Welcome to the ATP level

[flamyshine]

Title: Welcome to the ATP level
Pairing: Novak Djokovic/Ernests Gulbis
Other characters: Feliciano Lopez, Marat Safin, Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 3,390
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this is a fiction.
Summary: Novak introduces Ernests to the highest level of the ATP life.
Author’s note: The story is set at 2007 U.S. Open.



“Okay. You’re ready?”

“Yes.”

“Not too nervous?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? It’s okay to be nervous. It’s perfectly normal.”

Ernests looked at his boyfriend and shook his head. “I’m not nervous, Nole. I think you are.”

And, he had every right to say those words since Novak had been asking the same thing over and over again.

“I’m not nervous. I was just checking if you were alright.”

Of course, his boyfriend never admitted anything when it came to nervousness. So Ernests just nodded, pretending that he believed him.

From Novak’s part, today was the day that he had carefully chosen. After celebrating their reunion a few weeks ago, he had decided to properly introduce the life at the ATP level to his childhood sweetheart. Today, he was going to let the Latvian meet the regular players on tour. It was the U.S. Open so most of the important players were in New York this week.

“So, remember, they’re mostly friendly. No need to be nervous and I’ll make sure that nobody hurts you with his words, okay? No need to be nervous.” Novak talked fast as he pushed the door to the players’ lounge.

Ernests followed him through the door and saw a lot of players in the room.

“Nervous now?” Novak asked.

“Not really, no.”

“Good then. Now let’s go meet some of them.”

Novak quickly scanned the lounge and whatever he saw or didn’t see seemed to have put him in a better mood because Ernests could see him relax.

The Serb gently grabbed his boyfriend by the arm and went straight for Roger Federer. Roger was always nice to everyone and he figured that getting Ernests to talk to the great champion would motivate him to play better. Besides, the Swiss could probably even give him a few tips to keep the hair look pretty on court. The plan seemed to be perfect but there was one little problem; Roger was nowhere to be seen.

‘Where is he? Hmm, perhaps he went to use the toilet.’ He decided to ask someone who was close to the Swiss, just to be sure.

“Hey, Stan.” He was lucky to run into Roger’s friend and compatriot.

“Hi, Novak.”

They exchanged a few words of greeting and the Serb introduced his boyfriend to the Swiss number two. While the two shook hands and started a light conversation, Novak scanned the room once more.

‘Good. It was wise of me to pick a day when he’s not playing. But still, where’s Roger?’

Squeezing himself into the conversation, Novak managed to ask, “Have you seen Roger, Stan? I don’t see him here.”

“Roger? He went to restring his racquets, I think.”

“Really?”

He thanked the Swiss for the valuable information and let the Latvian talk to Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. It seemed like they could afford some time since he who should not be named wasn’t around.

‘The coast is still clear. Great.’ Novak let out a sigh of relief and watched Ernests talk to David Ferrer with a bright smile.

‘Ah, he’s having a good time. Lovely.’

The Serb was enjoying his moment of peace until his radar started screaming danger.

‘Danger! Danger! Danger at 2 o’clock!’

“Ernie, I think we should leave now.”

But the happy Latvian had no intention to cut his conversation with the Spaniard.

“Ernie, now!” Novak let out a desperate plea but it was too late.

“Hi, Novak. Good to see you and your lovely… friend.” Marat blocked the exit and winked at Ernests.

Novak quickly hid his boyfriend behind his back even if the latter was taller, and tried to make the scariest face possible.

“Ah, you’re still so cute, all hedgehogy with your prickles.”

Marat held out a hand and pinched the Serb’s cheek. Ernests’ eyes grew wide but the Russian was too busy patting his boyfriend on the head to notice such a subtle gesture.

“Marat!” Novak swatted the hand away but unfortunately, Marat had another hand.

“I like your friend too. He’s my style. Don’t hesitate to call me when you two get bored.” The Russian let go of Novak’s hand as he finished whispering.

Shuddering with anger and shock, Novak just stood there, watching him go into the locker room.

“Um… Nole?”

Ernests looked around before holding his boyfriend’s hand. He had just witnessed a very strange scene.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Novak kept glaring at the closed locker room door but his stare became softer as he felt Ernests lace fingers with his.

“Ernie, be careful of him. He’s no.0 on the black list.”

“Black list of what?”

Novak closed his mouth. This issue shouldn’t be a part of the glamorous ATP level life.

“Don’t worry. I won’t cheat.” Ernests said in a soft voice, based on his own guess.

“No, you just don’t get it. You won’t even know even if you’re cheating. He’s that dangerous.”

Novak was worried that the Russian might want a piece of his young boyfriend. Everyone on tour knew that Marat Safin had his own way of welcoming new players. As a matter of fact, he himself had received quite a nice welcome in spring.

“Nole, I’ll be fine. I can always say no even if he asks me.”

“If you ever have to talk or practice with him, do not look him in the eyes for more than ten seconds. And, if he touches your cheek, it means that he’s interested in some… let’s say extracurricular activities, so you have to take your shower elsewhere.”

“You’re not serious.” Ernests thought that Novak was being paranoid.

“I’m deadly serious.”

“How do you know that so well?” Ernests asked suspiciously while Novak’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“Well…”

“Oh my god, you didn’t.” The Latvian’s jaw dropped.

“Well…” Novak couldn’t meet his boyfriend’s eyes even if it had happened before they had started dating again.

“This is exactly why I wanted to come up to the ATP level so badly! I knew that people would eye you!”

“Well, they’re eyeing you now. So be careful. Oh, I almost forgot. Here.” Novak pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“What’s this? A phone number?”

“Yes, if things get out of control, do not hesitate to dial that number.”

“Whose number is it?”

“Juan Carlos Ferrero’s. Just make sure that you call him first and then call me. Alright?”

Ernests looked down at the paper. “Okay. But what can he possibly do?”

“Oh, he can fly and literally save your ass. Don’t worry.”

Ernests wasn’t completely convinced but he was going to do whatever to make his boyfriend feel better. “Ok. If anything happens, I will call him.”

“Good. Now we should leave before he comes out of the locker room. Let’s go see the stringers and see if Roger’s there.”

Novak placed a kiss on the pretty forehead while Ernests shyly stuck out his tongue. Carlos Moya passed by as he smiled at the lovebirds and Ernests looked at his boyfriend with a worried face.

“It’s okay. Our secret is safe with him.” Novak reassured the younger player before leading him out of the lounge.

Their trip to the stringers’ room was in vain. Roger did leave a few racquets but he wasn’t there himself.

“Strange. Usually, he’s one of the easiest ones to find.”

Novak shrugged and left the place, wondering where should be their next stop.

“Um… Nole, don’t you hear something?”

At Ernests’ words, the Serb pricked up his ears.

“What sound? I don’t hear anything.”

“That sound. Where is it coming from? It’s like a…”

Ernests tried to find the right word. “Oh, is there a massage room somewhere near?”

“No. As far as I know, they are all on the other side. Here, I think they only have…”

Before Novak could finish his words, the Latvian located the source of the mysterious sound and opened a door.

“Oh my god!” Mario shouted as he saw two people near the door.

“Sorry!” Novak closed the door in no time but he was sure that Ernests had already seen too much.

“Wrong door. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

He coughed a few times and grabbed his boyfriend by the wrist, heading to the player’s restaurant where there wouldn’t be any naughty activities going on.

“Mario and… Roger?”

Ernests wasn’t sure of what he had just witnessed. It looked like a room with copy machines and did he see Mario sitting on one of them?

“Just… forget about it.” Novak couldn’t think of any other useful advice and hurried to the restaurant.

“Want something to eat?” He asked and heard Ernests’ stomach growl.

“Ahahaha…”

“Hey, don’t laugh. It’s the shock.”

He honestly had never pictured Roger or Mario -the very decent, elegant looking players- engage in such activities at a place where they could easily get caught.

“Yeah, we should really eat.”

Novak absolutely despised how the day was going on. This wasn’t his marvelous plan to show Ernests around and inspire him to go further in this U.S. Open.

“You look as shocked as I am.” Ernests observed and Novak put on a weak smile.

Actually, he wasn’t shocked at all. It wasn’t the first time that he had seen Roger in a dark room with someone else, doing some very questionable things. He was rather shocked that Ernests had to see it so early.

“I’m an adult too, you know. As much as you don’t want to admit it.”

Ernests put on his brightest smile to cheer up his boyfriend who must have expected to give him a wonderful tour around. Besides, unlike him, Novak had a match to play in the evening. He didn’t want the world number three to go out on court, feeling bad.

“I know that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be sleeping with you.”

“Haha, that’s right.”

As Novak found them an empty table, Ernests sat across the Serb and looked around. A lot of players, coaches, and their families were having a pleasant meal, except for…

“What is he doing?”

“Who?” Novak asked while he was busy thinking of the perfect menu.

“Over there, Soderling.”

The Swedish player was grinning happily at his racquet, caressing it with such soft touches while his coach was grinning happily at his plate.

“I do believe that self-hypnotization can be helpful to win, but it would be better if you do it in your room or somewhere you’re alone.” Novak gave the Latvian a piece of advice and got up from his chair.

“I’ll go get us some food. What do you want? Pasta? Salad?”

“Both, please. With some orange juice.”

“Ok. I’ll be right back. Don’t follow any strangers even if they say that they’ve got naked pictures of me.”

“Ahaha, I’ll need a lot of strength to say no to that.”

Ernests’ giggle made Novak feel better about this weird day.

“Well, you can have the real deal. Why bother with pictures?” The dark-haired player whispered near the cheek of the curly-haired one.

“Ah…”

Ernests let out a soft sigh as he felt Novak’s lips close to his skin. There were too many eyes in the restaurant. It was dangerous. But when he was about to get worried, the hot breath on his cheek was gone. For some reason, he felt a little disappointed.

‘Did I want him to give me a kiss?’

He laughed at the realization. It was almost funny how much he craved for his boyfriend’s little touches and affectionate kisses. If he wanted to spend more time with the world number three, he had to keep playing at this level and quit participating in challenger events.

“Why the frown?”

Novak had come back with a tray full of food.

“Nothing.”

“Aww, you already have little secrets from me? Found anyone who has better hair than me?”

“Ahaha.”

It was just meaningless little talk but perhaps that was what he liked the most in Novak. He could make you laugh so easily, make you feel better so naturally.

Ernests smiled and picked up his fork. Novak had already started digging into his pasta.

“Nole, give me your hand.”

“Huh?”

“Your hand.”

Novak didn’t need both hands to eat pasta so he held out his left one on the middle of the table. Ernests started writing one letter at a time on his palm with his index finger.

“Ahaha, it tickles!”

“Stay still! I’m trying to write here.”

The two giggled, not aware of some interested eyes on them, completely happy in their own little world.

“But you can just say it. It really tickles, Ernie! Hahaha…”

Novak couldn’t keep eating. He had to concentrate on his palm to figure out what the secret message was.

'I AM HAPPY'

Novak looked up, wondering what exactly Ernests was talking about. Was he talking about today? These recent days? Or about how he’s playing in a slam?

'WITH YOU'

Novak felt that Ernests had just pinned a flag written “Belongs to Ernests” deep into his heart, as if it wasn’t his already.

“Ernie…”

Ernests beamed. “I know.”

And, he really seemed to know. His eyes displayed the most colorful part of love and Novak completely forgot about anything that he had even known. All he needed to know was what a lovely boyfriend he had and how much he loved him.

“Aww, aren’t they cute, just like us?”

Both players came out of their world and looked up at Fernando Verdasco.

“Yes, they are.” Feliciano waved a hand at the two and that was when Novak had an idea.

“Oh, Feli! Do you have a match today?”

“Later in the evening. Why?”

“Could you give Ernie some hair tips for when he’s on court?”

The Spaniard’s hair-radar checked every inch of Ernests’ hair to see if it was worth helping out. It clearly was. The Latvian had very pretty hair and Feliciano painfully remembered the time when he had failed with Novak’s hair. It was a good opportunity to get some of his confidence back.

“Okay. How about after Nando and I finish eating?”

“Sounds good. Thanks!”

Novak finished his meal in a much better mood; if Roger wasn’t going to be there, Feliciano could always help instead.

“Okay. I’m good to help you now.”

Feliciano knocked on the couple’s table and they both got up when Novak’s cell phone rang.

“Janko?” Novak answered the phone and was showered with endless Serbian words, coming at a frantic speed.

“Whoa, slow down. What’s wrong?”

“I can’t find my book!”

“What book?”

“You know, The Idiot!”

“Oh, one of your Dostoyevsky ones.”

Novak was aware that his friend always liked to read a couple of pages from his favorite books before going into a match. Given the fact that he was in a slam at the moment, his extreme anxiety was rather understandable.

So he left his boyfriend in Feliciano’s hands and told him that he’ll look for him as soon as he finishes helping out his friend.

‘Phew, another Janko crisis solved. Now where’s my pretty boy?’

Novak dialed Ernests’ number but only got a voice message.

‘Let’s go find him then. He couldn’t have gone far.’

But much to his surprise, Ernests wasn’t in the players’ lounge or the locker room. Novak even checked the restaurant again, knowing how much food his boyfriend could digest per hour.

“Who are you looking for?” Rafael asked, wondering if he could help. Novak looked a little worried.

“Oh, Rafa, have you seen Feli?”

“Not today. Why?”

“Ernie’s with him and I can’t find him.”

“Ernie? But I saw him with Marat a couple of minutes ago.”

The Serb’s blood froze, or boiled; he couldn’t really tell right now.

“You saw him with whom, you said?” Novak didn’t want to believe it.

“With Marat… I saw them in the locker room, no?”

Rafael’s eyebrows moved dramatically and that was when Novak turned around, running towards the deadly room and dialing Ernests’ number again.

‘God… I swear to god that if he even touches…’

Bleep.

He couldn’t finish swearing as he realized that he had just received a text message from his boyfriend.

Help! Locker room. Now!

‘Oh my god!’

Novak couldn’t afford another second. He had to run faster. He had to save his Ernests from the sex master’s hands!

He didn’t bother saying hi back to some of the players who greeted him on the way. He just nodded, hoping that they would be able to read the urgency on his face. He ran until he was out of breath, pushing the door leading to the locker room.

“Ernie!!”

After a dramatic shout, he had to stand still.

“Ernie...?”

“Hi, Nole.”

“Are you alright? Where is he?”

“Who?”

“That cursed Marat Safin!”

Ernests laughed at the hatred that exploded in Novak’s voice.

“You want to talk about Marat when I’m lying here like this?”

“Oh…”

It was only then that the Serb realized what kind of state his boyfriend was in. He quickly looked around and locked the door. He couldn’t afford anyone else seeing the Latvian like that. His boyfriend was lying suggestively on one of the benches with only his boxers on.

Ernests smiled his most seductive smile while Novak shook his head.

“No, no, Ernie. Don’t smile at me like that.”

“Why not?”

“You scared me! I thought you were in trouble!”

“Sorry. Feli and Marat said that this would be a good idea.” Ernests frowned a little, not expecting to see such an upset Novak.

“Well, it’s not a good idea so get up and put on your clothes.” Novak looked around for Ernests’ clothes but there weren’t any.

“Where did you put your clothes?”

“Who cares about clothes now…” Ernests’ voice dropped low and Novak knew that he was trapped.

“Why? Am I too tempting?” Ernests could see the love of his life go through an inner battle.

“You know that we can’t do this in here.” The world number three put on his firmest voice.

“Why not? From what I’ve seen today, I thought this was part of the real ATP life.”

Novak sighed. “It’s not the best part of it, especially before matches.”

“Well then, we can make it be the best part of it. And I know that your match starts in two hours. Plenty of time left.”

“Ernie, we can do it when we go back to the hotel in the evening.” Novak pleaded.

“But I want this now, right here.”

Novak let out a sigh again. His boyfriend still lacked professionalism. Or maybe he just loved him too much.

“Come on, Nole. You can’t say no to me? Not when I’m doing… this.”

Ernests started tracing his own body with delicate fingers, from his shoulder to his chest and down to his…

“Jesus Christ!” Novak came over in no time and grabbed his boyfriend’s wrist.

“You’re so easy.” Ernests laughed.

“I’m usually not. And, if I lose today, it’s all on you.”

Ernests laughed again as if he had heard something incredibly funny. “You won’t lose. You’re too good for him.”

“But I bet he won’t have hot sex before.” Novak let go of the wrist.

“Well, consider this as your warming up.” Ernests winked before he felt his boyfriend jump on him.

Novak kissed his boy’s face as lovingly as possible. He knew that they didn’t have much time but that didn’t mean that he was going to skip kissing Ernests. And, he could see how worth it was when the beautiful boy gave him a beautiful glance.

“How can you have such eyes?” It was more of a realization than an actual question. It was incredible to see his boyfriend smile with his eyes like that.

“It’s all you.”

Ernests’ smile grew even wider and Novak couldn’t do anything else than to smile with him.

“Welcome to the ATP level, future champ.”

Novak greeted the new player with passion and Ernests was happy to be so welcomed.