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Cris finds Leo easily.
It shouldn't be this easy. Should it?
Still, somehow Cris manages to track him down in a giant airport full of different terminals and gates. That alone is impressive, and Cris pats himself on the back because there are also thousands of people here and finding one little Argentine should be an impossible task in such an unfamiliar place. Cris can't quite recall how long he's been searching, but at some point, he blinks and realizes he's found Leo.
It's obvious that Leo's hiding, hoodie pulled up over his hair, slim figure turned away from most of the other people waiting for their flights. He looks like he's wearing pajamas, however, and he's tucked away in the corner, barely visible. It's like he's attempting to fit in with the anonymous faces spread out on the seats all around him. His teammates and coach are nowhere in sight, which is probably what he wants right at this moment.
The familiar Argentina travel bag is on the seat beside Leo, but when he catches Cris' eye, he shoves it to the ground and gestures toward the now empty seat. "Finally," he murmurs as Cris approaches.
Cris effortlessly slides into the seat, stretching his long legs out in front of him and slouching so that he's on Leo's level. He sets his bag down on the seat next to him. "Well, I'm here now." He can't remember what he said when he ditched his own teammates, but he's not in the mood to hear anything about the game they'd just played. "Exhausted, but I'm here." His feet are aching and he thinks about toeing off his shoes, but instead, he bends down to loosen the laces.
Leo smiles, but it's strained. "Who would have thought it?" he asks humorlessly. He turns away from Cris and looks out at the jetway. He can see a few planes lined up, but their gate is currently empty. He pulls his hands into his sleeves until they disappear, fingers curling like he wishes he could disappear too.
"Thought what?" Cris asks after he straightens up, even though he's pretty sure he knows where this conversation is headed. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a water he'd bought at one of the newsstands. He taps it against Leo's knee to get his attention. "Want one?" he asks, indicating that he has a second in his bag.
Leo shakes his head, so Cris simply opens his water and takes a sip. "Thought what?" Cris repeats after he swallows. The water isn't satisfying him, his mouth parched for some reason. He feels like he's just woken up after being asleep for hours.
Leo tilts his head back toward Cris, his hood falling down over his eyes for a minute. "That we'd both be here at the same time." He throws his arms up and as his hands reappear, he waves them around at the airport and the crowd of people. "I mean," he continues when Cris looks at him curiously, "my game finished before yours even started. And, we went straight to the airport afterward, right? So it's weird that we are both here together at all."
Cris mulls that over. "You have a point," he says, taking another sip of water. He looks out at the faceless people streaming in front of them, all in a hurry to get someplace or another. A woman chattering on her cell phone passes them, speaking in Russian, and Cris waits until she's out of earshot. "I guess, maybe if the airport isn't that busy, they don't have that many flights out... So if you think about it that way... Even though you had a three-hour head start, it's still possible we'd be taking the same flight."
Leo sighs, resting his head against the back of the seat. "Yeah, and with delays," he concedes. "I guess you're right." He yawns. "I'm so tired," he says. "Can't think straight." He closes his eyes like he's about to fall asleep, neck rolling from side to side like he wants to find a comfortable spot.
Cris takes another sip of water, wishing he had some chips or something. No need to stick to his diet now. Then again, his crunching might keep Leo awake, and that wouldn't be very nice at all. "Although," he says, half to himself as opposed to Leo, "it's a little odd we're at the same airport. Isn't it?"
Leo opens his eyes slowly. "What do you mean?"
Cris hums. "Well, I played at Fisht Stadium. In Sochi." He nods his head, remembering the place very well. "And you were at Kazan Arena in Kazan," he says, just as sure. "They aren't exactly near each other." He doesn't know the geography of Russia that well, but he knows that much.
"Oh," Leo said, sounding drowsy and confused. "So theoretically, I'd leave from Kazan Airport. And you'd leave from Sochi Airport. Huh." He thinks hard for a minute. "Okay," he says like he's trying to work through it. "But you know, we were based in Bronnitsy. So I could have gone from Kazan back to Bronnitsy. I mean seems like a pretty pointless hour and a half flight, or so." He scratches his forehead and pulls out his phone. He taps the screen a few times and pulls up a map. "Wait, then I would have left from an airport near there... Domodedovo Moscow Airport, Vnukovo International Airport, or Sheremetyevo International Airport."
Cris squints at his screen, his tired eyes fighting against the glare. "Your accent is terrible, but... I think you're onto something. Portugal's base was in Kratovo. So if we took a two-hour flight from Sochi to get back to there... I mean, it's in the same general area as Bronnitsy, so we would have left from one of those three airports you just mentioned."
"I mean," Leo says, "we'd have to somehow both have picked the same airport out of those three." He taps his phone against his lips aimlessly and then leans his head back again. "Not awful odds, I guess," he says, shoving his phone into his hoodie's pocket over his stomach.
Cris agrees. "Oh," he says, sitting up straight. The stupid airport chairs are starting to hurt his back. Almost like those awful mattresses he's been sleeping on for the past few weeks. Honestly, he can't wait until he's back in his own bed. He's going to sleep for days. "It makes sense though, right, because we're both going to the same place, and we'd want to get home as soon as possible. So we'd aim for the same airport for that specific flight, I'm sure."
Leo shifts his weight, mimicking Cris' posture. "You're right," he concedes. "No need to stick around here, anymore. I've seen enough of Russia to last me a lifetime, I think. And since we're both going to the same place--"
"Madeira," Cristiano says longingly, imagining the brilliant golden sun and the beautiful sounds of the Portuguese language.
"--Buenos Aires," Leo says precisely at the same time.
They pause and look at each other. "Oh," Leo says. "Okay, um, not the same place."
A golf cart drives by them in the aisle, blasting a burst of foreign music making them jump. It's both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time and Cristiano has the strangest feeling that he's heard it before. On the radio somewhere.
"Wait," Cristiano says, pointing at Leo. "If we were both going to Spain, of course, that would be different. We don't actually have to go back to our own countries. Why should I go to Madeira when I live in Spain? And why should you go to Buenos Aires when you live in Spain too? It makes sense that we would both go back to Spain."
Leo looks relieved. "Yes, you're right. We're both going to--"
"Madrid," Cristiano says.
"--Barcelona," Leo says at the same time.
This time, Cris is the one who says, "Oh." He exhales loudly. "Well, that didn't make much sense." He shakes his head, thudding his head back onto his headrest. "God, I'm too tired to figure this out." He chugs the rest of his water, tossing the empty bottle into a recycling near their seats. "I'm just going to close my eyes for a little bit. If that's okay with you."
"Of course. Me too," Leo agrees. He leans back, turning slightly toward Cris. "Just for a little while, right?" His eyes are already closing, lashes fluttering slowly as his voice lowers to a whisper.
Cris shuts his eyes too. "Right. Just a little nap. Don't want to miss the flight." His head tips back, mirroring Leo's posture, and he folds his hands across his stomach as he tries to relax. The last thing he remembers is his knee gently touching Leo's.
*And then he wakes up.*
Cris groans, blinking blindly into the darkness. For a second, he doesn't know where he is. Then he stretches his arms above his head and his palms hit the headboard. "Oh, yeah," he says, rolling his neck as he tries to find a more comfortable spot on the pillow. Beside him, Leo's curled into his chest, hair tickling his shoulder.
There might also be a little bit of drool.
"What's the matter?" Leo mutters, yawning. "Did you have a nightmare? Can't have been worse than what actually happened today." He reaches above his head and pulls Cris' arm back down around them, shivering slightly. "Unless it was about that horrible movie you made me watch earlier. Go back to sleep. I'm not moving until the sun's up. That means you're not moving either."
Cris scratches his nose with his free hand. "Ugh," he says, other arm settling back around Leo's body, fingers stroking down an arm he knows is decorated with black swirls and colorful flowers. "That's fine with me. But no, it wasn't about the movie, I just had the strangest dream."
Leo merely hums, half interested.
Cris' voice is gravelly with sleep, and his mouth is dry--now he knows why that bottle of water didn't refresh him at all--but he laughs. "We met at the airport today. After our games. And we were trying to figure out flights and destinations and how the timing all worked out, and it was pretty confusing actually." He licks his lips, trying to remember what else they'd talked about.
Leo mutters something into Cris' side that's muffled. Then he turns his head slightly. "Why would we meet at the airport when we could just get a hotel room? That doesn't make any sense." He sounds adorably confused, grumbling something else about how he hates airports.
It involves something about luggage and peanuts and going through security without shoes.
Cris hugs him close, trying not to laugh at Leo's feeble complaints. "I didn't say it made sense," he says, smiling slightly. "It was just strange, that's all. Don't worry about it. Go back to sleep." He fumbles down beneath them and tugs the sheets back up so that they're nearly completely covered. "If you're grumpy in the morning, it'll be your own fault."
Leo eventually stops mumbling, breath evening out as he falls into sleep again. Cris holds him tightly, closing his eyes. This time, when he falls asleep, lulled by Leo's soft breaths puffing against his side, he doesn't dream.