"Interesting... ones," she whispered as she inched closer to his lips.
"You little minx, what are you tryna do?" Lukas asked with a smile as he placed his index finger on her forehead and gently pushed her head backwards.
"I didn't do anything! Why? You don't want to kiss 'cause I look like this?"
He gently grabbed her face with both hands, dragged it closer, and kissed her on her forehead. "What are you talking about? I just feel like if I kiss you right now, I won't stop at just kissing you."
"You don't hear complaining, do you?"
"What about your parents, though? They could be back at any ti. Reuben is still awake, too. Who knows how long he'll stay in his room."
"Arghh... Fine! So where are we going for dinner?"
He pecked her on the lips. "You look so cute when you pout. I had booked a restaurant for us, but I don't know if this weather will be good for a date."
They both looked at the window in Joanna's room. It was very windy, and although they weren't outside, they could both see how cold it could get if they went out.
"Cancel the reservation, Luke, I prefer to just stay in with you. Let heat up sothing for us to eat. You have to go back to Frankfurt tonight, right?"
"No, I'll be going first thing tomorrow morning. We have a few sessions to prepare for the match against Holstein Kiel"
"I'm sure you'll do well... Score a goal for ! I'll be watching!"
"I don't even know if I'll play, though."
"I'm sure you will. The coach will want you to get so ga ti before the matches against Munich and Leverkusen."
"So, who will you be supporting next week? Your family are Bayern fans, right? Will you support them or us?"
"Of course I'll support... my baby," she responded as she hugged him tight.
"Won't your dad be angry?" Lukas asked as he hugged her too.
"He wouldn't dare. Don't worry, I'm gonna help you convert everyone in this house to an Eintracht supporter."
"I'll be counting on you then."
She broke the hug, took his hand, and walked out of the room together with him. They both went to the kitchen where she started heating up so food.
"By the way, did you bring it?"
"Bring wha— ohh, that? Yeah, I did. It's at my dad's place, though."
"I'm gonna co with you to see it later today."
"Fine. I already sent you dozens of pictures, though."
"I wanna hold it in my hand. After all it's the first of many."
"Yes it is..." Lukas responded as he thought about what happened three days prior.
* * *
It was around 3pm, on a cold and cloudy afternoon when he stepped onto the training pitch. He had just gotten back from school.
Since he got injured, he had been going to school daily since he only did minimal training. At this point, he had already rejoined the team in their full training sessions, but there was no match until the weekend, so school was the priority, with him joining them after his classes.
He had on a red and white Nike tracksuit with the Indeed logo drawn boldly across the front of the training wear.
"That's weird. Wasn't training supposed to be by 3pm? No one's here," he thought as he looked around the empty training pitch.
He took out his phone from his pocket and opened the first team group chat to see if there was a change in schedule he was unaware of.
"Nothing's changed. What happened, then?"
He texted in the group chat: "Was there a change in the training ti? Where's everyone?"
Captn: "Turn around."
Lukas turned around after he read the ssage from Trapp.
"SURPRISE! CONGRATULATIONS!" The team, both players and staff, rushed out of the lobby, all smiles.
"Oh damn! That scared ," Lukas scread, startled as they all burst out laughing.
Larsson: "I didn't know you got scared so easily, Luke, I will have to write that down sowhere."
Lukas: "Who wouldn't be scared when so many people co out to surprise him? Wait a second... What's the surprise for? It's not my birthday, though."
Asst. Coach Zembrod: "Congratulations on winning the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for January 2025."
Lukas: "Wait, really?"
Ekitike: "Yeah, it's unbelievable for us too. First month of debut, and winning Player of the Month already. I guess we should all just retire."
Another round of chuckles filled the pitch.
Toppmöller walked out of the crowd towards Lukas and handed him the trophy which he accepted with both hands.
Lukas looked at the trophy with a soft smile.
The Bundesliga Player of the Month trophy was a sleek, cylindrical award with a modern silver finish, mounted on a solid black base. On its front, the Bundesliga logo — the red silhouette of a footballer striking the ball — was prominently displayed above the engraved words Player of the Month. It wasn't overly large or heavy, but its clean lines and polished surface gave it a distinct, professional look, making it a simple yet prestigious symbol of recognition.
The players dispersed after congratulating him as it was ti to start the afternoon training session.
"It's unbelievable, right?" Larsson asked as he tapped Lukas on the shoulder.
"Huh? Oh... Yes," Lukas responded, completely buried in thought as he admired the trophy.
"I didn't know the trophy was that enchanting," Knauff said as he laughed at Lukas's response.
"No, I'm just surprised, really. I didn't think I stood a chance. Did you see the other nominees?"
"Yeah. Olise, Wirtz, Kimmich, Simons, and Schmid," Larsson responded.
"Exactly my point. Who will look at that lineup of players and think I stand a chance?"
"I knew you'd win it, though. None of those players had anything close to your output last month. 5 goals and 4 assists in 4 league gas is not a joke. The closest to you was Wirtz with 2 goals and 3 assists. So it's not really close."
"Yeah, but it's not like goals and assists are all it takes to win the award."
"Not all, but it sure goes a long way."
"I see you guys don't want to join us for training today! Lukas, now you've gotten the Player of the Month award, have you achieved everything you set out to achieve in football and are now thinking of hanging up your boots? Is that why you're not joining us for training?" Assistant Coach Buck asked.
"Hahaha... Of course not, coach."
"Give the trophy to him and get over here, then," he said as he pointed to a man with a cara standing beside Lukas. "After this session, you have so duties with the dia team. You'll get it back after that."
"Alright, coach," Lukas responded as he handed over the trophy and jogged to the center of the field to join his other teammates who were stretching.
* * *
"I'm so proud of you, Luke, winning the Player of the Month award on your first month after your debut. You've gotta be the youngest ever winner."
"Yeah, I checked. I am," Lukas responded as he nodded his head.
He took out his phone and opened Instagram where there were already floods of posts.
The official Bundesliga and Eintracht Frankfurt accounts already uploaded a video in collaboration with his account showing his goal contributions for the month of January.
"Youngest goalscorer in Europe top 5 leagues, Youngest Player of the Month winner in Europe top 5 leagues. Lukas Brandt."
He opened the comnt section and the ongoing debate was if this was the greatest debut a player had ever had.
"Even ssi and Ronaldo's debut campaign didn't start off so great. Numbers-wise at least. He looks so lethal in front of goal, and his end product is just outstanding. Imagine playing 6 gas, and having a goal contribution in all 6 of them. And they're your first 6 gas after going pro. If this happened in a story, the audience will say it looks unrealistic. But it's happening right in front of our eyes," a comnt from a Frankfurt fan read.
His following count had already gotten to 350k as the number of likes and views on his posts skyrocketed after his nomination for the Player of the Month alongside nas like Olise and Wirtz.
Fabrizio Romano, Liveherewego, and Plettigoal were having a field day as they published posts about Lukas's award along with clips of his gas.
The goal against Hoffenheim, in particular, went viral with the amount of players he beat before scoring.
A comnt under Fabrizio's post read, "There's just a way he moves with the ball like he has seen what the defender would do even before he does it. The composure is just beautiful to watch. Unheard of for a player this young."
He scrolled through the comnt section with a smile, careful not to like any comnts.
There were a few people hating, but who doesn't have haters? "You have to be prepared to be hated by so people almost as much as you're loved by others," he thought as he shook his head at so of the hating comnts.
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