Fic: Little Boy Lost
Title: Little Boy Lost
Pairing: Steven Gerrard/Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard/Xabi Alonso
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Any fictitious relationships described within is true in the land of imagination only.
Summary: Stevie wakes up to the news that Michael Owen has joined Manchester United
A/Ns For those who dislike having WAGs involved, just a note: Alex Gerrard is mentioned.
Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated! Good/bad, either is fine. Thanks!
Little Boy Lost
Little Mikey, signing for United? Stevie nearly fell out of his bed when Alex dropped that huge headline and photo from the papers onto his chest. She placed a tray of hot tea gently down on the table beside Steven and sat on the edge of the bed. Leant down to kiss her husband good morning before she slipped her hand in his and gave him a small, comforting squeeze. She never claimed to be heavily involved in football, and she never will. But football was part of the man she loves and married, so she accepted and loved it because of him. Even without being steeped in the culture, she knew her husband would be devastated with the news.
Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard; inseparable friends. They’d dined and attended events together, she and Stevie along with Mike and his wife, Louise. Had gotten to know each other. When the Madrid transfer went through, and Michael moved away to Spain, correspondence dwindled. From long phone calls almost every other day, to a few texts and emails every month. Even though Michael had long since returned to English soil, the distance had taken its toil and the two men no longer had the same lively easiness they had as innocent youths. No longer had news to share, nor felt the need to constantly update each other on their separate lives. Alex patted Stevie’s hand knowingly one last time before leaving the room quietly.
Alone, Stevie stared hard at the bold news article, willing his eyes to see something else. Oh, they had heard the rumours, just like everyone else had, but he’d never thought Michael would actually go through with it. Stevie couldn’t fathom what had gotten in Michael, signing for the enemy? He and Michael had grown up together, passed boyhood, teenage and adulthood rites together. He had loved him. More importantly, Michael had known what United meant to Liverpool. Everyone who ever played proudly for Liverpool understood. How could he throw it all back in their faces now?
The circumstances weren’t the best, Stevie grudgingly admitted as he desperately tried to find reason in Michael’s decision; to defend the choice that was made. Michael was always going to re-sign for another premier league club after Newcastle failed to escape relegation. But Michael had other suitors, too. Though to be honest, Stevie wasn’t sure if he would have been any less disappointed had Mikey chose to side with the blue noses instead of the red devils. Still, there was an unspoken rule within Liverpool players, and Michael had blatantly ignored it. It was hard to forgive that.
Casting his mind back, Steven remembered when he and Michael first began to drift along their own paths, when in the face of new management and new challenges, he had stayed while his friend had left for Spanish shores. Ironic, that Spain took away one love but replaced it with another. Xabi Alonso’s arrival after Michael’s departure was a blessing. He found himself attached to this man who spoke with such a heavy accent he could hardly understand a word that was uttered. His confusion was reciprocated by the puzzled look on Xabi’s face as the words rattled off his own tongue in that Scouse manner. Yet despite it all, they hit some middle ground and their friendship had blossomed into something beautiful. Xabi filled the void Michael left behind and then some.
Just thinking Xabi’s name made him yearn for his touch. Steven sighed as he remembered that Xabi was away on holidays, back in his own homeland, with his family. Which didn’t include him and would never include him. Not in the conventional way. But he knew that between the two of them, nothing and no one could ever deny their link to each other. He just hoped that their bond would not be tested as a result of the transfer window. His nerves were being tried enough with all the transfer gossip surrounding his friend.
The bloody transfer window. Steven scrunched the Sport’s page tightly in his hand and turned the subject back to Michael. While he and Michael didn’t share the same type of connection he does with Xabi, they had still been close friends. Had been. Nothing can ever take that away from them. But then he reconsidered; Real Madrid, then Newcastle, and now Manchester United. It almost appeared as if Michael was deliberately trying to break free from his Liverpool past. And perhaps he is succeeding; for looking at that picture in the paper, Steven could hardly find a trace of the boy he once knew. Of the excited young man, flushed with dreams and talent. If he were to flick through the photo albums that chronicled his teenage years, he was sure to find Michael’s smiling face beaming out from every page. The drastic contrast to their current situation saddened him.
The Michael Owen he knew and loved had gotten lost. Perhaps it was he, who never moved on. But either way, the little ambitious bundle of fun left his side to wander and test the boundaries, drifting in a maze of money and fame; of injuries and politics. All part of the small price to pay in order to play the beautiful game. Balling the article up in his fist, Stevie let the paper drop forlornly to the floor. And with that last gesture, he said his goodbyes to the boy he had known and mourned the memory.
And he knew, when he faced his former team mate next time, they would be enemies.
Pairing: Steven Gerrard/Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard/Xabi Alonso
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Any fictitious relationships described within is true in the land of imagination only.
Summary: Stevie wakes up to the news that Michael Owen has joined Manchester United
A/Ns For those who dislike having WAGs involved, just a note: Alex Gerrard is mentioned.
Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated! Good/bad, either is fine. Thanks!
Little Boy Lost
Little Mikey, signing for United? Stevie nearly fell out of his bed when Alex dropped that huge headline and photo from the papers onto his chest. She placed a tray of hot tea gently down on the table beside Steven and sat on the edge of the bed. Leant down to kiss her husband good morning before she slipped her hand in his and gave him a small, comforting squeeze. She never claimed to be heavily involved in football, and she never will. But football was part of the man she loves and married, so she accepted and loved it because of him. Even without being steeped in the culture, she knew her husband would be devastated with the news.
Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard; inseparable friends. They’d dined and attended events together, she and Stevie along with Mike and his wife, Louise. Had gotten to know each other. When the Madrid transfer went through, and Michael moved away to Spain, correspondence dwindled. From long phone calls almost every other day, to a few texts and emails every month. Even though Michael had long since returned to English soil, the distance had taken its toil and the two men no longer had the same lively easiness they had as innocent youths. No longer had news to share, nor felt the need to constantly update each other on their separate lives. Alex patted Stevie’s hand knowingly one last time before leaving the room quietly.
Alone, Stevie stared hard at the bold news article, willing his eyes to see something else. Oh, they had heard the rumours, just like everyone else had, but he’d never thought Michael would actually go through with it. Stevie couldn’t fathom what had gotten in Michael, signing for the enemy? He and Michael had grown up together, passed boyhood, teenage and adulthood rites together. He had loved him. More importantly, Michael had known what United meant to Liverpool. Everyone who ever played proudly for Liverpool understood. How could he throw it all back in their faces now?
The circumstances weren’t the best, Stevie grudgingly admitted as he desperately tried to find reason in Michael’s decision; to defend the choice that was made. Michael was always going to re-sign for another premier league club after Newcastle failed to escape relegation. But Michael had other suitors, too. Though to be honest, Stevie wasn’t sure if he would have been any less disappointed had Mikey chose to side with the blue noses instead of the red devils. Still, there was an unspoken rule within Liverpool players, and Michael had blatantly ignored it. It was hard to forgive that.
Casting his mind back, Steven remembered when he and Michael first began to drift along their own paths, when in the face of new management and new challenges, he had stayed while his friend had left for Spanish shores. Ironic, that Spain took away one love but replaced it with another. Xabi Alonso’s arrival after Michael’s departure was a blessing. He found himself attached to this man who spoke with such a heavy accent he could hardly understand a word that was uttered. His confusion was reciprocated by the puzzled look on Xabi’s face as the words rattled off his own tongue in that Scouse manner. Yet despite it all, they hit some middle ground and their friendship had blossomed into something beautiful. Xabi filled the void Michael left behind and then some.
Just thinking Xabi’s name made him yearn for his touch. Steven sighed as he remembered that Xabi was away on holidays, back in his own homeland, with his family. Which didn’t include him and would never include him. Not in the conventional way. But he knew that between the two of them, nothing and no one could ever deny their link to each other. He just hoped that their bond would not be tested as a result of the transfer window. His nerves were being tried enough with all the transfer gossip surrounding his friend.
The bloody transfer window. Steven scrunched the Sport’s page tightly in his hand and turned the subject back to Michael. While he and Michael didn’t share the same type of connection he does with Xabi, they had still been close friends. Had been. Nothing can ever take that away from them. But then he reconsidered; Real Madrid, then Newcastle, and now Manchester United. It almost appeared as if Michael was deliberately trying to break free from his Liverpool past. And perhaps he is succeeding; for looking at that picture in the paper, Steven could hardly find a trace of the boy he once knew. Of the excited young man, flushed with dreams and talent. If he were to flick through the photo albums that chronicled his teenage years, he was sure to find Michael’s smiling face beaming out from every page. The drastic contrast to their current situation saddened him.
The Michael Owen he knew and loved had gotten lost. Perhaps it was he, who never moved on. But either way, the little ambitious bundle of fun left his side to wander and test the boundaries, drifting in a maze of money and fame; of injuries and politics. All part of the small price to pay in order to play the beautiful game. Balling the article up in his fist, Stevie let the paper drop forlornly to the floor. And with that last gesture, he said his goodbyes to the boy he had known and mourned the memory.
And he knew, when he faced his former team mate next time, they would be enemies.