In the End

Lowering himself down into a coach seat, Gerard let out a small sound of relief, glad to have arrived back in Barcelona. It had been a tough match, with Barcelona failing to have topped their group, the draw that they’d gotten in the round of sixteen had put them against a difficult to beat Manchester City side, and with a 2-1 defeat riding on their shoulders, the team weren’t in the best of spirits, irked that they’d missed the chances that they’d been presented with. Resting his head back slightly, he reclined into the seat for a couple of seconds before the sound of someone sitting down beside him reached his ears, causing him to turn his head slightly, his blue eyes glancing at Lionel who’d plopped into the seat at his side, his eyes fixed on his phone.

Shaking his head quietly, he turned to look out of the window for a couple of seconds before he collected his own phone, moving to send a quick text to Ariella, letting her know that he was almost home.

“Is she likely to see that?”

Gerard, who’d moved to slip his phone back into his jacket pocket, flinched at the sudden sound of Lionel’s voice before he lifted his head, shrugging his shoulders slightly. “If she is up with Toby, then yeah” he replied “If not, then she probably won’t. It’s just my way of testing whether or not I am going to have to sleep in the spare bedroom” he added, a slight grin pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Lionel lifted an eyebrow. “She makes you sleep in the spare bedroom?” he asked, his voice light and teasing.

Gerard shook his head. “She doesn’t make me” he clarified “I just hate to wake her up, even more so now Toby’s here” he added.

Lionel marveled at the warm expression which had spread across the defender’s face before he shook his head, a small smile of his own spreading across his features. “You’re really crazy about her, aren’t you?” he posed “I mean, I know that you are, I’ve seen you together, but you...you look really happy” he explained haphazardly. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone, since Ariella and Gerard had met, it had been clear that they had a knack for making each other happy, but still it amazed the argentine slightly, even if it wasn’t a new thing. He couldn’t quite get over how loved up the defender looked whenever Ariella came up in conversation.

Gerard spared the argentine a glance before he shrugged, a small sheepish smile on his face. “I am happy” he noted “Things between me and Ella...they’ve been pretty great recently and we both love having Toby around. I think things are going pretty well right now” he enthused.

Lionel grinned and patted the defender’s shoulder encouragingly. “I’m happy for you” he noted “Ella’s an amazing woman” he added.

Gerard nodded in agreement, flashing him a bright smile, before he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, causing him to slip it out, his smile widening fractionally as he spotted Ariella’s name on the screen. “I should...” he trailed off, sparing a brief glance towards Lionel.

“I’ll leave you to it” Lionel mused as he shuffled back to his feet “Give her my best” he added with a smirk as he stepped away.

Gerard rolled his eyes at Lionel’s teasing before he placed his phone against his ear, greeting Ariella softly.

~#~
“Ariella?” Gerard poked curiously as he nudged the bedroom door open, his eyes glancing towards their bed. It was late, after the drive back from the airport, it was a little after one in the morning, and whilst he had been texting her, he didn’t want to disturb her unnecessarily, knowing that it wouldn’t be too much longer before Toby woke up in search of his next feed. Nudging the door open a little wider, he took a couple of careful steps into the bedroom before he quirked a soft smile, his eyes settling on Ariella who was sat up against the headboard, cooing softly to Toby who sat in her arms, on the verge of falling asleep.

“He’s not asleep?” Gerard asked.

Ariella, who’d been focused on the baby, looked up at the sound of his voice before she quirked a sleepy smile, shaking her head. “He’s not had the best night” she mused “I got him settled down just before your match kicked off, but he’s woken up a couple of times since. I think he’s about to fall asleep again, though” she added, looking back down towards Toby.

“You want me to take him?” Gerard asked as he stepped towards bed, sitting down beside her.

Ariella shook her head. “You don’t have to do that” she mused.

“I know I don’t have to” Gerard replied “But I want to. I can settle him down and you can get some sleep” he added, his hand gently brushing up her arm before he settled it against the side of her neck, his thumb stroking her skin softly.

Ariella’s skin warmed at his touch, something which made him smile before he leant up, kissing her forehead gently. “I love that I can still make you do that” he quipped, pressing a kiss against her temple “I thought, after a couple of dates, you’d stop blushing, but I kind of love that you haven’t” he added, gently brushing his thumb up and down her neck.

Ariella merely shook her head, unable to stop her cheeks from turning a light shade of pink.

Gerard grinned at her impishly before he shook his head, moving to lean away from her slightly. “How was seeing Antonella?” he asked after a couple of seconds, disturbing the comfortable silence which had settled over the two of them.

Ariella, who’d diverted her stare back down towards Toby, shrugged. “The same as always” she mused “She came over, we had some lunch, she fussed about us. It’s been the same way for a long time now” she added, sparing him a slightly sheepish glance.

Gerard quirked an eyebrow, not missing the look on her face. “You sure that’s all?” he quipped with a slight laugh.

Ariella stared down at Toby for a few seconds, trying to think of the right thing to say, before she shook her head, a slight smile on her face. “Have I ever told you that my mother’s the worst at keeping secrets?” she asked.

Gerard nodded. “You’ve mentioned it” he quipped “But what’s that got to do with anything?” he asked.

Ariella laughed softly. “You asked my papa something, just after Toby was born, and he told my mother” she explained “And, my mother being my mother, she let it slip to me” she added, her blue eyes hesitantly meeting his.

Gerard stared at her for a moment, mulling over her words, before his eyes widened slightly. “She...she told you about...?” he babbled.

Ariella simply nodded.

Gerard blinked a couple of times, trying to wrap his head around her words, before he shook his head, a sigh falling out of his mouth. “Ella...”

“I’m not upset, Geri” Ariella interrupted, a small smile on her lips.

“You’re not?” Gerard asked.

“You think I’d be upset by the idea that you’re thinking about asking me to marry you?” Ariella quipped, an incredulous expression on her face.

“Not upset” Gerard noted “Just...I don’t know, overwhelmed? We both know that out of the two of us, you’re more prone to worrying than me and I guess I thought...I thought that if you knew I was thinking about it, you’d get a little freaked out. We’ve been together for just over a year, we’ve just had a baby together, and I thought if you knew that it was on my mind, you’d worry that things were moving too fast and I don’t want you worrying about us. I love us, Ella, I really do, and I don’t want anything to change. I am not thinking about asking soon, but I am thinking about asking and I thought I should make sure that your papa was on board. If that was wrong...”

“It was sweet” Ariella murmured, cutting him off.

Gerard tilted his head. “Huh?” he spluttered.

“Asking my papa for his blessing” Ariella clarified “It was sweet of you” she added, a soft smile on her face.

Gerard admired smile for a second before he shook his head, moving to squeeze her hand gently. “I am not going to ask soon” he murmured “But I am going to ask you, Ella, you can count on that” he mused, offering her a slightly timid grin.

Ariella glanced down at their hands, admiring the fit of their fingers for a couple of seconds, before she peeked up at him through her eyelashes. “I’ll be waiting for it” she mused softly.

Gerard beamed at her for a few seconds, marveling at her words, before Toby let out a small snuffle in his sleep, pulling his father’s attention down towards him. “I’ll go and put him in his crib” he mused as he carefully slipped his hands under the baby “I’ll be right back” he added as he carefully cradled Toby in his arms, ducking out of the bedroom. Ariella watched him out of the room before she smiled to herself, already counting down the days until she found herself saying yes to a proposal.