Home is Where the Heart is - Pablo Gavi

Chapter 37: Validation

I swear no feeling beats waking up in his arms. I groan as the sun peaks through the gap in the curtains and stings my eyes. I turn into Gavi and burry my head in the crook of his neck to escape the glare.

At my movement he wakes up too and kisses me on the forehead, murmuring a good morning, "Buenos días mi amor, ¿cómo te sientes? (Good morning my love, how are you feeling)"

"Buenos días," I respond. "Pretty good, still tired."

"Than go back to sleep mi amor," he says, tightening his arms around me. "We have plenty of time before we need to be awake."

I grunt as I start to sit up, not wanting to go back to sleep even if I am tired. Gavi protests to my movement and stays laying down, his one arm now resting around my back and the other placed gently on my bare stomach. I reach over to the night stand and grab my phone, opening it up to Instagram. I always check Instagram first because it's where I find the majority of opinions on Barca. When it loads I check our team account as well as the Laliga and Premier league accounts, nothing much. I click over to my twitter and the first thing I notice is we're both trending. Oh?

I click onto my name and everything is about Gavi and I kissing on the pitch and confirming our relationship. And none of it is positive.

I knew there were rumors, but I was hoping they weren't true... Gavi would be better off with literally anyone else.

Does she honestly think she'll make it in the men's league? There's a reason boys and girls don't play together, boys are much stronger.

What's he thinking, she's not even pretty.

All she is is a nepo baby, she's not even that good of a player, they handed those goals to her.

I won't believe it until it comes out of Gavi's mouth.

She's not even in shape, I bet under that jersey she's fat.

As a Barca fan, Xavi out.

He probably pities her.

She'll never be good enough for him.

Who even is she?

On and on.

Suddenly I'm self conscious of him having his hand on my stomach. I throw down my phone on the bed beside me. This is what I was afraid of.

"What's the matter mi Princesa?" Gavi asks, his eyes still closed. He rubs delicate circles on my stomach with his thumb.

"Nothing," I mutter, crossing my arms. I don't want to let it get to me. I can't admit it is getting to me.

Gavi's eyes flutter open and he peers up at me. "Tell me what it is please," he says softly, adding a small pout to his lip.

"People," I reply shortly, avoiding his gaze.

He reaches out. "Let me see." I hand him my phone and he opens it, met with everyone's negative comments. His jaw tightens increasingly every comment he skims. He sets my phone down. "That's all bullshit and you know it. I love you. I don't want to be with anyone else. Ever. You have earned your spot on the team and you should never let anyone tell you otherwise. Did you get the chance because of your uncle? Yes, but you earned your chance to stay. Nobody works as hard as you do, and you know what they say, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. And you are gorgeous to me inside and out, it doesn't matter what anyone else says. What's that line... Oh, romance is not dead if you keep it just yours. We can keep this just ours."

"No we can't!" I sigh audibly. "We announced it and now the whole world is against us, including my uncle and our coach."

"Private not secret," he whispers, rubbing his hand up and down my back.