If It Gave Us Time

Slipping her feet into a pair of shoes, Isla sat down at the foot of the bed, her eyes sparing a cautious glance back towards Gerard who laid behind her, still contently sleeping. It had been pretty early when she’d woken up, with her due to work a wedding that morning, she had stirred a lot earlier than she usually would have done on a Saturday morning, and she didn’t want to disturb Gerard, even if she knew that they were going to miss each other for most of the day. She doubted that he wanted to be disturbed so early on his birthday. Pausing for a couple of seconds, she smiled a little at the sight of him before she quietly pushed herself back up to her feet, padding into the bathroom.

Stopping in front of the mirror, she adjusted the neat ponytail that she had tied her hair up into before she felt a hand on the small of her back, something which caused her to shake her head, smiling at Gerard via the mirror ahead of her. “I didn’t wake you” she announced, carefully tucking her hair back off of her face.

Gerard smiled sleepily as he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her closer to him. “Did I say you did?” he mumbled, kissing her temple softly.

Isla squeezed his hands gently. “No” she mused “But it is really early and there’s no other reason for you to be awake. I just assumed you’d try and blame me” she teased.

Gerard kissed the top of her head lightly. “I woke myself up” he mumbled into her hair “You’re going to be gone all day, and I’ve got a match tonight, which means we’re hardly going to cross paths, and I wanted to see you. It is my birthday, after all, and I thought it’d be nice to see my beautiful girlfriend at some point” he added.

Isla shook her head, trying, and failing, to mask the familiar pink hue which had spread over her cheeks before she turned around, looking up at him. “I’m sorry about that” she murmured “I’ve had this booking for months and...”

“I get it” Gerard interrupted “I mean, would I like more than a few minutes with you today? Of course I would, but I am sure that I can get passed it. Besides, I am pretty sure that we’re playing away on your birthday” he chirped, offering her a boyish smile.

Isla rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stifle her smile before she leant up slightly, pressing a quick kiss against his lips. “Happy birthday, Geri” she mumbled as she pulled away from him.

Gerard leant into her again, kissing her a couple of times, before Isla pulled back again, giggling softly. “I have to go” she mused, gently tugging herself out of his grasp before she padded back into the bedroom, grabbing her jacket.

Gerard followed after her, resting against the door frame before he feigned a sigh, playfully rolling his eyes. “I guess I’ll see you when I get home from the game?” he prodded.

Isla nodded. “I’ll try my best to still be awake when you get in” she teased, flashing him another playful smile.

Gerard snorted out a laugh. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, nena” he quipped.

Isla rolled her eyes before she stepped towards him, pushing herself up onto her toes so that she could press a soft kiss against his lips. “There are presents and cards on the kitchen table” she mused “I hope you like them. I’ll see you later” she added.

Gerard leant down and stole one more kiss before Isla pulled away from him, offering him a little wave as she stepped out of the bedroom.

~#~
Gently nudging the front door closed behind him, Gerard stood beside it for a few seconds, his blue eyes surveying the empty hall for any sign of light before he shook his head, smiling gently to himself. He wasn’t surprised, after Isla’s early start, he knew that the chances of her still being awake after his game finished were slim to none, and whilst there was a slight twinge of disappointment in the pit of his stomach at the idea of him having hardly seen her all day, he knew that he couldn’t hold it against her, knowing that there was no way she could have gotten out of a booking that she had made months previous.

Sparing another quick look around the hall, he made sure that all of the lights were off before he made his way up the stairs, quickly pushing the door to his bedroom open before he stopped, his stare landing on Isla who sat in the middle of their bed, staring intently at the laptop in front of her. Tilting his head, he felt another smile creep across his lips before he cleared his throat softly, something which caused Isla to startle before she looked up at him, her face lighting up. “At last” she teased.

Gerard rolled his eyes before he shuffled a little further into the room, plopping down into the spot beside her. “I am surprised to see you” he mumbled, poking her side.

Isla grinned up at him. “Your face made that pretty clear” she mused.

“I thought you’d fall asleep well before now” Gerard admitted “I mean, you’ve had a long day and it’s pretty late. Plus, we both know what you’re like when you don’t get enough sleep” he joked.

Isla feigned a glare for a second before she shook her head, gently moving to take a hold of one of his hands. “I wanted to see you” she mumbled, watching her fingers as they played with him “It’s your birthday and I kind of wanted to spend more than the couple of minutes we had this morning with you. I know it couldn’t be avoided, but I...”

“There’s nothing to feel bad about” Gerard interrupted, recognizing the look on her face “I mean, yeah, I’d have loved to have had a lazy breakfast with you this morning, and maybe have you come to the game, but it’s alright that it didn’t happen like that. You got me some great gifts, and you’re here now, aren’t you?” he asked, poking her side gently as a soft smile spread across his features.

Isla glanced up at him, marveling at his tender smile, before she quirked one of her own. “You liked the presents?” she asked.

Gerard didn’t hesitate in nodding. “I loved them” he mused “Especially the card from your parents which may have made a pretty unsubtle comment about me being their favourite choice for future son-in-law” he chirped.

Isla groaned. “They wrote that?” she mumbled.

“Not in so many words” Gerard shrugged “But hey, it’s a long way from boy they didn’t want dating their daughter” he added with a smirk.

Isla shook her head, something which made Gerard laugh before he lifted her hand, pressing a soft kiss against the back of it. “How tired are you?” he asked quietly, turning her hand over so that he could press a soft kiss against the inside of her wrist.

Isla arched an eyebrow, an amused smile flitting around her lips. “Is that supposed to be romantic?” she asked.

Gerard smirked, but shook his head. “I might be too tired for that” he quipped “I was just asking if you needed to go to sleep right away. Maybe we could sit up for a little while? We could find something to watch, or we could just sit here and talk, I’d just...” he trailed off, laughing at himself.

“You’d just wanted?” Isla prodded teasingly.

“You’re going to say it sounds sappy” Gerard mused “But you know what, I don’t care. I am sappy for you. I’d like to just spend some time with you, so if you could spare me some time...” he trailed off as Isla leant into him, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. Gerard let out a soft sound, surprised by the kiss, before he slipped his hand up the side of her neck, nestling it into her slightly messy hair.

Isla smiled at the feel of his hand before she pulled back slightly, glancing up at him through her eyelashes. “I think I could do that” she agreed quietly.