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Febrero de 2013
It’s been two weeks since Leo arrived in Manchester and things are starting to go back to normal. Well, no not normal, not the way things were six years ago before Leo’s accident, but the normal that had permeated most of Kun’s adult life. The normal of having Leo around twenty-four-seven and being able to monopolize his friend’s time however he pleased. Except, this time Leo is actually there. He’s not an apparition, or ghost, or whatever you want to call it - he’s actually sitting at Kun’s dining table and if he were to walk over there and place his hand on Leo’s head he’d feel the heat of his skin and the texture of his hair.
It’s Kun’s third normal, his brand-new off the shelf normal. One that he intends to hold onto for as long as the universe allows.
Leo hobbles around Kun’s apartment with an eerie sense of familiarity, knuckles white around the handles of his crutches as he goes from the kitchen, to the bathroom, to the bedroom without ever asking Kun where anything is. Kun forgets initially that Leo must know his apartment very well, considering he spent quite a bit of time there with Kun while he had been in his ghostly form.
Watching Leo flutter about naturally isn’t as pleasantly surprising as he thought it would be. It’s a constant reminder of the old normal, one that Kun would much prefer to forget.
“My mom called,” they’re eating a late dinner because training had gone late and Leo refuses to eat without Kun there with him. “She asked when I was going to come back home.”
He does his best not to falter, to keep shoveling the rice Leo had made into his mouth and not flinch at the reminder that eventually Leo has to go home. When he had originally flown out and Kun bought his ticket he had intentionally not booked Leo a return ticket, allowing the other man leniency to spend as much time in Manchester as he pleased. “Oh? What did you tell her?”
Leo sighs and pushes the food around on his plate. Ever since he came out of his coma he had found eating to be a rather difficult task. After so many years of being fed by a tube and never needing to eat as an apparition, Leo tends to spend most of his meals looking rather than eating. “I told her I wanted to stay here for a while longer.”
“Oh.” Kun says, because he’s an idiot and can’t seem to form a sentence that would more accurately express his elation at such an admission from Leo.
“Unless-,”
“I want you to stay.” He blurts out before Leo can take his lack of eloquence as anything other than his veritable acceptance of Leo’s stay at his home. “As long as you want to.”
Leo grins and takes a bite off his plate.
Abril de 2013
Without thinking his hands go for Leo’s waist and under his shoulder, supporting almost all of the other man’s weight before Leo has the opportunity to catch himself. It’s only been a week since he started feeling strong enough to go more than a few minutes without some sort of walking device and Kun is damned if he’s going to let his best friend fall flat on his face.
Leo grabs the rail beside him, steadying himself. They had been walking down the stairwell of his apartment - Leo’s idea, not his - a couple times a week to try and gear Leo up for being able to walk longer distances without becoming out of breath.
He squeezes Leo tighter when the man doesn’t instantly shoot back up to a more steady position and just about slings Leo’s arm over his shoulder when his friend smacks at one of his hands.
“Let go of me.”
“Leo, it’s okay,”
The glare he’s settled with is one he has only seen a handful of times and it’s almost always been directed at people who think they can deny Leo what he wants. “I’m not helpless, Sergio.”
Slowly he releases his grip on Leo, eyeing him warily as the man stumbles down the next few steps to the next landing. Leo nearly collapses against the wall, gulping in air and running his hands over the tops of his thighs. It would not take a medical professional to realize that he was at his limit. “I know you’re not helpless.” He leans on the wall next to Leo. “But, I also know you’re stubborn as a mule and you won’t ever ask for help.” Leo protests this with a groan. “Don’t deny it! You know it's true! And because it’s true I have to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. You’re not a hundred percent yet and that’s okay. Let me help you.”
Leo’s head tilts to the side. “You always help me.”
The two exchange sad smiles.
“And you always help me, Leo. I haven’t forgotten all you’ve done for me.”
“I haven’t-,”
“You have. Morale support is still support - whether you want to admit that or not.”
Leo breaks eye contact first and pushes himself off the wall. He’s looking at the stairs leading back upstairs. “Okay, fine. Then support me back up the stairs, would you?”
Kun grabs his hand. “Gladly.”
Mayo de 2013
Wet from the rain, Leo’s hair is plastered against his forehead and down his neck. He’s been growing out since he started his extended stay in Manchester and Kun is allowing it simply because it reminds him of the good old days.
After they claim refuge under a nearby store’s awning, Kun uses his scarf to try and wipe as much of the rain water off his and Leo’s face. Surprisingly, Leo lets him do so without complaint, only scrunching his nose when Kun perhaps presses a bit too hard over his eyes and nose. “Hate this weather.” Leo grumbles once Kun is done.
“It rains in Argentina too.”
“Not like this .”
Kun chuckles. “No, not quite like this. You getting homesick?”
“No.” Leo says plainly and with such sincerity it has heat rising to Kun’s face and has his heart pumping faster. “Would be nice to see my parents again, though.”
“We could go back,” he offers, scooting closer to Leo as a young businesswoman comes to join them out of the rain. “Season is practically over.”
“I’d like that.”
And Kun would do whatever Leo would like, no matter the cost.
By the time they make it to the restaurant, they’re twenty minutes past their reservation time but the manager seems far more worried about denying Kun and his guest a seat than he does about them being late.
The maitre d pulls out both of their chairs and hands them both a menu. Kun thanks the man in quiet English and skims the entrees. Leo groans the moment he sits, stretching out his legs and sitting back like he had just finished running a marathon. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a car - again - my whole body is sore.”
Kun can’t help the laugh that is pulled out of him. “I suppose if anyone can use that analogy correctly it would be you.”
“ Sin duda, ” Leo says triumphantly, lifting his water to his lips and downing half the glass as quickly as possible.
Dinner passes as it usually does, slowly. Leo picks at his food, less so than he had been even just a few months ago, but by the end there’s still about a quarter of his meal left on his plate. Kun happily finishes Leo’s meal for him, practically shovelling the pasta in his mouth just as their waiter brings them the check.
Despite Leo’s inability to finish his dinner, Kun still caves and stops at a nearby ice cream shop. Happily spooning the sugary treat into his mouth, Leo allows his friend to support some of his weight as they walk back towards Kun’s apartment complex.
Leo doesn’t finish his ice cream.
Agusto de 2013
He wakes suddenly to the sound of something crashing. He’s out of bed moments later, brain instantly alert despite the early morning hour. He throws his bedroom door open and swivels his head around like a crazed animal tracking prey as he tries to find where the sound came from. Seconds later he hears Leo make a pained noise and he runs towards it.
He finds Leo in the kitchen, on the floor, and leaning up against the oven. There’s a shattered mug beside him and water splashed all over the kitchen like blood splatter from a crime scene. Sergio crouches next to him, hands hovering above the other man. “What happened?”
Leo winces, holding his arms around his stomach. Hundreds of thoughts race through Kun’s mind, most of them ending abruptly with him attending Leo’s funeral. Leo’s hands travel around his torso and press against his lower back. “Can’t -,” he’s cut off by what must be a sharp stab of pain that takes his breath away. “Can’t feel my legs.” He finally says. “I just wanted some water,” Leo slams his fist back against the oven door, rattling it. “What the fuck!”
Kun isn’t sure what to say. “Do I need to call the ambulance?”
“No,” Leo shakes his head. “No - just give me a second.” His head thunks back. “They said this might happen. Maybe I overdid it today.”
Kun tries to recall the events of the day. He had been busy out of the apartment for a majority of the day dealing with contracts and meetings and all of the boring business things that come with being a footballer. Any time he had spent with Leo that day they had both been seated or walking short distances around his apartment.
Sensing his confusion, Leo explains, “I went for a walk while you were out. Down to that Spanish vendor a couple of streets down, you know?” He does know. The nice old woman there sells calentitos that are definitely going to piss his nutritionist off if they ever find out how many times Kun stops by her stall to buy them. He also knows that her stand is not just a couple of streets down. It’s about a half an hour walk there and back. “Well I got lost on the way back and then,” he hisses and adjusts himself on the floor. “Then I tripped up the stairs coming back inside.”
Their eyes lock and Kun can tell that Leo is waiting for him to yell at him. To call him careless and stupid and reprimand him for going out on such a long adventure without him there to help. Instead, he takes a deep breath and walks to the bathroom. He returns a few moments later with a bottle of pain pills. Carefully he steps around the broken porcelain on the floor to get Leo another glass of water.
Leo takes the pills gratefully, chugging the water down behind them. “Thanks.”
Kun sits down on the floor beside him. “Let me know when you want to try and get up, I’ll help you back to bed.” He can feel Leo nod beside him, then lean down and rest his head on Kun’s shoulder. He can feel when Leo starts to cry, quietly, and soak his sleep shirt in his tears. Kun reaches up to run his fingers through Leo’s hair.
“I’m sorry,”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“I’m still sorry.” He sniffles, then after a few seconds, wiggles his toes. “I’m like an old man, helpless.”
Kun scratches at Leo’s scalp perhaps a little too hard. “Don’t say that.” He grumbles. “You were the one that always insisted you weren’t helpless. Don’t go back on that now…I’ll think you’re just using me for my good will.”
Leo sits up, allowing Kun’s hand to slide out of his hair. “And what if I am?”
He can’t quite see Leo in the darkness of their kitchen. So, he leans forward until their foreheads are touching. He’s not sure what he can say to get his best friend to understand that there’s nothing he could ever do to him that he would consider exploitation, so he doesn’t say anything, just closes his eyes and holds Leo close.
Septiembre de 2013
Leo has been gone for two weeks, visiting his family, when Kun realizes that he absolutely fucking loathes being alone. Sure, he’s interacting with people - going to practice, picking up groceries, taking photos with fans on the street - but he’s not with anyone.
He calls Leo every other day, but their talks are short with such a large time difference. He doesn’t realize how much he truly misses his friend until one day he’s talking out loud to himself, pretending like Leo is there.
He sits on the couch for a while after that, thinking about how he should most certainly use a portion of his current fortune to see a good therapist. Then he thinks longer about how he’s supposed to explain to said therapist that yes , he did talk to his best friend while said friend was in a coma and yes , it was real, Leo has confirmed so.
That sounds like a lot more trouble than it's worth.
The next time he and Leo are having one of their quick chats, Kun can’t help it when he bluntly asks when Leo is planning on coming back home.
Leo laughs, not meanly, and it makes Kun blush. “Home? Is that what Manchester is now?”
Kun tries to argue, Leo cuts him off.
“I’m just messing with you. I was planning on coming back home next week.”
“I’ll book your flight.”
“Well don’t act so eager! You’re going to give me a complex.”
Sergio isn’t listening much anymore, having already pulled out his laptop and pulling up the airline's website. “Does a noon flight work?”
There’s a pause where he’s sure Leo is either huffing or rolling his eyes. “Yes, a noon flight works. Jeez you must be really bored there all by yourself.”
“I am and it’s the worst .” He doesn’t care if he’s giving Leo ammunition to tease him for the next decade, he just wants his normal back. He looks down at his laptop…and changes Leo’s flight to an earlier one. He’s sure Leo can wake up on time to catch a six thirty flight, no problem.
Enero de 2014
Today is a good day. His back hurts a bit, but it’s still a good day. Kun insisted on pushing him around in a wheelchair so he didn’t have to traverse the maze and treachery that is the Etihad, but it’s still a good day. Kun shoved him in a hideous blue and white jersey with MESSI on the back (the travesty), but it’s still a good day. Manchester City loses, nil to two, and it’s still a good day .
He meets Sergio down outside the locker room about an hour after the game is over. Long enough for the crowds to disperse and for Pellegrini to rip his team a new one. He nods at some of the players as they filter out of the locker room, dressed in their sweats and eyes cast to the floor. Some nod back. He’s met many of them enough to no longer be star struck by them.
Kun is near the back of the pack and when he lays eyes on Leo he rushes over to him. He had confided in him that morning that his back was acting up more than usual and that his knees felt like they were being set ablaze with every step, so he’s not surprised when Kun starts fretting over him.
He slings his arm over his friend’s shoulders. “Help me back to the car, pa, would you?”
Kun grins, steadying Leo in his arms. “Of course.”
Kun nearly drops him down a flight of stairs, but it’s still a good - no, scratch that - it’s a great day.