Somewhere Only We Know

“Are you sure that you put sun cream on her?” Ariana pressed as she looked at Violeta, a small smile on her face. It had been a week since Real Madrid’s season had concluded and Ariana was thrilled to have Iker around a little more. He was due to go away with Spain ahead of Euro 2016 and she couldn’t help but relish what time she had with him. When he returned from France, she was due to start work again following maternity leave and she knew that that would put a strain on them again. Iker had gotten clingier since they had reconciled and she was a little concerned by how he would cope when she went back to work. He was very used to having her all to himself.

“Certain. I went through half a bottle” Iker replied as he stepped into the room, Violeta’s nappy bag over his shoulder. It was a nice day, a warm one, and as such, Iker had arranged for his small family to spend the day out with a few of his teammates and their families. He wanted to relax slightly before he went with Spain to France for what was quite possibly one of his last international tournaments. Ariana nodded her head a little before she placed a hat on Violeta’s head, offering the little girl a soft smile. She was growing up quickly, too quickly for Ariana, and it made her ponder briefly the notion of having a second child, but she quickly dismissed it. Things were good, they were comfortable, and Ariana didn’t want to risk it. She liked the way she and Iker were and didn’t want to put another strain on them so soon, Violeta was only 4 and a half months old and they could easily wait to have another.

“Nena, are you listening to me?” Iker quipped as he sat his hand on Ariana’s shoulder, causing her to look up at him.

“Hm?” the brunette hummed.

“I was just saying how cute you two look together” the keeper grinned softly

Ariana blushed and ducked her head. “I am sorry, I was zoned out” she murmured.

“I know, you get this dazed look in your eyes when you zone out. What were you thinking about?” he mused as he peeked at her. Things had been good for them, since the altercation with her parents, things had been close to their best and Iker was thrilled. He adored having his wife and daughter around and hoped that the worst of it was behind them He just wanted to keep things together.

Ariana shrugged. “Nothing important” she quipped softly.

Iker tilted his head slightly. “It must have been something” he quipped “You don’t get all quiet for no good reason” he added.

Ariana just offered him a little shrug before she moved to collect Violeta from her seat. “It is nothing Iker, I was just thinking” she assured him before she moved to leave the room. Iker watched after her and sighed.

Sometimes his wife left him more than confused.

~#~
“Do you lot do anything other than play with that thing?” Pilar posed as she watched the boys ahead of her, her eyes fixed on the football that rolled carefully between them. It had been a pleasant afternoon, the group had had some lunch before the boys had descended into their game of football, and Ariana was enjoying herself. She knew once she went back to work, her chances to spend time with her friends would be limited and she wanted to enjoy it whilst it lasted. She only had another month before she was due to start up again at the hospital.

“Yes, we do, but we were bored. There is only so much talk about nappies and bottles that a man can take” Sergio replied with a little smirk that made his girlfriend roll her eyes.

“He is right. We have done a lot of baby talk” Ariana quipped making Sergio’s smirk widen.

“Don’t agree with him. I’ll never hear the end of it” Pilar quipped.

Ariana giggled a little before she moved to her feet, collecting the ball from Cristiano’s feet. “Do you think I could play?” she quipped as she flipped the ball in her hands.

Sergio snorted. “Only if we all had one foot” he teased.

Ariana quirked an eyebrow. “Scared of being beaten Sergio?” she quipped.

Sergio stuck his chest out. “Not at all. I just don’t think you would be a match for me” he mused.

“I think she could be” Cristiano quipped “I reckon she’s played before” he added.

“She hasn’t” Iker noted “And I know she has two left feet and the worst balance ever, not to mention, she is also wearing a dress” he quipped.

Ariana tilted her head, offering her husband an amused smirk. “Someone sounds a little worried about being upstaged by his wife” she mused.

“Is that a challenge I am hearing Ari?” Iker grinned “Because you know how much I love a challenge” he added.

Ariana smiled. “A game of three on three. You, Sergio and Cristiano’s girlfriend, Ella, vs me, Cristiano and Gareth” she mused.

Iker snorted. “You call that a match?” he challenged, leaning closer to her a little.

“I am not done. You cannot play in goal” she quipped.

Iker’s smile dropped a little, but he quickly fixed it. “Fine, but you have to play Cristiano in goal” he retorted.

“Fine. I am sure me and Gareth could teach you and Sergio a lesson in football” she quipped before she stepped away, making her way towards her teammates. Iker watched after her and smiled. He doubted he had ever found her more attractive than he did in that moment.

“Stop staring” Sergio muttered as he smacked the back of the keeper’s head, jolting him out of his thoughts.

“She’s my wife” Iker protested, rubbing the back of his head gingerly.

“She’s now an opponent. You wouldn’t stare at Messi like that, so you shouldn’t stare at her like it” Sergio grumbled.

Iker went to offer a retort, but stopped himself, knowing better than to mess with Sergio once he had entered game mode.

“First to five wins?” Ariana mused as she pulled away from her little team talk with Cristiano and Gareth.

“That sounds good” Iker quipped “What does the winner get?” he added.

Ariana tweaked a little smile. “I don’t know what I would want” she teased.

“You’re pretty confident for a girl that has had to take her shoes off to play” Iker quipped with a little towards her little bare feet which contrasted against the grass.

Ariana just smiled before she turned back to Gareth, murmuring something to him.

“Are we going to play or not?” Sergio grumbled as he set himself up in goal.

“Yes” Ariana smirked as she set the ball down ahead of her “We are” she mused.

~#~
“Yes” Ariana grinned as she tossed her arms around Gareth’s neck, allowing the Welshman to hold her close. They hadn’t won, not yet, but they were within a goal and that pleased Ariana. She could see the irked look on her husband’s face and she knew it was down to her. She and Gareth had scored two each, but she knew that Iker would be more irked about her scoring than Gareth, the Welshman probably scored all the time against him in training.

“That was clearly offside” Sergio grumbled as he collected the ball.

“There are no linesmen Sergio, there is no offside” Ariana teased.

The defender cursed lowly to himself before he set the ball down ahead him, preparing to kick it to Iker who stood almost on top of Cristiano.

“There is no need to get cranky Sergio” Ariana mused as she moved back to mark her husband “You’re clearly not the best keeper” she added.

Iker chuckled. “You know you’re only going to make it worse don’t you?” he murmured.

“Yes” Ariana chirped “But I figure you guys have got this lost already so he is going to be a pain for the rest of the afternoon anyways” she added.

Iker laughed gently. “You never told me you were such a good footballer before” he murmured as he placed his hands against her hips, shuffling her aside slightly so that he had a better shot on goal if the ball ever made it away from Sergio.

“You never asked” Ariana quipped, her blue eyes peeking up at him.

“You’re a proper little striker, even if you are wearing a dress and no shoes, the goals you have scored are great” he enthused.

Ariana thanked him softly before she leant up to kiss him, something which was stopped by Sergio’s yell.

“Iker” the defender snapped.

“What?” Iker posed.

“Gareth just scored because you were too busy making out with her. We lost” the defender pouted like a child.

Ariana smirked. “Told you I would win” she teased as she moved away from her husband.

Iker watched her. “You planned that?” he squeaked.

Ariana giggled. “You have never turned down a chance to kiss me Iker. Ella was too busy trying to flirt with her boyfriend and Sergio is the most useless goalkeeper I have ever seen. Gareth and I have had it planned from the start” she mused as she moved to place a kiss on Gareth’s cheek. The Welshman smiled and hugged her tightly for a second before he moved back to his wife and daughter.

Iker shook his head. “You cheated” he announced.

“It wasn’t cheating, Iker, it was tactics” she replied as she moved to take Violeta from Pilar who had watched her as they had played.

Iker looked at her before he laughed. He had to admit, he was a little impressed.