There Was You

Fastening up the last button on Leo’s onesie, Iker leant back against the couch, carefully lifting the baby up into his arms to keep him from starting to cry again. It was still early, when Iker had collected a crying Leo from his crib at the foot of his and Riley’s bed, the clock on the nightstand had read a little after six in the morning, and he wanted to try and keep the baby quiet, not wanting to disturb Riley, who’d only gotten back to sleep a couple of hours early, nor her parents who were still staying in their guest bedroom.

Settling Leo down in his arms, he gently brushed his fingers back through his fine dark hair before he leant forwards, kissing the top of his head lightly. “We’re OK, aren’t we?” he murmured quietly “I mean, you’re all clean now and I know that mama fed you only a little while ago. You’re all good, right?” he asked.

Leo stared up at him for a second before his face screwed up with a yawn, something which made Iker chuckle before he leant down again, kissing the little boy’s head softly.

“You do know that you’ve not stopped smiling in the last week, don’t you?”

Iker, who’d been mumbling quietly to Leo, startled a little before he lifted his head, his eyes settling on Isaac who stood ahead of him, a warm smile perched on his lips. “Isaac” he breathed “What are you...Did we wake you?” he asked.

Isaac shrugged, stepping around the keeper to plop down onto the couch. “It wouldn’t be the first time in the last week” he quipped.

Iker opened his mouth to apologise, but Isaac’s warm laugh cut him off. “You have a newborn, Iker” he noted “He’s going to cry, and he’s going to wake up everyone in the house. Just be grateful that you don’t have six year old twins too. For the first month after we bought Riley home, Garrett and Mia woke up every night and started screaming too. I have no idea how me and Maria made it through” he added.

Iker laughed gently before Leo made a soft noise, causing both his father and grandfather to fall quiet, watching the little boy stir for few moments.

Isaac’s stare flicked between Leo and Iker for a second before he cleared his throat, causing the goalkeeper to glance up at him, his eyes wide and curious. “You know that Maria and I are booked on a flight back to Madrid this morning?” he asked.

“Riley mentioned it last night” Iker replied “You both know that...”

“We need to get home” Isaac interrupted “As much as we’ve loved these last few weeks, especially the last week since the little one came along, we do have lives in Madrid that we need to get back to” he added.

Iker nodded his head slowly, diverting his attention back towards Leo.

“Have you thought about coming back yourself?” Isaac prodded, breaking the momentary silence which had settled over them.

Iker frowned, glancing up at his father-in-law. “To Madrid?” he asked “It’s still the middle of the season, we’ve got a couple more months to play before...”

“I mean permanently” Isaac interrupted.

Iker blinked a couple of times, surprised by the older man’s interruption, before he shook his head, turning his stare back down towards the baby in his arms. “It’s crossed my mind” he admitted “As much as I don’t like admitting it, I’m probably reaching the end of my career, so the idea of retirement isn’t a particularly far off one, but I haven’t really put a date on it. I’m happy here, Riley is too, but maybe now that Leo is here...” he trailed off, not quite sure how to finish the thought.

He had given it thought, after Riley had asked to return to the Spanish city during her pregnancy, he had given a little thought to the idea of moving back, but he hadn’t mentioned it to Riley. Between her pregnancy and Leo’s arrival, the timing wasn’t right for them to think about making such a big decision and he didn’t want to broach it until things felt more settled.

Isaac nodded slowly before he quirked a small smirk. “It’ll be a shame when you stop playing” he quipped, trying to lighten the mood a little “I’ve got some pretty great memories of watching you” he added.

“Better than seeing me marry your daughter?” Iker retorted, playing along.

“I love Riley, we both know that I adore her” Isaac quipped “And I love how happy you’ve made her, but I cried when Spain won the world cup. Watching you lift it...”

“Was better than walking me down the aisle, papa?” Riley’s voice chirped.

Isaac’s face reddened, something which made Iker snicker as he turned slightly, glancing up at Riley who was stood in the doorway, smirking amusedly at her father.

“I didn’t...What I meant to say was...” Isaac stumbled out.

Riley shook her head, laughing softly. “It’s OK” she mused “I think I’ve always known that you love Iker more than me” she teased.

Isaac playfully feigned thought for a moment before he grinned impishly, something which made Riley roll her eyes before she shuffled a little further into the room, carefully moving to lift Leo out of Iker’s arms. Watching the little boy let out another soft yawn, she felt a familiar smile tug at the corner of her lips before she caught Iker’s eyes, feeling her cheeks warm as she watched him grin up at her, a sight that she doubted she could find herself tired of, no matter how often she saw it.

“What are two talking about, anyway?” Riley asked “I mean, aside from the fact that my papa loved a football match more than walking his baby girl down the aisle” she added playfully.

Isaac scoffed. “I never said that” he noted.

Iker, who’d moved to get up from his spot on the floor, shook his head. “We were just talking about your parents going home” he noted “I was telling your papa that they’re more than welcome here whenever they want to come by” he added, sharing a glance with Isaac which warned him against mentioning anything more.

Isaac met his stare with a little nod. “We’d love to stay longer” he noted “But, we do have things to get back to in Madrid” he added.

Riley nodded, her expression growing a little hesitant, something Isaac was quick to notice. Stepping towards her, he pushed her slightly messy hair off of her face before he met her eyes, smiling at her comfortingly. “You’re going to be fine” he insisted “You’re a natural with Leo, just like we all knew you would be, and you’ve got yourself a pretty great husband who’s not going anywhere anytime soon. He’s got you, baby” he added.

Riley smiled sheepishly. “He’s pretty wonderful, isn’t he?” she gushed.

Iker laughed bashfully. “I’m glad you think so” he noted “You’re not bad yourself” he added, grimacing a little at how clichéd his response sounded.

Isaac looked between the two of them before he cleared his throat, gesturing over his shoulder. “I have a bag to pack” he quipped.

“Did you and Maria want a lift to the airport?” Iker prodded.

“If you’re offering one” Isaac noted.

“I’d be happy to do it” Iker replied.

Isaac nodded, smiling at him thankfully. “You’re a catch, Casillas” he chirped.

Iker laughed bashfully, unable to hide the blush on his cheeks, a sight which had Riley smiling at him, still awed by how easily he had fit into her family. It hadn’t happened with Ben, despite them having been together for almost twice as long as she and Iker had been together, Ben had always failed to gel with her family, but Iker had fit in instantly, something Riley adored about him.