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It hurt. Once again, it hurt.
The pain was nothing new to him, he had suffered from similar aches during the last months and years way too often for his liking.
But, it took him only several minutes to gain back his faith, to believe that everything would turn out well in the end. He was used to positive thinking and to not be at odds with fate.
And still, it hurt.
It hurt to see Marco screwing up his face in pain, it hurt to understand that he had to play the next, oh so important match without him.
Batman had lost his Robin.
Auba sighed, embracing his friend, trying to cheer him up when in fact, it would have been him who needed to be cheered up. „I’m so sorry, Marco. But look, you will only miss one match, the injury isn’t so severe this time.“
„Yeah, I know,“ the blond muttered, „I’ll be fine, don’t worry.“
Auba’s bad conscience overwhelmed him with this reply. Why was he in pain when Marco had suffered the injury? He didn’t have the right to feel bad.
Marco had overcome so many injuries, so many obstacles and Auba admired him a lot for his strength.
And still, it hurt, and most of all it hurt that he felt more for his teammate than only friendship.
***
„Can I do something for you?“ Auba asked Marco after he had told him the diagnosis. He knew that he couldn’t really help his friend, he had to go through the rehab alone. Luckily, it would be a short one and maybe, Marco wouldn’t miss so many training sessions with the team.
„No, thank you,“ the blond replied and Auba nodded because he wouldn’t have awaited any other answer. But then, his friend surprised him. „Wait, maybe you could...“ he drawled.
„Yeah?“ the Gabonese’s face lit up. He would do anything for his friend, that was for sure.
Marco gazed over to their physiotherapist who was standing on the other end of the room, involved in a conversation, and he rubbed unconsciously over the bandage he must have placed on his leg. „Well, there’s someone who’s always there for me, especially when I’m injured or not feeling well. I want to give him something back in return. Do you think it would be a good idea to invite him for dinner or so? I mean, not only having lunch, I thought of a real date.“
Auba stared at their physiotherapist and back at Marco, and finally, it dawned on him. His friend had a crush on their therapist! He should have seen that coming earlier. He was allowed to touch Marco on parts of his body Auba could only look at wistfully, and probably he knew the blond’s body better than his own in the meantime.
Marco stroked over his thigh again, apparently waiting for Auba’s answer who felt like his heart would be torn into pieces.
„Sure, why don’t you invite him,“ he murmured, „I bet he will be happy. But sorry, Marco, I’ll have to leave then.“
Auba sneaked out of the training center, his shoulders hanging low.
It hurt. And this time, he didn’t know if he would be able to look ahead so easily again.
***
Auba drove back home, hitting the steering wheel several times during the ride to let his jealousy out. Why hadn’t he tried to come closer to his friend earlier, before it had been too late?
He had no doubts that their physiotherapist would accept the blond’s invitation gladly. Who wouldn’t fall for Marco right at first sight?
Finally at home, the striker took his mobile and stared at it for a long time. He fought a battle with himself to simply text Marco that he shouldn’t go out with their therapist, that it wasn’t a good idea, but how ridiculous would that be?
Batman would be more confident.
Auba’s thoughts drifted away to the last Revierderby, to their masquerade. Batman and Robin. Had Marco understood that they were said to be gay when he had proposed this costume?
To him, scoring in this game had probably been the most important goal in his career so far. Ever during the match, he had gazed at the small bundle their translator had hidden near the goal post, hoping from the bottom of his heart that he would manage to shoot the ball into the net.
And he had.
He had been booked for the costume, he had been told off by their trainer but, it had been worth it. He had saved all the images of Robin Marco on his mobile, flipping through them every now and then when the pain got especially bad.
The Revierderby this season shouldn’t be less special for them, maybe they would have come up with another celebration that showed their connection, their blind understanding.
And now Marco was injured and wanted to take their physiotherapist out for a date.
The striker was well aware that the therapist would have close contact to the midfielder during the next days and weeks, treating his injured thigh. The muscle that was so close to his... damn it.
Auba breathed deeply, trying to get himself together. In the end, the most important fact was that Marco would be able to play again soon because he knew how much he suffered when he wasn’t able to stand on the pitch. He would be an awful friend if he wouldn’t be happy for him. If their physiotherapist would be the one to heal not only his body, but also his soul, he had to accept it.
And still, it hurt.
The striker slumped down onto his sofa, switching the television on but, he didn’t want to see or hear anything about football right now. He stood up and opened his DVD shelf, just to find some Batman movies stored there.
Marco was haunting him.
He grabbed his mobile again, zooming into the photos of the last Derby. How tightly the blond had embraced him, how cute he had looked as Robin. His fragile Robin.
Auba’s thoughts wandered back to their physiotherapist. He didn’t know much about him simply because he didn’t need him oftentimes. The guy was handsome and friendly, he did a professional job and probably he was a good choice for Marco.
In the end, the Gabonese decided to do what always helped him the most to get his head clear. He put on his jogging shoes and started to run.
He run to forget the pain, he run to forget their physiotherapist. He run to forget Marco which was an absurd undertaking.
They simply weren’t meant to be.
Auba arrived back home after an exhausting run their trainer would probably pan him for but, he didn’t care. He felt slightly better, determined to not begrudge his friend if he would find his luck.
The Gabonese took a shower that washed away the last shreds of his ache. Maybe it would take longer this time but, he would think positive. Again.
He tried to smile at his counterpart in the mirror, succeeding surprisingly well. Yes, he would stand his ground.
Just when he arrived in his living room, still rubbing his hair dry with a towel, he heard his mobile beeping, announcing a message.
Auba had to read it three times to understand it completely but then, his smile turned into a grin and he had to laugh, his heart leaping in bliss.
„Hey Batman, Robin wants to take you out for dinner. Get the Batmobile ready and pick me up in two hours.“