If It Gave Us Time

Pushing the front door closed, Isla allowed her back to rest against it, her ears listening for any sign of moment in the otherwise quiet house. It was late, with Evan and Luna keen to ensure that they had a few good pictures from their reception, she had spent nearly an hour longer at the party than she had wanted to, and she was relieved to be home, even if a small part of her was dreading seeing Gerard, who’d snuck out of the reception early, again. She couldn’t wait to get her feet out of her shoes and fall asleep for a while.

She hadn’t spoken to him again. After he’d left her on the dance floor, Isla was pretty certain that she’d only caught a couple of glimpses of him before he’d made his excuses to leave, and it had surprised her that he had left without her, even if she knew that things weren’t great between them. She had still expected him to try and keep up appearances.

Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she gently reached her hand up and tugged her hair loose before the sound of footsteps on the stairs reached her ears, causing her to cautiously look up, settling her stare on Gerard who’d stopped halfway down the stairs. Blinking a couple of times, she shifted her feet slightly before she shook her head, looking back down at her feet. “You didn’t tell me you were leaving” she mumbled quietly.

Gerard shrugged. “You were busy” he replied quietly “You were talking with a group of your friends and giggling and I didn’t want to interrupt. I did tell Rodrigo to tell you” he added, scratching his jaw nervously.

“He did” Isla confirmed “I mean, it earned me some pretty strange looks from my mother, but I played it off. If she asks, you needed an early night” she added.

Gerard nodded his head slowly, allowing few long seconds of quiet to pass between them, before Isla cleared her throat, her fingers tucking her hair behind her ear. “So, about earlier...” she trailed off, trying to think of the best thing to say.

Gerard, who’d reached the bottom of the stairs, watched her for a couple of seconds before he shook his head, moving to take a hold of her hand so that he could stop her messing with the bottom of her dress. “I shouldn’t have run off” he mumbled “I mean, if we’ve learnt anything from the really early stages of our relationship, it’s that running off never solves anything, But I...I couldn’t quite believe that you’d asked me that” he added, gently knotting their fingers together.

Isla glanced down at their hands, watching him lace their fingers together before she lifted her head up, glancing up at him cautiously. “I shouldn’t have said that” she murmured softly “It’s just...the thing with you and Luna, it got to me, Ok? I know it was nothing, I am fluent in all of your tells and I could see that you weren’t lying to me, but it just got to me. I know she’s not interested in you, and I know that you’re not interested in her, but the idea that it could have happened stuck in my throat, even if I know that you’re right about it just being her cold feet. I don’t doubt that you care about me, and I am sorry for insinuating that I did, but you’ve got to admit, we don’t make the most obvious couple” she added, shaking her head to herself.

Gerard was quiet for a few seconds, something which made Isla shift slightly before she squeezed his hand. “Gerard?” she prodded.

Gerard looked up at the sound of his name, a lazy smile appearing on his lips. “Who cares if we make an ‘obvious’ couple?” he replied “Who cares if people think we don’t make sense together? We know that we do, Isla. So what if no one else sees it? Surely, it only matters that we do, no?” he pressed.

Isla marveled at his soft smile before she shook her head, her other hand messing with her hair slightly.

Gerard lifted his hand, replacing hers in her hair before he tucked it behind her ear, his thumb brushing the side of her face tenderly. “I love you” he mumbled “And I don’t care who else knows it, but it means the world to me that you do, Lala” he added.

Isla leant into his touch, closing her eyes gently. “I do know it” she murmured.

Gerard leant forwards and kissed her forehead softly. “Good” he quipped “Because I told you earlier. I’ve just got you, and I am not going to lose you. You’re going to be stuck with me for a very long time, Vasquez” he added as he wrapped his arms around her, swaying her slightly in his hug.

Isla wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him just as tightly. “Good” she mumbled just about loud enough for him to hear her.

Quirking a small smile, Gerard leant forwards and touched a couple of soft kisses against the top of her head, something which made Isla smile gently before she leant back, her stare matching his. “You do know that I love you too, right?” she asked.

Gerard nodded. “Obviously” he quipped impishly.

Isla scoffed. “Dork” she muttered.

Gerard just grinned at her, something which caused Isla to reach her hand up, settling it at the back of his neck before she guided him down into a soft kiss that he was more than happy to meet her halfway in. Kissing her softly, he gently weaved his fingers through her hair before he pulled away, smiling down at her gently.

Isla stared back at him, her blue eyes searching his for a brief second, before she shook her head, blushing gently. “You’ve got to stop staring at me like that” she complained.

Gerard’s smile grew more impish before he shook his head. “Never” he quipped “I just wish I could show you what I see when I look at you. Then you’d get it” he added, his tone softening a little.

The blush on Isla’s cheeks grew a shade deeper, something which made Gerard shake his head before he leant in again, kissing her cheek tenderly. “It’s late” he mumbled, kissing the corner of her lips “You coming to bed?” he added, brushing the lightest of kisses over her lips.

Isla, who’d closed her eyes, relished the light kisses before she nodded her head softly, something which caused Gerard to take a hold of her hand, leading her up the stairs.