Work Text:
Sam stumbles out of the club and into the biting wind, feeling whatever high he'd been riding on instantly disappear once he's met with the cold.
The three, maybe four drinks he'd gotten earlier in the night aren't doing very much to keep him warm. He feels his sobriety sneaking up on him as he watches the other boys tumble through the doors, each one of them responding to the cold with varying degrees of displeasure.
Jeff and Jamie, miles drunker than Sam is, have their arms thrown around each other and are attempting to walk home, only they can't seem to decide which direction to go.
Sam's about to step in and help, when a taxi pulls up and Jan shoves Jeff, Jamie and a half-asleep Thierry, inside.
Jan doesn't seem any less drunk than any of them, cheeks flushed pink and hair tousled, but he does seem to be handling it a little better, so Sam sends them off with a wave and fiddles with his phone for a minute to call his own taxi.
While he waits, Colin and Isaac burst through the doors, laughing. They both clap Sam on the back a little too hard, and then take off down the street, apparently attempting to out run each other home.
Next thing Sam knows, he's got a grown man draped over his back and a pair of strong arms wrapping around his middle as if attempting to use him as some kind of foothold.
Sam turns his head a little, only to get a noseful of soft hair.
"Tengo sueño, Sam," Dani mumbles into his neck.
Sam doesn't need to speak Spanish to know what Dani's saying.
He sighs, letting Dani doze off against his back while he thinks about where to go from here.
The last time any of them had let Dani get home by himself like this, he'd ended up giving his wallet away. No one had attempted to take it from him, he'd just walked by a homeless man on the street and decided he needed Dani's wallet much more than Dani did.
Yeah. Leaving him alone isn't an option.
When the taxi finally pulls up, Sam brings Dani along with him. He decides to forgo dropping Dani off at his place first, too tired to put up with making multiple stops. The taxi drives straight to Sam's.
It's definitely not easy, unlocking the front door with Dani hanging off his back, but Sam manages it somehow. He even makes it all the way into the living room without tripping before successfully sliding Dani off his back and onto the couch.
Dani's fully asleep by the time Sam returns with a blanket, hugging one of Sam's embroidered pillows to his chest.
Sam sighs, lifting up Dani's head and shoving a pillow underneath before covering him up with the blanket. As he watches Dani readjust in his sleep, getting more comfortable, he feels oddly compelled to tuck him in with a kiss.
Laughing a little to himself, Sam settles with smoothing some of Dani's hair down instead, before getting up and heading to bed himself.
-
Sam wakes up to the smell of coffee and the sound of slightly off-tune singing.
Face pressed into his pillow, it takes a moment or two for him to remember exactly what happened the night before, and why he's not currently alone.
It probably shouldn't be surprising that Dani is somehow immune to the effects of a hangover.
A couple minutes later and Sam's managed to haul himself into the bathroom, brushing his teeth quickly before throwing himself into the shower, washing away the last of the fatigue leftover from last night.
Clean and in new clothes, Sam descends the stairs to find a fresh cup of coffee waiting for him, as well as a smiley Dani.
"I thought you didn't drink coffee," Sam comments, before taking a tentative sip.
It's not exactly made to his taste, but it's nice. Not too sweet, which he likes, but missing milk.
"I don't. This is just for you!" Dani gestures to the coffee pot, still pretty full. "My mother likes to drink coffee, I used to make it for her every morning."
Explains how he knows how to use the coffee machine, then.
Sam wanders over the fridge, pulling out a carton of milk, before remembering that Dani's still empty handed. "Since you don't drink coffee, I have tea, if you'd prefer that?"
"It's okay, I had some water before!" Which means Dani probably doesn't drink tea either, he's just too nice to say he doesn't like it. "Could I take a shower instead? I would be very grateful if you'd let me borrow your shower."
"Yes, of course. You can use the toilet in the guest room." Dani should've stayed the night there to begin with, but it was on the second floor and Sam had no strength to carry Dani up the stairs last night. "There should be extra clothes in one of the drawers as well, if you wanted to change."
"Gracias, amigo!" Dani leans in quick to press a kiss to Sam's shoulder before bounding off towards the guest room.
It's a little overwhelming, being faced with Dani's energy first thing after waking up, but it's not exactly an unpleasant kind of overwhelming. He was even considerate enough to make Sam coffee, which he appreciates. Jamie sleeps over all the time, but has never once made coffee for Sam (though he does often offer to buy him one). There's just something nice about Dani taking the time and effort to make the coffee for him, despite the fact that he doesn't drink it.
By the time Dani's done in the shower and re-enters the kitchen with freshly dried hair, Sam's already polished off his second cup of coffee.
Dani's wearing the clothes Sam keeps stocked in the guest room, usually for Jamie, so the t-shirt's a little tight around his arms. Sam finds his eyes keep returning to the muscle there, no matter how much he tires to avert his gaze.
"I'm hungry," Dani announces. "Are you hungry?"
Sam considers. "A little. Let me see what I can find in the—"
"No!" Dani steps in front of the fridge, arms stretched out, preventing Sam from getting to it. "There will be no cooking! It's 10:30. Brunch time!"
"I don't know, Dani... I'm not sure I'm up for driving today."
Dani is undeterred. "We can walk! Come on, Sam. It will be my treat!"
...It really is impossible to say no to that face.
-
The two of them end up in this quaint little spot sandwiched between a bookstore and an antiques shop, seated outside since Dani thought it would be a waste of the good weather to be inside.
The 'good weather' doesn't look much different to the usual to Sam, still not as much sun as he would like, almost overcast but not quite. He just doesn't have the heart to argue with Dani about it, so there they are, sitting just outside the shop's window.
Every once in a while someone will walk by and recognise one of them, but thankfully they have the sense not to stop and talk or ask for a picture, just merely saying hi before going on their way.
Sam cuts into his eggs benedict as he listens to Dani recount yet another story about one of his many cousins. It's a little much, sometimes, the way Dani can go on about them, but Sam knows this is his way of staying connected to them, so he doesn't interrupt. Sam doesn't like to talk about his own family too much, worried that he'll burst into tears halfway through the conversation with how much he misses all of them, but Dani seems to work in the opposite way. The more he talks, the more strength he gains, like he's keeping them close by speaking about them.
He has to keep reminding Dani to eat his waffles before they get too cold, when he inevitably gets too distracted telling one of his stories.
"Her wedding is in a month! Her mamá was worried there would not be enough time to prepare, but my cousin doesn't want to postpone since she's..." He leans in closer to whisper the next part. "Pregnant! And she wants to get married before she starts showing. My siblings tell me it's been very stressful, especially because her parents don't know about the pregnancy yet!"
Sam chokes a little on his mimosa, laughing.
Dani's grinning, a dab of whipped cream caught at the edge of his mouth.
Sam reaches out to wipe it away with a tissue without really thinking about it. Dani blinks a little once Sam pulls back, but stays smiling.
"You would be a good boyfriend, Sam," he says suddenly. "Have you been on any dates since la señora de Bantr?"
The shift in topic catches Sam off guard, as well as the mention of Rebecca, even if Dani isn't aware that's who he's referring to. It's been long enough now that the sting at every passing mention of her isn't so severe anymore, but there are parts of what they had that Sam's still having trouble getting over. The connection they'd had, even over nothing but texts, was unlike anything he's ever experienced with anyone before.
He still worries sometimes that he'll never find anything like that ever again.
"One or two," he admits. "They were... okay. It just wasn't the same."
He hasn't talked about what happened between him and Rebecca with anybody. Jamie's tried getting the full story out of him, but Sam's remained tightlipped. It feels wrong, to be telling someone the details of their relationship, considering the fact that Rebecca's technically their boss.
In hindsight, maybe there were other contributing factors to their relationship falling apart other than just the significant age gap.
Dani sips at his sangria for a moment, looking uncharacteristically serious. "Are you giving them a real chance, Sam? If you are only looking for what you had with your Bantr woman, you will not be able to see what these other women can offer."
Huh.
Maybe Dani has a point. Maybe all Sam's doing by holding onto his memories of Rebecca is sabotaging the potential for new relationships.
He winces at the thought of that, feeling slightly ashamed now as he reflects on his previous dates.
"I didn't realise I was doing that, unfairly holding them up to a standard they could never meet." Has he just been subconsciously searching for another Rebecca this whole time? "Now I feel terrible."
Dani pats his hand sympathetically. "Perhaps you just need some time, amigo. More time for yourself, and for brunch with me! There is someone amazing out there for you, and I am sure they will not mind waiting a little bit."
Sam finds himself smiling despite the heartache, and clinks their glasses together. "Sounds like a good plan."