Work Text:
Barcelona, 09:46 pm
Andrey let his hand trail over Karen's bare chest. He played with the strands of hair, enjoying the sensation of it beneath his fingertips. A couple of months ago, Karen had asked him if he should shave off his chest hair right after they both had stepped out of the shower. Andrey had only stared at him in pure horror, his mouth had fallen open. He was pretty sure he had never been this shocked by any idea Karen ever had, but there he was. Luckily, Karen had started laughing mere seconds later, declaring he was just making a joke and pulling Andrey into his arms.
Andrey shuddered slightly as he remembered that and snuggled closer to Karen. It was still relatively early, not even ten o'clock in the evening, but somehow they hadn't made it to the couch after their practice. Instead, they were already in bed, teeth brushed, and wearing nothing but their underwear. Karen scrolled mostly absent-mindedly through his Instagram, and every now and then, he showed Andrey a funny reel whenever he found one.
Andrey had also been on his phone until a few minutes ago, but as there was nothing of interest on his social media anymore, he decided Karen was more fascinating. He let his fingers wander over Karen's skin, from his chest to his belly button, hoping for some reaction. Andrey doubted it would take long for Karen to toss his phone aside - Karen had never managed to resist Andrey in any way.
Suddenly, something vibrated behind him, and Andrey startled, needing a moment to recognize the sound. Usually, people didn't call him; they knew how much he hated spontaneous phone calls. He tended to break into cold sweat when he just thought about it. With a sigh, he took his hands off Karen and turned around, fumbling for his phone.
Octopus blinked on his phone screen. Andrey frowned in confusion but then hurried to swipe the accept button. Not only was Daniil supposed to be on a plane right now - he was also a big fan of very short and crisp text messages. So there was probably something rather serious going on.
“Huh?” Andrey greeted him, his mind still stuck with Karen’s body.
“Andrey?”
“Who else?”
“Oh, thank God. I have a problem,” Daniil said so quickly that Andrey could hardly distinguish the words. Daniil sounded... shattered. Something that never happened.
“What’s going on?”
“I can’t fly out of Oslo tonight. Too much fog, too much snow, too much of everything. They stopped everything at the airport tonight and advised not to leave any buildings.”
“Oh, that sucks…”
Why was Daniil telling him that? Of course, it’s annoying when you cannot fly as you planned, but that was no reason for Daniil to call Andrey. These things just happened sometimes — the risks of being a professional tennis player who had to travel all the time.
“Who is it, angel?” Karen whispered, slightly turning towards him.
“Danya,” Andrey mouthed.
Karen put his phone away and moved closer to Andrey, putting his head on Andrey’s chest to follow the conversation. Andrey's t-shirt was made of such thin fabric that he could feel Karen's beard through it, scratching over the sensitive skin. Shit, this reminded him of how he could be doing something completely different, something so much better right now, but instead, he had to speak to Daniil.
Andrey sighed and started to caress Karen's back with his free hand.
“And because no one can fly, the airport hotel is completely overbooked,” Daniil continued. Fortunately, he did not notice Andrey wasn’t entirely paying attention to him yet. He seemed totally caught in his own drama, and when he didn’t get an immediate answer, he simply continued.
“And now I have to share a room with Stefanos Tsitsipas tonight.”
“You… what?” Karen exclaimed so loudly that Andrey almost dropped his phone on Karen’s head. That had definitely gotten their attention.
“You are sharing a room with whom?” Andrey tried to make it sound like a normal question - like he didn't hear it because of the connection. But his pitched voice probably gave him away.
“I share a room with Stefanos Tsitsipas. And it's the worst decision I have ever made. Like, ever . I don't even know why I suggested it. My brain just stopped functioning. What do I do now? How can I ever leave this bathroom again? He is there, Andrey. Right there. Outside this door. Not sure what he’s doing, though. He barely said anything. Anyway, I don't know what to do, Andrey! What can I do?” Daniil babbled.
“What can you— Daniil, what the actual fuck? Why are you sharing a room with Stefanos Tsitsipas? Can you please not skip all the important parts of your story?”
Andrey and Karen waited for an answer, but Daniil stayed quiet. Except for a few loud breaths, that was.
“He’s gone crazy,” Andrey mumbled in Karen’s ear.
“I heard that!” Daniil scolded him, but he sounded rather desperate than actually angry. Andrey chuckled. His friend being somewhat nervous and upset was quite entertaining - at least when you knew nothing serious had happened. Andrey decided not to tease his friend any longer, instead, he asked the most important thing.
“Good, now tell your story again. With all details.” Andrey tried to sound as fierce as possible. Daniil and Stefanos in one room, spending the night together… Everything about that was ridiculous.
Months ago, Daniil started whining and complaining about how hard his life was and how difficult it was to talk to Stefanos properly. Even when Apostolos wasn’t around. Andrey, on the other hand, saw many opportunities, but it was never enough for Daniil.
Karen had told Andrey to stop giving advice, as Daniil always found a stupid excuse, but Andrey couldn’t just endure the sight of his friend being miserably in love. Besides, Daniil became more and more annoying. Someone had to act on it! Andrey and Karen both had hoped something would change when Daniil texted them that Stefanos had arrived at Casper’s charity event without his dad - at least for a short moment - but they always got an angry emoji as a reply when one of them asked Daniil if he had finally talked to Stefanos.
And now they had to share a hotel room? Andrey needed to know how it had come to this.
“I don’t think there is a story. It’s just a complete malfunction of my brain. How do I survive a night with him in a room? How? What if he sleeps naked or something? Fuck. Can you get me out of here?” Daniil's voice sounded more like the howling of a dog. Andrey was still unsure why; to him, it was a very promising situation.
“Now, will you please just tell us what's going on?” Karen repeated their request. A rather loud sigh came from the speaker.
“As I said, no one can depart. Stefanos and I arrived at the reception of the airport hotel at the same time, and both of us were asking for a room. The problem was that they had only one left. Of course, I wanted that last room. No way I would spend the night at the airport, so I made it very clear to the receptionist, but she said that as Stefanos arrived at the same time, she could not just give it to me. They told us there were no other possibilities and only one of us could get it. Maybe our discussion about who should take the room wasn’t the friendliest. Perhaps I was a bit too cocky because the receptionist said if we could not decide who would get the room, she would give it to the next person waiting. Do you know what I did after she said that? Can you imagine what happened next? I imagined myself sleeping at the airport or better, staying up all night, and then I snapped. ‘Never mind, we will share it’. Share it. That’s what I said. Can you believe that? What did I even think? And now I am here, with Stefanos, in a room.”
Andrey waited a moment to find a good answer while Karen raised his eyebrows. They looked at each other and started giggling. “What a story…” Karen whispered so that Daniil couldn’t hear them. Andrey was honestly impressed, this was probably the best thing that could have happened to Daniil - even if he was panicking now. Heavy breaths came out of the phone. Andrey bit his lip and considered his next words for a moment. Why did it feel like talking to a wild animal now?
“Daniil, I know you are very nervous right now-” he started.
“I am not nervous,”
“But honestly, I think it's a pretty good situation. You could finally talk to him! You could ask him out! You have a full night in a room together. Imagine all the things you could do! Maybe-”
“Maybe I should die in this bathroom,” Daniil whined.
Karen and Andrey rolled their eyes in unison. Daniil was such a drama queen. Unfortunately, said drama queen was their best friend, which meant they couldn’t just let him die in the bathroom.
“Nobody dies here. Stop being so fucking dramatic. You will leave the bathroom now and talk to Stefanos. About tennis, about the charity event. About Oslo, about snowstorms and fog. I really don’t care about what. But do something!”
Oslo, 09:59 pm
A quick glance in the mirror showed Daniil's hair was pretty tousled. But when he tried to fix it, it only worsened. He sighed. What was he doing anyways? Stefanos knew how he looked; he knew Daniil’s spaghetti body and balding hair - there was nothing to hide. He had to find other ways to impress.
Small talk - that’s what Andrey said, and that’s something Daniil could manage. Maybe dying was easier than talking to Stefanos Tsitsipas, but usually, Daniil was good at surviving all kinds of challenges in his life. He took one last breath and left the bathroom.
Stefanos was sitting on the bed, staring at the blank wall, probably deep in his own thoughts. (Hopefully not about feminism or the deeper meaning of getting stuck.)
The sound of the snapping door took him out of his thoughts. He was now staring at Daniil with a look that he didn’t know if was just curiosity or if Stefanos expected him to say something. Some of his curls had fallen into his face, and Daniil had to concentrate to keep himself from brushing them out. Why did some people have such beautiful hair?
“There is only one bed,” Stefanos said, as it wasn’t evident from the moment they entered the room. It was more a question than a statement.
“Thanks for pointing it out, Sherlock. That’s exactly what the lady at the front desk said. A big bed and a small sofa,” Daniil replied flippantly. He hated when people said obvious things. But it was Stefanos this time, so had to accept it.
“What do we do now?”
“If you have a problem with it, you could just leave the room.”
“You know very well I will not do that. I am not sleeping on a bench at the airport. I did that once, and it destroyed my back. I need a good mattress.”
“How can sleeping on a bench for only one night destroy your back? God, you are such a drama queen.” Not that Daniil would spend a night on a bench at the airport. Indeed, he would also have back pain - no need to try it. They were just too tall for airport furniture.
Stefanos looked at him like he was deeply in thought, chewing on his lips but not breaking eye contact. What was that supposed to mean? Should Daniil say anything else? He had no idea how to read Stefanos’ facial expressions. Why was this man so complicated?
“So we just share it?” Stefanos asked, now avoiding Daniil's gaze, staring at the blank wall again.
“I can offer you the floor if you want. At least
I
will sleep in this bed.”
“Okay…”
Briefly, Daniil had the impression that Stefanos would add something, but suddenly he jumped up. The rushed movement caused a water bottle to fall off the bed, crashing loudly to the floor and rolling almost to the wall.
“I'm going to have a quick shower,” Stefanos squeaked and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door.
Was that the conversation Andrey and Karen had hoped for? Not that Daniil was a romance expert, but probably these weren't the things you meant to say when you were hoping for a date.
Critically, he looked at the bed in front of him. It was big enough that two men of their size could sleep without ending up in each other's arms, but sleeping together in the same bed meant very little distance between them. And the problem was that Daniil really didn't want Stefanos to notice how often he was part of Daniil’s dreams: Stefanos on a tennis court, Stefanos in the locker room, Stefanos naked either in Daniil’s bed or the locker room again.
Maybe he should find a way to avoid the worst risks of humiliation. First, he took the water bottle from the floor and placed it on the nightstand, on the side he just decided would be Stefanos’.Then he saw that there were plenty of pillows in the bed. Without hesitation, Daniil took all of them, except the ones for the head and the cushions from the sofa, and piled them up in the middle of the bed. Perfectly placed and adjusted, they looked like a tiny pillow wall, dividing the bed into two halves. Satisfied, he dropped to one side and reached for his phone again. Like this, he could survive the night. He thought about calling Andrey again, but then opened their group chat instead - he didn’t want to interrupt his friends.
Daniil: He's been in the bathroom for 33 minutes now.
Karen: He's escaping from you. I would, too, if I were him
Daniil: Funny, as always.
Andryusha: Shut up, unlike you, Karen is actually funny
Karen: Thanks, corazón 😘
Andryusha: 🙄🙄
Daniil: What should I say when he leaves the bathroom??
Andryusha: Maybe this is the crucial moment to ask Stefanos out. 🤷
Daniil snorted. He certainly wouldn’t do that. Not tonight. Not without any possibility of escaping the situation. Instead, he tried to find a snarky comment he could send his friends for them to shut up, but the bathroom door was getting unlocked, and a second later, Stefanos returned to the room.
“Do you always take this long in the bathroom?” Daniil asked. This time he didn’t try for eye contact, he was staring at the wall in front of them. What if Stefanos was not fully clothed? Or worse, when he had only wrapped a towel around him?
However, he should have considered that Stefanos had to walk across the room. Fortunately, Daniil quickly realized Stefanos was fully dressed again, with only the hair wet.
Stefanos took his time to answer Daniil’s question.
“Unlike you, I have hair that needs care. And by the way, you stayed more than 15 minutes in the bathroom without a shower. I am not stupid. I heard you talking to someone. Your girlfriend?”
Daniil choked. “My girlfriend?”
“Or boyfriend, or whatever genderless species talks to you voluntarily.”
“I called Andrey.”
“Boyfriend then.”
“Oh, stop it. Andrey is not my boyfriend. Thank god. I would not survive a single day being his boyfriend.”
“So you told your non-boyfriend you have to share a room with me?”
“Exactly”
“What did he say? Did he pity you?”
Ask him out for a date - But Daniil couldn’t just repeat that.
“He gave me ideas on how to murder you while you are sleeping.”
“Funny,” Stefanos said, but he didn’t look like he actually thought it was funny.
“That was a joke.”
“Sure”
Daniil didn’t know what to say. There was a difference between talking to Andrey and Karen and talking to Stefanos. He had never talked much to someone like Stefanos before, meaning he could never practice the now-needed communication skills.
“What happened to the bed?” Stefanos switched the topic while pointing towards the pillows.
“I built a pillow wall. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Oh… Why?” His question seemed genuine, which irritated Daniil.
“Why?”
“Yes, why? Do you punch at night? Why do you need a wall?” Stefanos had his head slightly tilted to the side, and he stared at Daniil with his open eyes like he only wanted to understand something fascinating.
“Uh.”
Because it would be impossible for Daniil to survive the night if he could stare at Stefanos all the time?
“Never mind,” Stefanos flopped onto the bed. He seemed to have little interest in further conversation.
Daniil dropped his head on the pillow. It was too early to sleep, but he didn't know what to do. Stefanos' presence didn't help him concentrate on anything. Quite the opposite, his thoughts kept wandering. He tried to read a few words but gave up after only a few sentences. He couldn't see Stefanos through the wall of pillows, but certainly, he wasn't busy with anything earth-shattering. What was a neutral topic to talk about? Something tennis-related, Andrey had said. But there wasn’t much to talk about that boring charity event. And Stefanos has been there, too, so there wasn’t much they could tell each other.
Only then Daniil remembered one thing he had already thought about at the airport.
“What's going on with Holger?”
Stefanos didn’t answer immediately. “What should be with him?”
“Wasn't he supposed to fly today as well?”
“No, he didn't want to.”
Daniil paused for a moment. It sounded like there was a little more to tell.
“You seem to be informed.” He asked carefully.
Stefanos didn't have to know (yet) that Daniil was absolutely into ATP gossip. Maybe he didn’t look like that, but he could never get enough of Andrey’s and Karen’s newest stories.
“Unfortunately.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn't even want to know why he is staying in Oslo. But he told me anyways.”
“And why is he staying in Oslo?”
“Because of… reasons”
“Thank you, Stefanos. That’s how to start a conversation.”
“He is with Casper, okay?”
“He is…
what?
”
“With Casper. Probably fucking him right now or the other way around. I don’t know the details. And I prefer not to know. But he told me anyways. Why does this kid share so much private information?”
“First, you don’t want to say anything, and now you are telling me Casper and Holger are fucking??”
“To be honest, I don’t know if they are yet . But that was the reason Holger wanted to stay a little longer.”
“Casper never mentioned Holger…”
“Why should he?”
“Oh, we text sometimes…”
“Casper and you…
text
?”
“Is there a problem with it?”
“No, nothing… So everyone is texting with you except me?” Stefanos mumbled.
At least, that’s what Daniil understood. And he usually had good ears.
“What did you just say?” He asked, hoping Stefanos would repeat his question. Did he just complain that Daniil was not texting him?
“Nothing”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, never mind. I will sleep now.” And then Stefanos switched off the light next to his bed, making it clear that he didn’t want to talk anymore.
Daniil sighed. If Stefanos wanted to text him, he could have just sent him a message.
Oslo, 00:23 am
Daniil tried to sleep. Really. He had closed his eyes and pulled the blanket up to his chin, so it completely covered him. The fabric was warm and fluffy, and for a moment, Daniil considered taking it with him the next day. But not even the blanket was effective.
He had already gone through the entire multiplication table and the Fibonacci sequence up to 6 765, but it was useless.
He needed silence to sleep, absolute silence.
And it wasn’t possible when someone in immediate reach turned back and forth like a pig in the mud, groaning in between. Stefanos had already been to the bathroom twice in the last ten minutes, and now and then, his phone lit up before being put back on the nightstand rather rudely. If Stefanos didn't fall asleep immediately, Daniil wouldn't sleep a wink through the night.
Annoyed, he opened his eyes again and reached for his phone.
Daniil: Are you there?
Andryusha: No.
Daniil: 🫠
Andryusha: What do you want?
Daniil: Stefanos can’t sleep…
Andryusha: Why are you telling me this? Unlike Stefanos, I was just falling asleep.
Daniil: Don't lie to me. It's not even 1 am yet, and you have nothing but practice tomorrow. Don’t tell me you are sleeping soon. You are not Karen.
Andryusha: When did you stop complaining about my sleeping habits?
Daniil: Since I need your help at 1 am. Stefanos needs to sleep soon, or I am going crazy. I need SILENCE. Not this man moving around in bed. He is way too loud. And the mattress wobbles all the time.
Andryusha: Again, why are you telling me this?
Daniil: Because I have no idea what to do now. I just want to sleep.
Andryusha: Can't you put headphones in your ears?
Daniil: I cannot sleep with them in my ears.
Andryusha: I don’t know how I could help you, Danya. But you have a well-functioning brain. I am sure you will come up with an idea on your own. Or maybe you ask Stefanos instead of your somewhat annoyed friend who would like to sleep.
Daniil sighed. What had he expected? That Andrey would magically do something from Barcelona to make Stefanos fall asleep? The man who couldn't even do that to himself. (And yes, usually Daniil never missed an opportunity to point out to Andrey how crucial enough sleep was).
“Stefanos,” Daniil whispered into the darkness of the room.
“Mm?” Came the immediate answer.
“Can you please sleep? You're annoying.” Why was he whispering? They both were clearly awake.
“Oh, thanks, Daniil. What do you think I've been trying to do right now?”
Daniil sighed again and straightened up to look over the mound of pillows.
“What's the matter?” he asked, feeling ridiculous, like a mother trying to put her child to bed. Was Stefanos always like this in tournaments?
Stefanos stared at the ceiling, clearly avoiding Daniil’s gaze.
“I cannot sleep like this.” He answered after a moment of consideration.
“Maybe you should have thought about it before you went with me to this room.”
“What?”
“When you can’t share a bed…”
“But that’s not what I am talking about...”
So what was the problem then? It was dark enough, the mattress was okay, Stefanos had a blanket, and the room was warm but not overheated.
“What’s your problem then? Tell me.” Almost snappishly, Daniil prompted Stefanos, who waited for ages until he answered.
“Normally, I hug things to sleep, but we used all pillows to build a wall,” Stefanos whispered.
“You, what?”
“Hugging pillows,” Stefanos repeated quietly. He was probably expecting some snarky response, which would have been Daniil's natural reaction, but he just wanted to sleep so badly.
“Why didn’t you say it earlier?”
“Because you already had built the wall.”
Stefanos stared blankly at him, like he wasn’t sure how Daniil would react.
“Put the wall down then.”
“Really?”
“Sure, I can’t sleep when you are like this”
“Sorry”
“It’s okay; just hug your pillow if it helps you.”
Seconds later, the pillow wall was broken down, and Stefanos grabbed two pillows to sling his arms around. Hopefully, Stefanos was right, and that was really the reason why he couldn't sleep.
Oslo, 00:43
Daniil: Andryusha
Andryusha: I TRY TO SLEEP HERE
Daniil: That’s why you are answering not even ten seconds after you got the message.
Andryusha: 😒
Daniil: I did talk to him.
Andruysha: And why are you on your phone and not fucking him?
Daniil: WTF
Andruysha: 🤷
Daniil: He is nearly hugging me…
Andryusha: 😱😱😱
Andryusha:
So you are cuddling?
Daniil:
Not really
Andruysha: Yet?
Daniil: I can’t just hug him back…
Andryusha: Yes, you can
Daniil: But how?
Andryusha: Did you just ask me how to cuddle a person?
Daniil: Maybe?
A second later, a photo appeared in the chat. Daniil stared at it - it was blurry and a bit dark, but Daniil could see Karen’s head placed on Andrey’s chest. He seemed to sleep carefully on Andrey, while Andrey’s fingers wandered through his hair.
Daniil stared at Stefanos, who got closer to him. He was not lying on his chest, but Daniil could feel Stefanos’ breath on his skin, and Stefanos’ arm was really close to Daniil’s torso.
He stared at his hand. Where should he place it? At Stefanos’ back? In his hair? On his arm? Too many possibilities and all of them seemed wrong.
But then Stefanos made some weird sounds and moved a bit, now hugging Daniil like a teddy bear. The arm was thrown over Daniil’s stomach, holding him closely. Daniil didn’t breathe for a moment, too nervous about waking Stefanos up.
Stefanos, however, didn't notice Daniil’s discomfort and continued sleeping peacefully.
Slowly, Daniil began typing on his phone again, trying not to move.
Daniil: Andryusha, please 😭
Andrusyha: This is my last message tonight. You can cuddle Stefanos or not. I don’t care, but if you are not using this moment, I will never help you again with your love life.
Andrusyha: I am cuddling my own boyfriend now. Good night.
Daniil knew Andrey would not send him another message tonight. He was on his own now. Carefully, he put his phone on the nightstand before gently putting an arm around Stefanos, trying not to wake him up. As soon as he had him in his arms, Stefanos snuggled even closer to Daniil. Don’t panic, Daniil, don’t panic. You are just cuddling with Stefanos Tsitsipas. Everything is fine. He tried to calm himself down. That’s precisely what he wanted, wasn’t it? To cuddle with Stefanos? Maybe with a little more conversation before, but he wouldn’t complain. Not tonight.
Barcelona, 08:22 am
“Buen día, minette”
Karen's voice was muffled, and it took Andrey a moment to remember where he was.
(In Barcelona, in their bed with Karen). Unfortunately , with Karen. Andrey blinked a few times before his eyes adjusted to the light.
Karen had turned towards Andrey and was now smiling at him. His hair was a mess, and he had a crumb on his eye; but Andrey only thought how lucky he was, sharing the bed with the most beautiful man on earth.
The only problem with beautiful, sweet, adorable Karen was his unbearable use of pet names.
Andrey lifted his head a little and pulled out the pillow he was sleeping on, only to slap it into Karen’s face. Maybe a bit too hard, but that was because he was too tired to do it gently. Karen, still sleepy, couldn’t react in time before it hit his face.
“Ay! What’s that for?” He asked, but there was no annoyance in his voice.
“You know exactly why?” Andrey answered softly. Maybe he could have been a bit more careful. “What does
minette
even mean? What language is it?”
“Language of love, pumpkin.”
Andrey considered using the pillow again, but Karen smiled so sweetly that he just sighed.
“Don't call me that.”
“I’m not through with all the pet names I can think about. Someday I’ll find the perfect one, but tiger, pumpkin, corazón, and kulta didn’t fit. You didn’t even ask for the language. And I am sure you didn’t know kulta is Finnish.”
“You are right, I didn’t - it’s because I don’t care. Just call me Andrey, not some French, Russian, Spanish, Finnish, Chinese, whatever pet name…”
“Oh, I haven’t tried Mandarin yet. Let me google some good words!” Karen exclaimed, way too excited, and grabbed his phone. He really was going to google Chinese pet names, wasn’t he?
“Just call me Andrey, okay?”
Karen looked at him like a pouting child. “But that’s boring, and we are not boring.”
“I prefer boring to ridiculous.”
“No, you don’t because you are with me,” Karen said so seriously that Andrey had to chuckle.
“But you are right,” He continued. “Maybe I should give the French pet names to Danya.”
Andrey slumped back into the pillows as he fumbled for his phone. “Good point. Did he text you? Because he didn’t answer me after my last message”
Andrey stared at the message he had sent Daniil. Hopefully, Daniil had used the situation well.
“No, nothing. Maybe we should just call him to check if he is still alive”, Karen suggested. Andrey thought about it for a moment, but then agreed with Karen. After everything that happened, they had the right to get an update.
He was almost about to hang up when Daniil finally accepted the call.
“Hi, Andryusha!”
“Good Morning, minette” Andrey greeted him, which made Karen giggle. Then he felt Karen's hand gently stroking through his hair. Maybe he should hurry up the call.
“Who is that?” someone said. Someone who definitely wasn’t Daniil.
“Andrey,” Daniil answered. So Stefanos was close enough to listen to their call? That was probably a good sign.
“Why is he calling you
minette
?” Stefanos asked again. “You said he is not your boyfriend.”
Karen giggled. “Does he think you are Daniil’s boyfriend?” he whispered while he got closer to Andrey to follow the call.
Andrey waited to see if Daniil would answer something, but he stayed silent. Andrey sighed.
“No worries, Stefanos. Karen’s newest hobby is finding the most embarrassing pet name. I will give minette to Danya if you want to be called like that.”
“I am not sure. What do you think, Daniil?”
His voice was surprisingly serious, which only made Karen laugh.
“Maybe you should start calling me Danya before we throw female animal words at each other.”
“Oh, okay. If you say so.”
Stefanos didn't mind someone calling him minette, that was clear.
“I see you are already a step further than yesterday. Do we get a briefing on what happened?” poked Andrey. He wanted all the details. Maybe it was good Stefanos had joined the conversation.
“Oh, actually, not that super much happened. We were cuddling last night and -”
“So Daniil knows how to cuddle?” Andrey interrupted Stefanos' story, knowing very well how uncomfortable Daniil had been the previous night.
“Oh, fuck off, Andrey. And you, Stefanos, you don't have to tell these idiots everything. They don't deserve it.”
“You said they are your best friends?”
Stefanos' voice was a bit shaky, but he would not be the first to find the communication between the Russian Trio irritating. (They had been hanging out with each other for far too long, they probably became weird with the years.)
“Listen, you two. Maybe we should wait a little longer to talk about it. Instead, you continue whatever I interrupted you with. Karen and I also have better things to do now. Danya can tell us later what's going on. You are talking to each other. That’s all I needed to know now.”
And before he got an answer, Andrey ended the call. That way, it couldn't get weird, and Daniil would tell them everything. Andrey knew it. He was about to put his phone aside to concentrate only on Karen when a message popped up:
Octopus: Thank you!