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Chapter Text

Carlos knew it was a risk. Getting close to Jannik but ever since they'd first played against each other under the Alicante sun, there had been something about the Italian that Carlos couldn't forget. He'd been sweet and kind, wanting to get to know Carlos better despite having just lost the match. In the following months, Carlos had been unable to forget about him. And it was looking like Jannik felt the same way. They’d enjoyed talking to each other during the trophy ceremony and had planned to spend the following day together. “Do you want to come back to my room later?” Jannik asked. Carlos couldn’t agree fast enough. He hoped that Jannik felt the same way that he did and that he’d deliberately invited Carlos back to his room but the Spaniard didn’t want to get his hopes up too high. He’d end up heartbroken if he kept expecting something that was unlikely to happen. There were no openly gay male tennis players for a reason.

He was nervous as he crept out of his room, trying not to make any noises to alert Juan Carlos. His coach knew how Carlos felt about the redheaded Italian and had warned him about falling for a rival but Carlos had been gone since the day they’d met under the Alicante sun. He’d hoped over the years they could become closer, especially after Jannik had told him in Paris that he hoped they would play more in the future. Carlos had to be scraped off the ceiling that evening. Alvaro found it hilarious. Carlos had always been so obsessed with tennis that he hadn’t got time for relationships. It made sense that the first person he showed an interest in would be someone he had to face on court.

“Hey, come on in.” Jannik smiled, opening the door wide enough for Carlos to slip through.

“Sorry I’m late. I had to wait until I was sure Juanki would be asleep.” Carlos replied.

“You don’t think he’d approve?” Jannik checked, raising an eyebrow.

“No.” Carlos chuckled.

“But you came anyway?”

“Well, it’s you. I wasn’t going to say no. I like spending time with you.” Carlos shrugged.

“I like spending time with you, too.” Jannik assured. He moved closer to the Spaniard. “Am I reading this right?” Carlos nodded so Jannik wrapped his arms around and leaned down to kiss him. Carlos eagerly reciprocated the kiss, standing on his tiptoes for better reach. Once they were both a bit breathless, Jannik broke the kiss. “How far do you want this to go?”

“I want everything with you.” Carlos admitted.

“Tonight?” Jannik queried.

“Yes. I just want you.” Carlos smiled. It was sweet how considerate Jannik was being, making sure that he did truly want this and wasn’t just letting the Italian dictate everything. Jannik took Carlos’s hand and led him over to the bed.

Jannik sat down first, pulling Carlos onto his lap. Carlos could already feel how Jannik felt about how this night was going to go and it excited him. Sure, he’d been with people in the past, had experimented with both men and women, leading him to the realisation that he was gay so it wasn’t like this was new to him but he’d never been this invested before. He was half in love with the Italian and he very much doubted that was going to change any time soon. Not that he would be sharing that fact with Jannik yet.

Now he was straddling Jannik’s lap, Carlos was able to lean down to kiss him for change. Jannik brought his hands up to cradle Carlos’s face and the Spaniard’s hands automatically tangled themselves in Jannik’s curls. Carlos had been dying to run his hands through them for a while and now he actually could. Jannik just smiled into the kiss when Carlos started to tug on his curls. “You’re obsessed with my hair.” Jannik chuckled, pulling away from the kiss.

“I am. I’ve always loved it, even when we first met and you had the worst hairstyle imaginable.” Carlos laughed. Jannik just pulled him into another kiss, allowing his hands to wander from Carlos’s waist to his ass. Carlos’s breathing hitched when Jannik finally laid hands on his ass and squeezed. Jannik once again broke the kiss to remove Carlos’s t-shirt and allowed the Spaniard to do the same to him. Lips joined once more as Jannik rolled them over so he was looming over Carlos. The Spaniard quickly spread his legs so that Jannik could fall between them. Jannik’s hardness was even more obvious in this position and Carlos loved being able to feel the effect that he was having on the Italian.

Jannik started to grind against Carlos's ass and Carlos had a hard time trying to stifle the moans. He just wanted to get rid of the clothes between them so he could feel Jannik properly. "What do you want?" Jannik asked between kisses. 

"Want you inside me." Carlos requested.

"I want that, too." Jannik said, smiling into the kiss. Jannik pulled away from Carlos and got off the bed so he could remove the rest of his clothes and grab some lube. Carlos removed the rest of his clothes while Jannik was off the bed. 

"You travel with lube?" Carlos asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I find it easier to get myself off." Jannik shrugged. 

"You'd better get back over here and get me off." Carlos said. Jannik smirked and made his way back to the bed. Jannik climbed on top of Carlos again and joined their lips in a heated kiss. Jannik moved Carlos into a better position so he could keep their lips joined while he popped the cap off the lube and slicked up one of his fingers. Jannik gently ran his finger around Carlos's rim and the Spaniard shivered in anticipation. 

Jannik took this as a sign to press his finger inside as Carlos threw his head back and moaned. "I'd ask you if that feels good but I feel like you've already answered that." Jannik chuckled. Carlos just smiled at Jannik and kissed him again as the Italian added a second finger and started to scissor them to stretch Carlos wide enough for his dick. 

"More, please." Carlos requested. Jannik was committed to preparing Carlos as much as possible so he briefly added a third finger but Carlos was being very insistent that he hurry it along.

They were both overwhelmed when Jannik finally pressed inside, ever so slowly and gently. It was the best Carlos had ever felt, full of Jannik. Things may have started slow, but the Italian quickly picked up the pace. Carlos knew that he wasn't going to last long, he'd been dreaming of this moment for so long but it was way better than he could have ever imagined. The Spaniard tried to keep his voice down but it was proving more and more difficult, especially when Jannik adjusted his angle and was hitting Carlos's prostate on every other thrust. "I'm close." Carlos whined. 

"Then cum for me." Jannik whispered. Carlos was done for, he spilled onto his stomach as Jannik continued to fuck him through his orgasm. It was less than a minute later that Jannik was spilling inside him. The Italian practically collapsed on top of him as he kissed Carlos. "That was... "Carlos trailed off, unable to find the right words. 

"I agree." Jannik smiled, pulling out and getting off the bed. He headed into the bathroom and cleaned himself up before taking something through to clean up Carlos. The Spaniard was already drifting to sleep. Jannik quickly cleaned Carlos up before climbing into bed beside him. They could talk this through in the morning.

Chapter Text

When he woke up the next morning, Carlos just took a moment to savour it. Jannik was wrapped around him, arm slung across his waist, holding him close. They’d moved in the night, initially, Carlos had been curled up to Jannik’s side but now the Italian was spooning him. Carlos loved it. He didn’t think he’d ever had a better night's sleep and he was very grateful to Jannik. The Italian was still fast asleep and Carlos knew he needed to make his way back to his room soon, but he didn’t want to leave without talking to Jannik. They hadn’t exactly done much of that last night - too busy focusing on the physical side of things. Unfortunately, Carlos didn’t have much time to wait for him to wake up. The Spaniard decided to try and get out from under Jannik’s grasp and head to the bathroom, maybe Jannik would wake up while he went to the toilet. It wasn’t easy, Jannik’s grip on him was tight and when Carlos tried to get out from under the arm that was around his waist, it seemed as though Jannik just held on tighter.

"Jan, I need to go soon." Carlos tried. It was well known by every player that Jannik could sleep anywhere and if the Italian was half as comfortable as Carlos had been, it was going to be nigh on impossible to wake him. Carlos ended up having to force his way out of Jannik's grasp. Carlos headed to the bathroom and was very glad that Jannik was stirring by the time he headed back to the bedroom. 

"Buongiorno." Jannik greeted, groggily. 

"Buen dia." Carlos smiled. The Spaniard climbed back onto the bed and allowed Jannik to pull him into a kiss.

"Do you have to go soon?" Jannik asked. 

"Probably, it won't be too long before we're heading to Canada. But I think we need to talk about last night before I go." Carlos replied. 

"We do." Jannik agreed.

"Last night was amazing and I would love nothing more than to do it again." Carlos began. "I'm glad." 

"But I'm not looking for something casual. I want a relationship so if you're not interested in the same thing then we'll leave last night where it is and carry on as normal." Carlos concluded. 

"Good job I'm not interested in casual either, then. I would love to give us a go." Jannik smiled. 

"You would?" Carlos said, softly.

"Yeah, I would. I've been interested in you for a while." Jannik admitted. Carlos just kissed him again, knowing their time together was coming to an end. For now, anyway, considering they were both heading to Canada, then Cincinnati and then the US Open. They would see a lot of each other over the next month or so. 

"I have no idea how this is going to work, being rivals on court and lovers off court." Carlos said. 

"We'll figure it out." Jannik assured.

"Where did you go last night?" Alvaro asked over breakfast. Carlos hadn't stopped smiling ever since he come to sit down with them and it wasn't long before they needed to head to the airport for their flight to Canada. "I'll tell you later. "Carlos replied. He was going to tell Alvaro about him dating Jannik. Carlos confided in his older brother about everything. He wasn't ready to share the news with everyone, understandably. It was far too soon for that.

The rest of breakfast passed uneventfully despite the looks Alvaro kept sending him. Alvaro was well aware of how Carlos truly felt about Jannik and had always worried about his little brother. There were no openly gay tennis players. It would be even crazier to think about two top players dating each other. It had probably never been thought of before. Were they crazy? Was there any hope for them? "What's new?" Alvaro asked once they were alone. Carlos still hadn't stopped smiling and they needed to hurry up and finish packing. Carlos had neglected to do his packing in favour of spending time with Jannik last night and it was now looking like that had been a bad idea but Carlos couldn't bring himself to regret it. He had a feeling that a lot of important things were going to get neglected so that he could be with his boyfriend instead and Carlos couldn't bring himself to care. 

"I spent the night with Jannik!" Carlos exclaimed. 

"You did what?"

"I literally just told you what I did." 

"No, Carlitos. I mean, is that a good idea? I know you've had a crush on him for a while but he's your rival. I'm worried that if you start a relationship with him then you're going to get your heart broken." Alvaro explained.

"Why would I get my heart broken?" Carlos asked. 

"Do you think it's going to be easy to date him and play against him? I don't think it will be. Someone has to lose." Alvaro pointed out.

"Yes, Alvaro, that's how tennis works." Carlos dead panned. 

"You're not listening to me. Tennis can be brutal, you know this. Matches where you're so close to winning can be snatched from your grasp. I worry that you both might not be able to handle losing close matches to each other. More Jannik than you." Alvaro explained. 

"The match here was fine." 

"Yes, because he won. I don't know if you've noticed but you often seem to be the one who comes out on top of the matches you play against him. I'm just worried about his ability to cope with this long term." Alvaro explained. 

"There's only one way to find out." Carlos shrugged. He was happy, he and Jannik had spent a great night together and had chosen to start dating. Only time would tell how it would go but Carlos was optimistic. Sure, it was unusual. No one had ever done this before but this was him and Jannik.

When they arrived in Canada, Jannik and Carlos were eager to try and spend some more time together. Now that he knew what it was like to be with Jannik, Carlos just wanted to do it again. They knew it wasn't a great idea, they had a tournament to prepare for but as play hadn't yet started and they were just getting used to playing on hard court, Carlos snuck into Jannik's hotel room on the first night of their stay. As Carlos was sharing a room with his brother, he had told Alvaro where he was going. The older Alcaraz Garfia brother hadn't been impressed but there was nothing he could do to stop his little brother. If Carlos wanted to sneak out and have sex with his boyfriend then Alvaro was just going to have to let him.

"I missed you." Carlos smiled as he wrapped his arms around Jannik and pulled the Italian into a kiss. 

"Did you have any trouble?" Jannik asked, momentarily breaking the kiss. 

"I, uh, I told Alvaro about us. He wasn't impressed but he can't stop me." Carlos replied.

"Remind me to avoid your brother for a little while." Jannik joked, joining their lips in a heated kiss. Carlos had to stand on his tiptoes to reach properly. He loved that his boyfriend was taller than him, even though it was only by a couple of inches. They had to pull apart after a couple of minutes to regulate their breathing. Carlos loved kissing Jannik, it was intoxicating. "Wow." Carlos sighed. 

"Shall we move this over to the bed?" Jannik checked. Carlos smiled as he nodded. The Italian took him by the hand as he led him over. Jannik stopped him just short of the bed and removed the Spaniard's hoodie and t-shirt. As Carlos got himself settled on the bed, Jannik started to remove his own clothing. Once they were both shirtless, Jannik got onto the bed beside Carlos and kissed him again. Carlos couldn't help the moan that escaped when Jannik ran his tongue across the Spaniard's lower lip, opening his mouth wide enough to grant the Italian access.

They were both getting hard, Carlos could feel Jannik through their sweatpants and he couldn't wait to feel Jannik inside him again, even though it had only been a couple of days since they'd spent the night together in Umag. "Want you. "Carlos groaned into the Italian's mouth. Jannik pulled away from the kiss to get off the bed and grab the lube again. He was going to need to invest in another tube if he and Carlos were going to keep this up. He loved it. Loved having Carlos at his mercy like this. "Look at you." Jannik commented as he pulled down Carlos's underwear and sweatpants in one go. Carlos was absolutely gorgeous, muscular and tanned. Jannik couldn't resist licking his lips as he pressed a chaste kiss to Carlos's mouth before starting to make his way down the Spaniard's body. Carlos threw his head back and moaned when the Italian began to lick and rip at his throat before moving onto his nipples. The Spaniard hadn't realised how sensitive his entire body was until this moment.

Jannik continued his journey south, finally making his way to Carlos's dick. Carlos tangled his fingers in Jannik's hair and pulled as the Italian took him into his mouth in one go. Jannik must have some experience with this because it was overwhelming in the best way. Before long, Carlos had to tug hard enough on Jannik's hair to get the Italian to stop or he would cum in his mouth. He didn't want to cum until Jannik was inside him. Jannik stayed where he was and began to nip and bite Carlos's inner thigh as he inserted a finger and began to prep him. He wished that Jannik could leave a mark, even just on his inner thigh where it was unlikely for anyone to see but it was far too risky. His team would see it there and ask for too many questions. Jannik made quick work of preparing Carlos, he couldn't wait to sink inside his tight heat again. Once he'd deemed Carlos prepared, he removed his fingers and slicked up his dick before starting to press inside the Spaniard. Jannik leaned down to kiss Carlos as he slowly pushed all the way inside. Carlos half returned the kiss, moaning into the Italian's mouth as he filled him completely.

Jannik had to pause for a moment as he bottomed out otherwise this would be over far too quickly. "Are you okay?" Jannik checked. 

"Yeah." Carlos breathed. "You feel so good, so big." 

"Are you ready?" Jannik asked. When Carlos nodded, the Italian slowly pulled almost all the way out, until only his tip was inside before slowly thrusting back inside to the hilt. Jannik continued to do this, picking up pace on each thrust. Neither of them were going to last much longer and Jannik was determined to get Carlos off before he came himself. Jannik adjusted the angle of his thrusts while also moving one of Carlos's legs to ensure he was hitting the Spaniard's prostate. 

"I'm- " Carlos tried, cutting himself off with a loud cry as he clenched around Jannik and came. The additional tightening around his dick was all it took for Jannik to come inside his boyfriend.

Carlos closed his eyes as he tried to catch his breath. He was aware of Jannik pulling out and getting off the bed. The Italian returned with a wash cloth and cleaned them both up as best as he could. Carlos knew he would need a shower in the morning before returning to the room he was sharing with Alvaro but that was a problem for future Carlos.

Chapter Text

Jannik and Carlos didn't make it very far in Canada but that was to be expected considering they'd just done well at a tournament on clay. As Carlos lost in the round before Jannik, he'd arrived in Cincinnati the day that Jannik lost in the third round. Carlos was secretly glad his boyfriend had lost because it meant that Jannik would be arriving in Cincinnati tomorrow.

"I think your relationship is affecting your tennis." Alvaro stated. 

"So I lost one match." Carlos replied. 

"You've been far more interested in spending time with him than you have been with practicing. Papi and Juanki have been asking questions that I don't know how to answer. They've both noticed that you've been distracted since Umag, Carlitos." Alvaro explained.

"Neither of them have asked me any questions." 

"Because they don't want to distract you while you're supposed to be focusing on the upcoming tournament." Alvaro explained. 

"Oh." Carlos frowned. 

"It's not necessarily a bad thing. This is your first serious relationship and you've been interested in him for a while so it's natural that you want to spend as much time with him as possible. But you're not just anyone. You're a professional tennis player so you need to focus on that too." Alvaro reasoned. Carlos knew that his brother was right, of course he was but Jannik had invaded his every thought. It didn't feel as easy as Alvaro made it sound.

When Jannik arrived in Cincy. Carlos headed to his room that night. Even though Alvaro had tried to talk him out of it. "Hi, tesoro." Jannik greeted, opening the door of his hotel room wide enough for Carlos to slip through. Carlos practically melted at his boyfriend using a term of endearment. It was really soon, it had been less than a week but Carlos knew he was already in love with the Italian. 

"Hi." Carlos whispered as Jannik crowded him against the door and leaned down to kiss him.

"Is it crazy that I missed you?" Jannik asked. Carlos felt his heart flutter. At least it wasn't just him. Jannik seemed pretty infatuated with him, too.

Jannik was out of the tournament first so he headed to New York without Carlos. The Spaniard would never admit it, but Alvaro had a point. It was a lot easier to concentrate on his tennis without Jannik being there. He did a little better here, making it to the quarterfinals before bowing out. Carlos was feeling pretty good about his chances in New York and but mostly, he was looking forward to seeing Jannik again and he hoped they would be able to sneak some time together. Although, it would be much more difficult at a grand slam.

When he arrived in New York, Carlos was a little disappointed to be staying in a different hotel to Jannik but they knew they would still be able to make it work. They were determined to spend as much time together as possible. It wasn’t going to be easy for them, considering it was a grand slam. Sure, they had rest days in between their matches but those would be spent preparing for their upcoming matches. "I can't believe we're in different hotels." Carlos sighed. He'd hardly seen his boyfriend since they'd arrived in New York and the Spaniard knew it was only going to get more difficult once the competition started. They needed to make the most of their free time now. 

"We'll figure it out." Jannik assured. He really wished that he could wrap his arms around his boyfriend but considering they were standing at the edge of the practice courts, it wouldn't really be appropriate. 

"I'll talk to my team later. Worst comes to the worst, I'll just have to sneak out and get Alvaro to cover for me." Carlos chuckled.

"I was thinking about spending some time with Jannik while we're here." Carlos announced to his team at dinner that night. 

"I think that's a good idea. It never hurts to have friends on tour." Albert smiled. Alvaro started laughing but was able to cover it by pretending to cough. 

"Something you'd like to add, Alvaro?" Carlos Sr checked. 

"Sorry, my water went down the wrong way." Alvaro lied. 

"Did you have anything specific in mind?" Juanki asked.

"No, but I'm sure we'll think of something." Carlos smiled. As long as his team thought it was a good idea then Carlos knew he had some leeway for sneaking out. He figured that it would be better to leave it for today but the Spaniard texted his boyfriend to let Jannik know that his team were okay with the idea of them hanging out. The Italian had also been given the all clear by his team.

The couple were able to spend a few evenings together the week the tournament began. They shared dinner, watched films and had sex, although no one needed to know about the sex part. It was no one's business but theirs. Once play began for the main draw, spending time together got a little more complicated. Especially when they both continued to progress through the rounds.

Juanki thought it was a good idea to cool down on their blossoming 'friendship'. Carlos didn't like to look ahead in the draw because the most important thing was to focus on the next match. There was no point in looking at what could happen in three rounds' time because there was nothing to say he was even going to make it to that match. But as his coach, Juanki had looked ahead and Carlos was in the same quarter as Jannik. This meant that there was a potential quarterfinal match between them. Juanki didn't want them to get too close to each other in case things didn't go well. Of course, it was far too late for that. Juanki just didn't know that.

Being such good players, especially in the moments that counted, Jannik and Carlos both made it to the quarterfinals.

Carlos was very nervous and he couldn’t even tell his team why. He and Jannik had been together for such a short amount of time so how on Earth was he supposed to tell them that he was nervous about playing against Jannik tomorrow because they’d been dating since the end of July and this would be the first time they’d played against each other since they’d started dating? Juan Carlos would think he was absolutely insane and would demand that he end their romantic relationship immediately. Obviously, that was the last thing Carlos wanted to do. Sure, they’d only been together for a month but he’d been interested in Jannik for a lot longer and was already in love with the Italian. Carlos hadn’t told him yet, it was far too soon for that, there was always the chance that their relationship wouldn’t last but Carlos was pretty confident that they would be able to make it work.

“Where are you going?” Alvaro asked as Carlos slipped his shoes on.

“To see Jannik.” Carlos replied, making sure to grab his phone charger.

“Do you think that’s a good idea? You’re playing against him tomorrow.” Alvaro pointed out.

“Which is why I want to spend the night with him. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow so we’re going to make the most of tonight.” Carlos explained.

“On your head be it.” Alvaro sighed. He’d been sceptical of the relationship from the moment Carlos had told him about it. Nothing that had happened so far was telling him anything different.

Carlos managed to make it out of the hotel without any of his team catching him which was the first step, the second step would be making it to Jannik’s room without any of the Italian’s team catching him. He made it, Jannik waiting at the door to open it without Carlos needing to knock. Jannik was sure his team would be suspicious if there was any knocking and he wanted to prevent them from coming to check on him tonight. He didn't imagine it would go down well if they walked into his room and found his rival in his bed. That was a conversation no one needed tonight. "Hi." Carlos smiled.

"Hello, tesoro." Jannik replied, pulling Carlos into his arms. They just stayed there for a while, neither of them speaking. They didn't need to fill every silence.

Jannik led Carlos over to the bed and they just laid down together under the covers. Jannik laid on his back with an arm around Carlos and the Spaniard curled into his side. They spent a while trading lazy kisses, just enjoying each other's company. It would be a bad idea to have sex tonight, they needed to conserve their energy for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Carlos was exhausted. They both were. A match lasting over five hours, concluding at nearly 3am had not been what either of them had expected when they had taken to the court last night. To Carlos, it was a good thing. They'd both been worried about how their budding relationship would affect their tennis and it was clear that if anything, it had only enhanced it. The Spaniard did feel bad, though. To have given it his all, to have been standing there with match point, only for Carlos to save it and turn the match around must have been brutal. It was a shame there couldn't be two winners but that wasn't how tennis worked and they both knew it.

Still, Carlos tried to be quiet as he headed back to the locker room. He had no idea if Jannik would still be here or if the Italian had already left to go back to his hotel. All Carlos wanted to do right now was collapse into bed but he needed a shower and to complete his post match requirements first. He also wanted to curl up to Jannik’s side but he had a feeling he would be the last person his boyfriend wanted to see right now. Hopefully, Jannik would’ve already got away and they could see each other tomorrow before the Italian left but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they didn’t.

Unfortunately, Jannik was still there when Carlos entered the locker room and the Spaniard noticed him quickly wipe away his tears. It tugged on his heartstrings. Carlos wished more than anything that the match hadn’t ended the way it had. Jannik deserved the win but it wasn’t Carlos’s fault that Jannik had been unable to close the match when he had match point. “Jan… I'm so sorry.” Carlos whispered. He didn’t want to spook Jannik but he felt like walking in and not saying anything would be worse than him speaking to his boyfriend.

“I can't do this.” Jannik stated.

“Do what?” Carlos asked, going cold.

“This, us. I can't even look at you right now. We were stupid to think this could work.” Jannik said.

“Wait, what?” Carlos questioned, incredulously.

“I can’t date you if matches like this are always going to make me feel like this. I know I should be happy for you but I can’t. I was so close. We’re over.” Jannik explained.

“Oh.” 

"I'm sorry." Jannik apologised, he quickly grabbed his bags and headed out of the locker room before he could see Carlos's tears fall. Carlos didn’t want to give Jannik the satisfaction of letting him see him cry but he didn’t have much of a choice. The tears were coming overwhelmingly quickly and there was nothing Carlos could do to change that. Jannik had just ripped his heart out, thrown it on the floor and stomped on it. He was allowed to cry.

Carlos didn't know what to do with himself. He had expected Jannik to be upset but he hadn't expected to be broken up with. He hadn't thought it would be that bad. Carlos sank to the floor and allowed the tears to fall. That was how Juan Carlos found him a few minutes later. “I feel like I've missed something. You're through to your first grand slam semi final. Aren't you happy?” Juanki asked.

“Yes.” Carlos sobbed. Alvaro had followed his brother's coach into the locker room and immediately got down on the floor with Carlos to pull him into a hug. Something was very wrong and Alvaro had a feeling it had something to do with a certain redheaded Italian.

“What did he say? I'm going to kill him.” Alvaro snarled.

“No!” Carlos exclaimed, sobbing even harder. He didn’t want anything to happen to the man he loved, especially not because of his family. Jannik may have just done something horrible but Carlos would not see him harmed, ever.

“I’m going to tell them you'll complete your media requirements after some sleep. It's too late now, we need to get you back to the hotel.” Juanki stated, leaving the brothers alone. He could tell there was something going on that Alvaro was aware of. Thankfully, he’d not heard what Alvaro had said, this would be a really bad way for him to find out Carlos and Jannik’s relationship.

“What happened?” Alvaro asked now that they were alone.

“He ended it. Said he can't do this. He couldn’t even look at me. I’m supposed to be happy.” Carlos managed through his sobs. It broke Alvaro’s heart to see his normally so happy and bubbly little brother like this. He'd been worried when Carlos had told him about the relationship. Alvaro had wondered how they were going to make it work while also having to play against each other in big moments like this. It looked like he’d gotten his answer. Alvaro just held him tighter.

“Right, you need some sleep. Let's just focus on getting you back to the hotel and into bed. We can talk about this when you wake up.” Alvaro suggested. 

“Maybe when I wake up this will all have been a bad dream.” Carlos sniffled, wiping at his face to try and look presentable. The last thing he needed right now was for some one of the cameras to pick up on his tear streaked cheeks. Those would be some uncomfortable questions considering he was supposed to be happy that he'd just made it to his first grand slam semi final.

Juanki returned and helped Alvaro pack up the belongings Carlos needed to take back to the hotel tonight. Carlos splashed his face with water and kept his hood up but his head down as they left the venue. He just wanted to disappear. Alvaro and Juan Carlos were fuming. Sure, Juanki didn’t know that Jannik and Carlos had been dating until less than half an hour ago but the mess of a Carlos they’d found in the locker room was hinting very heavily that something had occurred with the two players. Carlos was quiet the entire drive back to the hotel and he always had something to say no matter how tired he was. Alvaro was ready to hunt down Jannik and seriously hurt the man for breaking his brother’s heart. He’d been so worried that this very thing was going to happen. He’d known that if Jannik had been the winner of this match then things would be very different, Carlos would still support him and love him despite the loss but it seemed the Italian couldn’t handle the pressure in the same way that Carlos would and that was disappointing. Hopefully, Jannik would realise his mistake and try to patch things up once he’d slept on it but Alvaro was doubtful. It really looked like things were over between them. It was a shame, even though he’d been worried about the relationship ending like this, he had been rooting for them. Alvaro thought they were good together and Carlos had never been happier. He’d been interested in Jannik for over a year and had given up hope of anything ever happening between them. So for things to have changed in Umag, it had been a dream come true for Carlos. It had been too good to be true.

When they returned to the hotel, Alvaro guided Carlos straight into bed. He curled up against the pillow and sobbed into it for a little while before sleep finally claimed him. Alvaro didn’t know what to do. How was Carlos supposed to be ready for the semis? He was a wreck of a person. They could only hope that he somehow managed to channel all this heartbreak into his tennis. Once Carlos was asleep, Alvaro slipped out of the room and headed to Juan Carlos’s. “Is he asleep?” Juanki asked.

“Yeah, took some time and some more crying but he finally fell asleep.” Alvaro replied.

“What the fuck happened?” Juanki queried.

“I don’t know. He couldn’t stop crying long enough to tell me.” Alvaro lied. If Carlos hadn’t told Juan Carlos about the relationship with his rival then Alvaro wasn’t about to. It was up to Carlos to tell him.

“He’s never going to win his semifinal like this. He’s a wreck.” Juanki sighed.

“He might surprise you.” Alvaro suggested.

“We can only hope. Why couldn’t whatever this is have happened at a different time?” 

“I’m sure Carlitos is asking himself that same question.” Alvaro muttered under his breath.

Chapter Text

When Carlos woke up after the quarterfinal against Jannik, he briefly forgot that the Italian had broken up with him so it hit him all over again that Jannik was no longer his boyfriend. Carlos couldn't fight the tears that welled in his eyes. He hated that he was so upset over this but he loved Jannik more than anything and Carlos had foolishly believed that their relationship could withstand anything. It was devastating to realise their relationship had failed at the first hurdle.

Carlos knew he couldn't afford to dwell on Jannik right now. He needed to pick himself up and carry on. He was playing in his first grand slam semi final tomorrow and he wanted to be as prepared as possible. Carlos had no idea where his older brother was right now but that wasn't a priority. He wasn't going to let what Jannik had done steal his chance to make his first grand slam final. Carlos got out of bed, headed to the bathroom and got himself ready for the day. It was nearly noon now but he was sure Juanki would be ready. Frances wasn't going to be an easy opponent and the home crowd were going to be behind him so Carlos needed to be ready.

Once he was ready, Carlos headed to Juanki's room and knocked on the door. His coach immediately pulled him into a tight hug. Quickly followed by Alvaro and Carlos Sr. Carlos knew that his brother and coach would've told his papi about his emotional breakdown in the locker room, although thankfully, Alvaro was the only one who knew the truth and Carlos knew his brother wouldn't say anything since they were in the middle of a grand slam.

"You look better." Juanki remarked.

"We have a semifinal to win." Carlos shrugged. 

"Let's get you some breakfast before we hit the courts and we can discuss how we want to approach the Tiafoe match." Juanki suggested. He could tell that there was still something very wrong with Carlos. He was being far too quiet and he hadn't smiled at them. He wasn't himself and Juanki had serious doubts about the match tomorrow but if Carlos said he was okay to play then he would support his player no matter what.

Carlos still wasn't acting like himself when they grabbed breakfast, he had a single slice of plain toast, stating that he wasn't hungry. Juanki had no idea what was going on and he was very worried. He put a few items of food in his bag in case the younger Spaniard got hungry later. It was very unusual for him to be off his food.

Their practice session went well, but yet again, it was very obvious that something was amiss. Normally, Carlos would discuss what Juanki wanted him to do, he would push back and argue if he didn't agree. Today, Carlos did everything that was asked of him, exactly as he was asked and didn't change a thing. It was wrong. Juanki found it unsettling. He could only hope that Carlos could hold it together long enough to get through the match tomorrow.

"Carlitos." Alvaro tried.

"I don't want to talk about it." Carlos interrupted. "I just want to focus on my tennis. Please can you let me do that?"

"Of course. How do you feel about playing Tiafoe tomorrow?" Alvaro asked. If Carlos wanted to forget what had happened yesterday then Alvaro would do everything he could to help. 

"I know it's not likely to be an easy match. Frances is a tough opponent and this is his home slam. I also know I've got what it takes to win." Carlos replied. Alvaro was glad to hear this. He and Juanki had talked about the practice session from this afternoon. Based on that, they didn't know how Carlos was going to pull off the win. Only time would tell.

It was clear to anyone who knew Carlos that there was something not quite right when the Spaniard walked onto Arthur Ashe to play his semifinal against Frances Tiafoe. There was still no sign of his trademark smile. Even Frances had to resist the urge to ask the other player if he was okay. It was obvious that Carlos Alcaraz was not okay but he was going to let his tennis speak for itself.

Carlos played another gruelling five set match. It was not really what he wanted to happen but he found that being out on court silenced the part of his brain that couldn't stop thinking about Jannik so he didn't mind. Carlos was playing brutal tennis, he was going for every shot, chasing down every ball and sending Frances flying around the court, just like he was doing. It was a fun match and usually he would be laughing and smiling during it but he couldn't completely forget his feelings. When the match was over and he had won, Carlos felt as though he could breathe a little easier. He'd done it! He would be playing in his first grand slam final on Sunday! Hopefully the first of many.

Carlos was far too busy, preparing to play in his first grand slam final. He would be facing Casper Ruud and the stakes were higher than just winning their first grand slam title. Whoever won would be the new world number one.

Alvaro was keeping a close eye on his little brother and was becoming more worried by the day. He hoped it was just the heartbreak but Carlos was still off his food. He was hardly eating, claiming that he wasn't hungry. Carlos only seemed to be eating enough to keep going and he loved his food.

On the morning of the final, Alvaro was woken up by the sound of Carlos throwing up. He flew out of bed and into the bathroom where his little brother was hunched over the toilet. "I'd ask if you're okay but considering you're throwing up I'd say that's a little pointless." Alvaro remarked. 

"I'm fine." Carlos groaned. 

"Looks like it." Alvaro dead panned.

"It's just nerves." Carlos defended. 

"Are you sure that's all it is?" 

"What else would it be?"

When Carlos felt like it was safe to move away from the toilet, he rinsed his mouth out and brushed his teeth before getting dressed. He could tell that Alvaro was getting more and more worried as the days passed. Carlos was honestly terrified that the tournament was over after today and he would no longer be able to hide what had happened behind the scenes. His mami would know something was up as soon as he returned home. It was impossible to hide from her.

But he still had one more match to focus on before that happened. It was nerve wracking but Carlos was so happy to walk onto Arthur Ashe. He had Juanki, Albert, Alvaro and Carlos Sr in his box to support him and the rest of his family cheering him on at home. And he was going to win this.

It was pretty clear from the start of the match that he was in charge. Casper might have been here before, in the final of a grand slam but that only meant he had more to prove and more to lose. Carlos channelled everything he was feeling into his tennis, all the love, anger, despair, betrayal that had been plaguing him for the last few days and turned it into something beautiful. He turned it into a win.

Carlos fell to the floor when he was declared the winner and buried his face in his hands. He wanted to cry for about six different reasons. Despite his inner turmoil, Carlos couldn't fight the smile and the laugh of disbelief. He had done it. This win would always be overshadowed by what had happened with Jannik but no one would ever be able to take it away from him.

Especially since it was going to be his last tournament for a while. Carlos just didn't know it at the time.

Chapter Text

After the trophy ceremony was over, Carlos was reunited with his team and family. No one held him tighter than Juanki. Today had proved that the older Spaniard had made the right decision to coach him and Carlos was only too grateful that their hard work was being rewarded. While he was still focused on the match and the magnitude of what had been achieved today, they all went out for a meal to celebrate. It wasn't as good as a celebration at home would've been considering Carlos wasn't old enough to drink in America but they made plans to celebrate properly upon their return to Murcia.

Carlos went to bed that night feeling better than he had all week. The day's events had distracted him from what had been happening off the court so it hit him pretty hard when he woke up the day after winning his first grand slam title.

Carlos had managed to distract himself whenever his thoughts had strayed to Jannik Sinner but now he no longer had tennis to keep his mind occupied with something else. Carlos was grateful that Alvaro appeared to be somewhere else this morning as he jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to throw up. It struck Carlos as odd, he hadn't had anything to drink last night and the nerves he felt about playing in the final had also gone now that it was over but it was over fairly quickly. The Spaniard flushed the toilet, washed his hands and brushed his teeth before heading to get dressed. Carlos knew that he needed to wear something half decent as he would be taking photos with the trophy before he could head home.

Now that the tournament was over, all Carlos wanted to do was go home and hide. When he got home, Carlos was going to crawl into bed and sleep. He was feeling a lot more tired than than he usually did at the conclusion of a tournament but Carlos had never made it this far into a slam before and he now held the record for most time spent on court. So he assumed that was the reason for his exhaustion. Carlos really had no idea.

Once he was dressed, Carlos got to work packing his bags, he wanted to be able to leave as quickly as possible once everything he had to do was done. It was a short while later that Alvaro and Juanki entered the room and Carlos was nearly finished. "It's time to go, Campeon." Juanki smiled. 

"What would you have done if I was still asleep?" Carlos asked. 

"I checked on you about half an hour ago and could hear you in the bathroom." Alvaro replied. Carlos assumed that his older brother hadn't heard him emptying the contents of his stomach again or Carlos would know about it. He was very relieved, Alvaro was overprotective enough at the moment without Carlos being ill.

Carlos got everything over with and soon they were on the plane heading back to Murcia. Carlos could no longer hold back his tears and he rested his head on his big brother's shoulder as the tears fell. "You've done so well, Carlitos. I know these last few weeks have had their ups and downs but you've handled it so well." Alvaro soothed. 

"I just want him back. I'd do anything." Carlos cried.

"I know you would." Alvaro said.

"I love him. I miss him."

"You'll come back from this, stronger. Look at what you've achieved despite what he did to you." Alvaro tried.

"I'm glad it's over. I couldn't wait to leave New York. But also, I'm sad it's over. Does that make any sense?" Carlos asked. 

"You're glad to be leaving because of what happened here, that's completely understandable. But at the same time, leaving makes it more real. Leaving New York means you need to learn how to move forward, learn how to move on." Alvaro reasoned.

"I think it's going to be a while before I learn to move on." Carlos admitted.

"Which is understandable, Carlitos. He's your first love. You never forget those, no matter how many relationships you have after."

When their flight landed, Carlos had wiped his eyes so no one but his older brother knew he'd been crying. They grabbed their bags as quickly as possible and headed back to the house. Carlos had barely slept on the flight so all he wanted to do right now was to climb into bed and go to sleep. When they got back to the house, those plans had to be put on hold as the family that had stayed at home hard arranged a little party for him with his friends. Carlos had to admit, if he'd not been dumped and had his heart broken, he would probably have enjoyed it much more.

"It’s so good to have you home, baby." Virginia smiled, pulling him into a tight hug. 

"It’s good to be home." Carlos replied.

"Are you okay?" Virginia checked. 

"Why?"

"We watched your matches, of course and you seemed sad during your semifinal. You're quite a sunny person and I noticed you weren't smiling as much as you usually do. It was a little better during the final, but not by much." Virginia explained. "Even now you don't quite seem yourself. And you've hardly eaten anything." 

"I ate on the plane." Carlos lied. His mami was clearly already worried about him, he didn't need to make it any worse.

"Carlos..." Virginia trailed off.

"I'm tired, mami. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed." Carlos added. 

"Well, if you want to head up now, that's okay." Virginia assured. 

"Gracias." Carlos said, accepting the dismissal. His mami could make his apologies to the people he hadn't managed to see before heading up to bed.

When Carlos got to his room, he collapsed on the bed and allowed himself to sob once more. The last time he had been in this room had been before Umag, before his life had been changed. The Spaniard felt as though he had lived about three different lives since. The last time he was here, he'd been single. He didn't know what it was like to be with Jannik. The last time he was here, the biggest title he'd won was Madrid. Carlos missed the person he'd been the last time he was in this room. He was much happier, more confident and carefree. But that Carlos didn't know what it was like to be with Jannik and however badly it hurt right now, Carlos knew he wouldn't change that for the world.

Over the next few days, Carlos's room became his sanctuary. He mostly stayed in bed, sleeping or crying. Various members of his family came to check on him, to bring him food. He hardly touched it. His appetite had gone completely. Everyone was worried about him. Hell, Carlos was worried about himself! Surely this wasn't a normal reaction? But he had nothing else to go on. He'd never been through this before. It must've been difficult for Alvaro. He was the only one that knew the truth and Carlos knew his brother wouldn't be able to keep the secret forever.

As the days continued to pass, things didn't get easier for Carlos. Each day he didn't get out of bed made it even more difficult for him to attempt it the day after. There was no way he was going to do well on the Asian Swing, Carlos hadn't been on a tennis court since the day he'd won the US Open. And then the vomiting started up again.

Chapter Text

Carlos hadn’t been himself since returning from New York. He was supposed to be heading to Asia in a couple of weeks but most days, he wasn’t even getting out of bed and was hardly eating anything. None of his family had ever seen him like this. They didn’t know what had caused it and they didn’t know what to do about it. “I’ve never known him to be like this. He’s just won his first grand slam and he won’t leave his bedroom. What’s going on?” Virginia asked, looking at Carlos Sr and Juanki.

“I have no idea. He’s been like this since his quarterfinal match. I thought it was just the exhaustion of playing a match that lasted over five hours at such a late/early time. I thought it would get better but clearly it hasn’t.” Juanki replied. Alvaro sighed heavily before joining his parents and Juan Carlos in the kitchen.

“He’s heartbroken.” Alvaro said. He felt awful betraying Carlos’s trust but he was the only one besides Carlos that knew what was wrong with the new world number one. He’d been keeping it to himself, not wanting to be the one to spill Carlos’s secret but his little brother seemed as though he was going to destroy himself and Alvaro wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Heartbroken?” Carlos Sr echoed.

“Yes. He was dating someone and they broke it off abruptly. They were honestly a little cruel about it. I don’t know how Carlos managed to channel those feelings into him winning his first grand slam but he did. Now, he’s not got the next match to distract him.” Alvaro explained.

“Who?” Juanki questioned, a look of fury in his eyes. Alvaro would not want to be the one on the receiving end of that look. Juanki looked like he was out for blood.

“I can’t tell you that. I’m already betraying his confidence by telling you about this person in the first place.” Alvaro replied.

“No wonder he’s upset. It’s his first heartbreak.” Virginia sighed. She hated to think of any of her children being upset but knowing there was truly nothing she could do to change it was terrible. Everyone had to go through their first heartbreak at some point but Carlos was only nineteen and had been so tennis oriented for so long that it slipped her mind that he’d not had this life experience yet. It couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“Did this person seriously have to break his heart the same week he won the US Open?” Carlos Sr asked.

“Wait, is that why he was so upset after his quarterfinal?” Juanki checked. Alvaro couldn’t deny it so he nodded. Carlos may not want anyone to know about Jannik but the timing of the breakup was very telling. “Was it another tennis player?”

“I’m not telling you. If Carlos doesn’t want to then I’m not going to be the one to tell you. I feel bad enough as it is.” Alvaro frowned.

“It’s okay, Alvaro. Thank you for telling us what you have.” Virginia smiled, sadly.

“If he wants to be ready to head to Asia then I need to get him back on a practice court.” Juanki frowned. He now knew how emotionally compromised Carlos was and didn’t want to force him to do anything he wasn’t ready for. He wouldn’t normally condone it but if Carlos needed to skip some tournaments then Juanki was happy for him to do it. The fact that he’d somehow won the US Open helped.

“I just don’t know what to do and I hate it.” Virginia sighed. They all hated it but weren’t exactly sure what they could do to change anything.

“I’ll go and talk to him, see how things are.” Juanki offered. The rest of the family had managed to get nothing from him all week so if Juanki could get a response out of Carlos, that would be great.

When Juanki arrived at the door to Carlos’s bedroom, he knocked on it but there was no answer. “Carlitos? It’s me.” Juanki said. There was still no answer so he knocked again. He was just about to open the door when Carlos walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in an oversized hoodie and a blanket. 

“Hi.” Carlos said, blankly.

“What’s going on?” Juanki asked.

“Nothing. Am I not allowed to go to the toilet?” Carlos asked. He headed back into his bedroom but left the door open wide enough for his coach to follow him through. Carlos got back into his bed and laid down, pulling to covers so high up that he was almost hidden from Juanki’s view.

“You know that’s not what I meant, Carlitos. We all know there’s something that you’re not telling us.”

“I’m tired. It's been a long season and I won my first grand slam. That wasn’t easy.” Carlos shrugged.

“You haven’t been on a practice court in over a week. If you want to be ready to head to China then you need to come back to the academy in the next couple of days. If not then you can kiss your hopes of winning another title there goodbye.” Juanki said. He wasn’t trying to be harsh but Carlos needed to understand that if he didn’t put in the work, like he had in New York then he wouldn’t be rewarded.

“I don’t feel well.” Carlos replied.

“In what way?”

“I’ve been throwing up. I think I’ve got a sickness bug or something.” Carlos admitted. Juanki immediately reached out to put a hand on his forehead.

“You don’t feel warm or anything. Definitely clammy but that makes sense if you’ve just been throwing up. How long has this been going on for?”

“The last couple of days.” Carlos told him.

“Do you think it might be a good idea to go and see a doctor?” Juanki suggested.

“I will if it doesn’t go away. It’s only been a couple of days.” Carlos said.

“You know I only worry about you because I care.” Juanki offered.

“I know.” Carlos said, offering his coach a small smile. He moved so that his coach could pull him into a hug. Carlos knew everyone was worried about him, but this was how he needed to deal with his broken heart. He’d never been through this before and didn’t know how to cope and now he was sick, too. It was as though everything was fighting with him at the moment, first it had been his mind and now it was his body. Carlos knew it wasn’t just his family and team that were worried, he’d ignored all messages from his friends since Jannik had ended their relationship and they weren’t going to put up with being ignored for long but Carlos didn’t know what else to do. He knew it wasn’t good to wallow in the despair he felt but he couldn’t summon the strength required to get out of bed at the moment. Carlos hoped the way he was feeling would die down soon and he could go back to being himself. He wasn't sure he’d get over Jannik any time sooner though. He’d been interested in the Italian for so long before they’d started dating, it wasn’t going to be easy to forget about everything he’d lost. But he’d get there. One day.

Chapter Text

“Carlitos, baby, how are you today?” Virginia asked, letting herself into his room. He’d still not really left the confines of his room and it had been nearly two weeks since he’d returned from New York. The conversation with Alvaro had been illuminating and even though there was nothing she could do, Virginia just wanted to reassure Carlos that she was there for him, no matter what.

“Sick.” Carlos replied.

“You’re still sick?” Virginia checked. Juan Carlos had mentioned that Carlos had said he’d been throwing up a few days ago but everyone had just assumed that must have stopped.

“Been throwing up this morning. And yesterday and the day before that. It’s not just in the morning but it has been most mornings. And I’m so tired. I’m not hungry, the thought of eating anything makes me feel sick. My body aches.” Carlos listed. “I know Alvaro told you about him.”

“We’re all worried about you. I think it might be time to go and see your doctor.” Virginia suggested.

“I can’t play like this.” Carlos added.

“That’s fine. Juanki said to us the other day that if you need to miss Asia then that’s what you’ll do. Do you have any other symptoms besides throwing up, being off your food, fatigue and…” Virginia trailed off, recognising the symptoms her son had listed as she recounted them. “Oh. Oh.”

“Oh, what?” Carlos asked, finally poking his head out from under the duvet.

“The symptoms you’ve listed… It sounds like you might be… pregnant.” Virginia said.

“No.” Carlos denied.

“Can you tell me with one hundred percent certainty that it’s not a possibility? Definitely?” 

“No.” Carlos frowned, tears springing to his eyes once more. There was no way. Surely even he wasn’t that unlucky. But he and Jannik hadn’t used protection on more than one occasion. He was an idiot for not seeing this coming. Virginia moved to sit on the edge of his bed and pull Carlos into a hug. It was clear how much he needed the hug if the way he sank into her arms as he sobbed was any indication. It broke Virginia’s heart to see him like this. “I can’t be, I just can’t.”

“I’ll go and buy you a test, baby.” Virginia offered. Carlos buried his face in his pillow and continued to sob. Virginia didn’t want to leave him but they needed to know, if Carlos was pregnant then he needed to see a doctor. He’d not been looking after himself properly over the last couple of weeks so he would need to start eating properly again, he would definitely need to start taking some additional vitamins as he certainly wasn’t getting what he needed from food right now.

“Can you go and sit with Carlitos? I’ll be back as quickly as I can.” Virginia requested.

“What?” Alvaro queried but his mami had already left, clearly in a rush so he headed upstairs to his little brother’s room and was devastated to find Carlos sobbing into his pillow. He’d been doing a little better over the last couple of days, although he’d mainly spent them sleeping. He’d been doing that a lot lately.

“What have I missed?” Alvaro asked.

“Mami thinks I might be pregnant.” Carlos sobbed.

“I’m actually going to hunt him down and kill him.” Alvaro stated.

“Alvaro!” Carlos exclaimed.

“No, I know you love him but look what he’s done to you, Carlitos! You’re heartbroken and haven’t got out of bed in over a week. This isn’t you. You’re the happiest person I’ve ever met and nothing keeps you down for long. We’re all absolutely terrified because this is your first heartbreak and you’re not handling it at all. I know you don’t want to, but you need to stop wallowing in pity. Especially if you’re pregnant. It’s not going to be easy for you, by any stretch of the imagination, but that baby needs you to get your shit together.” Alvaro ranted. Carlos could feel the tears threatening to fall again.

“Who says I even want a baby?” Carlos asked.

“You’d have an abortion?” Alvaro checked, a little shocked. He’d not anticipated that. He’d thought it very unlikely, sure Carlos loved playing tennis but Alvaro didn’t think he’d sacrifice this baby for his career, it really didn’t sound like something Carlos would do. If he was pregnant with Jannik’s baby then Alvaro was sure he’d keep it. A life that had been created out of love, he really couldn’t imagine Carlos getting rid of it.

“No.” Carlos admitted, face scrunching as he tried not to cry again.

“I didn’t think so.” 

“If I am pregnant and this is all I have left from my six weeks with Jannik then I’ll take it.” Carlos chuckled, sadly. Alvaro sat down on the bed next to Carlos and pulled him into a hug. It wouldn’t be easy for him, having to miss every tournament until after the baby is born but Alvaro knew his younger brother would do whatever he needed to for the good of this baby. Sure, the situation with Jannik had been shit but here was something that could be great for Carlos. The timing was also shit, Carlos was only nineteen and he’d just won his first grand slam and become world number one.

“Would you tell him? If you are?”

“I don’t know.” Carlos said.

“Really?”

“He chose to leave me. Why should he get to be here for the baby?” Carlos reasoned.

“What if you’re not pregnant and this is just a scare?” Alvaro asked. Carlos’s face fell.

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.” Carlos frowned.

“You want to be, don’t you?” 

“I think I do.” Carlos said.

“I’ve always thought you'd make a good papi. You’re good with kids.”

“I’ve always wanted kids. I just thought it would be a little further down the line.” Carlos admitted.

“I’m glad you didn’t intend to get pregnant at nineteen but how did this happen?” Alvaro checked.

“I’m sure you don’t need me to explain how babies are made.” Carlos joked.

“Ha ha.” Alvaro said.

“We didn’t always use protection.” Carlos whispered.

“You didn’t use condoms!? Did no one have the safe sex talk with you?” Alvaro exclaimed.

“I don’t remember you checking every time I snuck out.” Carlos argued.

“I didn’t think I needed to!” Alvaro shouted.

“What’s with all the shouting?” Virginia checked, flying up the stairs.

“Nothing.” Carlos and Alvaro said at the same time.

“Yes, it sounded like nothing.” Virginia sighed.

“My ex and I didn’t use protection every time we had sex.” Carlos admitted.

“If that test is negative it will be a miracle, then?” Virginia questioned.

“The amount of times Carlos snuck out to be with this guy, there’s no way that test is going to be negative.” Alvaro corrected.

“That’s okay. We can deal with this.” Virginia said, offering Carlos what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Carlos took the bag from her and headed into the bathroom.

“His throwing up must be morning sickness.” Alvaro remarked.

“Probably. He’s going to need our support, no matter what he chooses to do.” Virginia pointed out.

“And he’s going to have it. Although, he’s keeping the baby.” Alvaro replied.

“You sound pretty sure of that.” 

“Yeah, because he told me he would be.” Alvaro told her.

“He must really love his ex.” Virginia sighed.

“He does. That guy doesn’t deserve him in the slightest but Carlos is loyal. I can’t see him moving on from this.” Alvaro admitted.

“You don’t think he’ll date someone else in time?” Virginia questioned.

“No, I don’t.” Alvaro said.

“He’s going to be so lonely.” Virginia frowned.

“We’ll be there for him. Every single day.” Alvaro assured, pulling their mami into a hug. It wasn’t going to be easy for her to watch Carlos go through this alone. It was horrible to watch him go through the heartbreak when there was nothing she could do. This was going to be ten times worse.

Carlos shuffled out of the bathroom, test in hand. “What does it say?” Alvaro asked.

“I’m having a baby.” Carlos said, smiling for the first time since that fateful day.

“You’re-”

“I’m having a baby!”

Chapter Text

This was the last thing Carlos had imagined would happen when he was sobbing on the floor of the locker room. How? How had he been unlucky enough to get knocked up by the man who had broken his heart? It was like the universe was laughing at him. “You have options, you know? You don’t have to have or keep the baby.” Virginia told him on the drive to his check up, although they both already knew he was keeping this baby. Even though he was an adult, Carlos was still only nineteen and he couldn’t face this appointment by himself.

“I know I don’t but I’m going to. Even though he ended things, I still love him and if this baby is all I have left from our time together then I’m going to keep them.” Carlos said, sadly. He’d only just stopped crying from the fact that Jannik had broken up with him, although the mess of hormones that was now his body made him feel a little better about how hard he’d taken the break up. He was happy about the baby even though it messed everything up. He was going to have to miss the rest of this season as an absolute minimum. Carlos had no idea when the baby had been conceived as they’d not used condoms on multiple occasions. It could be anywhere between their first time and the start of the US Open, although looking back on it, it looked like the throwing up before the final had been morning sickness and not nerves like he’d suspected.

“I’m so proud of you, you know?” Virginia offered. “This is not an easy situation but you’re handling it so well.”

“Gracias, mami.” Carlos said. He was dreading telling Juanki about this turn of events, everything had been going so well and a baby definitely threw his plans out of the window but he knew with the support of his family and the team he had around him then anything was possible. Carlos hadn’t told the rest of the family yet, he’d wanted to wait until after his first appointment. It had only been a couple of days since he’d taken the test and he wanted more information before he broke the news to everyone.

Even though it had only been a couple of days since he’d found out, Carlos couldn’t help but imagine what this baby was going to be like. More than anything, he hoped they looked like Jannik. It would certainly make things more complicated if he did have a baby with the Italian’s red curls but Carlos knew he would love their baby regardless. Hell, he’d known about them for two days and he already couldn’t imagine life without them. Carlos couldn’t help the nerves that stuck him as they arrived at the hospital. He hoped no one would recognise him, although that was probably a bit of a tall order considering he’d just won the US Open. He wanted to keep the pregnancy a secret from everyone except those he chose to tell. He’d been lucky so far that no one had gotten any pictures of him out and about in Murcia but he knew that could change at any time. Carlos had made the decision to not tell Jannik about the baby. It was probably a little harsh of him as the Spaniard was almost certain Jannik would want to know about the life they had created together but he couldn’t bring himself to reach out. He hadn’t heard from the Italian since they’d broken up and although he hadn’t really expected to, it still hurt that he hadn’t even got a ‘congratulations’ on winning the title in New York.

When his name was called, Carlos and Virginia followed the nurse to the room. “Hola, Mr Alcaraz, I’m Nurse Lopez. What can we do for you today?” Nurse Lopez introduced.

“I’m pregnant.” Carlos stated.

“Congratulations. When did you find out?” She asked, making notes on the computer.

“I took a test two days ago that came back positive.” Carlos replied.

“Do you know how far along you are?” Nurse Lopez continued.

“No. The baby could’ve been conceived anywhere between the end of July and the end of August.” Carlos admitted. Virginia, who had been sitting there silently, just raised an eyebrow at her son. That was quite a large range of dates. She hadn’t been expecting that and could understand why Carlos and Alvaro had been shouting at each other over it. Although it was a bit late for the safe sex talk by then.

“What symptoms have you been having and for how long?” Nurse Lopez asked.

“Mainly morning sickness, I first threw up about two, three weeks ago but it went away again and has come back in the last week. I thought it was nerves the first time it happened.” Carlos explained.

“That’s understandable, especially if it was an isolated incident at the time.” Nurse Lopez said, reassuringly. That made Carlos feel a lot better.

“I’ve not been very hungry and when I have been eating, it’s mostly been plain, bland food.” Carlos added.

“As long as you’ve still been eating something, that’s the main thing.” Nurse Lopez smiled.

“I, um, I haven’t been eating great over the last couple of weeks. Some days I haven’t had anything at all. I’m making a conscious effort now I know I’m pregnant but, uh, the baby’s other father broke up with me and I, uh, it hasn’t been easy.” Carlos stuttered. Virginia reached over to place a hand over Carlos’s.

“Thank you for telling me.” Nurse Lopez said as she continued to make notes. “Right, I need to weigh you and I also need to take a blood sample. Once that’s done, you can head back into the waiting room and Doctor Perez will call you though to look at the baby.” 

“Sounds good.” Virginia said when Carlos didn’t say anything. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how difficult all of this was on Carlos but he was handling it so well. She was very impressed, taking it all in his stride.

Once he’d been weighed and the blood sample was taken, Carlos and Virginia headed back into the waiting room. Carlos was feeling even more nervous now. He was terrified that there would be something wrong with the baby because he’d not been eating properly or looking after himself. He was going to do that now but he couldn’t help but worry that it might be too late. Although surely his genetics plus Jannik’s would make a healthy baby.

It wasn’t long before Doctor Perez was calling him into the room and Carlos couldn’t move quick enough. Virginia smiled to herself as she followed at a slower pace. Carlos was going to make a great papi. Sure, there’s no way she would’ve chosen this for him at only nineteen but it couldn’t be changed.

“Hello, Mr Alcaraz. Are you ready to see your baby?” Doctor Perez smiled.

“Si.” Carlos replied with a smile. Carlos had smiled more in the past two days since finding out about the baby that he had in the previous two weeks.

“Now, I’ve just been reading your notes and with the lack of eating in the last couple of weeks, I think you could do with taking a few vitamins. I’ll make a list and you can get them over the counter.” Doctor Perez offered.

“Gracias.” Carlos said.

“Now, please can you remove your shirt and lie down on the bed?” Doctor Perez requested. Carlos did so as quickly as he could. “I take it you’re looking forward to this part.”

“I can’t wait to see my baby.” Carlos smiled.

“Let’s have a look at them, then.” Doctor Perez fiddled with the controls on the machine a little before putting the cool gel on his stomach.

“Are they okay?” Carlos checked when Doctor Perez had been quiet for a couple of minutes.

“Yes, everything looks great.” Doctor Perez assured. Carlos couldn’t help the tears that welled in his eyes. Virginia moved closer to her son and tightly held his hand. “You look to be about ten weeks along, putting conception around the end of July.” Doctor Perez then moved the screen so that Carlos could look at his baby.

“Wow, these have progressed in the ten years since I had your brother." Virginia laughed.

“There’s your grandbaby.” Carlos said. Virginia pulled Carlos into a hug, being mindful of the fact that Doctor Perez had the wand on his stomach to see the baby.

“Everything looks good, you’re a very healthy person so it doesn’t look like the lack of eating has had any effect on the baby and as long as you’re being mindful of having meals throughout the day, they’ll be fine.” Doctor Perez smiled. She then printed off a couple of copies of the scan and handed them to Virginia while Carlos got cleaned up and redressed. “I’d like to see you again in about four weeks, just so we can check on how the baby is doing.”

“We’ll get that booked in.” Virginia promised.

“I have no idea how to tell Juanki. He’s going to want to know who the other father is. And join Alvaro in killing him.” Carlos said on the drive to his coach’s academy.

“Carlitos, that man loves you like you’re his own child. Juanki is going to support you no matter what.” Virginia pointed out. Even though Carlos knew this, it didn’t stop him from worrying about his coach’s reaction. He also had to tell the rest of his team. They all sacrificed so much to follow him around the world and now he was about to mess all of that up and he felt guilty about it. Even though it hadn’t been planned in the slightest.

Carlos’s heart was racing as he walked the familiar route to Juanki’s office. He felt like a naughty child who’d been sent to the head teacher’s office. Which was a little ridiculous, he knew but he couldn’t change it when that was how he felt. “Calritos! I wasn’t expecting to see you today!” Juanki exclaimed, jumping to his feet and pulling his player into a tight hug.

“Yeah, I, uh, I have some news.” Carlos said, looking at the floor.

“Okay?” Juanki said. He looked over to where Virginia was standing in the doorway. She entered the room and shut the door behind her.

“I have to take a break from tennis.” Carlos began.

“Have to?”

“I went to see a doctor.” Carlos continued.

“And?”

“I’m pregnant.” Carlos concluded. Juanki didn’t say anything, just wrapped his arms around Carlos and held him tightly.

“That’s okay. Tennis will be here when you get back.” Juanki assured him. Carlos couldn’t help but start sobbing. He’d been so worried even though he knew Juanki would support him no matter what. Carlos had the best team around him. He still had the rest of the team to tell and he had to tell the rest of his family but he certainly felt like he could breathe a little easier now that he knew what was going on with his body, he knew that the baby was okay and he had the support of everyone around him. He could do this.

Chapter Text

Carlos was terrified to tell the rest of his family about the baby. It had come as a shock to him so it would definitely come as a shock to the rest of them, too. Juanki had kindly offered to speak to the rest of his team on his behalf and like a coward, Carlos had accepted. He couldn’t bear to face them and tell them the news, even though he knew they would support him no matter what.

“Did it go okay at the doctor’s this morning?” Carlos Sr asked. Carlos had decided it would probably be best to tell everyone over dinner as that’s when Sergio and Jaime would be home to hear. He somehow needed to swear the both of them to secrecy though. The last thing Carlos wanted right now was for anyone outside of his team and family to find out. He didn’t want the news to somehow get back to Jannik. Carlos was choosing to go through with the pregnancy but he didn’t want the Italian to know, he’d chosen to walk away once. Carlos couldn’t bear it if he didn’t want their baby, either.

“Yes. Actually, there’s something I need to tell everyone.” Carlos announced. Sergio put his phone down and both of his younger brothers turned to give Carlos their full attention.

“We’re listening.” Jaime stated.

“I’m having a baby.” Carlos said with a small smile. It didn’t matter how everyone reacted, really. He was happy that he was pregnant and he was having this baby no matter what. No one would talk him out of it.

“You’re happy?” Carlos Sr checked.

“Yes. I know it’s not going to be easy doing it alone but I really want this baby.” Carlos explained.

“You might not have the other father around, but you certainly won’t be alone.” Carlos Sr assured, getting up from his chair and moving over to pull his son into a hug. Carlos held on as tightly as he could. He would need all the support he could get over the next seven months. 

“But I thought you had to be in a relationship to have a baby?” Jaime asked.

“It’s not a requirement.” Sergio laughed.

“I was in a relationship. We broke up.” Carlos stated.

“But why?” Jaime inquired.

“It’s not important, Jaime. All that matters is that Carlos is going to need our support and we’re going to give it to him.” Virginia said, leaving no room for arguments.

“And you can’t tell anyone.” Carlos added.

“Why not?” Sergio questioned. “Not saying that I would, I’d just like to know why not.”

“Because news spreads. I want to choose if or when the baby becomes public knowledge.” Carlos replied.

“That’s fair.” Sergio shrugged, picking up his phone while also resuming his dinner.

It wasn't easy, having to announce his withdrawal from the rest of his planned tournaments for the rest of the year but Carlos knew it was necessary. He couldn't play professional tennis, it would put his body and the baby under too much stress and that was the last thing he wanted to do. This baby may have been a complete surprise but he loved them more than anything else. They'd decided to say that he was injured, Carlos wasn't ready to announce his pregnancy to the world and didn't know if he ever would be.

Announcing his pregnancy would lead to everyone having an opinion that they just had to share and he really didn't need to hear what the general public and so-called 'fans' had to say about him being pregnant at the age of nineteen. It also meant that Jannik would find out and the last thing Carlos wanted while he was trying to sort everything out was the Italian turning up. Jannik wasn't an idiot, he would know the baby was his straight away. He was the only person Carlos had been with in the last year.

One of the ways Carlos had found to cope was to keep to himself. He'd had a lot of messages from his friends - both the ones in Spain and the ones on tour but he hadn't had the strength to reply to a single one. Carlos really should've known this would come back to bite him in the ass.

Despite how painful it was to watch, Carlos was a fan of tennis and he knew Holger was playing in the Sofia Open this week so he tuned in. Carlos was vaguely aware that Jannik was also participating in this tournament but Carlos couldn't bring himself to watch the Italian play. He had always loved watching Jannik play tennis but it was just too soon to put himself through that. So, naturally, Holger made it through to the semifinals where he would be playing against Jannik. Carlos thought about not watching it but then decided that wouldn't be fair to Holger. Sure, Carlos hadn't replied to any of the Dane's messages in nearly a month. He was sure Holger would be pissed with him, Carlos certainly would be if their roles were reversed.

It was an up and down match, them splitting the first two sets to send them into a decider. Jannik wasn't playing as well as he usually could and Carlos knew there was something wrong. It didn't come as much of a surprise to him when Jannik ended up retiring. Carlos felt the now familiar ache in his chest when he looked at Jannik. At least he would be able to support Holger in the final. Carlos still didn't message him back.

A couple of days after Holger lost in the final, there was a knock on the door. Carlos was having a nap, Sergio and Jaime were at school so Alvaro answered the door. "Holger? What are you doing here?" Alvaro greeted. 

"I haven't heard from Carlos in a while so I wanted to check up on him." Holger explained. 

"Well, he's just having a nap right now but you're welcome to come in and wait until he wakes up." Alvaro offered. 

"Is everything okay?" Holger checked. 

"It's really not my story to tell." Alvaro replied. 

"Sounds like it's going to be quite the story." Holger remarked. He and Alvaro headed to the living room and sat down, they spent the next hour talking about random things while playing FIFA. Holger had always been a good friend to Carlos, he was loyal to a fault and Alvaro knew that the Dane would be pissed with Jannik over what had happened between him and Carlos. Holger wasn't the forgiving type, either. He would hold a grudge against the Italian until the day he died.

When Carlos woke up from his nap, he was feeling quite hungry, although he didn't yet know what he wanted to eat so he wrapped himself in a blanket and headed downstairs to raid the cupboards. Even though his appetite had vanished completely after the break up, Carlos knew how important it was to ensure he was eating now he was pregnant. He would never forgive himself if something happened to the baby that he could've prevented. As he made his way downstairs, Carlos could hear Alvaro talking to someone so he made a detour into the living room. "Holger? What are you doing here?" Carlos asked. 

"Well, if you'd replied to any of my messages then I wouldn't need to check up on you in person." Holger reasoned. 

"I'm sorry." Carlos sighed. 

"I'll leave you both to talk." Alvaro said, standing up to leave the room. 

"I came down to get some food, please could you grab me something?" Carlos asked. 

"What do you want?" Alvaro checked. 

"Pan con tomate." Carlos replied.

"No problem." Alvaro smiled.

"Gracias." Carlos said. 

"Why is Alvaro doing what you've asked him to?" Holger checked. 

"Because he's a good older brother." Carlos shrugged. 

"Carlitos, I know there's something you're not telling me." Holger said with a raised eyebrow. 

"It's kind of a long story." 

"We've got time. I've got a week before I need to be in Stockholm." Holger replied. 

"I, uh, I was seeing someone." Carlos started. 

"Carlos, that's gre- wait. Did you say 'was'?"

"Yeah, he broke up with me and I've been struggling to cope with my first heartbreak." Carlos continued. 

"Oh, were you together long?"

"No, that's the worst part. We were only together for six weeks." Carlos explained, trying not to let the tears fall again. Holger moved closer to where Carlos was wrapped in the blanket so he could pull Carlos into a hug. 

"But who? I'm surprised you met someone considering your crush on Sinner." Holger commented. Carlos blushed and looked at his restless hands. 

"Don't tell me it was him who broke your heart." 

"Yes." Carlos admitted. 

"That bastard!" Holger snarled.

"Hol-"

"No! That bastard had the fucking nerve to ask me how you are when we were in Sofia." Holger spat. 

"He did?" Carlos asked, hopefully. 

"No, don't look at me like that!" Holger exclaimed.

"He may have broken my heart but I love him. I've loved him for a long time, us getting together only made my feelings stronger." Carlos frowned. 

"You'll have to forget about him. Find someone else and move on." Holger reasoned.

"It's not going to be that simple."

"Because you're in love with him?" 

"Because I'm having his baby." Carlos revealed. 

"What the fuck?! Oh, just wait until I see him again." Holger warned. 

"Holger, I don't want anything to happen to him. I don't care how mad you are on my behalf, you will be civil to him, please." Carlos requested.

"I suppose I can try and do that." Holger grumbled. 

"Thank you." Carlos said as Alvaro returned with his pan con tomate. 

"Took you long enough."

"I didn't want to intrude." Alvaro corrected.

"You could've told me all of this, you know? You're my best friend. I'm not going to judge you for it." Holger assured. Carlos hugged Holger before tucking into his food. He felt much better to know the Dane was on his side, although he really hoped Holger would manage to be civil whenever he bumped into Jannik. He didn’t think it was very likely though.

Chapter Text

Carlos was feeling a lot better now that everyone in his family knew and because he had Holger by his side. He somehow doubted that the Dane would be able to be civil to Jannik whenever he saw him, but at least Carlos had asked him to try. It was sweet that his friend was so angry on his behalf but despite everything that had happened, Carlos didn’t wish for anything to happen to Jannik. He still loved the Italian and Carlos knew that a part of him always would. Mostly because of the baby. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was going to have a baby, he was going to be a papi. And it wouldn’t be too much longer before the baby was here.

Carlos was now 16 weeks along and things had been improving now that he was out of the first trimester. The morning sickness had lessened considerably and his appetite had returned. At his last check up, both he and the baby had been given a clean bill of health and Carlos was so relieved to know that the way he’d coped with losing Jannik hadn’t affected their baby in any way. He would never have forgiven himself if something had happened to the baby because of the choices he’d made when he didn’t even know he was pregnant.

It was getting obvious that he was pregnant now and Carlos knew he needed to go shopping for some baby stuff before he was all but confined to the house. Since he was now showing, Carlos spent a lot of time with a hand resting on his bump as he talked to the baby. His mami told him it was good, the baby would be able to recognise his voice. Carlos couldn’t quite believe he would be finding out their gender at the next appointment. He couldn’t wait and had already been thinking about names. 

Carlos and Virginia had decided to go out for the day and get some things for the baby, and some clothes for Carlos who was struggling to fit into the clothes he still had. Thankfully, his love of oversized hoodies meant the bump was concealed whenever he was out and about. Not that he spent much time outside the house. Even though he was pregnant and had been making a conscious effort to do better, he was still devastated about Jannik. It was difficult, doing this without the Italian by his side. Carlos had no idea how Jannik would respond to them having a baby. He was worried that Jannik would reject the baby and would want to have nothing to do with either of them but he was equally as scared of Jannik wanting to be around and be involved. It was just easier for him to not know. Carlos would always wonder but at least he didn’t have to deal with the knowledge that Jannik didn’t want him or their baby. He didn’t know how he would survive if that was the case.

“What are we getting today?” Carlos asked.

“Shouldn't I be asking you that?” Virginia laughed.

“You're the one who's had babies before! I thought you'd know a bit better than I do.” Carlos argued.

“Okay, baby. I know you're stressed but you don't need to take it out on me.” Virginia soothed.

“I'm sorry.” Carlos sighed. These stupid hormones meant he was all over the place at the moment. Virginia just wrapped an arm around him, sensing that her son needed a hug right now. Carlos had always been a very touchy person, he thrived on physical contact and the further his pregnancy progressed, the more obvious Jannik’s absence would become.

“What you’re doing is so brave, it’s not going to be easy but you’re handling it well.” Virginia assured.

“I just keep thinking about how much better it would be if he was here, too.” Carlos admitted.

“You could tell him.” Virginia suggested.

“And have him reject me again? No, thanks.” Carlos said.

“You don’t know that he would.” Virginia pointed out.

“I don’t know what would be worse, him outright rejecting me and our baby or him wanting to be around for them but not me.” Carlos said. Virginia just held him even tighter. She could understand where these fears were coming from, it was difficult to know what to do for the best but Carlos had already made his mind up to do this by himself and she would stand by him no matter what. She didn’t even know who the baby’s other father was. It was clear that Alvaro knew but if Carlos wasn’t going to tell them then neither was Alvaro. Virginia was grateful that Carlos had at least one person to talk to that knew the entire situation.

Carlos was very quickly overwhelmed when they arrived at the store. There wasn’t a lot of room at the house for another person but Carlos hated the thought of moving out into a house of his own. Being by himself sounded like the worst thing in the world. Carlos needed his team and his family around him right now and he wasn’t going to make any major life decisions right now. Virginia had assured him that they would find room for the baby and Carlos knew that they would make it work. Looking through all of the baby clothes made him really emotional. He didn’t want to get any yet, Carlos wanted to find out if he was having a boy or a girl first. His mami had suggested gender neutral clothes but Carlos loved the idea of dressing a daughter in pink. It was unlikely that he would have a girl considering he had three brothers but Jannik’s brother was adopted so who knew what genetics the baby would get from the Italian. Carlos just hoped that the baby got Jannik’s red curls. Carlos could just imagine a baby girl with Jannik’s hair and it made his heart ache even more that Jannik wasn’t the one looking around the shop with him.

In the end, they bought some formula, wipes, nappies, nappy cream, bottles, a bassinet and bedding. Carlos also managed to get some clothes that would fit him for a little longer but he intended to keep wearing his oversized hoodies for as long as he could get away with it. Then he spotted it, like it was a sign. “This is perfect.” Carlos sighed, picking up a fox teddy. Virginia raised an eyebrow.

“A fox?” 

“Si.” Carlos replied, cuddling it already. Carlos knew he was being a little obvious. Everyone knew Jannik was symbolised by a fox. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. This way, his baby could have a little piece of their other father, even if they didn’t know. Alvaro was going to have a lot to say about it, so was Holger when he saw it but that didn’t matter to Carlos.

“Thank you for coming with me today.” Carlos said on the journey home.

“You’re welcome, baby.”

“I know you think I should tell the baby’s other father-” Carlos tried.

“This is your baby and it is your decision. If you don’t want to tell him then it’s okay.” Virginia assured. Carlos couldn’t hide the sigh of relief. He probably should tell Jannik. He knew his mami was right and it would likely be even worse for Jannik to find out about the baby once they’d been born but Carlos wasn’t going to change his mind. He could be very stubborn.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t easy, finding room for everything for the baby to go. There wasn’t a spare room at the house so all of her things went into Carlos’s room for now. The Spaniard knew that at some point soon, he would need to start looking for his own place. The baby couldn’t share his room with him forever but the first year or so, it wouldn’t really matter. They needed to stay in the same room as him for at least the first six months according to the guidance that Carlos had read so he wasn’t going to worry about it. He had absolutely no idea how having a baby and returning to professional tennis was going to go but based on the conversations he’d had with Juanki, they would figure it out as they went. There was no need to have everything sorted right now when he was only 18 weeks along.

Based on what he’d been reading, Carlos was likely to feel the baby moving in the next few weeks and he couldn’t wait for that to start. It was one thing to know there was a baby inside of him and another thing entirely to feel them moving in there. Even though he was still absolutely terrified, Carlos was excited. He couldn’t wait to hold this little baby in his arms and shower them with all of the love he felt for them. His baby was going to be so spoiled, they would have everyone wrapped around their little finger, Carlos included.

Carlos couldn’t wait for his next appointment with Doctor Perez, she told him last time that they might be able to find out the baby’s gender, depending on if they were in the right position. Carlos thought he was having a girl, Virginia thought the baby was more likely to be a boy, as did the rest of his family. There were a lot of boys in the Alcaraz Garfia family. A girl would make a nice change. 

“I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact you’re pregnant.” Holger told Carlos. Now that the season had ended, the Dane had been spending a lot of time in Murcia, knowing Carlos needed the support of a friendly face. Holger knew there were more players that would come and support Carlos if they knew about the baby. Holger wasn’t the Spaniard’s only friend on tour, he had quite a lot of them. Carlos was one of the kindest, most genuine people you could ever meet and that was why everyone loved him. There had been a lot of chatter on tour about why he wasn’t there, but naturally, no one had guessed it was because he was pregnant.

“Neither can I, at times.” Carlos chuckled as he rested a hand on his bump. It was a lot more obvious now than the last time Holger had seen him.

“I just want to punch him every time I see him.” Holger admitted.

“Please tell me you haven’t! I asked you to be civil.” Carlos demanded.

“Of course I haven’t. I think you would know if I had. I’m sure he knows I know though.” Holger said.

“Well based on what you’ve just said, I’m not surprised. Has he asked about me again?” Carlos asked.

“No, but I haven’t exactly been approachable.” Holger laughed.

“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Carlos accepted.

“Hey, he’s your ex. You get to forgive and move on. I’m your best friend, I get to hold a grudge.” Holger smirked.

“And you’re so good at those.” Carlos smiled.

“You know, lots of people have been asking after you. Everyone is worried about this injury you’ve picked up.” Holger said.

“I can’t announce it yet. I don’t want him to know.” Carlos sighed.

“Why? I’m not judging you, I think you’re doing the right thing but I just wondered why you didn’t want to tell him about the baby. Do you think he wouldn’t want them?” Holger inquired.

“There are multiple reasons why I don’t want to tell him. Firstly, I’m worried that he would reject me and the baby and want nothing to do with either of us. There’s also a chance that he would want to be here for the baby but still have nothing to do with me. The third option would be where he wants to be involved with me and the baby. I think the third one is very unlikely but Holger, I barely survived him breaking up with me and we’d only been together for six weeks. I don’t think I could handle him rejecting me again.” Carlos explained. Holger moved to pull Carlos into a hug and the Spaniard couldn’t hold back the tears.

“I don’t know Jannik as well as you do, but do you really think he would do that?” Holger checked.

“I don’t know. I like to think the answer is no. But I never would’ve guessed he would break up with me like that. In such a cruel way. It makes me worry that I don’t really know him at all.” Carlos said.

“Oh, Carlos.” Holger sighed.

“I’m fine with doing this by myself.”

“You are so strong.” Holger told his friend. Carlos couldn’t help but smile. Holger had always been a good friend to him.

“Is it bad that I want the baby to look like him, though?” Carlos asked.

“Really?”

“Yes. I think I’m having a girl and a baby girl with his curls would be gorgeous.” Carlos smiled, fondly.

“You’re so gone on him, even after what he did.” Holger stated.

“Yeah, I still love him and I think a part of me always will.” Carlos shrugged.

“You do know that having a baby that looks like him will be obvious to everyone, right? Everyone in your family has dark hair. Red hair will stand out. People will assume the baby is his if they look like him.” Holger reasoned.

“I could know other people with red hair.” Carlos said.

“You could, but you don’t. All your friends that you’re pictured with look similar to you with dark hair.” Holger pointed out.

“Still, I want them to look like him.” Carlos shrugged.

“Get ready for the inevitable media shit storm when the baby becomes public knowledge.” Holger warned him.

“There's going to be a media shit storm when everyone finds out I had a baby in the first place. Whether they look like me or him.” Carlos said.

“Yeah, you may have a point. I don't envy you having to go through that.” Holger laughed. “What is your plan for returning to tennis, anyway?” 

“I've spoken to Juanki and we don't have a definite plan yet. We have no idea how the birth is going to go. If something goes wrong then I could be out for longer than planned. I'm not due until March so I'll probably be out for most of next season anyway. Maybe looking at returning in time to defend my US Open title.” Carlos explained.

“Makes sense. I don't really know anything about giving birth.” Holger said.

“Me either. It's definitely not something I'm looking forward to.” Carlos laughed.

Chapter Text

“How are you feeling about today?” Alvaro asked. Virginia had plans today and couldn't accompany Carlos to his appointment. Carlos thought she seemed more upset about it than he was. Alvaro had offered to join him, although Carlos had plenty of people who had offered to go with him.

“I’m feeling good. I can't wait to find out their gender.” Carlos smiled, running a hand over his bump again. It was naturally where his hands rested these days.

“Are you still convinced you're having a girl?” Alvaro checked.

“Si.”

“Why?” 

“I don't know why. I just have a feeling.” Carlos shrugged.

“Do you have a name picked out?” Alvaro continued as he grabbed his keys. Carlos wanted to drive himself but since he was now finding it difficult to put his shoes on by himself, Alvaro had vetoed that.

“Alvaro, I’m pregnant. I can drive, you know?” Carlos sighed.

“Put your shoes on without my help and then you can drive.” Alvaro challenged. Carlos just glared at his older brother. Carlos was finding it difficult to adapt because as an athlete, he’d always been very in tune with his body. The pregnancy was changing everything Carlos had ever known about his own body. It didn’t do what he wanted it to anymore. He had no idea how Juanki, Albert and the rest of his team were supposed to get him ready for playing when his body didn’t feel like it belonged to him anymore. His centre of gravity had shifted and Carlos was finding that he was a lot clumsier now. Thankfully, whenever he lost his balance, there always seemed to be something to catch himself on so he didn’t fall completely.

“Mr Alcaraz, it’s great to see you again.” Nurse Lopez smiled when Carlos entered the room.

“Hello, it’s good to see you too. I brought my older brother this time.” Carlos said. He knew that Alvaro looked like him but he wanted to avoid any confusion of someone thinking his older brother was the baby’s other father. 

“It’s lovely to meet you.” Nurse Lopez told Alvaro.

“And you.” Alvaro agreed.

“How have you been doing since your last appointment?” Nurse Lopez asked as Carlos and Alvaro sat down.

“Things have been pretty good, thank you. My nausea has pretty much gone and I’m not throwing up in a morning.” Carlos began.

“He’s had some weird cravings.” Alvaro chuckled.

“Don’t worry, everyone does.” Nurse Lopez smiled.

“I’m so hungry all the time now, though. It’s like I can’t eat enough.” Carlos said.

“Making up for all the days when you’d lost your appetite.” Alvaro reasoned. Carlos leaned over to smack his brother on the arm.

“I’ll just check your weight and then Doctor Perez will be in to do the scan. Are you wanting to find out the gender today if possible?” Nurse Lopez checked.

“That’s great and yes, I’m dying to know.” Carlos clarified.

“Good.” Carlos stepped onto the scales and Nurse Lopez seemed happy with what it said, Carlos hadn’t put on a lot of weight during the pregnancy but he was perfectly healthy so there were no concerns.

“Carlos, let’s find out who you’re having.” Doctor Perez beamed as she entered the room. Carlos absolutely loved her, she made him feel so at ease at every appointment. It was still crazy to him that he was now halfway through the pregnancy and it wouldn’t be long before he was holding his baby in his arms.

“Sounds good.” Carlos smiled.

“Do you have any thoughts?” Doctor Perez asked as Carlos removed his shirt and laid down on the bed.

“I think I’m having a girl but everyone else is under the impression that I’m having a boy.” Carlos replied.

“Any particular reason they think that?” Doctor Perez inquired.

“He’s one of four boys for a start.” Alvaro laughed.

“Most of my family has boys.” Carlos added.

“What about the other father? Are boys or girls more common in his family?” Doctor Perez questioned.

“I don’t actually know.” Carlos admitted. “I know his parents struggled to conceive. He has an older brother who was adopted and then his parents managed to have him. I don’t know about the rest of the family.”

“Well, it looks like you were right.” Doctor Perez offered. “You’ve definitely got a baby girl in there.”

“My baby girl.” Carlos whispered, rubbing a hand across the top of his bump. 

“Mami is going to be over the moon with a baby girl in the family to spoil. She’s going to be the favourite, one hundred percent.” Alvaro chuckled.

“Good, baby girl deserves to be spoiled. It’s not going to be easy for her to grow up in a house with so many men.” Carlos laughed.

“Do you not think you’ll end up moving out at some point?” Alvaro asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t feel like I’m in a good enough place to even entertain the thought at the moment. I know I can’t live at home forever. Baby girl deserves her own room at some point but we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. I’m going to need all the help I can get when she first arrives though so I’m staying at home for now.” Carlos explained.

“What about Jannik?” Alvaro queried. “You can’t keep it a secret from him forever. He’s going to find out about her at some point.”

“I know he is but I will cross that bridge when I get to it and not a moment sooner, Alvaro.” Carlos replied.

“What if she looks like him?”

“Then I’ll be very happy.” Carlos confessed.

“You will?”

“Yes, I want her to have his red curls. I should want her to look nothing like him after what happened but I love Jannik and I probably always will in some ways. He will forever be the father of my baby and I love that it’s him.” Carlos admitted.

“I’m glad you’ve recovered somewhat from the heartbreak. It was so tough to see you like that.” Alvaro said. Carlos knew it had been tough on the whole family, it had been difficult for him too but he needed to grieve the relationship in his own way. Finding out he was pregnant had saved him though, he could no longer wallow in self pity because he needed to do better for the baby. She would always be his number one priority. Carlos loved her more than anything and knew the rest of his family would too. Everyone had been so supportive and he knew there was no way he would’ve been able to manage this pregnancy without them. Still, in four month’s time, he would be meeting his daughter and Carlos couldn’t wait. The pregnancy was flying by.

Chapter Text

The next few weeks just flew by and suddenly it was Christmas. The baby had started kicking and although it was uncomfortable, Carlos was obsessed with feeling his daughter move around inside him. It meant she was okay and he wouldn’t change that for the world, not even when she woke him up with how powerful her kicking was. You could definitely tell she had two professional athletes for parents. Carlos was sure that if Jannik was here, he would be jokingly complaining to the Italian about her waking him up with her kicking. But he loved it, really.

Alvaro had been right, Virginia was thrilled when he told her that his feeling was correct and he was having a little girl. They’d been shopping again and Carlos loved all of the little outfits that they’d bought for her. He couldn’t wait for her to be here so he could dress her in them. 

As the baby continued to grow, Carlos found that his back ached a lot of the time. He’d been expecting it, he now had a lot of additional weight on his front that he wasn’t used to and his body was trying to compensate for it. His appetite was still increased and he couldn’t wait to sit down for Christmas dinner, he’d been looking forward to it all week. The symptoms he’d been experiencing were not a lot of fun but Carlos knew he would go through this all over again in a heartbeat. He’d always wanted a big family.

Carlos was now 24 weeks along and had found that Sergio and Jaime were fascinated by his growing bump. Sergio had been young when Virginia had been pregnant with Jaime and besides their cousins, neither of them knew much about pregnancy or babies so they had been fascinated by their older brother’s growing bump. “Does it hurt when she kicks?” Jaime asked. Carlos had grabbed his younger brother’s hand and placed it where she was assaulting his insides.

“Depends on how hard she kicks me.” Carlos laughed.

“It feels really weird.” Jaime added.

“Yep, it feels even weirder when it’s coming from inside you.” Carlos said.

“I don’t know how you’re doing it.” Sergio remarked.

“What else would I do?” Carlos queried.

“I don’t know, I’m just saying. It's really weird.” Sergio shrugged.

“It may seem weird now but you won’t think that when you’re older and you have kids of your own. I remember how odd it seemed to me when mami was pregnant with you two. I don’t think that anymore because this is my baby.” Carlos explained.

“You love her.” Jaime said.

“Of course I do. This wouldn’t be worth it if I didn’t.” Carlos chuckled.

“Are you going back to tennis after she’s born?” Jaime asked.

“Yes, no one is going to stop me.” Carlos said.

“But how will that work? Having a newborn and travelling around the world to play tennis?” Sergio questioned.

“I don’t know but we’ll figure it out. There’s plenty of time. I’m not due until March/April.” Carlos pointed out. 

“That's assuming the baby will be on time. She could come early or late.” Alvaro added, joining his three younger brothers in the living room. 

“Not too early, I hope.” Carlos said.

“Well, 24 weeks is when a premature baby can survive so the odds are in her favour if she were to come any time from now.” Alvaro shrugged.

“Let's try and keep her where she is for now.” Carlos declared.

The conversation changed as more family members arrived. Their grandparents were fascinated and wanted to know everything they could about the baby. Carlos had pretty much isolated himself to the house he'd grown up in during his pregnancy so they hadn't seen him since they'd found out he was pregnant and considering Carlos had only been 12 weeks along then, he hadn't really been showing yet. 

It turned out baby girl liked to show off. Any time someone wanted to feel her kicking, she was quite happy to do it. Carlos was starting to get a bit annoyed with everyone putting their hands on his bump, though. The one person that he wanted to do that, wasn’t here. Carlos couldn’t help but feel a little down about the fact that Jannik wasn’t here. It was his choice that Jannik wasn’t here but that didn’t make it any easier on him. He couldn’t help but feel bad that their daughter would potentially miss out on spending time with Jannik like this. She deserved to know both of her fathers. Hopefully, when Jannik found out he would choose to be part of their lives.

“You’ve gone quiet.” Alvaro observed.

“Just thinking.” Carlos replied.

“About him.” Alvaro said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. I keep thinking about how different things would be if he was here.” Carlos admitted.

“Do you really think he would want nothing to do with you or the baby?”

“No. That’s what scares me the most. I don’t think he would walk away. I think he would want to be here, he’d want to know his daughter.” Carlos confessed. “But we’re not having this conversation again.”

“I know, I wasn’t trying to. I was just genuinely curious about what your thoughts were.” Alvaro said, offering his younger brother what he hoped was a reassuring smile. They all knew how difficult it was on Carlos and even though he was making things a little more difficult for himself by not telling Jannik about the baby but it was Carlos’s decision. 

By the time New Year’s rolled around, Carlos was feeling more upbeat. It felt like he’d been pregnant forever and not very long at the same time. He was disappointed that he wasn’t gearing up to head to Australia, it was strange that he hadn’t actually been on a tennis court since New York but this was the way things were now and he wouldn’t change that. Carlos was looking forward to having his daughter and finally heading back out on court. He was trying to keep in shape as much as possible but Doctor Perez had warned him about overdoing it and Carlos didn’t want to risk baby girl by doing too much. Besides, he wouldn’t be much use on a tennis court right now with his ever changing centre of gravity.

Usually, the family would throw a party for New Year’s, whether Carlos had already headed to Australia or not. Holger had offered to spend some time with Carlos but the Spaniard had told his friend to head to Australia and play in the tournaments he was intending to without worrying about him. Since Carlos was pregnant and they were keeping it hidden as much as possible, the Alcaraz Garfia’s didn’t throw their usual party and had a quiet family night in. They all watched the TV and celebrated when the clock struck midnight. “I can’t believe I’m going to have a baby this year.” Carlos smiled, a hand resting on his bump.

“It’s going to be quite the year.” Virginia remarked, pulling him into a hug. Carlos couldn’t wait, and he didn’t have to wait that much longer. Baby girl had her own plans.

Chapter Text

It was disappointing, sitting at home and watching the Australian Open but there was no way Carlos was going to miss out on watching great tennis just because he couldn't play. He had friends playing in the tournament. He'd recently had a message from Coco saying how sorry she was to hear that he wouldn't be back yet. She had always been a good friend to him, not as close as Holger, but who was? Part of him thought of inviting her to come and visit but she had her own season to focus on. A few days in Murcia might not fit into the schedule she had. 

“I think it's a great idea.” Virginia remarked. Carlos was 27 weeks along now and it was only getting more difficult for him to do anything. He couldn't see his feet any more, baby girl was blocking the view. Sergio and Jaime were still as fascinated as ever by the pregnancy and Carlos was getting a little tired of their questions.

“But that would be someone else who knows.” Carlos pointed out.

“Carlitos, you've been isolating yourself from everyone for the last few months. You could do with more friends than just Holger. You haven’t even seen your friends from Murcia. I know they’ve sent you countless messages.” Virginia said.

“I’m scared, mami. I don’t know who to trust anymore. When he broke my heart he broke my trust and I’m so scared to let anyone in.” Carlos admitted. He hated to think about what a different person he was now, not just because of the baby.

“Oh, Carlitos.” Virginia sighed, moving to sit next to him and pull him into a hug. It wasn’t easy going through your first heartbreak at any age but when his first heartbreak had been coupled with so many other things, it made things even more complicated. His hormones had been all over the place because of the pregnancy, even though he didn’t know he was pregnant at the time. Carlos was just so scared to let anyone in. Jannik had affected him so badly and the scariest part was that if Jannik turned up, wanting him back, Carlos would go back to him in a heartbeat. He loved the Italian more than anything.

“Hey, kiddo.” Juanki remarked, knocking on the open door of Carlos’s bedroom.

“Juanki, it’s good to see you.” Carlos smiled, getting up and waddling over to pull him into a hug.

“How are you getting on?”

“I take it my mami called you because she’s worried about me?” Carlos asked.

“We’re all worried about you.” Juanki stated.

“I’m not trying to make you worry. What else am I meant to do with my time instead of playing tennis?” Carlos queried.

“I know you don’t want anyone to find out and that’s why you’re not leaving the house very much but you need to try and keep in some sort of shape. Do you still plan on returning to tennis after giving birth?” Juanki continued.

“Of course. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t play tennis.” Carlos said.

“What about the baby? What’s the plan there?” Juanki questioned.

“I’ll bring the baby with us. I’m sure I could hire someone to look after her while I’m training or playing matches.” Carlos reasoned.

“That doesn’t sound like you. I know you’d prefer for her to be looked after by family.”

“Well, obviously that’s what I would prefer but I’m not expecting anyone to just drop their life to follow me around the world while I play tennis. I could always bring her with me. She could start playing tennis with me. I don’t know what’s going to happen yet. We haven’t got that far.” Carlos rambled.

“Okay, just your due date is getting closer and you really need to start thinking about what’s going to happen after the baby is born.” Juanki reasoned.

“I know. Everything is just so scary. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I hope to be back in time to try and defend my US Open title but there’s always a chance that I won’t be back for that and it frustrates me. Everything is driving me mad at the moment. My hormones are all over the place, everywhere is swelling, I can’t see my feet anymore, I’m horny all the time and there’s nothing I can do about it. I love her so much but I’m going crazy.” Carlos exclaimed, the tears of frustration finally falling. Juanki just held him tighter.

After his coach left, Carlos knew he really needed to talk to his family about what the plan was going to be moving forward. Carlos and his daughter couldn’t stay here indefinitely even though there was nowhere else he could see himself living. Living with Jannik wasn’t an option and that was the only one he would take. He headed to his room and put on Jannik’s match. He knew he shouldn’t torture himself like this, but this was the closest he could be to Jannik. Alvaro would be pissed with him if he walked in and saw what Carlos was doing but Carlos was still a fan of tennis and Jannik played beautifully. Carlos knew that Jannik was more than capable of winning a slam, although he thought the Italian looked a little down. He was sure he was imagining things, what did Jannik have to be upset about? A part of Carlos hoped it was because of him but he wasn’t naive enough. Jannik hadn’t cared when he’d ripped Carlos’s heart out of his chest and stomped on it so why would he care now? 

Carlos was amazed when watching Jannik’s third round match. He’d dropped the first two sets and Carlos felt as though his heart was in his mouth. He was so anxious watching, knowing there was nothing he could do to change the outcome. Not that he needed to. Jannik managed to win the match in five. Carlos wanted to jump up but their daughter was making any rapid movement quite difficult. “That’s your papa.” Carlos said to his bump. “I love him very much but he couldn’t be here with us. I’m sure he would love you more than anything. Just like I do.”

After the match was over, Carlos headed to spend some time with his family. Thankfully, no one seemed to know that he’d been shut in his room for hours watching Jannik’s match, although Alvaro was the only one who would know what it meant. After dinner, Carlos headed back to his room. He was ready to go to sleep.

“Hey, baby girl.” Carlos said, rubbing a hand across his stomach. Ever since Doctor Perez had told him about talking to the baby so that she got used to his voice, Carlos had been chatting to her about his day. There often wasn’t much to talk about, he didn’t exactly do much but that didn’t matter. Carlos loved her and would talk to her about anything. “It’s me again, your papi. I know it’s getting a little cramped in there now but it won’t be long until you’re here, in my arms and I can’t wait. I love you so much. I love you more than anything and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’m sorry things have been so difficult while you’ve been in there, things haven’t been easy but you make it worth it. I would go through all this again just to have you. I was so happy to find out I was pregnant with you. You are everything and I hope you know there is no one more important than you.”

Chapter Text

Despite his reluctance, Carlos did end up asking Holger to invite Coco to come and see him. It wasn’t going to be easy to explain what had happened and although Coco was a good friend to him, Carlos wasn’t going to tell her about Jannik’s involvement. She would probably be able to guess, she was pretty smart and she knew Carlos well.

When they arrived, Carlos greeted them at the door. He was wearing an oversized hoodie and Coco wasn’t able to tell immediately. Holger couldn’t either, although Carlos knew he was going to have a lot to say. “Carlos, it’s so good to see you. Thank you for inviting me.” Coco smiled. 

“It’s good to have you here. It meant a lot to me to get your message.” Carlos replied.

“I should apologise. It shouldn’t have taken me so long to message you about your injury.” Coco offered.

“It’s okay. I know everyone has their own lives and commitments. If you’d messaged me any earlier there’s a strong possibility that I wouldn’t have replied anyway.” Carlos admitted.

“He left me on read for so long that I had to come here in person to make sure that he was okay.” Holger added.

“But it can’t be if you’re having to take so much time off.” Coco remarked, turning back to Carlos.

“It’s kind of a long story.” Carlos said.

“I’ve got time.” Coco smiled, reassuringly.

“It might be a little easier to show you.” Carlos chuckled, removing his hoodie. He saw Coco’s eyes widen in surprise.

“You’re huge!” Holger exclaimed.

“Holger, that’s rude.” Coco said in shock.

“It’s okay. Last time Holger saw me I was 18 weeks along and now I’m 29 so it makes sense.” Carlos shrugged.

“Congratulations.” Coco smiled. “I completely understand why you’ve been taking so much time off.”

“Gracias. It just seemed easier to say I was injured. I’m not ready for everyone to know just yet. The ATP higher ups know about the pregnancy but they’ve assured me they won’t say anything.” Carlos said.

“I would ask since when but you’ve just told me.” Coco laughed.

“Yeah, it came as a bit of a shock to us all.” Carlos chuckled.

“When are you due, if you don’t mind me asking?” Coco inquired.

“April, so I don’t know how long I’m going to be out for. I wish I could still play but I had to stop immediately. I was nine, nearly ten weeks along when I found out. Just after I’d won the US Open. It was not what I expected.” Carlos explained.

“While trying to come to terms with the news, he cut everybody out of his life and made it more difficult for himself.” Holger added.

“Thanks, Holger. I did what I needed to do to cope with what had happened. Do you want to get dumped and then find out you're pregnant after getting your heart ripped out?” Carlos sassed. He wasn’t really upset with Holger. He could understand why the Dane was a little pissed with him over how things had gone. He also knew Holger was pissed because Carlos had requested that he be civil to Jannik and the Dane was angry on his behalf.

“Oh, Carlos. I’m so sorry to hear that.” Coco frowned, getting up to pull him into a hug.

“It’s okay. I’ve made my peace with it. I can’t change what happened. My daughter is the most important thing to me.” Carlos shrugged.

“You didn’t tell me she’s a girl!” Holger exclaimed. “That’s amazing.”

“I thought she would be. Everyone else was convinced she’d be a boy but I know my baby.” Carlos smiled.

“You look happy.” Coco commented.

“I am. It’s not the way I would’ve chosen for my life to go but I get my baby girl out of it. I’m not complaining.” Carlos smiled, rubbing a hand over his bump.

“Is she active? You told me the baby had started kicking.” Holger asked.

“Yes and no. Baby girl likes her sleep.” Carlos said.

“Takes after him.” Holger chuckled. Carlos couldn’t help but agree, he’d been thinking the same thing.

“Him?” Coco queried.

“Her other father.” Carlos clarified.

“I take it he doesn't know.” Coco guessed.

“He doesn’t deserve to know.” Holger practically snarled.

“I’m not judging, I was just asking.” Coco said, holding her hands out in front of her.

“A lot of my family think I should tell him. I’m just so scared. What if he wants nothing to do with us? I don’t think I could go through losing him again.” Carlos reasoned.

“Do you think he would?” Coco questioned.

“No. And that scares me even more.” Carlos admitted.

“He doesn’t deserve you or the baby. Why should he be rewarded for what he did?” Holger asked.

“I understand where you’re coming from, Carlos. It must be terrifying to be going through all of this alone but not knowing is scary.” Coco agreed.

“Thank you.” Carlos said with a small smile.

“Why do you think your family are so insistent on you telling the other father?” Coco continued.

“I think part of it is because they want to be nosey and know who he is.” Carlos chuckled.

“You haven’t told them!?” Holger shouted.

“No, well, Alvaro knows because I told him when we started dating and when we broke up but other than him, I’ve been keeping the news to myself. We were only together for a short time so I didn’t see the point in telling them. Holger knows because he guessed.” Carlos explained.

“What are you going to do if your wish comes true?” Holger countered.

“What do you mean?” Coco interrupted.

“I told Holger that I hope that baby girl looks like her other father. He has stand out features and we both know that if she does look like him then it will be quite obvious who the other father is.” Carlos answered.

“But if you don’t want him to know then wouldn’t it make more sense for you to want her to look like you?” Cococlarified.

“It would but I’m still in love with him. It’s ridiculous. We were together for six weeks but I’ve been interested in him for years and never thought we had a chance. It would have been both a lot better and a lot worse for me if it had stayed that way but when I was given the chance to be with him, I took it. How was I to know then that we would fail at the first hurdle?” Carlos shrugged. Yes, he’d made his peace with what happened between him and Jannik but he thought, given the circumstances, he was also allowed to be a little pissed about it, too.

“You couldn’t know.” Coco assured. Carlos reached out to pull her into another hug. He was so glad his mami had talked him into letting someone else in. He did need all the friends he could get right now.

“Thank you for being here for me.” 

“I will always be here for you.” Coco vowed.

“We both will.” Holger added. Carlos couldn’t help the tears he had to wipe as they both pulled him into a group hug. His circle was getting bigger and that was a scary thing, but it was also a good thing.

Chapter Text

Carlos had been feeling weird all day. From the moment he’d woken up there was something not quite right, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. He’d got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, the baby loved curling up against his bladder or kicking it and he was getting a little tired of it now. It wasn’t just the constant needing the toilet, it was the backache, the needing to sleep but being unable to and what he assumed were the fake contractions. Carlos was feeling emotionally wrung out and if Jannik had been here, the Italian would be getting cursed out. As it was, Carlos still did that, he just had to think it instead of saying it.

As the day continued, his sense of unease just got worse. Carlos was alone in the house today, everyone else already having plans. He didn’t begrudge them having their own lives, he just felt a bit lonely but it wouldn’t be long before his mami returned from shopping. All of a sudden, Carlos was struck with the most intense pain of his life. He nearly fell to the floor but managed to catch himself on the kitchen worktop. It eased off after about a minute so he headed to the living room to lie down on one of the sofas and wait for Virginia. She would know what had happened to him and what to do about it.

Ten minutes later, Virginia hadn’t yet returned and Carlos was struck by the pain again. He couldn’t help the scream he let out. He had never been in so much pain before. “No, no, no. It’s too soon.” Carlos cried, but there was no one in the house to hear it. It was the day before Valentine’s day and Carlos could tell now, he was in labour. Baby girl was coming even though it was too soon. He’d been keeping up to date on his app and he knew that his daughter could breathe by herself. Still, he was only 31 weeks along. She would be safer staying inside him.

After the next contraction passed, Carlos got his phone out and called his mami. “She’s coming.” Carlos announced as soon as Virginia answered the call.

“I’m on my way back, baby, I should be with you in ten minutes. Breathe.” Virginia instructed, coaching him through it to keep his breathing level. Virginia’s heart broke when Carlos cried out as another contraction wracked his body. She regretted leaving him at home alone but no one could’ve foreseen this turn of events. The baby wasn’t supposed to be here for another two months.

“It hurts.” Carlos whimpered.

“I know it does, baby. But you have to remember, once this is all over you will be holding your daughter in your arms.” Virginia assured. She drove as quickly as she could while also being safe to get back to the house. She had to coach Carlos through another contraction before her return. When she got back to the house, she flew through the door, ignoring all of the food she’d just picked up at the shop and rushed to her son’s side. 

“You’re here.” Carlos sighed.

“I’m here.” Virginia said, taking Carlos’s hand into hers. Virginia got her phone out to let the rest of the family know what was going on. There was no need for them to rush home and there was no need to rush Carlos to hospital just yet as first children often tended to be quite slow deliveries. Until his contractions were five minutes apart and lasting roughly a minute long, there was nothing the hospital could do. They would just have to manage it here. Carlos felt like it made more sense to head to the hospital now but considering his mami had four children of her own, Carlos figured she knew a thing or two about giving birth.

“I wish Jannik was here.” Carlos groaned as another contraction hit. They were only seven minutes apart now and roughly thirty seconds long.

“I know you do.” Virginia offered, having headed to the kitchen to get a wet cloth to place over Carlos’s sweaty forehead. She hadn’t known prior to this moment that the Italian was the other father of her granddaughter but she had to admit, it wasn’t really a surprise. Carlos had always been interested in the redhead and the timing of the break up just made sense.

From what she knew of Jannik Sinner, she imagined he would want to be here, had he been given the choice. Although she hadn’t anticipated him being the kind of person to break Carlos’s heart so what did she know? Still, to have Carlos crying out for him when Jannik wasn’t here was difficult to listen to. All Virginia wanted to do was make it better and easier for Carlos and she could do neither of those things. She could contact Jannik and see if there was some way the Italian could head to Murcia but she knew Carlos would probably be embarrassed about calling out for the Italian when he wasn’t out of his mind with pain.

Alvaro was the next one to make it home, having rushed when he’d gotten Virginia’s message. Carlos was laying on the sofa, struggling through another contraction. “Is it not time to head to the hospital yet?” Alvaro asked.

“If it was time to head to the hospital then that’s where we’d be.” Virginia stated. “Although it would probably be a good idea to call Doctor Perez. She might tell us to head there.” Virginia was crouched at Carlos’s side, holding his hand while wiping his forehead. Alvaro winced as Carlos screamed. How did people have more than one child when it was this painful giving birth to them? It was horrible to see Carlos in so much pain, mental as well as physical. Carlos had cried out for Jannik on the last contraction and Alvaro shared a look with Virginia.

“It's getting worse.” Carlos panted once the contraction was over.

“It's supposed to.” Virginia said as Alvaro left the room to call Doctor Perez. There was nothing else they could do. Doctor Perez may want them to head straight to the hospital given Carlos was only 31 weeks but she may also tell them to wait. Virginia hadn't wanted to leave Carlos’s side to make the call.

“Doctor Perez said it's clear the labour is progressing quickly so there's nothing they can do to stop it at this point. As Carlos is 31 weeks, it's early but not dangerously early. Keep timing the contractions and head to the hospital when they're five minutes apart.” Alvaro explained. Virginia just gave him a knowing look. If Carlos had been less than 30 weeks along then she would've taken him to the hospital immediately.

“I want it to stop.” Carlos cried.

“I know, baby.” Virginia soothed. Alvaro continued to time the contractions while Virginia talked Carlos through them. When they got quicker and more painful, they stood Carlos up to head to the hospital. It wasn't easy to move him and they had to stop part way to the car as he was hit with another contraction. Virginia sat in the back with Carlos as Alvaro drove them.

Doctor Perez was waiting outside for them with Nurse Lopez. Carlos had never been so grateful to see anyone before. Virginia had updated the family and Carlos Sr would be bringing Sergio and Jaime to the hospital once school had finished for the day. Carlos had instructed Alvaro to message his team. He knew Juanki would want to be here to meet the baby. Carlos couldn't wait either.

The labour was long, it was the early hours of Valentine’s Day when baby girl finally decided to grace them all with her presence.

Chapter Text

“Here’s your baby.” Doctor Perez said, handing her over to Carlos. He couldn’t believe it. She was finally here, his perfect little girl. Carlos took one look at her and knew there was no way he would be able to deny who her other father was. His family were absolutely going to kill Jannik and Juanki would probably lead the way. He knew his coach had been suspicious, especially with the timing of the break up and his pregnancy. She was a little on the small side, Carlos was only 31 weeks when she’d decided it was time to make her entry into the world. She would need to stay in hospital for a couple of weeks, she wasn’t so early that it was dangerous but the doctors and nurses had all said she would probably benefit from being in an incubator for a few days at least. Right now, Carlos was just making the most of being able to hold his baby girl. He’d been told that skin to skin contact was the most important thing for her right now and Carlos was quite happy to keep his baby girl in his arms for as long as possible.

“I can’t believe I made this.” Carlos remarked when she was placed in his arms for the first time.

“It’s incredible what your body can do.” Nurse Lopez offered. Carlos could only nod in agreement.

“We’ll give you a few minutes with her but as she’s nine weeks early, we’ll need to take her and check her over properly.” Doctor Perez announced. She seemed perfectly healthy, she had cried when she was born so Carlos knew she was okay enough but if his doctors just wanted to double check everything was okay then he was more than happy to let them.

“She’s beautiful. You did such a good job, baby.” Virginia smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Carlos had wanted his mami by his side while giving birth since he couldn’t have the one person that he actually wanted. Sure, it had been his decision not to tell Jannik but that didn’t mean Carlos didn’t want him to be part of his life, part of their daughter’s life. He still couldn’t believe that they had a daughter. Holding her in his arms for the first time made everything worth it, all of the stress, the pain, the discomfort. He would do it all over again a million times if he got the same result.

“Gracias, mami.” Carlos said, softly. Not wanting to disturb the baby sleeping on his chest.

“How are you feeling?” Virginia asked, stroking a finger down her granddaughter’s cheek. Poor Carlos must be exhausted but he had been amazing. What he’d just done wasn’t an easy thing but she was so proud of the way he’d handled it. It had broken her heart when he’d cried out for Jannik, so delirious from the pain that he hadn’t realised what he was saying.

“I’m tired.” Carlos mumbled.

“Do you want me to go and tell everyone that she’s here? Once they’ve been to see her, they can leave and you can sleep.” Virginia checked.

“Si, they can all come and meet her.” Carlos agreed. Virginia headed out of the room immediately. He knew that this meant his room was about to get a lot more crowded but he couldn’t bring himself to mind. Juanki, Albert, Alvaro, Sergio, Jaime, his papi and all of his friends had all banded around him and supported him through the most difficult time of his life and they all needed to see his daughter, they needed to know everything had gone as well as it could have. 

His daughter would probably need to go in an incubator for a little while because of how early she was. He was well past the danger zone of her being born too early but he was still only seven months pregnant when he should’ve been nine months. It wasn’t something they could change and Carlos was quite happy to have her in his arms a lot sooner than he should’ve but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried about her. There clearly weren’t any immediate concerns otherwise she would’ve been taken away from him straight away to check her properly but Doctor Perez and Nurse Lopez had checked her over before handing her to him.

“Carlitos…” Juanki trailed off, seeing his player half sitting, half laying with a sleeping baby on his chest. A sleeping baby with red hair. Exactly as Carlos had hoped, Alvaro noted. At least he got what he’d wished for even if it now meant everyone in this room knew who her other father was. It wasn’t something he could keep hidden any longer.

“Where did she get that hair from?” Sergio asked.

“It’s a little obvious who her other father is.” Alvaro chuckled.

“Yeah, I thought that as soon as I saw her.” Carlos agreed.

“Seriously, when did this happen?” Juanki asked.

“After the final in Umag.” Carlos admitted.

“I should’ve known.” Juanki said, with a fond smile. He was pissed with Jannik right now and he probably would be for a while but Carlos had clearly been happy with the man, however briefly they’d been together. It made everything in New York make so much more sense.

“What are you talking about?” Jaime questioned.

“The baby’s other father.” Alvaro told him.

“Who is it?” Jaime asked.

“I mean, surely you can make a pretty good guess.” Sergio commented.

“How many people with red hair does Carlitos know?” Alvaro added.

“I can only think of Jannik… WAIT!” Jaime exclaimed.

“Shh!” Carlos hissed.

“It’s not fair to speculate.” Carlos Sr offered.

“It’s not but you’re all right, okay? She’s Jannik’s baby, too.” Carlos admitted.

“I won’t say what I’m thinking.” Juanki said.

“You’re not going to hurt him. I love him.” Carlos replied.

“We’ll discuss this later.” Alvaro joked, turning to Juanki. Carlos couldn’t help but laugh. He knew they were only saying this from a place of caring, really. Surely they wouldn’t actually hurt Jannik?

“How are you?” Albert asked, looking at Carlos. The younger Spaniard couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m good, tired but good. I’d do it a million times over just to hold her in my arms.” Carlos admitted.

“Please leave it a few years and pick someone better than Jannik Sinner the next time you feel like having a baby.” Juanki deadpanned, much to the amusement of everyone in the room.

“I’ll try.” Carlos chuckled.

“Does this little princess have a name?” Virginia asked. Carlos hadn’t once mentioned her name, throughout his entire pregnancy he referred to her as ‘baby’ and then ‘baby girl’ when he’d found out her gender.

“This is Luna.” Carlos smiled.

Chapter Text

Carlos was still in disbelief. His baby girl was here, Luna. And she was absolutely perfect in every way. He was a little embarrassed to have called out for Jannik while having contractions but he figured it was a normal thing to do. His mami and Alvaro had been reassuring him that it was okay. Considering Luna looked like him anyway, there was no point in trying to hide the fact that her other father was Jannik Sinner. Everyone had already guessed that. It wasn’t like he knew many people with flaming red hair.

Luna was doing well despite being 9 weeks early. Doctor Perez had recommended that Luna spend some time in an incubator to help strengthen her lungs, although based on the crying Carlos had heard from her when she’d been born, they seemed pretty healthy to him. It had been a little difficult for Carlos, heading home without Luna but he couldn’t live at the hospital for however long she was going to be staying there. He was relieved when Nurse Lopez told him she would be there for Luna when he couldn’t. He knew she couldn’t stay on shift the entire time but it was reassuring to know there was a familiar face who knew him and Luna so well.

“It’s so weird not being pregnant any more.” Carlos said as he sat down with the family for dinner. “I keep expecting to feel Luna kicking me.”

“It’s a strange readjustment as your body tries to bounce back.” Virginia said, knowingly.

“How soon are you planning to return to tennis?” Jaime asked.

“I think I’ll give my body a couple of weeks to heal, at least. I need to sit and talk with my team about what we’re going to do now. There’s always a chance that I could return to tour in time for the clay court season but I’ve also spent so much time away from tennis and my body has changed beyond all recognition. We’ll have to see.” Carlos explained.

“It’s not going to be easy but I know you’ll put in the required work and be back on court as soon as you can.” Virginia remarked.

“It will be good to see you doing what you love again.” Carlos Sr added. Carlos couldn’t help but smile. He was just waiting for Doctor Perez to give him the all clear and he would be joining Juanki at the academy to see exactly how difficult it was going to be for him to return to the court, where he belonged.

“I can’t wait although I know it won’t be an easy road back.” Carlos shrugged. He was looking forward to having something to focus on. Sure, he had Luna but there would be times that she didn’t need him, like when she was asleep. He’d been dwelling on things for his entire pregnancy while he couldn’t quiet his mind by playing tennis. Carlos was looking forward to the return to normal. Well, as normal as he was going to get while also having a newborn.

“We’re here to support you, Carlitos. Whatever we can do to make things easier is what we’ll do.” Virginia told him. Carlos knew that his mami was going to be a very hands on abuela. She loved Luna and would do anything to help Carlos still be able to achieve his dreams. It was easier now that his younger brothers were older. They didn’t need as much of her attention. Carlos Sr was usually the one who accompanied Carlos to tournaments along with Alvaro but Virginia had offered to join him on the ATP tour to take care of Luna. Carlos knew he had a lot to discuss with Juanki next week. Right now, his priorities were to let his body rest from the trauma of giving birth and looking after Luna.

“Good morning Carlos.” Nurse Lopez smiled as Carlos walked onto the ward where Luna was staying. It was hard for him to leave her here but she was very well taken care of in his absence. If he could stay with her then he would but he’d been told he couldn’t. 

“Good morning, Olivia.” Carlos replied.

“Luna has been great overnight. She’s such a good sleeper and she very rarely cries. You’ve got a very calm daughter.” Nurse Lopez remarked.

“Si, she certainly doesn’t get that from me.” Carlos chuckled.

“There are quite a few things she doesn’t get from you.” Nurse Lopez laughed.

“Has Luna been improving?”

“Her breathing is getting stronger every day. She has taken very well to the bottle and loves her food. Doctor Perez thinks she will probably be able to go home by the end of the week. Despite being nine weeks early, it hasn’t had too much of an effect on her.” Nurse Lopez assured. Carlos couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. She was a tough one.

Carlos headed over to the incubator, Nurse Lopez following behind. Carlos put his hand inside and gently stroked her cheek. He was thrilled when she turned her head in that direction. “Luna passed all of the routine tests so we have no concerns about her. You have a very healthy baby.” Nurse Lopez added. Carlos was glad about this. He liked to think he had done everything he could to support her during her his pregnancy and it hadn’t been easy. It had been a bit of a rocky start considering he didn’t even know he was pregnant initially.

“I can’t wait to take her home. The rest of my family are so excited to have her around to dote on.” Carlos said.

“She is going to be one loved little girl.”

“She’s going to be spoiled.” Carlos corrected. Nurse Lopez laughed at that. 

“Well, it doesn’t hurt.” Nurse Lopez smiled. Carlos knew at some point he would have to draw the line, he wanted Luna to know how loved she was, especially because Jannik wasn’t around to dote on her but he didn’t want her to grow up thinking she could have anything she wanted, whenever she wanted it.

Nurse Lopez took Luna out of the incubator and handed her over to Carlos who had removed his shirt so she could get the all important skin to skin contact. Luna just snuggled closer to him while remaining asleep. “Would you like to give her a bottle?” Nurse Lopez checked.

“Si, por favor.” Carlos replied. While holding Luna in one arm, Nurse Lopez talked him through making the bottle and how to hold her to feed her as well as burping Luna afterwards. It was a great and successful visit. Carlos just couldn’t wait until she was home with him.

“I’ll leave you two to it for now and will come back to check on you in a little bit.” Nurse Lopez told Carlos before making her exit.

“I love you so much, Luna.” Carlos whispered as he pressed a kiss to her red hair. She was so beautiful, the perfect mix of him and Jannik. Everything about her was perfect, even though Carlos couldn’t help but let his mind wander whenever he looked at her. Things could’ve been so different for them but this was the life they had and he was going to make sure it was the best for his little girl.

Chapter Text

After spending a week in the NICU, Luna was discharged and Carlos was allowed to bring her home. It was one of the best days. Carlos knew that his baby girl was going to get passed around the entire family as soon as he got home but he found that he didn’t really mind. Luna needed to know how loved she was because Carlos was the only parent that she had. Everything was making him question his decision to keep his pregnancy from Jannik but he could be stubborn. The more you tried to talk him into or out of something, the more he would stand his ground and refuse.

“There’s my granddaughter!” Virginia exclaimed. She didn’t even have to hold her arms out or ask to hold Luna before Carlos was handing her over. Carlos was the one who’d been spending all the extra time with her since she’d been admitted to the NICU so he couldn’t complain about the rest of his family wanting to hold her.

“It’s so good to finally have her home.” Carlos Sr added.

“She’s so tiny.” Jaime said.

“She’s lost a little bit of weight since she was born. Doctor Perez said that’s normal and all babies do it.” Carlos explained.

“If she’s not concerned then there’s no reason for anyone else to be.” Alvaro accepted.

“That’s what I thought, too.” Carlos smiled, watching as Virginia reluctantly handed Luna to Alvaro. Everyone wanted to hold her and give her cuddles. Carlos couldn’t really blame them, he’d be the one giving her cuddles if everyone else didn’t want them, too.

“She’s so quiet.” Sergio remarked.

“Yeah, she doesn’t get that from you!” Carlos Sr chuckled, turning to Carlos.

“No, she gets it from Jannik.” Carlos agreed.

“Poor thing.” Alvaro joked.

“I love it.” Carlos smiled.

“Since when were you and Jannik together?” Jaime queried. Carlos knew his little brother had a bit of a thing for Jannik. The family jokingly said that both Carlos and Jaime had a crush on the Italian. Carlos hoped that knowing Jannik was the other father didn’t ruin his little brother’s opinion of him. Even though what happened had happened, Carlos didn’t want Jaime to carry that. He still wanted his little brother to be a fan of the Italian. Carlos was.

“It was only for a little while. The end of July until early September.” Carlos replied.

“He’s the one who upset you.” Jaime added. Carlos had tried to hide how difficult he was finding life in the aftermath of the break up but obviously, Sergio and Jaime weren’t idiots. They were bound to have noticed that he wasn’t himself. He still wasn’t now. He was a different person and that was okay.

“It’s okay. You can still be his fan. I am.” Carlos assured.

“You are?” Sergio asked.

“Si, I love him. It doesn’t matter what happened between us, I still support him and want to see him do well.” Carlos explained.

“You’re a better man than me.” Alvaro joked.

“You’re my older brother, you’re allowed to be annoyed on my behalf. I’m allowed to forgive him and Jaime is still allowed to be a fan of his.” Carlos reasoned.

“You’re right, I am annoyed. Well, I’m more than that. How are you going to cope seeing him again when you return to the tour? It’s been a long time since you last saw him and you didn’t exactly part on good terms.” Alvaro acknowledged.

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out when it happens.” Carlos shrugged.

Carlos took Luna back from his papi and headed upstairs with her. He got himself settled on his bed, with his daughter fast asleep in his arms. Carlos knew it was a bad idea to get Luna used to sleeping in his arms considering the job he did and the fact that he wouldn’t be the only one taking care of her but right now, he didn’t care. She was his daughter and he’d spent the better part of a week without her. If he wanted to cuddle her while she slept then that’s what he was going to do.

When Luna woke up, she blinked at him a couple of times before scrunching her face up and whimpering. Carlos was hit by the smell and knew that she would need her nappy changed before he went downstairs to make her a bottle. Thankfully, she was a calm baby and just laid there while he changed her. He knew that it was possible for her to wriggle around and make things very difficult for him but she seemed to have both Jannik’s looks and his calm personality. She was absolutely perfect.

“Time for a bottle?” Virginia checked when Carlos wandered back downstairs.

“Looks that way.” Carlos replied.

“She’s not crying for one, though.” Carlos Sr remarked.

“No, she just screwed her face up at me and whimpered. Do you want to hold her while I make the bottle? I know I can do it one handed but-”

“Of course I do.” Virginia interrupted, holding her hands out for her granddaughter. Carlos had known that this was exactly what would happen. His mami was going to be the most amazing abuela and Carlos knew how lucky he was to have such a supportive family around him. Carlos had chosen to buy a prep machine so that he didn’t have to boil the kettle and wait for the bottle to cool down before giving it to Luna. It just made things that much quicker and easier. It wasn’t as though he could breast feed. Not that he would choose to do that even if he could, given how difficult that would make life for everyone else when he resumed playing tennis.

Carlos took Luna back into his arms and gave her the bottle as Virginia watched him fondly. She was so proud of him. The last six months had been really difficult on Carlos but he had handled it all with so much grace. He’d done everything he could to support Luna as best as he could. He adored his daughter, as did everyone else. It wasn’t going to be easy for Carlos to balance life with a newborn while also trying to return to tennis, but they would do whatever it took to support him. He didn’t need to give up on his dreams just because he’d had a baby at nineteen. 

His return to tennis was going to be a long process, Carlos hoped he might manage to be ready to play in time for the clay court season and as soon as Doctor Perez gave Carlos the all clear to start training again, that was what he would be doing. He was itching to get back out on court but for now, he would keep on soaking up all the time he had with his daughter.

Chapter Text

It had been three weeks since Luna had been born and Carlos had been given the all clear to resume playing tennis. He was thrilled and drove over to see Juanki with Luna in tow. His coach hadn’t seen his daughter since the day he’d given birth as Juanki had wanted to give Carlos time to settle in with her. “I wasn’t expecting to see you both today.” Juanki smiled, pulling Carlos into a hug.

“Would you like to hold her?” Carlos asked, getting Luna out of her car seat.

“I would love nothing more.” Juanki smiled as Carlos passed her over. Luna was growing quickly and it amazed Carlos that just a few weeks ago, she’d still been curled up inside his stomach. “How are you getting on?” 

“We’re good. Luna’s been given a clean bill of health and so have I. Doctor Perez said it’s safe for me to start training again. I don’t know if we’ll have enough time to get me ready to play in Monte Carlo but I want to try and return then.” Carlos explained.

“We can aim for that but I don’t want you to be disheartened if we don’t manage it. It only gives us five weeks to try and get you back to match fitness. We don’t know where your fitness levels are right now although your body looks to have been recovering well.” Juanki reasoned.

“That’s fine with me. I just want to get back to playing tennis. Don’t get me wrong, I love Luna more than anything and am so glad I decided to have her, but it sucks that I had to put my dreams on hold to have her.” Carlos commented.

“Having kids is all about sacrifices.” Juanki warned with a knowing smile.

“Don’t I know it.” Carlos chuckled. Luna was worth it and he would make the decision to have her a million times over but he was desperate to get back to tennis. In the months since winning the US Open, his entire purpose in life had changed from tennis to protecting his daughter while she was still safely in his stomach. Now that she had been born, he needed to regain his love and passion for tennis. He wanted to make Luna proud.

Over the next few days, Carlos headed to Juanki’s academy every day to work with his team on a timeline for returning to tennis. There was a lot to go over in order to make his return, especially since he had set his sights on Monte Carlo. It wasn’t going to be easy for him but he was stubborn and determined. Juanki certainly wasn’t going to bet against him. Especially since Carlos brought Luna with him every day and the team got to pass her around for cuddles and give her bottles. They had all doted on Carlos for years so him having a baby now meant that Luna got doted even more than he did.

It wasn’t easy, over the next couple of weeks, Carlos pushed himself to the limit to get himself back to where he had been before having Luna. To say he’d not long since had a baby, he was in great health but he’d done what he could throughout his pregnancy to make this transition back to tennis easier for himself. He still knew what his limits were and when to stop. They took more regular breaks but Carlos continued to get better and better.

“Do you think I’ll be ready in time for Monte Carlo?” Carlos checked. It had now been six weeks since he’d given birth and he wasn’t completely back to the way he’d been before giving birth, it would be a while before that happened but Juanki and the rest of Carlos’s team thought the only way for him to keep improving now was to get some matches under his belt.

“I think so. A couple more weeks at this level and the only way you’re going to continue to improve is to start playing and see how you get on when facing a real opponent. I just don’t want you to be disheartened if you lose early a few times.” Juanki smiled.

“Gracias!” Carlos exclaimed, pulling his coach into a hug.

“You’ve earned it. It’ll be good to get back out there, I have missed spending most of my time with you.” Juanki added.

“I need to talk to my family about what’s going to happen with Luna. I think she’s too young to fly to Monaco, well, to fly in general and I don’t want to expose her to anything while her immune system is still so weak. Jannik’s immune system is shit and she could’ve inherited that.” Carlos reasoned.

“Take the rest of the day off and see what they say.” Juanki suggested.

Carlos and Luna headed home, a spring in Carlos’s step. This was the best he could’ve hoped for. After Monte Carlo, he would be closer to home in Barcelona and Madrid. Carlos would be lying if he said he was terrified about the thought of seeing Jannik again but he would have his team by his side and Holger would be there, too. There was no way he would be left alone with Jannik if he asked everyone to make sure that didn’t happen. “Did you have a good day, baby?” Virginia asked as he walked through the door. Luna had fallen asleep in her car seat and Carlos was eager to get her upstairs and settled in her bassinet.

“Si, gracias. I’m going to put Luna down properly and then I’ll come and talk to you about it.” Carlos smiled. Virginia was so glad that Carlos had been able to return to the sport he loved, he had found life difficult to enjoy without it. Luna took no persuasion to transfer from her car seat to the bassinet, she was truly Jannik’s child in the way that she could sleep absolutely anywhere.

“What did Juanki say?” Virginia inquired as Carlos took the seat next to her on the sofa and curled himself up against her side.

“He thinks I’ll be ready to head to Monaco. The only way I’m going to keep continuing to improve is to play matches against proper opponents but I don’t know what to do. Luna is only six weeks old. She’s too young to follow me around the world and play tournaments but I can’t stay coped up at home any longer.” Carlos frowned.

“So, Luna can stay here with me. You’ll only be gone for a couple of weeks.” Virginia offered.

“I don’t want to leave her behind either.” Carlos sighed.

“It’s not forever, baby. As soon as she is around three or four months, she’ll be able to travel with you.” Virginia reasoned.

“I’ll have to hire a nanny to join us on tour. There’s no way I can practice, play and take care of a baby.” Carlos theorised.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Your papi and I have talked about this and I know he’s normally the one that follows you around the world alongside Alvaro but he’s offered to stay home with Sergio and Jaime so that I can come with you and care for Luna on the road. We are your family, we are her family. There is nothing we won’t do to help you live your dreams.” Virginia explained. Carlos couldn’t hold back his tears. He had the best family in the world.

Chapter Text

Carlos had known that he couldn’t avoid Jannik forever. He didn’t know if the Italian wanted to see him ever again but he would have to face the man sooner or later. Carlos was scared and he wasn’t afraid to admit it. “What can we do to make it easier for you?” Alvaro checked.

“Just, don’t leave me alone. Please.” Carlos requested.

“You want one of us to accompany you every time you’re not on court?” Juanki clarified.

“Yes, please.” Carlos said. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy to return to the tour. He hadn’t seen anyone besides Holger and Coco since New York and it wasn’t easy to just walk back in. Especially not when Jannik was here somewhere. Carlos had no idea how he was going to react the first time he saw the Italian. A lot had happened since that fateful day they had broken up, even though Jannik didn’t know about it.

Even though Carlos had missed so much of the season, he was still ranked in the top ten and was seeded in Monte Carlo. At least this meant he would be avoiding Jannik until the later stages of the tournament. He had no idea if or when they were likely to play against each other as he was just focusing on his next opponent. There was no need to get ahead of himself. This was his first tournament back. He had no idea how it was going to go.

“It’s so good to have you back!” Holger exclaimed, pulling Carlos into a tight hug. Carlos couldn’t help but smile. His close friend wasn’t the first person to say that to him, he’d actually received a lot of support from the other players, more than he had been expecting. Although he’d not heard from the one person he really wanted to. Probably because he kept himself surrounded by his team at all times. Jannik didn’t have a chance to get close enough to talk.

“Gracias, it’s good to be back.” Carlos smiled. He had missed this but he was finding that he missed being at home with Luna, too. It was going to be a difficult balancing act but Carlos needed time to figure out what would work best for him and his daughter.

Carlos was trying to keep an eye on Jannik, even though he didn’t really want to be near him, he couldn’t help the way that he was drawn to the Italian whenever they were in the same room. He noticed Jannik sitting with Jack Draper and couldn’t help but watch as they talked. Jannik caught him watching and offered Carlos a wave. The Spaniard quickly dropped his gaze and Alvaro turned around to see what had been holding his attention for so long. Carlos caught the glare that Alvaro sent the Italian’s way.

He made good progress through the rounds and soon enough, Carlos and Jannik both made it through their third round matches and would face each other in the quarterfinals. It wasn’t easy being so close but so far from Jannik in the locker room before they headed out on court but it was made a lot easier by the fact that Alvaro and Juanki were by his side. Jannik had Darren and Simone with him, probably because he knew that Carlos would have someone with him. 

It wasn't long before they were both being called onto the court. Carlos knew, in his heart, that he wasn't going to win this match. His heart wasn't in it and his team would be able to see that. Juanki would be furious, ever since he'd found out that Jannik was Luna's other father, the older Spaniard had been out for blood.

Carlos fought as hard as he could. He hated how much fun he was having. Jannik had always been one of his favourite opponents, no one brought out his best tennis like Jannik did. It only made his heart ache. All Carlos wanted to do right now was hold Luna tightly in his arms. It was a tough three set match, which Jannik won. Carlos was at peace with this result. It had only been a couple of months since he'd given birth and had returned to playing so he was happy about making the semis. It was a good result. Now he could return home and focus on Madrid.

“I am so proud of you.” Juanki beamed.

“I lost.” Carlos said.

“Yes, you did but you’ve just had six months off and making it to the quarterfinals is a great result. And you walked out on court to play against him. I know how much strength that took.” Juanki assured, pulling Carlos into a tight hug. His coach was right. It had taken a lot out of him, Carlos hadn’t been emotionally prepared to face Jannik yet but he had gone out there and done his best. No one could ask for any more from him.

“It wasn’t easy.” Carlos agreed.

“No, and it was never going to be but we can work on it. We know that this isn’t easy and we can prepare ourselves better for the next time you face him.” Juanki assured.

“He has a lot more matches behind him this year and that will definitely have helped him.” Carlos added.

“Do you want us to keep an honour guard around you at the next tournament, too?” Juanki checked.

“I don’t know. I think he wants to talk to me.” Carlos said.

“What gave you that impression?” 

“I was watching him talk to Draper the other day and he offered me a wave when he saw I was looking. It could mean nothing but maybe it’s time for us to clear the air.” Carlos shrugged.

“It’s completely your choice. We will follow your lead.” Juanki said.

“Gracias. You know, I’m a little glad that we’re done here.”

“Why?”

"I can't wait to get home to Luna. I didn’t know it was possible to love and miss someone this much and I owe you the biggest thank you ever for following me around the world when you have children of your own.” Carlos smiled.

“You know you’re my fourth kid.” Juanki conceded.

“Still, I appreciate everything you have done for me. Luna is my everything.”

“Then let’s get our stuff packed and we can grab an earlier flight.” Juanki suggested. Carlos held on tighter. Juanki had just been amazing since finding out about Luna, he was an honorary grandparent to the little girl although he just insisted on being Tio Juanki.

“That sounds amazing.” Carlos smiled. He knew that talking to Jannik was important. It was why he'd told his team not to join him in the locker room for this match, although maybe he should've waited until after the match. It didn't matter. Carlos had done well to make it to the semifinal in Monte Carlo, his first tournament back since having a baby. Now all he wanted to do was get home to her. He couldn’t wait to hold Luna in his arms again. At least the next couple of tournaments were in Spain so he wouldn’t be too far from his little girl. 

Chapter Text

"Hey, I forgot to say last week but it's good to have you back." Jannik said. Carlos could tell that it pained him to say that. Carlos had figured that Jannik wanted to speak to him based on the wave he’d given him last week in Monte Carlo but Carlos hadn’t been prepared to speak to the Italian then and had requested that either Alvaro or Juanki accompany him everywhere. He was a little terrified to be alone with Jannik given how things had gone the last time they’d been alone.

"You don't have to pretend we're friends, Jannik. I haven't heard from you since New York." Carlos scoffed. He was pleased to note that the Italian seemed quite taken aback. 

"You haven't been around since then! I've looked around for you but you've been out, injured." Jannik defended. 

"Was your phone broken?" Carlos queried. He knew that he was being quite harsh with the redhead but considering Jannik had left him brokenhearted and pregnant, Carlos felt like he was allowed to. 

"No. You're right. I'm sorry that I didn't reach out but I thought I'd be the last person you'd want to hear from." Jannik reasoned.

"Jannik, you are the only person that I wanted to hear from." Carlos said, softly. He wanted this conversation and the match to be over already. For his entire pregnancy, Carlos wished to hear from Jannik but he hadn't. Now, the Spaniard's priorities had changed. Nothing mattered to him more than Luna. She was his entire world. Sure, Carlos had chosen not to tell Jannik that he was pregnant in the first place but that had been self- preservation. 

"I-"

"Please stop talking. I can't do this. I can't stand here making small talk with the guy who broke my heart." Carlos frowned. 

“I'm sorry.” Jannik whispered. 

“It doesn't matter. I can't forgive you.” Carlos said. Jannik turned away from him and Carlos was very grateful for that. He wished more than anything that he hadn’t told his team to leave him alone. Juanki had been the younger Spaniard’s biggest support and he’d be furious that Jannik had apologised. Too little and far too late. Carlos was a different person now than he had been when he’d last seen Jannik. Carlos had a daughter and sure, she was Jannik’s kid too but since he hadn’t been there and Carlos had, Luna was his only priority.

Carlos was able to use the anger that he was feeling about Jannik to his advantage. Jannik seemed a little defeated from the moment he walked out onto court and even he couldn’t cope with a fired up Carlos Alcaraz, especially not on clay. Everyone on tour knew that this was the Italian’s least favourite surface.

"How are you feeling?" Juanki checked.

"Emotionally wrung out." Carlos replied. 

"He wanted to talk?"

"Yeah." Carlos sighed. 

"Did you clear the air?" Juanki queried. 

"Somewhat. I'm still not telling him about Luna. I know everyone thinks I should." 

"It's not that we think you should, she's your daughter and it is completely your choice. I don't think you'll be able to keep her hidden forever and as soon as he gets one look at her, he's going to know she's his." Juanki reasoned.

"I know. I was so happy that she got his hair but it doesn't half complicate everything even more than it already is." Carlos frowned. 

"We'll figure it out." Juanki assured, pulling him into a hug. 

Carlos didn’t know how he managed it, but somehow, he was the one lifting the trophy at the end of the fortnight. It hadn’t been an easy road and he faced some tough players along the way although thankfully for him, he wasn’t the only one returning to tour after having to take some time off and that definitely helped. He also thought that it was an advantage that he’d only been practicing on clay while the rest of the tour had been playing on hard courts.

Once the tournament was over, Juanki booked them on the first flight back to Murcia. They could have driven but getting a flight was much quicker and Carlos couldn’t wait to have his little girl back in his arms. He’d been able to think of nothing but holding Luna tight since he’d spoken to Jannik and he’d had to wait another few days.

The flight back home to Murcia was as smooth as it could've been. Carlos couldn't focus or sit still for the whole journey, far too eager to get home and cuddle his little girl. When they got to the house, Carlos flew inside without stopping to grab any of his bags. “Don't worry, I'll grab you shit!” Alvaro shouted, sarcastically. 

“Gracias!” Carlos shouted back. When he walked into the house, Carlos found Luna in his mama's arms.

“Look, Luna, papi's back.” Virginia said. She then handed Luna to Carlos who cradled her tightly, squishing the fox teddy she was clutching in between them.

“I missed you so much, baby.” Carlos whispered, pressing kisses to his daughter’s face and hair. “How has she been?” 

“She's a little angel. Nothing like you were at this age. She loves her sleep. You were a live wire from the moment you were born.” Virginia laughed.

“Yeah, she takes after Jannik in that department. He loves his sleep and can fall asleep just about anywhere.” Carlos chuckled. Even though he hadn't really wanted to hear it, it did feel better to have gotten an apology from the Italian.

“Did you talk to him?” Virginia asked, cautiously. She knew this wasn't an easy topic for him.

“Si.” Carlos sighed.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don't want to.” Virginia offered.

“I know, but it's not good to keep it to myself.” Carlos acknowledged. 

“That's a good way to look at it, baby.” Virginia smiled. She was so proud of the young man he was becoming. He'd been forced to grow up a little sooner what with having a baby at nineteen.

“He wanted to talk. I told him that he broke my heart. He apologised, said it was good to have me back.” Carlos explained.

“And how do you feel about that?” 

“I’m pissed. He couldn't pick up the phone to say that?” Carlos replied.

“Considering what happened between you, what he did, he might not have felt like he had any right to message you and ask.” Virginia reasoned.

“When Holger came to see me at the beginning, he told me that Jannik had asked him how I was doing.” Carlos admitted.

“I know it's probably not something you want to think about but it sounds like Jannik regrets what happened. Or at the very least he feels guilty about it.” Virginia offered.

“It’s too late. I can’t forgive him now.” Carlos frowned. “The thing is, if he’d just come to me or messaged me to say he was sorry and he regretted it, then we’d be raising Luna together. Instead, I feel like I can’t trust anyone. I can’t even begin to think about letting anyone get close to me like he did.”

“What’s your plan for when he finds out about Luna? There’s no way he doesn’t know she’s his just from looking at her. That and the dates add up.” Virginia asked.

“The dates don’t add up though, she was born two months early.” Carlos pointed out.

“He’ll know.” Virginia warned.

“And I’ll deal with that when it happens and not a moment before.”

Chapter Text

Carlos was actually quite excited to head to Rome. It was nearly time for the second grand slam of the year and Carlos had always enjoyed playing on clay. It was the ideal surface for him to make his return on. Not that he particularly preferred one surface over the others, he’d had the biggest success of his career so far on hard court after all. One of the biggest positives of playing in Rome was that he could see both Holger and Coco. He hadn’t managed to spend much time with either of them during Madrid, having been far too nervous about seeing Jannik again and since neither of them had seen him since he’d given birth, he figured it was long overdue.

“Carlitos!” Coco exclaimed, pulling Carlos into a tight hug the moment he opened the door to his hotel room.

“It’s so good to see you both.” Carlos smiled, pulling away from Coco and accepting a hug from Holger, too. He’d seen Holger briefly in Monte Carlo but had been so focused on avoiding Jannik and making it through each of his matches that he hadn’t spent time with him.

“How are you both doing?” Coco asked as the three of them made their way to the bed to sit down. Carlos made himself comfy by the pillows, as did Coco and Holger lay down at the end of the bed.

“We’re good. It’s difficult being so far away from Luna but my mami is going to bring her to Roland Garros so you can both finally meet her.” Carlos replied.

“Oh, I can’t wait for this!” Holger exclaimed. Carlos couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do you want to see some photos?” Carlos asked. He’d been a little reluctant to send photos to people knowing messages and social media could get hacked. Carlos really didn’t want anyone to find out he’d had a baby that way.

“Yes!” Holger and Coco shouted in unison. Carlos smiled, he would never just assume that anyone wanted to see Luna, although she was absolutely adorable.

Carlos pulled his phone out of his pocket while they moved around on the bed. Carlos was now squashed between Holger and Coco but he didn’t mind. The first photo he selected was the very first photo Virginia had taken, Carlos holding Luna, looking exhausted but happy. “She’s gorgeous.” Coco cooed.

“I think so but I’m a little biased.” Carlos laughed.

“It’s allowed, she’s your baby.” Holger reasoned. Carlos continued to flick through the photos, there were a couple hundred and he explained each one as he showed them. They both picked up on the fox teddy and Holger couldn’t help but groan. “A fox? Really?”

“Why not?” Carlos asked.

“It’s a little on the nose, especially considering it looks like you got your wish.” Holger commented.

“What do you mean?” Coco asked. Carlos sighed.

“I wanted her to look like her other father, even though I knew it would be really obvious who it was. The fox teddy doesn’t help.” Carlos explained.

“That must be really tough for you.” Coco sympathised.

“I still love him so…” Carlos shrugged.

“It can’t have been easy for you to see him again.” Holger offered.

“We’re talking about Jannik.” Carlos told Coco.

“I’d assumed as much but didn’t want to be rude.” Coco said.

“It’s very obvious. She looks just like him.” Holger added.

“I know!” Carlos exclaimed, half exasperatedly. “I have the same thought every time I look at her. It’s not been easy at times but I knew this was a risk when I said I was keeping her. Not that I ever thought about doing anything else.” Carlos grumbled but there was no real anger or disappointment behind it.

Carlos managed to pretty much avoid Jannik for the duration of the tournament but given it was the Italian’s home tournament, Carlos knew he would be spending a lot of time with his parents which was good for Carlos. It had been clear from their conversation in Madrid that Jannik at least wanted to try and be friends again, or at the very least be friendly. Carlos wanted that, too. He didn’t hate Jannik, as much as he wished he did at times. But it was still too soon for him. It might be a different story if he’d not missed so much of the last seven months being pregnant and having a baby but that is what had happened and no one could change it.

He made it to the third round, in the past, he would’ve been upset with a result like this but Carlos knew what he was doing wasn’t easy. Sure, he’d somehow managed to pull off the win in both Barcelona and Madrid but he knew that wasn’t going to happen at every tournament. He was only human, after all. After his loss, the team packed up all of their belongings and got ready to head to Paris in the morning. Carlos was excited, Virginia would be joining them with Luna. Carlos couldn’t wait to see his baby girl again, even though it had only been a couple of weeks. He was excited about having her here everyday after he finished his training or his matches and he could just cuddle her as much as he wanted to.

Carlos knew there was more chance of slipping up and someone finding out about her by accident now but he didn’t want to leave her in Murcia when he was the only parent Luna had. It wasn’t fair on him or her. Sure, he could’ve waited a bit longer to return to tennis but the longer he left it, the harder it got.

“There’s my perfect girl!” Carlos exclaimed as Virginia and Luna entered his hotel room. The hotel had been amazing, they’d made so many accommodations for him to be able to have Luna in his room. They were being paid a lot extra but Carlos still appreciated it. 

“It’s good to see you, too, baby.” Virginia joked as she passed Luna to her papi. She knew how difficult it must be for Carlos to have spent so much time apart from his daughter in the last few weeks. He absolutely adored his daughter, he was the most incredible papi. Luna was a very lucky girl.

“Sorry, mami.” Carlos apologised, adjusting his grip on Luna so that he could hold her in one arm and hug Virginia with the other.

“You know I was only joking.” Virginia laughed.

“Still, I have missed you as well as Luna. I really appreciate everything you, papi and the rest of the family are doing to ensure that I can still achieve my dream of playing tennis. You've all made so many sacrifices over the years.” Carlos smiled. Virginia just held him tighter.

“And we would do it all over again.” Virginia assured.

It was a lot easier for Carlos to focus on his tennis now that he knew Luna was so close. He enjoyed meals with his mami, Alvaro and Luna every night. Sometimes Juanki and Albert joined them, sometimes they didn't. Holger and Coco came to say hello as much as they could without telling their teams where they were actually sneaking off to. Carlos wasn't ready for everyone to know he'd had a baby so they weren't going to tell anyone.

Luna was absolutely amazing once the tournament started. She slept through the night, every night meaning Carlos always got as much sleep as he needed. His body naturally woke him a few times in the night and he just listened to the sound of his daughter breathing and it lulled him back to sleep. She was the most perfect baby.

Carlos progressed well through the draw. He was quite pleasantly surprised to make it to the semis, as we're the rest of his team. They were all just enjoying being back but it was obvious the hard work Carlos had been putting in since Doctor Perez gave him the all clear to return to playing was being rewarded. Unfortunately, because Carlos hadn't played long matches in a while, he started cramping up while playing Novak and lost in four sets. Carlos found that he wasn't actually that disappointed. It was something they needed to work on before Wimbledon and they had time. Now, it was time to head to London. Carlos was looking forward to playing on grass. He had a good feeling about the rest of his season if he was playing this well so soon after returning.

Chapter Text

After Roland Garros, Carlos and Virginia took Luna back to Murcia for a week for her four month check up and the vaccinations that she was due at this age. She was so well behaved and didn’t even whimper when they stuck the needle in her arm for the vaccine. Doctor Perez was pleasantly surprised, as was Carlos. Because Luna didn’t cry very often, it broke his heart to hear her when she did. They also discussed starting her on solids, as Luna was four months old, Doctor Perez could see no reason why she shouldn’t start on solids, she was hitting all the developmental milestones that she needed to be. As soon as this was over, they headed to London to prepare for Queen’s.

Carlos greatly preferred the natural surfaces. He loved clay, having spent most of his life playing on the surface but he also found he was enjoying the grass under his feet. He was just so grateful to be back on a tennis court and was savouring every single moment.

Still, it was a little complicated having Luna here with them in London because they rented a house near to the All-England Club. It was a lot easier than staying in a hotel. Although, this time it wasn't. At least at a hotel they could help the family be a bit more discreet about having Luna. It was going to be tough, Luna needing to stay more or less confined to the house. They were able to take her into the garden for some fresh air, it wasn't good to keep her cooped up in the house for nearly two months depending on how long Carlos managed to play at Wimbledon. 

The tournament at Queen’s Club went well, much to everyone's happiness. Carlos had focused all his energy on clay courts in the run up to his return since that was the surface he had been competing on upon his return. He'd not spent any time on a grass court since Wimbledon last year so the team didn't have particularly high expectations. In a way, this made things easier for Carlos. He had no pressure and he could play free of the expectation he would do well. He could just enjoy every match which was exactly what he did.

“I wasn’t expecting this when we arrived in London.” Carlos laughed as they sat down to dinner the night before he played in the final. Luna was already asleep in the bedroom he was using. She had turned four months old about a week ago and Carlos didn’t know where the time was going. She was growing so much and her hair had stayed the same fiery red it had been when she was born. The curls were becoming more and more pronounced as they days passed and Carlos knew people would make the connection between him and Jannik the moment they laid eyes on her. Jannik would also know immediately.

“Neither were we. You've only played on grass a handful of times.” Juanki agreed.

“Your game suits the natural surfaces well though.” Albert commented.

“I know I’ve got what it takes to win it. But I’ll be happy tomorrow regardless of the result.” Carlos smiled.

Not that anyone doubted him. When Carlos was the one to lift the trophy after a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Alex De Minaur, his smile was the brightest it had been since New York. Taking some time away from tennis had just renewed Carlos’s love and joy for the sport. It had seemed like a bad thing at the time, but it was the best thing that could've happened to him. And this win meant he would return to world number one, despite how much of the season he had missed.

Once Queen’s was over, it was time to prepare for Wimbledon. Carlos also knew it meant he was more likely to run into Jannik as the Italian played his grass warm up tournament in Halle but Carlos found his anxiety over seeing Jannik was now pretty low. He hadn't known what to expect from the Italian in Monte Carlo but he'd been civil and had offered Carlos a wave or a small smile. It was very unlikely their relationship would ever be completely repaired but Carlos was happy to try and be his friend again.

Still, he thought maybe it was time to start letting Jannik back in a little and over the week, whenever Jannik smiled or waved, Carlos would respond with a small smile or wave of his own. It was enough for now.

After winning the title at Queen’s Club, Carlos had a new found love for grass. It wasn't a surface that he hated, it was just the one that he was least familiar with. There weren’t many grass courts in Spain and the majority of the tennis season was played on hard courts or clay courts. There was only about six weeks of the year that they played on grass, three months on clay and the rest was hard court.

The night before Wimbledon began, Carlos was laying on the floor beside Luna who was enjoying tummy time. She loved being on her tummy and had started reaching for toys that were out of her grasp. Carlos watched fondly as she lay her head down, facing in one direction and then rolled herself over onto her back. “Who’s my clever girl?!” Carlos exclaimed, scooping her into his arms and holding her high above his head.

“What happened?” Virginia asked, walking through from the kitchen where she was making dinner for everyone.

“Luna rolled from her front to her back!” Carlos smiled.

“Oh, she’s growing far too fast! What a big girl.” Virginia beamed, moving closer so she could stroke a finger down her cheek. It was difficult at times, Carlos knew that it was best for Luna to be spending time on her tummy or engaging with toys but when he was home with her, all he wanted to do was hold her close but he didn’t because he knew this wouldn’t help with her development. 

“Ba ba ba.” Luna babbled.

“Ba ba ba.” Carlos repeated, much to Luna’s delight.

Once Wimbledon started, Carlos was spending less time with Luna but getting to come home to her at the end of the day made all of the difference. During the day, he was Carlos Alcaraz, professional tennis player and world number one. As soon as he got back to the house, he was papi. It was his favourite role.

Carlos was making good progress through the rounds, really taking in and savouring every moment that he spent out there in front of the crowds. He was tested a little in the third and fourth rounds, being pushed to four sets but he made it to the semifinals, mostly unscathed. This was his best performance at Wimbledon, having never made it past the fourth round before and he would be facing Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final. Carlos wasn’t worried, he knew he could handle the Russian’s game. He had nothing to lose and it showed in the way he played during the semifinal. Carlos was so excited, he couldn’t wait to play in his first Wimbledon final, and he wanted Luna to be there, too.