A Liverpool Trilogy: Taking Chances (2/3)

[narya86]

Title: Taking Chances
Chapters: 2/3 ( 1 )
Authors: narya86 & tetila
Pairing: Daniel Agger/Fernando Torres
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Very obvious that this is not real.
Summary: “Daniel Agger, I play professional football.” - “Fernando Torres, I’m only here on holiday. Very nice to meet you.”



Chapter 2

The morning was already warm and sunny when Dan and the rest of the team left the indoor training grounds, ready for the last few training units. The early summer air hung heavily over Melwood’s training pitches despite the feeble breeze that blew and while Dan laughed at something Dirk had said beside him he tried to survey his surroundings.

He let his eyes wander to the wall by his right where he could already see some fans waiting. Even from this distance he could see that none of the heads lurking over the wall there belonged to Fernando, that blond he would have recognised anywhere.

Surely that feeling in his stomach wasn’t disappointment though? After all it had been a one off thing, they both had known that, and Dan didn’t even really know him except for the long talk the evening before… but maybe… maybe Dan still had hoped to see him again. Especially after their brief talk about training just before they had said goodbye. Maybe though he had just completely misjudged him and Fernando wasn’t even interested in another encounter. Judging by the way he had almost fled from the car the night before.

Dan sighed and willed himself to concentrate on their training exercises, on the way his body responded to the well-known exertion and the familiar low burn that started to creep into his muscles. And he managed not to look over to the wall that often up until that one time he took a casual glance, his hope all but having died, when there was a blond head up there that hadn’t been there earlier, propped onto his arms, watching.

The sight distracted him so much that he stumbled into Pepe running for a ball in front of him.

“Fuck, sorry man,” he told the goalkeeper, tying to ignore the fact that his heart made funny little flip-flops.

Pepe waved him away good naturally. “You alright, lad?”

“Just lost my balance,” Daniel answered and ran back into position, but not before sneaking another glance at the boy watching over the wall. For a brief moment he thought their eyes met and Daniel smiled at him, carefully, trying not to be blatantly obvious about it. And he didn’t dare look long enough to find out if his smile was returned, but his heart was fluttery and his steps light at the thought that Fernando had actually come after all. And when he eventually looked over again he thought to see that, still with his head propped up on his folded arms on the top of the wall, there was a soft smile on the Spaniard’s lips as he watched.

After that, training flew by. Dan had fun despite being aware much more than usual that he was watched, and when they formed two small teams for a training match he managed a few tackles that surprised even himself. He tried not to look over too often, sometimes wondering what exactly the reason was for his delight about seeing Fernando here. After flying back to Spain he wouldn’t exactly see him again, he knew that - so what was going on?

It was only when training was over and his team mates started to walk back to the entrance of the building that he hesitated, unsure if this would already be the last time they saw each other. So he turned just one last time before walking back to the entrance and his heart tumbled to his boots when the familiar face wasn’t among the people watching over the wall anymore. He hadn’t felt such a crunching feeling of disappointment for a long time and at the same time he chided himself for being so ridiculous about the whole situation. It wasn’t like he could actually date Fernando for real or anything. Fuck, they didn’t even live in the same country.

My God, get a grip on yourself.

It was still with a sigh of disappointment though that he finally turned and followed his team mates. He just couldn’t help it, maybe it had simply been far too long ago that he had actually felt the urge to get to know someone better. In that special sense. Now he did because Fernando was gorgeous and easy to talk to and interesting and nice and funny and sexy - and it was all but impossible.

Well done, Agger, he sarcastically thought to himself while he trudged off after his team.

Back in the dressing room he took a quick shower and did his best to not let his insecurities and gloomy thoughts show, laughed at all the right places and even threw in a few comments of his own here and there before he waved his team mates goodbye.

When he started his car he could already see a few people waiting beyond the gates of Melwood in hopes of catching a photo or an autograph. It weren’t many since it was a weekday, only two children, so their rules to drive past them without stopping weren’t as strict today. And even though he wasn’t that much in the mood Dan did stop his car at the entrance for a moment, smiling back at the fans for their pictures and signing one or two things they asked him to. And afterwards he was stunned because he hadn’t seen him, but when he looked up again from an autograph he had just written, it was Fernando standing next to his window now, giving him a small smile, holding a pen and a Liverpool postcard out to him.

“Hey.”

Dan knew he was staring dumbly at him for a moment before he felt a wide smile break out on his face. “Hey,” he returned, blushing a bit because he remembered the last time they had shared those greetings.

“I… um…” Fernando started, then gestured towards the card Dan had instinctively taken from him, and to Dan it looked as if the freckles on his cheeks seemed to be surrounded by a soft red hue. “Could you…?”

“Oh yeah, of course,” Dan mumbled before looking down at the card he was holding, a simple Liverpool by night skyline scene. In the end he didn’t really plan it but let his instincts take over and in retrospect it might have been a little reckless, but right now he knew he wasn’t ready to let that one go. So he turned the card and simply wrote what he wanted to.

The meadow around the corner, Crown Road. If you want to I’ll pick you up.

When he gave it back to Fernando he made sure that their fingers touched for a moment, and his heart pounded in his chest as the Spaniard smiled at him, lingering for a moment too long before he took a step back, let another fan step forward and looked down at the card. And while Dan signed the rest of the requests completely on instinct, out of the corner of his eye he never let Fernando out of his sight. And when the blond man looked up again it was with surprise clearly visible on his face and Dan held his breath - but then Fernando smiled again before he turned and started to walk down the road. And Dan took that as a yes.

***

“What!?” the footballer exclaimed scandalised, chocking on his beer in the process. “I do not! That’s absolutely, entirely and completely made up, I swear!” he protested at a laughing Fernando who was sitting at the other side of his table, looking like he was going to fall off his seat any moment.

“Your… your papers are hilarious…” the blond gasped, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, face flushed with laughter as he tried to sit up straight again.

“Dancing with the stars, really? Do I look like I would even watch something like that? I hope you didn’t believe that for one second,” Daniel waved his forefinger in Fernando’s face, tying to look seriously pissed off. “Or I would have to leave you here and now and you wouldn’t want that, right?”

Fernando swatted his hand away, his face still lit up by a large grin and his dark eyes shining. “No I didn’t believe it, no need to worry. But there was some seriously funny discussion about it on the forum,” he added with a gleeful snicker.

Daniel grimaced and shook his head. “That seriously damages my rock hard defender reputation. I’ll need to clarify that.”

“Hmm,” Fernando hummed, took a sip of his cocktail and his grin softened to a smile. “Want to know what your reputation among the fans really is?”

When Fernando smiled he was really beautiful, Dan thought and let his eyes wander over the freckled face for a few seconds before he answered a bit distractedly, “I don’t know. Do I want to?”

Fernando stirred his cocktail with the straw for a moment before answering, all the while watching him. “It’s that on the pitch you’re a brilliant footballer who makes a difference, who is always ready to stand up for his team mates and have a good shouting at the opposition, shows absolute loyalty for the club while unfortunately being a little injury prone… and off the pitch it’s that you’re quiet, polite, private, a little shy and a very decent person.”

Some of that had known of course, but never before he had heard it from somebody who knew what the fans were really thinking and who he was sure wouldn’t lie to spare his feelings. It was a nice feeling and once again he knew he had made the right decision when he had joined Liverpool FC.

“And you? What do you think?” he asked Fernando with a smile. “Do I deserve that reputation?”

The Spaniard propped his head up on one hand and studied him, the noise of a full sports bar around them.

It was almost six o’clock in the evening by now, and about an hour ago they had finally been so hungry that they had found themselves in one of the two Sports Bars belonging to Jamie Carragher to have an early dinner.

After picking Fernando up next to the training grounds Daniel had driven them down into the city centre. From Liverpool One they had walked over to Albert Dock at the banks of the Mersey, had strolled around the old building with the museums and little shops and had sat in a café to drink a cup of coffee before visiting the Beatles Museum and then the Pier Head. And even though Dan had seen all of it before and they had of course attracted quite a few glances and had been interrupted by a few requests for autographs, he couldn’t quite remember when he had last had such a good day.

“Hm,” Fernando finally said, his eyes twinkling warmly. “Yeah. I think you do.”

It wasn’t like this wasn’t what Dan had secretly wanted to hear when he had asked Fernando the question but he had never been one to easily believe people complimenting him, and this one came from a man he was obviously attracted to what really didn’t make it any easier. “So you don’t think the club should sell me in the summer because I’m injured too often?” he jokingly asked instead.

“Shut up!” Fernando shot back with a roll of his eyes and underlined his point by kicking him in the shin under the table.

“Hey, that hurt,” Dan grimaced, feigning pain. “I didn’t know you were a violent person,” he teased Fernando only a second later though, and the Spaniard shrugged.

“We’ve known each other only for one day, right?” he answered with a smile before emptying his cocktail.

The motion drew Dan’s attention to a reddish mark at Fernando’s neck and it reminded every fibre of his body about how exactly it had ended up there. And suddenly Dan’s thoughts were stuck on slow-motion, replying the night he had spent with Fernando. Fuck, he hadn’t had such a strong reaction to a person for a long time and he felt a bit foolish for being so drawn to Fernando, because he knew he wasn’t only attracted to his physical attributes but also to the blond’s personality.

“So,” Fernando tore him out of his reverie, leaned back, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at him with his head tilted to the side. “It’s only six. Do you have any more ideas?”

Dan paused for a moment, thinking quickly before answering, “Well it’s too late for the museums already but we could maybe visit Sefton Park? Take a walk if you want to?”

“I’d like that,” Fernando answered immediately and Dan smiled in relief. He had hoped the other man would agree to spend a few more hours with him.

“Great,” he replied and waved down one of the waitresses, and it took them only a few short minutes to exit the bar together.

The sun was still shining outside, only a few small clouds floating up above as it had been all day. The heat had lessened a little and the beautiful weather had tempted a lot of people outside, and when Dan and Fernando entered Sefton Park through one of its gates they could already see quite some people there. Families walking around, children playing, pensioners sitting on benches, couples lying in the sun, groups of friends playing Frisbee or football.

They walked down one of the small paths, enjoying the peaceful and sunny evening while they talked some more about everything and nothing until they stopped at a bench opposite of a meadow where some teenagers played a pickup game of football, each ‘goal’ marked with two discarded jackets. The sounds of the football being kicked were echoing through the air, mixing with the light guitar music from the guy playing a few meters down the path.

“The guy playing striker isn’t that bad. He just needs a bit more patience at the finish,” Dan pointed out after they watched them play for a few moments. He saw Fernando eyeing him from the corner of his eyes in amusement.

“I bet I’d have buried that,” the Spaniard remarked as the object of Dan’s comment failed to score again right in that moment.

“Really?” Dan asked with a chuckle as he watched Fernando watching the game. “Care to prove that to me?”

“Just because I’m not a footballer it doesn’t mean that I didn’t spend hours playing football in parks with my friends,” Fernando grinned back, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “So… if you dare me to…”

“I dare you to,” Dan threw back and enjoyed watching the emotions play on Fernando’s face who grinned widely at him.

Without saying anything else though he stood up from the bench and walked over to where the teenagers were playing, and Dan heard him shout, “Hey, do you have a second?” before the guys stopped playing, two of them joined the Spaniard and they lowered their voices to a normal level so they didn’t reach Dan’s ears anymore.

Then the two guys the Spaniard was talking to were looking at him in surprise before looking back at Fernando and breaking out into smiles and Dan mumbled, “What are you doing, Fernando,” as he waited for the man’s next move. And only a moment later Fernando came back over to him with a pretty satisfied look on his face.

“Well then, come on.”

“Come on where?” Daniel asked puzzled and when he looked back to the giddy expressions on the kids’ faces, he knew what Fernando wanted from him. “Oh no no, Fernando, don’t you think it might be a bit unfair if I play,” he asked but the blond only raised his eyebrows at him.

“What if they only let me play with them if I bring you along?”

Fuck, there were the beginnings of a pout on Fernando’s face, how was he supposed to say no to that?

“Okay, okay, but you’re the one to tell Kenny if I hurt myself.”

“You mean that’d make me meet King Kenny?” Fernando beamed playfully.

“Oh shut up you,” Dan shook his head and laughed before standing up and walking with him towards the boys. “Alright lads, try to go easy on me and my friend, okay?”

“Speak for yourself,” Fernando laughed and pushed Dan away among the good-natured, giddy laughter and remarks of the lads and started to jog over onto the makeshift pitch.

They picked up their game right where they had left off only with them as a player more in each team. And of course Dan was careful since he’d had no warm-up, but the way they played was more for fun than serious even though they managed some nice tricks obviously coming from hours and hours of playing together.

It was - once again and so maybe not all that surprisingly - Fernando though that surprised him most. He was nimble, his first touch was amazing, and he was able to burst into sprints that made the teenagers look twenty years older than they were. And even his own experience that helped Dan wrangle the ball away from his opponents more often than not didn’t make him immune to Fernando’s acceleration.

When they lay on the grass on their backs in the dwindling daylight two hours later, alone again since the teenagers had moved on after pictures and autographs and goodbyes, sweat shining on their foreheads, it was with three goals Fernando had managed to get over him.

After a while Dan slowly turned onto his side only to see Fernando already watching him, smiling. “Hey,” he murmured softly and let his eyes wander, chin, lips, nose, freckles, before they settled on Fernando’s eyes.

“Hey,” Fernando said back and then laughed. Obviously it hadn’t escaped him either that this exchange was starting to get common between them. “How are you? Everything okay? No muscle tweaking?”

“Everything feels fine,” Daniel answered lightly while he moved his hand down between the spaces of their bodies, taking Fernando’s fingers between his, the dusk of the incoming night, the increasing emptiness of the park and their own bodies hiding the gesture from other eyes. “I rather liked today. It was fun.”

Fernando didn’t answer immediately, his gaze flickering down to their carefully entwined fingers before coming back up to lock with Dan’s. And even though his eyes were insecure he didn’t pull away. “For me too.”

Suddenly swallowing was getting difficult and Dan could feel his heart beating a bit harder in his chest. What was happening here?

“Do you like coffee? I have an awesome coffee machine at home.” Oh great, Daniel, way to be obvious, you idiot! Dan thought the moment the words left his mouth. This wasn’t how he had intended to ask the Spaniard to spend another night with him.

With a pounding heart he watched how Fernando bit his lower lip and didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he asked, “Can your machine make café con leche?”

Dan couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous relief he felt and at Fernando’s playful reply. “You bet it can,” he answered, squeezing Fernando’s fingers tightly for a moment or two, and Fernando answered him with a smile.

“In that case I’m in.”

***

Daniel buried his nose in the soft blond hairs in the back of Fernando’s neck and breathed in, let his hand wander over the pale thigh the Spaniard had angled and thrust his hips again, and Fernando hummed softly under his breath. They were taking their time, and Dan just wanted to draw this out as long as possible, enjoy Fernando’s body pressed against his, the sounds he was making, his warmth, his scent.

Dan tightened his hand on Fernando’s hip when he heard a low moan escape the other man’s throat, the soft little gasp under his breath and he could only close his eyes, just trying not to lose himself in the other man because he wanted this to be perfect, wanted Fernando to enjoy it, desperately wanted to please him.

“Dan,” Fernando mumbled, grasped Dan’s hand and tried to tug him closer, uncoordinated, almost impatient. “Mmmhh…”

Now he could feel Fernando’s entire body flush against him, his naked skin burningly hot against his own, so close it was an almost overwhelmingly intense feeling. “Tell me, please… tell me what you want,” he said softly into Fernando’s ear and placed a light kiss behind it while continuing his steady, measured thrusts.

“More… more, please,” Fernando pleaded and tugged on his hand again almost as if to draw Dan completely over him.

With gentle hands Dan turned the blond completely onto his stomach and draped himself over him, chest against back, not even for a moment losing the intimate way their bodies were connected. He barely gave Fernando a moment to adjust to the change before he began to move his hips again, slipping his fingers between Fernando’s lying beside his head and together they clenched down into the rumbled sheets underneath them.

Like this they rocked together with comparably small motions, but it was intense and gripping and tingling from his fingers to his toes. Fernando underneath him was already trembling, he spread his legs a little wider, moaned and buried his face deeply in Dan’s pillow.

Daniel really couldn’t recall ever feeling the way he did in this moment when their bodies shifted and their movements steadily increased until the pressure inside him began to grow and his hips began to push faster. His heart was racing, the heat between them was smothering, and Daniel just barely remembered to angle is free hand under Fernando to help him reach his completion. This time Dan wanted them to come together, but he didn’t know how much longer he could last, and the needy sounds coming from Fernando’s throat didn’t help at all.

But then, as Dan tried to steel himself for just a little longer, the body beneath his own tensed and then jerked, and his pillow muffled a weak scream as Fernando’s hand, still entwined with his, clenched Dan’s fingers and the sheets so tightly it almost hurt. And he couldn’t help but follow Fernando with a ragged moan as he thrust into him one last time, feeling Fernando clenching around him, milking him before his body exhaustedly slumped down.

Their mixed breath was echoing loudly in the room as Daniel listened to his heartbeat slowing down to the point where he thought it almost felt like it matched Fernando’s own underneath him and his lips sought out the other’s neck, kissing it gently before he buried his face against Fernando’s pulse point.

The Spaniard let out a soft, sluggish but content sounding hum and turned his head just a little so that his cheek rested on the top of Dan’s head. Then he sighed.

“Shit. I think I ruined your sheets.”

Daniel’s chest rumbled lightly against Fernando’s skin as he laughed at his random statement. “That’s okay, I can live with it,” he answered while he rolled himself off the other man. “But I don’t think I can change them just yet.”

“No one’s asking you,” Fernando smiled at him from where he was still lying on his stomach, face half buried in the pillow. He sighed and adjusted his arm so that he could slide it underneath the pillow and bunch it up a little. “I’ll help you later.”

Dan smiled warmly at Fernando. “You don’t have to,” he replied before he moved to discard the used condom, knotting it and throwing it in the direction of the little trash bin next to the bathroom door. “I don’t let my guests work. Remember, I’m a gentleman,” he chuckled, sliding slowly back towards Fernando so he could capture his lips for a languorous kiss.

They let their lips and tongues caress for a few moments, eyes closed, before the touch wore off and they simply let their heads rest together. “Mmh, you really know how to make your lovers comfortable,” Fernando muttered.

Dan paused for a moment, his heart skipping a beat at Fernando’s implied assumption and he caught Fernando’s eyes with his. “You know, I don’t want you to think I do something like this all the time… because I don’t.” He didn’t know why exactly it was important for him that Fernando, barely more than a mere stranger, knew it wasn’t normal for him to pick up fans and take them home, but he felt better when it was off his chest.

The Spaniard was quiet for a few moments and just watched him, and it seemed a little like there was a conflict going on behind those dark eyes. And Dan knew he had been right when Fernando eventually asked softly, “Why didn’t anyone ever stick around?” As soon as the words were out though he bit his lip and lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that.”

Dan always tried not to think about the whys and hows of his life, it was better for his peace of mind if he didn’t and he wouldn’t start now, so he answered in the only possible way he could think of. “I don’t know,” he shrugged listlessly. “So… you still want that café con leche?”

“Okay. Yes, I do,” Fernando answered with a small smile, obviously sensing that maybe they weren’t really in a position for these questions. So he didn’t wait for Dan but rolled around, sat up and haphazardly cleaned himself before slipping into his underwear - black, very nice boxer briefs this time instead of boxers, as Dan had noted earlier.

He followed Fernando’s example and slipped back in his own boxers before proceeding to lead Fernando downstairs. “Come on, my coffee machine is God, you’ll love it,” he smiled and the Spaniard snorted in delight.

“You’re making some big promises here.”

When they reached the kitchen Dan gestured towards one of the barstools standing around the kitchen island. “Sit down and watch God work,” he said with a mischievous grin before he took two red cups from the cupboard and Fernando watched how Dan worked on the coffee machine with well practised movements.

“Are you trying to impress me?” the Spaniard asked, and even while not looking at him Dan could hear the grin in his voice.

“Now why would I want to try to impress some cute, half naked Spanish guy sitting in my kitchen?” he replied amusedly, once again wondering why he found it so easy to be around Fernando. It was just something he hadn’t known about himself.

“Here you go.” Dan carefully set one cup down in front of Fernando, smiling at him, before he fetched his own cup.

“Wow… thanks, I think,” his guest returned with the kind of smile that told that the answer had taken him by surprise. Fernando wrapped his hands around the hot cup and waited for Dan to sit down too.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Dan replied when he saw Fernando’s expression.

“No, no, it’s okay,” the Spaniard quickly amended, and to Dan’s relief it was obvious that he really wasn’t uncomfortable. “You just surprised me. It was… a very nice thing to say,” he added, breaking out into a grin.

That smile was infectious and Dan had to bite his bottom lip to keep from grinning like a loony idiot when he sat down beside Fernando and watched him sipping his coffee. He looked delicious. Pale skin, freckles, tousled hair. “You’re really pale for a Spaniard.” And only the slightly stunned look from said Spaniard made him realise his thought actually had left his mouth.

Right afterwards though Fernando had to laugh, pure amusement on his features as he looked over at Dan. “That was random.”

He was blushing, he felt it, and god this was embarrassing. But at the same time he couldn’t help but join Fernando’s laughter. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” the Spaniard grinned and gently nudged Dan’s shoulder with his own. “I know I’m not the most typical of my compatriots.”

“Definitively not,” Dan agreed. “So what are your plans for tomorrow? Will you watch training again?” he asked before taking a sip of his coffee. “I think Kenny will have us do little test games, should be interesting.”

“No, I won’t,” the blond answered and drank some coffee too and Dan’s heart plummeted right down to his feet. Then Fernando spoke on. “My Anfield Tour is tomorrow before noon, and as much fun as watching you was, I don’t think I should miss this,” he shrugged with a half smile. “Especially since it’ll be my only chance to actually see the stadium.”

And his heart snapped back to its rightful place. “Right, you didn’t get any tickets because we’re playing United.”

Fernando nodded. “No chance in hell as it seems. I didn’t really expect us to get any though, so no big surprise.”

“If you want, I could deposit one for you,” Dan said on an impulse and at the same time hoped he wouldn’t seem arrogant or snobby to Fernando, like someone throwing around with money and influential contacts.

But there was nothing of that on the Spaniard’s face as he looked at him, only stunned surprise. He didn’t even manage to say anything.

“Hey, don’t look so shocked. I work there and I’m allowed to have tickets if I want some,” Daniel laughed, patting Fernando’s knee lightly.

“Oh,” the blond just said, and then he looked down into his coffee cup with a small smile. “But I’m already flying back on Sunday.”

Dan wished his heart would stop making those stupid disappointed flips all the time. “Sunday already?”

“Yeah,” Fernando answered softly and looked at him, nudging Dan gently with his shoulder again. “I told you yesterday, remember?”

Dan only shrugged slightly, knowing he tended to forget small details like this one. “Can’t you reschedule your fight back? I mean it’s United after all.”

Fernando laughed a little at that and watched him, considering maybe. “Hm… not that I really have anywhere else I absolutely need to be on Monday…”

“Great. Then I’ll tell them to deposit one for you,” Dan answered, letting out the breath he had, unnoticed by himself, been holding, and just enjoyed seeing the way Fernando’s face was lit up by an undimmed smile.

“Wow… okay. Wow, I’m really going to see a match at Anfield. Can you pinch me?”

“Excuse me?” Dan asked amusedly, trying not to laugh at Fernando’s spaced out look but failed miserably when the blond just continued to look like he wanted to stifle that grin on his face. “Why would I want to damage your skin complexion with a black and blue mark?”

“I asked you to pinch me, not to maim me!” the Spaniard exclaimed indignantly and swatted him over the head.

“Hey, now you’re being violent again,” Dan chucked and before Fernando could say anything else leaned over and planted a soft kiss on his lips before pulling back slightly. “Hmmm, no, this felt very real to me.”

Fernando’s eyes were shining as he smiled at him from so close, bright and brilliant. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Dan answered, liking how happy the other man looked before pointing at Fernando’s coffee. “Your coffee is getting cold.”

The Spaniard looked back down at his cup and nodded. “It’s getting late too.”

Daniel nodded; time passed ridiculously fast when he spent it with Fernando. “I’ll drive you of course.”

“Okay. To be honest, I don’t think I’d even know how to get there on my own,” the Spaniard answered with a wry grin and finished his coffee.

“Don’t worry,” Dan smiled and took both empty cups and placed them in the dishwasher. “So I guess clothes would be good.”

For a moment Fernando just sat there and looked at him, and the amusement was so plain on his face that, when he didn’t say anything, Dan blinked. “What?”

“Nothing,” Fernando grinned, hopped off his bar stool and left the kitchen. “You’re right, clothes would be very good. Come on!”

They needed only a few minutes to get ready, and the atmosphere between them was much more relaxed than it had been the night before, not as awkward and uncertain. When they drove to the hotel they chatted about the upcoming match and when and where exactly Fernando would be able to get his ticket.

Soon Dan drove onto the parking space from Fernando’s hotel and turned off the car’s engine. “Here we are.”

“Right,” Fernando said and they both looked at the hotel through the front window for a few moments. “Well… I guess I should go then. Still have to book for one more day.”

“You don’t have to,” left Dan’s mouth before he could even think about it. “I mean… If you want to, you can spend the night at my house.”

“Really?”

Fernando looked at him with a mix of surprise and wonder, and Dan’s throat was suddenly tight so he only nodded. Then Fernando bit his lip and smiled, leaned forward and, as Dan had wished he would have already done the night before, kissed him, one hand carefully touching his cheek.

The kiss was soft and gentle but at the same time just so incredible hot it made his toes curl and sent delicious little shivers down his spine. Dan slowly moved his hand to the back of Fernando’s neck and just enjoyed the movement of their lips and tongues, his thumb lightly caressing the soft skin at the Spaniard’s nape.

Eventually Fernando drew back just a little, only to go right back and press his lips against Dan’s once more, just briefly before he grinned and mumbled, “Bye.”

And then he was gone, out of the door before Dan had gathered his wits enough to answer.

“Bye,” Dan whispered into the silence of his car, his lips still tingling slightly from the kiss, a welcome reminder for him that the last two days had indeed happened. And accompanied with the fact that tonight wasn’t the last time he would see Fernando only made his insides flutter with a happy thrill of anticipation. Humming lightly he started the engine of his car again, pulled out of the parking lot and onto the streets with the quietly fearful hope that, as strange as it sounded, when this weekend was over, his heart wouldn’t leave for Spain together with Fernando.

~ TBC in Chapter 3 ~