You Loved Me Once
102: It Means A Lot
Adjusting Isabella who sat in her lap, Alba nibbled on her lip, her blue eyes watching as the team padded out onto the pitch. It was late in the season, with the beginning of April having arrived, it wouldn’t be long before the season concluded, and Alba was anxious to see Barcelona succeed at least on one front.
They were in with a good chance, they were only a point off the top of the league and had already qualified for the final of the Copa Del Rey, but with a champions league quarter final against Real Madrid due to be decided that night, Alba had opted to take Isabella to her first match, something she had held off on for a while. She knew that it was something Lionel wanted, since Isabella had come along, he’d been itching to put a Barcelona shirt on her and take her to the stadium, but Alba had insisted that they hold off for a little while, not wanting to overwhelm the little girl.
Adjusting the sweater that Isabella wore, she pressed a kiss to the top of the little girl’s dark hair before Shakira stepped up beside her, a warm smile on her face. “Leo mentioned that there was a chance that you’d both be here” she mused as she moved to settle her two sons down, allowing her to take the seat beside Alba “I didn’t think you’d pick El Clasico for little Izzy’s first game” she added.
“Neither did I” Alba mused “But we wanted to see how she’d handle it. Leo’s already pushing for her to be at the cup final and I know he wants to do the lap of honor with her. We just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t too much for her” she mused as she smoothed out the little girl’s curls.
“She seems to be having a great time” Shakira mused “She’s already smiling” she added as she admired the grin which lit up the baby’s face.
“She smiles at everything nowadays” Alba mused with a grin “Yesterday, she spent half an hour smiling at the sock she’d managed to pull off of her foot” she enthused.
Shakira smiled at her friend warmly before the sound of the whistle tore through the stadium, signaling the kick off the match.
~#~
Adjusting Isabella on her hip, Alba glanced towards the door, watching as a few of the Barcelona sloped inside. It had been a tough match, like most derby games between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the atmosphere had been tense and slightly fractious, and Alba was a little glad the game was over, even if the result wasn’t what they’d been hoping for, she was glad that the game had finished before things had gotten tenser. “Leo’s on his way” Neymar noted softly as he padded past “He’s just finishing up with an interview” he added.
Alba smiled. “Gracias” she mused “And I am sorry about the game” she added.
Neymar offered her a soft smile before he stepped away, allowing Alba to turn her attention to Isabella who’d gotten slightly fussy on her hip. “Papa will be here in a second, Bella” she fussed softly before she pressed a kiss to her head.
Lionel, who’d padded through the door to the family box, smiled a little at the sight before he stepped towards his girlfriend, placing a hand on her back. “You decided that today was the day, then?” he posed as he pressed a light kiss against her cheek.
“I did” Alba mused “I’m just sorry about the result. I thought you had it for a little while” she added, her expression a little soft. It had been a close game, with a 1-1 draw in the first leg, all Barcelona had had to do was keep a clean sheet at the Camp Nou, but 10 minutes before the end of the game, Gareth Bale had scored before Karim Benzema had added a second, meaning that Real Madrid had won 3-2 on aggregate.
Lionel nodded. “I thought we did too” he noted “But that’s not the important thing right now. How did Bella like being here?” he posed as he moved to place his bag down on the ground, allowing him to take Isabella from Alba’s arms.
“She didn’t seem fazed” Alba smiled “She got a little fussy when you guys scored and everyone cheered, but other than that, she seemed to love it” she enthused.
Lionel grinned and pressed a kiss against Isabella’s cheek, cooing to her softly.
Alba watched the two of them for a moment, a grin on her face. “Have I ever mentioned how cute the two of you are?” she posed as she moved to collect Lionel’s bag, placing it on her shoulder so that they could leave.
“I think you have” Lionel teased “But I don’t think either of us tire of hearing it, do we Bella?” he teased as he lifted the little girl above his head, causing her to squeak with laughter.
Alba marveled a little at the sound before she reached a hand out, allowing Lionel to take it before they headed towards the carpark.
Lionel followed after her happily, cooing gently to Isabella before he flicked his attention to Alba, a small smile on his face. “Thank you for coming tonight” he noted softly “It means a lot that the two of you were here, especially given your aversion to attending my games” he teased gently.
Alba shook her head. “It was about time” she noted gently “And we’ve got a couple more to go to before the season ends. Perhaps next time I can put her in her shirt” she mused with a grin over her shoulder.
“I’d like that” Lionel smiled as he took a half pace forwards, closing the gap between them in order to press a kiss against her shoulder “Perhaps we can get you one too” he suggested.
Alba scoffed, something which made him smile. “You know you want one really” he teased, moving to press a kiss against her cheek.
Alba rolled her eyes a little before she pulled them to a stop, allowing her to press a brisk kiss against his lips before Isabella let out a squeak, pulling her parents apart. “We should probably get her home” Alba murmured softly “It’s late and I think she’s probably getting a little tired” she added, pushing the dark hair out of Isabella’s eyes.
Lionel watched her for a second before he nodded, flashing her another soft smile which Alba returned happily.
They were in with a good chance, they were only a point off the top of the league and had already qualified for the final of the Copa Del Rey, but with a champions league quarter final against Real Madrid due to be decided that night, Alba had opted to take Isabella to her first match, something she had held off on for a while. She knew that it was something Lionel wanted, since Isabella had come along, he’d been itching to put a Barcelona shirt on her and take her to the stadium, but Alba had insisted that they hold off for a little while, not wanting to overwhelm the little girl.
Adjusting the sweater that Isabella wore, she pressed a kiss to the top of the little girl’s dark hair before Shakira stepped up beside her, a warm smile on her face. “Leo mentioned that there was a chance that you’d both be here” she mused as she moved to settle her two sons down, allowing her to take the seat beside Alba “I didn’t think you’d pick El Clasico for little Izzy’s first game” she added.
“Neither did I” Alba mused “But we wanted to see how she’d handle it. Leo’s already pushing for her to be at the cup final and I know he wants to do the lap of honor with her. We just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t too much for her” she mused as she smoothed out the little girl’s curls.
“She seems to be having a great time” Shakira mused “She’s already smiling” she added as she admired the grin which lit up the baby’s face.
“She smiles at everything nowadays” Alba mused with a grin “Yesterday, she spent half an hour smiling at the sock she’d managed to pull off of her foot” she enthused.
Shakira smiled at her friend warmly before the sound of the whistle tore through the stadium, signaling the kick off the match.
~#~
Adjusting Isabella on her hip, Alba glanced towards the door, watching as a few of the Barcelona sloped inside. It had been a tough match, like most derby games between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the atmosphere had been tense and slightly fractious, and Alba was a little glad the game was over, even if the result wasn’t what they’d been hoping for, she was glad that the game had finished before things had gotten tenser. “Leo’s on his way” Neymar noted softly as he padded past “He’s just finishing up with an interview” he added.
Alba smiled. “Gracias” she mused “And I am sorry about the game” she added.
Neymar offered her a soft smile before he stepped away, allowing Alba to turn her attention to Isabella who’d gotten slightly fussy on her hip. “Papa will be here in a second, Bella” she fussed softly before she pressed a kiss to her head.
Lionel, who’d padded through the door to the family box, smiled a little at the sight before he stepped towards his girlfriend, placing a hand on her back. “You decided that today was the day, then?” he posed as he pressed a light kiss against her cheek.
“I did” Alba mused “I’m just sorry about the result. I thought you had it for a little while” she added, her expression a little soft. It had been a close game, with a 1-1 draw in the first leg, all Barcelona had had to do was keep a clean sheet at the Camp Nou, but 10 minutes before the end of the game, Gareth Bale had scored before Karim Benzema had added a second, meaning that Real Madrid had won 3-2 on aggregate.
Lionel nodded. “I thought we did too” he noted “But that’s not the important thing right now. How did Bella like being here?” he posed as he moved to place his bag down on the ground, allowing him to take Isabella from Alba’s arms.
“She didn’t seem fazed” Alba smiled “She got a little fussy when you guys scored and everyone cheered, but other than that, she seemed to love it” she enthused.
Lionel grinned and pressed a kiss against Isabella’s cheek, cooing to her softly.
Alba watched the two of them for a moment, a grin on her face. “Have I ever mentioned how cute the two of you are?” she posed as she moved to collect Lionel’s bag, placing it on her shoulder so that they could leave.
“I think you have” Lionel teased “But I don’t think either of us tire of hearing it, do we Bella?” he teased as he lifted the little girl above his head, causing her to squeak with laughter.
Alba marveled a little at the sound before she reached a hand out, allowing Lionel to take it before they headed towards the carpark.
Lionel followed after her happily, cooing gently to Isabella before he flicked his attention to Alba, a small smile on his face. “Thank you for coming tonight” he noted softly “It means a lot that the two of you were here, especially given your aversion to attending my games” he teased gently.
Alba shook her head. “It was about time” she noted gently “And we’ve got a couple more to go to before the season ends. Perhaps next time I can put her in her shirt” she mused with a grin over her shoulder.
“I’d like that” Lionel smiled as he took a half pace forwards, closing the gap between them in order to press a kiss against her shoulder “Perhaps we can get you one too” he suggested.
Alba scoffed, something which made him smile. “You know you want one really” he teased, moving to press a kiss against her cheek.
Alba rolled her eyes a little before she pulled them to a stop, allowing her to press a brisk kiss against his lips before Isabella let out a squeak, pulling her parents apart. “We should probably get her home” Alba murmured softly “It’s late and I think she’s probably getting a little tired” she added, pushing the dark hair out of Isabella’s eyes.
Lionel watched her for a second before he nodded, flashing her another soft smile which Alba returned happily.