If You Love Me

Pushing the front door closed, Nora let out a small sigh of relief, more than slightly relieved to be home for the night. It was late, the dinner that she and Antonella had gone to had lasted for a lot longer than Nora had been anticipating, and whilst she had enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with her friend, she was pleased to be home, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed and fall asleep. Ensuring that she had locked the door, she toed off her shoes before she quietly made her way towards her bedroom, nudging the door open before she stepped inside, her blue eyes settling on Gerard who sat up against the headboard of the bed, his tablet perched in his hands.

Shaking her head slightly, she quirked a small smile before she stepped towards the bed, lightly tugging at the wire of his headphones. “Hola” she quipped playfully.

Gerard, who’d been contently staring at the screen, startled at the sudden movement before he lifted his head, his blue eyes mirroring Nora’s. “I didn’t hear you come in” he noted “You’re back pretty late” he added.

Nora, who’d padded towards her dresser, nodded. “It is pretty late” she agreed “But it was a good night. It’d been a while since I had the chance to catch up with Antonella and I enjoyed myself. What are you doing still awake?” she posed as she ducked into the bathroom to get herself ready for bed.

Gerard shrugged. “I was waiting on you” he replied.

“You were?” Nora asked as she stepped back into the room, pulling her blonde hair up into a loose ponytail.

Gerard nodded. “I wanted to make sure that you got back alright” he noted, his voice slightly shy.

Nora smiled a little, not missing the shyness in his voice, before she settled down on her side of the bed, moving to press a soft kiss against his cheek. “You’re very cute” she murmured.

Gerard rolled his eyes playfully, quipping something beneath his breath, before he shifted his hand, lightly settling it against the front of her shirt. Nora followed the movement of his hand before she shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. It was a habit of his, from the moment that she had told him that she was expecting, his hand had never strayed too far from her stomach, and whilst she knew that they still had a way to go before the baby arrived, she was confident that she was going to miss the way that he fussed over her bump.

Watching him for moment, she lightly brushed her fingers through his hair, before she shifted slightly, moving to get comfortable against her pillow. “What did you get up to this evening?” she posed, stifling a yawn into her hand.

Gerard, who’d been contently fussing over her bump, looked up at the sound of her voice before he shrugged. “Not a lot” he quipped “I mean, I made myself some dinner and watched a bit of television, but for most of the night I sat in here, looking at things on my tablet” he explained.

Nora lifted an eyebrow. “Looking at things?” she posed.

Gerard nodded his head slightly before he leant over, collecting the tablet from the end table. “I figured that, eventually, we’re going to have to start buying things for when bump arrives and so I thought I’d have a look for a few things” he explained “I know we’ve got time, I mean, you’re still a few weeks away from being half way through, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to look. As it stands, we’ve got two nurseries to plan out and that’s without mentioning all the clothes and other things that we’re going to have to buy” he babbled slightly, his eyes searching Nora’s face. He knew that there was no avoiding it, with the baby on the way, eventually he and Nora were going to have to start to prepare for their arrival, but he knew that she was still slightly nervous, even if she did seem to be getting used to the idea of her pregnancy, and he didn’t want to push her.

Nora met his stare for moment, not missing the nervousness which had appeared on his face, before she leant towards him, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. Gerard stilled slightly, momentarily caught off guard, before he gently moved to kiss her back, holding her close. Nora smiled at his response and kissed him happily for a few seconds before gently pulled away from him, her fingers lightly brushing through his hair as a small silence lingered between them. She knew that it was still soon, even despite her pregnancy, her relationship with Gerard was still in its fledgling stage, but a small part of her was tempted to broach the subject of them moving together, even if the idea did unsettle her slightly, she was tempted to ask Gerard what he thought about it.

“What are you thinking?”

Nora, who’d been quietly messing with a few strands of Gerard’s hair, startled slightly at the sound of his voice before she tilted her head. “Huh?” she posed.

“You’re thinking about something” Gerard noted “You’ve got that look on your face, and I was wondering what was going on up here” he added, prodding the side of her head playfully.

Nora spared a soft laugh before she shook her head. “It’s nothing” she noted.

Gerard scoffed. “I don’t believe you” he retorted.

“Gerard…”

“Come on, Nora” he interrupted “Talk to me” he added, poking her side gently.

Nora looked at him, briefly contemplating insisting that it was nothing, before she shook her head. “We’re having a baby” she noted.

Gerard lifted an eyebrow. “You’ve only just noticed that?” he quipped playfully.

Nora spared him a small glare, something which made him raise his hands defensively, a grin on his face. “I was just thinking” she noted quietly “I mean, I know that this part of our relationship is still very new, but with the baby on the way, maybe it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world if you and I…”

“Moved in together” Gerard interrupted, finishing for her.

Nora blinked, surprised by his interruption, before she tilted her head. “You’re thinking it too?” she posed.

Gerard spared a small laugh before he nodded his head. “I’ve been thinking it for a while” he confirmed “But, I was slightly hesitant about asking. I mean, you didn’t exactly react fantastically the last time we talked about something like this and I didn’t want you to think that I was trying to press you for more right now, especially with this” he added, his thumb skimming over the front of her shirt.

Nora watched the movement of thumb briefly before she shook her head. “It’s a pretty big step” she noted.

“It is” Gerard agreed “But, if you’re not ready for it, it’s OK. We’ll figure something out” he insisted.

“You think it is the right step for us?” Nora posed, peeking up towards him shyly.

Gerard nodded without hesitation. “It’s a logical step” he noted “And I think it’s one we could handle. We’re practically living together now, since you told me about bump, I think we’ve only spent a handful of nights apart, and I think it make sense” he added gently.

Nora nodded quietly, allowing his words to hang around them for a few moments, before she looked up at him gently. “OK” she noted.

Gerard tilted his head. “Ok?” he posed.

Nora quirked a small smile before she nodded her head. “Ok, I want to try this” she noted “I mean, I am a little worried, things between me and you, they’re still pretty new and this is a big step forwards but…”

Nora’s words fell away as Gerard leant towards her, kissing her strongly before he leant back, pressing his forehead against hers. “You’re sure?” he posed, brushing a few loose hairs away from her cheek.

Nora met his stare before she quirked a light smile, offering him a small nod of her head, something which caused him to pull her into a tight hug, more than pleased with her answer.