Harbinger Of Glory

Away from the studios and all the ball talk, Manchester Airport was busy and hurried.

Families hurried toward the terminal.

Business travellers dragged suitcases behind them while announcements drifted through the open doors every few minutes.

Leo pulled into departures, eyes searching around the airport he’d already been to countless times for various reasons, though today was one of the most prominent ones.

He switched the engine off, and beside him, Vittoria stared quietly through the windscreen.

She hadn’t spoken much since breakfast.

From the back seat, Gianna caught Leo’s eye in the mirror before mouthing, "Has she really been like this all morning?"

Leo gave a small nod as they climbed out together and wheeled Vittoria’s suitcase toward the entrance.

Neither of them tried to force conversation, mainly because there wasn’t much left to say.

At the security barrier, they stopped as Leo moved forward and wrapped his arms around her.

She held him tightly, almost stubbornly, as though letting go would somehow make the flight arrive sooner.

Eventually they stepped apart.

Out of habit, Leo adjusted the cap hiding most of his face before gently straightening a loose strand of Vittoria’s hair.

"Come back whenever you want," he said.

"I will," Vittoria said resolutely, so much so that Leo could imagine her returning to him just a day after going back, and that made him snort a bit.

"I’ll visit when I can, and even when I can’t," Leo added as she smiled.

"I know you will," she answered before grabbing onto her luggage.

"See you soon."

"See you soon."

She picked up her suitcase, and after a few steps, she looked back and found Leo still looking at her.

She raised her hand, and he did the same.

Then she disappeared into the queue.

Leo waited until she was completely out of sight before turning around.

Gianna fell into step beside him, and neither of them spoke on the walk back to the car.

Silence suited the moment better.

When he got back to his apartment, the stillness almost felt eerie.

He dropped his keys into the bowl beside the door where the mug Vittoria had bought was still on the drying rack.

A cardigan remained folded over the arm of the sofa, but it wasn’t only that.

Little things, ordinary things.

She left a few of them, citing that it would help Leo always think of her, and she’d done the same, taking a few of Leo’s clothes, like his jacket that she’d practically reposssed.

Leo stood in the middle of the living room for a few seconds before letting out a slow breath.

"...Right."

He carried himself into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, and for a while he simply looked around the room.

Then he lay back, closed his eyes, and decided there would be enough time to miss her tomorrow.

........

Vittoria landed two and a half hours later and was in the back of the car moving through the familiar Italian roads when her aunt’s fingers snapped in front of her face.

She looked up and found her aunt watching her with a questioning look.

"I have been trying to get your attention for the past 30 seconds!"

"Ah..." Vittoria managed before apologising.

"It’s fine. As I was saying, how was the UK?" her aunt continued as Vittoria shook her head and looked back out the window.

"Hmm," her aunt hummed and pulled her tablet out.

She opened it and began going through the schedule she had prepared, the commitments and the appointments as well as the various obligations that had accumulated during Vittoria’s absence and were now waiting to be addressed.

She went through them methodically, and while Vittoria listened, she could already feel the energy she’d gotten back from all her time spent with Leo already beginning to drain.

"Also, your father wants to talk to you," her aunt added without warning.

Vittoria looked at her, her brow raising a bit before it settled.

"Okay," she muttered slightly and then went on looking back through the window as the van settled into silence.

The following morning arrived with the usual routine waiting for Leo at the training ground.

Before he was allowed anywhere near the pitches, Dawson had sent him straight to the medical room.

The doctor motioned for him to sit on the examination table before carefully peeling away the dressing that had covered the wound overnight.

The dried blood came away first.

After that, he cleaned the cut thoroughly, inspecting it from different angles before making a few notes on the chart beside him.

"It’s healing well," he said at last.

Leo glanced toward the small mirror mounted beside the sink, where the cut looked worse without the dressing than it had on the pitch.

It stretched just over four centimetres along the side of his head, angry red but already beginning to close.

"It won’t need stitches," the doctor continued.

"It’s clean and shallow enough to heal on its own."

After that, the doctor reached for a packet of sterile closure strips and carefully drew the edges of the wound together before securing them in place.

Another fresh dressing followed as the doctor, after that, scribbled a few more notes before opening a drawer and placing two boxes of medication on the desk.

"Anti-inflammatories for the swelling."

He tapped the second box.

"And something for the headaches if they become bothersome over the next few days."

Leo picked them up before looking back at the doctor with a question on his lips, but it seemed that the latter already knew his thoughts.

"The injury won’t stop you playing," he said without looking up from his paperwork.

Leo relaxed slightly.

"But..."

That single word pulled his shoulders tight again.

"...only if you give it a chance to settle."

He capped his pen before folding his arms.

"The cut itself isn’t the concern. Reopening it is."

"No heading in training for tomorrow, and take it easy when you do the day after. I will inform Dawson to keep you away from anything too physical and touchy.

"And if you notice blurred vision, dizziness or anything that feels unusual..."

"You come straight back."

Leo nodded as the doctor smiled faintly.

He tucked the medication into his jacket pocket before standing.

"Thanks, Doc."

"See you soon,"

"I’d hope not," the doctor responded with a laugh as Leo stepped out into the corridor, letting the door click shut behind him.

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