As the first month of spring rolled in, the end of Thomas's last season with the Portland Scouts grew near. By now, it was known that he had signed with a German club and he would be leaving, but that hadn't changed the dynamic of the players. The last couple of their matches had gone well and Thomas was relieved to see that Ronnie was actually cooperating with him.

Even though it was almost certain that they were about to win the league, that didn't stop the Scouts from hitting the field on the last match of the season and being as aggressive and determined as ever. This was the match of the last season they would be playing with Heissmann. The last season they had started with Frank. By the end of the match, it would be their third consecutive win of the Cup. This was a big match.

As the match kicked off, Thomas felt the all too familiar feeling of rush go through him. He swiftly moved on the field, stealing the ball from the opposing team and passing it over to Christian, only for the ball to be passed back to him as he reached the penalty box and took a shot. The ball was a little too high and missed the net, but in those few moments, the Portland Scouts had set the tone for the match.

Mark couldn't help but feel proud. This was the last match he was photographing, and it had to be Thomas's best match so far in his career. The best way Mark could describe it would be as a show, with Thomas being the protagonist. Even his mistakes seemed to be insignificant and no matter what, the crowd cheered him on. It was almost surreal.

He tried not to focus his lens only on Thomas. Besides, the rest of the team was also pretty amazing. Joe's leaps in the air and his timing was impeccable. He caught the ball almost every time it neared his goal. The defenders managed to kick away or block the rest. And then, of course, there was Christian and Ronnie, who every now and then would steal the spotlight from Thomas and give the crowd something to cheer for.

Normally, Mark didn't really pay attention to the tension that grew between the players of both teams. What he had to do was take pictures of the players of Portland Scouts in action. He wasn't a paparazzi looking for gossip to photograph. He was an artist.

And yet, somehow this match felt different. There was some sort of hostility coming off of the opposing team. They were a little too aggressive to what Mark was used to seeing. Perhaps that's how every final match of a season goes. All out.

Mark moved his camera along and snapped pictures as Ronnie ran with the ball and kicked it toward the goal. Thomas, noticing how the ball would never reach the goal in the angle Ronnie had sent it in, lunged forward and he barely managed to tap it with the tip of his foot and change its direction, effectively scoring. At the same time, an opposing defender was headed toward the ball to kick it away, but he missed and without being able to stop his momentum ended up crashing into Thomas.

Mark couldn't help but flinch at the impact. In fact, he was sure the whole stadium flinched. Thomas would feel that all through next week. They both got up with the help of their respective teammates, and Mark zoomed in the scene with his camera. Through his lens he noticed the defender say something sharply at Thomas which made Thomas and Christian who stood next to him turn rigid. Mark couldn't see Thomas's immediate reaction, as he had his back to him, but when he turned around and started walking away from the defender the fire within Thomas's eyes had a chill ran down Mark's spine.

Thomas leaned to Christian and told him something quickly before they got back into playing the game. Mark couldn't help but worry about him. He had never seen such a dark aura surround Thomas before. He generally wasn't a person to carry much anger, let alone allow it to motivate him. But whatever that defender had told Thomas had changed that about him.

It happened around the forty-minute mark. It hadn't even been five minutes since Thomas's tackle and first goal when Christian got control of the ball and passed it to Thomas. Mark barely had a fraction of a second to react, clicking on the shutter and catching Thomas kick the ball in with speed he hadn't seen before. It hit the net, causing an uproar from his fans and a scowl from the opposing goalkeeper, but Thomas barely even celebrated.

Instead, he kept on playing, taking back the ball for himself and scoring from outside the penalty area before the crowd had even calmed down. Three to null and the first half hadn't even ended yet. There were at least five more minutes with the added time.

Mark came to realize that he needed to change the focus of his camera just to Thomas. Whatever drove Thomas's actions in this game was unique and seemed to render everyone speechless. A midfielder from the opposing team tried to pass the ball to one of his teammates, but Thomas got in the way and shot to the goal. The goalkeeper lunged, his fingertips grazing over the ball, but it wasn't enough.

Four to null.

Halftime.

"Man, that was wild!" Christian called out, sitting down next to him in the changing rooms. Thomas laughed and shook his head. More eyes landed on him with genuine respect and awe shining in them.

"It is my last match in this League. I thought I should give you something to remember me by," Thomas replied.

"And that was only the first half..." Joe muttered with a shake of his head. Thomas laughed again and couldn't help but nod. This was only the first half.

***

Somehow the second half of the match ended up even crazier. Mark couldn't really believe what he was seeing. As soon as it started the Scouts were at it again, enabling Thomas in any way they could and assisting him in scoring six goals in the first fifteen minutes. Mark had to stop photographing for a second, just to actually check out the scoreboard. Yeah, ten to null on the sixtieth-minute mark. All scored by Thomas Heissmann. What the fuck?

And all those ten goals had seemed effortless, but the goalkeeper of the opposing team was giving it his all. He was there for every single one of the goals, but each and every time he missed the ball by just a fraction of a second. The crowd was distraught. The opposing players were hopeless and angry. Joe Aldridge, who had barely done much since the majority of the game took place at the opposing team's goal, watched his team obliterate with a proud smile.

By the fourteenth goal, Thomas scored, every single person was in awe. The commentators were praising him non-stop, his Coach and the Scouts' managers all stared with their jaws-slacking, hating the fact that this was their last season with Heissmann. And Thomas... Thomas was in absolute bliss. His whole body buzzed with adrenaline and endorphins and even though he knew the next morning he would be as sore as ever, he didn't seem to care.

The clock on the big panel showcased the final half of a minute of Thomas's last game with the Portland Scouts and he finally broke down. He fell on his knees, with an enormous smile splitting his face, and raised both arms over his head. The final whistle echoed, and Thomas fell on his back on the field, the grass tickling the back of his neck and soaking through his kit. That's when he realized that it had started to drizzle during the final minutes of the match. He had been too focused to notice.

He was breathing heavily and laughing, and tears were rolling down his face and mingling together with rain and sweat.

This was it.

Joe offered him a hand and pulled him up and everything went by in a haze up until they were standing on a stage celebrating their MLS Cup trophy. Before them were about two dozen of photographers snapping pictures, Mark amongst them. Everyone was cheering and celebrating, but Thomas's mind was elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking of his Coach had told him some minutes ago.

Fourteen goals in a single game by a single player. By Thomas Heissmann. That was a World Record. He said he made history. He made history. While everyone else kept on celebrating, Thomas slowly came to a halt.

"I made history..." he muttered under his breath and jumped down from the stage.

Mark barely had any time to lower his camera before Thomas pushed it to the side and crashed his lips against Mark's. Mark stumbled back surprised, but not enough to break the kiss. Camera flashes went off around them but when Thomas pulled back it wasn't because of them. He kept his wonderful golden eyes on Mark and smiled up at him.

"I made history," he said and caressed Mark's cheek.

"That you did," Mark replied with amusement and amazement in his tone. "That you did..."

***

Despite her objections, Thomas convinced Evangeline to talk about his sudden and very public coming out the next morning. He was seriously exhausted, and it wasn't like there was anything much to talk about. He had kissed Mark right after the playoff, and he had kissed Mark right after he had scored fourteen goals. What was there to talk about?

It was later that same night Thomas ended up on the bed, regretting each and every single one of the goals he scored. He couldn't feel his legs. Kenzie rested next to him, her snout tucked under her tail and breathing deeply as she had fallen asleep. Mark was in the living room looking through as many of the photos as he could, knowing he had taken way too many to be sorted in one night. When he got in bed, at around three a.m. he was surprised to find Thomas still awake, staring at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression.

"Hey," he whispered to draw Thomas' attention and snuggled close to him. "What are you thinking?"

"Just... I'm just thinking through everything that happened tonight," Thomas muttered without taking his eyes away from the ceiling.

"Tonight was out of this world. You were out of this world," Mark said and kissed Thomas's cheek.

Thomas turned his head to look into Mark's gray eyes, which seemed black in the night, and slowly closed his eyes. He leaned closer and wrapped his arms around Mark, taking in his smell and slowly slipping into sleep.

The next morning Thomas woke up long before Mark. Even though he was still sore, he put on a loose hoodie and a pair of sweatpants and after grabbing his glasses and putting on the hood, he took out Kenzie for her morning walk. He avoided people as much as he could, not sure how even his fans would react if they saw him. He would be lying if he said he wasn't even a little bit scared.

When he got back home, he faintly heard Mark speaking from the bedroom. He was probably on the phone, but Thomas couldn't help but be surprised. Mark normally didn't wake up this early. It was barely even eight in the morning.

He went to the bedroom and stood by the door; Kenzie having gone to get her favorite stuffed toy from the living room. He watched Mark talk on the phone, while still lying on his back.

"Okay, yeah. I'll tell him. Bye," Mark said and dropped his phone. He rose to his elbows and looked at Thomas. "That was Sam. She says congrats on your world record and coming out," Mark replied, suppressing a yawn.

"God, I forgot about the record," Thomas said back and shook his head with a smile. "Evangeline will be coming over soon. To talk about everything that happened last night and about how it will affect me". Mark nodded and he sat up.

"I really like mint green on you," he muttered, looking at the hoodie Thomas was wearing. Thomas looked down at the hoodie he was wearing, Mark's hoodie, and smiled. "How are you feeling?" Mark asked and slowly got up. He walked to stand before Thomas and reached out to place a hand on Thomas's cheek. "About the kiss. About coming out".

"I guess I'm a little scared," Thomas said after some thought. "But at the same time, I feel lighter. And I know that with you by my side, there's nothing to worry about."

"Good, because that won't change any time soon," Mark promised and leaned in to kiss Thomas.

When they pulled apart there came a ring from the front door. Mark turned around and went to change into clothes and Thomas went to answer the door.

"Good morning," he said to Evangeline as Mark got out of the bedroom, fully clothed, and headed to the kitchen to make some coffee. His agent wore her usual gray pantsuit and a full face of makeup. She looked fresh as if she had just woken up, but at the same time energetic as if she had been up and working for hours.

"Good morning, Thomas," she replied with a smile. "Good morning, Mark," she called out so that Mark from the kitchen could hear her.

"Good morning!" he called back. "Do you want coffee?" he asked her, poking his head out of the kitchen and looking at Thomas and his agent who went to sit on the dining table.

"I'd like a cup, thank you," she sweetly said. "So, last night was... eventful," she said, turning to Thomas. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, that's putting it lightly," Thomas replied. Evangeline leaned closer to him.

"It was your idea to come out, right?" she asked him, lowering her tone. Thomas looked at her for a second and replied when Mark came from the kitchen with their cups of coffee.

"Yes. Mark didn't know I was going to kiss him," he assured her.

"Okay," she muttered and shook her head thoughtfully. "Well, the Portland Scouts have taken their deal off the table, but that could be because you are already signed to a German club," she said, clearing her throat and thankfully nodding at Mark for the coffee.

"So, the German team didn't have an issue with me coming out?" Thomas asked and took a sip from the scalding coffee, regretting it immediately.

"You have already signed the contract, so legally speaking they can't have an issue with it. If they tried to find a way to drop you, their public image would plummet, especially after the stunt you pulled last night on the field. Reaching and breaking that record like that..." Her voice faded off as she shook her head with disbelief. "It secured your career for the next five years in Germany. But I don't know what will happen five years from now."

"You mean, whether they'll offer him a new contract?" Mark asked.

"Yes... and whether anyone will offer you a contract in the future," Evangeline said.

"So, these could be my last five years playing professional soccer?" Thomas asked, feeling his heart drop. Evangeline looked at him with a sad expression.

"I don't know Thomas. That might not be the case in five years. The soccer world is in a better place than it used to be and it's getting better every day. Only time will tell," his agent said. "Can I ask you something?" she asked and waited for Thomas to nod. "What motivated you to break that record last night?"

"I didn't know I was breaking it. I was just trying to prove someone wrong..." he answered the words from the defender last night echoing in his mind.

It's a good thing you are leaving the Portland Scouts. The MLS doesn't have room for people like you.

Well, the world does.

A/N: Yes, we were born to make history~