𝑶𝑩𝑺𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑬𝑫 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼, richarlison

prologue

HE'D arrived in north london way earlier than he intended to. the drive was long, but he fell asleep the minute his seat belt clipped into its buckle, and slept the rest of the way.

the regular black van - that was totally not regular on the inside - pulled up to hotspur way hastily. his good friend, emerson, was waiting at the entrance. the shorter brazilian was readily bouncing - apparently very excited to introduce him to the rest of the team.

they had checked in, the receptionist gave him a pass that he needed to bring to every training session - one that would just let him through with no hassle. the brunette receptionist made it very clear to never forget it. he guessed that she was fed up of having to print new ones for those in the team that forget their's frequently (emerson).

he completed his medical exam with flying colours - but no one expected any less. he was fit from constant workouts and home practicing. next, they moved on with a brief tour and grabbed some spare kits he could train in, just for today.

the cafeteria was bustling with people. players, coaches and workers were all hurrying around the spacious area. upon walking in, it seemed that all eyes were on him. his hands shook slightly from the attention but he put on (what he hoped was) a friendly smile. he knew it was good to make friends with teammates from your first day, but he knew he had to apologise to some people first.

the first to approach him was heung min son. he wasn't surprised though. son was a very outgoing person, always trying his best to make everyone feel welcomed. the korean guided him over to the table he was currently sitting at.

he recognised one other man, lucas, as he played with him for brazil a few years back. there were two other white guys, speaking with each other. they held heavy accents, he could barely catch a thing they were saying.

"i'm joe, this is ben," one stuck a tattooed arm out towards him. he shook it and greeted them both before briefly saying hello to lucas also.

son didn't waste time, dragging him over to the breakfast counters where an array of food sat perfectly. his eyes widened a little. this was nothing like everton's breakfasts. the smaller club didn't really have much selection; only nut free and vegan food. so if you was anything else, like allergic to gluten, you'd have to bring food from home.

but here, all cultures were catered for. he caught a glimpse of a brazilian dish he was oh-so-familiar with, and immediately made a move to grab a plate. "the chefs cook anything you request. i think royal asked for that," sonny pointed out.

after grabbing some food, he sat back down at the table with lucas, ben and joe? joel? he'd forgotten his name already, totally off to a good start.

the four continued to eat, listening to lucas ramble on about his son's birthday party that happened over the weekend. son recalled some memories from the party also, one where he was basically being used as an uber for lucas' kids; taking them wherever they wanted to go on his back.

a taller figure creeped up behind son, immediately plunging his fingers into the soft hair on the korean player's head. the hand gripped tightly, pulling son's head back further to show the infamous cheeky grin.

cristian romero, or cuti to his teammates, stood towering above son. he bent down, pressing a brief kiss to his forehead and pulled up a chair. no one seemed to bat an eye at the affectionate action, and richarlison assumed that they were all used to it.

it took a minute for cuti to notice him, sitting quietly at the table. however, he didn't make a move to greet him once he did. it seemed like he had to make the first move, which bruised his ego a little.

the brazilian stood up and held his hand out, waiting for cuti to shake it. "i am richarlison," he smiled while trying not to show his little struggle with the language barriers. cuti was still reluctant to make a move. the center back still remembers how aggravating he was during his time at everton. however, a nudge from sonny prompted him to accept the hand.

"sorry about... you know - it was just business." romero nodded, but it was obvious that the argentinian didn't accept his apology. he muttered something in his mother language under his breath, but due to not speaking spanish, he couldn't understand fully.

one by one, players filtered out of the large canteen and towards the locker room, where they got changed into their boots for training. it was quiet between the group, the only sound being studs clacking on the floor as second team players made their way to the pitches.

son suddenly gasped loudly. the noise made cuti's heart drop, fearing the worst had happened to his... friend. all eyes were glued to the number 7, waiting for him to say something.

"we need to add richy to the groupchat!" he grinned.

everyone sighed, now slightly annoyed that he scared them. "don't do that minnie, you scared me man," joe rolled his eyes subtly. heung min apologised with a slight blush before repeating his earlier statement.

"H, can you add richy to the groupchat?" he asked the englishman, since he was the only one that currently had his phone on him. harry nodded and asked for richarlison to add his number to the device. a minute later, the brazilian's phone pinged, signaling that he'd been successfully added.

the rest of the squad led him outside, making sure he felt included. the training session was good, he was getting to know everyone. at the minute, he was closest with the other brazilians. he was getting to know sonny too, but couldn't get too close without cristian pulling son away, as if to protect the older.

⎯ notes!
kinda feel disappointed
that everyone is only
now just seeing richy's
lengness despite me
screaming it since last
year lawlll