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All the players that had bothered to attend dinner ate in silence at the table. They were all worn out and in a very sullen mood. A great contrast to the hopeful atmosphere that had surrounded them when they’d gone out to play the match. Now they all sat together in sorrow as they picked at their food, the only sound in the room being forks lightly scraping against plates and the occasional tired sigh.
Eventually they all began to file out of the mess hall all muttering quiet good nights to each other, occasionally accompanied by a comforting hug. Neymar and Rafinha headed up to their room, lacking their usual loud laughter and non-stop banter.
Neymar let out a loud sigh as he flopped down on his bed and Rafa followed suit as he locked the door.
“Ney…” before he could go any further however there was a knock at the door. They both looked at each other.
“I’ll get it,” Neymar grumbled as he heaved himself off his bed. He shuffled towards the door and flung it open to come face to face with an apologetic looking Rodrygo, “Ro? What are you doing here?” Neymar couldn’t help the hint of confusion that entered his voice. Especially considering him and Vini had both supposedly gone to sleep as soon as the match was over. Both of them saying they weren’t hungry.
“Hi Ney, uh,” he paused as he searched for the right words, “it’s Vini. He’s not…talking.”
“What do you mean?” Neymar’s confusion was mounting and slowly growing into worry.
“He’s just been quiet. I thought maybe it’s cause he missed that pen but he just shook his head no when I asked him. I don’t know what to do.”
“Did you tell Thiago?”
“No. He said he doesn’t want him to worry.”
Neymar let out another loud sigh. Now he was definitely worried, “okay, I’ll go and see if I can find out what’s wrong with him.” He gave Rodrygo’s shoulder a comforting squeeze before shuffling past him. He closed the door as he watched Rodrygo sit on Rafa’s bed, striking up a quiet conversation with him.
He padded down the corridor until he reached Vini and Rodrygo’s room 2 doors down. He took in a breath and knocked on the door. There was no response as he’d expected but he proceeded to enter anyways, shutting the door behind him. There Vini sat on top of the covers, arms crossed and unseeing eyes faced towards the muted TV. The light from whatever show was playing cast his face in shadows, highlighting the lines of weariness on his face and making him appear older than he was.
“Vini?” Neymar asked as he walked to the edge of his bed and sat down next to him. He placed a comforting hand on his knee as the younger man finally turned to look towards him.
“I thought Ro went to get Thiago,” he said in a detached, faraway voice. It made Neymar frown slightly, hearing his usually loud and cheerful friend sound so dejected.
“No don’t worry. Thiago doesn’t know. He’s not coming,” Neymar could see Vini relax slightly at his words as he nodded his head lightly in understanding, “what’s wrong Vini?” He asked as he nudged his knuckles against Vini’s chin. However Vini just looked down and kept quiet, crossing his arms even tighter around his chest. So he tried something else, “are you okay?”
Vini just shook his head no then finally turned his head up to face him with two tearful eyes, “no,” he whispered, voice cracking. Neymar quickly sat next to him against the headboard and wrapped his arms around Vini as he wrapped his around Neymar. He rested his head on top of Vini’s as he buried his in Neymar’s chest. Neymar just held him as he took in a few shaky breaths trying not to let the tears fall.
“You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong. We can just stay like this,” he said quietly, pushing away his curiosity, “as long as you need,” he added as he pressed a kiss to Vini’s head. They continued to sit in silence. The light from the TV bathing them in dancing hues of reds and greens as Vini’s breathing evened out.
“How do you do it?” Vini asked in a small voice.
“Do what?”
“Ignore them.” Neymar wasn’t all too sure who ‘them’ was but he tried not to push Vini. “The fans, the media, all those comments.” And finally Neymar understood what had ruined Vini’s mood. Neymar had had his fair share of insults and threats thrown at him but the comments he heard directed towards Vini made him feel sick.
“I…you get used to it over time.”
“I don’t think I will. I’m not as strong as you Ney.”
“You will be maninho. I promise,” he squeezed Vini lightly as he tried to reassure him, “and you don’t have to do it alone. I’ll be here for you. No matter what.”
Vini nodded his head slightly as he sniffled lightly, “okay.”
“Besides, they’ll always have something to say but they don’t know you. I know you and I mean it when I say none of what they say is true. They’re just trying to get to you but you just have to learn how to block them out. Yes you might have missed the pen but mistakes happen. None of them could do what you do. Even at their best they’re nowhere near your worst. I can’t guarantee it will get better but I can promise I’ll be here for you.”
Vini nodded once more feeling much better than before, “thank you Ney.” He silently thanked Rodrygo for calling Neymar as he began to feel the weight of sleep catch up to him after the days events. He yawned lightly into Neymar’s chest as his eyelids began to feel heavy.
Neymar reached over to Rodrygo’s bed and pulled of the top blanket before wrapping it around the two of them, “sleep irmão,” he muttered quietly.
Vini let his eyes finally fall shut, the last thing he felt being a kiss to his forehead as Neymar rubbed his back soothingly.