Like You Did Before

Letting out a huff, Matilda kicked the duvet off of herself, rolling onto her back to glare up at the ceiling in frustration. She couldn’t sleep. Between being too hot, and the memory of her disagreement with Naomi, she had found it impossible to close her eyes and drift off, and she was growing frustrated, even despite her best attempts not to. She could feel the annoyance burning at the back of her throat. It wasn’t anything that hadn’t come up before. They had all been friends for a very long time, and the change in Matilda’s friendship with Arthur was bound to make things awkward at times between her and Naomi, but it wasn’t something that Matilda could fix. She had done the right thing. After being oblivious for far too long, she had allowed Arthur to pull away and put a much needed dose of space between the two of them, and Matilda wouldn’t bridge it, even despite the urges she had to try. She couldn’t be the one who pulled him back into something she was all too aware had hurt him for a very long time.

Staring up at the ceiling for a few moments, she felt her annoyance fade slightly before she shuffled up to her feet. Lifting her dressing gown off of the hook on the back of the bedroom door, she wrapped it around herself before she padded down the stairs, stopping a couple of steps from the bottom as the front door swung open. Tilting her head, she watched Iker walk through the door before he pushed it closed, discarding his bag just short of the stairs. “You can’t leave that there” she said.

Iker, who’d been toeing off his shoes, visibly jumped at the sound of Matilda’s voice before he whipped his head up, something which made Matilda smile tiredly. “Hi” she greeted.

“Is something wrong?” Iker pressed “You’re supposed to be asleep. Is bump OK?” he added.

Matilda’s expression warmed at his concern before she nodded her head, her hand smoothing the material of her dressing gown over her bump. “Bump is fine” she mused “And nothing’s wrong. I was just having a tough time getting to sleep and was on my way down for a glass of water. I didn’t mean to scare you” she added.

Iker stared at her for a long beat, his expression slightly dubious, before he held out his hand towards her, something which made Matilda roll her eyes before she took it, allowing Iker to lead her through towards the living room. With a soft laugh, she allowed him to help her sit down on the sofa before he disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing a handful of seconds later with a glass of water. Placing the glass down onto the table, Iker sunk down into the space beside her before he tugged her a little closer, allowing her to rest against him as his hands slipped beneath her dressing gown, finding their usual space against her bump. “Are you really OK?” he asked, kissing the back of her neck lightly.

Matilda sighed a little at his touch before she lifted her hands, covering his on her stomach. “Just a little frustrated” she mumbled “Mimi and I had...I wouldn’t even call it a fight or a disagreement. I don’t really know what I would call it, but it was awkward and it’s stuck in my head, and it’s made getting to sleep difficult” she added.

Iker, who’d moved to press a kiss to a spot behind Matilda’s ear, gently bumped his nose against her skin. “Art?” he asked.

“Art” Matilda confirmed with a slightly reluctant nod “But it’s fine. We don’t need to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about it” she added.

They had talked about it too much, and Matilda didn’t want to retrace a subject that they had already covered. She knew she was doing the right thing. As much as there was a part of her that missed Arthur, and had almost jumped at the chance to travel to Lisbon with Naomi and Micah, she knew that it wouldn’t have been fair, and she didn’t need Iker to remind her. She was happy where she was, and she needed to give Arthur the space to be happy where he was.

Iker gently tucked her hair behind her ear, touching his lips to her temple. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Certain” Matilda replied.

Iker briefly contemplated pressing the subject, but stopped himself when Matilda moved, leaning her back against his shoulder to smile up at him sleepily. “We talked about the wedding, you know” she chirped.

“Oh?” Iker played along as he shifted the way they were sat, allowing Matilda to lay against him comfortably.

“Well, not really” Matilda replied “Mimi just made a good point. We’re not going to be getting married for a while because of this little one” she added, patting her stomach lightly.

“I figured as much” Iker mused “But, for the record, the when and how don’t really bother me. I just want to marry you” he added.

Matilda, who’d started to toy with his fingers gently, smiled to herself. “I want something small” she murmured, feeling her eyelids start to flutter shut “Our families, a few really close friends, but nothing too over the top or grand. That’s not us” she added.

“We’ve got a while to figure it out” Iker murmured, his lips quirking upwards when Matilda curled into his side a little more, nuzzling her head into the side of his neck.

“I love you” Matilda said softly.

Iker leant down, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I love you, too” he said quietly “So much that I am not going to let you go to sleep on this sofa like this because I know how grumpy it’ll make you tomorrow. Get upstairs, Mattie” he added, nudging her side softly.

Matilda grumbled, but eventually, she unwound herself from their embrace, reluctantly trudging up the stairs. Iker followed behind her, moving the bag he’d left at the foot of the stairs, before they both climbed into bed, cuddling and talking softly until Matilda finally fell asleep.