(no subject)
Title: Show me where to go from here.
Characters; Fábio Coentrão, Cristiano Ronaldo & Ricardo Kaká
Wordcount; 837
Summary; Some things seem to go wrong when all they should do is go right.
Warning; none
Beta’ed; yes by Marit.
Disclaimer; I do not get money for this, nor do I know these people. These are all lies.
A/N I really recommend Antonio Pinto -Strange Justice. Just click play whenever you feel it’s right. Also Feeder’s Piece by Piece is a go, go, go song for this fic :).
The man who stared in the mirror didn’t look even the slightest of who he had been. His eyes were dark, emotionless. His brownish hair hadn’t been the brownish he’d loved. His smile was fake and filled with emptiness.
His phone rang and he normally wouldn’t have picked up the phone if he wasn’t so eager for someone to call. He stumbled through his hotel room and eventually found his, still, ringing phone.
“Fábio” it said. Oh hell no, he really didn’t want to hear what Fábio had to say. But his fingers touched the “answer” button faster than that his mind could react.
“Hi”
“Hi.”
“A..Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah, I’m okay.”
“Should I visit?”
There was a silence, he heard Fábio whisper his name a couple of times but he didn’t answer. He knew that Fábio would hear his breathing and that he would know he was actually still there. He really didn’t want to cry in front, well actually not in front, but he wasn’t able to let his tears go. He wouldn’t be able to stop. His breathing became shaky.
“No, you don’t have to.”
“Will you be there again tomorrow?”
“I’m leaving Real Madrid.”
He heard how Fábio gasped for air. It became silent. The conversation was over, words that should be said were said and the silence said enough for the both of them.
“I’ll be at international call ups? It’s not like you won’t see me.”
“Is it his fault?”
Now it was his time to gasp for air. The conversation died again. He bit his lip while he thought if it all was his fault.
“No, I just had a good offer and I accepted it.” He lied. Fábio probably knew he lied.
“when are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning. I accepted the offer. I only need to do some physical tests and then I’ll be gone.”
“Holy.. I-I’m gonna miss you. And Marcelo will miss you. And Pepe. Xabi, Iker, José Maria. God. It will be so lonely without you. We need you. Who’s gonna kick Messi’s ass after you leave?”
“You. I know you can do it. If someone can prevent him from scoring; you can. Just have a little faith in yourself, Fábio. Faith gets you so much further. Lionel and I are believers. We believe in faith and that we are the best. Well maybe he doesn’t so much as I do but as long as someone has faith in you, you can fly. You can do whatever you want because if you fall someone will be there to catch you. Just because he believes in you.”
“He has broken your heart, hasn’t he?”
“He just stopped.. believing.” He swallowed a sob and his voice broke. A tear rolled down his cheek and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the burning tears, biting his lip hard. Anything to hurt more than this ache. He didn’t know what the name of this ache was, but it hurt so much more than not being able to play. It hurt much more than a injury. It hurt. So much.
“Goodnight Cris. I love you. We all do. Even Iker if he’s being a prick again. Or Xabi when you’re complaining about taking free kicks, or even complaining to referees. I’m pretty sure he does.”
“He .. she made him choose, Fábio. And he chose her over me. Which I completely understand. Why would someone choose me? I’m world’s best footballer. Well actually, I was. But it gets so.. so lonely after a while. People adore you for being the best footballer but if you stop being the best footballer or you step out the line they want you to walk on, they’re very quickly done with you. They choose Messi over me. They choose Xavi over me. It all doesn’t matter to me that they were chosen over me. But that he chose her over me, that made everything fall apart. My heart shattered. The floor disappeared under my feet. My love for the game is lost. I need to find a new life. A new start. I just… ”
Again, Fábio gasped for air.
“I just want him to love me again. I want him to love me and no one else. But I respect his decision. I have to. So instead of hurting him, I’ll rather hurt myself and leave.”
Fábio said nothing and hung up. He drove to Cris’ place and stayed for the night. He watched how the man fell asleep. It had been good to have someone around to talk to. He knew that Cristiano would probably feel empty and lonely, but he didn’t have to carry this burden alone any more.
Just a little bit longer.
And he would be fine.