We Took the Fall

Resting back against the kitchen counter, Fernando sipped on his mug of coffee, enjoying the quiet that filled the room. It was rare, with an infant around, moment of quiet and calm were few and far between, and Fernando wanted to enjoy it for a second. It had been a while since he had gotten a second entirely to himself. Sipping on his drink, he stared across the room for a second before the sound of footsteps caught his ears, causing him to flick his attention towards the door way, smiling slightly at the sight of Catalina who still looked half asleep.

“You’re up early” he quipped with a slightly amused smile.

Catalina, who’d padded towards the fridge, lifted her head, a sleepy expression on her face. “I needed something to drink” she noted with a yawn “What are you doing up?” she added, padding towards him.

“I heard Felix stirring over the monitor a little while ago” Fernando shrugged “But he’s still happily asleep so I came down here for a little while. You heading back up?” he posed with a little look towards the stairs.

Catalina, who was sipping on her glass of orange juice, shook her head. “I can stay if you’d like. I’d hate to intrude on your quiet time” she mused with a slightly teasing smile. They were infrequent, with the two of them still getting used to having Felix around, the moments that they got alone were few and far between, and Catalina didn’t want to intrude, even if the prospect of having a few moments alone with her boyfriend was tempting, she was more than happy to leave Fernando to it.

Fernando feigned thinking for a moment before he quirked a grin. “I don’t think I’d mind you staying too much” he teased.

Catalina offered him a mildly unimpressed look before she padded towards him, allowing him to place his arms around her waist. It had been a small while, after their vacation, a few weeks had passed, and with Fernando having returned to training and Catalina having thrown herself into wedding planning, it was rare that they got a lot of time alone, something Fernando wanted to make the most of, even if it was only for a little while, he wanted to enjoy a couple of seconds alone with Catalina.

“How are the wedding plans coming?” Fernando posed, pressing a soft kiss against her shoulder.

Catalina smiled and rested back into his embrace, her eyes closing as she rested her head against his shoulder. “They’re coming along” she mused softly “Between me, your mother and Esther we’ve got a few plans in place, but you and me are going to have to come up with a guest list. Do you want to do something big?” she posed softly.

“Not particularly” Fernando quipped “If you’d agree to it, I’d marry you tomorrow” he mused, pressing another kiss against her shoulder.

“You know that we can’t do that” Catalina quipped, peeking her eyes open.

Fernando quirked a grin. “I know, nena” he teased.

Catalina rolled her eyes slightly before she pushed herself out of his arms, moving towards the fridge in order to find something to eat. “Have you given any sort of thought to a guest list?” she quipped.

“I have” Fernando quipped “And I think I would like something small. My family, Sergio, Esther, and your family” he noted.

“You mean my papa and Julia?” Catalina quipped as she moved to slicing the fruit she had collected from the fridge.

Fernando shook his head. “I was thinking we could go and talk to your madre” he noted as he stepped towards the counter. He knew that it was a sore spot, after they’d gotten back together, the topic of her mother and sister was one that they tended to shy away from, but Fernando wanted to encourage her, even if Marisol and Alicia rejected it, he wanted her to at least attempt to make some sort of amends with her mother and sister.

Catalina, who’d been focused on cutting up the fruit, looked up, her expression more than a little surprised. “What?” she posed.

“I thought that, with the wedding coming up, we could go and talk to your mother and your sister” Fernando repeated softly.

Catalina shook her head. “Why would we want to do that?” she pressed “Fernando, my mother and sister made their opinion of our relationship remarkably clear when we got back together and I highly doubt that they are going to have changed their minds” she insisted softly. She knew what he was getting at, from the moment she had started planning their wedding, Fernando had bought up the topic of her mother more than once, and whilst she appreciated the idea that he wanted to ensure that their day was perfect, she doubted that including her mother or her sister would help, even if she did want them there, she doubted Marisol or Alicia would make it easy.

“I know that, Lina” Fernando retorted softly “But they’re your family and I think you’d regret not even trying” he added.

“Fernando…”

“I am not suggesting that we include them in the planning, Cat” the striker interjected “I just think…Where’s the harm in talking to them?” he posed, his hand gently reaching from hers, offering it a small squeeze.

Catalina glanced at their hands for a moment before she sighed. “I know what they’re going to say, Nando” she murmured softly “They’re going to be horrid about the idea that you and I are together and I don’t…I can’t go through it again” she protested gently.

Fernando nodded his head softly before he squeezed her hand again. “I just think we should give it a try, Cat” he noted softly “If things go to plan, you are only going to get one wedding day, and I don’t want you to regret anything about it. You’re right, there is a chance that they could be horrid, and knowing your mother, it’s quite likely, but I think we should try. Whether things between the two of you are fantastic or not, she’s your mother and I think there’s a chance that you’d regret it if she wasn’t even invited” he explained gently. He understood her hesitation, after the way that Marisol in particular had treated her, she had every right to be wary, but still he wanted to encourage Catalina to speak to her. The last thing he wanted was for her to regret any part of the day that they got married.

Catalina offered him a slightly dubious look. “You really want to talk to my mother and my sister?” she posed.

“I think we should” Fernando clarified gently.

Catalina studied the expression on his face for a moment before she nodded. “OK” she agreed gently “But we’re only doing this once. The last thing I want is for our day to become about my mother and Alicia” she insisted.

Fernando nodded his head before he offered her hand another soft squeeze. He knew that it was a long shot, with the way that Marisol and Alicia had reacted to the news of their getting back together, the chances were that they wouldn’t be thrilled about their engagement, but he wanted to give it a shot, even if it was unlikely that they’d want to make amends, he wanted to at least try.