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Arthur sprinted over the field, eyes on the goal while his lungs were burning. He knew he had to make this. They were about thirty minutes into the second half and they were behind. They needed to get a goal now if they wanted to stay in the game.
Camelot Lions’ defense had been an utter nightmare and Arthur was incredibly glad that Ealdor had only managed to get one in until now. It could be much worse. His team had been all over the place since the start of the match and he couldn’t say he was any better.
As he stormed towards the goal, Ealdor’s defense far behind him, he kept on getting closer to their keeper who had held every fucking ball so far. The man looked gangly, not exactly like your typical football player.
But his eyes saw every movement, they saw right through Arthur’s plans and it drove him up the wall. Now was their chance, the biggest one of the match and Arthur was so fucking close to the goal but their keeper wouldn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink as Arthur entered the box.
He just started right at Arthur and right as Arthur chose to just go for it and make a fucking goal, he was tackeled from the side and the keeper rolled his eyes as the ball slowly rolled past the goal, while the whistle rang through the stadium.
That was going to be a penalty.
Arthur got up slowly, carefully testing whether something was hurt but he felt alright. The bloke that had tackled him offered him a hand that Arthur graciously accepted, knowing full well that he might have fucked up that chance by himself anyway.
But now he had to go one versus one with the blue eyed guy and he wasn’t entirely certain he’d score against him. Ealdor’s team wasn’t that extraordinary but fucking hell, their goalie was.
When he started in the league mere months ago, he was a nobody who quickly became one of the best keepers in the league. And today Camelot felt like they were playing against a wall.
Arthur took the ball and carefully placed it on the spot. He had to trust his instincts, he couldn’t think his way out of this one because the keeper seemed to know his every move before he had even decided on it.
Frustrating didn’t even get close to describing it.
The whistle rang through the stadium once more and Arthur took a deep breath, eyes on the ball because he didn’t dare looking up. When he finally did, quickly locating the irritating keeper right in the middle and he looked like a spider in his net, ready to strike.
Arthur hesitated for just a moment but he saw the keeper start to grin before Arthur had even hit the ball. The moment Arthur shot, the man had already jumped right into the corner where the ball was headed. The impact of the ball seemed to knock the air out of him but the stupid grin didn’t falter for a second.
His team had already started cheering before he had hit the ground.
They had surrounded him before he was back on his feet, picking up with such ease and throwing him high in the air, cheering like they had won the fucking cup. Arthur knelt on the ground, face towards the sky before he felt a comforting pat on his back.
Leon nodded at him encouragingly.
“Don’t feel too bad, pal. We still have some time,” he comforted him and offered him a hand to help him up.
“I should have made it,” Arthur said through gritted teeth and looked over to the celebrating team. Blue eyes pierced right through him as he caught the goalie’s gaze. He quickly looked away and got back to his position.
The rest of the game felt like running up a hill only to punch a wall over and over again. The wind seemed to be entirely knocked out of the Lions and when the extra-time started, Arthur knew it was basically over.
He might get one more shot to prove to himself that he deserved his spot as captain on his team. He was one of the best strikers after all and he hadn’t missed a penalty shot in ages. He had to redeem himself.
He got the ball in the middle of the field, quickly scanning his surroundings. He saw Leon passing him behind a line of defenders and Arthur went into full sprint. He knew he couldn’t get to the box with multiple defenders blocking him but he only needed to distract them enough from Leon.
He slowed down, while the defenders rushed further, then he shot and sent a silent prayer up in the sky that Leon had seen what he had been up to.
He had and Arthur started running again, trying to keep himself out of trouble while he saw that enough red shirts had entered the other half by now. This was not a two-man show anymore but a team effort and Arthur smiled proudly.
Leon had noticed that as well and passed the ball when the opponents got too close. Now, it was Lancelot’s time to shine and Arthur could tell that he didn’t hesitate.
Still, the keeper flew the air right into the direction of the ball and when he saw him like that he suddenly remembered his name. Merlin plucked the ball out of the air and rolled with it over the ground, landing securely a few feet away from the goal line.
Arthur groaned. That could have been such a beautiful goal.
With that, the game was basically over. There were no more promising attacks at all and soon the final whistle was blown. Arthur made sure to hug everyone quickly before heading towards the cabin.
“Hey, wait!” he heard someone call behind him and when he saw Merlin jog up to him, he swallowed hard but came to a halt.
“Yeah?” he asked when Merlin stood in front of him.
“Sorry about earlier,” Merlin apologized with a cheeky grin and Arthur rolled his eyes at him.
“You outplayed me,” Arthur admitted and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“You could have made that one, Arthur. You could have and you would have but you need to study the people you go up against more. If you had known me better, you wouldn’t have been so easy to distract,” Merlin smiled confidently and offered him his hand.
“How about we get to know each other, Arthur?” Merlin suggested and Arthur accepted his hand.
“I, uh- sure,” he replied a bit overwhelmed but he noticed a subtle smile fighting its way upon his lips.
“I’ll wait for you at the exit,” Merlin announced and grinned at him before following his teammates inside.
Arthur stood outside for a moment or two, realizing what had just happened. He looked up at the stands where only a few fans were left now.
Something big had happened tonight, he knew it. And it only had partially to do with their missed win.