Chapter Text
Neymar woke to the sound of an alarm. His eyes blinked blearily, and he dutifully forced them open to examine his surroundings. His face was inches from a floor length mirror, and his breath was fogging up the glass, distorting his image.
Neymar heaved himself up and went to look for a bathroom. He stepped over an unconscious person on the ground, who was looking slightly worse for the wear with beer spilled all down their shirt.
The hallway was dark and the linoleum floors were gray with dirt and debris. Neymar knew it had been a bad idea to come to this party. He can’t remember who invited him. Maybe it was Luis. Or Dani.
Either way, he was swaying on his feet, and his head was pounding, and as soon as he found the nearest bathroom he threw himself onto the floor and upchucked whatever he had eaten that night.
Downstairs, the scene was pretty similar, with people crashed on the couch and an upturned keg situated on the carpet. Avoiding suspicious puddles on the ground, Neymar left the house through the front door, light hitting his eyes and causing him to squint and wonder what he did to deserve this.
He decided he had better go to his apartment to wash up, and he was just starting to walk down the last step to get to the sidewalk when he miscalculated the length of the stairs and tripped.
Unfortunately, he tripped straight into the sidewalk, which was also being used by a man and his dog. The man, who probably didn’t expect a teetering Neymar to fling himself at his feet at seven in the morning, got his toe tangled in Neymar’s shirt, and fell right on top of him.
“Ow…,” Neymar groaned, “What the fuck man!”
The man glared at him, rubbing his elbow. He propped himself next to Neymar on the ground, and addressed him. “Me what the fuck?” He said, very accusingly, “You’re the one who tackled me and tried to take out Hulk!”
Neymar glanced up at him… and woah. The man was striking. He had a close shaven beard and thick auburn hair. And his eyes, though looking very squinty and mad right now, were deep and inviting.
Neymar realized he should probably say something, maybe apologize, so he opened his mouth and said, “Who in God’s name is Hulk?”
Shit. Shit fuck shit. That was not an apology.
Fortunately for Neymar, the man’s mouth twitched. “My dog.”
Neymar glanced at the dog. It was huge, with drool dripping from its teeth, probably at the thought of eating Neymar. It did not look remotely knocked out.
“Cute name.” said Neymar, and then the man was standing up and extending a hand towards Neymar. “Mine’s Neymar.”
And wow, that was brave. Ney was kinda proud of himself. He hauled himself up using the man’s arm, and he was strong too, with big hands that fit perfectly around Neymar’s.
“Leo,” said the man, and it matched perfectly, that he was a Leo. Neymar tested the name out on his lips.
The man-Leo, smiled again. Well, it was barely a smile. But it counted for something.
He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, and the dog snapped to attention, gazing at Leo adoringly. Leo gave Ney one last look, and then turned away, walking down the sidewalk and away from Neymar.
He gave a happy sigh, and turned around towards his apartment. He would’ve skipped, he was so happy, but he was still too hungover for that.
~~~
When Neymar got back to his apartment, he immediately collapsed on his couch. The soft, fluffy cushions enveloped him, and the tension he had been holding in his body since last night evaporated.
The couch, though god-awful ugly, had been found on the side of the road and served him well. In fact, that held true for most of his furniture, with some of it being stuff that Dani either bought or had, and the rest being street finds.
The result was a hideous mix of textures and colors, but somehow, it all combined to make the apartment feel like home.
After gathering up enough energy to lift his head, Neymar looked around for signs that Dani was home. Seeing that his shoes were still gone, Neymar concluded that he must still be passed out at the party.
Neymar felt a mild twinge of guilt that was usurped by the overwhelming urge to shower. He heaved himself up and went to rinse off, turning the water all the way up and letting it scald the smell of beer out of his pores.
Once he finished, Neymar looked at the clock and decided he had time to take a short nap before his class started at ten. He laid back down on the couch, and drifted off thinking about the feel of Leo’s hands and the sound of his voice.