Chapter Text
“Look, your theory is fucking shit, but the rhythm is catchy.”, Denver said pointing at him. “Boom, boom, ciao!”
All men but the professor joined in, and immediately Nairobi stood up, grabbing a bottle of wine. All the other women joined her.
Palermo laughed and stood up to lead the chant. "Boom, boom, ciao! Gay sex! Boom, boom, ciao! Let's go!" He danced to the small wall and jumped up on it, almost lost his balance but caught himself. He made his way around the table in a clumsy dance and jumped off on the other side. He almost bumped into Lisboa, and Stockholm who were turning down Helsinki who wanted to dance with someone. Palermo pushed past them to Sergio, the only one who neither left nor had joined the chant.
"Let your hair down, Professor!", Palermo laughed, ruffling his hair. It got him a small awkward chuckle.
"Boom, boom, ciao! Boom, boom, ciao!" He gave Denver a headbutt and laughed as the man missed the instinctive swing in his direction. He smacked Bogota's ass on the way past and took Helsinki's offered hand to dance.
The serbian spun him around and pulled him close.
"Boom, boom, ciao! Gay sex! Boom, boom, ciao!"
Across the table Denver started some song about women. The others immediately joined in, and Palermo wasn’t even mad that they had abandoned the chant, because he was now dancing with Helsinki. They couldn’t quite arrange themselves in the beginning and between Palermo and the big Serbian it was of course the smaller man who stumbled. But by the time Denver started to conduct the refrain they had gotten a feel for each other and could dance around arm in arm without following any system.
In the last years he had danced a lot. Almost always alone, and always high as a kite. It had never felt good. Actually it had felt awful, but at least better than everything else.
This felt great. They spun each other around, screaming with laughter, not caring that they knocked into people and chairs.
Holding onto each other with both hands, Helsinki spun Palermo around and knocked him into Denver with full force. The man groaned, but then laughed and wrapped both arms around him. They jumped up and down together, singing the song with all their passion until Palermo grabbed Denver’s face and forced a kiss onto his cheek.
“Vale, vale vale!”, Denver yelled and pried his hands off of him. “Go back to Helsinki, Helsinki take him back!”
Palermo stuck out his tongue and let Denver shove him into back Helsinki’s arms. They wrapped around him from behind and the two of them swayed back and forth.
When they ran out of songs Bogota turned on the radio and everyone but Palermo and Helsinki settled down. They continued dancing, though much Denver started opening beers for everyone.
“Guys?”, he asked, holding out bottles to them.
Palermo took it and downed a third of the bottle, before returning his hand to his dance partner’s side. Helsinki also accepted the beer, but only took a sip before letting his wrist rest on the other’s shoulder.
They smiled at each other, taking slow steps back and forth.
“This is the last evening like this, huh?”, Helsinki said, almost sounding sad.
“Probably.”, Palermo said. It was only three more days until the heist. Tension was rising and the next days were sure to be turbulent ones for the group.
“I’ll miss this.”, Helsinki said.
“I’ll just be glad when all of this is over.”
“Will any of you see you again?”
Palermo grinned. “You’ll miss me, gordo.”, he teased.
“Of course.”
“Well, I wouldn’t shut the door in your face if you ever showed up.”
Helsinki gave him a smile. “Where will you go?
Palermo had thought about it, but wasn’t sure yet. “Japan maybe. Or Canada. What about you?”
“I thought about going back to Argentina.”
“You’re just saying that so I ’ll be the one to visit you .”, he grinned.
“You promised me barbecue.”, Helsinki pointed out.
He had, one day, in a stupid conversation as both of them had floated in post-orgasmic bliss.
“True. You’ll get your barbecue.” He was glad to have found an excuse to see the serbian again. “I can’t deny it, gordo, I’ll miss you too.”, he admitted. He gave the bear a grin and pulled him a little closer.
“Oi, what happened to bum bum ciao?”, Denver yelled and all the men joined in and laughed.
“I pity Stockholm, you clearly have no clue what foreplay is.”, Palermo shot back and grinned, when all of the men switched sides and started to jokingly pick on Denver.
They sat down at the edge of the bed.
“Are you nervous?”, Palermo asked.
Helsinki nodded. “Yes.”
“Me too.”, Palermo said. He didn’t have to say it with the way he was bumping his heel. “I’d be concerned if anyone wasn’t anxious tonight, what we’re about to do is fucking batshit. And I ’m saying that, it’s my plan. It’s genius, but dangerous.” He snapped his mouth shut to stop his nervous rambling.
Helsinki placed a hand on the back of his neck. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to, his smile was so warm and gentle. Palermo replied half-heartedly, and was pulled into a hug. Palermo held onto the big man tightly.
They fucked, determined to tire each other out into a good night of sleep despite the anxiety.
At first Palermo was the one laying on his back, as Helsinki fucked him, but he didn't want to leave all the work to the other. They rearranged in the small bed, and Palermo climbed on top to ride him.
Afterwards he allowed himself to just lay there, half atop Helsinki as the man lazily ran a hand up and down his back.
Today was different. The group had had some last talk throughs of the plan, but except for that they had spent the day just sitting together. Everyone was on edge. They had snapped at each other at the slightest bit of tension, but immediately apologized afterwards.
Everyone was anxious and sappy and the day had practically been nothing but hugs and shoulder pats.
Though Palermo liked to think he and Helsinki were professionals, today they were barely different from the rest of the group. They had sat shoulder to shoulder all day, it didn’t matter that they laid there together after sex.
Neither of them said anything, because there was absolutely nothing to say. They silently understood each other.
"We should shower and get to bed.", Palermo eventually said and pushed himself up. "The more sleep we get, the better." He held out a hand to Helsinki and the man took it, letting himself be pulled up and out of bed.
They slipped into their pyjama pants and made their way to the bathroom.
The hallways was much colder than the rooms and as soon as they entered the bathroom, Palermo dropped his pants and got in the shower, turning the heat up high.
Suddenly they were seperated by the shower curtain and Palermo felt alone. Since returning to the monastery, the strange pain he had felt at the seperation from everyone he knew and loved, had almost always been covered up by the presence of the summercamp-like group. Now, mere hours before the heist, it hit him again.
Sergio was right. He wasn’t part of them, he didn’t have close personal relationships with them. He was their leader and all they owed him was subordinance, nothing more, and he wasn't sure if he would get even that. He had known them for two months now, but he might as well have walked into the bank with complete strangers.
The sudden loneliness coming out of nowhere strangled him.
So he leaned back and pulled the curtain aside to look at the serbian.
“Don’t tell me you suddenly got shy.”, he teased.
Helsinki looked at him for a long moment and Palermo feared he could read his emotions, despite the small grin he had put on.
The serbian got in the shower with him.
Neither of them had intended it, but sharing the stall and hot water of course things got heated again.
Palermo needed this.
Not the sex, but someone to touch, to feel close to. On evenings like this he and Andrés had sat arm in arm. Andrés had given him a confident smile and squeezed his shoulder so tightly it hurt and it had been just what Martín had needed.
Gasping against Helsinki’s shoulder didn’t seem like a bad compromise. Until the hot water ran out. Both of them cursed and fled the stall to dry off. They silently decided to take this as a sign and move back to Palermo’s room. Neither of them felt in a hurry as they wrapped up in towels and picked up their clothes, but as soon as the bedroom door closed behind them, they fell into each other’s arms again. Palermo wrapped his arms around the big man’s shoulders, a hand securing the man’s head as he buried it in his neck.
He breathed hard with the intensity of relief the contact brought him. He was scared of the days to come, scared of the loneliness that had snuck up on him in the shower and Helsinki’s body pressed against his own was the only thing that made his life feel bearable in that moment.
He pushed them back against the bed and pulled on the towels, immediately making them fall to the floor. They climbed into bed, clumsily, but without letting go of each other. Helsinki laid on his back, Palermo hovered above him, a leg on each side of his hips.
Their foreheads were touching, eyes closed and it felt wrong. So Palermo moved down and started kissing the other’s collarbone. While Helsinki had often placed kisses on Palermo’s neck, shoulders, or chest, the Argentinian had never kissed him above the navel during sex. They were different and that had always been alright. Helsinki’s kisses had always been single simple ones, nwo Palermo coated his shoulder in filthy ones, that were nothing but tongue and teeth.
The bear reached between them and took their dicks into his hand. The other moaned, letting his head drop against his chest for a long moment. Then he started moving his hips, fucking into Helsinki’s hand, rubbing against his dick.
The bear groaned. He put an arm around the man atop him, running his hand up and down his spine.
And after a few long moments close like that, the gasps against Palermo’s ear weren’t enough. He pushed himself up, and cupped the other’s cheeks before leaning down to press their foreheads together. They looked at each other for a long moment, then Palermo gave him a small smile and closed his eyes. He rubbed his thumbs over Helsinki’s cheek.
Their breath mixed, they could feel each other’s moans and nothing had ever felt as secure to Palermo as Helsinki under his hands.
He wrapped both arms around his head, holding him tightly in place as he felt his orgasm building.
“Helsinki. I-”, he gasped. “I- Helsi. Helsi.” He couldn’t even get out his whole name anymore, repeating that stupid nickname over and over until he came. Helsi said something too and while he definitely heard it, it didn't reach Palermo's brain.
He let himself collapse on top of Helsinki, his face buried in his neck.
And as the warm fuzz was replaced with post-orgasmic clarity he realized:
This was bad.
Sergio had been right. This wasn't just about sex anymore. This was about Helsinki.
They weren't Achilles and Patroclus, god no, they weren't lovers by any means. But Palermo couldn't deny that Helsinki had somehow found a way to his heart. Whether it was the gentleness, the good sex or hid deep grumbling chuckle, he just liked the guy.
He liked him and trusted him and couldn't stand the thought of losing him, in whichever way.
This was bad.
He pushed himself up, their stomachs sticking together with cum. He was glad to have chosen a cell for his room, at least he had water here. He dampened a washcloth and wiped himself clean, before handing it to Helsinki.
"It's late.", he said and picked up his underwear off the floor where they had dropped it after not putting it on in the bathroom. He hoped Helsinki would hear the implied "so please leave."
He didn't, because after after cleaning up and putting his pants on too, he let himself fall back on the bed and picked up that stupid heartshaped lolly he had placed on the nightstand earlier.
Palermo suppressed a sigh and decided to demonstratively turn his back to Helsinki and brush his teeth. If that didn't get the serbian to leave, it would at least give Palermo time to come up with something to say.
He had to draw a line.
For both of their sake.