Somewhere Only We Know

“You’re cute” Iker murmured as he traced kisses down the side of Ariana’s face, trying to capture her attention. It had been a couple of weeks since their dinner with Sergio and the others, and they were currently stood in an airport, awaiting the arrival of her parents and older brother, something which appeared to have Ariana a little on edge. She was concerned. She had come to like Iker greatly in the weeks that they had been seeing each other, but she couldn’t help but worry that her family would find fault with him. Lucia still hadn’t warmed to the idea that her baby sister was dating the keeper and Ariana worried that the rest of her relatives would be the same, even if Isabella had insisted that they weren’t. She knew that her parents wanted the best for her and worried that they would disapprove of Iker.

“Iker” she complained softly, trying to push him a way a little. She was loving it, Iker’s kiss never failed to make butterflies appear in bundles in her stomach, but she didn’t need him pushing his luck with her parents. It was likely to be awkward at first anyways and she didn’t want to make things worse. Iker chuckled against her skin. “Don’t pretend you’re not loving it Ari” he murmured, pressing a little kiss to the space just below her ear, evoking a little shiver from her.

“I might be, but that is not the point, you’re trying to make a good impression on my parents and my brother” she murmured, trying to stifle the little moan that was desperate to escape as Iker proceeded to nibble on her ear. Iker smirked and proceeded to kiss down her face once more, meeting her lips softly. He could see she was tense, she had been all week about the prospect of her parents coming to stay and about the family dinner that was to follow their arrival, but he wanted her to relax. If there was one thing that Iker had learnt about her in the three weeks that they had been dating it was that she fretted unnecessarily a lot of the time and he wanted to calm her down. He was sure meeting her mother, father and brother wasn’t going to be as bad as she was expecting it to be.

“Nena, calm down” he murmured as he pulled away from her a little, his dark eyes thoughtfully looking down into hers.

“That’s easy for you to say. I am sure you have taken girls home to your parents before” she murmured.

“One, yes, but I wasn’t this nervous. At the end of the day, if you want to be with me, there is very little that your parents can do” he explained as he gently brushed the brown hair off of her face, offering her a soft smile that made her heart flutter a little.

“You’re very good at that” she murmured as she kissed his lips gently.

“What?” Iker teased.

“Reassuring me. You seem to know the right thing to say most of the time and I like it” she admitted with a little smile.

Iker chuckled softly before he spotted Ariana’s parents padding towards them, smiles on their faces. “Ari” he murmured, turning her slightly. Ariana turned with his movement and smiled, rushing over to greet her parents with hugs.

Iker watched them for a second before Ariana peeked back, waving him over.

“Mum, dad, Aaron, this is my…uh” Ariana stumbled out, her blue eyes flicking between her relatives and Iker.

The keeper rolled his eyes a little before he outstretched his hand. “I am Iker Casillas, I am your daughter’s boyfriend” he mused, a little smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

“We know exactly who you are” Isabella smirked “I am Isabella Costa, Ari’s mother” she mused as she shook his hand slightly. She was impressed, Iker was even better looking in person, and she couldn’t quite believe that he was Ariana’s boyfriend. She had always been expecting someone a little more average for her youngest child. Iker smiled and kissed the back of her hand softly. “I can see where Ari gets her looks from Mrs Costa” he mused easily, drawing a little giggle from Isabella’s mouth.

Ariana blushed slightly at the sound. She knew that was her mother’s flirty laugh.

Iker smiled a little at the hint of pink on his girlfriend’s cheeks before he moved to introduce himself to Aaron and Harry, allowing Isabella the chance to move towards her daughter. “He’s even cuter in person Ari” she enthused.

“I’d noticed he was pretty good looking, mama, but I would like you to not point it out every thirty seconds” she murmured with a look towards her feet. It made her nervous, the fact that Iker looked as he did, and she didn’t need her mother making it any worse. It was already bad enough that Lucia bought it up every time she could without Isabella pointing it.

Isabella noted the look on her daughter’s face and wrapped her in a hug. “It’s alright Ari” she murmured “Iker’s not taken his eyes off you since we got here” she added causing Ariana to turn slightly, her blue eyes catching Iker’s brown ones. “He really cares about you Ari and you need to stop worrying about it so much. He’s a good man” Isabella smiled as she tucked some hair behind her daughter’s ear. She could tell that she was shy, she wore a blush every time that Iker’s name was mentioned, but she was sure that there was nothing to be worried about. Iker was a good man, she could tell that, and she doubted he would ever hurt Ariana.

~#~
Rolling her eyes, Lucia glared as Iker and Ariana made their way over to the table, irritatingly happy smiles fixed on their faces. It annoyed Lucia, Iker hadn’t set a foot wrong since he had started seeing Ariana, and she was bored of it. Every time she saw her baby sister, she was either with the keeper or texting him and it was starting to play on her last nerve. She couldn’t believe how deluded Iker was being, he was, in Lucia’s eyes, dating the wrong sister and she couldn’t believe that he hadn’t figure it out as of yet. Ariana was far too plain for a man like him and she was sure that she would make a far better WAG for the Spain and Real Madrid captain.

“Lucia” Harry mused as he moved to greet his older daughter “Sweetheart, you look wonderful” he enthused as he engulfed her in a hug, cutting off the glances between her and her sister. They were obvious, the looks she kept sending to Ariana, and he wanted to cut them off. Ariana, for the first time, seemed remarkably happy and Harry wasn’t going to let Lucia’s jealousy ruin it for her. Iker was the best thing to happen to the brunette and he didn’t want her to lose him because of Lucia’s actions.

“Gracias papa” Lucia grumbled as she forced herself out of the hug.

Harry sighed and moved to take his seat, offering Ariana a little smile as she and Iker sat down.

“So, Iker, things with Real are looking good. Do you think you are going to win the league?” Aaron posed.

Iker shrugged. “Things are good right now, but I have no idea how we will be tomorrow. Barca and Atletico are coming on strong, but I think we could pip them this year” he noted.

Ariana smiled and leant close to his ear. “I love the spark in your eyes when you talk about football” she whispered softly “It’s very cute” she added, pecking his cheek lightly. Iker smiled at the soft feel of her lips against his skin, and turned, capturing her in the briefest of kisses before he turned back to her family.

“You two are just adorable” Isabella grinned as she clapped her hands together.

Aaron and Harry nodded in agreement, but Lucia merely scowled. She didn’t understand what Iker saw in her sister, Ariana was far too geeky for him, and she wasn’t about to let it lie. She had thought that Iker would have come to his senses by now, but clearly he needed a little push, something that Lucia knew that she had to give him.

He wasn’t going to figure it out alone.