By your side (Rúben Dias)

Chapter Six

Another box was taken from Maddie's hands and that was number...who knew? She had lost count.

"Can I carry my wash bag or is that too heavy for me too, Dias?"

"Don't roll your eyes. Am I supposed to let you carry heavy stuff when you're literally pregnant?"

"No, and I appreciate your muscles very much but the small boxes are fine. And I'm bored. I want to do something".

Rúben stared at Maddie for a second before lifting her in his arms and placing her on the sofa.

"You sit here looking pretty while I use these muscles. No arguing".

"You're a dictator!"

"And you", he said placing one arm on each side of Maddie, "are carrying my baby. So I'll treat you like a queen and won't hear any complaints about it, ok?"

"On one condition".

"What?"

"Can I get a kiss before you go back to the van?"

He didn't need to be asked twice.

Maddie soon realised the plan was not that bad. Her morning sickness had been terrible that day, so resting for a little while was a blessing. But she still felt bad about Rúben doing all the work and kept asking him if he needed help. The answer was no...every single time.

"I wonder if this will be weird. You know? Living together isn't always easy".

"I know", agreed Rúben. "But we already lived together for two months that one time and it was fine".

"Yeah...that was the first time I saw your...you know".

"My what?"

"You know".

"I don't", he said again and Maddie gestured to his crotch. "How?"

"You were getting out of the bathroom and I looked away quickly when I realised you were naked".

"Really? How quickly?", he smirked.

"Quickly enough to not look creepy. But I still got some time to memorize the important details".

"It doesn't sound fair that you got to see me before I got to see you".

Rúben let himself fall on the sofa, tired after the long moving process. And Maddie laid down next to him, ready to be his little spoon.

"Well, you've seen all of it now. Luckily before the downgrade".

"Downgrade? You're not that old, come on".

She laughed at his joke, holding the arms that were around her waist. "I mean downgrade because of the pregnancy. I'll get fat and get stretch marks and all that. I don't mind it but it's not the sexiest look".

"Stop that, Maddie. You're not going to be ugly or less sexy because of that".

"Right. Men go crazy for swollen ankles and big pregnant bellies".

"Well, I'll just say you're not allowed to go to our match against Liverpool".

Maddie turned to look at Rúben, very confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Long story. But...seriously, you need to stop thinking that way. And I don't know about other men, but I cannot wait to see this belly growing", he put his hands underneath her shirt, touching the still non-existent bump. "Because that's where our baby is. And that's the reason why it'll grow. There is nothing more beautiful than that".

"Yeah. I'm also looking forward to seeing the bump grow and imagining the little baby that's growing inside. I downloaded an app that tells us which size the baby should be each week using fruits. It's really cute".