𝐿𝑒𝓎𝓁𝒶 𝒴.🌙

-

He immediately grabbed his jacket and left in no time, not even considering the fact that it was freezing or late. The cold weather bit at his face as he sprinted through the busy streets to find you. Despite the busyness of the city, the park was questionably empty. No one else was there apart from you at that hour. But that was the reason why you went there in the first place. 

The closer Arthur got to you, the slower his pace until he was in front of you “y/n?” he called, out of breath.

“Why are you here?” you ask, avoiding his gaze. You couldn’t face him. Not like this, like a mess. 

He crouched down in front of you to meet your gaze, his hands resting on your knees. “Because I care, baby.”

Your eyes red from the litres of tears you’d cried in the past couple of hours. “It’s not worth it, Arthur. No matter how much I try to get myself together, for myself, for my family, for you, I fail. I can’t figure it out. I’m just too… broken. You deserve someone much better Arthur, someone who is not-“

“Hey, hey, cherie” Arthur interrupted you. He lifts a hand from your knee to cup your cheek. “I don’t care how broken you think you are. I’m not going anywhere.”

Your vulnerability was fully displayed as you cried even more at his words. Tears pouring like a waterfall. 

He got up to sit next to you on the bench, as he wrapped his arms around you in a hug. “Only I get to decide what I deserve, and I want you. I choose you, I always will.”

His words manage to calm you down a bit, the realisation that you weren’t entirely alone after all settling in. For the first time that night you managed to let yourself relax (at least as much as you could). Yet despite this, the doubts still lingered. “What if I disappoint you?”

“You aren’t a disappointment. Not to me, not to any one. I am proud of you.” he whispered softly in your hair. 

You allowed yourself to lean into embrace, letting his words sink in as you buried your head into his neck looking for warmth. Arthur notices, and takes off his jacket, handing it to you. “You must be cold. Who knows how long you have been here.”

Too tired to protest, you let him wrap his jacket around you. The warmth of it immediately engulfing you adding to the comfort of Arthur’s arms. The two of you sat silence for a while, neither wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere. 

But when you start to drift off on Arthur’s shoulder, exhausted from crying, he pulled away from the hug a bit to look at you. 

“Let’s go home, yeah? You need to rest.” he said, slowly helping you up.

You made your way home, hand in hand under the moonlight. The night had been hard, but with Arthur by your side, better days didn’t seem so far away.

You were scrolling through TikTok, like always, until you stumbled across a TikTok of a couple doing the “boy who is jacked and kind” trend. Intrigued, you went on the sound to see more videos. Beside you, Rúben looked up from his own phone, to see why the same audio was playing over and over.

“What are you up to?” he asked a bit suspicious. 

You tilted your phone towards him, showing him the latest trend. “We have to do this.” you insisted.

Rúben leaned closer, “You want me to do that?"

“Obviously,” you said, already on your feet. “You are made for this - ‘Jacked and kind’, that’s literally you.”

“Are you questioning my strength?” he smirked, clearly amused.

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help the grin on your face. “So, are you doing it, or are you scared?” 

“Scared? It’s like you don’t know me at all.” he said, this competitiveness ignited.

Rúben gets up as you prop your phone up on the vase of a nearby cabinet. He stretched his arms, showing off, to tease you some more before stepping closer behind you. 

“Don’t you dare drop me!” you warned him before starting the TikTok. 

“Never.” he reassured you. 

As Sabrina’s song echoed from your phone. Rúben came up behind you, and secured his arms around your thighs. He lifted you effortlessly off the ground and onto his shoulder like you weighed nothing. Your hand gripped his other shoulder for balance, laughter bubbling out of you. Rúben grinned smugly as he showed off his guns for the video. 

To be honest, you were enjoying this more that you would have liked to admit. 

When the recording ended, he set you back onto your feet. Both of you walked over to the phone to see the end result and you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face as you watched your boyfriend lifting you like you were the lightest thing in the world. 

“See? Perfection.” he said with pride.

You quickly pressed your lips together faking disappointment, as an idea popped in your head. “Hmm… it’s off beat. We didn’t get the timing right. But it’s okay.” 

His eyes darted from the video to you. “No no no, I don’t do things okay.” 

“Seriously it’s fine” you tried to play it off by reassuring him. “No one will notice.”

“Give me your phone” he was not having it. He took it and set it up again to retake. “We are redoing this.”

You couldn’t contain the grin that made it’s way onto your face from excitement. The truth was, you loved watching him show off his strength, and being lifted like that made you feel giddy. Like a teenage girl with her celebrity crush. 

Rúben however caught up quickly on what you were trying to do. “... you little shit.” 

“Huh?” you asked, faking confusion. 

“We weren’t actually off-beat, were we? You just wanted an excuse for me to lift you again.” 

“No…” you lied, slightly blushing at the fact that you got caught. “I said it’s okay but you insisted.”

“Oh, so I’m the problem now?” he teased, “Come here…” 

Before you could protest, his arms were around your thighs, as he lifting you in the air again. 

As the recording ended, he put you back down to watch the video. He crossed his arms and looked at you expectantly. 

“Jacked and kind indeed.” you thought out loud, not hiding your admiration.

He leaned closer, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you into him. “Only for you,” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to your temple. 

taglist: @httpsdana

Things had changed between you two. It was nothing dramatic. No big fight or disagreement, just a dull emptiness that replaced the connection you once had. You got too caught up in your own life and insecurities to even notice. So close, yet so out of reach.

Pedri laid wide awake in his bed, staring out the window at the beautiful Barcelona skyline, wondering when he got to the state he was in right now. Long sleepless hours, filled with thoughts and regrets that drove him crazy. He didn’t exactly know what he had done wrong. But there must have been an explanation as to why you left.

His phone on the bedside table mocked him with its silence. He grabbed it and for the umpteenth time that night his finger hovered over your contact, before setting it back down and sighing into the darkness of his empty bedroom. 

He missed you. The way your perfume lingered in his flat, even after you left reminded him of you, and it was killing him slowly inside. 

Pedri couldn’t get himself to call you; not in the state he was in. He desperately needed to see you.

You were sitting on the couch with a cup of tea, reading your book. Yet, you found yourself rereading the same page multiple times, unable to focus on the words. Your thoughts drifted to a certain Spanish brunette.

You jumped at the sound of doorbell ring. Who could it be at this hour? You asked yourself in denial because deep inside you knew who it might have been. 

“Pedro.” you said, his name stuck in your throat, as you opened the door.

He stood in the hallway of the building blankly staring at you, looking worse than ever. The shadows under his eyes more prominent than they already were, his hoodie wrinkled, and his hair messy. His posture reminded you of a lost puppy. It looked like he had cried, eyes red and puffy. Did he really let himself go like that? 

He stared as if you would disappear if even moved his eyes ever so little. You on the other hand tried to keep composure after seeing him.

“Can I come in?” he finally spoke.

“Why are you here?” you asked, desperate to know the reason for his visit at this hour. 

“We need to talk…” he said, his voice barely audible. “I deserve an explanation.”

Against your better judgement you opened the front door wider to let him into your flat. You stepped aside as he shuffled inside and sat on the sofa of your living room. 

You trailed behind him and for a moment there you didn’t believe the sight in front of you: Pedri, the man you love(d) sat in front of you in utter silence. His big doe eyes glazed with tears, reflecting a sadness that mirrored your own.

The room was silent, broken by the sound of Barcelona’s traffic outside. Both of you did not know what to say or do. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife, as you wondered how it has gotten this bad.

“What happened to us…” he finally asked.

You were silent, the words got caught in your throat. Truth is, you had imagined this moment endless times. Each scenario playing differently in your mind. Yet nothing could have ever prepared you for this encounter. 

“I though we were doing fine. All of a sudden it’s like we don't know each other. You gave up on us at the first hardship of our relationship. It’s like you never even fought for us, at least not like I did.” he said, his voice cracking. 

Utter silence. His words hung heavily in the air. Still you remained silent.

“Talk to me…” he urged. “Talk to me, even if it’s to insult me. Tell me that you hate me, just don’t ignore me”

Tears filled your eyes as you realised how much you actually hurt him. “I didn’t fight for you because I thought you’d be better off without me, Pedro” 

He flinched at the use of his actual name, since you always used nicknames with him. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms.

“You think I would be better off without you?” he scoffed, his voice laced with sarcasm. “You are everything I have ever wanted. Do you know how much it killed me to hear nothing from you? I analysed every single move I have ever made in our relationship to see if I ever wronged you. It killed me to see the person I love slip away from me day by day. I did everything I could to at try and make you stay but I wake up one day, your things are gone, and I am blocked everywhere.” His sadness quickly turned into frustration. 

You blinked emptily at him. His words hit you like a tidal wave and for the first time in a while, you allowed yourself to crack.

“I- I thought I was protecting you. All the pressure, the media, the traveling. You were away half the time, and I didn't know how to deal with it. It was never my intention to hurt you. I thought letting you go would be what’s best of us, before any of us get attached. No matter how much it hurt me. I was so selfish that I ended up hurting you too in the process. Plus, it was too late when I came back to my senses. The damage was already done, and I don’t know how to fix it,” You confessed, your voice quiet and high pitched. Pedri wouldn’t have heard you if you weren’t sitting so close to each other.

“So that’s it? After everything, you’re just giving up” He was growing more frustrated by the minute

“I never felt enough for you. You are this amazing footballer that all girls dream of, and I am- I am just… me. Plain me.”

The walls you had built came down, showing how fragile you were in reality. Ashamed of your vulnerability, you looked away, finding a sudden interest in the bookshelf of your living room as the realisation hit you like a thousand bricks.

You had ruined everything. You lost everything to your own insecurities. 

“Mira cariño, I didn’t come to fight,”  he reassured you softly, his gaze softened at the sight of the tears glistening in your eyes. “You were enough. You always were. I came here because I really miss you. This emptiness is killing me.” 

He scooted closer to you, taking your hand in his, looking at you with a look of sympathy. The same look he had always given you when you were upset. As you allowed the tears to finally fall, he gave your hand a squeeze. 

“I miss you too.” your voice cracked in between the sobs. “I miss us.”

He cupped your cheek, forcing you to look at him, and for a moment, you allowed yourself to get lost in his eyes that make you fall in love over again. 

“We can fix this, mi amor, you just need to want it too.” he reassured you, getting his own hopes up.

You nodded, not knowing what else to do. As he pulled you into a hug you began to sob even more (if that was even possible). How missed him. The scent of his woody cologne filling you with nostalgia of what you had, the way his arms wrapped around you, the way he made everything into a joke. You put your head on his chest as he put his chin on your head whispering sweet nothing to you. The sound of his heartbeat calmed your sobs a bit and for the first time in weeks you felt a little bit of relief.

“I want you back,” you admitted through tears. “No matter how much I tried to move on and live without you, but I found myself hanging onto every single things that reminds me of you. I can’t sleep without you here, the bed feels too big and the flat feels quiet. I can’t live without you, Pedrito.” 

The two of you spent what was left of the evening, silently in each others arms. Pedri occasionally pressed kisses to your head and hands like he always used to do. And for the first time in what felt like forever, a sense of peace and a flicker of hope warmed your cold heart. 

“Estoy aquí para ti, siempre” he whispered reassuringly in your hair before you two drifted into a deep sleep.

So when your five alarms rang to wake you up in the morning, you slept through every single one of them.

Pau, whose free day was today, got woken up like any other normal human being. 

Annoyed that your alarm woke the entirety of Barcelona but you, he took matters into his own hands and made his way towards your desk to (attempt) to wake you up. 

He let out a small prayer while approaching, knowing not to mess with a sleeping Y/N, especially after the little sleep you had last night.

"Y/N… y/n, mi amor wake up." he tried softly, kissing your head while slightly shaking your shoulder. 

You mumbled something, still not fully awake.

He nudged you again "Baby wake up you have uni" 

No reaction. 

He sighs "Y/nnn…" he shakes your shoulder a bit harder "Cariño, you slept through your alarms"

You barely opened your eyes. Then without any warning you took your fist and swung it right into Pau's nose. "Let me sleep…." you mumbled.

He jumped back, clutching his nose in pain. "Oh Déu meu!" 

Deciding he liked his nose way too much to try waking you again, Pau carried you to bed and went back to sleep, not before kissing your forehead. It was a sweet habit he picked up since you two got together. 

When you woke up again after a while, the sun was much brighter, despite the closed curtains. The dreaded notification sound of your phone pulled you from the haze of sleep. You reached over for your phone half-lidded to see what the fuss was about. Your eyes shot open upon realising the 15 messages and 6 missed calls from your best friend, all asking where you are.

You looked at the time, your heart skips a beat as you freeze. No. No, this can't be. 

10:00 a.m. You had missed class entirely. 

Groaning in frustration, you pushed yourself up. As you sat up, trying to figure out what to do until reality hit you hard. Why hadn't Pau woken you up like he usually does?

Looking over toward the bed, you saw Pau still asleep, his fluffy hair tousled against his forehead, his peaceful face unaware of his surroundings. 

He looked like an angel while sleeping, and you couldn't help but admire him for a moment. Until, reality sank in again: He was the reason–well one of the reasons why you were late and for that matter still in bed. 

"Pau…" you whispered, nudging him with your elbow. "Pau, wake up. I'm late" 

He was still out of it. 

"Pau" you tried again, a bit louder. 

No response.

You nudged him harder this time. "Paaaaau!"

His eyes finally fluttered open slightly and you expected him to jump into action. Instead he blankly looked at you, yawned, and sighed. "Five more minutes please" he mumbled, his voice raspy and laced with sleep.

You slumped back against the pillows in frustration. "Pau, no, I'm late."

Yes, you were making the fact that you are late, in fact too late to show up at all, his problem now too. 

Pau slowly cracked his eyes fully open. "What?" he asked innocently.

You stared at him in disbelief. “You were supposed to wake me up!”

He muttered something indistinct muffled by the pillow. “I tried! You punched me in the face and went back to sleep.” 

"What??" you blinked, your mind still processing.

You had hit him in your sleep? What kind of reaction was this to him waking you up? 

"I tried to wake you up! You punched me in the face and I decided to go back to sleep… With you in my arms." 

Oh so now you were the reason why he fell asleep again??

He yawned and stretched then pulled you back into his arms, snuggling deeper into the bed with a satisfied sigh "So… no class today, huh?" 

Your heart dropped to your stomach. No class today. The idea of spending the day at home and relaxing didn't sound bad at all. It was just one day after all. A day without responsibilities, stress or lectures. A day with Pau.

You stopped your train of thoughts to look at his content face. You felt a smile tugging at your lips at the absurdity of the situation. How could you stay mad at him for too long?

"I guess not…" You smacked his shoulder playfully. "But you owe me."

"Owe you? As you haven't been planning to stay in anyway." he pulled you closer to him for more warmth, his voice teasing.

He is so hopeless. 

"Well what else am I supposed to do?..." you rolled your eyes, but you couldn't stop the smile that spread across your face. "By the way sorry about your face, love" you apologised when the real realisation hit. You had actually punched him in the face..

"It was nothing," he reassured you, referring to his past injury. 

" I've been through worse." 

You chuckled and kissed his cheek, knowing what he was referring to "Way worse indeed," you said.

He grinned, "See? I can handle a little punch." Then he pulled you in for a deep kiss, slow and lingering, before resting his forehead against yours. 

"I guess I'm stuck with you today," you muttered, running your fingers through his messy mop of hair.

Pau's smile softened and he whispered, "Can't think of anything better."