Harbinger Of Glory

Getting to the apartment, Leo shut the door behind him with his foot and flicked his coat off his shoulders, tossing it onto the couch without much fuss as it landed in a loose heap.

He stood there for a second, eyes scanning the apartment, before he shook his head once with a tinge of amusement in the smirk that grew on his face.

”Do you think Sofia would come back this early?” he asked the room, and a beat later, Mia popped out from behind the hallway wall with her phone in hand, and after realising who it was, she stopped the act she had prepared to put on.

Leo, seeing this, let out a heavy breath through the still before turning towards a chair and leaning on it for a bit of support.

”You know,” he said, toeing his trainers off, ”faking an illness to skip school is not the path to becoming a lawyer. Or a model. Or whatever you’re pretending you want to be this month.”

Mia rolled her eyes so hard it was almost impressive.

”It was just for today.”

”Sure,” Leo said, walking past her.

”And then just for tomorrow. And then suddenly you’ve missed a week, and you’re ’overwhelmed.’”

Instead of answering or rebutting what Leo had said like she had done, she darted past him toward the table, reaching for the cardboard holder with the cappuccinos.

She pulled one free, took a long sip, then froze as her eyes widened slightly.

She lowered the cup, wiped her mouth quickly with the back of her hand, then corrected herself.

”Sorry,” she said. ”Excuse me.”

Leo glanced at her, nodded once.

”As long as it doesn’t happen again. You might feel tired, but come on, lying to Sofia?”

She nodded back, exaggerated and solemn, then whipped her head up.

”Okay, okay, I get it. Now stop with the football pep talk.”

Just as she said that, one of his slippers came flying her way.

She squeaked and ducked, laughing as it skidded across the floor.

”When’s Sofia back?” Leo asked, already turning toward the kitchen.

He opened the fridge, stared inside like he didn’t trust it, then pulled out a container of leftovers.

The cold didn’t stop him as he grabbed a fork and started eating straight out of it.

Mia flopped onto a chair, cappuccino in hand.

”She said she’d be late,” she said. ”But she was gonna come back early to look after me.”

Leo hummed, clearly unconvinced, mouth full.

”Well then, we need to tell her not to. Whatever she’s doing, I am sure it would be much more important than taking care of an ungrateful niece who lies about her sickness.”

”Yes, sir,” Mia responded like she hadn’t heard what Leo had said, but that subtle twitch with her lips made Leo know that his words had gone through.

As Leo continued with the container, his phone buzzed.

He picked it up and answered without checking the name.

”Yeah?”

”Are you in Manchester?” Carlo’s voice came through immediately.

Leo nodded on instinct, fork still in his mouth. ”Mmyeah.”

There was a pause on the other end.

”What the hell was that?”

Leo swallowed.

”Food.”

A longer-than-usual pause set over the phone before Carlo’s voice came through again.

”Do you want to meet up?”

Leo glanced at Mia, who was already back on her phone, scrolling and now with cappuccino number two in hand, but Sofia still very much not being called.

”Yeah,” Leo said. ”Text me the address.”

”Will do. Thirty minutes, yeah,” Carlo replied as the call ended.

”I’ll send the details.”

Afterwards, Leo stood, took his bowl to the sink, and washed it properly.

When he was done, he dried his hands, grabbed his jacket off the couch, and slung it over his arm.

”I’m heading out for a bit,” he said, glancing at Mia, who was now sitting at the countertop in the kitchen.

”Okay,” she announced without even glancing up.

He paused at the door, glanced back at her, then shook his head with a faint smile.

”Try to keep the noise to yourself.”

She waved him off without looking while Leo stepped out, the door clicking shut behind him, and almost a minute after that, Carlo texted where they were meeting.

The park was half-lit and mostly empty, leaving just a few swings creaking gently in the breeze, with the ground damp and patches of mud dark against the rubber flooring.

Carlo stood near the fence, hands in his jacket pockets, staring at nothing in particular and only turning towards Leo after hearing the sound of his boots against the ground.

”This is your meeting spot?” he said, stopping beside him while glancing around once.

”You know, people might at least suspect you of something more. Not me, though. I look like an angel.”

Carlo scoffed and finally looked over. ”Fuck off.”

Leo grinned and leaned against the fence anyway, shoulder to shoulder with him.

”How are you, then? Living the dream as City’s next one to watch?”

Carlo shook his head.

”I liked you more when we were in Italy. You didn’t talk too much then!”

Leo nodded, listening before he kicked lightly at the dirt with the toe of his shoe.

”Yeah. Me too,” he said, leaving Carlo a bit more irked.

They talked for a bit after that, just the usual, until it began leaning more and more towards the personal side.

Then, after a question, Carlo went quiet.

”What?” Leo asked after noticing the weird silence that had suddenly invaded the mood.

”Don’t tell me you’re coming out or something....” Leo said, bringing his hands to his mouth in mock shock, causing Carlo to kick him on the shin before the latter really said what was on his mind.

”What do you think,” he said slowly, ”if I left City?”

Leo turned to him properly this time, and now, the easy, relaxed look was gone, replaced by a much more serious expression.

”What’s going on?”

”Just answer,” Carlo said. ”Nothing else.”

Leo sighed, rubbed the back of his neck, then breathed out through his mouth.

”I don’t really support it,” he said honestly. ”I wouldn’t be trying to leave a club like that.”

Carlo nodded faintly. ”Oh.”

”But,” Leo added immediately, cutting in before the word could settle, ”that’s only me. If you feel like you should be starting somewhere. If you genuinely think you’re ready for that level now, not in two years, then that’s different.”

Carlo looked at him again.

”You can’t live forever as a ’maybe,’” Leo continued.

”Always being told you’re one for the future. At some point, it stops being a compliment. And personally, I am glad I got the opportunity much earlier than most would because there are some things you just have to see for yourself on the pitch.”

Carlo nodded slowly, eyes dropping to the ground as he thought it through, while Leo, standing beside him, just stood there with the most satisfied smile on his face that anyone could ever see on a boy.