More Than Friends

____________________

1. Stop & Stare

____________________

The first time that Gronk notices the way that Danny and Julian glance at each other in the locker room, he doesn't think much of it. Their eyes met briefly and there was some passion in their gazes. Then they turned away from each other nonchalantly. Rob finds it weird, but he still doesn't think that it's a big deal. He chalks it up to being an odd isolated incident.

It has been a few months since the first time and now Gronk is completely on to Danny and Jules. What started out as quick glances has turned into lingering looks and blatant eye fucking. Rob is fresh from the shower after a game and so is Danny. Their lockers are close to each other and the locker room is mostly empty, so Gronk has an unobstructed view.

Danny removes the small white towel from around his waist and he uses it to dry his hair that is still dripping. Rob can see Julian with his peripheral vision and he observes the way that Jules subtly bites his lips as he checks out Danny unabashedly. Gronk focuses on putting on his pants and shoes. He slips his t-shirt over his head and he notices that Danny is now staring at Julian as he gets dressed.

The longing in those warm brown eyes of Danny's is the last straw for Rob. He has silently watched the passive aggressive nonverbal cues between his teammates for too long now. Gronk knows that it's up to him to finally say something about it because it's obvious that Jules and Danny won't do it themselves. They're the only three left in the locker room, so Rob thinks that his timing is perfect.

"I can't take it anymore! You two are fucking driving me crazy!" Gronk exclaims.

"What are you talking about, Rob?" Julian asks with a confused expression.

Gronk takes a deep breath. "I can practically taste the sexual tension between you guys. For months all that you two do is fucking stare at each other. You're always giving Danny those "fuck me" eyes. And you're not any better Dola. You always look at Jules like you're thirsty and he's the last glass of water on earth."

"So, you've picked up on that, huh?" Jules replies sheepishly.

"Kinda hard not to. I'm sure the other guys have noticed, but I'm just the only one with the balls to mention it. Now that everything is out in the open, you should actually do something instead of just staring at each other," Rob says before he leaves.

"He's right, you know. This charade has gone on long enough," Julian remarks as he approaches Danny at his locker.

"Yeah, I agree," Danny softly comments.

Jules is standing only a few inches away from Danny now. He reaches out to touch Danny's arm gently. Julian runs his fingers from Danny's wrist to his elbow, leaving goose bumps and raised hairs behind. Danny shivers involuntarily and he lets out a light moan when he feels Jules' lips kiss his arm everywhere his fingers just touched.

"Julian . . . " Danny says in a breathless tone.

Jules moves his hands to tenderly cup Danny's face. He caresses Danny's cheeks with his thumbs and he really loves the way that Danny's warm, smooth skin feels. One of Julian's thumbs makes its way to trace over Danny's soft lips slowly. Danny opens his mouth and Jules takes it as an open invitation.

He closes the small gap between them and he brings their mouths together. Their tongues are tangled together in the best way; it's hard to tell where Danny's begins and where Julian's ends. Jules is patient, but still passionate with his movements.