There Was You

Wiping her hand on the front of her shorts, Riley jogged up the hall, her ears filled with the sound of knocking at the front door. It had caught her off guard, with her and Iker’s plans to spend the weekend in Valencia having fallen through, she had been expecting a quiet day to herself, and the knocking at her door had come as a surprise, even if she hadn’t been up to much. She had still anticipated having an afternoon to just sit around and do nothing. Catching sight of her reflection in the hallway mirror, she grimaced at her slightly messy hair before she moved to open the door, her head tilting slightly as she looked up at Iker.

Iker, who’d looked up at the sound of the front door opening, grinned. “You’ve got paint on your forehead” he noted.

Riley’s cheeks flushed pink before she shook her head, her eyes on her feet. “Did you just leave my papa in Valencia?” she asked.

Iker smirked a little, not missing the blush on her cheeks, before he shook his head. “He’s the reason we needed to leave” he noted “Apparently he and your mama had plans this afternoon that he absolutely couldn’t miss so I got him on a flight to Madrid and came home. If I am interrupting your day, then I can get out of here” he added before he took a step forwards, gently rubbing the smudge of paint off of her forehead.

Riley closed her eyes at his touch, a faint goofy smile on her lips. “You don’t have to go” she mumbled.

Iker marveled at her soft smile for a second before he dipped forwards, kissing her forehead gently. “I don’t mind” he mumbled softly.

Riley shook her head. “I’m not really up to much” she admitted “And besides, you can tell me all about your day with my papa. How nervous were you really?” she chirped as she gently stepped backwards, inviting him to step inside.

Iker laughed as he followed her inside, gently knocking the front door closed behind himself. “I was fine” he noted.

Riley, who’d made her way back towards the living room, scoffed out a laugh. “You seem to forget I’ve seen you with him” she quipped.

Iker rolled his eyes playfully. “I’m not that bad” he noted.

Riley offered him a playfully dubious look before she shook her head, turning to tidy up the painting supplies which littered the room. “Seriously” she mused “Did it go alright?” she asked, her voice softening a little.

She knew that Iker had been apprehensive, even if he had tried to play down his nerves at the prospect of spending time alone with her father, she had seen it in his expression when they’d spoken the day before, and she wanted to make sure that things had gone alright, even if she had no doubt that her father, who had loved Iker from the moment they’d met, would have tried to make it as easy as he could. She still wanted to make sure.

Iker, who’d moved to perch on the back of the couch, smiled a little at the change in her voice. “You’re really worried about me having messed up, aren’t you?” he quipped amusedly.

“No” Riley replied quickly, a little too quickly.

Iker lifted an eyebrow playfully, something which made Riley shake her head, her cheeks glowing a familiar shade of pink. “You seemed nervous” she noted after a moment of thought “I mean, I know you didn’t say anything, but you seemed a little on edge when I spoke to you yesterday, and I just...I just wanted to make sure that you thought it had gone Ok. My papa adores you, that's obvious, and it’d take more than one awkward day together to change that. I...I hope you know that” she stumbled out.

Iker’s expression softened a little. “You knew that I was nervous?” he asked.

Riley’s forehead furrowed. “Of course I did” she replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world “We’ve been dating for nine months. I’m practically an expert in all things you” she added.

Iker smiled, a little amazed that she had picked up on his apprehension, before he shrugged his shoulders. “It was what I expected” he noted.

Riley scoffed playfully. “Are you deliberately being vague?” she prodded.

Iker just shrugged nonchalantly, not wanting to chance a verbal answer. He didn’t want her to know what he and her father had discussed, despite him having broached the topic with Isaac, he knew that it was going to be a while before he found himself in the position of asking Riley to marry him, and he didn’t want to broach the topic yet, not when he wasn’t quite sure of the details. He knew it was what he wanted, for a little while, he had been sure that he would eventually find himself proposing to Riley, but he wanted to bide his time. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her by attempting to push things forwards too quickly, something he knew that Riley had been wary of since they’d started to date.

Riley laughed, shaking her head softly. “You are still on talking terms, aren’t you?” she teased.

Iker nodded his head. “Me and your papa are fine” he insisted “I got through dinner without sticking my foot in my mouth, we watched a great match together, and he almost passed out when I introduced him to Sergio. If anything, I am pretty sure he probably likes me more than before” he added impishly.

Riley shook her head. “That’s not possible” she quipped “You’re easily his favourite out of his kids’ partners. Hell, you might just be his favourite person” she added.

Iker grinned. “Clearly, like you, he’s got good taste” he chirped.

Riley smirked before she stepped towards him. “You think a lot of yourself” she quipped.

Iker shrugged, settling his hands on her waist. “Nine months is a long time” he mused “I must be doing something right” he added.

Riley feigned thought for a moment before she lifted a hand, gently swiping a line of blue paint across his forehead. “You’re just you” she cooed, failing to stifle her giggles as he touched his head, frowning at the paint on his fingers.

Iker glared at her for a second before he laughed, impishly touching his forehead to hers so that the paint smudged onto her skin. “I really love you, you know that?” he murmured.

Riley’s face lit up before she could stop it.

Iker covered her smile with a tender kiss, something Riley reciprocated happily, mumbling a quiet ‘I love you too’ beneath her breath.

Iker closed his eyes at the sound of her words, relishing hearing them, before he kissed her again, knowing that the more days past, the closer he got to asking her.