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Chapter 11 - Lukas and Bastian get a visit from seven of their national squad mates for a night of frivolity! (Michael, Torsten, Philipp, Timo, Arne, Manuel, and David)
It was Thursday evening and Bastian was, for some reason Lukas couldn't deduce, putting off making anything for supper. Lukas had been moaning for the past half hour that he was hungry and Bastian just kept telling him to quit whining. He could have gone and found something to eat on his own but the fact that Bastian wasn't making anything for himself had caught his interest. They both had large appetites and ate pretty much on schedule, so the fact that Bastian had put them off their schedule by half an hour and didn't appear to be rectifying the situation any time soon had Lukas curious.
The day had been quiet and relaxing for the pair. Lukas had spent the majority of the day doing some of the new work his therapists had set for him while Bastian had spent some time playing games on the Playstation against Lena's boyfriend Stefan, who had come over to see her but had ended up spending more of his time on Lukas' couch next to Bastian. But now it was nearing seven, the boys were alone, and Lukas was hungry.
Just as he was about to whine that he was wasting away and that Bastian ought to feed him, there was a knock at the door. Bastian got up quickly enough for Lukas to figure that he knew who was out there. Instead of getting up and following him, Lukas remained on the couch, listening for voices. When he heard the voices and registered who they belonged to, he stood up and slowly made his way to the door.
Filtering into his apartment now were a few of their team mates from the national squad, who had brought pizzas and drinks. Lukas stood by the wall and watched them all make their way in, the answer to his question about Bastian's schedule change answered. The first of the men to make their way over to him was, unsurprisingly, Michael Ballack. He hadn't seen Michael since that day in the hospital when he'd started to regain his memory. Michael had flown back to England that night. But now the team was back here for a training session for an upcoming Euro Cup qualifier. He didn't have much time to ponder Bastian’s scheming visit before Michael had seized him, hugging him tightly. He and Michael had always had a bit of a close relationship, as the older man had sort of taken Lukas under his wing when he'd first come to the national team, and had subsequently always kept an eye on him and made sure he was coping with the stress of everything involved.
Now Michael was just overjoyed to see Lukas home and doing better. He let him go and laid a hand on his cheek, looking at him with an expression that mingled pride and affection with relief. "You look well."
"God Micha, you'd think the kid had been dying or something." An arm elbowed Michael out of the way and there appeared Torsten Frings. He grinned as he looked Lukas over before pulling him forward for a hug. "How are you doing, brat? The pipes are starting to deflate a little." He squeezed Lukas' bicep, laughing when Lukas glared at him.
"Shut up." Just as Michael was always looking out for him, Torsten never went through a meeting without teasing him and a very popular topic for that teasing happened to be Lukas' biceps. Before he could say anything more, though, Torsten was pushed out of the way by David Odonkor. They hadn't seen each other since the day of the match, as Lukas had been sleeping the next day when David had stopped by before catching his flight back to Spain. David had been worried ever since about Lukas and now that he was seeing him in person, the relief was clearly visible on his face. He launched himself forward at his friend, his arms circling around him. Lukas returned the embrace.
The greetings continued for a few minutes, as everyone who showed up circled around him to say hello and hug him. All in all seven of them had shown up, with the remaining four being Philipp, Timo, Arne, and Manuel. Lukas was quite happy to see them, though being around them suddenly left him feeling a little sad that it would be a while before he was able to see them more frequently. But he was determined to enjoy the night while they were here. The pizzas were laid out on the kitchen counter and the drinks had been stashed in the fridge, and they discussed what they ought to do to pass the time.
It was Torsten who suggested poker. It had been a while since they'd played as a group and the idea went over well. As they got settled with their food and drinks around the dining table, to which three stools from the kitchen had been added, Bastian suddenly felt a spark of mischievousness. "Hey guys, I think we should play strip poker instead. Lukas needs to work on his dressing skills." Laughter erupted around the table at the suggestion, from everyone except Lukas. He stared at Bastian, looking just slightly stunned. The expression quickly turned to one of mild embarrassment and he glared at Bastian, who was sitting next to him. Bastian grinned and reached out a hand to pat his cheek. "Now it's nothing to get embarrassed about, Poldi! You have to work on these things whenever the opportunity presents itself."
Lukas pulled away from him and slumped back in his chair. "You are, an ass."
"Oh hey, did I tell you guys I made him button up my shirt the other day? It took him a few minutes but he got it done eventually." Bastian grinned as he shared another embarrassing comment, but this time Lukas was ready for him.
"I make him, remove my shoes off, when we come home." Now it was Bastian's turn to glare at Lukas.
The other guys laughed at the bickering, finding it quite amusing. Torsten especially seemed to find it enjoyable. "Man, you two sound like an old married couple. I think living together is affecting your brains." He grinned at Bastian from across the table, who glared at him.
Just then the doorbell rang and Bastian got up to answer it, glad for the opportunity to escape any further commentary and leaving the boys to start dealing out the cards for their game. It turned out to be Daniela, who had just returned from a study group with Lena and had decided to pay the boys a visit. Bastian told her that some of the guys from the team had stopped by for a few hours and that she ought to come in and join their poker game. She did just that, following Bastian in to the dining room. He brought in the extra stool for her while she greeted the guys. She hugged Lukas and David and said hello to the others, who were quite pleased to see her. She really liked their national team mates and enjoyed every opportunity she had to interact with them, which wasn't nearly as often as she liked.
She sat next to Lukas and said that they would team up and play together. Bastian protested, stating that he knew they were going to spend the whole game cheating if they played together. Daniela didn't argue, she just grinned and told him it was silly to want to be competitive against a woman and an invalid. The rest of the guys laughed while Bastian shook his head and picked up his cards.
The game started and it appeared that Bastian had indeed been correct. Lukas and Daniela had roped David into their cheating ring, passing cards back and forth under the table. Suddenly at one point Lukas looked at Daniela and broke his silence, looking just a little devious. He was still a little nervous about speaking too much at the moment, certain that his nerves would jumble up his words. But he just couldn't resist the opportunity to tease his best friend. "We had dinner, w-with Lena and, Anna."
Bastian looked up at him, shaking his head. "Don't you dare."
Lukas didn't acknowledge Bastian's warning, he kept talking. "They told interes-ting things, about Basti."
"Lukas!" It was clear that Bastian did not want Lukas to tell this story, but now everyone's attention had been drawn and he knew there was no way he'd be able to stop him.
"Elevators did not work, but, had to go to shopping. Basti carried me, down stairs." At this comment most of the guys were chuckling, trying to keep the laughter down so as not to interrupt the story. "When Lena heard, she say 'Dani was, right, he is a machine'." The guys all burst into loud laughter at that point, while Bastian glared anew at Lukas.
Daniela tried her best to look innocent. "I have no idea where she got that from; I swear I've never told her that you're a machine." Daniela managed to keep a straight face as she stared down her boyfriend.
"What about, enormous? You tell that he is enor-mous?" Lukas was also managing to keep a pretty straight face, thoroughly enjoying teasing Bastian in front of everyone. He was surprised to find that he wasn't even too worried about speaking in front of everyone else either. He supposed that was an especially good sign of his progress.
Daniela bit her lip at the question, barely able to suppress the laughter. "Did she really say that?" When Lukas nodded she finally couldn't hold it any longer, burying her face in her hands and laughing. Lukas looked at Bastian, a very smug expression on his face.
"If you weren't so helpless right now, I would totally punch you." Bastian leaned over and instead of punching Lukas, he pinched his cheek.
Lukas swatted at Bastian's hand. "Stop with pinching! It hurts." In response to the request, Bastian just pinched him again. "Schweini! Stop!"
The rest of the guys were still laughing at their display and Torsten took the opportunity to lean close to Michael and whisper in his ear. "I swear, out of the whole world we definitely have the cutest kids." Michael met his gaze and grinned, quite agreeing with the statement.
Daniela was grinning as she watched the display between the boys. "Don't worry Lukas; at least he isn't biting you. He quite likes to do that." There were some whistles at that comment, along with a yell of "Basti's a biter!" from Timo, who received a nasty glare from Bastian, whom he was sitting next to. Daniela feigned a look of regret as she dramatically clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh golly, did I say that out loud? Bastian I am so sorry!"
Just as Bastian was about to retort Lukas butted in. "He did bite me, on my nose, already." There were jeers anew from the others at the revelation and Bastian had given up trying to look angry. He just sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.
Philipp looked at him and mustered a look of sympathy. “It’s okay, Schweini. We know you love your prince. You don’t have to hide it, we understand.” Philipp very mockingly gave Bastian a thumbs up, mouthing ‘it’s okay’ while the rest of the table laughed at the commentary. Just as Bastian was about to make a retort Daniela butted in.
“Yeah actually Basti doesn’t just take Lukas’ shoes off every time they go out; he has to kiss his feet too. You know, pay his dues to the royalty. Prince Poldi and his pauper.” Daniela grinned at Bastian, who scrunched his face up in annoyance as he looked at her.
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“The winning side.” Daniela nodded her head and blew him a kiss.
Lukas, who was stuck in between the couple, simply kept quiet but was sporting quite the amused grin on his face. One of the things he’d always liked about Daniela had been her ability to adapt to any company who was around, pulling out different aspects of her personality in order to interact well. The fact that the guys on the team were constantly teasing each other made it extremely easy for her to fit in. Out of everyone’s girlfriends and wives Lukas had met in his football career, Daniela had always been his favourite.
Michael, who was watching in amusement from across the table as the couple bickered, looked at Bastian with amused sympathy. “That’s rough, Schweini, not even your girlfriend’s on your side.”
Bastian waved off the comment. “Bah, who needs her? I have a new girlfriend now anyway.” Before anyone could say anything, he grabbed Lukas’ face and pulled him forward, kissing him full on the lips. Everyone was shocked into silence, but the moment Bastian let Lukas go the snickers around the table started.
Lukas stared at Bastian in shock. He had definitely not been expecting that. His shock wore off after a moment though and a look of annoyance spread across his face as he thought about what Bastian had said. New girlfriend. He’d have to pay for that one.
Bastian winked at Lukas before glancing over at Daniela, looking extremely smug, especially at their shocked expressions. Definitely worth it. He pointed at himself, and then held up a finger to indicate the number one. "I believe that makes it, Bastian: one, Lukas and Daniela: zero." He formed a zero with his right hand, shaking it back and forth for emphasis.
But Daniela was too quick for him tonight. She nodded her head slowly, and then started mimicking his hand movements. "Ah yes, that's a very interesting choice of hand movements, Bastian." She tilted her hand so she was shaking it up and down. She kept up the movement, making it slower and more pronounced as she looked at the guys. "You know, guys, Lukas here is still having trouble gripping things, so I suppose nurse Bastian has to help him out with that." There was no question as to what she was alluding to and the guys roared with laughter at the comment. Lukas leaned over and held his head in his hands, shaking with laughter, while Bastian stared at her in shock. It looked like Bastian had indeed just paid for the earlier comment.
Torsten stood up and leaned across the table, holding a hand out for Daniela, who stood up and slapped it. "That was beautiful, absolutely beautiful! Schweini your girlfriend is amazing." He sat back down, looking very impressed. Bastian glared at him.
Philipp was the only one not laughing and he looked at Lukas now, a serious expression on his face. "So Poldi, is there any truth to that?" He grinned as Lukas sat up straight again, glancing briefly at Bastian before turning back to glance across the table at Philipp.
He held his hands up in front of him and shook his head. "My lips sealed."
Torsten nudged Michael. "Well we know Schweini's aren't!" Everyone except Bastian was laughing hard at that comment.
Daniela pointed across the table at Torsten, looking very smug. "I love you so much right now for that comment." He returned the gesture and winked at her.
Bastian glared at Torsten before turning his gaze on his girlfriend. Before he had a chance to say anything though she leaned on the table in front of Lukas and pointed her finger at Bastian. "Oh that's right, you lose! Again!" Bastian grabbed her finger and bit it, and she squealed and pulled it away.
"Hey, if you're hungry that's what the pizza's for. I don't think accounts of cannibalism would be good for the team." Michael kicked Bastian's leg under the table, as they were sitting directly across from each other. Bastian cried out at the contact, glaring at everyone and telling them to stop harassing him.
Everyone kept laughing at him though, except for one person. Arne Friedrich sat at one end of the table, between David and Manuel. He actually looked a little annoyed. "Okay guys, leave Schweini alone, he's endured enough already."
Everyone looked at Arne, confused as to why he was suddenly sticking up for Bastian. There was constant teasing happening all the time and no one ever bothered calling for an end to it because they all knew it was done in good fun. But for some reason tonight, Arne didn't seem to be enjoying it so much.
With the sudden silence hanging around them, Arne looked down the table at Bastian, a look of slight concern on his face. "So Bastian, I know this woman who owns this really great costume shop. She just got in a line of nurses outfits, so uh, let me know if you want me to pick one up for you." It took a moment for the comment to register with everyone and once it did laughter erupted around the table again.
Torsten looked down at Arne and shook his head. "You had me worried there for a second, Arne. But nice follow through." Arne met Torsten's gaze and grinned.
Bastian looked around the table at everyone, a glare seeming to be permanently affixed to his face at the moment. "I hate you all."
Lukas suddenly looked over at Arne. "Hey, forgot to mention. My OT gave m-most cool, present ever, last week." Things quieted down again as everyone looked at Lukas. Arne suddenly got a look of comprehension on his face and knew it was now his turn. "Your cook book."
Lukas and Bastian weren't the only two who hadn't heard of the book, as everyone except for Manuel stared at Arne in shock, before starting to laugh. David especially was keen to see it. Daniela got up from her seat and ran out to the kitchen, grabbing the book and bringing it back in. The boys had shown it to her when she'd been over two days ago so she knew where they kept it. She brought it back and laid it down in front of David, who looked at the front cover and laughed. "That's weak, Arne."
Arne shot a glare at David, but was smiling by the time everyone had passed the book around and was taking the jabs good naturedly. Manuel put an arm around his shoulders. "I told him not to do it, but he just wouldn't listen."
"Wait, you knew he was doing it before it even printed? Why didn't you tell us? We could have given it a proper release party." Torsten looked enquiringly at Manuel, who grinned and shrugged.
"I felt bad and wanted him to have a little time to reflect on it before telling anyone. Prepare for the teasing and harassment." He looked at Arne and grinned. Arne shoved his arm away and attempted to look annoyed with him, but it didn’t last as Manuel put his arm back around Arne’s shoulders and patted his cheek.
Their for-the-moment forgotten game of poker was resumed after the excitement died down, and after a few hands, Torsten was sitting at the top. He and Timo had just been involved in a drawn out hand, both of them continually upping everyone who went in. Eventually it had been down to the two of them and Torsten had been continually insulting Timo, trying to get him to back down. He’d brought up the game between Stuttgart and Bremen that had occurred last week, in which Bremen had blasted the other side 4-0. The main problem had been in Stuttgart’s defense, more so than with Timo’s goalkeeping. But Torsten liked to needle and he was distorting the facts now just to harass Timo.
"You guys should have seen this one, he was totally off form. I almost couldn't play because I was so distracted by how bad he was doing." Torsten grinned as he looked at Timo, who looked about ready to jump over the table at him and throw a punch.
"Would you shut up already? I swear, a guy has issues with his defense and he's thrown to the wolves." Timo knew why Torsten was teasing him and didn’t take any of it seriously. It was all for fun and right now he was on the receiving end. It never stuck on one person for too long, though.
"Yeah, the wolves called Werder Bremen who sucked you dry and tossed out your bones." Torsten laughed as Timo shook a fist at him.
"Hey, leave him alone, Frings. You know he's under a lot of pressure. Timo'll come through, he's spectacular." Philipp butted in, sticking up for Timo. It was a usual occurrence, for the guys to team up against each other in their silly little arguments. Usually when you butted in, though, you became the new target.
Torsten smiled at the pair. "Aw, that's cute. You've got Shorty as your guard dog. The little raging chihuahua." Torsten needled at Philipp, who just looked smug and nodded his head, apparently having butted in because he’d found the perfect way to shut Torsten up.
"Yeah, laugh it up, Princess Chuckles." The guys all burst into laughter at the name, except for Torsten, who looked at Philipp with a combination of shock and unease.
"What did you call me?"
Philipp grinned. "You heard me." He knew he'd gotten the better of Torsten tonight; there was no way to recover from that.
Torsten sat back in his chair and shook his head. "No. I draw the line! I put up with mom; I let that slide and didn't complain." There was an outcry of negation to that comment, punctuated with a line from Bastian about how tirelessly he’d bitched about it every day. Torsten ignored them and continued. "But Princess is not happening. I draw the line there! Micha don't laugh, that's not funny!" He looked beside him at Michael, who had his fist stuffed to his mouth, trying to suppress it.
Michael looked at him and shook his head. "Not laughing."
Bastian nudged Michael's leg under the table. "Just choking, right?" Michael nodded in agreement and Bastian went in for the kill. "No doubt on a lock of Frings' curly princess hair!" At that comment Michael couldn't hold it in and doubled over, banging his fists on the table as he laughed, which caused everyone else to laugh even harder.
Torsten looked across at Bastian, who smiled smugly at him. "Payback’s a bitch.” Both Timo and Philipp slapped Bastian on the shoulder, all earlier teasing done against each other forgotten in the face of a new allegiance.
Torsten just sat back in his chair and took it with a smile on his face. He’d definitely had it coming, after all. It had figured that it was Philipp, the quiet one, who’d managed to cut him down. Philipp was never one to make a lot of comments, but the ones he did make were always perfectly on target.
Michael had managed to calm himself down a little and was leaning on his arms that were crossed on the table in front of him. He looked beside him at Torsten, a huge smile on his face. “Princess. That’s sticking.” The comment immediately sent Torsten into a whole new slew of complaints, and was ended when Michael laid a hand on his knee and asked him if he’d prefer being the queen. Torsten didn’t say anything in response; he just stared at Michael and shook his head. Michael grinned and squeezed his leg.
The game continued on for a while until eventually everyone got side tracked talking about the upcoming schedule for the squad, their opponents and other group leaders. Daniela had migrated to Bastian’s lap as he had forgiven her earlier barrage of teasing and now held his arms around her while he talked football.
David and Lukas had decided to leave the room for a bit to chat with each other and were now standing out on the balcony. It was a clear night and stars were visible and there was just a ghost of a chill in the air. They stood next to each other and leaned on the railing. David looked at Lukas and smiled. "It's so good to see you, leaving to go back to Spain with you still passed out in the hospital was rough."
Lukas looked at him and smiled. "How is Spain? Treat you good?"
David shrugged. "I like it. Country's gorgeous, the team's fun, I get along with everyone. Still don't know much Spanish but my English is better." They both laughed. "It's hard, though, being so much farther away. It sucked enough being here but in different cities, but being in a different country is rough. I feel pretty disconnected sometimes, you know? I miss being here."
Lukas nodded and leaned against him. "Don't know, how y-you do it, you and M-michael, and Jens. Don't know if I, ever leave Germany, to play. Experience good, don't know, if I handle it good. Playing here stress m-me enough." He laughed at the comment, because it was true. He always denied the stress, denied the nerves and told everyone he was happy and content with where he was. But it was harder on him then he let on. Bastian knew it, and Michael knew it, and now he was admitting it to David.
"I think you'd be fine if you ever went away, Lukas. It's tough at first but you could handle it. You should give yourself more credit." He grinned when he saw the little smile that formed on Lukas' face.
"Thanks. Appreciate that." And he really did. He was harder on himself than he should be and it always helped to hear positive comments from the people he cared about.
There was silence for a moment before David asked his next question. "So, what's it like having him around all the time?"
Lukas thought about the question for a moment before answering. What was it like with Bastian there constantly? “Great, really. Lucky he okay, to move in. Don't know, how I be, if he not come." That much was true. Lukas could barely count the number of times that Bastian had managed to keep him from freaking out during the past week. If it had been anyone else here with him, things would have been a lot harder.
"So it hasn't placed a strain on your friendship at all?" David was impressed. Not that he'd expected something like this to break apart the friendship, but it was an awkward situation that not everyone could handle.
Lukas smiled and shook his head. "No, more close. Things I go through, only he know about. He stay around and help me. I think, I would be wrecked with him not here, David." Lukas looked at David, sincerity plastered across his face.
David nodded and smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. It's hard being so far away, but knowing that he's here with you, helping you, it makes it easier. You're in good hands, Lukas." The boys continued to chat for a while, with Lukas telling David about everything he was doing, all the therapy he had to do, what his doctors were like, what life was like for him now. David was happy to hear all of it. Even though it still worried him a little to see Lukas struggling, it helped to know exactly what things were currently like for him.
They went back inside soon after, where the discussion was still centered on sports. It was starting to get late though and as the guys had an early start to their day tomorrow, they decided to head back for their hotel. Daniela was also leaving as she had an early class tomorrow. Philipp and Timo offered to walk her home, as she didn’t live far from Philipp.
Another fifteen minutes were spent on goodbyes and hopes that the boys would be re-joining them soon. While Lukas had been outside with David, Michael had taken the opportunity to pull Bastian aside and inquire about when he would be returning to national duty. He told Michael he wasn’t really sure, that he kept meaning to discuss it with Lukas. Michael told him that they would be returning for another training session the following week before their match on the weekend, which would be taking place here in Munich. He told Bastian that he wanted him there for that practice, even if he wasn’t going to be playing in the game. He also told him that he wanted him to bring Lukas along. Even if he wasn’t ready to start training again yet, he wanted Lukas to still be around. He and Loew had spoken and they were both concerned about how long it would take Lukas to return to action, that they didn’t want him to fall too out of touch with the team. Even if he would just be around to socialize, they both thought it would be a good idea for him to be there. Bastian agreed and said he’d speak to Lukas about it.
Now they were at the door and Michael embraced Lukas again. “Keep working hard, you’ll be back with us soon. And don’t let the frustration get to you, Lukas. You can get through this.” He kissed him on the forehead and patted his cheek and Lukas looked up at him and said ‘thanks dad’ and Michael grinned.
Torsten stood in front of him now and shook his head in a warning manner. “Don’t even think about it.” They both knew what Lukas had been going to say, that he’d been going to make a comment referencing Torsten’s status as the team mother, as he had just made the joke with Michael. So Lukas heeded the advice and didn’t say anything, he just smiled and hugged Torsten, who held him tightly for a moment before letting him go and telling him that they’d be seeing him soon.
Then it was just he and Bastian again. Lukas fixed his best friend with an accusatory gaze and Bastian shrugged his shoulders in response. “What?”
Lukas grinned and shook his head slowly. “I don't forget, what y-you did.” Bastian laughed when he realized what Lukas was referring to. He slid his arm around him as they made their way into the living room. Bastian didn’t say anything; he just pulled Lukas down next to him. He knew Lukas wasn’t upset.
Finally Bastian looked at him, a grin on his face. “What can I say? Your lips were just there.” There was silence for a moment as they stared at each other, and then they both laughed.
It was Thursday evening and Bastian was, for some reason Lukas couldn't deduce, putting off making anything for supper. Lukas had been moaning for the past half hour that he was hungry and Bastian just kept telling him to quit whining. He could have gone and found something to eat on his own but the fact that Bastian wasn't making anything for himself had caught his interest. They both had large appetites and ate pretty much on schedule, so the fact that Bastian had put them off their schedule by half an hour and didn't appear to be rectifying the situation any time soon had Lukas curious.
The day had been quiet and relaxing for the pair. Lukas had spent the majority of the day doing some of the new work his therapists had set for him while Bastian had spent some time playing games on the Playstation against Lena's boyfriend Stefan, who had come over to see her but had ended up spending more of his time on Lukas' couch next to Bastian. But now it was nearing seven, the boys were alone, and Lukas was hungry.
Just as he was about to whine that he was wasting away and that Bastian ought to feed him, there was a knock at the door. Bastian got up quickly enough for Lukas to figure that he knew who was out there. Instead of getting up and following him, Lukas remained on the couch, listening for voices. When he heard the voices and registered who they belonged to, he stood up and slowly made his way to the door.
Filtering into his apartment now were a few of their team mates from the national squad, who had brought pizzas and drinks. Lukas stood by the wall and watched them all make their way in, the answer to his question about Bastian's schedule change answered. The first of the men to make their way over to him was, unsurprisingly, Michael Ballack. He hadn't seen Michael since that day in the hospital when he'd started to regain his memory. Michael had flown back to England that night. But now the team was back here for a training session for an upcoming Euro Cup qualifier. He didn't have much time to ponder Bastian’s scheming visit before Michael had seized him, hugging him tightly. He and Michael had always had a bit of a close relationship, as the older man had sort of taken Lukas under his wing when he'd first come to the national team, and had subsequently always kept an eye on him and made sure he was coping with the stress of everything involved.
Now Michael was just overjoyed to see Lukas home and doing better. He let him go and laid a hand on his cheek, looking at him with an expression that mingled pride and affection with relief. "You look well."
"God Micha, you'd think the kid had been dying or something." An arm elbowed Michael out of the way and there appeared Torsten Frings. He grinned as he looked Lukas over before pulling him forward for a hug. "How are you doing, brat? The pipes are starting to deflate a little." He squeezed Lukas' bicep, laughing when Lukas glared at him.
"Shut up." Just as Michael was always looking out for him, Torsten never went through a meeting without teasing him and a very popular topic for that teasing happened to be Lukas' biceps. Before he could say anything more, though, Torsten was pushed out of the way by David Odonkor. They hadn't seen each other since the day of the match, as Lukas had been sleeping the next day when David had stopped by before catching his flight back to Spain. David had been worried ever since about Lukas and now that he was seeing him in person, the relief was clearly visible on his face. He launched himself forward at his friend, his arms circling around him. Lukas returned the embrace.
The greetings continued for a few minutes, as everyone who showed up circled around him to say hello and hug him. All in all seven of them had shown up, with the remaining four being Philipp, Timo, Arne, and Manuel. Lukas was quite happy to see them, though being around them suddenly left him feeling a little sad that it would be a while before he was able to see them more frequently. But he was determined to enjoy the night while they were here. The pizzas were laid out on the kitchen counter and the drinks had been stashed in the fridge, and they discussed what they ought to do to pass the time.
It was Torsten who suggested poker. It had been a while since they'd played as a group and the idea went over well. As they got settled with their food and drinks around the dining table, to which three stools from the kitchen had been added, Bastian suddenly felt a spark of mischievousness. "Hey guys, I think we should play strip poker instead. Lukas needs to work on his dressing skills." Laughter erupted around the table at the suggestion, from everyone except Lukas. He stared at Bastian, looking just slightly stunned. The expression quickly turned to one of mild embarrassment and he glared at Bastian, who was sitting next to him. Bastian grinned and reached out a hand to pat his cheek. "Now it's nothing to get embarrassed about, Poldi! You have to work on these things whenever the opportunity presents itself."
Lukas pulled away from him and slumped back in his chair. "You are, an ass."
"Oh hey, did I tell you guys I made him button up my shirt the other day? It took him a few minutes but he got it done eventually." Bastian grinned as he shared another embarrassing comment, but this time Lukas was ready for him.
"I make him, remove my shoes off, when we come home." Now it was Bastian's turn to glare at Lukas.
The other guys laughed at the bickering, finding it quite amusing. Torsten especially seemed to find it enjoyable. "Man, you two sound like an old married couple. I think living together is affecting your brains." He grinned at Bastian from across the table, who glared at him.
Just then the doorbell rang and Bastian got up to answer it, glad for the opportunity to escape any further commentary and leaving the boys to start dealing out the cards for their game. It turned out to be Daniela, who had just returned from a study group with Lena and had decided to pay the boys a visit. Bastian told her that some of the guys from the team had stopped by for a few hours and that she ought to come in and join their poker game. She did just that, following Bastian in to the dining room. He brought in the extra stool for her while she greeted the guys. She hugged Lukas and David and said hello to the others, who were quite pleased to see her. She really liked their national team mates and enjoyed every opportunity she had to interact with them, which wasn't nearly as often as she liked.
She sat next to Lukas and said that they would team up and play together. Bastian protested, stating that he knew they were going to spend the whole game cheating if they played together. Daniela didn't argue, she just grinned and told him it was silly to want to be competitive against a woman and an invalid. The rest of the guys laughed while Bastian shook his head and picked up his cards.
The game started and it appeared that Bastian had indeed been correct. Lukas and Daniela had roped David into their cheating ring, passing cards back and forth under the table. Suddenly at one point Lukas looked at Daniela and broke his silence, looking just a little devious. He was still a little nervous about speaking too much at the moment, certain that his nerves would jumble up his words. But he just couldn't resist the opportunity to tease his best friend. "We had dinner, w-with Lena and, Anna."
Bastian looked up at him, shaking his head. "Don't you dare."
Lukas didn't acknowledge Bastian's warning, he kept talking. "They told interes-ting things, about Basti."
"Lukas!" It was clear that Bastian did not want Lukas to tell this story, but now everyone's attention had been drawn and he knew there was no way he'd be able to stop him.
"Elevators did not work, but, had to go to shopping. Basti carried me, down stairs." At this comment most of the guys were chuckling, trying to keep the laughter down so as not to interrupt the story. "When Lena heard, she say 'Dani was, right, he is a machine'." The guys all burst into loud laughter at that point, while Bastian glared anew at Lukas.
Daniela tried her best to look innocent. "I have no idea where she got that from; I swear I've never told her that you're a machine." Daniela managed to keep a straight face as she stared down her boyfriend.
"What about, enormous? You tell that he is enor-mous?" Lukas was also managing to keep a pretty straight face, thoroughly enjoying teasing Bastian in front of everyone. He was surprised to find that he wasn't even too worried about speaking in front of everyone else either. He supposed that was an especially good sign of his progress.
Daniela bit her lip at the question, barely able to suppress the laughter. "Did she really say that?" When Lukas nodded she finally couldn't hold it any longer, burying her face in her hands and laughing. Lukas looked at Bastian, a very smug expression on his face.
"If you weren't so helpless right now, I would totally punch you." Bastian leaned over and instead of punching Lukas, he pinched his cheek.
Lukas swatted at Bastian's hand. "Stop with pinching! It hurts." In response to the request, Bastian just pinched him again. "Schweini! Stop!"
The rest of the guys were still laughing at their display and Torsten took the opportunity to lean close to Michael and whisper in his ear. "I swear, out of the whole world we definitely have the cutest kids." Michael met his gaze and grinned, quite agreeing with the statement.
Daniela was grinning as she watched the display between the boys. "Don't worry Lukas; at least he isn't biting you. He quite likes to do that." There were some whistles at that comment, along with a yell of "Basti's a biter!" from Timo, who received a nasty glare from Bastian, whom he was sitting next to. Daniela feigned a look of regret as she dramatically clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh golly, did I say that out loud? Bastian I am so sorry!"
Just as Bastian was about to retort Lukas butted in. "He did bite me, on my nose, already." There were jeers anew from the others at the revelation and Bastian had given up trying to look angry. He just sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.
Philipp looked at him and mustered a look of sympathy. “It’s okay, Schweini. We know you love your prince. You don’t have to hide it, we understand.” Philipp very mockingly gave Bastian a thumbs up, mouthing ‘it’s okay’ while the rest of the table laughed at the commentary. Just as Bastian was about to make a retort Daniela butted in.
“Yeah actually Basti doesn’t just take Lukas’ shoes off every time they go out; he has to kiss his feet too. You know, pay his dues to the royalty. Prince Poldi and his pauper.” Daniela grinned at Bastian, who scrunched his face up in annoyance as he looked at her.
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“The winning side.” Daniela nodded her head and blew him a kiss.
Lukas, who was stuck in between the couple, simply kept quiet but was sporting quite the amused grin on his face. One of the things he’d always liked about Daniela had been her ability to adapt to any company who was around, pulling out different aspects of her personality in order to interact well. The fact that the guys on the team were constantly teasing each other made it extremely easy for her to fit in. Out of everyone’s girlfriends and wives Lukas had met in his football career, Daniela had always been his favourite.
Michael, who was watching in amusement from across the table as the couple bickered, looked at Bastian with amused sympathy. “That’s rough, Schweini, not even your girlfriend’s on your side.”
Bastian waved off the comment. “Bah, who needs her? I have a new girlfriend now anyway.” Before anyone could say anything, he grabbed Lukas’ face and pulled him forward, kissing him full on the lips. Everyone was shocked into silence, but the moment Bastian let Lukas go the snickers around the table started.
Lukas stared at Bastian in shock. He had definitely not been expecting that. His shock wore off after a moment though and a look of annoyance spread across his face as he thought about what Bastian had said. New girlfriend. He’d have to pay for that one.
Bastian winked at Lukas before glancing over at Daniela, looking extremely smug, especially at their shocked expressions. Definitely worth it. He pointed at himself, and then held up a finger to indicate the number one. "I believe that makes it, Bastian: one, Lukas and Daniela: zero." He formed a zero with his right hand, shaking it back and forth for emphasis.
But Daniela was too quick for him tonight. She nodded her head slowly, and then started mimicking his hand movements. "Ah yes, that's a very interesting choice of hand movements, Bastian." She tilted her hand so she was shaking it up and down. She kept up the movement, making it slower and more pronounced as she looked at the guys. "You know, guys, Lukas here is still having trouble gripping things, so I suppose nurse Bastian has to help him out with that." There was no question as to what she was alluding to and the guys roared with laughter at the comment. Lukas leaned over and held his head in his hands, shaking with laughter, while Bastian stared at her in shock. It looked like Bastian had indeed just paid for the earlier comment.
Torsten stood up and leaned across the table, holding a hand out for Daniela, who stood up and slapped it. "That was beautiful, absolutely beautiful! Schweini your girlfriend is amazing." He sat back down, looking very impressed. Bastian glared at him.
Philipp was the only one not laughing and he looked at Lukas now, a serious expression on his face. "So Poldi, is there any truth to that?" He grinned as Lukas sat up straight again, glancing briefly at Bastian before turning back to glance across the table at Philipp.
He held his hands up in front of him and shook his head. "My lips sealed."
Torsten nudged Michael. "Well we know Schweini's aren't!" Everyone except Bastian was laughing hard at that comment.
Daniela pointed across the table at Torsten, looking very smug. "I love you so much right now for that comment." He returned the gesture and winked at her.
Bastian glared at Torsten before turning his gaze on his girlfriend. Before he had a chance to say anything though she leaned on the table in front of Lukas and pointed her finger at Bastian. "Oh that's right, you lose! Again!" Bastian grabbed her finger and bit it, and she squealed and pulled it away.
"Hey, if you're hungry that's what the pizza's for. I don't think accounts of cannibalism would be good for the team." Michael kicked Bastian's leg under the table, as they were sitting directly across from each other. Bastian cried out at the contact, glaring at everyone and telling them to stop harassing him.
Everyone kept laughing at him though, except for one person. Arne Friedrich sat at one end of the table, between David and Manuel. He actually looked a little annoyed. "Okay guys, leave Schweini alone, he's endured enough already."
Everyone looked at Arne, confused as to why he was suddenly sticking up for Bastian. There was constant teasing happening all the time and no one ever bothered calling for an end to it because they all knew it was done in good fun. But for some reason tonight, Arne didn't seem to be enjoying it so much.
With the sudden silence hanging around them, Arne looked down the table at Bastian, a look of slight concern on his face. "So Bastian, I know this woman who owns this really great costume shop. She just got in a line of nurses outfits, so uh, let me know if you want me to pick one up for you." It took a moment for the comment to register with everyone and once it did laughter erupted around the table again.
Torsten looked down at Arne and shook his head. "You had me worried there for a second, Arne. But nice follow through." Arne met Torsten's gaze and grinned.
Bastian looked around the table at everyone, a glare seeming to be permanently affixed to his face at the moment. "I hate you all."
Lukas suddenly looked over at Arne. "Hey, forgot to mention. My OT gave m-most cool, present ever, last week." Things quieted down again as everyone looked at Lukas. Arne suddenly got a look of comprehension on his face and knew it was now his turn. "Your cook book."
Lukas and Bastian weren't the only two who hadn't heard of the book, as everyone except for Manuel stared at Arne in shock, before starting to laugh. David especially was keen to see it. Daniela got up from her seat and ran out to the kitchen, grabbing the book and bringing it back in. The boys had shown it to her when she'd been over two days ago so she knew where they kept it. She brought it back and laid it down in front of David, who looked at the front cover and laughed. "That's weak, Arne."
Arne shot a glare at David, but was smiling by the time everyone had passed the book around and was taking the jabs good naturedly. Manuel put an arm around his shoulders. "I told him not to do it, but he just wouldn't listen."
"Wait, you knew he was doing it before it even printed? Why didn't you tell us? We could have given it a proper release party." Torsten looked enquiringly at Manuel, who grinned and shrugged.
"I felt bad and wanted him to have a little time to reflect on it before telling anyone. Prepare for the teasing and harassment." He looked at Arne and grinned. Arne shoved his arm away and attempted to look annoyed with him, but it didn’t last as Manuel put his arm back around Arne’s shoulders and patted his cheek.
Their for-the-moment forgotten game of poker was resumed after the excitement died down, and after a few hands, Torsten was sitting at the top. He and Timo had just been involved in a drawn out hand, both of them continually upping everyone who went in. Eventually it had been down to the two of them and Torsten had been continually insulting Timo, trying to get him to back down. He’d brought up the game between Stuttgart and Bremen that had occurred last week, in which Bremen had blasted the other side 4-0. The main problem had been in Stuttgart’s defense, more so than with Timo’s goalkeeping. But Torsten liked to needle and he was distorting the facts now just to harass Timo.
"You guys should have seen this one, he was totally off form. I almost couldn't play because I was so distracted by how bad he was doing." Torsten grinned as he looked at Timo, who looked about ready to jump over the table at him and throw a punch.
"Would you shut up already? I swear, a guy has issues with his defense and he's thrown to the wolves." Timo knew why Torsten was teasing him and didn’t take any of it seriously. It was all for fun and right now he was on the receiving end. It never stuck on one person for too long, though.
"Yeah, the wolves called Werder Bremen who sucked you dry and tossed out your bones." Torsten laughed as Timo shook a fist at him.
"Hey, leave him alone, Frings. You know he's under a lot of pressure. Timo'll come through, he's spectacular." Philipp butted in, sticking up for Timo. It was a usual occurrence, for the guys to team up against each other in their silly little arguments. Usually when you butted in, though, you became the new target.
Torsten smiled at the pair. "Aw, that's cute. You've got Shorty as your guard dog. The little raging chihuahua." Torsten needled at Philipp, who just looked smug and nodded his head, apparently having butted in because he’d found the perfect way to shut Torsten up.
"Yeah, laugh it up, Princess Chuckles." The guys all burst into laughter at the name, except for Torsten, who looked at Philipp with a combination of shock and unease.
"What did you call me?"
Philipp grinned. "You heard me." He knew he'd gotten the better of Torsten tonight; there was no way to recover from that.
Torsten sat back in his chair and shook his head. "No. I draw the line! I put up with mom; I let that slide and didn't complain." There was an outcry of negation to that comment, punctuated with a line from Bastian about how tirelessly he’d bitched about it every day. Torsten ignored them and continued. "But Princess is not happening. I draw the line there! Micha don't laugh, that's not funny!" He looked beside him at Michael, who had his fist stuffed to his mouth, trying to suppress it.
Michael looked at him and shook his head. "Not laughing."
Bastian nudged Michael's leg under the table. "Just choking, right?" Michael nodded in agreement and Bastian went in for the kill. "No doubt on a lock of Frings' curly princess hair!" At that comment Michael couldn't hold it in and doubled over, banging his fists on the table as he laughed, which caused everyone else to laugh even harder.
Torsten looked across at Bastian, who smiled smugly at him. "Payback’s a bitch.” Both Timo and Philipp slapped Bastian on the shoulder, all earlier teasing done against each other forgotten in the face of a new allegiance.
Torsten just sat back in his chair and took it with a smile on his face. He’d definitely had it coming, after all. It had figured that it was Philipp, the quiet one, who’d managed to cut him down. Philipp was never one to make a lot of comments, but the ones he did make were always perfectly on target.
Michael had managed to calm himself down a little and was leaning on his arms that were crossed on the table in front of him. He looked beside him at Torsten, a huge smile on his face. “Princess. That’s sticking.” The comment immediately sent Torsten into a whole new slew of complaints, and was ended when Michael laid a hand on his knee and asked him if he’d prefer being the queen. Torsten didn’t say anything in response; he just stared at Michael and shook his head. Michael grinned and squeezed his leg.
The game continued on for a while until eventually everyone got side tracked talking about the upcoming schedule for the squad, their opponents and other group leaders. Daniela had migrated to Bastian’s lap as he had forgiven her earlier barrage of teasing and now held his arms around her while he talked football.
David and Lukas had decided to leave the room for a bit to chat with each other and were now standing out on the balcony. It was a clear night and stars were visible and there was just a ghost of a chill in the air. They stood next to each other and leaned on the railing. David looked at Lukas and smiled. "It's so good to see you, leaving to go back to Spain with you still passed out in the hospital was rough."
Lukas looked at him and smiled. "How is Spain? Treat you good?"
David shrugged. "I like it. Country's gorgeous, the team's fun, I get along with everyone. Still don't know much Spanish but my English is better." They both laughed. "It's hard, though, being so much farther away. It sucked enough being here but in different cities, but being in a different country is rough. I feel pretty disconnected sometimes, you know? I miss being here."
Lukas nodded and leaned against him. "Don't know, how y-you do it, you and M-michael, and Jens. Don't know if I, ever leave Germany, to play. Experience good, don't know, if I handle it good. Playing here stress m-me enough." He laughed at the comment, because it was true. He always denied the stress, denied the nerves and told everyone he was happy and content with where he was. But it was harder on him then he let on. Bastian knew it, and Michael knew it, and now he was admitting it to David.
"I think you'd be fine if you ever went away, Lukas. It's tough at first but you could handle it. You should give yourself more credit." He grinned when he saw the little smile that formed on Lukas' face.
"Thanks. Appreciate that." And he really did. He was harder on himself than he should be and it always helped to hear positive comments from the people he cared about.
There was silence for a moment before David asked his next question. "So, what's it like having him around all the time?"
Lukas thought about the question for a moment before answering. What was it like with Bastian there constantly? “Great, really. Lucky he okay, to move in. Don't know, how I be, if he not come." That much was true. Lukas could barely count the number of times that Bastian had managed to keep him from freaking out during the past week. If it had been anyone else here with him, things would have been a lot harder.
"So it hasn't placed a strain on your friendship at all?" David was impressed. Not that he'd expected something like this to break apart the friendship, but it was an awkward situation that not everyone could handle.
Lukas smiled and shook his head. "No, more close. Things I go through, only he know about. He stay around and help me. I think, I would be wrecked with him not here, David." Lukas looked at David, sincerity plastered across his face.
David nodded and smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. It's hard being so far away, but knowing that he's here with you, helping you, it makes it easier. You're in good hands, Lukas." The boys continued to chat for a while, with Lukas telling David about everything he was doing, all the therapy he had to do, what his doctors were like, what life was like for him now. David was happy to hear all of it. Even though it still worried him a little to see Lukas struggling, it helped to know exactly what things were currently like for him.
They went back inside soon after, where the discussion was still centered on sports. It was starting to get late though and as the guys had an early start to their day tomorrow, they decided to head back for their hotel. Daniela was also leaving as she had an early class tomorrow. Philipp and Timo offered to walk her home, as she didn’t live far from Philipp.
Another fifteen minutes were spent on goodbyes and hopes that the boys would be re-joining them soon. While Lukas had been outside with David, Michael had taken the opportunity to pull Bastian aside and inquire about when he would be returning to national duty. He told Michael he wasn’t really sure, that he kept meaning to discuss it with Lukas. Michael told him that they would be returning for another training session the following week before their match on the weekend, which would be taking place here in Munich. He told Bastian that he wanted him there for that practice, even if he wasn’t going to be playing in the game. He also told him that he wanted him to bring Lukas along. Even if he wasn’t ready to start training again yet, he wanted Lukas to still be around. He and Loew had spoken and they were both concerned about how long it would take Lukas to return to action, that they didn’t want him to fall too out of touch with the team. Even if he would just be around to socialize, they both thought it would be a good idea for him to be there. Bastian agreed and said he’d speak to Lukas about it.
Now they were at the door and Michael embraced Lukas again. “Keep working hard, you’ll be back with us soon. And don’t let the frustration get to you, Lukas. You can get through this.” He kissed him on the forehead and patted his cheek and Lukas looked up at him and said ‘thanks dad’ and Michael grinned.
Torsten stood in front of him now and shook his head in a warning manner. “Don’t even think about it.” They both knew what Lukas had been going to say, that he’d been going to make a comment referencing Torsten’s status as the team mother, as he had just made the joke with Michael. So Lukas heeded the advice and didn’t say anything, he just smiled and hugged Torsten, who held him tightly for a moment before letting him go and telling him that they’d be seeing him soon.
Then it was just he and Bastian again. Lukas fixed his best friend with an accusatory gaze and Bastian shrugged his shoulders in response. “What?”
Lukas grinned and shook his head slowly. “I don't forget, what y-you did.” Bastian laughed when he realized what Lukas was referring to. He slid his arm around him as they made their way into the living room. Bastian didn’t say anything; he just pulled Lukas down next to him. He knew Lukas wasn’t upset.
Finally Bastian looked at him, a grin on his face. “What can I say? Your lips were just there.” There was silence for a moment as they stared at each other, and then they both laughed.