Fic: Under the Cover of Darkness pt.1 (Sernando)
TITLE: Under the Cover of Darkness [Part One]
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Sergio goes to visit Fernando in Liverpool...
FANDOM: Spanish Football (Ramos/Torres)
STATUS: Companion Piece (1/2)
PROMPT: 005. England
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything. This story is a work of fiction and came from the deepest darkest corner of my imagination.
AUTHORS NOTE: This came about as a result of a news piece on Con La Roja:
La Roja met up at Las Rozas starting today at noon (they had until 13h) to begin the concentración for the Lithuania and Scotland Euro 2012 qualifiers. The first ones to arrive were those from Valencia and Villarreal. The last players to arrive (after 13th) were those from Barcelona (Puyol, Piqué, Iniesta, Busquets), due to a delayed flight, and Sergio Ramos, who had no excuse since he lives in Madrid.
*~*
He was speeding. Fernando watched the needle of the odometer inch leisurely over the legal speed limit before pressing his foot down even harder against the accelerator. His car was practically flying down the highway now; it was reckless and stupid, but so was sneaking out of his house in the middle of the night to pick up the one person he had sworn would never step foot in Liverpool.
Fernando clenched his jaw and merged lanes carelessly before indicating and taking the airport exit. It was only on the final stretch of road that Fernando eased his foot off the accelerator and slowed his car to a crawl.
He spotted Sergio the second he turned the corner to the arrivals entrance. He was impossible to miss; he was the only person there. He sat on the curb of the road, directly under a floodlight, arms wrapped loosely around his knees and obscenely large earphones around his neck. He wasn’t carrying any luggage.
Fernando pulled off the road a couple of meters away and tooted his horn lightly to announce his presence.
Sergio’s reaction was interesting. Fernando had anticipated a big smile followed by an equally vibrant greeting and subsequent hug and/or kiss. But Sergio didn’t do any of those things; instead he just looked over at Fernando’s car with a vaguely confused look on his face.
It was only after a second that Fernando remembered that Sergio had never been here before. He didn’t know what type of car he drove, the street he lived in, what restaurants he liked or where the best music stores were. He didn’t know the quickest routes home or that when it rained the gutters overflowed. He didn’t know that Fernando’s house had crappy reception, so it was best to make phone calls from the driveway and use your laptop on the back veranda. He had a whole life here that Sergio didn’t even know the first thing about...
Fernando swore lightly under his breath and shut off the engine before pushing open his door and stepping out onto the road. “Hey,” he greeted, his voice drifting across the empty space between them.
Sergio looked up, confused expression not leaving his face. “Hi.”
“Um... I didn’t know if you knew it was me,” Fernando began. Gods it felt so ridiculous to be explaining something so simple to the one person Fernando was pretty sure he knew absolutely everything about. He knew what type of car Sergio drove, where he lived, that he liked to leave all the windows open when it rained and had a ridiculously large music collection. In fact, Fernando was pretty sure he could have named half of those CDs...
“Nando, you drive a black Audi. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”
“Oh...” Fernando paused awkwardly, unsure what to say, especially since Sergio hadn’t made any move to get up. “Right...”
Sergio bit his lip, looking awkward and flustered, “listen, I didn’t think before I came here. There’s a flight back to Madrid leaving at three, I can go if you...”
“No,” Fernando cut in quickly. “It’s okay, I um... I won’t be with you guys for the qualifiers so I’m glad you’re here, Sese. It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you too, but it’s weird... being here. It feels like I’m trespassing or something.” Sergio finally pushed himself up off the curb and walked over.
Fernando met him half way and hugged him tight. “You’re not trespassing.”
“Of course I am,” Sergio replied, voice light and slightly muffled against Fernando’s neck. “You made me promise never to come here, remember?”
Fernando sighed, clutching Sergio tighter for a moment before letting him go, “that was a long time ago.”
Sergio stepped back and slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “does Olalla know I’m here?”
“No,” Fernando admitted.
Sergio shrugged, “I’ll be gone soon anyways, doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does...” Fernando began but Sergio waved him off.
“Don’t worry about it, I’m not here to talk about our messed up relationship - I’m here because I love you and I wanted to see if you’re okay.”
Fernando let out a shaky breath and rubbed his face, “how long are you here for?”
“I have to take the eight o’clock flight if I want to get back to Madrid in time for training.”
Fernando checked his watch and nodded towards his car, “get in. We’ll go for a drive.”
*
Despite the promise of discussion, both of them were quiet as Fernando merged onto the highway with no particular direction in mind. He didn’t know where he was going or what the destination was, but he knew without even looking down at the odometer that he was driving considerably slower now that Sergio was in the car.
Sergio himself was flicking through Fernando’s CD case, lingering on the bands and musicians he didn’t recognise and flipping past the ones he did. His feet were on the dash and he was wearing silver metallic sneakers that were so gaudy they caught Fernando’s eye every time they passed underneath a street light.
“Are you alright?” Fernando asked as he turned onto the highway. “You look tired.”
Sergio shrugged, not looking away from the CDs, “busy schedule, too many games, not enough rest, you know how it is.”
“Yeah, I know. Just be careful, look after yourself or you’ll get injured.”
Sergio selected a disc with a flourish and fed it into the CD player. “Speaking of being injured, how are you?”
“Well let’s see...” Fernando began softly, “I’m off form and I can’t do anything about it because every time I make some progress, I get injured. My club is a mess, we’re eighteenth in the league and I can no longer tell if management wants to keep me or sell me. Meanwhile everyone is just waiting for me to do... something... anything. Whether its score five goals in a match or transfer or...” Fernando struggled for words for a moment before giving up and falling silent.
Sergio was quiet for a moment before, “I don’t even know what to say, Nando. I’d love to give you some advice, but I don’t know the first thing about your situation here. The only stuff I do know is stuff I’ve read or things you’ve mentioned in passing.”
“I know,” Fernando mumbled, “that’s my fault. I’ve kept you away.”
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Sergio corrected, “it is what it is. I’m just worried about you.”
Fernando met Sergio’s eyes briefly before looking back at the road. “Thanks. I’ll be okay. Things are just...”
“Messy?”
“Yeah. But every road has a puddle, right?” Fernando paused, “or a fucking ocean.”
Sergio reached out and squeezed Fernando’s hand that rested on the gear shift. “It will be okay. Just stay positive and keep working hard. It will all come together.”
“I hope so.” Fernando mumbled.
Sergio removed his hand and turned his eyes to the road, “so where are we going?”
Fernando smiled softly, “to introduce you to Liverpool. It’s dark and everything is closed, but there is this amazing little music store tucked away on a side street...”
*~*
I'm thinking about a part two... what do you guys think?
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Sergio goes to visit Fernando in Liverpool...
FANDOM: Spanish Football (Ramos/Torres)
STATUS: Companion Piece (1/2)
PROMPT: 005. England
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything. This story is a work of fiction and came from the deepest darkest corner of my imagination.
AUTHORS NOTE: This came about as a result of a news piece on Con La Roja:
La Roja met up at Las Rozas starting today at noon (they had until 13h) to begin the concentración for the Lithuania and Scotland Euro 2012 qualifiers. The first ones to arrive were those from Valencia and Villarreal. The last players to arrive (after 13th) were those from Barcelona (Puyol, Piqué, Iniesta, Busquets), due to a delayed flight, and Sergio Ramos, who had no excuse since he lives in Madrid.
*~*
He was speeding. Fernando watched the needle of the odometer inch leisurely over the legal speed limit before pressing his foot down even harder against the accelerator. His car was practically flying down the highway now; it was reckless and stupid, but so was sneaking out of his house in the middle of the night to pick up the one person he had sworn would never step foot in Liverpool.
Fernando clenched his jaw and merged lanes carelessly before indicating and taking the airport exit. It was only on the final stretch of road that Fernando eased his foot off the accelerator and slowed his car to a crawl.
He spotted Sergio the second he turned the corner to the arrivals entrance. He was impossible to miss; he was the only person there. He sat on the curb of the road, directly under a floodlight, arms wrapped loosely around his knees and obscenely large earphones around his neck. He wasn’t carrying any luggage.
Fernando pulled off the road a couple of meters away and tooted his horn lightly to announce his presence.
Sergio’s reaction was interesting. Fernando had anticipated a big smile followed by an equally vibrant greeting and subsequent hug and/or kiss. But Sergio didn’t do any of those things; instead he just looked over at Fernando’s car with a vaguely confused look on his face.
It was only after a second that Fernando remembered that Sergio had never been here before. He didn’t know what type of car he drove, the street he lived in, what restaurants he liked or where the best music stores were. He didn’t know the quickest routes home or that when it rained the gutters overflowed. He didn’t know that Fernando’s house had crappy reception, so it was best to make phone calls from the driveway and use your laptop on the back veranda. He had a whole life here that Sergio didn’t even know the first thing about...
Fernando swore lightly under his breath and shut off the engine before pushing open his door and stepping out onto the road. “Hey,” he greeted, his voice drifting across the empty space between them.
Sergio looked up, confused expression not leaving his face. “Hi.”
“Um... I didn’t know if you knew it was me,” Fernando began. Gods it felt so ridiculous to be explaining something so simple to the one person Fernando was pretty sure he knew absolutely everything about. He knew what type of car Sergio drove, where he lived, that he liked to leave all the windows open when it rained and had a ridiculously large music collection. In fact, Fernando was pretty sure he could have named half of those CDs...
“Nando, you drive a black Audi. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”
“Oh...” Fernando paused awkwardly, unsure what to say, especially since Sergio hadn’t made any move to get up. “Right...”
Sergio bit his lip, looking awkward and flustered, “listen, I didn’t think before I came here. There’s a flight back to Madrid leaving at three, I can go if you...”
“No,” Fernando cut in quickly. “It’s okay, I um... I won’t be with you guys for the qualifiers so I’m glad you’re here, Sese. It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you too, but it’s weird... being here. It feels like I’m trespassing or something.” Sergio finally pushed himself up off the curb and walked over.
Fernando met him half way and hugged him tight. “You’re not trespassing.”
“Of course I am,” Sergio replied, voice light and slightly muffled against Fernando’s neck. “You made me promise never to come here, remember?”
Fernando sighed, clutching Sergio tighter for a moment before letting him go, “that was a long time ago.”
Sergio stepped back and slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “does Olalla know I’m here?”
“No,” Fernando admitted.
Sergio shrugged, “I’ll be gone soon anyways, doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does...” Fernando began but Sergio waved him off.
“Don’t worry about it, I’m not here to talk about our messed up relationship - I’m here because I love you and I wanted to see if you’re okay.”
Fernando let out a shaky breath and rubbed his face, “how long are you here for?”
“I have to take the eight o’clock flight if I want to get back to Madrid in time for training.”
Fernando checked his watch and nodded towards his car, “get in. We’ll go for a drive.”
*
Despite the promise of discussion, both of them were quiet as Fernando merged onto the highway with no particular direction in mind. He didn’t know where he was going or what the destination was, but he knew without even looking down at the odometer that he was driving considerably slower now that Sergio was in the car.
Sergio himself was flicking through Fernando’s CD case, lingering on the bands and musicians he didn’t recognise and flipping past the ones he did. His feet were on the dash and he was wearing silver metallic sneakers that were so gaudy they caught Fernando’s eye every time they passed underneath a street light.
“Are you alright?” Fernando asked as he turned onto the highway. “You look tired.”
Sergio shrugged, not looking away from the CDs, “busy schedule, too many games, not enough rest, you know how it is.”
“Yeah, I know. Just be careful, look after yourself or you’ll get injured.”
Sergio selected a disc with a flourish and fed it into the CD player. “Speaking of being injured, how are you?”
“Well let’s see...” Fernando began softly, “I’m off form and I can’t do anything about it because every time I make some progress, I get injured. My club is a mess, we’re eighteenth in the league and I can no longer tell if management wants to keep me or sell me. Meanwhile everyone is just waiting for me to do... something... anything. Whether its score five goals in a match or transfer or...” Fernando struggled for words for a moment before giving up and falling silent.
Sergio was quiet for a moment before, “I don’t even know what to say, Nando. I’d love to give you some advice, but I don’t know the first thing about your situation here. The only stuff I do know is stuff I’ve read or things you’ve mentioned in passing.”
“I know,” Fernando mumbled, “that’s my fault. I’ve kept you away.”
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Sergio corrected, “it is what it is. I’m just worried about you.”
Fernando met Sergio’s eyes briefly before looking back at the road. “Thanks. I’ll be okay. Things are just...”
“Messy?”
“Yeah. But every road has a puddle, right?” Fernando paused, “or a fucking ocean.”
Sergio reached out and squeezed Fernando’s hand that rested on the gear shift. “It will be okay. Just stay positive and keep working hard. It will all come together.”
“I hope so.” Fernando mumbled.
Sergio removed his hand and turned his eyes to the road, “so where are we going?”
Fernando smiled softly, “to introduce you to Liverpool. It’s dark and everything is closed, but there is this amazing little music store tucked away on a side street...”
*~*
I'm thinking about a part two... what do you guys think?