We Took the Fall

Taking off her jacket, Catalina sighed, glad to finally be home. It had been another long shift, Catalina had taken to working doubles in order to assure that she had some nights of the week off, but it was starting to take its toll. She had grown used to the 3 hours shifts she had done when she was teaching and was slowly regretting agreeing to take the longer shifts on, even if it did mean that she had more time with Fernando, they left her tired and often a little unsociable. Letting her hair out of the ponytail she kept it in, she padded into the living room, her eyes widening a fraction at the scene ahead of her.

“Nando?” she posed, taking a couple of paces into the room “What are you doing?” she added.

Fernando, who sat in the middle of the room, smiled. “I was waiting for you” he noted.

“I can see that” Catalina replied, setting her bag down on the table “But I was more getting at why you’re still awake and what have you done to our living room?” she noted, gesturing to the furniture that had been pushed aside, leaving him settled in the centre of the room, the covers from their bed settled around him.

Fernando smiled. “I haven’t seen you properly in almost 3 days and I go away for a match tomorrow afternoon, so I thought, I could put on a film and we could sit out here and catch up. It’s been a little while since we had a date” he explained softly. It was only slight, the feeling he had that they were drifting apart, but it was enough that he wanted to put it right. He wanted things to work out for them and wanted to ensure that they were still on the same sort of page.

“It’s 11 at night” Catalina replied.

“And? You’re not working until tomorrow night and I don’t have to be anywhere until tomorrow afternoon. I thought we could use a catch up” he explained, moving to take her hand, gently helping her into the spot beside him. Catalina moved a little hesitantly at first, but followed his lead, sitting down beside him.

“What’s bought this on?” she commented, kicking off her shoes.

Fernando shrugged. “I miss you” he admitted gently.

“I’m right here” Catalina smiled.

“I know that” he noted, shaking his head softly “But with you still working evening shifts and me gone for most of the day, we miss each other a lot and I thought we could use a little time together. I feel like you see Esther more than me” he reasoned gently.

Catalina frowned. “I hadn’t noticed” she mused.

“Then it is a good thing that I did” Fernando replied.

Catalina nodded her head gently before she leant back, nesting against the mountain of pillows he had found and set up on their living room floor. “How is training going?” she murmured.

“It’s pretty good” Fernando replied, taking his spot at her side “We’re a couple of games into the new season now and we’ve got Barca next, which will be the first indication we get of actual improvement, but I think we’re going to be OK” he explained, his dark eyes tracing patterns into the ceiling above them.

Catalina smiled. “I love listening to you talk about football” she enthused.

“You should come to a game sometime” Fernando replied, turning to smile at her.

Catalina shook her head. “You know that that isn’t going to happen, Nando” she quipped.

Fernando smiled and reached his hand out, gently brushing the blonde hair out of her face. “I’ll get you there one day, Lina” he mused.

“You have a lot of confidence” she teased “But we’ve been here before and I still have never been to a football stadium” she added.

Fernando laughed gently. “I will have you come to a game one day, Lina, even if I do have to bride Esther into bringing you. I’ll see you up there one day, cheering me on” he grinned.

Catalina smiled back at him before she reached for the remote, flicking the television on in order to fill the comfortable silence that settled between them.

“Why do you work two jobs?” Fernando posed gently.

Catalina shrugged. “At first, I needed money to work through school, but then, when I got my degree, I just never had the bottle to quit. It means I have a little spare cash, even if it does mean working almost all hours of the day” she explained gently. It had never been the plan, she had only ever wanted to take up the job at the school, but after years of working in the same restaurant, she couldn’t find it in her to quit. She kind of liked it.

“You know you can quit now, right?” Fernando noted, his brown eyes studying her face in the darkness.

“I know” Catalina replied simply.

Fernando let her response linger for a second before he reached over, pressing a light kiss to her lips. Catalina smiled at the light touch and held him close before she pulled away from him, her eyes studying his face. “I have missed you” she whispered, her fingers lightly brushing through his hair.

“I’ve missed you too, but between wedding planning with Esther and your parents separating, I thought I would give you some space. I don’t want you thinking of me as overbearing” he explained softly.

Catalina shook her head. “You didn’t have to do that” she murmured.

“I know” he returned, pressing a sweet kiss to her nose “But I know you” he added “You’d only have gotten frustrated with me, even though I wasn’t the real problem, and I thought I would spare us that conversation so that we could have this one instead” he grinned.

Catalina smiled back at him. “Thank you” she mused.

“For you, hermosa, it was nothing” he quipped.

Catalina responded with a small girlish giggle before she pulled his lips back to hers. Fernando manoeuvred her beneath him before he gently pulled back, his dark eyes marvelling down at her as though she was the best thing he’d ever seen. “I love you” he smiled softly.

“I know” she replied “And you know I love you too” she added.

Fernando nodded his head thoughtfully before he pressed another kiss to her lips. Catalina made a small whimper as he shifted his hands, quietly but efficiently moving her skirt down her legs. “I thought we were trying to catch up” she giggled as he traced his way down to her shoulder, kissing and nipping at her skin.

“We are” he noted.

“Of course we are” Catalina teased.

Fernando shook his head and resumed kissing her. “You’re wonderful” he murmured, pushing the shoulder of her shirt down.

“You’re just saying that because you’re about to get laid” she mused.

“I am not” he muttered between light kisses “Catalina, you’re amazing”

Catalina shook her head. “What has gotten into you?” she murmured.

“Nothing” he replied.

“You’re being strange” Catalina noted.

“I have just missed you” he quipped, throwing her shirt to one side.

“Fernando…”

“Catalina, marry me” he interjected between light kisses.

Catalina froze. She couldn’t quite believe that he had said it, or that he had said it then.