Somebody Like Me

Twisting the last of her dark hair into her braid, Cassie spared a small glance towards the mirror which stood ahead of her, her stomach twisting a little at the thought of the night which sat ahead of her. It wasn’t her first match, since she and Sergio had gotten together, he had wanted her at more than one Real Madrid match, more so since Noah had arrived, but still she felt a little apprehensive about heading to the match that night, even if Spain did have a good chance of progressing to the World Cup Final, she knew that Brazil were going to provide them with a stern test, something which worried her slightly. She knew that it meant a lot to Sergio, she knew that he wanted to do well with Spain, and she was worried about how he’d react if things did go wrong.

Offering her reflection another soft gander, she carefully smoothed down the red material of the shirt she wore before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her ears, causing her to lift her head, her green eyes settling on Iker who stood in the door way, an encouraging look on his face. “You nearly ready to get moving?” he posed softly “I mean, we could hang around here a little more, but I’m pretty sure that Sergio would kill us for missing kick off” he added.

Cassie smiled a little at his joke before he moved to collect her shoes which stood beside the dresser. “I just need to put these on and then we can go” she mused, sitting at the foot of the bed.

Iker watched her quietly for a moment before he shook his head, moving to sit down at her side. “You’re nervous?” he posed gently.

Cassie, who’d been focused on lacing her shoe, shrugged. “Perhaps” she replied softly “I mean, it’s a pretty big deal” she added.

“It is” Iker agreed “But, after the last Euros and World Cup, this is a huge step forwards and that’s how people will see it, even if the game doesn’t go the right way tonight. They’ve done well, Cass, and if it doesn’t go right, that’s what you need to remind Sergio of. He’ll be upset, you know how he can be, but once he’s calmed down, he’ll be fine and you and Noah being here will help that” he enthused warmly.

Cassie offered him a small look. “You think so?” she posed gently.

Iker scoffed. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s pretty head over heels for you” he mused, playfully nudging her side.

Cassie’s cheeks warmed a little before she shook her head, something which caused Iker to smile at her warmly. It had been a surprise, when Sergio had first told him about Cassie’s pregnancy, it had caught Iker more than a little off guard, but he had to admit that he was pleased that they’d got things together. They were good for one another, they had been for a while, and Iker was hopeful that it would work out between them. They were great together.

“Come on” Iker mused, breaking the silence which had settled over them “We ought to get moving” he added as he pushed himself back to his feet, offering a hand back towards Cassie.

Cassie eyed his hand for a brief moment before she placed her own into it, allowing Iker to pull her back to her feet before he offered it a small reassuring squeeze, wordlessly assuring her that things would be fine.

~#~
Chewing on the side of her thumb, Cassie watched the pitch ahead of her, her stomach twisting slightly at the minutes ticked by. It had been a good match, with both Brazil and Spain wanting the final spot, both teams had been content to attack, but thus far there hadn’t been a breakthrough, something which had only served to make Cassie more nervous about the prospect of extra time or penalties.

Shaking her head slightly, she spared a glance down towards Noah who was settled happily in her arms before she ducked down, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head before she lifted her eyes once more, watching as Philippe Coutinho collected the ball near to the halfway line before he passed it out wide, allowing for Neymar to collect it on the wing. The Barcelona winger dribbled the ball forwards a few yards, sneaking past Jordi Alba, before he moved to cross the ball, aiming it towards Coutinho who’d managed to sneak in behind Gerard Piqué.

Cassie, who’d been watching the move, shifted a little as she watched Sergio speed back towards his own goal before he moved to make the tackle, something which caused the Brazilian man to tumble forwards, earning the shrill sound of the referee’s whistle to signal a penalty. Cassie flinched a little at the sound before she quietly shook her head, watching as the referee stepped towards Sergio, brandishing a second yellow card before he showed him the red, something which caused Cassie’s stomach to drop.

“You alright?”

Cassie, who’d been staring down at the pitch, blinked a couple of times at the sound of Iker’s voice before she shook her head. “I’m fine” she mumbled “But him?” she added, briefly peeking back towards the pitch as Sergio trudged off of it.

Iker offered her a small sympathetic smile before he gently gestured towards Noah. “Me and Sara can take Noah for the night if you want” he offered gently “I mean, I doubt that Sergio’s going to opt to stay in his hotel room tonight” he added.

Cassie offered him a look, wordlessly mulling over his offer, before she flashed him a small thankful smile. “Gracias, Iker” she mused softly.

Iker shook his head. “It’s nothing” he quipped “It just means that you and Sergio owe us one free night of babysitting” he teased, trying to brighten the mood. Cassie spluttered out a soft laugh before she shook her head, something which caused Iker to wrap an arm around her, offering her a brief comforting squeeze before he flicked his attention back towards the game. Cassie smiled a little at the small hug before she flicked her attention back towards the pitch, a small lump in her throat.

~#~
Allowing a soft yawn to tumble out of her mouth, Cassie pulled her sweater a little more around her body, her ears doused by the sound of someone knocking at the door. It was late, after the match had finished, she had spent a little while with Iker and Sara, before she had returned to her hotel room, half expecting to find Sergio sat outside of it. It had ended badly, after his red card, Brazil had scored the penalty and another goal before the match had finished, and Cassie knew that it would have irked the defender, more so since it had been his mistake that had changed the game.

Shaking her head slightly, she moved to pull the door open, her green eyes settling on Sergio who stood on the other side of it, his expression undecipherable. “Sergio” she breathed softly “Amor…”

“Please” Sergio interrupted “Can we just not talk about it right now?” he added, peeking down at her softly.

Cassie blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised by the interruption, before she nodded her head. “Of course” she mused softly as she stepped out of the doorway, allowing him to step into the room.

Sergio took a couple of paces into the room before he shook his head. “Am I disturbing you?” he posed, admiring the pajamas she wore.

“No” Cassie replied gently “I mean, I was getting ready to go to sleep, but I expecting you to show up so I was waiting for you” she added, offering him a light smile.

Sergio simply nodded his head quietly, something which caused Cassie to sigh lightly before she took a step towards him, her hand lightly cupping his cheek in order to pull him down into a soft kiss. Sergio flinched, not prepared for the kiss, but he quickly responded to it, his arms wrapping around her tightly before he ducked back, moving to rest his head against her shoulder. “I messed up, nena” he mumbled, his voice slightly heavy.

Cassie thought about saying something, but opted against it, knowing that anything she said was only likely to make him feel worse. Instead, she pressed a light kiss against the top of his head before she took his hand, guiding him towards the bedroom. Sergio followed her footsteps, before he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing a soft kiss against the back of her neck as he mumbled a small apology, more than slightly disappointed with the way things had panned out.