Where We Are

04: I Was Already Smitten

Sparing a soft look towards the door which stood ahead of her, Maia shifted her feet slightly, trying to work up the nerve to tap her hand against the wood. She knew that there was no avoiding it, with her having shared the news of her pregnancy with Iker, she knew that she couldn’t shy away from speaking to him, but still she felt apprehensive, even if Iker’s reaction had been better than she had been better than she had been expecting, she was still nervous about the conversation which sat ahead of her. Taking in a couple of soft breaths, she briefly contemplated stepping away from the door before she tentatively reached her hand out, tapping the door lightly.

Swallowing a little, she took a couple of paces backwards before Iker pulled the door open, his brown eyes settling on her quickly. “Maia” he noted “You’re early. I think that that might be a first” he added, a familiar warm smile on his face.

Maia, who’d dropped her stare down towards her feet, quirked a shy smile at his joke, but didn’t say anything, something which made Iker shake his head before he took a pace towards her, offering his hand out. “Come on” he mused.

Maia offered his hand a brief glance before she stretched her own out, allowing him to gently take a hold of it. “I was going to grab a drink” he mused “Do you want anything?” he added, guiding her into the house.

“I’m alright” Maia murmured quietly.

Iker spared her a slightly dubious look, wordlessly asking if she was sure, before he nodded. “OK” he replied “Why don’t you go through to the living room? I’ll be with you in a second” he added.

Maia simply nodded her head quietly, something which caused Iker to squeeze her hand lightly before he dropped his hold, padding towards the kitchen. Maia watched him go briefly before she turned, padding into the living room. Stepping into the room tentatively, she allowed her eyes to scan over it briefly before they settled on a picture frame which sat on the coffee table, a sight which made her stomach flip gently. It was a good picture, the two of them were laying on a blanket whilst Iker pressed a kiss against her cheek, but still Maia was surprised to see it, even if it hadn’t been that long since they’d ended their relationship, she was surprised that Iker had opted to keep it.

Quirking a faint smile, she moved to lift it into her hands before she settled down onto the couch, her blue eyes admiring the picture quietly.

“That was a good night”

Maia, who’d been happily studying the photograph, startled at the sound of Iker’s voice before she lifted her head, offering him a timid smile. “It was” she agreed “It was our fourth or fifth date?” she posed, diverting her stare back down towards the picture.

“Our forth date” Iker confirmed, sitting at her side “You’d packed us a picnic because you wanted to show me a few of your favourite spots in the city, but after about an hour, you were complaining that your feet hurt so we just gave up and I bought you back here. That was taken in the garden” he added, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Maia admired his smile out of the corner of her eyes before she shook her head, trying to ignore how much she liked his smile. “It was my own fault” she quipped “I opted to wear new shoes. I was trying to impress you” she added, shyly tucking some of her dark hair behind her ear.

Iker snorted out a small laugh. “I was already pretty smitten, Maia” he pointed out “I was pretty smitten with you after our first date” he added, his voice softening slightly.

Maia’s cheeks warmed a little at the tone of his voice before she shook her head. “Iker...”

“How long’ve you known?” Iker interrupted gently “About the baby” he clarified.

Maia blinked, surprised by his interruption, before she shook her head. “A while” she noted “Six or seven weeks” she added.

Iker nodded his head stiffly. “Why didn’t you just tell me, Maia?” he noted “I mean, I am glad that you’re here, and that you have told me now, but I should have known before now. You should have told me weeks ago” he added, the tone of his voice hard to place.

Maia spared him a tentative glance before she let out a soft sigh. “You’re right” she conceded “I...I should have called you as soon as I was sure, and I am sorry that I didn’t. I was just...I was worried about how you’d react” she babbled softly. She had been expecting it, after their meeting the previous evening, she had anticipated that Iker would have questions for her, but still she couldn’t quite find the right words, even if she had tried to figure them out, they simply wouldn’t come to mind.

Iker stared at her, allowing her words to hang around them for a few seconds, before he shook his head. “You still should have called, Maia” he murmured “I know that things between us...they didn’t quite work out, but that doesn’t matter. That’s our baby, Maia, it’s part you and part me, and I should have been the first person that you called, regardless of anything else. I should have been at those scans” he insisted, his hand gesturing towards her stomach.

Maia followed his gesture, sparing a soft look down towards her stomach, before she peeked up at him, her blue eyes meeting his darker ones. “I know that” she murmured “And I know that there’s nothing at all I can say to apologize for it, but I am here now, Iker” she added.

Iker offered her a look, like he had something else he wanted to say, before he nodded. “You are” he quipped “And I want you to stay around, Maia. I want to be involved with this” he added, tentatively settling his hand against the front of her shirt.

Maia flinched, caught slightly off guard by his tender touch, before she offered him a small look. “You do?” she posed.

“Of course I do” Iker replied quickly “I mean, it’s going to take some figuring out, but I am not going to just walk away from this, Maia. This is our baby, and I can’t just ignore that. I’m here for you and baba” he insisted, his thumb lightly brushing over her stomach.

Maia watched the light movements of his thumb briefly before she lifted her head, her blue eyes looking into his darker ones. “I never said sorry” she murmured “About the way you and I ended, I never said that I was...”

“You made up your mind” Iker interrupted “I was looking for something more permanent, a future, and you were looking for something in the moment, and those ideas weren’t exactly compatible, but right now, that’s not the important thing. We’ve got a baby on the way, Maia, and we’ve got a lot of things to figure out before they arrive. I think the issue of you and me can wait a while, no?” he posed.

Maia hesitated briefly before she nodded her head gently. “Probably” she agreed “We’re clearly capable of being in the same room at the same time, and right now, that’s a start” she added, a feeble smile passing over her face.

Iker nodded. “It’s a start” he confirmed.

Maia flashed him another brief smile before she pushed herself up to her feet. “Do you mind if I use your bathroom?” she posed.

Iker shook his head. “Of course not” he noted “You remember where it is?” he asked.

Maia scoffed. “It’s been a couple of months, Iker” she pointed out “And I practically lived here before...I think I know where the bathroom is” she stumbled out before she scuttled out of the room.

Iker watched her out of the room before he let out a soft sigh, reclining into the couch before he lifted the photograph up into his hand, his stomach flipping slightly. He had a lot on his mind, with the news of Maia’s pregnancy, it had pulled his focus back to feelings that he had been trying to ignore, and he was irked, not only with Maia, but with himself. He had a lot of things he wanted to say, that he had missed her, that he loved her, that he wanted them to try and figure things out, but he couldn’t force the words out of his mouth, not wanting to set himself up for another fall.
♠ ♠ ♠
Thanks to Twisted;;Symphony, FootieJo and mslou1 for the comments :)