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International breaks were a quiet time in Kirkby Ground. The building was full of life so often, that it almost seemed to miss its residents when they had to depart for the break. Even those that hadn’t been called up were gone most of the time, enjoying their last big vacation before the season ended.
The only time that the days sped up a bit was when the staff gathered in the auditorium to watch the international friendlies. With Buvac back, Kornmayer had brought up the idea of restarting their tradition of predicting the final scores of the matches. Just like the olden days, Klopp and Buvac had hoovered up the prediction points while the others struggled to catch up. Krawietz was, by far, the worst at predictions, only predicting that England wouldn’t lose two home games at Wembley in two weeks—and that was very nearly proven wrong.
But now, it was Thursday. A day that would’ve been another run-of-the-mill day, if it didn’t mean that the rest of the players were coming back. The arrival days were something everybody always looked forward to, but this time, with the last part of the season also being their last time all together as an official group, it felt extra special.
That’s why Alisson had taken up his post at the front door of Kirkby for half an hour, waiting for the others to come back—specifically, Van Dijk. By the time the Netherlands’ match against Germany had ended, it was far too late to catch a flight, and storms in the UK had kept the Dutchmen from flying back on Wednesday as they’d planned. So when Van Dijk finally stepped out of the door of his car on Thursday morning, Alisson wasted no time running towards Van Dijk and hugging him as if they’d been apart for years instead of days.
“I missed you so much, estrela .” Alisson pressed his face into Van Dijk’s shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of sandalwood and hair gel.
Van Dijk chuckled at how Alisson’s words were muffled against his jacket as he pried his arms away from his sides, reciprocating the hug. “You always miss me so much.”
“Excuse me, my boyfriend, a.k.a you, was away with the Netherlands for ten days. I think I have the right to miss you.”
“My teddy bear.”
“Compliment accepted, thank you very much.”
“Ali!!!”
“Cody, Ryan!” Alisson was forced to let go of Van Dijk to catch the Double Dutch barrelling towards him. They leapt into his arms, nearly knocking him over. " Deus , I swear you two get heavier every time you go back to the Netherlands."
Gakpo, as always, was first to speak. “That's because Virgil's mom sends him salted caramel muffins every time he goes back home. And it's because we're growing boys.”
"Yep, growing boys," Gravenberch echoed, elbowing Gakpo to the side. "Move over, man, I want a hug!”
"HEY! I moved here first!"
"I was here last, so I need more hugs to compensate for your six-month head start.”
"Well, I played more, so I didn't get to Facetime him during the match!"
"You got plenty of Facetime with Ali on the pitch this season!"
“ Zwig , both of you!" Van Dijk pinched the bridge of his nose with a long, exasperated sigh. "You'll get your hugs later. Now, if I'm right, poor Darwin and Curtis have been bored to death without you two."
Alisson watched as the Double Dutch disappeared down the hall, their laughter echoing in their wake. He turned to Van Dijk with a smile. "I missed you so much, meu amor.”
"It's good to be back." Van Dijk lifted the Double Dutch's long-forgotten suitcases out of the car, then his. "How was it here without us?”
“Too quiet." Alisson took up a suitcase and hoisted it onto the sidewalk. Like all of Van Dijk’s suitcases, it was heavy with all of his good-luck suits. “Kornmayer and Master B kept us entertained with their predictions."
"Ah, the predictions," Van Dijk said with a chuckle. "I remember those from when Master B was still the vice-manager. Did they still make ridiculous bets?”
"Oh, yes," Alisson said, grinning. "But we'll have to catch you up on all the details later. For now, let's go see Darwin and Curtis before the Double Dutch hog all their attention."
"Agreed." Van Dijk closed the trunk, then whipped around and took a second look at Alisson. "You grew out your hair again!"
Alisson ran his hand through his curly locks, feeling a bit self-conscious. "I figured I'd go back to my old look for the end of the season. What do you think?"
"What do I think?!" Van Dijk grinned, ruffling Alisson's hair like he always did. "You look adorable."
"The boss said the exact same thing earlier," Alisson chuckled, trying to hide his blush by hoisting the bags on his shoulder. "Let's go inside.”
*
When they arrived, they found that Nunez and Jones were already on the pitch, working on their shooting skills. Gakpo and Gravenberch had joined them, and they were all laughing and joking around.
"Hey, look who's back!" Jones shouted, running over to pounce on Van Dijk. "Took you long enough!”
Nunez, for some reason, quietly walked up to Van Dijk and hugged him. He was wearing a very oversized hoodie as well as one of Konate's bathrobes. "Bienvenido a la casa, mi hermano."
Alisson noticed the difference in Nunez's behavior immediately. "Are you okay, Wino? You seem a bit—”
"Quiet, huh?" Gakpo smashed a football into the top corner of the net, jogging towards the rest of the group. "Ryan and I noticed, all right. And, even more mysteriously, he converted all three of his shots on goal."
"Darwin, is everything okay?" Van Dijk gently tilted Nunez's chin so the two of them were face to face. "You know you can tell us.”
Nunez shuffled uncomfortably, staring down at the ground before glancing at the others. "Well…I bought a new outfit. But you guys have to promise not to laugh.”
“Laugh?" Jones shook his head, slinging his arm around Gravenberch's shoulders. "We have to put up with Cody's fashion every day, why would we laugh at you?”
Gakpo huffed, pretending to be offended, but his face soon grew serious. "Nah, bro, we're not going to laugh at ya. Let's see it!”
Nunez sighed and slowly removed the bathrobe and hoodie. Underneath it was a periwinkle blue blouse speckled with butterflies and a navy blue flared skirt that swished around his knees. On his feet he wore his usual training boots, but he'd divided his hair into two bunches and tied them off with white bows.
"Q-que piensas?”
Everybody seemed either afraid to say something wrong, or prepared to object if somebody else said something wrong. After what seemed like ages of awkward silence, Jones broke the silence.
"Wow, Darwin…you look amazing."
Nunez seemed to deflate in relief. "You're...not kidding me, are you? Verdad, crees que me veo bien?"
“Of course! It really suits you." Alisson ruffled Nunez's hair, careful not to ruin the partition between the bunches. "I love the butterflies, they make you look so cute."
Van Dijk took Nunez's hand in his. "You're just missing one thing, Darwin."
Nunez raised an eyebrow so high, it could've belonged to a certain Italian manager. "Que?"
Before Van Dijk could answer, the Double Dutch did it for him.
"NAIL POLISH!"
*
After an hour and a half of team nail-painting that ended in Endo getting snowman-painted nails, Nemmer and Klopp called them all to the dining room for dinner. Between the international break, the painted nails, and Florrie, Kairo, Tristan and Moana’s upcoming preschool spring pageant, the chatter around the table was almost incessantly exciting and exhausting.
That’s why when the sunset’s golden orange rays shone through the west wing of Kirkby and retired for the night, Alisson’s room, currently empty after Pitaluga had been loaned out to Ireland, had more than one person in it. The hammock was from when all the players had shared a giant room together. Even after switching to bunk beds to save space, there wasn't enough room to put a bed for each one of them, so some hammocks had been hung in one corner of the room. Funnily enough, the three keepers had each chosen a hammock.
When the giant room was divided into smaller bedrooms, the question of what to do with the hammocks was left in the air. Adrian dropped his hammock off at the donation shop, while Kelleher took his back to his house. Alisson, though, had kept his hammock in his room in Kirkby along with his bed, as he found it very comforting, like a fabric hug.
Right now, both Alisson and Van Dijk were lounging in the hammock, simply existing. No music, no TV, not even a book. Just the two of them and the sounds of Kirkby, winding down after a typically long and busy day.
“You know…I remember when we all shared a room together. The fullbacks would swing in your hammock as if they were in year two.”
“I remember that.” Alisson let his hand dangle in the air as the hammock swung gently back and forth. “Once I found Florrie and Kairo hiding underneath here with their stuffed animals. They were playing igloo, and my hammock was the igloo’s roof.”
“Lexi came here when he was too overwhelmed until we got the sensory swing.”
“I remember Thi and Stefi borrowed the hammock after their surgeries.”
“Remember when Chan was pregnant with Aya and she slept in your hammock for a month because it was more comfortable for her than the bed?”
“Florrie even parked Aya in here when she was trying to hide her Christmas presents.” Alisson smiled fondly at the memory, staring into space. “Florrie’s got more love in her little hand than some adults have in their entire body.”
Van Dijk smiled as well, pulling Alisson closer as he ran his hands through his hair. “She gets that from you, y’know.”
“You can’t be serious. All of us have lots of love inside, from Master B to Aya.”
“Yeah, but you’re not afraid to show that love to everybody else. You never were, straight—”
“Not in here, Virg.”
“Oh!” Van Dijk gasped and dramatically swooned for effect, nearly falling out of the hammock. “Excuse my heteronormative language, how dare I?”
“ Idiota, ” Alisson chuckled, pulling Van Dijk back into a comfortable position. “Be more careful, the last thing we need is another injury.”
“Never mind that. The important thing is, you’ve always been so loving to everyone here. You weren’t afraid of being judged or rejected for showing it, and…well, I admire you for that.”
Alisson blushed, feeling a warmth spread through his chest. “Thank you, Virg. That means a lot coming from you.”
“Well, it’s true, mijn jade .” Van Dijk leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Alisson’s forehead. “I’m never going to get tired of reminding you how much I appreciate you, and how much I love you.”
Alisson’s heart swelled with emotion. He wrapped his arms around Van Dijk’s neck, pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss. They stayed like that for a while, lost in the moment, until a knock on the door interrupted them.
“Hey, lovebirds, dinner’s ready!” It was Nemmer, and Alisson could hear the teasing grin in her voice. "Quick, before Domi finishes off the chicken wings."
Alisson and Van Dijk separated, laughing. “Coming, Jen!”