Synopsis: As the assistant coach, it is standard procedure that you stay in the same hotel as your team. This helps with team cohesion, ensures that someone is there to ensure the team is keeping up with their routines, and reinforces professionalism and respect amongst the team by ensuring everyone follows the same standards of conduct and behavior. However, an embarrassing misunderstanding occurs as your adopted father/coach forgets to book you a room, and your soccer team clamors about whose room you should stay in. (AKA: Soccer players wanting to have their bonding moment with their assistant coach)
Assistant Coach AU Masterlist
Characters: Skipper, Giorgio Liquido, Shane Finn
It seems as though no good deed goes unpunished, especially in your situation. You had volunteered to handle the coaching aspect for your adopted father, Alfredo Del Aqua, after the Hydra FCâs team of developers contacted him about needing to head back to the Floating Stadium due to some malfunctions they were facing. You assured him that you would be fine watching the team by yourself, but now, you were already facing malfunctions of your ownâŠand you guys werenât even on the field yet!
âPlease check again under: Hydra FC. There should be a reservation for (Y/N) Del AquaâŠand if not, maybe check under the name Alfredo Del Aqua?â You frown, hoping that this was an easy mishap within the hotelâs systems. The hotel receptionist types quickly on her keyboard, her glasses reflecting the blue light of the screen. After a while, she types again and looks up at you with a sheepish smile, âWeâre sorry, Mx. Del Aqua, but we canât find a reservation under your name or your fatherâs. Weâre still getting used to our new system, and itâs possible your reservation got lost in the transfer from the new system to the old system.â
You sigh in annoyance, not necessarily at the receptionist, but at the situation in general.
âBummer. Is there any way I can make a reservation now for my own room?â You ask hopefully, praying that your luck would change. Instead, the receptionist informs you that all of their rooms have been rented out but suggests that maybe itâd be in your best interest to room with one of your teammates for the night since all of their rooms have pull-out couches. Liquido and the others, who were all conversing among themselves while also listening to try and figure out when theyâd finally be able to put their luggage in their rooms, slowly became silent at the womanâs suggestions.
âMan, thatâs so lame, (Y/n).â Shane frowns but an enthusiastic grin appears on his face suspiciously fast, âYou can room with me if you want!â
You open your mouth to respond, only for Liquido to step in and look his teammate up and down, âWoah, bro. Letâs hang on a sec. If (Y/n) should room with anyone, it should be me.â
âAnd why should that happen, dude?â Skipper asked, his tone filled with scrutiny and skepticism. Liquido shot him a grin, âDuh, because Iâm the one who won us the game with all of my scores.âÂ
While Liquido seemed self-satisfied with his answer, Skipper did not.Â
âWell, Iâm the captain. So it would totally make sense if (Y/n) shared a room with me since weâve gotta talk strategy anyway.â The short-haired blond shot back.
Feeling the gaze of the other guests at the hotel upon you, you immediately step in between the two.
âGuys, chill, no need to fight. Iâll just pickâŠâ
All of them suddenly stand straighter, smiling brightly at you while also subtly trying to push one another out of your field of vision, as if being in the center of your vision would have any impact on your decision. All of their gazes focused on you as each of them prayed that you say their name.
âTubular!â The team captain cheers, while the faces of his fellow teammates drop in annoyance behind him. Whether you chose him out of favoritism or because he brought up a good point about going over strategy with him didnât matter, especially as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and led you over to the part of the hotel you and the rest of the team were staying at. The rest of the team, disappointed and malcontent, followed after the two of you with heavy feet and mumbled complaints under their breath.
Once the team was settled, you guys started the training for tomorrowâs game. While you were making the strategies, Skipper was the one making sure that every player was doing their part to follow them as closely as possible. However, he was now rubbing in the rooming arrangements in his teamâs face by casually referring to you as his âroomie.â
âWait, what position did you want Liquido and Shane in, Roomie?â
âGood plan, Roomie!~â
This would cause you to turn a little red, constantly being reminded that youâll be sharing a room with the team captain, but it would cause the rest of the team to grumble or even roll their eyes at their captainâs shameless display.
Some of them even took the opportunity to let you know that it wasnât too late to switch places with themâŠand by âsome of themâ, I mean Liquido.Â
âIf you get too annoyed with him, (N/n), my room is just down the hall.â
âGet back to work, Liquido!â You and Skipper both chastised at the same time. Your eyes go wide when you realize that both said it at the same time, while Skipper looked briefly surprised, only to chuckle softly at how in sync you guys are.
- Once practice is done and over with, Skipper stays back to help ensure that everyoneâs equipment is returned and to help you carry it back out to the bus. Which youâre incredibly thankful for because weighted belts are STUPID heavy.
- Heâs also going to let you take the bed, like, no doubt about it. Youâll feel a bit bad because he has already just set himself up on the couch. When you offer to trade with him, heâll be all: âNah, dude, itâs chill. Besides, I already have my stuff there!â to try and ease your guilt.
- In return, you tell him that he can use the shower first, and you make sure that he knows itâs not up for argument. If you left any skincare products or already have your hair products in the shower, heâll make note of the brand for future reference for his plots to become your favorite on the team.
- As you two get settled into bed and you find yourself restless, Skipper will notice and ask if youâre okay. When you tell him that youâre just worried about the game tomorrow. Regardless of whether itâs a romantic or platonic scenario, this can lead to a very deep heart-to-heart where he tries to ease your worries and anxieties.Â
- This can range from him trying to make you laugh or reminding you about the qualities you have that he and the rest of the team admire. However, his mouth moves faster than his mind, and he says something like: âThatâs why I like you, (Y/n). You always want to give it your best.â only to try and save himself by explaining he didnât mean it like that, even though he 100% did mean it like that. Yet, he remains unconvincing, but you spare him the embarrassment of saying: âThanks, Skip. I appreciate that. I like you too!â
- Romantic or platonic, you both go to sleep feeling closer to each other, and it shows when the two of you wake up and are practically finishing each otherâs sentences for the rest of the day.Â
âYES!â The blue-haired male cheered. A bit too loudly, as hotel guests all turned to look at him. Realizing the small scene he made, Liquido balled his hands into a fist and awkwardly cleared his throat before sending you his most charismatic smile, âI always knew I was your favorite.~â
You rolled your eyes at his cockiness. Whether there was merit to his words or you had a more strategic reason for picking him didnât matter as he picked up your luggage, to make sure you had no time to take back your decision, and wrapped his free arm around your shoulder. Liquidoâs bright blue eyes looked smugly at his teammates, and he stuck a playful tongue out at them, rubbing it into their faces, causing them to scowl even more.
While all of the guys tease you in various ways, Liquido teases you to hide how much he likes you and also uses his cockiness as a cover up. When he walks into practice with you, he acts like someone just handed him the trophy for âBest Super League Player in the Worldâ, and is constantly trying to rub it in to his own teammates during practice.
âYou know, it makes sense (Y/n) would choose me. After all, who doesnât want the room with the best view?â
-Much like in Shaneâs scenario, these two will beef with each other in practice as well. This time, with Liquido trying to show off his skills and constantly calling you over to watch him outmaneuver Shane, while Shane tries his best to make Liquido look like a fool in front of you. However, it seems as though your gaze is all Liquido needs because Shane just canât seem to trip him up the entire time.Â
- Iâm being so serious, Liquido is the embodiment of that âWhen Iâm doing x but fyne shii is watching.â meme.
- HE IS DOING THE MOST RIDICULOUS TRICKS. Heâs stealing from the other players just to score goals with his eyes closed, or while facing backwards, or with some sort of flip. Heâs a midfielder, being the one to score goals isnât even the top priority of his position. While you thought it was fun and ridiculous at first, you eventually have to snap him out of it and let him know that youâre not impressed and he needs to get back to doing the strategies you had planned out.
- Shapes up when you threaten to change your mind and be roommates with someone else, and heâs an absolute angel the rest of practice, itâs enough to give you and the rest of the team whiplash, honestly.
- After practice is done, heâd stay back with you and Skipper (heâs the captain, he needs to help-) to make sure Skipper doesnât try anything, but also so he can show off further. Heâll talk about how tired he is and how excited heâll be to go back to his room, but he keeps saying âOur roomâ, winking in your direction and making Skipper scoff.
Liquido will tease you about making you sleep on the floor, but you both know heâs going to let you have the bed while he takes the couch. When he offers you the bed, he secretly hopes that you offer to let him sleep next to you, so you donât. Just to keep him humble.
Hovers over by you while you write up strategies for tomorrowâs game, tilting his head as you messily doodle and constantly asking you which scribble is supposed to represent him. You draw him as the little poop doodle for the rest of the night after annoying you. However, he will do things like checking to make sure your stuff is charged and checking to make sure his stuff isnât all over the place because he genuinely doesnât want you to think heâs a slob or anything like that. If you say something about it, heâll brush it off saying that he just wants to make sure everything is ready for the big game tomorrow.
Heâd let you have the shower first, and he wouldnât let any of the other guys in his room. If you have music playing in the background while you shower, heâll just keep a few songs in mind for future reference. If you have any songs from any artist he likes to listen too, then heâs already thinking of a million ways to worm it into every conversation with you. If you envision this as more of a romantic scenario, he would purposely leave the bathroom door open a crack while he showers just to see if youâll peek or get flustered. If itâs more platonic, he mightâve unintentionally left it open and if you close it for him, he needs a good few minutes to himself before he faces you again.
Heâll try to talk to you once you guys get settled in bed, asking you questions that look unserious, but he is also secretly genuinely curious about your answer to them. Heâll ask you things like; which player on the team do you think is the worst? Do we ever annoy you? Do I ever annoy you?Â
When you look up at him with concern, he tries to play it off that he was just joking but when you tell him that while he is annoying, youâve never gotten upset at him over it, and that he shouldnât worry about that. Even if you meant it in a platonic or professional way, the gentleness of your tone helps Liquido sleep easier that night and helps him wake up with a big motivation to win.
â-Shane.â You finally decide.Â
âGNARLY!â The long-haired blond exclaimed happily, fist pumping in the air before grabbing your luggage for you. While the rest of your team seemed visibly disappointed in your choice, you didnât have any time to notice as Shane threw his arm around you and led you to your now shared room. The rest of the team followed behind you, not exactly the happiest with your choice, but Shane couldnât care less about how ecstatic he felt that you chose him. Already making you crack a smile with his jokes and energy, he is gonna make sure that you donât regret picking him to be your roommate.
Once the practice starts, Shane is all about doing his best. I mean, he already does his best in practice, but now he really wants to give it his all to impress you. Totally doesnât hope that youâll praise him for his hard work later, once practice is done and you guys head back to your room.
He and Liquido are also low-key going to be beefing as well. Liquido will just psych him out by outing all the embarrassing things Shane does in his sleep in hopes youâll choose him, and Shane is just going âNUH-UH!â or âNOT COOL, MAN!â Meanwhile, you donât care, you just want them to work together because your strategy relies on them PASSING TO EACH OTHER instead of STEALING THE BALL FROM EACH OTHER to score points to impress you.
Oh, this guy will be LIFTING THINGS TO IMPRESS YOU. Youâll hear him say: âHEY, (Y/N), LOOK. IâM DOING DRILLS WITH TWO WEIGHT BELTS ON!â and you and the rest of your team have to remind him THAT IS NOT SAFE AND HE CAN DROWN. Heâll loudly dedicate the goals he scores to you, his roommate. Causing you to giggle and the rest of the team to roll their eyes at his overeagerness to impress you.Â
When it comes to helping you and Skipper clean up, heâs just yapping to you the entire time about how great you are and how prepared he and the rest of the team feel. Meanwhile, Skipper will just elbow him if he says anything that exposes his crush on you or anyone elseâs crush on you.
Heâs also really touchy with you and likes being close to you, not in a weird way but in the sense that he just genuinely enjoys your presence. Even before this, he would find excuses to train as close as possible to you so you guys could talk, so heâs just high-fiving you. Also wants to take this special time with you to develop a secret roomie handshake between the two of you. You are now spending a good amount of your time just trying out different sequences of handshake gestures before you finally settle on the perfect one.
While Shane will let you take the shower first, you two will be bumping into each other as he rushes around to get his bed stuff done. Expect yourself to run into that strong toned chest of his and flusteredly apologizing while he just lets you know that it was totally his bad and it wonât happen again (it totally happens again but not because he planned it).Â
If youâre in your head about Hydraâs upcoming game, Shane is actually really good at getting your head away from being anxious for a while. While youâre stressing about different game strategies and researching more about the opposing team, Shane is just chatting your ear off, and you soon find yourself engaged in a fun and nice conversation with him.
Shane would originally want you to take the bed but thatâs not exactly how it ends up going. You both chat so late into the night that you both fall asleep on each other, with Shane gently spooning his body into yours while you lay on his arm. When you both wake up, Shane gets really embarrassed and apologizes to you. Meanwhile you, equally embarrassed, apologize to him about how you shouldâve stayed up longer. When you both realize how awkward youâre being towards each other, you guys just laugh it off and go to meet the rest of the team.
Also, if you guys decide to do your secret handshake as a little âgood luckâ before the game starts, EVERYONE ON HYDRA WILL BE CLAMORING AROUND YOU AND DEMANDING THAT YOU MAKE SECRET HANDSHAKES WITH ALL OF THEM TOO.