The first day back at training meant getting to meet the new players that had already signed for the team. Haaland, Kalvin Philips, ...and young Julián Álvarez. He was probably the most nervous out of all the new guys, coming to a country far away from his and not speaking English too well. Thankfully for him, his coach spoke Spanish. But also, many of his teammates could help him.
He immediately built a connection with players like Rodri or the Portuguese boys, but the one who almost adopted him was Rúben.
He had been giving him advice on where to live, where to shop, where to go in his free time,...always offering his help and his girlfriend's for anything Julián might need. She spoke Spanish too apparently.
Another thing he had to get used to was the new staff in the team and it was then that he met you.
You had been helping the boys with recovery after matches for months, thanks to your training as a yoga teacher. And today was the first session of pre-season.
"New boys!", said Jack, "the yoga teacher is off limits!"
"Why?", asked Erling.
"You'll find soon enough", laughed Jack. "But listen to my advice. I found out the...hard way", he said, touching his head and confusing the boys more.
"Hi everyone!", you said to all the players, also introducing yourself to the new ones.
The session was just another one for you. A few players, such as Rúben or Laporte were not present because they were still working on their fitness after injuries, but the rest of the squad was there.
You already knew which poses were the most challenging so you were busy checking everyone was doing it alright when you saw Julián struggling.
"Creo que necesitas un poco de ayuda, Julián", I think you need a bit of help, you said to him in perfect Spanish, which surprised him. His face made you laugh.
"Yes, I've never done this. Sorry", he told you, looking away from your face as you got closer.
"That's ok. Let me move your legs so you put the right amount of weight on them and don't hurt yourself".
You couldn't see him, but some of his teammates could and they started to snigger seeing him blush. It would be the same every single time you either got close to him or talked to him. He couldn't be more obvious despite trying hard not to be.
"There you go!", you told him with a big smile.
"Oh boy", said John. "You're in big trouble".
But he still didn't understand why.
**
The days passed and the team got ready to go to the US for their American tour.
Julián sat next to Rodri, Rúben and Bernardo on the plane.
When you walked past them, you noticed he was still very shy and you found it quite endearing.
"Hey Juli, if you get bored sitting with these old men, you can come to sit with me for a bit".
"So I can't sit with you, but he can", said Rúben shaking his head.
"I see enough of you already, Dias, give me a break", you said laughing, but before you could keep walking, he grabbed your arm and made you lean down so he could give you a quick kiss.
When Julián saw that, he finally understood his teammate's comments and started to worry. Had Rúben noticed his crush on you? Will he get angry?
So he decided to keep his distance.
The next few days were full of training sessions, but the team also believed in giving their players a lot of free time. In this case, to explore the new country they were in. Both you and Rúben invited Julián to come with you to do some sightseeing but he always refused. Which started to bother you, sensing something wasn't right. He was happy to do that in Manchester with Rúben but not now? What had changed?
"Is there something wrong with Julián?", you asked Rúben when you were both on a walk on your day off.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he was super close to you and hasn't been since we landed here. And whenever I talk to him, he finds an excuse to leave".
"Huh, now that you mention it, he kind of does the same with me. But I haven't done anything to him. And I'm guessing neither have you".
"Of course not. Should we talk to him?"
"Give it a couple of days", said Rúben. "He's adapting to the team. Maybe he's just having a couple of weird days".
And so that's what you did. But on a day when Rúben was sick in his room, and you weren't allowed to be with him just in case it was contagious, you found the real reason why your new Argentinian friend was being weird.
"Here comes your girlfriend, Juli, don't blush too much", you heard Kalvin say.
And when you turned, you saw Julián looking away from you...and blushing.
"What did you say, Philips?"
"Nothing".
"Are you making your new teammate uncomfortable, boys? I don't think your coach would appreciate that", you said, trying to scare them a bit. Even though you wouldn't tell on them unless they were doing something really harmful.
"Come on! Don't do that!", whined Jack. "We were just joking because Julián has a schoolboy crush on you".
Oh. It was actually sweet. And it made you feel bad for him. He was probably feeling so bad, knowing you were dating his teammate. And it obviously explained his behaviour since he saw you two together as a couple.
"Does Rúben know about this?", you asked them.
"About the crush?"
"Yes and about you bullying your teammate".
"No. We wouldn't say that in front of him, we don't want him hitting Julián".
"He wouldn't hit him, what are you talking about?", you said annoyed.
"He hit me when I flirted with you!!", complained Jack.
"But that's because you are you, Jack", you said, making everyone laugh.
"Come with me", you said to Julián and took him away from the group. "You don't have to avoid me, ok? Or Rúben. I don't mind you having a crush or whatever. You know, it's flattering that a lovely guy like you feels that way. Even if it of course has to remain just a crush. And you'll get over it soon, I'm sure".
"You sure Rúben won't be mad?"
"I won't let him be", you laughed and Julián's little smile warmed your heart.
**
After that, things sort of went back to normal. You had told Rúben about Julian's crush and he just laughed. You both talked to him and he stopped ignoring you.
Actually, he went back to following Rúben around, but the difference was you were there too.
Seeing you as a couple had made his crush go away, just as you expected. And now you could concentrate on being good friends.
The jokes became more frequent, though, but you just told him to ignore them.
And when Julián scored his first goal for the team, you were the first one to congratulate him. You saw him looking at his teammates laughing at your hug and so you kissed his cheek.
"You know, Juli", you said winking at Rúben, "if Rúben wasn't my boyfriend, I'd definitely ask you out. Not any of these idiots".
"Oh come on!", complained Jack.
But you just laughed at that.
