Where We Are

69: I Wish I Was There

Toeing off his shoes, Iker let out a relived sigh, his tired feet dragging him towards the bed which sat ahead of him. It had been a long day, with his transfer having been finalized, he had spent the day meeting his new teammates before he had taken part in his first training session, and a small part of him was glad that it was over, even if he had been itching to get back onto the training pitch. A part of him had been itching to get back to his hotel room since he had left it. It hadn’t been long, after he had left Porto, a little over two weeks had passed, but already he found himself looking forwards to Maia’s video calls, something which made him feel slightly silly, even if Maia had insisted more than once that she was the same. A small part of him felt silly for missing her as much as he did.

Allowing a soft yawn to fall out of his mouth, he shuffled up the mattress slightly before the sound of his tablet ringing reached his ears, something which caused him to quirk a small smile to himself. Shaking his head, he leant over towards the end table and lifted the tablet into his hands, quickly accepting Maia’s call. “I was just about to call you” he quipped, adjusting himself slightly in his seat.

Maia, who was sat cross-legged in the middle of their bed, lifted an eyebrow, a slightly amused smile playing on her lips. “You were?” she quipped.

Iker offered her a small look, admiring the smile she wore, before he nodded. “I just got back” he noted “And I was thinking about calling you, especially since I missed our call this morning” he added, his voice slightly apologetic. It had caught him off guard, Maia calling him just as he had been preparing to leave that morning had caught him more than a little by surprise, and he felt bad for missing it, even if he was sure that Maia wasn’t calling for anything overly important. He still felt bad that he hadn’t made time to take it.

Maia noted the soft tone of his voice before she shook her head, her fingers neatly tucking her hair behind her ear. “You didn’t miss it” she quipped.

Iker rolled his eyes. “I didn’t?” he quipped, his voice slightly sarcastic.

Maia shook her head. “You were busy” she noted “And that’s going to happen sometimes, but it’s alright. We’re talking now, aren’t we?” she asked, trying to keep her voice deliberately bright. She knew that it bothered him, the look on his face screamed it, but she wanted to assure him that it didn’t matter, even if her reassurance was likely to fall on deaf ears. It was one call and she didn’t mind that he had missed it.

Iker stared at her for a second, quietly mulling over her words, before he let out a small sigh. “We are” he confirmed.

“You could look a little more excited about it” Maia teased “I mean, aren’t you pleased to see me?” she added warmly.

“You know the answer to that” Iker countered, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“I’d like to hope so” Maia mused as she chewed on her lip, her fingers messing shyly with the ends of her hair.

Iker quirked a grin, amused by her familiar habits. “You know I look forwards to seeing you, Maia” he noted “You and children. Speaking of them, where are they?” he posed.

“They’re with my parents” Maia replied.

Iker lifted an eyebrow. “They are?” he asked.

Maia nodded. “My mother insisted” she noted “She keeps going on about how we’re only here for another month and how she wants to make the most of the time. I told her that she and my papa would be more than welcome to visit us once we’ve moved, but you know her. Once she’s got an idea in her head, it’s hard to convince her to drop it” she added, shaking her head amusedly.

Iker let out a small laugh, like he had thought of an amusing comment, before he shook his head. “Are they still upset?” he posed.

“My parents?” Maia posed.

Iker nodded.

Maia shrugged. “I don’t think they’re upset” she noted “I mean, my mother hates the idea of me being more than a couple of hours away, but she’s always hated that. They like us being close, especially with Ella and Charlie in the picture, but I think they understand that this is something we’ve got to do right now. You needed to go to Italy, and if you need to go, then I do too, and they get that. They’d have been far more pissed if I had told them that I had ended things between the two of us” she added, an impish smile on her lips.

Iker scoffed. “They wouldn’t have been the only ones” he played along.

Maia let out a soft giggle before she lifted her hand, lightly re-tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’ve started to pack” she murmured, disturbing the quiet which had settled over the two of them briefly.

Iker offered her a slightly curious look. “You have?” he asked.

Maia nodded her head timidly. “Only a few things” she noted “Like my summer clothes seeing as it is starting to get a little cooler here, but I figured I should make a start. We’ve only got a few more weeks before we fly out” she added as her expression flitted between excited and sad, something which made Iker sigh gently.

It wasn’t the first time that he had seen it, the slightly sad expression which played on her features was one which had made a frequent occurrence throughout their video chats, but still it hurt him slightly, even if he knew that it was simply a sign of her missing him. He hated that he wasn’t there to comfort her.

“Nena” he cooed gently.

Maia shook her head, a sad smile playing on her lips. “I’m sorry” she murmured “I mean, I do this almost every time you call. You must be sick of it” she added, a slightly forced laugh falling out of her mouth.

Iker sighed a little at the sound before he shook his head. “I wish I was there” he mumbled.

“Iker...”

“I know” Iker interrupted “I know that this is something I had to do, and that six weeks is no time at all, but it’s only been two and I already miss you, and the kids, so much. I have no idea how we managed it before, but it sucks, nena, and I hate seeing you so upset. I know that I can’t change it, but if I could, I would be there, you know that, right?” he posed gently.

Maia, who’d been playing timidly with her hair, nodded. “Of course” she noted “But we can’t change it, can we? You’re right, Iker, it does suck not having you around, but we can’t avoid it. You need to be there right now, and we will just have to deal with it, even if it does mean you watching me get a little soppy whenever I call. Six weeks isn’t the end of the world” she added, offering him a slightly reassuring smile. It had been hard, the distance between the two of them had been harder to cope with than Maia had been expecting, but she knew that there was nothing they could do about it, even if she was itching to be in the same room as him once more. It was simply something they had to handle.

Iker offered her a small look, thinking her words over briefly, before he nodded, a faint smile pulling at his lips. “I miss you” he murmured.

Maia smiled softly. “I miss you too” she enthused before the sound of the doorbell filled the air, causing her let out a small groan “That’s my mother” she noted.

“She back early?” Iker posed.

“Always” Maia replied with a roll of her eyes “But it does mean that I am going to have to go right now. Can I call you back in a little while so that you can see Charlie and Ella?” she posed.

“I’d love that” Iker enthused.

“I thought you might” Maia replied “I’ll speak to you in a bit, Iker. I love you” she enthused softly.

Iker smiled at her words. “I love you too” he replied.

Maia flashed himself a timid smile before she ended the call, something which allowed Iker to recline slightly into the bed. He knew that there was no getting around it, with a lot of things still needing to be sorted out, there was no way they could bring forwards Maia and the children’s arrival in Italy, and whilst it irked Iker, he knew that it was something he simply had to get through.
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Thanks to FootieJo and Jayme112234 for the comments :)