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He's finishing off one final email, having made an early start with the goal of an early finish, wanted to wrap up all all the 'paperwork' before training. He can't imagine any of the guys are going to want to grab him afterwards. He's always available of course, but although there's no Christmas break, everyone always tries to create a semblance of one. He's concentrating on the screen, so he startles slightly at the knock on the open door.
He looks up to see Erling in the doorway, still in street clothes, holding a reusable coffee cup in one hand. His does a double take, eyes flicking down to the clock in the corner of the screen before moving back to Erling. The clock confirms his suspicions, it's getting awfully close to training for Erling to not be dressed and ready. It's unlike him to risk a fine.
Erling moves over to the most comfortable chair in the room and lowers himself into it, staring at the coffee mug now held in both hands.
Mario studies him. He's worked with Erling for years now, seen him in all manner of states (high off victory, injured and frustrated, memorably once contorted over a tiny plane toilet throwing his guts up), but he barely recognizes the man in front of him. He's usually larger than life, filled with an almost arrogant self-confidence, the centre of gravity in any room he's in. It had taken a whhile for them to get to know each other, to build the strong working relationship they have now. More than any of the other players, he and Haaland work in partnership. After several years together Erling trusts Mario to keep him fit, and Mario trusts Erling to tell the truth, not to lie about injuries to stay on the pitch, not to make things worse. This year has been challenging, the World Cup offering almost no recovery over the summer, and he's all too aware of the niggles Erling is carrying. All too aware that he's not quite at full fitness. They've been working through it though, and the last few days off, the slightly reduced schedule over Christmas have, will offer some respite.
Today though, Erling looks small, shoulders hunched, head bowed low over his coffee. He's pale, wan, eyes slightly too bright, dark circles hanging underneath them. He lifts one hand from his coffee and scrubs it across his face a few times, fiddles with the zip on his hoodie, and finally, rests it back in his lap. He takes a sip of coffee, and something passes over his face, the expression leaving so quickly Mario can't even begin to put a name to it. The hand holding the coffee shakes slightly, and he moves both hands to grasp it, to hold it steady, before thinking better of it. Instead, he leans forwards, placing it on the floor, and stays tipped forwards, hunched over, elbows on knees, hands clasped around the back of his head.
Mario looks back at his email, reading it through before pressing send. He reaches his phone, tapping out a quick message that he and (presumably) Erling are running late, but that they should be at training shortly. Looking back at Erling though, still hunched and unmoving, he's not entirely sure that's going to be the case. He goes back to his emails, moving on to the next thing.
By the clock in the corner of the screen, almost ten minutes have passed (they are almost certainly late now given Erling still isn't dressed) before Erling speaks. When he does, his voice is thick with exhaustion.
"Jude is worried about me."
Whatever Mario was expecting, it was not that.
"Bellingham I presume?"
Erling just nods, hands still clasped behind his head, staring down at the floor.
"Is he right to be?"
At this, Erling finally lifts his head and meets Mario's eyes. He looks exhausted, almost hollowed out.
"I thought no, but I'm starting to think so." He pauses, a hint of a smile around the corners of his mouth. "He worries about a lot of things, but... I think this time he may be right."
"Ok. Do you want to tell me why he's worried?" He chooses his words carefully. He's been watching Erling closely for weeks now, seen him shrink ever so slightly. He hasn't yet felt the need to ask though, has wanted to wait for Erling to come to him. And maybe it has worked, he's here now after all, but here to share someone elses concern, not his own. Maybe it's easier to share second hand worries?
"I'm tired. Not just a bit tired like after a game. I slept all day yesterday, and pretty much the day before."
"Ok."
Now Erling's started though it seems like he can't stop. "He's here, visiting. And I wanted to stay up to see him when he got here but I was so exhausted I fell asleep early. And then yesterday, I had plans for us, but I didn't wake up till eleven, and then I just slept on the sofa all day, and I'm still tired, and I don't want to be."
He pauses, breathing ragged, but Mario doesn't interrupt.
"And my back hurts, and everything just feels really hard at the moment. I miss Jack, and things are different and..." He tails off, but Mario can finish the sentence. He misses Pep, it's been a lot of change and it's been harder to adjust than Erling had expected. He stops short of saying that though, even today understands that badmouthing the boss never really goes well.
He buries his face in his hands, and Mario is slightly alarmed to see his shoulders start to shake.
"And I miss Jude. I miss him even though he's right here, in my house right now."
Mario pushes back from the desk and stands, moving to crouch in front of Erling. He pauses for a moment, uncertain of the next step. He reaches out, placing a hand on Erling's shoulder, squeezing gently, rubbing his thumb against the soft fabric of his hoodie. Erling collapses forwards onto him, slumping against his shoulder, puppet with it's strings cut, and it's all he can do to keep them from falling backwards on to the floor. He ends up on his knees, arms wrapped around Erling, his tears soaking into Mario's shoulder.
It's not that long before his knees complain (the floor is hard after all), and although Erling's shoulders are still shaking, he has to pull away.
"Buddy, my knees can't do this. I'm not that young anymore"
This jolts a faint laugh from Erling, but it's a damp, sad noise. Mario reaches behind him for his desk chair, and pulls it over, sitting down in front of Erling who has managed to sit up slightly, tears on his cheeks. He scrubs at his face with the sleeve of his hoodie, and stares determinedly at the floor.
"Ok mate, I think Jude was probably on to something don't you think?"
Erling nods his head. "Don't tell him though. He'll be really annoying about it."
Mario chooses to take the joke as a positive, rather than a sign that Erling is losing his mind. The likelihood of him talking to Jude is basically nil. They sit there whilst Erling's tears stop and his breath returns to normal.
Mario runs over the schedule for the week. It's already a light week, and part of him thinks it would be good for Erling to spend time with the squad. Based on the Erling sat in front of him though, that doesn't seem wise. Erling is fairly introverted at the best of times, and today he feels like he'd be throwing the man to the wolves.
"I think you need a proper break Erling. I can't magic you up a summer holiday, but I think we should write off this week. Why don't you head home, get a proper break? Let Jude look after you."
Erling manages to raise his head, meeting Mario's gaze, face filled with longing. "I can't do that Mario. I can't slack off, it isn't fair to everyone else."
Mario is already shaking his head. "That's not what this is Erling. This is your body saying you either need to take a break or it's going to make you take a break. I'd much rather you had this week off and came back feeling fresher than try and play through and breakdown later in the season. None of us want that."
He can tell Erling isn't convinced.
"And you have Jude waiting for you at home. Surely you'd rather spend time with him that with this lot." He gestures, and all encompassing wave of the hand taking in the building, the team as a whole. "Take the week, come back on Christmas Day and we'll reasses then."
Dropping Jude's name in seems to have helped, something relaxing in Erling's face. Mario leans down, grabbing Erling's coffee, passing it back to him.
"You stay here, I'll grab a coffee and we'll have a nice coffee together, and then we'll assess your back, and send you back home to Jude. How about that hmm?"
Erling sniffs, blinking tears away again, but nods, and Mario grabs his phone, promising he'll be back in two minutes, and gently pulls the door closed behind him.
He heads down the corridor to the kitchen area, and grabs a mug, setting the coffee machine to make him a double shot cappuccino. He picks his phone back up from the counter, unlocks it and stares at the screen for a moment. He's entirely confident in his decision-making (one look at the clock tells him Erling has spent almost fourty minutes in his office, either looking very sad or actually crying. He's in no way capable of training today) but he's bracing for criticism. He flicks through to Darren and calls.
"Do you have a minute?" On the other end of the line he can hear the bustle of training in progress, but it gets slightly quieter, presumably Darren moving away from the crowd.
"What's up? You said five minutes!"
Mario sighs. "Yeah, sorry, it's a bit more than five minutes."
Darren clearly picks up on something in his tone. "Is it serious?"
He chooses his words carefully. "Not serious, but I'm ruling Erling out till the twenty fifth. He's knackered, proper exhausted and I'm worried that if we don't give him a break down we'll be looking at real problems later in the season."
There's a muttered 'fuck' and an intake of breath on the other end. "Ok, he's going to ask if it's absolutely necessary you know. You're going to have to stand by it."
Mario's voice is steady, measured. "I absolutely stand by it."
"You sure?" It grates, but he understands why Darren feels the need to double check.
"Darren, he's in absolutely no shape to train. If I send him out right now it'll do way more harm than good, for the whole squad not just him. He's a mess." He sighs. "He barely got any time off in the summer, and he's just exhausted. I'm sending him home to rest, and at this point I'll be astonished if he does anything other than sleep."
"Ok, leave it with me. I'll tell the right people, but be prepared for some questions later." Darren sighs again, says goodbye and rings off.
The coffee makee has finished with his cappuccino, so he puts his phone in his pocket and heads back to his office.
Erling hasn't moved since he left, but startles as he opens the door, and seeing it's Mario, musters up a faint smile. Mario closes the door behind him again, and drops back into his chair, and wraps both hands around his mug. He cheers's Erling's, and this pulls a slightly more robust smile from him.
"So, how long is Jude here for?"
At this, Erling's face changes, an entirely fond expression, and he smiles properly. He still looks exhausted, but immediately more like himself.
"Till new year. I've never been so jealous of a midseason break." He pauses. "He's seeing his family for Christmas day, but then back to mine afterwards." He takes a sip of coffee, and smiles down at it.
"That's nice, must be good to spend some proper time with him?"
"Yeah. We haven't really seen each other since July, and I..." he tails off, his eyes flicking up, studying Mario's face, before dropping back to the floor. "I missed him so much."
Mario isn't entirely sure what they are talking about here, and chooses his words with precision, careful not to ask a question that in this state, Erling may well answer. "It's tough when you're juggling two club schedules and different timezones."
Erling makes a noise that could be a laugh, more an exhalation than anyhting else. "Yeah, it's really hard."
They both take a sip of coffee, and Mario steers the conversation back to steadier ground, carrying on a conversation pretty much single-handedly, Erling just reacting at the appropriate moments. It carries them through the coffee, and by the time they've both finished, Erling is looking slightly more human, less damp around the edges. As they move into the empty physio room Erling manages to actualy crack a few jokes. The room is empty but for the two of them, a far cry from the usual bustle. Mario takes his time as they move through the assessment, and can't fully decide if it's a positive or a negative that things are relatively unchanged from the assessment a week or so ago. He successfully works some of the tension out though, and Erling is definitely moving easier than he was earlier. He can't put it fully down to his ministrations though, the emotional release had to help.
He's not optimistic enough to think that he's solved the whole problem though. Erling might have managed a joke or two, might seem slightly more comfortable, but he's still too pale, exhaustion a heavy cloak hanging over his shoulders. He's conscious of the time, that the room may start to fill up soon, so he shepherds Erling back out again and they dip back into theboffice to grab his coffee cup, and then Mario walks him back through the corridors and out to his car. They don't make conversation, but the silence is comfortable.
Walking across the carpark, he throws a hand around Erling's shoulder, and he looks down.
"Ok, some very simple instructions for you then. I don't want to see you until Christmas Day, we'll see how you're feeling then and make a call on Boxing Day then. I want you to take it properly easy. Rest, sleep, proper food. A bit of yoga or stretching if you really feel up to it, but absolutely nothing more." Erling nods along, face serious. "Just go home and let Jude look after you yeah? See if we can't get him a bit less worried?"
At that Erling does smile, a proper grin, entirely fond. "He will still worry, but..." he pauses for a second. "But I think he will be happy I spoke to you about." He holds a hand up, thumb and finger close together. "Maybe this much less worried?"
Mario laughs at that. "Ok, well I'll count that as progress." His tone turns serious. "If you need anything the next few days, you give me a ring or drop me a text yeah? Anything at all."
Erling nods at that, and puts his empty coffee cup on the roof of his car, and turns, pulling Mario into a hug.
"Thanks Mario. I'm sorry, but just... thank you."
Mario waves away his apologies, and then waves away the man himself, heading back inside to face the music. In the end though, the music is much quieter than Darren had feared, just a few pointed questions and a nod of the head when Mario made it clear that yes, he was absolutely serious, and yes, they probably should consider it when thinking about squad selection for Boxing Day.
Either way, it's worth it, his decisions fully vindicated early on Christmas Day morning. The Erling that appears in his office is an entirely different man from the exhausted husk from days earlier. He's not completely fine, not completely back to normal, but a few days has done him the world of good. He sweeps into the office with a coffee flask held in either hand, and presents one proudly to Mario, collapsing bonelessly into the chair.
"My coffee is better than office coffee hmm?"
Mario grins at him. "Thanks mate. You're looking perkier today."
Erling smiles, but there's a hint of something serious. "Yeah. I followed your instructions very closely." He leans forwards to cheers coffees. "I did nothing. I really just slept, and it was only yesterday that I was kind of alive."
Mario studies him, gaze assessing. He's no longer scarily pale, the bags under his eyes have disappeared, but there is still something slightly fragile in his smile, in the set of his shoulders.
"Good, I'm pleased. You really needed the break. How's the back?"
Erling hums thoughtfully. "Definitely not worse, I think better?"
"Ok good. I'll reasses today." He pauses. "What are your thoughts on training and tomorrow's game?"
Erling is nodding before he's finished the question. "Yes, definitely. I'm good to train and I want to play."
"We'll see how training goes, I don't want us to get ahead of ourselves, but if you're ok in training I won't have major concerns." He fixes Erling with a steely gaze. "But you have to tell me if I need to be concerned Erling. I trust you, and I'm proud of you for coming to me the other day, but this isn't a one time thing. It doesn't get you a free pass forever."
Erling nods vigorously. "I know. I need to do better. This is why we have coffee yes?" Mario looks quizzical. "I get in early before training, we have coffee together..." he pauses, placing the cup betwen his knees to free up both hands. "And 'talk' about things." Mario rolls his eyes at the airquotes, and Erling looks all too thrilled as he picks the cup back up.
"Who's idea was this? Yours or Judes?" Mario says with a grin.
The outraged look on Erling's face is pure performance. "Mine! All mine! But..." he takes a sip of coffee. "But Jude agreed it was a good idea. He said I needed to talk to people more, and not just to him. That I need-" the coffee is down again. "-'people here Erling, not just him.'" He looks slightly sheepish.
"So he's still worried then?"
At this, something akin to regret passes over Erling's face. "He's always going to worry. But... but I think I really scared him. I don't want to do that again. I don't want to feel like that again." He looks down at his coffee and then back at Mario. "So instead we do coffee now."
Mario looks at him, face serious. "We can definitely do coffee Erling. But this doesn't mean I might not send you to the psych guys."
Erling shakes head. "Coffee first." He sighs. "We try coffee first."
"Ok, coffee first. I appreciate the thought you've put into this."
Erling smiles and drinks his coffee.
"So is Jude still at home?" He doesn't mean to pry, but offered the opportunity...
"He went to his parent's last night. He'll be back tomorrow after the game." Erling's face is serious, concerned. "I really scared him Mario. He didn't want to go. I had to really push him into leaving. Pointed out that it was only two days, that he hasn't seen his family for ages."
Mario sighs. "Sometimes that's how things go Erling. We try to do the right thing but we end up worrying the people we love."
Erling just nods at that. "It'll be nice to have him back again, even if it's just for a few days."
Mario smiles. "I'm sure! It's not like you get to see each other that often during the season."
Erling's smile is almost pained and he just nods, taking another sip of coffee.
"So, did I miss anything exciting?"
Mario takes the change of subject, allows Erling to roll with it, and relays the few entertaining moments Erling missed over the last few days.
It becomes a routine. Erling gets in half an hour early every morning, a coffee for each of them. Their conversations are rarely serious, tears are never shed again. By the end of January though, Mario has convinced Erling through a mix of bribery and gentle coercion to drop in on the psych guys every once in a while. Erling generally returns to his normal, robust self, and life continues.
A few years later when they all return for the start of preseason, he's waiting in Mario's office when he gets in. He's beaming as he hands the coffee over.
"Good break?" Mario grins at him.
"The best." And Erling is off, relaying the details of his summer, Jude ever present in his stories. He's positively glowing, and although he clearly had a great break, it doesn't seem to explain his good mood, which continues as they move through the season.
Mario is a professional, he works for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Football rumours are his bread and butter. He's discreet, he's not a gossip, but that can't be said for everyone at the organization. This year, the big story is Jude Bellingham. Negotiations with Madrid are ongoing, and sure, everyone expects a deal to be done, but it is taking a while.
Erling never mentions it though, despite Jude coming up in their conversations pretty regularly, and Mario doesn't ask.
When the news does break, Bellingham joining United on a free transfer, salary rumoured to be in the region of half a million a week, Mario is on a well deserved holiday. He stares at the headline in complete shock which turns into laughter, so loud that people look at him in consternation.
He forwards the article to Erling with a few choice emojis, and orders himself a drink. It's a few hours later when he gets a response. A slightly blurry selfie, Erling beaming at the camera, one arm slung around Jude's shoulders, Jude with sunglasses on, looking at Erling with an incredibly fond expression. The only accompaniment is a pink heart emoji.