A/N: something something David Beckham... something something... drool... something something...

Was guilt perhaps a mechanism for self-preservation?

Romero probably agreed, to some extent, that the human brain had the capacity to save their host from being injured, both physically and psychologically. In this case, it was a case of keeping his humanity in pristine condition.

As many other people also experienced, Romero had made mistakes, and he regretted that he had to make himself think every night 'what could have been?'. Even more so, he resented himself for all the things he couldn't do because of his misdoings.

He wasn't sure what could have brought back his dreaded memories of his life in Montreal. He was young, but his determination preceded himself. It made him betray, abandon and forget.

That was until now, he sat there as the images and the noises resurfaced as if someone purposefully dredged them out of the dead lagoon at the back of his head.

Tonight, was his third-time meeting Troye. He had been out of the dating game for almost too long, last he had a partner, he was still the one running across a soccer field. Now, he stood at the side, being a proud coach with loud cheers that threatened the destruction of his voice box.

On his second evening out with Troye, the younger man had opened up slightly more than he had on their first meeting at the coffee shop. Although, a lot still remained secret in Troye's life. It wasn't anything intimate, but looking at them now really triggered him to see the finer things in life. Especially since they were discussing their lives, and marvelling at how different 10 years of age could make.

Neither times did Romero mention explicitly through conversation that their meeting was in fact a 'date'. He thought it was implied in the nature of two people meeting alone at a location without external parties. However, Romero was starting to see that Troye knew less about the way around dating than the untrained Romero did himself. In a strange way, Romero was humbled by that.

The more Romero thought about the possibility of having Troye hanging on his arm, the more he got rushes of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He was certainly getting his fix of excitement, and after so many years of being catalogued in articles and television, Romero had thought he had experienced it all.

Inside Romero's head, he thought he sounded fairly arrogant in thinking that Troye couldn't have not known who he was at all. Sure, Romero wasn't the tip top best soccer player, but he was part of a massively successful team, and his name must have crossed Troye's ears at some stage.

Another wave of warmth spread throughout Romero's chest at the thought of the implications that could be derived from Troye's obliviousness. Even if Troye had since learnt Romero's previous status, he still didn't really bring it up in conversation. The prospect of Troye being someone who cared little about who he was to the outside world brought him a small smile.

The curvature of his lips only spread upwards as he saw the familiar body dodging through the crowded streets.

They decided that early mornings best fit their schedules if they wanted to continue to meet regularly, seeing as Romero usually worked till late in the afternoon and probably a little too tired from coaching and training grown sportsmen.

Troye, on the other hand, would return home no earlier than 8pm, having picked up another job at the exact café that he always went to. However, Romero didn't need to know that. It wasn't that Troye didn't want pity from a stranger, it was only because he hadn't seen a reason to tell the older man. That, and the fact that he didn't want Romero to feel as if he was psychotically obsessed with this particular venue.

The Korean owner of the shanty café, Nola, was a really nice lady too, which was an added bonus. She offered to top up Troye's plastic mug whenever he was ready to leave work, it was another expense that was cut and he couldn't thank the kind lady enough.

For once in his life, Troye felt that even though the elements could be harshly against his agenda, there were always little pushes and shoves from those who saw value in his humanity.

Presently, Romero met Troye half way through the café and offered to take his bag. The older man wanted to be a gentleman, he knew it would melt hearts. Although, it seemed like Troye's idea of romance was a different ball game. Pun definitely intended.

"Sorry I was a little late. I slept through my alarm..." Troye blushed slightly, it brought him back to the days where he would sleep through his 3 alarms on a Monday morning when he was still in high school. He would then have to sprint the walk of shame all the way to campus because his parents were always off to work at 7:30am sharp.

Troye gave his chest a little scratch to rid himself of the awkwardness. Romero's eyes couldn't help but to travel down slightly to the round neck of Troye's shirt, pulled down enough to let Romero see the dusting of chest hair, not dense, but not maintained regularly either.

Once again, Romero felt a slight twinge of guilt. He didn't enjoy other people explicitly sexualising him on social media, so he felt that he shouldn't do the same to another person. However, Troye was too tempting, even with slight bed head and dreary eyes.

The two sat down and settled into their usual routine of menu staring. Although, it wasn't much of a routine seeing as they had only done this once before, excluding Romero's first instance of stalking Troye.

Romero himself always ordered the same drink, even if he was at a different shop that offered any sort of caffeinated beverage. However, Troye had made his introverted tendencies very clear through their meetings, and Romero wanted to respect that. In fact, it was a miracle that Troye didn't wear his headphones when he arrived. Romero thought it as a small victory.

Troye understood perfectly the way that his meetings with Romero seemed to others, after all, it wasn't every day that two people come together under no particular reason just to get to know each other. On top of that, Troye definitely would not actively do any of this if Romero hadn't fallen off a tree branch at his feet, waiting to be befriended.

Despite the way it appeared objectively, Troye didn't think much of it. As much as romance had never crossed his mind, he also didn't think he had romantic energy with Romero. There were a lot of jokes and banter, but things went the same way with Logan.

Maybe he was just emotionally insensitive, Troye thought. Maybe that is why he was at a completely loss on how to rekindle his friendship with Logan.

After the day of his despair and accepting Romero's offer for a meeting, Troye had swiftly returned home with his returned coffee mug. Logan was extremely annoyed that some stranger just came and swept Troye off his feet when his friend was in tears not less than 20 minutes prior.

The sex eyes that Romero gave Troye was infuriating. Perhaps Logan was amplifying the magnitude of Romero's potential intentions, but he was a concerned friend. Coupled with the fact that Romero was taking advantage of Troye's conservative and soft-hearted nature made him extremely upset.

So, true to Logan's own logic, he employed his problem-solving techniques. Also known as sexual pleasure. He made sure Troye entered his apartment building then left immediately to go let off his pressurized irritation.

Now, Troye and Logan remain separated, although neither of them considered their friendship to be over. They just needed a little more time to recuperate and construct their make-up plan. This time, Troye thought it would be his turn to take initiative, seeing as he had never done much for Logan.

At some point during their silence, the air shifted around Troye to become more accepting. It was inexplicable and certainly supernatural for Romero to even consider he could detect emotions. However, he was glad to find that Troye finally put down his menu to engage in a conversation with Romero.

"So, who exactly do you work for now?" Troye questioned. Although he knew of Romero's significance, he decided against searching the soccer player online, fearing that rumours may sway his judgement. He didn't like the media for that reason, there were too many words said and not enough truth in those words.

"No one, really, I get paid to train and coach the upcoming soccer stars, but the one who pays me isn't really my boss. More a friend than anything." Truth be told, Romero suspected that it wasn't the talent or skill the football club sought after when they hired Romero, it was probably the prestige and reputation they would gain from having a big name attached. Romero didn't mind though, as long as they paid him – and damn well at that – he had no qualms about doing something he loved.

"That sounds nice. My dream would probably be to have a more flexible schedule, but I don't think that is possible with nursing."

Romero thought the little sigh that Troye let slip past his lips was cute. In fact, there had already been a handful of things that Romero could list off in quick succession that he enjoyed about Troye.

As if a cold bucket of water was emptied on top of his head, he saw his past swirling in distant wisps of remembrance around Troye. He saw his first love, with a similar awkward disposition, perhaps a little too quiet, but his first love had been quiet too. And as much as Romero hated remembering those days, he couldn't deny the subconscious attraction to someone he thought was similar to his distant lover.

The mood dampened. The air was turbid with plentiful harsh disturbances, and this time Troye saw it in the way Romero's eyebrows slanted downwards. "Are you alright?" Troye moved his left hand closer to Romero's resting forearm, close enough to touch but no contact made. "Too early?"

Before Romero could respond with the routine 'I'm alright', Nola came over, having recognised Troye. "Mr. Angelou! It's so early, would you like some coffee? Maybe for your brother as well, yes?" Oh... bless her kind soul... Troye thought. Apart from the obvious mistake, he was sort of hoping that he would receive a special discount for his morning dose of coffee, but that would definitely be biting off more than he could chew.

"Good morning! And thank you but we will just order in a little while." Troye responded, not daring to look at Romero, who was probably sat there with a bemused grin.

"Oh no, it is okay. I have to take care of my employees of course!" The lady spoke animatedly, probably bursting with too much energy this early in the morning. Bless your soul... Troye could quite literally give her a hug for being such a sweet creature, however she had made the situation infinitely harder to explain now.

The two put their orders in and the kind lady made her way behind the cashier and started her work.

Meanwhile, Troye raised the menu and opened it to a random page, then covered his entire head with it. He was praying to high heavens that life had an emergency eject button.

Romero, once again, was smitten by the strange series of events. However, all he managed was a chuckle. It brought his spirits up for sure. "Well, brother, I suppose we should make it a habit to come here more often, seeing as we get free coffee."

Troye peeked out from under his shelter. It was nonsensical to feel upset at Romero's words, but now that the owner had come to address Troye, he felt as if he was coming off as someone cheap and stingy. Perhaps even opportunistic, what with the free coffee and how the owner favoured him. Though, it wasn't all false, Troye was indeed cheap, he didn't have much money to offer after all.

"Sorry about that..." Troye started, tongue tied for words. He didn't want to explain into detail about his financial situation, nor did he want to make a joke about them being brother or clear up the fact that he wasn't completely obsessed with this café. It was, again, all he could afford.

"Don't be," Romero leaned forward. He felt brave in the moment and caught one of Troye's hands in his own. "I didn't know you worked here."

"That only started recently." Troye rushed out, trying to put an end to the conversation. Despite having studied the human anatomy extensively, he thought that he heart had relocated to co-exist with his brain inside his skull. The beats thumping against his ear drums.

This is so, definitely not friendly! Troye's brain screamed at his heart, both panicking at the unusual scenario. "I suppose it is a wise idea to not rely on your parents for money." Romero said thoughtfully, tilting his head with his hand still on Troye's. Seeing as his companion wasn't moving away, he must have scored on some degree, Romero concluded.

Why did the conversation lead back to money? Was it so hard to not think about money for just a moment? Troye thought frantically, mainly to distract his senses from registering the now moving thumb across his knuckles.

In a flurry of panic, Troye looked behind him and made up an excuse to flee, "I'll go grab our drinks." He was so proud of his own steady voice. As his hand slipped away from under Romero's, he felt as if is entire arm had frozen over from the lack of human touch. In some ways, he thought it was incredible that he was learning more about himself, but mostly, he was utterly terrified.

Troye's boss turned around with Troye's plastic mug in hand and a ceramic cup in the other. She was slightly startled to see anyone waiting at the counter since that was never the normal occurrence for a small café with slow business all year round.

"Oh! Mr. Angelou!" Nola set down the drinks swiftly and laid a hand over her chest. "Why are you not speaking to your brother?"

Troye laughed nervously, not sure how to debunk her theory. "He's not my brother..." The response left a lot to be desired. Troye wanted to tack on a finally 'unfortunately' to reinforce his point, but it wouldn't add any value to his answer.

Nola looked absolutely mortified in the way that only she could manage. Troye thought she had been an absolute angel to him and seeing her this ashamed made Troye feel bad for point the discrepancy out.

"I am so sorry! I originally thought he was your boyfriend, but you are already with the other man, yes? So, I thought he was your relative!" Nola didn't manage to make her apology quiet, so Romero heard it all.  "You have very similar colour of eyes, and look like brothers!"

Troye didn't have the heart to burst her bubble again but he had to ask, "Who do you think I am together with...?"

Nola thought for a moment, "He always come in with you? You know, the very tall, gold hair handsome boy with large, large shoulder and arms?" Nola explained, "Do not be afraid. I am not afraid of the gays, my brother is married to another man. Very nice man." She nodded, as if approving her own statement.

"We are just friends, Nola." Troye offered. He couldn't say much more since he really didn't know much more about Logan. Maybe it really was time for them to open up a little more. Troye had a feeling that his own restraint in personal information had led to Logan's own secrecy.

"Oh no! Again? I am so sorry. I just think that you are a handsome man, many ladies and men should like you."

"Thank you, but I don't think I have time for a boyfriend or girlfriend at the moment..."

Romero smiled to himself. He was fond of Troye's mild and tamed personality, even down to Troye's slight fidget he found extremely charming. He was certainly falling for the young man.

However, he definitely learnt his lesson with being pushy. He needed to be more patient, if the failed hand holding was anything to go by. It was painfully obvious that Troye's silence was a sign of discomfort. He just needed to remind himself that this wasn't a race to victory.

It was a chance for him to secure his place in Troye's heart before Logan takes it.

Romero felt the heavy stakes.

(Published 8/22/2019)

A/N: There is so much I want to explain in these chapters, like I would do with my other stories. However, I feel like it would be best fit if I let the details play themselves out, and I can say my piece on the other side of this war zone.

I will say that I try my hardest to plant small pieces of motifs and clues along the way that would come back to prove themselves significant later in the story. So, it's something worth thinking about.

More to come soon, I'm feeling a little less horrified of this story :)