Chapter Text
If there was one thing Pandora University agreed on, it was that putting Ao'nung and Lo'ak on the same football team had been both the best and worst decision the athletics department had ever made.
The best, because together they were nearly unstoppable. Championships came easier when your quarterback could launch a perfect pass halfway across the field and your receiver was reckless enough to catch it through three defenders.
The worst, because nobody could guarantee they wouldn't start arguing before practice had even begun.
If Ao'nung walked into the gym, Lo'ak would immediately find another entrance just to avoid crossing paths. If Lo'ak reserved the film room for practice, Ao'nung somehow managed to reserve the hour before and the hour after out of sheer spite. Their teammates had developed an unspoken routine of checking whether one had arrived before letting the other into the locker room, simply because it reduced the chances of someone getting shoved into a row of metal lockers before nine in the morning.
Unfortunately for everyone else, the football team needed them both.
Ao'nung possessed an arm that could launch a football halfway across the field with frightening accuracy, while Lo'ak had an equally infuriating habit of catching almost anything thrown in his direction. Separately, they were exceptional athletes. Together, they were the reason Pandora University hadn't lost a championship in two years.
It was, perhaps, the universe's cruelest joke that the two players most responsible for the team's success also happened to spend an alarming amount of time trying to ruin each other's day.
To make matters worse, Lo'ak had been dating Tsireya–Ao'nung's younger sister–for nearly a year.
Ao'nung had tried everything to convince her that Lo'ak was a terrible choice. Unfortunately, Tsireya seemed blissfully immune to his dramatic speeches, insisting that beneath Lo'ak's reckless attitude was someone genuinely kind.
Ao'nung remained unconvinced.
✤
By the time afternoon practice rolled around, the football field was already buzzing with activity. Players jogged through warm-ups, equipment managers hurried across the sidelines, and Coach Tonowari was only halfway through explaining the day's drills, before his voice was drowned out by a familiar argument.
"Try not to overthrow me today," Lo'ak called from across the field, lazily spinning a football on one finger. "My shoulders are still sore from chasing your passes."
Ao'nung let out a laugh that held no amusement whatsoever. "Maybe if you actually ran the route I told you to, I wouldn't have to throw across the entire field just to reach you."
Lo'ak pressed a hand dramatically to his chest. "Hear that? He thinks it's my fault."
"It usually is."
"You're just mad because I make your highlights look good!"
Ao'nung caught the football Rotxo tossed his way without taking his eyes off Lo'ak. "That's funny. Last game I remember saving your ass after you tripped over absolutely nothing."
"I was avoiding the defender."
"You were avoiding gravity?"
A few nearby teammates snorted, already slowing their stretches to watch the exchange. Lo'ak scoffed. "Says the guy who celebrated a touchdown so hard he nearly pulled a hamstring."
"I still scored."
"You limped for three days."
"Worth it."
Coach Tonowari blew his whistle once, but neither of them acknowledged it. Rotxo sighed as he finished tightening the straps on his gloves. "Five bucks says Coach makes them run laps again."
The teammate beside him grinned. "You're on."
Lo'ak pointed at Ao'nung with the football. "At least my girlfriend actually comes to watch my games."
Ao'nung rolled his eyes. "Congratulations. My sister has questionable taste."
"She likes winners."
"So do NFL scouts."
Lo'ak's grin faltered for exactly half a second before he fired the ball straight at Ao'nung's chest. Without missing a beat, Ao'nung caught it one-handed, the smirk on his face only growing wider.
"Nice throw," he said, tossing it back with just enough force to make Lo'ak stumble a step after catching it. "Maybe stick to receiving."
Before Lo'ak could answer, a whistle pierced through the air.
"Enough!" Tonowari's voice echoed across the field, and both of them turned toward him. He stood with his arms crossed, looking less like a football coach and more like a father questioning every life decision that had led him to this moment.
"If you two are done flirting," he called, "the rest of us would like to practice."
The entire team burst into laughter. Lo'ak looked horrified.
"I'd rather quit football," Ao'nung muttered.
"I'd rather transfer schools," Lo'ak added.
Coach Tonowari simply shook his head. "Good. Now stop acting like children and line up." (uh so does rotxo get 5bucks or nah)
For the next two hours, they obeyed every instruction perfectly—as long as it didn't require speaking to each other.
The rest of practice passed without another exchange between them, the earlier argument settling into the familiar tension that lingered whenever neither of them was willing to back down. They still worked together perfectly on the field, still completed every drill without a single mistake, but neither of them had bothered saying another unnecessary word.
Which, according to the rest of the team, was the closest thing to peace they had ever witnessed.
Ao’nung stayed behind longer than usual, idly tossing a football into the air and catching it again while the rest of the team disappeared toward the locker rooms. He told himself he was only staying to work on his throws–not because Lo’ak’s comments were still rattling around in his head.
They insulted each other every day. Most of it was meaningless, the usual back-and-forth they’d perfected over the years. But somehow today’s exchange had lingered longer than it should have.
Which was irritating.
Shaking the thought away, Ao'nung slung the football under one arm and turned toward the parking lot. Before he could leave, however, something near the edge of the field caught his attention.
Students often stopped by to watch practice. Friends cheered from the bleachers, classmates lingered for a few minutes before heading home, and the occasional fan waited around for photos. Ao'nung rarely paid any of them a second glance, but this time, something made him stop.
He looked over, and his attention settled on the familiar figure standing near the edge of the field.
Standing just beyond the sideline was someone who looked strangely out of place amid the noise and chaos of the football field. A few books rested against his chest, his long dark hair shifting gently in the afternoon breeze. While everyone else shouted across the field in team colors, he stood there with an effortless calm that somehow made the commotion around him seem quieter.
Ao'nung frowned slightly before realizing he'd been staring.
It wasn’t unusual for someone to be attractive. Pandora University had no shortage of good-looking people, yet there was something about this stranger that drew Ao’nung’s attention anyway—not because he demanded it, but because he didn’t seem to realize he had it.
Then the stranger smiled.
It wasn’t a practiced smile meant to impress anyone. It was small, warm, and completely genuine. Ao’nung followed his gaze and, to his surprise, saw Lo’ak walking toward him.
His brows slowly knitted together as he watched the two meet. Out of everyone on campus, how did Lo’ak know someone like that? It made no sense. Lo’ak was loud, reckless, and somehow capable of turning even the simplest situation into complete chaos. The stranger, meanwhile, looked composed enough to belong in a university brochure rather than beside a football field.
Yet they greeted each other with the ease of people who had done this countless times before. The stranger effortlessly took something from Lo’ak’s hands, laughing when Lo’ak said something Ao’nung couldn’t hear. There wasn’t the slightest hint of annoyance between them, only an easy familiarity that made Ao’nung watch a little longer than he intended.
Not because he was impressed. He was simply trying to understand how the most infuriating person on the football team had somehow become friends with someone who looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine.
And, much to his own annoyance, Ao’nung suddenly wanted to know who that guy was.