There Was You

71: You Can See Through Me That Easily?

Glancing away from the book that sat in his lap, Iker frowned slightly to himself, watching as Riley pulled her glasses off so that she could rub her forehead again. He had seen her do it a few of times, since she had reappeared downstairs after her nap and insisted that she needed to get on with some work, he had watched her stop and rub her head more than once, and it was starting to worry him, even if Riley had been quick to insist that her headache had eased since she’d taken her nap. He knew from the little frowns and flinches she made that it was still bothering her.

Tilting his head, he watched as she took in a deep breath before she moved to slip her glasses back up her nose, something which caused him to sigh before he shuffled himself back up to his feet. Stepping across the living room, he took a peek at the screen of her laptop before he gently shuffled it out of her reach, saving what she was working on before he closed it.

“Hey” Riley squeaked, looking up at him “I was in the middle of something” she added.

“I saved it” Iker replied.

“Still” Riley argued “I need that back. I’m a little behind on an account and the deadline’s coming up” she added.

Iker, who’d moved to place the laptop back in its usual spot on the shelf, shook his head. “Your head still hurts” he noted.

“Iker...”

“It does, Riley” Iker interrupted gently, cutting off what would almost certainly be her insisting that she was fine “I can see it on your face” he added, a faint smile pulling the corner of his mouth upwards.

Riley stared at him for a couple of seconds, briefly contemplating arguing with him, before she let out a soft sigh, a weak smile on her lips. “You can see through me that easily?” she asked.

Iker breathed out a little laugh, his hand rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Riley’s smile warmed a little before she leant her head back, squeezing her eyes closed. “Maybe it’s not the worst thing that you took that away from me” she noted “I mean, I am pretty sure that I’ve been staring at the same thing for the last hour and making absolutely no progress” she added.

Iker, who’d moved to sit down beside her, gently lifted a hand, carefully pulling her glasses off of her face. “You should have stopped” he mumbled softly.

Riley shifted, resting her head on his shoulder. “I know” she mumbled “I just...I am used to doing things at a certain pace, in a certain way, and with him...things are different” she added, her hand gently passing over the front of her shirt.

Iker watched her hand for a moment, smiling softly at the sight of her bump, before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing them gently. “I know that you’re not exactly loving being pregnant” he mumbled softly “But you are, Ry, and that means, for a few months at least, you have to be good with things being different. You know I’d do it for you if I could” he added, kissing the top of her head softly.

“I know” Riley mumbled, wrapping an arm around his waist so that she could squeeze him softly.

“You need to relax” Iker mumbled after a few seconds of quiet.

Riley let out a laugh. “You say it like it’s easy” she quipped “I have work, and then there’s the small fact that we’re only a few months away from welcoming a baby into the world. It’s not like I have the time to relax” she added.

“Then we need to make you the time” Iker replied.

Riley turned her head, resting her chin on his shoulder as she looked up at him. “And how do you propose we do that?” she asked, her voice caught between teasing and curious.

She knew that he was right, with Alma having expressed her concerns about her blood pressure and her headaches still happening, she knew that she needed to find some time to relax, but it didn’t strike her as possible. They didn’t have much time, with half of her pregnancy already over, they only had a handful of months before their little boy put in his first appearance, and the thought was overwhelming to her, no matter how many times Iker insisted that things would be fine. The idea that they were so close to welcoming the baby into the world was one which had equal measures of excitement and anxiety swirling in her stomach.

Iker grinned at her. “We could try that pregnancy yoga Alma suggested” he noted.

Riley rolled her eyes. “What do you know about yoga?” she asked amusedly.

“I’m willing to give it a shot” Iker replied “Even if I just end up falling over, it’ll probably make you laugh” he added.

Riley giggled, shaking her head slightly. “You don’t have to put yourself through that for me” she noted.

“Yeah, I do” Iker replied “You’re my wife, Riley. Of course I do. He is half me, and that makes me responsible for making sure that he is as happy as he can be, and right now, that means making sure that his mama...that you are as happy as you can be. If that takes me making a terrible attempt at yoga, then so be it” he added, his voice softening a little.

Riley stared up at him, her eyes searching his expression, before she quirked a shy smile. “Have I mentioned that you’re my favourite person lately?” she asked.

Iker shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face. “It’d not hurt you to mention it a little more frequently” he quipped “I mean, I quite like hearing it” he added, trying, and failing, to sound nonchalant.

Riley smiled at him softly before she leant forwards, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “I’ll do a better job of telling you more often” she mumbled.

Iker let out a bashful laugh before he shook his head, his hand patting her leg gently. “Tea?” he asked.

“I’d love some” Riley replied.

“I’ll go and make you some” Iker noted “Why don’t you start looking at those pamphlets that Alma gave you?” he added, gesturing to the papers which sat on the coffee table ahead of them.

Riley followed his gesture before she nodded, smiling up at him. “You’re full of good ideas” she cooed.

“You must have married me for some reason” Iker grinned before he leant forwards, pecking her lips once before he stood up, departing towards the kitchen.

“Bring back some of those chocolate biscuits I love, please” Riley called after him, grinning when he turned back to playfully roll his eyes before he stepped out of the room, leaving her grinning happily behind him.
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Thanks to FootieJo and Twisted;;Symphony for the comments :)