Slow Dancing in the Darkness

“Are you sure you don’t mind watching them tonight?” Lionel posed as he looked at Antonella, hoping for her agreement. It wasn’t a big deal, the idea that he didn’t know as much about Gabriela as he had thought he did, but it had been stuck on his mind since Luca had visited. He knew that they were only small details, little things he wasn’t certain of, but it still didn’t sit well with him. They’d been together for almost a year and he didn’t like that there were still such gaps in his knowledge about his wife.

“Of course not. Thiago can’t stop asking after Noah and I don’t mind watching Amelia, but I am curious. What’s with the sudden need to have a date night?” she posed, her eyes glancing curiously over at her former husband.

Lionel shrugged. “It’s just been a while” he noted simply.

Antonella shook her head. “Come on, Leo, I am not buying that for a second” she countered. She could tell that there was something on his mind, he looked a little distracted, and she wanted him to talk to her about it. She didn’t want him screwing things up with Gabriela when they seemed to be going along so nicely for the two of them.

Lionel sighed. “It’s a little stupid” he muttered.

“Leo, if you and Gabby are having problems…”

“We’re not” he interrupted “Things are as they have always been, comfortable and cheerful, it’s just me. Her papa showed up a few days ago to talk to her and as he did, he told me about all these things that I had no idea about. I didn’t know that Gabby chose the name Amelia because it was her grandmother’s, I didn’t know that her grandmother almost raised her or that she has 2 older brothers. It made me aware of how little I actually about her family and it concerned me slightly. It’s been almost a year since we started dating and I don’t like that I don’t know a lot of these things about her” he explained softly.

“You didn’t know those things?” Antonella posed.

“I don’t know a lot of things” Lionel murmured “And it bothers me. I’ve almost lived with this woman for 10 months and I can’t quite believe that there are such big gaps in my knowledge of her” he noted.

Antonella offered him a thoughtful look. “You did rush into this” she noted.

Lionel nodded his head thoughtfully. “I know” he murmured “And it’s never been apparent until now. I love her, Anto, I do, but I want to work at getting to know her. I want to be with her for a long time to come yet” he explained.

Antonella smiled. “I have no doubt that you can make it work, Leo” she smiled as she moved to collect Amelia’s diaper bag “And I am sure that Gabby will love what you’ve got planned. Have a good night” she noted as she kissed his cheek.

Lionel smiled. “Thanks, Antonella” he noted.

“I’m here when you need me” Antonella returned before she stepped out of the room, moving to join Joseph in the car.

Lionel watched her go before he nodded quietly to himself. He wanted to get to know the woman that he had married.

~#~
“Leo?” Gabriela noted as she stepped into the house, noting that it was strangely quiet. It had been a quiet day, she’d gone for lunch with Shakira before she had done a little shopping ahead of Lionel’s birthday in a few days’ time, and she was a little glad to be home. She wanted to enjoy a quiet night in. “Leo, are you here?” she posed.

“Here” Lionel smiled, ducking out of the living room.

Gabriela tilted her head, noting the neatly pressed shirt and tie he wore. “Why are you dressed like that?” she posed.

“Because I have a surprise for you” Lionel replied, stepping towards her.

Gabriela lifted an eyebrow. “What are you doing?” she posed as he took the shopping bags out of her hands, setting them neatly beside the door before he took her hand in his.

“I’ve been thinking” he noted, leading her towards the living room.

“About?” Gabriela posed.

Lionel peeked up at her. “About how little I really know about you and how little you know about me. I know what you said the other day that you didn’t mind it, but I do. It’s been a year, Gabby, and I am not comfortable with it” he explained carefully.

Gabriela tilted her head. “You know all of the important things” she noted “You know about my mother, Elliot, and my papa, there’s really not all that much more” she added.

“I want to know the little things” Lionel insisted, pulling her into the room “I want to know everything” he added.

Gabriela opened her mouth to respond, but stopped herself, her blue eyes scanning over the living room. “Leo” she murmured.

“I figured we should do more date nights” he shrugged gently “Noah and Amelia are with Antonella and I want to spend the night getting to know the woman that I married. Do you think we can do that?” he posed, dropping a kiss onto her shoulder.

Gabriela blinked a couple of times before she nodded. “Ok” she agreed.

Lionel smiled and carefully pulled out a chair for her, helping her to sit down before he placed a plate of food ahead of her, knowing that his surprise had gone over well with her.

~#~
“How old were you when you left Argentina?” Gabriela posed, sipping at her glass of water.

“13” Lionel replied.

“That young?” Gabriela squeaked.

Lionel nodded his head. “They’d seen me play and wanted me to come over right away to join youth setup at Barca. I’ve been here ever since” he enthused “What did you want to do when you were growing up?” he posed. It had been a nice night, quiet and relaxed, and Lionel could see them making it a fixture. He liked the idea of a night every few weeks where it was just him and Gabriela, something it had never really been.

“I wanted to be a midwife” Gabriela noted “I was on a course when I met Elliot, but when things started to get serious, he convinced me to give it up. He said as long as I had him, I didn’t need it” she mused.

Lionel shook his head. “He really did mess things up for you, didn’t he?” he mused.

Gabriela offered him a slightly warning look. She didn’t want the topic of Elliot to ruin their night.

Lionel raised his hands defensively. “I’m sorry. A lot of your stories seem to link back to him and I can’t help but note the ways he messed things up for you” he added gently.

“I was one in a long line of girls that thought that could change him” Gabriela noted “I wanted to make him into something I could be proud of and I thought I could, but obviously I couldn’t. He didn’t want to change for me or for Noah” she murmured.

“You shouldn’t have to work so hard to be in a relationship, Ela” Lionel commented as he reached over the table, taking her hand in his “If it’s a good one, then it should be easy to be with someone. You shouldn’t have to change them” he noted.

“Like you and me?” Gabriela noted, a small smile on her face.

Lionel smiled. “Like you and me. It’s rushed, but it works and I want it to keep on working, Ela. I love you and I don’t want things to fall apart now, especially since we have Amelia. Promise me that we can try and keep this thing going” he noted.

Gabriela looked up at him, noting the soft and kind expression on his face, before she leant over, kissing him softly. “I promise” she murmured.