OLE! OLE! OLE!

“The pancakes are burning!” Kai yelped, abandoning the pan of bacon he’d been paying attention to to rescue the pancakes while plumes of smoke wafted towards the ceiling. 

“Oh shoot!” The bowl of cream Katie had been trying to whip for the last fifteen minutes clattered to the counter, its lumpy contents spilling across it as she also dashed for the griddle. Kai reached for the dials to turn down the heat as Katie grabbed the spatula to flip the misshapen pancake, using extra force when it got stuck somewhere underneath and then folded it like an accordion the rest of the way through. Wet batter poured off the edges and sizzled as it hit the too hot pan, immediately blackening in burned butter. Kai stared in horror as Katie flipped the gushy mess to reveal the charred underside. How the hell was it possible for something to be both raw and burned at the same time?

“I thought you said you knew how to make pancakes!” Kai demanded furiously as yet another thing went wrong. Sweat was beading at his temples and dripping down his back. He was two seconds from giving up but was desperately trying to rescue this breakfast they’d planned for Nolan and Chris. 

“I said I would like to make pancakes. Not that I know how to do it! You work at a cafe!” she retorted indignantly. 

“That’s why I made the coffee!” There was a whoosh from behind him and Katie shrieked, jumping back so that her back was pressed against the island counter, her eyes wide with terror. Kai jumped back as well, his brain freezing as he tried to process the scene in front of him, his heart slamming in his chest. The bacon was on fire. 

“What is going on in here?” Kai heard Chris say from behind him.

“Shit!” 

Kai felt Nolan brush past him rushing to the cupboard under the sink and pulling out the little blanket that hung on the door. In seconds the fire was smothered. Nolan rushed to Kai, cupping his face, worried eyes combing over him. 

“Are you okay?” 

Kai’s shoulders sank, his brain coming back online now that the danger had passed. 

“Breakfast is ruined. Maybe we should just go out.” He didn’t meet Nolan’s eyes as he tried to swallow his disappointment. He’d really wanted to do something nice for Nolan and Chris for organizing World Soccer Tournament tickets for a bunch of the resource centre kids and now he’d fucked it all up. 

“Oh no. You guys aren’t getting off the hook that easily. My baby boy promised me a homemade pancake breakfast and that’s exactly what I want. Come on. Let’s try again. We’ll do it together this time.”

“But…” Kai looked around at the destroyed kitchen. Flour and broken eggshells littered the counter. Chunky yellow lumps from Katie’s whipped cream spilled over the island while milk dripped over the edge and pooled on the floor. Kai was also pretty sure they’d used every utensil in the drawer. 

“Come on. We got this.” Nolan pulled him close and pressed a hard kiss to Kai’s mouth. Kai’s lips tilted upwards in a reluctant smile as some of his disappointment melted. 

Forty minutes later they were seated around the table. The kitchen was spotless again, minus one pan, and Katie and Kai’s pancakes had turned out almost as good as Nolan’s. Their batter had been salvageable and they’d swapped out the ruined whipped cream for rocky road ice cream with chocolate drizzle. Katie’s eyes were as wide as her grin as she balanced a perfectly crisp piece of bacon to top off the bite she’d made on her fork before she shoved the whole thing in her mouth. They all laughed at the gratuitous moan she let out, her eyes rolling back. Kai took his own bite, happiness swelling in him when fluffy pancake and ice cream hit his tongue. 

“Pretty good,” he looked over at Nolan for confirmation. 

“Amazing. Thanks baby,” Nolan reached over and kissed him lightly. 

“You guys crushed it,” Chris added, kissing Katie on her temple. Kai and Katie grinned at each other, their earlier argument long forgotten. “We gotta hustle up though, roads are going to be a disaster today. Lucas and Marcus already said it’s slow going.” The boys had gone to pick up two charter buses to ferry the kids and the resource centre staff but Kai, Katie, Chris and Nolan were meeting them at the stadium to save room.  

Thirty minutes later they were crawling through traffic. The Canadian men were playing Bosnia and Herzegovina and the city was pumped. Anticipation for the games had been building for months and now that the day was here it seemed like everyone was on the streets. The weather had got the memo and the sun broke through intermittent clouds giving the crowd below a break from the thirty degree heat. 

Excitement zipped through Kai’s blood electrifying him. There was no life that Kai could have ever imagined where he got to go to a World Soccer game to see players he’d only ever seen on television. Now they were not only going but they were going to be hanging out with Taje Lair, who had played mid-field for the team at the last games before a career ending injury had side-lined him. Taje had been one of Kai’s favourite players when he was a teenager and when Nolan told Kai that Taje was a good friend of his, Kai had almost swooned. 

At last, at long last, they were pulling into the stadium along side the charter buses and Jason’s beat up, second hand highlander that he’d just bought. The charter buses were just starting to unload and Kai could see Matteo, Jason, Justin, Riley and some of the other staff wrangling the kids together. Casey and Callum spotted them immediately breaking away from the crowd and racing towards them.

“KAI!” Casey and Callum careened right into him, wrapping their arms around him and jumping up and down. They’d grown a ton over the last half year but were as enthusiastically affectionate as always. 

“Isn’t this amazing?”

“So freaking cool!” 

“I can’t believe we’re going to see Osorio play!”

“I wanna see Crépeau. He’s freaking amazing!“

“I can’t believe we’re hanging out with Taje Lair!” Kai answered, his excitement ramping up even higher.

“You only wanna see him cuz you’re old,” Callum scoffed.

“You jerk! I’m not old! You know what? You’re uninvited.” Kai told him. Liam was making his way over and Kai’s attention was immediately caught. Out of everyone, Liam was the only one who didn’t seem excited to be there. He raised two fingers to his forehead in a sarcastic greeting to Nolan that Nolan returned unfazed, but pulled Kai in for a wordless hug. 

“NOOO!” Callum and Casey shouted.

“He’s just teasing you guys,” Nolan laughed as the boys abandoned Kai to greet Nolan. The groups were converging now as all of the grown ups greeted each other and Casey and Callum rushed off to find their friends in the crowd. 

“Heard you two almost burned the kitchen down,” Lucas said, a wicked grin playing on his face as he grasped Kai’s hand and brought him in for a hug.

“No we didn’t!” Katie glared. Marcus laughed and wrapped an arm around her neck, giving her an appeasing kiss to her cheek. 

“You alright?” Kai muttered to Liam as they were shown their way to their suites. Kai wanted to take it in but Liam’s off energy had him on his guard. 

“Yeah, man, all good. This is crazy right?”

“Seriously. You ever think we’d be here?”

“Fuck no! But I shoulda known your pretty ass would marry rich.”

“I’m not married, dick!” But he still got that gooey feeling he got every time someone joked about him being married to Nolan. Nolan’s fingers were tangled with his and when Kai glanced up at him, Nolan winked. Kai melted. Yeah, they weren’t married but Kai was pretty sure that was just a matter of time. Kai couldn’t wait. 

Chris and Nolan had arranged for all sorts of fun things for the kids and they poured into the suites already racing for treats and gear. Liam disappeared to grab a drink and Kai’s eyes locked on the man standing at the back of the room closest to the seat. 

Taje Lair. Kai was star struck. When he’d been younger he’d dreamed of playing soccer with Taje. Taje lifted a hand in greeting and Nolan tugged Kai forward.

“Come on,” he said excitedly. Nolan released Kai’s hand and the two men greeted each other in a bear hug, clapping each other hard on the back before pulling back.

“Taje, this is my boyfriend Kai,” Nolan said, wrapping an arm around Kai’s waist to pull him forward. Kai’s eyes were wide and he was pretty sure he’d forgotten how to blink as the other man turned his attention to Kai. 

“Huge, huge fan,” Kai croaked as he shook his hand. 

“Why don’t you guys get to know each other, and I’ll grab some drinks? Taje, what are you drinking?” Nolan asked.

“I’m good man,” Taje answered, holding up his glass to show Nolan that it was full. Kai watched Nolan go and when he turned back to Taje he was taken back to find the other man staring at him in an assessing way, his expression having lost some of the warmth it had moments earlier. 

“So you and Nolan? Been together long?”

“Yeah, we just hit a year,” Kai blushed, even as his heart swelled. He still couldn’t believe that they’d been together that long. Time had flown and the past year had been the happiest of his life. Coming home to Nolan everyday brought him joy that he could never have begun to imagine for himself.

“He told me about you. You definitely seem his type.” Taje’s gaze skimmed over him in a way that didn’t seem like a compliment. Surprise caught Kai off guard but before he could come up with a retort, Nolan was back at his side, sliding a cream soda into his hand and then wrapping his arm around Kai’s waist again. 

“Here you go baby. Why don’t we grab some seats and catch up?” Nolan said. They chose their seats at the back row, letting the kids take over the front. Taje sat on Nolan’s other side and Liam fell into the seat on Kai’s, now with a glass of brown liquor in his hand. He slumped low in his seat staring unseeingly at the field out front.

“What’s going on with you? Don’t say nothing. Something's up.” Kai muttered quietly. For a second Liam stayed quiet and Kai wasn’t sure if he was going to answer.

“You wanna hear something fucked up?” Liam asked casually. 

“What, bro?”

“My folks had another kid.” Kai almost spat his drink out. Whatever he thought Liam was about to say, it hadn’t been that. Kai had never had the displeasure of meeting Liam’s parents because Liam had been no contact since before they’d met. Liam never talked about them but from everything he knew, Liam’s dad was a piece of shit bully and his mom preferred to work than stand up to him. Liam was the youngest of their kids and had always been what his parents, his teachers and pretty much everyone described as ‘a problem child.’

“How’d you know?”

“Someone from back in the day,” Liam sipped his drink. Kai stared, trying to gauge his friend. Just under his facade of nonchalance, Kai could feel a dangerous storm brewing. “He looks like me.”

“You’ve seen him?” Kai asked surprised. 

“Yeah, I ran by his school.” Kai was still trying to wrap his head around this new information. “He’s in second grade.”

“Does he know who you are?”

“Nah. I’ve just been hanging around.”

“Are you stalking him?” Kai hissed, immediately alarmed. Liam gave him a withering look.

“I’m not stalking him. He’s my brother.” He took a gulp of his drink. “I just can’t believe my mother is still fucking that guy.” Liam's lip curled in disgust.

“What are you going to do?” Kai asked. Liam glanced his way but didn’t answer. Kai knew that look. Whatever Liam was planning would probably require bail money but luckily, Kai had that now. And a damned good lawyer.

“Those two seem close,” Liam said nodding to Nolan and Taje who were in the middle of an enthusiastic conversation, both of them laughing boisterously. “He’s hitting on your man, bro.” Something inside Kai stirred, feeling territorial, remembering the interaction he’d had with Taje when Nolan had stepped away. 

The game started and everyone took their seats but Kai was too distracted by his conversations with Liam and Taje to focus now. Now he was focused on the conversation beside him. Nolan got up to get snacks for them and Kai watched as Taje’s eyes followed him. Kai scowled and Taje smirked. 

Kai heard someone say once that you should never meet your hero’s and now Kai understood. He took in the other man for the first time, noting his height and broad shoulders, his dark black curls and sharp features that made him undeniably hot. Hot, rich and a pro athlete. Kai hated him. 

Nolan sat back down handing Kai a bowl of fully loaded nachos and draped his arm around Kai’s shoulders. Kai scooched closer in his seat to press himself into Nolan’s side.

Canada scored and then Bosnia. Both teams were playing an amazing game and after a while Kai relaxed enough to get into it. The striker for Bosnia broke away while the Canadian team tried to catch up and Kai shifted to the edge of his seat, holding his breath as Bosnia took the shot and it went wide, hitting the post and soaring out of bounds. The crowd screamed. The Canadians had the advantage but only barely. By the last few minutes of the second half, the crowd was on its feet. The energy from the crowd seemed to be driving the Canadian players as they pushed the other team. Kai could see it on their faces—the Canadians wanted the win but the Bosnian team was not giving it up without a fight. In the final minute of stoppage time, Kai saw the play set up and somehow he knew what was going to happen.  

Canada took possession of the ball, the left winger driving it up the field, he crossed it to center, who, faster than Kai’s eyes could see, darted it behind the defender, taking the shot without hesitation. The goalie threw himself into the air, the ball skimming his fingertips but he couldn’t quite get there. GOAL! The crowd lost its mind screaming and jumping up and down. Kai was screaming too. He turned to Nolan who was also screaming. Nolan grabbed him in a bear hug. Seconds later the referee’s whistle sounded and a fresh wave of screaming filled the stadium. Canada won 2-1.

It took a long time for everyone to calm down after that. Nobody could talk about anything else but the game. They made their way out of the stadium, and down to their cars. Kai caught the look on Taje’s face when Nolan wrapped his arm around Kai’s neck and this time it was his turn to smirk. By the time they’d said their goodbyes to everyone and dropped Chris and Katie home, it was well into the evening. 

Kai curled close, dropping his head on Nolan’s shoulder, intertwining their fingers. 

“So you and Taje, were you ever a thing?” Kai asked casually. Nolan startled.

“What? No! What gave you that idea?”

“He likes you.” Kai answered, looking up to gauge Nolan’s expression. Nolan scoffed.

“No way. Taje doesn’t swing that way.” Kai’s face was skeptical as he took in Nolan's disbelief but Kai was pretty sure that Nolan was wrong.

“You didn’t see the way he looks at you.” Nolan was silent for a second.

“Baby, were you jealous?” Nolan asked incredulously. Kai sat up, glaring now. 

“He was totally flirting with you all day!” A wide grin spread across Nolan’s face and Kai pulled his hand away, crossing his arms across his chest. “You’re laughing at me.”

“I’m not. I swear,” Nolan laughed. “You’re just so fucking adorable when you’re jealous. Like a little baby panda bear.” He reached over to pinch Kai’s chin and Kai batted his hand away and then pulled the hood on his sweater over his head turning towards the window and curling against it. Nolan laughed again. 

“Baby.” Kai said nothing. He wasn’t really angry but he was okay with making Nolan earn his forgiveness. “Sweetheart?” The corner of Kai’s mouth quirked up and he forced it down. Nolan gave an amused sigh. 

A few minutes later the car came to a stop as they pulled into the driveway. Kai didn’t move, pretending he was asleep and heard Nolan leave the car. Nolan opened his door gently.

“Sleeping. I guess I have to carry the boy to bed.” Nolan murmured. He reached across to release Kai’s seatbelt and lifted him right into his arms. Kai wrapped his legs around Nolan’s waist, arms around his neck while biting down on a smile. He tucked his head against Nolan’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent of cologne and sweat. Nolan carried him up to bed, depositing him gently on his side and when Nolan pulled away, Kai opened his eyes. 

“I wasn’t sleeping. I just wanted you to carry me.”

“I never guessed that, sweetheart,” Nolan grinned down at him and Kai grinned back. 

“Now I think we were in the middle of a conversation and my baby boy needed reminding that he is the only one for me.”

“Maybe a little reminding,” Kai conceded, draping his arms loosely around Nolan’s shoulders. 

“Uh huh.” Nolan settled his weight on top of Kai, taking his mouth in a kiss and deepening it slowly until Kai was mindless. Nolan broke away and Kai tilted his head to give him access to his throat. Kai’s dick was already hard, arousal zipping across his skin as Nolan’s hand found its way under his shirts to trail across his stomach. Kai whined a complaint to Nolan that Nolan understood automatically. He sat back on his knees and pulled Kai’s sweater and jersey over his head and then followed it with his own. This time when Nolan came down on top of him to kiss him again Kai moaned at the skin to skin contact. Nolan’s rough chest hair rubbed against his sensitive nipples turning them into stiff peaks. Nolan balanced his weight on one arm while his other hand roamed over Kai’s chest, up his side, to his back, over his shoulder and down his arm. Kai did the same, stroking over the familiar muscles of Nolan’s back to the ridges of his spine. 

Nolan kissed his way down Kai’s body, tonguing his nipples, skimming his teeth along his abs until he was level with Kai’s crotch. Nolan glanced up at Kai and if there was anything that could convince Kai that Nolan only wanted him, it was the desire blazing in his eyes just then. He undid the button and zipper of Kai’s jeans pushing it roughly aside like he couldn’t wait for Kai’s cock. 

“Daddy!” Kai cried, hips bucking up as Nolan took him to the back of his throat. Nolan worked him hungrily and then popped off taking his spit-slicked cock in his hand.

“That’s right baby. I’m your Daddy and you’re my only boy. Do you hear me?” Nolan said gruffly, pumping his cock from root to tip. Kai moaned, desperately trying to reign in his pleasure. “Say it.” Nolan growled. 

“Yes. YES! You’re my Daddy and I’m your boy,” Kai whimpered. 

“That’s right.” Nolan let go of Kai’s cock and Kai cried out at the sudden loss of sensation but Nolan was already getting to his knees, tugging Kai’s jeans and boxers down his hips and off his legs, throwing them over his shoulder as Kai let his legs fall wide. Nolan climbed off of the bed to pull off his own jeans and grab the lube from the bedside table. Nolan’s eyes combed over Kai’s body possessively, loosely stroking his own hard length. 

“I think I need to drive the lesson home just a little more sweetheart,” Nolan murmured. Kai nodded eagerly, desperate for Nolan’s cock. Nolan climbed between his legs again, flicking open the lube and coating his fingers. Kai spread his legs even wider but this time Nolan took his time, stroking Kai’s cock with one hand while his lubed fingers traced the length of his taint and teased at his hole. Kai squirmed beneath him trying to get Nolan’s fingers where he needed them the most. Kai could have cried from relief when Nolan finally gave in, spearing him on his fingers and working him open quickly.

“Daddy, I’m going to come.”

“No you don’t,” Nolan growled. “You’ll come on my cock when I tell you too.” He pulled his fingers free and replaced them with the head of his cock, pressing in without waiting.  After a year together, Nolan had become a pro at reading Kai’s body but Kai had learned a thing or two about Nolan’s too. He rolled his hips against Nolan’s as they came together, a sex drunk smile playing on his lips when Nolan cursed. They found their rhythm quickly, Nolan falling on top of Kai to devour his mouth while he pumped his rigid length in and out of his body. Kai moaned against his mouth.

“I’m so close. Please? Please, Daddy?”

“You can come.” That’s all Kai needed to catapult into his orgasm. Nolan gave a shout as Kai squeezed around him, driving harder into him until his own orgasm stuttered through him. Nolan dropped his forehead onto Kai’s, both of them struggling to catch their breath.

“I love you. Only you. You get that?” Nolan asked. Kai nodded.

“I love you more. Maybe I was a little jealous,” Kai admitted. Nolan huffed a laugh. 

“Even if you’re right about Taje, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“I still don’t like him.” Nolan grinned and shifted off of him, his softening dick sliding free of Kai’s body.

“That’s fair,” he said, dragging Kai to his feet and into his arms again. He carried Kai to the shower, turning on the hot water. They showered quickly and then crawled back into bed. Nolan tucked Kai under his arm and reached for the book on the night stand. It was a soccer romance. A grumpy coach and his sunshine rookie player. It felt appropriate for the season. Kai listened to Nolan read for a while until his eyes felt too heavy to keep open.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Kiss me goodnight?” Nolan looked down at him, his Kai playing on his lips. Maybe he still got a little insecure once in a while but when Nolan looked at him like that, he knew, in his heart, that this was forever. 

Nolan set the book on the nightstand and flicked off the light. He shifted down and pressed a sweet kiss to Kai’s lips.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“Goodnight, Daddy.”