In the End

60: It’s Cute That You’re Still Smitten

“You know that you’re only going to be gone for one night, right?”

Gerard, who was quietly pulling the zip around on his bag, quirked a small smirk at the sound of Ariella’s voice before he lifted his eyes, settling them on where she stood in the doorway, a playful smirk spread across her lips. It had been a few days, after they’d gone out to celebrate his birthday, a little over a week had passed, but with Barcelona due to travel away for the first leg of their champions league round of sixteen match, Gerard had spent a little while packing, trying to drag out the morning for as long as he could before he had absolutely had to depart. He knew that he was being slightly silly, since Toby had been born a couple of months previous, he had travelled away for matches before, but still he was dreading spending the night away from home, even if he knew that both Ariella and Toby would be fine. He had grown used to the little routine that they’d fallen into and didn’t like the idea of it changing.

Shaking his head, he let out a small laugh before turned back to his bag, finishing pulling the zip around on it. “Where’s Toby?” he asked.

Ariella, who’d moved to step a little further into the bedroom, plopped down on the side of the bed. “He’s asleep in his crib” she mused “He was starting to get a little grumpy so I settled him down for a nap. I hope you don’t mind” she added, offering him a slightly cautious glance.

Gerard lifted an eyebrow. “Why would I mind?” he asked.

Ariella shrugged. “You’re leaving soon” she pointed “And I...I just thought...I’m being silly, aren’t I?” she babbled, smiling up at him sheepishly.

Gerard laughed warmly. “A little” he mused.

Ariella shook her head. “Lo siento” she murmured, sheepishly pushing her dark hair behind her ear.

Gerard watched her for a couple of seconds, a soft smile on his face, before he took a step towards her, his hand gently taking a hold of hers. “You’re cute when you get all flustered, you know that?” he mumbled, leaning forwards to press a soft kiss against her forehead.

Ariella, who’d wrapped her arms around his middle, closed her eyes, enjoying the comfortable embrace for a few seconds before the distant hum of a vibrating phone reached her ears, causing her to let out a soft sigh before she tilted her head back, her blue eyes looking up to mirror his. “That’s your alarm, right?” she mumbled.

Gerard nodded, placing another kiss against her head. “It is” he noted “I should get going. You have plans for today?” he asked as he stepped back, moving to lift his bag up onto his shoulder.

“Antonella is coming over in a bit” Ariella replied “Her parents have offered to watch their boys for the afternoon so she is coming over for lunch. It’s been a while since we got together” she added, a slightly excited expression passing over her features.

Gerard smiled, not missing the look which passed over her face, before he stepped back towards her, pressing kisses to her forehead and nose before he met her lips. “I’ll call you later” he mumbled between soft kisses “You’ll give Toby a goodnight kiss for me?” he asked.

Ariella nodded. “Of course” she mused “Good luck tomorrow, Geri. I mean, you probably won’t need it, but...” she trailed off shyly, gently fiddling with the bottom of his shirt.

Gerard grinned, watching the shy movement of her fingers for a couple of seconds before he dipped down, pressing another soft kiss against her lips. “Adios, nena” he mumbled gently before he pulled away, ducking out of the room.

Ariella smiled after him, marveling at how well things were going between the two of them.

~#~
“You know that he’s only been gone for a couple of hours, right?” Antonella teased as she padded into the living room, her eyes settling on Ariella who sat on the couch, typing away on her phone.

It wasn’t the first time, since Antonella had arrived almost an hour pervious, she had caught Ariella texting on more than one occasion, and she couldn’t help but tease her a little, in awe of how loved up the brunette looked whenever she looked down at the screen. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who she was texting, the grin that lit up her face whenever she glanced down at the screen was one that she appeared to have reserved for a certain Spanish defender, and Antonella was pleased to see it. She was pleased to see that things were still going as well as ever for the couple.

Ariella, who’d tried, and failed, to hide her phone, rolled her eyes, unable to keep a blush from spreading across her cheeks. “He was just checking in” she mused “But if it bothers you, I can put it away. I know I’ve been distracted by and I...”

“I’m teasing you, Ella” Antonella quipped with a grin “It’s cute that you’re still so smitten” she added.

Ariella shook her head, her already pink cheeks darkening a shade, something which made Antonella giggle as she leant forwards, taking a sip from her glass of lemonade. “I can’t believe how far you two have come” she fussed warmly “I mean, it doesn’t feel like that long ago that you weren’t even talking and now look at the two of you. You’re living together, you’ve got a beautiful little boy, and who knows what will come next? Perhaps a certain defender will ask you a certain question” she grinned, her voice bright and teasing.

She didn’t want to poke the subject, as far as she was aware, the idea of a proposal was one which was towards the backs of both Gerard and Ariella’s minds, but she couldn’t resist dropping a hint, even if she didn’t want to push Ariella into a conversation about it. She didn’t see the harm in gauging her reaction to it being mentioned.

Ariella breathed out a soft laugh. “That...uh...that might not be that far off” she mumbled, sheepishly pushing her hair behind her ear.

“What?” Antonella spluttered, her expression more than a little surprised.

Ariella shrugged, her blue eyes peeking up at her friend cautiously. “He’s not said anything” she murmured “At least not to me, but I know that, just after Toby was born, he asked my papa for his blessing. My papa made the mistake of telling my mama that he’d asked and my mama...she’s perhaps the least subtle person in the world. She might have let slip to me” she babbled.

It had been a mistake, in a conversation with her mother a couple of weeks previous, Estella had accidently let slip about a conversation that she had had with Jacob, but Ariella hadn’t let it faze her, even if the notion of Gerard proposing did still seem a little surreal. The more she thought about it, the more she warmed to the idea. They weren’t in a hurry, with Toby only being a couple of months old, neither Ariella nor Gerard were in a rush to speed towards the next step in their relationship, but still she was a little excited by it, even if it was more than likely to be a way off. The idea of it bought a faint smile to her face.

“And you’re OK with that?” Antonella pressed, trying, and failing, to stifle her excited grin.

Ariella shrugged. “I don’t think he’s going to propose tomorrow” she mused.

“But if he did?” Antonella pressed.

“But, if he did...then I think he might like the answer” she added, a sheepish smile on her lips.

Antonella marveled at her for a few seconds, a little in awe that those words had come out of Ariella’s mouth, before she grinned. “I’m happy for you” she mused “I mean, you and Gerard together, you’re wonderful and I am thrilled that you two are working out. I think I speak for all of our friends when I say that we much prefer you as the irritatingly adorable couple that you are now” she quipped lightheartedly.

Ariella rolled her eyes slightly, mumbling something about her and Gerard not being able to help how cute they were, before the sound of Toby’s stirring entered her ears, causing her to push herself up to her feet and excuse herself to check on him. Antonella watched her out of the room before she quirked a grin, wordlessly fussing about how happy she was to see both of her friends so happy.
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Thanks to FootieJo and mslou1 for the comments :)