Where We Are

25: Smitten

Carefully smoothing out the few fine dark hairs which sat on the top of the baby’s head, Maia smiled to herself, marveling at the small sounds that the baby made in her sleep. It was quiet, after the activity which had surrounded the little girl’s arrival, the hospital room that Maia had been set up in had become quiet and comfortable, and it pleased the brunette slightly, even if she hadn’t quite fallen asleep yet. She knew that it would only be a matter of time before she gave in and curled up against her pillow.

Sparing a quiet yawn, she gently pulled a hat onto the baby’s head before she shook her head, not able to shift the grin which pulled at the corner of her mouth. It felt surreal, holding her daughter in her arms was one of the strangest things she’d experienced, but it was a wonderful kind of strange, one she already knew that she couldn’t get tired of.

Offering the little girl another tender smile, she pressed a light kiss to the top of her head before the sound of a camera clicking reached her ears, causing her to lift her head, offering her a playful glare towards Iker who sat a little away from her, scanning his latest picture with a grin. “You must have taken at least fifty pictures in the last hour alone” she pointed out “Are you going to put it down at some point?” she asked, carefully adjusting the sleeping baby in her arms.

Iker offered her a boyish smile before he shrugged. “When I ducked out to speak to your madre, she insisted that I take as many pictures as I could so that I could send them to her later. It was the price I had to pay to buy us a few more hours alone” he explained.

It had been a mutual decision, with the little girl having arrived, both Maia and Iker were keen to keep her to themselves for as long as they could, and whilst it had led to a slightly awkward conversation with Maia’s mother in particular, it wasn’t a decision he regretted. He knew that people were itching to meet their baby, just as he and Maia had been, their friends and families had been looking forwards to the little girl’s arrival for months, but he didn’t want to burst the bubble that had settled around him, Maia and the baby so soon. He wanted to enjoy some time alone with his two favourite girls.

Maia, who was staring down at the baby, shook her head. “My mother caused a problem?” she posed, peeking at him slightly.

Iker quirked a small smile before he shook his head. “She’s excited” he noted “You’re her only daughter, and this is her first grandchild, I am remarkably surprised that she didn’t try and replace me as your birthing partner, but I think she understood that for a while, we just want it to be the three of us, and if she didn’t, your papa convinced her to go with him when he left” he added, his voice warm and teasing.

Maia let out a soft giggle before the baby let out a small sound, something which pulled both her and Iker’s attention down towards her. Quirking a small smile, Iker shuffled his seat a little closer to the edge of the bed before he offered his arms out towards Maia, wordlessly asking to hold the baby. Maia returned his smile softly before she settled the little girl into his arms, allowing him to shuffle her a little closer to his chest. “Have you got your head around it yet?” he posed quietly.

Maia, who’d been marveling at the sight of him with their daughter, shook her head. “No” she mumbled “You?” she quipped.

Iker scoffed. “I still haven’t got my head around you showing up and telling that you were pregnant yet, let alone the idea that this...this is our little girl” he mused, sparing a doting glance down towards the baby who snuffled in her sleep.

Maia admired the soft expression on his face for a moment before she shook her head, carefully moving to collect the camera which he had left on the side of the bed. Admiring the two of the together for a brief moment, she snapped a couple of pictures before she leant a little closer to Iker, pushing some of his dark hair off of his forehead. “We need to think of a name” she murmured quietly, breaking the comfortable silence which had settled over them.

Iker nodded, but didn’t shift his eyes away from the baby, something which made Maia shake her head. “Are you ever going to look up at me again?” she teased, still pushing her fingers through his hair.

Iker smiled at her joke before he lifted his head, mirroring her blue eyes with his darker ones. “Perhaps” he quipped “But right now, I’m pretty smitten by this adorable little girl. We made a beautiful baby, Maia, and I can’t stop looking at her” he gushed, his expression slightly sheepish.

“I know the feeling” Maia mused, adjusting the tiny hat which sat on the baby’s head “But we do have to come up with something to call her. Baby girl Casillas Varela is quite the mouthful” she added.

Iker, who’d diverted his stare back down towards their daughter, nodded. “Ella” he breathed.

Maia lifted an eyebrow. “What?” she posed.

“Ella” Iker repeated “I thought it was the name that you really liked?” he posed, a small frown on his face.

“It is” Maia noted “But that doesn’t mean that we have to go with it. If you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them” she added.

Iker shook his head. “I like Ella” he noted “Have you changed your mind?” he posed.

Maia shook her head before she quirked a small smile. “I like Ella too” she mused, pushing some hair behind her ear timidly.

Iker reached up, lightly replacing her fingers with his, before he offered her another smile. “Ella Casillas Varela” he mused “It’s got a pretty great ring to it, doesn’t it?” he asked, tracing his thumb tenderly over her cheek.

Maia leant into his hand slightly before she nodded, closing her eyes softly. “It does” she agreed.

Iker admired the expression on her face before he leant into her, stealing a couple of quick kisses before Ella let out a soft whimper, causing him to pull back, his dark eyes dropping to her quickly. “I think Ella is looking for her madre” he quipped, a grin pulling at the corner of his mouth as the name rolled off of his tongue.

Maia nodded. “She’s probably hungry” she noted “It’s been a couple of hours since her last feed” she added as she moved to take the baby out of his arms.

Iker watched the two of them together before he pushed himself up to his feet. “I’ll go and find Lola” he noted “She seemed pretty happy with how things went earlier, and I am pretty optimistic about my chances of getting you home sooner rather than later. I’ll be back in a few minutes” he added before he stepped towards the bed, pressing brief kiss to Maia’s lips before he ducked down, kissing Ella’s head tenderly.

The little girl, who was grumbling slightly, quietened slightly at the feel of his lips against her head before let out another cry, something which made Iker smile warmly before he pulled away. “I’ll be right back” he insisted, stepping towards the door.

Maia nodded. “I know” she noted “I don’t think I am getting rid of you any time soon” she added, a teasing smile on her face.

Iker rolled his eyes amusedly before he ducked out of the door, his grin still plastered on his face. He couldn’t stop himself, since Ella had let out her first cry, he hadn’t been able to shift the smile which was on his face, and he had no doubt that it would be the same for a while to come.
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Thanks to FootieJo and Twisted;;Symphony for the comments :)