Not a cloud in the sky.
The blazing sun beat down on the training field in Barcelona. The coach announced an intermittent break from the scrimmage and the players rushed off to the sidelines as the pitch was watered again. Its brilliant hue of green was matched in intensity by the clear blue sky above.
Robert took an extra long drink from his water bottle. Only a few minutes passed before some of his teammates were already hurrying back to the wet training pitch. Especially the young guys who had so much energy they hardly knew what to do with it. There was Gavi, roughhousing as usual, making himself a nuisance to Pedri or Fati, laughing himself away from whatever mischief he'd committed.
A pang of melancholy hit Robert as he remembered his own days like that some time ago. Carefree and young, a time when possibilities were endless. Certainly not a time when the wrong stretch could put you out of commission for the next game.
At thirty-four, Robert didn't like to think of himself as being in his twilight years. But he knew that he was past the age where strikers hit their peak. All the greats started declining at this age. Maybe he could prove them wrong. And anyway, what a dark mode of thinking on such a sunny day. He blamed the heat for his slowness back onto the pitch. Gavi sprinted over to his side. He had the slightest sheen of sweat on his forehead and his usually fluffy brown hair was dampened from spraying water on himself. With a wide grin on his face he looked up at Robert and said, "Got your head in the clouds or something?"
Robert pointed up to the sky. "How could I when there are none?"
Gavi rolled his eyes but laughed all the same. "Your dad jokes are the absolute worst."
"Look sharp," Robert said as he received a ball and in one swift motion, nutmegged one between Gavi's legs. Gavi squawked incredulously and ran after him, pulling on his shirt as he cursed in Spanish.
Yep, Robert grinned to himself. Still got it.
Experience always trumped youth.
Robert heard a bit of commotion coming from the other side of the changing room. Sometimes when some of the guys spoke very fast in Spanish he couldn't really understand them. Gavi did that a lot. Currently it looked like he'd just said something that Sergio Busquets wasn't very pleased with. He was yelling at the teenager to shut up, that much at least Robert could understand. When Sergio made his way over to his station next to Robert, Robert smirked and shook his head.
"What did that little twerp say?" Robert asked.
"You don't want to know," Sergio said, rolling his eyes.
Robert noticed that Gavi had glanced at him a few times while speaking. "Is that little shit making fun of me? Calling me old or something?"
"No," Sergio said but didn't expand further. Robert shrugged the whole thing off but after that he noticed a weird pattern start to emerge. Gavi would rapid-fire some slang Robert didn't understand, sometimes glancing directly at Robert. Robert took to cursing at him in Polish as retaliation but that only seemed to amuse the young midfielder. Just some mild hazing back and forth between the two in languages neither understood. He didn't think anything more of it until Sergio approached him one day and said, "I need to talk to you about something. Wait for me in the parking lot."
Robert had raised an eyebrow at him, intrigued but not worried.
He wasn't aware his life was about to change forever.
Robert leaned back against his own car, waiting for the approaching Sergio. He smirked upon seeing Sergio's no-nonsense face. "Hey, you weren't that bad at practice today. What's with the long face?" Robert joked.
"This isn't a laughing matter," Sergio said, his serious expression unwavering.
"Oh?" Robert said as the smile fell from his own face. "Is something wrong? Is everything okay with you and your family?"
Sergio shook his head and sighed. "It's nothing like that. Look, I'm just going to come out and say it, okay?" After a short pause he said, "Gavi likes you."
Robert nodded and rotated his hand in a 'go on, continue' gesture. "And? We're teammates, we're supposed to like each other. I like you."
Sergio let out a more frustrated sigh than before and tried again. "No, you don't understand. He has a crush on you."
This time Robert snorted before outright laughing. "That's funny, Sergio. I didn't take you for a prankster."
"No, I'm serious," Sergio said and his face indicated as much.
Robert blinked a few times, allowing his brain to process this information. But no matter how hard he tried, it still made no sense whatsoever. "I think you're mistaken, Sergio. I mean, I could see how he may admire me because of my career but—"
Sergio put his hand out to cut him short. "Robert. He talks about how he wants you all the time, but in rapid Spanish and slang so you won't understand it well. He's shameless about it and I've warned him to stop but he won't."
"Come on," Robert insisted, still in disbelief. "He's just joking, that's how Gavi is. He's a kid."
Sergio looked at Robert like he was an idiot. "Do you really not see how he looks at you? How he acts around you?"
Robert recalled their interactions and couldn't see any significant difference. The boy was playful and affectionate to everyone. Maybe he did hang around Robert a bit more but it was only because he wanted to learn from him. "You're making this a bigger deal than it is. It's just admiration. It's not a crush."
Sergio took a step closer and in a warning tone said, "Do you really want me to repeat some of what he said? Because I can and I will, just to prove my point."
Robert's brow furrowed. Something in the way Sergio stepped to him with that look gave Robert pause. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again.
"Alright. Let's say everything you're saying is true. What does it matter? He obviously doesn't want me to know. And even if he did tell me, I sure as hell have no intention of reciprocating. We just let the thing pass. He'll move on. He's a teenager, they have the worst attention spans."
Sergio shook his head. "I don't think it's going away any time soon. You need to do something about it."
Robert looked at him like he was crazy. "What could I possibly do?" Robert said, annoyance seeping into his voice at the complete absurdity of this conversation.
"Talk to him. Be the responsible one. Tell him it's unacceptable and disrespectful to you." Robert was about to protest again when Sergio added, "You have to nip this in the bud before people start to talk."
Robert felt the back of his neck grow warm. The idea that a rumor could break out of this was ludicrous and not something he had any intention of entertaining.
"I know you'll do the right thing." Sergio gave his shoulder a strong squeeze. "Take it easy, Robert," he said before getting in his own car and leaving.
Robert just stood there, hands on hips.
This was the last way he ever expected his day to end. Before he could think on it any more, his phone buzzed with a text from his wife.
'Made your favorite! See you soon <3'
