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“Hola, Jamie Tartt.”
A smile threatened to sprout on his features despite himself.
“Hola, Dani Rojas.” Jamie replied, not looking up from the spot on the PT room’s floor. He heard Dani’s breathy laugh of amusement he got anytime Jamie attempted to speak Spanish in his Mancunian accent.
“Are you hurt?” Dani asked. Before Jamie even looked up, he knew Dani would have that little line of concern he got when his face scrunched up. It was cute, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see it.
“No.” Jamie replied with a shake of his head, scooting back on the exam bench until his back was against the wall. “Just wanted some quiet before practice.” Dani had grabbed one of the hand towels from the stack and was now passing it from one hand to the other like he was unsure which hand he wanted to hold it in.
“Oh…anytime it is quiet for too long my thoughts start whirling in my head too fast and I can’t get them to stop.” Dani explained with the added visual aid of his waving hand mimicking what he must think his thoughts looked like. “So, I just avoid the quiet.” He added with a shrug, like that was the obvious answer for it.
Jamie replied with a reassuring smile, because as out there as it sounded, it did make sense to him.
Dani seemed to take that as an invitation and moved to hop up on the bench next to him. Jamie tried to ignore the momentary press of their legs.
“So, if you are not hurt, why is it you look sad?” Dani asked curiously after getting himself settled. Jamie tilted his head to get a good look at the other man. He still had that little line of concern between his brows. It was still cute.
“Just thinking about things I miss.” Jamie replied with a little shrug, slouching back against the wall.
“You have lost something?” Dani asked sincerely.
Seriously, how did anyone have a conversation with this man without smiling?
“No…well…not exactly.” Jamie answered, foot kicking up in the air to give his body something to do. It was like it knew it was time for practice and he should be moving, “I didn’t lose anything…physically. I meant more like missin’ things I used to do.” Jamie explained, “That we used to do.” He added with a pointed look.
“I am still confused.” Dani admitted, lips pursing a little in thought. Jamie kicked his other leg up and then let them both drop one at a time, watching them instead of the handsome guy to his side practically pouting at him.
“Do you remember when we used to play that target practice game against the goal posts?” Jamie asked curiously, not letting Dani get too lost trying to figure his thoughts out.
“Oh, sí.” Dani replied, his face lighting up, “That was very fun.”
“Yeah, it was.” Jamie replied, fondness for the memory on his tone, “I miss when we did that.” He added, features dropping a bit into a frown.
“We can play it again, Jamie Tartt.” Dani assured him, knocking his shoulder against Jamie’s.
“Nah, we can’t.” Jamie replied, “Cause we played after practice, and after practices you have to hurry back to the locker room to meditate with Zava.” He said it like it wasn’t bothering him, like it was fact. Cause it was. He had silently stewed for weeks, and he had moved passed being annoyed by it. Moved passed being angry. At least on the outside. He knew that wasn’t working to convince anyone to his way of thinking.
And Jamie was a quick study when it came to learning from his mistakes – once he decided to learn, anyways.
“Know what else I miss?” Jamie piped up before Dani could respond, “All of us going to the Crown & Anchor.” He smiled, “But we can’t go…cause the food’s too fatty for Zava.” He knew he was putting too much emphasis on Zava’s name, but he was trying to make a point. Jamie let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the wall, looking out straight ahead across the room but glanced out of the corners of his eyes to Dani to see his reaction.
The cute crease of concern was twisted in concentration.
“I miss finding you in the box and that annoying as shit cheer they sang for ya, too.” Jamie added thoughtfully.
“It is not annoying.” That snapped his attention quickly. Jamie chuckled, hand rising to his lips as he looked over at Dani.
“Eh.” He replied, making a motion of a teeter-totter with his hand.
“It is not!” Dani insisted, giving Jamie a light shove despite a chuckle sneaking past his own lips.
“Fine, fine…it’s not the worst.” Jamie replied, smiling as he pressed his hand against Dani’s shoulder. “You know what I really miss though?” He asked raising a brow.
“What?” Dani asked breathlessly.
“I miss…being out on that pitch, no matter where I was…and hearing…” Jamie took a deep breath and then tilted his head back to let out a loud, “FÚTBOL IS LIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!” after which he turned his head to look back at Dani with a small smile. His arms had stretched out, as if on instinct, and so they stayed there with one behind Dani’s shoulders. Dani laughed, free hand coming up to pat Jamie’s chest.
“Sí, yes, Jamie Tartt, Fútbol is life!” Dani smiled with a nod, “But what do you mean you miss hearing it? I saw this all the time.”
“No.” Jamie shook his head gently, “Ya don’t…ya used to, but you haven’t in weeks, mate.” Jamie explained, frowning a bit, “It’s worrin’ me.”
“Worrying…” Dani repeated softly.
“Yeah, I’m worried you’ve forgotten.” Jamie explained, pushing himself up and off the exam bench. Dani turned his head, watching as Jamie moved to stand off to the side, hands tucking up in his practice jersey. “It’s not that I’m not happy about winnin’, I am. But I miss when it was us winnin’ and not just him.” Jamie explained, gaze meeting Dani’s as he spoke now. “Fútbol is life.” He repeated, biting his lip for a moment before adding, “Fútbol is not Zava, mate.”
Jamie gently tapped the exam bench with his fist, holding onto Dani’s gaze for a moment more before turning, heading for the PT room door. He steeled himself not to turn around and look at Dani’s reaction. Jamie had been watching the rest of the team for weeks now. Watching how they reacted and fussed over Zava, and while they were all bad – all had their weakness, Dani seemed to be the worst off and it hurt. It hurt because there had been a point when Jamie thought Dani was going to be the end of him. Hurt because for almost a season they had been the twin pillars at the top of Richmond’s field. The Two Aces. And now Dani was Zava’s shadow like he wasn’t an insanely good footballer himself. Like he was worth nothing more than Zava’s assist stat. That wasn’t the Dani Rojas Jamie knew. The Dani Rojas he knew was one worthy of taking the great Jamie Tartt off the roster.
Practice was going as well as any of them had in recent weeks. Zava participated when he wanted to. Took more breaks than most of them. The coaches didn’t seem to really mind. They had split up for seven-on-seven. Jamie wasn’t nearly as disappointed as the other six on his team to not have been chosen for Zava’s side.
He watched Jan Maas kick the ball across pitch and turned to watch it land at Dani’s feet. Bumbercatch was covering him before the ball landed, so Jamie ran to cover Zava in the box. The ball was supposed to come to Zava. Everyone knew it, and it was a wonder the teams they were playing hadn’t caught on yet. Granted, even when he was in double coverage it seemed like somehow the ball managed to find Zava’s feet.
But it was hard for the ball to find Zava’s feet when it wasn’t leaving Dani’s.
Dani had managed to pull Bumbercatch out, only to twist past him with a quick flash of fancy footwork not at all dulled by weeks of not being used. Dani was in the clear in seconds, and the nearest blue-bib no where near being close enough to catch him. Jamie heard Zava shout a rough ‘BALL!’ behind him, but Jamie kept his eyes on Dani as he neared.
It happened so fast it nearly took Jamie’s breath away.
Zava was still standing with his hand raised like an idiot when the ball hit the back of the net.
Cheers erupted. Jamie closed his eyes to stop himself from joining in.
And then he heard it ringing in his ears from the other side of the box.
“FÚTBOL IS LIFE!”