Fools. (Cressi/Lionaldo) (Cristiano Ronaldo/Lionel Messi)

Epilogue 4/4

When they had walked into the house, Cristiano was expecting to see the little ones all gathered around waiting for him but instead he was greeted with about a dozen of their closest friends and family, including his mom. Apparently Leo had planned all of this, saying that this wasn't a special occasion or anything, just a week for them to spend away from everything. It was more than enough explanation for Cris, he was happy to spend time away with the people he loved and trusted.

So here they were, all of them having a good time in the house, nice music playing through speakers and quite a bit of mingling going on. He had lost touch with Leo about an hour after he'd arrived, probably mingling with their other guests.

Another hour had passed and some people had gone, and others had arrived. It was nice. He had looked for Leo but the other didn't pop up anywhere. He made his way to the quietness of the kitchen and grabbed his phone.

*****

To: Leooooo 🥺

☹️ Where are youuu???? 😭🥺

To: Crisssss ❤️

Had to put the babies to bed, they were tired from the flight and busy day 🙂💕

To: Crisssss ❤️

Can you come meet me up in the balcony for a minute though? 👀

To: Leooooo 🥺

Okay

*****

Leo stared out into the dark, the lights from inside the house only lit up a small patch of the landscape he could see. The light from the moon and stars above provided a little more vision, but it barely pierced through the thickness of the trees. It was beautiful nonetheless, the fresh air only adding to the quality of it. He heard the sliding door slide open and closed behind him and smiled, already knowing who it was. He turned around and couldn't help but pull Cris into another hug.

They stood there, holding each other and saying nothing. Just sharing the warmth and comfort they'd missed. The music from inside was slightly muted but they could still hear the soft thumping and hushed voices. Eventually Leo pulled away, leaning up to kiss Cristiano gently. Pouring out all of his love and adoration.

"I love you," Leo muttered after pulling away, nuzzling his nose against Cris' jaw.

"I love you too," Cristiano hummed, slowly rocking them side to side. They moved perfectly in sync, as if they'd been doing this for years, like it was just normal for them. After a few more minutes had passed, Leo took a deep breath and pulled away completely. It was time.

"I have another surprise for you," his voice wobbled and he quickly cleared his throat. Hoping Cris didn't hear it or comment on it.

"Another one?"

"It's in the room, wait here and I'll be right back." He pressed another quick kiss to Cris' cheek and turned away, not looking back once, he rushed to the bedroom. Opening and shutting the sliding door. He sent a quick text off to Cris' mom and pretended to look through his bag briefly.

He glanced out the glass door and seen Cris had turned away. Staring out at the night, completely oblivious to what was about to happen. Leo was nervous, his palms sweaty and his blood pumping through his veins fast. He was scared, terrified actually.

The fear didn't fade the slightest bit as Cris' mom entered the room. She gave him a hug and an encouraging smile, "Don't be scared Leo, he loves you."

"I know I just... I'm really nervous either way." Leo mumbled and she laughed a little, grabbing his hands in hers. It was comforting.

"You shouldn't be, you know you're the best thing that's ever happened to him. He told me himself."

Which.. that was new information.

"He told you that?"

"Yes he did," she nodded and pulled Leo into a hug. Close and warm. "Now hurry up and go out there before he suspects anything."

Together they walked towards the door, Leo had to take another deep breath and wipe away a tear that had managed to slip out. He stared at the back of Cris' body as he leaned against the railing of the balcony. Waiting for him...

"I can't believe this is happening," Leo whispered and smiled gratefully at Maria, she smiled back at him. Nodding for him to go out.

Leo's fingers trembled as he grasped the handle to the sliding door and slid it to the side. Opening it and stepping out into the air, his body felt numb as he walked further on the wooden surface. His chest felt heavier with each step he took, his breath coming out shaky.

"Was wondering where you were," Cristiano spoke up, his voice breaking through the silence. He didn't turn around yet and Leo was grateful for that because he needed at least another few seconds to compose himself. He took a deep breath and managed to laugh, albeit it sounded a little breathless.

"I'm here," he managed to keep his voice steady but his stomach was fluttering. He took one last glance back at Maria who gave him a thumbs up, the smile on her face big as she held the phone steady.

Leo wanted to cry, his emotions all over the place. He quietly knelt to the ground, grabbing the soft black box out of his back pocket, his hands shaking so bad he thought for a moment he'd drop it.

As if on cue, Cristiano slowly turned around, his gaze well above Leo's current height.

"Did you misplace-"

His question tapered off into shocked silence, Cris' line of sight had travelled downwards and met Leo's. Both of their gazes meeting. Cris' hands slid up to cover his mouth, his eyes filling with unshed tears. Leo took a deep shaky breath and managed to crack a small smile.

"I know this is unexpected and this weekend isn't even an anniversary or anything, but that's exactly why I chose this place and this time to do this. Our relationship was never based off of specific times or places, we never planned our time together in the past. We were reckless and wild. There were times I was sure we'd never talk again and you'd surprise me by messaging me out of the blue." He chuckled and Cristiano couldn't hold back his laugh either, wiping away tears that slid down his cheeks. "We'd meet up in random parks, go out to dinner at fancy new restaurants that we've never been to before. Half the time I didn't even know what we were doing and I don't think you knew either," Cristiano shook his head smiling.

"I didn't," his voice was quiet and Leo smiled fondly, feeling a warm tear of his own slide down his cheek.

"We were just two fools in love, and we didn't even know it. All those years, dancing around the obvious like it wasn't there. I didn't know it back then, but I do now. Even in the past, my heart was always yours. When I tried to deny it by living in this false image, pretending that I was happy. It was all in vain because, no matter how hard I'd deny it, it was always you, and it's always going to be you." Leo's voice wobbled as he held back tears. Cristiano was now full on crying, not even trying to hide it anymore. "I asked Neymar to find the most random but beautiful place for me to do this because it describes exactly what I want with you, I want us to always be like this no matter where we are. I want to wake up to you every morning for the rest of my life and just grab your hand, not worried one bit about where we're going because it won't matter as long as I have you by my side."

He gently opened the box and wiped the tears away from his eyes, "Cristiano, will you marry me?"

Cris didn't even hesitate before nodding, falling to his knees as Leo put the ring on his finger. Finally Leo let the tears fall as Cristiano happily whimpered "yes yes yes" over and over. Peppering soft wet kisses all over Leo's neck hugging him tight. It seemed he wasn't  going to let go anytime soon and Leo didn't really mind. He was going to let Cristiano hold him for however long he wanted, after all, they did have the rest of their lives together.