In the End

“Ariella?” Gerard breathed quietly as he edged into his bedroom, his stare landing on the brunette who was curled up on his bed, her soft snores filling the otherwise quiet room. It had been a little while, with Ariella’s entire apartment to pack up, it’d taken them a couple of weeks to move into his home together, but with only a few boxes left to unpack, Gerard couldn’t help but smile, still a little in awe of the fact that he and Ariella had taken the step forwards that they had.

It was something he’d wanted for a while, before their breakup, he had been tempted on a couple of occasions to broach the prospect of them moving in together, and whilst it had taken them a while to get a point where they were both comfortable with it, he doubted he could have been happier. It was new, the idea that Ariella was going to be around all of the time seemed a little odd to him, but he had no doubt that he would get used to it quickly. If anything, he was looking forwards to being able to spend more time with her.

Stopping the door way for a couple of seconds, he briefly contemplated ducking back out of the room without disturbing her before he quietly shook his head, shuffling towards the bed. Ensuring that he was quiet, he climbed onto the other side of the bed before he edged a little closer to her, his fingertips tenderly brushing a few strands of hair away from her closed eyes. “Ella?” he breathed softly.

Ariella stirred a little at the feel of his fingertips, but didn’t wake up, something which made Gerard smile softly before he leant a little closer to her, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead. “Come on, nena” he murmured “Dinner is almost ready” he added, trailing feather light kisses down the side of her face.

Ariella grumbled quietly, stirring a little more under his touch, before she blinked her blue eyes open, looking up at him with a sleepy frown on her lips. “Did I fall asleep?” she murmured.

Gerard nodded. “It would appear so” he quipped “But you’ve not been out for very long. Maybe half an hour or so” he added.

Ariella frowned up at him for a few seconds, allowing his words to hang around them, before she shook her head. “Sorry” she murmured “I guess...I guess I was more tired than I thought I was. Unpacking must have really taken it out of me” she added.

“I won’t hold it against you too much” Gerard replied boyishly.

Ariella, who’d moved to stretch out her arms and back, rolled her eyes at his joke, but couldn’t keep the grin off of her face, something which caused Gerard to grin triumphantly before he pushed himself back to his feet, offering his hand out towards her. “Come on” he mused “I’ve just finished cooking us something to eat and I figured, to celebrate our first night as a couple that lives together, that we could spend some time curled up in front of the television doing nothing in particular” he added, his voice soft and warm.

Ariella smiled up at him, marveling at the warmth in his voice, before she reached her hand out, settling it in his. Gerard’s smile widened as their hands touched before he gently curled his fingers around hers, helping her back to her feet before he led her out of the room, wordlessly fussing about just how excited he was by the idea that they lived together. He knew that it was still early, despite taking the step that they had, he knew that things between the two of them were still very much in the honeymoon phase, but he couldn’t quite stifle the good feeling that existed in his stomach, even if he did know better than to get ahead of himself. He couldn’t help but be hopeful that things between the two of them would work out.

~#~
“Aren’t you going to finish that?” Gerard asked, his eyes watching as Ariella lazily dragged her fork through the remains of the meal that he had cooked for her. It had been quiet, after he had woken Ariella up, they’d headed down towards the living room so that he could have dinner together, but Ariella had been a little quieter than usual, something Gerard had been quick to put down to the stress of the move. He knew that she was as excited as he was, the look on her face whenever it came up in conversation was impossible for her to fake, and impossible for him to mistake for anything other than her being excited, and he wasn’t’ surprised that it had caught up with her in the end. The past couple of weeks had been hectic for both of them.

Ariella, who’d been staring vaguely towards the television, startled a little at the sound of Gerard’s before she looked up at him, a soft smile on her face. “Sorry” she mumbled “I was in my own little world. Did you want something?” she asked.

“I was wondering if you were going to finish that” Gerard quipped “Because, if not, I’d not mind finishing it off. I did a good job, if I do say so myself” he added with a boastful smile.

Ariella rolled her eyes before she offered the plate out towards him.

Gerard eagerly took the plate out of her hand, placing a forkful of food into his mouth, before he turned to look at her once more. “You Ok?” he asked.

Ariella, who’d moved to curl up into the couch a little more, quirked a soft smile. “I’m fine” she noted “I mean, I’m pretty tired and my stomach feels a little weird, but I don’t think it is much to worry about. It’s been a pretty stressful couple of weeks and I am sure I’ll be fine in a couple of days” she added, gently pushing a few hairs off of her face.

Gerard looked at her dubiously. “You sure?” he posed.

Ariella nodded. “It’s been a busy couple of weeks” she noted “I’ve spent most of my time packing, and probably doing my fair share of overthinking as usual, and I’ve probably stressed myself out. I’m sure it’s nothing to be worried about” she added.

Gerard frowned. “Overthinking?” he asked.

Ariella shrugged. “Would I even be me if I didn’t worry for no reason?” she posed, a half-smile on her face.

Gerard offered her a firm look, something which made Ariella sigh before she gently shook her head. “I...I guess I was a little worried about this” she mused “I mean, it’s a pretty big step to be making, and we did decide on it pretty suddenly, but it’s fine. I’m excited about it, more excited than I am worried, and I don’t want you to doubt that. If I had real doubts, there’s no way I would have said yes” she explained, her voice softening slightly.

Gerard studied her for a couple of seconds, quietly thinking over her words, before he let out a soft sigh, his hand gently moving to squeeze hers which had come to rest comfortingly on his knee. “If you do have doubts...”

“I don’t have doubts” Ariella cut in quietly “I’m just nervous, but I am more excited than I am nervous. This is huge, Geri, and whilst we’ve taken the long road to get here, I’m pretty happy that we’ve finally made it” she insisted, her face brightening with a soft grin. She was nervous, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, there was a small knot in the pit of her stomach that she couldn’t seem to shake, but she wanted him to know just how excited she was too, even if she was a little worried about how their relationship would cope with them living together. She didn’t want him to think that she was likely to change her mind any time soon.

Gerard stared down at their hands, admiring the fit of their fingers quietly, before he leant forwards, kissing the back of her hand softly. “I’m happy too” he murmured, kissing the skin tenderly once more.

Ariella smiled at the feel of his lips against her hand before she gently pushed herself up to her feet, mumbling about needing something to drink before she stepped out of the room, heading away towards the kitchen. Gerard watched her go before he turned back towards the plate of food which sat in his lap, a slight frown still tugging at the corner of his mouth.