it was just upsetting to watch really. simon running into an open space and his teammates refusing to pass the ball to him to him. instead, they'd shoot and miss over and over again. simon couldn't help but throw his arms up in annoyance at the third attempt, and he couldn't help but hold the grudge for the rest of the night. yes, his team won, but simon didn't really feel like it.
harry had watched the game from a box with their friends. everyone else was equally upset. they didn't let him play until the last twenty minutes and then he got to touch the ball all of three times. it wasn't fair. he was even pushed to the back when they celebrated the win with the trophy. simon deserved better than that.
—
when simon walked into his hotel room at the end of the day, harry was waiting for him. simon dropped his bag to the floor on his way to harry with his arms extended. he let out a deep breath and relaxed in his hold.
'you did great.' harry said whilst they held each other. simon couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
'warming the bench, maybe.' simon shook his head a little. he wished this was a better experience, he was so excited about it before.
'don't do that.' harry said, pouting a little bit. he turned the laptop that was on the bed towards simon. 'twitter is in uproar.' this made simon laugh a little, because when wasn't twitter in uproar? 'they're saying you were robbed.'
'well, i'm glad someone else was thinking it!' simon joked, but harry saw right through it. he sighed and pulled simon into another hug.
'they used you.' simon's shoulder muffled his words. 'don't blame yourself.' simon nodded, a little unconvincingly but he nodded.
logically, simon knew it wasn't his fault. a lot of the team were friends already, trying to get each other goals. he understood that, but they could've given him a little longer to play at least. it was becoming clear to him that they wanted a 'big influencer name' to bring in a new audience. it was for charity, he didn't mind, he told himself. but really, he did mind a bit.
'honestly, i just want to forget about it, order room service and cuddle.' what's done is done, and simon wasn't going to waste the free food and uninterrupted time with his boyfriend.
'alright.' harry said. pecking simon before heading for the menu. 'you're still my man of the match.' harry waggled his eyebrows and simon couldn't help but smile at him.
they ordered a pizza, ate it in bed and laughed at twitter for awhile before falling asleep. harry had let simon be the little spoon for once, and that felt like more of a win than the football game.
