Chapter Text
i’m sorry
whistle
The referee brings his hand in the air, issuing a warning to the young Barcelona player. Gavi can feel anger rising up in his chest.
He can’t contain his anger, and when he sees a mocking face on the other team’s player, he pushes the guy.
Gavi is always being handled rough on the team. His small frame doesn’t exactly help, as he is an easy target. Gavi’s also got a little aggression in his teenage self, so he was prone to making risky tackles that can earn him fouls and warnings.
“Hey! Hey!” Jordi Alba appeared in front of the visibly bigger player, protecting Gavi immediately. Gavi didn’t detect his teammates, instead lunged himself forward again, trying to get to the guy once again.
Jordi’s hand was in front, so he couldn’t.
Then, Pedri grabs the back of Gavi’s shirt and pulls him away from the crowd.
“Hey, hey.” Pedri raises his voice, grounding Gavi who was still frantically looking at his teammates, wanting to take his revenge on the guy who tackled him badly.
“Calm down.” Pedri grabs his neck and pulls him in to kiss his neck. He places his hand on Gavi’s hair and ruffles him lightly. “You’re fine. You don’t need a yellow card.”
When Pedri lets him go, Gavi is almost completely calm. Then, Pedri smiles at him and he can’t help but smile back, all the anger seems dissolved.
Gavi doesn’t remember when their relationship shifted from acquaintances to friends to best friends. Gavi would say Pedri is the closest thing to family he has right now, considering he sees him more than his sister or parents.
Pedri is somehow always there. When his tears come to surface, Pedri wipes them. When he is injured, Pedri has advice. When he is agressive, Pedri calms him down instantly.
“Keep it calm, eh?” Busquets approached Gavi, and tapped him on the shoulder. Gavi felt blood rush to his cheeks, being scolded never felt nice and he was already warned about his behavior on the field before by the captain.
The rest of the game continued nicely, with Pedri and Gavi validating their nickname of being the new “Xavi and Iniesta”
When Pedri scored, Gavi jumped on his back, cheering in support.
Back in the locker room, the atmosphere couldn’t be better. Everyone was happy for another win in a row, and another good game.
“The man of the game, Pedri” Lewandowski put his hands on the kid’s shoulder, shaking him slightly. Lewandowski was all the younger players’ favorite teammate, he was like a fatherly figure to all.
Pedri blushed, dismissing the compliment as they all laughed and gave some more compliments.
“Did you see how Gavi tackled that guy? You’re a crazy kid, how are you not hurt yet?”
“Gavi is mad.” Ferran agreed. It was all in a playful mood.
“Aye, aye, at least he didn’t get a yellow card. Unlike someone else here.” Pedri raises his eyebrow, turning the conversation to Ferran who did receive one for cursing at the referee.
Gavi chuckled, and nodded his head toward Pedri to say thank you for that quick save.
When they were done changing, singing, and cheering, they all headed back to the hotel. Gavi was rooming with Pedri, of course. He may or may not have requested that from the manager, but it’s only because he can’t stand to go through another adjustment period.
In fact, when Gavi was playing for Barcelona B, he would beg his manager and coach to let him have a separate room. Now that he was older, he didn’t want to seem too needy, so he instead simply asked to room with Pedri.
Gavi didn’t like away games too much. He always felt more comfortable at Camp Nou. That’s where he spent most of his childhood, cheering and playing for his favorite team.
“What’s up?” Pedri suddenly cuts his train of thoughs.
“Huh?”
“You look - upset. What is it?”
Gavi shook his head in denial. “I’m fine.”
Pedri looked at him, eyebrow raised, but when Gavi stayed silent, he let it go.
“I can’t sleep well at away games, I’m so exhausted. I think I’ll skip dinner.” Gavi says, plopping himself on the bed. The air was humid in July, so he took his shirt off.
Pedri’s eyes lingered on Gavi’s chest for a split moment, but he quickly pulled himself out. It felt like they were glued, and whatever happened will never happen again. His face got red, so he scrambled out of the room quickly.
“What are you doing?” Torres asks Pedri as he grabs a take-away box.
“Gavi wasn’t feeling good, so he didn’t come to eat.” Pedri explains, putting some more food in just in case Gavi didn’t like the first choice.
“Awh, I didn’t know you were a doctor” Torres teases lightly. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, I think he is tired.” Pedri laughs when he remembers how much Gavi was kicking his feet in his sleep the night before. No wonder he is tired. “He doesn’t sleep. He always wakes me up.”
“Man, I would ask to switch the room.”
When Torres says that, Pedri laughs but realizes he wouldn’t ask for a room change even if he sacrifices some sleep for it. He is so used to sharing with Gavi, that it would be awkward to wake up with someone else in the room.
“I’ve never seen two guys closer than you two.” Araujo says. He doesn’t mean it in a bad way, but Pedri suddenly feels self-conscious. Is it that noticeable? They’re all close.
“We’re not.” Pedri chuckles. “We just play together, it’s normal to be together more.”
“No, man.” Torres laughs. “You take care of Gavi like he is your son.”
“No, I don’t.” Pedri laughs. “Come on, when?”
“You tie his shoe-laces!” Torres points out. “That’s because he is bad at that. Do you want him to break his nose?” Pedri answers back.
“Mhm. What about the Real game when you ran to buy him tissues because the medical didn’t have any?”
“And what about when you made us all call him Gavi because he didn’t like to be called Pablo?”
“And what about when you made me switch in the drills so you can be -“
“Alright! Alright!” Pedri raises his hands in defense. “Whatever man, I’m just a good friend.”
“Uh-huh.” Torres and Araujo exchange a look, then laugh. Pedri feels embarrassed, and tries to hide the redness on his face.
“What are we talking about.” Busquets rubs everyone’s head as he gets up from the table, popping himself in the conversation.
“About how Pedri likes Gavi more than us.” Araujo says.
Pedri just sighs.
“Oh, he does.” Busquets confirms. Pedri gives him a “really?” Look. He can’t believe nobody is on his side.
When he comes back to the room, Gavi is fast asleep, breathing heavily. Pedri chuckles at the sight of him. He carefully puts down the food on the nightstand, trying not to wake up Gavi.
He sits on his bed, and just watches Gavi for a second. He looks tiny, very childlike in his peaceful state. That was unlike the Gavi he witnesses on the field every day.
He wonders if he really treats Gavi differently? Maybe a little. But he does it because they’re teammates! They play together, they’re almost the same age, it just makes sense to be like that.
Gavi shifts, then opens his eyes. He yawns and rubs his eyes. After a moment, he sees Pedri.
“Oh shit, did I fall alseep?” He groans.
“Just a little, I guess. I just came back.” He points to the food. A smile comes on Gavi’s face.
“You brought me food?” He says excitedly, and grabs the box to see what’s inside. This makes Pedri laugh.
“I knew you’d be hungry.”
“You’re awesome. I love you, man” Gavi pulls Pedri in to kiss his cheek. Gavi is very affectionate. Pedri is sure he receives and gives more kisses than anyone else.
Pedri feels happy, so he lets Gavi cling onto him for a few seconds. He ignores the feeling in his mind and focuses on anything else to distract him.
“I’ll go shower. Enjoy the dinner.” Pedri flicks Gavi’s hair jokingly.