Gift fic for Fezzes64

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia

Just an Ordinary Game

"We're here!" Feliciano cheered. Ludwig grunted, heaving his equipment into the field.

"Are you sure you want to sit through this. I mean, isn't sitting there and just watching really boring?" Ludwig questioned his Italian companion as the other skipped to the field.

"No not at all. After all, this is a great chance to see you play first-hand." Feliciano answered. He's known Ludwig for about a few weeks now and he really doesn't know much about the man. Well, he knew he was very serious and organized, but he wanted to know more.

"Sure thing, whatever you say." Ludwig sighed. The duo walked into the soccer pitch and was greeted by the often moody and always grumpy, Lovino Vargas, "Hello potato bastard," he greeted curtly.

Lovino's always hated Ludwig since the first day they met. Ever since Antonio tried to introduce them to each other, Lovino carried his hatred for the German with a passion, and Ludwig can't figure out exactly why.

His gaze shifted to Feliciano, "Fratello, what are you doing here?" Lovino's surprise morphed into disgust as he realized who he was hanging out with, "And why are you with this potato bastard?" he grumbled.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow at the cantankerous man before Feliciano intervened, "Lovi, please calm down, Ludwig's my friend."

Lovino's mouth dropped, "What! Since when?"

"Since the first day of school." Feliciano explained.

"Since the first day? Why the hell didn't you tell me? This pervert bastard could have done something to you." Lovino grumbled.

"Ve- but Luddy's so nice." Feliciano complimented.

"Nice?" Lovino sputtered, "Did the potato bastard hypnotize you or something?"

"No, Ludwig, is a really nice person, why don't you give him a chance?"

Lovino scrunched his face, "Because that bastard is...ugh forget about it, so long as the pervert bastard doesn't do anything funny." Lovino gave a small huff and walked away.

"Pervert?" Ludwig questioned.

"Lovino can be a little cranky sometimes." Feliciano explained.

"Tell me about it. Anyways, how do you know him?"

"He's my brother."

"He's your brother?" Ludwig asked.

"Yeah." Ludwig quirked his eyebrows. "It's a long story." Feliciano explained. Ludwig nodded and kicked the ball to the other end of the field. He revved for another kick, "I see our star striker's finally here."

Ludwig turned his attention to his older and often aggravating brother, "Gilbert, what are you doing here?"

Gilbert merely smirked, "The world's most awesomest keeper is here to win it for the team, GO TEAM AWESOME." he raised his fists in the air. Ludwig merely shook his head. He still can't believe that Gilbert managed to convince his teammates to name themselves, "Team Awesome."

"Who are you guys facing?" Feliciano asked

"Well if I'm not mistaken, they call themselves Team Tomato."

Feliciano cocked his head, "Team Tomato?"

"I think it might have been Antonio's idea."

"I see."

"Anyways, I think we're going to get ready soon."

"Yeah I'll go sit on the side." Feliciano suggested.

"Okay then."

"Ve-good luck Luddy."

Ludwig turned his attention back to his team, they weren't a shabby bunch if he said so himself. There was his brother, Gilbert in net, Roderich and Elizabeta on defence, Vash, Mattias and himself as forwards, and few other regulars.

He turned his attention up field,"Alright, let's get this game started."

The other team glanced around nervously before their captain, Antonio jogged up to meet Ludwig, "Um, we have a problem."

"What is it?" Ludwig asked

"We're down a man." Antonio flatly stated

Ludwig scrunched his face, "What do you mean, we're down a man?"

"Our midfielder is missing." Antonio replied.

Ludwig looked down field and counted the players in the other team. Ludwig immediately recognized who's missing, "Is it Herakles?"

"Yeah."

"He's probably sleeping in." Ludwig suggested.

"Again" Antonio added.

"...with his cats." Ludwig said.

"Again" Antonio sighed.

"We'll then, who can play for us?" Antonio asked.

"What about Feli?" Ludwig suggested

"Who?" Antonio turned his attention to the brown-haired teen before adding, "Hmm, he kind of looks like Lovino?"

"Apparently they're brothers." Ludwig said

Antonio's eyes lit up, "Really, then in that case we'll take him."

Ludwig turned to Feliciano and yelled, "Feliciano?"

The Italian looked up, "Si."

"Do you want to play?" Ludwig asked

"Ve-of course." Feliciano beamed.

"Good, suit up for their team." Ludwig commanded. Feliciano got up and headed to the other side of the pitch, "Sure thing."

After giving a few minutes for Feliciano to get ready Ludwig called out, "Ready?"

The other team led by Antonio raucously yelled back, "You betcha."

Ludwig turned back to his team, "Are you ready to beat these guys?" They roared back, "Yeah."

The game kicked off and the two teams started in a leisurely pace. They exchanged possession of the ball, but never really took it down the field. Everyone was careful, not wanting to make a mistake. Ludwig looked around before asking for the ball. Vash obliged and gave him a perfect pass. Ludwig smirked and made his way down the field, his team following closely behind. Ludwig weaved through the defence, attempting to get a clear shot on goal. After shaking off two defenders Ludwig was all alone in front of the net with only Antonio standing between him and a goal. Ludwig revved his kick and aimed for the top left corner. Ludwig was so concentrated in his wind-up that he didn't notice Feliciano coming out of nowhere to strip Ludwig of the ball. Ludwig's eyes widened, Feliciano caught him completely flat-footed and the play went the other way.

Feliciano took the ball and passed it to Lovino who passed it off to Sadiq who passed it back to Feliciano. Ludwig tried to rush back to play defence, hoping his team was responding to the attack. No such luck, the team was paralyzed by the perfect passes the other team were making. However, everyone noticed how the smaller Italian was playing. Once he took the ball, he becomes a different person, blowing by defenders and leaving them sprawled on the grass. Feliciano soon had a clear shot of the net, and with little hesitation he blew the shot by Gilbert, who stood there surprised as the ball blurred by him and into the back of the net.

Feliciano started celebrating, "Yay, that was a great job guys." He turned and gave high fives to his team mates, before getting a congratulatory pat from his brother, "Nice goal fratello." And from the Turkish man, "Not to bad kid, not too bad." Sadiq complimented.

Ludwig stared dumbfounded before Gilbert approached him, "Dude, who is this guy?" Ludwig was still shocked by Feliciano's display of skill simply responded, "I don't know." He frowned, "It doesn't matter, we'll still try our best and we'll win."

The game restarted and the two teams played more aggressively. The play went back and forth, but the two goalkeepers managed to stop every shot. Antonio was almost acrobatic, taking away every opening to the net, frustrating shooters to no end. While Gilbert's positioning was flawless, he was always there to take the ball away in every situation.

Meanwhile, Ludwig was starting to get agitated, it seemed that every time he had the ball, Feliciano would come out of nowhere and take it from him. He's tried an all-out rush thinking his size would give him advantage. Instead, Feliciano took him on head on and won. He's tried being subtle about it, only to lose possession through a well-timed sliding tackle.

Feliciano's seemingly endless bag of defensive tricks stymied the opposing team, he can make a well-timed tackle, he can come out of nowhere to take the ball, and he can force people offside.

The two teams fought for control, but to no avail. By half time the score was 1-0.

Ludwig panted, sweat dripped from his brow as he struggled to catch his breath. Feliciano ran up to him, "Isn't this fun?" he asked. Ludwig merely nodded. Feliciano stared at him for a second before wishing him good luck and went back to his team.

The second half started off with more of the same. The two teams fought for the ball, going up and down the field, but neither team could score. Ludwig grunted in frustration, in most games he could score when his team needed it the most, but he kept getting blocked by Feliciano's stingy defence. After getting stopped for the tenth time, Ludwig decided on a different strategy. Instead of trying to go through Feliciano with force, he decided to be cheekier about it.

On the next possession, Ludwig grabs the ball and heads down the field. Instead of attacking head on he faked to his left before pushing the ball between Feliciano's legs and blurred by him. Left all alone in front of the net Ludwig shot the ball. Antonio made a desperate dive, but the ball sailed past him and tied the game.

Antonio groaned, "Oh man."

An irate Lovino came up to Antonio, "Bastard! That was an easy shot. How the hell did you let that in?"

Antonio sheepishly smiled, "Sorry about that, I'll do better next time." Lovino frowned and fished the ball from the back of the net and tossed it back into the field, "You better."

While Ludwig celebrated, he glanced over at Feliciano who smiled at him and gave him two thumbs up.

The play started again, and the other team picked up their game. Their passes were cleaner, their movement was quicker. Lovino lobbed it ahead to Sadiq who rushed it up the field. Aware of the defence closing in on him he spotted an opening and made a quick pass back to Feliciano. Left alone in front of Gilbert, he faked to his right before tapping the ball to the open side. Gilbert groaned as Feliciano and his team mates celebrated.

"Nice goal Feli." Ludwig grunted

Feliciano beamed, "Thanks Luddy, yours too."

The game restarted, the pace was more furious this time, as Ludwig's team was on the attack. Vash, Mattias and Ludwig passed the ball between themselves, slowly dredging their way up the field. That's when Ludwig caught sight of Feliciano way behind him. Taking his chance he calls for the ball. Mattias obliged and sent a perfect pass to Ludwig who broke through the defenders, and fired the shot passed Antonio. Tie game. Antonio tossed the ball back, as the two teams regrouped.

The two teams played to a near standstill for the next ten minutes, everyone too afraid to make a mistake. That's when Feliciano's team got a corner kick.

Feliciano ran up to his brother, "Um, Lovi?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you take the corner?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino gave him a puzzled look, "Um, sure thing."

"Thanks," Feliciano ran off to join the mass of people gathered around the net. Lovino took the ball and gently placed it on the corner. Then, he heaved himself forward and launched the ball towards the scrum. The attacking players all jumped in vain trying to get the go ahead goal. While the defending players tried to header the ball out of box. Nobody noticed the small Italian come out of nowhere to leap in the air and header the ball.

Everyone gawked. Feliciano just soared through the air and with perfect timing bounced the ball on his head, into the ground and into the net. No one seems to notice Feliciano celebrating by himself, nor did they notice he just scored a hat trick.

Ludwig groaned, when Lovino came up behind him, "So, Antonio told me it was your idea to put Feli on our team." Ludwig could feel his smirk burning into him. "Talk about digging your own grave, well good luck." He patted his shoulder and walked back to his side of the field.

There was only about 5 minutes left in the game, and Ludwig was getting desperate. Sure, he's lost games before, but this was different. He felt that he's supposed to impress Feliciano at something, and the thought of losing to the guy he's trying to impress made his stomach churn. So instead he resolved to at least tie the game. But as the other team played a stingier defence it was difficult to even get close to the box.

Ludwig frowned, as he's forced to pass the ball back to Mattias. The other team was putting more pressure on them everytime they got the ball, forcing them to make some poor passes. Ludwig looked at his watch, only one minute left. In desperation he grabbed the ball, and with a burst of speed blazed by the defenders, one after another after another.

Antonio's eyes widened and called out, "Get Ludwig! Get Ludwig!"

Lovino saw him coming towards the net and tried a slide tackle, only for Ludwig to jump over him. Ludwig soon found himself alone with Antonio. That's when Ludwig felt him. Feliciano was nipping at his heels. Ludwig tried to shake him off, but to no avail. Instead, it slowed him down and allowed Feliciano to literally be on his back. Ludwig gritted his teeth and tried to shake him off again. Feliciano looked at Ludwig and for an instant both of their eyes met. Feliciano merely smiled and winked. Feliciano lost his balance, tripped over his own feet and fell away from the play, giving Ludwig the space he desperately needed to get a clear shot on Antonio.

Antonio gasped, "Wait, Feli fell?" Ludwig was stunned too. In fact, it seemed that everyone was at least a bit shocked that the soccer prodigy who could do no wrong tripped up. Time slowed down, he looked at his feet and saw the ball. He looked at Antonio still gawking at the fallen Feliciano. Taking his chance, he fired the ball into the back of the net, passed the inattentive Spaniard. Tie game.

The whistle blew, "Alright, game over, the score is 3-3, with matching hat tricks from Feliciano Vargas and Ludwig Beilschmidt."

Ludwig approached Feliciano who sat silently on the grass, "You didn't have to do that?"

Feliciano looked up innocently, "Do what?"

Ludwig sat down, "You know what I mean. You tripped yourself on purpose."

Feliciano sighed, "I'm sorry Luddy. I know how much you wanted to win, or at least tie the game, so..."

"You didn't need to do that. I would have been okay if we lost."

"But then you wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore." Feliciano rationalized

Ludwig raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" Ludwig asked.

"I saw the look in your face. You looked so mad. So I thought that if we beat you, you wouldn't wanna be my friend." Feliciano explained.

Ludwig felt guilty, "I'm sorry Feli. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I get so competitive that I sometimes let my emotions get the best of me. I still want to be your friend."

Feli looked up, "You mean that?"

Ludwig got up, "Of course." He helped Feli get back to his feet as the two started walking to the parking lot.

"You're good." Ludwig complemented

"Grazie Luddy." Feliciano smiled

"No, I mean, you're really good. Like amazingly good." Ludwig picked

"Oh, well."

"How long have you been playing? How did you get so good? What's your secret?" Ludwig questioned him eagerly.

Feliciano rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well...I used to be part of the Italian under 16 national team." He whispered sheepishly.

Ludwig blanched, "The...the...the national team."

"Yeah, I used to be the starting midfielder."

Ludwig can't believe it. He knows that Feliciano's a great player. He's quick, agile, and has a cannon of a shot, but national team material is another matter, "But then why did you quit? You're so good; you could've probably played professionally when you're older."

Feliciano looked away, "I know, but I like playing the game for fun. I like playing with friends, I don't want to do it as my job." It was true, he loved football with the very fibre of his being, he lives and breathes football.

"You're right." Feliciano continued, "I could have played professionally. In fact, when I was younger I used to dream of playing football for Italy in the World Cup. But..." he paused momentarily.

Ludwig urged him on, "But what?"

"The game stopped being fun. After school and homework, it's all football; football exercises, football practices, football games. I couldn't stand it anymore I was beginning to hate the game." Feliciano bent down to tie his shoes, "And the people playing the game weren't playing because they wanted to. It's because they had do. They were pressured by their parents, their friends their relatives to make it. Everyone had that dream to be a star football player, to be the next Ronaldo, or Messi. Most of the kids weren't ever gonna make it, but they can dream right? Anyways, everyone started looking after themselves. Everyone was trying to get that extra boost to get ahead." Feliciano got up and started walking, Ludwig trailing behind.

Ludwig was quiet, he can't imagine the pressure Feliciano must have burdened.

Feliciano sighed, "I just couldn't do it anymore, the pressure was too much, the expectations were too much, everything was suffocating me, so I quit."

"What happened?"

"I told my Grandpa that I quit and I wanted to join him and fratello here in America."

"How did he react to it?" Ludwig asked wondering how well the old man would take the news. He's seen the man before, and he can tell that he's very proud of his two grandsons and will support them in whatever they do. But he has a feeling the old man didn't take too kindly to this news.

"He took it well enough I guess. Though I can tell there was a hint of disappointment in his tone. But in the end he never stopped me, and now here I am." Feliciano kicked the pop can down the sidewalk.

"I see." Ludwig never expected this, Feliciano's supposed to a silly and wildly unpredictable teen living his life to the fullest. He wasn't supposed to be introspective.

"It's a stupid reason I know but..." Feliciano continued, when Ludwig butted in,

"It's not stupid Feli. You're free to choose your life and the way you live." He looked at Feliciano's face and softened, "Besides, if you never quit, I wouldn't have met you."

"I guess you're right." Feliciano stated, slowly returning to his happier self.

"See, it all works out in the end." Ludwig assured him. He did pause before turning to Feliciano, "Though I am very curious about how good you are."

Feliciano smiled.

"Perhaps a game of one on one, mano e mano, will answer that question." Ludwig suggested

Feliciano's eyes flashed, "You're on, anytime, anyplace."

Ludwig chuckled, "That's what I like to hear."

The two proceeded to walk down the cragged sidewalk. The Sun was melting on the horizon, and lights from inside the houses lining the street started to come to light. Night was approaching, but to the pair walking side by side, it was only the beginning.