Chapter Text
Mason was the luckiest man alive. At least that’s what he was thinking as he watched Declan, sound asleep on his chest. He happily let his hand roam all over his boyfriend’s body: his chest, his slender legs, his cheeks, his hand only skimming over Declan’s soft, pale skin to make sure he didn’t interrupt his sleep. Eventually, he felt Declan nuzzle against his neck, followed by a gentle kiss on his Adam’s apple and the sound of a raspy voice. “Good morning beautiful.” Declan said. Mason met his splendid crystal blue eyes and couldn’t help a fond smile from growing on his lips. “hiya” he whispered back. It was Declan’s turn to smile, his showstopping smile that made Mason’s stomach do somersaults every time he saw it. He truly and utterly was the luckiest man on this planet, he thought again when Declan closed the gap between them and laid a chaste kiss on his lips. “What time’s it?” The West Ham player asked. Mason reached for his phone. “7:30.” He read. “We still have a bit of time until we need to get down for breakfast.” He added. “Good.” Was Declan’s reply. He took hold of Mason’s lips once again, not that Mason would complain, and they lazily made out for a few minutes before Declan asked more to himself than to Mason “Why haven’t we started doing this sooner?” It was almost a whisper, but Mason still heard it.
They were a fairly recent couple, after being separated for so long because of the lockdown, they were so happy to get to see each other again that they nearly spent a whole week together. At that moment, Mason had realised keeping his feelings about Declan for himself was increasingly becoming harder, so after about two months of hyping himself up to tell his best friend he was in love with him, he finally decided it was time. It was their last day of vacation, and they had been talking for hours on the deck of the boat they had rented, but before Mason had even found the courage to tell Declan how he felt, Declan had furtively kissed him before apologizing profusely. Mason had grabbed Declan’s face to bring it back closer to his own and kissed him again, Declan kissing back. Since then, they were officially together.
“I don’t know, you should’ve kissed me earlier.” Mason jokingly concluded, hovering his right hand on the West Ham player’s back.
“Me?” Declan shot back almost sounding offended. “You could've made a move too! And for the record I had fallen in love with you long ago at that point, I just didn’t think you felt the same.” He replied. Mason chuckled.
“You remember the day you’ve fallen in love with me then?” He asked amused.
“ ‘Course I do.” Was all Declan said so the Chelsea player looked at him encouragingly, urging him to continue. “It was Reece’s 16th birthday and he had invited me even though I wasn’t in Chelsea’s youth program anymore.” Declan started, tracing imaginary circles on Mason’s chest. “I was so worried I was going to be left out because you lot would have made so many new memories and have new inside jokes since I had been at West Ham. I even contemplated dropping Reece’s gift at his front door and going back home.” The West Ham player chuckled at the thought. Mason, on the other hand, was very focused on his boyfriend’s story. “Eventually, I did go.”
“You were a bit late though.” Mason added teasingly.
“Yeah, but that’s beside the point!” Declan defended himself, faking annoyance. “Anyways, Reece’s mom took me to where you all were and I was super nervous, but as soon as you saw me, you ran to me and you hugged me, waffling about how happy you were that I was here. And then, whenever someone would make a joke I wouldn’t understand or when they’d refer to something I didn’t know about, you’d always explain it to me. You made sure I wasn’t left out the whole day and, as sappy as it sounds, that’s kinda when I realized that I belonged with you. You were the only person I needed.” The Chelsea player couldn’t help beaming from ear to ear. He didn’t find it sappy at all. It just made him love Deccers even more. Declan didn’t look up at him though, too busy fiddling with Mason’s fingers. A comfortable silence filled the room for a few minutes, only broken when Declan asked, “What about you?” The Hammer let his eyes find Mason’s before clarifying “D’you remember when you fell in love with me?” Mason thought for a second, racking his brain as hard as he could.
“I don’t think I remember exactly when I started having feelings for you, but I do remember when I realized it.” He explained.
“Do tell” Declan replied interested.
“Ok, well it’s not gonna be as cute as your story, but it was when your parents took me with you lot on your family trip to Barcelona.” Declan smiled at the mention of this trip, remembering it perfectly.
“I begged my parents to let you come with us for weeks before they caved in.” He confessed.
“You did? You sly dog!” Mason chuckled, his insides tingling because of the simple fact that Declan had wanted to spend time with him all those years ago. He looked at Declan lovingly, earning a fond gaze in return. “I had been missing you even more than before, so I was gassed when you asked me to come with you lot.” Mason continued. “When we arrived, it was so hot and all we wanted to do was go in the pool to cool off, remember?” Declan nodded, a grin plastered on his face. “And then when we actually had to put on our swimming trunks, that’s when I started having.... How do I put this... dirty thoughts about you.” Mason blushed. He had never admitted that to anyone and even though him and Declan could talk about anything openly he still felt a bit of shame left over from his past self. Declan, on the other hand, found the revelation very amusing.
“I was so lanky and awkward back then," He laughed. "how on earth did you find me attractive.”
“No, you weren’t! You were gorgeous, charming, and funny!” Mason defensively replied. He knew Declan had body image issues back then, and even though the West Ham player was ready to joke about it now, Mason couldn’t help but remember all these times his then best friend had confided in him, telling him how he was scared to be unlovable and how unattractive he felt. Declan had come a long way since then, but Mason still felt somewhat protective, especially when it came to younger Dec.
“Ok, ok.” The West Ham player surrendered. “Keep going, I’m all ears.” He added.
“Where was I?” The Chelsea player asked.
“Dirty thoughts.” Declan chimed in.
“Oh yeah, I found you insanely hot and I struggled to stop myself from thinking about how kissing you would feel or from being too touchy. All week I repeated to myself it was just a silly crush but then on the last night we went to the beach, only you and me, to watch the stars. We talked for hours on end, and I felt amazing. I wanted this moment to last forever. Then you hugged me, saying you were going to miss me when we get back and my heart leaped out of my chest. I felt butterflies in my stomach and all! I even almost kissed you right then and there. That’s how I realized it wasn’t just a silly crush anymore and that I was truly in love with you. I was so ashamed, I thought you were going to hate me if you found out.”
Mason’s last sentence hung in the air between them for a bit before Declan declared “I thought you were going to hate me if you found out I liked you.” And then they laugh because of how absurd it felt that they both shared an unwarranted fear all those years. “You know I would’ve kissed you back that night on the beach.” Declan says.
“I wish 18-year-old Mason knew that.” The Chelsea player complained. “It could’ve saved us the trouble of pining over each other for nearly four years.”