The Lives We Lived Last Night

[narya86]

Title: The Lives We Lived Last Night
Authors: narya86 & tetila
Pairing: Daniel Agger/Fernando Torres
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Very obvious that this is not real.
Summary: "They met under the unlikeliest of circumstances, but from the first moment they touched, they both knew they were lost for everyone else in the world."
A/N: So, this is some kind of cross-over between Carrie Underwood's Last Name and Hangover that, for obvious reasons, ignores realism in a few more or less (cough) details. We hope you have fun with this anyway because we definitely had. :D



The Lives We Lived Last Night

“Sixty shots in one hour! Not even I’m this insane!”

“What, are you actually telling me that Pepe Reina would admit defeat without even trying?”

“Yeah Ramos, I’d like to see you try that shit. They were Irish no less, hard to drink that lot under the table anyway.”

“Are you sure they didn’t just say that to boast?”

“Oh Niño,” the man next to Fernando sighed in exasperation and pat his back. “You still can’t tell when a man is dead serious about something, huh?”

“Shut up, Dani,” Fernando scowled at his childhood friend and ignored Pepe and Sergio who were sorting into their drinks.

“Our boy here is far too gullible for his own good,” teased Pepe with a slight smirk on his lips before he took another sip of his beer. Fernando felt his cheeks heat up and extended his glare to all three of his friends. “You are all insufferable, I don’t even know why I agreed to go on this trip with you. And you lot claim to be my friends!”

All three men on the table simultaneously broke out in a round of playful pitying sounds. “Aaww don’t worry, Nando we still love you anyway. And you agreed to come with us because we are just that awesome,” Sergio laughed. Fernando rolled his eyes but grinned into his drink, thinking that, in truth, there probably couldn’t have been anyone better to go on a trip to Las Vegas with than Dani Martin, Sergio Ramos and Pepe Reina. It was their last night before flying back to Spain and, in all honesty, they’d had the time of their lives. The four young men had spontaneously decided to end their trip in a bar they had found by chance that was styled in the typical American Mid-Western fashion: pool tables, juke box, wooden bar and tables, many of the people sitting around or dancing wearing cowboy hats and boots, the music a fitting country party mix.

It was late already and the people at the bar, all more or less intoxicated, just started to use the space in the middle of the room that was the dance floor, forming a moving group of bodies to the beat of the music.

Dani watched them for a moment before turning back to his friends sitting at the table. “I want to dance. We should dance!”

“What, like, line dance?” Pepe grinned with one glance at the group of dancers who were doing exactly that right in the middle of the dance floor.

“I bet that is fun,” Fernando remarked, watching them as well.

Sergio snickered, “Yeah right, like you would actually do that with only those two beers you had tonight. That would be a first.”

“Is that a challenge to drink more?” Fernando asked drily and knocked back the rest of his beer. “On it.”

“I think that was rather an observation of how we’re in Las Vegas and you’re still too proper and well behaved for your own good,” Dani grinned.

“Huh?”

Pepe leaned over the table towards Fernando a teasing smile on his face. “Yesterday when all of us were drinking those shots and started to do karaoke, you kept on drinking beer and refused to join us,” Pepe explained. “So what Dani here means is that sometimes you just have to let go, you know? Be a little reckless.”

“You mean irresponsible,” Fernando remarked drily, but Peep waved his words away.

“We’re in Las Vegas, Niño!”

Fernando snorted. “Yeah right. How could I forget. So is anyone going to dance with me now?”

The others only watched how Fernando disappeared between the people standing around the dance floor, amusingly shaking their heads before following the blond.

The air was hot and humid around them as they tried to keep up with the unfamiliar steps, laughing every time they missed something or failed to keep with the right beat. Between dancing they continued drinking, shots mostly, but much too many in disorder, really. Fernando’s face was flushed from alcohol, dancing, the hot air and the laughter. They danced with random people, with each other, and at some point someone put a hat on Fernando’s head that he accepted with a gracious but gleeful grin.

He was already feeling pleasantly light-headed when Pepe pushed another shot into his hand that he knocked back without hesitation, the alcohol leaving a burning trail down to his stomach. He just wanted to follow Pepe back to the other two when his gaze landed on a pair of eyes belonging to a young man across the room, tall, short dark hair, attractive enough for Fernando to let his gaze linger, who was blatantly watching him. And because Fernando was drunk (most definitively drunk), he didn’t hesitate to throw the man a wide, bright smile and immediately received a grin in return. In the very next moment a hand was grabbing his wrist, and Fernando’s attention, its span having become tragically short, was drawn back to Dani who was dragging him off back to Sergio and Pepe.

About ten minutes later Fernando was dancing again when a hand was lightly grabbing his hip from behind and a voice said right next to his ear, “Hey cutie. Where’re you from?”

***

The very first thing Fernando’s mind was capable of when he woke up was realising that he had the worst hangover of his life. He couldn’t open his eyes because the light behind his lids would surely blind him, he couldn’t even groan because his throat was dry, the taste on his tongue was disgusting and he was desperately thirsty. He couldn’t even move because he thought he might experience his head exploding. So he decided to take baby steps.

Whatever he was lying on felt soft and comfortable and was probably a bed. It was quiet except for the faint sounds of a big city dulled through a window and what might have been a shower going somewhere.

So far so good.

And Fernando would have probably stayed exactly like this if his body hadn’t started to demand water more and more insistently.

Carefully he opened one eye, peaking over the edge of the pillow he was lying on and immediately regretted his decision.

Not only was his head feeling like a smashed water melon but the sight that greeted Fernando was a very unfamiliar hotel room. Fuck, he thought and quickly sat up to get a better look at his surroundings.

The panic that surged through him even dulled the stabs of pain that were caused by his sharp movements.

He didn’t know where he was. And as Fernando tried to remember he realised he also didn’t know how he had ended up here, in this room, alone, hungover and naked, what a short, quick glance underneath his blanket confirmed. Fuck, he thought again.

Calm down. Be rational. Think, he tried to tell himself. But his head was pounding and so Fernando groaned and sank back onto the bed where he pulled the pillow over his head to drown out every sound and bring blessed darkness.

Think.

He had been at that bar with Dani, Pepe and Sergio, drinking, dancing, having a blast. And then this guy had talked to him, the one Fernando remembered, the tall one with a light dust of lots of lots of freckles. And Fernando remembered how they had danced together, remembered a captivating grin, remembered arms around his waist and a warm body pressed against his own while they danced… remembered more drinks and unhurried, unashamed kisses.

Remembered a name to the face.

Dan.

***

The wet, hot sensation on his neck made Fernando gasp brokenly as a hand on his hip pulled him tighter into the embrace of the man sucking on his sensitive skin at the curve of his shoulder. They were still moving to the music in the middle of the dance floor, but at some point of the night dancing had become a synonym for kissing and teasing and stroking and groping every bit of skin they could reach.

So Fernando didn’t protest when Dan sneaked a hand into the back of his jeans and underneath his boxer, only relishing in the fact that it brought delicious friction when Dan used his grip to pull him in even tighter against his thigh between his legs.

He liked the way Dan smelled, liked his hands and how they felt, liked how he moved with him, liked how he kissed, tasted so good. He was drunk enough to be reduced to the most basic wants and needs and Dan - Danish, Fernando remembered, on holiday too with two friends - filled those perfectly. So very perfectly.

Fernando tangled his hand in Dan’s hair to draw his head up so they could kiss again while his other found its way under Dan’s shirt, wandering over his back and side, gently scratching over his stomach muscles. His hips were still rubbing against Dan’s thigh while at the same time trying to wiggle back against the hand in the back of his jeans.

Their kiss was broken when Dan pulled away from him, looking flushed and hot, his lips still wet and puffy and Fernando couldn’t help but watch entranced how the tip of Dan’s tongue sneaked out, tracing over his lips as if he wanted to savour the last of Fernando’s taste on them.

A twist of Dan’s hips let him moan out loud as it sent small tingling sparks all over his body. And only the deep, breathy voice of the other man beside his ears drew his attention away from all those overwhelming sensations undoing him.

“Baby,” a whisper, just loud enough to be heard over the music, “I want you.”

And where usually the term of endearment from pretty much a stranger would have sent Fernando running, this time it weakened his knees. “Me too,” he moaned, kissing Dan again and pressed closer, “Want you too. Please…”

“We can -” Dan started but was interrupted by a hand crashing onto Fernando’s shoulder and then Sergio’s familiar voice in his ear from behind.

“That’s my boy. Have fun.” And with that a hand sneaked into the pocket of Fernando’s jeans to leave there what Fernando was pretty sure was a condom, before vanishing in the dancing crowd again.

Fernando buried his face in Dan’s shoulder and laughed.

“God, I like your friend already,” Dan chuckled lightly before reluctantly freeing his hand from Fernando’s jeans and letting it wander into the pocket to search for the condom, but didn’t pull it out, only smiled at Fernando and bent down again to catch his lips in an open mouthed kiss.

Just like that all thoughts of Sergio and his friends were gone from Fernando’s mind and all that mattered was the pulsing arousal in his veins. Fernando almost whined when the contact between them was once again broken by Dan pulling back.

“Come on,” he muttered into his ear and grasped his hand, smiled, and Fernando followed without hesitation.

***

Shit, Fernando groaned inwardly and pulled the pillow away from over his head so he could breathe. This was perfect, just typical. And he really, really needed something to drink now. A quick look around revealed not just his own clothes scattered on the floor or the unfamiliar belongings of someone else, but also a water bottle standing on the floor beside the bed that Fernando took thankfully.

When he was done, the bottle was empty and he felt marginally better. And then the bathroom door opened.

Fernando wasn’t that surprised to see Dan. Not really. But that didn’t mean that he could do more than stare at the man, clad only in his boxers, hair shower-wet.

He notices how the man’s step faltered when he saw him awake on the bed, and for an awkward moment neither of them moved as their eyes met.

Fernando remembered those, remembered how they had looked at him with laughter, surprise and passion. It was like the memory of them was the only clear image he could find in his head from last night.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Dan said finally, his voice sounding unsure as if he didn’t know if it had been the right thing to say to him.

When after a few seconds Fernando still hadn’t answered, Dan cleared his throat before breaking the eye contact between them. “I’ll just…” he began but didn’t finish the sentence, only pointed at his jeans lying on the ground.

“Dan… right?” Fernando tried, winced at his voice, cleared his throat and started again, still staring at the man, unable to blink. “I… guess I had sex with you. I can’t remember last night.”

Fernando thought he saw Dan’s lips twitch as if he wanted to laugh at his statement, but he couldn’t be sure because the other man had bent down to take his jeans from the ground and pulled it over his legs, quickly fastening the buttons.

“You did,” Dan agreed and fell silent again, looking like he didn’t know what else to say. “It also might have been more than once,” he continued. “But I don’t…” the Dane stopped again helplessly.

“Oh god.”

Fernando wanted to die.

Even though he wasn’t really surprised either. His body was certainly protesting enough for more than once. He suddenly couldn’t look at Dan anymore.

“Oh god, I don’t remember anything. Please tell me what happened?”

Dan shrugged as he took a few steps towards Fernando and sat down at the edge of the bed. “I remember the casino or, well, the bathroom,” he said and Fernando’s eyes were drawn to the bluish, red mark on his neck as the other man rubbed his fingers over the bruise in a self-conscious manner.

Fernando stared - and remembered.

***

Dan’s hotel room was too far away, much too far away. Fernando remembered that that’s where they had wanted to go, but they weren’t even halfway there and he didn’t want to wait. “Dan… Dan, Dan, Dan,” Fernando mumbled against Dan’s skin, walking backwards to be able to kiss the man in front of him, but currently busy with biting and sucking on his neck. Intent on leaving a mark.

“Dan, please…”

Fernando more felt than heard Dan moan, a low rumble in his chest that told him that the Dane had understood him. Fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him up and into a kiss, wet and hot and so good, they both had to stop walking because their attention was on each other and on how good it felt to get lost in a kiss.

Someone bumped into them, as they were standing in the middle of one of Las Vegas’ busiest streets, and Fernando whined when it made Dan break the contact, but he didn’t have time to protest because the other man grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a building with a bright, and colourful sign spelling ‘Casino’.

“Fuck the hotel,” Dan muttered while they entered the Casino, passing the security.

Fernando stumbled after him in surprise but then simply followed, laughing in giddiness, elation and arousal. Dan didn’t stop at any table but made straight for the bathroom, all marble and mirrors and shining light. But neither of them spared it any glance, their only goal one of the tiny rooms housing a toilet.

There wasn’t really space for two gown men, but it was enough for Dan to turn and push Fernando against the door, the Spaniard’s head lightly bumping against the wood, the sound leaving his mouth lost somewhere between Dan’s lips and tongue as he let his hands sneak under the hem of Fernando’s shirt, causing him to gasp loudly when his fingers played gently with Fernando’s nipples.

Fernando’s fingers immediately sought button and zipper of Dan’s trousers, fumbling impatiently until they were undone.

“Will you fuck me now then?” he asked into their kiss and grinned. “Here?”

Dan’s only answer was a little bite to Fernando’s bottom lip, but his fingers were already busy with Fernando’s own jeans, pulling and ripping at the zipper.

“If I actually manage to undo these. You bet I will.”

Fernando growled and swatted Dan’s hands away to take care of that obstacle himself. It took him only a second until both their jeans and shorts were down to their thighs and Fernando had fished the condom from his pocket to push it into Dan’s hand.

“And before you even ask, I’m drunk, I’m horny, I’m relaxed as fuck. Hurry up.”

With a last kiss Dan turned him, making him face the door and the fast motion almost let them fall to the side, but the Dane managed to hold onto him and their balance. The blond’s laugh turned into a content hum when he felt Dan’s fingers run over the skin of his back down to the soft swell of his arse.

“And I might be drunk, but I don’t want to hurt you,” the Dane answered before he felt first one, then two spit-wet fingers press into him.

“Damn you,” Fernando cursed quietly but not entirely honestly. Because a large part of him just wanted to kiss him again, thinking that he’d let Dan do whatever he wanted, anything, with him. So he accepted the fingers with a content sigh, relaxed and proved him that he pretty much was as ready as he’d ever be. He heard Dan moan loudly when he playfully tightened his muscles around the third finger entering him in a perfect twist.

“Tease,” was whispered into his ear, teeth lightly biting the soft flesh and a hot tongue soothing the marks they left.

“Fuck, I want you.”

The fingers retreated and Fernando could hear the crinkling of the condom foil behind him, he sighed and let his head sink back onto Dan’s shoulder, his body a graceful arch against the other man.

“I’m right here,” he muttered softly, biting gently at Dan’s jaw. “Just take me.”

Two hands on his hip made Fernando bend forward again before Dan placed the head of his cock against his entrance and pushed in, slowly, almost too slowly, filling him.

Fernando let his forehead sink against the door and moaned, senses already running wild with him, thoughts a jumbled mess of perfect, yes, God, please, good, so good.

And he probably could have come right then and be content with it, but after Dan had started to move, to thrust into him and caress every patch of skin his hands could reach, when Fernando came he was seeing stars.

***

The memory hung between them for a moment and Fernando felt how his face had heated up, a flush spreading down to his chest, and he drew his knees to him and pulled the blanket up to his chin.

“Casino,” he muttered, looking anywhere but at Dan. “Right.”

“Right,” Dan agreed in the same manner and an awkward silence hung in the air between them.

When Fernando looked up again he could see that the man’s eyes still rested on him. Upon being caught looking he quickly averted his gaze to the ground and Fernando thought he could see a light blush colouring his cheeks as he humbled, “I only remember bits and pieces too.”

“Great,” Fernando sighed without any reproach and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his left hand.

They had both been too drunk to remember what must have obviously been a pretty damn good night. But Fernando was prepared to accept that, gather his things, say goodbye to Dan and leave it at that - maybe ask his friends later if he had been reckless enough for them - when his gaze got stuck on his ring finger.

Or, more precisely, the slender, unadorned silver band around it.

Fernando stared what must have been a long time. But finally he looked over at Dan, blinking slowly, and then asked tonelessly, “What. Is this.”

He saw Dan grimace lightly at his question. “Yeah, I wanted to tell you about that,” he answered while he slowly lifted his own left hand and Fernando could see the same silver band resting on his ring-finger. “I don’t know how that happened.” Dan fumbled with his ring for a moment, looking a bit lost, before continuing, “I’m sorry. Do you want to take a shower and then maybe we can try to find out what happened over breakfast?”

But Fernando hadn’t quite been able to actually take in the last part of what Dan had said. His head was reeling. This couldn’t, couldn’t be what it looked like. He’d never have done that. It couldn’t.

“Oh my God,” he just said, shifting to get off the bed, unable to remain seated, but luckily aware enough to pull the blanket around his waist. “Oh my God. Please tell me this isn’t real. It can’t be, right?”

The Dane didn’t move from his place on the bed, looking all too composed and calm for Fernando’s liking, and the only sign that Dan wasn’t as unaffected as he seemed was that he was still twisting the ring on his finger, back and forth, back and forth, always in the same rhythm.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you exactly that, but I found those in my pocket,” he said, pointing towards the small table standing beside the bathroom door.

From his place beside the bed Fernando could only see some papers lying on it, and even though he couldn’t read anything from the distance, he was pretty sure they confirmed that they were, indeed, married.

“Oh shit. Oh shit,” Fernando muttered, walking back and forth a few times. He couldn’t really form a single thought. He didn’t even understand how he could have ended up in this position. “I can’t believe this. How could… I don’t even know you! I don’t even know your… I don’t even know my last name!” he concluded somewhere between amazement and hysterical panic.

“Agger,” Dan quietly but unhelpfully threw in, then finally stood up and moved towards Fernando like he was approaching a wild animal. “Look, panic won’t help us here,” he said calmly. “Let’s get some breakfast and talk, okay?”

The rational part of Fernando’s brain knew that Dan - Daniel? Daniel Agger? - was right, even though the emotional part of him would have happily continued panicking. But the unsure, almost apprehensive look on Dan’s face brought him to his senses and he tried to take a deep, even breath.

“Okay… okay… I’m sorry, I… shower?” Fernando eventually concluded weakly, holding on to the blanket around his hips tightly.

He saw how the tense posture of the other man changed, looking more at ease by the second, only the light frown between his eyes didn’t leave and Fernando couldn’t understand why, or even how he could be so calm about this.

“Don’t apologise,” Dan finally said with a small smile. “I had plenty of time for freaking out earlier this morning when you were still sleeping.” Then he nodded towards the door where Fernando had first seen him after waking up. “Shower’s over there. I’ll wait.”

Fernando nodded, mumbled something that could have passed as a thanks and went into the bathroom. The shower did a lot to battle his hangover, but it took all his concentration to keep his racing thoughts at bay - to not think about the ring on his finger and the man outside that was somehow bound to him now.

***

Now looking at Fernando while he searched the card of the small café for something he wanted to eat, Dan wasn’t surprised at all that his drunken self had been drawn to him.

God, that man was beautiful. There was no other word for it.

And Dan thought he could remember how his face looked when Fernando smiled, how it seemed to light up his chocolate-brown eyes, his whole features.

Dan thought he could remember being the reason for that smile last night.

He had been shocked, had had his own fair share of panic in the morning when he had found those papers in his jeans pocket that clearly stated that he was married to the man still sleeping in his bed. But somewhere between his shower and Fernando’s freak out he had found a strange sense of calm, thinking that he would just go with the flow and see what would happen. After all things like spontaneous marriages in Las Vegas could be annulled.

“So,” he finally broke the silence between them, waiting until Fernando looked up from the card he was studying. “You only remember the casino from last night, and nothing else after that?”

“Not really,” Fernando answered with a sigh and let the card fall down onto the table. He looked at Dan for a moment but then dropped his gaze again. “I mean, there are flashes. But nothing that could tell me how this happened,” he concluded and waved his left hand around for a brief moment.

Dan followed the movement with his eyes. He didn’t know if he should really comment on it or if it would only make things worse. The blond just looked so…

Dan would have liked to be able to touch his shoulder or arm in a comforting manner, to somehow show him that everything would be okay. Instead he only touched his ring again, slowly twisting it while he waited for Fernando to calm down. The waitress that came by to take their order of breakfast and coffee helped, visibly taking Fernando’s mind off this for a moment.

As soon as they were alone again, however, Dan spoke up again.

“So if we both don’t really remember, how do we figure out what happened last night?”

At that Fernando let out a long breath. “I have absolutely no… no, wait,” he interrupted himself and looked at Dan. “You found those papers in your pocket, right? What about our wallets? Something else might be in there. And if not we could go back to the church. There’s an address on the papers, right?” he wanted to know, fumbling with his own wallet already.

“Yeah,” Dan nodded as he did the same, searching his wallet for clues about last night, hoping to bring some light into his clouded memories.

Dan was sure they had had their reasons for doing what they had done other than that the sex in the casino had been absolutely fantastic… or maybe that had been enough reason in their drunken minds. When he opened his wallet the first things he could find were bright orange paper tickets for a rollercoaster and the receipt of ‘Sin City Adult’.

“Okay,” he said slowly and laid both items in the middle of the table. “I found those.”

Fernando looked up from the search of his wallet that seemed to have produced two strips of paper as well, and took a look at Daniel’s findings. He blinked.

“We were in a sex shop?” the Spaniard asked then, his tone wavering between what sounded like amusement and mortification.

“I think we decided that we would need more condoms than that one your friend gave us,” Dan answered him, smiling at the expression on Fernando’s face.

As soon as Dan had read the receipt of the shop he had seen himself and Fernando stumbling through the door of it, laughing and, if he remembered correctly, touching and kissing all the time, the high and the arousal from their encounter in the casino still running through their system.

It seemed like their little triggers were working. And not just for him, Dan guessed as he watched Fernando looking unblinkingly at the receipt between them, a light flush creeping up his cheeks.

“Right,” Fernando eventually said, slowly rubbing the back of his neck. “I… think I remember the rollercoaster ride as well. And… cotton candy.”

It tastes even better off you.

Dan could hear the words echo in his ears as if Fernando had just said them to him, and he could almost taste the sugary sweet mess on his lips, mixed with something that had to be pure Fernando because he could see himself and the other man standing beside the rollercoaster, eating cotton candy from each other’s lips.

“Right…”

He was thankfully spared an answer as their breakfast arrived in that moment, and it smelled delicious enough that his stomach immediately made itself known. Fernando seemed to be just as hungry, so for a few moments they simply attended to their breakfast. Dan didn’t stop watching Fernando, however, how he still chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully while buttering some toast.

“I think that was before…” Fernando started, picking up their conversation again, but then stopped, shook his head for a moment and then looked down at what he had produced from his wallet. “I found a taxi receipt and… those.”

And with that he pushed the longer strip over the table to Dan.

It was a series of four pictures taken in a photo booth. The first two simply showed the two of them laughing, as if they hadn’t been able to get it together in time. In the third one they both looked into the camera, wide smiles on their faces, heads close, glowing. In the fourth Fernando had his arm around Dan’s neck and they were kissing.

Dan stared at the people in the photographs, couldn’t remember the moments they had captured, and even as he looked at himself he couldn’t call up on the feelings that were clearly visible on his own face. What was it? Happiness, affection, love? They sure looked like a couple in love in those photos.

“I have never sat in a photo booth before and the one time I did I can’t remember. But it sure looks like we had fun,” Dan said, watching Fernando.

“You said… oh God,” the Spaniard interrupted himself and his hand flew to the back of his neck, and Dan remembered.

“Did you know…”

***

“… that you have two freckles on the back of your neck that look like they’re having sex?”

Fernando stared at him for a moment, and then they burst into laughter simultaneously, right as the camera went off for the first time.

“How can you -” Fernando started as soon as he got words through his laughter but was interrupted by the second click of the camera. “We have to do a serious one!” he cried, and Dan succeeded in calming his laughter to a wide grin as they both managed to actually look at the camera this time, their heads close together.

Another click.

“Well done,” Fernando purred then, and just as Dan had opened his mouth to say something, Fernando threw his arm around Dan’s neck and swallowed his words with a kiss.

The camera went off again.

Their time was over, but it didn’t stop them from continuing their kiss. Tongues and lips slowly caressing each other as Dan gently cupped Fernando’s cheek in his palm, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. There was something unhurried and calm in their touch, different from before, and it made Dan’s insides tingle pleasantly.

When he pulled back, breaking the contact of their lips, his eyes found those of Fernando. And Dan was perfectly okay with just sitting there, with the warmth of Fernando’s body against his side, just looking at him, and slowly letting his thumb trace the freckles on his cheek.

The night couldn’t have been more perfect than right there in that moment.

Fernando smiled at him then, unhurriedly, and tilted his head just a little so that the tips of their noses bumped gently.

“You have kind of beautiful eyes,” he stated rather matter of factly and then buried his face in Dan’s neck. “I like your eyes. I like you. Danny, I think I like you.”

Dan shivered from the vibrations against his neck, and the meaning of the words Fernando had just said spread warmth through his whole body. He felt the blond softly place a small kiss on the sensitive skin of his neck, and such a surge of affection for the man in his arms ran through him that he couldn’t help but reply, “I think I like you too, baby.” He kissed the top of Fernando’s head, tightening his arms around him before clarifying, “I like you a lot.”

***

The memory surprised Dan. Or maybe it wasn’t the memory itself but rather the fact that what he had told Fernando had been the truth.

Even in the short amount of time Dan had known Fernando, the man had managed to make him do things, feel things, that Dan had thought he wasn’t able to feel anymore. Not yet, at least.

It must have been a longer pause because Fernando was looking at him questioningly, like he waited for an answer from him.

“I didn’t lie, you know, when I told you that I liked you,” he said then, on an impulse, really, immediately hoping it wouldn’t freak the man in front of him out.

It didn’t seem like it, but Fernando looked definitely flustered, shifting a little in his seat. “Yeah… I mean… there must have been some reason for us to… do what we did,” he finished weakly, still evading to actually name it.

Dan nodded, and silence settled over their small table. He watched how Fernando played with his napkin before wrapping his hands around his cup of coffee that had stopped steaming but still had to be warm.

For some reason Dan had known how Fernando drank his coffee before he had even ordered it. He knew the man hated sweet coffee but liked it when the bitter edge was taken off by half a cube of sugar, and Fernando’s fight with the cube earlier had been quite amusing even though the situation had been as awkward as it could get. Now he was watching Fernando’s finger play with the crumbled sugar on the table, forming small white lines before smearing them again. Once again Dan let his eves wander over the other man’s soft features, observing the freckled skin, the long eyelashes that framed the chocolate brown eyes, the perfectly formed nose, and the full mouth… damn.

He saw how Fernando slowly chewed on his lower lip, his gaze still on his fingers playing with the sugar, saw how they slowly stilled, and maybe his gaze wasn’t resting on nothing in particular anymore but on the ring that was gleaming on his fourth finger. Their ring.

“Wait,” Fernando suddenly said, slowly, blinking, spreading his fingers slightly as if to get a better look. “I think I… remember.” He frowned a little.

“What?” Dan asked in confusion. “Do you remember the -” He stopped himself, like actually saying it out loud would cross some sort of invisible barrier with Fernando, and he didn’t want to make him even more uncomfortable than he already was. It was ridiculously funny how he himself dealt with this situation. Trying not make Fernando freak out was helping him to not freak out. He wondered what that said about him.

“We were walking around outside, just came from… no, wait,” Fernando interrupted himself again, frowned, rubbed his temple, and then stared off into nothing again. “I think we had something more to drink? Or that was before the sex shop, I don’t… but we were walking past this chapel…”

Dan’s eyes focused in on Fernando’s lips forming the last word and it was slowly echoing in his head like it searched for the fitting place, for the right memory to find, and found it.

***

“Did you see the face of the bartender when you started to lick the salt from my neck?” Fernando giggled, his face flushed from the cool air of the night and the alcohol running through his blood.

“He wouldn’t have said anything but you just had to push your hand into my jeans at the same time,” Dan laughed, remembering the scandalised face of the man as they more or less got told to leave their establishment. Now they were just wandering aimlessly through the bright streets of Las Vegas and Dan thought he could get used to the warm feeling at his side that came from Fernando’s body walking close to him, his fingers playing with the soft leather cord on Dan’s wrist.

Then Spaniard wove his fingers through Dan’s, their palms resting together, and Dan tilted his head to press a short kiss to the blond hair.

“Well they just don’t get it,” Fernando muttered indignantly and nuzzled into Dan’s neck before laying his head on his shoulder to see where they were going. “Hey, look.” He grinned again.

Dan followed Fernando’s line of sight until his eyes found what he was looking at. A little building to their right, the big red neon-sign on the top glowed brightly in the dark reading in big yellow letters, ‘Wedding Chapel. Open 7 Days 24 Hours’.

“The wedding chapel?” Dan asked, a bit confused, and Fernando laughed softly against his skin.

“Mmmhh…”

He bit his lip and looked at Dan.

“What?” Dan incredulously asked Fernando, still laughing slightly, not sure if his alcohol clouded mind was actually playing tricks on him or if the other man really just thought what Dan was thinking what he thought. Wait, what? Now he was confusing himself.

“You’re not really serious?” he asked again.

Fernando only laughed, a giddy, carefree expression on his features, and he squeezed Dan’s hand in his own. “Do you want me to be?”

Did he? Somewhere in the back of his head Dan knew this was a ridiculous idea, but Fernando was standing right beside him, looking at him with those warm dark eyes, and he couldn’t help but remember all the things they had done that night. Somehow he had found that they just clicked, fitting together like two puzzle pieces, and he’d had a great time, enjoyed himself more than he ever had in the last two years with… Dan quickly shoved the thought of his last relationship away. Why shouldn’t they, maybe it was exactly what each of them needed - and the sex was the best he’d ever had after all.

Fernando was still looking at him, his thumb running over the skin of his hand, and instead of answering he only pulled the blond closer to him, nuzzling at the soft skin behind his ear before he trailed small kisses up to his mouth. The kiss was deep and messy and maybe with a bit too much tongue, but it still made Dan’s insides tingle with lust and excitement and happiness and something else Dan couldn’t identify.

“I want you to be serious,” he finally said when their kiss broke, but neither of them drew away, so their foreheads were still touching, Fernando’s arm was still around his neck, and Dan could see him beaming back at him as he said, “I am.”

***

Fernando’s heart was stuttering unevenly in his chest. He remembered how they had walked into that chapel and… well. Gotten married.

He remembered how ridiculously happy he had been. Fernando drew in a shaky breath and pressed his hand over his eyes. How could this have happened to him?

A hand softly touching his own lying on the table startled him out of his thoughts again. “Hey,” Dan’s voice low and calm. “We were drunk,” he stated then as if it explained everything that had happened that night. “And it felt like it was a good idea at that time.”

Fernando breathed in again and lowered his hand from his face somewhat guiltily. This was hardly fair to Dan.

He watched their hands touching on the surface of the table, registering with a stunningly low amount of surprise that he felt no desire to withdraw his.

“Dan,” he finally started and raised his eyes so that he could look at the other man. “I’ll be absolutely honest with you if you’re with me as well. This can’t be all there was to it, just the… sex and that we kind of got along pretty well. At least… I know it wasn’t for me,” Fernando confessed and forced himself not to look away again. “Why did you do it?”

Dan sighed quietly. “Last night was…“ Dan shrugged helplessly. “The relationship I’ve had before ended pretty bad and last night in front of that chapel I realised, even as drunk as I was, that I didn’t have as much fun and felt as good in those two years as I had in one night with you.”

Fernando swallowed around the knot in his throat and lowered his gaze, absently noting that their hands were still touching. He felt guilty again.

“I’m sorry. I… my friends…” Fernando let out a harsh breath and finally drew his hand away. “They teased me, about being too controlled. I… think I really wanted to do something reckless.”

Something flickered over Dan’s face, an emotion, but it was gone before Fernando had the chance to identify it, and a moment later the other man looked as composed as ever, nodding curtly as he used his now free hand to play with the cord of his leather strap. “You were drunk. Don’t worry.”

“Oh… no, Dan,” Fernando started, because somehow this reaction just made him feel even worse. “God, that just made me sound like a complete asshole. It didn’t mean that I didn’t really, honestly want to.”

He would have said more. Wanted to even, because yes, he had been ridiculously drunk that night - but Fernando knew himself. And generally he was at his most honest with himself and the world when he was drunk. But that would probably make things even more complicated.

Dan didn’t say anything, keeping his face expressionless, but some of the tension in his shoulders disappeared and Fernando could hear him sigh softly. “So we’re married,” Dan stated then, like he needed to say it out loud to actually believe it. “That sounds so surreal.”

“Tell me about it,” Fernando sighed and relaxed a little as well. Somehow a part of him couldn’t live with the thought that, no matter how stupid it was, Dan could actually regret this. Because that thought actually hurt. Even though he should. They both should. You didn’t just go and marry strangers you hardly knew.

That thought made Fernando carefully glance at Dan again.

“How… how much do you actually know about me?”

“I know how you drink your coffee,” Dan pointed at the cup sitting on the table, a smile playing on his lips. “Your lucky number is the nine, you love Tolkien and Genesis and you absolutely hate it when someone calls you Fer.” He stopped there, looking a bit embarrassed, a light red blush appearing on his cheeks. “You… have that spot on your hipbone… you like getting kissed there.”

Fernando felt how his breath caught in his throat and he couldn’t avert his gaze from Dan. His mouth was dry and he couldn’t really say anything.

It seemed they had talked more the night before than he could remember.

And that Dan remembered more details than Fernando would have thought possible.

“When you were eight you lost part of one of your front teeth in a fight with your brother,” Dan continued talking, his fingers unconsciously playing with his ring again. “Your mom took you to the dentist and when you came back you were pretty out of it, scared, because of the narcotics. She lay down in bed with you and told you a story to calm you down.”

Oh God. Fernando closed his eyes and swallowed, and somehow the hand still covering his own sent him back to the memory of warmth and reassurance and care. He hadn’t really told Dan about that story… had he?

“And I know that the story means a whole lot to you… about the daughter of a mountain giant and the god of -”

“I know,” Fernando interrupted Dan, voice rough, but when he looked at the other man again, it was with a wavering smile.

“It’s a beautiful memory,” Dan said softly, and Fernando could feel him slowly tracing his knuckles in a comforting manner. He took a deep, slow breath and nodded, not knowing what else he could have answered.

They had finished their breakfast, the plates bare and cups empty and, in a way, they were done. The memories that told them how all this had happened were back - now there was only one more thing left to talk about.

“What are we going to do now?” Dan finally asked as he broke the contact of their touching hands to lean back in his seat, and Fernando’s hand twitched, only barely able to keep from reaching out again. He sighed and raised it instead to rub his eyes.

“Well…”

There wasn’t really any need to contemplate it. They both knew that what they were going to do was getting the marriage annulled before the day was over. But…

Fernando swallowed and let his eyes flicker over to Dan again. The freckled face that had become uncannily familiar to him, observing the way his heart stumbled a little in his chest.

There was a small frown between the other man’s eyes and Fernando’s hands twitched again as if they wanted to reach out and smooth the winkles away with his fingers. But instead he met Dan’s gaze, taking in the warm hazel eyes and every freckle dotting his nose and cheeks and the way he chewed on his lips in an nervous manner.

Fernando’s heart slowly sped up as he just watched, held Dan’s gaze, warmth spreading from his chest and seeping into his every cell, because despite everything, maybe… maybe…

The sudden ringing of a cell phone made him jump.

Cursing, Dan searched his pocket for his cell and Fernando saw him fumble with it for a moment before he answered it with a quick apologising glance towards him.

“Nick, hey,” he heard Dan address the other person, Nick, Fernando reminded himself as he watched Dan listen to whatever that Nick person was saying, heart palpating in heavy, quick beats in his chest.

“Yeah, no, I’m… I only went to get some breakfast… I know,” Dan said into the phone, rubbing his forehead. And Fernando had to turn his gaze away.

What had he been thinking?

Seriously, get a grip.

The call reminded him that he should probably inform his own friends that he was alright and would be back in time for their flight. Actually Fernando was surprised they hadn’t yet unleashed a flood of calls on him.

“Sorry about that,” Dan’s voice startled him out of his thoughts again. “Where were we?”

“Getting a divorce,” Fernando heard himself answer, but when he looked at Dan it was with a smile both gentle and sad.

“Right,” Dan answered, suddenly looking a bit discouraged and lost. “Right, that would be the most sensible thing to do, no?”

Fernando’s hand curled in on itself instinctively, short fingernails digging into his palm. Maybe to keep himself from reaching out again.

“I’m flying back to Spain tonight,” he said softly, and allowed himself just for a moment to dwell on the injustice. There he went, got himself married, and didn’t even have more than a day to actually see what he had gotten himself into. “And you…”

“Leaving for Denmark tomorrow,” Dan finished for him, a sigh leaving his mouth and a small sad smile appearing as he continues. “We can’t really… I mean we should… you know?”

“I know,” Fernando said, and in the end it was just that simple.

For some time they simply sat there, the bustle of the café around them, the table between them, eyes locked on each other. And Fernando had no idea how long they would have continued to do so, had the waitress not interrupted them, and they took the opportunity to settle their bill.

Dan was the first who broke the silence again. “Do you mind if I keep the pictures?” he asked tentatively, pointing at the strap of pictures lying between them.

Fernando knew, was absolutely sure that it would be best if he just cut his ties right here - ‘what happens here, stays here’, wasn’t that what they always said about Las Vegas after all?

“Can I… can I keep one?”

Dan nodded, and maybe Fernando imagined it, but he thought he saw a flash of warmth in his eyes as he said, “Of course, pick one.”

So he did, settling in the end on one of the two pictures where they were both laughing, simply because of how happy they looked. Forcing himself not to look at it for too long Fernando hid the picture in his wallet and then followed Dan, who had stood up, to finally leave.

They reached the exit of the small café and Dan moved to open the door for Fernando as they stepped outside where the sun was already standing high and the air was pleasantly warm.

Fernando turned his face up towards the light that warmed his skin instantly. He wanted to stay like this just for a few seconds, until Dan had followed and closed the door behind him, but before he had opened his eyes again, there was a brief, soft touch of a pair of lips on his temple, and then a hand slipping into his own, gently drawing him along.

Fernando followed without hesitation even though just for a moment, he felt like crying.

***

6 months later

“Man I don’t know why you didn’t give that chick your number. She was hot!” Simon slurred beside him as he stumbled over a slight bump on the pavement and Dan had to support him for a moment, but nonetheless they managed to keep on walking. It had been a good night and Dan was thankful Simon had forced him to accompany him and their friends for a boys night out.

“She was very nice,” Dan chuckled when he was sure Simon wasn’t about to fall over. His friend slowed his steps for a moment, then shook himself as if trying to get rid of the haze, and when Simon raised his eyes again, he blinked but his gaze had cleared a little.

“Damn, that stuff… So why not, huh?”

‘Why not?’

Dan had asked himself the exact same question the past six months more than just once if he was honest with himself, but every time someone showed him a vague interest his eyes would stray to the simple silver band around his finger and he would remember the man that had worn the exact same ring for a few hours. Then he would remember Fernando, and somehow, right now, that memory was more than enough.

Dan smiled at his friend, his finger once again tracing the surface of his ring, shrugging.

“Man, come on, it’s been six months now, you shouldn’t even wear that anymore,” Simon said after a pause, but where his voice could have been slurred and incredulous or even condescending, it was calm and just a little concerned.

Dan didn’t turn his head to look at his friend, and they walked on in silence while he remembered how he had sat on that plane that had taken them back to Europe, staring at that silver band around his finger, knowing that there was nothing left for him to do but take it off, but silently thinking, tomorrow.

Tomorrow had turned into ‘tomorrow’ had turned into ‘tomorrow’.

Now here he was, with a ring he shouldn’t wear anymore but felt like a missing limb whenever he took it off. Wondering where its counterpart was.

“I know.”

***

It was quiet now. The night was at its darkest and calmest hour, as calm as was possible in the buzzing streets of Las Vegas anyway. Quietness had also fallen over the small hotel room, lights diminished, the two bodies among the ruffled sheets lying together in tired serenity. Dan’s front was lightly pressed to Fernando’s back where they lay half on their sides, half on their backs, legs entwined, one arm wrapped around the Spaniard’s waist where his fingertips were moving in slow miniature circles over one hipbone. Fernando’s hands trailed lazily over Dan’s arm as he spoke, voice soft and calm.

“My mum loved stories, you know? She was the perfect storyteller. I never stopped missing listening to her, not even as a moody teenager.”

“I can’t imagine you being moody,” Dan chuckled lightly against the skin of Fernando’s neck. “I bet you were a nice, well-behaved, cute teenager.”

“Cute, huh?” Fernando smiled lazily, turning his head a little so that Dan’s forehead was resting against Fernando’s temple. “Not always. I had my phases, as most do, I guess.”

Dan made a confirming noise in the back of his throat, “Yes, all fresh faced and looking so innocent with those big brown eyes and the freckles. I bet you broke quite a few hearts.”

“Oh shut up,” Fernando laughed quietly, his body vibrating softly against Dan’s chest. “I wasn’t like that.”

Dan’s breath puffed over Fernando’s skin as he quietly joined him in his laughter and gently let his hand wander over Fernando’s side and down his arms where he gently entwined their fingers. “Okay. What was your favourite story then?”

“Mmh don’t think I’ve ever told anyone.” Fernando sighed and remained silent for a few moments. “It was… the one after the dentist episode.” He broke off again with another sigh, and Dan could immediately guess why he never talked about it. When your mother had died just shortly after, these were moments you treasured too much to share them. Before Dan could say anything about it though, Fernando tilted his head a little more to press a soft kiss to Dan’s cheek. “But we’re kind of married now, huh? So no secrets.”

Dan’s hand came up to his cheek and gently brought their lips together for a short, slow kiss before breaking it again and catching Fernando’s eyes with his own. “I’d understand if you didn’t want to tell me.”

Fernando tilted his head forward to press another brief kiss to his lips, smiling. “Hush and listen, will you?”

Without waiting for an answer he settled comfortably against Dan once more, let his thumb stroke over the side of his hand, and started talking.

“It’s about the daughter of a mountain giant who once fell in love with the son of the sea god. They met under the unlikeliest of circumstances, but from the first moment they touched, they both knew they were lost for everyone else in the world.

So they married, and just one look in their faces showed the whole world how happy and how much in love they were.

But there was a problem neither of them had even thought about before. They wanted to live with each other, never leave the other’s side. But she was a child of the mountains, and he of the sea. And when she was not in the mountains, when she wasn’t surrounded by the majestic heights and the fresh, wild winds, when she couldn’t feel solid stone beneath her feet, her heart ached so much that she was sick with longing. And every moment he couldn’t watch the sea crowned with white tips, couldn’t smell the salt on every breeze, couldn’t let his gaze stretch to the far horizons with nothing but blue depths for him to see, his heart would break over and over again.

So no matter how much they loved each other, how much they longed to be together, they had to realise that, if they stayed together, one of them would always be heartbroken.

In the end they had to part, both of them going back to their homes, to the mountains and the sea. But they would always look into the distance, where they could faintly see the heights of the mountains or the wide blue sea, and in another way, their hearts would forever ache for the lover they had to leave behind.”

~ The End ~