Chapter Text
The final whistle echoed across the stadium as Lamine let out a long sigh.
Some of the Uruguayan players had dropped to the ground, others had started a fight on the bench, their dreams of playing in the round of 32 crushed by a goal in the 42nd minute and a mistake made by their goalkeeper. They were knocked out of the world cup with the bitter taste of a red card and the disappointment of their nation sitting heavy on their backs.
Lamine looked to the pitch, taking in his teammate’s excitement, feeling relieved. His legs ached lightly when he got up from the bench and started running towards the rest of the team, realisation setting in.
They were in the round of 32.
They have advanced as top of their group.
They had a chance of winning the world cup.
Where is Pau?
Lamine could feel someone hugging him from almost every side of his body, cheers erupting around him to the point where he could no longer hear his own voice. A wave of happiness crushed through him, the thought repeating like a constant in his mind. We’ve made it.
One feather touch on his left shoulder was all it took for the happiness to become dizzying. Pau. Lamine turned to the left to see Pau smiling at him, reaching out to him. A familiar hand made its way to his nape as Pau got closer to him, and suddenly, the only thing that existed was Pau, Pau and his embrace, Pau and his warmth.
“We made it, Lamine, we made it.” Pau’s voice filled Lamine’s senses, every other sound muffled.
“Yes, we made it.” Lamine was breathless, his voice only high enough for Pau to hear him.
The world continued around them, but what only mattered now was the warmth of Pau, and his words. Something stirred in Lamine, his skin burning with the heat of Pau’s body against him. He knew what he was feeling, with Pau, he had always known.
It was always like this.
We made it.
Sitting in the dressing room, Lamine could still feel the joy of the victory crowding the space.
Players were scattered around, either changing or getting ready for a shower. Pedri, Ferrán and Dani were laughing at something Gavi was telling them, and Pau sitting beside him occasionally laughed too. Lamine, already changed and showered, got up to approach them with a huge grin on his face, the high of the match still not coming down.
Lamine sat down besides Pau, not really paying attention to what Gavi was talking about, nor the greetings the rest of the group said. He calmly threw his arm around pau’s shoulders, taking in the feeling of his back. Pau simply snuggled closer to him, their usual dynamic setting in.
“... I was like, that’s it, I’m never going to Go-karts ever again.” Gavi finished his story by earning one last laugh from Ferrán before the group drifted into a comfortable silence, the tiredness getting to them.
Lamine felt himself relax with his body pressed against Pau’s, the adrenaline finally being replaced by the calm Pau’s steady breathing gave him.
That was, until Gavi decided to open his mouth.
“Hey Pau, Lamine, what was up with that hug on the pitch?” Lamine looked up to find Gavi smiling at them, his eyes drifting from their expressions to Lamine’s arm on Pau’s shoulders.
“Exactly! I was just trying to find Pedri, and then I turned around and saw a scene straight out of a romance movie.” Ferrán was very quick to continue Gavi’s teasing with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Pau furrowed his brows in confusion, and Lamine quickly stepped away from him. At that, Pedri raised his eyebrows in a silent question. The group now directed their entire attention at them, with Gavi laughing under his breath as if he had accomplished exactly what he wanted.
“I mean… You know you can tell us anything right? We won’t judge you.” Dani gave Lamine and Pau a soft smile, trying to reassure them after he noticed Lamine’s discomfort.
Lamine wanted the earth to swallow him whole when he felt Pau stare at him. There was no way he knew what he felt when he hugged him, right? Their relationship had always been like that, ever since they were just children at La Masia. Lamine clung to Pau, and Pau was always there for him. Surely that one hug didn’t give anything away, did it?
“What are you talking about? Are you implying I’m gay?” Lamine let out a strained laugh, trying to hide the way his stomach turned. Dani raised one eyebrow, suddenly looking very serious. What was Dani thinking? Maybe he noticed something in Pau?
Lamine stole a glance at Pau, just to see Pau looking directly at him, with a confused, or flustered?, expression. There was a faint blush on his cheeks, almost impossible to notice to everyone else, but for Lamine, it was obvious.
“Seriously though, you two are always with each other! Just the other day, when we were having dinner, Pau frowned just a little bit at his food and you immediately exchanged plates with him. That’s something not even Ferrán and Pedri do!” Gavi was enjoying this situation a bit too much, especially after seeing the frown in Ferrán’s face that followed his comment.
“Excuse me? I always notice everything about Pedri, he’s my best friend!” Ferrán turned his attention to Gavi instead of Lamine and Pau, giving Lamine a second to clear his head.
“What did I even say that is so terrible for you to get all mad at me?” Gavi started a playful fight with Ferrán, a few other members turning their attention to their discussion too, while Pedri just tried to hold his laugh whenever Ferrán said something stupid. Gavi’s comment about dinner was forgotten, a memory Lamine kept to himself.
The truth was, Lamine always kept his attention on Pau, making sure he was always comfortable and happy. You can’t blame him, they’ve known each other since they were kids, it’s normal to pick up someone else's habits if they were always around you.
Lamine and Pau were like the sun and moon, Lamine shining when Pau shined, warming up with just a feather touch of Pau’s skin on his.
Pau was soon laughing with the rest again, the blush that decorated his face long gone. Lamine stared at his friend’s profile, noticing his heartbeat slowing down. When had it gotten so fast? Was it when Pau snuggled closer to the arm around his shoulders? Was it when Gavi insinuated that he and Pau were together?
Either way, part of the team was already heading out, exhaustion catching up to them. Lamine had to go to his room to get his much needed sleep.
Just as he was heading towards the door of his room, he felt a warm, familiar touch on his wrist, stopping him. Lamine turned around to see Pau looking at him, with the same love he always carried in those green eyes.
“Lamine…” Pau looked like he wanted to say something, Lamine's heart racing since he locked eyes with Pau. “Uh, just wanted to say goodbye, you played well today” Pau sounded unsure, his eyes flicking briefly to Lamine’s wrist, where his hand had grabbed. Before Lamine could even answer, Pau let go of his wrist, and turned towards the lift.
The last thing Lamine could do was mutter a small “Goodbye” as he saw the lift’s door closing on Pau’s face.
Once he was finally alone in his room with only his thoughts to talk to him, he went to sleep with the image of Pau’s flustered face in his mind.
Again, he had felt it again.