In the End

Resting his head against the mattress, Gerard quirked a small smile to himself, his blue eyes admiring Ariella’s bump which he had exposed from beneath her pajama shirt a few moments earlier. It wasn’t the first time that he had done it, with a little over a month having passed since they’d visited Carmella for the first time, the bump that she carried had grown a lot, and Gerard couldn’t resist fussing over it, even if he knew that it had the potential to get on Ariella’s nerves. A small part of him still hadn’t quite grasped the fact that they were only a few months away from their second baby making his or her first appearance. It had surprised him, when Ariella had told him that there was a chance that she was pregnant for the second time, it had knocked him for six, but he didn’t doubt that he was excited, even if it had come along earlier than they’d been expecting. The idea that Ariella was carrying his second child was one that never failed to make him grin.

Yawning gently to himself, he carefully traced the outline of her bump with his fingertips before he ducked forwards, pressing a tender kiss against her warm skin. Peppering a couple of soft kisses over her stomach, he quirked a soft smile to himself before he shuffled backwards, gently rolling out of the bed. Standing up, he moved to walk around the bed before the sound of movement reached his ears, causing him to look back up the bed, his expression softening as his stare met Ariella’s. Holding her stare for a second, he quirked a boyish smile before he stepped up to her side of the bed, sitting down next to her. “Morning, sleepyhead” he greeted softly, his hand gently brushing against her side.

Ariella, who’d moved to push her messy dark hair away from her eyes, made a small sound, but didn’t say anything, something which made Gerard chuckle before he leant down slightly, pressing a gentle kiss against her temple. “Go back to sleep” he mumbled quietly “It’s still early and if Toby wakes up, I’ve got him. Get some more sleep, nena, I’m sure that you could use it” he added, his thumb dipping down to brush against her bump.

Ariella glanced down at his hand before she looked back up at him, shaking her head slightly. “I’m fine” she mumbled “Besides, it’s your birthday. I should get up” she added, attempting to sit up.

Gerard, however, was quicker, settling his hand against her shoulder before he gently pushed her back against the mattress. “You don’t have to do that” he mused.

“Gerard...”

“You’re pregnant” Gerard pointed out, unable to keep the giddy smile off of his face “And I know that you woke up in the early hours to throw up, so I think I can forgive you for wanting to spend a couple of extra hours in bed, even if it is my birthday. You’ll just have to make it up to me later” he added impishly.

Ariella rolled her eyes, a sleepy smile on her face. “I think I can probably manage that” she mused “Your parents are still taking Toby for the night, aren’t they?” she asked.

Gerard nodded. “My madre’s very excited about it” he mused “Although, after a night chasing after our very energetic toddler, I doubt she’ll be excited about babysitting for a while” he joked.

Ariella smirked. “He takes after his papa” she teased.

Gerard smiled. “I’m going to take that as a compliment” he quipped before the sound of Toby’s babbling filled the air.

Shaking his head, he listened to the little boy’s voice over the baby monitor for a few seconds before he dipped forwards, pressing a soft kiss against Ariella’s temple. “I should go and check on him” he mumbled “And you ought to get back to sleep for another couple of hours. I know that carrying our baby around takes it out of you, but I’ve got my heart pretty set on our date tonight and I’d rather we didn’t cancel it” he teased, smiling against her skin widely.

Ariella patted his thigh gently, a soft laugh bubbling out of her mouth, before she sat up slightly, pressing a quick kiss against his lips. “Happy birthday, mi amor” she mused softly as she laid back down, curling up against her pillow.

Gerard watched her for a few seconds, a loved up smile on his face, before he pushed himself to his feet, moving to duck out of the bedroom so that he could check on Toby.

~#~
“You know, we could just skip dessert and head home if you’d rather” Gerard quipped amusedly as he stared across at Ariella, smiling as she tried to hide another yawn behind the menu which she held in her hands. it wasn’t the first one, as the night had progressed, her yawns had grown more and more frequent and she had grown to be worse at hiding them, and it made Gerard smile, even if it was likely to mean their evening ending early. He didn’t mind heading home sooner than he’d planned.

Ariella shook her head. “I’m fine” she mused.

Gerard cocked an eyebrow, briefly asking if she was sure, before he nodded his head, returning his attention towards his own menu. Scanning the list of items briefly, he quickly made his choice before he looked back towards Ariella, grinning softly as he admired her.

Ariella, who had turned to look at the menu, caught his eye before she shook her head, a soft blush spreading across her cheeks. “What are you smiling about?” she quipped sheepishly.

Gerard laughed before he shrugged. “I don’t know” he quipped “I mean, I think I am just...just happy” he added.

Ariella tilted her head. “Really?” she posed, her voice caught between teasing and sincere.

“Trust me” Gerard mused “I know how clichéd and dorky that sounded, but you have to admit...things are pretty wonderful right now. Toby’s an amazing kid, we’ve got another little one of the way, we’re just married...this is pretty far removed from the awkward dinners and forced small talk that we used to make when we were trying to be ‘just friends’ after our breakup” he added, a bashful smile on his face.

Ariella wrinkled her nose, offering him an awkward smile. “We were pretty bad at that, weren’t we?” she mused sheepishly.

“We were” Gerard agreed “But I think I know why” he added teasingly.

“Yeah?” Ariella played along.

“I didn’t want to be just your friend” Gerard mused with a nonchalant shrug “I was in love with you, Ella, and I couldn’t just be your friend, not after we’d been together. It wasn’t enough for me” he added.

Ariella smiled at him softly before she reached her hand across the table, offering his a soft squeeze. “I shouldn’t have broken up with you” she murmured “But I think that everything that happened afterwards, Adrian and everything else...I needed it to happen to know that you were the one I was supposed to end up with. I can’t ever apologise enough for the mess I made of us, I mean, honestly, how could you ever contemplate giving me a second chance after the way I broke things off with you?” she asked.

Gerard merely squeezed her hand, offering her a smile that she knew he had reserved just for her.

Ariella blushed before she shook her head, staring down at their hands. “I was scared” she admitted “I was so scared that we were getting serious, that I destroyed our relationship, and whilst I hate that I did that, that time apart made me realize that you...you’re the only one I really wanted to be serious with and now look at us” she added with a laugh, her thumb gently brushing over the wedding band which he sported on his finger.

Gerard watched her thumb brush across his wedding band before he dipped his head, pressing a soft kiss against the back of her hand. “I love you” he murmured gently.

Ariella smiled down at him before she leant across the table, pressing a soft kiss against his lips as she mumbled the same three words in return.