For the first time in months, Andreas actually felt happy. Even though it was already March and the season was slowly coming to an end, he was finally going to make his debut in a World Cup competition.

As it often happened, his thoughts went back to the time that was at once the happiest and most painful in his life. When Stephan had kissed him that day, for just a moment Andreas felt like he had everything he could ever want; only to have it taken away a second later.

After he came home, all he wanted to do was to wallow in misery and stare at his phone hoping for a call from the man he was in love with. Fortunately, there was Karl who came banging on his door after a week of no contact. He would be forever grateful to his friend who had spent hours talking sense into him despite his often rude remarks.

He still thought about the brunette constantly, but thanks to Karl's stubbornness he was soon back in the gym. Andreas put all the energy he had left into training. After not showing up at all for days, he was now staying after hours and was usually the last one to leave. But in spite of his determination and perseverance, the results just weren't there.

During the first Continental Cup competition, he didn't advance to the second round. As the time went on, he started to rank a little higher but still never even made it into the top fifteen. But whereas others would probably start considering giving up, somehow the lack of success only made him try harder.

He didn't know why but he felt like he needed to prove something, although he had no idea to whom. Maybe he wanted to show Stephan that he was right to believe in him. Some part of him thought even that his success would make the older man want him back. Mostly though Andreas just wanted to finally feel something besides this constant emptiness.

He knew his best friend was starting to worry about him again but to everyone's relief, February brought his first podium. The following starts proved to be even more successful, with the Bavarian suddenly winning every competition leading up to the World Championships. As none of them had been selected, Andi and Karl decided to watch the events together.

Leyhe didn't start in the qualifications to the two individual competitions. Andreas was sure he couldn't have felt more frustrated even if he had been the one being overlooked. Remembering their conversation from a few months back, he knew the brunette must be feeling pretty insecure and disappointed right now.

He was as surprised as everyone else, when the day before the final men's competition, Werner Schuster announced that Stephan would be joining the team.

When the time came for the Hessian to jump, Andi was on the edge of his seat, nervously tapping his foot. He could hear Karl snickering at his agitated behavior but at that moment he didn't care. All he wanted was for Stephan to make a great jump and show everyone that he belonged there.

An hour later he was watching with tears in his eyes as the man he was in love with received his silver medal. Seeing him smile and laugh with his teammates made him feel better than all his recent victories. What's more, it made him long for a moment when he would be the one standing next to the brunette, celebrating a shared success.

From that day on something inside him changed or as his best friend said, "the old Andi came back". He was more mature than a year ago but at the same time kept his easy-going attitude and infectious smile. This change couldn't have come at a better time, as a few days later he got a call from his coach.

One of the jumpers from the A-team had sustained a minor injury during the Championships and not wanting to risk his health, decided to withdraw from the remaining two weeks of competitions. As he was currently the best among the B-team, they selected him to join the team.

Which meant that he was now on his way to Oslo, where he would join the German squad for the Raw Air tournament. Having finally achieved something he had been dreaming about for years, he was feeling excited and nervous.

The fact that he would be seeing Stephan for the first time in months didn't help either. A few weeks ago he would have probably dreaded meeting him again but now he was somehow hopeful. He reminded himself that there was a chance that Leyhe wouldn't want anything to do with him after all this time, but that didn't seem like something the man he remembered would do.

Soon he arrived at the hotel and was now waiting at the reception as instructed. He couldn't stop himself from looking around, even if it wasn't very likely that he would spot Stephan anywhere.

"He's not here." He heard someone say and turned around to see Markus watching him with a smirk.

"What? I wasn't..." he started to say, trying to pretend he didn't know who the older man was talking about.

"Sure," Eisenbichler rolled his eyes and continued ironically, "and I'm the one Leyhe is swooning over."

"I..." Andi blushed, not sure whether he was mocking him.

Noticing that the younger man was becoming nervous, Markus decided to take pity on him and assured him with a friendlier smile. "Calm down kid, I'm just joking around."

"But Stephan really isn't here, I'm afraid. Schuster didn't want him to strain that injured ankle, so you're here to replace him," added the brunette apologetically.

Andreas felt disappointment flood his body, he had really hoped he would have the chance to see Stephan again. It was just his luck that after coming here, finally having gotten the shot he was waiting for so long, it turns out that the one person he wanted to share his happiness with was not here.

"Don't look so disappointed. Come on, we're going to be roommates for the next two weeks." Markus patted him on the back and started walking towards the elevator.

Despite his initial hesitation, it turned out that living with Markus was actually pretty good. He had someone who could show him how things were done among the A-team and most importantly, even though he was new, he didn't feel isolated from the group. He still wished he was experiencing all of it with Stephan, but it was nice to have someone who was willing to listen to his excited gushing after another day at the hill.

Time flew by and soon they were in Planica, about to enjoy the last weekend of the season. Andreas was satisfied with his results in the Raw Air tournament, having placed in the top fifteen in all of the competitions. In the end, he had come in tenth in the overall ranking, which was more than he could have hoped for.

They were relaxing after a training and the blonde was once again trying to gather up the courage to ask his new friend about Stephan. He knew they talked often but never when he was in the room, and the few times he walked in on their phone calls Eisenbichler quickly hung up.

He was too busy internally freaking out to notice that his roommate was staring at him amused and shaking his head.

"Are you finally going to ask? I would give you more time, only we're leaving tomorrow and honestly, I'm getting fed up with the both of you."

"You mean Stephan..." Andi said, looking hopefully at the older man.

"...is a moron like you?" Markus added exasperatedly. "Yes. You're both acting like lovesick puppies. I can admit it was funny at the beginning but if I have to spend another evening recounting what you ate for breakfast, I'm going to lose it."

Andi tried to look like he was offended but after a second decided that he simply didn't care. After months of wondering, he found out that he wasn't the only one still thinking about last summer. Stephan had to still care about him if he was asking his best friend about him. Maybe it would take longer than he wished but he felt like everything was going to work out.

Knowing he lost him for a while, Markus just rolled his eyes at the grinning idiot and thought he may as well visit Freitag.

Three months later

Stephan smiled widely as he exited the car and looked around. Two days late but he was finally in Spain, ready for this year's training camp. His cousin's wedding the day before made him miss the flight with the rest of the guys, but now the wait was over.

After a long and miserable year, he was going to see Andi again. He had been distraught after finding out that the blonde was going to join the German team in Norway, just as he had been forced to take a break.

When he left the Bavarian after their kiss last summer, he thought he had done the right thing. He told himself that they were too young, Andi was just eighteen for God's sake, and he couldn't expect him to commit to a long-distance relationship after two months of knowing each other.

Before that night he had hoped they would stay friends but after he had kissed Andi, he knew it was no longer a possibility. It would hurt them too much to pretend that they didn't feel more.

However as the time went on, he started to wonder what if. What if they had tried to make it work? If he had told him earlier about his feelings, after all, he had seen that Andreas liked him. If he hadn't been too afraid to risk everything for once in his life.

He spent months regretting his decision and finding excuses not to phone Andi. He was pretty sure that Markus came close to hitting him several times, during his late night whining.

He almost called the younger man in March, after Markus had assured him repeatedly that Stephan still had a chance with the blonde, but then came the news. Having heard that Andi was joining the A-team this year, he decided to wait a little longer and tell him everything in person.

Shaking off the memories, he grabbed his luggage and headed towards the hotel. He spotted Markus waiting for him near the reception and walked over to him.

"Have you seen him? Do you know where he is now?"

"It's nice to see you, too. I'm great, thank you for asking," answered ironically his friend.

"I'm sorry. It's just that we've waited so long and..." Stephan smiled apologetically.

"It's fine, you know I'm your biggest fan. He's at the beach, now go and end our suffering," said Markus taking his suitcase and shooing him away.

Having thanked his teammate, he walked quickly to the beach. Ten minutes later he was there and his heart started beating faster as he saw the man he was in love with. Andi was sitting with his back to him and making circles in the sand.

Feeling anxious, he came closer and asked, "Mind if I sit here?"

Andreas turned quickly, clearly, he hadn't heard him approach. He looked surprised but after a second, a beautiful smile lit up his face.

"Go ahead."

Stephan sat down and, hoping he won't be rejected, took the other man's hand in his.

"I'm sorry. I was so stupid..." he started to say but Andi just shook his head, leaned down and softly pressed his lips against Stephan's.

He returned the kiss and the blonde put his arms around him. Stephan felt himself melting into his embrace. Their first kiss had been desperate and frantic, whereas now it stayed tender as their lips moved softly against each other.

They broke away after what seemed like ages but remained close as he gently caressed Andi's cheek.

Finally, Andreas broke the silence, "I know we have to talk about everything that had happened. But I have been in love with you for months and I'm not going to wait any longer. All I need to know is if you love me because if you do, then there is no doubt in my mind that we can make it work."

His voice was calm but he could see the anxiety in Andi's eyes as he spoke. Still, all he felt in that moment was happiness and pride. He was proud of his Andi who had the courage to confess his feelings, even though he must have been terrified. He no longer resembled the stammering boy, who blushed every time Stephan looked at him.

"Of course I love you. I've loved you since last summer but I was too much of a coward to say..." he began but the blonde interrupted him again.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he whispered and pulled him closer to kiss him again.

And at that moment, it didn't. Later they would talk about their mistakes and things they could have done better but right now, he was with the man he had missed and dreamed about for almost a year and nothing else mattered.

***

I guess it turned out to be much more of Andi's story but I promise there will be more Stephan in my next one shot. :)