There Was You

51: Don’t Let Him Scare You

“You do know that it’s not too late to cancel, right?”

Iker, who sat up against the headboard of his hotel room’s bed, quirked a grin, his eyes settled on the screen of his phone in front of him. It had been a little while, after Marisol’s birthday party, a couple of weeks had passed, and with an international break having arrived, Iker had travelled to Valencia for the game, something which was originally supposed to be a trip that both he and Riley made. They’d had it earmarked for a little while, Spain’s match against Norway would be the first one that they’d gone to together, but with a colleague of Riley’s having called in sick the day previous, she had had to stay behind, meaning that Iker had offered the spare ticket to Isaac who’d been more than happy to accept.

“He’s in the hotel room next door, Ry” Iker replied “He’s made the trip out to Valencia from Madrid. It’d be pretty mean to cancel on him now” he added playfully.

“I was just saying” Riley replied “I mean, I know you guys get on, but you do still get pretty nervous around him and I am not there to help you out when you start fumbling your words, so if you’d changed your mind...”

“Riley” Iker interrupted with a soft laugh “We’re going to watch a match together. What do you really think can go wrong? We’re going downstairs for dinner in a bit, then we’re going to go to the stadium for the game and I might introduce him to Sergio. I think we’ll be fine” he insisted gently.

Riley stared at him for a moment before she let out a soft sigh, shaking her head to herself. “You’re right” she mused “Besides, I kind of think it’s really sweet that you asked him to go in my place. I mean, you could have just asked Nuno or one of your other friends, but you deciding to ask my papa...” she trailed off, smiling softly.

Iker shrugged modestly. “I just thought it would be nice” he noted “I mean, it’s something we have in common, I might as well make the most of it, no?” he prodded.

Riley nodded. “As I said” she mused “I think it’s sweet and I know my papa’s looking forwards to it. He sounded so excited when I spoke to him” she added.

Iker smiled gently. “I’m glad” he mused.

Riley returned his smile gently before the sound of a knock at Iker’s door filled the air, something which caused the brunette to shake her head. “You shouldn’t keep him waiting” she mused “He might like you now, but that can change” she added playfully.

Iker rolled his eyes. “Funny” he mumbled.

Riley laughed softly. “You’ll be fine” she mused, her voice softening a little “Just relax. You’re charming and intelligent. My papa shouldn’t scare you” she encouraged.

Iker nodded. “Gracias” he mused “I’ll call you in the morning?” he asked.

“I’ll speak to you then” Riley replied “Have a good night, Iker” she added.

“Buenos noches, Ry” Iker noted before he hung up the phone. Taking a calming breath, he stuffed his phone into his pocket before he stepped across the room, pulling the door open.

Isaac, who was stood on the other side, looked up at the sound of it opening, his face lighting up with a kind smile. “You ready to get some food?” he asked.

Iker nodded. “Sounds like a plan” he mused “Just let me grab my things” he added.

Isaac nodded, waiting patiently in the doorway as Iker padded around the room, collecting his jacket and wallet before he turned back to him, flashing the older man a small, slightly nervy smile. “Let’s go” he noted.

~#~
“You know, I honestly can’t remember the last time that I went to a Spain game” Isaac chirped as he sipped on his bottle of beer, his eyes glancing across the table at Iker who was quietly messing with his cutlery, trying his hardest to find any excuse not to make eye contact. It wasn’t surprising to the older man, despite it having been Iker’s idea that he join him for the match, Isaac wasn’t even mildly surprised by how quiet the goalkeeper had been, but he did want to try and ease his nerves, not wanting Iker to feel uncomfortable around him when everything pointed to him sticking around in Riley’s life for a long time to come.

Iker shook his head. “I don’t tend to go” he replied “But Riley wanted to go and so I got us tickets” he added.

“She’s always loved the game” Isaac quipped “It’s one of very few things I have in common with her. She’s always been more Maria’s daughter than mine” he added.

Iker tilted his head. “Really?” he asked.

Isaac grinned. “You’re telling me you’ve not picked up on the similarities?” he quipped “They’ve grown smaller as Riley’s grown up, but she’s very much like her mama. Quiet, thoughtful, a little shy when you first meet her, but once you get to know her...”

“She’s wonderful” Iker finished for him.

Isaac nodded. “She is” he confirmed, sipping on his drink.

Iker watched him for a moment, allowing a couple of seconds of silence to pass between them, before he shook his head, his hand nervously fiddling with his watch. “Isaac?” he asked gently.

Isaac nodded. “Yeah?” he asked, swallowing a mouthful of his drink.

“I think I want to ask your daughter to marry me” Iker announced.

Isaac, who’d moved to take another sip, choked slightly. “What?” he coughed out.

Iker took in a breath before he let it out slowly. It wasn’t a spur of the moment thought, for a while, Iker had only been growing more and more sure of things between him and Riley being the real deal, and it was part of the reason he had opted to offer the spare ticket to Isaac. Part of him had cautiously considered the prospect of asking for the older man’s blessing.

“I want to propose to her” Iker repeated calmly “I mean, I don’t know when exactly, but I am sure that I want to ask her. I’ve been sure of it for a little while now” he added.

“Riley?” Isaac asked.

Iker quirked a small smile, nodding. “Riley” he confirmed.

“My daughter?” Isaac pressed.

“Your daughter” Iker replied.

Isaac gawked at him for a few seconds before he breathed out a little laugh, something which caused Iker’s forehead to wrinkle slightly in concern.

Isaac caught the younger man’s frown before he shook his head. “Sorry” he quipped “I’m not laughing at what you said, it’s just...my wife and I had a bet that this is why you’d invited me out here and now I owe her a very fancy holiday that I don’t want to go on” he explained.

Iker smiled, more out of nerves than amusement.

Isaac shook his head to himself, muttering beneath his breath for a moment, before he looked up, meeting Iker’s gaze firmly. “You’re not the first man who’s sat in front of me and told me that he wants to marry my daughter” he noted, all amusement falling out of his voice “Ben did something similar, treated me to a day out before he told me that he wanted to be with my little girl for the rest of his life, and look how that worked out” he added.

“Isaac...”

“I know you’re not him” Isaac interrupted, cutting off Iker’s inevitable words “And I have seen enough of you and Riley to know that what you two have...it’s infinitely better than what they had. I like you, Iker, and if you want to ask Riley, then that’s your call, just don’t make the mistakes he did. I haven’t got it in me to watch my beautiful little girl get her heart broken again” he added, his voice softening a little.

Iker nodded his head slowly. “I adore her, Isaac” he noted.

Isaac’s lips quirked upwards gently. “I know you do” he mused “Neither one of you has ever been subtle about how you feel about each other. I think me and Maria were pretty certain that you two were crazy about each other the first time we met you” he added.

Iker laughed. “We thought we were subtle” he quipped.

Isaac grinned. “You absolutely were not” he replied.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)