Where We Are

“Are you nearly finished in here?”

Iker, who’d been wiping over another glass, smirked a little at the sound of Maia’s voice before he lifted his head, settling his eyes on where she stood in the doorway, an amused grin playing at the corner of her mouth. It had been a long day, between his conversation with Carolina and the two sets of parents fussing over them and Ella, he and Maia had barely had a second to themselves, but Iker didn’t mind, even if a small part of him did want nothing more than to head home. He had enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time with both his and Maia’s families. It wasn’t something which had happened a lot, when they had dated previously, their parents had only met once or twice, but he was pleased that they got along, even if they were still getting to know each other. He knew that it was a good sign for him and Maia.

“I think so” Iker replied “Why? Did you miss me?” he asked, offering her a boyish smile.

Maia, who’d stepped a little further into the kitchen, rolled her eyes slightly before she lifted herself up, settling on the kitchen counter by his side. “I was just thinking that it’s getting a little late” she noted “And that maybe we could think about going soon. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a great day, but I am starting to get tired and the drive is a pretty long one” she added, her hand subtly passing over the front of her sweater.

Iker smiled a little at the movement of her hand before he took a step forwards, standing in between her legs. “You keep fussing over the front of your sweater” he mumbled.

Maia quirked a shy smile. “I know I do” she mused “But it’s a habit. I did it all of the time when I was pregnant with Ella” she added, shyly pushing her hair behind her ear.

Iker, who was still staring down at her stomach, quirked a soft smile. “I remember” he mused fondly.

Maia’s cheeks warmed a little at the soft tone of his voice before she shook her head, something which caused Iker to dip his head, his brown eyes mirroring the stare of her blues. “You feeling Ok?” he asked.

“Why do you ask?” Maia asked, a playful smile on her lips. It wasn’t the first time that he asked, since he’d found out about her pregnancy, he had made a habit of asking two or three times a day, and whilst it did have the potential to become a little overwhelming, Maia had to admit that she found it cute. She liked that he was already a little protective of her.

Iker shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just checking in” he quipped “Last time around, I missed the morning sickness phase, and I want to make sure that you’re doing alright. It takes a lot out of you, doesn’t it?” he posed,

“It does” Maia noted “But I’m OK right now. It’s been a pretty good day” she added.

Iker spared her a dubious look, something which made Maia giggle before she lifted her hands, lightly cupping his cheeks. “I feel fine, Iker” she mused “I got a little nauseous when my padre bought out dinner, but it passed quickly. I promise you, I feel fine, and the second I don’t, I will tell you” she added, lightly brushing her thumb along his cheekbone.

Iker leant into her touch slightly, his eyes closing briefly, before he tilted his head, wordlessly encouraging Maia to lean down, pressing their lips together. Iker grinned into the kiss, holding her close for a few seconds before he pulled back, quickly dipping down to press a light kiss to the front of her sweater.

Maia let out a small surprised squeak before she playfully swatted for him, something which made Iker hold up his hands defensively. “I can’t help it” he quipped impishly.

Maia offered him a playful glare before the sound of Ella’s cries filled the air, causing her to push herself back down onto her feet. “I figured it wouldn’t be too long before she woke up” she noted “She’s probably going to need her nappy changed” she added.

“I can do it” Iker offered.

“You’d not mind?” Maia posed.

Iker shook his head. “Of course not” he noted “I’ll take care of her, get her ready to go home, and you can start saying goodnight to our parents” he added.

Maia offered him a small look, wordlessly asking if he was sure, before she nodded her head.

Iker noted her nod before he leant into her, stealing a quick kiss before he ducked out of the room, leaving Maia smiling to herself behind him.

~#~
“Are you sure that you two wouldn’t rather stay the night?” Hector asked as he pushed himself up to his feet, wrapping his arms around Maia.

“We thought about it” Maia replied, hugging her father tightly “But Ella still doesn’t sleep all the way through the night and we don’t want to disturb everyone” she added. It wasn’t a whole lie, Ella did still have a rather erratic sleeping pattern, but mostly Maia wanted to get home, not wanting people to catch her throwing up the next morning.

“It wouldn’t be a problem” Hector noted “And we’ve got enough space. Are you sure that you don’t want to stay?” he posed.

Maia shook her head. “We’ll be fine, papa” she mused, offering him a soft smile.

Hector offered her a slightly doubtful look before he stepped aside, allowing a slightly tipsy Carolina to step towards Maia, quickly wrapping her in a soft hug. “I’m glad that we did this, sweetheart” she enthused “It was so good to see you, Iker and little Ella” she added.

Maia smiled. “We had a wonderful day, mama” she mused “We should do it again next year” she added.

Carolina nodded her head. “We should” she agreed as she stepped back, her eyes drifting down towards the front of Maia’s sweater.

Maia followed the line of her mother’s stare before she tilted her head, a frown pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Madre?” she posed.

Carolina flashed her an impish smile. “You’re a lousy liar” she quipped.

“What?” Maia posed.

“You’re not drinking because you’re driving home?” Carolina quipped coyly.

Maia blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised that her lie had been caught, before she shook her head. “It’s nothing, mama” she murmured.

Carolina scoffed. “You and your boyfriend should coordinate better” she noted.

Maia opened her mouth to comment, but was cut off by Hector who stood beside her, a confused frown on his face. “What is going on, Maia?” he posed.

“Papa...”

“Tell him” Iker’s voice contributed.

Maia, who’d been staring at her father, whipped around the sound of Iker’s voice, her eyes landing on where he stood in the doorway, Ella sleepily settled on his hip. “You sure?” she posed.

Iker nodded, a light smile on his lips. “Your madre’s right. We’re both pretty awful liars” he noted.

Maia’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she shook her head, her blue eyes surveying the other people which stood around her, curious expressions on their features. Taking in a soft breath, she shyly tucked her dark hair behind her ear before she shook her head, a shy smile on her lips. “We were trying to keep this to ourselves” she breathed “It’s still pretty early on and we didn’t really want to say anything for a couple of months, but Iker’s right, we’re both pretty terrible liars. A couple of weeks ago, I...I found out that I was pregnant again” she added tentatively.

Carmen, who was sat on the couch beside her husband, leant forwards slightly, a look of surprise on her face. “You’re pregnant?” she breathed.

Maia spared a quick look towards Iker who was watching her with a comforting smile before she nodded her head shyly. “Almost seven weeks” she confirmed.

“You’re going to have a baby?” Hector posed “Another one?” he added.

Iker nodded. “It’s surprise” he noted “But it’s a pretty wonderful one, isn’t it?” he added as he stepped across the room, his arm settling comfortingly around Maia’s waist.

Hector merely stared at the two of them for a second before quickly stepped forwards, pulling them into a tight hug that caught Iker more than slightly off guard. It wasn’t like him, in all the time that Iker had known Hector, he had never known him to be affectionate, and it caught him off guard, something which didn’t fail to make Maia giggle. “You’re happy, Papa?” she posed, pulling back slightly.

“You’re happy?” Hector posed.

Maia nodded. “I am” she confirmed.

“Then I am happy” Hector replied “Congratulations, both of you” he added, offering Iker a warm smile.

Iker returned it warmly before his mother and father made their way towards him, offering their own congratulations before they turned their attention towards Maia, fussing over her happily, a sight which made Iker’s smile widen slightly. It was still early days, Maia’s pregnancy wasn’t even a couple of months old yet, but still he was excited, even if there was a long time separating them from the birth of their son or daughter. He was already counting down the days until the new arrival made their first appearance.