Chapter Text
The whole family reunited around the old-fashioned wooden table for the first time in almost a year. From the south to the north and the west, they had all come from across the country to celebrate the arrival of summer.
Leon was sitting between one of his aunts and his little brother, chewing on the well-cooked chicken, but his mind was somewhere else.
The happy chatter of the dozen family members and the occasional barking of the dogs outside filled his ears without quite reaching his brain. He was still thinking about his last soccer match.
It had been such a disappointment. He had worked so hard on the new strategy with his team, yet they still lost. The sour feeling wouldn’t leave him, even after a few days, and he promised himself he would work harder on a new way to win. He had to succeed if he wanted to make his dream come true...
“Lee?” his brother, Hop, elbowed him. Leon looked at him, confused, still enjoying his food. He realised how quiet it had suddenly become.
“Our little boy, always in his own bubble!” his grandfather, sitting at the exact opposite end of the table, said with a small nostalgic nod.
“Eh, Gramps? No, no, I’m listening,” he said, gulping down his food and almost choking on it.
The whole table burst into laughter, and Hop had to whisper to his brother so he could understand why.
“They said you’re still too young,” he explained at Leon’s confused look. “That you’re still a child to them.”
Leon answered out loud, “I’m an adult?” though it sounded more like a question than a statement.
“Yeah, you are, Lee!” his father chuckled. “Tell everyone about your studies,” he added gently, not to mock him, but more to show how proud he was.
The nineteen-year-old cleared his throat after taking a gulp of water, waiting for the room to calm down.
“I finished my first year in the capital. I’m studying biology and animal evolution.” He paused to look at everyone’s reactions.
Enjoying the surprised expressions around the table, he continued. “I’m doing pretty well, if you ask my teachers. And I’m nineteen — I can live on my own.” He tried to set an imaginary boundary so they would realise how much he had grown up. But he didn’t mention his real goal.
Never would he admit out loud to his extended family that he wanted to become a professional soccer player. Even though he worked hard to be one of the best players of his year, keeping himself busy with practice almost every day and spending hours of his life on the field and in competitions.
But none of that mattered right now. He just wanted to prove he had grown from the kid they all used to know.
Anyone looking at him might have thought he was even older because of his facial hair and strong build, but he knew how hard it was for older people to change the image they had of the little Leon who used to sit on their laps talking endlessly about how amazing animals were.
Leon felt Hop’s knee bump against his own in a familiar way, secretly telling him, It’s okay, can we go now? He quickly finished his plate, finally starting to enjoy the conversations praising him.
He was about to get up, his brother already becoming impatient, when his name was called by one of his older cousins. The two weren’t particularly close, but Leon had always felt cared for by him — sometimes even a little too much.
“Leon, we’re all very proud of you and everything, but are you sure you can live the rest of your life on your own?”
He snorted, caught off guard. “I have roommates, you know? That’s how we cover rent.”
A tense silence followed, telling him he might have missed something.
“Is there a problem?”
He heard his father sigh and stand up to take his plate to the open kitchen counter.
“You know the studies are very long. I’m not confident either that you’ll make it to the end without trouble.” He didn’t sound sad or hopeless, more thoughtful, as if carefully weighing his own words.
Leon wanted to object, but he stopped himself to think about it. His father was right. While they thought he would crumble under the pressure of second year, he was becoming more and more consumed by his real goal.
His studies were fascinating, but he couldn’t see himself doing that job for the rest of his life. Either way, he needed a backup plan.
Before he could get lost in his thoughts again, his brother stood up and took both their empty plates, silently asking him to leave. Hop had never been able to sit still for very long.
Taking advantage of his father being too far away and turned around to say anything else, and with the table already moving onto another topic — something about how expensive books had become, which Leon wasn’t interested in at all — he stood up, and the boys joined their father in the kitchen to put their plates away.
Hop was about to sigh in relief after hours of sitting down, but Leon focused on the hand his father placed on his shoulder.
“Lee, I’ve got a friend who can give you a job for the summer.”