There Was You

79: How Happy Are You?

Gently bumping the bedroom door closed with her hip, Riley stepped towards the end table, settling the tray of food that she carried down as quietly as she could. She had been up for a while, after she had gotten up with Leo, she had struggled to get back sleep, and she had eventually given up trying, instead opting to spend some time making breakfast for her and Iker, wanting to do something for him for his birthday. He had insisted that there was no need to make a fuss, with the two of them still growing used to having Leo around, Iker had been quick to make sure that Riley knew that he wasn’t expecting too much on his birthday, but still Riley wanted to do something, even if it was small. She couldn’t let his birthday pass without any sort of marking.

Making sure that the tray was safely on the end table, Riley spared a brief look over the top of Leo’s crib, making sure that the little boy was still sound asleep, before she carefully crouched down beside the bed, her fingertips lightly pushing back through Iker’s hair. “Hey” she whispered softly.

Iker stirred, peeking an eye open sleepily. “Hey” he croaked.

“You want to wake up, sleepyhead?” Riley asked with a tender smile.

Iker just watched her sleepily, something which caused Riley to push herself up slightly, kissing the side of his nose softly. “I’ve made breakfast” she whispered softly, scattering a few kisses over the side of his face “And Leo’s still asleep, which means for a few minutes...” Riley’s voice faded into a squeak as Iker wrapped his arms around her waist, easily pulling her off of her feet.

Laughing, Riley followed his movements, allowing him to gently press her back into the mattress before she leant her head back, meeting his dark eyes with her greys. “Was that really necessary?” she asked, trying, and failing, to keep herself from grinning.

Iker just grinned down at her for a moment before he ducked his head, only to pause when Leo let out grumble. Closing his eyes for a second, he exhaled slowly before he leant down, pressing a quick kiss to Riley’s lips before he shuffled back to his feet, making his way towards Leo’s crib. Smiling a little, he leant down and lifted the baby into his arms, mumbling to him quietly.

“Looks like someone couldn’t wait to say happy birthday to his papa” Riley cooed, sitting up against the headboard of the bed.

Iker smirked. “It could be that” he noted “Or, he could just be hungry” he added.

Riley shrugged. “My answer was cuter” she noted.

Iker, who’d moved to sit down next to her, laughed softly before he leant over, settling Leo down into her arms. “My answer was probably true” he retorted.

Riley rolled her eyes playfully before she gently moved to unbutton the top few buttons of her pajamas, starting to feed Leo.

Iker watched them for a few seconds before he turned towards the end table, smiling a little at the array of food that had been left there. “Just how long’ve you been awake?” he asked, moving to pick up a mug of coffee.

Riley, who’d been focused on Leo, looked up at the sound of his voice before she shrugged, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink. “A couple of hours” she noted “I mean, I got up with Leo a little after six, but once I’d gotten him back to sleep, I couldn’t get back to sleep myself so I thought I’d put waking up too early to good use. I know that you said not to make a fuss, but I thought I should do something. I mean, you keep turning down Mia and Garrett’s offers to babysit” she added.

Iker just smiled over the top of his coffee cup.

“We could still call them” Riley continued “I mean, I’m sure Mia or Garrett wouldn’t mind. We could go out and do something, whatever you wanted to. Just say the word and we can...”

“This is what I want to do” Iker interrupted.

Riley tilted her head. “Really?” she asked.

“I like this” Iker insisted “It just being the three of us. I like lazy mornings here with the two of you. It’s all I want for today” he added gently.

Riley held his stare for a second, her grey eyes searching his, before she nodded her head slowly, a faint smile pulling the corner of her lips upwards. “If you’re sure” she mused softly.

Iker nodded his head firmly. “Certain” he noted.

Riley nodded, turning her attention back to Leo as a few seconds of quiet passed between them, something which was broken when Iker let out a soft sigh, his head falling back against the headboard with a soft thump. “How happy are you here?” he asked.

Riley, who’d finished feeding Leo, stilled as she attempted to button up her shirt, a furrow appearing in her forehead.

Iker noticed her stiffen before he shook his head, his fingers gently pushing back through his hair. “I don’t think I phrased that right” he noted “I just...I’ve been thinking a lot in the last couple of months. I had a conversation with your papa just after Leo arrived and I guess...I guess it’s just been stuck on my mind. Forget I said anything” he insisted.

Riley frowned. “What did you and my papa talk about?” she pressed.

Iker glanced at her, briefly contemplating insisting that it was nothing, before he let out a quiet sigh. “He asked if I had thought about going back to Madrid” he noted “Permanently” he added.

Riley’s expression softened, but she didn’t say anything, something which caused Iker to quirk a feeble smile. “I’m taking your silence as a sign to stop talking, you know” he noted.

“Is it something you want?” Riley asked, levelling her eyes with his.

“Maybe?” Iker replied, his tone more than slightly uncertain “I mean, I had always thought about going back eventually, but I didn’t put a date on it. It’d mean retirement, and thinking about what I want to do next career wise, and that’s not something I’ve quite figured out yet. What I do know is that I want to spent more time with you two” he added as he leant over, gently straightening out the leg of Leo’s pajamas.

Riley watched him, taking a few seconds to think over his answer, before she looked back up at his face. “When would you need to have things figured out by?” she asked.

“Before next season” Iker replied “I’d want to let the club know so that they could get someone else in to replace me” he added.

Riley nodded slowly, something which caused Iker to lean over, pressing a kiss against her temple. “I don’t need to have it figured out today” he mumbled against her skin “We’ve got time, nena” he insisted gently.

Riley leant into him wordlessly, causing Iker to smile against her skin, mumbling a playful comment about him being the one with the big decision to make, something which, to his relief, caused Riley to laugh softly, easing the slight discomfort which had settled over the two of them.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)