One Belgian Summer Night
Words: 6k+
My first and last requested imagine. I hope it’s up to your expectations @footballlover1904
Warnings: No angst this time. That’s a first.
I stared out of the window of the shuttle bus. We were currently at the front of the airport in Belgium, just freshly landed and dead tired.
Sighing I watched the bus driver check the attendance list along with my professor when I got a nudge in the side.
“You excited? We are finally here!” Natalie, one of my dearest friends from university, spoke up with a wide grin. She was one of those who never got tired, no matter how long the trip was.
I nodded, rubbing my eyes and yawning heartily. I couldn’t wait to reach the hotel and just dump myself into bed.
“You think we will be able to do some sightseeing today?” Leanne’s head popped between the seats with big inquiring eyes.
“Oh shut up, I just wanna sleep,” Selene grumbled from behind and I mentally hugged her for agreeing with me. That was the group dynamics, two lazy heads and two crazy heads that dragged the lazy heads around without their will. But in the end, it was always nice and I wouldn’t change a single thing in our friendship.
“Come on, just around the hotel at least!” Natalie whined as the bus finally rolled.
-
“Wow,” Leanne breathed out when we arrived at the hotel. And she was right to do so. The building looked like a freaking castle.
“I feel like a princess going to a ball,” Natalie sighed blissfully.
“You are a bit underdressed for that, aren’t you?” I teased, though I couldn’t deny, this hotel gave off a majestic feeling.
“How can the university afford that?” Leanne wondered.
“How can we afford that?” Selene remarked and we chuckled. Well paid internships, that’s how we could.
“Alright peeps, gather outside of the bus,” our professor called out with a cheerful smile, “We will head inside from there and sign you into rooms of four.”
Stepping out of the heated bus I welcomed the breeze that cooled my body like a fresh shower. Which I needed badly. “Get your bags and let’s go!”
Huffing and puffing we carried our load inside, a group of men heading out the door just as we walked inside. I didn’t bother looking at them as we passed them but didn’t fail to hear Natalie’s excited squeal ‘Cute boys!’, rolling my eyes with a smile.
We checked in and went up to our room. It was lovely, to say the least. A bright room with warm colours of brown and beige decoration, giving you a homey feeling.
“I wouldn’t mind staying here for longer than a week,” Selene commented with an approving nod as she dumped her bag on the first bed, claiming it at hers. I took the one next to hers and immediately called dibs on the one shower we had to share.
-
“Anna,” a voice reached my ears as I snuggled deeper into the pillow, trying to reach that blissful state of sleep again. To no avail.
“Anna wake up!” I was shaken out of my stupor until I eventually got pushed out of the cloudy surface and onto the hard ground.
“Ouch, what was that for?” I groaned, drowsily.
“You weren’t going to wake up any other way,” Natalie said cheerfully, “I know from experience.”
“Yeah, now get up. Dinner is ready,” Selene said just as her stomach grumbled as if on cue.
“Just a few more minutes,” I whined, my right cheek throbbing slightly from the kiss with the floor. Couldn’t say that was a first.
“No, I’m hungry,” Selene whined back.
“Do you want me to splash you with cold water again?” Leanne asked from the bathroom and I immediately shot up, “I’m up, I’m up.”
Dragging myself to where Leanne was I pushed her away from the sink unceremoniously to which she merely giggled, patting my grumpy head. I washed my face quickly to wake up from that wonderful nap, grimacing at my bare face in the mirror. Well, I wasn’t trying to impress anybody anyways.
Dressing up in simple jeans and a stuffed in black tank top we headed out, meeting up with a few other classmates who were on their way to dinner as well.
“Hey girls, have you heard?” Matt greeted us four as he fell into step next to Selene, trying to catch her attention, “The Belgium National Team is rumored to be staying here.”
“What?” I exclaimed, my eyes bulging in shock.
“Yeah!” Matt grinned, “They’re supposedly here to practice for the upcoming World Cup.”
“Oh my god,” I breathed and the others sighed in exasperation, “Maybe we can watch them during training?” I asked Matt hopefully. That would be a highlight on this trip. I couldn’t afford tickets for the actual games or even a flight to Russia, so this would be a really nice compensation for it.
“Possibly, I’ve already located their training grounds,” Matt said, proceeding to get his phone out when Selene cut in.
“Sounds boring and I’m too hungry for boring conversations,” she butted in, fastening her pace when she saw the double doors that would lead to the restaurant.
Matt’s smile faltered as he watched after her longingly and Natalie patted his back, “Better luck next time, buddy.”
The tall boy sighed, ruffling his hair, “You think she will ever notice me?”
“It’s hard to tell,” Leanne mused, “Selene’s very good in hiding her feelings.”
“You can join us at our table,” I offered generously and of course not because I wished to know more about the training grounds.
“Really?” Matt’s eyes lit up and we nodded, proceeding to follow Selene into the dining hall; a spacious room with a warm interior. I certainly wouldn’t mind coming back here again.
Piling up some food from the buffet we settled down at a table in the middle near a window, immediately digging in. Whilst Selene, Leanne and Natalie talked about the trip’s schedule and what the professor had in mind Matt and I discussed ways of getting out of said schedule to watch the Belgium team practice instead.
“I’m pretty sure it’s going to be full of viewers, so we gotta head there early,” Matt concluded just as some noise at the entrance door caught his attention, his eyes widening, “Oh my god, it’s really them!”
“Huh?” I mumbled through my mouthful of delicious noodles and he pointed at something behind me. Looking over my shoulder I barely managed to keep the food in my mouth as I quickly swallowed and coughed violently.
Natalie patted my back absently as she observed the group of men trailing in, each of them grabbing a plate for themselves. “They’re not bad.”
“Not at all,” Leanne sighed dreamily, “I can see why you are into football, Anna.”
I narrowed my eyes at them, “It’s not because of that.”
“Suuuuuree,” all three of my girl friends said, causing Matt to chuckle. I rolled my eyes, turning back to my food as if to prove them wrong, “So what if they’re here? It’s not like they’re going to play here in the dining hall. Because that’s the only thing interesting about them,” I pointed out with my fork held up and they nodded, still unconvinced. I decided to ignore the itching urge to turn around and observe them along with my friends and just continued to eat.
“Oh my god,” Natalie whispered and I looked at her, confused.
“Oh my god,” Leanne whispered as well and I frowned when even Selene raised an eyebrow.
“What? What’s going?!”
“They’re coming over,” Matt almost yelled, causing the other three to slap his arm. Their simultaneous movements even creeped me out sometimes.
“Be cool,” Leanne hissed, pretending to nurse her drink and I silently laughed at how they tried to stay natural. Wasn’t this supposed to be the other way around? Like me freaking out? I dared a glimpse over my shoulder and noticed five of them had taken a seat around the table next to us with the others further away.
I immediately recognised each player. De Bruyne, Lukaku, the Hazard Brothers and Fellaini with his awesome hair.
“They’re really cute even from up close,” Natalie whispered and I raised an eyebrow at her, “What? TV usually makes everyone look more attractive than they are.”
“You should focus more on your studies than watching TV,” Selene commented offhandedly.
“Oh please, as if you’re not interested in them.”
“Absolutely not. I’d rather eat my food in peace.” Matt grinned happily at that and I chuckled slightly before continuing with my own food. Uproars of laughter from behind me caught my attention once in a while as we ate in peaceful silence, causing our lips to twitch. It was quite contagious.
“His laugh is so funny,” Natalie giggled.
“Whose?”
“The one with the awesome hair.”
“That’s Fellaini,” I informed her and she nodded in thanks. “He’s really cute.”
I looked over at him and agreed, his smile was sweet. Though I blanched as I realised a pair of light blue eyes met mine when I tried to indiscreetly observe them. He stared at me with a crease on his forehead and I quickly turned back to my table, turning scarlet. Why was he frowning at me?
“Hey, is there something on my face?” I asked the others, wiping my mouth from any possible crumbles.
“Except for that large red bruise on your cheek that is slightly swelling actually,” Selene replied.
“Thanks for that, Nat,” I grumbled with a glare towards said person.
“You’re welcome,” she said cheerfully.
“So embarrassing,” I muttered to myself as I sunk down in the chair, placing a hand on the red cheek.
Finishing up our dinner we got up to get our dishes away when Natalie asked, “Can’t we wait until they’re done, too?”
“Jesus, don’t get desperate,” Selene reprimanded, “You don’t even watch football.”
“I do!” Natalie insisted, “Anna always makes me watch the Cramps League.”
“Champion’s League,” I corrected.
“Yeah, that.”
“Let’s just go,” Leanne said, getting up.
“Yeah, we got a week to see them,” Matt added and we finally went to get rid of our dishes. I was last to place my plate in the rack when a throat clearing from behind me caught my attention.
Turning around, my eyes widened when the one Eden Hazard stood behind me with the same frown as before on his face.
“U-um...,” I stuttered, almost dropping the plate in my hand, “Can I...help you?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to ask,” he started, his smooth voice unknowingly calming my nerves, “Are you alright?”
“What?” I looked at him incredulously.
“Your cheek,” he said, pointing at the red spot.
“My- oh!” I chuckled, touching the bruise gingerly, “Yeah, it’s all good.”
“Are you sure? I mean, if you need help...,” he trailed off, his eyes lingering on Matt, who along with the others were inconspicuously trying to watch you two, “...from anyone...”
“Oh god, no!” I burst out in laughter and he looked at me confused, “I’m not- He would never- Really, it’s all good.”
He nodded, relieved but still a little unconvinced. “I just fell off the bed. Natalie pushed me because I wouldn’t get up.”
Eden chuckled, the crease on his forehead disappearing entirely now. “That’s a relief then. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all dinner.”
“That’s cute,” I said and immediately bit my tongue in embarrassment. He blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean- nevermind. Thank you for your concern.”
“No problem. Enjoy your night,” he said, turning to head back to his table with a small wave. I inwardly pouted that the conversation ended and went to walk to my friends when he called out again, “I’m Eden by the way!”
Laughing I glanced at him over my shoulder, “Anna.”
He grinned before he left.
“What on earth happened?” Natalie asked as soon as I got to them.
“I’m not sure,” I said thoughtfully, “I think, he thought that Matt is abusing me because of my bruise.”
“What?!” Matt’s eyes widened in horror. “I would never!”
“I know and I told him. It’s all good,” I reassured him and he sighed in relief.
“So he was worried about a stranger? How cute,” Leanne commented as we all got out.
I nodded, failing to tell them how hard my heart was racing even now.
-
The next few days went by in the same pattern. We ate breakfast, we went sightseeing around Brussels, which was a beautiful city by the way and got some free time in the late afternoon for ourselves before dinner, where we always met the National Team.
I had only made eye contact a few times with Eden after our conversation to which he always smiled slightly in greeting, causing me to smile back and quickly look down at my food.
“Have you noticed that they always choose a table close to ours?” Matt noted as the team settled down at the tables around us yet again on the third evening.
“They do, don’t they?!” Natalie asked excitedly, causing us all to raise our eyebrows, “So when do we get to watch them train?”
“Eh, you actually want to go?” I asked surprised.
“Of course, Anna! I love football!” she said louder than necessary. I saw a certain afro-haired player look up and grin our way and quickly kicked Natalie under the table.
“Calm your boobs, you are being weird again,” Leanne said, hiding behind her drink.
Natalie flipped her hair, “That’s my charming, man-winning point.”
“Sure.”
“To answer your question,” Matt spoke up, “I think we will be able to watch them train tomorrow if we get up early. We don’t have to meet up with our prof before 2 in the afternoon.”
“That’s great!”
“I suggest you take the back entrance if you wanna watch us train,” Fellaini’s head butted into our table with a pearl-white grin, “The front entrance is always filled with press and fans, you won’t be able to see anything from there.”
Natalie choked on the sip she was going to take from her drink, coughing as delicately as she could.
“E-ehm,” Matt stammered, going red and we all stared at the Belgium player, not having expected any of them to pay attention to us.
“Hi, sorry for listening in on your conversation,” Fellaini continued, “I couldn’t help but overhear your plans for tomorrow.”
“It’s fine and not rude at all,” Selene said as cool as ever, wincing when a few kicks hit her under the table.
Lukaku chuckled, turning around as well. “You’re funny. Not from around here, I’m guessing?”
“Oh no,” Leanne spoke up, the rest of us too star-struck or indifferent in Selene’s case to answer, “We are just here for a week as a college trip.”
“That’s cool. I suggest going to the Hard Rock Cafe downtown. The burgers are sick!”
“I’m sure they’ve been to a Hard Rock Cafe already since it’s not the only one in this world,” Fellaini countered, rolling his eyes, “You should suggest some sightseeing spots.”
“I’m just saying, you get hungry at some point. It’s good to know a great place for burgers,” Lukaku defended himself and we chuckled slightly at their banter.
“Guys, where are even your manners?” Chadli chided as he turned around in his chair as well, “You haven’t even introduced yourself. I’m Nacer Chadli.”
“Marouane Fellaini.”
“Romelu Lukaku.”
“Kevin De Bruyne.”
I gaped as each of the team that was around us started introducing themselves, either having listened to our conversation or jokingly being pushed by the others to do so.
“Axel Witsel,” the last one around finally said, his smile welcoming.
“Believe me, I know,” Matt finally burst like an excited kid, his grin stretching from ear to ear, “I’m a big fan of the Belgium Team. I’m sure you gonna win this World Cup.”
“Yeah, you are really good,” I commented and they smiled.
“Thanks. We hope we get far in this,” Lukaku said.
“It would be an honour to get the Cup for our country for the first time,” De Bruyne added and they all nodded in agreement.
“Well, our country is not playing anyways, so we gonna root for you,” Natalie said in her ever-so cheerful voice, causing them to chuckle.
“Will you be in Russia to watch some games?” Chadli inquired.
“No, we can’t unfortunately,” I said sadly, “but we will be cheering you on from the couch in our apartment.” He chuckled, thanking again. I let my eyes trail over his shoulder, catching sight of some other players, who were too far away to join the sudden conversation. Eden’s gaze caught mine yet again and he smiled, nodding in silent greeting.
I smiled back, fighting the blush on my cheeks as I tuned back into the conversation, chatting up a storm with some players about what strategies could be best used and what the other national team’s strengths and weaknesses were.
“Wow, you know quite a lot,” Fellaini commented, grinning.
“Yeah, I grew up with big, football-obsessed brothers. It was only a matter of time,” I said with a shrug.
“So, what’s your favourite team? Besides Belgium and your country?” Lukaku asked curiously.
“Chelsea fan through and through,” I replied proudly.
"Really?"
“Eden plays in that team!” Chadli exclaimed and I blushed as said person perked up at the mention of his name.
“I know,” I mumbled timidly and they grinned knowingly.
“Would you like me to call him over and get you an autograph?” Fellaini asked with a good-natured smile but I quickly shook my head.
“No, it’s fine. I wouldn’t wanna bother him,” I waved off.
“Too late,” Chadli remarked, looking up at something behind me just when-
“Someone said my name?” Eden asked and I turned around to see him hovering behind my seat with a gentle smile.
“Guilty,” Chadli said, grinning, “We got a Chelsea fan here we would like to introduce to you,” he continued, pointing at me.
Eden raised an eyebrow, “Are you now?”
“Yeah, this is An-”
“Anna, I know,” Eden cut off, pulling a chair over to sit down where he stood.
“Oh, you know each other already?”
“Yeah, we briefly talked a few nights ago,” I explained, “He thought my friend was abusing me.”
Chadli’s eyes widened.
“It’s all good, it was just a misunderstanding,” I quickly reassured and he nodded.
“But you failed to mention that you’re a die-hard Chelsea fan,” Eden said with a cheeky grin to which I raised an eyebrow. No one ever said die-hard. “So am I your favourite player?”
“Actually no. It’s Alonso.”
Eden furrowed his eyebrows. “Marcos?”
“Yeah. And Luiz, but he doesn’t play for Chelsea anymore.”
“So you’re into defensive players?”
“It was just my position whenever we played football in school or just for fun,” I told him.
“Ah I can’t compete there,” Eden said, remorsefully.
“I even have Luiz’ jersey,” I said, beaming proudly, “It’s one of my biggest treasures.”
Eden smiled at me and I looked away, flustered. For a second I had forgotten I was talking to a star football player.
We continued talking about other players, past matches of Chelsea as well as the World Cup until late in the night when the staff asked us to leave because they were closing up.
“Damn you, Eden, you took up all of Anna’s time,” Lukaku complained, “I wasn’t done talking to her about our first opponent.”
“You can talk another time, she’s not running away,” Eden said, rolling his playfully, “Right, Anna?”
“Not for another four days at least,” I responded jokingly and his smile faded slightly.
“Will you be leaving then?”
“Yeah, the trip is only set for a week,” I said with a regretful smile. I already knew I was going to miss this place.
“Well, then sorry Romelu, she is going to run away from you,” Eden joked to which the other striker tackled him, a play fight erupting between the two with the rest of us laughing.
-
The next morning we woke up early and quickly ate breakfast before heading out to the training grounds.
As Fellaini had said, the place was filled with people trying to catch a glimpse of the players and we heeded his advice and went to the second entrance.
“This is a way better spot,” Matt said, joyfully and we settled against the bars that defined the training grounds. I could see the players warming up by themselves, running some rounds. They probably started a few minutes ago. I immediately spotted Eden in a bright orange west, dribbling a ball skillfully.
Sighing to myself I quietly admired his talent, the way his body moved fast and deliberately slow at the perfect time, tricking his opponent.
“He is quite handsome, isn’t he?” Natalie said, imitating my pose as she giggled.
I rolled my eyes, “I wasn’t looking at that.” Not at all.
“Sure, you didn’t,” she said,” You know you can admit it. I see the way your eyes turn into hearts whenever you look at him.”
“They do not!” I protested immediately, “I’m just admiring his talent, that’s it.”
“Yeah and I’m only admiring Fellaini’s talent,” Natalie replied sarcastically.
“Ok, no one’s going to believe that when you say it,” I said with my hand held up, “But I’ve been watching football since forever so I have a valid reason to actually be here.”
“And why don’t you admire the skills of the other players?”
“I do!”
“You don’t!”
“How would you know, being all starstruck yourself?”
“Pfft, at least I can admit it when I have a crush.”
I rolled my eyes again, feeling like they would get stuck sometime during this trip. “I give up.”
Natalie laughed, patting my shoulder, “It’s all good. Seems like you caught his eye yourself, anyway,” she remarked, pointing to the field. Following her finger with my eyes I met Eden’s figure, who was glancing over. I couldn’t tell where exactly he was looking at but just focused on him, freezing on my spot. Should I look away? Should I keep staring? Was he even seeing me or something else?
I was put out of the spot however when he got hit on the head by a football, snapping him out of his stare. Uproars of laughter could be heard from the field and a few chuckles around us as his brother Thorgen jogged over, talking to him with a smirk on his face.
I watched Eden shake his head and glance over one more time before he headed towards his assigned spot.
The rest of the training went without incident and soon the coach indicated the end of today’s session. The fans applauded and some of the players bowed mockingly, whilst others simply collapsed, exhausted.
“They really have to work that hard every day, huh?” Selene commented and we all nodded.
“And only one can win the World Cup? That’s so sad,” Leanne said, passionately.
Matt rolled his eyes, “Only the best can win. That’s how competition works.”
“Well, competitions suck then.”
“Let’s get back,” I quickly interrupted Matt, who was going to protest. I had given up that discussion with my friends long ago. “We have to meet up with the others.”
“Yeah, better leave- oh hey!” Natalie spoke, her voice getting higher at the end. Confused, I turned to her only to see a few players approaching us steadily with beaming grins; Fellaini, Lukaku and Eden.
“Hey girls and guy, you made it,” Lukaku said, high-fiving each of us as a greeting along with the others. I smiled shyly when I clapped Eden’s hand, who returned it with a gentle one of his own.
“Did you enjoy watching us suffer?” Fellaini joked, causing us to chuckle.
“It was very amusing, yes,” I answered with a grin and they all made a face, “It’s all gonna be worth it when you win, though.”
“Woah, someone’s very sure of it,” Lukaku commented cheerfully, “We better not be disappointing her, right Ed?”
Eden stared at him wide-eyed, glancing at me but quickly looking away. “Yeah, right. We don’t wanna disappoint our fans and country.”
I smiled at him, nodding and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Well, we’ve got to go now,” Matt cut in, “See you guys at dinner?”
“Yeah, what are you up to today?” Fellaini asked, leaning on the bar right in front of Natalie, who was going as red as their strips.
“We gonna go downtown and visit some sightseeing spots,” Leanne replied and Lukaku’s eyes lit up.
“You should go to the Hard Rock Cafe!” he suggested just like last night and we laughed at his enthusiasm.
“Yeah, we’ll definitely do that.”
“Can we...tag along?” he asked hopefully and Eden elbowed him. “Dude, don’t be pushy,” he scolded, smiling apologetically at us.
Matt shook his head, starstruck,” No, we don’t mind at all! And I’m sure the others wouldn’t either!”
“See, they don’t mind!” Lukaku cheered, “Can we meet you at the hotel?”
“If you can make it to the front in half an hour, yes,” Selene stated and they nodded eagerly.
So that’s how we winded up going sightseeing with almost half of the Belgium National Team that ‘tagged’ along. The professor was slightly peeved at the additional ‘students’ since we were already a handful, but he was too polite to tell them off.
And we managed to see some cool places that hadn’t been on the many tourist pages; ‘secret spots’ as Fellaini had called them.
During the lunch break, we sat in a booth at the Hard Rock Cafe, me squished together between Natalie and Eden, eating some of the wonderful burgers.
“Told you these are great,” Lukaku said proudly as we all silently enjoyed the food.
Hyper-aware of Eden pressed to my side, I didn’t focus much on the food the whole time but rather on his warmth and intoxicating scent.
-
“It’s too bad you guys are leaving in a few days,” Chadli said at dinner as we all retold what we had done today, sharing the funny moments. For example, how Lukaku got pushed into a lake after complaining about the heat for the umpteenth time.
“Yeah, we really enjoyed this trip,” Leanne commented, taking a bite out of her chicken.
“I wouldn’t mind coming here again,” Selene even said, causing us all to nod.
“When will you be leaving?” Eden asked quietly.
“In about three days,” I replied, smiling ruefully. He nodded, looking down.
“We should spend the rest of the days together,” Fellaini suggested, glancing at Natalie, “To make sure, this trip will be unforgettable for you.”
“It already is,” Matt remarked with a grin as wide as a kid’s during Christmas’ Eve.
“We could go to another restaurant for dinner,” Eden suggested, looking at me, “There’s good one downtown.”
“Hard Rock Cafe?” I asked and he laughed.
“No, an even better one,” he promised, “Restaurant Vincent, a bit of regional food. What do you think?”
“Sounds great. I’ve never eaten Belgian food before,” I beamed and he smiled cheerily, proceeding to discuss the typical dishes of this country.
-
“I have a feeling that Eden was trying to ask you alone to this dinner,” Natalie said that night as we were getting ready for bed.
“Why would you think that?” I asked confused.
“Here, take a look at the restaurant,” Natalie said, showing up her phone. “It’s so fancy. Perfect for dates.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I stated, “He just wants to show us the fine side of Belgium; being a citizen and all.”
“If you say so,” Natalie said, unconvinced.
“It does seem a little suspicious,” Leanne commented as well, “Either way, we gotta dress up all fancy for it.”
“We don’t have anything fancy with us,” Selene argued, opening the lid of her bag and peeking in.
“We’ve got summer dresses,” Natalie suggested, “They’ll have to do.”
“Or we could go shopping,” Leanne said hopefully, to which we immediately threw our pillows at her. There was no way anyone would ever want to go shopping with Leanne, she would take ages. “Summer dresses then.”
-
I chose a light blue dress with white sandals, feeling a little underdressed. It was okay though, the others had a similar attire on. Brushing my hair, I left them in waves and put on some light make-up.
We went downstairs where Lukaku, Fellaini, Chadli and of course Eden waited, dressed smartly in black pants and white shirts. I blushed under the latter’s gaze, tugging on a hair strand self-consciously and reprimanding myself for not dressing up some more.
“You look beautiful,” Eden commented, immediately coughing right after in embarrassment.
“Thanks, you too,” I mumbled, glaring at the other girls, who were winking quite obviously.
“Come on, lovebirds. Let’s go,” Chadli said loudly, clapping Eden’s back who like me glared at his friends. “I’m hungry!”
Lukaku and Eden both had their car outs at the front since we couldn’t fit all in one and the drive was spent chatting animatedly. I wondered when we had become so comfortable with the football team in such a short amount of time. Seeing them everyday kind of cured one from their star appeal and they didn’t seem so far away from us normal people. They were just as normal as us at the end of the day.
I laughed at the tale of how Chadli got soy sauce all over him on the dinner night where he originally wanted to propose to his now-wife and how he had to do it with a big brown stain on his white shirt.
“It was so embarrassing, I thought she would say no,” he recalled, a silly grin on his face as he reminisced the memory, “I’m one lucky guy.” I smiled, hoping that one day I would find a man, who would say this whilst being with me.
“We’re here,” Eden announced, shutting off his car in front of a fancy restaurant. It looked even better than on photos. Staring at the interior with awe from outside I barely noticed how he got out and rounded the car to open my door. “M’lady,” he said with a bow, chuckling to himself. I giggled, taking his offered hand and stepped out of the car, “Why thank you, kind sir.”
“Everything for the pretty lady in blue.” I blushed at his words, ducking my head so he wouldn’t see. He laughed quietly, offering his arm chivalrously as we walked inside with the others.
“Wow, it’s really nice here,” I breathed as I looked around, barely registering Eden’s beaming smile.
“I hope you’ll like the food as much as the interior.”
“I know I will,” Selene commented from next to us, her eyes lingering on each passing table with dishes on. I laughed and elbowed her to stop her goggling at the food, she was too hungry all the time.
Settling down at a big table in front of a window, I enjoyed the view of the landscape quietly for a second as the others talked whilst waiting for the food.
“What are you thinking about?” Eden asked, turning around next to me.
I smiled, shrugging slightly, “Just mindless thinking. I’m enjoying this here.” He smiled back, tugging a strand of my wavy hair behind my ear. “I’m glad you do. I wasn’t sure if you would like it here.”
“Are you kidding? This is really beautiful here. And we’ve all become such great friends in such a short time, too. It’s really the best trip ever,” I said earnestly and he nodded. “Yeah, I thought it was strange at first, how we got along so fast,” he commented, “I’m usually not this trusting and more of an introvert,” he admitted shyly and I swooned at how cute he was when he got bashful.
“Well, I’m glad you got to trust us,” I said happily.
He smiled, “I feel like I still don’t know you that well while you already know everything about me though.”
“I know everything about you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes in skepticism.
“Well, everything interesting about me, that’s it.”
“I doubt that. I’m sure there are still a lot of things I would find very interesting about you,” I argued and he stared at me for a while, a chuckle leaving his lips.
“Alright, but I still wanna know more about you first. What’s your favourite colour?”
“Seriously?” I laughed, “That’s such a cliche question.”
He shrugged, smiling cheekily, “We don’t wanna start with the hard questions right at the beginning now, do we?”
“What would be a hard question?”
“How many kids?” I burst out in laughter and he joined in, running a hand through his hair.
“You’re something else, aren’t you?” I commented.
“I’ll try,” he said with a modest shrug, causing another fit of giggles from me.
“Well, to answer your question; blue.”
“Mine’s green.”
“And two.”
“Two what?” he asked, confused.
“Two kids,” I explained.
“Ah. I want eleven.”
My eyes widened. “What?!”
“Yeah, I want a whole football team,” he said, laughing, “They gonna beat every team, being trained by me.”
I shook my head with a chuckle, “You’re crazy.”
“Only a little.”
Dinner got served and the conversations were flowing, though Eden and I mostly stuck to talking to each other with the others only butting in once in a while. It felt like I was getting to know him in a deeper way than before even though we didn’t share any secrets with each other. He talked about his family a lot, his little brother who was also on the team, how he got worried Thorgen would get mad at him for having a starting berth on the team when he didn’t. In turn, I told him about my family and how I felt like I was the least favourite one out of all my siblings. Things like that got us a lot closer and we almost forgot to actually eat the dishes as they had almost turned cold.
“This was really delicious,” I commented as we got out of the diner. The staff had asked us kindly to leave and only then did we realise how long we had stayed. Luckily, we were university students so there was no curfew for us.
“I’m glad you liked it,” Eden said relieved, opening the car door for me.
“We liked it, too. Thanks for asking,” Natalie chimed in from next to Fellaini, playful sarcasm in her tone.
“Ah, I’m glad,” Eden said, scratching his head embarrassed and I shot Natalie a scolding look to which she only stuck her tongue out.
“Come on, we should get you girls home or the parents will hate us,” Lukaku joked, unlocking his car that was behind Eden’s. Time flies when you have fun and I was a bit disappointed at how fast we arrived back at the hotel.
Stepping out of the car, I shivered slightly at the cool summer night breeze but enjoyed the fresh air as the days were almost too hot to endure.
“Thank you guys for taking us to that wonderful restaurant,” Leanne said gratefully.
“Yeah, it was the best evening of this trip,” Matt said, still fully excited.
The guys chuckled, “It was really cool, we should do this again before you guys leave.”
“Definitely.”
Good nights were being said and I thanked each of them again for the evening as well before proceeding to walk into the hotel as it was getting quite cold now.
“Hey, Anna,” Eden called out quietly, holding me back by the arm. I turned my head to look at him, questioningly. “Yes?”
He let go of my arm, tugging his hands into his front pockets in a shy manner, “Would you like to take a walk around the hotel?”
“Sure,” I answered, maybe too fast and he sighed inwardly in relief whilst I informed the girls quickly, not without receiving a few suggestive winks though.
Rolling my eyes at their behaviour, I fell into step beside Eden and we walked towards the back of the hotel in a comfortable silence. There was a small lake at the back where I had spent lazy afternoons with the girls and Matt during the first days. Eden led the way over, speaking up when we were strolling beside the calming waves of the water, “I really enjoyed this evening.
Training was getting stressful the past weeks and we were all a bit tense,” he explained quietly, matching the calm atmosphere around us. I closed my eyes to enjoy his soothing voice more along with the occasional breeze and the sound of the small waves. “Since we started talking to you guys, we got to relax again and practice felt less like work and more like fun again after a long time.
I guess, what I’m trying to say is; thank you,” he ended, looking down at his shoes, kicking a pebble a few meters away.
I smiled at his words, “There’s no need for thanks, Eden. We didn’t even do anything. We should thank you guys for actually talking to us.”
Eden chuckled, stopping his walk and turning to the lake. I stopped beside him as well, looking up at the moon that shone down on us. It was full. “It’s sad to think about how you’ll leave soon,” he whispered so quietly I almost didn’t catch it. Almost. My heart fluttered at his words and I smiled shyly though I felt sad myself.
“Yeah, it was nice to be here.”
“This won’t be the last time I’m seeing you, right?” he asked, the tiniest bit of desperation in his voice that made my chest ache.
“I’m sure I will visit again,” I said and he took my hand, holding it for the rest of the Belgian summer night.
End
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Hotel Relaxation | Eden Hazard
I loved that Eden Hazard request you posted so here’s a request! Being friends with some of the Chelsea boys when you all plan to check into a hotel and just relax and do activities together in the city for a couple days. They invite Eden who you undoubtebly find attractive and by accident they book the two of you into one room with a double bed. You guys spend most of the days all together but during the evenings everyone goes to their rooms and therefore so do you and Eden. I’m thinking maybe from there the two of them start to cuddle, make out, just be really cute together and Eden starts to hold your hand, wrap one arm around you etc just something going from kinda friends to kinda a dating phase or smthg🥰
Word Count: 1,501
Warnings: whoops, i got carried away on this one. Hope you enjoy xx
- - -
You’d been looking forward to the trip all week, your already-packed bag sitting in the corner mocking you until Friday. What made it even better was that you didn’t have to stress about any of the details or planning for it - Mason just texted and asked you if you’d like to go, you’d said yes, and forty-eight hours later, he sent you an address with a date and a time to show up.
Right on time, you pulled up to one of the most expensive hotels in London, trying not to think about how much this weekend was going to run you. When you walked through the doors, you instantly spotted Mason, your grin widening. “Mase!” You yelled, getting his attention right before you threw yourself into his arms for the biggest hug.
“Hey!” Mason laughed, hugging you back tightly. “I’m so glad you could make it!”
You looked around at the group of lads Mason had assembled: Mason (of course), Chilly, Pulisic, and...Eden Hazard. You were surprised to see him there but you knew he was still on good terms with the team. He gave you a small smile that you returned, butterflies fluttering in your stomach as you looked away.
The five you traipsed to the front desk, Mason checking everyone in. “Alright, so, I’ve got your four rooms right here, and-”
“Four? We were supposed to have five rooms. I booked five rooms.”
The receptionist double-checked, her brow furrowed as she looked again a third time. “I-I’m sorry, but we’ve only got you billed for four rooms, and they’re our last four.”
“It’s okay, Mase,” you said, placing a hand on his arm. “I’ll just share with someone. Besides, there’s gotta be more than one bed in there, right? You four can just draw straws and I’ll go with whoever gets the short one.”
Your pulse quickened when Eden ended up with the short straw, him giving you a smile that was just meant for you. The five of you got on the lift, splitting up once the doors opened. You could feel Eden following you, watching as you slipped the key card into the slot and opened the door to find...one bed. “Well, then,” you said, laughing as you turned to Eden. “Just our luck.”
“Just our luck,” Eden agreed, nodding.
“You can back out now. I know Mase wouldn’t mind-”
“No,” Eden shook his head. “I’m okay sharing a bed with you if you are. It’s only three nights.”
“Okay,” you shrugged, walking into the room and setting your overnight back down on one of the chairs. “Just promise me you won’t say anything to Mase about it? I know he’ll freak out and wanna switch with one of us.”
“I won’t,” Eden agreed, giving you another smile.
Just as you were about to say something, your phone pinged with an incoming text from Mason.
Mase: Meet at the pool in five
Without missing a beat, you and Eden entered the pool area right on time. He’d let you change in the bathroom while he changed in the room itself, and you couldn’t help taking a peek as you watched him take his shirt off, the muscles in his back bunching as they moved. You’d covered up your swimsuit, not wanting to reveal it until you were with the rest of the lads. With very little fanfare, you took off your cover-up and laid back on the sun lounger, aware that some of them were staring. You were glad that your sunglasses shielded your facial expressions, but you looked out of the corner of your eye to find Eden’s eyes on you.
You and Eden went back to the room to get changed for dinner and the rest of the night out. You couldn’t get the thought of his eyes on you in your swimsuit out of your head, a thrill racing through you at the knowledge that your going-out outfit was going to stun him.
“Fuck, you look hot,” Eden murmured as you came out of the bathroom in your favourite outfit and shoes. Your hair was up and your makeup was on, and you couldn’t wait to go out.
“Thanks,” you replied, resisting the urge to turn into a shy mess in front of him. “You ready?”
***
The night out was just what you needed, you and Eden exchanging flirty glances all night. You felt so secretive and naughty about it even though the two of you weren’t really doing anything, hoping Mason and the rest of the guys wouldn’t notice what was going on between the two of you.
Eden placed a hand on your back as he helped guide you into the lift. You weren’t drunk by any means, just a happy medium between tipsy and sleepy, the feel of his hand sending shivers down your spine. You stumbled a little, falling into him with a hand on his chest as you looked up at him with wide eyes, your breath hitching. Eden’s gaze flickered between your eyes and your lips, watching as your tongue instinctively reached out to wet your bottom lip.
“We should get some sleep,” he rasped, swallowing hard as the lift doors opened.
“Y-Yeah,” you nodded, dazed as you followed him to the room.
Sharing a bed without sharing a kiss was pure torture. You wanted to kiss him and you knew the feeling was mutual, but neither of you were ready to cross that line yet. Luckily, the bed was big enough for there to be a significant amount of space between you two while you slept, but your body betrayed you and you found yourself in Eden’s arms when you woke up the next morning.
“Good morning,” he whispered, his voice still thick with sleep.
You tried to untangle yourself from him, but Eden wouldn’t let you, his hand around your waist tightening to hold you in place. You didn’t mind, though; he was warm and comfortable and you liked waking up in his arms like this. “Mm, good morning.”
The two of you tried to make stilted conversation, everything feeling a little more intimate because of your close proximity. There were long pauses and longing looks, tension hanging in the air.
Just as you and Eden were about to head down to breakfast, he paused, pulling you into him. “I’m going to kiss you tonight,” he promised, his expression serious. “I just thought you should know.”
“Okay,” you said, breathless at the thought of being kissed at some point.
***
The kiss was all you could think about all day. Every touch or smile or interaction with Eden made you wonder when you were going to be kissed, even though you knew he wouldn’t kiss you in front off his ex-teammates.
You got your answer when it was just the two of you in the lift once again. Eden pinned you against the wall, his hand sliding up your waist. After a day of teasing and anticipation, your body responded quickly, ready for whatever Eden had to offer.
When his lips met yours, time stopped. You loved the pressure of his lips against yours, the way his tongue tangled with yours and the way he touched you to draw sounds from your mouth. The two of you kissed your way back to the door, unable to stop until one of you needed to get the key card out.
You didn’t sleep with him that night, an unspoken rule between the two of you. Instead, you touched and kissed, learning the other person’s body as you went along. You fell asleep in Eden’s arms this time, snuggling into each other.
Waking up to Eden the next morning was even better now that the two of you could exchange kisses. “Do we have to leave?” You groaned, burying your face in the crook of his neck. “Can’t we just lay in bed all day and do nothing?”
“They’ll get suspicious if both of us are gone, love,” Eden answered, chuckling.
“I know,” you sighed, pouting. “Would be nice, though.”
***
The two of you got more brazen with your flirting that last full day, Eden barely refraining from kissing you in front of everyone. Mason and the rest of the guys could see that there was something between the two of you, especially when Eden started to wrap an arm around your shoulders or intertwine your fingers in a lazy moment by the pool. They didn’t say anything about it, but you could tell that Mason approved.
“I’ve been waiting all day for this,” Eden murmured, leaning in to kiss you once your hotel room door was closed.
“Me, too.”
“I know we have to leave all this tomorrow, and I’ve gotta go back to Madrid, but...do you think we could try this? Us?”
“What? Being together?”
Eden nodded, hope in his eyes. “Yes. I’m willing to try if you are.”
Your smile grew and you looped your arms around his neck, kissing him. “Me, too.”
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