[cutison] If I had to guess, I think it's you ~

Ch. 6: when Sonny fought with Lloris

Cristian had never been more relieved to hear the referee signalling the end of the first half of a match. The game wasn't an easy one, their team wasn't at their absolute best, and tensions were at an all-time high.

Lloris, their captain, was mad. No, scratch that. He was fuming. And the target of his anger happened to be Son Heungmin. What had begun as a reproach on the field, had escalated to a full fledged fight that continued –and escalated– in the locker room.

"It's the same for you, it's the same for Harry, it's the same for Lucas! Make the run!" Cristian was sure he'd never heard Lloris' accent so strong before. The Frenchman was completely out of his mind, and several of their teammates were struggling to keep him and Heungmin apart. "One minute to go! One minute to go! We nearly conceded a goal!"

"What is your respect for me?! I respect YOU!" Sonny's voice cracked, the desperation clear in it.

"Don't talk about respect! Make the run! Make the run! make the run for the team!"

Somehow Lloris managed to free himself from the three other players holding him back and grabbed Sonny by his jersey.

And that was the exact moment Cristian saw red. He hurried to the centre of the commotion and grabbed the goalkeeper's arm, in an attempt to help Sonny.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Let him go", he yelled in Lloris' face, still struggling to force the man's hand.

"Fuck off, Romero, this has nothing to do with you"

Hugo tried to shove him with his free hand, and wouldn't let go of Sonny, who kept yelling what sounded like English mixed with Korean –at least to Cristian's ears– in return. Cristian was getting unmeasurably angrier by the second; he saw Lloris tighten his hold on Sonny's shirt, and, allowing the fury to get the better of him, grabbed the man by the neck.

Heungmin's eyes went wide at that; Cristian's eyes were the darkest he'd ever seen them, and the visible strain in his neck and arm was just another hint of his friend's current state.

"Cuti! Cuti, soltalo, no seas boludo," Cristian recognized Rodrigo's voice next to him but his brain could not process the words, his impromptu tunnel vision only allowing him to focus on Heungmin and Lloris.

"Let. Him. Go."

The whole room froze, as if they could all feel the anger coming off Cristian like waves. For anyone who only knew him for his performance during matches, that scene would have probably seemed like an everyday occurrence, but his teammates knew better. While Cristian could be a beast in the field, he was actually a really sweet and quiet guy outside of it; seeing him so angry was not only unusual, but also quite scary and intimidating.

It was at that moment that Conte entered the locker room, completely unaware of what was going on. Suddenly shocked at the sight in front of him, he loudly cleared his throat, causing everyone to scatter around in a frenzy and pretend everything was okay. Lloris finally let go of Sonny, but he didn't withdraw from the glaring match against Cristian, who stood firm between the two men.

"what happened in here, I don't know the whole story, and I don't want to know either, but if you don't get your shit together right now, we're gonna have a problem, we only have," the head coach checked his watch, "ten minutes left before the second half begins"

Without saying a word, Cristian grabbed Sonny by the wrist and dragged him outside towards the empty adjacent room, completely ignoring their teammates' calls. Once there, he locked the door, guided the other man to the nearest bench, and prompted him to sit down.

"Are you alright?," he asked, still a bit frenetic, receiving no response, "Sonny?"

Cristian shook Heungmin by the shoulders softly, but the man seemed to be in shock and wouldn't react.