pairing: Portuguese!reader x Nathan Mbuku
summary: you keep catching Nathanâs eye
note: i kinda went too long on this one lolâ also NAWT google translating portuguese for this sorry yall
The stadium is too loud for you to be thinking straightâŠ
Drums. Vuvuzelas. Chants rolling like thunder through the stands, your countryâs colors painted across your cheeks, your voice already raw from screaming. You should be focused on the match on the way Portugal is pressing high, on the way the crowd surges every time the ball nears the box.
Instead, youâre staring at him
Heâs across the pitch during warm-ups, laughing with his teammates, completely at ease in enemy territory. His jersey feels like an insult against everything youâre wearing, everything you stand for, a challenge of some sort but yetâŠ.
Your eyes keep finding him.
âGirl, if you donât stop looking at him!â your friend nudges you hard in the ribs. âThat is literally the opposition.â
âIâm not looking,â you lie
She snorts. âYouâve been not-looking for ten minutes.â
You roll your eyes, forcing your attention back to the pitch just as the whistle blows for kickoff. The crowd erupts, and for a while, you let yourself get lost in it; every pass, every tackle, every near miss making your heart jump.
Until it happens, a foul. Right near your section.
Players converge, voices rising, tempers flaring and heâs right there in the middle of it. Jaw tight. Shoulders squared. Arguing in a language you donât fully understand, but in a tone thatâs universal, body language that needs no translation
Itâs not an accident. Not a passing look. A deliberate, lingering glaze that catches your breath as heâs caught your eyes
You look behind you, just to be sure he isnât looking at someone else. But when you turn back
Something shifts in his expression. The tension eases just a fraction, replaced by something almost amused.
Then his teammate tugs him away, the moment snapping like a thread pulled too tight. The game resumes, and you tell yourself that was nothing.
âfuckâ you say to yourself
You donât look at him again. The match ends in chaos, A late goal saves you a point, you should be in celebration, maybe anger at the fact that Portugal could have walked off with three points, yet your heart stutters and flutters at the sight of him pulling his jersey off, a handshake exchanged between himself and one of your players leaving your mouth dry, your eyes wondering, following the one drop of sweat that seems to journey down his chest, between his pecks, down his abs that contract with every word, every shaky breath
âLetâs go,â your friend mutters. âBefore I start throwing things.â
You nod, letting her drag you toward the exit with the rest of the crowd. The energy has shifted, heavier now, frustrated, buzzing with post-match tension.
You barely notice where youâre going until youâre suddenly⊠not with the crowd anymore.
âWaitââ you turn, but your friend is gone, swallowed by a wave of people moving in the opposite direction.
âGreat,â you mutter under your breath.
You step back, trying to reorient yourselfâand thatâs when you hear it.
Closer than heâs ever been,no pitch, no distance, no crowd separating you now. Just him, shirtless, a Portugal kit slung over his shoulder, still glowing from the match, eyes locked onto yours like earlier wasnât a coincidence at all.
âYouâre lost,â he says, accent curling around the words.
âIâm fine,â you shoot back automatically, lifting your chin. âI know where Iâm going.â
He glances around the empty corridor youâve somehow ended up in, then back at you, one brow raising.
You cross your arms. âShouldnât you be celebrating?â
His mouth tilts, not quite a smile, maybe a smirk? âI was.â
âAnd now?â you ask before you can stop yourself, your tone sharp
His gaze drops to your jersey. Your colors. Your loyalty, worn boldly across your chest. When his eyes lift again, thereâs something new in them. Something sharper.
âNow,â he says slowly, stepping closer, âIâm talking to you.â
Your breath catches, but you donât move. You refuse to give him that.
âYou just beat my team,â you remind him.
âYouâre not supposed to be likable.â
A quiet laugh slips from him, softer than you expect. âIâm not trying to be.â
âso what are you doing here?â you snap
Heâs close enough now that you can see the detailsâsweat beading along his temple, the rise and fall of his chest, the way his focus never wavers from your face.
âWhy did you keep looking at me?â you ask suddenly.
The question hangs between you, heavier than it should be, and he doesnât answer immediately either, chosing to study you, surveying what answer to give you
Finally, he says, âBecause you were looking at me first.â
âYou were,â he interrupts, not unkindly. âEvery time I looked up.â
You open your mouth to argue again, but nothing comes out.
A slow, knowing smile spreads across his face, and it does something unfair to your chest.
âThis is a bad idea,â you say, though you donât step back.
âProbably,â he agrees.
âSomeoneâs going to see us,â you say.
âThen I should walk you out,â he replies, already stepping aside, gesturing down the corridor. âMake sure you donât get lost again.â
ânoâ you say finally âbyeâ
he catches your wrist âwhat if i want to see you againâ
âthen youâll see me on Instagramâ you say simply, pulling your wrist back and walking away
as you make your way out one thing remains on your mind, he may have caught more than just your eye