If You Love Me

“Remind me, why are we going to the match tonight when I am this pregnant?” Emilia complained as she padded into the living room, her eyes settling on Nora who sat on the couch, lacing up her shoes. It had been sudden, Nora’s invitation for her and Mateo to join her at Barcelona’s match that night had caught Emilia slightly off guard, and she was slightly surprised that her sister was so keen to attend the match.

It had been a while, after she had tried to set Nora up with Daniel, a few weeks had passed, but as far as Emilia was aware, things between her sister and Gerard weren’t great, something which made her decision to head to match slightly confusing to the older woman. It wasn’t a first, more than once, Gerard had convinced Nora to attend a match, but still Emilia was slightly surprised. She had been pretty convinced that Nora and Gerard weren’t even really talking to one another.

Nora, who was focused on tying her shoes, lifted her head at the sound of her sister’s voice before she shrugged. “You can still duck out” she noted “I am sure that me and Mateo could handle going by ourselves. We are grownups after all, Emmy” she added teasingly.

Emilia, who’d moved to sit down, offered her sister a small glare before she shook her head. “I’ll be OK” she noted gently “But I am surprised that you’re going tonight, Nora. I thought things between you and Gerard were still awkward?” she posed gently. She didn’t want to pry, whatever it was that was happening between Nora and Gerard was between the two of them, but still she was a little curious and she wanted to ask about it, even if she knew that she was likely to get very little out of her little sister. She wanted to at least try.

Nora was quiet for a moment, briefly mulling over her words, before she quietly shook her head. “We’re alright” she noted softly “I mean, things are still a little tense from time to time, but we talked and we sorted things out. We’re good, Emmy” she added, trying to stifle the small smile which itched to stretch across her face.

It had been a little while, after they’d shared their first date, they’d been out on a couple more occasions, and Nora had to admit that she was pleased with how things seemed to be going, even if they were still attempting to keep one another under wraps, she liked the way things were working out for them.

Emilia tilted her head, not missing the faint smile which had passed over her sister’s face, before she shook her head. “Are you sure that you two are OK?” she posed softly, her voice soft and concerned.

Nora smiled a little at the concern before she nodded her head. “I’m pretty sure, Emmy” she noted softly “Me and Gerard, we’ve got a knack for figuring things out and right now, we’re good” she enthused softly, smiling a little to herself.

Emilia offered her a slightly dubious look, once again not missing the grin which had appeared on the blonde’s face, before the sound of Mateo’s voice filtered into the room, letting them know that it was time to get moving. “Are you sure that you want to come?” Nora posed as she pushed herself up to her feet “If you’d rather stay here…”

“I’m fine” Emilia interrupted softly “Besides, someone has to keep an eye on you and Mateo” she added, offering her sister a small smile.

Nora rolled her eyes playfully before she stepped out of the room, Emilia following closely behind with a slight frown on her face. It was only subtle, the difference in Nora was hardly overt and obvious to anyone who didn’t know her, but Emilia knew that there was something different about her, even if she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She seemed brighter, more content, and whilst it pleased Emilia that her sister seemed happy, it only served to make her curious about what it was that was making her so.

~#~
“I thought that you would’ve gone home with Emilia and Mateo”

Nora, who flicking through her texts as she rested against the side of Gerard’s car, lifted her head at the sound of Gerard’s voice, offering him a small smile. “I thought about it” she noted gently “But then I remembered that I’d not seen you in a couple of days and I thought I would stick around to say hola. Are you not happy to see me, Gerard?” she quipped, tilting her head playfully.

Gerard scoffed playfully before he shook his head. “You know that I am, Nora” he noted softly “I don’t know if you’ve noticed in the last few weeks, but I have kind of come to like having you around” he added, offering her a small smile.

It still felt a little strange, the idea that he and Nora had shifted their relationship into something which could be classified as more than friends was still a little unfamiliar, but Gerard was pleased with how things were going, even if he didn’t necessarily like the idea of hiding things, he was proud of the progress that they were making.

Nora returned his smile softly before she ducked her head shyly, something which made Gerard smile gently before he stepped a little closer to her, his hand gently taking a hold of hers. “Do you want to come back to mine?” he posed softly “I mean, it’s a little late, but I am sure that we could find something to do for a little while” he added, his thumb subtly brushing over the back of her hand.

It irked him slightly, the idea that he couldn’t simply lean down and kiss her whilst they were in public, but he knew that it was something that he would have to deal with for a while. Nora wanted to be careful, she wanted to be tentative when it came to their progressing relationship, and he knew that, for the time being at least, it was simply something that he’d have to handle.

Nora smiled a little at the feel of his thumb before she nodded her head, peeking up at him softly. “I think that that sounds like a plan” she mused softly.

Gerard flashed her a small smile before he offered her hand a brief squeeze, something which made Nora’s smile widen a fraction before she pulled her hand from him, moving to climb into the car.

~#~
“You know, I do have a spare room upstairs if you’re looking to fall asleep”

Nora, who’d been starting to fall asleep, jumped a little at the sound of Gerard’s voice before she blinked a couple of times, turning her head to look up at him. It had been a quiet night, after they’d arrived back at his home, they’d been quick to settle down in front of a movie, and with the majority of the film having passed, Nora had started to fall asleep, something which amused Gerard slightly. “Huh?” she spluttered softly.

Gerard, who was happily settled at her side, shook his head slightly. “You’re half asleep, Nora” he noted softly “And it’s starting to get a little late. I’ve got a spare room upstairs, so why don’t you go and get some sleep?” he posed gently, his fingers lightly tracing patterns into the skin of her arm.

Nora blinked sleepily. “You’d not mind that?” she posed, lightly stifling a yawn into her hand.

Gerard, who was watching his hand as he traced her skin, shrugged. “I’d rather you were sharing my room” he noted softly “I mean, you’re sort of my girlfriend after all, but I know that that’s still a little way off” he added gently.

Nora tilted her head, slightly surprised by his use of the word ‘girlfriend’, before she quirked a light smile. “Girlfriend?” she posed softly.

Gerard shrugged. “I think we both know that that is what you are, Nora” he noted with a half-smile “I mean, we’ve dating for almost a month now and I think we can both agree that it’s going pretty well, right?” he posed.

Nora nodded her head. “It’s going pretty well, Gerard” she confirmed gently “I mean, we’ve our moments, but I sort of like us” she added with a playful smile.

Gerard spared a laugh before he shook his head. “I like us too” he agreed gently “And that means we’re a couple now, right?” he posed gently.

Nora feigned thought for a second before she nodded her head, a bright smile on her face. “I guess it does” she mused softly.

Gerard returned her smile warmly before he ducked down, pressing a couple of light kisses against her lips before Nora pulled away, a yawn tumbling out of her mouth. Gerard chuckled slightly before he lightly nudged her shoulder. “Take the spare room” he noted softly “There’ll be a spare shirt or something for you to change into, and then you can get some sleep” he added softly.

Nora briefly contemplated fighting him on it, telling him that she could make it home, before another yawn fell out of her mouth, causing her to nod her head softly. “Gracias” she mumbled softly “Buenos noches, Gerard” she added, pressing a brief kiss against his cheek before she padded out of the room.

Gerard watched her out of the room for a brief moment before he quietly rested back against the couch, a light smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. He knew that it wasn’t going to be fast, with Nora having a habit of fretting, he knew that they’d be restricted to taking small steps slowly, but he was contented to take things slowly, even if a small part of him was itching to show off their new relationship, he knew that it was best not to rush things.