Friendly Competition

I'm usually reading stories but now I've moved on to writing them too.

SoccerAffiliated

The plane was already set and ready for liftoff. All that remained was for the occupants to board. To say that Iker was excited was an understatement. He was traveling to the United States and he was going to be a part of the starting lineup. This was something he'd seldom been a part of last season. On top of it he'd gotten word that his girlfriend, Sara, was going to be over there to cover the game.

He sighed contentedly and leaned back onto the plush seat of the airplane. He could already hear the team's spirit, especially Marcelo's.

"Who's ready to win? Who's ready to win?" The Brazilian cheered as he made his way to his seat. He stopped momentarily to grin happily in Iker's face. "Ready to win compadre?"

Iker laughed and shooed him away. "Save some energy for the game."

Although he knew that with Marcelo his energy was endless. The guy was always the most energetic of the team. He was like the teenage class clown of the group. Iker could always get in the spirit with him around.

His close friend Ramos slumped down on the chair beside him.

"I know you're excited for this." Ramos said with a grin.

"Of course! I've been waiting for this for a long time." Iker replied. "To finally represent Los Blancos after a long time, who wouldn't be excited?"

"I hear there's another reason for your excitement." He added with a smirk.

Iker chuckled. "Well I may be interested in the sights."

Ramos broke out into a laugh and playfully elbowed him. "Sure, the sights."

Once the team had all boarded the plane it was up in the air and headed towards destination. The atmosphere in the plane was as loud as always with Marcelo, Pepe, Ronaldo, and Benzema as the source. Occasionally Ancelotti would step in to give a pep talk as well.

Soon though the players were out like babies as it was a long flight. They arrived late at night to their hotels in Arizona. It wasn't a surprise that a horde of paparazzi were awaiting them once they'd arrived. There were even a load of fans mounted by the hotel praying that they'd get at least one autograph from the Real Madrid team.

It amazed Iker how some we're able to indulge the fans. He would've normally signed a few shirts had he not been so tired. Once in their rooms it was straight to bed for him and the team as ordered by the Italian coach, to which he had no problems with.

Finally the time had arrived.

Iker held his trademark gloves and savored the moment for a bit. He'd been denied the position for longer than he could put up. Across from him he noticed Ramos grin at him.

"Ready?"

"Definitely."

Despite it being merely a friendly match the stadium was packed. There were several people here supporting them. He smirked to himself. Yes, the Madridismo spirit reached even here.

His eyes began scanning the arena for a specific reporter. Their eyes landed on each other right at the same moment like some cliche soap opera. He made a quick beeline towards her.

"Hey you." She said with a smile.

Not even pausing to think about how his actions would land him a cover on the tabloids he pulled her towards him for an embrace. He relished as he felt her arms go around him.

Suddenly a figure a few yards away caused him to look up from the embrace. Standing in the same position as him was his own teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, with his own girlfriend Irina Shayk. He had no idea she'd be here but it looked like his fellow teammate sure did.

And then their eyes met.

Iker had to blink a few times because surely Ronaldo hadn't just smirked at him.

He frowned slightly as he noticed Ronaldo shoot him a smug smile. It was as if he was telling Iker in his irritating cocky tone: "Think you can challenge Ronaldo?" If there was one word he needed to use to define that man it'd be competitive. Iker shot him his own expression. One that answered his silent question.

Challenge accepted.

His eyes widened as he saw Ronaldo plant a solid kiss onto his girlfriend. Then Iker narrowed his eyes as he was fired another smirk. And he swore he could hear his teammate's voice. It said: "Look I'm kissing my girlfriend in public."

Well if Ronaldo thought that he was going to just let him outdo him he had another thing coming.

"So..." Sara murmured as she squirmed slightly in his hold.

It hadn't even occurred to him that he'd been embracing Sara the entire time him and his frenemy had been having a stare down. He finally released his hold on her much to her relief as he'd been holding her a bit too tightly.

She smiled at the goalkeeper. "Well, good luck and—"

Her words had been silenced immediately when his lips came upon hers. A surprise kiss just as he'd done in the 2010 World Cup held in Africa. He opened one eye to sneak a glance at his side. And Iker wished he could take a picture of Ronaldo's face right now; the poor man was trying so hard to remain cool and stay in the game. There wasn't anything wrong with a little competition here and there, right?

Forget the tabloids this was sure to make headlines.

Iker's smirk grew as he realized he'd left Sara in a daze just like the last time. "I'm out."

He walked to his post with an air of confidence and feeling like a million dollars. It was game time now and he'd protect the goalpost with his life. The game kicked off and went on like any other. That is, till Ronaldo scored.

Iker should've seen it coming really.

As soon as he'd scored the Portuguese man had blown a kiss to his girlfriend who had regarded him with her own similar gesture. Then, the man turned to Iker and winked. The sly bastard actually winked at him.

It was most definitely on now.

Unfortunately as a goalie he was limited to only his spot. No worries. All he needed was to outdo the other with a dramatic save.

However...

How could he possibly perform a dramatic save if the defense on his side was on point? He needed an opening.

At last one came to him after the timer reached the thirty minute mark. One of the strikers had received a flawless pass from his partner and was now attempting to tie the game. He'd gotten pass the defense and was now one on one with Iker.

The man fired a shot filled with velocity. Iker zeroed in on it and bolted to his left where the ball was speeding towards the net. He leapt and reached out for it; his fingers grasped the ball as soon as the material of his gloves came into contact with the ball.

And like that Iker Casillas had saved the goalpost.

Not even wasting one second he stood up, almost tripping on his own feet in the process, and his eyes darted to where his girlfriend was cheering. He balanced the ball on his arm so that with his now free hands he could make a heart shape symbol right in Sara's direction. A gesture that she returned in a similar fashion.

Now here was the fun part.

Iker angled a thumbs up in Cristiano's direction before passing the ball to Pepe. His face was priceless and if Iker could've he would've taken a picture of it, frame it, then place it right in the center of all his awards.

The remaining fifteen minutes of the first half were spent trying to find opportunities to shine for both the Spanish goalkeeper and the Portuguese winger. Ronaldo continued firing from half the court attempting to land a goal while Casillas began milking his saves. Both making sure to look extra flashy in their moves and didn't notice that they were both failing miserably.

When the whistle blew off to mark the end of the first half Iker and Cristiano glanced at each other from their positions. It was as if the field had transformed into a Mexican stand off as the two remained rooted on to their spots. They eyed each other for about two more seconds before making a mad dash to the locker rooms.

The two earned several annoyed shouts from players from both teams as they shoved and pushed them aside, jostling each other to get back to the locker room first. It was as if Casillas and Ronaldo had reverted back to being twelve. By now Irina and Sara had become exasperated by the ridiculous behavior. Because it was stupid to think they hadn't noticed their actions. The entire Real Madrid squad had all gotten the hint already too.

Yet Casillas and Ronaldo firmly believed they were being discreet.

Ancelotti must've noticed their childish banter too, because come second half he benched the two in favor of Diego Lopez and Álvaro Morata. Come decision time both the keeper and the winger looked as if they didn't know whether to leer or to protest. Mouth open slightly, they followed the command and slumped down onto the bench, forced to watch the remainder of the match on the sidelines.

Iker watched in disdain as Diego Lopez performed a spectacular save that earned a loud cheer from the fans. Unbeknownst to him Cristiano sat in his seat in similar disdain as Benzema scored a goal from outside the goalie area to which he also received a cheer. For the next forty five minutes, plus two minutes extra time, they remained like that. The game finished 2-1 with Real Madrid winning.

"This is your fault." Iker grumbled as the whistle blew signaling the end of the game.

"My fault?!" Cristiano shot back in disbelief.

"Yes, your fault. You're the one who started this."

He remained silent for a few seconds before finally speaking. "The goal was nice though."

"Yeah... so was the save."

They then caught up with the rest of the team who were chanting happily. In the end the spotlight had fallen on Isco. The young prospect who had performed incredibly and provided several dynamic passes with one eventually turning into an assist and breaking the tie breaker.

The next few days were a blur and before Iker knew it he was crashing onto his bed next to his girlfriend and ready to call it a night. Come morning he woke to an empty bed as Sara had already woken up. He groaned and made his way into the bathroom. So much for showering together.

Now smelling of his fresh shampoo he trotted downstairs and into the kitchen. "Morning babe."

"Hey sleepyhead, wanna get the mail?" Sara said while flipping a pan of eggs.

"Sure." Iker replied with a smile.

He grabbed the envelopes and headed back into their home. He lazily scanned through it and came upon a MARCA magazine. He couldn't remember for the life of him when he'd made a subscription and he was positive it wasn't Sara. Shrugging it off he returned to the article in his hands.

The cover of the magazine read: Cristiano and Casillas Show Great Teamwork! And under that in a smaller font it read: The two show perfect team chemistry as they continuously motivate each other with smiles and gestures.

And Iker immediately tossed it into the trashcan before going back into the kitchen. Meanwhile at another home Cristiano mirrored his actions and dumped his own article into the trashcan. It was safe to say they wouldn't start another warfare anytime soon.