a/n: hello!! this is something i posted to my old account before i deleted it. it's a repost just to get me going here before i start writing new stuff. feedback is appreciated and requests are heavily sought at this blog :)
warnings: some cussing, mentions of having kids, hate comments
synopsis: a collection of moments between pau cubarsí and y/n, hansi flick's daughter (who are incredibly in love)
hansi flick and his damn team building exercises had you tearing your hair out.
you weren't even part of the team, yet you were being dragged along to the beach at 5 am on saturday, when you should have been sleeping.
you felt so bad for the boys.
your dad made you come along to the barca morale-boosting, time-building bonfire (which was at the asscrack of dawn, for whatever reason) because he loved you and missed you when you were gone for university. he just wanted to spend time with you, and you loved spending time with your dad, truly.
but you loved your bed more.
well, like or not, you were in a tankini with a sweatshirt on top at 5am, yawning at the beach while the team slowly started to show up. you overheard lamine telling lewandowski he only showed up because he was scared of your dad.
it was crazy cold out, unreasonably so for a june morning, and you told your dad you wouldn't be going onto the beach until the sun came out.
you were sitting in your dad's car; he'd been unable to coax you out. you were on your phone watching tiktoks in a desperate attempt to wake yourself up. you looked out the window and saw pau cubarsí for the first time ever, looking like an angel with a golden halo, in a sea of rats.
of course you had seen him before. but this time, you really saw him. you noticed how he made a face when he got sand in his shoes, how he scratched his head when he couldn't see any of his teammates. his abs when his shirt lifted up whilst he yawned.
you watched him close enough to notice the sand get in his shoes.
then you realised you were watching him closely enough to notice that.
you were into one of your father's players.
it was barely past 5:30, but you were rational enough to know you couldn't date him. you didn't even have a chance with him.
but you were also just a girl.
you fixed your hair in the rear view mirror, straightened your necklace and pulled down your shorts. you scrambled out of the car and walked towards him, your hands in your sweatshirt pockets. "buenos días."
he saw you and smiled, relieved he wasn't alone. "oh, hola?" he didn't recognise you.
"i'm hansi flick's daughter. um, he and the team are over there, they're trying to build the bonfire." you giggled and then cringed mentally as you did so.
you weren't a middle school girl, you were a grown woman talking to one of your dad's colleagues. so what if he smelt really good and had really pretty eyes and tried to steady you when you tripped.
what if he looked like his initial belonged on a chain around your neck?
you led him to the team, smiled and waved, turning to make your way back to the car.
your best friend was about to get a whole lot of voice messages.
you were halfway back when pau jogged to catch up to you. "come sit with us."
"hmm?" you rammed your phone in your packet and smiled up at him. your heart was hammering. pau cubarsí wanted you to sit with him.
"yeah. i got your bonfire ready. you won't feel cold anymore, and um, you can borrow my jacket if you do." he rubbed his neck, smiling shyly at you.
you shuffled your feet. trying to look like you didn't think he was the prettiest boy you'd ever seen. buying more time with him. "oh, yeah sure." you nodded.
he smiled at you. when you walked back to the party your fingers brushed against each other.
you saw fcb's golden boy. you saw the way the rising sun hit his hair, making him look like an angel. his eyes were so soft and so kind. his hands were in his pockets and the string of his hoodie was chewed.
and one day, he would be yours.
now that your parents knew you and pau were together, your mom insisted on calling him over for dinner. to see if he was a good boy, good enough for her precious daughter. your dad wasn't insistent though, saying he already knew cubarsí and approved.
on friday at 5:30, pau cubarsí showed up at your house with a huge box of chocolates and flowers for you. his neck was flushed and he was fidgety, obviously nervous.
he whispered to you when your parents weren't paying attention. "my mom said i should get something for your family. i have no fucking clue what i'm doing." you giggled, patting his cheek. "stay anxious. today determines if you're allowed to keep seeing me or if you're going to have to become my secret lover." pau groaned, and you laughed harder.
but you were the one speechless during dinner.
he had perfect manners, he discussed politics with your mom, helped your dad set the table, talked to your little sibling about school. he held your hand under the table.
he belonged there. he belonged with you and your family.
he belonged in your life.
when he left after dinner, you walked with him to his car. your dad closed the curtains, winking at you. giving you your privacy.
you were so grateful for life in that moment.
you were holding pau's arm and he kept telling you how some stupid story about his sister's boyfriend's dog. you reached his car and he leaned against the door, raising his eyebrows at you. "so, was i good enough today?" he smirked.
you sighed and hugged him, kissing his neck. "hmm," you said, and nothing more. you just leaned agaisnt him and he hugged you back, cooing at you like you were the softest, most delicate thing he'd ever held.
"don't go," you mumbled, looking up at him. he pulled you even closer, kissing your hair. "i'll see you tomorrow, love. i'll take you out to lunch, okay?"
you made eye contact with him again. "don't go, pau."
he groaned. "don't look at me like that, angel. joder."
the crickets were chirping. you could hear teenagers racing home, their mothers scolding them for being late. you neighbours were watching a movie; they always turned the volume up too loud. the sun had half set. birds flocked home to their lovers or parents or children.
you didn't say anything, just stayed in his arms and he held you, not saying anything either. he hummed some song from his childhood and you uncomplaningly drowned in his love.
you didn't even know where these people got these clips of pau looking at you from across the room, of you helping pau walk after he got hurt, of you guys laughing during an event. small moments you didn't even remember.
people loved you and pau, for the most part. but today, you saw the first hate comment.
it was on twitter. obviously. it was a somewhat unflattering picture paps had taken of you, and the caption said something like pau couldn't do better than this gold digger.
you gasped, immediately sending the tweet to pau. you were not a gold digger, thank you very much. you were the one who paid for dinner most times, actually, though it was mostly to annoy pau who insisted on paying every single time.
you felt more offended than you should have. you knew he person who made the post was probably a stupid low life, but why would they choose to pick on you?
pau's reply came immediately. theyre probably just jealous of you 🤪
you smiled, not missing any oppurtunity to create banter. you texted back. i beg your pardon?
pau called you. "so how do you feel being a proper celebrity now?"
pau laughed silently. "yeah, now that you're getting hate comments it means you've made it reallyyyy big. absolutely huge. you're probably more famous than me now."
you rolled your eyes. "right, sure. would you like an autograph?"
pau pretended to sound serious. "yes please, i'll have you give it to me when i take you out tonight."
you hummed. "you're taking me out because you're my sugar daddy, right?"
"absolutely, you're just with me for my money."
you rolled your eyes again, but you were grinning. you could hear pau smiling too. "mhmm. love you pau."
pau told you he loved you more and then cut the call. you smiled. pau was perfect. he made you stop feeling sad before you even had an oppurtunity to.
you opened instagram, looking to scroll for a bit. you clicked on pau's story, wondering what he had posted since you had just been talking. it was a screenshot of the tweet calling you a gold digger simply captioned bullshit.
you heart did somersaults. you were absolutely, thoroughly in love with pau cubarsí.
pau had never been big on celebrations. he was quiet and shy, and he wasn't fond of drinking. he would much rather be at home, under his blankets with his phone in hand and head on your lap, thank you very much.
barca had just won a big game, a clasico. barcelona would go up in blue and red flames of alcohol, party poppers and music. the whole team would join in.
the players were exiting the pitch in their cars, signing autographs on their way out and answering interviews.
pau signed every jersey, every picture of him uncomplainingly but still wishing he could speed up time and come home to you.
a little boy gushed over pau, clumisily trying to grab his hand. pau smiled at the boy, shaking his hand, vaguely aware that he was being recorded. the boy's mum collected him, pulling him into her lap and planting a kiss onto his forehead. "have you every thought about having kids, pau? you're great with them."
his eyes fell on his phone, his lockscreen of you sitting on a bench eating ice cream in the moonlight wearing his tshirt. pau noticed you had rather lovely hair.
he would love to see a little girl running around the pitch behind him.
one with your hair and his eyes.
one who had his nose and your lips.
he smiled softly at the woman, fingering his ring, the one that had your initials. "yeah. i think so."
you couldn't understand why he kept sending you reels of cute chubby babies for a month after that.
