Like You Did Before

Iker could feel his heartbeat racing as Matilda looked down at him, her blue eyes full of tears but still unreadable. He could see the surprise in her expression. One of her hands covered her mouth, stifling the soft gasp that had been quick to escape from her, and her eyes, aside from being full of unshed tears, were wide in surprise, but as Iker looked up at her, he couldn’t quite decipher if it was a good thing or not, something which made few seconds of silence that had passed feel like they’d lasted a lot longer.

Clearing his throat nervously, he sent a sideways glance towards the kitchen, relieved to find that Luis wasn’t watching the two of them, before he looked back up at Matilda. “Mattie?” he prodded gently.

Matilda blinked for the first time, letting the tears tumble down her cheeks before, finally, a slow smile blossomed on her face. Letting out a hiccupped laugh, she nodded her head rapidly. “Yes” she breathed.

“Really?” Iker’s voice was caught somewhere between disbelief and awe.

Matilda stepped towards him before she carefully lowered herself down to her knees ahead of him, her hands gently cupping his cheeks. For a moment she just stared at him, marvelling at his bright smile and the tears that had clouded his dark eyes, before she leant forwards, touching her forehead to his. “Yes” she repeated softly “Really, yes” she added.

The sound that Iker let out was part laugh, part sob, and at the sound of it, Matilda’s giddy grin widened. It was a sound that she wanted to remember for the rest of her life. “I want to marry you” she whispered.

Iker didn’t quite know what to say. It was what he had wanted, but still the idea that Matilda had actually said yes had him speechless. He wanted to hear it. Since he had purchased the engagement ring that was still tucked in the pocket of his jacket, he had pictured what it would be like if Matilda said yes to him, but anything he had pictured couldn’t hold a candle to the real thing. It was a surprise. Matilda had pulled away when he had mentioned marriage the first time, and the idea that the same could happen that time around had nagged at the back of his mind, but the resulting moment had been worth the worries. He was surprised, relieved, but most of all, he was overwhelmingly happy.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” Matilda prodded as she pulled back slightly.

Iker’s hand moved to the back of her head, preventing her from making too big a space between them. “I...I don’t know what to say” he admitted “I mean, I don’t think I can quite believe that you actually said yes yet” he added, letting out an awed laugh.

Matilda pressed her lips to his jaw, smiling against his skin. “You didn’t think I would?” she asked.

“I wanted you to” Iker replied “I just worried. Last time...”

“It’s not last time” Matilda interjected quietly.

“I know” Iker mused “It still worried me, though” he added.

Matilda pressed another kiss against his jaw, and placed one at the corner of his lips. “We’re different now” she murmured.

Iker leant into her, lightly bumping his nose against hers. “I love you” he replied.

Matilda closed her eyes, basking in the warmth that she felt when he said those words to her. “I love you, too” she said “And yes, I will marry you” she added.

Iker let out another giddy laugh, something Matilda was more than happy to join in with before Iker gently settled his hands on her waist. Without a word, he gently helped her up into the chair that sat behind her before he stuffed a hand in his pocket, pulling out the small box that resided inside. Matilda tilted her head, her eyes flitting between the box in his hands and his face. “When did you have time to get that?” she asked.

Iker’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. “This one or the first one?” he countered.

“There was a first one?” Matilda asked. He hadn’t proposed before. He had come close, but when he had tried to feel out how she would feel about him proposing, she had flinched away, insisting that there weren’t in any kind of hurry. After that conversation, and what had followed it, the revelation that Iker had bought an engagement ring was a shocking one.

Iker shrugged bashfully. “I might have bought one before” he admitted “I got rid of it after things between us...ended. This one I bought a couple of months ago. There was night, you were late home from work, and you were upset about having missed Lola, and we sat together, just talking and fussing over her and I realised that I...I wanted to talk and fuss with you for a very long time. The next morning, I bought this” he added, lifting the box up for emphasis.

Matilda blinked, clearing the tears that had started to blur her vision again. “You just went and bought it?” she asked.

“What can I say?” Iker quipped shyly “I knew” he added.

Matilda hiccupped out a soft laugh before she held out her hand towards him. “Make it official” she cooed.

Iker didn’t hesitate. He pulled the ring from where it was nestled in its pillow and slipped it onto her finger before he leant forwards, kissing it gently.

Matilda’s face lit up when Iker lifted his head again, something which made him grin in return before he shuffled to his feet. “She said yes” he announced.

Matilda looked at him confusedly before the door to the kitchen swung open, allowing a stream of friends and family to pile into the dining room. Letting out a happy gasp, she watched her parents and Iker’s, as well as Naomi, Micah and Lola, fill the room before she turned back to Iker, grinning at him. Iker mirrored her smile before his parents stole his attention, allowing Matilda to turn into her mother’s waiting arms. She hugged her mother, her father, her in-laws and her friends before she found herself with Iker and Lola. Offering Iker another smile, she kissed the top of Lola’s head and placed her hand on her stomach before she leant up to kiss him. She was in awe of how far they had come.