A fiction that shouldn't be a fiction
Title: A fiction that shouldn't be a fiction
Pairing: Novak Djokovic/Rafael Nadal
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2,084
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this is a fiction. (It is?)
Summary: Novak had only participated in the charity event to help his fellow players raise money for a good cause but he gets something out of it as well.
Author’s note: Since I feel like I watched the slashiest tennis event of the year, I had to write something before all those grunts got the better of me. The story is in Nole’s POV, set right after the charity event and thanks to my very helpful beta-reader crystaleyesd :)
“Hey, good job out there. I really appreciate the help.”
I smile at Roger who had come up with this fantastic idea. “No problem. It was my pleasure to be a part of it.”
We’re back in the locker room, already having said bye to the lady players in the hallway. The charity event had been arranged in less than twenty four hours and we were all impressed at how many people had come to see us on such short notice. It was good to know that we could do something special as a tennis family and reach out to those who could use our help.
“Nole, you have plans tonight?”
I turn around and notice that Rafael looks a little nervous. “Eh, no. Not really. Why do you ask? Another charity thing in the evening?”
“Haha, no. I just thought we could eat together.”
“Like… dinner?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
I nod. It’s not the first time we’re grabbing a bite together. He’s always been friendly and I like how his facial muscles move; they’re very entertaining, to say the least. Besides, he’s a nice guy and it’s pleasant to be around him. People will be surprised to know that he can actually make some funny jokes in English when he has good food in his system.
“What time? You have a match tomorrow, I recall.”
“I have an evening match so it doesn’t matter. Oh, please wear these shorts later too. We’ll go to a casual restaurant.”
I roll my eyes. Did he just tell me to wear tennis shorts for dinner? Why on earth would I want to do that?
“Um, I don’t know if you noticed but it has my nickname plastered on top of my butt.”
“I know that. Believe me, I do.”
He puts up one of those huge smiles on his face that makes all of his wrinkles come out in the sun and I wonder what he’s thinking.
“Will you be wearing tennis clothes too? It’s not fair if I’m the only one who’s going to get weird stares.”
He seems to consider my question for a moment and shakes his head. “But I’ll wear tight jeans, if you want.”
“What? Why would I want that?”
For some reason, he looks hurt but quickly puts a smile on his lips again. “You want me in shorts?”
“Well, if that’s what I have to wear, then yeah! I want you in shorts too.”
He nods and I feel a little lost. Who cares about clothes when we’re going to have ordinary food? It’s not like we’re going to the Wimbledon Champions’ dinner. We will probably head to the nearest Italian restaurant or something.
“You know, I think I hurt my chest when we did that chest bump. It was rough, no?”
“Really? I thought we didn’t bump that hard. Maybe we didn’t jump at the same time and that did a little damage.”
“Hang on. I’ll show you.”
He takes off his T-shirt and I glance at his chest. “Where exactly? I don’t see any bruises or red spots. Perhaps it’s a bit sore on the skin?”
“Look closely. I think it’s around here, no?”
I sit down on the bench to take a proper look at where his finger is pointing at. “Here? Does it hurt when I press here?”
I press once more, wondering how he can feel hurt under all these muscles. I feel just fine with fewer muscles in the abs.
“Mmm… yeah, there.”
He lets out a small moan and I immediately stop poking him. What’s with people moaning today? I only moaned along because everybody else did.
“I’m sorry, Rafa. I thought it would be fun to celebrate like the Bryan brothers. Obviously, we’re not that experienced.” I apologize. It had been my idea to do the chest bump.
“It’s okay. It was fun! The crowd liked it too. We just need lots of practice.”
“Practice? But we never even play doubles together.” I point out the obvious.
“Will you play with me if I ask you?”
I answer without hesitating, “Sure! You’re a good doubles player. You’ve won titles before. I don’t have any doubles trophies yet.”
“Will you play with Roger if he asks you too? He has an Olympic gold medal.”
He’s asking me so many weird questions today but I answer again anyway. “Well, I feel closer to you so I guess if you ask me around the same time, I’d rather play with you.”
He seems pleased with my answer and thank god, he puts his shirt back on and grabs his tennis bag. Now I can go back to my hotel room and enjoy some quiet time.
“Meet me at the lobby at seven.”
“Okay… I didn’t know we were staying at the same hotel.” I had heard from Fernando that Rafael was staying at a friend’s flat.
His smile gets bigger as he informs me, “We do now.”
He waves and leaves the locker room and I pick up my stuff as well. I should get some rest before I go out for dinner. The charity event must have used up more of my energy than I had thought.
Several hours later, I find myself having a hard time dealing with Rafael’s behavior once more. He’d kindly invited me to his room for some video games and even though I politely rejected his offer, worried that his uncle might not appreciate me bothering his nephew on the eve of a grand slam, Rafael had insisted that I should play at least half an hour with him since he didn’t like to go to bed without a decent football game.
“Meh, it’s not a good day for me.” He whines while I score another goal. This is awesome.
“I thought you rocked at these games. What’s wrong with you? It’s kinda hard to lose to me, according to Andy.” I think about my Scottish friend who must be playing a game as we speak.
“I don’t know.” He shrugs before adding in a softer voice, “I might be interested in something else, no? Hard to focus.”
“But you said you wanted to play video games, Rafa. I don’t get you at all today. You’ve been acting all weird.” I shake my head, trying to remember if the world number two had hit his head during the event.
“You still don’t know why you’re really here, do you?”
I think it’s supposed to be a question but I can tell that he’s not really asking me one.
“I guess it was never about video games.”
I get up from the couch since I suddenly feel so uncomfortable. I feel like I should leave. It’s strange because I’ve never been this awkward around him even when we had a net between us.
“Let me just ask you something, Nole.” He gets up as well and gently grabs my shoulders.
“Sure. Shoot.”
“Why do you think I wiped your ass with the towel earlier?”
“Uh… because I rolled all over the court?”
“Then, why do you think I pulled up my shorts so that you could wipe my thigh?”
“Well, you sweated a lot. It was very hot with the roof closed and there were so many people.”
He chuckles and I try to figure out what is going on. I’m not stupid. I do have an idea but I just can’t believe that it could be the right one.
“This might help you understand things better.”
All of a sudden, he drops his shorts and oh my, what am I looking at! My eyes shoot up to the ceiling. I have a cold. I haven’t been feeling well since the last couple of days and I must be hallucinating. I’ve always suspected that doctors give you strong meds for a simple cold.
“Nole, it’s okay.” He takes a step closer and oh dear mother Mary, now I can feel it.
“I don’t think this is okay!!” I yell, trying to take a step back. But his arms are wrapped around my waist and I have nowhere to go.
“It’s really okay. If you don’t like it, I promise I’ll stop.”
He brushes his lips against my forehead and only now that I realize, wow, he likes me as in more than just a fellow player or a good friend on tour would do.
“You kissed me.” I say it out loud. It was so quick and his lips barely touched my skin, but still, it was a kiss.
“I know. I was there.” He giggles but I don’t find it funny.
“Are you going to do it again?” I ask, only to check if he did it on the spur of the moment or because he really likes me.
His eyebrows move and the answer comes out with enough confidence, “I think I am.”
“Oh…”
I look at him in the eyes and notice that he’s not giggling anymore. He’s serious. What should I do now?
I don’t have time to come up with an answer as his lips land on my nose. It tickles but I don’t move an inch. I have more pressing matters to deal with, such as pondering why I’m not pushing him away and barging out of the room.
“By the way, don’t you think you should make sure you didn’t get hurt? I’m worried.”
“Hurt? I was close to getting hurt?”
I can’t remember. I’m not exactly in the most ideal situation to reminisce about the good, old times; I’m trapped in another player’s arms, pressed to his abs and god knows what else there is down there.
“Yeah. You needed a towel for protection, remember?”
“Ah, that! How exactly do I make sure I didn’t get hurt there?”
Oopsies! I realized the answer all by myself as soon as the last word had left my lips. Did I really ask that?
I quickly turn around and leave the comfort of his arms. I head towards the door, not forgetting to wriggle my hips. I’m not stupid. I know why he wanted me in these shorts.
“Wait! Nole, wait!”
I rejoice inside at Rafa’s desperate voice. Ah, he still doesn’t have a clue, does he? This is why I got casted in ‘Iron Man 2’, thank you very much!
To complete my acting, I let out a shaky voice, “What is it, Rafa?”
“I have to tell you something, Nole. I’m sorry if I scared you but I didn’t mean to.”
Aww, dear Rafa, you didn’t scare me. If only you knew what was really going on here. But, I stay in character and face him with a confused expression. “I’m listening.”
Rafael pulls up his shorts and damn, he shouldn’t have done that. Why can’t he just talk with his shorts down? I fly back to the couch and close the distance between us before shocking him by pulling his shorts down.
“Nole…?”
He looks like he can use some explanation.
“I like you, Rafa. I’ve liked you for quite some time already. And, I’ve waited way too long to do this so if you don’t mind, can we talk after this?”
The last thing that I see is poor Rafa nodding with his mouth wide open, and hey, who am I to refuse such an open invitation?
I pull him into a kiss and yes, this is what I’ve been waiting for all day. Why do you think I had ‘Nole’ written on my ass, Rafa? I hope you get the situation by now.
Ah, I have to text Hasi and say thanks for helping me choose the right font. I knew the moment when I saw Tommy wear a ‘Hasi’ shirt in Kooyong that I needed his help. Thank you, Tommy! Rafa probably says thanks too!