football imagines

m. thuram

"so, that's it?" marcus asked.

your eyes that were previously set on the silver band on your ring finger wandered over to your ex lover, who had just walked into your bedroom.

"i guess", you mumbled, still unable to process the last few days. yet subconsciously, either of you had awaited this to happen.

everything that you two had built up over the last five years had seemingly gone south because of a silly little ring that held so much meaning at the same time. marcus' proposal was almost six months ago, when you were on vacation. the moment itself was simply perfect and more beautiful than anything you had ever imagined. you didn't even have to think twice before you had agreed, though, looking back on it now you questioned your decision. maybe if you hadn't said yes and the two of you had waited a bit longer all of this wouldn't have happened. but at the same time you probably wouldn't have done anything differently, if you had the chance to go back in time.

even though, it had led to your current situation you didn't want to change anything. you were so thankful for marcus and the time you two had spent together. the last five years were full of love and happiness. you had watched him grow into the man and footballer he was, standing by his side throughout everything while he too had supported you with every decision you had made. the engagement was just the cherry on top, even if it had eventually led to the downfall of your relationship.

once your vacation was over and the first wave of excitement over your engagement had died down again you dived right back into your daily routines. while marcus went back to training and playing football you picked up on your own tasks and duties, unaware that you started drifting apart. it was a slow process, every step so little that neither of you had noticed at first. it started off with little things like spending less time with each other or your conversations flowing less easily. however, you both didn't want to accept the obvious and instead blamed your day-to-day routines for it. after all this wasn't the first down that your relationship had to face over the years.

of course, it hadn't always been easy. no relationship was simply perfect. but what mattered most for you was that marcus and you had always grown with each other throughout those situation. though, in the last few months that had changed. instead of growing together, you had slowly grown apart. the path the two of you had taken for the last five years was now forking into two individual ones, leading you away from each other instead of together.

it was only inevitable, what was going to happen. even if you had dreaded it. the "can we talk?" was probably one of the worst sentences that had ever scraped your lips, because you both knew what would happen afterwards.

the breakup was a mutual decision. you both thought it would be better, if you separated, too afraid you would end up hurting each other even more by staying together. you didn't want to force something that wasn't there anymore. so instead, you let it go.

while you packed up your stuff – neither marcus nor you wanted to stay at your shared apartment – you reminisced about all the moments you had shared in the last five years. you laughed and cried together, holding each other close as you spoke about everything. it was a beautiful mess – your beautiful mess – at the end of an even prettier relationship.

a sigh scraped your lips as you pinched your nose, trying to keep the tears at bay. you had already cried enough in the last few days that you didn't want to break down yet again. walking over to marcus, you looked into the brown eyes of your former fiancé.

"there's just one last thing i need to do", you mumbled, fidgeting with the ring on your finger. marcus' eyes immediately shot down once he realized, what you were talking about.

"please, don't." his voice broke.

you watched as he closed his eyes, clearing his throat to try and hide his emotions. though, you had already picked up on his behavior.

"hey—", you reached out, grabbing his hands. "if you don't want it back, i'll keep the ring. i just thought you would want it back now that we're not—", your voice got quieter with each word that passed your lips. even though, it had been a few days, giving you some time to process the situation, you still couldn't say it. you simply couldn't bring yourself to admit it out loud that the two of you weren't together anymore. the wound was still too fresh and deep and the only thing that could patch it up was time.

you both needed some time on your own. it was good that you had been so open about your feelings and communicated with each other throughout the whole process of the breakup. however, marcus and you also needed to spend a while away from each other, so you could come to terms with everything that had went down in the last six months.

"i think you should keep it. i bought if for you, so it wouldn't be fair, if i take it from you now." marcus told you.

"i promise, i'll keep it." you nodded, trying to send him a smile but failing miserably.

"is it okay, if we hug? one last time", he asked you, breaking the short silence that followed after your last sentence. you watched as he rubbed the back of his head, unable to look you in the eye.

"yes, one last time." you whispered and stepped forward.

as you both stood there, embraced in the comfort of the other, your broken hearts seemed to be mended. for a few minutes you could close your eyes, imagining that everything was still alright and the world was still turning as marcus held you close. the smell of his cologne brought some calmness to the storm inside your head. you both held onto each other, knowing it would be the last time before you were thrown back into reality, where all of this – the imagination of a sound world – was simply that: an imagination to keep you away from real life.