(PRESENT)
With a groan, Mateo opened his bleary eyes. His head hurt, throat dry. He vaguely remembered last night. Yaz encouraged him to down drink after drink until he could barely stand on his own two feet. Laughter. A competitive arm wrestle.
He definitely lost some money over that.
“Goddammit, Yaz…”
He could almost see her face. A smug grin. She knew her limits… and Mateo’s, it seemed. If only he had listened to Rosa’s warning partway through the night. She would know better than anyone what Yaz was capable of.
It was much too late now.
“I’ll get my revenge next time…” Mateo muttered under his breath.
He laid there, trying to ignore his pounding head. Eventually, it became too much. He fumbled around on the bedside table, finding some painkillers and a cup of water. He almost knocked it over in his daze. There was a note underneath the glass. It was hard to read at first, his vision still blurry.
For when you wake up, party animal.
Cam xxx
With a smile, Mateo downed the tablets. Somehow, he felt better already. He turned over, Cameron’s sleeping face coming into view.
Serene.
“You’re so considerate, Cam.” Mateo reached out, moving a stray strand of hair from his face. "Not sure what I did to deserve meeting you."
Life had thrown them both into the deep end. Together, they thrived.
Snuggling up closer, Mateo let out a content sigh. That was when he noticed a faint smile on Cameron’s lips. Mateo rolled his eyes, playfully punching Cameron’s shoulder.
“And you’re totally awake right now.”
Cameron said nothing. The only thing giving him away was the ever-widening grin.
“Oh, so it’s like that, huh?” Mateo smirked, waggling his fingers. “Two can play at that game, Cameron.”
Before Cameron could do anything else, Mateo began tickling him. There was an immediate reaction. Cameron shuffled deeper into the blanket, blocking any obvious weak points. Undeterred, Mateo managed to get his hand underneath the blanket shield. That sent Cameron into an uncontrollable fit of giggles.
“H-hey, knock it off!”
He batted Mateo’s hand away, rolling over to avoid his unrelenting attacks.
“So, you are awake, then.”
“Now I am, yeah.” Cameron eventually said when he caught his breath, turning to face Mateo again. “You are so cruel to me sometimes.”
Mateo chuckled, kissing his forehead. “And you are too cute sometimes.”
“No way.” Cameron pouted, perfectly demonstrating Mateo’s point. “Cute doesn’t suit me.”
“I think it does.” Mateo gathered Cameron’s hands in his, peppering them with kisses. “I thought you were cute from the first day I met you.”
A faint blush appeared on Cameron’s cheeks, breaking through the playful indignance. Mateo couldn’t decide which was cuter: Cameron trying to fight his adorable reactions or actually giving in to them.
“Not at all scary, then?”
Mateo shook his head. “How could I find my saviour scary?”
Cameron rolled his eyes and huffed. “Teo, we both know you could handle Jerry on your own. I mean, shit, you basically decked him.”
As true as that might be, Mateo remembered being terrified before Cameron showed up. It was the first time Mateo had actually fought back so fiercely against Jerry.
The beginning of his and Cameron's friendship... and love.
“Maybe,” Mateo reached out, cupping Cameron’s cheek, “but I wouldn’t want to without my partner.”
Cameron shuffled closer, kissing Mateo’s nose. “Dumbass.”
“Maybe so, but I’m your dumbass.”
“Oh, I know that.” Cameron sighed contently.
“Two dumbasses,” Mateo wrapped him in a tight hug, rubbing their faces together, “the perfect combo.”
Cameron made a half-hearted attempt at moving out of the way. “If I wasn’t still sleepy from last night, I would totally hit you right now.”
“What, it’s true! You can’t really deny it…” Mateo grinned, mischievous, “or do I have to find your notebook filled with confession brainstorming again.”
Cameron definitely regretted telling Mateo about that.
“Hey, I just… wasn’t very good at talking about my feelings.”
Mateo squeezed him gently, kissing the top of his head. “I think we can safely say you’re much better at it now.”
Cameron rested his head on Mateo’s chest, smiling to himself. “That’s all thanks to you, cariño.”
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Aaaaaand we be back. Hope y’all have been keeping safe :)
Gonna move forward with one chapter a week for the time being (released on Saturdays).
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