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The Madrilenian sunshine is radiant at Casa de Campo Park. Perhaps a little too radiant for Luka who decided to wear a black long sleeve shirt to go out with his friends today, expecting to play in the shade.
Turns out passing each other a frisbee under a short tree line didn’t provide the ideal conditions. Toni only had to climb in the tree once to dislodge the fluorescent disc for Luka to understand that they had to find a new spot to entertain themselves.
Still this wouldn’t ruin Luka’s day. In fact, the numerous people with whom he had to share the green with were more likely to sour his mood.
Luka couldn’t believe people were actually so enamoured with themselves that they felt comfortable lying out in public without a shirt on. There were a couple of men spread across the grass on their respective blankets, only wearing shorts in order to tan their body evenly.
Fine. Luka didn’t really have a problem with what his mother would probably call ‘public indecency’. But he did have an issue with people taking up too much space. It was barely possible for Luka, despite his agile feet, to tiptoe around every person that was relaxing in the park.
Unprepared for these conditions, a nice pink shade of sunburn rising on his cheeks and his eyes squinting uselessly to counter the blinding rays of the sun, Luka should’ve known he’d eventually embarrass himself.
Luka is catching his breath when Toni backhands a flying frisbee his way.
It comes too high too fast. Luka attempts to catch it lest it falls on an unsuspecting someone. However, Luka realizes that would’ve probably been the better scenario as his feet land on uneven ground.
There’s no hurtful crunch reverberating through his leg, but he definitely rolls his ankle.
Luka tries to make himself fall forward but can only let himself stumble back. One step. Two steps. Until he clumsily lands on a surface and Luka can’t quite decide upon impact whether said surface provided a softer or harder landing than the grass. He just knows it wasn’t grass.
“Mierda!” Luka hears a rough voice almost directly in his ear.
Yeah. That wasn’t the grass making this noise. That’s for sure.
“I’m so sorry!” Luka immediately says, mentally praying that he didn’t hurt the person he just fell on.
“Are you okay?” Luka asks and begins to move his limbs to remove himself from the man – the very fit and abundantly tattooed man – he was still scattered upon.
It’s only then that he realizes his clumsy act may have left him slightly dizzy. Luka tries to put a hand on the blanket, which looks like an enormous rendition of the Spanish flag, only to miss it and grab the man’s bicep.
Really. Things couldn’t get any worse.
“Fuck. I’m sorry. Just give me a sec-” Luka tries to get up again, only to realize that his ankle may not have crunched but it definitely feels sore enough to make him visibly wince when he starts to put a bit of weight on it.
“Hey, no worries, man. Not everyday that I have an angel landing on me.” Luka hears the stranger say, a flirty tone lacing his words.
Luka chuckles awkwardly after finally managing to roll himself off of the man. “Still, I should’ve been more careful. I could’ve really hurt you.” Luka almost apologizes again, taking a good look at the guy and wow was he a sight to behold.
Maybe the heat was really getting to Luka.
“You’re so small, I promise it felt like nothing more than a feather.” The man teased Luka after reaching behind him to offer the blond a sealed water bottle. “Here. Think you need it more than me.”
“Uh. Thanks. I’m Lu-”
“Luka! Dios mío! Are you okay!?” Toni interrupts, grabbing Luka by the wrist to pull him up. “Sorry about that. We’ll keep out of your way.” Toni dismissed the man as he quickly moved Luka’s arm around his shoulder so that his friend could use him as a crutch.
“Jesus Luka! You really had to pick the guy who looked like he could take both of us in a fight.” Toni hissed as they walked away.
“Huh?” Luka said, his eyes wandering to the cool water bottle he was holding on to with his free hand. “I actually think he was pretty harmless. More like a teddy bear if you ask me.”
“Alright. So maybe you did hurt your head after all.” Toni laughed in disbelief. “No, but for real. I’m taking you home.”
…
”And don’t drink that water. There could be drugs or poison in there!”
“You think I can convince Toni to leave within the next half hour?” Luka pondered out loud, hoping Gareth didn’t fall asleep on him. Not like that had never happened before.
Luka waits a few seconds, listening to the cicadas chanting above the muffled music coming from inside the house.
“Good luck, man. He made it pretty clear we could only take him home when Marcelo’s gonna be out of commission for the night.”
A whiny sigh escapes Luka’s lips as he listens to Gareth’s words. He had found and joined his friend in the hammock after wandering in the small but cozy backyard of Marcelo’s apartment.
It was Luka’s first time at the Brazilian’s place. He’d only met the bubbly man on a few occasions when Toni invited him over to their shared apartment. Most of Luka’s social entourage in Spain were, in fact, not Spanish.
He’d found most of his friends through his university’s international students club. During his first years, Luka had simply been too shy to approach new people with his heavy accented Spanish. Anyway, Madrid hadn’t been a long-term plan to begin with.
Luka thought he’d get his degree and pack his bag to go back home. Until he realized that going back home meant taking a few steps back towards the closet. In Spain, Luka had allowed himself to experiment and explore new things. His friends here were supportive.
Without thinking twice about it, Luka had applied for a post-graduate program with Toni’s encouragement and renewed his lease with his landlord. Luka would be forever grateful for Toni’s role in improving his life, but Luka also recognized that he should start learning to say no to Toni’s requests.
In order to not seem like a complete loner, Toni had begged Luka and Gareth to join him to attend Marcelo’s party, an event meant to celebrate the Brazilian’s promotion at his job. Luka wasn’t sure what his and Gareth’s presence would add, but he had caved when Toni promised he would take care of laundry for the next two weeks.
Now Luka was regretting being so weak-minded. The party had been a blast when Luka arrived with Toni and Gareth two hours ago. Good food, vibrant music and enjoyable company.
That was until a group of native Spanish speakers barged inside, not only raising the volume but also the average height by at least 10 cm. The latter wasn’t necessarily an issue for Toni and Gareth, but it definitely was for Luka who could no longer bring his drink to his mouth without fearing that someone’s elbow would knock his beer on the ground.
Luka had lost sight of Toni in the increasingly crowded space and opted to follow his Welsh friend who Luka had seen making an escape earlier.
Luka had let his thoughts drift from pleasant memories to the assignment he had to submit in the following week and to the lyrics of the reggaeton song blasting through the windows. Gareth’s breathing was lulling him slowly, as Luka’s head followed its rise and fall.
This was nothing new. Luka and Gareth had done multiple naps on their couch back at their place. Most often when they felt the unexpected claws of homesickness scratching at their hearts.
A few more minutes pass before Luka starts to feel the effect of the beers that he had previously consumed. Specifically, the pressure to go find a toilet where he could relieve himself.
Luka climbs out of the hammock, as gracefully as it allows him to, and tells Gareth to stay put. That he’ll be back in a few.
Going to the toilet becomes an endeavour that stretches far beyond what Luka had estimated. He gets hit on by a girl that Luka politely entertains before he lets her down gently, telling her he’s not looking for anything like that tonight – or ever for that matter.
Before Luka gets to completely eclipse himself from that situation, he gets pulled into a game of beer pong with Toni who howls at every shot they make. Even when Luka’s shots fail to fall in a cup.
Needless to say they both had to chug a couple more drinks which only made Luka’s problem that more urgent.
He almost begs Toni to let him go, reminding his friend that he probably wouldn’t want to do the laundry if Luka will end up pissing himself.
Thus, Luka feels both lighter after relieving himself and heavier from the fatigue building up inside of him when he makes his way back to the hammock where Gareth said he’d be waiting for him.
In a bit of a teasing mood, Luka hops higher than he needs to in order to catch Gareth off guard. Maybe rile him up into a tickle fight.
When Luka flops himself into the hammock, his weight landing right on Gareth’s stomach, Luka is surprised to hear a noise that sounded closer to a bark than an actual complaint.
“Oi!”
Most importantly, Luka immediately gathered that this response was far from the Welsh’s characteristic ‘Oof!’.
Fuck him.
“What the hell!” The person grunts and shifts in the hammock to land into a sitting position, making Luka’s ass slide from the stranger’s stomach right onto his crotch.
Luka wants to get a word in. Maybe jump out of the hammock and faceplant while at it. But he’s stunned speechless when the stranger cups Luka’s cheeks to keep him still.
Luka’s face is illuminated by a soft yellow light from the outdoor lamp, but - unfairly so - the stranger’s face is practically a shadow to Luka as his back is facing the light source.
“Hey, let g-” Luka gasps, trying to shake his head out of the man’s solid but gentle grip.
“It’s you!” The guy remarks incredulously. “So you just go around falling on people all the time!?”
And Luka doesn’t have to dig very deep to try to figure out when’s the last time he physically tumbled on someone, but it does take a few seconds longer thanks to the buzz from the alcohol Toni made him drink.
“You can’t play the innocent angel act on me this time.” The guy says while Luka’s mind is focused on observing the man’s tattoos stretching on his forearms. Anything to distract him from the fact that he’s sitting in a stranger’s lap. Again.
“No- Listen. You have to believe me. My friend was right there!” Luka stutters out.
“Try again, beautiful. I’ve been here for half an hour and no one but you came to disturb my nap.”
Fucking Gareth.
“Look-” Luka starts, but his breath hitches when his skin shivers under a chilly wind sweeping by Marcelo’s backyard.
“Oh. Is my little angel cold by any chance?” Luka blushes at the man’s words, grateful for the dim lighting. “There. There.” The guy says as he wraps his arms around Luka’s shoulders and pulls him down so they can lie in the warm confines of the hammock.
“Hey.” Luka protests but puts little resistance in his limbs to prevent himself from landing into the man’s hold. “You don’t even know my name…” Luka pouts as he feels the other man’s hand carding through his hair and forcing Luka’s head to rest on his chest. The guy is at least wearing a shirt this time.
“I could murder you the second you fall asleep.” Luka threatens, no scarier than a kitten.
“I’d like to see you try.” The man snickered. “But if it can help you calm down… care to share your name?”
Luka waits. Letting the cicadas fill the silence for him. Why did Luka have to be the one to offer his name first?
Ouch . Luka felt a pinch on his waist.
“I can continue to call you ‘angel’ if that’s what you prefer- Oi!” The man doesn’t get to finish his sentence as Luka’s fingers start their own offensive, pinching one of the guy’s pecs – dangerously close to a nipple.
“Luka.” The blonde shares, a grin spreading across his cheeks.
“Luka.” The guy repeats, letting the syllables roll off his tongue. “Cute. I’m Sergio.”
“Sergio.” Luka imitates dumbly.
“So Luka, do you fall on every other guy or am I special?” The guy – Sergio – asks and Luka can almost imagine him batting his eyelashes.
“You’re not special.” Luka comments as if this was factual information but shows his own deck of cards when he lets himself relax in Sergio’s embrace, nuzzling his nose in the soft fabric of the man’s shirt. “Not special at all.”
“Uh-huh.” Sergio replies.
Luka can hear the thumping of the man’s heart and wonders if he ever paid attention to Gareth’s heartbeat when they cuddled.
He wonders what face Toni would make if he found Luka snuggling up with the ‘scary’ man – the one for whom Toni had created an intricate backstory that revolved around organized crime and other sinful activities.
“How do you know Marcelo?” Luka questions, suddenly remembering that there was still a risk of Sergio being an evil drug lord. It was the same man that had occupied most of his fantasies this past week, but he couldn’t let himself be completely reckless either.
“I’m his roommate. We played on the same football team at our university.” Sergio yawns, sleepiness coating his words.
“Oh. And what do you do now?”
Sergio’s hand momentarily stills in Luka’s hair. “What- Is this the ‘Luka interrogation room’?”
“Something like that.” Luka smiles.
“I work in construction… but I have a degree in engineering.”
“Not just a meathead, I see” Luka jokes and feels glee when Sergio’s chest rumbles with laughter.
“So is that ‘friend’ of yours really just a friend or am I gonna get a blackeye when he finds us?”
“Oh- I can’t guarantee he won’t play the overprotective act, but I promise he’s armless. Just a friend.” Luka says with honesty.
“Good.” Sergio says, making Luka’s stomach flutter with butterflies. It had been a while since he’d felt something being just right.
If Luka’s body was a tad fuller of liquid courage, he might have taken a leap and kissed the guy. But instead, he lets himself close his eyes, hoping Toni and Gareth wouldn’t come and bother his sleep under the stars.