Harbinger Of Glory

Vittoria leaned closer, slowly enough for him to know exactly what she was doing, and ever so slightly, Leo’s attention dropped briefly to her lips.

Of course she noticed, but she didn’t stop there.

She came closer and closer but then stopped.

A quiet laugh escaped her as she stared at Leo, who was left sitting there with his lips slightly pursed, looking almost offended.

Vittoria smiled wider.

"And you can’t act like you don’t want it."

Leo stared at her for another second, then his hands tightened around her waist.

"That was very annoying."

"Was it?"

"Very."

Before she could answer, Leo shifted his weight and rolled her gently onto the mattress.

Vittoria let out a startled laugh, her hands finding his chest and pushing at it in her attempt to get him to let go.

"Leo!" she shouted slightly as he caught one of her feet before she could pull it away.

"No."

"Don’t you dare."

His fingers brushed across the sole, and Vittoria immediately burst into laughter, twisting away as she tried to free herself.

"Leo, stop!"

"I am getting you back for just now."

"I take it back!"

"You don’t sound sincere."

She kicked uselessly against his hand, laughing harder as he continued for another few seconds before finally letting her go.

Vittoria pulled her legs toward herself and glared at him through her laughter.

"You are such a child."

Leo grinned and then leaned closer.

"That would make you a pedophile, but since it’s not far off from the truth, let’s not pursue it further."

She grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at him after hearing that, but he caught it, and after a while, the room fell quiet again.

Outside, the night continued.

Neither of them knew that by morning, the entire football world would be talking about Leo Calderon.

......

Morning arrived with the match still refusing to leave Manchester.

The back pages were covered in photographs from Old Trafford, some with Leo sliding across the grass, others with Leo kissing the Wigan badge and a few with him standing beneath the scoreboard.

The pictures were bold and effective, but the headlines were merciless.

CALDERON HAUNTS UNITED.

OLD TRAFFORD’S WORST NIGHTMARE.

THREE GOALS FOR ONE TEENAGER. FIVE GOALS FOR WIGAN.

They were numerous, but beneath the match reports came something nobody had expected or most had expected, depending on where you looked at it from.

Manchester United were interested in Leo Calderon.

At first, that was all anyone could say with certainty.

A few reports mentioned the club would begin monitoring the teenager again.

Others suggested his performance at Old Trafford had only strengthened an interest that had existed for some time, and it was believable.

But then the reports began changing.

The language became less cautious, and Manchester United weren’t merely monitoring him.

They were considering a move.

Then came another update that same morning, citing that the Red Devils, if there was to be a move, weren’t even considering it for the summer but rather, they wanted him in January.

That was when the story stopped being another transfer rumour and became something hard to ignore.

And to add fuel to the fire, a number began getting thrown around.

£105 MILLION.

And it didn’t take too long to figure out why that number was being thrown around.

Leo Calderon’s release clause.

With Wigan’s current state, it was going to be hard to pry Leo away from them, especially when United were dealing with a team that was miles ahead of them on the table!

When news that Manchester United were reportedly prepared to pay it came out, the reaction wasn’t anything to joke with.

£105m after he just scored a hat-trick against them? You genuinely couldn’t write this.

They let him leave, and now they’re going to pay £105 million to bring him back. Where have I seen this before? Oh, that’s right, Paul Pogba.

So yesterday he was the enemy. Today he’s worth £105m. Football is ridiculous.

Imagine being Leo Calderon this morning. You score three against United and wake up to find out that your old ex, if we can even call it that, wants you back!

Someone at Carrington needs to explain exactly how this happened.

They had him. They watched him develop. They let him go. Now they’re willing to spend £105m.

This isn’t recruitment. This is an admission that someone completely fucked up.

The story kept moving as one journalist confirmed the interest and then another reported that United were prepared to trigger the clause.

Then another followed with the same information.

The details were no longer coming from one isolated report.

They were beginning to line up.

And suddenly, the question wasn’t whether Manchester United wanted Leo.

It was whether they were actually willing to spend £105 million to get him, which, according to everything emerging that morning, was yes.

Manchester United wanted their former academy player back.

And they wanted him badly enough to pay the price they had allowed someone else to put on him.

Every hour brought another report, another reaction, another argument, and that didn’t go unnoticed for the person in question.

He sat on the edge of the bed, hair still untidy from sleep, staring at the articles on his phone.

The headline occupied almost the entire screen.

MANCHESTER UNITED TO PREPARE £105M MOVE FOR LEO CALDERON!

Leo read it once, and before he’d realised, a strange little laugh escaped him.

A huge sigh he didn’t consciously make escaped him as he looked toward the other side of the room.

Yesterday, they had called him a traitor, but now they wanted the traitor back!

While he was stuck in his thought, his phone suddenly began vibrating in his hand.

Leo glanced down, and the name on the screen made him pause.

Noah.

Leo kept staring at the phone, right until Vittoria, fresh out of the shower, nudged him.

"You gonna pick that up?" she said and then walked off to dry her hair.

Leo watched her go, before finally picking up!

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