Let Me Adore You. (Cressi/Lionaldo) (Cristiano Ronaldo/Lionel Messi)

4.

*****

My goal for the New Year?

Get @leomessi to agree to have dinner with me.

Okay so, Leo may have been a tiny bit drunk when he seen the post. It was nighttime and it was the first of January, no one could blame him. He honestly felt like he had a right to have a couple drinks. It wasn't like he had any big important responsibilities on that particular day or duties to attend to. One night of stupid drunkenness was allowed.

"Why does he even like me?" Leo asked himself, giggling into the pillow under his head as the butterflies in his stomach swarmed around. Without hesitation he liked the post, not thinking twice about it. It was nice this way, no second guessing or worrying about what other people had to say.  It was like only he and Cristiano mattered right now, this weird relationship thing was like an inside joke between only them.

Leo sighed happily and laid back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, the smile never leaving his face as he thought back onto all their past encounters and interactions. Cristiano was the complete opposite of everyone's assumptions, in person he wasn't this cocky, arrogant, self-absorbed player. He was a sweet, shy, friendly and just overall lovely person. He was just like everyone else, and Leo couldn't believe that he was the center of his desires.

It wasn't everyday that he had people lining up at his door, it wasn't like he had a lot of people begging and wishing for his attention and affection. How he managed to have one of football's most attractive players was a mystery even to him.

He should have just abandoned that line of thought right there, he should have just fallen asleep. BUT in his drunken state, he did not.

He instead, tapped the contacts button, scrolled a little ways and called the person in the forefront of his mind.

*****

Cristiano answered the call without looking at who was calling, he had assumed it was someone in his family or close circle of friends calling him.

"Hello?"

"Hi," now that.... Cristiano's brain froze momentarily, his breath choking off into silence. He knew that voice, he knew that voice, he knew that voice even though the person only spoke one word.

"H-hello?" It was the only word that came to mind and Cristiano mentally slapped himself, stupid. Stupid response.

The person on the other end giggled, a sound that made Cris' heart stutter. "Hello", the greeting was drawn out, a sing-songy tone in it. Cristiano had to sit down, he needed to sit down before he fell over out of sheer nervousness. He practically ran towards the nearest chair, his feet tripping over the carpet in a hurry.

"Oof-" He barely made it to the chair, his knees hitting the floor as he managed to not fall completely on the floor. The person giggled some more and Cristiano felt like he was going to die. This was surely how he would meet his end.

"Are you okay? Did you fall or something?"

"Oh, I uh, I'm fine. Yeah I'm fine, I just tripped," he was blushing hard, his face hot. He pulled himself up so he was sitting on the soft cushion of the chair.

"Oh that's good to hear, wouldn't want you hurting that pretty face now would we?"

Cristiano wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he didn't know how to react. His heart felt like it was going to fly out of his chest, he managed to stutter out a broken laugh. This was a dream, this had to be a dream. There was no way this was real.

"I seen your post Cris," Leo sighed on the other end of the phone, Cristiano cleared his throat and wanted to just crawl into a hole and never return.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he took a deep breath and giggled some more. "You're funny."

"I am?"

"Mhmm," Leo hummed and continued on quietly, softly speaking into the phone as if he wanted to share a secret. "I see all of your posts, each and every single one of them. They always make me smile, you always make me smile." It was said so softly that Cristiano felt like he was hearing something he shouldn't have been hearing. It didn't stop the smile from spreading across his face though, this confession was everything Cristiano assumed already. It was just nice to hear it coming from Leo's mouth finally. "If I were standing in front of you right now, I'd probably give you the biggest hug. You're taller than me so I'd probably have to lean up a bit, but you get what I'm saying right?"

"Yeah-"

"I'd say I'd give you a kiss but I don't think we're at that level yet, you need to take me on a date first. Date first then kiss. No kisses before that." Leo was whispering at this point, a gentle noise that had Cristiano's smiling on fondly. He let the other mumble on, some words mushing together but it didn't matter. "I really like flowers Cris, I don't tell people that, but I'll tell you. I like all kinds of flowers, bright yellow ones and pretty pink ones, classic red roses. Do you like flowers?"

"I do."

"Flowers are nice, maybe I'll buy you some flowers. No, no that's not right. I don't know what kind of flowers you like, I need to know what kind of flowers you like. I can't just buy you random flowers, because what if you don't like them? What was I thinking?" He chastised himself quietly, bitterly mumbling something to himself that Cristiano couldn't hear. He smiled nonetheless, chuckling quietly. "Cris?"

"Yes?"

"I uh," there was a beat of silence, Cristiano waited in anticipation. "I'm pretty tired."

"Oh?" He frowned, only slightly disappointed that their call was going to end so soon. "You should get some sleep then."

"Yeah, I think so too." Leo whispered softly and Cristiano waited, for what? A goodbye? A "talk to you later"? He didn't know, he just waited... It seemed Leo was waiting too though, seconds ticked by. "Cris?"

"Leo?"

"Can you... Can you wait with me until I fall asleep?"

"What?"

"Just I don't know, talk to me until I fall asleep? I... This house is so quiet and I just... I like hearing your voice." Cristiano once again felt a wave of pure affection and love overcome him, he nodded as if Leo could see him.

"Uh, sure."

So he talked on the phone for another half hour, just telling random things to Leo. Leo fell asleep 10 minutes in or so, his responses dying off into silence and eventually quiet snores. Cris knew he should have just hung up after he knew Leo had fallen asleep, but he loved seeing the contact name on his screen, so he whispered sweet nothings to the phone. Telling Leo what he loved about him, from his smile, to his voice. He even confessed some embarrassing secrets and stuff he'd never tell another soul on the planet... Once he was done speaking his peace, he just sat there. Phone pressed to his ear, the steady rhythm of Leo's snoring sounding through his ear. It was nice. It was peaceful.

"I'm in trouble Leo," he whispered, his voice barely heard even to his own ears. "How am I supposed to love anyone else as much as I love you?"

It was a confession that was so heartbreakingly beautiful, he was hopelessly in love with the other and he knew deep down that there was no one else in the world for him. Funny how that turned out, a tiny crush that over time developed into this. Whatever this was.... He ended the call, as much as he didn't want to, and opened Instagram. Uploading a red photo to his story, tagging Leo in it.

I like you more than I planned @leomessi