Where We Are

Smiling quietly to herself, Maia carefully brushed her fingertip against the bottom of Ella’s foot, her blue eyes marveling at infant who laid on the mattress, stirring quietly in her sleep. It hadn’t been long, after she had given birth to her daughter, only a few days had passed, but already they had settled into something of a routine, something which pleased Maia.

She had been concerned, with her and Iker not living together, she had thought that settling things down would take them a lot longer, but she was pleased with the way things were going, even if getting a moment that was just the three of them had been a little difficult. She was pleased by how they were adapting to having Ella around.

Lightly adjusting the material of Ella’s sleep suit, Maia watched her sleep for a couple of moments before the sound of footsteps reached her ears, causing her to pick her head up, her blue eyes settling on Iker who stood in the doorway, towel drying his hair. “Is she still sleeping?” he posed quietly as he stepped towards the bed, settling down on the edge of it.

Maia offered him a small smile before she nodded. “She stirred a little when you got up to go to the bathroom” she noted “But she was only awake for a couple of minutes. I think she’ll probably sleep for a little longer before she realizes that it’s time for a feed” she added, lightly brushing her fingers over Ella’s stomach.

Ella stirred a little, her blue eyes opening for a fraction of a second, before she settled down against, something which made Iker smile before he leant down, kissing the top of her head gently. “You two going to be OK today?” he posed, flicking his attention up towards Maia. It had been coming, with Ella having arrived on a morning following a match day, Iker had had a couple of days away from training to spend with Maia and Ella, but he knew that he couldn’t avoid going back, even if he was tempted to duck away so that he could spend more time with his two girls. He knew that he had to go.

Maia, who’d been watching him with Ella, smiled a little at his words before she lifted her head, her blue eyes mirroring his darker ones. “I think we can cope without you for a couple of hours” she quipped playfully.

Iker simply offered her a glare, something which made her giggle before she leant towards him, brushing a quick kiss against his lips. “You’re going to be gone for a couple hours” she mused as she pulled away from him “And I am sure that Ella and I will be fine for that long. Besides, Alex is going to pop over. She’s not met Ella yet and she’s excited. We’ll hardly notice you not being here” she added, offering him a small teasing smile.

Iker rolled his eyes playfully before he shook his head, dropping his attention back to Ella who snuffled a little in her sleep. “I’m being silly, aren’t I?” he posed quietly.

Maia spared him a glance, allowing his words to hang around them for a moment, before she shook her head, a soft smile on her lips. “You’re not” she noted “You’re a new papa, Iker, and you’re excited to spend time with our baba, but we both knew that the bubble wouldn’t last forever. You’ve just got to get through it” she added as she cupped his cheek, lightly brushing her thumb along his cheekbone.

Iker leant into her palm slightly, mulling over her words for a couple of seconds, before he nodded his head, offering her a small smile. “I’ll try to get back here as quickly as I can” he noted “You have a good time catching up with Alex” he added as he leant into her, stealing a quick kiss before he pushed himself up to his feet, moving to collect the t-shirt that he had left on top of the dresser.

Maia smiled. “I doubt that she’s coming to see me” she quipped “I think she’s more looking forwards to fussing over Ella than talking to me” she added.

Iker, who’d pulled his t-shirt over his head, shrugged. “You can’t blame her” he quipped.

Maia tilted her head. “I am not interesting to talk to?” she posed, her tone deliberately bright and playful.

Iker smirked at her teasing before he shook his head. “You know that you are” he quipped “But you also know that we have just welcomed a beautiful little girl and that, for a while, people are going to want to make a lot of fuss over her. We made a pretty adorable baby, Maia” he added, his voice softening at the mention of Ella.

Maia smiled, not missing the softness in his voice, before she pushed herself up to her feet, gently nudging his shoulder. “We did” she agreed “And you need to get going. We’ll see you later?” she posed.

Iker nodded. “Of course” he quipped “Adios, Maia” he added before he leant forwards, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

Maia held onto him for a second before she carefully stepped back, allowing him to mumble a quick goodbye to Ella before he ducked out of the room, something which caused her to shake her head, a little impressed by how settled things between her and Iker felt.

~#~
“She looks like you”

Maia, who’d been quietly feeding Ella, smiled a little at the sound of Alex’s voice before she shook her head. “You think so?” she posed.

It had been a quiet morning, with Alex keen to meet Ella, Maia had been quick to invite her over for coffee, and she was pleased that she had. It had made a change, in the days since Ella had arrived, Maia had spent a lot of her time around cooing relatives who all wanted to make a fuss of Ella, and she was pleased to get a little time with her friend, even if it was only a couple of hours. She had enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with Alex.

Alex, who was sat in the seat opposite her friend, quirked a small smile before she nodded. “She’s got darker hair than you, so she probably got that from Iker, but I think she looks more like you overall” she mused “But either way, she was going to be adorable. I mean, her parents are a pretty adorable couple” she added, her smile turning into a teasing smirk.

Maia scoffed. “Alex” she warned, her cheeks tinting a soft shade of pink.

Alex merely smirked. “How can I not ask, Maia?” she posed “How are things going between you and him?” she added, sipping on her drink nonchalantly. She knew that Maia was coy about it, with things between her and Iker still very much in a fledgling stage, the brunette often shied away from talking about it, but still Alex wanted to ask, even if Maia was likely to insist that there was nothing to talk about. She wanted to make sure that that her friend was as happy as she appeared.

Maia offered her friend a small glance before she shook her head, unable to keep the smile off of her face. “It’s going OK” she admitted.

“Just OK?” Alex pressed, nudging her foot against Maia’s.

Maia’s blush darkened before she shrugged. “It’s a little hard to know what to make of it right now” she noted “I mean, we’d only been back together a few weeks when she came along, but things seem pretty good” she added with a gesture down towards Ella who sat in her arms, cooing quietly.

Alex simply smirked, encouraging Maia to continue talking.

Offering her friend a brief glare, Maia shook her head before she quirked another smile. “I like having him around” she admitted “It’s been a little weird, the last couple of days with us both trying to adapt to Ella being here, but I am glad that he’s here with me” she added, bashfully tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

Alex watched her, not missing the bashful action, before she quirked a warm smile. “I’m glad that you look so happy” she enthused “It’s been a while” she added.

Maia scoffed, quipping a comment about it not having been that long, before Ella let out a small cry, something which made her shake her head. “I think she needs to be changed” she noted “I’ll be right back” she added before she pushed herself up to her feet, ducking out of the room. Alex watched her out of the room before she quirked another smile, more than glad to see her friend and Iker so settled. She knew that it wouldn’t be smooth sailing, with Ella around and their previous relationship looming over them, hiccups were inevitable, but she was hopeful. She liked how happy Maia was when Iker was around.