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zaeliaeve · 5 months

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A/N: not really proof read, sorry for any mistakes. Missed you guys! Let me know what you think.

2009

Surprise, surprise.

The Real Madrid squad had returned again with another victory and it was only smooth sailing from there. The media was eating up absolutely everything they did, and now it was talks about how could anyone stop this sudden new force?

After that night at the bar the dynamics hadn't changed much there was a noticeable difference of lightness, like Catalina wasn't like a deer in headlights at the sight of Sergio anymore, and they were more and a even level.

The entire team was looser now, and now it was growing into a family like dynamic. Inside jokes and horrible nicknames, it was a good time to be apart of Real Madrid.

The team were flying back from yet another game, tired but victorious. Not like they expected anything less.

Catalina had gotten a bit more accustomed to flying now, only really getting anxiety during landing and takeoff, which was a big improvement from her first flight.

She found herself scrolling through the hundreds of pictures she took at the away game as Karim sat to her right loudly grumbling at some game.

She was so focused she didn't notice the footsteps of someone in front of her. "Switch me seats" Sergio tapped Karim on the leg; pillow and blanket stacked in his hands.

Karim looked up from his vintage Gameboy up to the defender with confusion. "Why, Gordo?"

"Because I said so."

The Frenchman tsked at his answer and pulled his head back into the game "Gotta give me a better reason than that, and throw in a please too while you're at it."

Sergio rolled his eyes and clutched his white fuzzy blanket tighter, his knuckles turning white. "You can be petty all you want but Raúl wants to bet you in Escoba so move."

Karim shoulders perked up at the mention of the game and he eagerly switched the off button on his Gameboy. "Fine, I'll go then but I still want to hear you say please."

"Chúpame la verga" Sergio sneered back, earning a laugh from the forward who stood up from the seat.

"Yeah, whatever crybaby."

With that, Sergio slipped into the seat comfortably and spread his blanket across his lap. Catalina looked over at the Spaniard and greeted him with a small hello, eyes brightening up.

Sergio reciprocated the greeting warmly as he settled into his seat, laying the blanket over his legs. Catalina set down the book she was reading into her lap, growing tired of the stillness of being in an airplane. "Let's play a game." Catalina suggested causing Sergio to turn his attention to fully to her.

"Sergio are you sitting on my jacket?"

"No, and I'm counting that as one of your questions."

Catalina let out an offended gasp. "That totally doesn't count."

Sergio put his hands up as if it out was out his control. "I don't make the rules, I just follow them. Looks like you only have 6 questions left."

Her ponytail bounced as she shook her head. "You absolutely do not follow the rules, like ever! That's so unfair."

"So is life, sweetheart."

Catalina let out a huff of defeat, avoiding the loud thudding in her chest that seemed to happen whenever the defender was around- much to her dismay. "It's my turn now, since you just went. Hold on, let me think of a good one." Sergio paused for a couple seconds before continuing.

"When is the last time you fought with someone?" Sergio asked seemingly genuinely interested to know the answer.

"With you, like 30 seconds ago." Catalonia easily answered.

Sergio raised an eyebrow. "You call that a fight?"

"Yes I do actually and I'm counting that as another question too by the way." Catalina beamed, proud of herself for being able to get payback.

He let out a small whine before faking applause and a bow. "Okay, okay you got me. Go on then, it's your turn." Sergio conceded easily.

"What's your blood type?" Catalina asked just to get a reaction from him, but he didn't even bat an eyelash .

He didn't have to think about it before answering "White, black, and gold."

Catalina let out a giggle and crinkled her nose. "You're such cornball sometimes. The team definitely payed you to say that."

The words bounced off of him like nothing, his smile never faltering.

"Five questions left." She reminded him with a smile.

Sergio took another couple seconds to decide what exactly he wanted to ask but grinned like the Cheshire Cat when he came up with one."Who's your favorite on the team?"

"I have no favorites, I like everyone equally" Catalina responds instantaneously, but she knows Sergio won't accept that answer.

He clicks his teeth with disapproval, arms folding together loosely. "We promised to be honest to each other in this game. You should just tell the truth and admit it's Kakà."

Catalina hums as she takes a moment to really consider her options but would feel guilty truly landing on anyone. Of course there are ones she speaks with more than others but at the end of the day this is her job and she's on a good level with them all.

But, after all it was Sergio and he wouldn't be satisfied until she gave an answer, even if it was a cop out one. "I really like shooting Cristiano. He's very photogenic and never turns me down when I ask if I can take pictures of him." Catalina said honestly, purposely avoiding the word favorite.

"He never turns you down for pictures because he'll take any opportunity he can to stare at himself" Sergio quips back teasingly.

Catalina figured it's best to say nothing else and move on. "It's my turn!"

"When's your birthday?" Catalina asks with her head tilted.

Sergio closes the airplane window halfway with one hand as the sun sets, the once bright blue sky now a strong orange color that was so vibrant it was almost blinding to his eyes. "March 30th" he answered, eyes squinted.

She stuck out her lower lip as to say awww. "You were almost a spring baby."

"When's yours?" Sergio asks back.

"September 27th."

Sergio's eyebrows raise. "That's a week away, why didn't you say anything before?"

Catalina shrugs her shoulders. "I don't really do much for it anyways, it's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal, you only get one birthday a year and you should celebrate getting to that age- coming that far and having made it though all. Your family and friends should be there to enjoy a special occasion like that. It's important that you don't let your youth pass you by and you take the time to enjoy it with those who matter most. " Sergio protested his tone dropping now from lighthearted to serious.

She couldn't help but grin at him, putting both hands above her heart and clutching. "That's very sweet-"

"Cállate y hazme más preguntas."

Typical Sergio. Catalina laughed and moved on as if nothing happened, but it stayed in the back of her mind.

One week later and on the actual day of Catalina's birthday not much had happened. Her parents had offered to take her up to Barcelona so they could go see their extended family for her big day, but maybe it was her newfound general distaste for Barcelona that was being instilled in her through her job or her plain introverted heart but she decided to stay home while the rest of her family gallivanted up to Catalonia.

She had received short birthday well wishes from them however, for which she was still grateful for. The entire day was spent living her normal routine, shooting for the Madrid team and going home but this time to an empty house.

No one on the team had known, her not mentioning it to anyone and no one saying anything until her uncle had told her " Feliz cumpleaños!" while she was still setting up her camera. and it ended there.

Catalina tried to keep her mind focused on other things, trying to assure herself that this was like any other day, just a day that she just so happened to be born on, but Sergio's words kept ringing in her head even though a week had passed.

Don't let your youth pass you by.

Is that what she was doing? She was sending herself into a doom spiral of harsh thoughts all centered in her loneliness, all centered on her inner insecurities.

Am I content being alone or am I so used to it that it doesn't even bother me anymore? She had thought.

Luckily, the day was almost over and she could just go to sleep then pretend this day never happened until the next year when the spiral will start once again. That was until she heard loud knocks at her door while she was lying on her couch snuggled up in a heavy blanket.

It had scared Catalina like it would scare anyone else getting an unexpected visitor in the night, but the moment she looked through the glass in her door her worries were relieved.

The first thing out of Sergio's mouth isn't an explanation or even a hello. But then again, Sergio was never one for many pleasantries."Twenty-two now? I'm gonna have to get you a walking cane and reading glasses next year " His lips are upturned in a playful grin.

Catalina's shoulders slumped down and she released a sense of tension that she hadn't realized she was carrying all day. "Did you forget you're a year older than me, abuelo Ramos?" Her smile was now matching his, wide and teasing.

"Right, that means I'm your elder so you have to respect me and do as I say" Sergio chuckled before his eyes dropped down to her pale pink pajamas with cartoon characters plastered all over them from head to toe.

Catalina could practically feel his eyes burning holes right through her, she felt naked and exposed in a way that made her want to hide. "Bugs Bunny, cute. It suits you" He piped with a halfway smirk.

She felt her cheeks heat up and suddenly found it hard to make eye contact, aiming to look closer to the ground now. "Thank you. I obviously wasn't expecting to see you or I would have put on something a bit less..." she struggled to find the right words. "-childish." Is what she finally settled on.

He shook his head like it was nothing. "You can wear whatever you want it's your day, birthday girl." She could practically feel his eyes burning holes through her body.

"Only for another thirty minutes" She reminded him, crossing her arms together in an attempt to hide the cartoon characters plastered all over her torso.

Sergio smiled brightly and held up the white plastic bag that he had been holding in his hand. "Then I came just in time. I have candles, jello, whipped cream, and sprinkles. The only store open didn't have any cake so I had to improvise."

Catalina's eyebrows raised, her lip pouting out with surprise. "For me?"

He scrunched his nose and feigned looking around for another person. "Who else?"

The door creaked as it was pushed open to make room for Sergio, Catalina happily stepped to the side. "Come on in."

Sergio smiled at her and stepped inside, taking his shoes off as he entered the house leaving him in his socks. They gathered at her dining room table, Catalina running into the kitchen to get utensils and plates while Sergio took out each item from the bag.

"I cannot believe you actually came here. That you put in all this effort just for me. Thank you Sergio." Catalina told him as she set the plates down at the table.

He shrugged like it was the easiest thing in the world. "Maybe your uncle will bitch at me a little less when I fuck up if he sees me running around the whole city for his niece" his tone is deadpan and his eyes trail up from the jello to look at her.

Catalina stills for a moment and he watches as her face drops, eyelids wide and lips parting slightly. Sergio brings his knuckles up to her nose and squeezes lightly, a small laugh escaping him. "Relax, kitty Cat. It's a joke. This is our secret so let's just keep it between us, okay?"

Her eyes lighten up and the corners of her lips perk back up. "Okay, deal."

Sergio's gaze drops as he spreads the whipped cream onto the gelatinous dessert. "That's settled then. Now, be a good girl and take a seat in the big chair so I can sing you happy birthday."

The jello cake had been better than expected, the both of them managing to scarf down almost all of the pretend cake with just the two of them.

They chatted for a bit about work, both of their yawns becoming more consistent until it became evident that his time there was coming to an end.

This was such a grand gesture, such a nice thoughtful thing to do she didn't know how to address it properly, especially not with someone like Sergio.

He wasn't one for mushy-gushy things but it felt appropriate in a circumstance like this. As they talked about next weeks schedule for the team, she found her mind slipping into what exactly to say to him.

It must have been Catalina's nerves that got to her, because by the time he was getting out of the chair to go to the front door she still couldn't muster up the courage to say what she wanted to, not that she even really knew what that was.

Sergio gave her a quick hug goodbye before he was out the door, Catalina left alone in her thoughts as the door shut behind him

Her thoughts kept getting louder and louder before a big wave of adrenaline it her, and all she could think was run!

" Wait-" Catalina called as she ran out of her house, barely having time to throw on slippers before she chased him down the sidewalk.

Sergio turned around on the heals of his feet, stopping directly in his place as he watched her charge towards him. His eyebrows knitted together with confusion, assuming maybe he forgot his keys of wallet, but she only kept running like it was the most urgent matter in the world.

Once she got half a step away from him, she stuck her arms out and wrapped her arms around him tightly, burying her head in his chest. Sergio froze for a moment out of pure surprise, but Catalina didn't let go.

The hardness of his chest pressed up against her cheek and the warmth of his body melted her soul and made her mind fuzzy.

Overcome with emotion, her vision became blurry and she let out a shaky breath. "This birthday was the most lonely day of my life, and you came when I really needed it. It felt like everyone forgot about me, and I thought I didn't care but now I know I do. I'm so grateful you came, thank you."

It was as if the breath was knocked out of Sergio by her words, his breathing slowing down. "Catalina" Sergio called softly.

His hands laced in her hair as he held her smaller frame, scratching lightly at her scalp in an attempt to soothe her. In all honesty he was unsure of what to say, on what he could possibly say to make the situation better.

He thought carefully before speaking again. "I did it because I wanted to. Because that's what friends are for."

Friends?

The word brought a smile to her face so strong she don't think anything could break it.

"I really don't know what to say, this is just so unbelievably kind-" she started before being pulled into something hard, muffling her voice.

Sergio squeezed her tightly into his chest and kept going until she was squirming in his grip, letting out a quiet whine. His chest heaved as he laughed over her screeches.

Once he got the reaction he was happy with, he squeezed her a bit tighter before letting her go. Catalina let out a gasp of air and pushed his sides lightly. "Why do you like to torture me?" She wasn't annoyed at all, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Because I like how you look when you pout."

He even didn't have to look at her to know what her reaction was, her dark round eyes now wide and lips agape and he wasn't wrong.

"Get some rest, Goodnight, birthday girl" Sergio bent down and pressed his soft lips against each of Bianca's cheeks, lingering a beat longer on the last cheek before pulling away nonchalantly, flashing his straight teeth to the girl.

Although it was a common way to say hello or goodbye in their shared native land, it made her chest warm and her breath hitch in all the best ways. "Goodnight, drive safe."

They gave one last small wave before he turned around to go to his car again, this time Bianca not stopping him as he disappeared off into the black night.

Catalina showed up to the training grounds like any other day, a special white badge dangling from her neck and a dark black camera bag strapped firmly to her side.

Something seemed to be off though. From the moment she stepped into the building everyone was acting off, gaze lingering a bit too long or not long enough. Even the security guard made her feel out of place, which was something that she hadn't felt in a while with that team.

Not to mention half the players seemed to be gone, suddenly all disappearing off into different rooms or quietly running through the back hallways. "Catalina!" Marcelo exclaimed once she stepped onto the pitch, jogging over to her.

His overexcited tone startled her, causing her to jump a bit before making eye contact with the left-back. "Oh hey, how are you?" She smiled at him before going to open her camera bag to start getting her stuff out.

"I'm great! The real question is how are you? " Marcelo emphasized, his eyebrows knitting together with concern.

Weird. Catalina raised an eyebrow but nonetheless didn't push on the matter further. "I'm feeling okay, just a bit tired from last night."

Marcelo pressed his lips together inquisitively. "What were you doing last night?"

She froze at the question, starkly remember Sergio's direct instructions to not mention their time together the night prior. There was a slight pause as she tried to think of a quick excuse, landing on the first thing that game to mind. "I was folding my laundry."

He didn't seem to buy it, and her tone didn't help much either. "All night?"

She faked a sense of casualness shrugging her shoulders. "I had a lot of laundry."

It was obvious that it was best to change the subject because there was no hope of saving it, not to mention the quietness of the field was so uncharacteristic that it became loud- an eeriness hovering over the pitch."Where is everybody? We're missing so many people it feels like a ghost town."

"Some are getting their physicals. I've already done mine so-" He stopped mid-sentence his eyes following elsewhere behind her, whatever was happening back there clearly throwing him off guard.

Catalina craned her neck to look at the distraction but Marcelo quickly grabbed her shoulders to grab her attention again, shaking her rapidly. "Don't you just love Real Madrid? The best team in all of Laliga, no, the whole world! Hala Madrid! ...y nada más" He practically jumbled out.

She awkwardly laughed, letting herself be shaken. "Hala Madrid but why the sudden team spirit?"

Marcelo stopped shaking her abruptly and his hands fell to his sides. "Not sure, just felt a surge of it run through me all of a sudden."

With that, he went back to practice like nothing happened.

Another fifteen minutes passed but at least these minutes were mostly normal, her snapping a few pictures of Raúl doing a few crossbar shots and him jokingly asking her to delete the ones of him completely missing completely.

At least he wasn't being weird today, she thought.

"Cat!" A voice called, although she didn't have to look up to recognize from the voice that it was Kaká.

She got one last fast snapshot of the players practicing before turning her head to him, He swung his hand implying for her to come to him, a wide smile greeting her kindly. It was hard to ever say no to such kind eyes.

Catalina was there in a flash, pushing her camera into her bag and zipping it shut. "Hi," she said once she was in front of him.

He laughed a bit and his eyes met hers. "Hey."

There was a pause before he asked, "Do you want to get lunch with me? Pretty much everyone is gone and I don't want to eat alone."

Her lips pulled into a downward smile, "Nice to know I'm your first choice."

Kaká ignored her teasing sarcasm and responded genuinely. "Don't be like that, I really do like spending time with you."

"Did I hear about lunch? I'll come too!"

"Me as well."

Suddenly Raúl and Marcelo were trailing behind the pair as they walked down the hallways, Cat not noticing as a few more people joined in as well. Kaká slipped his way behind Catalina at some point, her serving as the head of this randomly formed human snake of people behind her.

She pushed the heavy cafeteria door open and the moment she did multiple loud pops went off, bright rainbow colors flying so much it almost blurred her vision.

"Feliz cumpleaños!"

There awaited Karim, Cristiano, Casillas, Xabi, Pepe, and the other members of the team along with a few of the coaches and staff holding balloons, confetti poppers, and wearing cheesy multi-colored birthday party hats, a big streamer hung above their heads.

They looked happy as can be, screaming her name and using the last of the confetti. It was like they won their first game all over again, pure electricity and good energy filling up the room so much it might explode.

Tucked in the corner was Sergio with a used confetti cannon in hand, grinning proudly as Catalina yelped in shock before screeching with pure joy, throwing her arms around the first person she saw who just happened to be Kaká.

He laughed hardily and wrapped his arms around her, patting the top of her head. "I needed an excuse just to get you in here. Poor Marcelo had to rough you up just to distract you while I was bringing in the cake" He explained into her ear.

It all made sense now.

All the weird whispers, disappearing teammates, loud silences. It wasn't all for nothing. They took the time to do everything for her.

It makes her eyes prickle with tears. This was the sense of community she was searching for her whole life, and it felt like it was finally in her hands.

"Thank you so much for everything, I don't even know how to thank you." Catalina grinned brightly.

Kaká shook his head, his famous caring smile still pulling at his cheeks. "No, don't thank me. It was our fault for not knowing in the first place. I promised I wouldn't tell whose idea it was to have this party, and I am a man of my word."

In the corner of her vision, she could see Sergio watching her with a glint on his eye.

#for those who missed it #hugs #took me forever i’m sorry

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zaeliaeve · 6 months