There Was You

Sleepily sitting up against his pillow, Iker furrowed his forehead, his ears plied with muffled sounds emanating away from the bathroom. Frowning for a few seconds, he tried to wake himself up slightly before he stood up, shuffling across the bedroom towards the bathroom door before he nudged it open, his expression softening as his eyes settled on Riley who sat on the floor, trying to catch her breath beside the toilet. It hadn’t been long, after they’d discovered Riley was pregnant, only a few days had passed, and it meant that Iker still wasn’t quite used to the idea of her morning sickness, even if the scene in front of him was one he’d already seen a couple of times. It was still enough to stop him in his tracks.

Blinking a couple of times, he watched her wipe her eyes before he carefully crouched down in front of her, tenderly tucking her hair back off of her face.

Riley jumped, not having seen him walk into the room, before she quirked a tired smile, her hand gently cupping his to her cheek. “I woke you again” she mumbled softly “I didn’t mean to” she added.

Iker smiled at her gently. “I think I can forgive you” he teased.

Riley let out a quiet laugh before she felt her stomach give another turn, something which caused her to shuffle closer to the toilet, spilling the contents of her stomach.

Iker followed her movement, quickly pulling her hair back before he gently rubbed her back, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head. “You need me to get you anything?” he mumbled after a few moments.

Riley gently pulled away from the toilet, blinking a couple of times, before she nodded her head. “I’d love some of that lemon water” she mused gently.

“Of course” Iker replied “I’ll go and grab you some and maybe some plain toast?” he suggested.

Riley wrinkled her nose a little, but didn’t object, already well versed in the look that Iker would give her when she told him that she wasn’t hungry.

They had settled into a little routine, despite it having only been a couple of days since they’d discovered that they were expecting, the patterns of their mornings seemed to be the same, and whilst there was still a nervous knot in the pit of Riley’s stomach whenever she thought about the pregnancy, it was starting to ease, something she attributed to Iker who, since they’d seen the positive test results, had been nothing but patient and reassuring.

There was no denying that she was scared, from the moment that Eva had brought up the topic, Riley hadn’t been able to shake the butterflies in her stomach, but she had started to wrap her head around it, even if it was slow progress. She was starting to get used to the idea that, in only a matter of months, she and Iker would have a baby.

Iker smiled amusedly, not missing the way her nose wrinkled, before he dipped forwards, kissing it gently. “I’ll be right back” he mumbled before he shuffled to his feet, ducking back out of the room.

Riley watched him out of the door before she shook her head, unable to stop the little smile that itched to spread across her face.

~#~
“Are you feeling any better?” Iker prodded as he leant out of bed, gently placing the empty plate of Riley’s toast down onto the end table.

Riley, who’d been sipping on her glass water, smiled, gently nodding her head. “I do” she confirmed “I mean, I can’t make any guarantees that we won’t see that toast again, but right now I don’t feel like throwing up, so that’s a win” she teased a little uncertainly.

Iker breathed out a soft laugh, allowing a couple of beats of silence to pass between the two of them, before he gently shifted his hand, twining their fingers together. “Are you feeling any less nervous?” he asked cautiously “I mean, it is fine if you’re not. It’s only been a couple of days and I get that you might not have quite wrapped your head around things. I mean, I don’t know if I have fully gotten to grips with it, but...” he trailed off as Riley shuffled a little closer to him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Iker blinked a couple of times before he wrapped an arm around her, his fingertips just edging beneath the hem of her pajama shirt.

“I still can’t quite believe it” Riley noted after a couple of seconds, her words careful and considered.

“Neither can I” Iker replied.

Riley’s lips quirked upwards slightly. “You can say that you’re happy” she noted gently “I know that you are. I’ve told you before, but your face is very honest, Iker” she added, turning her head so that she looked up at him.

Iker smiled down at her. “I’m happy” he confirmed “I mean, I move between overwhelmed and happy depending on the minute, but of course I am happy, Ry. How could I not be?” he prodded.

Riley stared up at him, marveling at the warmth in his expression, before she shook her head, glancing back down towards the duvet.

Iker watched her turn away before he gently shifted his hand, tilting her chin back so that she looked up at him. “What about you?” he asked softly.

Riley thought for a moment before she gingerly shrugged her shoulders. “It’s surreal” she replied “I mean, the vomiting, that feels very real, too real, but the idea that in here is our baby? That feels so strange” she breathed, gesturing down towards her stomach.

Iker shifted his hand, his fingertips grazing her skin. “It’ll start to feel more real when we go and see the midwife your doctor’s sent us to” he mumbled “I mean, the first ultrasound is going to be...It’s going to be something” he fussed.

Riley watched his fingers with a gentle smile. “We’re not finding out what we are having” she announced.

Iker couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Yes, we are” he retorted.

“No, we aren’t” Riley countered “It’ll be the best surprise” she added.

Iker scoffed playfully. “How about I find out and you don’t?” he suggested “You get your surprise, and I get to know whether we’re having a little boy or a little girl as soon as we can” he added.

Riley poked his side. “That’s ridiculous” she noted.

Iker just grinned at her, something which made Riley shake her head before she leant up, pecking his lips a couple times. “I’m glad you’re here” she murmured between soft kisses.

Iker’s expression softened a little before he stole another light kiss. “Always” he noted.

Riley smiled at him softly before she gently covered his hand which had shifted around to her stomach with hers. Slipping her fingers into the gaps between his, she closed her eyes before she felt a soft kiss against her temple, something which made her soft smile widen a fraction.