Somebody Like Me

Allowing a soft yawn to fall out of his mouth, Sergio rested back in the seat he sat in, his dark eyes peeking down towards Noah who stirred sleepily in his arms. It had been a long night, like he had been since he had arrived home, Noah had proven a little fussy, but Sergio didn’t mind, even if he did find himself more than a little tired, he had grown to love spending time with the little boy. It had been a few days, after they’d arrived home from the hospital, the house seemed to have been a hive of activity, and Sergio was keen to make the most of the quiet moments, even if they did appear to be few and far between, he wanted to make the most of the chances he had to relax a little.

Sparing another yawn, he watched Noah fall back to sleep before he carefully rested his head back, his dark eyes closing as he enjoyed the quiet which filled the kitchen.

“Did he wake up again?”

Sergio, who’d drifted off slightly, startled at the sound of Cassie’s voice before he blinked his eyes open, looking towards where she stood in the door way. “Huh?” he spluttered softly.

Cassie spared a soft giggle before she shook her head. “I asked if he woke up again” she repeated “But the look on your face suggests that he probably did. Have you been up for long?” she posed as she padded towards the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice.

“Only about half an hour or so” Sergio replied softly “He needed a nappy change and after that, I couldn’t quite bring myself to put him back in his crib” he added, his fingertips lightly straightening out the tufts of coppery brown hair which sat on the top of Noah’s head. It still felt a little odd, having Noah around was something that both Sergio and Cassie were still trying to get used to, but the defender was confident that he wouldn’t have changed a thing, even if it had all come along out of the blue. He had grown to love having Noah around.

Cassie, who’d moved to sit down in the seat beside him, watched the movement of his fingers for a second, a small smile on her lips. “You’re still smitten with him then?” she teased softly, her fingers lightly brushing over Noah’s little hand.

Sergio quirked a familiar smile. “We did make a pretty adorable baby, Cass” he mused softly.

Cassie returned his smile softly before she nodded. “We did” she confirmed softly.

Sergio offered her another soft look before he allowed another yawn to fall out of his mouth, something which made Cassie shake her head. “You know” she quipped softly, breaking the moment of silence which had passed between the two of them “You’ve still got a couple of hours before you have to get ready to head back to training. Why don’t you go and see if you can get a little more sleep?” she offered gently.

Sergio made a small frustrated sound at the idea of heading back to training. “I really have to go back?” he posed, a small pout on his face.

“I am afraid so” Cassie quipped with a small smirk “I mean, you could not, but I’d really rather not have your teammates blame me and him for you taking early retirement” she added playfully. She knew that he didn't want to go, since they had arrived home with Noah, he hadn’t wanted to be apart from her or the baby for more than a few minutes at a time, but she knew that she had to encourage him to go, even if he was a little reluctant, she knew that he couldn’t avoid it forever.

Sergio offered her a small look before he let out a soft sigh, something which caused Cassie to reach her hand out, gently squeezing his. “It is going to suck” she mumbled “I mean, we’ve been home for a couple of days now and since we’ve been back here, you’ve not really had to go anywhere, but you know that you’ve got to go back. It’s only going to be a couple of hours, Sese, and me and Noah, we’ll be here when you get back” she added, a soft encouraging smile on her lips.

Sergio offered her another soft glance before he nodded his head. “You’re probably right” he mused softly.

“I often am” Cassie quipped impishly “And besides, I am sure that your teammates are looking forwards to seeing a picture of Noah” she added gently.

“Probably” Sergio agreed softly “Are you expecting any visitors today?” he posed gently.

Cassie shook her head. “Your parents headed home last night and my papa is on his way first thing this morning. Why, are you planning on bringing your teammates back with you?” she posed, her tone caught between teasing and curious.

Sergio shook his head. “I hadn’t planned on it” he quipped “But I was just thinking that it will be nice to have the house back to ourselves again. Don’t get me wrong, I love that our families love Noah, but I have sort of been looking forwards to having my little family back to myself again” he enthused gently, his thumb lightly brushing against Noah’s arm.

Cassie watched the slight movement of his thumb before she gently pushed herself up to her feet, pressing a soft kiss against his head. “It will be nice” she agreed gently “But you have to get through training first, so why don’t you give Noah to me and head upstairs for a little while? You look like you could use it” she added, playfully poking his cheek.

Sergio spared a soft laugh before he carefully leant forwards, settling Noah into Cassie’s arms before he pushed himself up to his feet, moving to pad out of the room.

Cassie watched after him for a second before she shook her head, wordlessly fussing about how good thing seemed to be between her and Sergio.

~#~
“Look whose finally decided to grace us with his presence again”

Sergio, who’d moved to step into the changing room, rolled his eyes a little at the sound of Marcelo’s voice before he padded across to his locker, settling his bag down beside it. It had been a tough morning, as silly as it was, Sergio had struggled to leave Noah and Cassie, but he knew that his return to training couldn’t be avoided, even if he had been keen to duck out of it for a little longer, he knew that it was simply something he had to do.

“You finally decided to rejoin us then?”

Sergio, who’d moved to toe off his shoes, spared another roll of his eyes at the sound of Pepe’s voice before he shook his head. “I’ve been a little busy” he quipped.

“We know that you have been” Cristiano mused as he sat down beside the Spaniard “But we’re glad to see you. How is Cassie doing?” he posed softly.

Sergio quirked a small smile at the mention of his girlfriend’s name before he nodded his head. “She’s doing pretty well” he noted gently.

“And the baby?” Marcelo posed curiously “Do you have picture?” he added brightly.

Sergio playfully rolled his eyes before he moved to pull his bag towards him, quickly locating the picture of Noah that he planned on sticking to the inside of his locker. Admiring the picture for a second, he quirked a soft smile before he handed it over to Marcelo, allowing him to show it off to those who had moved to gather around the defender. “His name is Noah” he mused softly, watching as the picture was passed between his friends.

“He’s adorable” Cristiano mused kindly, earning a few murmurs in agreement “He looks a lot like you” he added.

Sergio snorted. “He is adorable” he agreed “But that is because he looks like his beautiful madre” he added, another faint smile passing over his features at the mention of Cassie.

Marcelo spotted the smile on his captain’s face before he nudged his ribs. “Are we all going to have to go suit shopping in the near future. Sergio?” he poked playfully, earning a few snickers in agreement.

Sergio rolled his eyes slightly, but offered a nonchalant shrug rather than a shake of his head before he padded back towards his locker. He knew that it wasn’t going to happen in the near future, with Noah having only just arrived, the last thing Sergio wanted was to push Cassie into another big step in their relationship, but he wasn’t afraid to admit that he had crossed his mind, even if it was only fleetingly before he had dismissed it as too soon, it was a thought that had crossed his mind.