"Give daddy a kiss." Raphaël said, crouching down to where your daughter was standing next to you, hand on your legs and looking around in confusion at the chaos of all the people that were present at the airport. Annabelle gazed at her father then, before timidly walking forward to give him a hug and hide her face in his neck. Raphaël laughed gently and looked up to where you were smiling as well, rubbing his hand up and down her back. She wasn't used to being in the spotlight like this. You and Raphaël had tried your best to keep her in the shadows, not posting too many pictures on social media so that she wouldn't be bothered at school for being the daughter of a Real Madrid player. Normally, you'd leave her with a baby-sit as well when Raphaël had to leave for a game and he'd say goodbye to her at home, but she really wanted to come this time because it would be a while before she'd see him again. The next couple of weeks of the World Cup would be hard for her, having never had to miss her dad for that long of a period before.
"Daddy'll be back before you know it, Anna. I promise." Raphaël assured her, pressing a kiss to her hair and she nodded but didn't lift her head from where it was nestled in the crook of his neck. He sighed, wrapping his arm around her before standing up and lifting her up as he did so. He supported her with one arm and with his other one he reached towards you, gesturing for you to come forwards and join the two of them in a hug.
With a lump in your throat, you walked towards them and leaned into him as he put his arm around your waist. Seeing the two of them like that had turned your mood around and suddenly you were finding it incredibly hard to let him go. You both had mainly said your goodbyes that morning in bed, deciding that it was better that way and also having more time to do so.
"Don't you start crying as well, or I'll never leave." Raph murmured in your ear and you nodded, sniffling before laying your left hand on your daughter's back to rub it softly in comfort.
"Look at me." He said, and you did what he said, looking up at him and closing your eyes when he gently pressed his lips against yours. You pressed yourself closer to him, the hand that wasn't rubbing your daughter's back coming to rest on the small of his back. Moving your lips slowly, you tilted your head slightly for a better angle. You didn't care about the sound of cameras going off in the background, you didn't care about the people yelling your husband's name, you only cared about your little family of three. The world could have him as soon as he was supposed to board the plane but until then, he was yours and nobody else's.
Slowly pulling back, Raphaël pecked your lips once, twice more before completely letting you go, taking a step back because he knew that if he didn't, he'd never stop kissing you.
"Anna, it's time to say goodbye." Raph said softly to Annabelle, who was still hiding her face and who, at hearing his words, wrapped her arms around his neck tighter and shook her head 'no'.
"Hey, darling, it's okay. You'll see me in a few weeks and in the meantime, we'll call. I'll call you and mommy as soon as I am in France, alright?"
"Okay," your daughter finally whispered, pulling back and by doing so, showing her face. Your heart twisted at the tear tracks that ran down her tears and Raphaël swallowed harshly, moving to wipe the tears from her face. After he did so, he playfully flicked her nose and she smiled slightly, still being too upset to full-out laugh but not being able to hold back a smile at her father's usual antics.
His name was called from somewhere and he frowned, knowing that it really was time to leave now. You walked forwards to take Annabelle from his arms and he let you, instead grasping the handle of his suitcase. Taking a step forwards, he pressed a kiss against Annabelle's forehead before doing the same to yours.
"I'll call you when I land. I love you." Raphaël said, looking at the two of you one last time and then turning around to walk away and towards the terminal where his other teammates were doing the same. You knew he hated leaving the two of you alone for weeks on end, but he also wanted to give everything he had to support his country in the World Cup. And he'd do brilliantly, no matter how hard it was to say goodbye.
YOU ARE READING
Football imagines
FanfictionImagines about football players, written by @footballfangurl on wattpad and tumblr.
