Where We Are

Pulling the ribbon into a tight knot, Iker took a small step backwards, his dark eyes studying his handiwork. He had been at it for a while, with it being the morning of Charlie’s third birthday, Maia had been quick to task him with decorating the house ahead of the little boy’s party, and Iker was pleased with his work, even if it was only a few balloons and banners, he was a little impressed with what he had achieved. He knew that it wasn’t going to be the biggest party, from what he knew of Maia’s plans, the guest list consisted of their families and a few friends, but still he was looking forwards to it, even if it Maia had insisted that it wouldn’t be anything to over the top. He was looking forwards to celebrating the day that their little boy had arrived.

Offering the ribbon a slight tug, he made sure that it was securely fixed to the back of the chair before the sound of a laugh filled his ears, something which caused him to lift his head, his dark eyes settling on Maia who stood in the doorway, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips. “You look proud of yourself” she quipped.

Iker shrugged boastfully. “I think I did a good job” he bragged playfully.

Maia arched an amused eyebrow. “You blew up some balloons” she quipped.

“I know” Iker noted “But I still think it looks pretty good. You think I’ve done a good job?” he posed as he stepped towards her, resting against the frame of the door ahead of her.

Maia feigned thought playfully, something which made Iker scoff before he leant down, stealing a quick kiss. “You’re lucky you’re cute” he mumbled with a half-smile.

Maia let out a small laugh in amusement before she gently shook her head, her blue eyes peeking up at him through her eyelashes. “You busy right now?” she asked shyly, disturbing the comfortable quiet which had settled over the two of them.

Iker, who’d moved to lightly brush their fingers together, quirked an eyebrow at the shyness in her voice before he shook his head. “I don’t think so” he noted “I mean, Charlie and Ella aren’t up yet, so I think I am free. Is everything OK?” he asked, gently rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

Maia smiled gently at the comforting feel of his hand against her arm before she nodded. “Everything is OK” she insisted “I just...I have something I want to show you” she babbled shyly.

Iker frowned a little. “Maia...”

“Just come with me, will you?” Maia interrupted gently, offering her hand out towards him.

Iker hesitated for a second, briefly contemplating pushing her on the subject, before he nodded his head, placing his hand in hers.

Maia squeezed his hand gently before she led him through the house, making their way towards the bathroom which was attached to their bedroom. “There” she quipped, gesturing vaguely towards the counter.

Iker, who’d been following after her, offered the counter a quick glance before he turned back towards her, a small frown perched on his lips. “Did you bring me in here just to look at the bathroom counter?” he asked confusedly.

Maia, who’d started to chew on her lower lip, shook her head slightly before she took a step towards the counter, pointing at a pair of small white sticks which sat on top of it. “I didn’t bring you up here just to look at the counter. I want to show you these” she explained quietly, her blue eyes looking up at him nervously.

It wasn’t something that they’d talked about, with Ella and Charlie still being so young, the prospect of a third child wasn’t something they’d discussed, but Maia had inkling that they’d missed the window to talk about it, something which had led to her taking the two pregnancy tests which sat on the counter. It was only a feeling, for a couple of weeks, she hadn’t quite felt like herself, and she had opted to take the two tests, even if it was just a gut feeling. She knew that they had to know one way or the other.

Iker noticed the nervous look on her face before he turned, settling his eyes on where she had pointed to, something which caused him to blink a couple of times. “Maia” he breathed “Nena, are those what I think they are?” he added.

Maia merely nodded stiffly, not saying a word.

Iker stared at the tests for a couple of seconds before he shook his head, letting out a soft sigh. “You’ve looked?” he muttered.

Maia quickly shook her head. “I...I thought maybe we could do it together” she stumbled out. It was a moment that he had missed out on, when she had found out that she was pregnant with both Ella and Charlie, Iker hadn’t been around, and she wanted to include him that time around, even if it did just prove to be a false alarm. It was a moment that she wanted to share with him.

Iker blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised by her reply, before he quirked a small smile. “You really want me here?” he posed boyishly.

Maia smiled. “I do” she confirmed “I mean, you can wait outside if you want to...” she trailed off teasingly.

Iker rolled his eyes, but couldn’t shake the smile off of his face, something which made Maia’s own smile widen a fraction before she stepped towards the counter, lifting the two pregnancy tests up into her hands. “You want to do the honors?” she asked, offering them out towards him.

Iker nodded his head gently before he took them out of her hands. Offering her a nervous smile, he moved to study the instructions which she had left on the counter before he turned the tests over in his palm, allowing him to look down at the results.

“Well?”

Iker, who’d been checking, and rechecking the results, jumped at the sound of Maia’s voice before he lifted his head, offering her a look which made her tilt her head slightly. “Iker?” she pressed.

Iker was quiet for a second longer before he took a stride across the room, quickly wrapping his arms around her as he lifted her up off of her feet. Maia squeaked and tossed her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly as he span her in a circle. “I am guessing that this is a good thing” she quipped as he carefully placed her back down onto her feet.

Iker grinned at her sheepishly. “Sorry” he mumbled “I just...you’re pregnant, Maia” he babbled out excitedly.

Maia smiled softly, a few tears in the corners of her eyes. “I am?” she posed.

Iker nodded enthusiastically, unable to keep the wide grin off of his face. “We’re having a baby, Maia” he grinned.

Maia let out a snuffly laugh, marveling at the words, before she shook her head, something which caused Iker to lift his hand, gently brushing a few tears off of her face. “Are you happy?” he asked quietly.

“Surprised” Maia replied earnestly “But happy. We’re going to have a new little baby, Iker” she fussed.

Iker nodded his head, adoring the sound of the words, before the sound of Ella’s voice filtered into the room, causing him to shake his head playfully. “I think our moment might be over” he noted.

Maia wiped her eyes and let out a small laugh. “Probably” she quipped “I should go and see what she wants and then check on the birthday boy. Can you handle making breakfast?” she posed as she reached up, pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail.

Iker nodded. “I can handle it” he insisted.

Maia offered him a small smile before she moved to step past him, something Iker was quick to stop, his hand gently resting on her wrist. Maia startled before she turned around, something which afforded Iker the opportunity to lean towards her, pulling her into a soft kiss that she was quick to respond to, a warm smile on her lips. It had taken them some time, for a while, both Maia and Iker had been convinced that things between them wouldn’t work out, but they were both glad that they had, even if they had hit bumps along the road, they were both thrilled by where they’d ended up.