valentina 12m

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"VALENTINA, MIJA." Her mother says from behind. Valentina looks over her shoulder and finds her mother smiling at her. "Mamá." She lifts her arms from the railing and walks over to her mother.

"How's the España air for you?" Her mother, Núria, asks. Valentina makes a small chuckle. "It's been great, I've forgotten how much more better the air is out here." She shifts her head back to the view from their balcony.

The city lights shine in the distance from their view. Núria observes her daughter's movements, she senses there's something bothering her. "Tina, is something bothering you?" She asks her. Valentina gulps, tapping her fingers on the railing. "Nothing, Ma. Everything's fine."

"Your shoulders look tense, mija." Núria states. Valentina immediately slouches her shoulders a little forward. She's caught her. Every single time, her mother can always sense whenever something is up. "It's not that big of a deal, Mamá."

"You didn't show up for half of dinner tonight and you've been awfully quiet since you arrived home." Núria tilts her head, taking a step forward to pull in her daughter into her arms.

"I'm just tired... that's all." The young woman says.

"Look," Valentina sighs. "I'm happy to be back—I really am—it's just, I'm not used to it. Being here with you guys, it's been years and with what happened, it feels wrong for me to come running back here with Papá knowing."

"You know your Papá will always love you no matter what, and the same goes for me. It was not your fault and we all know that." Núria shifts Valentina to face her.

Valentina sighs, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. "I know."

"Why don't you come back inside downstairs and have some dinner, hm? You haven't eaten since you've gotten off the plane." Núria pulls her hand from her face. "You need to eat, mija."

"Is he back home yet?" Valentina refers to her father. "He's downstairs right now, eating. I had to excuse myself to come get you." Núria gives her a soft smile, leading herself and Valentina back inside. "Ven ahora, let's go."

The two walk together down the stairs to the dining room. Valentina furrows her eyebrows together when she hears multiple voices speaking all at once as she gets closer to the dining room. She turns in and finds a big group of men all sitting around the table, eating together.

Her mouth opens slightly in a small shock as she didn't expect there'd be a gathering tonight. "What the hell?" She whispers to herself. "Oh," Núria chuckles. "My mistake, mija. I assumed you knew it was your Papá's weekly dinner with the team."

"Weekly dinner? I—I don't quite know what you mean, Ma." Valentina looks around as the group of men stop whatever they're doing to look up at her.

"Tina." Xavi stands up from his chair. "Welcome back home, mija. My apologies, I got a little busy with the team." He pushes his chair back and makes his way over to her, giving her a big hug.

"Yo, who's that?" Ansu nods his head, pointing at Valentina as he whispers to his teammate, Ferran. "No idea, maybe his kid?" Ansu's eyebrows come together. "Xavi has a daughter?"

"What's going on?" Valentina turns her head back at the group. "This is the team." Xavi purses his lips in and smiles. "We have dinner together every viernes—didn't your Mamá tell you?"

"No, no one told me about the weekly dinners, otherwise I would've dressed a little more nicer for the occasion." She awkwardly chuckles, fixing herself.

"Ah, no, no, you look perfectly fine. And you don't have to worry about these monkeys, they could care less." Xavi tries to put out a little laugh, making her feel a little more comfortable with the situation.

"Ay, Pedrito, did coach ever tell you he had a kid?" Ansu nudges his elbow. Pedri shakes his head, looking up at the girl talking to Xavi. "Kid? Man, she ain't a kid. More like a fine young woman." Ronald makes a comment, causing the others to let out a laugh.

Pedri shakes his head. "Shut up before he hears you talking about his daughter like that."

"I haven't formally introduced to you guys yet." Xavi clears his throat, turning around the the group of men behind him. "This is our daughter, Tina. She's recently just come back from the States. Tina, this is the team that you've heard so much about."

Valentina hands the group a little wave. "Hey."

There's a quick pause before everyone starts greeting her all at once. Xavi takes Valentina to an empty chair. She's already flooded with questions from all around the table. "¡Todos ustedes paren! One at a time, she's been traveling all day, all I ask is for all of you to act up and give her some room." Núria warns them.

"I deeply apologize, señora Núria. Don't worry, I'll make sure these boys will act like real men whenever we are near your precious daughter." Ansu stands up from his chair and bows.

"Thank you, Ansu." Núria shakes her head, smiling. Ferran lightly punches Ansu's side, pulling his back down to his chair. "Shut up, man."

Everyone else gets back to their conversations when Núria fixes Valentina a plate. Valentina quietly watches their interactions with each other. Her eyes move around the room until they meet with another pair of eyes.

She clears her throat. The guy looks a little older than her, close to her age. He has dark hair, the same shade as his eyes. He also realizes they're staring at each other, giving her a slight smile. Valentina smiles back, but then Ansu yells her name from across the room.

Valentina moves her attention onto him. "So, how old are you, Tina?" Ansu arches an eyebrow. Xavi is coming around the table to get something from the kitchen when he hears what Ansu just asked. The man slaps his hand onto Ansu's head.

Everyone starts to laugh, including Valentina. "Diecinueve años." She answers him, taking a bite of her food. "Do you attend school in the States?" Robert, another team member sitting next to her asks.

"College? No, not right now, I'm taking a gap year." Valentina explains. "For a couple reasons, mostly due to brand deals and shows."

"That's nice." He nods.

"It is, thanks." Valentina smiles.

"Apologies for not introducing myself, I'm Robert." He takes his hand out. Valentina takes his hand and they shake. "Robert Lewandowski. I know, I've seen you play before. Papá has mentioned you a couple of times in the years. I'm Valentina, but everyone here calls me Tina."

"It's very nice to finally meet you. I'm the only person that's truly every known you've existed, minus your father." He leans in and whispers.

Valentina chuckles. "I figured."

"Here's a good idea." Robert raises his voice. "Why don't each one of you introduce yourself to Tina here."

And so they did. Each and every one of them told her their names and a fun fact about themselves. When it came to Ansu, he dramatically stood up and bowed as if he were in a musical. Valentina laughed.

"I, your majesty, am Ansu Fati and I shall be here at any time of your needs." He waits for an applause before sitting back down. "And a fun fact about myself is that I have the best style out of everyone in this very room."

"Now that's such cap." Gavi shakes his head, sitting next to him. "Hey! I got the drip, sorry y'all don't." Ansu scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright, next!" A person yells.

"Hey, I'm Ferran. Fun fact about me is that I'm nothing like Ansu right here so you don't have to worry about anything." He jokes. Ansu gets offended and pretends to cry.

It's now Pedri's turn, the room grows quiet for him to speak. He clears his throat, "yo soy Pedri." Valentina gives him a small smile. "Mucho gusto, Pedri."

"Y no me gusta tatuajes." He announces to the group. Everyone around Valentina all laugh and she joins along. "Tattoos?" She asks him to be sure.

"Yeah," his hand scratches the back on his neck. "Why not?" Valentina grows a little curious. "Just don't like the concept of the whole thing." He explains. She nods, understanding his opinion. "Yeah, like when he decides to comment my tats every single time he sees me." Raphinha adds. The men laugh once again.

ansufati 7m

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DINNER FINALLY ENDS and everyone has now shifted to the living room. Valentina is busy with Robert and Raphinha showing her pictures of their children while her father, Xavi, enters. "Alright, todos se reúnen alrededor, it's time for performance reviews."

Valentina excuses herself from the two and walks over to the side to join her mother. Her father pulls up highlights from their past game on the TV and starts discussing with the team. "Every viernes, huh?" Valentina crossed her arms over her chest.

"Mhm, he's been doing this for about a year now. He says going over their performances in a setting like this with the whole team helps them improve better. But I still have no idea what goes on and I'm married to this man." Núria playfully rolls her eyes.

Valentina chuckles, pulling a piece of her hair behind her ear. She listens intently to her father going over his critics on the clips from the TV. It brings her back to when she was younger. The days when Xavi first bought her, her first ever football. The days and nights he'd practice with her on her skills. The games he'd watch her play.

Her breathing picks up and Núria notices. The older woman quickly places her hands on Valentina's shoulders, massaging them. "Mija, are you alright?" Concern floods through Núria's eyes.

"I'm fine." Valentina tries her best to hide it and gulps. "Remember what the doctor said, breathe in and out slowly." Núria reminds her.

"I said I'm fine." Valentina whispers, pulling her hand away from her mother's grip. Xavi overhears the two and takes a second to look at them. He finds his daughter fidgeting with her fingers and instantly knows something is wrong.

"Disculpe," he clears his throat. "Is everything okay here, Núria?"

Núria looks up at Xavi and gives him the stare. "Mija, why don't you go up to your room with your Mamá for some privacy." He quietly whispers.

Valentina forces a smile. "Sorry," she says out loud. "I have to excuse myself now—I've got a lot of unpacking to do. It was a pleasure meeting all of you, buenas noches." She starts to exit, giving a last wave to the team.

"Adios, your majesty!" Ansu yells from the back.

"Buenas noches, señorita Tina." Raphinha waves back. The others all say bye as well. Pedri watches her leave, but as soon as she got to the stairs from the distance, he sees her rush up. Then Núria follows behind, quickly jogging away.

He narrows his eyes, wondering what the real reason was for her to leave. It looks like something happened. But Xavi starts talking again. "Back to what I was saying." He continues.