Word Count : 1628
Requested by thatfootballgirlie So a few comments. First is I of course did your request but I kind of did it in my own creative way. I'm not sure if this is what you meant, but regardless, I hope you like. And also, when it came to kids, I just decided to have 3 like regular but they're different kids with different names. They're not very important anyway so I'm sure that should be fine. Hope you enjoy!
Antoine Griezmann
❤️ Atlético de Madrid 🤍
𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
You knock on the door to the bathroom, calling, "Antoine, are you almost done with your shower?"
"Oui, mon chérie," (Yes, sweetheart) answers your husband in his native language. "I'm nearly finished. Why, do you need to get in here?"
"Well, no... not really, no. I just want to talk to you, is all."
"Bien sûr. Just let me finish up." (Of course)
"D'accord !" (Alright) You go to the living room of your Madrid home and sit down on the couch. After the World Cup, Antoine has a few days before he has to go back with Atlético. Right now, the two youngest of your three children are napping. You hope they don't wake up any time soon. You just want some one-on-one time with your husband.
Finally, he walks into the room, wearing a long sleeve sweater over a white shirt, blue jeans, and white socks. His short, bleached hair, which is coming in his natural dark brown a fair bit now, is still wet. He puts his earring in, before sitting down next to you, criss cross, on the couch. He takes your hand, which is a natural thing for him to do. Whenever your hand is available, he always likes to have it in his. "What is that you want to talk about?" he asks.
"I want to talk about you."
He looks up in confusion. "Moi?" (Me?)
"Yes, you! It's just... These past couple of days, you've seemed a little down, and I'm sure I know why."
"I have? I'm sorry. I was trying not to-"
"Trying not to what? Seem upset? Come on, Antoine, enough with that. You know how much I tell you not to do that..."
He nods before leaning his head on your shoulder. "I know, but it doesn't really matter, and you're doing so much with the kids and... Well, I'd hate to stress you out any more than you already are."
"I already said, stop, Antoine," you say seriously, putting your arm around his back this time.
He sighs through his nose, before saying after a few seconds simply, "Okay."
"So you're upset about the World Cup."
"It's okay," he says. "It's fine, Y/n, really."
"The World Cup is big, Antoine. You have every right to be upset about it."
"It's just that we made it so far. It could have been two in a row..."
"I know... I know, but you won in 2018, Antoine. Remember?"
"And lost in 2022."
"You didn't lose! You came in second!"
"You're right," he sighs again. "But after winning, it's so bittersweet. I'm happy for all the Argentina guys. They played... They were extraordinary."
"And you're forgetting you were too. You are."
"Not good enough, Y/n."
You sigh, running your fingers in his soft clean short hair. "You're so down about this. I just want to make you feel better."
"I already said I don't know if you can." He shifts, before saying, "Can I lay down?"
You smile, looking at his half-lidded blue eyes. "M'kay, sleepyhead," you tease. "Put your head on my lap."
He shrugs and does so. After he gets comfortable, you say, "Remember, in 2018, the morning before the big final with Croatia?"
"Tell me," he sighs simply.
And as you tell the story, it's almost like you're taken back to that moment.
Four years ago, before the World Cup final
You walked right up to your husband and wrapped your arms around him, resting your head on his chest. "Oh my God, Antoine," you muttered. "This is it."
"I know," he said softly, but there was color in his tone. "I know it is, and we're going to win it. We're going to win this."
"You better," you laughed softly.
"I'm going to go out there and score a goal just for you, okay?"
"Quit making all these promises, Antoine, because then you have to fulfill them all," you said teasingly. You stood, still holding each other in a hug.
"I will fulfill them. You just watch me."
"Oh, I'll be watching you alright, baby. You're going to go out there and blow me away. Our country is going to win the World Cup. There's no doubt about it."
"You've got that right." He leaned away, taking your hands in his, looking you right in the eyes with his mesmerizing blue ones. "I'm going to blow you away."
Suddenly, Antoine's teammate, Kylian, called, "Come on, Antoine. Enough with the lovebird thing, we've got to go now!"
Antoine gave you a quick kiss on the lips, before letting go of your hands, giving you a smile and a wave, and walking off with his teammates.
Present time
Antoine shakes his head with a soft smile. "Stupid Kylian. I remember that."
"I'm sure you do, Antoine," you chuckle. You gently continue to run your fingers in his hair, and his eyes gently close again along with that. "And, Antoine, I will never forget the moment you made that penalty. Your goal was the first step to the win. It was 1-1, but you changed that."
"Mmmmm, shut up," he says softly.
"No chance," you say, before you begin.
Four years ago, during the World Cup final
You sat on the edge of your seat, your breathing heavy, holding your small toddler in your lap. "Mama," you the little girl had said. "I'm sleepy."
"Shhhh, Camille, look!" As you spoke, your voice grew higher in pitch in excitement. "Look, Papa's gonna shoot the penalty! See?"
The young girl leaned over, and you held her up. You watched in anticipation, nervousness flooding through your body. At the last second, your thought was Oh God, what if he misses?
But then the ball hit the back of the neck. Your heart pounded in your chest and you stood up, waving your flag in the air and screaming at the top of your lungs. Even little Camille was screaming. You watched as all his teammates surrounded him in a huge hug, and you yourself felt like you were being hugged as well. The crowd went wild as music started to play, and you felt utter joy fill your system. Your veins, arteries... everything.
And then he looked right at you.
Present time
"And then did you wink or something? You were far away, so it was hard to see."
"No, no, no," Antoine says, sitting up. His eyes are opened again, and much brighter than they were before. "I did wink, but don't you remember I blew you a kiss? I blew you a kiss and your hand went to your chest and even from so far I saw your beautiful eyes shining for me in that moment, mon cherie."
You giggle, stroking his cheek. "Now I remember. I remember I thought to myself, My God, look at him. He was serious when he said he'd score. He was serious when he said they'd win. And I was serious when I said he'd blow me away."
"You know I did it for you. So really it was y-"
"Antoine, quit it!" you tease. "You literally put a ball into the back of the net and now you're telling me you didn't? Come on, now!"
He laughs out loud, which makes you feel so warm inside.
"You were mesmerizing though," you say in a soft, romantic voice, your face close to his. "I remember I was so thankful for you. I thought, How come I get to be with the most perfect man on earth? Why me?"
"Because," he says, "you're the most perfect woman on earth."
You smile at this. "You wanna know something?"
"What?" he smiles back.
"I cried after that. I was so happy and... it's just- God, just thinking of it makes me teary eyed."
He chuckles. "Oh, come on, Y/n, why?"
"It's just..." you say, wiping your eyes, resting your head into his chest. "Amazing memories like this make me so happy... My life with you has been so amazing. I cry I guess when I get so happy..."
He smiles, lifting your chin, kissing your cheek where a tear is rolling down, stopping it in its tracks. "Salty," he says simply.
This makes you laugh out loud this time, and you wipe your eyes for the last time, saying, "Sorry."
"No, I love you. I love the way you get emotional about silly things. Because sometimes I do, too."
"Not as much as me."
"You'd be surprised."
"Well, Antoine," you giggle. "I'm glad you're laughing and smiling again. I've been missing silly you for the last few days. I'm glad your feeling better."
"Well, it's all thanks to you, mon belle, for reminding me of some amazing memories." He then wraps his arms around you in a big, enveloping, warm hug, and it gives you that same exact warm feeling you felt that moment four years ago, during the World Cup final, when he scored, and dedicated it right to you. "Sorry for being grumpy," Antoine mutters.
You smile into his neck. "It's understandable. I just figured there are some memories that might make you feel better."
"And they did. I feel much better."
"And Antoine," you say, gently kissing his neck, "no matter how grumpy you get, I'll still love you the same. I love every single part of you. Even the grumpy part."
He laughs, leaning away slightly to hit you with those beautiful eyes, before gently, slowly, kissing your lips. When he pulls away, his face so close to yours, he simply whispers, "I love every single part of you, too."