corner of the screen.

“Yes, thank you, Felipinho,” Rob said, huffing and folding his arms, refusing to let and laughing Felipe pull him into a hug.

“And who do you want to win?” Felipinho asked.

“Do you want to watch Frozen or not?”

“Three fucking minutes!” Rob cried. “He was rolling about for half a fucking hour. You shut up.”

Felipe bit his lip, trying to stop himself from laughing but it wasn’t working.

“Could be worse,” Rob said, glaring at his so called friend. “Could be seven-one, not four.”

Felipe was ice cold in an instant, the grin gone. “Shut up.”

“Not so funny then, was it?”

“You shut up,” Felipe said. “That was heart crushing and awful. Your team is shit, you should expect them to lose, not make fun of perfectly good teams who happened to have bad luck on one very important day.”

There were actual tears in his eyes, Rob was surprised to see. Needless to say Felipe did not say anything until the whistle blew for half time.

Rob jumped up as soon as the pundit came onto the TV, rushing up the stairs and grumbling about useless fourth officials as he went.

“Rob’s team is losing, isn’t it,” Felipinho said.

“Just a little,” Felipe said.

“Come on come on come on come on come on come on come on come on come on YES!”

Four – four with a minute and a half of extra time to go. Even Felipe had to admit it was pretty impressive. Not quite jumping up and cheering at home, knocking the boys’ game of snap flying impressive, but still impressive.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“Off side,” Felipe said, squinting at the TV (he really should have been wearing reading glasses if he was going to watch TV for this long, but he’d stopped since Rob started to call him an old man).

“It wasn’t.”

“Was,” Felipe said, pointing. “Look, your person is way past theirs.”

“It’s a toe, if anything,” Rob said. “Ref’s a wanker.”

“What’s a wanker?” Frankie asked.

“It’s a bad word and you don’t ever let your mum know I said it,” Rob said, not taking his eyes off of the television. “Or no Frozen.”

The whistle blew at the end of the game to the boos of the crowd of red. Rob sat with his head in his hands.

“Deep breaths,” Felipe cooed.

“Shut up.”

Felipe decided that was probably a good idea, before Rob brought up that game again.

“Come on boys, bed time,” Felipe said, laughing at the groans he got from both boys as they collected the cards away.

“What’s a twat?” Felipinho asked as they climbed the stairs.

“Ok, all the things that Rob has said are special words that are just for football,” Felipe said. “And you are not allowed to say them unless football is on. Understand?”

Chapter Text

“I hate you,” Rob said with so much sincerity it would be forgiven for someone to think Felipe had killed Rob’s mother or something.

“I don’t care what they’re going to say.”

“Is not my fault,” Felipe said. It would be funny how annoyed Rob was if Felipe wasn’t just as annoyed.

“Let the storm rage on.”

“This was your idea,” Rob said, shutting his eyes as if this would make them any quieter.

“The cold never bothered me anyway.”

“We would not even be here if it wasn’t for you,” Felipe pointed out, which was the truth. He was not going to take the blame for this. Sure, he may have loaded the gun, but Rob was the one who handed it to Lucy and Raffaela.

“It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small.”

“Why do they know all the words?” Rob moaned. The more upset he was, the louder the children got.

“And the fear that once controlled me can’t get me at all!”

“Bet they taught them,” Felipe said. He wouldn’t put it past them. He was willing to bet Raffaela and Lucy had been given them singing lessons in the week between the football match and the girl’s second night out.

“It’s time to see what I can do. To test the limits and break through.”

“They’re testing my limits,” Rob muttered.

“No right, no wrong, no rules for me.”

“I think it might be nearly over,” Felipe said, hopefully.

“I’m free!”

“LET IT GO! LET IT GO! I AM ONE WITH THE WIND AND SKY!”

“How long is this fucking song?” Rob moaned.

“Do not swear!” Felipe hissed. “That is what got us in this mess in the first place.”

“LET IT GO! LET IT GO! YOU’LL NEVER SEE ME CRY!”

“You’re the one that told them they could watch the bloody film.”

“Stop swearing.”

“HERE I STAND! AND HERE I’LL STAY! LET THE STORM RAGE ON!”

“I actually hate you.”