Archive of Our Own ^beta

With a sigh Esteban leaned back in his sun lounger closing his eyes and focusing on the sound of the waves hitting the beach. In some distance he could hear the laughter of Pierre and Charles who were passing a beach ball in between them, having the time of their lives. He was still surprised about the fact that they had asked him to come with them on their summer holiday on Capri. He had a … not so nice past with Pierre but the Frenchman obviously didn’t hold a grudge against his compatriot. That was a relief for Esteban otherwise this holiday would have been a nightmare. But until now everything went smooth.

Hearing the laughter from Pierre and Charles subsiding Esteban slowly opened his eyes to look for them. But he immediately closed them again, when he saw what they were up to: The beach ball lay abandoned at the ground while now Pierre’s lips were on Charles’ and the couple was making out. Esteban got up from his lounger, desperately avoiding the sight of the happy couple. He took his towel and the bag with his belongings and trudged through the sand in the direction of their hotel. When he reached his room Esteban unceremoniously dropped his things on the floor, flopped onto his bed and buried his head in the soft pillow. Letting out a groan he tried not to think about soft lips on his own and how good they felt … but failed miserably. In his mind the picture of a handsome boy started to form: dark hair, light brown eyes and a smile that always made Esteban’s heart stop for a moment. Lance. They had met at some kind of benefit event and they immediately clicked. After spending the evening laughing about stories of their lives they were certain that they wanted to meet again. And they did. Casual meetings turned into dates, dates turned into living together, friendship turned to love. But it all ended when Lance had to go back to his home country – to Canada – because his dad became very ill. He had wanted Esteban to come with him but Esteban had just got promoted and he couldn’t just leave France. So – after a heart-breaking good-bye at the airport – their relationship based off Skype and long calls in the middle of the night that left them extremely tired the next morning but none of them wanted the other not to call. They were meant to be together, they knew it. They just went through a rough patch right now. But in the end they would make it. For sure.
Esteban just hoped that the end of this rough time would be anytime soon.

***

“Lancey! How nice to see you again! How’s your family?” Lance grimaced at the nickname.
“Do you have to call me that?” He asked the overly cheery Australian that was standing right in front of him. Daniel chuckled.
“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad. I call Max Maxy all the time, you know?” The Dutchman in question rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, and it’s definitely not annoying.” He said, his voice laced with sarcasm. Daniel pouted.
“Oh, come on, Maxy, you love it!” He turned to Lance. “He loves it. He just doesn’t want to admit it to others. But in fact he totally gets turned on by it, especially when…” A hand covering his mouth made the Australian stop mid-sentence.
“That’s enough information!” Max shouted, face bright red. Daniel shrugged and removed his boyfriend’s hand from his mouth.
“I’m just telling the truth, Maxy. Admit it.” But Max stayed quiet, looking everywhere but in the direction of his boyfriend and Lance. Daniel chuckled again and turned to Lance.
“Whatever, I’m sure Lance and his boyfriend have their own kinky secrets.” Lance blushed.
“Even if we did have some, I’m not sure if Esteban is still in love with me.” Now Max perked up.
“He still loves you, Lance. Don’t ever doubt that! He missed you terribly. But now that’s all over because he gets to see you again.” Lance sighed and looked around in the lobby of the hotel on Capri where he was supposed to meet up with Max and Daniel. When the couple had heard Lance would come back – his father was fine again and so Lance decided to move back to France – they had invited him on their holiday on the island near Italy. Lance had been confused because he wanted nothing more than to meet up with his boyfriend after this long time. It wasn’t until Max had told him that Esteban was on holiday with Pierre and Charles that Lance agreed to meet up with them on Capri to surprise Esteban. But now he was getting impatient.
“So, when can I go see Esteban?” He asked. Max and Dan shared a look.
“Okay, mate, here’s the plan.” Daniel finally said. “Pierre and Charles know about you arriving today. They will bring Esteban to a bar tonight where a table is reserved for the two of you. Everything that happens after you get there will be up to you.” Lance grinned.
“I can’t wait!”

***

“Do I have to?” Esteban whined while Charles was rummaging through his cupboard. When there was no answer from the Monegasque Esteban turned to Pierre who grinned at his compatriot.
“Oh, it definitely has to be!” He answered. “The bar is famous so we definitely must go there while we are here.” Esteban rolled his eyes but admitted defeat. He flopped down onto his bed just when Charles emerged from the cupboard.
“Found it!” The Monegasque exclaimed, triumphantly waving a white button up shirt and a pair of elegant black trousers. “I knew you brought something fancy.” He said in the direction of Esteban who only shrugged. Pierre got up from the chair he was sitting at and opened the door to the bathroom.
“Okay, here we go! Go change and then we are ready.” Esteban rolled his eyes once more but then he took the clothes from Charles and slammed the door of the bathroom shut. Charles grinned and went over to Pierre who gave him a high-five. Everything went as they had planned it.

It didn’t take them long to find the bar Max and Daniel had proposed to Charles and Pierre. When they reached it, Charles suddenly stopped mid-track.
“God damned I forgot something at the hotel. I’m sorry Este, but I have to get it. Pierre, you coming with me?” Before Pierre could say anything, Esteban had furrowed his brows.
“Why does Pierre have to come with you?” He asked. Charles looked at the Frenchman with wide eyes.
“Err … because … because it’s too heavy to carry it alone.” Esteban looked at Charles in confusion.
“Okay, then I’m coming with you to help you!” Frantically Charles shook his head.
“Oh, no, no, no you don’t have to! Why don’t you order a drink in the bar? It’s okay, we can get it.” Esteban didn’t seem convinced but Charles pushed him towards the entrance.
“Just go, it’s okay, really. The reservation is on Gasly. We will come soon, I promise.” And with that Charles took Pierre’s hand and the couple raced off. Esteban looked after them still confused. But then he shrugged and went to the entrance of the bar. When the waiter there asked him if he had a reservation he told him that it was under the name Gasly. Immediately he was brought to a small secluded booth at the back of the bar. But to Esteban's surprise it wasn't empty like he had thought.
“Lance?” The Frenchman asked dumbfounded, eyes wide. His boyfriend grinned at him.
“Surprise!” The Canadian laughed and got up. But when Esteban did nothing else then stare incredulously at Lance the younger man shifted a little uncomfortably on the spot.
“Err ... well, I ... when I was sure my father wasn't ill anymore I immediately decided that I would come back to live with you. But then Daniel and Max told me that you were on holidays with Pierre and Charles. So they invited me to come with them for they were making holidays on the exact same island. And ... well, here I am. To tell you that I love you and I will never leave you again. Do you ... do you still want me?” Tears had formed in Esteban's eyes when Lance told him that he loved him. And before the Canadian could do anything else he had his arms full of a sobbing Frenchman who clung to him. Esteban buried his head into Lance's shirt and hugged him tightly.
“You still ask the most stupid questions, Lance.” He scolded in a playful tone still slightly interrupted by small hiccups. Lance grinned.
“But that's one of the reasons you love me, right?” Esteban smiled and stroked Lance's cheek.
“That and many, many more reasons.” He said before pulling his boyfriend into a loving kiss.

***

It didn't take them.long to decide that the bar was not the proper place to celebrate their reunion. So, after a short while and only one drink each, they decided to go back to the hotel and do something more ... fitting. Giggling and already pulling on their respective clothes they tumbled into their hotel room. Esteban glanced lovingly at his boyfriend and tugged at his hand.
“You want to...” He trailed off and nodded in the direction of the bed. Lance grinned and nodded vigorously.
“Of course I want to. I missed you so much and there's so many things we have to do together.” And with that he pulled Esteban to the bed and they finally made love after such a long time.

They would never be separated again. It was a vow both of them made before falling asleep in the arms of their beloved.