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vinbee631 · 2 years ago

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Chance Meeting(s)

alright, it's time for day 3! or, it's 4 now...

day 3.5 of logince week! prompt is competition

this is maybe my favorite oneshot form this series so far, but i did not have time to proofread very much, so we'll see how this goes lol

i hope you enjoy!! <3

The Gainseville Billy Goats was your fairly standard youth soccer team. Every other day, excluding weekends, a large group of first and second-graders would meet to practice running around and kicking not-soft objects.

It was a wonder the Reyes twins’ mother allowed them to even attend these practices, the worrywart that she was, but the twins' insistence on any and all physical activity left her practically unable to say no.

Roman and Remus loved sports. From the time they had learned to crawl, they were constantly moving around, looking for new things to try.

For their parents, it could be a tad exhausting, but it was wonderful to see them be so enthusiastic about new activities or sports or games.

Soccer was the first sport they were able to play on an official team, with jerseys and everything! The boys were in love with it instantly; they didn’t even get distracted during practice and run off like the rest of the kids!

And then, after a few weeks of practicing and learning and so so much running, the boys finally got to participate in a real game! Against another team with other kids!

The twins didn’t stop smiling the whole time, grinning even wider when they passed the ball to each other or when someone on their team scored a goal.

The game could be pretty choppy sometimes. Since they were still only in first grade, some of the kids could be a bit iffy with the rules. Roman and Remus, of course, followed them to a T, but they understood if some of their friends needed extra time to figure things out.

Their opponent, the Newberry Newts (Roman and Remus really liked that name! They thought it was clever) was basically the same as theirs, just with different kids and blue jerseys instead of orange.

If they were following along with the pe-sific defensive rules, Roman’s current opponent was supposed to be number 42, “SPENCOR.”

That wasn’t his actual name, Roman knew, only his last name. But they were in the middle of a game! He’d have to get to know him better when they weren’t trying to beat each other at soccer.

His future friend was also very good at the game, and they seemed to know all the rules like the back of their hand already! Sometimes, they even tried to help the referees! Roman thought that was kind of silly, trying to correct an adult, but usually, they were right! Roman was pretty impressed.

Roman had made a continuous effort to smile at Spencor whenever they made eye contact, even going so far as to shoot them a thumbs-up for their best moves. Unfortunately, they never returned the smiles or gave a reaction to the support. Oh, well. Maybe he was too distracted by the game Roman understood.

By the end, Roman was practically vibrating at the excitement that was meeting a potential friend. Once his coach had let everyone return to their families, he rushed over to his parents.

“Mama, mama, can I go say hi to that kid over there? I wanna go say hi!” Roman’s mother chuckled, very used to his enthusiasm.

“Well, I had been planning on congratulation you for your first-ever soccer win, but I suppose that can wait a few minutes. Be safe, mijo, and stay where I can see you, alright? We have plenty of time.”

Roman grinned, quickly giving her a hug before turning to his brother.

“Hey, Re! Do you wanna come meet someone with me?” Remus glanced up at him, looking a bit confused. “Sorry, can you repeat that? I only heard ‘meet someone.’”

Roman nodded, reminding himself to slow his words down a bit. “I’m gonna go say hi to someone, they were on the other team, and I wanna meet them! Wanna come?”

Remus shook his head. “Nah, I wanna eat my snack for now, but have fun! Lemme know what they’re like, okay?” Roman quickly agreed, turning to rush over to meet this Spencor person before they had to go, but something stopped them.

Spencor, like the rest of the kids at the game, had gone over to meet their family, talk about the game, and eventually head home. It seemed like they were with their mom right now, but something seemed wrong.

She wasn’t yelling at them. Roman would have been able to hear it from where he was standing. But she looked really upset with them. Maybe they had gotten in trouble for something? It might not be the best idea to go talk to them if they were in trouble.

Suddenly, Spencor’s mom stormed off, leaving them by themself, and- crying?

“Hey! Are you alright?” Roman ran over to Spencor, suddenly spurred into movement at the sight of his tears.”

“I’m fine,” they grumbled, “now please, leave me alone.”

Yeah, no, Roman wasn’t convinced.

He carefully sat down on the ground in front of them, smiling gently when they didn’t immediately try to shoo him away again.

“I could leave, I guess, but it seems like you’re still upset. You don’t have to talk ‘bout it if you don’t want to! I just figured you might want some company or something. And I think you’re really cool, so I wanted to say hi!”

They blinked, startled out of their tears. “You- you think I’m cool?”

“Well, yeah, you’re cool! You’ve got cool glasses and you know a lot about soccer, and you’re really good at it too!”

“But… but my team lost. So, you’re probably better than me…” they muttered, folding their arms and sitting down in front of Roman.

“Well, yeah, my team won, but that doesn’t mean that one person on one team is better than one on another! We’ve all got different skills, and lumping people together as the best or the worst is no fun. You should just, well, have fun! And, you did really good out there. I liked how you kept telling the referees about the mistakes they made. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do that!”

“But… I got in trouble for it. Mom says I’m not supposed to talk back to adults, it isn’t respectful,” they replied sullenly, curling up and resting their chin on their knees.

“Hm, well, sometimes adults aren’t always right. So, as long as you’re nice about it, you should try and tell them when they make a mistake. ‘Cuz everyone makes mistakes! And then we can learn from them!”

Spencor seemed to think it over for a minute, then ultimately seemed to agree with Roman. “Y-yeah, I think you’re right. You’re really smart,” they said.

“Aw, thank you! I… I never asked for your name. And I never introduced myself! Oops! I’m Roman, by the way, sorry I forgot.”

“It’s alright,” they responded. “After all, everyone makes mistakes, right? I’m Logan.”

With a wide grin, Roman decided that he really, really liked Logan. He hoped they’d get to stay friends for a long, long time!

…

After second grade, the twins moved on to another sport: basketball! Not that soccer hadn’t been fun! It was just…

Graduating from second grade meant moving up to the next soccer team. The twins really enjoyed it at first! The team was a bit smaller, and things were a lot more organized and they learned different skills now that they were older.

It was just… their coach was not very understanding about Remus’ need for repeated instructions. And when Roman had tried to fill in the gaps for him, he’d gotten yelled at talking over their coach!

Once they told their parents about this problem, they had quickly been taken off that soccer team.

Later, after Roman’s anger and Remus’ embarrassment had calmed down a bit, their parents had asked if they wanted to look for another team to play for, but the experience had left a bit of a sour taste in their mouths.

Besides, there were so many other sports left to try!

So, at the recommendation of one of Remus’ friends, they joined their elementary school’s basketball team. It was a very different sport (hands, not feet, Roman had to remind himself sometimes), but they loved it even more than their previous choice!

About halfway through the season, the team was scheduled for a game in Newberry.

Huh, where had he seen that name before?

This match wasn’t any different from all the others they’d been in. Except, Roman swore there was something familiar about this town. He’d never been to Newberry Elementary before, so where had this eerily familiar feeling come from?

It wasn’t until about halfway through the game that Roman spotted a jersey that answered his question.

“SPENCOR 42.”

Hey, that was Logan!

Roman had been wondering if he’d ever see his friend again. After that soccer game, the Billy Goats wouldn’t get the chance to play Newberry until the next season. And, by the time that came, it seemed Logan wasn’t on the team anymore.

Roman had been pretty disappointed at first, but his and Logan’s towns were pretty close by. If either of them did any sort of traveling in the future, there was a chance they’d get to see each other again.

The memories of Logan had passed through his mind every so often for the next few years, and now, that hope had finally paid off!

For once in his life, Roman was really hoping this game was going to end sooner.

Finally, the game was finished (Roman’s team had lost this time, he was pretty sure there was- like, poetic meaning to that, or something), and Roman rushed over to greet his friend- for real, not just the monotone “good game” handshake he had exchanged with all the players.

“Hey, Logan!!” They turned, seemingly startled that someone was calling out to them. “I- sorry, do I know you?”

“Yeah! Sorry, I’m Roman! From soccer a couple of years back? I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!”

Logan’s face lit up in recognition, and they nodded. “Ah yes, I remember. It is good to see you as well. Did you continue on with soccer? I haven’t played since that season we met.”

“Um, nah, me and my brother got kinda bored with it after we aged out of our first team, just a year after you quit. We switched to this instead! It’s hard to stick with just one sport when there are so many cool ones!”

“I see,” Logan nodded again, though they didn’t seem to quite agree with Roman’s statement. “Have you two been enjoying basketball, then?”

“Oh, yeah! I mean, I’d love any sport I get to play with Rem, but basketball’s pretty cool! A lot less running, that’s for sure!”

Roman was delighted to see Logan crack a small smile at that. Geez, they’d only talked twice and Roman was already picturing them being his closest friend.

“So, uh, my parents usually take me and my brother out to eat or to get ice cream or something after a game. Would you wanna come with your mom or dad? Or whoever brought you? I can even ask them for you if you want! Or- not, sorry if that was too forward.”

Logan blinked, processing Roman’s word vomit. “I… er, I suppose I would have to ask my mother. And, I… if you- uhm, if you wouldn’t mind… you may ask her. And, there’s no need to apologize. You just… pardon, you talk very fast, so it took me a moment to understand.”

“Oh, yeah, I do that a lot. Re yells at me for it all the time ‘cause he really can’t understand me if I do it!” Logan didn’t get the chance to question Roman’s statement before his mother was walking toward them.

“Are you going to introduce me to your new friend?” She asked curtly. Roman nearly grimaced at the ice in her tone. Maybe she’d just had a really long day or something and was in a bad mood.

“Hi! My name is Roman! I met Logan at soccer a couple of years back, but now we get to see each other again! I was just gonna ask if you guys would like to join us for- er, one sec. MOM! ARE WE STILL GETTING ICE CREAM?!”

Roman’s mom chuckled from the other end of the court. “Yes, honey!” She called back. “Why don’t you invite your friend to come along?”

“THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING!! …So, er, would you like to come with us? It’ll be me, my brother, and one of his friends, I think. We like to hang out afterward and celebrate, even if we lose! ‘Cause… as long as we played a good game and didn’t give up, we didn’t lose too bad, I don’t think!”

As Roman continued to chatter excitedly, a small sneer had grown on Logan’s mom’s face. “I’m not sure how comfortable I am allowing my son to hang out with someone so… loud. Apologies for declining your offer. Logan, you have five minutes to say goodbye, then you had better be in the car before I leave. Clear?”

“Crystal,” Logan muttered, glaring at the waxed wood floors instead of his mother. Roman sighed, feeling a sudden urge to reach out and squeeze Logan’s hand protectively.

“Sorry for making her mad. I guess I am pretty loud sometimes, huh?”

“What? No!” Roman blinked. He had never seen Logan be this passionate about something before, in all the two conversations they’d had together. “My mother was being entirely unreasonable and unfair! Perhaps she’s in a bad mood today, but that isn’t an excuse for treating you unkindly.”

Roman shrugged. “It didn’t bother me too much. Even if she meant to be offensive, I don’t really care. I am loud, and I like being loud! I just… I wish that didn’t make it so you can’t come along. It’s not gonna be the same without you.”

Logan smiled, a bit sadly. “It’s okay. I should probably get going though. Hopefully, we’ll get to meet again soon?”

“Oh, yeah! I really hope so! See ya, Logan! Have a good day, or week, or however long until I see you!!” Roman waved at Logan until he couldn’t see him anymore, and then deflated, sinking the whole way to the floor and groaning loudly.

“His mom said no, I take it?”

Roman just groaned louder.

…Heh, louder.

…

For the next couple of years, until Roman hit middle school, he and Remus tried out a new sport just about every year, sometimes even more than that! After basketball was hockey, then baseball, then lacrosse (which Roman had hated so much he quit along with Remus after only two weeks).

In sixth and seventh grade, the boys joined the football team.

Roman was a bit more nervous this time, as opposed to his brother, who was still just as chaos-incarnate and tornado-ey as he was when they were kids.

Don’t get him wrong, he still loved sports! But.. well, he had hated lacrosse because it had bordered on being a contact sport, and because it was really hard, but that wasn’t the point.

Football was a contact sport.

It was fine! It was just like every other sport he played! Except, a lot higher chance of getting injured, and a lot of pushing people around! And… actually catching the ball. Yeah… this would be fine.

Roman had practiced harder than anything in sixth grade, and even played one or two games instead of sitting on the bench the whole time! He wasn’t very good, Remus was a lot more comfortable at this sport than he was, but he enjoyed the time he got on the field, and he didn’t get injured his entire first year of playing!

Then, there was middle school football.

In middle school, there was a chance you wouldn’t make the team. In middle school, there were a lot of bigger, taller kids with years more experience than Roman.

The practices were rough, lots of tackling running, grueling exercises that increased in difficulty if you messed up. Roman worked himself near to tears every single day they had practice, and it still wasn't enough to keep up with the stronger kids.

His parents could tell how miserable he was, but when they tried to intervene, Roman refused.

Remus was happy! And for him, Roman was more than happy to be dragged along into anything. So what if it meant hours of sweating and working himself so hard his muscles ached for days afterward? So what if, no matter how much effort he put in, he would always be teased for falling behind?

Sports had been his life since he was five. He couldn't just give up because they were a little challenging!

And then, he hadn't made the team... and Remus had.

Which was fine! Roman was more than happy to sit in the bleachers and cheer his brother on from a safe distance, away from all the pushing and shoving and sweating and painfulness.

And if he finally admitted to his family one day that he was grateful for the excuse to fall away from the intense exercise he'd been putting in for so long, the only reaction they'd ever give him was sympathy.

The fact that he had failed only stung a little bit when he realized he was trying so hard to do something he had really never loved in the first place.

But, he did love cheering. He loved watching the games, seeing his brother in action, doing his crazy, awesome thing.

Which was how he found himself trying out for the cheerleading team the next summer.

He’d gotten a few odd looks for that, being the only male presenting person interested in a “sport” like this, if you could even call cheer a sport.

Roman didn’t particularly care about the looks. He was happy! He and Remus would still be close to each other, and they would both get to do something they enjoyed! And Roman enjoyed the hell out of cheerleading.

After only three practices, he was lifting girls in the air and helping them strike poses. A base, he was called, and the much smaller girls he tossed around were flyers.

Sometimes, he’d be in the back of a base triangle, supporting the backs of the flyer’s feet. Other times, it was just him and Callista, his partner flyer. He would lift her in the air, set her on her shoulders, or hold one of her feet as high as he could safely manage as she struck an impossible pose.

It was still hard work, it made him break a sweat most practices, but oh, was it so much fun.

Much better than football, anyway.

Well, whatever, that last part didn’t matter. Roman was happy, his brother was happy, and they were looking forward to another great season their eighth-grade year.

Just when Roman didn’t think things could get any better, he spotted a familiar jersey number among the Newberry Panthers.

“SPENCOR 42”

Logan was so much taller than when Roman had seen him last. He looked almost muscular underneath the bulky football pads, but he didn’t do much playing.

Except for in special teams.

From what Roman remembered, Logan was pretty fast. He could run at a solid speed, and for a while. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see him break out of a 4th down and three and run the whole way to the endzone, the Gainsville defense falling in his dust.

Roman had to physically restrain himself from cheering for his opponent.

The game ended in a solid tie after a bit of a disappointing overtime tossup, and Roman was a bit disappointed to see his childhood friend disappear into the locker rooms with the rest of his team when it was over.

Once his mom had given him the all-clear, he’d quickly gathered his things, said goodbye to his cheer coach and teammates, and quickly made his way to the locker exit. When he got there, though, he regretted his haste just a little.

He could hear the screaming from a distance, but he hadn’t figured out it was coming from the doorway until he rounded the corner to the exit doors.

Roman recognized her clear as day. It was Logan’s mother, very loudly berating her child as a small crowd of teammates began to gather behind them, looking just as furious as Roman felt.

“And don’t fucking bother following me! You’re walking home today!” Their mother scowled deeply, turning in Roman’s direction to storm off to her car.

“Fucking pansy,” she muttered as she passed Roman by, and he tried to pretend that didn’t sting.

Roman considered for a moment running up to Logan to see if he was alright, but with his teammates around him, Logan seemed like he was already starting to feel better.

Maybe he should just head home this time.

“Hey, kid. You lost?” Roman jumped, turning to face the voice that appeared next to him. “Uh, sorry, no. I just- was waiting for someone. I wanted… wanted to say hi before I left, but now seems like a bad time, so I was just waiting-”

“It’s all good, just checking. Out of curiosity, where do you know Lo from?” Ah, so this mysterious stranger had him all figured out, huh?

“Oh, we met playing soccer as kids, and we’ve run into each other playing sports a couple of other times. It’s usually a while in between meetings, though.”

The person chuckled. “Sounds like Logan. Kid bounced around sports as fast as he can run. My name’s Remy, by the way, he/him, Logan’s older brother.”

“O-oh, Roman, he/him. I’m sorry about your mom being an absolute asshole.”

Remy tried to hide a chuckle behind his hand. “Oh hon, I like you. Once he’s calmed down, I’ll send Lo in your direction, ‘kay? Unless you’re on a time crunch or…”

“Oh, no, I have nowhere to be. Besides, my brother’s the quarterback, so we’ll probably be here for a while, anyway.”

“Oh, sick. Well here’s hoping I’ll see you around. And uh, if you don’t give my sibling your number by the time you’re done talkin’, I’ll put it in his phone myself, got it?”

Roman chuckled nervously. “Uh, not quite sure you you meant that to be threatening or not, but okay! Can do. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before!”

“Oh, bless him, he’s a himbo,” Remy muttered as he walked away, but the small smirk on his face gave away his true feelings.

Roman decided he also wanted to be friends with Remy.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting but was probably only about ten minutes, Logan emerged from the lockers once again, being nudged along by his brother.

“Just hear me out, yeah?” Logan rolled his eyes, but then he caught sight of Roman, and he was pretty sure he was going to cherish that smile forever.

“Roman?” He grinned in response, shooting Logan some slightly awkward finger guns. “Hey! Knew I recognized my favorite number 42!”

Roman was not expecting to be wrapped up in a hug, but hey, he was not going to complain about this in the slightest.

“It’s been years! I was seriously considering we may never actually meet again!” Roman chuckled. “Yeah, seems our sport choices didn’t align for a while, I guess.”

“Did you bounce around too?” Logan asked, still smiling, and gosh, didn’t that make Roman feel special?

“Oh yeah, played all kinds of stuff. Even football for a bit, but I am not a contact sports guy, y’know? Well, you wouldn’t,” he teased.

“No, I get it, that’s why I do the running. Tackling people… not my favorite thing, but the team keeps me for my speed.”

“Well yeah, why wouldn’t they? Your two special teams’ stunts were amazing! They’d be stupid to think about anything but keeping you!”

Oh, and now Logan was blushing.

…Cute.

The two continued to talk, even as Roman’s brother and parents eventually came looking for him.

But, as Remus was hanging off of him, loudly complaining about needing to go to bed, Roman suddenly remembered something.

“Wait! Maybe… we could exchange numbers? Just so the only times we talk aren’t just these little meetups.”

Logan lit up, nodding quickly. “Of course! Here, just take my phone and I’ll take yours.” Roman smiled, tapping away and taking a moment to snap an embarrassingly silly photo of himself to be his profile photo.

“Talk to you soon?” Roman was very happy to say that with certainty this time.

“Yes, talk to you soon, Roman."

#my blorbos #and himbos #just roman is the himbo it's fine #sanders sides #sander sides fic #ao3 fanfic #tumblr fanfic #roman sanders #logan sanders #remus sanders #remy sanders #kid fic #sports #hurt/comfort #all that good stuff #loginceweek2023

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