Running home || julián x enzo

Running home (to your sweet nothings)

The journey back to England had been long and Enzo's only reprieve through it all had been Julian's sleeping on his shoulder all the way through. Their friends and teammates joked about the City player's ability to fall asleep in the weirdest situations, and this time around wasn't an exception. He was only awake long enough to change planes in Madrid and say goodbye to their teammates heading to different parts of Europe, and he almost passed out as soon as they were in the private plane that took all the Premier League players back to London.

"If you don't have success with the football thing, being Juli's personal pillow might work for you," Cristian had said between giggles as they were getting ready to land. Lisandro laughed loud enough to wake Julián and earned one of Enzo's dirty looks.

"Are we home yet?" Juli mumbled into his shoulder, only opening one eye to look accusingly at Licha from his spot.

"We're about to land, yeah," Enzo replied and ran his fingers through Julián's hair in an attempt to tame the mess it had become.

Julián sat properly then, nodding at the same time he yawned, and Enzo missed the contact with him dearly. He didn't waste time in interlacing their fingers and Juli gave him a tired smile in return. The desire to kiss his boyfriend overwhelmed him like a tidal wave. It took everything in him to appease his aching heart with a chaste kiss on Juli's knuckles.

Customs and immigration went in a blur as usual, and soon they were hugging everyone heading back to their respective cities and towns. There were no small number of jokes and insinuations about Julián staying instead of going with Lisandro and Máximo back to Manchester. Enzo could have been worried about it, but Julián didn't seem bothered. On the contrary, he was laughing and hiding his face on Enzo's shoulder whenever he felt the need to yawn.

The ride to Enzo's house took almost an hour, and both players dozed off for most of it. They thanked the driver for helping them to unload their biggest bags and then they walked into the dark foyer. Enzo had to admit his new house still didn't quite feel like home. Partly because he had been living in it for barely a couple of months before going to Qatar, but mostly because there were still so few things that were his or Julian's in there that felt mostly like a hotel. So the relief that flooded him once the door closed behind them took him completely by surprise, almost as much as Juli's arms suddenly encircling his shoulders.

"Missed you," he mumbled somewhere close to Enzo's neck, making the younger one chuckle.

"Missed me? Love, we've been together non-stop for almost a week."

Enzo started walking without letting Julián go, turning some lights on their way to the sofa. He let himself fall on it, taking Juli with him. Far from being surprised, he made himself comfortable on Enzo's lap and pressed a kiss to his neck. Enzo's arms wrapped protectively around him almost out of instinct.

Enzo was starting to think Julián had fallen asleep again, when he finally explained: "I missed being just the two of us."

"Ah, I know the feeling." He pressed a kiss to Julian's forehead and then tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "I'm guessing you ran out of social energy?" he suggested with a half-smile, pecking his boyfriend's lips quickly.

Julián's eyes opened widely almost comically and he started nodding frantically. Enzo couldn't contain his laughter and Julián followed suit. And then they couldn't stop. They grabbed each other's arms for support, tearing and gasping for air. Enzo's stomach even started hurting from the effort. Julián was the first to regain the ability to breathe normally, and he melted against Enzo's side.

"I love the boys and the celebrations and the fans but..." He sighed and Enzo had to bite back a new bout of laughter. Julián punched his shoulder trying to make him stop, though he had started giggling again. He ran both hands through his hair and found a new spot on the other side of the sofa, tucking his feet under Enzo's thighs. "I needed a break from the exposure and we didn't get any," he concluded.

"I was quite surprised you made it through the whole week without getting cranky, to be honest," Enzo teased.

"I'm not a toddler."

Enzo placed a finger on his chin, faking a pose of contemplation. "Are we sure of that?"

"Shut up!" Julián threw himself over Enzo, his hands quickly finding the spots that tickled him the most.

"No, no, no, please, Juli. Love! Stop!"

Julián continued his attack for a few seconds, expertly avoiding kicks and shoves from his boyfriend while tickling him mercilessly. Only when he felt sufficiently avenged, he stopped, replacing the tickles by kisses all over Enzo's face. When he found the other's lips, they lingered there. Enzo didn't waste any time, biting him softly and asking for a deeper kiss that was conceded immediately.

They were interrupted by Enzo's yawn. They giggled right into each other's mouths, but neither moved away. Enzo kept his eyes closed for a few seconds, but felt compelled to open them when he sensed Julián staring at him. His boyfriend's brown eyes shone prettily when they met his, and Enzo cupped his face tenderly.

"What is it?" His voice was barely about a whisper.

"We're world champions," Julián answered with wonder on his face and Enzo couldn't help laughing softly while shaking his head.

"And you have just arrived at that conclusion?"

Julián rolled his eyes at him and Enzo had to admit he fell in love with him all over again whenever he did that. He surged up to place a kiss on Julián's cheek, which earned him a brilliant smile.

"It just feels more real now. Doesn't it?" he explained, and Enzo certainly agreed with that. Julian's dazzling smile prevented him from adding anything else to the conversation. "And we did it together," he said, rubbing their noses and effectively tearing Enzo apart.

He brought the older player closer to him, hugging his waist tightly and pressing their lips together.

"That we did, Juli. That we did."

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*Obviously fictional, obviously not meant to be read by any of the real people inolved.*