It's Just You And Me

Chapter 6

"Why are you walking like that?" Mild asks Gulf as they enter the pitch. He had been suspiciously looking at Gulf since he arrived; perhaps it was the jumper zipped all the way to the top, covering his neck, or the way he limped with almost every stride. He hadn't expected for his earlier 'exercise' to have such an effect on how he walked and he simply had to hope that with a bit of stretching, it wouldn't be noticeable.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gulf nonchalantly replies, giving him a look that told Mild to be quiet - although of course, Mild would ignore the warning gaze and press on.

"You're very clearly limping and you're wearing a jumper...it's too hot for that, no?" Mild continues.

"I don't want to talk about it." Gulf very seriously responds, shoving Mild in the shoulder and pushing him away. Gulf walked just a bit faster, trying to get away from Mild.

Gulf tried not to scan the stands - he firstly didn't want to make it obvious he was looking for someone and secondly, he didn't want to give himself too much hope. He really wanted Mew to be there, of course he did. They were just hitting it off and Gulf wanted to continue developing whatever they had going. But he respected Mew's work, he knew that what Mew did was very important and Gulf had no right to take that away from him. So eventually, he stopped searching for him. Instead, he focused on kicking the ball into the goal and not limping.

It was perhaps another half an hour before Gulf found himself idly looking around. He had just been weaving in and out of cones, dribbling the ball and it was getting tedious, he wasn't even aware he was searching the crowd until his eyes landed on those of Mew's. Their gaze is immediate and Gulf can't help the grin forming on his face. Mew flashes him a quick smile before looking back down at his sketchbook. His sketchbook. Gulf couldn't tell if what he was drawing was successful. Mew had a good poker face when in public but at least he was trying. Gulf allows himself another moment of staring before Mild is sliding up next to him, nudging him with his shoulder.

"He's here again," Mild says casually. Gulf stares back at him, nodding his head slowly. "Maybe you should talk to him?" Mild says with confidence.

"Why?" Gulf pretends they hadn't had sex...twice.

"Well, I think he knows you're staring at him." Mild points up to Mew and Gulf immediately slaps his finger. Gulf does, however, gaze up to where Mew's sitting and their eyes meet again. This time, Mew gives him a fond smile with a faint laugh. Gulf fights the blush rising to his cheeks. "Oh my god! You've spoken to him haven't you!" Mild points at Gulf, a massive smile on his face.

"What? No!" Gulf looks side to side, trying to hush Mild.

"What did he say? What's his voice like?" Gulf could smack Mild right now.

"I'll tell you later..." Gulf says, moving away from him to collect the ball he had kicked off to the distance as an excuse to leave the conversation.

As they're sitting in the changing room, Mild patiently waits for Gulf to explain. Gulf had been fiddling with his locker for the past five minutes, trying to waste enough time that Mild would get bored and leave. Though of course, Mild was a dedicated friend, he wouldn't just abandon Gulf like that.

"So?" Mild finally nudges. He had been doing well, silently watching Gulf but he couldn't take it any longer, the anticipation was killing him.

"You cannot repeat this conversation, okay?" Gulf looks him dead in the eye. Mild nods his head, accepting his terms and conditions. "I may or may not have bumped into him at a cafe and exchanged phone numbers," Gulf briefly states. He stops himself from saying much more in that moment from the way Mild was looking at him.