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onlycags · 4 years

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Seven Minutes in Heaven | Çağlar Söyüncü

Word Count: 2,816 Rating: T Description: You bring some friends over to a party at Madders’s and end up playing the classic middle-school game Seven Minutes in Heaven. (Chaos ensues, as always)

Enjoy! xx [Turkish translation in bold-italics]

- - -

If someone had told you three years ago that you would be sitting around with a bunch of hot footballers playing Seven Minutes In Heaven, you would have laughed in their face and told them to fuck off.

The universe had decided to play a cruel joke on you at this moment in time, as you were doing that exact thing. Madders was seated to your left - his knee bouncing up and down like crazy - and Chilly to your right, munching on some sour worms. It was the first night of a two-week break, the longest LCFC would get this season, and the boys were determined to make the most of it, which was how you all came to play Seven Minutes in Heaven.

You couldn’t quite remember who started it first, but after a few shots, everyone seemed to be in agreement that Seven Minutes In Heaven was the game to play tonight.

You had brought a bunch of your girlfriends around - apparently, Madders wasn’t too keen on inviting strange females and since you were also a woman and knew other women, the ones that you had invited seemed to do the trick. You girlfriends were enjoying a quiet night in, as James had insisted that everyone was welcome to crash at the flat, and you were having a great time mixing the best of your two worlds.

You raised your beer bottle to your lips, pausing as you made eye contact with Çağlar Söyüncü from across the room. The Turkish centreback, always so composed and stoic, seemed to be enjoying himself tonight, but you hadn’t gotten the chance to ask. You quirked an eyebrow in his direction and he nodded back at you. Your stomach fluttered, and you tried in vain to quell the desires that always seemed to flare up whenever he was around.

Your Year-One University roommate Jess grabbed your arm, bringing your attention from Çağlar to her. “Which one do you think is cute again?” She asked, her eyes landing on Madders.

“Not Mads, if that’s what you’re worried about,” You responded, throwing a smile at your best mate since primary school.

You glanced around the room, taking it all in. Your cousin Molly was laughing at something Perez had said and you could have sworn that you overheard her replying in Spanish. Your former coworker-turned-friend Maggie was argue-flirting with Harvey Barnes in a corner, presumably about something related to feminism or archeology - you could never quite tell which because she was so passionate about both. Finally, your friend Grace was making funny faces with Ben and the two of them seemed to be having a weird time together. At some point, two hats had been passed around the room - one for the boys and one for the girls - and everyone wrote their names on a slip of paper and put it in the hat. Someone turned down the music and all of a sudden, names were being drawn from the hats, and cell phones were being given up as the two ‘players’ went into Madders’s second bedroom.

The first couple to go in was Molly and Pérez. Everyone else listened with their ear to the door like kindergarteners, while you rolled your eyes and went into the kitchen to mix yourself a drink. As you were pouring the tequila, a hand reached around you for the triple sec, making you gasp.

“Çağlar! You scared me!” You laughed as you turned around, trying to shake off your nerves.

The Turk shrugged. “Sorry.” His English was getting better by the day, the only problem being that hearing him speak English turned you on so badly you could barely form words around him. You took a sip of your margarita on the rocks, taking the opportunity to drink him in.

He looked delicious in his dark-wash jeans and white v-neck t-shirt. You gripped your glass, trying desperately not to give away how badly you wanted to run your fingers through his hair.

His eyes met yours and you looked away, embarrassment turning your cheeks a shade of pink you were hopeful wasn’t visible in the dimly-lit kitchen.

Little did you know that the Turk was doing the same thing to you. He had briefly taken part in the nonsense that ensued when Molly and Pérez went into the bedroom together, but then he had noticed you getting up to leave the room and he followed.

His gaze had roamed over your body, taking in your leggings and oversized flannel. He had briefly wondered if the oversized flannel belonged to Madders, but he didn’t dwell on it for fear that he would get overly-possessive and turn you off.

What you didn’t know, was that the Turk had been lusting after you since he had met you at Madders’s holiday party a few months back, but hadn’t yet taken the opportunity to approach you and ask you out. He had spent the last few months learning English specifically to ask you out, but so far hadn’t had any luck. The guys teased him about it on a daily basis - except for Madders, who would help him work on his English phrases after practice. Madders had been secretly teaching Çağlar all your likes and dislikes while also dropping hints about Çağlar to you that hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“How has practice been?” You asked, not wanting to go back to everyone just yet - by your calculations, there was probably about four minutes left on the timer and you wanted to spend them with Çağlar.

“Good. Getting better every day and I am having fun.” He let out a nervous laugh, running his hands through his hair as he looked at the ground. “Sorry, English is still not my best.”

Instinctively, you reached out and placed a hand on his arm, smiling when his eyes met yours. “You’re doing great, Çağlar,” you said, trying hard not to sound like you were patronizing him. “Seriously.”

His eyes lit up at your compliment and your stomach flipped. He glanced down at your hand still on his arm, and you immediately pulled back, a fresh flood of nerves washing over you. A look you couldn’t quite place flashed across his face; just as you were about to say something, a cheer erupted from the living room and a countdown started.

“TEN! NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN! SIX!” without thinking, you grabbed Çağlar’s hand and dragged him back into the living room with you, joining in with everyone as though the two of you hadn’t escaped to the kitchen for the last six minutes and fifty seconds.

“THREE! TWO! ONE!” You joined in, turning to Çağlar and winking cheekily. You could have sworn that you saw him blush but you didn’t want to flatter yourself for fear of rejection.

The door burst open and you couldn’t help but cheer along with everyone, making a mental note to ask Molly for details on exactly what had happened. Judging by her and Pérez’s appearances, there may be more than seven minutes in their future. Madders picked up the hats again, picking out a piece of paper from each and reading the names out.

“We have,” he paused for dramatic effect, “Maggie and Harvey!”

The look Maggie shot Harvey would probably have killed a lesser man, but they went into the bedroom together as Mads reset the timer. Ben walked over, bowl of sour worms in hand, holding them out to you. You grabbed a couple and popped them in your mouth, washing them down with your margarita.

“How did we get on this again?” You asked again, trying to keep the giggles out of your voice but failing.

Luckily, Ben shared the sentiment. He chucked, shaking his head. “I have no idea, but I must confess that I fancy your friend Grace.”

“She is pretty,” you agreed. “And a very good kisser.” You laughed at his surprised look.

“Noted.” He laughed and threw a glance in Grace’s direction and she smiled at him in return. You couldn’t deny that you really hoped they ended up being picked for Seven Minutes.

Maggie and Harvey parted ways almost immediately, a furious expression on Maggie’s face. Your friend headed for the kitchen and you followed, not hearing who was called to go in next.

“What’s wrong?” You asked Maggie, watching as your friend angrily unscrewed the top of a bottle of wine and poured herself a hefty glass. She downed about half before slamming it down on the countertop.

“That fucking git!” She swore, breathing heavily.

“What the-? Do I need to go kick his arse?”

“What?!” Maggie turned around, her cheeks pink. “No. He surprised me, is all. We argued about everything all night, and then we got into the bedroom and all he does is tell me how beautiful I am and how much he likes my fire and intelligence. I mean, who the hell does that? What gives him the right to be so goddamn charming?!” She growled and turned back to her wine glass to drain it. “I can’t believe I actually agreed to go to a match and have drinks with him after,” she muttered, more to herself, but you caught it as well.

“Well, it looks like you’re going to need an entire bottle of wine for yourself,” you chuckled as Mags poured herself another hearty glass.

Despite her mumblings, you knew Harvey was just what Maggie needed, maybe not necessarily as a long-term thing, but definitely as a fling.

You walked out of the kitchen, smiling to yourself as you left Maggie to her feelings and the rest of the bottle of wine. It sounded like someone had turned up the music whilst you were gone, but you weren’t sure. Once again, you found yourself next to Çağlar. You purposely swayed into him slightly, smiling up at him when he looked down to see who it was. “Who’s in now?” You asked, trying not to freak out when he put his arm around you and pulled you close.

He leaned down, his lips lightly brushing your ear as he responded. “Ben and your friend Grace.” You shivered at the contact, and you could have sworn you heard his breath hitch.

“Good for them! Ben was just telling me that he fancied her a few minutes ago.” You spotted movement out of the corner of your eye and looked to find Madders staring at you and Çağlar, who still had his arm around you.

A couple minutes later, Ben and Grace emerged, both looking disheveled and not-at-all ashamed. You couldn’t wait to grill Grace about it at the next girls’ night the following weekend, and you knew you would be sending Ben multiple texts about it this week. Madders drew two more names and you held your breath - the only remaining players being him, you, Jess, and Çağlar. He paused at the two slips of paper in his hand before looking up at Jess and grinning. “Looks like it’s you and me, Love.”

Madders threw a wink in your direction and you rolled your eyes, thinking nothing of it.

As you took another sip of your margarita, the gravity of what had just happened hit you, and you looked up at Çağlar who had seemed to freeze, too. He glanced down at you before quickly shifting his gaze to the floor, his arm coming off your shoulders to hang stiffly at his side. Your stomach dropped and tears pricked behind your eyes. You tried to shrug it off - sure, you had thought there was something there, but it wasn’t the first time it had happened to you and it sure wouldn’t be the last. Yeah, the seven minutes you spent in the bedroom would be awkward as hell, but you mentally promised yourself that you wouldn’t cry in front of him.

Next to you, Çağlar’s mind was racing, too. He had no idea what he was going to do. He hadn’t expected this - sure, he had been hoping that he would get you for the game, but now the reality of the situation was hitting him and he knew he had to act. Madders had assured him time and time again that you were into him, but a part of him still couldn’t believe it. You were a little more than a year older than him and he still couldn’t fathom that someone like you could be interested in someone like him.

All too soon, Madders and Jess came out, not-so-subtly holding hands. “Alright! Cags and [Y/N], you’re up!”

You turned to the man next to you, the butterflies in your stomach fluttering about wildly.

The door closed, and you fiddled with your hands. Çağlar had taken a seat on the floor, his back against the bed. “Nervous?” He asked, his accent thicker than normal.

You nodded, unsure if you could form words without tearing up. You knew the rejection was coming, but it still stung.

“Sit with me?” Çağlar asked, patting the floor next to him.

“Sure,” you croaked out, making your way over to him. You sat down, involuntarily laughing at how awkward this was.

“What?” He asked, looking over at you.

“Nothing.” You responded, running a hand through your hair. “Just thinking about how awkward this is.”

“Sorry,” he said, his face falling.

“It’s not your fault - I think we need to lay blame on whoever decided this was a good idea.”

“Why?”

You turned to face him. “Because now it’s you and me in this bedroom and it’s so weird and I hate this.”

His jaw clenched and he looked away, abruptly standing up and turning away from you. “I don’t know how to do this, [Y/N],” he whispered, the hurt in his voice making you want to throw up.

You picked at some invisible dust on the carpeting, focusing all of your energy on not crying. “Just say what you need to say, Çağlar, I’m not made of glass,” you said, even though you felt like you could shatter at any moment.

He turned around and you looked up at him, awestruck by the man in front of you. He held out his hand, but you shook your head, opting instead to pick yourself up off the floor. The tortured expression on his face had your stomach in knots. When he finally spoke, he spoke in Turkish, words you couldn’t understand flowing out of his beautiful mouth. “Güzel olduğunu düşünüyorum. Gece gündüz seni düşünmeyi bırakamam. İstediğim her şeysin. Seninle tanıştığımdan beri seni öpmek istedim ve şimdi yapabileceğime göre ne yapacağımı bilmiyorum. Muhtemelen beni istediğim gibi istemediğini biliyorum ama bana bir şans verirsen sana dünyayı verebilirim.” I think you are beautiful. I cannot stop thinking about you day and night. You are all I want. I’ve wanted to kiss you since I met you and now that I can, I do not know what to do. I know you probably don’t want me like I want you but if you give me a chance I can give you the world.

He took a step toward you, but you stepped back. “If you’re going to reject me, can you please do it in English?” Your voice broke towards the end and you hated how weak you sounded. “Madders has been dropping hints about you to me for the last few weeks and I now know that he was subtly telling me that you weren’t interested and-”

“No!” He shouted, the word sounding as though it was being ripped from his chest. He closed his eyes and breathed out, running a hand through his hair. “James has been helping me with my English for some times because I have been trying to tell you I like you.” He laughed derisively at himself and muttered what you could only assume was a curse in Turkish. “I speak better Turkish and it is extra hard to find the words I want when you are here.” He took a tentative step towards you and this time you did the same, covering the distance so the two of you were only inches apart. His hand came up to cup your cheek, and your breath hitched. “In Turkish I was telling you-”

It was your turn to cut him off. “Can you tell me again in Turkish? I love hearing you speak your native language,” you admitted, blushing.

He smiled and repeated it, ending with a question in English. “Can I kiss you now?”

“Yes,” you replied, standing on your tiptoes to meet him halfway.

Just as the two of you broke apart, the door opened to cheers from all your friends.

The rest of the evening flowed without drama, everyone essentially paired up. Card games and more drinking ensued, but at the end of the night, you ended up asleep on the couch, Çağlar’s strong arms wrapped around you.

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