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Sam’s breath stopped, along with the rest of the stadiums’, for several seconds as he stared in shock at the scene in front of him. As most people stood stuck in place, Sam rushed to Dani’s side, pulling on Dani’s arm until Dani looked at him. Sam tried calling Dani’s name but Dani was entirely focused on the body of Earl lying nearby the goalkeeper.
As the refs called for a pause in the game, Sam escorted Dani, alongside Beard and Moe into the dressing room. Dani stood silent and shell-shocked the entire time he was escorted off the pitch and it took everything in Sam to not fawn over Dani as he grasped onto Dani’s arm. They managed to sit Dani down in front of his locker and coerce Dani’s boots and socks off him before Dani let out a big gasp, stood up, and rushed off to the showers, still fully clothed. Isaac and Will were the next ones in the locker room, Isaac shouting, wondering where Dani was.
While Sam soaked in his bath after the game that night, his thoughts were consumed with worry about Dani in the aftermath of what had happened during the game. Poor Dani was so absolutely distraught by what had happened and it struck the strangest cord in Sam. As Sam climbed out of his bath and dried himself off, his mind cycled through the many various things that could possibly cheer Dani up.
Sam ruffled through his dresser searching for his favorite worn-out pajama shirt, looking up at the mirror above his dresser once he did so. He leaned forward and reached for a dangled bracelet he had taped on the edge of his mirror. The tightly twined greens and blues of the bracelet moved gently with his touch as he fondly remembered the day he had received the bracelet. His older sister had given it to him two days before he was set to leave Nigeria to move to London.
Sam’s heart gripped with the memories of his last days in Lagos before moving to London. It was a whirlwind several days, an overload of memories that Sam holds dear. Sam ran his finger over the carefully knotted bracelet that his sister gave him, one made of his some of his favorite colors, and he remembered why he kept the bracelet attached to his mirror instead of around his wrist. It was a daily reminder of why Sam was in London, instead of back in Lagos, because it was the best opportunity to represent himself as a person but to also represent his country and his people on an international level.
As Sam admired the bracelet his sister gave him, and all the memories that came with it, Sam was hit with an idea of what he could possibly do to make Dani feel better. He quickly dressed himself in his sleep clothes and made his way to his downstairs closet that held his very minimal selection of craft project supplies. When Sam found his bag of embroidery string, he pulled out every variation of blue, red, and grey string he could find. For the rest of the evening, Sam concentrated on quickly knotting and tying his way through a bracelet for Dani.
By the next morning, in which Sam had stayed up exceptionally late to finish his project, he had finished his bracelet for Dani. It was a simple red and blue bracelet with the name Earl carefully sketched out in grey. It wasn’t much, a simple project of a bracelet, but Sam had hoped to give it to Dani as a reminder that despite the entirely bizarre events that had taken place at the match the day before, Dani wasn’t alone and Sam wanted to make sure Dani knew that.
The mood at training that day was gloomy. No one really spoke to each other, even when needed, especially Dani. They all had run themselves rampant, trying not to think about the turn of events that had occurred at the match the day before. As the team filtered out of the dressing room, exhausted by the events of the past few days, Sam tried to subtly stick around while Ted and Beard spoke to Dani in their office.
Sam was the last one left in the dressing room as Dani continued to talk to the remaining coaches, and he began to feel awkward in his idling as he waited until he heard the sound of the coaches’ office door open behind him. Sam stood up straight as he glanced behind him at Dani making his way to his own locker. He glanced down the row at Dani who was hastily packing his clothes in his bag, not paying any mind to Sam.
Sam awkwardly tried to clear his throat to get Dani’s attention, to no avail. Instead, Sam whispered Dani’s name as quietly as possible, still not getting Dani’s attention. Sam scrunched his eyes, took a deep breath, and then tapped Dani’s shoulder as he opened his eyes again. Dani froze at Sam’s touch, not turning around to look at Sam.
Sam wanted to tug on Dani’s shoulder until Dani was facing him but he didn’t want to force Dani to face anything he wasn’t ready to yet. Sam cleared his throat again and swifter than he had moved on the field all day, he pushed his hand into Dani’s. Sam clutched Dani’s hand firmly, the knotted bracelet was the only thing stopping their hands from touching entirely. Sam quickly pulled his hand back, clearing his throat for the third time, “I know what it’s like to feel alone and ashamed Dani. But you’re not, okay. Not with me here.”
Sam grabbed his stuff and rushed out of the dressing room without taking a second look at Dani. As Dani heard Sam depart the locker room, he spared a quick glance back to watch him leave, rubbing his thumb against the rough knots of the bracelet. His chest felt just a little less tight as he brushed the bracelet against his lips, moving to press the bracelet above his heart.
~~~
Sam slammed his freezer shut after he grabbed two bags of peas from it. He moved his way to his couch where Dani was resting, his eyes closed and leg propped on a stack of pillows. “Here Dani,” Sam whispered as he pressed the peas carefully around Dani’s knee. Dani groaned as he grabbed for the remote and asked for some water and pain relievers.
Sam scurried around his kitchen like a nervous hen, searching for any pain reliever he could find when he heard the sound of Dani setting up a movie. Sam smiled to himself as he heard My Big Fat Greek Wedding start up. It was his and Dani’s favorite movie to watch together. They both always joked about how they felt this movie would be the perfect representation of their families if they ever decided to get married one day.
As Sam juggled to carry two glasses of water and some pain relievers back to his couch, he stopped to admire Dani laying haphazardly on Sam’s couch, his limbs thrown lazily on every possible surface. Sam reached over the back of his couch to hand Dani a glass of water and the bottle of pain relievers, giving Dani a quick peck on his hairline before standing back up. Sam moved around the couch to sit on it, making himself comfy while tossing a blanket around both him and Dani.
Sam pressed another kiss on Dani’s forehead before laying his head on Dani’s shoulder as they quietly watched the movie. To no surprise, Dani became very antsy, very quickly, incapable of sitting still enough for his knee to get properly iced. He chuckled as he stood up and grabbed a bag full of embroidery string off the kitchen counter. Sam pulled out a few loops of yellow and green string, silently handing them to Dani, as he fished out some red and orange string for himself.
Sam nudged Dani’s elbow with his as he secured the first knot in the bracelet. He could feel Dani lean over to kiss his cheek before settling back into the couch to focus his concentration on the string in his hand. They spent the rest of their evening quietly knotting bracelets with the other’s favorite colors, with the occasional joke about how their families could eat the Portokalos family alive.
~~~
Sam silently moved his hands, knotting each green, white, and red strand slowly and securely, his head resting against Dani’s shoulder as music thumped softly from Sam’s living room speakers. Sam felt a rumple of Dani’s shoulders followed by a low sigh causing Sam to sit up straight up and look over at Dani. “Is everything alright?”
Dani bit his lip before leaning over and planting a kiss on Sam’s forehead. “ Si , cariño .” Was all Dani said before quickly looking back at the bracelet he was weaving, purposefully not looking back up at Sam.
Sam pressed the side of his body against Dani’s, pushing his elbow into Dani’s ribcage. “ Idunnumi , I thought we agreed that we wouldn’t hide what we’re feeling from each other.”
Dani’s hands froze mid-air, the green and white strings in his hands twined in an incomplete knot, before Dani took a breath and finished the knot, dropping his hands to his sides as he did. He looked back up at Sam, the slightest frown on his lips, his eyebrows tightly creased together. “I will just miss you is all. I do not like spending the drive back home to one of our places apart, let alone two whole weeks to visit our families.” Sam weaved his fingers through Dani’s hand closest to him, waiting for Dani to continue. “I am so excited to see mi abuela and the rest of my family again but I know my heart will be missing you the whole time.”
Sam pressed a gentle kiss on Dani’s cheek before resting his head back on Dani’s shoulder, both his hands playing with Dani’s. “I don’t like spending time apart from you either. It almost makes me feel clingy how much I miss you.” Sam brought Dani’s hands to his lips, pressing a light kiss to their intertwined fingers before looking up at Dani from Sam’s spot on his shoulder. “I know it’s not much consolation but that’s why we’re making these bracelets for each other, right?”
Dani smiled softly and placed a kiss on Sam’s head, nuzzling his nose into Sam’s hairline. “Next time we travel together. Promise me?”
“Yes Dani, next time we will. And every time after that.”
~~~
It was a sunny afternoon as Sam shifted through his closet searching for the perfect shirt to wear for his date with Dani. It was their fifth anniversary and he was delighted to spend a romantic evening with Dani. Dani told Sam to not worry one bit about planning the date because Dani claimed he had the most romantic night planned for the both of them.
Sam had been looking forward to the date all week, at one of Dani and Sam’s favorite restaurants to go to together. It was the one where they first said I love you to each other. The one where they first decided to move in together. Where they celebrated the birth of several nieces and nephews.
Sam finished getting dressed and made his way to the restaurant, Dani promising that he’d meet Sam there at 7 sharp. Sam was a few minutes early but he was too excited to wait those last few minutes in his car, making his way to the entrance of the restaurant. The hostess immediately recognized Sam as he walked in and greeted him with a warm smile. She waved Sam in and showed him to a private patio table out back, “Dani really outdid himself with this one.” was all she said before heading back to her station.
Sam grinned at the sight of the patio in front of him. It was warmly decorated with fairy lights, flower petals on the floor, and roses and champagne on the table. Dani smiled at Sam when he walked in, quickly moving to give Sam a kiss. “Welcome cariño , please, come sit.” Dani lead Sam to the table, pulling out a chair for Sam, which left Sam with a slight blush.
It was a wonderful evening as the two of them ate and talked about all the wonderful years they’d had so far together. It was a lovely and romantic evening, and the hostess was right, Dani really did outdo himself for the evening. As they wrapped up the end of their meal, Dani poured more champagne into their glasses. “Ready for dessert my love?” He asked Sam with a wicked grin.
Sam chuckled and rubbed his belly, “that was such a delicious meal, I don’t think I could handle anything else.”
Dani smiled at Sam followed swiftly with his mastered pleading puppy dog look. “We could share it cariño , I think you’ll like this one a lot.”
Sam playfully rolled his eyes at Dani, unable to resist anything the man before him asked of him. “Fine! But only because you pulled out those puppy eyes way too quickly.”
They grinned at each other as Dani signaled to the waiter for the dessert to be brought out. Dani reached across the table for Sam’s hands, weaving their fingers together with a squeeze. “Thank you for these 5 wonderful years together Sam. I have loved each and every second.” Sam blushed for the umpteenth time that evening, which was something quite easy to do despite dating Dani for 5 years now.
Dani leaned in for a kiss, only pulling away to give the waiter space to place their dessert plates on the table. Dani grinned at Sam with one of the brightest smiles that Sam had ever seen. “ Lo siento , Sam, do you mind closing your eyes for just one minute?”
Sam hesitantly closed his eyes until he waited for Dani’s command. He could hear Dani’s chair scrap against the concrete patio and then Dani rustling at the table next to him. He kept his eyes closed as he waited for Dani to stop flitting around the table, anxious at what was awaiting him when he opened his eyes. Sam let out a light hum as he heard Dani sit back in his chair, scraping it forward towards the table. “You can open them now, cariño .”
Sam’s eyes fluttered open, landing directly on a smiley Dani, who looked more lovesick than Sam could have ever imagined. Dani nodded down at Sam’s plate with eager eyes, and Sam gave Dani a quick grin before looking down at his dessert plate. It took Sam a minute to process the decorations in front of him, his eyes welling up with tears once he realized what was happening.
On the edge of his plate, was a simple orange and yellow bracelet, knotted with the words ‘marry me?’ down the middle. Sam blinked his eyes a few times before looking back up at Dani, who now had the shyest of looks on his face. Sam’s vision of Dani blurred slightly as his eyes filled up with tears. Sam pushed out a flustered “yes, Dani. Of course, Dani!” before leaning over the table to give Sam the firmest kiss he could muster.
Sam pulled back from Dani just enough to press their foreheads together, a wide grin formed across both their faces. Sam’s heart was full, every inch of his body buzzing with electricity. “Of course, I’ll marry you Dani, ọkọ mi .”