"You mean to say Lukas is completely healed from his injury? How's that possible, though? It's been only about a week, wasn't he ruled out for 2 to 3 weeks?" Toppmöller asked, confused.
"I'm also trying to make sense of it. He was supposed to start the strengthening phase of his recovery today, but when he came in, he said he felt completely fine.
I had him do some exercises and also checked the looseness of the ankle, it was like he was never injured in the first place.
So I decided to order a few more scans, and the results show he's completely healed."
"Is there a plausible explanation as to why?" Toppmöller asked.
"I believe it's partly because he's still very young. It could be genetics too. Some people are able to recover from injuries way faster than others even when they both follow the same rehabilitation process."
"It's good news either way. So are you saying he's ready to fully start training?"
"That's right. But his reintegration in the training regimen should be gradual. And let me know immediately if he's moving awkwardly or seems reluctant to do something on the pitch.
He's healed physically, but we still need a psychological evaluation before he's cleared for matchday."
"I will surely let you know. Thank you for your hard work, Fabian," Toppmöller said as he stood up and shook hands with Plachel before leaving the office.
"Three weeks injury healed in just one? Even if it's just a grade 1 sprain, it's still a miracle," Toppmöller thought as he walked into the recovery room where the players who played the previous day were performing their recovery session.
"Coach, is it true Luke is able to join us for the next session?" Uzun asked as he stood up from a foam roller he was using on his thighs.
"How did you know that?" Toppmöller asked.
"He was here just now. He left to drop something at his apartment."
"I see... Yes that's right. Lukas has been cleared to join us in training. He'll still be monitored and still needs another clearance to be able to play, but he is able to train now."
"I knew that boy was Wolverine. I bet he could have healed himself that day, but just delayed it 'cause of how suspicious it'd look," Knauff said, causing the players to burst out laughing.
"You have no idea how right you are... I wish I had Adamantium as my bones, though," Lukas said as he walked into the recovery room. "Good day, coach," he greeted Toppmöller.
"Lukas, I'm glad you're okay."
"Meet coach Zembrod, he has prepared a routine for you. He's on the pitch right now working with the other players."
"Yes sir," Lukas responded as he turned around and headed to the pitch where the assistant coach was working with players who either didn't play or played very limited time in the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
He greeted the coach and his teammates, and the coach explained his training regimen for the day — light jogging, and some ball work — nothing that'll place too much strain on him.
She was wearing black shorts and an oversized T-shirt that covered her knee and was lying down on her bed.
"It's almost 5pm, he should be back at his apartment by now, right? Should I call him? I don't wanna be a nuisance, though, it's better if I just send him a text."
As she was contemplating whether to call or text, her phone rang.
With a big smile, she answered immediately, but then quickly used her hand to cover the microphone part of the phone, cleared her throat, and composed herself.
"Hello," she said smoothly as she removed her hand from the microphone area.
"Hey, Jo, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Luke, and you?"
"Where are you right now? It doesn't sound like you're home."
"Yeah I'm not. I followed Ansgar somewhere after training. I'm not in Frankfurt right now."
"You're... not?" she asked, her mood visibly shifting to slight disappointment.
"Is everything okay?" Lukas asked, picking up the subtle shift in her tone.
"Yeah, of course. Everything is alright. I was just hoping you were at your apartment... I wanted us to FaceTime tonight."
"Ohh... I'm so sorry, dear. We'll do it tomorrow, okay?"
"Alright, but it's not the same," she whispered.
"Not the same? What do you mean?"
"You forgot what today was, didn't you?" she asked, her expression now getting even more disappointed.
"Of course not. Today's Valentine's Day. Wait, didn't you get the package I sent you?"
"You sent me something?"
"Yeah I did. I thought you'd have received them by now. Wait a second let me message the courier."
"Ahem... Okay! I'm waiting!" Joanna responded, now beaming with smiles. Her mood — completely flipped.
"Oh... He said he just got in front of your apartment right now. Please go open the door for him."
"Okayy... One sec," she responded as she jumped up from her bed and ran outside her room without putting on her slippers. "I can't wait to see what you got me."
She unlocked the front door and flung it open and just stood there — speechless with her phone glued to her ear.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Jo," Lukas said into the phone as he stood in front of the door with a bouquet of white roses mixed with sunflowers.
The door slammed shut in his face before he could complete his sentence.
"Am I seeing things? What's Lukas doing here?" Joanna thought as she leaned against the door.
"Jo, won't you let me in? It's cold out here," Lukas said as he knocked on the door.
"Oh my God, Lukas is here."
She looked at her bare feet and then turned to the mirror just by the door.
"Oh my God, I look like crap."
"Reuben! Open the door for Lukas!" she called out as she ran to her room.
"Brother Lukas!" Reuben screamed as he hugged Lukas when he opened the door.
"Reuben. How're you doing?"
"Who's home with you?"
"João and Joanna. João's sleeping, though. He came back from training, showered, ate, and went to sleep."
"She just ran to her room right now. I think she was embarrassed to see you."
"Is that so. Here, have this," Lukas put his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a Kinder chocolate bar and handed it to him. "Go play in your room, I'll wait for Joanna in the sitting room."
"Thank you!" he said as he accepted the chocolate, tearing the wrapper as he skipped to his room.
After he was out of sight, Lukas turned towards the opposite direction Reuben had taken, and walked to a white door at the end of the hallway.
"Babe?" he said as he knocked on the door Joanna had run into.
"I'll be out in a sec."
"I wanna see you now, though. I came all the way from Frankfurt to surprise you and you won't even see me."
".... Okay... Come in. The door's unlocked."
He turned the handle and opened the door. And there she was...
She stuffed a piece of clothing in her hand under the pillow and tried to play it off.
Her hair tumbled loosely, half tangled, like she had just rolled out of bed. The edge of her comically oversized shirt dangled with the air in the room. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NovᴇlFɪre.nᴇt
Even though she had asked him to come in, for a moment, she seemed almost embarrassed — caught off guard, unprepared, not wrapped in her usual calm composure. But that was the thing: even in her disarray, she was breathtaking. The kind of beauty that didn't need polish or preparation. The softness in her face, the warmth that lingered in her gaze, the unguarded honesty of that moment — it all made her more stunning than she ever could have planned.
"You look... gorgeous," Lukas said as he walked closer and wrapped his free hand around her waist.
"You must be blind. I look homeless."
"Fine. Come live with me. I've got loads of space for you, homeless stranger."
"Shut up," she said coyly as she hit him on the chest. "Are those for me?" she asked, pointing at the flowers.
"Yes they are. Happy Valentine's Day, my homeless Queen," he said as he handed her the bouquet of flowers.
"Ahem... At ease, servant. I will accept your offerings today. Do tell what else you have planned for this day."
"My lady, might this humble servant be so bold as to request thy presence at supper, that I may attend thee with bread and meat as befits a queen?"
"If thou dost insist so fervently, then I suppose I shall grace thee with mine august presence… though only to see if thy supper be worthy of a queen."
"You're quite good at this roleplaying stuff."
"You're not so bad yourself... I know some more roles we could play, though," she said as she put the flowers down on the bed and wrapped both hands around Lukas's neck.
"You do? What roles?"
"Interesting... ones" she whispered as she inched closer to his lips.