Burn Us Down

Turning his car keys over in one hand, Gerard’s other hand lingered over the car door handle, hesitating in opening it. He knew that his car had been seen. He’d seen movement by the front door when he’d driven past it, but he still hadn’t quite worked up the nerve to head inside, knowing that one, if not more, of Olivia’s family would still be inside. They had been patient with them. Despite their obvious excitement at the twins’ arrival, no one had pushed Olivia and Gerard into allowing them to come over, but Gerard had known that they couldn’t put it off forever, meaning that there was a chance that Olivia’s family, as well as his, were likely to be more frequent visitors to their home.

He knew that they weren’t there for him. Everyone wanted to make a fuss of the twins, and of Olivia, and he knew that that meant that there was little chance of any kind of conflict starting up, but still he remained wary. Things were better. His relationship with Alex was slowly improving again and he had made a truce of sorts with Melissa in the aim of keeping Olivia happy, but he was still aware that, if they had the choice, they’d not choose him for Olivia, a thought which made the prospect of spending time around them uncomfortable for him.

Flipping the keys over again, he let out a reluctant sigh before he pushed the door open and clambered out of the car. He moved quickly, unlocking the front door of the house and stepping inside, but before he even had the chance to take a step away from the door, he felt something wrap around his waist. Blinking, he glanced downwards, his blue eyes meeting Max’s as he grinned up at him. “Tio!” he exclaimed.

Gerard stared at Max for a moment, surprised to see him, before he leant down, easily picking the little boy up off of his feet. “What are you doing here, eh?” he chirped as he wandered down the hall, making his way towards the living room. He was surprised to see Max. As far as he had been aware, Melissa and Enzo weren’t due to visit for days, and the appearance of the little boy had put him more on edge. He had been expecting Alex and Valeria, but adding Enzo and Melissa into the mix seemed a little too much.

“We came to see the babies” Max replied.

“Oh?” Gerard mused “What do you think of them?” he asked.

Max pouted. “They’re boring” he replied “They can’t play yet. All they do is lay around and cry” he added.

Gerard grinned. “They’re babies, Max” he chirped “They start off little and then they grow. They’ll learn to walk and talk and then they’ll be able to play with you” he added.

Max huffed. “I want to play now!” he protested.

“Max, you’ve got to be quiet” Enzo’s voice was gentle as Gerard leant down, placing Max back on his feet.

Max grumbled, but padded away from Gerard, allowing the defender to straighten up, greeting the room full of Olivia’s relatives with a slightly tight smile. “Hello, everyone” he greeted gently.

“Gerard” Valeria grinned as she stood up “Congratulations! The girls are so wonderful” she added, wrapping him in a soft hug.

Gerard laughed bashfully as he hugged her back. “They are, aren’t they?” he cooed proudly.

Valeria stepped back, allowing Alex and Enzo to both offer their congratulations, before Gerard’s stare drifted towards Olivia who was sat on the couch, cooing softly to the baby she held in her arms. Quirking a soft smile, he stepped out of the little group and towards them, the palm of his hand smoothing out the baby’s fine hair as he leant over, kissing the top of Olivia’s head. “Hey, you” he mumbled into her hair.

Olivia’s stare didn’t move away from the baby, but it didn’t have to for Gerard to see the soft pink hue on her cheeks or the soft smile on her lips. “You’re late back” she replied softly.

Gerard wordlessly nodded his head, the tops of his cheeks flushing a soft pink. He couldn’t lie to her, but he equally couldn’t admit that he had been hiding out in his car.

Olivia lifted her head to look up at him, her eyes soft and apologetic. She knew that Max’s presence had caught him off guard and she felt bad that she hadn’t let him know that her sister and her family had dropped in on them before he’d gotten home.

Gerard just offered her another nod and a small smile, telling her that it was OK.

Olivia carefully leant forwards, touching a soft kiss against his lips, before a soft cry filled the room, causing Gerard to turn around, his eyes landing on the second baby who was sat in Melissa’s arms. Taking a couple of steps, he wordlessly offered his arms out towards Melissa who placed the baby into them without hesitation, a small smile flashing over her face. “She’s beautiful” she whispered softly “They both are. You and Oli…you two must be so smitten” she added.

Gerard, who was trying to soothe the baby, smiled as he looked at Melissa. “We are” he confirmed “I can’t begin to tell you how much I didn’t want to leave this morning” he added.

Olivia snorted out a laugh. “I was this close to calling his teammates to come and get him” she mused, making a gesture with her fingers.

“I’m still not going to say sorry” Gerard chirped, flashing her a boyish smile.

Olivia rolled her eyes, allowing a moment of quiet to pass throughout the room, before Alex sat down next to her, the tip of his finger brushing against the baby’s foot. “Have we sorted out names yet?” he asked gently.

Olivia’s eyes darted towards Gerard who just offered her another soft smile. Tilting her head, she searched his face for a few seconds before her own lips lifted into a soft smile. “We’ve not chosen first names yet, but we do know the middle names we want to give them” she mused “Camille and Charlotte” she added.

Alex, who’d been tracing shapes into the bottom of the baby’s foot, stilled before he looked up at his daughter’s face. “Camille?” he said softly.

Olivia nodded, offering him a sad smile.

Alex returned it. “She’d have loved all this, you know” he cooed “She’d have been so excited to see you looking so happy, to meet the twins, to fuss over how gorgeous that boyfriend of yours is” he added, sparing a playful look towards Gerard.

Gerard just smiled bashfully, his cheeks pink.

“She would have been so proud of you, sweetheart” Alex continued as he turned back towards Olivia “Gosh, I wish she was here to see all of this” he added.

Olivia moved to wrap her hand around her father’s, squeezing it softly.

Melissa looked between the two of them before her eyes drifted over towards Enzo, something he caught and returned with a sharp shake of his head. Letting out a soft sigh, she turned towards Gerard. “Can you take Max outside for a moment?” she asked.

“Melissa…”

“Gerard, please” Melissa cut off Enzo’s protests “He’ll go with you. Please?” she added.

Gerard stared at her wide eyed for a second before he nodded. “Max?” he called “Do you want to come and help me with something?” he added.

Max, who’d been playing with a toy he’d bought with him, looked up before he nodded, beaming. “OK” he chirped.

Gerard shifted the baby into one arm before he offered his other hand out to Max, something the little boy took without hesitation, allowing the defender to lead him out of the room. Everyone else watched them go before they turned back to Melissa whose eyes were full of tears.

Enzo glared at her. “You can’t just keep it together for one more day?” he spat “Today’s about your sister and Gerard and their twins” he added.

“Enzo” Alex warned.

“She cheated on me again” Enzo shot back without hesitation “The same guy. She’s leaving me, for him” he added.

Alex’s glare slipped right off of his face.

Olivia and Valeria just stared, allowing the room to stand quiet aside from the soft sound of Melissa’s sobs as she covered her face.