In the End

Finishing off tying his shoe lace, Gerard pushed himself to his feet, his hands readjusting the jacket which was wrapped around his shoulders. It had been a long morning, after his conversation with Cesc, he, the midfielder and Lionel had headed out to a local café for breakfast, but with his mind firmly fixed on the wedding, time appeared to have dragged, something which had caused him to breathe a sigh of relief when Cesc had suggested that it was about time for him to start getting ready, even if he was nervous. He couldn’t shake the feeling of excitement which had grown throughout the day. Ensuring that the jacket was fitted correctly, he spared a brief look towards the bedroom mirror which stood a little away from him before he quirked a smirk to himself, a little proud of how nice he looked.

“You’re still here”

Gerard, who’d moved to straighten his tie slightly, scoffed before he turned towards the door, offering Cesc a shake of his head. “You’re surprised?” he noted.

Cesc offered him a non-committal shrug, something which made Gerard shake his head before he diverted his attention downwards, skewing the knot of his tie slightly to the left. Cesc watched him for a second before he chuckled amusedly, moving to straighten the tie for his friend. “You know we have to get going soon?” he noted, ensuring that the knot was in place.

Gerard nodded his head. “I know that” he mused “Have you heard from Ella?” he asked, his voice slightly impatient.

Cesc smiled, not at all surprised by Gerard’s question, before he nodded his head. “She sent me a text a little while ago” he noted “She told me to tell you that she’s excited and that she can’t wait to see you, which I am sure she’s already texted to you too seeing how preoccupied you were by your phone during breakfast” he added teasingly.

Gerard scoffed. “I’m getting married” he pointed out “Can you blame me for being a little excited?” he added as he stepped back towards the mirror, carefully adjusting a few loose hairs.

Cesc watched him for a second, an amused smile perched on his lips, before he shook his head. “You look fine, you know that?” he quipped.

Gerard, who’d moved to push his hand back through his hair, nodded. “I know” he mused “I just...” he trailed off bashfully.

“She’s not going to care if your hair’s a little messy” Cesc mused “And she’s not going to care if your tie is one millimeter too far to the left. She loves you, hombre, for some reason, and I think she’ll just be relieved to see you up there, so quit worrying so much. She loves you, you love her, so now let’s go and get you married” he added, patting the defender’s shoulder warmly.

Gerard breathed out a laugh, a little in awe of the idea that he was so close to being married, before he nodded his head, moving to follow after Cesc as he walked out of the room.

~#~
“Do I need to find you a bucket or something?” Cesc joked as he returned to the front of the room, plopping down into the empty seat next to Gerard who was leant forwards, fiddling nervously with the sleeves of his jacket. It wasn’t surprising, with the minutes slowly ticking away before Ariella had arrived, Cesc wasn’t shocked to see Gerard growing a little quieter and a little more nervous, but whilst he wasn’t surprised by it, he was pleased to see it, reassured by how much the defender wanted the day to go off without a hitch that Ariella meant as much to Gerard as he knew he meant to her.

Gerard, who was staring down at his feet, turned his head slightly, offering Cesc a glance which made the midfielder chuckle before he lifted his hand, patting the taller man’s shoulder reassuringly. “I’m kidding” he quipped “Although, you do look a little queasy. You going to be alright?” he asked, his voice softening slightly.

Gerard merely nodded, something which caused Cesc to pat his shoulder once more before a shadow appeared ahead of the two of them, causing them both to look up at Stefan who’d stopped ahead of them, a wide grin on his lips. “Ella’s outside” he noted, his voice a little giddy.

Gerard blinked a couple of times, caught slightly off guard by the older man’s words, before he shuffled up to his feet. “You’ve seen her?” he asked, self-consciously readjusting his tie.

Stefan smiled warmly before he nodded his head. “I have” he confirmed “And I think we can safely say that you’re not going to be disappointed. She’s looks wonderful, Gerard, words can’t really do her justice” he enthused kindly before he padded away, returning to his seat.

Gerard watched him away before he turned back to Cesc, catching sight of the encouraging smile that his friend wore before he shook his head, unable to stifle his own grin. “I’m getting married” he breathed, a nervous laugh spilling out of his mouth.

“Yeah, you are” Cesc confirmed “And your soon-to-be wife? She’s an amazing woman, Geri, and you’re very lucky to have her. You’re going to do your best to be the husband she deserves, right?” he asked gently.

Gerard didn’t hesitate in nodding. “You’ve got my word” he insisted with a smile.

Cesc returned his smile before he nudged his shoulder, encouraging him to take his spot at the top of the aisle.

Gerard let out another slightly awkward laugh before he took a couple of paces forwards, positioning himself at the head of the aisle. Shifting his feet, he stared down at the floor for a few long seconds before the sound of music, quickly followed by a few audible gasps, filled his ears, causing his head to whip up, his eyes immediately landing on Ariella who stood at the foot of the aisle, her arms linked with both her mother and father.

Blinking a couple of times, he felt the grin spread across his face before he felt a nudge in his back, something which caused him to peek at Cesc who stood next to him. “You still feel nervous?” he joked.

Gerard offered him a playful roll of his eyes before he turned back towards Ariella, meeting her eyes as her face lit up with a grin. Grinning, he watched her take a few more slow steps up the aisle before he took a pace towards her, something which made both Jacob and Estella laugh gently. “I told you he’d be speechless” the older man quipped “You owe me money, Estella” he joked.

Gerard laughed at the teasing, but didn’t move his eyes away from Ariella, marveling as an all too familiar blush spread across her cheeks. “Ella” he breathed “Mi amor...wow” he spluttered.

Ariella giggled shyly before she turned to her parents, kissing them both on the cheek before she slipped her arms out of theirs, offering a hand to Gerard who was quick to take it, slotting their fingers together before he bought to his lips, kissing the warm skin softly.