Paulo was still out of reach.
It was almost time to head to the airport and fly back home, yet the boy still wouldn't let anyone get in touch with him. He couldn't bother to as much as get himself out of bed or even turn his phone on.
It was all still so fresh, a few hours passed by since the ref's whistle announced the game's finish time with his team losing 4-3 to Barca's, a score too close it hurt even more than the pain still throbbing slightly in his ankle.
He had a unshaken belief the loss had to do with him.
And even though the first half of the game wasn't the greatest, having ended with a draw, but they were all ready to get back on their feet for the second one.
And God knows he was, more than anyone else. The growing need to impress, to stay true to his unique title but more importantly to have Cris' back against his rival.. It was all driving him with a drunken desire -no, need- to win.
That is, until his body decided to betray him, for no apparent reason other than the fact life has been too nice to him, lately.
Too nice to be true.
.
" For fuck's sake, I just told you I need more time! "
He shouted in reply to the knock on the door. Some of his teammates have already went on failed quests to get him to leave the room, including Cuadrado and of course Buffon, the latest messenger being Federico, only 5 minutes ago.
"... Just leave me alone for a few more-"
- " Paulo, this is me. "
As soon as Cristiano's steady voice from behind the door hit his ears, the boy's heart fluttered. He was expecting him to come over sooner or later, and as much as he needed him, his company, his presence, he also was avoiding him the most. At the end of the day, it was him he let down, more than anyone, wasn't it?
- " I'm coming... " It was still a bit painful to walk, but he wasn't about to let it show on his face. However, the way Cris's eyes were studying him as soon as the door was opened made the boy realize he probably didn't do very well hiding it.
"Cris... I-.. I don't think I'm ready to- "
" I know.. " the man assured calmly as he stepped inside. " I'm not here to ask you to do anything. "
" Good, cause I'm not.. planning.. to.. " He said while hopping his way back towards the bed where he plopped himself down. He heard Cris close the door, then felt the sheets being slowly pulled to cover him, careful not to touch his ankle, followed by a hand placed gently on his head and a long, heartfelt kiss on his forehead.
" You need to rest yourself, Paulino.. " The hand on Paulo's head was still there, caressing it softly. " Let me take care of everything else.. "
Paulo sighed at the loss of touch as Cris stepped away to 'make a few phonecalls' , and based on the fragments of the one-sided dialogues he could hear the boy was certain -with not much surprise- he was the subject of most of them.
'He can't be traveling so soon, not when he's like this.. he needs an extra night of rest.' Paulo overheard Cris say assertively to the coach, telling him the others can go ahead and fly back home, and that he and Paulo will follow back.. The man then made a few other phonecalls that Paulo could easily make out: Cris was arranging a flight back home for the both of them on his private jet, for the next day.
- " Did you have anything to eat yet, Paquito ? " Cris asked as he sat on his side of the bed, hand affectionately rubbing up and down the boy's arm. Paulo couldn't hold back a look of confusion at the new nickname, eliciting a soft chuckle from the older man.
- " Nuh-uh.. Not hungry. " His voice was muffled as he snuggled underneath the blankets. But Cris wasn't planning to surrender to the boy's grumpiness. Paulo needed to eat, sooner or later, and he had not other choice as the older man ordered them Paulo's favorite meal for dinner, followed by his favorite dessert. He then helped the boy get into the shower after making sure he took a painkiller pill.
.
As Cris was walking out of the bathroom, drying up his upper body with a towel after having taken a hot shower himself, as well; his attention fell on the TV screen where a news report about the match was playing. Paulo was curled up in a fetal position, watching it silently.
- " Let's turn this fucker off. "
Cris threw the remote control onto the couch, glancing over at the boy as he sat next to him, on the bed. He knew Paulo would be on him as soon as he got settled and comfied up, but the boy didn't even wait til then: As soon as Cris was sat on the bed the boy immediately turned around, placing his head on Cris' chest, arms curled around the older's torso as if by force of instinct.
He cradled the boy closer, petting the soft brown hair, pushing it back and twirling it until Paulo's muffled sniffles against him turned to silence,
And then the silence lasted for long, slow minutes where he thought the boy must've fallen asleep.
- " We should've won that fuckin match," Paulo finally muttered quietly, rubbing his cheek against Cris' warm chest. " I'm so sorry, Cris "
- " Paulino .. " Cris sighed, chin resting on the top of the boy's head, hand tracing Paulo's back. " How many times do I have to tell you i- "
- " It is. " he interrupted, not looking up at Cris, just snuggling closer to him like a cat would probably do if it wanted to apologize to their master. " It is my fault.. "
Cris broke the few seconds of silence that followed with another sigh:
- " Paulo, baby, listen to me .. As much as seeing you get hurt breaks my heart , d'you really think I haven't gone through far worse on the pitch? " Paulo blinked, waiting for him to go on. "I had to get my eye stitched, right then there.. and my nose wouldn't stop bleeding... And the crowds were chanting insults and curse words to me.. but I went on playing, and I still won. " His voice was almost as warm as his body heat surrounding the boy. "We just played a shitty game today, that is all. And the other team came prepared. "
- " But we didn't..." He murmured, " And I mean you and me.. That night we had at the bar was a bad idea.. " He could feel Cris' heartbeat echoing against the palm of his hand, and it was calming, unlike the thought he had to let out next: " S-sometimes I just feel like I drag everyone down. ”
Cris' heart ached at the self-deprecating words.
- "Alright, first of all, that hurts, cause the bar was my idea. And second of all.. " Cris slipped his fingers underneath Paulo's jaw, lifting his face up to meet his own; the boy's reddened, green, puppy eyes staring up at him. " You drag no one down, Paulino.. Quite the opposite, if anything.. One slip on the way is not the end of the world.. Maybe I thought so, too, when I was your age, but here I am now.. " his thumb was brushing across the boy's cheek as he went on : " .. Owning up to your mistakes and working on them is the essence of this game, but I don't wanna hear you apologize and talk shit about yourself for something that ain't your fault. "
Paulo dropped his gaze as he pondered the older man's words..
- " I just.. God I really wanted you to win over Lionel- I mean Messi there.." He said after a soft silence filled the room, tracing Cris' collarbone with his finger. " This game meant a lot to you .. "
- " I know. But it isn't gonna be the last important game we play, is it, cariño? " (honey). " And I sure need my precioso gem by my side for all the next ones.. Can I count on you for that? "
Paulo's lips curled into a blushful smile as Cris ruffled his hair..
- " You can always count on me, Cris. "
.
The first thought Paulo had when he woke up the next morning, with Cris' arms wrapped around him, his own head nestled up underneath the man's chin, is that this was their first time sharing a bed. And it made him grin.
He goes through everything he's had with Cris so far, from that first kiss in the locker room to where they are now. If it hadn't been for the past two days, Paulo wouldn't dare think of this as more than a mere fling. And he wouldn't have minded, he was young, he liked to have his fun..
.. But what Cris has been doing for him was past the line of fun. With the adventurous bar date, the delayed flight just to make sure he gets better, the hours he spent taking care of him instead of resting after the game..
He knew he was special to the Portuguese, and he was well aware of the bond they had, but he didn't realize it was that strong.
Til now.
He had been wanting to ask Cris if he ever did any of that to his previous 'lovers', or mates-he-fucked or whatever it was called.. Or even to any of his previous teammates he was close with. But he didn't want to come off as the overthinking, insecure type.. coming off as the clingy, little fanboy he is was already bad as it, but sometimes he just couldn't control it much, could he?
.
- " Go back to sleep.. it's still early.. "
Cris felt the boy fiddle in his arms so he tried to steady him by tightening the embrace around his body but Paulo was wide awake now, especially having heard Cris speak in his husky, sleepy voice that made his Portuguese accent irresistibly heavier. The boy went placing kisses all over the man's right shoulder, traveling to his nape until they found Cris' earlobe, nibbling the area and it made the man shudder..
- " Wake up, Papíiiii, I'm bored.." The boy whimpered, lips brushing over Cris' before he bit the man's lower lip, pulling on it. Without warning, the man's hands traveled down the boy's body , squeezing at his buttcheeks, and the moan that echoed in Cris' ear was all that took for him to smirk.. he then held grip of the boy's waist, switching positions so he was on top.
They started slow but their rhythm started to get frantic quickly, their breaths ragged and mouths wide-open, moaning and stuttering incomprehensible words. The bed sheets were mostly wrapped around Cris' legs, the blanket forgotten on the bed foot almost falling off and the pillows were on the floor. It took another couple of minutes for both of them to reach their apex; small droplets of sweat slid from their skins, bodies completely glued together, tired but satisfied.
- " I’m going to take a shower,” Cris finally rolled out of bed after recatching his breath. Paulo let him go, reaching over the bedside table to grab his phone. “.. Aren’t you joining me? ”
- " In a moment.. I haven't checked my phone since yesterday. "
Cris walked away as the boy went on scanning the phone's screen with his halfopened eyes, text messages and missed calls raining down on the notification bar, the most recent text message from D. Costa catching his attention, particularly.
"Bro... you NEED to check this out. " was sent with a link that he naturally couldn't resist clicking on-
- " fffuuuuck me.... "
His eyes widened as he sat up abruptly, eyes devouring the words even though he didn't need to, the photo attached to the article, showing Cris getting out of a certain bar with him walking right behind him was more than enough.
(To be continued)