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The friendly match against FC Tokyo ended in a win for Dortmund but not for Carney. His injury wasn’t severe but it was enough to get subbed out 10 minutes later. The heavy rain, combined with the unbearable pain in his knee soured Carney’s mood. However, it was soon obvious that a certain someone was in a worse mood.
Jobe had started arguing with the referee on whether he had fouled the other player. Clearly furious that the referee would even call that a foul.
Carney couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle to himself. It wasn’t everyday you’d see Jobe so agitated on pitch.
Alas, the game finally ended. Along with the wet , suffocating tension on the pitch.
“That rain was killin me alright.” Felix groaned, aggressively and dramatically rubbing his head with a towel.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Carney laughed, ignoring the throbbing in his knee and got up to shower.
“Ah—“ Felix got up following Carney. “Mate, how’s your knee?” Felix asked looking down at Carney’s bruised knee.
“Nah bro, It’s calm. Don’t worry about me.” Carney reassured, giving a small thumbs up.
Felix let out a sigh of relief and patted Carney on the shoulder before padding into the showers. As soon as Felix disappeared from Carney’s sight, a sigh of discomfort slipped past his mouth.
“You sure you’re alright?” Jobe said, suddenly appearing next to Carney who jumped a bit.
“Jobe!..” Carney dramatically clutched his chest. “You scared the daylights out of me.” Carney turned his head to face Jobe who wasn’t buying his act for one second.
Jobe took a step closer and Carney smelled the scent of wet grass clinging onto his kit.
“Carns, quit actin dodgy around me yeah?” he murmured, his gaze full of worry.
Carney felt his ears heat up as he gazed into Jobe’s eyes.
“Jobe. Seriously—“ Carney sighed as a smile played on his lips. “Don’t worry about me.” He said as he patted Jobe’s shoulder a few times before escaping into the showers.
Jobe watched Carney walk away, telling himself to just forget it and not push any further.
It was night by the time the team arrived at their hotel and everyone was absolutely knackered. Jobe couldn’t wait to go back to his hotel room and call Jude but his eyes kept flickering towards Carney who was limping a bit. The movement was so small that no one else would’ve caught it, but Jobe did.
As much as Jobe tried to stop worrying about Carney, he couldn’t help it. He knew it happens to everyone but why did he care so much when it came to Carney?
“Forget it.” he thought to himself as the hotel door beeped open.
Jobe plopped onto his soft bed, waiting for Jude to pick up the phone.
After a few seconds, Jude’s face popped up on the screen. “Ayy! theres my lil bro!”
Jobe felt all the stress drain from his body after hearing his brother’s ecstatic voice.
“I saw your match today. Looks like you finally showed your true colors.” he teased.
Jobe let out a groan before quickly defending himself as Jude just laughed at him.
“Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t give you a yellow card for that.” Jude giggled, seeing Jobe’s agitated face.
“Oh, and how’s that kid Carney doing? He was trying to stay on the pitch but guess the injury was pretty bad” Jude added after remembering the early sub off.
“Oh. I did ask him about it earlier and he said he was fine..but—“ he paused, hesitant to voice his thoughts.
“But?” Jude questioned, waiting for his answer.
“But..he put on this fake smile, trying to act strong around me.” Jobe sighed as he remembered how it played out.
Jude raised an eyebrow, not seeing the issue. “Isn’t that a good thing? To show that you aren’t some crybaby?”
Jobe frowned, “No, Jude— It’s different because im his best mate. I should be there for him..but I don’t wanna push and make him uncomfortable.” Jobe ranted, missing the look in Jude’s face.
“Well I think the best thing you could do right now is get off your phone and check on him.” Jude grinned. A knowing one at that.
“Really? You’re not lying are you?” Jobe raised an eyebrow, confused at Jude’s sudden compliance.
“Trust me bro!” Jude said as he put his hand on his chest for dramatic effect. “I would never lie to you.”
Jobe sighed as a soft smile touched his lips. He decided to trust Jude this one time. Just this once.
Jobe stood in front of Carney’s door in a simple white t-shirt and grey sweatpants, contemplating on whether he should check in or just go to sleep. In the end, Jobe softly knocked three times. The door didn’t open at all, nor did he hear any signs of Carney shuffling around.
“I’m overthinking it.” he muttered to himself before stuffing his hands in his pockets.
As Jobe started walking back towards his room, he heard the door creak open and someone calling out to him.
“Jobe? Did you knock on my door?” Carney called out, half his body poking out into the hallway.
Jobe turned around, debating on whether he should lie or tell the truth.
“Uh, Yea. Just wanted to check in.”
Carney looked around, noticing that they were alone together.
“Is that it?” he questioned, confused on why Jobe would come all this way just to check in.
“Uh— No..” Jobe awkwardly said, scratching his head.
“No?”
“Well—“ Jobe paused, debating his choices.
“I don’t have all day Jobe,” Carney teased.
“Mate can you just invite me over.” Jobe sighed, embarrassment filling his face.
Carney let out a laugh of disbelief. “Shoulda just said so.”
Jobe smiled, seeing how Carney was still acting the same despite the injury.
The door of the hotel room clicked shut as Jobe sat down on the bed.
“So..” Carney walked over and sat next to Jobe. “What’s up?”
While Jobe would never admit it, he felt a little nervous. It’s not like Jobe hasn’t cared for other teammates before but going to their room by himself was rather nerve wracking.
“…”
“Carns, you don’t have to pretend around me.” Jobe said, breaking the silence in the room.
“What?” Is all Carney said as his brain short circuited.
“I said, you don’t have to put on a brave face around me.” He repeated, scooting closer to Carney.
Filled with disbelief and shock, all Carney could do was laugh.
Now was Jobe’s turn to question Carney, “What?”
Carney sighed as he shook his head, “Can I not put on a brave face around my mates anymore?”
Jobe pretended to think about it before deadpanning, “No.”
Carney just laughed as Jobe joined in soon after, ending the bit awkwardness they had both felt earlier.
“Nah, but I’m serious Carns. You don’t have to act differently around me.” Jobe softly said, gazing into Carney’s eyes.
Carney froze at seeing the genuine affection in Jobe’s eyes. Warmth spread across his face before he knew it.
“Jobe, seriously. You don’t have to care so much about me.” he murmured, looking down at his lap.
“…”
“But I want to.” Jobe murmured honestly, oblivious to how that sounded.
Carney looked up, cheeks tinted a shade of pink. “Really?…You really mean that?”
Jobe nodded with absolute certainty, his face confidently glowing.
A comfortable silence fell between them but alas, Jobe broke the silence and stood up. “Uh, I’ll go back to my room now.” He said, offering a small smile.
Carney stood up to follow Jobe out of his room. As Jobe reached the door, he turned around to take one last look at Carney.
“You sure you’re grand?” He asked one last time as an annoyed sigh soon followed.
“Jobe.. I’m proper fine.” Carney took a step closer, irritation flickering across his face.
“Well if I bother you that much then I should just leave.” he turned his head away, feigning hurt.
Carney let out a soft chuckle, reaching out to tilt Jobe’s head towards him.
“Here—“ was all Jobe heard before a soft kiss fell upon his cheek. “Happy now?” Carney grinned, pink blooming across his face.
Jobe was at a loss. What was he even supposed to say?
“..”
“Y-yea,” he coughed a few times, trying to hide the heat creeping up his neck. “I should go..”
Jobe rushed out of the room, leaving Carney stranded. He felt a twinge of disappointment at the lack of reaction, but the look on Jobe’s face was enough.
Jobe’s mind was replaying the scene a thousand times as he raced through the hallways. He couldn’t care less about the ruckus he was making.
Jobe slammed his hotel door shut, chest heaving as he slid down onto the floor. He tried to calm down by focusing on the low hum of the AC but that didn’t work one bit.
“Bloody hell.” he mumbled, sliding his hand over his face.