In the End

75: She’s Always Worrying About Something

Staring tiredly up at the ceiling above his head, Gerard let out a soft sigh, once more trying to shift the knots which existed in the pit of his stomach. He had been awake for a while, after he and his groomsmen had retired to Lionel’s home for the evening, he had only managed to get a few hours of sleep before he had woken himself up, and despite his best efforts, he hadn’t quite been able to get back to sleep, something which had led to him staring aimlessly up at the ceiling, merely hoping that time would pass a little faster than it was.

Keeping his eyes on the ceiling, he squeezed them closed for a couple of seconds before he sat up, swinging his feet to the floor. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took in another nervous breath before he caught a glance of his phone out of the corner of his eye, its screen illuminated with a text. Leaning across, he stole the phone up into his hand before he quirked a grin, his eyes reading the text from Ariella which simply read ‘we’re getting married!’.

Smiling, he moved to dial her familiar number, only to stop himself as the sound of someone clearing their throat reached his ears, causing him to lift his head slightly, his blue eyes settling on Cesc who stood in the doorway, a warm smile on his face. “You know how early it is, right?” Gerard quipped, moving to stow the phone back in its spot on the end table.

“I was about to ask you the same thing” Cesc countered.

Gerard shook his head. “I got some sleep” he noted “But I’ve been awake for almost two hours now. What are you doing up?” he asked.

Cesc, who’d moved to sit down next to his friend, shrugged. “I told Ella I’d keep an eye on you” he mused.

Gerard shook his head, a slightly amused smile on his face. “She’s worried?” he asked.

“She’s Ella” Cesc replied with another nonchalant shrug “She’s always worrying about something” he added.

Gerard let out a soft laugh, something which made Cesc laugh too, before he gently shook his head. “I feel sick” he admitted quietly “I mean, I know I’m really excited, it’s Ella after all and I am excited by how far we’ve come, but I really feel nervous, Cesc. You think this is the right thing for us, don’t you?” he asked, sparing a slightly vulnerable look towards his friend.

Cesc blinked a couple of times, caught off guard by both Gerard’s words and the expression on his face, before he nodded his head firmly. “Of course I do” he noted “And I know you think it is too, Geri. You’ve loved her since you met her, even if it did take you a long time to admit it, and even if it has had its ups and down, you’ve been in love with her for as long as you’ve known her, and I have no doubts about the two of you doing this, and neither should you. Come on, Geri, you know how she feels about you” he added, his voice caught between firm and comforting.

It was rare, even ahead of some of the biggest moments in Gerard’s life, Cesc didn’t recall seeing him as nervous as he appeared in that moment, and he wanted to reassure him that there was nothing to be worried about, even if he had little doubt that it would actually soothe him. He hoped that saying something would be enough to encourage a little more confidence and excitement in the defender.

Gerard spared the midfielder a slightly uncertain look, something which caused Cesc to lift his hand, patting the taller man’s shoulder encouragingly. “I’ve never seen you as happy as you’ve been in the last couple of years” he noted “And I can safely say that I’ve never seen Ella as happy as she’s been since you two got back together. I know you’re nervous, and that’s fine, I’m pretty sure that Ella will spend most of the morning trying not to throw up too, but it’s a good thing, Gerard, a really, really good thing” he enthused warmly.

Gerard stared at Cesc for a few seconds, allowing his words to hang in the air around them, before he breathed out a soft sigh, pushing the most confident smile he could muster onto his face. “You’re right” he noted.

“Of course I am” Cesc chirped impishly.

Gerard rolled his eyes, something which made the other Spaniard laugh before he patted Gerard’s shoulder once more. “Come on” he noted “I’ve already woken Leo up and I figured we could go out and grab some breakfast” he added as he stood up.

Gerard nodded. “I’ll pull on some clean clothes and I’ll meet you downstairs” he noted.

Cesc nodded before he padded out of the room, leaving the defender alone. Gerard watched him out of the door before he leant across, quickly seizing his phone and typing out a quick text to Ariella before he stood up, moving to pull on a clean set of clothes.

~#~
“You know that you have to eat something, right?”

Ariella, who’d been absentmindedly poking at the food on her plate, startled a little at the sound of her mother’s voice before she nodded, sparing a brief look towards Estella who sat opposite her, watching her with a slightly concerned expression on her face. It wasn’t the first time she had seen the look cross her mother’s face, since she had gotten up a little over an hour previous, Estella had looked concerned, and whilst Ariella appreciated her looking out for her, a small part of her wanted her to stop, even if she knew that it was unlikely that she would before she and Gerard had said ‘I do’. A small part of Ariella merely wanted that morning to be as calm and as relaxed as possible.

“I know, mama” Ariella replied “I just...I don’t feel that hungry. If anything, I feel like I am going to throw up everything in my stomach” she added, lightly tossing her fork down onto her plate, frustrated that she couldn’t seem to shake the nausea.

Estella’s expression softened. “You feel that nervous?” she asked as she reached a hand across the table, squeezing Ariella’s gently.

Ariella shrugged. “Honestly?” she posed “I feel a little nervous, but mostly I am excited. That’s why the nausea is so frustrating” she grumbled. She did feel nervous, with it being her wedding day, it was impossible for her to not feel any kind of nerves at all, but she didn’t feel overly nervous, something which made the nausea she was experiencing frustrating. She didn’t see why she should feel so sick.

Estella frowned. “How long’ve you feel nauseous for?” she asked.

“A few days” Ariella replied “A week, maybe ten days” she clarified.

Estella mulled her words over for a few seconds before she offered Ariella’s hand another soft squeeze. “It probably is just nerves, baby” she mused “I know that you’re really excited about this, but perhaps, subconsciously, you’re more nervous than you know and it’s getting it you. I mean, it’s not like you could be pregnant again” she quipped with a grin.

Ariella’s eyes widened, something which caused Estella to tilt her head. “Ariella?” she pressed.

Ariella swallowed thickly, trying to get rid of the surprise which had hit her at her mother’s words. “I...uh...I didn’t put it together” she babbled “I mean, my...my period’s late, but I’ve never really been regular, and I thought the nausea was just...just nerves. Mama...” she trailed off, looking up at her mother wide eyed.

Estella held her stare for a couple of seconds before she pushed herself out of her seat, moving to wrap her daughter in a soft hug that Ariella didn’t hesitate in returning. Squeezing the brunette gently, Estella placed a soft kiss on the top of her head before she leant back, smiling at her softly. “I’ll go out” she mused “I’ll get you a test and you can take it and if it is positive, you’ll give that soon-to-be husband of yours the most wonderful wedding surprise” she enthused encouragingly.

Ariella’s expression softened into a timid smile. “He’d love it, wouldn’t he?” she asked.

Estella nodded. “Of course he would” she enthused before she pulled away, insisting that she would be back before Ariella knew it.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 and FootieJo for the comments :)