Work Text:
Stef hates that he did it again.
It was bad enough he lost first round two years ago, against a player he'd beaten so easily on this surface before.
He could say it was inevitable. Between dealing with being so close to being a French Open champion and dealing with the loss of his grandma, prepping for grass was not at the forefront of his mind quickly enough.
Frances was ready. He wasn't. Simple as that.
He returns to the hotel hours later, hearing a commotion in the lobby. He didn't want to deal with the nuances of the bubble but it was tennis on the TV not football so it would be simple to narrow it down shortly.
He gets to the room, clicks on the television and uses it as background noise.
He catches phrases. Losing a set from 5-0. How... The commentators sound flabbergasted, sputtering out sentences in an effort to explain. McEnroe has seen it all and he can't figure out whatever is going on.
He looks at the screen. Andy. On his home court. The crowd is as anxious as the commentators. Especially once Stef sees the scoreline and figures out where the "5-0" was in this match.
He has never been so thankful that he's opted for doubles. As soon as Petros sees what he's watching, he knows he's going to get teased. But Stef reasons he absolutely must watch this as no one knows when will be the last time he's on Centre Court and this still needs to savored.
Due to Andy's own health issues and Stef's busy schedule, he hasn't really had time to deal with his silly teenage crushing in adult form. While he's played against (or at worst, practiced with) nearly every elite player on the tour, Andy has not been an option.
He's technically had one conversation with Andy, the video game Madrid event last year. Stef's indifference regarding controllers led to Andy's love of trash talking while the event was getting organized. Stef wishes that hadn't been their starting point but there's nothing he could do to change that. The moment was there and then gone as Goffin interrupted Andy about some other rule that seemed obscure at the time.
It did lead him to say in an Instagram Q&A that Andy is the funniest player on tour, maybe the only moment in print which could be questioned regarding his crush. It seems odd he hasn't even had much reason to talk about Andy, which might be the biggest bummer of all.
Maybe then it would be a secret known amongst others on the tour. At the very least, it should have happened when he was hanging around Nick. Everyone on tour knows about Nick's undying love for the Brit, but that's due to having such severe heart eyes whenever he's in Andy's presence.
Stef really isn't the type to tease others but he would be afraid of showing his own feelings side by side with Nick. He wouldn't have known what direction that would go with Nick, depends on the day with the Aussie.
Having anyone on tour, not blood related, finding out could be terrifying.