Give Me Your Heart

“Are you sure that you’d rather not head out tonight?” Riley quipped as she rested back against the couch, her blue eyes amusedly as Gerard, who was sat on the floor ahead of her, waved a toy in front on Alexander, attempting to capture his attention. It had been a good few days, after their visit to Alison, things had been relaxed and calm for them, and it pleased Riley, even if she knew that it wouldn’t last, she wanted to enjoy the period of time for which she and Gerard were the only ones who knew about her second pregnancy.

Gerard, who had been trying to offer Alexander one of his new toys, shook his head slightly before he peeked up at her, offering her a small smile. “If I wanted to go out, I would have said” he noted gently.

“I know” Riley mused “But it is New Year’s Eve and if you wanted to…”

“Riley” Gerard interjected softly, a small laugh falling out of his mouth “I am more than happy to stay in tonight. If anything, I am looking forwards to it” he enthused. It hadn’t been the plan, until Riley had told him about her pregnancy, they had been planning to attend a small new year’s eve party with the rest of the team, but with Riley wanting to stay home, Gerard had agreed to stay her, even if Riley did keep offering him the chance to head out, he was pretty excited at the prospect of spending the night with just Alexander and Riley for company.

“You’re looking forwards to spending the night in front of the TV?” Riley teased as she leant forwards, lifting Alexander into her lap.

Gerard, who’d moved to get slightly more comfortable on the couch, nodded. “It’s been a while since we had a quiet night, just the three of us, and I want to enjoy it. You don’t want me to stay?” he quipped. It had been a while, with his schedule and their friends and families seemingly always around, it felt as though it had been a long time since he had had both Riley and Alexander to himself, and he was determined to make the most of it.

Riley offered him a playful glare before she shook her head. “You can stay if you want to” she sighed playfully.

Gerard offered her a small eye roll before he pushed himself back to his feet. “I’ll go and order us something in for dinner” he quipped “Why don’t you and Alex pick out something to watch before he goes down for the night?” he posed.

Riley offered him a small look before she nodded. “That sounds like a plan” she agreed softly.

~#~
Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, Riley spared a small yawn into her hand before she padded out of the bedroom, heading back towards the living room. It had been a quiet night, with her and Gerard having opted to spend their New Year’s Eve at home, it had been more than a little different than what she was used to, but she had enjoyed it, even if a small part of her had missed heading out to a party, she had enjoyed spending a quiet night in. Sparing another yawn into her hand, she quietly padded into the living room where Gerard sat, flicking through the messages on his phone.

“Anything interesting?” she teased as she padded back towards the couch, plopping into the seat at his side.

Gerard startled a little at the sound of her voice before he shook his head. “A few Happy New Years” he quipped “And a lot more questions as to why we aren’t there, but I’ve opted not to reply to those. They’ll find out soon enough” he added as he stowed his phone back into his pocket, allowing him to wrap arm around Riley.

Riley offered him a small nod before she leant into him, resting her head against his shoulder. “Have you given much thought to when you want to tell people?” she posed softly.

“Not really” Gerard mumbled “I am still trying to get my head around it. I’ve not really given much thought to the idea of telling other people yet” he added.

“We’ve got time” Riley smiled, squeezing his hand gently “We’re not due for another scan for a few weeks and it will be a while before a bump appears. We can keep this between us for a little while before we contemplate letting other people know. It’s only going to make their fussing worse” she teased softly.

Gerard rolled his eyes playfully at the thought before he moved his spare hand, resting it against her stomach. “I’d love a girl this time” he murmured softly.

“You would?” Riley quipped, her eyebrow raised slightly “I thought you’d want another boy” she added.

“Maybe” Gerard quipped, shrugging slightly “If we were to have another one, perhaps I’d want another boy, but this time around, I want a girl” he enthused with a warm smile.

Riley admired the warm look on his face for a moment before she quirked a small smile, moving to rest her head against his shoulder once more. “I’ve got to have this one yet, Senor” she teased softly, a small yawn falling out of her mouth.

Gerard marveled at the soft sound for a few seconds before he flicked his attention down towards his watch, smiling a little at the time. “You’ve got another 8 minutes yet, Ry” he teased, jabbing her side playfully “You can’t fall asleep yet” he added.

Riley, who’d closed her eyes, startled, before she lifted her head, her eyes narrowed on her boyfriend. “It’s late” she complained softly.

“It’s only a few more minutes” Gerard teased.

Riley offered him a glare, something which made him laugh a little. “Come on, Ry” he teased amusedly “It’s the first time we’ve seen in the New Year together, surely you can stay awake for it?” he quipped, nudging her side softly.

Riley spared his elbow a glance before she spared a small sigh, conceding. “Fine” she mumbled before she shuffled a little closer, allowing her head to rest comfortably on his shoulder.

Gerard admired her briefly before he flicked his attention towards the television screen, watching the festivities for a few minutes before the countdown to midnight started.

Watching the crowds on the screen, he counted the seconds down in his head before he turned to wish Riley a happy new year, something which he stopped as he admired her sleeping face. Quirking an amused smile, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Happy New Year, Ry” he mumbled softly before he carefully wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up. It hadn’t been how he was expecting to welcome the New Year, he had anticipated that Riley would at least make it to midnight before she fell asleep, but still he had a good feeling about the year ahead of them. He was confident that it would be a good one.