Somewhere Only We Know

Grumbling, Iker flipped onto his back, trying desperately to ignore the infuriating buzzing that filled his bedroom. It was early, barely even past two in the morning, and Iker had no intention of answering the call, not if it meant having to leave Ariana who was sleeping contently against him. It had been a week or so since Lucia had been admitted to hospital and things between Iker and Ariana were settled again, something which pleased the keeper. The thought of losing Ariana still terrified him and he was pleased that they had been able to put the small fight behind them. He didn’t know what he would have done if it had gotten out of control.

Sighing, he tried to shield his ears with his pillow, but failed, still able to hear the annoying vibration that the phone was causing against the wooden end table. “Iker” Ariana mumbled, her head shifting a little against his chest “Amor, just answer the phone. Clearly someone is desperate to talk to you” she murmured as she moved her head, resting it against the cool pillow that she had rejected in favour of Iker’s warm chest.

Iker sighed and reluctantly picked up the phone, pressing it against his ear. “Hola?” he murmured, trying to sound as polite as he could.

“Iker, is Ari with you?” Aaron’s voice caught Iker off guard. It was odd, none of Ariana’s family phoned him, they always called Ariana, and it left Iker a little confused.

“Uh, yeah, she is. Why are you calling me?” he prodded, a tired yawn escaping his lips.

“Because her phone is switched off” Aaron replied.

Iker nodded. It wasn’t unusual, Ariana didn’t really talk to other people so when she was with him, her phone sat in her bag switched off.

“Can I have a word with her Iker?” Aaron prodded.

Iker nodded gently. “Of course” he murmured as he proceeded to shake Ariana’s shoulder slightly.

The brunette stirred a little at his touch, but didn’t wake up, something which caused Iker to let out a muted groan. “Ari, amor, Aaron wants to talk to you” he murmured, shaking her body again. Ariana let out a little sound before she rolled over onto her side, taking the phone from her boyfriend’s hand.

“Aaron, it’s two in the morning, what do you need right now?” Ariana mumbled as she tried to stifle a yawn. She had been comfortable, sleeping in Iker’s arms had made her drift off almost instantly, and she was irked that her brother had woken her up. She wanted nothing more than to sleep through the night before she made her way to visit Lucia the next morning.

“Ari, Lucia’s awake” Aaron replied simply.

Ariana stilled. “She is?” she whispered, a few tears leaping into her eyes. Iker noticed them and frowned, his hand instantly cupping her cheek.

“Yeah, she woke up about an hour ago. Mum and dad thought you would want to know” he explained.

“I did, gracias for calling Aaron. I will be right there” she breathed before she hung up the phone.

Iker brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Nena, what is happening? Is Lucia alright?” he breathed. He was scared, the tears in Ariana’s eyes were undecipherable, and he feared for a moment that the worst had happened. Ariana noted the concerned look on his face and smiled, gifting him a strong kiss on the lips. Iker startled slightly, be obliged nevertheless in kissing her back, holding her against his chest.

“What happened Ari?” he murmured between softer and lighter kisses.

Ariana grinned at him. It was a relief, knowing that Lucia was awake, and Ariana couldn’t hide the grin from her face. She knew that the older girl still had a long way to go, but just knowing that she was awake made her feel a whole load better. “My sister woke up” she announced.

Iker smiled and kissed her softly. “We ought to get up there” he murmured as he, rather unwillingly, pulled himself away from her. He didn’t want to get up, he was rather enjoying the kisses that Ariana was giving to him, but he knew that the hospital would be where Ariana wanted to be, even if he wanted her in his bed.

“We?” Ariana poked as she moved to her feet.

Iker nodded. “It’s just past two in the morning Ari, there are no busses and I have car” he explained as he moved to find some clothes to wear. “Besides. Lucia could one day be family” he added with a cheeky smile.

Ariana’s breath caught slightly. “You think about that sort of stuff?” she posed gently.

Iker, who had been rifling through his dresser, smiled, his brown eyes catching sight of the dark velvet box that had been stowed at the back of her. “Occasionally” he replied coyly as he moved to change his shirt.

Ariana blushed at his response.

She could only imagine why he thought she would be a good wife for him.

~#~
“Ari” Isabella grinned as she wrapped her arms around her younger daughter. She was thrilled, Lucia’s waking up had been the best thing to happen to her for a while, and Isabella couldn’t resist smiling. For what seemed like the longest time, she had assumed that Lucia would never wake up, something she was thrilled had turned out to be wrong.

“How is she, mama?” Ariana mused as she pulled out of her mother’s hug.

“Groggy, your father is in with her right now, but I am sure she will be thrilled to see you and Iker” she smiled with a look towards the footballer who stood dutifully behind his girlfriend.

Ariana shook her head. “She won’t want be, mama, she probably still hates me” she muttered.

“Nonsense” Isabella muttered. “You’re her baby sister Ari” she insisted.

“The baby sister that threw her out” Ariana reminded her.

“You only did that because she tried to ruin what you and Iker had. She will understand, now, go in and speak with her” Isabella insisted.

Ariana nodded her head softly before she turned to Iker, searching for reassurance in his brown eyes. “It will be fine” the keeper mused as he ducked down to her height “She’s your sister Ari, she’ll love to see you” he assured her, a small smile on his face. Ariana smiled in return before she pecked his lips, moving towards the door of her sister’s hospital room.

~#~
Sighing a little, Lucia watched as her father edged towards the door, switching places with the last person that the blonde girl wanted to see. She hated her sister, if it wasn’t for Ariana and her insistence on dating Iker, then Lucia would never have had to try and prove he was bad news, something which would have meant she didn’t get thrown out or hurt.

“Hey” Ariana breathed shakily “It’s good to see you” she added.

Lucia rolled her eyes. “I wish I could say the same thing to you” she muttered.

Ariana flinched a little and dropped her head, a move that made Lucia roll her eyes. Ariana may have won Iker over with the wounded puppy face, but it wasn’t going to work on her. In Lucia’s mind, Ariana was nothing more than a manipulative bitch that had stolen her chance at happiness when she had walked into Iker’s life.

“Lucia” Ariana breathed, her eyes still fixed on her feet.

“What? You want me to apologize? That’s not going to happen Ariana, I am not going to say sorry for something I meant” she spat.

Ariana sighed. “I knew this was a bad idea” she murmured, a small sniffle punctuating her sentence.

“Why did you bother then? I don’t want you near me Ari, not after you stole my dream” she hissed.

“Your dream?” Ariana squeaked.

“You’re a WAG Ari and you know I have wanted to be one since I was little. Why didn’t you give Iker up when I asked you to?” she muttered.

Ariana sighed. “Because I love him, Lucia” she replied “Because he is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I didn’t want to give that up for you. I have spent years stuck in your shadow and Iker, he was the first person not to just see your little sister. He saw me, Luci, for the first time” she whimpered, tears jumping into her blue eyes.

Lucia rolled her eyes. “You’re not good enough for him” she muttered.

“Iker seems to think that I am and I believe him” Ariana replied.

“He’s playing you” Lucia quipped.

“He loves me” Ariana replied.

Lucia scoffed. “That man could never love you” she muttered.

Ariana went to answer back, but was cut off as Lucia spoke up again. “That man could never love you and you gave up your only sister for him. You put him before me and now look at me, I am cut, bruised and broken and that is your fault. If you had just believed me when I told you that your angelic boyfriend made a move on me, then I wouldn’t be sat here. This is your fault Ari and I am not going to forgive you for it” she hissed.

Ariana wanted to speak, to fight her sister, but deep down she knew she was right. “I will leave you to it” she murmured.

“Good” Lucia snapped “I don’t want you see you back here” she added.

Ariana nodded and padded out of the room.

“Ari?” Iker breathed as the door closed, allowing his girlfriend back into the corridor.

“We should go Iker” she murmured.

“But your sister just woke up?” Iker squeaked.

“She did” Ariana mumbled as the tears filled her eyes “And she had already made it very clear that I am not welcome here. Please, just take me home” she whimpered.

Iker felt his heart clench at the sight of his crying girlfriend. “Alright” he whispered, his arm gently wrapping around her. He wasn’t going to let it lie, clearly Lucia needed to be spoken to, but in that moment, it was all about making Ariana feel better, something Iker knew was his responsibility. He hated it when his girlfriend cried.