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Gordon’s all over Jude and it's all Erling can do to stop himself from growling at the alpha, who's scenting Jude’s neck like there's no tomorrow. He takes a few steps back, willing his Alpha to calm down.
Jude’s not his Omega. Regardless of the TikToks, the moments during the match, and regardless of what the public might think about them, there's nothing going on between them.
At least, that's what Erling tries to tell himself but he can't control his Alpha side from trying to claim the younger man as his mate.
He distracts himself by trying to comfort Ørjan, who's distraught about being the reason that they'll be flying home on Monday, but his mind keeps wandering back to the thought of Gordon having his hands all over Jude.
Erling keeps his head down as he walks round the pitch, shaking hands and sharing hugs with the England lads and consoling his teammates as the England fans roar out Wonderwall, before transitioning straight into Hey Jude. It never fails to give him goosebumps, hearing the England fans singing to Jude as loudly as they do.
He keeps his eyes away from the main box, where he knows his father will be furiously gesturing at him, at his teammates, telling Erling what they should've done better. He doesn't want to hear it today, doesn't want to know what his ex-star-player father thinks of how bad the Norwegians played today. It'll put him in a worse mood than he's already in; Alf-Inge Haaland can save his ranting for next week, once Erling and the squad have been able to travel home and get some rest.
Erling gets caught by the media, and he'll cringe when he watches it back, but he's so full of praise for both of Jude’s goals, and the way the younger man has played during this tournament, that it all spills out.
What he’ll only find out years down the line is that it becomes Jude’s most-viewed clip on his phone, saved and starred on his photos app so it's easy to find when he needs a confidence boost after bad performances.
He's the last player off the pitch, signing shirts, programmes, flags, footballs, and even one fan’s forehead, which never fails to astound him - why would someone want his signature on their forehead? The mood in the dressing room is as poor as it gets with the Norwegian team - Ørjan is in the corner, head in his hands, and it looks like the rest of his teammates are just in a state of shock.
Erling heads to the shower, washes the sweat and pheromones that aren't his off him, trying to wash away the reminder of Jude’s scent that had hit him as soon as the Omega had walked into the tunnel before the game. The spicy citrus smell had made his Alpha side growl, and despite the years they'd spent playimg together at Dortmund, it had completely thrown him off his game. He'd rolled his eyes at the memes before the game but they'd had a point - Jude’s smell had affected him, and it had got him hooked before the second half of extra time.
“Erling? Ståle wants to talk to us.”
Right. Ødegaard. He was still in the stadium showers, not at home where he could spend all the time in the world thinking about Jude and how good he'd looked in that England kit well he'd played that night.
“Sure, I'll be out in a minute.”
——
This was the second time he and Jude had been in this position this year: The last time they saw each other was that night in March, when Jude’s Real Madrid knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League.
Jude had stayed over at his house that night, having been given permission to stay in the UK for a couple of days to see his parents before Real’s next training session and game that weekend. They'd ended up sharing a bed (platonically, Erling tells himself) but neither of them had expected to wake up wrapped around each other the way they had the next morning, with Jude’s head buried in Erling’s broad chest, Erling’s arms wrapped around him.
Erling lets himself think back to that night, Jude’s warm body acting like an electric radiator in his already warm bedroom. Who cares if he overheated that night, he'd learn to turn the heating down or even put the aircon on if he knew the younger man was coming over again.
It's past midnight when his phone pings with a message from the man himself. The England squad are literally just around the corner, but Jude follows enough of them on social media to know they've all gone out for a drink. Jude’s definitely not the heavyweight in the England squad, and his message tells Erling all he needs to know about exactly how much the young man has had.
—
Jude: erling I miss ypuuiu IM dp dribk where are uou
Jude: can yo.u cpne and get mr
Jude: cme ans get me
Jude: fkck im so drink
Erling is typing….
Erling: Where are you
Erling: Are the boys still with you?
Erling: How far away from the hotel are you?
Jude: *Sent live location*
Erling is typing…
Erling: Get one of the boys to get a private car for you
Erling: Ask Stones, he's good at secrets
Jude: okay I'll tru sns find him
—
Erling smiles at his phone. The texts reminds him of the 2020–21 COVID season when they won the DFB-Pokal at Dortmund. He'd netted two goals, and Sancho the other two that had seen them best RB Leipzig 1 – 4, and the team had been allowed to go out that night to celebrate. They'd gone a bit too hard, and Erling received some fairly incomprehensible texts from Jude later that evening after the party had broken up.
—
Jude: he lahued at me :(
Jude: ge daid he'. s gonna message you
Erling: please get someone to get you some water
Jude: Hendo oured smeo over my :(
Jude: I lvoe warte
—
Stones: The driver said it should be a pretty short drive
Stones: Please don't let any of the media see him sneaking into your hotel
Stones: God knows we don't need any kind of repeat of him being caught leaving the hotel in March
Stones: *Shared a ride with you*
Stones: Please make sure he's back by 10am, we've got to be out of the hotel by 12 tomorrow
Erling is typing…
Erling: Thank you, owe you one when we're back.
Erling: Please make sure he's had some water before he leaves? I'll make sure he gets some food but you know how drunk he is
Stones: You definitely owe me one, especially since I've got to cover for him in the morning
Stones: Be careful and look after him
—
Jude: Sto.mesy got me a car
Jude: I fee. l siCk
Erling: I've ordered some food
Erling: Hopefully your coaches don't murder me
Jude: I lvoe oyu *Deleted a message*
Jude: you're thr brst etlinh
Jude: the driver saus we're here
Jude: cab uoU come get me I dom't think I can walk
—
Lifting Jude out of the car and getting him up to the suite is made harder by the fact that Jude gets increasingly stubborn and refuses to take more than 2 steps at any one time, so Erling ends up half carrying him most of the way from the car to the elevator, and again from the elevator to the suite that he's been allocated.
It does mean Jude’s face ends up buried in Erling’s neck, rubbing against his scent glands. That doesn’t help Erling in any case, but he gets the two of them back into the room without any of his teammates or any of the Norway staff spotting him sneaking one of their opponents into their hotel.
He deposits Jude onto the massive double bed opposite the glass windows that look out over the ocean. Jude, who giggles as he's unceremoniously dropped off Erling’s back, and immediately curls into the bedsheets as if he belongs there. Erling stands for a few seconds, taking in his beauty and the fact that this feels completely natural, before making any move to pull off Jude’s shoes before he can mark the sheets.
He makes Jude sit up against the headboard, shoves a bottle of water into his hands and goes to find one of his hoodies that Jude can sleep in, instead of in the England-branded kit that the team have been partying in.
There's a knock at the door and Erling freezes, worried they've been caught, before a voice calls out that it's a member of staff with his food order. They leave it outside his door, and he checks the corridor before carefully locking the door behind him, and returning to Jude.
He helps Jude pull off his joggers and the England zip-up and top, before swapping them for the red Norway hoodie, which Jude buries his face into with a soft whimper. It sends a shiver up Erling’s spine but he pushes down the urge, reminding himself of the state that Jude is in.
He joins Jude on the bed, carefully pulling the younger man into him before placing the food tray next to him. It's all so domestic, he thinks, as he feeds Jude chips from the bag. Jude’s leaning into him more and more, and it's just too tempting to not do it, so Erling drops a light kiss on the top of his head.
Jude as good as purrs below him, cuddling into the embrace. Erling makes him drink more of the water, then removes the tray from the bed and pulls Jude down next to him, tugging the duvet over the both of them.
“John said you have to be back at your hotel by 10am, so I'm going to set an alarm for 8am, okay?” Erling murmurs into Jude’s ear, and the Englishman shivers, nodding.
He turns over to face Erling, waiting for the blond to finish with his phone. He's had enough of the teasing, saw enough of Erling trying to tamp his Alpha side down when ‘Tony had been all over him earlier. He knew Erling had been able to smell him, had smelt the change in Erling’s scent when he came into the tunnel, seen the flash in his eyes in that clip of Jude swatting his arse.
“Erling, please.”
“Please, what, Jude?”
“Kiss?”
Humming, Erling reaches for Jude’s face, his ever-so-gentle hands tugging him forwards and Jude gasps as their lips meet. Erling's lips are as soft as he's imagined, and Jude giggles as he thinks about the marshmallows that the boys shove into their mouths on getaway campfires. Erling pulls away, running a hand through Jude’s hair.
“What are you laughing about?”
“Marshmallows.”
Erling stares at him, a fond look in his eyes. “You are the oddest person I know.”
Jude just giggles, lying down across Erling’s pillow with just the slightest hint of his neck being bared to the Alpha, who takes advantage of it and runs his finger over Jude’s glands, before kissing and licking down his neck.
They carry on for a bit like that, before Jude starts yawning and Erling reminds him they've only got a number of hours before his alarm goes off for Jude to get out without all of the Norwegians seeing him.
The two curl up together, both their Alpha and Omega sides satisfied enough with the contact they've needed all day. Erling knows it may be a number of weeks before they'll properly be able to see each other again, so he takes in his Omega being there with him, curled up in his arms, and lets sleep pull them under.
—
Erling leaves marks, they find in the morning, when they've managed to get themselves out of bed. Jude changes back into his England kit, but takes one of Erling’s plain fleeces to make it less obvious.
Erling checks the corridor quickly before they leave the room and only spots a housekeeper, so they make a run for the elevator. Jude has his hoodie pulled right around his face, looking down to avoid making eye contact with anyone who might recognise him.
The chauffeur who dropped him at the hotel last night is waiting at the front door and although the two are reluctant to say goodbye, Erling scents Jude’s neck once more and the Omega pulls away with a despondent look on his face before hopping into the car.
The Norwegian watches the car leave the pick-up bay, a heavy feeling in his heart. Whatever happens in the next round, with England, Jude has done him proud and he'll never let the younger man forget it.