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Chapter 34 - Banana milshakes, magic tricks, and Bild headlines, oh my!
The following morning had been somewhat of an amusing one for Lukas. It hadn’t taken long for Bastian to pass out the night before and Lukas had had to elbow him twice because he’d started snoring. He’d been about to give up and leave Bastian alone in his bed but finally on the second time, the Bavarian appeared to remember to remain on his stomach and not roll over onto his back again. Even with the hassle, Lukas had gotten a good night’s sleep and hadn’t encountered any problems getting up in the morning. But he’d been in three times already to shake Bastian awake and if the other didn’t get out of bed this time, Lukas was planning on drastic measures.
Luckily, for Bastian, he did finally sit up and put his feet on the floor, peering blearily at Lukas with squinted eyes. “Fuck, I have a feeling today is going to suck.” He looked slowly around the room; the light peeking in from behind the curtain was most definitely not a welcome sight. “Did I really drink that much last night?” He looked up at Lukas, who was standing in front of him, looking smug. “Why did you let me drink that much last night?”
Lukas just grinned and patted Bastian on the head. “Come on, the sooner you’re up the sooner you’ll feel better. I fixed something for you anyway, it should help. You have to come out to the kitchen though.” With that said Lukas walked out of the bedroom, pausing at the door to look back at Bastian, who was still sitting up in the bed. “And you wonder why I don’t drink.” He winked at Bastian and left the room.
With a loud groan, part frustration that he’d been stupid enough to drink so much and part from the pain and nauseated feeling he had, Bastian got up from the bed and padded his way out to the kitchen. He didn’t remember all that much after they’d gotten home the night before, only that he’d fallen asleep while cuddled up to Lukas’ back. He hoped he hadn’t been too much of a hassle for him the night before, but then Lukas was used to looking after him when he was drunk, so Bastian was certain it couldn’t have been too bad.
When he finally made it out to the kitchen Lukas pushed him down onto one of the stools, handing him a glass with some liquid that was light yellow in colour. Bastian just stared at it for a moment, not recognizing it. He lowered his head down to it, sniffing the contents. Banana. He looked up at Lukas with a curious expression on his face. “What is this?”
Lukas just smiled and patted him on the head again. “It’s just a banana milkshake, with some honey. Tina used to make me fix these for her back in Cologne when she had a hangover. She said they always worked wonders.”
Bastian looked at him cautiously. He’d never heard of banana milkshakes for hangovers, but at the moment he didn’t have any other options. Holding the glass in both hands he brought it up to his lips, gulping some of it down before laying the glass back on the counter. “Not bad. Did you make me something to eat too? Not that I’m sure that I can actually eat.”
“There’re some eggs, sausage, and potatoes if you feel like any of that. Want me to bring it over and see if you don’t throw up at the sight of it?” Lukas grinned and laid his hand on the back of Bastian’s neck, rubbing it gently.
Bastian nodded and emitted a low moan of pleasure at Lukas’ hand. It was very warm on his now just slightly cold body. He really should have pulled on a shirt before leaving the bedroom.
Lukas slipped back into the kitchen, grabbing the plate he’d already made up for Bastian and bringing it over to him. He laid it on the counter in front of him, next to the still half-full glass. He stood behind Bastian, close enough that the Bavarian could lean back against him, and brought his hands up to rest on the top of his head, gently massaging Bastian’s scalp.
Another moan from Bastian indicated his renewed pleasure from the contact. He closed his eyes and leaned back against Lukas, content to stay right here for the morning. So what if he missed training? He could always call in sick. He was sure the others would cover for him, unless they decided to do the same.
“Finish your drink and try to eat; I can’t have you falling asleep on me out here.” Lukas was amused at how well Bastian was responding to the scalp massage. That was just another trick he’d been taught by his sister, who’d demanded he always give her one when she was hung over to get rid of the headache. He’d only done it so he could hold it over her head later on.
“Mm, yeah. Just keep doing what you’re doing.” Bastian grinned, reaching out for the glass without opening his eyes. Hopefully he wouldn’t knock it over. When his fingers brushed it he pulled it into his grasp, closing one hand around it and bringing it up to his mouth. He drank half of what was left in it before laying it back on the counter. He pulled the plate of food forward, glancing at it with wary eyes, unsure if it was safe to attempt eating yet. “Poldi, I’m cold.” Surprisingly to Bastian, a few minutes worth of massaging the scalp had actually made his headache all but dissipate to a very light pulse; he was certain it would be gone by the time he got to the training grounds. It might even disappear completely now if he warmed up a bit.
“So? What do you want me to do about it?” Lukas grinned, continuing to rub his fingers over Bastian’s head.
Bastian hesitantly picked up a chunk of potato, hoping it would go down well. “Warm me up, damn it.”
Lukas laughed at the response. “See, that’s another bad thing about drinking. You get cold more easily when you’re hung over.” Lukas let his hands slide down from Bastian’s head, running down his neck and across his shoulders. He leaned forward, draping himself across Bastian’s back and locking his arms around his front. He could have been an asshole and gone to get Bastian a sweater, but Lukas knew well enough that this was what Bastian had actually been hinting at. If there wasn’t any training this morning, Lukas might have been more tempted to not give in to Bastian’s demands so quickly.
As soon as Lukas enveloped him in his warm embrace, Bastian smiled and settled back against him, feeling quite content at the moment. This was exactly what he’d wanted; not only was he warming up, but the morning embrace was very much enjoyable on every other level too. It was just that bit of closeness that he wanted; the touching that was sure to get him through the morning until he could come back and spend some proper time plastered to Lukas. For some reason he was always extremely clingy after a night of drinking, just wanting to lay down with the person he loved and relax. But today he’d have to wait until after he came back from training.
Lukas grinned as he felt Bastian’s body relax underneath him, the tension that had been present in his shoulders and back all but seeping away. It was nice to know that he had that kind of effect. “Eat, Schweini. You need your energy.” He picked up one of the sausages on the plate, bringing it up to Bastian’s mouth and pressing it to his lips.
Bastian laughed and opened his mouth at the offered bit of food, the earlier feelings of queasiness having dissipated as well. He’d feel better after eating for sure. “So is this payback for every time I shoved food in your face before you could feed yourself?” Bastian couldn’t help but be reminded of that just now; it was funny how the tables had turned.
Lukas hadn’t thought about that until Bastian had mentioned it and now that he had, he did find it quite amusing. “It’s annoying, isn’t it?” He prodded Bastian’s cheek with the remaining piece of meat, laughing as Bastian tried to snatch it away.
“Stop that! It wasn’t annoying before but it is now.” Bastian waved his hand near his face, trying to snatch the food from Lukas’ fingers.
Lukas was finding the situation a little too entertaining though at the moment and wasn’t about to relent. “Now that you reminded me how annoying the poking was, I am not stopping. As long as there’s food on your plate, I’m smooshing it into your face. So you better eat up.” As if to deliver on his promise, Lukas picked up a potato wedge and pushed it against Bastian’s nose.
“I can’t eat if you’re shoving food into my face! Stop it!” Bastian ducked away from Lukas, sliding off the stool and standing up. Without thinking he grabbed another sausage off the plate, waving it in front of Lukas. “Ha! Now I’m armed too!”
Lukas looked between the two pieces of meat, frowning. “That’s not fair though, yours is bigger!”
Bastian was grinning before Lukas had even made the comment, as though he’d known what was coming. “Well I’m afraid you’re just going to have to work with what God gave you.”
Lukas glared at Bastian after the comment, but the glare very quickly dissolved into a grin. “That’s not what I meant!”
Bastian was barely able to keep from laughing before making his next comment. “After all, it’s not the size that counts; it’s what you do with it! And if you stick with me, I’ll teach you all kinds of wonderful things to do with it!” Bastian winked at him before laughter finally forced its way out of him.
Lukas tried to look annoyed but was having a hard time not laughing too. “Fuck you, Schweini!” He lunged at Bastian, grabbing him from behind and planting his arm firmly around the Bavarian’s midsection so he couldn’t get away. Then he proceeded to shove the rest of the sausage he was holding into Bastian’s mouth. “Eat it!”
Bastian was still laughing when Lukas started shoving the piece of meat in his mouth, but he did try to calm down enough in order to try and chew it. Unfortunately for him though, there was quite a bit of it and the moment he looked down at Lukas’ arm the laughter started up again. He couldn’t laugh and chew at the same time and only seconds after he’d been forced to try, he started choking. It wasn’t anything serious but Lukas let him go and Bastian leaned onto the counter, coughing out the bits of meat, unable to even attempt to swallow them.
Lukas was laughing the whole time, highly amused at the scene. “You’re choking on my wiener.” He couldn’t resist making the joke; it was such perfect timing really.
Bastian spit out the last of the sausage just in time, otherwise that comment from Lukas would have had him choking all over again. He leaned even further forward over the counter, laughing at the stupid joke. He turned his head to the side, looking at Lukas and shaking his head. “I can’t believe you just said that! Fuck, you’re such a kid sometimes.” He grinned and straightened back up.
Lukas sent him a glare at the comment, before pouncing on him again and pinching him hard in the arm. “You started it! I just finished it.”
Bastian grinned when Lukas bounded over to him, before yelping in pain when he got pinched. “Ow! That was uncalled for!”
Lukas pinched him again, before wrapping his arms around him from behind. “You should really finish eating you know, then go and take a shower. You don’t want to be late for training!” He wasn’t about to let Bastian try and win this little battle.
Bastian grinned amidst the little flare of pain from the pinch. One thing was now certain, his hang over was pretty much gone. When Lukas mentioned the shower, Bastian had been tempted to ask him if he’d be joining him, but luckily he caught himself before slipping the request out. So instead he just leaned back against Lukas and took a bite of the sausage that he still held in his hand, chewing and swallowing before speaking. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right, for once.” He grinned and turned around, sliding his free hand up behind Lukas’ head, pushing it forward until their lips met. He slid his tongue out again, testing the waters on a new day. There still wasn’t any negative reaction from Lukas, which he took as a good sign. Maybe things would end up going quicker than he thought?
When they parted from the kiss Lukas pushed him back toward his stool. “Alright, now sit and finish. You might feel better right now, but unless you eat more you’ll probably feel like crap later. And make sure you drink lots of water this morning! If you’re running around dehydrated, your headache will come back.”
Bastian grinned and took another bite out of the sausage. “Yes, mom.” He set to work on finishing the remaining food on the plate and the rest of his drink. He didn’t take long to finish and left the dishes on the counter while he made his way back to the bedroom to use the shower in the master bathroom. He took a quick shower and when he came out the first thing he saw was Lukas standing by the sink, shaving. Bastian simply stood there for a moment, the reality of the situation hitting. It was only something as simple as them sharing a bathroom, but it felt like something much more at the moment.
He grabbed a towel and dried himself off a little before wrapping it around his waist and stepping out onto the tiled floor. He walked up behind Lukas, standing behind him and watching him in the mirror until Lukas fixed his gaze on his reflection.
“Can I help you?”
Bastian grinned and was tempted to respond, but instead he just shook his head and walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom. He finished drying off and started getting dressed, debating over which top to wear when Lukas emerged out of the bathroom.
“Wear the white one.”
Bastian looked back over his shoulder at Lukas as a grin settled over his lips. “So nice of you to take an interest in what I’m wearing.” He winked at Lukas before tossing the grey sweater back down on top of his bag, the white one clutched in his hands.
Lukas huffed and rolled his eyes. “I just don’t want you to be late.” He watched as Bastian pulled the sweater over his chest. “You take way too much time picking out your clothes, you know.”
Now it was Bastian’s turn to huff back at Lukas. “You know, sometimes you could stand to put a little bit more thought into what you wear.”
“We are not having this conversation right now; we both need to go.” Lukas immediately cut him off, knowing that once Bastian got started on his inconsistent sense of style, he wouldn’t shut up. Lukas usually found it amusing but right now they were running the risk of being late. “Come on, hurry up.” He left the bedroom, pausing momentarily to look back at Bastian. Once the Bavarian started following, Lukas walked back out toward the door, leaning down to put his shoes on.
Bastian had a grin on his face as he came up behind Lukas, leaning over him and sliding his arms around him. “Thanks for this morning, by the way. That was very thoughtful of you.” He kissed Lukas on the neck before stepping aside to put his own shoes on.
Lukas smiled at the comment as he straightened up, leaning against the wall and watching Bastian put his sneakers on. “You’re welcome. Don’t get used to it though; I just don’t want you to be suffering this morning.”
Bastian grinned at the response and finished tying up his shoes before straightening up. “Well next time you should remind me earlier on in the night to not drink so much.” He grabbed his keys off the hook on the wall, leaning against the door. “Make sure you get some good news today, okay?” The expression on his face was just a bit more serious now; there was no mistaking what he was talking about.
Lukas nodded and smiled, hopeful that he’d be getting that good news when he met with Greg at the clinic. “Only time will tell. And speaking of time…” Lukas grabbed his own set of keys and moved toward the door, reaching for the handle only to be stopped by Bastian.
“In a minute.” Bastian took hold of Lukas’ hand, holding it tightly while he slid his other arm around his back, pulling Lukas against him. He could see Lukas shake his head, roll his eyes, and smirk, unable to help but grin at the gestures. He pressed his lips to Lukas’, kissing him one more time before they left for the morning. He actually found the slightly annoyed gestures to be a good sign. Obviously the more he kept kissing Lukas, the more used to it the younger man was getting, the more comfortable with it he was. It was becoming more of a normal thing for them. Bastian wasn’t sure how long it would take for things to keep progressing, but for now he was happy enough that things were going along this smoothly.
When Bastian finished kissing him Lukas resumed shaking his head. “You’re hopeless this morning.” He squeezed Bastian’s hand back before finally reaching for the handle and opening the door. “Save that for later, alright? You especially really can’t afford to be late this morning. And pay attention when you’re driving. I shouldn’t even let you drive, really.” Lukas continued to ramble on in the same manner, while Bastian tried not to laugh at him. When they reached the elevators and Lukas finally stopped his little lecture, Bastian grinned and reached out to pat his cheek.
“Hey, thanks for caring. But I’ll be fine.” They entered the elevator and continued teasing each other all the way out to their respective cars, where they bid each other goodbye and good luck with their respective mornings. Lukas slid behind the wheel of his silver Audi, pulling out of the parking lot and heading for the clinic. He was excited about his meeting this morning, but also nervous. There was always the possibility that Greg wouldn’t consider him ready yet to move on with his training. At the present time he was still only cleared to be doing very low-impact exercises, mostly all done in the water. He wanted to start running again, he missed it. He’d hated running when he was younger but over the years it had become a relaxing way to waste some time.
But one of the things he was really looking forward to getting back to was his weight training. He hadn’t always been into lifting weights but ever since he’d met David while playing on the national under-21 squad, he’d started joining his friend in the strength-building exercises. Just like running, lifting weights had become something Lukas had started doing to relax and take his mind off of everything else. When you had heavy weights held up over your head there wasn’t much room in there to think about your problems.
And while he was also anxious to start training for football again, he was still really nervous about it. Though he knew it was stupid to fear that he was going to find that he’d forgotten what to do with a ball, he couldn’t help but worry at times that his fears would come to light. The sooner he was cleared to find out, the better. He arrived at the clinic a bit earlier than he’d anticipated; given the later time he’d left. He parked his car and walked into the building, making his way up to the reception desk, chatting quite comfortably with the girls there now. It was odd to think that only a month and a half ago he’d stood here, all but ignoring the girls and letting Bastian handle everything. He’d barely been walking and he’d still been quite on the incomprehensible side when it had come to talking. He didn’t really like to think about what things had been like then; he preferred not to remember it. But sometimes he was reminded just how far he’d come in such a short period of time and it amazed him. There were times when he’d really worried that he’d never get better, that he’d been certain he’d never get back to a normal life again.
Not that his life was completely normal now given recent events, but it was normal enough in all other areas. While he was chatting with the girls he felt a hand on his arm only seconds before a voice interrupted their conversation. “Lukas, I just wanted to say hello before I get too busy with some of my clients today, in case I don’t have a chance to see you later.” It was Albin Heus, the man he’d seen for his speech therapy back at the beginning. He hadn’t seen him around on the last two visits so he took a minute now to chat with him. He would miss some of these people, he realized suddenly mid-conversation, when he was cleared to start training with the club’s physio team. Today might be his last day to ever see them.
Albin was soon on his way and while Lukas watched him walk off down one of the halls, his gaze fell on someone he was going to miss quite a bit. Standing just outside the door to her office, speaking to someone inside, was his occupational therapist, Katya Braun. She’d been his favourite of the therapists, and not only because she was an attractive young woman, though that certainly hadn’t had any negative effects. She had a very engaging personality, a way of drawing people in that had definitely worked on him when he’d been uncomfortable around the majority of people. She’d definitely done her part in helping him.
When he saw her turn to walk down the hall he then saw who had been in the office, recognizing the little boy immediately as Nicholas, the one he’d met on his very first visit. At the time he’d been extremely uncomfortable around the boy, he hadn’t felt like he’d deserved the adoration that had been obvious in the kid’s wide eyes. Lukas was happy that he was going to have another chance to really enjoy seeing him, a chance to say hi without feeling bad.
He said goodbye to the girls at the desk and started walking in Nicholas and Katya’s direction, waiting for the boy to look up and see him. A few more steps and finally he did, stopping suddenly when he realized who was standing at the end of the hall looking at him. Lukas waved at him and smiled when Nicholas looked up at Katya, probably asking her if it was really him. Katya nodded and motioned for him to continue on down the hallway before she looked down at Lukas and waved to him. Lukas grinned and leaned against the wall, waiting for them to come down to him. It was pretty impressive to see the improvement in Nicholas’ walking, which he was a little surprised he noticed. He’d been so nervous when he’d first met the boy, but now those images were coming back and he was definitely seeing some improvement in his ability. He was still using a walker, something he’d probably have for life, but he didn’t look like he was going to fall over at the slightest touch anymore.
When they finally reached him Lukas crouched down, reaching out to grab the boy just under the arms, his grip on him firm but not too strong. Nicholas immediately let go of his walker and laid his hands on Lukas’ arms, standing in front of him and just smiling. “Are you going to give me a hug or what?”
Nicholas smiled and nodded his head, taking the few steps to close the distance in between himself and his hero. This time when the boy wrapped his little arms around him, Lukas actually picked him up. Part of him felt like he owed it to the kid to do more than just give him a hug and be on his way.
Katya was more than pleased to see the different reaction from Lukas this time, the one that she suspected was more of the real him. “It’s a good thing you showed up, Lukas! We were just going over to show mom and dad something, weren’t we Nicholas?” Katya grabbed the red walker and pulled it along behind her, motioning for Lukas to follow her as she made her way over to the waiting area where Nicholas’ parents were. Lukas didn’t miss the shocked looks on their faces when they saw him holding their son.
“Nicholas has been learning some pretty cool stuff lately, haven’t you?” Katya looked back at Nicholas, who was currently plastered to the national hero. Nicholas didn’t say anything but he did nod just a little. Katya explained for Lukas’ benefit. “He’s been having special lessons lately with one of our visitors, who’s been teaching him magic tricks!” Katya turned around and waved her fingers at Nicholas, who laughed at her gesture. “We were going to show his parents one and since you’re here, Nicholas can show you too.”
Lukas grinned, shook his head, and didn’t miss Katya’s wink. She wasn’t giving him a choice in the matter, not that he needed one. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to make up for prior lack of enthusiasm on his part. “Wow, magic, that sounds really cool!” He still held Nicholas as he walked over to stand in front of the boy’s parents.
“Well, I suppose first I should just mention that yes, as you can now see, Nicholas wasn’t hallucinating that day when he told you he got to meet Poldi.” Katya grinned in the direction of the young couple who were still looking at Lukas with slightly dazed expressions. Katya introduced them by name and Lukas shook their hands and remarked that they had a very wonderful little boy, a comment that made Nicholas beam. He then kneeled on the floor by the table, where Katya mentioned that Nicholas ought to stand to show off his new trick.
Instead of getting up and sitting on one of the chairs Lukas remained on the floor next to Nicholas. Katya sat on the edge of the table and handed Nicholas a deck of cards, which he eagerly took in his hands. Lukas watched him, recognizing all too well that look of intense concentration as he struggled to control his body. It didn’t really seem all that fair that his recovery had taken so little time, while Nicholas would likely have trouble for the rest of his life. But when he finally managed to place the cards on the table in front of Lukas in a neat pile, the look of pride and accomplishment on his face made up for what had been there moments ago. That was the difference between them, after all. Lukas had never been able to take any sort of joy from regaining the ability to do simple things during his recovery, and here was Nicholas, looking like the happiest kid in the land because he’d managed to lay a pack of cards neatly on the table. It definitely touched Lukas’ heart.
“That was awesome, buddy!” Katya patted the boy on the head affectionately, always quick to praise effort. “Now tell him what he has to do; make sure you explain it clearly, with simple words.” She leaned in close to him, lowering her voice just a little although she was still more than loud enough for everyone to hear. “He is a footballer after all; you know they get confused easily.”
Lukas immediately glared at her and refuted the comment, while Nicholas and his parents laughed. Katya grinned and winked at him. “Oh I’m just teasing! Because it’s fun to tease people you like, right Nicholas? We tease each other all the time, don’t we?” Katya hugged the boy, who giggled at her comment.
Lukas smiled as he watched them, happy to see the little boy looking so elated. “I guess I’ll let it go for today, then, but only because I want to see Nicholas’ magic trick. So stop interrupting and let him do it.” Lukas was eager to see what the kid was going to do after all, as he seemed pretty excited about it.
Katya let Nicholas go and resumed her spot perched on the edge of the table. Nicholas turned to Lukas and pushed the deck of cards closer to him. Remembering how much trouble the boy had had speaking when he’d met him before, Lukas instinctively leaned a little closer to him, not wanting to have to chance asking Nicholas to repeat himself. Having to repeat his words when he’d been having trouble speaking had always caused him a bit of frustration after all and he didn’t want that for Nicholas.
The little boy had the concentrated look on his face again, making it obvious that he was trying his best to speak as clearly as possible. “M-make two p-piles cards. But, you have to p-put them, one in one pile, and, and one, in the other.” His explanation obviously in need of a bit of work, Lukas went ahead and picked up one card, giving Nicholas a chance to explain it properly now that he could simply direct Lukas. “Yeah, p-put the card here.” He grabbed Lukas’ hand and pulled it down to a spot on the table, letting go so Lukas could pick up another. Once the second card was in hand Nicholas took his hand again and pulled it to a different spot. “Then you j-just do, do it like that, again.”
Lukas nodded his understanding, picking up another card. “I see, you want me to put them in alternating piles?” He wondered if Katya had tried to teach him how to properly explain it with words, that maybe he’d forgotten what he was supposed to say.
“Yeah! That’s right. Right?” Nicholas looked at Katya, who nodded her head.
“Yes it is, that’s the word you were having trouble remembering before, remember?” Obviously, given the look that passed between child and therapist, they’d both found it pretty funny at the time. Katya glanced back at Lukas, who was separating the cards into piles. “I guess maybe he’s not that easily confused after all, is he?”
Nicholas grinned at her comment and shook his head. He then looked back at Lukas and watched him for a moment before suddenly grabbing his hand again when he went for another card. “Okay! You h-have enough c-cards. You don’t need, these ones.” Nicholas let go of Lukas’ hand in favour of pulling the remaining cards away to a different spot on the table. Lukas quickly glanced at Katya, trying not to laugh at Nicholas’ sudden gestures. “Okay, now you h-have to make, m-more piles. With those two, piles. The same way.”
Lukas nodded to Nicholas’ simple instructions, sorting out the cards again so that there were now four piles on the table. Once he was finished Lukas looked at Nicholas, waiting for his instruction.
Nicholas nodded his head and looked at the piles, almost looking like he was trying to remember and ensure he was doing everything properly. He glanced at Katya, who nodded her head as though understanding that he was seeking reassurance that he was doing everything correctly so far. “Okay now, you j-just have to, show the c-card on, each pile.” As Lukas reached out to flip over the first one, Nicholas suddenly leaned forward as though remembering something direly important. “B-but only the f-first one! Just the one on top. Yeah, like that. D-don’t touch, the other ones, on the b-bottom.” He continued to give instructions as Lukas slowly flipped over the top card on each pile. Four kings.
“Wow, look at that! Four kings, that’s pretty cool.” Lukas glanced briefly at Nicholas’ parents, who were watching their son with a lot of pride as he performed the trick.
“Y-yeah but, g-guess what b-beats four, f-four kings? D-do you know, what b-beats four kings?” Nicholas was obviously excited, his words getting just a bit more mumbled now. But Lukas understood him, finally seeing for himself what it must have been like for Bastian at first when the same thing had been happening to him. It took a bit of extra concentration, but it wasn’t really that hard to understand what was being said.
“What beats four kings? I think that would be four aces, right?” Lukas had figured out by now how the trick worked and it was awfully cute for a kid to do.
“Y-yeah! B-but, don’t t-touch the c-cards, yet!” Nicholas grabbed Lukas’ hand again and pulled it away from the nearest pile of cards. “I have t-to touch it n-now, be-because I h-have the magic h-hands. It, won’t w-work, if y-you d-do it.” Nicholas let go of Lukas’ hand and reached out for the cards, waving his hands back and forth over top of them. Lukas watched on with an amused smile on his face, waiting to react with surprise when Nicholas turned over four aces. After another few seconds spent waving his hands, Nicholas looked up at Lukas. “Okay! N-now watch! I j-just, d-did magic.” He reached out for the first pile, concentrating hard so he only picked up the very top card. Once he’d finally separated it enough from the other cards and managed to grasp the edge of it he flipped it over, revealing the first of four aces.
Once they were all showing Lukas didn’t waste any time in reacting. With wide eyes he leaned in close to Nicholas, doing his best to sound surprised too. “How did you do that? That was so cool!”
Nicholas smiled at the reaction, leaning against the table for support and turning to look at Lukas. He tilted his head to the side as he stared up at his hero, feeling extremely comfortable around him now. Lukas hoped his excitement today had been a cause in this sudden trust Nicholas was showing by being so open with him. “It’s m-magic! So I can’t, t-tell you.”
Lukas pouted and grabbed Nicholas around the waist, pulling him close. “Oh come on, you can tell me. Please?” Lukas continued to hug Nicholas and plead for him to explain his trick, and the little boy laughed and enjoyed all of the attention. After another minute Nicholas finally looked at Lukas with a serious expression on his face. He leaned in closer to him so he could whisper in Lukas’ ear.
“It’s n-not real, magic.” He sounded so serious, like he was almost upset to have to break it to Lukas that he wasn’t doing real magic. It was all Lukas could manage to do not to laugh. At that moment Katya intervened, saying that Nicholas’ parents probably had somewhere to be, and that Lukas was late for his appointment anyway. Lukas gave Nicholas one last hug before getting up, standing by Katya and watching as the family made their way toward the exit. Nicholas looked back once and waved at Lukas, a gesture he was only too happy to return.
Once they were gone Katya spoke, with a hint of suggestion in her voice. “You know, Lukas, you’re really good with kids.” She turned her head to look at him, her expression slightly devious.
Lukas returned her gaze. “Are you implying something?”
She grinned and shook her head. “No, I’m just saying that you’re good with kids.” She turned toward the hallway, grabbing Lukas’ arm and pulling him along with her as they made their way to Greg’s office. “You know, maybe you could come by sometimes, visit with them or something. I mean after all, you do kind of understand what some of them are going through, right?” She looked at him again, looking a little more serious now. “It would be good for them to get to spend some time with someone they look up to, who actually understands what it’s like for them. They don’t get much of that.”
Lukas shook his head and looked at her. “Are you trying to guilt me into volunteering with the kids, or something? Don’t deny it, Katya.”
She laughed a little before shaking her head. “Of course not! I would never do that to you.” She regained that deviousness again before making her next comment. “Why? Is it working?”
Lukas laughed at the question, actually thinking about it. Maybe he could actually do something akin to what she’d suggested. It had felt awfully good just before when he’d sat with Nicholas. To be able to see the happiness radiating from the boy just because he was there, that was something really special that he wouldn’t mind getting more of. Maybe he would think about it. “Possibly. I’ll think about it.”
Katya smiled at his response, very pleased with it. She hoped he’d consider arranging something for the kids, as she had seen first-hand with Nicholas what the outcome could be of only a few minutes worth of time. “Excellent. And you know, I have to admit it will be kind of sad to not see you around anymore.”
Lukas grinned at her comment, all too amused with her actions at the moment. “I thought you were only concerned about the kids, but now you’re trying to guilt me into visiting you too, aren’t you?”
“No! I was just saying that I’ve really enjoyed working with you. While it’s nice to see you doing better, well let’s just say that I’m used to working with people on a more long-term basis.” Katya was going to miss him, not only because she had been a fan of his before he’d come in, but after getting to know him she’d really grown to enjoy his presence. It had certainly made her job easier.
Lukas couldn’t help but smile as he listened to her. “Well, you do know where I live.”
“Are you suggesting I can feel free to drop by and visit any time I feel like it?” Katya glanced up at him with a grin on her face.
“Well, I would prefer it if you could call first. I’m sure you must have access to my phone number in your records.” He grinned back at her, wondering if he was making the right choice by inviting her into life outside of this. He had a feeling it would be fine though. She’d get along well with his other female friends after all; she and Daniela had met once and had chatted quite easily for a few minutes that day. So maybe they could manage to form a friendship outside of this now. He did enjoy her after all.
She didn’t reply to his last comment, she just smiled. Soon enough they were at Greg’s office, entering and sitting down. Even though Katya’s comments pretty much made it obvious that he was going to be getting his hoped for news right now, part of Lukas was still just a little nervous that he wouldn’t be.
Once they were seated Greg looked at Lukas, silent for just a moment before he spoke. “Well there’s no point in drawing this out any longer than necessary, so I’ll just get right to the point.” A smile settled over Greg’s lips as he paused just momentarily again. “Lukas, your progress has been excellent over the past few weeks. You’ve done everything I recommended, you’ve worked hard at it all, and the results are paying off right now. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be back at your club starting your training again. We are officially finished with you. Congratulations.”
Lukas didn’t say anything at first, letting the news sink in. Finally he was going to be able to get back to football. He was excited but still nervous at the same time. He just wanted it all to go well. He looked over at Greg, his lips pulling back into a smile now that the news has settled. He hadn’t expected Greg to just come out and tell him right away so he’d been a little caught off guard. That was all clearing now, though. “Thanks. I was kind of expecting you to draw it out more.”
The physiotherapist laughed at the comment. “No, I couldn’t do that to you. I know how much you’re looking forward to getting back into your schedule. Just don’t push yourself too hard, alright? It’ll take you a while to get back to where you were, so just take it slowly and build yourself back up properly. Alright?” There was seriousness in the older man’s eyes that caused Lukas to pause for a moment, before he finally responded that he wouldn’t rush his recovery. He doubted the physios at the club would let him, anyway.
The three of them spoke for a bit longer until it was time for Lukas to go. There was no sense in sitting around and taking up the therapists’ time if he didn’t need to see them anymore, after all. So with a quick hug and goodbye to Greg, Lukas left the man’s office, followed out to the door by Katya. Once they reached the exit they stopped and Lukas turned to face her.
“Well, unless I do give it some thought about coming back to visit the kids, I guess this might be the last time I see you here.” He winked at her.
She smiled. “Oh you know you’ll be back to visit. You loved it just earlier with Nicholas, you don’t want to forsake that for the rest of your life, now do you?”
He smiled as he thought about the little boy and how something as simple as watching him perform some dorky little card trick had made him so happy. She was right; he did want to experience more of that. These kids faced a lot of problems in their day-to-day life and the least he could do was drop by and pay some attention to them. It was a very fulfilling feeling. “Maybe I’ll bring some of the other guys with me too, who knows.” He winked at her again and she replied that it sounded like a wonderful idea. He looked at her with a bit of a more serious expression now. “Thanks for everything you’ve done; you helped a lot, not just with your job knowledge, but the way you treated me too.”
“And just how did I treat you that was so helpful?” Katya stood with her hands on her hips, a little grin pulling at the corner of her mouth.
Lukas just smiled. “Just like anyone else. You weren’t super professional all the time, which sometimes made me forget that you were just doing your job.”
Katya’s grin grew into a fully wide smile. “Well I’m happy to hear that. Working with you certainly didn’t feel like just doing my job, after all. And I’m glad that you appreciated my treatment! Sometimes I worried that I was being a little too unprofessional, but if it helped then I guess it was worth risking the job over.” She winked at him and he laughed at the comment.
“It definitely was.” There was silence for a moment, which he broke. “I guess I should be going then. I just wanted you to know that you really helped a lot. I know that you were just doing your job, but you were very good at it.”
“Well hey, on that note, thank you for getting injured in the first place!” She grinned before closing the distance between them and slipping her arms around him, hugging him. He hugged her back and they remained in their embrace for a few seconds before pulling apart. “Now don’t forget your invitation for me to visit! That better have been serious by the way, because I will be there.”
Lukas laughed and nodded. “I’ll call the police on you for stalking me.”
Katya frowned. “Bastard.”
Lukas laughed and laid a hand on the door. “Just make sure you call first, don’t forget! I get paranoid when someone knocks on my door and I’m not expecting them.” He winked at her before pushing the door open, turning back to wave goodbye before leaving the building. She stood inside and waved back, then watched him walk to his car for a few seconds before turning and heading off to her office.
Lukas walked out to his car feeling very happy at the moment. He’d received the news he’d wanted, he’d made a difference in a kid’s life, and he’d had a very enjoyable last visit at the clinic. Everything in life seemed to be looking up at the moment and he couldn’t be happier about it. He just wished it was later in the day now so Bastian could be finished training so they could celebrate the good news. Unfortunately he had a few hours to kill before he had his desired company, so he decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and go for a bit of a drive to waste some time.
Bastian was looking forward to the morning’s training session since he was feeling better. Now that he could look back on it, it had been awfully thoughtful of Lukas to do everything that he’d done this morning. It surprised him a little that he’d bothered to go so out of his way; usually Lukas did nothing but harass him when he woke up with a hang over, not bothering with sympathy at all. Lukas loved to tease him about suffering through hang overs as much as he loved to tease Lukas about not drinking. And now that he was here he couldn’t wait to see how Philipp and Michael were faring. It ought to make for an interesting morning, at least.
He opened the door to the locker room and entered, immediately pulling off his sweater and sitting down to take off his shoes. The moment he’d walked in, he’d noticed Pizarro staring at him, a faint grin on his face. Bastian didn’t think anything of it at the moment; the Peruvian sometimes just had that look without actually meaning anything by it. As he removed his shoes he saw Philipp sitting with his head in his hands. Apparently he hadn’t had anyone there to have the foresight to relieve his morning-after pain. Bastian grinned and looked for Michael, not seeing him anywhere. Perhaps he hadn’t arrived yet. Speaking of which, as Bastian looked next to him he noticed that Andreas hadn’t arrived yet either. He concluded that Andreas had probably made plans to pick up Michael, just in case.
Just as he went back to getting changed the door opened and in walked Andreas and Michael. The reserve keeper’s sunglasses said it all. Bastian grinned as Andreas sat down. “Well, congratulations for at least getting him here in one piece.”
Andreas smiled and watched Michael sit down. “It was rough. I tried to get him to drink some water last night when I got him home, but he just fell asleep instead. So now he’s in a bit of a rough state.” He looked back at Bastian then, cocking an eyebrow. “You, on the other hand, seem to be in pretty good shape. I take it Poldi was able to take better care of you?” He winked at him after making the comment.
Bastian grinned, wondering what they’d all say if they knew everything that had gone on this morning. “Well, not last night. I pretty much passed out too. But this morning he worked some magic. I’ve never heard of this before, but he made me a banana milkshake with honey in it. It actually worked, oddly enough. He said his sister always used to get him to make them for her. And now that I think about it, I don’t know why he’s never made me one before. That bastard has always made me suffer.”
Andreas laughed. “I guess you must have looked extra pathetic this morning or something.” He leaned down to take off his shoes.
Bastian shook his head at Andi’s comment and was just about to start getting changed again when he once more saw Pizarro staring at him. He stared back, shrugging his shoulders at the Peruvian. Pizarro just grinned back at him, glancing briefly around the room before speaking.
“And how are you this morning, Schweini?” There was an obvious trace of amusement in his voice and it immediately set Bastian on edge. Was he going to start in with that stupid nickname of his again? Or something even worse?
“I’m fine, thanks for asking.” Bastian was certain the striker was up to something.
Pizarro nodded his head. “I take it you haven’t seen the paper this morning then?” Only then did Bastian notice Pizarro with something in his lap. Which paper? His nerves were re-strung again, only now they were a bit more taught. Pizarro grinned devilishly and motioned for Bastian to come over to where he was sitting.
By this time everyone’s attention was focused on the pair, although it didn’t appear that anyone else knew what was going on. As Bastian approached him, Pizarro held up the paper in his hands. Bastian immediately recognized it as the tabloid paper, Bild. That set him even more on edge. Immediately he feared that somehow, someone must have found some way of outing their newfound relationship. It was with much trepidation, and barely stable hands, that he took the offered paper from the Peruvian. As his eyes scanned the page and he found what Pizarro was talking about, a wave of relief swept over him, but it was only momentary.
While it would have been a disaster if they’d somehow been outed by the paper, this particular article was going to cause enough of a shockwave as it was. He stood there, motionless and quiet for a moment, not willing to believe that this had happened. How could they have been so stupid last night? What had he been thinking?
Enough time had passed now and everyone was growing more curious about what was going on. Finally Bastian shook his head, still staring at the paper. “He is going to fucking murder me.”
Andreas immediately got up, walking over to where Bastian was standing, grabbing the paper out of his hands. As soon as he saw the article in question, he couldn’t help but grin. As bad as felt right now for Lukas, Bastian was in for a lot of harassing about this. He clapped a hand to Bastian’s shoulder, squeezing it tightly. “Well, it was nice knowing you. We’ll be sure to throw you a lovely funeral.”
By now the others were growing annoyed at not knowing what was going on and Mark leapt up to rectify the situation. “Give me that.” He pulled the paper away from Andreas, scanning the page until he found the article. He read it out loud for the rest of them to hear. “Prince Poldi: The Pure. A few of members of Bayern Munich’s squad met for dinner last night at a popular local establishment, where conversation was overheard by other patrons. The twenty-one year old national player, currently sidelined with an injury, was revealed by none other than his best buddy Schweini as still being a virgin.” Mark froze for a moment upon reading that, disbelief clearly written on his face. He immediately looked at Bastian, a grin starting to settle over his lips now. “Is that true or is this just pure bullshit?”
Bastian was too shocked and worried about Lukas’ reaction to bother even trying to pretend it wasn’t true at the moment. He just shook his head again and mumbled that Lukas was going to kill him.
Mark looked back down at the paper and continued reading the article. “A few weeks ago we published photos of the young football star with Schweini’s girlfriend, Daniela Aumeier, and the two looked quite cozy. Was this perhaps a set-up by Schweini, to offer his own girlfriend to his best friend? We’ll certainly be watching for more signs.” Mark shook his head again after he finished reading, still a little shocked to make any jokes about it.
Pizarro, having had some time to accept the potential truth in the story, glanced around the room at the shocked faces before looking back at Bastian. “I think we should run a contest on the website. Something like ‘Finding Princess Poldi’; I'm sure there are plenty of ladies across the country who would delight in teaching him about the pleasures of the flesh.”
Bastian looked at the Peruvian, not fully taking in what he’d just said. All he knew was that Lukas was going to be really pissed off when he found out. This was the last thing they needed right now. Everything had been going so well and now Lukas was going to have to deal with this. There was no way he was going to handle it well.
And now just as he feared, the locker room had erupted with the guys joking about the article and about Lukas, some of them following up on Pizarro’s contest idea. Roque Santa Cruz jokingly suggested that they turn it into a reality TV program, but only make it available to be viewed on the team’s internet channel. A few minutes of joking passed and Bastian was sitting down again, head in his hands, feeling horrible. What was going to happen when Lukas was cleared to resume training? He knew there was no way the guys would let this pass without making constant jokes and comments about it. No matter how strongly he’d protest they’d harass Lukas, because that’s what guys did with each other.
He felt a hand drop onto his shoulder and he looked up just as Philipp sat down next to him. “Hey, don’t blame yourself for this. I know he’ll be pissed at you, but he won’t stay angry. You know Lukas; he doesn’t stay mad for long.”
Bastian nodded, but he wished he could explain to Philipp what was really going on. Would Lukas feel comfortable trusting him now to not say anything about their relationship? Would he start worrying about that too? There was a lot that Philipp didn’t know, but Bastian couldn’t tell him. So instead he just kept his mouth shut and tried not to appear like his world was coming to an end. The guys wouldn’t understand why he was so upset about it.
The door opened to the locker room then and head coach Felix Magath entered the room. He glanced around at the players, eyeing them all warily before asking why they weren’t yet ready for practice. That quieted down the joking at least and everyone made a hurry of getting dressed and heading out to the training ground. Bastian took a bit longer though. Once he was dressed and lacing up his boots he felt another hand drop onto his shoulder. It was team captain Oliver Kahn.
“I know this isn’t going to go over well for him, but you can’t let it impact your training and your game. You know you can’t afford any slip ups right now.” Kahn’s voice was serious, but there was also that underlying sense of worry that he sometimes exhibited.
Bastian finished lacing up before responding. “I know. I just feel like a total jerk right now. I know the guys are going to harass him about this non-stop, and it’s really the last thing he needs right now.”
“And it’s all your fault because you’re thoughtless and selfish and you just wanted to make fun of him in front of your friends, who I assume all knew?” Kahn had just a tiny bit of a grin on his lips as he spoke; though he did feel for the two youngsters, it was amusing. Trouble just always seemed to follow Bastian wherever he went.
“You don’t have to rub it in.” He knew the keeper had meant the first part of the comment as a joke, but he couldn’t help but believe it. Sometimes he did take his teasing just a bit too far. Lukas was never angry at him about it though, but surely this time it would be different. This time it wasn’t just in front of their friends, but this time the whole damn country was going to be in on it too. And try as he might to not let things get to him, Bastian knew Lukas was a little on the sensitive side when it came to the way he was portrayed by the media. It had taken him a while to get over those stupid skits Oliver Pocher had done during the World Cup, and Bastian was certain it was going to take him a while to get over whatever people were going to start saying about him now. This time it was all his fault. He couldn’t help but feel bad and things this time were more complicated.
“Come on, let’s get out there.” The captain dropped his hand away from the young midfielder’s shoulder and made his way for the door, looking back to ensure Bastian was following him. They began to make their way toward the exit, heading out to the training pitch. “So, is he any closer to coming back yet?”
Bastian frowned at the question. “Yeah, we were actually hoping that he’d get clearance today to come back to the club to start training.” Bastian’s eyes were on his feet as they walked. “I really hope he doesn’t now, though. You know as well as I do that they’re going to joke about it constantly.”
“Look, in all honesty, you know if it was anyone other than Lukas, you’d be joking about it too.” The captain didn’t leave him any room to interrupt, raising his hand up and wagging his finger at Bastian when he shot him a look that disagreed with the comment. “Making fun of one another is part of a team’s dynamic, you know that. What would we be without that constant teasing? It’s a part of life as a team. They wouldn’t tease him if they didn’t like him, Bastian. You know that. It’s not always the best thing to do, of course, but as we all know, we men are thoughtless.” He laughed and clamped his hand on Bastian’s shoulder. “We don’t always think about the consequences of our actions, especially not with news like this. So when he comes back he’s just going to have to accept it and deal with it. He can take it; he’s taken a lot of it before.”
Bastian wanted to disagree with the older man; he wanted to plead with Kahn to demand that no one bother Lukas about it. But he also knew that what he’d said was true. Everyone always teased each other and he couldn’t make exceptions to the rules because he didn’t want Lukas to get hurt. He was only worried because he was certain that Lukas would be angry with him for this and that it would drive a wedge in between them. If they weren’t trying to carry out a relationship, if this had happened a year ago, Bastian had to admit that he would be reacting differently. He’d probably be spearheading the teasing when Lukas was around. But things were different now. Lukas was sure to react differently now.
He wanted to put it out of his mind and try to focus on training, but he knew it was going to be rough. “Look, I know that what you said is right. And if it was anyone other than Lukas, I would be acting just like everyone else. But it’s different, this time. I guess after spending all of that time with him, you know, taking care of him and all when he got out of the hospital, I just worry about him a bit more now. I’ve seen him get really upset over things, small things, and I guess I just still remember having to deal with that. Things have been getting a lot better for him lately, so I guess I’m just feeling guilty that I’m the cause of this. And I know I shouldn’t let it bother me, but he is my best friend, and I’m worried that this time, he might get a lot more upset with me than he ever has.” It was a little tough, trying to explain exactly what was going on in his mind without saying everything. And he knew that as long as he kept it all on safe ground, as long as he didn’t tell the captain everything about the situation, Kahn would keep this conversation between them and he’d watch the situation, intervening if he thought it necessary. Though the man did have a reputation as being a little cold, Kahn had always been good to both Bastian and Lukas. Usually Bastian would tease him that Michael Ballack’s fatherly attitude toward them was rubbing off, but today he didn’t feel like joking around.
“I know it’s tough, but you know Magath’s policy, Bastian. Leave your problems off the pitch. After this weekend’s game you’re probably back on slightly thin ice, so just watch yourself. When you’re out there playing, you think about yourself, and only yourself. Don’t worry about other people.” When they reached the entrance to the training field where everyone else was standing around and warming up, Kahn laid his hand on Bastian’s head, patting it a few times. “You’ll be fine, and Lukas will forgive you. Don’t worry about it.” The keeper then walked over to join Michael Rensing and Bernd Dreher, leaving Bastian to join the others.
At least the guys concentrated on training and left the jokes of earlier in the morning back in the locker room, Bastian noticed. That made it easier to concentrate on training, which he managed to do without looking distracted. He still felt distracted, though. Part of him wanted training to be over with so he could get back to Lukas and get the angry reaction he knew was coming over with. But another part of him wished it could go on all day, that he could have a legitimate reason to stay away. Maybe if Lukas found out and had enough time to be angry about it on his own, eventually it would pass and they could avoid an argument.
Training was over now and Bastian had just finished showering and was pulling on his shoes. He wished he could know if Lukas had heard about it yet, or if he would be the one breaking the news to him. He wasn’t sure which option he would prefer, really. The thought of Lukas sitting alone and stewing over it, waiting for Bastian to get back, didn’t really have much appeal to the Bavarian. Maybe it would be easier if Lukas didn’t know yet. But he didn’t want to call him and find out, because what if he knew? Knowing for sure that an angry Lukas was awaiting him back at the apartment might prove to be just a bit too distracting in order to navigate the Munich streets. So he would just go back without knowing and try to figure out the best approach to take depending on whether or not Lukas knew about it. Either way these next few minutes were bound to be some of the most nerve-wracking he’d experienced in his life. He didn’t enjoy confrontation and this definitely couldn’t amount to anything other than a confrontation. He just hoped that Lukas would be as calm as possible when he found out, if he hadn’t already found out.
The following morning had been somewhat of an amusing one for Lukas. It hadn’t taken long for Bastian to pass out the night before and Lukas had had to elbow him twice because he’d started snoring. He’d been about to give up and leave Bastian alone in his bed but finally on the second time, the Bavarian appeared to remember to remain on his stomach and not roll over onto his back again. Even with the hassle, Lukas had gotten a good night’s sleep and hadn’t encountered any problems getting up in the morning. But he’d been in three times already to shake Bastian awake and if the other didn’t get out of bed this time, Lukas was planning on drastic measures.
Luckily, for Bastian, he did finally sit up and put his feet on the floor, peering blearily at Lukas with squinted eyes. “Fuck, I have a feeling today is going to suck.” He looked slowly around the room; the light peeking in from behind the curtain was most definitely not a welcome sight. “Did I really drink that much last night?” He looked up at Lukas, who was standing in front of him, looking smug. “Why did you let me drink that much last night?”
Lukas just grinned and patted Bastian on the head. “Come on, the sooner you’re up the sooner you’ll feel better. I fixed something for you anyway, it should help. You have to come out to the kitchen though.” With that said Lukas walked out of the bedroom, pausing at the door to look back at Bastian, who was still sitting up in the bed. “And you wonder why I don’t drink.” He winked at Bastian and left the room.
With a loud groan, part frustration that he’d been stupid enough to drink so much and part from the pain and nauseated feeling he had, Bastian got up from the bed and padded his way out to the kitchen. He didn’t remember all that much after they’d gotten home the night before, only that he’d fallen asleep while cuddled up to Lukas’ back. He hoped he hadn’t been too much of a hassle for him the night before, but then Lukas was used to looking after him when he was drunk, so Bastian was certain it couldn’t have been too bad.
When he finally made it out to the kitchen Lukas pushed him down onto one of the stools, handing him a glass with some liquid that was light yellow in colour. Bastian just stared at it for a moment, not recognizing it. He lowered his head down to it, sniffing the contents. Banana. He looked up at Lukas with a curious expression on his face. “What is this?”
Lukas just smiled and patted him on the head again. “It’s just a banana milkshake, with some honey. Tina used to make me fix these for her back in Cologne when she had a hangover. She said they always worked wonders.”
Bastian looked at him cautiously. He’d never heard of banana milkshakes for hangovers, but at the moment he didn’t have any other options. Holding the glass in both hands he brought it up to his lips, gulping some of it down before laying the glass back on the counter. “Not bad. Did you make me something to eat too? Not that I’m sure that I can actually eat.”
“There’re some eggs, sausage, and potatoes if you feel like any of that. Want me to bring it over and see if you don’t throw up at the sight of it?” Lukas grinned and laid his hand on the back of Bastian’s neck, rubbing it gently.
Bastian nodded and emitted a low moan of pleasure at Lukas’ hand. It was very warm on his now just slightly cold body. He really should have pulled on a shirt before leaving the bedroom.
Lukas slipped back into the kitchen, grabbing the plate he’d already made up for Bastian and bringing it over to him. He laid it on the counter in front of him, next to the still half-full glass. He stood behind Bastian, close enough that the Bavarian could lean back against him, and brought his hands up to rest on the top of his head, gently massaging Bastian’s scalp.
Another moan from Bastian indicated his renewed pleasure from the contact. He closed his eyes and leaned back against Lukas, content to stay right here for the morning. So what if he missed training? He could always call in sick. He was sure the others would cover for him, unless they decided to do the same.
“Finish your drink and try to eat; I can’t have you falling asleep on me out here.” Lukas was amused at how well Bastian was responding to the scalp massage. That was just another trick he’d been taught by his sister, who’d demanded he always give her one when she was hung over to get rid of the headache. He’d only done it so he could hold it over her head later on.
“Mm, yeah. Just keep doing what you’re doing.” Bastian grinned, reaching out for the glass without opening his eyes. Hopefully he wouldn’t knock it over. When his fingers brushed it he pulled it into his grasp, closing one hand around it and bringing it up to his mouth. He drank half of what was left in it before laying it back on the counter. He pulled the plate of food forward, glancing at it with wary eyes, unsure if it was safe to attempt eating yet. “Poldi, I’m cold.” Surprisingly to Bastian, a few minutes worth of massaging the scalp had actually made his headache all but dissipate to a very light pulse; he was certain it would be gone by the time he got to the training grounds. It might even disappear completely now if he warmed up a bit.
“So? What do you want me to do about it?” Lukas grinned, continuing to rub his fingers over Bastian’s head.
Bastian hesitantly picked up a chunk of potato, hoping it would go down well. “Warm me up, damn it.”
Lukas laughed at the response. “See, that’s another bad thing about drinking. You get cold more easily when you’re hung over.” Lukas let his hands slide down from Bastian’s head, running down his neck and across his shoulders. He leaned forward, draping himself across Bastian’s back and locking his arms around his front. He could have been an asshole and gone to get Bastian a sweater, but Lukas knew well enough that this was what Bastian had actually been hinting at. If there wasn’t any training this morning, Lukas might have been more tempted to not give in to Bastian’s demands so quickly.
As soon as Lukas enveloped him in his warm embrace, Bastian smiled and settled back against him, feeling quite content at the moment. This was exactly what he’d wanted; not only was he warming up, but the morning embrace was very much enjoyable on every other level too. It was just that bit of closeness that he wanted; the touching that was sure to get him through the morning until he could come back and spend some proper time plastered to Lukas. For some reason he was always extremely clingy after a night of drinking, just wanting to lay down with the person he loved and relax. But today he’d have to wait until after he came back from training.
Lukas grinned as he felt Bastian’s body relax underneath him, the tension that had been present in his shoulders and back all but seeping away. It was nice to know that he had that kind of effect. “Eat, Schweini. You need your energy.” He picked up one of the sausages on the plate, bringing it up to Bastian’s mouth and pressing it to his lips.
Bastian laughed and opened his mouth at the offered bit of food, the earlier feelings of queasiness having dissipated as well. He’d feel better after eating for sure. “So is this payback for every time I shoved food in your face before you could feed yourself?” Bastian couldn’t help but be reminded of that just now; it was funny how the tables had turned.
Lukas hadn’t thought about that until Bastian had mentioned it and now that he had, he did find it quite amusing. “It’s annoying, isn’t it?” He prodded Bastian’s cheek with the remaining piece of meat, laughing as Bastian tried to snatch it away.
“Stop that! It wasn’t annoying before but it is now.” Bastian waved his hand near his face, trying to snatch the food from Lukas’ fingers.
Lukas was finding the situation a little too entertaining though at the moment and wasn’t about to relent. “Now that you reminded me how annoying the poking was, I am not stopping. As long as there’s food on your plate, I’m smooshing it into your face. So you better eat up.” As if to deliver on his promise, Lukas picked up a potato wedge and pushed it against Bastian’s nose.
“I can’t eat if you’re shoving food into my face! Stop it!” Bastian ducked away from Lukas, sliding off the stool and standing up. Without thinking he grabbed another sausage off the plate, waving it in front of Lukas. “Ha! Now I’m armed too!”
Lukas looked between the two pieces of meat, frowning. “That’s not fair though, yours is bigger!”
Bastian was grinning before Lukas had even made the comment, as though he’d known what was coming. “Well I’m afraid you’re just going to have to work with what God gave you.”
Lukas glared at Bastian after the comment, but the glare very quickly dissolved into a grin. “That’s not what I meant!”
Bastian was barely able to keep from laughing before making his next comment. “After all, it’s not the size that counts; it’s what you do with it! And if you stick with me, I’ll teach you all kinds of wonderful things to do with it!” Bastian winked at him before laughter finally forced its way out of him.
Lukas tried to look annoyed but was having a hard time not laughing too. “Fuck you, Schweini!” He lunged at Bastian, grabbing him from behind and planting his arm firmly around the Bavarian’s midsection so he couldn’t get away. Then he proceeded to shove the rest of the sausage he was holding into Bastian’s mouth. “Eat it!”
Bastian was still laughing when Lukas started shoving the piece of meat in his mouth, but he did try to calm down enough in order to try and chew it. Unfortunately for him though, there was quite a bit of it and the moment he looked down at Lukas’ arm the laughter started up again. He couldn’t laugh and chew at the same time and only seconds after he’d been forced to try, he started choking. It wasn’t anything serious but Lukas let him go and Bastian leaned onto the counter, coughing out the bits of meat, unable to even attempt to swallow them.
Lukas was laughing the whole time, highly amused at the scene. “You’re choking on my wiener.” He couldn’t resist making the joke; it was such perfect timing really.
Bastian spit out the last of the sausage just in time, otherwise that comment from Lukas would have had him choking all over again. He leaned even further forward over the counter, laughing at the stupid joke. He turned his head to the side, looking at Lukas and shaking his head. “I can’t believe you just said that! Fuck, you’re such a kid sometimes.” He grinned and straightened back up.
Lukas sent him a glare at the comment, before pouncing on him again and pinching him hard in the arm. “You started it! I just finished it.”
Bastian grinned when Lukas bounded over to him, before yelping in pain when he got pinched. “Ow! That was uncalled for!”
Lukas pinched him again, before wrapping his arms around him from behind. “You should really finish eating you know, then go and take a shower. You don’t want to be late for training!” He wasn’t about to let Bastian try and win this little battle.
Bastian grinned amidst the little flare of pain from the pinch. One thing was now certain, his hang over was pretty much gone. When Lukas mentioned the shower, Bastian had been tempted to ask him if he’d be joining him, but luckily he caught himself before slipping the request out. So instead he just leaned back against Lukas and took a bite of the sausage that he still held in his hand, chewing and swallowing before speaking. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right, for once.” He grinned and turned around, sliding his free hand up behind Lukas’ head, pushing it forward until their lips met. He slid his tongue out again, testing the waters on a new day. There still wasn’t any negative reaction from Lukas, which he took as a good sign. Maybe things would end up going quicker than he thought?
When they parted from the kiss Lukas pushed him back toward his stool. “Alright, now sit and finish. You might feel better right now, but unless you eat more you’ll probably feel like crap later. And make sure you drink lots of water this morning! If you’re running around dehydrated, your headache will come back.”
Bastian grinned and took another bite out of the sausage. “Yes, mom.” He set to work on finishing the remaining food on the plate and the rest of his drink. He didn’t take long to finish and left the dishes on the counter while he made his way back to the bedroom to use the shower in the master bathroom. He took a quick shower and when he came out the first thing he saw was Lukas standing by the sink, shaving. Bastian simply stood there for a moment, the reality of the situation hitting. It was only something as simple as them sharing a bathroom, but it felt like something much more at the moment.
He grabbed a towel and dried himself off a little before wrapping it around his waist and stepping out onto the tiled floor. He walked up behind Lukas, standing behind him and watching him in the mirror until Lukas fixed his gaze on his reflection.
“Can I help you?”
Bastian grinned and was tempted to respond, but instead he just shook his head and walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom. He finished drying off and started getting dressed, debating over which top to wear when Lukas emerged out of the bathroom.
“Wear the white one.”
Bastian looked back over his shoulder at Lukas as a grin settled over his lips. “So nice of you to take an interest in what I’m wearing.” He winked at Lukas before tossing the grey sweater back down on top of his bag, the white one clutched in his hands.
Lukas huffed and rolled his eyes. “I just don’t want you to be late.” He watched as Bastian pulled the sweater over his chest. “You take way too much time picking out your clothes, you know.”
Now it was Bastian’s turn to huff back at Lukas. “You know, sometimes you could stand to put a little bit more thought into what you wear.”
“We are not having this conversation right now; we both need to go.” Lukas immediately cut him off, knowing that once Bastian got started on his inconsistent sense of style, he wouldn’t shut up. Lukas usually found it amusing but right now they were running the risk of being late. “Come on, hurry up.” He left the bedroom, pausing momentarily to look back at Bastian. Once the Bavarian started following, Lukas walked back out toward the door, leaning down to put his shoes on.
Bastian had a grin on his face as he came up behind Lukas, leaning over him and sliding his arms around him. “Thanks for this morning, by the way. That was very thoughtful of you.” He kissed Lukas on the neck before stepping aside to put his own shoes on.
Lukas smiled at the comment as he straightened up, leaning against the wall and watching Bastian put his sneakers on. “You’re welcome. Don’t get used to it though; I just don’t want you to be suffering this morning.”
Bastian grinned at the response and finished tying up his shoes before straightening up. “Well next time you should remind me earlier on in the night to not drink so much.” He grabbed his keys off the hook on the wall, leaning against the door. “Make sure you get some good news today, okay?” The expression on his face was just a bit more serious now; there was no mistaking what he was talking about.
Lukas nodded and smiled, hopeful that he’d be getting that good news when he met with Greg at the clinic. “Only time will tell. And speaking of time…” Lukas grabbed his own set of keys and moved toward the door, reaching for the handle only to be stopped by Bastian.
“In a minute.” Bastian took hold of Lukas’ hand, holding it tightly while he slid his other arm around his back, pulling Lukas against him. He could see Lukas shake his head, roll his eyes, and smirk, unable to help but grin at the gestures. He pressed his lips to Lukas’, kissing him one more time before they left for the morning. He actually found the slightly annoyed gestures to be a good sign. Obviously the more he kept kissing Lukas, the more used to it the younger man was getting, the more comfortable with it he was. It was becoming more of a normal thing for them. Bastian wasn’t sure how long it would take for things to keep progressing, but for now he was happy enough that things were going along this smoothly.
When Bastian finished kissing him Lukas resumed shaking his head. “You’re hopeless this morning.” He squeezed Bastian’s hand back before finally reaching for the handle and opening the door. “Save that for later, alright? You especially really can’t afford to be late this morning. And pay attention when you’re driving. I shouldn’t even let you drive, really.” Lukas continued to ramble on in the same manner, while Bastian tried not to laugh at him. When they reached the elevators and Lukas finally stopped his little lecture, Bastian grinned and reached out to pat his cheek.
“Hey, thanks for caring. But I’ll be fine.” They entered the elevator and continued teasing each other all the way out to their respective cars, where they bid each other goodbye and good luck with their respective mornings. Lukas slid behind the wheel of his silver Audi, pulling out of the parking lot and heading for the clinic. He was excited about his meeting this morning, but also nervous. There was always the possibility that Greg wouldn’t consider him ready yet to move on with his training. At the present time he was still only cleared to be doing very low-impact exercises, mostly all done in the water. He wanted to start running again, he missed it. He’d hated running when he was younger but over the years it had become a relaxing way to waste some time.
But one of the things he was really looking forward to getting back to was his weight training. He hadn’t always been into lifting weights but ever since he’d met David while playing on the national under-21 squad, he’d started joining his friend in the strength-building exercises. Just like running, lifting weights had become something Lukas had started doing to relax and take his mind off of everything else. When you had heavy weights held up over your head there wasn’t much room in there to think about your problems.
And while he was also anxious to start training for football again, he was still really nervous about it. Though he knew it was stupid to fear that he was going to find that he’d forgotten what to do with a ball, he couldn’t help but worry at times that his fears would come to light. The sooner he was cleared to find out, the better. He arrived at the clinic a bit earlier than he’d anticipated; given the later time he’d left. He parked his car and walked into the building, making his way up to the reception desk, chatting quite comfortably with the girls there now. It was odd to think that only a month and a half ago he’d stood here, all but ignoring the girls and letting Bastian handle everything. He’d barely been walking and he’d still been quite on the incomprehensible side when it had come to talking. He didn’t really like to think about what things had been like then; he preferred not to remember it. But sometimes he was reminded just how far he’d come in such a short period of time and it amazed him. There were times when he’d really worried that he’d never get better, that he’d been certain he’d never get back to a normal life again.
Not that his life was completely normal now given recent events, but it was normal enough in all other areas. While he was chatting with the girls he felt a hand on his arm only seconds before a voice interrupted their conversation. “Lukas, I just wanted to say hello before I get too busy with some of my clients today, in case I don’t have a chance to see you later.” It was Albin Heus, the man he’d seen for his speech therapy back at the beginning. He hadn’t seen him around on the last two visits so he took a minute now to chat with him. He would miss some of these people, he realized suddenly mid-conversation, when he was cleared to start training with the club’s physio team. Today might be his last day to ever see them.
Albin was soon on his way and while Lukas watched him walk off down one of the halls, his gaze fell on someone he was going to miss quite a bit. Standing just outside the door to her office, speaking to someone inside, was his occupational therapist, Katya Braun. She’d been his favourite of the therapists, and not only because she was an attractive young woman, though that certainly hadn’t had any negative effects. She had a very engaging personality, a way of drawing people in that had definitely worked on him when he’d been uncomfortable around the majority of people. She’d definitely done her part in helping him.
When he saw her turn to walk down the hall he then saw who had been in the office, recognizing the little boy immediately as Nicholas, the one he’d met on his very first visit. At the time he’d been extremely uncomfortable around the boy, he hadn’t felt like he’d deserved the adoration that had been obvious in the kid’s wide eyes. Lukas was happy that he was going to have another chance to really enjoy seeing him, a chance to say hi without feeling bad.
He said goodbye to the girls at the desk and started walking in Nicholas and Katya’s direction, waiting for the boy to look up and see him. A few more steps and finally he did, stopping suddenly when he realized who was standing at the end of the hall looking at him. Lukas waved at him and smiled when Nicholas looked up at Katya, probably asking her if it was really him. Katya nodded and motioned for him to continue on down the hallway before she looked down at Lukas and waved to him. Lukas grinned and leaned against the wall, waiting for them to come down to him. It was pretty impressive to see the improvement in Nicholas’ walking, which he was a little surprised he noticed. He’d been so nervous when he’d first met the boy, but now those images were coming back and he was definitely seeing some improvement in his ability. He was still using a walker, something he’d probably have for life, but he didn’t look like he was going to fall over at the slightest touch anymore.
When they finally reached him Lukas crouched down, reaching out to grab the boy just under the arms, his grip on him firm but not too strong. Nicholas immediately let go of his walker and laid his hands on Lukas’ arms, standing in front of him and just smiling. “Are you going to give me a hug or what?”
Nicholas smiled and nodded his head, taking the few steps to close the distance in between himself and his hero. This time when the boy wrapped his little arms around him, Lukas actually picked him up. Part of him felt like he owed it to the kid to do more than just give him a hug and be on his way.
Katya was more than pleased to see the different reaction from Lukas this time, the one that she suspected was more of the real him. “It’s a good thing you showed up, Lukas! We were just going over to show mom and dad something, weren’t we Nicholas?” Katya grabbed the red walker and pulled it along behind her, motioning for Lukas to follow her as she made her way over to the waiting area where Nicholas’ parents were. Lukas didn’t miss the shocked looks on their faces when they saw him holding their son.
“Nicholas has been learning some pretty cool stuff lately, haven’t you?” Katya looked back at Nicholas, who was currently plastered to the national hero. Nicholas didn’t say anything but he did nod just a little. Katya explained for Lukas’ benefit. “He’s been having special lessons lately with one of our visitors, who’s been teaching him magic tricks!” Katya turned around and waved her fingers at Nicholas, who laughed at her gesture. “We were going to show his parents one and since you’re here, Nicholas can show you too.”
Lukas grinned, shook his head, and didn’t miss Katya’s wink. She wasn’t giving him a choice in the matter, not that he needed one. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to make up for prior lack of enthusiasm on his part. “Wow, magic, that sounds really cool!” He still held Nicholas as he walked over to stand in front of the boy’s parents.
“Well, I suppose first I should just mention that yes, as you can now see, Nicholas wasn’t hallucinating that day when he told you he got to meet Poldi.” Katya grinned in the direction of the young couple who were still looking at Lukas with slightly dazed expressions. Katya introduced them by name and Lukas shook their hands and remarked that they had a very wonderful little boy, a comment that made Nicholas beam. He then kneeled on the floor by the table, where Katya mentioned that Nicholas ought to stand to show off his new trick.
Instead of getting up and sitting on one of the chairs Lukas remained on the floor next to Nicholas. Katya sat on the edge of the table and handed Nicholas a deck of cards, which he eagerly took in his hands. Lukas watched him, recognizing all too well that look of intense concentration as he struggled to control his body. It didn’t really seem all that fair that his recovery had taken so little time, while Nicholas would likely have trouble for the rest of his life. But when he finally managed to place the cards on the table in front of Lukas in a neat pile, the look of pride and accomplishment on his face made up for what had been there moments ago. That was the difference between them, after all. Lukas had never been able to take any sort of joy from regaining the ability to do simple things during his recovery, and here was Nicholas, looking like the happiest kid in the land because he’d managed to lay a pack of cards neatly on the table. It definitely touched Lukas’ heart.
“That was awesome, buddy!” Katya patted the boy on the head affectionately, always quick to praise effort. “Now tell him what he has to do; make sure you explain it clearly, with simple words.” She leaned in close to him, lowering her voice just a little although she was still more than loud enough for everyone to hear. “He is a footballer after all; you know they get confused easily.”
Lukas immediately glared at her and refuted the comment, while Nicholas and his parents laughed. Katya grinned and winked at him. “Oh I’m just teasing! Because it’s fun to tease people you like, right Nicholas? We tease each other all the time, don’t we?” Katya hugged the boy, who giggled at her comment.
Lukas smiled as he watched them, happy to see the little boy looking so elated. “I guess I’ll let it go for today, then, but only because I want to see Nicholas’ magic trick. So stop interrupting and let him do it.” Lukas was eager to see what the kid was going to do after all, as he seemed pretty excited about it.
Katya let Nicholas go and resumed her spot perched on the edge of the table. Nicholas turned to Lukas and pushed the deck of cards closer to him. Remembering how much trouble the boy had had speaking when he’d met him before, Lukas instinctively leaned a little closer to him, not wanting to have to chance asking Nicholas to repeat himself. Having to repeat his words when he’d been having trouble speaking had always caused him a bit of frustration after all and he didn’t want that for Nicholas.
The little boy had the concentrated look on his face again, making it obvious that he was trying his best to speak as clearly as possible. “M-make two p-piles cards. But, you have to p-put them, one in one pile, and, and one, in the other.” His explanation obviously in need of a bit of work, Lukas went ahead and picked up one card, giving Nicholas a chance to explain it properly now that he could simply direct Lukas. “Yeah, p-put the card here.” He grabbed Lukas’ hand and pulled it down to a spot on the table, letting go so Lukas could pick up another. Once the second card was in hand Nicholas took his hand again and pulled it to a different spot. “Then you j-just do, do it like that, again.”
Lukas nodded his understanding, picking up another card. “I see, you want me to put them in alternating piles?” He wondered if Katya had tried to teach him how to properly explain it with words, that maybe he’d forgotten what he was supposed to say.
“Yeah! That’s right. Right?” Nicholas looked at Katya, who nodded her head.
“Yes it is, that’s the word you were having trouble remembering before, remember?” Obviously, given the look that passed between child and therapist, they’d both found it pretty funny at the time. Katya glanced back at Lukas, who was separating the cards into piles. “I guess maybe he’s not that easily confused after all, is he?”
Nicholas grinned at her comment and shook his head. He then looked back at Lukas and watched him for a moment before suddenly grabbing his hand again when he went for another card. “Okay! You h-have enough c-cards. You don’t need, these ones.” Nicholas let go of Lukas’ hand in favour of pulling the remaining cards away to a different spot on the table. Lukas quickly glanced at Katya, trying not to laugh at Nicholas’ sudden gestures. “Okay, now you h-have to make, m-more piles. With those two, piles. The same way.”
Lukas nodded to Nicholas’ simple instructions, sorting out the cards again so that there were now four piles on the table. Once he was finished Lukas looked at Nicholas, waiting for his instruction.
Nicholas nodded his head and looked at the piles, almost looking like he was trying to remember and ensure he was doing everything properly. He glanced at Katya, who nodded her head as though understanding that he was seeking reassurance that he was doing everything correctly so far. “Okay now, you j-just have to, show the c-card on, each pile.” As Lukas reached out to flip over the first one, Nicholas suddenly leaned forward as though remembering something direly important. “B-but only the f-first one! Just the one on top. Yeah, like that. D-don’t touch, the other ones, on the b-bottom.” He continued to give instructions as Lukas slowly flipped over the top card on each pile. Four kings.
“Wow, look at that! Four kings, that’s pretty cool.” Lukas glanced briefly at Nicholas’ parents, who were watching their son with a lot of pride as he performed the trick.
“Y-yeah but, g-guess what b-beats four, f-four kings? D-do you know, what b-beats four kings?” Nicholas was obviously excited, his words getting just a bit more mumbled now. But Lukas understood him, finally seeing for himself what it must have been like for Bastian at first when the same thing had been happening to him. It took a bit of extra concentration, but it wasn’t really that hard to understand what was being said.
“What beats four kings? I think that would be four aces, right?” Lukas had figured out by now how the trick worked and it was awfully cute for a kid to do.
“Y-yeah! B-but, don’t t-touch the c-cards, yet!” Nicholas grabbed Lukas’ hand again and pulled it away from the nearest pile of cards. “I have t-to touch it n-now, be-because I h-have the magic h-hands. It, won’t w-work, if y-you d-do it.” Nicholas let go of Lukas’ hand and reached out for the cards, waving his hands back and forth over top of them. Lukas watched on with an amused smile on his face, waiting to react with surprise when Nicholas turned over four aces. After another few seconds spent waving his hands, Nicholas looked up at Lukas. “Okay! N-now watch! I j-just, d-did magic.” He reached out for the first pile, concentrating hard so he only picked up the very top card. Once he’d finally separated it enough from the other cards and managed to grasp the edge of it he flipped it over, revealing the first of four aces.
Once they were all showing Lukas didn’t waste any time in reacting. With wide eyes he leaned in close to Nicholas, doing his best to sound surprised too. “How did you do that? That was so cool!”
Nicholas smiled at the reaction, leaning against the table for support and turning to look at Lukas. He tilted his head to the side as he stared up at his hero, feeling extremely comfortable around him now. Lukas hoped his excitement today had been a cause in this sudden trust Nicholas was showing by being so open with him. “It’s m-magic! So I can’t, t-tell you.”
Lukas pouted and grabbed Nicholas around the waist, pulling him close. “Oh come on, you can tell me. Please?” Lukas continued to hug Nicholas and plead for him to explain his trick, and the little boy laughed and enjoyed all of the attention. After another minute Nicholas finally looked at Lukas with a serious expression on his face. He leaned in closer to him so he could whisper in Lukas’ ear.
“It’s n-not real, magic.” He sounded so serious, like he was almost upset to have to break it to Lukas that he wasn’t doing real magic. It was all Lukas could manage to do not to laugh. At that moment Katya intervened, saying that Nicholas’ parents probably had somewhere to be, and that Lukas was late for his appointment anyway. Lukas gave Nicholas one last hug before getting up, standing by Katya and watching as the family made their way toward the exit. Nicholas looked back once and waved at Lukas, a gesture he was only too happy to return.
Once they were gone Katya spoke, with a hint of suggestion in her voice. “You know, Lukas, you’re really good with kids.” She turned her head to look at him, her expression slightly devious.
Lukas returned her gaze. “Are you implying something?”
She grinned and shook her head. “No, I’m just saying that you’re good with kids.” She turned toward the hallway, grabbing Lukas’ arm and pulling him along with her as they made their way to Greg’s office. “You know, maybe you could come by sometimes, visit with them or something. I mean after all, you do kind of understand what some of them are going through, right?” She looked at him again, looking a little more serious now. “It would be good for them to get to spend some time with someone they look up to, who actually understands what it’s like for them. They don’t get much of that.”
Lukas shook his head and looked at her. “Are you trying to guilt me into volunteering with the kids, or something? Don’t deny it, Katya.”
She laughed a little before shaking her head. “Of course not! I would never do that to you.” She regained that deviousness again before making her next comment. “Why? Is it working?”
Lukas laughed at the question, actually thinking about it. Maybe he could actually do something akin to what she’d suggested. It had felt awfully good just before when he’d sat with Nicholas. To be able to see the happiness radiating from the boy just because he was there, that was something really special that he wouldn’t mind getting more of. Maybe he would think about it. “Possibly. I’ll think about it.”
Katya smiled at his response, very pleased with it. She hoped he’d consider arranging something for the kids, as she had seen first-hand with Nicholas what the outcome could be of only a few minutes worth of time. “Excellent. And you know, I have to admit it will be kind of sad to not see you around anymore.”
Lukas grinned at her comment, all too amused with her actions at the moment. “I thought you were only concerned about the kids, but now you’re trying to guilt me into visiting you too, aren’t you?”
“No! I was just saying that I’ve really enjoyed working with you. While it’s nice to see you doing better, well let’s just say that I’m used to working with people on a more long-term basis.” Katya was going to miss him, not only because she had been a fan of his before he’d come in, but after getting to know him she’d really grown to enjoy his presence. It had certainly made her job easier.
Lukas couldn’t help but smile as he listened to her. “Well, you do know where I live.”
“Are you suggesting I can feel free to drop by and visit any time I feel like it?” Katya glanced up at him with a grin on her face.
“Well, I would prefer it if you could call first. I’m sure you must have access to my phone number in your records.” He grinned back at her, wondering if he was making the right choice by inviting her into life outside of this. He had a feeling it would be fine though. She’d get along well with his other female friends after all; she and Daniela had met once and had chatted quite easily for a few minutes that day. So maybe they could manage to form a friendship outside of this now. He did enjoy her after all.
She didn’t reply to his last comment, she just smiled. Soon enough they were at Greg’s office, entering and sitting down. Even though Katya’s comments pretty much made it obvious that he was going to be getting his hoped for news right now, part of Lukas was still just a little nervous that he wouldn’t be.
Once they were seated Greg looked at Lukas, silent for just a moment before he spoke. “Well there’s no point in drawing this out any longer than necessary, so I’ll just get right to the point.” A smile settled over Greg’s lips as he paused just momentarily again. “Lukas, your progress has been excellent over the past few weeks. You’ve done everything I recommended, you’ve worked hard at it all, and the results are paying off right now. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be back at your club starting your training again. We are officially finished with you. Congratulations.”
Lukas didn’t say anything at first, letting the news sink in. Finally he was going to be able to get back to football. He was excited but still nervous at the same time. He just wanted it all to go well. He looked over at Greg, his lips pulling back into a smile now that the news has settled. He hadn’t expected Greg to just come out and tell him right away so he’d been a little caught off guard. That was all clearing now, though. “Thanks. I was kind of expecting you to draw it out more.”
The physiotherapist laughed at the comment. “No, I couldn’t do that to you. I know how much you’re looking forward to getting back into your schedule. Just don’t push yourself too hard, alright? It’ll take you a while to get back to where you were, so just take it slowly and build yourself back up properly. Alright?” There was seriousness in the older man’s eyes that caused Lukas to pause for a moment, before he finally responded that he wouldn’t rush his recovery. He doubted the physios at the club would let him, anyway.
The three of them spoke for a bit longer until it was time for Lukas to go. There was no sense in sitting around and taking up the therapists’ time if he didn’t need to see them anymore, after all. So with a quick hug and goodbye to Greg, Lukas left the man’s office, followed out to the door by Katya. Once they reached the exit they stopped and Lukas turned to face her.
“Well, unless I do give it some thought about coming back to visit the kids, I guess this might be the last time I see you here.” He winked at her.
She smiled. “Oh you know you’ll be back to visit. You loved it just earlier with Nicholas, you don’t want to forsake that for the rest of your life, now do you?”
He smiled as he thought about the little boy and how something as simple as watching him perform some dorky little card trick had made him so happy. She was right; he did want to experience more of that. These kids faced a lot of problems in their day-to-day life and the least he could do was drop by and pay some attention to them. It was a very fulfilling feeling. “Maybe I’ll bring some of the other guys with me too, who knows.” He winked at her again and she replied that it sounded like a wonderful idea. He looked at her with a bit of a more serious expression now. “Thanks for everything you’ve done; you helped a lot, not just with your job knowledge, but the way you treated me too.”
“And just how did I treat you that was so helpful?” Katya stood with her hands on her hips, a little grin pulling at the corner of her mouth.
Lukas just smiled. “Just like anyone else. You weren’t super professional all the time, which sometimes made me forget that you were just doing your job.”
Katya’s grin grew into a fully wide smile. “Well I’m happy to hear that. Working with you certainly didn’t feel like just doing my job, after all. And I’m glad that you appreciated my treatment! Sometimes I worried that I was being a little too unprofessional, but if it helped then I guess it was worth risking the job over.” She winked at him and he laughed at the comment.
“It definitely was.” There was silence for a moment, which he broke. “I guess I should be going then. I just wanted you to know that you really helped a lot. I know that you were just doing your job, but you were very good at it.”
“Well hey, on that note, thank you for getting injured in the first place!” She grinned before closing the distance between them and slipping her arms around him, hugging him. He hugged her back and they remained in their embrace for a few seconds before pulling apart. “Now don’t forget your invitation for me to visit! That better have been serious by the way, because I will be there.”
Lukas laughed and nodded. “I’ll call the police on you for stalking me.”
Katya frowned. “Bastard.”
Lukas laughed and laid a hand on the door. “Just make sure you call first, don’t forget! I get paranoid when someone knocks on my door and I’m not expecting them.” He winked at her before pushing the door open, turning back to wave goodbye before leaving the building. She stood inside and waved back, then watched him walk to his car for a few seconds before turning and heading off to her office.
Lukas walked out to his car feeling very happy at the moment. He’d received the news he’d wanted, he’d made a difference in a kid’s life, and he’d had a very enjoyable last visit at the clinic. Everything in life seemed to be looking up at the moment and he couldn’t be happier about it. He just wished it was later in the day now so Bastian could be finished training so they could celebrate the good news. Unfortunately he had a few hours to kill before he had his desired company, so he decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and go for a bit of a drive to waste some time.
Bastian was looking forward to the morning’s training session since he was feeling better. Now that he could look back on it, it had been awfully thoughtful of Lukas to do everything that he’d done this morning. It surprised him a little that he’d bothered to go so out of his way; usually Lukas did nothing but harass him when he woke up with a hang over, not bothering with sympathy at all. Lukas loved to tease him about suffering through hang overs as much as he loved to tease Lukas about not drinking. And now that he was here he couldn’t wait to see how Philipp and Michael were faring. It ought to make for an interesting morning, at least.
He opened the door to the locker room and entered, immediately pulling off his sweater and sitting down to take off his shoes. The moment he’d walked in, he’d noticed Pizarro staring at him, a faint grin on his face. Bastian didn’t think anything of it at the moment; the Peruvian sometimes just had that look without actually meaning anything by it. As he removed his shoes he saw Philipp sitting with his head in his hands. Apparently he hadn’t had anyone there to have the foresight to relieve his morning-after pain. Bastian grinned and looked for Michael, not seeing him anywhere. Perhaps he hadn’t arrived yet. Speaking of which, as Bastian looked next to him he noticed that Andreas hadn’t arrived yet either. He concluded that Andreas had probably made plans to pick up Michael, just in case.
Just as he went back to getting changed the door opened and in walked Andreas and Michael. The reserve keeper’s sunglasses said it all. Bastian grinned as Andreas sat down. “Well, congratulations for at least getting him here in one piece.”
Andreas smiled and watched Michael sit down. “It was rough. I tried to get him to drink some water last night when I got him home, but he just fell asleep instead. So now he’s in a bit of a rough state.” He looked back at Bastian then, cocking an eyebrow. “You, on the other hand, seem to be in pretty good shape. I take it Poldi was able to take better care of you?” He winked at him after making the comment.
Bastian grinned, wondering what they’d all say if they knew everything that had gone on this morning. “Well, not last night. I pretty much passed out too. But this morning he worked some magic. I’ve never heard of this before, but he made me a banana milkshake with honey in it. It actually worked, oddly enough. He said his sister always used to get him to make them for her. And now that I think about it, I don’t know why he’s never made me one before. That bastard has always made me suffer.”
Andreas laughed. “I guess you must have looked extra pathetic this morning or something.” He leaned down to take off his shoes.
Bastian shook his head at Andi’s comment and was just about to start getting changed again when he once more saw Pizarro staring at him. He stared back, shrugging his shoulders at the Peruvian. Pizarro just grinned back at him, glancing briefly around the room before speaking.
“And how are you this morning, Schweini?” There was an obvious trace of amusement in his voice and it immediately set Bastian on edge. Was he going to start in with that stupid nickname of his again? Or something even worse?
“I’m fine, thanks for asking.” Bastian was certain the striker was up to something.
Pizarro nodded his head. “I take it you haven’t seen the paper this morning then?” Only then did Bastian notice Pizarro with something in his lap. Which paper? His nerves were re-strung again, only now they were a bit more taught. Pizarro grinned devilishly and motioned for Bastian to come over to where he was sitting.
By this time everyone’s attention was focused on the pair, although it didn’t appear that anyone else knew what was going on. As Bastian approached him, Pizarro held up the paper in his hands. Bastian immediately recognized it as the tabloid paper, Bild. That set him even more on edge. Immediately he feared that somehow, someone must have found some way of outing their newfound relationship. It was with much trepidation, and barely stable hands, that he took the offered paper from the Peruvian. As his eyes scanned the page and he found what Pizarro was talking about, a wave of relief swept over him, but it was only momentary.
While it would have been a disaster if they’d somehow been outed by the paper, this particular article was going to cause enough of a shockwave as it was. He stood there, motionless and quiet for a moment, not willing to believe that this had happened. How could they have been so stupid last night? What had he been thinking?
Enough time had passed now and everyone was growing more curious about what was going on. Finally Bastian shook his head, still staring at the paper. “He is going to fucking murder me.”
Andreas immediately got up, walking over to where Bastian was standing, grabbing the paper out of his hands. As soon as he saw the article in question, he couldn’t help but grin. As bad as felt right now for Lukas, Bastian was in for a lot of harassing about this. He clapped a hand to Bastian’s shoulder, squeezing it tightly. “Well, it was nice knowing you. We’ll be sure to throw you a lovely funeral.”
By now the others were growing annoyed at not knowing what was going on and Mark leapt up to rectify the situation. “Give me that.” He pulled the paper away from Andreas, scanning the page until he found the article. He read it out loud for the rest of them to hear. “Prince Poldi: The Pure. A few of members of Bayern Munich’s squad met for dinner last night at a popular local establishment, where conversation was overheard by other patrons. The twenty-one year old national player, currently sidelined with an injury, was revealed by none other than his best buddy Schweini as still being a virgin.” Mark froze for a moment upon reading that, disbelief clearly written on his face. He immediately looked at Bastian, a grin starting to settle over his lips now. “Is that true or is this just pure bullshit?”
Bastian was too shocked and worried about Lukas’ reaction to bother even trying to pretend it wasn’t true at the moment. He just shook his head again and mumbled that Lukas was going to kill him.
Mark looked back down at the paper and continued reading the article. “A few weeks ago we published photos of the young football star with Schweini’s girlfriend, Daniela Aumeier, and the two looked quite cozy. Was this perhaps a set-up by Schweini, to offer his own girlfriend to his best friend? We’ll certainly be watching for more signs.” Mark shook his head again after he finished reading, still a little shocked to make any jokes about it.
Pizarro, having had some time to accept the potential truth in the story, glanced around the room at the shocked faces before looking back at Bastian. “I think we should run a contest on the website. Something like ‘Finding Princess Poldi’; I'm sure there are plenty of ladies across the country who would delight in teaching him about the pleasures of the flesh.”
Bastian looked at the Peruvian, not fully taking in what he’d just said. All he knew was that Lukas was going to be really pissed off when he found out. This was the last thing they needed right now. Everything had been going so well and now Lukas was going to have to deal with this. There was no way he was going to handle it well.
And now just as he feared, the locker room had erupted with the guys joking about the article and about Lukas, some of them following up on Pizarro’s contest idea. Roque Santa Cruz jokingly suggested that they turn it into a reality TV program, but only make it available to be viewed on the team’s internet channel. A few minutes of joking passed and Bastian was sitting down again, head in his hands, feeling horrible. What was going to happen when Lukas was cleared to resume training? He knew there was no way the guys would let this pass without making constant jokes and comments about it. No matter how strongly he’d protest they’d harass Lukas, because that’s what guys did with each other.
He felt a hand drop onto his shoulder and he looked up just as Philipp sat down next to him. “Hey, don’t blame yourself for this. I know he’ll be pissed at you, but he won’t stay angry. You know Lukas; he doesn’t stay mad for long.”
Bastian nodded, but he wished he could explain to Philipp what was really going on. Would Lukas feel comfortable trusting him now to not say anything about their relationship? Would he start worrying about that too? There was a lot that Philipp didn’t know, but Bastian couldn’t tell him. So instead he just kept his mouth shut and tried not to appear like his world was coming to an end. The guys wouldn’t understand why he was so upset about it.
The door opened to the locker room then and head coach Felix Magath entered the room. He glanced around at the players, eyeing them all warily before asking why they weren’t yet ready for practice. That quieted down the joking at least and everyone made a hurry of getting dressed and heading out to the training ground. Bastian took a bit longer though. Once he was dressed and lacing up his boots he felt another hand drop onto his shoulder. It was team captain Oliver Kahn.
“I know this isn’t going to go over well for him, but you can’t let it impact your training and your game. You know you can’t afford any slip ups right now.” Kahn’s voice was serious, but there was also that underlying sense of worry that he sometimes exhibited.
Bastian finished lacing up before responding. “I know. I just feel like a total jerk right now. I know the guys are going to harass him about this non-stop, and it’s really the last thing he needs right now.”
“And it’s all your fault because you’re thoughtless and selfish and you just wanted to make fun of him in front of your friends, who I assume all knew?” Kahn had just a tiny bit of a grin on his lips as he spoke; though he did feel for the two youngsters, it was amusing. Trouble just always seemed to follow Bastian wherever he went.
“You don’t have to rub it in.” He knew the keeper had meant the first part of the comment as a joke, but he couldn’t help but believe it. Sometimes he did take his teasing just a bit too far. Lukas was never angry at him about it though, but surely this time it would be different. This time it wasn’t just in front of their friends, but this time the whole damn country was going to be in on it too. And try as he might to not let things get to him, Bastian knew Lukas was a little on the sensitive side when it came to the way he was portrayed by the media. It had taken him a while to get over those stupid skits Oliver Pocher had done during the World Cup, and Bastian was certain it was going to take him a while to get over whatever people were going to start saying about him now. This time it was all his fault. He couldn’t help but feel bad and things this time were more complicated.
“Come on, let’s get out there.” The captain dropped his hand away from the young midfielder’s shoulder and made his way for the door, looking back to ensure Bastian was following him. They began to make their way toward the exit, heading out to the training pitch. “So, is he any closer to coming back yet?”
Bastian frowned at the question. “Yeah, we were actually hoping that he’d get clearance today to come back to the club to start training.” Bastian’s eyes were on his feet as they walked. “I really hope he doesn’t now, though. You know as well as I do that they’re going to joke about it constantly.”
“Look, in all honesty, you know if it was anyone other than Lukas, you’d be joking about it too.” The captain didn’t leave him any room to interrupt, raising his hand up and wagging his finger at Bastian when he shot him a look that disagreed with the comment. “Making fun of one another is part of a team’s dynamic, you know that. What would we be without that constant teasing? It’s a part of life as a team. They wouldn’t tease him if they didn’t like him, Bastian. You know that. It’s not always the best thing to do, of course, but as we all know, we men are thoughtless.” He laughed and clamped his hand on Bastian’s shoulder. “We don’t always think about the consequences of our actions, especially not with news like this. So when he comes back he’s just going to have to accept it and deal with it. He can take it; he’s taken a lot of it before.”
Bastian wanted to disagree with the older man; he wanted to plead with Kahn to demand that no one bother Lukas about it. But he also knew that what he’d said was true. Everyone always teased each other and he couldn’t make exceptions to the rules because he didn’t want Lukas to get hurt. He was only worried because he was certain that Lukas would be angry with him for this and that it would drive a wedge in between them. If they weren’t trying to carry out a relationship, if this had happened a year ago, Bastian had to admit that he would be reacting differently. He’d probably be spearheading the teasing when Lukas was around. But things were different now. Lukas was sure to react differently now.
He wanted to put it out of his mind and try to focus on training, but he knew it was going to be rough. “Look, I know that what you said is right. And if it was anyone other than Lukas, I would be acting just like everyone else. But it’s different, this time. I guess after spending all of that time with him, you know, taking care of him and all when he got out of the hospital, I just worry about him a bit more now. I’ve seen him get really upset over things, small things, and I guess I just still remember having to deal with that. Things have been getting a lot better for him lately, so I guess I’m just feeling guilty that I’m the cause of this. And I know I shouldn’t let it bother me, but he is my best friend, and I’m worried that this time, he might get a lot more upset with me than he ever has.” It was a little tough, trying to explain exactly what was going on in his mind without saying everything. And he knew that as long as he kept it all on safe ground, as long as he didn’t tell the captain everything about the situation, Kahn would keep this conversation between them and he’d watch the situation, intervening if he thought it necessary. Though the man did have a reputation as being a little cold, Kahn had always been good to both Bastian and Lukas. Usually Bastian would tease him that Michael Ballack’s fatherly attitude toward them was rubbing off, but today he didn’t feel like joking around.
“I know it’s tough, but you know Magath’s policy, Bastian. Leave your problems off the pitch. After this weekend’s game you’re probably back on slightly thin ice, so just watch yourself. When you’re out there playing, you think about yourself, and only yourself. Don’t worry about other people.” When they reached the entrance to the training field where everyone else was standing around and warming up, Kahn laid his hand on Bastian’s head, patting it a few times. “You’ll be fine, and Lukas will forgive you. Don’t worry about it.” The keeper then walked over to join Michael Rensing and Bernd Dreher, leaving Bastian to join the others.
At least the guys concentrated on training and left the jokes of earlier in the morning back in the locker room, Bastian noticed. That made it easier to concentrate on training, which he managed to do without looking distracted. He still felt distracted, though. Part of him wanted training to be over with so he could get back to Lukas and get the angry reaction he knew was coming over with. But another part of him wished it could go on all day, that he could have a legitimate reason to stay away. Maybe if Lukas found out and had enough time to be angry about it on his own, eventually it would pass and they could avoid an argument.
Training was over now and Bastian had just finished showering and was pulling on his shoes. He wished he could know if Lukas had heard about it yet, or if he would be the one breaking the news to him. He wasn’t sure which option he would prefer, really. The thought of Lukas sitting alone and stewing over it, waiting for Bastian to get back, didn’t really have much appeal to the Bavarian. Maybe it would be easier if Lukas didn’t know yet. But he didn’t want to call him and find out, because what if he knew? Knowing for sure that an angry Lukas was awaiting him back at the apartment might prove to be just a bit too distracting in order to navigate the Munich streets. So he would just go back without knowing and try to figure out the best approach to take depending on whether or not Lukas knew about it. Either way these next few minutes were bound to be some of the most nerve-wracking he’d experienced in his life. He didn’t enjoy confrontation and this definitely couldn’t amount to anything other than a confrontation. He just hoped that Lukas would be as calm as possible when he found out, if he hadn’t already found out.