Where We Are

35: I Want To Keep It That Way

“Iker?”

Iker, who’d been staring at the box which sat in Hector hand quietly, startled at the sound of the older man’s voice before he lifted his head, his eyes wide in surprise. It had been a couple of minutes, after Hector had pulled his attention towards hand, Iker had merely stared at him, stuck for anything to say, but he knew that he had to say something, knowing that Hector wouldn’t simply let the topic drop. It hadn’t occurred to him, after he and Maia had broken up, the box which had been thoughtfully stowed in the drawer of his dresser had slipped out of his mind, but he knew that he couldn’t skirt around it, even if the Hector was the last person he wanted to talk about it with. He knew that it was a conversation that he couldn’t duck out of.

Swallowing, he stared at Hector for another second before he shook his head, pushing a hand back through his hair. “It’s not what you think” he mumbled.

Hector tilted his head. “It’s not?” he posed “So this, it’s not a ring for my daughter?” he posed, gesturing down towards the box which sat in his palm.

Iker followed the line of his stare, hesitantly sparing the box another gander, before he shook his head. “It...it is” he stumbled out “But, it is still not what you’re thinking. I...I bought that a long time ago and I guess I forgot that I still had it” he added, timidly pulling at the bottom of his shirt to avoid making eye contact.

Hector offered him a small look, not missing the nervousness in his voice, before he moved to settle down at the foot of the bed. “You bought this before?” he posed.

Iker nodded. “A couple of months before we broke up” he confirmed. It had been an impromptu decision, when Iker had spotted the ring, he and Maia had only been dating for eleven months, but he had quickly decided to buy it, even if he hadn’t intended to use it for a while. He had thought that it was beautiful.

“You had thought about proposing to Maia?” Hector asked, peeking up at him curiously.

Iker nodded. “I had thought about it” he confirmed “But it was still pretty early in our relationship when I bought that, and when I got around to thinking about using it, we weren’t in the best place, so I just forgot about it. Until you pulled it out of there, I’d forgotten that I even had it” he explained.

Hector spared him another look, quietly mulling over his words, before he shook his head, his eyes dropping down towards the box which still sat in his hand. “Had you two talked about it?” he posed, turning the box over in his hand.

Iker watched him turn the box over before shook his head, a slightly ironic smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “We weren’t good at talking” he noted “Last time, we both made a lot of mistakes when it came to us, but I think the biggest problem that we had was that when it came to having conversations about us, we both preferred to avoid the elephant in the room. We never talked about what it was we both wanted, and in the end, that’s one of the reasons we decided to call it quits” he explained, fiddling with his hands nervously.

Hector was quiet for a moment before he turned his head, his eyes mirroring Iker’s. “You know that you hurt her?” he posed.

“Hector...”

“I know that she hurt you too” Hector interrupted, cutting off Iker’s protest “And I am not going to sit here and make excuses for her, but when you two broke up, it hurt her and it is something that I want to avoid happening again. I know that it is none of my business, you and Maia, you’re grownups, you’re parents now too, and I want to trust that between the two of you, you can figure this out, but Iker, I don’t want to see Maia, or my granddaughter end up getting hurt” he added, his voice softening slightly. He didn’t want to stick his nose in, whatever happened between Maia and Iker was firmly between the two of them, but he wanted to be clear on Iker’s intentions, not wanting to watch Maia or Ella get hurt.

Iker stared down at his hands for a moment before he shook his head, sparing the older man another timid glance. “We made mistakes before” he admitted gently “Both me and Maia, we messed up things before, but it isn’t the same relationship anymore, Hector. This is something new, something different, and whilst I can’t sit here and insist that it will always be amazing and perfect, I know that I love her, and that I love Ella, and that the last thing I want to do is hurt either of them. It’s still a work in progress, after the way things ended before, me and Maia are still very much in phase where we’re figuring things out, but I like where it is going, Hector” he insisted, offering the older man a slightly awkward smile.

Hector admired the small smile which had appeared on the keeper’s face before he lifted his hand, gently patting his shoulder. “I really do hope that it works for you, Iker” he noted “And that maybe this...this might be for Maia too” he added, diverting his stare back down towards the box which was in his hand.

Iker followed the line of his stare, admiring the box quietly for a moment, before he shrugged. “Perhaps” he quipped “But that is something which is a long way off right now. I know that, in the long run, it’s what I want, but for now, I don’t want to think too far ahead. Things are good, Hector, and I want to keep it that way” he insisted.

He knew what it was he wanted, for a while, he had been sure that he wanted a future with Maia, but he didn’t want to push it. Things were going well for them, after Ella had arrived, things had felt settled and comfortable, and Iker wanted to keep them that way. He liked how things were and how they were progressing.

Hector looked at him for a moment, allowing his words to settle in, before he nodded, gently patting his shoulder once more. “I like you, Iker” he noted “And I hope that you and Maia work out” he insisted before he pushed himself up to his feet, musing something about calling his wife before he stepped out of the room, leaving the small box at the foot of the bed.

Iker watched him out of the door briefly before he flicked his attention down towards the box, carefully lifting it into his palm. Gently stroking his thumb over the velvety material, he smiled a little to himself before he moved to stow it in one of the half-packed boxes which littered room, wordlessly hoping that eventually, he would find the right moment.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)