Like We Used To || Manuel Neuer

∞

                I had always believed that it had been a fallacy of mine to trust in Manuel's promise of coming back home, but before dawn in the morning after the World Cup finale, there is a silhouetted figure walking toward our veranda with eyes glistening like stars. Jet lag has hit me insanely hard, so I am up early to take in the German summer air.

A familiar scent of raspberry barrels into my nostrils and I realize that this silhouetted figure is somebody who, despite having mislead me for nine years, has kept his promise.

I am beaming by the time Manuel has walked into the light emitting from our streetlamp, and I observe his face as I had never done so before, taking in his tousled, messy hair, and his soft, changing eyes, and wondering if it is now my cue to run up to him and kiss him senselessly.

Standing up on the rocking chair on my veranda, I plaster a ginormous grin on my face; "Manuel," I breathe, and as the vibrancy of my voice illuminates the midsummer air, three other frames emerge from the darkness.

"Bastian!" I squeal first, because he runs up to me, twirls me around, and hugs me.

When we pull away, I hug Asher, and then Belo, who I latch onto for a little longer than the rest.

"I got your letter," he says happily.

I nod and smile, hugging him again. "I should have believed you from the very beginning."

We chatter meaninglessly for a while, Asher, Bastian, Belo and I, until Bastian says, "Won't you invite us in?" and I allow a fleeting laugh to trickle out of my lips, opening the front door for them to walk into. Mama is awake and in the kitchen, I notice, and after making the three comfortable in the dining room and introducing them to her, I walk back outside for Manuel.

He is standing on the edge of the veranda, staring into the distance where the sun has barely peaked. It radiates a faint light that you cannot call 'light' just yet because of the dim stature of the streets, but it is something.

"Hey you," I say, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my head on his back.

Manuel grabs my hands and interweaves our fingers. "We won."

I smile. "I saw."

He turns around so that his six feet figure hovers over mine, biting his lower lip in a way that makes me giddy beyond comprehension, and I don't hide it, because I find myself gently grabbing him by the collar and pulling his face into mine.

"I'm proud of you," I whisper, our faces inches apart.

He goes on his knees so that our faces are more aligned, and when I begin to believe that this means nothing, Manuel opens his mouth sincerely and says, "Azelie Becker, will you—?"

I gasp, my lips parting in shock.

"—look away for a little bit while I tie my shoelaces?"

"You twat," I say bashfully, red pooling onto my cheeks. "That was just cruel."

"I'm kind of cruel," he says.

"Yeah, you haven't kissed me yet," I say in what is supposed to be a joke, but Manu takes it seriously and places his hand on my hips, twinging the air with intimacy by resting his lips on mine. The gesture is gentle and inviting, and my breath fleetingly hitches in my throat, but Manu's grasp on my hips tighten, begging me to react, and I find my fingers trailing down his face, my zealous lips dancing actively with his.

I pull away and look at the way his lips are damp and swollen, coated with my saliva, and it makes me giggle.

"You're shameless," he says, making me laugh again.

"Only with you," I tell him, and then digressing, I add, "We should head inside."

"Yeah," he agrees, so we do.

We eat omelettes with toast and talk about everything and yet nothing at all, and when breakfast draws an end, I see Mama nudging Manuel from the peripheries of my vision. Curious, I rise from my seat and head to the dishwasher, where they are, and hear Mama say to Manu, "Welcome home, Mausi."

And then and there, listening to Bastian make a foolish joke that makes Belo cringe and Asher hysterical, and noting the playful turn in Mama and Manuel's conversation, I realize that I am exactly where I want to be. 

I am home at last.

☁

THATS IT

HOLY SHIT

LIKE WE USED TO IS OVER

OFFICIALLY

WOW

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR STICKING AROUND AND WOWOOOOOOOOOOW i'm actually having such a hard time believing that it's over *goes to the corner and cries profusely for eternity*

i am honestly speechless and somewhat of a mess right now because it has been so long and my footballer-craze hasn't ended and i never thought that i would make it this far because everyone was like 'hahaha lolz ur in a phase and it's gonna end in a week' BUT NAH I FINISHED A FAN FICTION HOLLA AT Me

ok

i'm just

...

thank you guys

i love you so so so much

more than manuel loves azelie