Chapter Text
Y/N had never really known what it was like to have a normal life.
Growing up as Hansi Flick's adopted daughter meant football had always been somewhere around her.
Training sessions. Matches. Players coming over. Conversations about football at dinner.
It had never particularly bothered her.
She'd grown up in Croatia, and before Barcelona, one of the people she'd gotten closest to through football was Dani Olmo.
She'd known Dani since his Dinamo Zagreb days.
Back then, he was just Dani to her—not the footballer everyone knew now. He was the annoying friend who would steal food from her plate and somehow convince her to stay five minutes longer every time she tried to leave.
So when he'd asked her to meet him in Barcelona, she'd agreed.
She just hadn't realized there would be other people.
“Y/N!”
She looked up from her phone.
Dani was walking toward her.
Y/N immediately checked the time.
Then she looked back at him.
“You're late.”
Dani stopped.
“I'm two minutes late.”
“Seven.”
“That's basically two.”
Y/N stared at him over the top of her black oval glasses.
Dani grinned.
She sighed and pushed a piece of her long, wavy brown hair behind her ear.
“Why did you ask me to come here?”
“Because I wanted you to meet some people.”
Y/N's eyebrows rose.
“What people?”
“You'll see.”
“Dani.”
“Y/N.”
She already knew that tone.
He wasn't going to tell her.
She sighed.
“Fine.”
Dani smiled and started walking.
Y/N followed, quietly wondering why she'd agreed to this.
She wasn't particularly good with new people.
She wasn't antisocial. She just got shy.
Especially when everyone else already seemed to know each other.
And apparently, Dani had decided that throwing her into a group of footballers was the perfect solution.
They eventually reached a group of people.
Y/N recognized most of them immediately.
Pedri.
Eric García.
Joan García.
And then—
Ferran Torres.
She'd obviously seen him before.
He played for Barcelona.
Her dad coached Barcelona.
She'd seen Ferran around the training ground, although they'd never really spoken.
Dani walked toward them.
“Guys.”
The conversation stopped.
“This is Y/N.”
Y/N suddenly became very aware of everyone looking at her.
She instinctively tucked her hair behind her ear again.
“Hi.”
Pedri smiled.
“Hi.”
“Nice to meet you,” Joan said.
“You too.”
Eric gave her a friendly smile.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
Then Y/N looked at Ferran.
He was already looking at her.
She immediately looked down.
Ferran noticed.
It was subtle.
The way her shoulders pulled in slightly.
The way her fingers caught the edge of her sleeve.
The way she suddenly seemed much smaller than she had a second ago.
He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.
So he softened his expression and looked away first.
“Ferran,” Dani said.
Ferran glanced back at him.
“Hi.”
Y/N looked up.
“Hi.”
Her voice was quiet.
Really quiet.
Ferran's expression softened again.
He wasn't sure why, but something about it made his chest tighten slightly.
She seemed nervous.
And he suddenly felt like he was probably making it worse just by standing there.
He was considerably taller than her.
Actually, considerably might have been an understatement.
She was tiny.
And standing next to him, she looked even smaller.
Ferran took half a step back without really thinking about it.
Y/N noticed.
Her eyes flicked toward him.
He smiled gently.
“Don't worry.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“About what?”
“Nothing.”
She stared at him for a second.
Then she looked away again.
Ferran had to stop himself from smiling.
She was cute.
He'd known her for approximately thirty seconds.
That was ridiculous.
Dani started talking again, introducing everyone properly, but Ferran only caught pieces of it.
Y/N was Hansi's adopted daughter.
She was Croatian.
She'd known Dani since his Dinamo days.
He'd heard her name before, apparently.
He just hadn't connected it to her.
When everyone started walking, Y/N ended up slightly behind the others.
Ferran noticed.
Of course he did.
He slowed down until he was walking beside her.
She glanced up.
“You don't have to walk back here.”
Y/N blinked.
“I know.”
“Oh.”
She looked ahead again.
Ferran smiled to himself.
He had a feeling she was going to make him work for every conversation.
“Are you always this quiet?”
The second the words left his mouth, he wondered if he'd said the wrong thing.
Y/N's fingers immediately moved toward her glasses.
Her shoulders drew in slightly.
Ferran's expression changed.
“Sorry.”
She looked at him.
“For what?”
“I didn't mean it like that.”
Y/N tilted her head.
“Like what?”
“Like there's something wrong with being quiet.”
Her eyes softened a little.
“Oh.”
Ferran leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on his knees for a second as they walked, almost unconsciously trying to make himself less intimidating.
“I just meant…” He paused. “You don't talk much.”
Y/N's lips twitched.
“Neither do you.”
Ferran stared at her.
Then he laughed.
“Okay.”
She smiled.
A tiny one.
But it was there.
And Ferran felt ridiculously pleased with himself.
“There,” he said.
Y/N looked at him.
“What?”
“You smiled.”
Her cheeks immediately warmed.
Ferran's smile disappeared into something softer.
He hadn't meant to embarrass her.
“Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing.”
He blinked.
Y/N looked like she'd surprised herself by saying it.
Ferran smiled.
“Okay.”
A few seconds passed.
Then he added quietly:
“But you have a nice smile.”
Y/N immediately looked away.
Ferran's eyes widened slightly.
Oh.
He'd made her blush.
He hadn't expected that.
And for some reason, his heart did a stupid little flip.
He looked away too, suddenly feeling almost as awkward as she did.
Dani glanced back at them.
His eyes moved from Y/N's flushed cheeks to Ferran's suspiciously innocent expression.
Dani's eyebrows rose.
Ferran gave him a warning look.
Dani's grin widened.
Don't.
Ferran mouthed the word.
Dani turned around, laughing to himself.
Y/N looked between them.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Ferran said quickly.
She narrowed her eyes.
“Okay.”
They continued walking.
Eventually, Y/N started relaxing.
Pedri was easy to talk to, Eric kept making everyone laugh, and Joan was friendly enough that she didn't feel like she had to force conversation.
Dani, meanwhile, was still exactly as annoying as he'd always been.
And Ferran…
Ferran kept quietly paying attention to her.
When she struggled to hear something because everyone was talking at once, he repeated it for her.
When someone accidentally bumped into her, he instinctively looked down to make sure she was okay.
When she got shy after everyone turned their attention toward her, he changed the subject.
None of it was obvious.
At least, not to her.
But Pedri noticed.
Dani definitely noticed.
Ferran didn't.
Or maybe he did.
He just wasn't ready to think about it.
By the end of the afternoon, Y/N was sitting beside him.
She'd stopped hiding behind her hair.
She wasn't constantly adjusting her glasses anymore.
She was laughing.
Ferran liked that.
A lot.
Dani suddenly looked at them.
“You two are getting along.”
Y/N immediately looked at him.
“We're talking.”
“That's how friendships start.”
Ferran smiled.
Y/N looked at him.
“Are we friends?”
He thought about it dramatically.
Y/N's eyes narrowed.
“Don't.”
Ferran laughed.
“Yeah.”
He held out his hand.
“Friends.”
Y/N stared at his hand.
Then at him.
She hesitated before placing her much smaller hand in his.
Ferran looked down at their hands.
Something about it felt strangely nice.
He quickly let go before he could think too much about why.
“Friends,” Y/N repeated quietly.
“Friends.”
And that was it.
Nothing more.
Not yet.
When Y/N eventually got up to leave, she said goodbye to everyone.
“Bye, Y/N,” Pedri said.
“Bye.”
“See you,” Eric added.
Joan waved.
Then she turned toward Ferran.
“Bye.”
Ferran smiled.
“See you.”
She gave him a small smile before turning away.
Ferran watched her walk toward Dani.
Her long brown hair moved behind her as she walked, and she pushed her glasses higher up her nose.
He didn't know why he was still watching.
He definitely didn't know why he smiled when she looked back.
Dani noticed.
Of course he did.
“Don't,” Ferran warned.
“I didn't say anything.”
“You were going to.”
Dani grinned.
Ferran shook his head.
Then Y/N's voice carried back toward them.
“Bye, Ferran.”
Ferran looked at her.
His smile immediately softened.
“Bye, Y/N.”
She left.
Ferran watched until she disappeared from view.
Pedri walked up beside him.
“You like her.”
Ferran's head snapped toward him.
“What?”
Pedri laughed.
“I didn't say anything.”
“You literally just—”
“I'm kidding.”
Ferran frowned.
“She seems nice.”
Pedri's smile grew.
“Sure.”
Ferran shoved his shoulder.
“Shut up.”
Across the street, Y/N walked beside Dani.
She was quiet again.
But this time, she wasn't nervous.
She was thinking.
About Ferran.
About how he'd noticed when she was uncomfortable.
About how he'd softened his voice when he spoke to her.
About how she'd somehow felt safe around someone she'd met only hours ago.
Dani glanced at her.
“What?”
Y/N looked at him.
“Nothing.”
He smiled.
She knew that look.
“Don't.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“Exactly.”
Dani laughed.
Y/N rolled her eyes.
She didn't know it yet, but the boy she'd just called a friend was going to become one of the most important people in her life.
For now, though—
They were just friends.