Give Me Your Heart

“Have you not heard from Riley yet?”

Gerard, who was staring at the plate of food ahead of him, startled a little at the sound of Lionel’s voice, his eyes turning to look at the forward who sat a little away from him. It had been a relaxed afternoon, with the season heading towards it conclusion, Luis Enrique had been keen for his players to spend more and more time together, and with a rest day, he’d insisted that the team head out for lunch together, something which had irked Gerard a little, even if he knew that it was important, he would have rather been anywhere but sat with his teammates in a restaurant.

“Look at his face” Andres quipped “Does it look like Riley has called?” he posed.

Gerard offered the midfielder a look before he sighed, shaking his head a little. “She hasn’t called” he confirmed softly “I get the odd text here and there, but she’s been distant the last few days” he added, leaning back in his seat a little.

“What happened?” Lionel posed, shuffling his seat a little closer. He knew that it had nothing to do with him, Gerard tended to prefer handling problems in his relationship by himself, but the argentine wanted to help out. He liked Riley and Gerard together and would have hated to watch them fall apart just before their son arrived.

Gerard shrugged a little. “I said something about her leaving a few things at my place” he noted “She’s always having to leave early to get ready for work and I thought maybe it would be a little easier if she left a few changes of clothes at mine so that maybe she wouldn’t be so rushed, but I think it panicked her a little. She’s very wary of moving too quickly” he explained softly. He knew that it scared her, whenever he suggested taking a small step forwards, Riley tended to panic, but it irked Gerard a little. He knew that he had to be patient with her, after their first attempt at a relationship, he didn’t blame her for being a little wary, but he didn’t want to waste to time. In only a few weeks, they were due to have a child together and he wanted to ensure that their relationship, if they were to have one, was in a good place by the time that their son came along.

Lionel offered him a look. “You did move quickly last time, Gerard” he pointed out gently “After two months, the two of you were living together and we both know how that ended” he added.

Gerard nodded his head gently. “It ended badly” he mumbled “But I am not going to let that happen again and I wish I could make Riley see that. I love her, Leo, I really do, and I want to make her and bump happy, but whenever I suggest the slightest step forwards, she gets all worried and I don’t know what I can do to change it” he added, his hand messing with the glass which sat ahead of him.

Lionel watched for him a second before he shook his head, patting him on the shoulder. “You have to let her move at her own pace, Gerard” he noted gently “Even with bump in the picture, you can’t start putting pressure on her to move forwards. You know how stubborn Riley can be when she wants to be” he mused with a small smile.

Gerard rolled his eyes a little, something which made Lionel pat his shoulder once more. “You’re onto a good thing, amigo” he noted “I’ve seen the two of you together and it’s a good thing, you just need to be a little more cautious with it. If you push her, she’ll pull away from you and I know that’s the last thing you want” he enthused before he pushed himself out of his seat, padding towards Neymar who’d called his name.

Gerard watched him go for a second before he nodded, knowing that he had a point.

~#~
“Are you sure that you don’t want to come back to mine?” Lionel posed as he pulled his car to a stop outside of Gerard’s home, his dark eyes peeking at the defender. He had perked up a little, after their conversation, Gerard had made more of an effort to join in the with the team’s lunch, and the argentine was pleased, even if he knew that Gerard was still concerned about him and Riley, he was pleased to see him slightly more buoyant.

“I think I’ll be fine” Gerard quipped with a small smile.

“You sure?” Lionel quipped.

Gerard shook his head. “I appreciate the concern, amigo, but I think I will be fine. You’ve done your part for the day” he teased as he moved to push the passenger door open.

Lionel offered him a slightly dubious look, something which made Gerard smile a little. “You don’t have to worry about me, Leo” he quipped.

Lionel rolled his eyes a little before he mumbled a small goodbye, something which encouraged Gerard to push the door closed, making his way towards his home. Taking a few steps towards the house, he offered Lionel a teasing thumbs up before he flicked his attention towards the door, his head tilting slightly at the sight of Riley who was sat on the stoop, flicking through the messages on her phone. “Ry?” he posed.

Riley, who’d been sending a message to Cassidy, looked up at the sound of his voice, a small sheepish look on her face.

“Riley, what are you doing?” Gerard posed as he stepped towards her slightly.

“I tried to call” Riley mumbled “And when you didn’t answer, I came here. I’ve only been here for about 10 minutes” she added, not missing the worried expression that had passed over his face.

Gerard offered her a slightly dubious look before he stepped towards her, offering her a hand. “You should come in” he noted “You can’t been particularly comfortable down there” he added.

Riley shook her head and moved to placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her gently back to her feet before he padded towards the front door, unlocking it. “You want to come inside?” he posed, offering her a soft look.

Riley nodded her head. “Can we talk?” she posed softly.

Gerard was quiet for a moment before he nodded, offering her a small smile. “I’d like that” he agreed.