If It Gave Us Time

Tugging her skirt down a little, Isla shook her head to herself, briefly sparing a glance over towards the other outfits which were scattered over the bed. She had tried on a few, with that night being an important one for her and Gerard, she had spent longer than she would have liked trying to get ready, but still she didn’t feel entirely confident. Even though they had been together for years, the idea of the two of them going out for the night together was still something which was able to conjure butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

Frowning down at her skirt, she messed with it for a few more seconds before she felt fingertips brush across the back of her neck, brushing away her loose blonde hair before a kiss landed against her skin. Biting down on her lip, she allowed the familiar touch to linger for a second before she lifted her head, her blue eyes catching Gerard’s via the mirror ahead of them. “What was that for?” she asked.

Gerard, who’d leant forwards to place a kiss on the top of her head, smirked into her hair. “I didn’t realize I needed a reason to kiss my wife” he noted.

Isla rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stifle her smile. “Is the babysitter here yet?” she asked.

Gerard stepped away from her slightly before he nodded, collecting his wallet and phone from their place on the end table. “Your brother is downstairs” he confirmed “Maddie’s already showing him her entire film collection. Rodrigo is looking particularly excited about the prospect of spending his night watching princess movies” he quipped impishly.

“He’s probably just grumpy that his girlfriend couldn’t provide him with an excuse to get out of babysitting” Isla retorted, disappearing into the bathroom.

“How is that going?” Gerard called after her.

“He seems pretty excited about it” Isla’s voice called back “I mean, it’s still new, he only told us about her a few weeks ago, but he seems happy, which is a good thing. Mama keeps bugging him about us getting to meet her, but he wants to take it slow and introduce her to Arthur and Jacob first, which makes sense. If his boys don’t like her, then she’s got no chance with our mother” she added.

Gerard, who’d sat down on the side of the bed, nodded in agreement before he spotted the bedroom door opening, causing him to glance up, his expression immediately brightening at the sight of the little bundle who laid in Rodrigo’s arms, snuffling softly. Isla’s pregnancy had surprised them, with both of them having been in agreement that they wanted to wait at least two years before they tried for a second baby, finding out just after their first wedding anniversary that Isla was pregnant for the second time had knocked the two of them for six, but they’d quickly warmed up to the idea, even more so when Maddie, who’d only been a few months short of her second birthday, had lit up when they’d told her.

Taking a second to marvel at his son, Gerard shook his head slightly before he looked up at Rodrigo. “Everything OK?” he asked.

“Maddie’s still trying to choose film” Rodrigo noted “But this little one woke up and I thought he’d probably want you or his mama. I can take him back down...” he trailed off as Gerard stepped towards him, eagerly taking the baby out of his arms. Smirking, he watched his brother-in-law and nephew for a few seconds before he quietly ducked back out of the room, tugging the door close quietly behind himself.

Gerard noticed the soft thump of the door closing, but didn’t look up, keeping his eyes fixed on the baby. He looked more like him, whereas Maddie had grown to resemble Isla almost exactly, Noah was more like him, and Gerard hoped it wouldn’t change, knowing that for the first few months of Maddie’s life, she had looked a little more like him than Isla.

“What do you think?”

Gerard, who’d been gently smoothing out Noah’s dark hair, looked up, smiling goofily as his eyes trailed up her frame. “Wow” he breathed.

“Is that a good ‘wow’?” Isla quipped “The kind of ‘wow’ that says no one will guess I pushed your son into the world six weeks ago?” she asked.

“Our son” Gerard corrected “And, if he wasn’t sat here, you’d never guess that you were pregnant only a few weeks ago” he added.

Isla tilted her head, noticing Noah for the first time. “I thought he was downstairs with Rodrigo” she noted.

“He woke up” Gerard replied with a little shrug “Rodrigo thought he’d kick up more of a fuss, but he seems to be OK. He should be able to get back to sleep quickly” he added.

“Are you sure?” Isla asked “Because we can always...”

“We’re not cancelling our date, Lala” Gerard interrupted, a knowing smirk on his face.

Isla let out a little laugh, amused that he had been able to so easily anticipate what she was going to say. “It was worth a shot” she mumbled.

Gerard smiled as he stood up, gently pulling the bedroom door open before he gestured for Isla to walk through. “It’ll be fun” he quipped “I can’t remember the last time we had dinner without Maddie smearing food all over me” he added.

Isla stepped past him, grinning. “She’s got your sense of humour” she noted.

Gerard rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I knew it’d somehow be on me” he played along.

~#~
Gently swinging her shoes in one hand, Isla held onto Gerard’s hand with the other, matching his deliberately slow pace as they made their way back towards their front door. She knew that he was deliberately trying to avoid going inside, with their date having been as good as it had been, she knew that he was trying to get them a few more moments alone as a couple before they slipped back into parent mode, and she wanted to go along with him. As much as she adored Maddie and Noah, she also adored the moments where it was just her and Gerard.

Quirking a small smile, she allowed Gerard to tug her down onto the doorstep, before she shook her head, gently pushing her glasses back up her nose. “You know that Rodrigo probably saw your headlights, right?” she quipped impishly.

Gerard merely offered her a look, causing her to giggle, her fingers messing with his. “I’m just saying we can’t hide here all night” she mused.

“I don’t want to sit here all night” Gerard replied “I mean, Noah’s six weeks old, so at some point I was hoping to...”

“Gerard!” Isla squeaked.

Gerard laughed. “What?” he asked “Lala, I’ve gotten you pregnant. Twice. You do know how that happened, right?” he quipped.

Isla pushed his shoulder playfully. “You’re so annoying” she grumbled playfully.

“Yeah, I am” Gerard grinned “But you love me anyway” he added.

Isla couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “Something like that” she teased.

Gerard let out a playful indignant squeak. “Something like that?” he pressed “And here was me thinking that we were so in love” he teased, dramatically rolling his eyes.

Isla giggled at his antics, but didn’t reply, instead leaning into his side as his arm came to rest around her shoulders. Wrapping her arms around his waist, they both allowed the silence to last for a few long seconds before Gerard ducked his head, kissing the top of hers. “I should have kissed you” he mumbled into her hair.

Isla pulled back slightly, frowning up at him.

“The night I left” Gerard noted “I thought about doing it, but I chickened out. I should have just done it” he added, a slightly rueful smile on his face.

Isla studied his face for a second before she reached up, pushing the tips of her fingers through the front of his hair. “You got to do it eventually” she mused “Maybe it was a few years too late, but it was better late than never. Besides, I don’t think teenaged Isla and Gerard would have made it work. Adult Gerard and Isla nearly didn’t” she added.

Gerard laughed, leaning into her touch. “We did, though” he quipped.

Isla nodded. “Yeah, we did” she breathed, her voice soft in awe.

Gerard smiled at the tone of her voice before he lifted his hand to the back of her neck, tugging her into a soft kiss that lasted until the sound of someone clearing their throat amongst the din of babies crying reached them. Leaning back, he and Isla shared a soft smile that was just for the two of them before he stood up, greeting Rodrigo with a playful smirk. “Need some help?” he chirped.

Rodrigo feigned a glare. “I should have known your children would be like you, Piqué” he quipped, his lips quirking upwards to let the defender know he was just teasing.

Gerard grinned. “I’m proud that they’re as delightful as their papa” he chirped before he ducked inside.

Isla giggled, something which caused Rodrigo to turn and look at her, playfully rolling his eyes. “You two irk me” he quipped.

“We always have” Isla replied, smirking as she stepped into the house, leaving Rodrigo shaking his head to himself, grinning amusedly.