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1.
Pop . It was almost anticlimactic how he’d instantly known something had gone wrong the moment he had heard the popping sound. Suddenly the deafening cheers of the crowd seemed to fade into the background completely with only the popping sound of his knee ringing in his overs over and over again, like a taunt. Or, maybe the crowd had gone silent for that millisecond because soon enough he could hear a loud collective groan from the people in the stands.
It took him way longer than it should have to let out a hiss of pain himself, too busy registering the fact that the pain existed in the first place to even feel it. How had it gone so wrong so quickly?. He didn’t know how long he was writhing around unable to even fully walk or move one step out of line without feeling hot hot burning pain. It must have been longer than he thought even if every second already felt like hours were passing by, because the Georgia defender started coming closer to him to try and hurry him off the field and then Ferran, and before he knew it he was inside with his back against the wall.
The medics were swarming him and everything felt too bright and had he actually been dumb enough to start crying in front of the cameras?. Even if he knew everyone back home would be watching?. Fuck, everyone that he cared about had seen that and even the people that he didn’t care about, he was sure it was all over social media by now. The pain had managed to rear an ugly head now going from burning to excruciating, he felt like he couldn’t even breathe. Scratch that, he couldn’t breathe no matter how many times he tried to make his lungs function properly. Then the coach- and suddenly he could breathe but his eyes were bleary and his face felt red hot.
ACL, ACL, the taunting was back because his brain couldn’t stop repeating the words over and over again, in an effort that it’d finally hit him but it never did. The numbness felt like it would last forever. Where the fuck was his phone?
He must have said that part out loud because soon enough someone handed him his phone, must have been one of the assistant coaches. Gavi wasn’t conscious enough to see his face or the worried expression on it. Hadn’t even been in the moment enough to realise all his teammates, the ones that weren’t on the field had been standing by as he took way too long to get his hands to stop shaking enough to be able to hold his phone. More noise, he couldn’t get up but he felt strong hands carry him up and make him sit on the bench instead of the floor. The doctors were inspecting his leg, he didn’t want to present enough to know what they were saying. He tried to focus on breathing properly and dialling Jude’s number on his phone while the doctors kept inspecting him.
There had to have been a record for how fast Jude had picked up his call, but Gavi didn’t have it in him to say a word. He listened as Jude kept rambling in a rough tone, as if he had been crying too. His heart hurt but it made him feel like he wasn’t alone at least. More rambling, but he still couldn’t say anything. He didn’t even think he was registering a single word Jude was saying, his voice was the only thing he needed to stabilise him. It didn’t matter what he was saying because as long as Gavi could focus on his voice he didn’t have to actually be present in the situation.
He must have started to sob into the phone, could feel a wetness on his cheek as he still struggled to breathe. Jude’s reaction gave him away anyway because now instead of talking he seemed to be focused on saying things he knew would calm Gavi down. When Gavi could no longer sit there and be on the phone he muttered “ I love you” in the smallest voice he could muster before the doctors carried him away to the medical room.
When he woke up, his body felt like it had been hit by a truck. He had had enough knocks and injuries to end up sore the next day and the days to come but it had never felt like this. Whatever medication they had given him must have worked because at least it wasn’t as excruciating as it had been in the start. He swore if he closed his eyes for too long he could still hear the popping sound. That wasn’t to say the pain was any better, if he moved even an inch searing hot pain ran through his entire body making him feel numb all over again. He vaguely remembered a phone call with Jude but checking his phone was the last thing he wanted to do right now.
Then the doctors came, and the coach. He remembers his agent being there too if he tried hard enough but he didn’t want to remember that conversation. Complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament and the meniscus. Could be out for 8-9 months. Will need to do more tests in Barcelona. The club is furios. Ruled out for the Euros and Olympics.
Those were the only things he’d fully registered, but it had only made him feel worse. He wished he could be anywhere else apart from his own body. His agent kept looking at him with wide eyes and it almost made him feel worse. He didn’t even want to imagine how his family must have felt watching him go down clutching his knee. He didn’t want to face it but it wasn’t as if he had a choice because soon enough they were on their way to catch a flight to Barcelona.
He hadn’t even opened any of his messages let alone respond, he remembered opening Instagram before getting on the plane and seeing an post from SPORT showing Ferran’s celebration for him, the post had mentioned Lamine crying in the dressing room after his injury and that had been his sign to close his phone and focus on getting back to Barcelona. Inigo had decided to accompany him and even if was to out of it to properly thank god, he didn’t think he could ever make it up to the other man. The doctors must have given him a lot of painkillers because once he boarded the plane it didn’t take him long to fall asleep. Had he even taken his anxiety meds that day? He couldn’t remember.
When they reached Barcelona, this time he was fully conscious. They hadn’t even been in a situation where he could go through it all while being numb to it because his dad was coming to pick him up. Thank god. But then his agent; Iva , handed him crutches and suddenly his world felt like it was crashing again. How the fuck was he even supposed to use this thing?. It was heavy and hard to carry and he really should have paid more attention in first-aid class because it felt like he had suddenly lost all motor function and didn’t know how to use the crutches. His agent helped him but he didn’t let him do so for long, it made him feel even more of a burden than he already did.
They went through customs and finally reached outside the airport at what must have been midnight. It felt that way at least considering how dark it was outside. His dad had been waiting and thankfully it seemed to be just him, he couldn’t take seeing the look on his mom and sister’s faces right now. He guided him towards the car and if he wanted to say something about how Gavi didn’t look him in the eyes once, he didn’t dare. Inigo must have taken another car because it was just him and his dad now, he did remember hugging him before he got into the car, because it had felt good. He missed Jude.
Atleast, they had left the paparazzi behind now, it shouldn’t have surprised him that people were lining up outside the airport to see him but it had been a shock nonetheless. They must have been halfway through the way when suddenly his dad parked the car on the side of the road before getting out. When he came back, it was with Jude and his mom in tow with Denise sitting in the front seat next to her dad and Jude sitting in the backseat next to him. It must have been the hundredth time that day that he had started crying but he didn’t care enough to stop it.
Jude held him as close as he could, holding his body as he continued sobbing. Seeing the tear stains on Denise’s face and her red rimmed eyes just made him want to cry harder, so he reached his hand out to her before she started speaking. “We decided to join you two later so no one at the airport would see us and crowd us. Jude didn’t want to wait till tomorrow to see you.”, she spoke matter of factly and Gavi felt grateful for the stability in her voice.
He sniffed before muttering out in a small voice, “I’m glad.” Then she went back to staring out the window, probably to give him and Jude some space. His dad seemed to do the same even if Gavi could clearly tell all he wanted to do was hold him close to his chest. But he seemed a bit more relaxed seeing that someone else was already doing the same. Even if it was a bit easier to ignore right now, courtesy of all the painkillers he was injected with Gavi felt like he was hyper aware of his knee the whole time. They must have been cuddling for quite a while before Gavi’s stomach started to rumble. Fuck , he had last eaten before the match; a bowl of pasta, which was fourteen hours ago. His nutritionist would scold him for that, but at least he had a good excuse.
Jude seemed to notice immediately because he reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate chip cookie, muttering something about forgetting to give it to him. Gavi chuckled lightly before wordlessly staring at Jude, he got the hint however because he quickly broke the cookie into half, starting to feed him the whole cookie by breaking it into tiny pieces while Gavi laid his head down on Jude’s shoulder and obliged as he was told.
2 .
There was no reason this should have felt as embarrassing as it did, but yet Gavi couldn’t help but feel red hot shame creeping up on his face. He had been independent and living on his own since he was a teenager of course this was embarrassing for him to think about. More than an embarrassment however he just felt like a burden, he had lost count of just how many times he’d end up sobbing in his family’s arms since he’d come home.
First it was his father, then his mother, and then Aurora. Jude was a constant fixture at this point so he hadn’t bothered counting him on the list. Hell , he had even managed to get his snot on Denise’s blazer. He had felt guilty and promised her to get her a new blazer because damn did it look good on her.
The point was that Gavi was tired and he was sure he was tiring everyone else out too from having to constantly take care of him. Except now, he needed someone to help him because he couldn’t shower alone without potentially hurting himself. This felt like a nightmare, he had known how awful these injuries were but having to live through them felt dehumanising in a way that he couldn’t remember ever feeling. For some reason, he thought of Pedri and the constant injuries he had been suffering through and felt the intense urge to give his friend a hug. He had already talked to him over the phone, reassuring him that he was okay. But it didn’t feel like enough and both of them knew he was lying anyway.
He had bigger things to worry about however because now he had to take a bath, he had to go to the sports centre after all to get his consultation and so the club doctors could properly assess him. He would never ask Aurora to do it and for some reason being in that vulnerable state around his mom made him feel nauseous. He could have just asked his dad to do it but he didn’t want to bother him after everything he had already put him through. So, that left Jude as his only option.
Maybe it was a good thing that it had been Jude, if it was having to pick the other options over him he was sure he’d have a breakdown. In reality, he was the only one worried because his boyfriend had volunteered immediately. He hadn’t even made a joke about how they had already done this countless times before.
Gavi didn’t know how the hell he had managed to get this guy to love him, the start of their relationship had been rocky enough but now they had to deal with a career threatening injury together. He felt lucky that he had Jude with him but it didn’t stop the feeling of guilt from seeping in anyway. Jude, bless his heart must have noticed that Gavi was having a whole mental crisis in the middle of showering because soon enough he spoke.
“Hey….you here?.”
“Hmmm.”
“I feel like I can hear you thinking, wanna tell me so I can tell you how stupid whatever it is you’re thinking about is?.“
“Nothing.”
“Liar ... .that's okay though you can tell me later when you want to, just don’t let it get ugly before you do yeah? I’m here.”
Gavi sighed before relaxing into the touch again when Jude started shampooing his head.
“You think I should cut my hair?.”
“What, why?”
“Eh….you know, it’s not like I can take care of it now, curls are notoriously harder to take care of, it might be easier with….everything.”
“Oh, if you’re worried about that I’ll do it for you.”
Gavi didn’t say anything and just hummed as Jude finished off the rest of the shower. They had to be in the sports centre in two hours and his dad would be driving him. It felt a little ridiculous how he had worked so hard to get his driver's licence only to end up not even being able to drive. But, he decided to stop being a baby and just face the situation he was in already.
3 .
Gavi was tired , if he had thought therapy for eating disorder recovery was hard then this had to be a 100 times harder. The first session after his surgery, when he had felt stable enough to go back to therapy, had been a roller coaster. He felt grateful that he could trust his therapist enough because it felt like the dam had been broken once he’d entered that room and all the emotions he was holding in had come out.
He had felt a lot better afterwards but he couldn’t fathom that he had to do this everyday, and it had only been a month since his surgery. The surgery had been the most daunting experience that he had ever had. He didn’t think he could ever forget how he had felt after the meds had worn off. His family taking turns watching over him had helped.
Family . The thought had occurred to him when he had looked over to see Jude’s dad of all people dozing off in the chair next to his bed that how unbelievable it was that in just over a year family had gone from being Mom, Dad, Aurora and even Pedri and Fermin to now including Jude and his family too. Even Inigo had come to visit him a lot more than he had anticipated. They didn’t know it but seeing them all by his side that week had been his only motivation not to relapse. That, and the fact that he had been working his ass off in therapy, But now that he felt like he could somewhat tackle therapy, a whole another problem had showed it’s face. Now, he had physiotherapy to worry on top of everything. If therapy had felt hard then physiotherapy felt like every step he took didn’t even matter because in the next minute he went three steps back anyway. He knew the two of them weren’t even comparable but after every physio session he felt this bone deep exhaustion settle inside of him.
Currently, he had a therapy session scheduled in the evening but he was being a complete baby about it. He knew he was just being dramatic, it wasn’t even that bad but he had been strong ever since this whole injury had happened and he just wanted to be now. He had been warned about the long recovery time and how it was important to seek psychological help but he was just too impatient by nature. Pedri had lamented how he was the worst possible person this injury could have happened to because of just how much he hated waiting around and his point had never been proven more correct.
“You okay?”
“Hmm? You’re still home?.”
He must have been spaced out for a long time because he hadn’t even sensed Jude walk in, but here he was taking a seat next to him and opening his arms out for Gavi to snuggle. “ Shouldn’t I be asking you that, baby? Didn’t you have a therapy session today?.”
Gavi thought it through before deciding he wanted to be honest with him after all. “Exhausted, don’t wanna go.”
Jude pulled him closer while Gavi covered his hair with his hoodie. He had been wearing oversized hoodies more and more again, mostly for comfort purposes but also because this stupid injury meant he couldn’t exercise the way he once used to. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t had his fair share of freakouts about the fact, getting your mobility taken away was scary in of itself but even more so when you were one breakdown away stress eating your entire kitchen.
When Jude had checked in with him after the first week he had bitterly replied that it wasn’t as if he could even purge right now anyway in order to relapse, Gavi thought it was kind of funny in an ironic way but Jude had looked absolutely horrified. It was humbling in a way, saying your disordered thoughts out loud and realising just how crazy you sound, so he had booked an emergency appointment with his therapist to get ... .whatever this was in check.
He had felt better afterwards and his bingeing urges had in fact gone away but that hadn’t made everything else better. The urge to restrict hadn't been that awful because he knew he needed to fuel his body to get better, he had worked way too hard to let one bad thing lead to another again, but the damn meds were what had triggered him. Just because he wasn’t acting on it didn’t mean that his disordered thoughts were fully gone, he wondered how many times he would have to cry into the phone and whine to his dad before it stopped feeling so heavy.
“Be honest, do you think I’ve gained weight because of my meds? My face feels so swollen.”
Jude paused for a second, as if he wasn’t expecting the question before continuing to play with Gavi’s curls, they were probably the healthiest that they had ever been right now, courtesy of Jude and probably his increased food intake.
“Well….have you?.”
“Don’t know ... .don't really wanna check, when I take my shirt off I can grip a tiny bit of fat between my fingers and it makes me wanna throw up.”
He was surprised by just how easily the words seemed to flow out his throat but Jude didn’t seem fazed at all, maybe a little taken aback on what to say but nowhere near as embarrassed as Gavi felt. No matter how long they’d been dating he didn’t think voicing his innermost thoughts could ever not feel embarrassing. Jude gave him a look that clearly said “ you’re not supposed to be doing that.” before speaking.
“I think….your body is fighting to keep you alive while you’re going through one of the most traumatic experiences in your life so it’s only natural for it to expand and make space to hold that pain in. Also, I’m not telling you it’s all in your head but you literally have body dysmorphia, your version of a little fat is probably what every single person on the planet has, including me.”
Gavi giggled lightly at that, even though it wasn’t really all that funny. “Yeah, you’re right….ugh yeah, my cheeks are still so round though.”
“But they’ve always been round no?. You only really lost them when they were working you to the ground and the eating disorder. I’d rather your cheeks look a little round than starving yourself so they’re not.”
“Hmm yeah, my dad has really round cheeks too, it’s his fault.”
“Exactly, I’m sure you’ll curse him out on the phone later for it, besides when I first got to Madrid I had these crazy migraines so I had to take meds and it made me swell too, I’m sure you still liked me then.”
“Oh yeah, definitely.”
“Exactly baby.” , he stayed quiet for a few seconds before speaking again, “Still don’t feel like going to therapy?.“
“Hmm ...not really but I’ll go anyway, its fine. Wanna drive me then we can get coffee afterwards?”
Jude kissed his forehead before nodding, “Yeah sure, I have a couple of errands to run but I’ll pick you up again then we can go.”
4 .
Jobe was sure today was gonna be the most exciting day of his entire summer, which probably said a lot more about his life than he wanted to think about right now. He had never felt the want to be close with Jude’s friends, but this was different . For starters, this was his boyfriend (it was still crazy to imagine his brother in a relationship) and to top it all off it was Pablo Gavi, you know Kopa Trophy and Golden Boy winner in his debut season Pablo Gavi, literal youngest player to score in the world cup since Pele Pablo Gavi, the future of FC Barcelona’s midfield Pablo Gavi, no big deal.
When his brother first went to Madrid he couldn’t help but laugh at how ironic it was, considering what a huge Barcelona fan he was. The media would have a field day if they ever found out but lucky for him they wouldn’t because he had no intentions of voicing it out. But yeah, he ought to have thanked god for making his older brother famous and good for something because currently he would be bringing his boyfriend over so they could hangout. Hangout, like friends . Jobe made a mental note to tackle his brother into a bear hug later in the day.
He wondered if he should put on his Barcelona jersey just to impress Gavi but that would have been too on the nose. Besides, they had met before obviously , they were even on hugging terms, thank you very much. It was just the hanging out that was a new development, so he put out his Barca mug and decided that’d be more subtle. He was sitting on the couch nonchalantly, or trying to act nonchalant when they entered the house, Jude with Gavi in tow. They even looked like they were wearing matching outfits with Gavi wearing beige khakis and a brown sweater and his brother wearing a beige sweater with brown pants. If Jobe thought too much about it he’d puke so he walked over to give his brother a fist bump instead and promptly going over to give Gavi a hug too.
“Wow, so he gets a hug but your brother only gets a fist bump? Brutal, man.”
Jobe elbowed him before sneering in his direction, trying to be discreet as Gavi sat down on the couch balancing his injured leg on the table. Their mom had already brought out the big fluffy pillow for him before she went out to get groceries.
“Shut up, Jude. You’re fucking up our vibe.”
Jude had the audacity to mock him before going over to check on Gavi who was still getting settled. Jobe sat next to him shyly before speaking up, “Sooo…what did you two lovebirds do all day?.”
Gavi smiled at him kindly before replying, “Not much, we just went out shopping to get some things for our apartment. Your brother has notoriously bad taste so I had to do most of the work, obviously.”
Jobe giggled in response and Jude must have noticed his presence was unwanted because he dashed towards the kitchen to make them all a snack. It didn’t take long before he went for Gavi to get settled in and for them to dive into conversation. He was way more friendly than Jobe had anticipated, especially based on his clips but he welcomed it, telling him everything from how school was going to how he felt playing about their season right now.
“Oh man, you’re way better at school than me, don’t even worry at your age I was like failing a subject every term. By the way, do you play FIFA? There’s the PS5 all set up here but Jude isn’t around here that much anymore so is it yours?.”
Jobe’s eyes started twinkling. The moment he had been waiting for.
“I do play FIFA and I’ll have you know I’m better at it than Jude.”
“Is that so? Let’s play then.”
It didn’t take him more than two seconds to get everything set up while Gavi leaned down on the couch, clearly a lot more comfortable now than he had been at first. Just when they started playing though, Jude had to come in with his loud pretentious ass and hand Gavi a huge bowl of popcorn which he accepted readily, the angel that he was.
“Ohhh you guys are playing FIFA??? Babe, has he told you how your card is like his favourite in the world.”
“Really.?” , Gavi was staring up at him with a sparkle in his eyes, because of course he was while Jude that utter demon, had the audacity to smirk at him. Jobe glared at his brother before smiling softly at Gavi while scratching his head out of shyness, “ Haha yeah, you have precision pass, plus like your half turns are the coolest shit I’ve ever seen, the way you move your body is insane.”
He hadn’t realised just how much he’d been fanboying until Jude burst out laughing and stared at Gavi before shrugging, “I fucking told you, you’re his favourite player. See, you might not be washed after all, the kids rate you.”
Jobe continued glaring at his brother before launching into a rant, almost defensively. “Washed? First of all, he literally won the Golden Boy before you, a fact that Jude was insanely upset about by the way just so you know. Also he’s stupid and you’re way better than him, I’m sure you’ll come back even better after your injury. If there’s anyone that can do it, it’s you. You gotta come back and make him eat shit, honestly.”
He must have been ranting for a long time because Gavi was fully giggling now while munching on the popcorn, the game long forgotten. He reached over to ruffle Jobe’s hair, having no idea that the other boy felt like dying inside from embarrassment. But he didn’t feel embarrassed for long seeing the look on Gavi’s face and how it clearly meant a lot to him.
“Is that so?. If you’re trying to impress me it worked, also by the way your Barca mug wasn’t discreet at all, Jude already told me you’re a fan.”
He was going to kill his brother. If it hadn’t been for Gavi he’d have honest to god tackled him to the floor and broke his legs right there. But he couldn’t, because Gavi was an angel and their mom had come home anyway, ringing the bell which meant that Jude would be out of his sight again, even if for a few seconds.
Once he went to open the door, Gavi leaned close to him again to whisper into his ear while caressing his hair almost unconsciously, “Hey, wanna go get ice cream after this?. It’ll be my treat.”
“Sure.”, he smiled before running to his room to get dressed. Yeah, best day ever.
5.
Jude didn’t think he could contain his pride even if he tried, he had tried to but clearly he hadn’t been very good at it because his teammates were telling him to tone it down. That was another development, the fact that they knew about his and Gavi’s relationship now. He may have been nervous at the very start but when he told them it had felt like he was relaying the most casual news ever, it wasn’t like they all had to know anyway, only the ones he trusted. Not that it’d matter because he was sure his mom would kick someone’s ass if they were ever an ass to him.
They were currently playing in the Santiago Bernabeu, against Barcelona. Jude loved winning, he wasn’t going to disagree with that. But he also liked seeing Gavi happy more than anything else in the world, way more than he liked winning. It hadn’t mattered to him that they’d lost because it had been a league game anyway, Barcelona were ten points on top and even if the Real Madrid players always had that winning mentality no matter what, the likes of which he’d definitely have to echo later in the press conference, he just couldn’t help but be proud.
His boyfriend had gotten his first start in over a year, since his injury and managed to knock it out of the park with his performance. The coach must have really trusted him in order to start him in such an important performance and Gavi hadn’t disappointed. He smiled, partly due to seeing Gavi jump on his teammates and partly due to knowing that he was the only person who got to see up-close how anxious Gavi had been to start today and how it had paid off. He still remembered how Gavi used to struggle to jump the first few months after his injury and it only made him smile harder seeing him now.
Really, sue him but how the hell was he supposed to contain his excitement seeing that?. He managed to look a bit serious for the cameras before rushing over to Gavi, not caring how it’d look like. He recalled his mom telling him that she’d be taking pictures of her boys so he had better got her good seats, Gavi must have shared the same sentiment because he grabbed Jude’s arm when he saw him, before staring up at him while biting his lips. He’s going to be the death of me.
Jude finally managed to get some common sense and get a move on to aak Gavi for his shirt before everyone watching got confused. The fact that he knew all eyes were on them only served to make it more exciting. He savoured in every second that Gavi took to take his shirt off, revealing a muscular body underneath. He tried not to stare too hard but he definitely wasn’t putting his all into it, it must have shown on his face because Gavi started giggling to himself before passing him the shirt.
Jude took off his own and he thought that’d be the end of their interaction until they got home before Gavi jumped into his arms to give him a hug, he swore he could hear an audible gasp from the cameraman filming them but he didn’t care, he leaned into the hug and made sure to take every inch of his boyfriend in before he had to eventually let go.
jobe 😎
asshole
did you seriously have to say
the shirt was for me
using me to dry hump your boyfriend
nah you’re disgusting
even mum was gagged
jude 😮💨
WHO WAS DRY HUMPING
i panicked ok
what was i supposed to say
easy cover
jobe 😎
ugh whatever
pls remind him about our ice cream date tomorrow
jude 😮💨
oh don’t worry
he's excited as hell
+1
Jude didn’t know why he made his body go through all this over and over again, well he did know but right now he was feeling the consequences of it and it really didn’t feel all that worth it. He had been back home from the England camp, an excruciating week that only involved playing useless friendlies and being away from his boyfriend. If anybody knew that he, of all people, was complaining about having to play football they’d lose it but right now he didn’t care, he thought he’d earn the right of being a baby just for a bit.
Gavi seemed to fully get the memo because since he had came home he had helped him get into his trusted comfortable pyjamas, fed him, cuddled and played with his hair the way he liked and right now he was carefully massaging an ice pack on his shoulder. His damn shoulder, which was the main culprit behind all of this pain.
“You need to get surgery.”
“So you keep saying.”
“Jude, it’s been MONTHS, you’re still in pain you seriously need to just get surgery the doctor already told you too.”
“That’s….not fair and you know it babe, come on you know the situation.”
“Yeah, and I also saw you wincing in every single clip and I’ll tell mom if you keep being stubborn.”
“Are you serious? First of all-.” , he tried to get up and speak before being cut off when his shoulder decided at that particular moment to start hurting again. Gavi handed him the ice pack before giving him a pointed look.
Jude felt bad that he was being stubborn but he thought Gavi of all people would understand at least, they were both crazy about football in the same way after all, maybe it was a testament to how much Gavi had grown and come to prioritise himself that he didn’t understand but Jude still felt petulant about his stance on the matter. Yet, he sighed before speaking, “ If I get surgery then I’ll have to be out for atleast two months no?. I won’t be able to help the team and thinking of that sucks. I wanna be strong like they need me to be.”
Gavi’s gaze softened and he took the ice-pack back massaging Jude’s shoulder again before caressing his back, “ You are strong, nothing’s going to take that away especially not being out for just two months. Plus don’t you think you owe it to everyone and yourself to treat your body so you can be the strongest version of yourself?. I doubt it feels good feeling like you have a chip on your shoulder at all times, except literally.”
Jude thought about it for a moment before laying his head on Gavi’s lap, “ Hmmm…since when are you so mature about these things? I don’t know….I’ll try and talk to the team and see if it’s a good idea.”
“Since I tore my ACL, you dumbass. These things are rarely worth it. It feels like you’re running out of time and stuck in the same place but it’ll get better and you’ll come back healthier for it. Just trust me, and you don’t have to do it instantly just…promise me you’ll think about it seriously atleast.”
“I promise, baby.”
Jude stayed there with his head on Gavi’s lap the entire evening, taking in every word he was saying as he was describing his day and how it had gone. They must have been talking for hours before it was finally dinner time. Gavi gave him strict orders that he would be the one cooking so Jude had nothing to do other than putting on the Liverpool vs Arsenal game in the background while he watched his boyfriend cook. He loved having quiet days like this.