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Soft music plays in the background when Toni steps out of the elevator into the hotel lobby. There’s hardly anyone around anymore, the lights already dimmed for the night and it’s just the kind of quiet he was looking for. His eyes wander across the hall until they land on Lucas lounging on one of the plush sofas and his feet are in motion even before his teammate waves him over with a smile.
He settles into the plush pillows and busies himself with his phone while Lucas finishes up his conversation. And even after the call has ended they stay mostly silent, enjoying the last moments of calm before the stress and turmoil of game day will descend on them tomorrow.
He’s in the middle of typing out a message to his brother when Lucas suddenly elbows him in the side. “Isn’t that Piqué over there?” he asks and Toni looks up reluctantly, mostly for the urgency in Lucas’ voice. Personally, he couldn’t care less about Gerard Piqué.
“I guess it is,” he admits after only a brief glance towards the reception.
“What is he even doing here?”
Toni shrugs. “Taking a day trip? Who knows,” It’s really none of his business what Piqué does in his spare time, even if it seems a little odd that out of all the hotels in London he just happened to show up in the one they’re staying at. Nonetheless he has other things to worry about.
He’s about to turn his attention back to his phone, back to the abruptly abandoned conversation with his brother when Lucas nudges him again.
“He’s coming over,” he whispers.
“This is going to be interesting,” Toni mutters under his breath, eyes fixed on the newest message and they stay fixed on the screen even as Piqué stops right in front of them, exchanging polite greetings with Lucas.
He only half listens to the rapid Spanish, eavesdropping never something he particularly cared for. That is until...
“I need you to tell me Sergio’s room number.”
“No.” he says calmly, not even bothering to draw his gaze away from his phone. It’s a ridiculous request at best.
“I need to talk to him.” Gerard’s voice sounds frantic and Toni does look up then. There’s a strangely urgent look in Gerard’s eyes.
“No.”
“It’s important. I really need to talk to him,” Gerard insists.
Toni fixes him with a steely gaze. “Not going to happen.”
“Why?” Something flares in Pique’s eyes, but then he just collapses in on himself, a look of sheer desperation and hopelessness spreading across his features. In other circumstances, Toni would feel bad for him, but this is Gerard Piqué and they have an important match tomorrow.
Toni sighs. “Everyone knows that the two of you hate each other. You mess with him often enough. Do you really think we’ll let you see him the night before a match?”
“That’s a new low even for you,” Lucas interjects, his voice tinged with hostility. “Coming to London just to screw with us.” He’s leaning threateningly towards Gerard and Toni suppresses a groan.
“Calm down,” he puts a reassuring hand on Lucas shoulder, gently pushes him back into his seat. A visible fight in the middle of a public hotel lobby is the last thing any of them need. “I think it’s best if you leave.”
“Hold on.” Gerard fumbles for his phone and Toni tunes out the rapid-fire conversation that ensues in favor of exchanging questioning glances with Lucas, but his teammate looks about as confused about the whole situation as he feels.
He almost jumps when Gerard’s phone is suddenly thrust into his face. “Someone wants to talk to you,” the defender says, gloating.
Toni accepts the phone with a frown furrowing his brows. “Yeah?”
“Toni?”
He startles at the familiar but definitely unexpected voice on the other end of the line. “Sergio?”
“Yeah, listen. About Geri. It’s fine. You can let him up.”
Toni’s frown deepens. “Are you sure that’s a wise idea?”
“Just trust me.”
There’s a part of him that wants to object, because this whole thing has all the warning signs of a very bad idea, but it’s really not his place to tell his captain what to do. “If you say so,” he concedes and hangs up, handing the phone back to a triumphantly grinning Pique.
“Told you so.”
Toni heaves himself off the couch. “Yeah well, i’m not letting you go up there on your own.”
---------
Allthough he was expecting it, Sergio still startles at the sudden knock on his door. He rolls out of bed with a tired groan and shuffles across the room. So much for going to bed early.
He opens the door and almost bursts out laughing at Toni and Lucas lingering in the hallway behind Gerard, trying to look threatening.
“What are those two doing here?” he asks Gerard, grinning from ear to ear.
“Apparently they don’t trust me.”
Sergio laughs. “Can’t fault them.” He nudges Gerard towards the door and turns to his teammates. “You can go. I can handle him.”
Toni’s expression is caught somewhere between displeased and mildly disapproving and Lucas is just flat out scowling at him, but he decides to ignore both of them in favor of pushing Gerard fully into his room. The sooner he gets whatever this is over with, the sooner he can go back to sleep.
He shuts the door and secures the lock, turning around to say something but then he just stops and stares as Gerard paces around his room like a lunatic.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Where is he?” Gerard comes back from his investigation of the empty bathroom, his voice accusing.
“Who?” Sergio rubs his face tiredly. Somehow he feels like he’s missing something. Meanwhile Gerard is still rushing around the room, looking behind curtains and under the bed.
“Llorente,” the closet rattles as Gerard slams the door roughly.
“Why would Llorente be in my closet?” Sergio rolls his eyes. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I just thought...,” Gerard sinks down onto the edge of Sergio’s mattress. “He was all over you during your last game.”
“What?” Sergio frowns. “I’ve barely talked to him for more than five minutes,” he sits down next to Gerard, his fingers itching to touch the other man, to reassure him, but he reluctantly decides against it. It’s not what they do. “Did you come all the way to London just because of Llorente?”
Gerard shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Wait,” Sergio turns to face Gerard. “Are you jealous?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Oh, you so are,” Sergio smirks and ducks away when Gerard swats weakly at him. He still somehow ends up in a headlock, his face pressed against Gerard’s chest.
“Can’t you be serious for five minutes?” Gerard complains, but he’s grinning, arms tightening around Sergio.
“Let me go,” Sergio laughs, flailing in Gerard’s hold until he manages to wrench one of his arms free, instantly moving in to tickle the other man mercilessly.
Gerard’s hold around his neck immediately loosens as he tries to fend off Sergio’s hands. “Not fair,” he chokes out.
Sergio stretches out on the bed, still giggling. “Are you finally gonna admit that you’re jealous?”
“Maybe, but only a little,” Gerard falls down beside him, “Can i stay here tonight?”
Sergio turns onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow. “You know that we can’t…..,” he gestures vaguely. “I have a game tomorrow.”
“I know,” Gerard mirrors his posture, so they’re facing each other on the bed. “I didn’t come here for sex.”
“Why did you come here then?” Sergio mumbles. There’s something in Gerard’s eyes that makes him inexplicably shy. They never do this. They don’t just talk and they definitely don’t ever have even remotely emotional conversations. They tease each other, they rile each other up and sometimes they fuck. They’ve had the same arrangement for years and it’s always worked out perfectly. At least for the most part.
Gerard shrugs. “So you’re not sleeping with Llorente?”
“No,” Sergio groans. “I’m not sleeping with Llorente or anyone else but you for that matter.”
“You’re not?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Sergio frowns. “What are you trying to say?” There’s something about Gerard’s behavior that he can’t quite put a finger on, something that’s making him feel rather uneasy. He can’t shake the feeling that they’re treading close to a territory he’d rather not explore too closely.
He startles when Gerard suddenly jumps up and starts pacing at the foot of the bed. “I’m trying to say that i don’t want you to sleep with anyone else,” he confesses angrily.
For the longest time Sergio doesn’t know what to say. He forces himself into a sitting position, forces himself to look at Gerard even though his heart is pounding fitfully in his chest “Why?” he croaks out, afraid of the answer even before the words are out, hit with the certainty that no matter the answer this will most likely be the end of their arrangement. His stomach lurches painfully at the thought.
“Because i hate this,” Gerard waves his arms around helplessly. “I hate this whole stupid arrangement. I don’t want it anymore. I want to be able to see you whenever i want to, i don’t want to be just another warm body you use when it’s convenient for you. I don’t want to see you all over someone else and then spend the rest of the night wondering if he’s currently sharing your bed. I want to be the one in your bed and the one who you call after games no matter how late it is, just because you feel like talking. God, I know it’s not what we decided on, but i can’t do this anymore. I want more,” he scratches his neck nervously. “Sergio...i...i’m…,” he stutters, cheeks stained red.
“Geri,” Sergio’s voice is soft, the pressure in his chest suddenly easing up and being replaced by a rush of warmth. “Come here.”
He tugs Gerard into bed with him, a faint smile on his lips as their eyes meet. “You don’t need to say it,” he pushes his hands into Gerard’s hair. “I know,” he whispers and kisses him gently. “Me too.”
-------
Thank God he brought the master key, Toni thinks, when he finds the door to Sergio’s room locked. It’s not unusual for their captain to be late for breakfast, but he’s never missed it altogether, something that especially doesn’t sit right with him after Gerard’s surprise visit last night.
The curtains are still drawn as he steps into the room.
“Sergio?” he asks carefully, but the huge lump of blanket on the bed doesn’t move, only soft snores audible in the room.
He moves closer, gently shaking the shoulder that’s peeking out from under the sheets, almost jumping in surprise when not one but two heads appear from under the blanket.
“What is it?” Sergio groans, but Toni barely hears him, too busy gaping at Piqué who looks entirely too comfortable in Sergio’s bed for his tastes.
“You missed breakfast,” he mumbles absentmindedly, his eyes widening in horror, when Sergio moves to push the blanket off to get out of bed. “Please, don’t…,” he says hastily, but Sergio only laughs.
“Relax,” he grins. “I’m decent.” He moves into a sitting position at the edge of the bed and much to Toni’s relief he’s actually dressed, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.
“Man, your face,” Sergio laughs. “I’m not that irresponsible to have sex right before a game.”
Toni shudders. Some things he’d prefer not to know or even think about, but then, thankfully the unpleasant thought gets pushed to the side by another one. “Wait?” he frowns. “Don’t you two hate each other?”
The frown grows even more pronounced when both Sergio and Piqué suddenly start to laugh. “We really don’t,” Sergio eventually manages to choke out between giggles.
“Not for a long time,” Gerard adds before he moves over to press a soft kiss to Sergio’s cheek.
There’s something almost surreal to the scene unfolding in front of him, all the adoring glances and soft caresses almost making him dizzy and he’s never seen Sergio look this affectionately at anyone.
“So are you two a couple?” he finds himself asking, decidedly against his better judgement and definite way too early in the morning to deal with revelations of this magnitude.
Sergio hesitates for only a moment before his head turns towards Gerard and Toni watches as their eyes meet, a silent argument held entirely without words and when Sergio turns back to him, his eyes are soft with warmth and shining with happiness. “I guess we are now.”
There’s a jolt of curiosity in his gut, one that he attributes entirely to hanging out with Lucas too much. But he quenches the urge quickly and heads to the door instead. There’s only so much he can take this early in the morning and watching his captain and Gerard Piqué cuddle in bed is definitely not on the list.
“We’ve got a team meeting in an hour,” he says instead of a goodbye, but the information gets lost in the soft sounds of kissing.
He closes the door behind himself with a soft click, determined to never get mixed up in any of his teammates business ever again.