If It Gave Us Time

Scratching his jaw gently, Gerard allowed a soft yawn to fall out of his mouth, his eyes staring vacantly across the kitchen as the soft sounds of the early morning filled the air. It was early, when he’d ducked out of Isla’s bedroom a little while previous, the time on the clock had read just after seven, but he knew that he couldn’t go back in there, even if the thought of curling up with Isla again was appealing. The last thing he wanted to do was disturb Isla who’d still be snoring happily when he’d gotten up. It had been a long night, after he had denied that there was anything on his mind, he and Isla had spent a while talking before she’d eventually fallen asleep, but Gerard had struggled to follow her, still debating whether or not there was need to tell her of the conversation that he had had with her father.

Blinking a couple of times, he tried to wake himself up slightly before he shuffled to his feet, making his way towards the refrigerator.

“Oh”

Gerard, who’d been lazily perusing the contents of the fridge, blinked a couple of times at the small sound which emanated from behind him before he lifted his head, his eyes settling on Luna who’d stopped in the kitchen doorway. “Hi” he breathed.

Luna offered him a slightly timid wave. “I didn’t know that you were staying last night” she mused “I mean, I knew that you came home with Isla, but I am surprised to see you. Is Isla still sleeping?” she asked as she stepped a little further into the room, moving to flick on the kettle.

Gerard, who’d moved to take a seat beside the kitchen table, nodded. “She was still snoring when I got up” he mused “But if you want me to head back to her room, I can. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable” he added, offering her a small smile.

Luna shook her head as she settled three mugs down onto the counter. “It’s fine” she mused “You just caught me a little off guard. It’s been a little while since Isla’s had an overnight guest, so it’s probably going to take me a little while to get used to it again” she added.

Gerard quirked a small smile. “You’re telling me that I am not Isla’s first overnight guest?” he teased.

Luna breathed out a laugh. “She warned me that you do that” she quipped.

Gerard quirked an eyebrow. “She’s talked about me?” he asked.

“Recently” Luna confirmed “I mean, until I accidentally set the two of you up on that date, I don’t think she’d mentioned you, but the last few weeks, since you’ve been around again, she’s talked about you a lot. I think she likes you a lot” she added, smiling at him softly.

She didn’t want to say too much, with things between Isla and Gerard still very much in their early stages, she didn’t want to scare the defender off, but she did want him to know that Isla liked having him around, even if she was certain that he knew it already. She wanted him to know that having him around seemed to have made Isla happier.

Gerard scratched his jaw, a sheepish smile on his face. “You think so?” he asked.

Luna didn’t hesitate in nodding. “You’re here, aren’t you?” she quipped “I mean, when she first came home from your ‘date’, I thought she was never going to speak to you again, but here you are. If that’s not a good sign, I don’t know what is” she added as she stepped towards the table, setting a mug of tea down ahead of him.

Gerard thanked her quietly before he lifted the mug, taking a sip of his drink. “She told you how bad the date you set us up on was?” he asked.

“It was hard work getting it out of her” Luna mused as she sat down in the seat opposite him “But she told me about how you two knew each other, about the promise you’d made when you were kids, and she also told me that whilst there was a big part of her that wanted to punch you in the face, there was a another part of her that just wanted to hug you. I don’t what kind of mess you made when you were kids, but I do know that you...you mean a lot to her. I hope she means a lot to you too” she added, meeting his stare across the table.

Gerard held her stare for a moment before he nodded his head. “She does” he confirmed “I mean, it’s still early days, we’re still in the process of getting to know one another again, but Luna, she means so much to me. She’s probably the first girl that I...” he trailed off, a slightly sheepish laugh falling out of his mouth.

Luna tilted her head slightly, amused by the slight hint of pink which had spread across the defender’s cheeks, before she reached across the table, patting his hand softly.

Gerard smiled back at her for a second before he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, something which caused him to tilt his head back, looking up at Isla who stood over him, a sleepy smile on her lips. “I thought you’d left” she mused, stifling a yawn into her hand.

“Without saying goodbye?” Gerard chirped “Does that sound like me?” he asked.

Isla shrugged, a playful smile flitting around her lips. “You can be a jerk sometimes” she quipped.

Gerard rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help smiling up at her, something which made Isla grin triumphantly before she dipped down, brushing a shy kiss over his lips. Pulling away, she felt her cheeks flush a soft shade of pink before she stepped towards the counter, picking up the mug of tea that Luna had thoughtfully made for her. “So” she quipped, breaking the silence which had settled over the three of them “What were you two talking about?” she asked.

Luna smirked. “You” she replied.

Isla’s eyes widened a fraction. “Me?” she spluttered.

Luna nodded. “About how you forgot to mention that your ‘friend’ here was going to be staying the night” she quipped.

Isla blushed and shook her head. “I should have mentioned that” she mused “And I will next time. It was sort of an impromptu thing and I...” she trailed off as she spotted the suggestive look on Luna’s face, something which caused the blush on her cheeks to darken a shade.

Gerard grinned up at her, amused by how nervous she looked, before he reached one of his hands out, capturing a hold of hers so that he could tug her a little closer. “You busy this morning?” he asked.

“I’ve got an appointment at eleven” Isla replied “Why?” she asked.

Gerard shrugged, messing with her fingers gently. “Perhaps I can take you to breakfast” he quipped “I mean, I’ll need to stop by my place to get changed, but if you’ve got time, we could go out. Luna can join us if she wants” he added, sparing a brief look towards the other woman.

Luna, who’d been sipping on her drink, shook her head. “I’m not going to third wheel” she mused “You two are still very much in that cutesy flirty stage, and I am not sitting through a meal watching you two giggle and blush” she added playfully.

Isla rolled her eyes. “You say that like I never went through the same thing with you and Evan” she quipped.

Luna scoffed, but didn’t say anything, something which made Isla shake her head before she turned back to Gerard. “I’ll go and get dressed” she mused before she stepped away.

Gerard watched her out of the room before Luna cleared her throat, pulling his attention back towards her. “I like you for her” she mused “I mean, she seems at ease with you, and I can’t remember the last time I saw her smile so much, and I like that, but just...be careful with her. She’s amazing, and she deserves amazing too. You think that that can be you?” she asked, her tone firm and serious.

Gerard looked up at her, searching her eyes for a few seconds, before he nodded. “I’m sure it can be” he insisted.

Luna held his stare for a few seconds, her eyes searching his features for any sign that he didn’t mean what he was saying, before she smiled at him gently. “I’ll see you around, Gerard” she mused before she stepped out of the room, leaving Gerard alone, his thoughts slowly drifting back towards the conversation he had had with Daniel.