Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Omar POV

It was late in the afternoon on a nice September day when he had finally managed to find some time to grab a coffee. He had had a hectic day after wrapping up the final scene for his latest film. As the director he had to edit some last-minute changes and it had taken more time than he had expected. But now he could sit back and relax as he knew that he had the next three weeks off. He sat down in the corner of his favorite coffeehouse Blossoms, which was located in Calle de Alberto Aguilera, when he heard a familiar voice. Although he didn’t have to look at the man whose voice, he just heard to know it belonged to Aron, but he still looked up.

Aron was standing at the bar with his back towards him, but he still recognized him. Not only his voice had betrayed him, but he could see the curls that he could recognize out of thousands of curly people. He hadn’t seen Aron in a long time. Over the last year he had barely seen him. Occasionally they had seen each other at an event, which they both had attended out of professional obligations. At those occasions they had politely greeted one and other but that was it. There was nothing that reminded them of the friendship they once shared.

There had been a time when they had been good friends. There was a time in which they had been close, very close even too close. Once there had been a strong attraction between the two of them, that went way beyond the imagination of people. It was something they had once shared, it was a secret that has been kept just between the two off them. Although it had been years ago, he had never forgotten the way he had felt about Aron. He had been in love with Aron. Totally and utterly in love.

It was after the first season of Elite that he had noticed that his feelings for the man weren’t pure friendly. And it became pretty clear very soon that the chemistry between them wasn’t an act. The physical chemistry between them was undeniable for the both of them. On several occasions it had gotten out of control as they had kissed each other several times. It had quickly turned out into a short and heavy affair. He had wanted more and although he never had expressed his feelings to Aron, he knew Aron was aware of them. It had been Aron that had ended things between them, whatever it had been. He knew Aron didn’t respond his feelings, for Aron it had been a matter of experimenting. Aron never had the intention to reveal the truth about his sexuality. Although people had been speculating about him being bisexual nevertheless. He hadn’t wanted the world to find out he was bisexual. At that time, he was afraid it would affect his popularity, he had been to afraid how people in the world would look at him if they knew.

They had both agreed that what had happened between them it would stay between them. It had taken him some time to get over Aron, but he had managed, because Aron’s friendship had meant the world to him.

In November of 2019 he had met Alonso, his former boyfriend and after a few months they had started dating. And in may 2020 they had made their relationship known to the world. His relationship with Alonso effected his friendship with Aron. He still wasn’t sure about it, but he had always thought that Aron was somehow jealous of Alonso. But maybe it was something he just wanted to believe, because if Aron at that time had told him he wanted to be with him, he would have dropped Alonso in a heartbeat.

Still there was a strong bond between him and Aron, even when they didn’t see each other as often as they did before anymore. In his opinion it all started to change when Aron met Jessica. From the moment Aron had met her, he had been infatuated with her. And she knew just how to play him with her body. In a matter of time Aron had become head over heels in love with her. And he had been very jealous. It had made him aware that his feelings for Aron weren’t quite over yet. But that wasn’t the thing that bothered him the most, it bothered him more that Aron let it affect their friendship.

During his last season of Elite, almost 2 years ago now, their bond had completely changed. It was as if he had seen a completely different Aron. And he exactly knew the reason behind it was. It wasn’t only Jessica that had changed him, but it was his popularity that had changed him the most. Aron had become incredibly popular, not only as an actor but also as a singer. At first, he had been very proud at Aron, he had achieved his dream, Aron had fought hard for what he had wanted in life and he admired that. But he had seen Aron change from a lovely, chatty, always smiling man into a cocky, almost arrogant man. It was as if shaving of his lovely curls had literally turned him in to the tough, arrogant guy he looked like. Arons popularity had changed him and, in his opinion, not for the best. That’s why he had chosen to keep his distance from Aron. He didn’t like the person Aron had become. So over the last 1,5 year they had lost all contact.

He let his eyes wonder over the man that was standing at the bar. Aron looked great, better than he had been in a long time. Of course, he had never forgotten about Aron. And he was well aware of the fact how he was doing. He knew Aron had had a rough last year and that he had hit rock bottom. He knew Aron was fighting to get his life back on track. It had been in the newspapers and all over the internet.

Suddenly Aron turned around and looked straight at him, as if he had felt his eyes burning at him. He could see how Aron walked over to the table he was sitting at. All he could think was how ridiculously handsome Aron looked. He looked just like the man he met 5 years ago, the man that back then had the capacity to get his heart race against 200 miles an hour. He could feel how his heart started to race again. Why did Aron had this effect on him now? It was the last thing he expected after all this time.

“ Omar” Aron’s voice sounded hoarse. Silently he cursed as he felt a familiar tingling in his crotch. That was the last thing he wanted to feel.

Aron POV

He was walking down the street when he saw a familiar face across the street. For a moment his heart stopped when he saw him. Omar. He hadn’t seen him in a long time. He couldn’t explain it, but a strange feeling washed over him. He could see how Omar entered the coffee bar across the street.

Without thinking twice he crossed the street and walked over to the building Omar had just entered.
Through the window he saw how Omar ordered a coffee. If he remembered correct Omar’s favorite coffee was a Latte Macchiato. He watched how Omar took place in the corner of the coffee bar.

His inner voice told him to go inside, order a coffee and go over to Omar and talk to him. But he wasn’t sure Omar would want to see him. Not after all that had happened between them.
His mind wandered back to the past.

From the first moment they had met, they had developed a strong bond. They were totally each other opposites. But as the cliche said opposite attracts. It wasn’t any different in their case. On screen they had to show an incredible strong chemistry, but what most people didn’t know it wasn’t all show. The physical chemistry between them had been real. They both couldn’t deny it. After season one they hang out a lot. And at one day, after a party they had ended up kissing each other.

And it had repeated itself over and over again, each time taking it a step further until they finally had had sex together. It had been totally amazing and completely new for him. It was the beginning of a brief affair between them. Both of them had agreed it would stay just between the two of them. But then the moment came in which he realized that he was way more into it than he had expected to be. It was pretty clear to him that Omar had feelings for him. Omar didn’t have to express them, they were written all over his face. It scared him, it scared him a lot, especially when he realized that it would be so easy to fall for Omar as well. Maybe he already had feelings for him, but it wasn’t what he wanted.

His career had just taken off. It was all he had ever wanted. It was what he had worked for so hard over the years. He was started to get very popular, especially by female fans. He didn’t want to jeopardize his career by outing himself as bisexual. It was something he had tried to ignore for so long, until Omar had come along and he had given in to that side off his sexuality. When he started to suspect Omar’s feelings for him becoming to strong, fear had overpowered him. Fear to be exposed, fear that he would lose everything he was building up. Thats why he had ended thing between them. He had told Omar that he was afraid that the affair would affect their friendship. It wasn’t a complete lie because the friendship he had built with Omar was very important to him. He really didn’t want to lose it.

He was sure Omar had known the true reason of him ending things, but Omar had never addressed it to him. He needed to admit that it had slightly annoyed him, that Omar didn’t seemed bothered with the fact that he had ended things. Maybe Omar didn’t had feelings for him after all, maybe it was something he had just hoped. Maybe he was the one who had developed feelings himself.

Luckily their friendship remained. Although it changed over the years. It became less intense. The first moment he was aware of their friendship changing was when Omar started to date Alonso. It was the moment he found out that he had been feeling more for Omar then just a normal friendship. He had been jealous that Omar was with somebody else. Really jealous. Omar’s relationship with Alonso turned out very serious as Omar outed himself to the world as being gay and not much later revealed his relationship with Alonso.

Meanwhile he became more and more popular. Suddenly he was discovered, he became Spain most wanted bachelor. Due to his popularity he was able to lift his music career. Something he wanted more then everything. Music always had been very important to him. In the summer of 2020 he met Jessica and they clicked. At first he was attracted to her physically. She impressed him with body. But slowly he started to fall for her. It changed his friendship with Omar more and more. He hung out more and more with Jessica. He was totally infatuated. Not only with Jessica, but also with his popularity, the fast life, the cars and the money. It got to his head. He started to lose control over his life. He was able to do anything he wanted, buy anything he wanted and he did. He fell into the pitfalls of being famous.

Omar had noticed his change very quickly and Omar hadnt liked it. He could tell by the way he didn’t like his Instagram posts anymore. He never responded to his text messages anymore and in just a few weeks the contact between them was completely gone. At that time it didn’t bother him. He had friends, more then enough. Slowly he started to slide down the wrong path. He started to hang out with wrong people. He started to party more and more and drink more and more. It didn’t take Jessica long to walk out on him, because according to her he had become a negative effect on her career. He guessed she had just used his popularity to her own advantage. She had gained a lot by being by his side. By being his girlfriend. So in September 2021 he was single again and he couldn’t care less. He just kept partying and drinking and eventually he started to use drugs, it started out with weed. He already blowed occasionally, but his use increased over time and not long after that he had used coke several times.

It wasn’t until Marco, his best friend with whom he shared an apartment, threatened to walk out on him. That when he first started to realized that what he was doing was completely wrong. Marco had informed his parents about the situation he was in. The three of them had confronted him with an intervention. That’s when he had packed up his stuff and moved back in with his parents in Austuria. He really didn’t like the person he had become. Somehow he had become very arrogant, cocky and selfish. All he wanted was to go back to the way he was, before he had became popular. He wanted to be the person he was when he first started Elite. That was his goal to be the person he was back then. It was the period in which he had been truly happy with himself and his life.

He would overcome his problems. He had defeated demons in the past when he was 17 and he would do it again. Slowly he started to gain back the control over his life. He had ended up staying with his parents for 5 months. He let his curls grow back, he was literally transforming back to the person he once was. and he started to like himself again. In May this year he moved back to Madrid, he was ready and eager to get back to work again and so he did.

It was a miracle that they still wanted him as an actor. Because he knew that the world knew about what had happened to him. How he had reached the lowest point in life. How he had become a victim of the pitfalls of being famous. It had been spread out all over the news and social media. But he didn’t let it get to him.

Somehow people still adored him and he was given a second chance, which he grabbed with both hands. He fought hard to be where he was now and he was never going to make the same mistake again.

He really had a rough time. The last year had been really tough. He had lost good friends over the years. Friends he really missed. He wanted to restore them and show them he was back. The old Aron Piper was back.

There was only one thing he wanted more then anything and that was restore his friendship with Omar again. Over the last few months he had seen him twice on events which they both had attended. Even though they haven’t spoken each other, except from a greeting , he started to realize that he really had missed Omar’s friendship. He would like to have Omar back in my life.

This might be the only opportunity he would get. He pushed open the door of the coffee bar and walked over to the counter where he ordered a regular coffee. From the moment he ordered the coffee he could feel eyes on him. His eyes, Omar’s eyes. He suddenly started to feel slightly nervous, his heart starts to race in his chest and his hands start to get all sweaty. He thanked the girl behind the counter when she handed him the coffee, he took a deep breath and turned around. In that moment they looked straight into each other eyes. My god the way Omar looked at him was causing a tingling down his crotch. That was the last thing he expected to happen, but then again Omar had always had that effect on him. Slowly he walked over to the table where Omar was sitting and his voice sounded hoarse as he called out his name. “ Omar.”

He is unable to hold back a smile as he hears Omar’s voice that sounds just as hoarse as his just did. “ Hi Aron.”

Aron/Omar POV

For a moment there was a silence between the both of them. They just looked at each other intrigued

“ How are you? they both said simultaneously, causing them both to laugh. Somehow it immediately broke the ice between them.

Omar gestured for him to speak first. He really didn’t want to answer the question, because he wanted the conversation to be lighthearted and he knew that his answer would lead to a more deeper and serious conversation. He didn’t think he was ready to have that conversation yet. As it would be a reminder to him why they lost touch of each other. So he directed the conversation towards a more neutral subject.

“ I heard you have been doing great. I mean the movies you have directed are great.” he said, taking a sip from the coffee he was holding, while he let his other hand run through his curls.

“ Yes, I can’t complain. Have you watched my movies?” he was slightly surprised that Aron had watched them. Somehow he thought Aron wouldn’t be bothered to watch them.

“ Yes, ofcourse I have watched them. Why wouldn’t I watched them?” he kicked himself mentally. He was very well aware that Omar didn’t expect him to have seen the movies and he also knew why Omar thought he hadn’t watched his movies. If he was completely honest he had only watched them recently. He had watched them after their last brief encounter at a film event. After he had decided he had wanted to restore their friendship. Quickly he fired another question “ I have heard you are busy directing another movie?”

“ In matter effect, we wrapped it today. If everything is going according to plan it will be released by the end of next month.” his voice sounded full off proud.

“ Wow, that’s sounds great! I am definitely going to watch it.” he could see proud written all over Omar’s face. It seemed like Omar really had his life on track. “ You are doing an amazing job.”

“ Thank you.” he could see the sincere look on Aron’s face. He wasn’t making any smalltalk, Aron genuinely was interested. He pushed the opposite chair back with his feet. “ Why don’t you sit down for a bit? Unless you don’t have time?” nodding at the coffee to go in his hand.

He looked at the coffee to go in his hand. He had order one-to-go, so he would have an excuse to leave in case Omar hadn’t want to talk to him.

“ No, I have some time.” taking place at the chair across Omar, who smiled at him. “ So tell me what your latest project is all about”

For the next half hour they talked about his project. About the casting, the crew and the editing. Meanwhile they had ordered another round of coffee. He watched how Aron had leaned back relaxed in the chair, while he listened to his ongoing rambling. And whenever there was a short silence Aron had fired another question. The smile on Aron’s face was gorgeous, that smile in combination with his shiny eyes made his heart skip a beat. This was the old Aron, the one he used to like enormously. It was as if the last few years just faded away.

“ It has been a crazy time, hard work and long days, but it has been worth it.” he finally concluded.

“ So all work and no pleasure? What does your boyfriend think of that?” again he mentally kicked himself. He didn’t even know why he even asked that. No that was a lie, the question had been on his mind the entire time. He wanted to know if there was a special person in Omar’s life. He knew Omar and Alonso had broken up a long time ago.

The question took him by surprise. He narrowed his eyes as he studied Aron a little bit closer. He could see how Aron bit his lower lip, before he quickly dipped his head.

“ There is nobody that complains” he simply replied.

“ So there is nobody special in your life?” he looked straight at Omar again. Joder he silently cursed. What on earth was he doing? Why did he want to know if Omar was seeing somebody. He reminded himself that all what he wanted was to restore their friendship. But why did he feel relieve wash over him when he heard Omar’s answer to his question.

“ No, at this moment there is nobody special. I have been dating, but nothing that caught my interest. And how about you? Is there somebody special in your life?” he returned the question. He knew Aron was still very popular among the ladies, but if he was correct there was nobody special. Although with Aron you never knew, he was an expert in keeping his flings of the radar.

“ No, there is no woman in my life.” he quickly answered. “ And no man either” Fuck Why the hell did he say those last words. He could see the confused look Omar was giving him. He tried to do some damage control. “ I mean, there isn’t anybody special in my life. Since Jessica, I haven’t been dating anybody.”

Hearing Jessica’s name, made the hair of the back of his neck stand up. Was Aron still in love with Jessica? Was he hoping that Jessica would want him back now he was back being his old self again? He couldn’t prevent himself from asking the question that laid on the tip off his tongue “ Are you still in love with Jessica?”

He shake his head “ What? No, definitely not. She and I are done. I had……. I… “ it was the topic he had tried to avoid. But he wanted Omar to know that he really hadn’t dated anyone and why. He took a deep breath and his voice trembled when he spoke “ I have had quite a rough year, but I figure you know that.”

He could see how this subject affected Aron. He could see the pain in his eyes. He appreciated that Aron was willing to talk about it and as much as he wanted to talk about it also. This wasn’t the right time and certainly not the right place. He reached over the table and laid his hand on top of Aron’s. He saw Aron looking at their hands, before looking back at him again. He pulled his hand back quickly, hoping Aron wouldn’t interpret things the wrong way. Instead he gave Aron a warm smile.

“ Yes, I know have you had a hard time, but I think this isn’t the right place or time to discuss it.”

The moment Omar had laid his hand on top of his, he had felt a electric current running through his veins. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time. And strangely he felt slightly disappointed when Omar pulled it back almost immediately. He was great full that Omar felt that this wasn’t the right time or place to discuss it.

“ You are right, this definitely is not the place to discuss things. I would really like to talk about it with you sometime. I hope you want that to. ” he confessed

He had already realized that he had missed Aron. That he had missed his friendship. Maybe this could be a fresh start for the both off them. Aron really seemed changed, so he was more then willingly to give it another try.

“ Yes, I would like that too. Why don’t we go over to my apartment? So we can talk about things more privately. I really have missed our friendship.” this time it was him confessing.

Never in a million years had he thought that Omar would be wanting to restore their friendship as much as he did. He had expected Omar to give him more off a hard time. He knew they still had a lot to talk about, but this was definitely a good start. Unfortunately a quick look on his watch told him, he needed to go….

“ I wished I could, but I already have plans for this evening.” Was it in his imagination or was Omar slightly disappointed? “ I actually need to leave now.”

He felt a slight pang of disappointment running through him upon hearing Aron had already plans for that night. Had he really expected that Aron had all of the time in the world for him? It was just that he had really enjoyed Aron’s company and he wanted it to last it a little bit longer. Maybe he just wanted to much to quick. He didn’t know how to respond to Aron last words.

He wished he could reschedule his plans for that night, but he knew he couldn’t. He and his best mate Marco had agreed on grabbing diners own town and go see the new Quentin Tarantino film. He owed Marco a lot, so there was no way he would let Marco down on such short notice. But he didn’t want to leave without knowing exactly when he would see Omar again.

“ Marco and I made plans to see the new Tarantino tonight. What about tomorrow evening?” why was he justifying his plans for that night? Deep down he already knew why he had done it, he just couldn’t believe it.

“ I am sorry I have a party tomorrow. How about next Friday? “ he felt relieve wash over him as it became pretty clear to him that Aron wanted to meet up again as well as he did.

“ Friday? Yeah, that would be perfect.” he stuck his finger in the air for the barista to see. When she approached the table, both of them had grabbed their wallets. For a moment they stared at each other. He reached for the bill, that the barista placed in front of them, but Omar beat him to it.

“ My treat, next time is on you.” he smiled at him, before looking up at the barista as he handed her the money they owed.

“ Deal…..” He got up from his chair and saw how Omar copied his movements. Together they walked out of the coffeeshop. It had totally gone unnoticed by the two of them that it had started to rain slightly. He heard Omar curse softly.

“ Mierda” he hated the rain, especially when he needed to walk. He wished he had taken his car this morning.

“ Do you want a ride? I can drop you off.”

“ That would be great. “ he uttered “ where is your car?”

“ Just around the corner.” as he start walking in the direction of his car.

He quickly followed Aron until he stopped at a black Volkswagen Polo. He looked over at Aron puzzled. For a moment he thought Aron was making a joke but when he heard the unmistakable sound of the car opening, he knew it was Aron’s car.

“ Get in the car Omar.” he laughed at the surprise look on Omar’s face, who had definitely expected another car.

He stared at Aron, when he was seated next to him, closing the door. “ What happened to your Ferrari? Or your T- Roc?” He could see a painful expression display all over Aron’s face. He knew how Aron had been fond of his fast cars.

“ I sold them” he said plainly. The cars were a permanent reminder of the time that living the fast life had meant the world to him. It remembered him of the time in which he had been arrogant , cocky and boastful. The Aron Piper version, he didn’t want to be any longer. That’s why he had sold the cars and bought a less conspicuous car.

“ I bet you got tired of finding speeding tickets on the doormat every day.” he wanted to lighten the situation a little.

It was so typical Omar, the way he tried to make him feel better. It was something he had always admired in Omar. His ability to lift somebody’s spirit when somebody felt down. It made him laugh, genuinely laugh. “ Yeah, this car definitely saves me a lot of money. “

While he gave Aron directions towards his apartment, Aron simply maneuvered his car through the streets of Madrid. The atmosphere in the car was relaxed, they chitchatted about Tarantino’s movies and they sung along with a song on the radio. The banter between them was as it has always been. It was as nothing had ever changed between them.

When they reached the building in which Omar’s apartment was stored, Aron turned off the engine.
He turned over to Omar and looked him straight in the eyes. “ Omar, I am genuinely sorry how things have gone between us. I really want to restore our friendship.”

“ I know. “ he whispered “ I want that too. I will see you Friday okay.”

“ See you Friday.”

He opened the door and got out of the car. He placed his hand on the roof of the car as he bend over to look at Aron. “ Aron?” his voice sounded very hoarse

“ Yes?” feeling a sensation he couldn’t place, running down his spine due to the sound of Omar’s voice.

“ Let me know how the Tarantino movie was.”

“ I will…..” he started the engine and when Omar closed the car door, he drove off. Not knowing that he would be unable to stop thing about Omar that entire evening.