If You Love Me

“You look really good, Nora” Daniel fussed as he stepped back from the hug, a warm smile perched on his face. It had caught him by surprise, spotting Nora as he had stepped into the café had caught him a little off guard, but he hadn’t been able to resist the opportunity to say hello, even if a small part of him had been slightly wary about approaching the table, he was pleased to see her for the first time since Emilia and Mateo had attempted to set them up.

Nora, who’d moved to take a step back, blushed a little at his compliment before she shook her head. “I’m sure that you’re just saying that” she fussed, messing with the ends of her blonde hair “Besides, the last year and a bit have been pretty great to you, Dani. You look really good” she added, flashing him a soft smile.

Daniel smiled modestly, quipping a comment about her looking beautiful, before he caught sight of Gerard over her shoulder, something which caused him to step forwards, tentatively offering his hand out towards the defender. “Hola” he greeted “I’m Dani. You must be Nora’s boyfriend” he added, his voice slightly nervous.

He could see that Gerard was irked, the look which had appeared on his face as soon as Daniel had stepped up towards the table confided it, but Daniel wanted to try and ease the tension slightly, even if he doubted that it would make much of a difference. He didn’t want to cause a problem between Nora and her boyfriend.

Gerard, who’d been watching the interaction between Nora and Daniel, eyed the other man’s hand for a brief moment before he placed his hand into it, offering it a quick shake. “I’m Gerard” he noted “Nora’s fiancé” he added, stressing the word ‘fiancé’ a little.

Daniel noticed the slight change in the defender’s voice, but didn’t say anything, instead offering him a friendly smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Gerard” he enthused “But I think I am going to let you two go. Nora, it was good to see you again” he added warmly.

Nora, who’d moved to check on Alba, lifted her head slightly at the sound of Daniel’s voice before she nodded, offering him a soft smile. “It was good to see you too, Dani” she enthused.

Daniel stepped towards her, hugging her briefly, before he stepped away from the couple. Nora watched him across the café for a moment before she lifted her head, not missing the frown which had appeared on Gerard’s face, a sight which made her sigh gently before she stepped around him, moving to push Alba’s pushchair out of the café.

~#~
Gently resting his weight against the kitchen counter, Gerard sipped on the drink which sat in his hand, his blue eyes staring off into space. It had been quiet, since he and Nora had run into Daniel, they’d barely said a word to one another, and whilst Gerard knew that it was mostly on him, he didn’t quite know what to say to Nora. He knew that he was being silly, from what he knew of her relationship with Daniel, it had been over before it had ever gotten started, but seeing her with him had irked him, even if he knew that it shouldn’t have done.

Taking another sip of his drink, he carefully rested his head back for a moment before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached his ears, causing him to look up, his blue eyes settling on Nora who stood slightly away from him, a sheepish look on her face. Blinking a couple of times, he looked her up and down before he shook his head, a soft sigh falling out of his mouth. “I’m sorry” he mumbled, peeking up at her shyly.

Nora, who’d stepped deeper into the kitchen, admired the shy look on his face for a moment before she stepped towards him, moving to settle down on the counter at his side. “You don’t need to be worried about Dani” she murmured “Me and him...there was no me and him. We went out twice, once was an awkward lunch date with my sister and brother-in-law and the other time was to watch Spain play in the Euros, and both times we went out, I told him that I wasn’t looking to start anything. We never kissed, we never did anything else, and you don’t need to worry about him. In fact, you don’t need to worry about anyone” she added as she gently took a hold of his hand, knotting their fingers together.

Gerard watched her slot their fingers together before he shook his head. “I was jealous of him” he mumbled, breaking the quiet which had settled over them.

Nora, who’d been contently messing with his fingers, tilted her head. “What?” she posed, a small frown on her face.

“Before” Gerard clarified “When you told me that Emilia had set you up on a date with him before you and I got together, I was jealous of him. I had liked you for a while and I thought, maybe you liked me too, but then you told me about Dani and the date and it upset me. I had figured that we’d eventually figure us out, but when you told me that you were going out with someone else, I was convinced that I had missed my chance” he added, lightly brushing his thumb over the back of her hand.

Nora watched the small movements of his thumb for a moment, allowing his words to hang in the air, before she shook her head, offering his hand a gentle squeeze. “You had nothing to be jealous of” she mumbled “My ‘dates’ with Dani were nothing. I mean, he was nice, and we did get on, but I told him straight from the outset that I didn’t want to start anything because...because I was kind of crazy about you” she admitted, a faint blush on her cheeks.

Gerard tilted his head. “You were?” he posed.

Nora nodded. “I had liked you for a long time, but every time I thought about telling you, I chickened out. The last thing I wanted was for you to look at me and tell me that you didn’t quite feel the same way” she admitted gently. It wasn’t something that they had talked about, since they had gotten together, they had barely made reference to what had started their relationship, but she wanted to tell him, wanting to reassure him that she only had eyes for him.

Gerard offered her a soft look, quietly mulling over her words, before he shook his head, a small laugh falling out of his mouth. “We were both idiots” he quipped impishly.

Nora quirked a small smile before she nodded. “We were” she agreed “But we got there in the end and I am more than happy that we did. I love you, Gerard, I love what we have going on here, and you have to know that I wouldn’t change it. You’re not getting rid of me any time soon” she added warmly as she leant towards him, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. Gerard smiled a little at her words before he leant up, pressing a soft kiss against her lips as he mumbled that he wouldn’t want it any other way.