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"Where did Jannik go?" Carlos asked one of the physios on his team. He got out of the back of the van, where he had been resting and drinking some water, trying to cool himself down from the sun. He had shrugged off his jacket and the hoodie he wore underneath, only a light t-shirt hanging off his frame, and his pale arms looked rather pathetic in the bright sun.
They had stopped for a short while, exhausted from the heat, and were right outside a small village in Northern Italy on their way to the next tournament. Traveling together was more fun than doing it alone.
Pedro shrugged. "He walked out into the field, I think; he's been there for the past fifteen minutes." He carried on fiddling with his phone.
"When are we leaving?" Carlos asked and squinted into the sea of yellow flowers glowing brightly in the sun.
"A few minutes, twenty minutes tops. You should probably find him!" One of the men replied from behind him.
Carlos nodded. He jumped down into the field, grunting as he landed, and ran his hand through his hair. When he stood upright, the flowers reached his chest, and he wondered how he would find anything at all. Surely, he'd end up stepping on Jannik if he walked around blindly in this forest of yellow.
But he started walking, the flowers easily bending away as he walked through them, and he suddenly noticed a path where flower stalks had already been snapped and lay broken on the field. Carlos smiled to himself; he knew how he'd find Jannik, and he picked up his pace as he followed the trail.
He walked for a short while, and the heat was already getting to him. His shirt felt moist, and his hair felt warm on his head. This was one of the moments he was thankful he kept it relatively short. As he walked, he let his hands slip over the flowers and listened to the quiet sound of leaves rustling in the calm breeze.
Suddenly, he realized the trail had disappeared before him, and Carlos stopped abruptly. How was that possible? Jannik couldn't have disappeared, and there was no way he'd be able to walk without snapping a few branches. He turned around several times, eyes scanning the field, but he saw no trace of his rival or proof that he'd been there at all.
He squinted as he looked around." What...?" he mouthed in confusion. In the distance, there was a dark green forest, but it was so far away, and in the opposite direction, he saw the van and both teams sitting beside it. He realized how far he'd actually walked when he noticed how tiny they looked from where he stood.
He decided to walk in a random direction, taking a sharp left, and the moment he did, his foot made contact with something on the ground. He stumbled forward, yelping loudly as he fell into the flowers.
"Ow," Carlos grunted as he landed with a dull thud, arms covering his face. He looked up, took a moment to adjust his dizzy sight, and realized he was in the middle of a tiny empty circle, barely big enough for two people to lie sprawled out in.
"You alright?" He heard a familiar voice laughing quietly. He turned his head and saw Jannik lying on his back with his hands folded over his chest. "Yeah, I'm fine," Carlos grunted and got up on his knees. He brushed away the dirt on his chest and crawled up beside his friend. He had been right when he thought he was gonna step on him.
Jannik's eyes were shut, and he was smiling faintly. His jacket was rolled up beside him, and his white hat was lying on top of it. Guess he was too warm to wear such thick clothing as well.
"We're leaving soon," Carlos said quietly. He reached over, snapped off a flower stalk, and fiddled with it between his fingers.
"Soon, but not yet," Jannik said lazily, keeping his eyes shut. "Lie down, Carlos." He continued." They can't leave without us anyway."
Carlos raised an eyebrow; he was reluctant to lie down in the dirt, but with a sigh, he turned and lay on his back next to Jannik, with only a few inches of space between them. The flowers were so tall that no one could see them here, and it was no wonder that Carlos hadn't been able to spot Jannik. The sky was completely clear, not a single cloud in sight, and the sun shone brightly down on them.
Jannik surely meant for Carlos to rest and shut his eyes. Still, Carlos wasn't tired in any way and continued moving the flower stalk between his fingers. The flowers on it were small, bright yellow, and very fragile, Carlos learned, when a few petals fell onto his face as he touched them.
A mischievous idea formed in his mind as he looked at the flowers and turned onto his side facing him. Slowly, he stretched his arm and let the flower stalk gently tickle Jannik's forehead. He didn't seem to notice, or he simply ignored it.
Carlos traced the flowers over the profile of his face, moving them with the curves and lines, and stopped below his nose, where he brushed them gently over his skin and finally got a reaction. Jannik scrunched his nose, pursed his lips, tried to get whatever was pestering him away, and Carlos was trying his best not to laugh, biting his lower lip hard.
With a frustrated grunt, Jannik reached up and snatched away the flowers, throwing them to the side.
"Stop it, Carlos, it's not funny!" He knitted his brows but kept his eyes shut and returned to trying to rest.
Carlos snorted, poked out his tongue, and reached out, breaking off a few more stalks. He picked off the flowers one by one, and very, very gently placed one in his Jannik's hair, which was spiraling and curling all around his head. The rust-colored strands were getting far too long and were now so heavy that they weren't so much curls anymore and more like lazy waves.
Carlos tilted his head and bit his cheek in concentration, admiring his work of art, watching the yellow flowers light up against Jannik's hair, like stars in a swirly galaxy. A few petals had fallen off and were strewn randomly in the red tresses, and Carlos was reminded of paintings he'd seen somewhere, like those of Van Gogh. The sweet scent of the flowers filled the air. Carlos felt lightheaded from the smell, and he silently blamed the scent for making his heart beat just a little faster as he looked at Jannik.
He resisted the urge to brush his hand through the hair. Instead, he pulled off the rest of the flowers from the remaining stalks, breaking them as he did so, and drizzled them into Jannik's face.
"Oh, Jesus-" Jannik gasped and spat out when flowers entered his mouth. He moved his head away, squeezed his eyes shut, and gripped Carlos's hand. "Carlos! Cut it out!" He coughed.
Carlos laughed loudly, his mischief too much fun to stop, and took the opportunity to get up and straddle Jannik, giving him better access to bothering him.
"Carlos!" Jannik laughed but was still squirming, fighting with all his might to get the flowers away. He kicked and tried to push Carlos off, but the younger man was firmly planted on top of him and was determined not to go anywhere.
"Stop it!" He gripped Carlos's wrists, but that didn't stop the last of the flowers from falling into his face.
"Aren't you having fun?" Carlos giggled innocently, as he yanked himself loose from Jannik's grip and rubbed his hands together to brush away the remains of flowers.
"No," Jannik spat, shaking his head to get the flora decorating his face away. He stuck out his tongue and reached into his mouth with his thumb and index finger, pulling out a petal, a thin trail of saliva following.
"You're ruining my masterpiece," Carlos pouted with a smirk as he watched Jannik wipe his face.
Jannik stopped rubbing his face and looked at Carlos. His brows were furrowed, and he looked mad. The color of the flowers had rubbed off onto Jannik's skin, a few streaks of yellow on his cheek and forehead.
"C'mon, it was just a joke!" Carlos smiled. He picked a flower and bent down, face only a few inches away from Jannik's, as he tucked the flower into his hair.
"Remember, make love, not war!" He said sheepishly, unsure of what Jannik was gonna do. He rolled a lock of the elder's hair between his fingers as he looked at Jannik. The tight-knit expression was still on his face, and it made Carlos feel a little bad.
"Since when did you turn into such a hippie?" Jannik broke his stern mask, smiling slightly, and managed to slip his hands up under Carlos's shirt to tickle him. Carlos yelped and sat up, forced laughter coming from him as Jannik attacked his stomach.
Carlos laughed, trying his best to fight off the hands on his sides, but Jannik had a better grip on him. Carlos was quickly out of breath, making him even easier to attack. Soon, he was wheezing and panting, hands limp as he hopelessly tried to stop Jannik.
Jannik took his opportunity and rolled them over so he was on top, and a few of the flowers in his hair fell away. He stopped tickling, letting Carlos's tired hands grab hold of his own, and he smiled gently down at the younger man, whose face was red from laughter, and his pearly whites all made an appearance as he smiled back. His bright brown eyes were the same color as the warm dirt on the ground, Jannik noted, although the color of his eyes had been burnt into his mind long ago. But the dark gaze was glassed over with tears, and his usually dark hair looked two shades lighter in the sun.
Slowly, their fingers entwined, and Jannik raised Carlos's arms over his head. He bent down over him, eyes locked onto Carlos's, and he came so close that he could feel the younger one shivering breath like a cool stroke of wind on his face. Their noses touched, Carlos nuzzling his against Jannik's, and he craned his neck so that their lips met, a light jolt running through both of them as their lips touched.
Jannik smiled into the kiss, savoring the sweet taste and the softness of his lips, and pushed on with eagerness, pressing himself down and squeezing Carlos's hands as their mouths shifted against each other.
Jannik's hair was like a heavy curtain of copper that draped over Carlos's face, tickling his skin as they moved. Carlos opened his eyes slightly, peeking at him, and he felt a warm sensation in his gut as he looked at the elder's face. He'd never admitted it or said it out loud, but he loved him, and he loved every bit of him. He wanted to kiss him all over, lavish his face with affection, wanted to brush his hands over the drizzle of freckles that adored the bridge of his nose and cheeks. Carlos tried to get lost in his green eyes, and he wanted to hold him tight and hear his heartbeat, his breathing, and the sound of blood rushing through his veins.
He parted his lips when he felt Jannik's tongue lick over his lower lip and welcomed him in, his own tongue moving forth and sliding against Jannik's. His eyes fluttered shut again, and he moaned quietly as Jannik's tongue rubbed his own, and it seemed to drive Jannik, leading him on and deepening the kiss
Jannik's hands slipped away and ended up on each side of Carlos to keep himself upright as he broke the kiss, placed a chaste peck on the corner of his lips, and trailed his lips down his jaw to his throat.
Carlos let his hands tangle into his hair; he felt how warm the ginger locks were from the sun and giggled quietly. The downsides of looking exotic, he supposed.
Jannik broke away from his throat, lips buzzing, breath quick, eyes clouded as he opened them, pupils dilated. A single flower petal was stuck on his eyelashes, Carlos noticed, and no matter how much Jannik batted them, it wouldn't go away. Carlos chuckled and kissed him lightly, feeling his heart swell at the sight of Jannik so frustrated over little things. He untangled his one hand from Jannik's curls to remove the petal.
"Hold still," he murmured as he tried to pick the petal. Jannik continued blinking, and Carlos couldn't get hold of it. "Jannik! I'm trying to help you; now, hold still!" He couldn't help but chuckle as he tried again, but this time, it was his own clumsiness that made him miss the flower and instead pull out an eyelash.
" Ow!" Jannik exclaimed.
"Sorry!" Carlos grinned. "Alright, the third time's the charm!" He got hold of the little petal and laughed, victorious. He noticed that the eyelash was still stuck on his finger.
"Hey," Jannik opened his eyes, blinking a few times, his light gaze meeting Carlos's eyes. "You can make a wish!"
"You know I don't believe in that stuff, Carlos." Jannik scoffed as he eyed the out-held finger, where a single dark eyelash rested.
"Oh, just do it! C'mon, make a wish and blow!" Carlos smiled and held his finger closer to his lips." You need to stop being such a skeptic."
"Fine," Jannik sighed. He looked at Carlos silently for a moment, considering his wish, and then huffed, the eyelash flying away and disappearing.
"Good job! Now, what did you wish for?" Carlos asked, leading his hand up to Jannik's hair to pick away the rest of the flowers.
"I'm not allowed to say. Otherwise, it won't come true." Jannik said." Isn't that how it goes?" he smiled cheekily.
Carlos smiled, a little over the top. "Thought you didn't believe in that stuff?"
"I don't, but I won't risk it either." Jannik said." I wouldn't mind this wish coming true." He turned his head and looked up at the sky, listening. He could have sworn he heard something.
"Bet you wished for, like... a stargazer or something like that, nerd." Carlos joked.
"Nah... This wish was something psychological, not something that I can hold. Although if it came true, I'd get to hold whoever it affected forever... So, maybe it's a little physical as well." Jannik turned back to Carlos, his eyes warm when he met Carlos's dark eyes.
Carlos cocked an eyebrow." What kind of a wish is that? I'd have wished for another slam title or something." Carlos said, the last part spoken under his breath, as he picked away the flower petals.
Jannik didn't reply. Instead, he kissed him again, pressing his lips gently against Carlos', and tried to convey his feelings into that one kiss. Carlos hummed contently into the kiss, and even though he couldn't read Jannik's mind or understand body language, he could sense something more when their lips met.
" Carlos! Jannik!" Someone from the crew shouted and broke the peaceful silence in the excellent weather.
" Yeah, time to go." Jannik cleared his throat as he pulled away and got up on his hands and knees. He crawled over, picked up his jacket, and put the cap on his head.
Carlos stood up slowly, feeling lightheaded, and waited for his friend to follow before he started the short walk back to the van.
They walked side by side towards the road, where the van was parked, and Jannik's hand slipped into Carlos', their fingers intertwining in the sea of yellow flowers.