#yellowritings

[crownpastelyellow]

Sticks and Skates

Went a little bit insane over Tangem with my buddy @chlmngo for the last 2 days and suddenly this was in my docs. So it was time for another sports AU oneshot by the guy who doesn't like sports!

Please make sure to check out the lovely art my buddy made over here. Helps get a better look on Gem's clothes because Tango does not have the words to describe it properly /silly

Pairing: Gem/Tango

Length: 7.2k words

Tags: THIS IS RPF, they are both idiots pining <3, high likelyhood of inaccuracies because I don't know either sport

Smut, Age Gap. Rest is pretty vanilla

Hope you enjoy!

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64829926

Normally, Gem wasn’t like this. Most days she’d be entirely focused on skating, on landing her jumps, of making the most of her practice. The training hours are expensive for this rink after all, which is a crime considering that for the first hour it is shared with one of the hockey teams.

But this is only where Gem’s dilemma starts

“You’re ogling”, Cleo teases as they slowly skate by, only to leave Gem to stew on it. She clenches her teeth, muttering to herself, “not ogling.” 

Staring? Maybe. Getting distracted? Most definitely. 

And the sigh that escapes her is certainly not helping her case, hearing someone snicker behind her.

It is getting hard to deny as well. What started out as sending an occasional glance to the hockey team; And, who can blame her? Gem is also only human. Of course she had to watch, even if hockey isn’t a sport she’s normally interested in. Heck, she doesn’t even know the rules. But there is a certain respect for other sports. Yes, that’s it. Respect.

Not the way they move over the ice in their rather bulky uniforms but still with such precision, all while focusing on the tiny puck, navigating it around the field. Or the way the group erupts in cheers whenever a goal is scored. Gem may roll her eyes at the chanting of slogans, but in a way it is endearing.

And none of this has to do with one man playing center. Absolutely not.

It isn’t even that he’s a specifically good player, none of them are, but it is strangely endearing seeing him so excited, seeing how hard he’s trying.

So Gem catches herself smiling when he hits the puck towards the goal before falling onto his knees, gliding across the ice on his protectors, watching intently until it hits the goal. What if that smile then turns into a fond grin that she quickly masks again, when he starts cheering, before a teammate helps him up and pats him on the back.

Gem will just pretend that no one saw, that her teammates aren’t rolling their eyes at her and that she doesn’t care about this guy.

She doesn’t even know his name. Barely has seen him without his helmet on. Once, maybe twice, when Gem looked over as they were leaving the rink. And maybe she keeps thinking about his scruffy beard. Not that she could see much else all across the ice.

Okay, maybe things were worse than Gem would like to admit. 

Focus. Focus, Gem. 

Not wanting to be caught staring when he gets up, Gem tears her eyes away and focuses on her own practice. 

This goes well for about all of ten minutes before the shrill sound of a whistle indicates the practice match for the hockey players as over, alongside their practice.

Gem has to skate out of the way to let the men through but decides to linger close by the exit, pretending to fix something on her skate, fastening the laces anew. It doesn’t help that she can feel at least half her team eyeing her.

Getting up again, her eyes trail over the group as they’re taking off their helmets and she can now get a much closer look than previously.

His beard has more grey hairs in it than she anticipated and the little bit of short shaved hair quickly gets hidden beneath a cap. 

What Gem really wasn’t ready for was him putting glasses on, just simple, black frames. Why does this have to affect her so much?

Preferably she’d just bury her head in her hands now but someone behind her has to of course make it worse. “He could be your dad, you know?”

Thankfully her glare is enough to get them to leave her alone. Not that it makes their words go away or any less true. He could be her dad. 

At least she can focus on her training now that the hockey team has cleared the ice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next week Gem misses practice because work kept her too busy but when she finally returns to the ice, she is in for a surprise. 

The hockey team apparently decided to finally get their own jerseys and not just use the ones for the rink. No, these all had their unique numbers on it. Numbers and… Names.

Even with her glasses she still has to squint a bit, which, despite her trying to at least wait a little, doesn’t go unnoticed. Cleo leans against the board beside her with a smile on her face. “Was wondering how long it would take you to notice. You know, you could’ve just gone and asked for his name. At this point you’re acquainted, with how much you’re staring.”

Gem gives her a glare which is met with laughter. “In case your squinting isn’t helping. His name is Tango. Skizz, the tall one over there, told me a while ago.”

Their words leave Gem with questions that she’s not entirely sure she really wants answers to. Maybe she just really wants to strangle Cleo right now, who is making the smart choice to leave to focus on actually training.

And Gem tries to focus too, but how is her brain supposed to think about jumps and spins when she just learned that Cleo has been talking to the hockey team about her. No way she’d have any other reason to talk to them.

And what kind of friend is Cleo to not tell Gem his name sooner?

It is nearly painful how slow practice passes and it frustrates Gem to no end that she is not on top of it lately. She is good at this. Really good. How can a single hockey player distract her so much? No, she needs to focus on herself for now and not how they practice guiding the puck on the other half of the ice.

Time to actually practice what she needs for the next competition in her mostly empty corner. After getting a few jumps in Gem has her confident smile back on her face.

Now for the more difficult part; She skates backwards and gets ready to jump only to feel herself crash into something. Or someone.

Gem yelps and braces herself to hit the ice, already tucking her hands in, just like she learned, to avoid any accidents but the impact doesn’t happen. Instead she feels two arms around her, holding her with apparent ease.

The clattering noise of the wooden stick landing on the ice ensures that everyone who wasn’t already looking over here most definitely is now.

And if Gem’s face wasn’t already beet red, it definitely was when she realized who caught her - and was still holding her. She sees the scruffy beard, the smile, the way his eyes squint slightly with it.

“You alright there?”, he asks, squeezing her gently as if to remind her that he’s still holding her. In fact, Gem is more than just a little aware of it. It takes her another moment to realize that he asked because he’s still holding her. Gem scrambles to her feet instantly and less gracefully than she would’ve liked but he doesn’t seem to notice.

The instant she’s standing again, they both start apologizing simultaneously. 

“I hadn’t noticed I was this far into your part of the ice, sorry about that. Did you get hurt?”

Gem can all but shake her head before getting out a quick “I’m fine. Good catch” She internally cringes at herself and they both just look at each other for one more moment before Tango gets called over again. “I’ll leave you to it then. Good luck with the jumps and uh, stuff.”

Gem wanted to both kick herself, because how can she be more endeared by him from just a few words and also because she wants to reach out. Thankfully her pride gets the better of her and she skates away, trying to calm her breathing as she gives him one last smile.

The next half hour passes slowly, as Gem’s eyes trail to the large clock on the wall, over to the hockey team, while trying actively not to glance at her teammates.

When the hockey team eventually leaves the ice, Gem quickly replaces her pride with all the courage she can find in herself and skates over to where Tango gets off the ice. 

Her skates break sharply, before she can stop herself and calls out “Tango!” which raises not only his head - now without helmet and with glasses - but also that of a few others.

“Huh? Oh hi. You again.”, he gives her a warm smile before coming over, now shorter than her, now that he’s off the ice. Gem can’t help her smile. “Wait, you know my name?” Gem’s smile nearly falters.

For a moment she fumbles before saying a bit too quickly,  “The back of your shirt. Jersey. Got your name on it now.” Nice save, hopefully? But he’s laughing and Gem can see the way his nose scrunches up. No man over 40 should have the right to be cute like this.

“Right, right.”

She has to take a deep breath before she can get her next words out. “I wanted to ask if you wanna grab a coffee sometime?”, then quickly adds, “As a thank you. For catching me.” 

At least this masks her ‘little crush’ as Cleo calls it a bit. 

“Oh, it’s all fine, I was the one on the wrong side of the ice. Didn’t even do anything.”, he brushes her off and it stings just a little. 

Someone in the back groans and then a glove hits Tango on the back of his head, startling Gem. Tango’s head whips back at whoever threw it before turning back to Gem who is now chuckling nervously, about to come up with any reason to leave so she can fix her bruised ego in peace. “But… If you’d want to, I can buy you a coffee. It was on me after all.”, he rubs the back of his neck, putting his baseball cap on.

Failing to mask her enthusiasm, Gem nods. “Does Tuesday sound good? 5pm?”

He keeps smiling at her, while his teammates are already heading for the locker room. “Sounds good. We can meet outside then?” And once Gem nods he’s about to leave, giving her a short wave. “See you Tuesday then…”, he seems to have realized he never asked her name. Gem laughs softly, taking pity on him. There was enough embarrassment today already. “Gem.”

“Alright, see you Tuesday, Gem”

She really doesn’t want to talk to anyone else right now but there is still about an hour of her training left. And only about 4 days till her date.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“When did you start skating?” Tango asks, a simple question, as he grabs his coffee before they head over to an empty table.

Gem sits down opposite him but he can briefly feel her leg brush against his but blames it on the table being tiny. “Oh I started quite late, when I was around 19.”

Carefully Tango tries to think how to ask her how long ago that was and Gem seems to read his mind as she casually answers, “So I’ve been at it for bit less than 9 years now.”

Her words in combination with her smile might need to get cited on Tango’s obituary. In his head he automatically does the math and… She’s 28. This might be worse than he thought.

He tries to school his expression into a soft, neutral smile as he takes a sip of his still too hot coffee. “Wow. 9 years?”, he feels like his reply falls short but how is he meant to reply when his head only supplies that she was born the year he graduated from high school. Or that when she graduated highschool he already had been working and thought about buying a house.

Thankfully Gem’s voice distracts him before his thoughts can continue spiraling in that direction. “And you?” Gem’s smile was hidden behind the paper cup with her, for Tango’s taste, way to sweet coffee in it, her glasses fogging up slightly. Why does this make it so much harder for him to concentrate? 

“Oh, I've only been playing hockey for a few months now. Still a beginner” he laughs, trying to brush over his nervousness. He shouldn't be nervous at all. They are just grabbing coffee. This means nothing. Unless it does. Nope, not going down that train of thought again either. He spent too much time thinking about it already before they met. Whether this could be considered a date or not. Whether he should dress nicer or not. Looking at Gem he wishes he had. 

Gem is still looking at him, so he feels the need to keep talking. “I started because a friend of mine got into it a short while ago and he dragged me along.”

“Wow, for only a few months on the ice you've been really stable. Especially if you can catch a whole person” She laughs and this time Tango can't deny how fast his heart is beating. What is this woman doing to him? 

“But I'm really glad you did. I've got a competition coming up really soon and I can't afford any injury now.” Tango can't help but smile back. 

“Well, it was definitely on me. Don't worry, during the next practice I'll make sure to keep my butt on the hockey side of things” he says and is glad that it makes her laugh. 

“Is the competition a local thing?” he can't help his genuine curiosity. He's never really had an interest in figure skating before, with it not being quite his type of sport. And he knows that now it's not the sport either that caught his eye.

“Bit more than that,” Gem laughs, “a regional one. But if I do well there I can still move up.” 

Tango can't help but notice the way her eyes light up when she talks about skating, and the sight might as well be addicting. So he keeps asking, just so Gem talks more about it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lot more time than anticipated passes, Tango even got up to get them new drinks at some point, getting Gem exactly what she ordered earlier. 

After she asked him out for a coffee, Gem had been trying her hardest not to get her hopes up. She's barely ever talked to him, after all. But after having spent some time with him? He's incredibly sweet. 

Sure, some of his humor has her roll her eyes but it's fun. He is fun.

So what if she plays it up, just a little bit. Blinking up at him as he places down another cup. Asking him to talk about his nerdy hobbies. It’s too easy, when she sees him fluster, mentioning his DnD campaign.

The way he got just the slightest bit embarrassed at first but warmed up once Gem showed interest. Was he worried that she’d get up and leave? Call him a nerd? To be fair she did. But it’s not like she isn’t interested. In fact she played enough games similar to it that she can follow him more than just a bit. 

It’s just more fun hearing Tango explain it to her. Hearing the excitement in his voice as he talks about his character and it is just straight up cute. 

“But where’s the whimsy if there’s no romance? You’re playing a bard! Aren’t you meant to get it on?” Gem laughs, and when Tango’s face grows about five shades redder she can’t help but laugh more. 

“Bards do more than just flirt.” Tango retorts, shaking his head in mock-offense. 

“Well, guess you’ll just have to invite me over and show me then.” Tongue sticking out the slightest bit between her lips, gently biting down on it, watching Tango’s expressions go through all five stages of grief in quick succession. Gem has to keep herself from laughing when he finally settles on a drawn out “sure.”

She really can’t blame him for it. Which doesn’t mean she isn’t incredibly amused by his suffering.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When their date is coming to an end, Gem and Tango walk back to the ice rink, where their cars are parked. Going slower than necessary, as neither really want this to end. If it was a date for Gem.

After saying their goodbyes, Tango panics for a short moment. Should he go for a kiss? Way too early. What if he's been reading this entire thing differently. A hug instead? What if Gem would think he's some old creep? 

His brain turns off when Gem gives him a loose, friendly hug and without thinking he returns it. 

Then he feels her lips, soft, way too soft, on his cheek only for a moment. At first he thought he imagined it - wishful thinking - but Gem pulls away and he can see her bite her lips.

“Same time next week?”, she asks surprisingly quietly. 

“I'll be there ”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next time they see each other is on the ice, and Gem can’t help her timid smile as she starts skating and the way her heart pounds in her chest when she sees Tango giving her a small wave.

Before Gem can even consider anything - should she go and say hi? - that tall guy, Skizz, she thinks Cleo said, hits Tango on the back hard enough that he stumbles slightly. 

Watching their bickering for a moment, Gem chuckles to herself before she focuses on her practice. The big competition is coming up and after the past weeks have been less than productive she needs to train harder.

Surprisingly, it comes easier now. Tango is still there, on the ice and on her mind but less distracting. Maybe because she knows they’ll see each other again on Tuesday. 

Tango finishes his training with another wave to Gem and once he’s off the ice, Gem can practically feel his eyes follow her as she glides effortlessly into a spin. 

Knowing that he’s watching, Gem eases her spin into skating backwards and right into a jump - the same jump that landed her in Tango’s arms last week. Just this time she nails it. Of course she does.

And it feels better than ever before. Especially when she sees Tango’s impressed smile, all the way from across the ice.

This time she gives him a small wave which he returns with a silly salute with two fingers. Gem can only shake her head. Why did her heart choose this dork?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their coffee date turns into a regular thing much to Tango’s delight. He can’t even admit to himself just how much he’s been enjoying having Gem around him so much. In a way he feels younger, more energized again. Or, more likely he is just - no, he’s not even going to think it.

On Friday, after Gem’s practice ends, Tango gets a text from her. He eventually asked for her number, mumbling an excuse about what if anything comes up.

But he enjoys getting texts from Gem. Pictures of her dog. She sent him an image of her new skates. A link to a new coffee shop that opened nearby that she wanted to try next time.

Tango feels inadequate, struggling to text back, not because he doesn’t want to but because he never knows what to say.

When Gem cancels their usual Tuesday date Tango doesn’t acknowledge the miffed feeling settling in his chest. Especially not when it is because of Gem’s competition that she occasionally mentioned.

It wasn’t until Monday evening that Tango was talking to Skizz about it;

“Dude, did you… not offer to go watch her?” Skizz groans over the phone speaker.

“No? She did not invite me.”, Tango replies quietly. He may realize right now that he’s an idiot. “I should go, shouldn’t I?”

The next hour is spent researching which ice rink nearby is holding a competition tomorrow afternoon. It’s just an hour out by car. He can still get a ticket.

Without allowing himself to overthink it he reserves it. Hopefully Gem wants him there.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say he was nervous was an understatement. Tango has never been good at these types of things. Starting from what to wear, to thinking whether getting her flowers would be too much. 

He settled for wearing something nice, or as nice as he owns without getting fancy. Simple pants and a button down. After shaving his beard in shape he gets in his car, with just a quick stop at a small flower shop. Just something small, not wanting to overdo it. The employee still made something beautiful, a mix of yellows and soft pinks. Hopefully Gem will like it.

Tango learns quickly, during the competition, that he knows absolutely nothing about ice skating and regrets not having looked up anything beforehand. He had never really paid attention to the sport, only to the young woman gliding over the ice.

And while Gem obviously talked about it during their dates it was nowhere near as technical as what he’s seeing on the ice right now.

All competitors are wearing these elaborate outfits but it didn’t strike Tango that he’d get to see Gem like this, not until she is on the ice, handing her jacket to her trainer, leaving her in a dress short enough that Tango feels his blood first rush to his face, then elsewhere. It is green. And sparkly. To him it is the most beautiful dress he’s seen all night but maybe he is biased from the way Gem looks in it. Her hair is crowned with antlers, making her look entirely mythical.

Her smile is radiant as her eyes wander over the ice and for a short moment Tango is convinced she looked over to him. Just in case, he gives her a thumbs up and his biggest smile.

It is harder than expected to match his applause to that of the crowd, never knowing when Gem did anything right or wrong because it all just looks so perfect. Every spin and jump, it all mesmerizes Tango.

Seeing all her practice pay off fills him with so much fondness for her. Gem trained so hard for years so she can perform like this. 

During an elaborate spins Gem holds her leg all the way above her head and Tango considers looking away but his grey eyes are glued to her.

When the music fades out Gem comes to a halt and he can see the way her labored breathing moves her whole body as she holds the pose for a few moments more. Everyone is cheering and clapping. 

Finally, just before Gem breaks the pose and bows, she spots Tango, and when her face brightens he knew it was the right choice to come here. He just wishes he bought a bigger bouquet.

The rest of the event Tango could only focus on the way his heart beats in his chest, how he can’t wait to see Gem once she’s done and congratulate her.

He barely even registers when all competitors are done and the lights focus on the podium. 

When Gem gets called out and wins the second place, Tango cheers as loud as he can, earning a raised eyebrow from the woman in the seat next to him. Not that he cares, not with the way Gem is smiling, waving as the medal gets placed around her neck, careful of the pink flowers that ornate her dress and the antlers still on her head. 

Tango can’t deny that he’s in love.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s cold outside the ice rink but that doesn’t really matter when Tango waits for Gem to come out. The sun has set a while ago, only the fluorescent light of the building behind him illuminating the pavement, some lanterns farther down the parking lot not helping. 

A bit nervously he’s bouncing on the heel of his foot, waiting for Gem to come out.

When the doors finally open again a group of people walks out, the last few of them he recognizes as Gem’s teammates, and lastly, Gem. Now in her usual training clothes, purple hoodie and 

Suddenly very aware of his age and the way he’s waiting for a much younger woman with a bouquet in hand. As if everyone hasn’t seen it yet, he quickly hides the flowers behind his back and laughs nervously.

He hears some chuckling and even Gem is giggling right until she stands right in front of him.

“Go ahead guys, I’ll be right there”, she calls out and thankfully her teammates leave them alone. “You’re here.”

“Hi. I, uh, wanted to see you. Perform. And I brought you some flowers.”, he hands her the bouquet a bit too quickly. Why does she make him so nervous? 

“I really enjoyed watching you skate. Your spins,” He can’t think about that view right now, already feeling his face grow hotter, “and your, uh…” He motions with his hands above his head for the antlers. Thankfully Gem laughs and takes the flowers from him, nudging his foot gently with hers.

“I’m glad you’re here. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to come.”, Tango realizes how close Gem is to him.

“Since we couldn’t grab coffee today. Wouldn’t want to miss out on this.”, then an idea comes to his mind. “We could still grab one. If you’re not too tired, of course”

Gem does this cute thing again where she bites down on her tongue, seemingly considering his offer. “Cleo drove me here. Let me quickly let them know that you’ll drive me home.”

And with that Gem is off.

Tango finally exhales for the first time in minutes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their usual coffee dates pick up again and Gem actually explains her routine to Tango after he seemed curious about it. She explains the differences between certain elements, between the short program and the free skate and anything else he wants to know.

In turn, Gem makes him promise to invite her to his next game and explain hockey rules to her.

It’s not like she’s ever cared about the sport before, and that hasn’t really changed. But she wants to see Tango play without having to focus on her own practice and she wants to understand when to cheer - learning from his mistakes.

A few times Gem even invites him around on her morning runs. She’s been doing this for years so she goes easy on him but it’s nice, seeing each other more, off the ice and outside their dates. Even if neither of them actually have called them that out loud yet.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the day of Tango’s next game they meet up shortly beforehand to take a quick walk. The days are getting sunnier and warmer again so they slowly stroll through a nearby park until they need to head to the rink.

Before Tango has to go to the locker room, bulky gym bag in hand, Gem calls out to him. 

“Wait.” She leans the slightest bit up, feeling his beard scratch against her lips as she presses a quick kiss to his cheek. They haven’t done that since their first coffee, nearly two months ago. “For good luck. I’ll wait out here for you once you’re done.” and she turns to find her seat, leaving a mildly stunned Tango behind. Deciding to make it worse for him she calls out, “I’ll go home with the winner tonight.”, she laughs before quickly ducking through the door to find a good spot.

During the warmups on ice Gem keeps smiling over to Tango and even if she can’t see it with his helmet on, she knows by now the way his face scrunches up when he smiles back.

Then during the first period not much of note happens. The one thing Gem does notice now that everyone is here to watch the game, is that she’s practically the only woman under 30 in the entire audience, the only ones younger than her are children, their with family.

During the quick break she hopes to catch a glimpse of Tango again but in the end just settles for getting herself something warm to drink to warm her fingers on.

Things pick up in the second period. Her eyes follow Tango across the ice, admiring the way he keeps a hold of the puck, making it look easy to navigate the stick and other players while focusing on skating. 

Then, when Tango scores a goal, the first one of the entire game, Gem’s cheering alongside everyone else. She’s smiling and waving over to him as he and his team have a short celebration before it keeps going.

The third, and last period is where Gem starts to regret having promised to go home with the winner. The other team scores two goals and she can practically feel Tango deflate all the way over here. Of course he’s seemingly still having fun but her comment may have gotten to him. But it’s not like Gem hasn’t had an emergency plan ready.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She’s waiting in the foyer for Tango. 

When he finally comes out of the locker room, his jersey still on, Gem immediately walks over, her arms around his neck. 

“You scored a goal!” She tries to cheer and she’s glad to see Tango smiling.

“Didn’t win though,” the reply comes with a raised eyebrow.

But Gem just shakes her head. “You scored and that’s a win for me. If you’d want to take me home with you.”

“Moving the goalpost closer for me?” Tango teases as he holds the door open, leading her to his car before throwing the bag with his equipment into the back seat.

Gem waits with her reply until they’re both sitting in the car before she teasingly leans over, one hand coming to rest on Tango’s thigh, “You say that like you really don’t want to feel my mouth on you.” 

Maybe it was a good idea she said that before Tango started his car, with how he physically startles. “Gem,” his voice a bit higher than usual. Gem can’t wait to hear what other noises he can make.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gem’s mouth hasn’t left Tango since they closed the door to his house behind him. Despite her curiosity she had only eyes for him in the moment. The tour can wait till tomorrow morning.

She lets him lead the way to the bedroom, where he drops his bag off in a corner before Gem falls onto his bed, pulling him with her. They’re both giggling as he’s sprawled across her. “You’re crushing me”, Gem’s voice is whinier than it needs to be.

“You’re the one who pulled me down on top of you”, he laughs against her neck.

Gem lets Tango explore her, his hands crawling up under her shirt, she can feel the calluses on his fingertips brush over her sensitive sides as his mouth maps her neck, her jaw and eventually her mouth.

Her own hands feel up his arms and Gem can’t help herself but sigh into the kiss. 

Hours could pass like this before Gem decides to finally reward her winner.

The second she starts squirming beneath him, Tango leans up and lets her go, balancing on one arm and his hip alone. Gem uses that to flip them around, Tango now on his back as Gem slides off the bed and onto her knees. She knows exactly how to look up at Tango to fluster him, when he sits up. “Gem, you don’t have to.”

“But I want to. If you let me.” Her smile is innocent, even if her words aren’t. Taking the strangled noise as confirmation, her hands slowly move up, over his thighs, she can feel the muscles beneath her palms through the fabric, all the way up to the hem of his pants.

Looking up again, looking for permission to keep going, she only sees Tango nod. Gem can’t help her smile, relishing in the feeling that he’s already speechless.

The second her lips are on him, Gem can feel him tense up. With a quick glance she can see his head tilted backwards, obviously trying to keep it together.

Nearly in a comforting way she rests a hand on his hip, but also to slightly pull his jersey up, exposing his soft stomach to her, including the patch of her that trails all the way down to where her other hand comes to rest.

Her pace is slow and she makes sure to get all the spit she can onto him before her hand starts to move in time with her tongue. Above her Tango groans, quiet whispers of her name leaving his lips like a prayer that only serve to spur Gem on more.

His one hand helps him keep balance, the other lands on her shoulder, gently rubbing over her skin with his thumb, as if to ground himself.

Gem is ready to give it her all. She didn’t go into this night with any plans or expectations other than making Tango feel good. Loved.

So when Tango tries to pull back she only stops but doesn’t pull off.

“Gem.”, Tango’s plea is met with a devious lick over his tip, causing him to shiver.

“Gem. I want to taste you.”, he practically begs her, looking down with furrowed brows, the grip on her shoulder tenser now.

Despite him catching her so effortlessly on the ice, Gem had not expected Tango to just lift her onto the back, her back hitting the mattress, her red hair splaying out across the pillows.

Before a single noise escapes her, his lips are on hers, his beard scratching slightly on her cheeks and she can’t wait to feel the same scratch on her thighs.

They only part long enough for Tango to pull Gem’s sweater over her head, his glasses placed onto the nightstand, then his lips crash against her again with an endearing amount of enthusiasm.

She helps him kick off her skirt and underpants in swift motions leaving her only in her bra for now.

The exposed feeling doesn’t last long when Tango firmly plants one hand on her hip, the other trailing lower, stopping just short, earning him a frustrated whine.

“You sure you want this?” Tango asks, making sure. Like he always does, with everything.

“I thought you wanted to return the favor.” Gem’s words are teasing but her voice wavers just a slight bit. “God yes, I want this, Tango”

Not needing any further invitation his hand travels lower, thumb brushing over her clit, already taking in every hitch of her breath, every noise Gem lets through.

At least they are both impatient, as Tango can’t keep the slow pace up. He lowers his head, kissing her stomach, all the way down while his free hand slowly inserts a finger. 

Tango’s mouth finds her clit, tongue brushing over her in slow laps.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she notices the gentle burn of his beard as it scratches the sensitive skin on her thighs but it only adds to the pleasure.

Her body twitches sensitively as Tango works her. “Please, more.” 

The pleasure is already building, as Tango replaces his fingers with his tongue and Gem has to keep herself from wrapping her legs tightly around his head, only to feel more of him.

Instead her hands needily grab at Tango, holding onto the sleeves of his jersey before needing to pull him closer, feel more of him.

Since she can’t move her hips she opts for placing a hand on his head, feeling his warm skin and the soft stubble of the short shaved hair under her palm as she pulls him closer. The muffled groan against her only makes her moan louder.

“Tango. Please”, Gem moans and even the firm hand on her hip can’t stop her from grinding herself down on his tongue as the pleasure crashes over her body.

Gem is still shuddering as Tango’s tongue stills slowly, letting her lead through this.

When the pull of her hand eases on the back of his head, Tango pulls away and Gem can see him take a deep breath. She can also see how the entire lower half of his face is covered in her slick. God she needs this man to bend her over immediately.

But first she greedily leans forward, stealing a kiss from him, tasting herself on his tongue. Tango kisses her back with the force of a starving man. 

“I need you. Please. Fuck me.” Hearing Gem beg so directly kicks Tango into action immediately. 

“How do you want it?” And before Gem can even find the words to reply, she moves onto her hands and knees. Without any further words, Tango understands. He kicks the rest of his pants off, from where they were hanging at his knees, before he is immediately behind Gem, his back pressed against hers.

“Get your legs a bit further apart for me”, he requests and Gem obliges. A moment later she feels him slowly push in, her slick and his spit more than enough.

Both groan and Gem feels Tango push a bit more of his weight onto her back, just for a moment as he adjusts to the feeling of her. He is warm behind her, soft hair on his chest tickling against her back ever so slightly.

“Can I move?” Tango asks,his mouth close enough to her ear so she can feel his breath. Gem can definitely feel his beard against her neck and shoulder. 

“Yeah”, her voice comes out strained with need.

Tango’s thrusts are slow but firm, his one arm wrapping around her waist, as if to hold her closer, while the other supports himself. After a few moments the hand moves from her stomach down to her clit. Gem can hear his breath hitch every time she clenches around him. Her moans only encourage him further.

Every groan in her ear matches his movements and she can already feel his pace picking up, his thrusts getting harder, deeper.

“Not gonna last long like this. Can you-” another groan. “Can you ride me? I wanna see your face when I cum.” His voice is hoarse, maybe from eating her out, maybe from restraint. Either way she can’t say no to him like this, so she nods.

After a few more thrusts, Gem pushing back into him, Tango pulls out. The second Gem turns around he pulls her close, having her straddle his lap as he sits on the bed.

Before she can lower herself down, he stops her. Tango’s hand moves slowly up and down, stroking himself as he stares at her, his mouth hanging slightly open, his breathing heavy. “Your bra… Please.”

He doesn’t even need to say more, Gem’s hands already opening the clasp and removing the last bit of fabric. Another groan, this one higher in pitch, escapes him, brows furrowed as he reaches out, stopping just short of touching her breast.

Gem laughs. “You can touch me. I want you to touch me”

She makes sure Tango can hear the way her breath hitches when he brushes his thumb over her nipple. “You’re so beautiful.“

Gem leans down to kiss him and finally he pulls her forwards with ease, so she can lower herself down onto his member. Again they both groan as Gem fully lowers herself and their hips meet. 

As if he can’t wait for her to move, his hands guide her, once they find her hips again, even if Gem doesn’t need the help, her daily morning runs have prepared her for this moment.

The feeling of his palms is nice though.

They kiss again, both moaning into it with every move. Gem’s hands wrap around Tango’s shoulders, not letting him pull away the first time, only when he tries again a few seconds later. “‘m close.” His words come out mumbled. “Can I cum inside of you?” The plea is broken by a groan.

Gem takes in his face, his eyes lidded, barely open enough to see her. His lips are parted as he’s breathing heavily, groaning. His eyes rake over her entire body, her hips where they meet his, her soft but trained stomach. The swell of her breasts and the way they bounce with every bit of movement.

“Cum inside me”, half command, half request and she can just see Tango break. The hands on her grip just a bit tighter as she feels him twitch inside her. 

Tango kisses her again, making her swallow all his noises as he spills himself into her.

When they part, both are panting. Gem is smiling, letting herself sink against Tango whose arms wrap around her, pulling her off himself and into the bed.

Endearingly, he peppers her face with kisses while Gem catches her breath. “Cuddles or cleaning up first?” He asks, immediately ready to make sure Gem is comfortable.

“I don’t think I want to move any time soon.” She laughs softly, turning towards Tango, trying to ignore the stickiness between her legs and the way it pools onto the bed.

Tango brushes a strand of hair out of her face before asking, “Anything else? Water? A towel?” But Gem just pulls him closer. 

“I want you to shut up and just cuddle me.” Her words lack any bite with the smile on her face. He pulls her closer, letting her head rest against his chest.

Gem stays the night.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been a bit over a month since the night of Tango’s game and after grabbing their usual Tuesday coffee, they planned to head to their usual ice rink.

They’ve been doing a lot of small activities like that. Two weeks ago they went and played minigolf, and despite Tango mentioning that he has played golf before, Gem did beat him by a margin.

“More of a different sport than you thought, huh?”, she teases him with a victorious smile.

But today they just want to take it easy, so ice skating it is.

Neither of them can help themselves though when Gem leans in close and quietly challenges him, “I bet you I’m faster. From here to the board.”

Tango’s grey eyes meet her gaze and he smiles, dramatically pulling the cap lower into his face. “You’re on. Loser buys drinks?”

She counts them down and a few seconds later Gem cheers herself on in victory as she breaks only inches away from the wall.

Tango joins her there, just a second or so later. He’s getting better at this. “Might eventually outpace me”, Gem notes but of course he only shakes his head.

“Only if you let me win. Alright, drinks. Coffee?” Tango is smiling and leaves when Gem nods.

Turning around, arms resting on the board, she looks at his back, walking over to the small stall selling fast food and drinks, still in his skates.

There is a fond fluttering in her chest as she watches him. A feeling that hasn’t gone away in the last few months since they got closer.

When he returns he hands her the cup, shorter than her like this, not on the ice. With the few inches she has on him, Gem leans down and her lips meet his.

[crownpastelyellow]

On my knees for you Chapter 2: Staying with you

Pairing: Solidaritek

Tags and Warnings: Smut, Age Gap, Oral Sex, Handjobs, Mutual Pining, Alcohol

Length: 7.1k words

Summary: Tango is a retired football (soccer) player who now works as a sports commentator/interviewer and Jimmy is a popular football player. After finally having made a move, they decide to grab some drinks and Tango can't say no to Jimmy when he asks him to stay.

Based on the wonderful Football AU by @bidoofenergy

I recommend reading through their posts about the AU, as well as the first chapter of this fic first! Either way, hope you enjoy <3

Read it on Ao3 or under the cut

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61602778/chapters/163178260

Tango keeps his eyes on the road as he drives, following the monotone instructions coming from Jimmy’s phone that he immediately hooked up to Tango’s car. Some pop song is playing and Jimmy is partially humming along and Tango can’t keep the fondness off of his face as he catches himself glancing at the blonde man next to him.

Jimmy’s head moves mostly in sync with the music and when he catches Tango looking, his smile just turns brighter. Tango can’t stop the heat that rises to his face, and he’s glad when Jimmy finally says, “Oh, there it is!”, and Tango can only smile at the excitement in his voice as he finds a parking spot nearby.

For a moment he is afraid that things will be awkward between them. Sure they have kissed and have done more than that not even an hour ago, but now that they left the magic of the locker room things might be different.

Before Tango can continue to overthink this, he dares to look over and sees just how close Jimmy is, leaning towards him. 

Tango barely has time to close his eyes before he feels Jimmy’s lips against his. They have no right to feel this soft.

It is just a short, sweet kiss before Tango pulls back to see the smile still on Jimmy’s face. “Should we go or do you want to spend all evening in my car?” Tango laughs, his nerves starting to ease up a little.

There is something mischievous to Jimmy’s expression as he replies, “I wouldn’t mind staying in here”, his voice unnecessarily low, enough to fluster Tango.

This seems to be enough of a reaction for Jimmy to cause him to giggle and the whiplash mixed with his expression does something else to Tango.

Thankfully Jimmy has mercy on him and with a nudge, accompanied by a big smile he says, “shall we?”

It’s only a short walk and Jimmy talks lively about how often he goes here. “It’s nothing fancy but their chips are to die for!” 

He sees Jimmy reach his hand out, nearly taking his, before he seems to think better of it. Tango really wants to return the gesture, he really does. But there is the voice in the back of his head, nagging him about appearances.

Instead he blurts out, “we could go somewhere fancy some other day. If you’d like.” If he gave himself even a single second to think this over he wouldn’t have asked but now the words are out and the offer hangs between them.

He can’t help but already think what it would look like. No matter what he convinces himself of, they are both public figures, both openly gay. Of course he knows what it would look like, with their age gap, that people would- “Really? Tango, I’d love to!”  Jimmy pulls him out of his head.

When they head inside Tango can’t help but agree with Jimmy’s earlier statement. It’s nothing fancy but it is… cozy. He follows Jimmy who sits them down at the bar where they order. Jimmy gets himself some sort of cocktail, way too sweet, and Tango orders a coke for himself.

Jimmy looks at him for a moment, causing Tango to chuckle. “Driving, remember?”

“Oh yeah, right.” Jimmy goes slightly red at that and immediately sips his drink, which only endears Tango more.

The next hour or so he actually gets to know Jimmy. Of course they talked before but it was always about work and whatever bits Jimmy’s pr team thought were worth sharing to make him look appealing to the masses. But right now he looked very appealing and that for Tango alone.

Tango learns that Jimmy does actually know quite a bit about football, besides just playing. Or at least a lot more than he expected after what he found out earlier.

But what Tango is the most endeared with, is how much Jimmy is wanting to learn. At first he doesn’t know if it is still just Jimmy wanting to impress him, but it quickly becomes clear that he wants to know more and understand it. And that warms Tango’s heart.

Jimmy asks for all kinds of details, and just listens to Tango’s anecdotes whenever they come up.

It makes him feel horribly old in a way and he is thankful when Jimmy doesn’t tell him how old he was when some of the stuff happened. No, instead Jimmy seems to have a genuine interest in him and his life and Tango has rarely felt so flattered in the last few years.

Having someone like Jim hang onto his every word is not something Tango has experienced in a while. At least not like this. Back when he was a player, maybe it was similar but ever since he retired he has been the one to soak up everyone else's replies.

Tango notices quickly how Jimmy keeps downplaying his knowledge about football, and while his interest in learning about statistics and strategy may have originally come from a different place, it is clear that he is not stupid. He just needed some motivation to learn about it.

“Look at you, you do actually do know stuff” Tango tries to encourage Jimmy when he chimes in with a particularly interesting response which just causes Jimmy to blush “Stop it, I don’t know anything. I really only learned it because of you” Jimmy admits in a rambly way, face red as he sips his drink to keep himself busy.

This causes Tango’s heart to lurch, Jimmy can’t keep doing this to him.

“Just a different motivation” Tango smirks, gesturing casually with his glass still in hand before bringing it up to his lips.

“And you don’t think that I am weird now? That I am just another pretty striker who doesn’t know what he is talking about?” Jimmy’s voice has something whiny to it, more so than usual.

“I don’t think so. You’re doing good, Jim, and even if you learned it for…” he pauses, remembering Joel’s wording, a smile crossing his face,” ‘getting your dick wet’.” 

Jimmy flushes even more and Tango thinks he could get used to that.

Jimmy lets out another whine and Tango, after spending a few moments thinking it over and just deciding to go for it, reaches out to place a hand on Jimmy's arm, trying to keep the touch brief and casual. “You're doing good Jim.” 

The way Jimmy’s face lights up is hard to miss and his arm is tensing slightly under his hand, nervously finishing his vibrantly pink drink.

Of course they don’t only talk about football. It is both of their jobs, their passion and they put tons of hard work in it to get where they are now.

But still, Tango honestly wants to get to know Jimmy. Because as nice as what had just happened a bit more than an hour ago, Tango wants Jimmy, and not just physically.

He is interested in Jimmy as a person, a thought that just creates another pool of anxiety in his stomach because he still isn’t quite sure what Jimmy wants from this and he definitely is not going to ask that question in a public space like this.

Still, what happened earlier sure was something.

Tango is still reeling and he can’t get the image of Jimmy out of his head and the way he looked at him and how those same lips that were wrapped around him are now on the end of a straw he’s drinking out of. Tango wants to groan at himself for behaving like a hormonal teenager around Jimmy. What is this man doing to him?

With a slight shake of his head he focuses back on what Jimmy is talking about.

Right now he is talking about his cats, showing Tango pictures and he really did not think Jimmy could get any cuter. Jimmy holds up his phone, showing off a picture of Norman, who is being held up by Jimmy, their faces squished together. Jimmy has the brightest smile on his face, matching the one he has right now, while the cat looks rather unimpressed.

“You two do look very cute” Tango comments, only to see Jimmy flush instantly, trying to hide how easily flustered he is by downing his drink, the slurping noise lasting a lot longer than necessary, which only causes Tango to chuckle.

Of course Tango had seen his cat before, Jimmy’s instagram is full of it and Tango really doesn’t want to admit how often he looked through his account, late at night, clearly not work related. 

But seeing Jimmy talk and laugh, his face slightly flushed from the alcohol is different.It feels more intimate. A different kind of intimacy than earlier.

When Jimmy asks about what Tango does outside of his work, his eyes light up as he talks about coding and making his own game in his free time. The entire time Tango talks, he can’t quite pinpoint whether Jimmy is genuinely fascinated by what he has to say, or if this is just Jimmy’s tipsy horniness showing. Either way, it is flattering, the same way Jimmy keeps laughing at every single one of his stupid dad jokes.

“Come on, let me get you home”, Tango says eventually, with a smile on his face. Jimmy is definitely more than a little tipsy at this point and he has been getting more and more handsy over the last hour while talking, nudging his foot against Tango’s, hand brushing against his knee. Tango is quite sure his face is about as red as Jimmy’s when he brushes over his thigh and he prays that no one sees, that no one pays attention to them.

Jimmy’s eyes light up again in reply, “You’ll drive me home?”, as if it were such a surprise.

“Of course. Drove you here, gotta make sure you get home safely”, this time Tango nudges his foot as he turns to the bartender and pays for both of their drinks and the fries they shared, that Jimmy ate most of.

Outside the bar, not many are around, it’s too late for people to arrive and most stay for at least a few hours more, so Tango only flinches mildly in surprise when Jimmy grabs his arm as they walk. After a quick glance around, he eases into the touch,while they walk back to his car.

Once there, he opens the passenger side door for Jimmy, just to see the way his face lights up in pure joy, only lit up by the street lamp above them.

Tango gets into the driver's seat, starts the car and looks over to Jim expectantly, “So, where to?”

Jimmy just giggles in reply and declares, “Home!” and Tango can’t stifle his laugh. “Jim, I don’t know where you live.”

Realizing his mistake, Jimmy goes bright red as he fumbles for his phone to use the GPS and Tango takes pity on him. “Feel free to play some music again. If you like.” and to his delight, Jimmy immediately takes him up on that and plays music that Tango would never listen to in a million years. But seeing Jimmy, very tipsy but also very happy, quietly singing along, next to him, is a sight he could get used to.

Arriving at Jimmy’s place doesn’t take too long, and when they sit there, Tango doesn’t even get time to overthink his actions before Jimmy blurts out, “Can you come upstairs with me?”

Tango can only crunch his jaw. He takes a deep, measured breath.

“Jim…” He thinks for a moment about how to say this. “I don’t… Not when you’re drunk.”

Of course Jimmy immediately retorts, “Not drunk” with a pout on his face, causing Tango to chuckle. “Totally are.”

Jimmy pouts more and admits a partial defeat, “tipsy”, and quickly adds, “But…”, not giving any real argument outside of looking at Tango with his pretty brown eyes.

With a sigh and an endeared shake of his head, Tango relents. “We are not doing anything while you’re not sober Jim. But… I guess I can stay.” 

It's not like Tango doesn't want to stay. Of course he wants to. But while he is aware that Jimmy is not exceptionally drunk, a part of his mind nags at him. What if Jimmy regrets inviting him in? He swallows these thoughts down and just focuses on Jimmy's face instead, caught in a mix of a pout at Tango's reluctance and delight that he won him over and how could he not smile at that. 

Jimmy is almost already stumbling out of the car and the second Tango is by his side, the younger man pulls him closer, makes Tango look up at him and kisses him with no care in the world that they're out in the middle of the, to be fair, entirely empty, street. He can taste the lingering sweetness of the cocktail on his lips. Sure, tipsy.

After a moment, Tango feels his back hit the wall behind him and he can only smile at Jimmy's eagerness. 

When Jimmy pulls away, Tango smirks, “a bit eager? Don't want to at least wait till we're upstairs?” which only gets a half hearted groan in reply as he reluctantly pulls away. 

He watches as Jimmy rummages in his pockets, fumbling for his keys only to keep fumbling at the lock, but clearly more out of nerves than from the alcohol. It feels nice, even if he's not used to it, to be desired this way. Tango tries his hardest to ignore the aftertaste that their 17 year age gap leaves between them. 

He closes his eyes for a moment. Try not to think about it, don't think about it.

Instead he tries to focus on the sound of Jimmy finally unlocking the door, feeling a quick tug on his arm, being pulled inside and along, up some stairs until his back is pressed against a wall next to a door again.

He really hopes that it's Jimmy's and not someone else's especially when a loud buzzer sounds, Tango's back pressed against the button, causing both of them to jump, Jimmy breaking out in infectious giggles.

“Sorry. Let me- I'll just quickly-” he unlocks the door - thankfully his - quickly this time and before Tango even has time to think, Jimmy is pushing the door close by leaning Tango against it, lips finding his again.

Only taken a little by surprise this time, Tango opens his mouth and lets Jimmy in, letting himself forget himself for a moment, at least enough to enjoy this.

When he feels Jimmy press his thigh between his legs, applying just enough pressure on Tango to have him swallow down a groan, Tango warns him, “Jim…“

But he doesn't get any further than that when he feels something fuzzy at his legs and Jimmy's cat lets out a meow, trying to catch its owner's attention.

He briefly pulls away from Tango, giving him an apologetic smile, one that Tango can only meet with genuine affection.

Tango watches as Jimmy's expression turns caring, his voice taking on a higher pitch as he talks to Norman, “Oh did you think I forgot about you? Just leaving you to starve?” and Tango watches in delight, his heart melting as Jimmy picks the small creature up and holds him close to his face before letting it skitter away, presumably to wherever the food is.

With a glance at Tango, Jimmy says, “Give me just… one moment.”, dropping his back and kicking off his shoes.

Tango takes this time to actually take in the apartment, as he slowly follows Jimmy around. It is surprisingly quaint but comfortable, some pictures with friends are up on the wall, small bits of decoration placed throughout the place.

Before Tango gets to take a closer look at those he hears Jimmy meow right back at the small animal and he turns just in time to see the adorable sight while Jimmy remains entirely oblivious as to how he is torturing Tango.

The second Norman is fed and happy, Jimmy looks up and catches Tango staring, leading him to immediately get back to where they left off

With a deep breath, Tango gets out a soft warning, “Jim.”

“What?” Jimmy asks, not removing his mouth from Tango’s neck or his leg from between Tango’s.

“I said I wouldn’t do anything while you’re not sober.”, which only has Jimmy pouting.

“But you said you’d stay!” Jimmy protests, pulling away to look at Tango but not letting go just yet.

“I agreed to come upstairs” - “You know what I meant with that. Can you at least stay?” Jimmy is trying to give him the puppy eyes again.

“So you can jump my bones again tomorrow?” Tango laughs, just teasing him at this point. He has already made his mind up about staying the second Jimmy asked.

As expected, Jimmy goes bright red, replies with a quiet maybe and kisses him again. “Please?”, he adds, as if it were necessary in the first place.

“Of course” Tango smiles and he can barely get the words out before Jimmy kisses him again and urges him backwards, presumably towards the bedroom, closing the door behind them. Tango pushes back, really leaning up into the kiss, feeling young again.

He can feel the way Jimmy smiles into it and when they eventually need to part to catch their breath, Jimmy pulls him towards his bed, pushing Tango gently down on it, mouth immediately on his neck again, hands under his shirt, pulling a groan from Tango.

The entire time Tango is torn on how much he can give in, but he wants this too much and Jimmy’s hands feel too good and he is so so eager.

He stops Jimmy when his hands try to slide into his pants, holding his wrists back and Jimmy immediately stills but there is a smirk on his face, “You plan on keeping them on for the night?” gently teasing him. 

Tango hadn’t really anticipated staying anywhere and his times of spontaneously staying at other peoples places were thought to be long gone. He closes his eyes for a moment and nods letting go of Jimmy’s wrist and allowing him to help him out of his pants. 

Despite his better judgement, Tango can’t stop himself from returning the favor, exploring under Jimmy’s shirt, slowly pulling it up while they kiss, only parting so he can pull the fabric over his head. 

Jimmy tugs Tango closer by his polo shirt, running a thumb over a button, fumbling a little to undo the top one before he apparently just decides to forgo the shirt entirely, pulling it over Tango’s head.

He still can’t wrap his head around how Jimmy, who could very well be a model, if football wouldn’t have worked out, is staring at him like that. 

But he doesn’t get time to think more about it before his back is on the mattress again, Jimmy above him, with a flushed face, after he quickly kicks his pants off. 

Jimmy just looks at him for a few moments and Tango feels his face grow warm at being so perceived.

He doesn’t know if it is any better when Jimmy starts kissing him again, this time starting at his jaw.By now Tango can’t deny how hard he is and he knows his underwear isn’t concealing any of that. And of course Jimmy notices, his knee now resting right between Tango’s legs with a surprising gentleness considering how overeager he is.

Tango groans and his hands find Jimmy’s waist, holding onto him, partially to steady himself, but also to keep his hips from grinding down against Tango, no matter how much he wants to feel Jimmy.

He told himself he won’t, not when he can still taste the remnants of the cocktail on Jimmy.

But Jim doesn’t seem to mind or notice too much, instead just happy to draw out more noises and heavy breathing from Tango with a heady mix of pressure with his leg and kissing him up and down, trailing his hands over Tango’s chest, squeezing slightly at him.

And Tango lets him. At least till Jimmy travels his kisses lower and lower, his hand resting on Tango’s hip, thumb brushing over the hairs that lead down into his underpants, placing another kiss right next to it.

He knows he needs to do something, so the only logical option to him at that moment is to tug on Jimmy’s hair, which is met with a very enthusiastic groan.

Tango tugs again, getting Jimmy to smile mischievously up at him, brown eyes staring him down before he seems to get the hint and comes up again, busying himself with Tango's neck and shoulder again, with a needy mix of lips and teeth.

It takes a while for Jimmy’s arms to get tired, but when they do, he flops down next to Tango and pulls him close, head tucked under Tango’s chin, bites turning into gentle kissing.

Tango is sure Jimmy must notice how fast his heart is beating but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he just combs his hand through his hair, feeling Jimmy hum against his skin in reply.

It doesn’t take too long for Jimmy to be clearly asleep, his mouth falling still against Tango’s neck, one hand against his chest, the other loosely wrapped around him, his breath warm and even.

Tango stays there, unmoving for a lot longer than he’d like to admit, but when Jimmy shifts in his sleep, he takes the opportunity to get up, sitting on the side of the mattress.

He is about to reach for his own discarded shirt before he sees Jimmy’s on the corner of the bed. Trying not to think about it too much, he picks it up and throws it over his head. It sits a bit loose on him, but it is very soft and smells like Jimmy. 

He gives himself another moment before getting up, walking to the kitchen to get himself some water, then filling a glass up for Jimmy. Tango debates looking for painkillers but it would feel wrong to search through the cabinets, so he leaves that for Jimmy in the morning.

On his way back through the dark hallway, Tango walks past the cat tree that Norman was perched on, clearly having just been woken up from his nap by the commotion in the kitchen. The cat meows at Tango once and without thinking Tango meows back. He smiles to himself and shakes his head as he returns to Jimmy’s bedroom, glass in hand, placing it on the bedside table. Hopefully Jimmy won’t have too much of a headache in the morning.

Not even a second after Tango sits down on the bed again, Jimmy pulls him closer, chest pressed to his back and Tango can’t not melt into the embrace, feeling Jimmy’s breath on his shoulder, the slight scratch of his stubble.

Tango could get used to this, wants to get used to this.

Before he fully settles he takes his glasses off, placing them on the nightstand as well, then settles right against the warmth of Jimmy, still wearing his shirt.

Normally Tango doesn’t sleep all too well, especially not in other’s beds, but this morning the only thing off is the sound of music blasting way too loudly.

He feels weight on his chest and when he slowly blinks his eyes open he sees a mess of blonde hair; Jimmy is sleeping peacefully, draped over him, legs wrapped around and entangled with Tango’s.

Subconsciously, Tango pulls him closer, a hand going through his hair, thumb brushing over Jimmy’s cheek slowly trying to wake him up. “Hey there, sunshine, I think your alarm is ringing”, his morning voice raspy but full of fondness as he presses a kiss to Jimmy’s hairline.

This only earns a grumbled reply and an attempt from Jimmy to bury himself further against Tango. He chuckles, “Come on, at least turn the alarm off?”

Another grumble, “Can’t you do it?” followed by a muffled, “too comfy.”

Tango’s laugh gently shakes Jimmy, who looks up at him bleary eyed but no less stunning. “You’re on top of me”, he points out, which seems to make Jimmy realize their position. 

He rolls his hips against Tango’s thigh, groaning slightly, before peeling himself away enough to look for his phone.

Jimmy halfway leans off the bed, sliding out from beneath the blanket to reach for his discarded jeans from yesterday in the hopes of finding his phone, giving Tango a brilliant view of his ass that has his heart rate pick up instantly.

Before Jimmy has a chance to entrap Tango again the instant he turns the alarm off, Tango puts his glasses on and hands Jimmy the water. While Jimmy takes the drink he can’t stop staring at Tango, probably noticing the shirt he took last night.

“Wait, I didn’t even get to see you without glasses!” Jimmy protests, apparently not paying attention to the shirt at all.

Tango can’t pass up the opportunity to tease Jimmy, smirking through his reply, “Thought you saw me play back in the day”

Jimmy huffs in response, “Doesn’t count!”

Tango shakes his head and takes them off again, “Happy now?”

Jimmy nods, leaning forward as if to study Tango, only to press a quick kiss to his lips, clearly proud of himself for that one.

Tango puts the glasses back on and lays back, slightly propped up on one of the many pillows on the bed, and Jimmy’s head immediately finds his chest again, clearly enjoying being held like this.

It doesn’t take long before Jimmy grinds his morning wood against Tango’s leg again and again, hand brushing over the waistband of Tango’s underwear, one finger dipping below. The movement is slow as Jimmy lazily kisses along Tango’s neck and wherever else his head can reach without moving too much.

“Eager, are we?” Tango smirks, trying to downplay how much Jimmy kissing his collarbone, a gentle nip at the soft skin, is getting to him, even though he knows that his body can’t hide it either way.

Jimmy looks up at him with a sleepy pout and a quiet, “Missed out yesterday.”

He keeps teasing at Tango, a finger dipping lower and clearly brushing over Tango’s member.

This gets a shaky breath out of Tango, the gentle hand in Jimmy’s hair giving a slight tug, which is taken as encouragement.

Tango’s breath hitches as Jimmy’s hand fully slides down into his pants and he must notice the way Tango tenses in hesitation.

“What? I am sober now” Jimmy grins self assuredly.

Still, Tango hesitates. “But are you really sure you want this?” he asks in return, despite what they did yesterday in the locker room.

This is met with an eye roll as Jimmy sits up slightly and Tango can’t take his eyes off the way the muscles of his torso look in that moment. “Are you going to ask this every time now?” Jimmy’s question hits a different spot than the young man probably intended. Every time. He wants to do this again. He wants Tango again.

Still, the doubt isn’t quite leaving him, his reply a rather meek “Maybe.”

Jimmy’s free hand takes hold of Tango’s and guides it to his boxers, pressing his palm against the hard erection underneath, groaning slightly at the pressure, rolling his hips into the touch. Point taken.

In an attempt to turn his brain off, Tango leans towards Jimmy, kissing him again, a gentle nip at his bottom lip has the younger man bucking into Tango’s hand.

Both are groaning into the kiss, desperation growing.

This time Jimmy pulls back, his brown eyes lidded as he practically begs Tango, “Need my mouth on you again. Please” and Tango is quite sure that if he were a few years younger, this would be all that’s needed to send him over the edge.

Instead he just mumbles a curse and nods, Jimmy already sliding down lower, releasing Tango’s hand, which finds its way into blonde hair instantaneously.

Jimmy is taking his time with Tango, slowly kissing over the bulge in the fabric, a finger trailing underneath the waistband again before coming to rest under the shirt, right on his stomach, pulling it up slightly, exposing the skin only to press more open mouthed kisses against it.

Tango can’t help the way his hips twitch, missing the friction Jimmy gave him.

For a few, torturous minutes, Jimmy keeps going like that, and while it isn’t the pressure Tango clearly craves right now, the clear desire Jimmy has for him has him more aroused than he has been in a long time. Except for maybe yesterday.

Finally, Jimmy pulls the pants down, brushing a hand gently along Tango’s leg before discarding it somewhere on the floor.

In an instant his lips are on Tango’s length, trailing up from just above his balls, all the way to the tip, eyes closed, clearly enjoying himself.

Tango’s breath stutters at the sensations, the warm breath, the feeling of Jimmy’s tongue now gently licking at him. The hand in Jimmy’s hair tenses for a moment and he can feel the way the man smirks against him but nothing changes about the slow pace.

Tango closes his eyes for a moment, taking a steadying breath and when he looks down, his eyes meet Jimmy’s, who was apparently just waiting for this, so he could finally take him in his mouth.

The hand tenses again slightly, as he wishes Jimmy would just take a bit more of him in, thinking of the ease with which Jimmy took him fully yesterday.

Tango doesn’t remember when he has become so impatient but he tries his hardest to keep himself still, only his dick still twitching involuntarily between Jimmy’s lips, as his tongue licks over the tip.

“Jim.” Tango’s voice cracks as he pleads and the way Jimmy tilts his head slightly, as if he doesn’t understand what Tango wants, is killing him.

“Please. More.”, he begs, with a desperate strain in his voice.

At least Jimmy is kind to him and takes him in slightly deeper, before nearly pulling off entirely again, wrapping a hand around the base of his shaft to hold him in place when he pulls back with a soft ‘pop’.

If Tango wasn’t already struggling, he would be now, when Jimmy presses a playful kiss to his glistening, leaking tip, right before he pushes himself down again.

He keeps up a steady rhythm that drives Tango insane, soft grunts and groans flowing freely now.

Maybe he is glad that Jimmy isn’t taking him all the way right now, he doesn’t think he’d last very long if he did.

After a while Tango notices the way Jimmy’s hips press into the mattress, the way he shifts to get more friction, the movement lowering his lips around Tango’s cock.

This time he can’t stop his hips from moving up just a bit more, his breathy moan enough motivation for Jimmy to take him deeper.

He can feel Jimmy moan around him, the sound muffled, as Jimmy’s hips move with a new intensity, legs slightly pulled up, half kneeling, with a hand in his shorts.

Jimmy’s movements nearly cease entirely but his tongue is making up for it, the warm wetness of his mouth alongside the sight enough to make Tango give in and move his hips for Jimmy.

The movement is careful, testing, at first, giving Jim enough time to pull away, but instead he keeps making these beautiful noises and Tango is quite sure he sees his hand speed up.

He curses and without thinking he picks up speed, Jimmy’s lips feeling absolutely heavenly around him as he quickly approaches his climax, the pressure in his gut building steadily.

“If you don’t want me cumming down your throat, pull back”, Tango groans as a warning but Jimmy only takes this as an invitation to relax his jaw and let Tango push into his throat further. This is more than enough to send Tango over the edge, eyes pressed shut, unable to still his hips, instead thrusting up into Jimmy’s warmth, groaning with a fist in his hair while his seed spills down Jimmy’s throat.

The movements slow down, and with a squeeze of Jimmy’s shoulder, his tongue stops lapping before the overstimulation can get too much, leaving Tango panting for air.

As he tries to steady his breathing, he opens his eyes again to meet Jimmy’s, and for a moment he is afraid he made a mistake, but all he can see is a look of absolute desperation, the way his wrist moves as he jerks himself off, brows furrowed in a pleading expression.

Tango has to gently pull Jimmy off himself and is met with a noise that is halfway between a whine and a moan. 

“Come up here.”, his voice is hoarse as he pulls weakly at Jimmy, still boneless from his orgasm but unable to keep Jimmy waiting any longer. 

Jimmy is immediately in his arms, his lips crashing against Tango’s more uncoordinated now than when he was drunk. Tipsy. Whatever.

He lets Jimmy explore his mouth as he tries to get him out of his boxer shorts. When Jimmy pulls away to get rid of the pants, wanting to get right back at it, Tango interrupts him, “Turn around.”

Without thinking Jimmy does as he is told and lets Tango pull him close, back against the older man's chest. Tango’s chin perfectly rests on Jimmy’s shoulder and he can easily press breathy kisses against the warm skin. His arm wraps around, quickly finding Jimmy’s member, loose fist around it and immediately he feels Jimmy shudder against him.

“Can you take the shirt off? I want to-”, Jimmy bites his lip to hold back a low groan as the hand around him starts moving.

Tango tugs the shirt over his head with his free hand, before immediately getting back closer, his chest pressed directly against Jimmy’s back now. “Don’t hold back. I want to hear you.”

Almost instantly moans start to spill from Jimmy’s lips, his hips stuttering in a wordless plea to get more from Tango. While he does tighten his grip around him, his free hand comes to rest on Jimmy’s thigh with a firm pressure, holding him still.

This is of course met with a whine that Tango shushes, as his movements pick up speed, “Just relax, I got you.”

Tango can feel him tense against his chest, but Jimmy doesn’t move, barely strains against the palm on his thigh.

“Good boy.”, Tango praises with a smile, pressing more kisses against his shoulder while he feels Jimmy twitch in his hand, hearing him moan out his name.

Tango lets his thumb brush over the tip, Jimmy’s noises growing higher, more desperate, so he repeats the movement a few times till Jimmy whines out a barely coherent, “Close.”

“You’re doing good, Jim. Just let go” Tango’s voice is low as he keeps moving his wrist, quicker and firmer now. His other hand has let go of Jimmy’s thigh and after a moment he hesitantly bucks up his hips to meet Tango’s fist once, only to be encouraged more with a kiss to his neck.

Jimmy is panting, and Tango wishes he could see the expression he is making right now, to go with all these noises. He would commit the sight to memory, for any lonely night ahead.

Tango feels Jimmy’s hips stutter a moment before warmth spills over his hand, slowly stilling the movement of it before letting go entirely. Jimmy’s chest is heaving as he takes deep breaths before turning around.

His mouth is on Tango’s, a last, shuddering moan immediately being swallowed. 

Neither of them cares about the mess on Jimmy’s stomach and Tango’s hand, not when they are kissing, or when Jimmy pushes Tango’s back onto the mattress again, flopping down right on top of him, burying his face against the older man’s neck with a content hum.

Tango gently strokes Jimmy’s back for a bit till he realizes how still Jimmy went in the last few minutes. “You’re not going back to sleep, are you?”, amusement evident in his voice, especially when his question is met with a sleepy hum.

"Come on, let's take a shower, have some breakfast and then we can go back to cuddling all day, if you like", Tango tries to offer, only to be squeezed by Jimmy in response, clearly not wanting to get up any time soon.

Just as Tango is about to resign himself to his fate with an exaggerated sigh, Jimmy mumbles against him. “Only if you join me.”

Tango can’t keep the grin off his face, because how could he refuse what he had hoped for in the first place. 

They stay like this a little longer, Jimmy demanding Tango goes through his hair a bit more before they eventually get up, with Jimmy draped across Tango till they are in the shower.

Once the warm water hits Jimmy he seems to wake up more, and his kissing goes from slow and lazy to more demanding again, pressing Tango’s back against the cold tile wall behind him, causing a small hiss to escape right into Jimmy’s mouth.

Quickly, Jimmy’s leg finds its way between Tango’s again, applying gentle pressure as the water pours down on them. Two firm hands are on his hips, pulling him closer and, to Tango’s surprise, lifting him up the slightest bit, the leg between his thighs now supporting him, applying more delicate pressure. 

Tango is holding onto Jimmy’s shoulder with one hand, his other one resting on the upper arm. He exposes his neck when Jimmy trails down with his kisses, having quickly learned just how much Jimmy enjoys this, before they turn into gentle nibbles on Tango’s throat, drawing out groans that are nearly fully drowned out by the water.

Neither pays attention to how long they stay inside the shower, but by the end of it he is sure he has a few hickeys that his polo shirt won’t hide and Jimmy wears the brightest smile on his face. Worth it.

After they have dried off and are back in Jimmy’s bedroom, Tango can see how tempted the younger man is to pull him right into bed again and he might have been tempted to give in, if he wasn’t starving; only having eaten some of the fries that Jimmy didn’t inhale immediately at the bar yesterday, after already having had a full day of work, left him famished, even if he didn’t notice before because he was occupied.

While he puts his shirt on, self indulgently watching as Jimmy reluctantly pulls on his jeans, a delightful sight, in only his pants, he asks. “You got some food at home? I could make us some pancakes. Trust me, they are good”, his voice full of self confidence.

“Otherwise we can also grab something-” Jimmy interrupts his offer immediately, “Pancakes sound wonderful!” and with a giddy laugh he kisses Tango again, pulling him close by the waist.

Tango smiles at the enthusiasm and how Jimmy doesn’t seem to want to let him go any time soon.

Once they are dressed and Jimmy has provided Tango with all needed ingredients, he starts cooking while Jimmy feeds Norman, who is seemingly a little grumpy because of how late it already is.

“Oh, Norman, it’s been an hour. You’re not starving.”, which only gets a meow in reply.

“I know, I’m sorry. You’ll get treats later, alright?” Jimmy promises the cat and Tango can’t stifle his giggle, absolutely smitten by the display.

As the pan is sizzling, butter slowly melting, Tango suddenly feels the weight of Jimmy draped across him, head resting on Tango’s shoulder as he slouches, pressing soft kisses against his beard.

When the first pancake is well in the making, Jimmy turns Tango around, his quick protest silenced by more kissing, that Tango has to break away from way too soon, to make sure he doesn’t burn the food. Or the whole kitchen.

Jimmy’s mumbled complaint gets lost against Tango’s shoulder and is seemingly already forgotten moments later, when the pancake is done. Jimmy immediately cuts off a small piece with a fork, stuffing it into his mouth before Tango can do anything about it.

Mouth full, Jimmy hums and nods, muttering “so good!” between bites, before his phone rings. Fishing it out of his pocket, still chewing, he answers. “Hello?”

“Tim, if you already didn’t show up for the morning run, at least come to practice, or did yesterday-” Grian’s voice sounds quietly over the phone and the rest of the sentence isn’t even audible to Tango, as Jimmy pulls his phone away to check the time. With wide eyes he mumbles something akin to a “Sorry. On my way.” to Grian, still muffled by the half eaten pancake in his mouth.

At least he takes the time to swallow it before he apologizes and explains to Tango how he’s running really late to practice, already having accidentally ditched Grian and Joel on their morning run.

“Don’t worry. I know how it is”, Tango replies with a fond smile as Jimmy kisses him again.

“Okay, I really gotta hurry. You can stay, just make sure Norman isn’t locked in anywhere when you leave. I’ll text you later, alright?” Jimmy gives him another apologetic smile and a kiss, then hurries towards the door, putting on his shoes and grabbing the bag he dropped when they entered yesterday, before poking his head back into the kitchen one last time.

“And Tango? Thank you.”, the goofiest grin on his face before he is out of the door.

Tango smiles to himself as he keeps making the rest of the pancakes.

Having spent a few minutes figuring out how Jimmy’s coffee machine works, he finally sits down to have his breakfast, getting out his phone, checking through his notifications before texting Jimmy, “Had a great time with you. shame you’re missing out on breakfast. do you want to catch up on that once you’re free? =)” 

A few minutes later the reply comes in, “yes!!! pick me up at 4?” 

Tango smiles to himself, sending back a quick, “alright. see you later then!” before finishing up breakfast and cleaning up after himself, wrapping up the pancakes so Jimmy can eat them some other time.