FOOTBALL FICLET: Under a Portuguese sun (Cristiano Ronaldo/Kaka)

[lobelia321]

Okay, I've finally lost the plot and gone ahead and written Kaká/Cristiano Ronaldo. This is mildly experimental because, gads, it was the only way I could contain my madness via prose. Um, written to the musical accompaniment of man-on-man vids.



Under a Portuguese Sun
by Lobelia


Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, also known as Kaká, sits on a fence in Lisbon.

Behind him, the sun sinks into the Atlantic Ocean.

Next to him, leaning against a cork tree, stands Cristiano Ronaldo.

A monkey runs past, chasing its tail, but neither of the two notice.

Kaká stretches his arms over his head.

And nearly topples off the fence.

Cristiano reaches over to steady him. His hand slips on the warm skin of Kaká's bare upper right arm.

"Wait," says Cristiano, in the accent that sends termites into Kaká's solar plexus.

In the distance, white clouds emerge from a red chimney stack.

Cristiano leans over and brushes his lips across Kaká's cheek.

"Aftershave," he says.

Kaká says nothing. Closes his eyes.

His eyebrows are curves on his forehead.

Cristiano's eyebrows angle in a V. His neck is a stork's neck.

A steamer hoots on the horizon. Picture-book gulls screech past.

Perspiration pearls on the top of Kaká's upper lip.

Cristiano's nose is pressed into the side of Kaká's neck.

There are cucumbers in the azure sky.

Cristiano slips his hand underneath Kaká's T-shirt and onto the warm skin of his bare belly.

A shiver shivers there.

"Wait," says Kaká in the accent that sends flies buttering up the back of Cristiano's throat.

But Cristiano doesn't.

Wait.

Won't.

Can't.

Can't hold back.

Spindthrift on waves.

Beads of moisture between the hairs on the back of Kaká's lower arm. His knuckles grow white. They tauten around the metal bar of the fence.

"Oh," he says, in an accent not even of this world.

His hair is mussed although the breeze? The breeze is negligible.

His head falls sideways. It flops onto Cristiano's shoulder, against Cristiano's head, his mussed hair against Cristiano's brushed hair.

It's possible to keep balance on a fence with only one hand. You don't need two.

"Oh," says Cristiano.

"Oh," say the clouds that fly on the wing.

A troupe of birds with grey-and-pink feathers like the foliage of exotic trees flaps its wings in crazy concert and takes off.

Nothing like the speed of flight. Or the arc of a soaring ball Or the beat of a heart in the summer's heat.

Cristiano Ronaldo


Kaká

Comments

[rrr-nightingale.livejournal.com]

OMG, thank you for this fic! It's extraordinary! The text is very picturesque, if I can say so%) And I love the way you play upon words.
This story is not like the others and it's great;)

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And you're so kind to comment on the playing with words. I've been writing quite a bit of experimental fic recently, as it is, but somehow rps and pretty boys bring out the surreal pwp in me! :-)

[wanderlost.livejournal.com]

*reminds herself that she doesn't like sports*

*reads really REALLY lovely fic* *sees pretty boys* *totally changes her mind*

This was wonderful; just great!

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

*reminds herself that she doesn't like sports*


*laughs*

Well, no sport to be seen in this pwp from one horizon to the other... :-) Thanks kindly for your feedback!

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Very poetic. I especially like the recurring reference to the differing accents.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading and commenting! I'm glad you liked the bit about the accent. Having no concrete idea of what the difference between Portuguese Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese actually is (research??) but being keen to get it in there somehow, I hit upon this way of making it a rather vague allusion. I've since seen a clip of C. Ronaldo speaking Portuguese (you.tube, I love you!) and just need some Kaká now to compare... God, I'm sure they both have gorgeous accents.

Um. Yes.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

The accents are *very* different: European Portuguese is very clipped to the point of almost dropping the vowels, and Brazilian Portuguese is almost drawled. Some of the vowel sounds and grammar are also quite different, more so than the differences between UK and US English.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you for this bit of information. Are you Portuguese or Brazilian yourself?? Are there any sites on the web where you can hear snippets of each language spoken? Hm, I've seen Brazilian movies; if my rps obsession were to spiral totally out of control, I could always re-borrow them and find some Portuguese films as well. *ties wrist to keyboard in order to prevent descent into complete insanity*

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I'm a native English speaker, but I started making a lot of online Brazilian friends and so got pretty intensely into learning the language. I've only spoken with Brazilians, so most of what I know of the sound of European Portuguese comes from recordings. I've found that it's best to focus on learning either one or the other, because the lexical and pronuciation variations will really foul you up if you try to blend them together. When I listen to or sing a lot of fado (traditional European Portuguese song style), it gets into my spoken (Brazilian) Portuguese and the results are pretty screwy.

This wikipedia entry has some good links to various Portuguese dialects. Most of them are European, but there are two Brazilian variants as well as some from Africa and Asia (Macau). No English translations for what the interviewees are saying, unfortunately, but you can at least hear the differences in sound. I can't make out any of the shades of variation in the European dialects, but the contrast with the Brazilian, I think, is marked.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_dialects

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

This is all very interesting!! But waah, I couldn't make those links talk to me! I clicked and clicked. Grr. I really want to hear them now.

[clair3.livejournal.com]

very interesting XD

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Thank you!!! :-)

[blankversesfic.livejournal.com]

That was wonderful, I loved the style, loved the words.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I'm so flattered you like style and words. I've been writing a fair bit of experimental fic recently, anyway, but somehow the rps and the pretty bring out the surreal in my prose...

Oh, and where is your icon from?? *stares*

[blankversesfic.livejournal.com]

I'm down with the surreal in prose, I think it's nifty. And go with it, I'd love to read more (I'm ninja-attack friending you, if you don't mind, that is *grins*)

I got the icon off a community, it's by diamondbreak. I'm pretty sure it's a shot from after the penalty kick he scored the game before last.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

I have been sifting through so many footballer pics these last few days, my eyes hurt. And still there are more!!

Yes, ninja-attack-friend away. I love that diction!! Oh, Cristiano... *g*

[lemoneko.livejournal.com]

XD heyya there! these two boys are my favoritEST so I just had to read this one XDD thank you for writing it.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your lovely squeeing! I am quite besotted with these two and have already written a follow-up... :-)

[lemoneko.livejournal.com]

YIPPEH! :DDDD they are indeed lovely but I dunno how to make actually work! so if you know any more fics abt these 2 please let me know! and write more and more, pweaaase~!

[tansu.livejournal.com]

Delightful imagery and very pleasing pace and rhythm.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You are such a delightful feedbacker, thank you so much! :-)