Love Me Until My Heart Stops

81: I’ll Tell You Mine If You Tell Me Yours

“They slept together?” Gerard marveled as he followed his wife into the living room, Ava cuddled into his arms. It had been a tough couple of days for him, being away from Ava wasn’t something he was going to get used to very quickly, but he was pleased to home again, even if the trip to Madrid had been less that spectacular for Barcelona, he was just glad to be back with his wife and daughter.

“They did” Esmé noted, shaking her head slightly. It had been a slight surprise, the news that her mother had spent the night with her father, but Esmé couldn’t pretend that she was entirely shocked. It had been obvious for a little while, at least to Esmé, that Delia still had some unresolved feelings towards Roberto and she wasn’t entirely surprised to learn that they had slept together, only that it had occurred so soon after Roberto had told her the truth.

Gerard tilted his head. “Are you bothered by it?” he mused as he gently set Ava into her rocker, allowing the little girl to drift off whilst her parents spoke.

Esmé shrugged. “It’s a little weird” she admitted as she sat down onto the couch, folding her legs beneath her gently “I mean, for years, my mother has been single and I have had no idea what my father has gone in his spare time, but I can’t say I object to it. At the end of the day, they’re two consenting adults and they’re not going to let their daughter stand in the way” she explained gently. It was a little strange for her, the idea that her parents could get back together after so long apart, but she knew that she couldn’t stand in their way. If Delia and Roberto wanted to be together then there was very little that Esmé could do about it.

Gerard smiled and sat down beside her, pressing a light kiss against her cheek. “I’ve missed you” he chirped gently.

Esmé smiled. “You’ve been gone for a little over 24 hours” she mused “Surely you were at least a little grateful for the break from dirty nappies and spit-up” she teased, resting against his shoulder slightly. It was slightly dramatic, he had only been gone for a day, but Esmé had to admit that she had missed him. Gerard had a wonderful habit of keeping her calm and with Ava around, Esmé missed him when he wasn’t around.

“As weird as it sounds” Gerard smiled “I missed waking up at two in the morning. I had kind of gotten used to it” he enthused with a small look towards Ava, a grin appearing on his face.

Esmé giggled. “You’re such a softy” she teased, nudging his side gently.

The defender smiled. “Can you blame me?” he noted “You’ve given me a very beautiful daughter” he added.

“She’s very beautiful, but I like seeing this side of you. You’ve been so calm since I went into labour with her and I guess that makes a change. You don’t tend to do serene” she noted gently. It was a pleasant change, since Ava had entered the picture, Gerard had seemed at ease and calm, and Esmé had to admit she liked that side to him. It was a marked change to the slightly irrational man that he had been when they’d first gotten together.

“I can do serene” Gerard replied, poking her side tentatively “I am a very calm individual” he teased.

“Of course you are” Esmé mused, her voice slightly sarcastic.

Gerard smiled. “Alright, perhaps not, but I feel pretty good about us right now” he mused softly “We’ve be married for a 7 months, we’re just welcomed a beautiful little girl, and things for us right now just seem to be remarkably wonderful. It’s nothing something I ever thought we’d get to have” he enthused gently. He knew that it was an old wound, the way their relationship had almost fallen apart before it had really gotten going was not something that they talked about often, but since Ava had arrived, Gerard had been slightly reflective. It had centered on a moment, one decision that Cesc had made had set in motion a series of events and even despite its weak moments, Gerard was pleased that he had worked on his relationship with Esmé. She made him happy and that was something he had grown used to.

“You didn’t?” Esmé posed, her head resting on his shoulder gently.

“I figured one of us would fuck it up somehow” Gerard noted as he wrapped his hand around hers, offering her smaller hand a squeeze “I wasn’t quite sure on how, but I was certain one of us would slip up” he added.

Esmé smiled. “You mean me and Cesc?” she teased.

Gerard tilted his head from side to side playfully. “Well…” he teased.

“For what it is worth, after the first time you and I slept together, I couldn’t see myself with anyone else” she assured him gently.

Gerard smiled “Deep down, I kind of knew it too, but I was just a little insecure. There must have been a reason that you loved him and I worried that you’d remember it after while” he murmured gently. It wasn’t a conversation that they’d had, not without fighting at least, and Gerard kind of wanted to have it. It was the final part of the closure that they both needed to move on entirely with the life that they were making together.

“You really want to talk about this?” Esmé posed, her dark eyes peeking up at him.

“I think it is about time. I’ll tell you what I saw in her if you’ll tell me what you saw in him” he noted tentatively.

Esmé nodded. “He was my type” she admitted gently “Kind of short, dark hair, dark eyes, but he had the personality too. He was romantic and sweet, yet always had this edge. He was as close to a bad boy as I would go then and eventually, that was what got me burnt. I fell for a charmer and in the end, it bit me in the ass” she mused.

Gerard nodded his head. “She was older” he mused.

Esmé tilted her head, wordlessly asking him to elaborate.

“I needed someone to help me grow up. I was impetuous and naïve and she helped me to grow up slightly. I needed it” he enthused.

Esmé smiled gently and leant over, kissing his cheek softly. “For what it is worth, you’re a wonderful man because of it” she enthused gently, her nose gently nudging against his skin.

Gerard placed his arm around her shoulder and placed a kiss on her lips. “You’re so much stronger because of him” he murmured gently “You’re not the same girl who showed up in my hotel room in the middle of the night, crying. You’re so much more” he murmured between soft kisses.

Esmé grinned and hugged him tight, wordlessly noting just how much he had changed in the almost 2 years that they had been together.
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Thanks to petitmonstre, Jayme112234 and FootieJo for the comments :)