If You Love Me

Wrinkling his nose slightly, Gerard blinked one of his eyes open, his ears filled with the obnoxious sound of the alarm which emanated away from the end table, disturbing the stillness of the bedroom. It was early, one look around the room confided that it was still a little too early for him, but he doubted that he would be afforded the opportunity to fall back to sleep, even if he was particularly comfortable, he knew that it was only a matter of time before Nora climbed out of bed.

Sparing a small yawn, he quickly reached out and flicked the alarm off before he shuffled a little closer to Nora, settling his arms contently around her waist as he leant against his pillow, his blue eyes quietly watching as she slept. It had been a little while, after they’d celebrated her mother’s birthday, a couple of weeks had passed, and Gerard was pleased with how settled things seemed to be between the two of them.

It was still a work in progress, on occasion, they were still a little awkward around one another, but still Gerard was pleased with how things were going. They were settled, their relationship felt familiar and comfortable, and he was confident that it would only be a matter of time before they started moving forwards, even if he knew that Nora was a little more hesitant. He had little doubt that they’d get there eventually.

Allowing another gentle yawn to fall out of his mouth, he briefly contemplated disturbing Nora, before he cuddled a little closer to his pillow, closing his eyes quietly for a moment before he felt Nora stir against him, causing him to open them, admiring the sleepy smile which had appeared on her face. “I thought you were still sleeping” he mumbled softly.

Nora, who’d moved to spare a yawn into her hand, shook her head softly. “I heard the alarm” she noted softly “You weren’t quite quick enough to stop it” she added impishly.

Gerard snorted playfully. “You’re the one who sets it so early” he countered “If I had my way, we’d have at least another hour before we had to get up” he added with a small smirk.

Nora rolled her eyes slightly before she stretched up slightly, pressing a brisk kiss against his lips. “Buenos dias to you too, mi amor” she teased as she sat up, her fingers attempting to straighten out her knotted blonde hair.

Gerard watched her for a moment, his blue eyes looking her up and down, before he shuffled towards her, lightly brushing the blonde hair off her neck before he leant forwards, pressing a soft kiss against the warm skin. “You have the morning off, don’t you?” he posed quietly, his nose lightly nudging against her jaw.

Nora leant into his embrace before she nodded. “I do” she confirmed gently “But I already have plans. Emilia wants to head out to do some last minute shopping for the holidays and I said that I would go with her, something which means I have to head back to my apartment to get a clean change of clothes” she added gently.

Gerard, who’d been scattering light kisses against her neck and shoulders, smiled against her skin. “You know, you’d have more time if you didn’t have to head back to your apartment” he quipped, gently placing a few more light kisses against her skin.

Nora, who’d been happily tracing shapes into his thigh, shook her head. “Gerard…”

“I am not suggesting that you move in, Nora” Gerard interrupted softly “I know that you’re not quite there yet, but I was going suggest that you leave some of your stuff here. You’re here a lot of the time, I think I can probably count on one hand the amount of nights you’ve spent in your apartment in the last month, and I think you should leave some stuff here, even if it is only a couple of changes of clothes. I kind of hate watching you rush out in the morning” he added, his voice soft and reassuring. He knew where her mind had gone, as soon as the comment had fallen out of his mouth, he had felt her still slightly beneath his touch, and he wanted to soothe her, not wanting her to get worked up over nothing.

Nora blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised by his interruption, before she peeked up at him softly, something which caused him to duck forwards, pressing a brief kiss against her forehead. “Forget I said anything” he mumbled gently before he pushed himself up and padded towards the bathroom, leaving Nora sat on the bed. Watching him out of the room, she gently brushed her fingers through her hair before she let out a soft sigh, hating that she had upset him.

~#~
“Nora, are you listening to me?”

Nora, who’d been absentmindedly stirring her drink, flinched at the sound of Emilia’s voice before she lifted her head, offering her sister a soft look. “Huh?” she spluttered gently.

“I asked if you were listening to me” Emilia noted “But you’ve just made it pretty clear that you’re not. Is there something you want to talk about?” she posed, moving to check on Sofia who slept contently in her pram. It wasn’t the first time, since they’d met up that morning, Nora had seemed a little quiet and distant, and it made Emilia curious, even if she had tried to avoid commenting on it for a while.

Nora looked down at her drink, briefly contemplating telling her sister that it was nothing, before she let out a soft sigh. “I messed up” she mumbled, lightly tearing her napkin “I mean, I was with Gerard this morning and he made some comment about me saving time if I didn’t have to get back to my apartment and I just…I sort of froze” she explained awkwardly.

Emilia tilted her head. “He asked you to move in with him?” she posed.

Nora shook her head. “He didn’t” she noted gently “He was just suggesting that I leave a few changes of clothes at his place so I don’t have to rush off all of time, but I still froze and I know it upset him. He was pretty quiet when he left this morning” she explained gently.

Emilia mulled her words over for a couple of moments before she shook her head. “You’re an idiot” she noted.

Nora blinked, slightly surprised by her sister’s words, before she opened her mouth to retort, something Emilia cut off. “Nora, that guy loves you” she noted softly “He’s loved you for a long time, and I don’t understand why you’d want to hold back. You two, you skirted around each other for years, and now things are working for you. Why would you hesitate?” she pressed softly.

Nora offered her a soft look before she shook her head, something which caused Emilia to lean across, gently offering Nora’s elbow a light squeeze. “You two, you’ve been doing this for while” she noted softly “I mean, the romantic stuff, that’s all new, but you and him? It’s not changed all that much, Nora. You two are good together, you have been for a while, and I don’t think you need to worry as much as you are. Nora, the guy loves you, it’s been obvious for a while, and I think, if you let him, he’d make you very happy. You love him?” she posed softly.

Nora offered her a slightly sheepish look before she nodded. “You know that I do” she mumbled quietly.

“Then relax, Nora” Emilia enthused warmly “You two are good together” she insisted warmly, squeezing the blonde’s elbow once more.

Nora’s cheeks warmed a little at her sister’s comment before she gently shook her head, something which made Emilia smile. She wasn’t overly surprised, the idea that Nora had worried to herself wasn’t the biggest shock, but she wanted to reassure her. She was onto something good and she didn’t want to see her let it go.