If You Love Me

Letting out a small sigh, Gerard pushed a hand back through his hair, trying to come up with the words that he wanted to say to Nora. It had been a few minutes, after he had arrived, Nora had mumbled something about needing a glass of water before she had ducked away towards the kitchen, and he was relieved to have a couple of minutes to himself, even if he knew that they couldn’t avoid the conversation for too long, he wanted a couple of minutes to figure out what it was that he wanted to say.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he ran his words through his head before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached his ears, causing him to lift his head, his eyes settling on Nora who stood in the doorway, a sheepish look on her face. “I didn’t mean to disturb you” she noted softly “If you still need a minute…”

“It’s fine, Nora” Gerard interrupted softly, offering her a brief smile.

Nora, who’d moved to sit down a little away from him, offered him a soft look, wordlessly asking if he was sure, before she quietly nodded her head, dropping her stare down towards her feet.

Gerard followed the line of her stare, watching as she fiddled with her sock for a moment, before he reached his hand out, taking a hold of hers. “You know” he murmured softly “You really don’t have to look so nervous. It is only me” he added, a light smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Nora, who’d lifted her stare to look at their hands, let out a small laugh at his joke before she quietly shook her head. “I know” she murmured softly “But this…this feels a little strange. This was our first fight as a couple” she added, chewing on her lip softly.

Gerard shook his head. “I’d hardly call it a fight” he quipped “It was more of a slight disagreement” he added impishly.

Nora smiled softly, something which made Gerard lean towards her, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek. “I’m sorry for this morning” he murmured softly, brushing a few loose blonde hairs off of her cheek.

Nora leant into his touch slightly before she shook her head, her blue eyes peeking up at him through her eyelashes. “I should be the one saying sorry” she mumbled gently “I mean, what you suggested, it was only a small step forwards, and I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I should have reacted better and I am sorry that I didn’t” she babbled softly.

Gerard offered her a soft look, allowing her apology to hang in the air for a moment, before he gently squeezed her hand. “I want us to work, Nora” he murmured softly “I mean, I know it is still pretty early, but I know that you know that we’re onto something good, and if we want to keep it that way, you need to talk me and I need to talk to you. I want us to make this work, I want us to have a future together, and I want you to tell me if that is something you too, because if it isn’t…” he trailed off, his blue eyes catching her stare.

Nora held his stare for a moment, slightly caught off guard by his words, before she shook her head. “You think I would have let this start if I didn’t want that?” she posed softly.

Gerard shook his head quietly, messing with her hand shyly.

Nora glanced down towards their hands before she shuffled a little closer to him, pressing a brisk kiss against his lips. “I love you” she murmured softly, her forehead gently pressed against his “I like what we have going on right now, but I don’t to push it. I want this to work, I want us to work, but I worry that if we try and push it too far too quickly then we’ll only end up breaking it, and I don’t want that. I like having you around too much for that” she added, flashing him a light teasing smile.

Gerard returned her smile gently, lightly brushing his nose against hers, before he lifted his hand, gently tucking a few strands of blonde hair behind her ear. “I like having you around too” he murmured, sneaking a brief kiss “And that is why I asked you to leave some clothes at my place, because I like having you there. I know you, Nora, and I know that you’re not going to be ready for the bigger steps for a while yet, but I thought that that was a good place to start. Is that wrong?” he posed softly. He knew that she was careful, for as long as he had known her, she had tended to be methodical and tentative, and he wanted to reassure her that he wasn’t going to push her into anything she wasn’t ready for.

Nora mulled his words over for a couple of seconds before she shook her head gently, something which made him smile gently before he leant into her, sneaking another couple of light kisses. Nora smiled at the contact, holding him close for a couple of seconds, before she carefully leant back her, her blue eyes leveling with his. “I’m sorry” she murmured softly.

Gerard shook his head. “You don’t have to say that” he noted softly “This, us, it’s still very new and we’re still figuring it out. We’ll get better at it” he enthused warmly.

Nora tilted her head. “You think so?” she posed impishly.

Gerard offered her a playful roll of his eyes before he leant into her, pressing another soft kiss against her lips. “You’re not getting rid of me so easily” he mumbled “I mean, I kind of love you” he added impishly.

Nora’s cheeks warmed a little at his comment before she shook her head, something which made him smile warmly before he ducked into her once more, pressing another soft kiss against her lips. He knew that it was going to some time, with Nora’s nerves, he knew that they’d be moving slowly for a while, but he was pleased that they seemed to be on the same page, even if Nora did still have a few concerns about them, he was confident that they’d lessen as more time passed.