[cutison] If I had to guess, I think it's you ~

BONUS: when they soothed each other's fears and worries

They had managed to decline their teammates' invitations to go out and celebrate their victory without raising any suspicions. They waited until the locker room was mostly empty and took some minutes each to clear the air with their captain before Sonny drove them to Cristian's apartment.

The drive had been unusually quiet, with both men lost in their own thoughts about what was to come. They hadn't said much after the match, not wanting the rest of the team to pick up on something they hadn't yet completely figured out themselves, and now their minds were all over the place.

"Make yourself at home," Cristian said the moment they entered the apartment. He took his jacket off and headed to the kitchen, "you want something to drink?"

"Sure, whatever you're having"

Sonny set his own jacket down on the couch's armrest and looked around the room as he swung his arms back and forth, unable to stay still; unlike his previous apartment, Cristian had managed to make this place his own. He saw a frame with the photograph he had taken of Cristian and Tino that one afternoon at the park hanging on one of the walls and smiled. Next to it, there was one of himself with Tino from that very same day, which he hadn't even noticed Cuti taking. He felt a very familiar warmth at that sight.

"Here," Cristian handed him a can of beer and pointed at the couch with his head. Sonny sat down on one end, and he did the same on the other.

"So..." they said in unison, making the other laugh faintly.

"Wait, before you start, can you come closer? I swear I won't bite," Heungmin joked, trying to mask his disappointment at the distance the younger had put between them.

"Sorry," Cristian said softly, a blush creeping up his neck, and moved to the centre of the couch. His earlier straightforwardness was nowhere to be seen.

"It's okay, you alright?," Cristian nodded but didn't meet Sonny's eyes, making the older worry, "Cuti... do you regret what happened earlier?"

"What? N-no, no, I'm just.. I never..."

"You've never kissed a guy before today?" Cristian shook his head, "Do you wanna do it again?"

A shy nod was all the answer Sonny could get from him but that was enough. He left the beer can on the coffee table, then climbed atop of Cristian, one leg on either side of his lap, and grabbed his face, finally closing the remaining distance between them. The kiss was slow and sweet, Sonny didn't want to scare the other man away – he felt Cristian hesitantly rest his hands on his hips and smiled into the kiss. Baby steps.

"It's scary, isn't it?" he whispered when they finally separated, their foreheads still touching, "Feeling those things for the first time?"

He only got another nod as a response, Cristian had his eyes tightly shut.

"Hey, love, look at me," Heungmin grabbed the younger's chin and softly prompted him to look up, "I really, really like you"

"I like you too"

"Is this okay? We can take things as slow as you want, you have nothing to worry about, 'kay?"

Cristian hugged him tight by the waist, bringing him impossibly closer, and hid his face on Sonny's chest.

"Thank you," he whispered

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, with Sonny caressing Cristian's hair and neck, until the younger finally broke the silence.

"Does anyone on the team know you're...?"

"Gay? some of them, yeah," he mused on it for a few seconds, trying to remember, "Harry, of course, Deki too, and Lolo, Rich... I think Pierre and Eric suspect it but we never really talked about it.. Oh, and Bry! But other than that, I'm not, like, publicly out or anything"