Chapter Text
Hugo is an odd critter. There’s more to him than that, but it’s the first thing that pops into Charles’ head when they first talk.
I mean, who can blame him? The man showed up one day and immediately began rattling off advice to the entire team during drills, deciding that everyone’s shortcomings are causing immense distress to his condition and must be addressed and corrected right this second! Within record time, Hugo had made quite the interesting debut.
Charles was almost impressed that he had managed to rile so many people up on day one, even he only managed to annoy a select few when he got put on the team.
To understand how best to ragebait people in the future, Charles humbly asks the great Hugo to become his protégé. Perhaps the reason he felt so compelled to correct everyone’s faults was due to a superiority complex, so flattery is the obvious course of action.
But that’s not what happens.
Instead, Charles earns a blank-faced, almost confused look from the man as if his request was unwarranted. Maybe Hugo’s hubris has to be balanced out by aural impairment. ”I want to be like you,” Charles explains carefully, adopting an awestruck fanboy-esque look to convince the man. “You know? Annoying people?”
Hugo’s brow twitches. “I’m annoying people?”
Ah, that came out a bit wrong. Charles bravely rephrases, “No, like! In a fun way!! I like bothering people too!”
“I’m just informing them of what they could do to improve, though if they think it’s annoying…” Hugo trails off as if in deep thought. Oh yeesh, is he one of those self-righteous guys with a moral compass? That’s boring. Charles’ mood is severely diminishing due to this revelation. Charles now wishes to leave. Charles is now leaving.
Charles makes a move towards the door before he catches what Hugo says next:
”I don’t really care. I’ll do whatever I want.”
This prompts him to burst into laughter, swivelling a full 180° to grab ahold of Hugo’s sleeve and in a similar fashion so does his mood; a contrarian indeed, now he’s thinking this guy’s awesome! What a riot!
For whatever reason, Hugo allows this. He even gives the boy a pat on the head.
♡
It’s a seemingly innocuous morning but Hugo has a strange feeling about today, almost like anticipation. Dogmatic as he may be, he is not one to ignore his own instincts. Fate must have something special in store for him.
He goes through the motions of waking up and getting dressed with the expectation of something happening.
Physical proof of something intangible perhaps? Maybe the mysterious man in the sky will make an appearance, and Hugo can be the first to know whether or not the existence of pain and suffering was all his idea. Hugo rules this out soon afterwards because he doesn’t engage in beliefs with no actual evidence to back them.
He heads down to his local bakery for their eclairs, which may seem like an odd choice for him and Hugo agrees. Chocolate on chocolate is a little much.
This goes to show that there are things even out of his control. What he can control, at least, is his portion size because an athlete shouldn’t indulge in sweets too often. Being the control freak he is, Hugo’s expert decision making cheers him up from the fact nothing eventful happened there either.
His second detour is to visit a bookstore, a haven for bibliophiles like him. He scans through the shelves stacked from ceiling to floor with eclectic displays of novels. Again, nothing new; his home has his own collection of dog-eared pages that he likes to read to gather his thoughts.
He leaves yet again, feeling dejected. It’s not as though God is a constant notion in his mind, nor is he seeking out the supernatural as some act of penance or desire for salvation. Hugo’s not overly religious by any stretch of the imagination, and in his opinion he’s lived life according to his own aptitude and that alone is enough. He doesn’t need someone to tell him what to do with his precious time on earth.
Still, his own body shouldn’t betray him like this. What if today were to pass without anything happening? His whole world would be thrown upside down!
(Not to be taken literally).
His mood has been sufficiently dampened by the time he reaches the training grounds, so much so that he doesn’t even give his usual head pat to Charles. Speaking of which he can’t see the blonde anywhere.
”Oh, him? I think he’s sick or something,” is the answer he gets when he asks. People have become more accustomed to his quirks so they’re decently happy to talk to him these days, which is quite useful when he’s gauging people’s inclinations or gathering info like right now.
“Ah. What a shame,” another voice interrupted.
Hugo faintly recognises the sound to be Loki. He’s heard all sorts of things about him: France’s golden boy, innately talented, blessed with speed like no other. He already regards Loki highly, however this is his first time seeing him in person. It’s so much different than just looking at billboards. He’s got this je ne sais quoi about him that seems to slow down time itself as the world listens patiently.
Aureate eyes flicker in his direction and finally, Hugo experiences the weight of having a god look at him. Him. Only him.
It’s a dizzying rush of euphoria that surges through his brain.
His breath catches in his throat.
He doesn’t want this feeling to stop.
He never wants this feeling to stop.
It’s uncharacteristic of him, if not downright unsettling to feel so strongly about someone he’s only been exposed to for a few seconds. But, as they say, love defies logic. That must be what he’s feeling. He decides quickly this must be the proof he was looking for, this person is what he’s been looking for. Like a loyal dog, he awaits Loki’s words like it’s the gospel.
“You. Vivien Hugo, correct?”
Hugo can only nod, too overwhelmed to speak.
Loki smiles, blissfully unaware of the way Hugo’s heart is thumping erratically against his ribs. “Come be my number two,” he says, gesturing for Hugo to follow. “I’ll show you what true strength looks like.”
Hugo comes to the conclusion that, going against conventional wisdom, destiny is something that can be explained logically. There’s a reason for everything. There’s a reason why he met Julian Loki on this fateful day. There’s a reason why he was chosen.
So this is what my destiny looks like. He’s beautiful.
It is on this day that Hugo falls hopelessly and irrevocably in love with God.
♡
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Hugo has a problem. A big one. Not the holier-than-thou criticism thing (the team got over that soon enough) but he’s got this equally strange foible.
”So,” one of the French players says, breaking the silence. “It’s not just me, right?”
Another breaths a sigh of relief. “Thank god someone brought it up. Like, I didn’t want to say anything in case it was because… I don’t know, he was. Into me. But if he’s doing it to everyone, he’s probably just like that.”
The above is a reference to Hugo’s unrelenting desire to hold everybody, notably all men, a feat made all the easier due to his freakishly tall stature. Loki doesn’t have much interest in gossip (even if hearing mere mortals look down on their kin as if they’re above them in some way is amusing) but this Hugo character is rather elusive and his curiosity is getting the better of him.
Curiosity killing the cat is the proverb, but the second half of the quote reveals that satisfaction brought it back. Besides, Loki’s not a cat so the comparison is invalid.
He is a bit irked though. So this is all simply Hugo’s natural disposition at work rather than an intentional act of devotion? Loki scoffs, he has no need for desperate people who’ll be all over anybody in their general vicinity. Someone like him prefers more uniquely intimate things; more Musée de l'érotisme than douches communes.
♡
With inhumane speed, Loki effortlessly manages to steal the ball off the opposing team and kicks the ball into a perfect arc before it lands in the net. Hugo’s already in position to place a hand on his shoulder to celebrate but the man subtly dodges his touch, a guileless expression playing on his face. “No thanks, Hugo. Maybe another time.”
Loki almost chokes trying to contain his laughter at the immediate devastation that reveals itself on the redhead’s face. He’s a bit of a sadist in that regard.
♡
By every measure of the word, Julian Loki is untouchable. In prestige, in ability, and also physically.
Hugo is vaguely aware he must be doing it on purpose since Charles is able to poke and prod at the striker all he wants without much trouble; but the minute Hugo tries to do the same thing, Loki will oh-so conveniently remember he had something to do that takes precedence over his attempts at courtship. It’s quite disheartening to be rejected by your mate if you didn’t know.
To a certain extent he understands it’s a logical thing for a god to command and a believer to follow. Thou shalt not gaze upon the face of Julian Loki. Fair.
But he can feel it. He’s beginning to contract Hugoitis—in which a Hugo is going ignored and getting agitated as a result. It affects thousands of Hugos across the nation, and in his case is causing early rigor mortis.
Hugo grips his blank book a little tighter, eyes instinctively tracking Loki’s movements in his peripheral. He’s already showing symptoms: his impractical posture and cardiac muscle are stopping him from thinking straight. No wonder the man doesn’t want to be around him.
But Loki, Hugo argues, he too wishes he was a machine made of cogs! This flesh prison isn’t where he belongs!!! In eternal paradise, he’ll be an inanimate object that deserves to worship you!!!!!!!
If only destiny could also have a manual on how to act once you’ve met your fated partner. Your relationship being prophesied by the stars doesn’t mean much if you don’t know how to make it come to fruition. This is the dilemma Hugo faces, and god forbid word gets out about this. Loki—his love, his light—will think he’s some incompetent person who can’t make up his mind and decide he’s unworthy of his attention.
”Espèce de con,” imaginary Loki mutters under his breath, and Hugo has to refrain from telling the hallucination he’s very attractive even when being vulgar. Of course he wants to impress Loki, but being reprimanded by that familiar, softly alluring voice is alright in his books too.
Faced with such troublesome thoughts, his performance in game starts to deteriorate. After another fumble against his drill partner, he’s told to take a break and feel better soon.
He leans back against the bench in exhaustion. All this thinking has only made him more confused than before. Is it destiny that he fails to win Loki’s heart?
“What should I do?” he breathes out.
Charles, who is currently gorging himself on a syrupy lemonade that Hugo bought, isn’t all that equipped to handle such pathetic yearning never mind come up with a solution. He does, however, cleverly point out, “Have you ever even talked to Loki before?”
”Of course. About many things like football, and training drills and what duos could work-“
”Like, about anything outside of practice? His hobbies? What he does for fun?” Charles sighs. “I bet you don’t even know his favourite food.”
Hugo is suddenly unnerved by the fact that Charles of all people is more knowledgeable than him on matters like this. Truly he’s been outmatched. He admits defeat, bowing his head in shame. If it really came down to it, he can see why Loki would pick the blonde over him. He can’t even name his favourite food! What good is he as a partner?! Loki has every right to refuse his presence.
Charles hits him on the shin. Ow. Way to kick him while he’s down.
”So… just find out stuff he likes and try do them!” the boy exclaims, exasperated. Is this how Loki feels when he won’t listen? He has a rare moment of pathos for the man. “And stop moping around all the time. You look dumb and are no fun to be around either.”
Ignoring the manner in which this advice is said, Hugo realises he’s right. He needs to change in order to fulfil his destiny. As a consequence of this pep talk, he is now determined to know anything and everything about Loki—which leads to Hugo stalking him.
Not really though, since the whole point of stalking is to be discrete about it and Hugo is anything but.