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As the days passed in silence from both sides, Leo wasn't sure if he wanted to message Cristiano himself first or wait for the other to reach out to him. Everyday he started by opening Instagram and checking his notifications. It was evident after day 5 that he was waiting for a post or tag that was never going to come. Cristiano just continued to post pictures of his matches and every now and then an occasional selfie. It frustrated him but he knew that it was irrational to expect Cris to reach out first, especially after the way they opened the year. Still though, he waited. Not knowing whether he should or shouldn't say anything to Cris.

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Exactly 21 days later and Leo hit his breaking point.

It was silly, he knew Cristiano didn't mean anything by his most recent post, but he still felt very salty about it. The image of Cris and Paulo hugging staring back at him, it didn't bother him as much as the tag and caption though.

More than teammates? 🤔 Who knows 😜#newcrushsaturdays

He felt something akin to jealousy flare up inside him as he re-read the caption over and over. It was an ugly feeling, but also slightly amusing if he actually thought about it. He found himself frowning even more as he seen the pinned comment, Paulo commented heart eyes and a wink emoji. People were reacting with all kinds of jokes and compliments, some even going as far as saying they "shipped" it.

With a huff, Leo closed the app and switched to twitter, trying to see what other people thought about this. Of course everyone was treating this like it was a joke, not making a huge deal out of it. It seemed Leo was the only one put off by this.

Realistically, in the way back of his brain, arguably the more logical side of him, knew that this wasn't something serious. Paulo was in fact straight and he had a girlfriend, there was no way anything other than friendly flirtation would develop between the pair.

Either way, it set Leo in a sour mood. He felt so deprived of attention from the Portuguese man that even this minor thing made him moody. His emotional side got the better of him and he took to Instagram again, only this time he was going to indirectly express his discontent with Cris' post.

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Only 4 minutes after he posted the images to his page and story, he immediately felt embarrassed, like maybe he had overreacted. The people in his replies were reacting in many different ways, some were confused, others felt pity for him, but majority of them had already connected the dots and were tagging Cristiano. The heat that filled his cheeks made him squirm, he couldn't take it anymore and closed the app completely. Not wanting to see how Cris was going to react. However, knowing the elder quite well by now, he assumed he would react quickly.

Right after he sat the phone down beside him, it lit up with a new notification. Leo reached over quickly and silenced it, flipping it over as well so he didn't have to see it light up with new tags or messages. He was going to save the trouble for later.

*****

Cristiano was hesitant to reach out to Leo after the incident, he figured the other needed a break from his incessant tagging. So he just went on with his days, posting normal day to day things. It was surprisingly difficult resisting posting about Leo, it had become practically second nature for Cris. A part of him felt like he also needed this break, like maybe it was a sign from the universe telling him that he had gotten a little too obsessed with Leo and he needed to tone it down a bit. After 3 weeks passed in silence from the younger, he assumed he was okay with it, like maybe they needed this tiny break from each other.

That's why when he seen Leo's most recent post, he felt completely blindsided. The post made Cris' heart stutter, he liked it immediately after he seen it. He knew right away who it was about, not needing to check the comment section that was full of people tagging him. For good measure he also checked Leo's newly updated story, the same type of quote was on there as well. Except this one hurt a little bit more...

And I think the first sign you notice when you begin to gain feelings towards a person, is just how easily you get jealous when they give others the attention which you crave.

It had Cris feeling conflicted, was this how Leo truly felt? Did he actually mean it? Did he actually love the attention and adoration from Cris? He wasn't like... weirded out by it? He felt like he was left with more questions than answers as he stared at his phone in disbelief. He had hope that maybe, just maybe, there was a small chance of Leo liking him back, but after their last texts he assumed that ship had sailed. Now though? That tiny spark of hope was alive again. 

A swell of child-like giddiness was aflame in him and he went to update his story as well, knowing right away what quote he was going to upload. He tagged Leo without a second of hesitation, knowing that from now on he was going to try even harder to get Leo to admit his feelings. He was going to try his hardest to completely sweep his crush off his feet.

you are the cause of my euphoria @leomessi



Let Me Adore You. (Cressi/Lionaldo) (Cristiano Ronaldo/Lionel Messi)Where stories live. Discover now