We Could Be Something

Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, Iker spared a glance up towards the hotel which stood ahead of him, his stomach turning a little at the thought of heading inside. It had been coming, with the season having reached its first international break, his trip back to Spain had been inevitable, but still it unsettled him, even if the national squad was made up of his friends and former teammates, he didn’t quite know how he’d feel about being around them again.

Pushing a hand back through his hair, he spared a nervy sigh before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Glancing towards the hotel once more, he pulled the phone out and smiled a little at the sight of Adriana’s name before he moved to reply to her message.

“You’ve not replaced me already, have you?”

Iker, who’d been focused on sending his text to Adriana, startled slightly at the sound of Sergio’s voice before he shook his head, his hand subtly stowing the phone back in his pocket. “Of course not, Sergio” he played along “How could I?” he added, offering his friend a smile.

Sergio shook his head before he pulled the keeper into a tight hug. “It’s good to see you, hombre” he grinned, patting his back.

Iker hugged the defender tightly before he stepped back. “It’s good to see you too, Sergio” he noted.

“Are you actually going to come inside?” Sergio quipped as he moved to pad up the steps that led towards the front door of the hotel the team were based in “You’ve been stood out here for a good five minutes. The others are taking bets on whether you’ll actually come in” he teased.

Iker offered him a small eye roll before he padded up the steps, following the defender through the foyer. He knew that there was no reason to be nervous, regardless of his club, he had been playing for Spain for years, but he still felt slightly less certain than he normally did.

~#~
Checking his phone, Iker spared a small smile, his eyes reading the latest text that Adriana had sent to him before he began to compose his response. It had been frequent, since he had departed for the airport, Adriana had insisted on sending him texts regularly and whilst the topic of them appeared vague, he was grateful for her attempts to offer him comfort, something he had quickly learned that she was very good at.

“Are you ever going to tell me who’s on the other end of those texts?” Sergio quipped.

Iker, who’d been focusing on his message, shrugged a little before he flicked his eyes towards the defender who sat on the couch opposite him, not missing the small smirk which played at the corner of his mouth. “It’s just a friend of mine” the keeper quipped “She knew that I was slightly worried about coming back here and so she was just checking in. It’s nothing” he added.

Sergio tilted his head. “She?” he posed amusedly.

“Sergio” Iker warned. He knew what the defender was going to say, the look on his face confided it, but Iker didn’t want to hear it, even if a part of him already knew that he had developed some sort of feeling towards Adriana, he didn’t want to discuss it.

“Come on, Iker” Sergio quipped “You smile whenever you look at that phone. Who is the girl?” he posed, his expression curious.

Iker offered him a small look before he shook his head. “It’s nothing” he mumbled gently “She’s…it’s all a little complicated” he babbled.

“So explain it to me” Sergio countered, shrugging slightly.

Iker shook his head. “It’s not going anywhere any time soon, Sergio” he quipped.

“Do you like her?” Sergio pressed.

Iker shrugged, something which made the defender roll his eyes. It wasn’t the first time, Iker had had a habit of being particularly stubborn when he wanted to be, but still he wanted to try and encourage him to open up, even if it was likely to be a lost cause, he wanted Iker to talk to him. “Do you like this girl, Iker” he pressed.

Iker offered him a small look before he nodded. “I do” he confirmed gently “But it’s not going to happen, Sergio. She’s just out of a long term relationship which ended particularly badly and I don’t want to be the guy who tries to push her into something else right now. She’s still trying to get over this guy and in a few months, she’ll have a baby…”

“She’s pregnant?” Sergio interjected, his expression more than slightly surprised.

Iker nodded his head. “She’s about 5 months now” he explained softly.

Sergio offered him a small frown, something which made Iker shake his head. “I like her” he admitted gently “Adriana…she’s a wonderful woman, but I am pretty sure that it won’t happen between us. She seems so happy to have me around as her friend and I guess that that will be enough for me” he explained carefully.

He knew that he wanted to have a relationship with her, for a while, he had been pretty sure that he had some depth of romantic feeling towards her, but he knew that he couldn’t push her. Things were complicated, Adriana was still getting over her ex and getting used to the idea that she was only months away from becoming a mother, and Iker knew that he couldn’t get in the middle of it, regardless of how he felt. He knew that he couldn’t push her without ruining the friendship that they had forged.

“You really like her?” Sergio enquired softly.

Iker nodded. “I do” he confirmed.

“Then there is no reason that you shouldn’t go for it with her, Iker” the defender noted.

Iker shook his head. “I don’t want to ruin things, Sergio” he noted softly “She’s a wonderful woman and I’d rather have her as a friend than nothing at all” he insisted.

Sergio shrugged. “You’ll never know if she wants the same thing too if you don’t even try, Iker” he quipped “You’re right, you could ruin things between the two of you, but there’s an equal chance that she could just happen to like you too. I am not suggesting that you go back to Portugal and make your move right away, but there’s a chance that she could like you like you like her and it would be a shame if you never told her just because it might be a little complicated” he enthused before a knock echoed at the door, signaling that it was time for the two of them to head down to a team meeting.

Iker spared a glance towards the door before he shook his head, trying to wrap his head around Sergio’s words. He knew that he had a point, there was a chance, no matter how small, that Adriana had some depth of feeling towards him, but still the idea of bringing the topic up disconcerted him. He liked what they had, their friendship seemed to have helped both of them, and he was wary about attempting to change it, even if the idea of starting a romantic relationship with Adriana did tempt him. He didn’t want to cause a problem between them.