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“Xabi, aren’t you listening?” Iker frowned, looking at the red-haired Spaniard who was sprawled over his bed.
A muffled grunt from Xabi made Iker frown. “This is the second week here, you can’t still have a jetlag,” he pointed out and he shuffled a little closer to the other man.
Xabi still didn’t lift his face off the pillow and Iker became slightly worried about him. He laid down next to him on the bed and patted his hair awkwardly. “You want to—euh—talk about your feelings?” he tried, smiling wobbly when Xabi shot him a disbelieving look.
“You are the worst in social skills that don’t involve yelling, so no, thank you,” Xabi humpfed, turning his face back into the pillow.
Iker opened his mouth to try again, but a knock on the door interrupted. “Should I get that?” he asked.
“It’s not like I’m leaving my bed now,” Xabi snipped back. Iker rolled his eyes as he moved off the bed. He wanted to make a teasing remark about Xabi forgetting to put his tampon in, but he decided to be the bigger, mature man here. He walked towards the door, and pulled it open.
“Eh, dude! Where’s Xabi, I need to talk to him!” Alvaro greeted him cheerfully, glancing over Iker’s shoulder into the room. Iker wanted to start about Xabi’s mope-fest, but he suddenly felt a presence behind him.
“H-Hey, Alvaro. Uhm, what’s up?” Xabi smiled, shifting uncomfortably in the small hallway next to Iker.
Alvaro stared at him. “You seriously forgot?” he asked, a pout forming on his lips.
Xabi scratched the nape of his neck and shrugged. “I guess…?” he tried.
Alvaro sighed. “We agreed to bet Jesús to run over the tarpaulin without getting wet. I told you—like—yesterday!”
Iker only now realized Alvaro was only wearing his swimming trunks and a towel around his neck. Judging by the way Xabi’s cheeks were a little pink, his friend had noticed sooner.
“I-I’ve got… stuff to do,” Xabi mumbled.
Alvaro’s face fell a little and Iker wanted to hug him instantly. “Well… some other time then?” Alvaro asked, his hope renewed with a sparkle in his eyes.
Xabi nodded. “Perhaps.”
Alvaro wasn’t looking like he wanted to leave, but as Xabi walked back towards the room, he turned around, shoulders slumping a little. Iker whispered “Bye,” and then closed the door before walking back inside the room. Xabi had retaken his spot on the bed, now with his phone in his hand.
“You know, you could be a little nicer to him,” Iker suggested, slumping down on a chair. Xabi raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’m serious. He looked like a kicked puppy, and you clearly don’t have stuff to do.”
Xabi put his phone away, sighing a little. “It’s complicated, okay?”
Iker promptly flew over to his bed, falling face first next to Xabi. “I love complicated,” he gushed, eyes sparkling for new gossip.
“You can’t tell anyone,” Xabi said sternly, noticing the mischief in the captain’s eyes.
Iker mentally crossed the gossip part, and nodded solemnly. “So… what’s the gist with our newly-bearded teammate?”
Xabi fidgeted with his fingers. “He likes me.”
Iker let out a disappointed whine. “That’s not news, Xabi. You’re big and cuddly, of course he likes you.”
“No, you don’t understand. He likes-likes me. With the feelings and shit.”
Iker’s eyes grew bigger now, his mouth falling open slightly. “Oh…”
Xabi groaned and crossed his arms over his face. “Why do my best friends always fall in love with me?” he sulked.
Iker chuckled. “You’re sounding like a spoiled kid. Besides, Steven was drunk half the time—he wasn’t in love,” he pointed out.
Xabi shrugged. “Whatever, it’s Alvaro now, and my head is just a mess.”
Iker smiled sympathetically at his friend, and tapped his own lower lip, thinking. “How do you know, actually? Or are you jumping to conclusions again—like that one time Sergio wore that crazy suit and you thought he was becoming a Jehovah’s Witness?”
Xabi ignored Iker’s snickering and turned onto his back when breathing into the pillow became a little hard. “I needed his phone a few days ago to send some pictures to my own, but there were Whatsapp messages coming in constantly.”
Iker raised his eyebrows, his curiosity increasing. “Who was it?”
Xabi groaned. “It’s so embarrassing… it was my mom, Iker.”
Iker let out a startled laugh, the bed shaking a little. “No!”
Xabi nodded fervently. “Yes, seriously! He was Whatsapping with my mom, of all people.”
Iker was shaking his head to the ceiling, his body still moving while he was giggling. “Precious. What were they talking about?”
Xabi rolled his eyes at his friend’s amusement in his suffering, but he was on a roll and kind of needed to get this off his chest. “Alvaro had asked her for this recipe of her cherry-pie, and my mom gave it to him under the condition that he would give me some because she thinks I’m too skinny.”
Iker chuckled but then frowned. “I’m still not getting the fact that you think Alvaro’s likes you in the gay-way.”
Xabi pushed Iker away, but prevented the older man from tumbling off the bed. “Impatient!” he huffed. “But, well… Alvaro and my mom started talking on and on about how I should take better care of myself, and blah blah blah, and then my mom asked Alvaro if he was coming along for the summer vacation after the World Cup.”
“No way,” Iker’s eyes became even bigger.
“Yes way, and then Alvaro asked why and my mom seriously dropped this rant about how perfect we are together and Alvaro eventually confessed to her that he likes me as more than a friend.”
Iker was chewing on his thumb-nail, looking intently at the animated way Xabi was telling him the story. The Basque didn’t seem to believe it himself either.
“And what did your mom say then?” he asked curiously.
“She told Alvaro to go for it. And after that, it was just talking about recipes and stuff like that.”
“Wow, you must’ve given your mom the full angry talk when you two called last night, right?” Iker asked, remembering Xabi talking to him mom briefly before dinner.
Xabi shook his head. “What was I supposed to say—Yo mom, thanks for interfering with my love-life? When I bring it up, she’ll switch my accusations towards her around, and bring them on me. Like; why haven’t you asked Alvaro out yet? Or; you two are so cute together, who gives a shit about grandkids anyway. Or even more likely; Get married right now, and why? Because I say so.”
Iker stared in awe at Xabi mimicking his mom’s voice with a whiny tone, and wondered how the hell a thirty-two year old could look so incredibly childish. Xabi crossed his arms and frowned at the ceiling. Iker fiddled a little with his phone, smiling at the texts Sara sent with pictures of Martin.
“You know,” he eventually said, placing his phone back on the nightstand, “We haven’t gotten to the part where you tell me how you feel.”
Xabi peered sideways at him, crossing his arms tighter. "I think it’s pretty clear what I think of my mom meddling in this.”
Iker grinned and shook his head. “I meant, what you think about Alvaro having feelings for you. You’re not avoiding him because you don’t feel the same way, right?” he asked carefully. He already heard Sergio's snickering in his head when he would tell him about this.
Xabi slowly shook his head. “I… I don’t know, Iker. I like him, sure I do. I just never really thought about it, how it would be like to be with him. But since then I am constantly wondering,” he sighed.
Iker curled his fingers around Xabi’s wrist, rubbing the soft skin soothingly as he inspected the apprehensiveness on Xabi’s face. There was something he wasn’t telling, and it was clear that was on the tip of his tongue. “Come on, Xabi. Wondering about what?”
Xabi turned his head sideways, looking at Iker. “Wondering what it would be like to be with Alvaro. To be in a relationship with him. If he also thinks I need to redecorate my bedroom, or how he feels about the Marvel movies or… I can’t believe I’m saying this… or just how he feels about me. And a lot of other stuff but that involves sex, so I will spare you those details,” Xabi mumbled awkwardly.
Iker grinned and nodded. “Thanks, bro,” he said, nudging Xabi’s elbow. “But, hey. If you think about him like that, then why not give it a shot?”
Maybe he was being way to involved now, but Iker started to like the idea of Xabi and Alvaro together. They obviously had known each other for a long time, and even though Xabi had been with Steven for quite a while, Alvaro had never left his side. Xabi maybe appeared like a composed, well-behaved man, but everyone needs and anchor that keeps their feet on the ground. To Xabi, that had always been Alvaro, even though the Basque clearly hadn’t noticed that throughout these years. Iker started to wonder just how long Alvaro had been in love with Xabi, and eventually stopped that train of thoughts when he figured it was probably more than a few years.
He turned his head towards Xabi again and raised his eyebrows, still waiting for an answer. “Seriously, man. Just give it a go. You two know each other like the back of your hands. I’m sorry if I sound like your mother now, but you two really are a nice couple.”
Xabi smiled faintly, a defeated look on his face. “I want to, but Iker—you know me. I am not familiar to all things called flirting, asking people out, and I sure as hell don’t know how to do those things towards my best friend, who is a guy, might I add. So…” he sighed.
Iker’s grin only got bigger. “Sounds like you may need some help, no?” he asked with twinkles in his eyes.
Xabi looked up and immediately frowned. “Oh, hell no. Whatever you are thinking and plotting already, don’t even dare,” he warned.
Iker just shuffled off the bed, eyebrows raised in innocence. “I have no idea what you are talking about,” he smiled, mischief still sparkling in his eyes as he left Xabi's room.
Xabi laid still on his bed, absentmindedly rubbing his fingers along his stubbly beard and thought about what Iker could be planning. But then Alvaro drifted into his mind, and the way he had nearly stood naked in his doorway half an hour ago, and Xabi was too distracted to worry about Iker.
+
“Hey, capitán!” Raul yelled the next day, as soon as Iker sat down in front of him, placing his tray with breakfast on the table.
“Chori, how’re you?” Iker smiled, taking a sip of his orange juice.
Raul took a bite of his croissant, the crispy dough falling from the corners of his mouth. “Good. Had a shit night, though,” he answered, chewing fervently.
Iker raised his eyebrows. “And why was that? The room too hot? I heard Cesc talking about that as well.”
Raul shook his head. “Nah, the room is great. It’s Alvaro. He just kept talking and talking abou—”
Raul suddenly cut himself off, his cheeks blushing a little pink like he had said too much.
Iker eyed him suspiciously. “If Alvaro is keeping you awake with nonsense, I could talk to him for you, you know?”
Raul immediately waved that away with a flick of his hand, shaking his head. “No, that’s not necessary,” he quickly said.
Iker noticed the way Raul’s eyes flicked towards the wide open doors of the breakfast hall, smiling smugly as he saw Alvaro and Xabi walking in with Fernando and Santi. A flip switched in Iker’s brain and he cracked up.
“Ah, so Alvaro can’t stop talking about Xabi—is that it?” he beamed.
Raul’s eyes immediately shot upwards again, looking like a dear caught in the headlights. “How do you know that?” he insisted.
Iker grinned. “Xabi found out about Alvaro liking him a few days ago. He’s been a fidgety, non-sleeping, non-eating teenager ever since. He can’t get more than three normal words out with Alvaro looking at him.”
Raul’s mouth fell open. “How did Xabi find out—Alvaro never told anyone but me.”
Iker shrugged. “He told Mrs. Alonso. Xabi saw the messages, and yeah, you know how it goes.”
Raul groaned and let his head fall on his arms on the table. “This is a disaster. Now Xabi is awkward and Alvaro is overthinking everything Xabi does. That red-head is going to make him miserable if he keeps on acting jumpy whenever Alvaro is near him,” Raul mumbled accusingly.
Iker nodded and smeared some jelly on his bread. “They aren’t, what you call, masters in the art of flirting and wooing the other,” he chuckled.
Raul nodded in agreement, wiping his hands on his napkin. He was quiet for a while, just sipping his tea while Iker was eating his breakfast. The breakfast hall filled up with their teammates who were a bit slower, and Del Bosque was rubbing the palms of his hands together when he noticed the buffet.
“You know, we should do something,” Iker suddenly said.
Raul traced the room with his eyes again before meeting Iker’s. “Like what?”
Iker smiled, folding his hands together in determination. “We should get them together. There is no way in hell they are going to do it on their own,” he stated.
Raul scratched the side of his head, shrugging a little. “Yeah, sure. It’s a good plan, but the thing is that we both aren’t really good at flirting and matchmaking and all that. We are better than Xabi and Arbie, but not much.”
Iker nodded fervently. “We need to bring in the big guns.”
Raul scoffed, raising his eyebrows. “The big guns… Like who?”
+
“Holaaaaaa chicas!” Sergio trotted into Raul’s hotel room, carrying a few Prada bags. “I bought so many nice things, it’s amazing!” he beamed.
Iker and Raul shared quiet glances at the exuberant Sevillian who was taking out garment after garment to show it to them.
“Yeah, uhm,” Iker cleared his throat, “Sese, could you maybe just, you know, sit down?”
Sergio dropped the shirt back in the bag, noticing the seriousness of his two friends. He grabbed the other bags from the chair, put them on the ground and sat down. “Something wrong?” he asked carefully.
Iker and Raul exchanged glances again, Raul biting on his lower lip. “We, uhm. We need your help with something. But it’s sort of a secret,” Iker tried.
Sergio’s eyes lit up. “A secret?” he asked. Iker nodded.
“Oh, I love secrets. What is it and what do I have to do?” the younger man asked curiously, wiggling back and forth on his chair.
Iker looked at Raul, shrugging. “You want to tell him?” he asked.
Raul nodded. “Sure. Hey, Sese. You noticed Xabi being a little off lately?” Raul asked, turning towards the younger defender.
Sergio was sliding his finger along his stubbly jaw and hummed. “Yeah, little bit. He’s all broody and awkward sometimes. Why?” he asked.
Raul grinned wobbly. “Well, he found out that Alvaro is in love with him.”
“What?!” Iker and Sergio exclaimed at the same time.
“I thought Alvaro only liked Xabi?” Iker insisted.
Raul shrugged. “Dude’s been pining for him for years, even when Xabi was with Steven, Alvaro never gave up. That ain’t a crush. Alvaro might say he only likes Xabi, but if you use your common sense; no one has a crush for over five years.”
Sergio’s eyes were darting between his two teammates while his mind was trying to process all the new information coming to him. “Wow,” was all he could say for five minutes.
The three of them stayed silent after that, thinking about their recent discoveries.
Iker glanced sideways at Sergio and felt a little clench around his heart, because he knew damn well how Alvaro felt. Spending years longing for someone who was with someone else. Oh, if only it had been just that. But no, Sergio didn’t have stable relationships, he fucked around and left his number here and there but never called on his own accord. Sure, there had been Fernando but now that Fernando was building his happily ever after with Juan and Jesús was playing family with Silva; there wasn’t anything permanent in Sergio’s life. It hurt Iker more than it should. If Sergio was with someone, and he was truly happy, then he would also be happy for his friend. But this, this sleeping around, it wasn’t making Sergio happy and Iker was hurting twice.
Sergio, on the other hand, was wondering why Alvaro hadn’t said anything yet. Whenever he liked someone (or their body) he would walk up to them, smile, leave lingering touches and within one evening they were wrapped around his finger. It almost became boring, but it sure as hell was easy. Every one of his teammates from Real Madrid and the national team succumbed to his flirtations—which of course he didn’t always pursue in the end. Well… everyone but one. The man in front of him seemed to have the biggest heart, letting everyone get some of his love. And yes, Sergio got it, too, but not in the way he wanted it. Because in the end, all he really wanted was Iker.
And then there was Raul, who was also thinking about it, while nibbling on his lower lip. There was this one person in Napoli, with his crooked smile and squinting eyes whenever he laughed. Sure, he and Calleti only kissed once after way too much alcohol. Even now in Brazil, he couldn’t help but think about José Maria, his finger hovering above the dial button for minutes only to shove his phone away after he couldn’t make up his mind. He wondered if he was becoming like Alvaro. If this was the start of maybe years of pining for someone else. Raul didn’t want that. He didn’t want to act like everything was cool between him and José Maria, because it obviously wasn’t. Not for him at least. But whether to lay his heart open or to push the feelings away, he hadn’t decided yet. Maybe the distance would tell him more. So far his only discoveries were that as the days went past, the urge to call him were only getting bigger.
“So what do we do?” Sergio snapped them all out of their thoughts and all three of the men composed themselves pretty quickly.
“I’d say we get them to team up as much as possible. In training, Raul, make up some stupid excuse and then Alvaro has to pair up with Xabi. Sergio, teach Xabi some flirting lessons. Or how to text like a normal person, not like he’s constipated,” Iker said.
Sergio sniggered and then nodded his head. “Will do. We just have to make sure that they never leave each other’s side.”
Raul hummed in agreement. “We have to stick close, too. We don’t want it to get out to the others too soon, and we have to discuss tactics.”
“Ooh, tactics. You like that, no?” Sergio winked at Iker, rubbing the goalkeeper’s knee with the palm of his hand. Iker felt his cheeks reddening and promptly stood up, Sergio’s hand falling off his knee, the expression in his face likewise.
Raul eyed his two friends suspiciously but then decided to focus on one couple at a time.
+
“Alvaro?”
A shadow fell over his body and Alvaro straightened himself, feeling something in his chest swell as he saw Xabi standing in front of him.
“Xabi! Hey!” he exclaimed, almost cringing afterwards at how giddy he sounded to see the other man. “I-I mean uhm—what’s up?” he smiled wobbly.
Xabi nodded. “Good. Just, ehm. Good, I guess. Listen, Raul said you wanted to talk to me about something important?”
Alvaro felt heat rising to his cheeks and shot his gaze towards his friend on the other side of the field. The long defender was hurled together with Iker and Sergio, seemingly muttering to each other secretive. Alvaro’s mind went blank as he noticed Xabi still quizzically looking at him.
“Yeah, euh—I wanted to ask you if you want to watch a movie later? Back at the hotel,” he muttered.
Xabi seemed to lighten up a little. “You want to?” he asked. Shit, shit, shit. It’s way too close and romantic! Alvaro thought frantically.
“Yeah, well. Sergio and Iker and Raul are coming, too. Just thought maybe you want to join us?” he muttered quickly.
Xabi’s happy expression faltered a little and the Basque looked at his shoes. “Oh.”
Alvaro felt like the biggest dick on the planet. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I saw that there was a new Top Gear magazine coming out today, so I figured you probably want to read that tonight,” he tried to smile soothingly.
Xabi frowned. “I thought you hated Top Gear.”
“I do, I just know you like it—so that’s why I know that there is a new magazine coming out today,” Alvaro blurted.
Xabi averted his gaze, kicking the heels of his Adidas boots together. Alvaro let out a small whimper and scampered off towards Raul across the field.
He dragged the defender along by his arm, laying his head in the crook of his shoulder.
“I’m a creep,” he sobbed in his friend’s sweater. Raul shrugged him off and rolled his eyes. Alvaro always had a thing for dramatics.
“Yeah, nice song by Radiohead. Now, what did you do this time?” he asked, grinning at the helpless expression on Alvaro’s face.
“I asked him to watch a movie with me and then he went all Mesut-eyes on me so I blurted out that you and your new BFFs were coming, too. And then I said it was okay for him to go and read the new Top Gear magazine, and Raul! I shouldn’t know that sort of stuff, but I do! Oh, God. He must think I’m such a stalk-crazy,” Alvaro sighed, his shoulders slumping a little.
Raul smiled sympathetically at him, feeling a little bad for his friend who was obviously trying so hard to poke through Xabi’s exterior. He just did it very stupidly.
“Sshh, calm down. We’ll come to watch the movie with you and I will make sure Xabi comes as well, okay?” he suggested.
Alvaro’s face lit up. “Yes, you would do that for me?” he beamed.
Raul nodded. “Of course, love. Just—team up with him and try to act casual,” Raul smiled, gently turning Alvaro around, urging him to walk back towards Xabi.
+
“Okay, are we all set?” Iker asked, turning around in Raul and Alvaro’s room. They kept quiet to the other guys about the movie-night they were having, otherwise you would find the whole squad hurled together in front of the TV, eating Raul’s cookies.
Sergio came walking into the room, carrying a few pillows he’d dragged from his and Iker’s room. “Brought more pillows for the love-nest,” he beamed.
Iker grinned at him as the younger man placed the pillows against the headboard on the bed. Raul and Iker had pushed the beds together so that everything would fit. Sergio was sore from the game so he had demanded a spot on the bed, even if Xabi and Alvaro would start kissing, he said.
Raul had made himself a comfortable spot on the floor, against the bed and didn’t mind it. He had promised José Maria to come on Skype chat tonight so he would keep himself busy.
He had urged Iker to sit next to Sergio, under the pretence that Alvaro and Xabi wouldn’t feel freaked out if they sat on the bed together. But actually he was trying to set up two couples, and by the way Sergio had scooted a little closer when Iker sat down next to him, he figured that so far so good.
There was a knock on the door and Xabi walked inside, a folded Top Gear magazine underneath his arm. “Where’s Alvaro?” he asked immediately.
Iker and Sergio giggled softly at the man’s obvious behaviour, and nearly bit off their tongues when they saw how Alvaro’s face lit up when he also walked inside of the room.
“Oh, you came!” Alvaro smiled brightly.
Xabi stepped a little closer, too close almost, and smiled back. “I did.” They stared deeply at each other for a few seconds until they both seemed to realize they weren’t alone.
Xabi stepped back first, clearing his throat. Alvaro walked towards the shoved-together beds and flopped down onto it.
“What are we watching?” Xabi asked, kicking off his shoes before also sitting down onto the bed.
Iker and Sergio were inspecting the back of the DVD case. “Clash of the Titans,” Iker mumbled, a little distracted by the loose strand of hair which kept falling in Sergio’s face.
“Oh, nice!” Alvaro quipped. Xabi, who didn’t like fantasy or too much violence in movies, just hummed, glad he had taken his magazine with him.
Raul placed the DVD in the slide and a few seconds later the Universal logo was on the TV.
They stayed silent throughout the movie, only Sergio sometimes chipping in a witty comment. Xabi was trying hard to stay focused on the movie since it was one of Alvaro’s favourites but he just didn’t like the genre at all. His Top Gear magazine however was on the floor, since he was feeling quite content with Alvaro’s warm body against him. Alvaro’s hair smelled amazing and sometimes Xabi leaned in just slightly to take in the scent.
He noticed Alvaro’s eyelids dropping and tickled his side softly. “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly. Alvaro had been a little sick lately with the rainy weather in Madrid.
Alvaro nodded. “’m fine. Just a little tired and this is basically my bed,” he blushed.
Xabi opened his mouth to say something, but then Alvaro yawned again and laid his head slightly to the side, against Xabi’s shoulder, and he quickly tried to focus on something else.
Like the grin on Raul’s face as he was tapping fervently on the keys of his Macbook. Xabi wondered if he had even seen five minutes of the movie, because Raul’s eyes hadn’t left his laptop screen in what seemed like forever. As Alvaro maybe noticed how Xabi wasn’t planning on going anywhere, he felt the other man relaxing into his touch, his hair like feathers against the skin in Xabi’s neck.
Xabi swallowed hard, feeling the heat from Alvaro’s body radiating through his own and he peered sideways. Iker had fallen asleep, his head back against the wall and his mouth slightly open. Sergio was looking at him intensely, holding his finger up to his lips when he saw Xabi noticing the goalie’s state.
Sergio started tracing his finger along the vein in Iker’s arm which was prominent, pressing it here and there to feel the pulse. Sergio always said that Iker had a strong heart, and Xabi had never really known what that meant. He figured it was some poetic metaphor but as Sergio kept his finger placed on Iker’s wrist at the pulse point, Xabi started to wonder if there was something more behind it.
He felt Alvaro shifting a little and turned his head back towards his friend.
“Who is actually still watching the movie?” Alvaro smiled sleepily. Xabi felt the corners of his mouth pulling upwards whenever Alvaro smiled like that, and this time was no different.
“I’m not. But I wasn’t even watching to begin with,” he admitted, feeling a little woozy as he felt Alvaro’s warm breath on his neck.
Alvaro scoffed softly and shook his head, his hair sliding against Xabi’s skin. “You’re shivering, are you cold?” he asked, as he felt Xabi’s body tremble just for a second.
Xabi swallowed hard and shook his head. “Nah. It’s your hair, it… it tickles,” he blushed.
Alvaro moved to pull away but Xabi curled his fingers around his wrist to prevent him from doing so. “It’s nice,” he whispered.
Alvaro didn’t say anything but his lower lip wobbled a little and his eyes became a shade brighter as he laid his head back on Xabi’s shoulder. They stayed like that for a while, none of them actually watching the movie anymore. Iker was sound asleep, Sergio kept on looking at him, fleeting, feather light touches every now and then, and Raul kept tapping on his laptop.
The quiet lasted until there was some loud banging on the door. Raul peered over his shoulder and saw his four friends cuddled together, each with their secret-love.
“Fine, I’ll get it,” he sighed, scrambling a little to stay up on his legs. His knees were feeling a little numb from sitting cross-legged for over an hour and a half. The movie was still playing in the background but Alvaro didn’t pay attention to the heads which were being chopped off.
He walked towards the door and opened it, seeing Fernando and Juan with their arms crossed, standing in front of him.
“We can hear the TV from across the hotel,” Fernando said.
Raul nodded. “Sorry, sure. I’ll get the guys out of here and turn everything off.”
Juan and Fernando grinned and hugged him goodnight before scampering off again.
+
They won the match, of course. They were playing against Wales and Xabi loved everything about the game. Especially when, in the 67th minute, Alvaro made a great run forwards, passing the ball to Jesús. The blue-eyed boy then chipped the ball into the six yard box, and Alvaro curled it in the top-left corner.
The stadium erupted, and the players ran up to the tall Spaniard. Xabi was there first, making quite an impressive sprint towards Alvaro and hugged him tight against his chest. They only had each other for a few seconds. The erratic breaths which left their mouths hitting the neck of the other, arms tightening around waistlines and Xabi pressed his lips against the soft, sweaty flesh in Alvaro’s neck.
He thought he saw Alvaro’s eyes widening in pleasant surprise, but then they were enveloped by their teammates, claiming a hug and a high five from Alvaro. Xabi stuck around the group, hugging Fernando and then Villa.
When everyone walked back towards their own half, Xabi pressed his hand against the small of Alvaro’s back, leaning in to whisper in his ear, “You are fucking amazing.”
Alvaro turned around, his entire expression beaming in joy. His hair was plastered against his face from the sweat and the rain which was pouring down upon them. “You, too. Always,” he smiled back at Xabi.
+
“Iker?” Sergio walked into their room, looking around for his friend. “Are you in?”
Iker came walking out of the bathroom, zipping up his toiletry bag. “Oh, hey. Back already? I thought you were going to go out tonight for drinks with Xabi and Alvaro?”
Sergio shook his head. “I was, but then Raul suggested it would be better to leave them with each other. So he said that I should go and get you so we could do something together,” he smiled.
Iker raised his eyebrows. “Do something together? Like what?”
Sergio swayed his hips a little. “Something that involves lips, tongues and licking,” he smirked. Iker’s throat constricted, going dry suddenly. He cleared it and then looked a little forlorn at his friend.
“There’s this gelato bar down the street with the best ice cream ever, or so they say,” Sergio clarified.
Iker felt incredibly stupid and swallowed hard. “Oh.”
“So, what do you say? Want to try it out?” Sergio asked, a small shimmer in his eyes. Iker figured it was probably just the lighting that made Sergio’s eyes twinkle.
“Of course,” he smiled, grabbing his wallet from the bedside table. “My treat.”
The corners of Sergio’s mouth pulled up at that, and the young defender nudged Iker’s elbow as they walked out of their room. “What’s the occasion?” he smirked.
Iker leaned in a little, pressing a small kiss against Sergio’s clothed shoulder. “For your amazing defending today.”
+
“I’m sorry that it’s so busy everywhere,” Xabi mumbled as he and Alvaro walked through the streets.
The sun was setting, casting a orange beam over the roads. The shadows of the buildings concealed their presences enough so not many people recognised the two Spanish players strolling along the pavement.
“It’s okay. We should’ve known, right?” Alvaro smiled. Xabi nodded and they took a left turn into another street.
There was faint music coming from the bars and pubs along the road and people were standing outside on the pavement talking in small groups or smoking. Xabi pulled his hoodie over his head and Alvaro did the same. Xabi handed the bottle of beer they had bought in a small bodega a few blocks back to Alvaro and his friend took a sip.
They crossed the streets when the crowd got to tight and Alvaro felt tingles throughout his body when Xabi curled his fingers around his wrist, guiding him in a small alley, away from prying eyes. “Who knew it would be this busy,” Xabi breathed, his face hooded in the shadows of the two building against both of their backs.
“It is the World Cup after all,” Alvaro grinned.
Xabi nodded and took Alvaro’s hand. “I like it, though.”
Alvaro swallowed and smiled softly. “Me, too.”
They stood there for a few minutes until the crowd had thinned, and then they walked out of the alley. Xabi had thrown the empty bottle of beer in a garbage can and Alvaro was taking pictures of the setting sun.
Xabi was leaning against a building as Alvaro stood in the middle of the road to take his snapshots of the surroundings. He couldn’t help but feel something heavy settling down in his body as he watched his friend standing there. The sun defined his strong, lean body with a bright halo, his raven black hair swooshing a little in the wind. He had grown a stubble again and Xabi wanted nothing more than to trace his lips along the short strands of hair, feeling it against his sensitive skin.
Alvaro’s dark green shorts were tight-fitting because the wind pressed it close against his skin. Xabi could faintly see the outline of his cock and gulped. He didn’t avert his gaze however, he just kept looking. Alvaro’s calves were muscled and strong, a pair of Adidas shoes encased his feet. Xabi remembered the discussion they had had in the shop when Alvaro wanted to buy new shoes. Eventually, Alvaro had bought the Adidas shoes with a wink, “Just for you, okay?” and Xabi had gone speechless at those words.
Even now, a few weeks later, he was still not used to Alvaro’s ability to make him lose every sort of vocabulary he possessed. He felt heat surging down his chest, collecting in his groin. A small whimper left his lips as he tugged his shirt down, his knuckles grazing his cock slightly.
He kept silently watching Alvaro until the other Spaniard decided he had enough pictures and came scampering back towards him.
“We should get back to the hotel. It’s getting darker,” Xabi managed to get out.
Alvaro grinned and nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty tired.”
Xabi walked a little closer to him as they turned into another street on the way back to the hotel. “Scoring goals makes one tired, no?” he smiled.
Alvaro shot him a beaming smile back and slumped his arm around Xabi’s shoulder. “True, true.”
They were walking on the front steps towards the door of the hotel when Raul suddenly stepped outside. He looked a little disorientated and confused.
Alvaro stepped forward, his arm falling off Xabi’s shoulder and the Basque immediately missed the warm weight. “Raul?” Alvaro asked. “Everything alright?”
Raul shook his head, opening his mouth but no words were forming. His eyes were desperately darting back and forth, his breathing hitching a little.
“Raul, honey. Talk to me,” Alvaro stepped forward some more, his hand soothingly on Raul’s lower arm.
Raul seemed to snap back into reality a little and looked at Alvaro. “He’s here,” he only muttered.
Xabi stood still where he was, and looked around him. “Who is?” he asked.
Alvaro turned around towards Xabi and shot him a pleading glance as he quirked his head towards the hotel. Xabi got the hint and removed his presence. He tried not to feel a little secluded and disappointed at the way Alvaro almost literally sent him away.
He peered over his shoulder one more time to see Alvaro enveloping Raul in a comforting hug. Xabi met his eyes and shot him a small smile before walking inside the hotel.
+
When Xabi was out of sight, Alvaro pulled back slightly to look at his friend. “Raul, bon-bon, what is going on?” he asked.
Raul looked at his feet and wriggled his phone out of his pocket. Alvaro took it from him and unlocked the screen. The message app was still open and Alvaro looked at the text for a few seconds.
“Calleti’s here?” he eventually whispered.
Raul nodded, still not meeting his gaze. “Scroll down.”
Alvaro did and then sucked in a sharp breath as he read the other text. “He’s coming here for you.” Alvaro breathed out again and looked at Raul, who was fidgeting with his fingers.
Alvaro grabbed Raul’s upper arms and made him look up. “Isn’t that amazing? That’s what you wanted, right?” he beamed.
Raul shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t get it. Why are you not over the moon right now?”
Raul sighed and met Alvaro’s gaze. “Because it means something, Alvaro. And we only had sex once, months ago, and now he suddenly says he’s in Brazil, for me? I don’t even know what to think of that. We never talked about that night, and I figured he must’ve forgotten it because you know how bad his memory is whenever he drinks too much.”
Alvaro hummed in agreement and looked at the text again, a new one coming in just that second. “New text,” he muttered, handing the phone to Raul, who took it eagerly.
“He’s in a cab. From the airport, to this hotel,” Raul breathed out, shoulders slumping a little.
Alvaro stroked Raul’s cheek with his thumb and smiled encouragingly. “He must really like you, Raul. In the same way as you like him. That’s good, right?” he asked.
Raul shifted from one feet to the other. “I guess. But this also means that we’re going to need to talk about that night. And I’m not good with talking about my feelings.”
“Then, when he steps out of the cab, you take him back to our room and I will sleep somewhere else for the night. Just, take your space and talk to him. No pressure,” Alvaro offered.
Raul’s eyes softened and he hugged his slightly smaller friend tight to his chest. “Thank you,” he muttered in the crook of Alvaro’s neck.
“It’s okay. You’ve heard me rant about Xabi non-stop for two years now, this is the least I can do,” Alvaro smiled.
Raul pulled back and grinned softly at him. “Yeah, about that. I think you should go see your man because he looked like a lost puppy when you sent him away.”
Alvaro frowned. “I didn’t send him away,” he sputtered.
Raul shrugged. “That’s probably how he felt it. So, go up and beg Xabi for his forgiveness. Maybe you can spend the night with him,” he smirked.
“Xabi’s rooming with—”
“No one,” Raul cut him off. “He has the single room, remember. So, no more excuses and get your ass up there.”
Alvaro cracked a smile and patted Raul on his shoulder. “Same goes for you. And if Calleti screams out your name in climax for the whole hotel to hear, I’m not the one covering for you.”
Raul scoffed. “No, because Xabi’s shouting will overrule José’s anyway,” he pointed out.
Alvaro just chuckled and walked away, leaving Raul on the steps of the hotel, waiting for the arrival of his other friend.
+
Xabi startled a little when he heard the knocking on his door. He peered at the clock on his bedside table which read 22:05 and groaned a little. His muscles were aching from the game and he was supposed to get up at six tomorrow for a recovery massage. He scrambled out of the bed, turned the lights on and opened the door.
Alvaro was standing in front of him, toiletry bag wedged underneath his arm, iPhone in his hand and the handle of his suitcase in the other.
“Uhm,” Xabi said.
Alvaro blushed slightly. “Can I stay in here tonight? I kind of promised Raul that he could have the room for himself.”
Xabi frowned. “Did you guys get into a fight outside?” he asked.
Alvaro quickly shook his head. “No, nothing like that. It’s—it’s a little hard to explain, but I do want to. But not while I’m standing outside in the hallway with my toiletry bag slipping from under my arm,” he smiled sheepishly.
Xabi stepped aside to let the other man in and gently took the toiletry bag out from under Alvaro’s arm to prevent it from falling. Xabi placed the bag on the desk and watched as Alvaro struggled to pull his huge suitcase into the room.
“There’s only one bed in here?” Alvaro asked.
Xabi shrugged. “What else were you thinking—single room, single bed. Duh,” he smiled.
Alvaro cracked a grin and opened his suitcase. “Guess I’ll have to make myself comfortable on the floor, then?” he smirked and then disappeared into the bathroom with his toiletry bag which he quickly snatched from the desk and his pyjama bottoms in his other hand.
The door was locked before Xabi could tell him that there was plenty enough room for the two of them in his bed.
+
“That was some delicious ice cream,” Sergio stated, still licking his lips to keep on savouring the sweet taste.
“Will you just stop doing that!” Iker blurted.
Sergio startled, his tongue still halfway out of his mouth. He looked at his flushed friend who was tugging his hands deep inside the pockets of his shorts. “Okay, okay. Sorry, I’ll stop complimenting the ice cream. Fucking hell,” Sergio moped, walking over towards his suitcase. He heard Iker sigh his regret-sigh.
“Sorry, Sese. It’s just…” Iker’s voice trailed off.
Sergio straightened himself again, raising his eyebrows to hear the rest of the sentence. “It’s just… what?” he asked.
“Your tongue is distracting,” Iker deadpanned. Sergio nearly swallowed it.
“Huh?”
“The way you lick your ice cream and your lips, it’s distracting me. It makes me want to kiss you,” Iker mumbled, crossing his arms.
Sergio laughed an airily, free laugh and eventually smiled tenderly at Iker. “Kiss me, Iker? Seriously?” he asked, walking closer to his friend.
Iker’s cheeks reddened and he averted Sergio’s chocolate eyes. “Never mind,” he muttered.
Sergio smiled, his features softening at Iker’s uncomfortableness. “Hey,” he whispered, reaching up to trace his index-finger along Iker’s jaw, turning it so he could see his eyes. “I do understand what you mean, though.”
It was just a sentence. Consisting of six meaningless words. But as their eyes met again, both of the men knew that is was more. Sergio didn’t just get how Iker was turned on because of his lips. Sergio understood. He had the same feelings Iker did.
Iker felt heat surging through him as Sergio cupped his face with both his hands, leaning in a little. Iker was against the wall, silently awaiting what was coming. Sergio felt Iker’s breath on his lips, and he parted them slightly as he pressed them onto Iker’s.
Iker let out a soft sigh as he felt the younger man’s plump lips against his own, finally. The faint taste of the strawberry ice cream was now also sticking to his own lips and he desperately licked Sergio’s lower lip, wanting him to open up.
As his tongue explored the wet, hot cavern of Sergio’s mouth, he felt himself growing bolder with every happy sigh Sergio breathed out. He pulled back a little to look him in the eyes again.
“Okay?” he whispered.
Sergio didn’t give him confirmation in words, he just pressed their lips together again, taking away Iker’s breath.
+
Raul gulped a little as he saw a taxi pulling up the curb in front of the hotel. The driver of the taxi got out first and then the door in the back opened.
Raul felt a strange wave of tension leave his body as soon as he saw José Maria’s smile. He trotted down the marble steps to meet his friend halfway, tightening their arms around each other in a hug.
“I’m sorry I surprised you. I just missed you so much,” José Maria whispered in his ear.
Raul pulled back from the hug only to smile tenderly at his friend. “I missed you, too.”
José Maria smiled at him again before turning around to the cabdriver. He handed him the money and took his suitcase. Raul instantly took the suitcase from him, and even though José Maria sputtered, he didn’t let the smaller man carry it up the steps. “What a lovely hotel,” he remarked as he looked at the building.
Raul just nodded, impatient to finally get to the room and act freely. There were no paparazzi around the hotel now, but who knew what would happen if anyone would see and take our their phones?
Raul thanked the universe for the elevator being empty because he immediately crowded into José Maria’s space, kissing his lips softly. Like a reminder.
The elevator doors parted too soon and they stared into the eyes of Pepe Reina and David Villa who seemed totally oblivious to the world surrounding them. They eventually turned their heads and the four men stared at each other for a few seconds.
“We didn’t see anything,” Villa said, smiling mischievously.
Raul cracked a grin and José Maria smiled shyly. “Neither did we.”
They stepped aside to let David and Villa into the elevator and walked out of it themselves. “Have fun,” Pepe winked just before the doors closed again.
“Villa seems nicer when he is with Pepe,” José Maria remarked as they walked through the hallway.
Raul smiled in agreement. “True. Pepe’s his better half. They are like—the dream couple in La Roja,” he explained as he swiped his key-card through the reader and he pushed the door open.
“You’re sleeping alone?” José Maria asked, placing his small suitcase in the corner of the room.
Raul shook his head. “I’m rooming with Alvaro, but he went to Xabi’s. Told me to take the space to figure things out. Between us,” Raul muttered, scratching the nape of his neck.
José Maria smiled and stepped into his space. “We can talk later,” he promised.
Raul raised his eyebrows and instinctively wrapped his arms around his friend’s waist as their chests collided. “What do you want to do now, then?” he asked softly.
José Maria reached up on his tiptoes and closed the distance between them.
+
“So, Chori and Calleti? Really?” Xabi asked in disbelief. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, Alvaro next to him.
“It’s true. They had sex once and now all Raul thinks about is him,” Alvaro nodded.
Xabi scoffed. “How romantic.”
Alvaro nudged his ribs with his elbow, Xabi flinching a little at the contact. “They’re in love. Calleti flew all the way here for him. That is indeed called romance, Xabier Alonso,” he stated.
Xabi raised his eyebrows in amusement. “You sound jealous, Alvaro Arbeloa,” he teased. He didn’t expect to see Alvaro’s facial expression fall, but as it did, he instantly felt bad.
Alvaro scooted away from him a little, peering at the lights on the buildings across the street. “So what if I am?” Xabi heard him whisper, more to himself than to him. “It’s not like I will ever find that kind of romance.”
Xabi knew it shouldn’t feel this way but it did. Like a dagger cutting through him. He turned sideways towards Alvaro, but his friend didn’t meet his eyes as he kept looking out the window.
“Alvaro.. what does that mean?” he whispered.
Alvaro just shrugged slightly. “It means like I said it. Romance isn’t for everyone.”
Xabi felt confused and frowned a little. “You mean that not everyone finds love?” he asked.
Alvaro scoffed softly. “If you never find love, you should consider yourself lucky. The worst is finding someone you love, but never getting any feelings in return,” he mumbled.
Xabi felt his heart sinking in his knees as he knew Alvaro was talking about him. But Alvaro didn’t know that he knew. Alvaro had no clue that Xabi had read the messages, so he had no idea what his words did to the red-haired man.
Xabi took Alvaro’s hand in his own, rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb. “Alvaro. I know you’re in love with me,” he whispered.
Alvaro’s head snapped back, his eyes large. “What?” he choked out.
Xabi sighed deeply, scooting a little closer to envelop the dark haired man in his arms to prevent him from running away again. “I accidently saw the messages. The ones to my mom,” Xabi whispered.
Alvaro’s breathing hitched. “F-Fuck. Xabi… Xabi, I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
Xabi shook his head, silencing his friend by putting his index finger on his lips. “Don’t. It is me who should be apologising. Alvaro, deep down I always somehow knew that you had feelings for me. But I.. I’m a coward. I didn’t step up to face my own feelings,” Xabi sighed, looking at his feet.
He felt Alvaro shifting a little closer in his arms and he looked up again to meet his eyes. “What kind of feelings?” Alvaro muttered carefully.
Xabi closed his eyes as he pressed his lips softly against Alvaro’s. No movement, no tongue. Just the gently touch of their lips together.
When he pulled back, he saw Alvaro’s eyes beaming. “My feelings for you. I… I’m in love with you, Alvaro,” Xabi whispered.
Alvaro sucked in a sharp breath and nodded. He just nodded for a few seconds without saying anything. “Me?” he murmured, leaning in closer to Xabi.
“You. From now on, it will always be you.”
Xabi felt the air being knocked out of his lungs as their lips met again. This time they searched out the touches, the kiss deepening with every movement they made.
Alvaro’s hands found their way underneath Xabi’s shirt and they moved together as they stood up. They stumbled a little over their own feet as they moved to the wall to turn of the light and then back towards the bed.
Xabi fell down onto his back, Alvaro laying on top of him. The weight was warm and heavy in a pleasant way and even though it was the first time, it had felt more right and more familiar to Xabi than anything else. Alvaro was different from everyone he had been with. Alvaro knew the real him.
Every part, every square inch, Alvaro mapped it out that night, kissing Xabi’s body like they had all the time in the world.
Later, when they were both sweaty and their hair was tousled, they were catching their breaths, chests heaving up and down, they kept on kissing languidly.
Their bare legs were entangled and Alvaro spooned Xabi from behind as they whispered sweet nothings to each other in their post-sex haze. They never fell asleep without each other ever again.
+
They didn’t win the World Cup in the end.
Germany and Brazil were head to head in a searing final, and Germany eventually walked off with the cup on board of their plane. Alvaro was happy for Sami and Mesut, and he even went as far to send Schweinsteiger a message with his congratulations. Xabi had smiled tenderly at that, because it was typically Alvaro to still feel bad about that night they won the European Cup in 2008 and went through the mixed zone in a conga line.
They convinced each other that they were still independent and individual people, but in reality, they knew they weren’t. They moved in together when Alvaro’s house was flooded because of the rain, and the only time Alvaro went back, was to pack his stuff. They sat together on the bus, on the airplane and didn’t voluntarily leave each other’s side when it wasn't necessary.
Bad times, those were there as well. They fought about things, but mostly it was about Alvaro being too flirty with others. Whenever Xabi mentioned that, Alvaro would shut himself down inside his shell. They also fought about the times when Xabi didn’t call whenever he was called up for the NT and Alvaro wasn’t.
Xabi still thought that was the worst day of his life, when he had gone to England and Alvaro didn’t trust him enough to believe he didn’t went home with Steven after the match. It had taken a long time to convince Alvaro that he was the only man for Xabi, but they were moving forward. Still with baby steps, but whenever Xabi woke up to Alvaro’s morning stubble and his sleepy smiles, he knew every argument, every ignored call, it had all been worth it.
Because he finally found a place where he belonged. That place was everywhere. Everywhere Alvaro was, he felt at home.
Alvaro was his home.
THE END.