(Untitled)

[oranje_windmill]

Who: Willem and Ludwig
When: Saturday, March 23rd, 3 pm.
Where: The Park
What: A pick up game sees the start of a friendship...

Comments

[simplyanoob]

The past week had been far more stressful than Ludwig had liked, and all that was on his mind was purging the tension from his body with physical exertion. What he hadn't expected was a stranger to walk up and begin a conversation with him. It was rare that anyone approached him before a game, since he usually gave off an air of intimidation that discouraged most people from interacting with him. Ludwig never much minded it, he didn't participate in the pick-up games for social means.

The stranger introduced himself as Willem Van Peeters in an accent that sounded vaguely German. Ludwig frowned in thought. Perhaps the two of them came from the same country...?

Feeling grateful that his parents had taught him the language, Ludwig responded, "Ich heisse Ludwig Beilschmidt."

[oranje_windmill]

He head shot up from where he'd been bent over his cleats, surprised by the language it was given in. The man didn't seem to have an accent, but his pronunciation was excellent. Which led Willem to believe he actually knew the language.

Intriguing, but there was one thing Willem felt the need to correct.

"I'm not German," he responded in his most correct German. "I'm Dutch."

Not that he expected the other man to know how to speak his native language, but the point still stood.

[simplyanoob]

Ludwig blinked, and then he looked away, feeling his face heat with embarrassment.Two seconds into the conversation and he had already made a fool of himself. He was silently grateful that they were speaking in another language and therefore his error would largely go unnoticed.

Of course, that didn't change the fact that Willem was well aware of the mistake.

"Sorry," Ludwig responded in English, not trusting himself enough to look the other in the eye.

[oranje_windmill]

Willem shrugged.

"Many people make that mistake," he responded. "Where did you learn German?"

[simplyanoob]

"From my parents," Ludwig said, still resolutely avoiding Willem's gaze, "I was born in Germany, but I was raised here..." he paused and then abruptly turned to look at the Dutchman, "Where did you?" he asked.

[oranje_windmill]

Ah, so that explained the accent. He finished lacing up his cleats, looked over at the other man.

"School. I liked languages and it seemed to be a useful one."

He stretched his arms over his head.

"How did you end up in the states?"

[simplyanoob]

"My father was following a job. After that, my family just decided to stay here," Ludwig responded shortly, "You?"

[oranje_windmill]

"I came for law school, been here a little over a year," he replied.

It made him paused for a second, to realize it'd been that long. It didn't seem like it, especially considering he'd been back to his homeland earlier in the year.

[simplyanoob]

Ludwig gave a nod, "I see."

A slight silence fell, and Ludwig became aware of the fact that he had nothing else to say. Feeling slightly awkward at that discovery, he clasped his hands behind his back and began looking about for no particular reason, "Do you suppose that everyone's ready to play yet...?" he asked.

[oranje_windmill]

He looked up at comment, watching as people started taking up positions on the field. Nodding, he turned to the other man.

"Which team are you on?"

[simplyanoob]

Ludwig blinked, "Team? I usually just go to the side that needs players," he said.

[oranje_windmill]

Willem looked around at the people milling on the field, counted the number that were moving to each side. He noticed there was one missing from the side he normally played on, so he turned to the other man.

"What position?"

[simplyanoob]

"Mostly forward, though I have been told that I make a good fullback..." Ludwig responded, "It all depends on what the team needs. What about you?"

[oranje_windmill]

"A little of everything, but mostly goalie," he said, pride evident in his voice. Standing, he looked out across the field,checking where the players were heading towards. Then he turned back to the other man.

"My team needs a fullback," he said, pointing towards the left side of the field. "Get into position and we'll get started."

[simplyanoob]

The words seemed rather direct for only knowing the man for a few minutes, but Ludwig complied. He was probably going to join the team anyway, so it wasn't worth an argument. He jogged out onto the field and readied himself for the start of the game.

[oranje_windmill]

As the game went on Willem blocked first one shot and then another, yelling back and forth with the other players on his team. From time to time he would see the blond German as he played, usually with approval. If there was one thing Germans were good for, it was football.

As the ball got to him again he scooped it up, looked around to see who was open. Seeing that Ludwig was open, he yelled to the German and threw the ball in his direction.