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He can feel Santiago’s eyes on him, their weight settling on his back like a brand as they make their way out of the fight, the obnoxious cheers of the hillbillies grating at his frayed nerves. Frankie knows he isn’t the only one that noticed, not by a longshot, not with Benny casually slinging an arm around his shoulders and dragging him in close, voice just a little too enthused for a man who’d just had the shit beat out of him…not that he’d admit it.
Keeping his head down while the others talk shop is easy, he’d been avoiding those eyes for a very long time, pretending he didn’t notice the way they softened on him, the way Santiago’s voice would go all low and husky while speaking Spanish, words meant only for him. This was a different time, hell it was practically a different decade and he had a baby and a girl waiting for him at home, two people that loved him and he hated how they faded into the background the moment Santiago came crashing back into their lives.
They agree to meet up tomorrow and Frankie doesn’t really want to think too hard about what he agreed to, can practically feel the hilt of his gun in his hand, his finger resting gently against the trigger, the smell of gunpowder. Adjusting his cap, he goes to leave, only to feel familiar fingers snagging the sleeve of his coat, stopping him dead because at some point Santiago slipped right up next to him and he can’t keep avoiding him…not if they are going to go back to working together.
Will is already walking away, pats him on the back with a tired smile. Benny on the other hand, he is more hesitant, squeezes his shoulder and waits until Frankie nods, sending him on his way. Santiago can’t miss the interaction but if he cares that their story had been spilled to another member of the team, it doesn’t show.
He feels anxious, standing here on the sidewalk under an old flickering streetlamp, while around them men holler and shout and climb into their too big trucks. Frankie had always hated how Santiago could do that to him, had hoped he’d outgrown it at some point or another.
“You haven’t looked me in the eye since I got here,” Santiago said matter-of-factly.
Frankie snorted, partly because it was true but mostly because… of course that is what Santiago would be hung up on. The man didn’t like being ignored, got an itch under his skin the moment he felt like someone was depriving him of attention and maybe some part of him had been playing into that, had wanted to get him riled up.
“Don’t take it personally Pope,” he murmured.
“Pope uh?” his tone made it clear he certainly did take it as a personal affront and Frankie didn’t blame him. They had stopped using code names with each other a long time ago, even when they were messing around with the team. Code names stayed with missions but any other time, they just didn’t feel right. “I’m starting to think you’re pissed at me or something.”
The huff of laughter didn’t make it all the way up his chest, which was for the better because it also meant the words that used to sit on his tongue like poison were also kept at bay. He was pissed, had been for a very long fucking time, ever since he’d woken up to an empty bed in the middle of fucking nowhere Argentina and a hastily scribbled note.
Only heard from him a week later in the god damn group text.
Two calloused fingers gripped his chin gently and tilted his head up, forcing him to finally look Santiago in the eye and just like always, Frankie felt his stomach swoop at the soft, considering look in their depths. He spared a thought for the crowd around them only to realize it had grown very quiet, only a few lingering bodies that weren’t the least bit interested in what they were doing.
He was standing close, was right up in his face, breath ghosting across his skin like the promise whispered there years ago. Frankie knew he should walk away, should smile at him and shake his head, draw the line in the sand and make it clear that things were different and would continue to be different this time around.
Instead, he stood there, unmoving.
“I’ve missed you,” the words were spoken with a sincerity that made Frankie’s heart ache fiercely, a steady thumping pain that had existed in his chest for a very long time now and he just wished the pain didn’t feel so good. Those clever fingers moved, loosening until just the tips skated along his jaw and down, following the vein in his neck, and right back up again. Frankie let his eyes flutter closed as a thumb brushed carefully across his lips, doing his damn best to suppress a shiver. “I’ve missed this.”
His own hands, which had been unmoving at his sides, twitched with urge to touch, to just reach up and grip the other man’s curls and drag him into a kiss, find out if he still tasted, still felt exactly the same after all this time. That more than anything, knocked him out of the haze he was in, reminded him that somewhere nearby, Benny was waiting for him and they weren’t what they used to be.
Taking a shuddering breath, Frankie peeled back his eyes, found Santiago looking at him with a little smile, the one that always seemed to be aimed at him. Swallowing thickly, he reached up and wrapped his fingers around Santiago’s wrist, pulling his hand away, “Si,” he murmured before stepping away from him. “Yo también te extrañé.”
Turning away, Frankie pretended not to see the way Santiago’s hand hovered in midair as though he intended to call him back once more, to grab his arm and not let him leave. He pretended that he didn’t notice when his words caused a grin to spread over his lips or the joyful gleam in his eyes. He pretended that it wasn’t the residue of love that made him crave the other man’s touch once more.