Where We Are

Staring at the door which stood ahead of her, Maia allowed a slightly nervous sigh to fall out of her mouth, her fingers tentatively tucking her dark hair behind her ear as she attempted to soothe the slight knot which existed in the pit of her stomach. She knew that they couldn’t hide it forever, eventually, either her or Iker would slip up and let out the news of their engagement, but still the idea of sharing it made her slightly apprehensive, even if she was confident that their families’ reactions would be positive. A small part of her had enjoyed having something which was simply between her and Iker.

Gently pushing her fingers through her hair, she offered the door another gander before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her ears, causing her to quirk a small smirk. “Don’t say it” she quipped, not moving her eyes away from the door.

Iker, who’d padded up to her side, quirked an amused smile before shook his head, his hands raised defensively. “I wasn’t going to say anything” he quipped “I was only going to ask if you remembered that you had a key. You’ve been standing here for a few minutes now. Are you Ok?” he added, his voice softening slightly.

Maia offered him a sideward glance before she nodded, a timid smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “I’m just being a little silly” she murmured.

“How so?” Iker asked.

Maia spared him a soft look, not missing the earnest expression which had appeared on his features, before she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter” she noted, looking through her bag in search of her key.

Iker watched her for a moment before he took a step towards her, his hand gently moving to take a hold of hers which fiddled with the contents of her handbag. “It clearly does matter” he countered.

“Iker...”

“I know you too well to believe you, Maia” Iker interrupted gently “So why don’t you just talk to me? I’ve been told I’ve got a knack for making you feel better” he added, offering her a slightly impish smile.

He knew what was on her mind, after they’d discussed the idea of sharing the news of their engagement, she had become a little quiet, but still he wanted her to say it, even if he was certain that he knew what was going on. He wanted her to know that she could talk to him, something Maia had a habit of forgetting. They were happy, their relationship was progressing as Iker had hoped it would, but it hadn’t slipped his mind that Maia was still slightly cagey when it came to talking to him, something he wanted to encourage her to improve, not wanting her to go to Alex or her mother with things that worried her before she came to him.

Maia offered him a tentative glance, not missing his warm smile, before she shook her head. “I liked that it was our secret” she muttered.

Iker tilted his head. “What?” he asked.

Maia shrugged. “Our families and friends are very involved” she noted “I mean, within hours of being in their house at Christmas, my mother had figured out that we were expecting another baby, and I guess...I guess I kind of liked the idea that, for once, this was something we had just between the two of us. That’s stupid, isn’t it?” she posed, chewing on her lip nervously.

Iker shook his head. “It’s not stupid” he noted.

“Really?” Maia posed.

“It isn’t stupid, Maia” Iker repeated “If anything, I like the idea that you think that way, but I think we both know we’re not good enough liars to keep this secret much longer. You’re right, with ours families, we don’t really get much of a chance to keep things between the two of us, but I sort of like that. I like that your parents seem to be pretty fond of me, and I like that my parents adore you. It’s a good thing, nena, and I’d rather have them be a little too involved than completely uninterested. Wouldn’t you?” he asked.

Maia mulled his question over for a moment before she nodded her head gingerly. “I think so” she murmured.

“They’re excited” Iker enthused “They’re happy for us, and I know that they’re going to love hearing this news too, so why don’t we get inside and tell them?” he posed, offering her hand a small encouraging squeeze.

Maia hesitated briefly, sparing a glance down towards their hands, before she nodded her head, something which caused Iker to flash her an encouraging grin before he dropped his other hand into his pocket, quickly pulling out his door key. Slipping it into the lock, he pushed the door open before he gestured for Maia to step in ahead of him, something which made her shake her head gently before she stepped passed, quickly making her way towards the living room where Hector sat, Ella contently snoozing against him.

Hector looked up at the sound of footsteps before he quirked a small smile. “You’re back late” he pointed out.

“We are?” Maia posed.

“We were expecting you to be slightly earlier” Hector noted “But it doesn’t matter. You know how much I love seeing my favourite little girl” he added, sparing a doting look down towards Ella who let out a small snuffle, stirring gently in her sleep.

Maia admired the doting smile on her father’s face before she shook her head, gently moving to perch on the arm of the couch at his side. “Where is mama?” she posed gently.

Hector shrugged. “I think she’s out on the balcony” he noted “One of her friends phoned and she stepped out to take the call. She didn’t want to wake Ella” he added.

Maia simply nodded her head quietly, something which caused Hector to lift an eyebrow. “Everything OK?” he posed.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Maia retorted.

“I don’t know” Hector posed “But I am your papa, Maia, and I know when there’s something up with you, so, what is it?” he asked.

Maia spared him a shy look before she peeked back towards Iker, something which made the keeper chuckle gently before he took a step towards her, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “We’ve got some news” he revealed.

Hector lifted an eyebrow. “You do?” he posed, a subtle smirk on his face.

Iker noted the smirk on the older man’s face before he nodded, a grin on his lips. “I asked your daughter to marry me and she said yes” he mused.

Hector was quiet for a second before he carefully jutted his hand out, encouraging Iker to offer it a sharp shake. “It’s about time” he quipped.

Iker laughed. “You think so?” he played along.

“Of course” Hector noted “You two are pretty wonderful together” he added.

“You’re not surprised?” Maia posed.

“That he asked? Not at all” Hector mused “The only surprise is that it took so long” he added, a warm fatherly smile on his face.

Maia’s cheeks flushed a little before the sound of the sliding door reached her ears, causing her to turn slightly, watching as Carolina stepped back into the room. “You two are home” she mused as she stepped towards Iker, greeting him with a polite kiss on the cheek.

“They are” Hector noted “And they have just told me some pretty wonderful news. You’re going to need to buy a wedding hat, Carolina” he added, a boyish grin on his face.

Carolina, who’d moved to greet Maia with a soft hug, stilled at the sound of her husband’s before she pulled back, her eyes mirroring Maia’s which stared up at her. “Wedding” she breathed.

Maia nodded her head, a tentative smile on her lips. “We’re engaged” she revealed softly.

Carolina blinked a couple of times, awed by the words that had fallen out of her daughter’s mouth, before she ducked back into her, pulling her into a tight hug that made Maia squeak a little in surprise before she pulled away, a soft tint of pink on her cheeks. She knew that they couldn’t hide it forever, both she and Iker were horrible at lying, but a small part of her would miss their little secret, even if she was glad to see the proud smiles on her parents’ faces.