In the End

Gently pushing the door to her bedroom closed, Ariella rested her head back against it, a soft sigh slipping out of her mouth. It had been a long couple of hours, after she had excused herself to serve dessert, she had managed to make it through a couple more hours before Stefan and Estella had departed for the night, and she was relieved that they’d finally gone, even if the evening, for the most part, had been pleasant. A small part of her couldn’t quite shake Stefan’s comment from her head.

She knew that she had overreacted, from the moment that she had pushed herself away from the table and scurried out of the room, she had regretted it, but the comment had upset her, even if it was a question that she expected to face more than once. It was a small reminder of the mess she had made of her and Gerard’s relationship first time around. She knew that it couldn’t simply be ignored, regardless of how well things were going between them, she knew that their past wasn’t something they could just gloss over, but still it stung her, even if things did appear to have worked out for the two of them. It was a reminder of just how much of a mess she had made first time around.

Squeezing her eyes closed, she kept her head rested against the bedroom door for a few seconds before a soft knocking filled the air, something which caused her to let out a small groan before she pulled the bedroom door open, her eyes settling on Gerard who rested against the wall outside of the room, a soft smile on his face. “Had you forgotten that I was still here?” he quipped, his voice caught between playful and soft.

Ariella rolled her eyes at his joke, but didn’t reply, instead opting to duck back into the bedroom and pad towards the wardrobe, gathering a set of pajamas.

Gerard, who’d stepped into the bedroom after her, watched her for a few seconds before he shook his head, a soft sigh tumbling out of his mouth. “You know that that isn’t how he meant it, right?” he mused, breaking the slightly awkward silence which hung between them “Stefan, I mean. He didn’t mean what he said negatively, Ella. I think, in his own way, it was supposed to be a compliment” he explained, a faint grin pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Ariella, who’d moved to slip her shoes off of her feet, quirked an eyebrow. “How’d you figure that?” she posed.

“Perhaps he didn’t say exactly the right thing” Gerard mused “But I think Stefan was just trying to say that we’re good together” he added gently.

Ariella spared him a slightly uncertain glance, something which made Gerard smile before he stepped towards the bed, taking a seat at the foot of it. “I think he is right, you know” he quipped “I mean, we’ve had our moments, there’s no denying that, but I think that we’re pretty great together. Don’t you?” he asked, trying to encourage her to talk to him.

He knew that she was upset, the look on her face as soon as the words had fallen out of Stefan’s mouth had confided it to him, and he wanted to encourage her to talk to him, wanting to cheer her up. It was still a sore subject, the topic of their breakup was one which the two of them would more than happily avoid for as long as they could, but he didn’t want her to worry about it being brought up, even if it was still an uncomfortable topic for them. It was a part of their past and he didn’t want it proving to be a stumbling block to a future he was hopeful they’d have.

Ariella looked down at him, quietly mulling over his words for a few seconds, before she quirked a soft smile, nodding her head shyly. “I do” she confirmed “I just...” she trailed off, shaking her head slightly.

Gerard watched her for a moment before he reached his hands out, slipping them into hers. “You just what?” he quipped, squeezing her hands encouragingly.

Ariella glanced down at their hands, trying to come up with the right words, before she gently shook her head, her blue eyes peeking up at his through her eyelashes. “I really made a mess of this before” she murmured “I took something which, in retrospect, was wonderful, and stomped all over it and I guess a part of me still doesn’t get why you’d want to give me a second chance at this. I did such a wonderful job the first time around” she added, a sarcastic smile on her lips.

Gerard, who’d moved to gently brush his thumb over the back of her hand, stared down at their hands for a few moments before he shook his head, lifting it so that he looked up at her. “I love you” he replied earnestly “That’s why I am with you, because I am in love with you and you know that. Yes, things didn’t work out before, but that was then and now...now is different. This last month...it’s been wonderful, we’ve been good together, and I know you think so too. We’re good together, Ella, and that’s why I thought we deserved to give this a second shot. Am I wrong about that?” he asked, gently pressing a kiss against the back of her hand.

Ariella’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she shook her head, mumbling a soft ‘no’ beneath her breath.

Gerard marveled at the soft hint of colour on her cheeks with an amused smirk before he pushed himself up to his feet, his fingertips gently brushing her dark hair away from her eyes. “What was that?” he posed “I didn’t quite catch it” he added impishly.

“You’re not wrong” Ariella repeated quietly “You and me...we’re good together” she added, a soft smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“Damn right we are” Gerard quipped enthusiastically “And I don’t want you to forget it. People are going to ask questions, Ella, and they’re going to make comments, but it shouldn’t bother you. We know what we’re doing, we know what makes us happy, and I want us to focus on that rather than what has happened before. That was then, and this is now, right?” he posed, gently skimming his hand over her cheek.

Ariella’s already pink cheeks darkened a shade before she nodded her head, offering him a small smile in return. She knew that he was right, with the past that they had, there was bound to be questions and comments, but she knew that he also had a point about them being happy together. They were, even despite it being relatively early days, they were content together, and she hoped that it would work out better that time around.