Where We Are

Pulling her dark hair up into a loose ponytail, Maia tilted her head back, resting it against the cool porcelain of the bathtub as she tried to settle her stomach. It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling, when she had first been pregnant with Ella, the feeling of nausea first thing in the morning had been one that she had grown accustomed to, but still it irked her, even if it wasn’t the first time she had gone through it. She was already counting down the days until the feeling of morning sickness passed.

Squeezing her eyes closed, she took in a few deep breaths in an attempt to settle her stomach before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her ears, causing her to tentatively peek an eye open, settling it on Iker who stood in the doorway, a sympathetic smile on his lips. “Did I wake you?” she posed quietly.

“You might have kicked me when you got out of bed, but it’s alright” Iker mused “How are you doing?” he added, resting his weight against the doorframe. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight to him, for a couple of weeks, he had woken up to sight of Maia huddled over their toilet, but he tended to leave her to it, knowing that she didn’t feel entirely comfortable with him being sat in the room with her whilst she was being sick. It didn’t bother him, when they’d first discussed it, he had been quick to point out that he had seen her at her best, and at her worst, but still Maia didn’t feel comfortable with it, something which had led to him ducking down, not wanting to her make her feel uncomfortable.

Maia tiredly lifted an eyebrow. “You need to ask that?” she mumbled.

Iker laughed softly at her joke before he ducked out of the doorway, returning seconds later with a glass of water. “I got you this” he quipped “And if you need anything else, feel free to call” he added, offering the glass out towards her.

Maia took the glass out of his hand before she took a sip, something which afforded Iker the opportunity to take a pace out of the doorway. Stepping out of the bathroom, he padded across the bedroom before the sound of his name reached his ears, causing him to tilt his head slightly. “Maia?” he posed, making his way back towards the bathroom.

Maia offered him a timid smile. “This is going to sound silly” she mused “But would you mind sitting here with me?” she posed.

Iker tilted his head. “You want me to sit here?” he posed.

Maia nodded. “I know it sounds stupid” she noted “But I think if I stand up right now, I’m just going to throw up again. So, if you’re not too busy...”

“I can sit with you” Iker mused “If you’re sure” he added.

Maia simply flashed him another soft smile, something which made Iker chuckle warmly before he shuffled a little further into the bathroom, sitting down at her side. “Was it this bad last time?” he posed, gently looping his arm around her waist.

Maia leant into his arm slightly before she settled her head against his shoulder, offering him a stout nod. “It was pretty bad” she mused “I mean, it passed pretty quickly, I stopped feeling nauseous at about ten weeks, but for a while, it was pretty bad” she added, gently tracing shapes into his leg.

Iker watched the small movements of her fingers for a moment before he leant over, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head.

Maia’s cheeks warmed a little at the feel of the kiss before she tucked herself a little more into his side, allowing a comfortable silence to settle over the two of them.

“You know” Iker mumbled after a couple of seconds “We didn’t celebrate the fact that we’ve been back together for a year” he added.

Maia, who’d been quietly tracing her fingertip over his leg, shrugged. “We were a little preoccupied” she quipped, lifting her eyes to meet his.

“I know we were” Iker mused “But I would still like to mark it. A year’s a pretty big deal, Maia” he added enthusiastically.

Maia smiled at the warmth in his voice before she lifted her head slightly, pressing a light kiss to the underside of his jaw. “It is a big deal” she mused “And whilst it got lost in a day which was a big deal in itself, we should make a bit of a fuss. I can’t remember the last time you took me on a date” she added playfully. She knew that they had let it slip, with both of them preoccupied by celebrating Ella’s first Christmas and sharing the news of her second pregnancy, neither one of them had made any mention of their anniversary, and she wanted to make sure that they did, even if it was slightly belated. The last thing she wanted was to let their relationship slide.

Iker let out a laugh. “I would take you out” he noted “But for the last few weeks, every smell seems to have made you nauseous and I am not running the risk of you throwing up on me in public” he added.

Maia scoffed before she shook her head, a warm smile on her face. “I am sure that we can come up with something to do” she noted.

Iker smiled before he dipped his head, pressing another light kiss against the top of hers as he mumbled that he was sure that they could think of something.

Maia’s smile widened a fraction before she turned her head, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “I love you” she murmured.

“I love you too” Iker replied.

Maia chewed on her lip, still a little in awe of those words coming out of his mouth, before she shook her head, moving to settle it against his shoulder once more. “We’ve got a lot of things to figure out” she murmured.

“We have?” Iker posed, hugging her a little closer.

Maia nodded. “We’re going to have to start looking for somewhere bigger to live” she pointed out “I mean, for the first few months, baba will be in our bedroom, but eventually, they’re going to need a room to themselves, so we’re going to need a bigger place. And then there is what I am going to do about work. I am supposed to go back in a couple of months, Iker, but it seems pretty pointless right now” she added, sparing a glance down towards the front of her pajama shirt.

Iker followed her stare. “Maia...”

“And then there is us” Maia cut in “Things are so good, Iker, and I worry that that might change” she babbled.

“It won’t” Iker noted.

“Iker...”

“Maia, it’s not going to change” Iker interrupted.

“How do you know?” Maia posed.

“Because we’ve done it before” Iker pointed out “Before, when Ella was born, we were in a worse place than this, and we figured it out and made it work for us. It is what we do, Maia, and we’re pretty great at it. You’re right, we do have a lot of things to be thinking about right now, a lot of things to be a little worried and anxious about, but us? That’s not one of them. I’m crazy for you, Maia, I have been for a couple of years now, and that’s not going to change. I am in love with you, nena, and I know you feel the same way about me” he insisted, his dark eyes mirroring hers.

Maia held his stare, scanning his dark eyes for a moment, before she dropped her head, chewing on her lip shyly.

Iker noted her shy expression before he pressed a soft kiss against her temple. “It’s going to be fine” he insisted quietly “We will figure it out because that’s what we’re good at” he added.

Maia smiled timidly. “We’re not bad at it” she mused.

Iker laughed at her joke before he pulled himself back up to his feet, placing another kiss on the top of her head. “Have a little faith in us” he quipped “I don’t know about you, but I like this” he added before he stepped out of the room, musing something about checking on Ella.

Maia watched him step out of the bathroom before she dropped her stare down towards her feet, mulling over his words. She knew that he had a point, the two of them did have a track record for figuring things out as they went along, and whilst words had reassured her somewhat, a small part of her was still apprehensive, worried that they’d let things slip.