One Night in Santiago/Football Under Flashing Lights (Neymar Jr. Fan Fiction)

79.

-Neymar POV-

I got home from training and I smiled at the view of Katerina sitting on the floor surrounded by sketches and fabric swatches. She was like this everyday--perfecting her craft before she showed it to her mother. The show was months away but I had no idea how long it took for a collection to be put together from start to finish until I had seen it first hand. She hummed to herself softly as she organized them and I could tell she was so focused she didn't even notice I was home. "You know a couch exists for a reason," I teased her as I walked over to her.

She giggled at me and said, "the lighting was better here." She smiled up at me and I leaned down to press my lips to hers before I took a seat beside her.

I slid my arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead. "What are we looking at," I asked as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"These are all my designs," She said as she turned the page.

"Ahh, so this is going to be made of that?" I asked as he pointed to the suit jacket drawing and felt the silk fabric that would eventually be a part of the jacket lining.

"Correcto! You're actually not supposed to be seeing any of this. It's technically classified information," she told me with a cheeky wink.

"So you're going to have to kill me now because I've seen too much," I gasped. She laughed at me and pretended to choke me. I pulled her hands around my neck and puckered my lips for her to kiss me. She giggled against my lips and kissed me softly. I kissed her tenderly and pulled back to look at her beautiful face. "I want to see my artist's creations," I smirked at her.

Her face lit up and that was all it took for her to launch into explaining each sketch down to the stitch that would be used on the garment. The way she described her work was fascinating to me and the way she talked about her designs and how she personified every piece made me smile. She put so much thought into the flow of the pieces and the way they would fit on different body types. As she described the fabrics to me, I could envision exactly what she was saying and I was in awe at how talented she truly was. Fashion truly was an art form and Katerina and her mother definitely had the gene for it. "This is amazing! How do these ideas just come to you," I asked in disbelief at her creativity.

She shrugged and her cheeks flushed at my compliment. "It's just what I know. My mom's done it all my life--both of my parents are artists. We didn't have much when I was very young. My dad would sing to me these songs he came up with and let me stand on his feet so he could dance with me around the room when he practiced. My mom would sew dolls for me and little dresses for me to play. All of my happiest memories are of them teaching me their art. I think I'm better at expressing myself with art than with words," she chuckled.

I smiled at her and brushed her hair behind her ear as she spoke. It was rare she told me things about her childhood but I could tell how much of a lasting impact it had on her and how much it inspired her. And it inspired me to see everyday how strong of a woman she was to be able to live through so much tragedy and still be able to keep a smile on her face and remain so inspired to create such beautiful things. "I hope you know how much I admire you," I told her sincerely looking into her soft eyes, "I'm so proud of the person you are, baby."

.

The recollection of such a happy memory bore the hole in my chest even deeper as I played it over and over in my head while I showered. I knew I was taking too long in the showers when I heard the commotion of my teammates rushing into the locker room. I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my waist before I prepared myself to face them. Everyone was in much higher spirits than I had expected and I assumed we had won the game after my problematic exit. I saw Alexis furrowing his eyebrows at his cellphone when I got to my locker and before I could say anything, he put me in check.