Chapter One
Part Two
I have won the Champions League trophy three times.
I’m lucky. I know I am. I’m well aware of everything that I have. I know how lucky I was to be at United in 2008. I know what it means to win the trophy twice in three years with Barcelona. I know.
But even though I’ve found success, it means nothing when I haven’t even found myself.
“Geri,” she sighed, following him to the car. “Just talk to me.”
“It’s nothing,” he replied moodily. He threw his bag in the back and walked around to the driver’s side.
“It’s not ‘nothing.’ I know you, Gerard Pique. I’ve known you since we were kids.”
“Then you know to leave me alone, Margo,” he huffed, trying to open the door.
Margo sighed. Watching him try the door multiple times before he looked up at her.
“I don’t know why you’re so moody lately. I won’t leave it alone. I love you and you need to talk to me.”
“Give me the keys, Margo,” he held out his hand. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“I drove here,” she glared at him. “I’m perfectly capable of driving the two of us home.”
“How does it look for me to let my girlfriend drive me home?”
“I get it,” she threw the keys at him. “You’re going for submissive girlfriend. Should I stay at home baking and cleaning too?”
“Don’t turn this around,” he growled, getting in the car. Margo held back a smirk as his knees hit the steering wheel.
Gerard had been so moody lately. She wasn’t sure what was going on but she was determined to get it out of him. She meant what she said. She loved Gerard. And whatever was going on, she would help him through it.
“I can’t turn it around. You’re the one that brings it down this road every time,” she climbed into the passenger seat, crossing her arms.
“Dios,” he sighed, throwing the car into reverse and peeling out of the parking space.
*****
I lifted the trophy in London in 2011.
I am one of the few on the team who isn’t trophy crazy. That doesn’t mean that I don’t care about trophies and winning. But to me, Champions League and the World Cup would mean nothing if it weren’t for having my wife by my side.
She keeps me going. She is the reason I wake up every morning. I don’t know where I would be without her, but I know where I’m going with her holding my hand.
All David Villa wanted to do when he returned home from international duty was to kiss his wife and then curl up in bed with her. But that just wasn’t going to happen.
He sighed, making his way through the empty house. It wasn’t that he expected her to wait around for him. He knew that she needed to have her own life. And he wouldn’t have fallen in love with her if she hadn’t been so independent. But he had told her when he would be back from Alicante and she’d promised to be home.
He slowly walked into the master bedroom, stripping almost as soon as he’d entered. A hot shower would do him some good. For some reason being in the national team locker room always took more out of him.
He let the hot water run over him for almost thirty minutes before stepping out of the shower. He dressed slowly, his thoughts floating between the last two weeks with the national team and how much he missed his wife.
As he dressed, he heard her voice coming from the bedroom.
“David is home. I’ll call you later,” the sound of her voice was like honey. He could tell she was on the phone. He opened the door to see her sitting on the bed with a smile on her face. “I promise… Bye”
She ended her call and placed the phone on the nightstand before turning to face her husband. He had crossed the room quickly. Her expression changed from a smile to surprise.
“Did I scare you?” he asked, pulling her into him.
“N-no,” she stuttered, her body stiffening slightly. “You just surprised me.”
“I missed you, Tamara Villa” he whispered, kissing her lightly on the lips.
“I missed you too,” she sighed, giving in to her husband of two years.
*****
More than anything I want to win Champions League.
I grew up here. Barcelona is where I belong. I strayed to London but I’m home. I don’t know if I ever would have won the trophy with Arsenal. But with Barcelona I will do it all.
I have always considered Barcelona home. So why do I feel like I betrayed my family in order to come back home and win titles?
“Another?” the bartender asked, nodding at the empty beer bottle in front of Cesc.
“Yeah, why not,” Cesc shrugged. He hated that, while he was still in Barcelona, his friends and teammates were off on international duty.
He checked his phone again, hoping that Gerard or Carles would send him a message when they returned.
“How much?” he asked as the bartender placed another beer in front of him.
“On the house,” a female voice answered. His eyes shot up to see a black haired beauty standing in front of him.
“Are you sure?” he managed to spit out after finding his voice again.
“I’m sure,” she laughed. “You look like you need a friend. And if one free beer will help you find one, then it’s on me.”
“I thought you said it’s on the house.”
“On the house or on me,” she shrugged. “It’s the same thing.”
“You’re Rosa?” he asked, referring to the name outside the tiny dive bar.
She shook her head as she hopped gracefully over the bar. The place was empty, not that Cesc was surprised. It was barely the end of the work day for most and this bar was tucked away on a fairly untraveled street.
“Rosa was my grandmother,” she said, taking a seat next to him. “She ran this place until the day she died and then it came to me. I’m Mariyah.”
“Nice to meet you Mariyah. Thanks for the beer,” he tipped the top of the bottle slightly toward her, nodding, before taking a long drink.
“So what’s got you down?” she asked, surprising him. He looked up into her dark eyes.
“Just been a hard couple of weeks.”
“Right,” she smirked. “Because who is Cesc Fabregas without Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol?”
“Wait, how do you-“
“Know who you are? I’m Spanish and I live in Barcelona,” she laughed again, causing butterflies in his stomach. “That’s like asking someone in Madrid if they know Sergio Ramos.”
Cesc felt himself blush. He liked this girl. For once, maybe being alone hadn’t been such a bad thing.
A/N: There's Barca... I promise to have at least one more update by the time Champions League starts up again on Tuesday. Comments? 
