Would You Fall Too?

“Are you nearly ready to go?” Sergio posed from his spot on the counter, his dark eyes peeking at Emilie who stood a little away from him, placing the last of the stock up onto a shelf. It was a usual thing, for weeks, Sergio had appeared at the bookstore after he had finished training, and he was pleased by the routine that he and Emilie had fallen into. It was still a little tough, Emilie still had moments where she was closed off or a little unsure about them, but he was growing used to it. They had a routine, Sergio would pop by the store most days after training to take her to lunch at the café and every other night, they would have dinner at hers, and Sergio liked the way they were, especially since the Halloween party, they seemed so relaxed.

“Almost” Emilie mused “I have a couple more boxes in the stock room that I need to get out before I leave, but it shouldn’t take much longer” she enthused, flashing him a small grin.

“You said that 2 boxes and 25 minutes ago” Sergio complained, kicking his feet gently.

Emilie shook her head gently and padded towards the counter, stepping between his legs to place a kiss against his lips. “You’ve been very patient” she murmured between soft kisses “And I just need you to be a little more patient before we can go to lunch OK? I want to finish this so that the guy who takes the next shift only has to mind the till” she explained.

Sergio sighed and placed his arms around her waist, nuzzling his head gently into the side of her neck. “Why did you have to be so thoughtful?” he mumbled gently.

Emilie shook her head and pulled away from him, returning to her work.

Sergio watched her interestedly before the bell above the door sounded, causing him to look up. “Emmy?” he nudged.

Emilie, who had been placing another book onto the shelf, turned, her blue eyes staring at the ginger woman who stood in the door way, a wide grin on her family. “Emilie” she grinned.

“Mama” Emilie’s voice was awed, something which made Sergio want to step towards her, but he refrained. He had no idea whether or not Emilie’s family even knew about him. “Mama, what brings you to this part of town? I thought you were visiting Oscar for the next few months” she posed gently, placing the box of stock on the floor and progressing towards her mother.

“We cut the visit short” Adelina Smith replied, pulling her daughter into a hug “Your brother was getting irked with us and so we came back to Madrid and I thought I could pay you a visit. It’s been so long, Emmy” she enthused.

“It has been a while” Emilie replied, hugging her mother reluctantly.

“I was thinking we could go to lunch” Adelina smiled.

Emilie shook her head. “I can’t, mama, I kind of already have plans” she noted with a look towards Sergio who sat quietly behind her, not quite sure how to behave.

Adelina followed the line of her daughter’s stare and tilted her head. “A friend of yours?” she posed, her tone a little difficult to decipher.

“Boyfriend” Emilie replied, jumping in before Sergio had the chance to. She could see that he was itching to correct her mother and wanted to get in before he had the chance. She had a feeling that he would accuse her of hiding him away if she didn’t.

“Boyfriend?” Adelina posed.

“Yes, mama” Emilie noted gently “Sergio and I have been together for a couple of months” she added, a smile on her face.

Sergio smiled and slipped off of the counter, placing an arm around her waist. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Smith” he greeted, offering out his spare hand to the older woman.

Adelina eyed him for a second before she reluctantly took his hand, shaking it. “I wasn’t expecting to meet Emmy’s boyfriend” she noted softly.

“I wasn’t anticipating meeting her mother” Sergio replied “But I am glad I have. You’ve got a lovely daughter, Mrs Smith” he enthused, offering Emilie’s waist a small squeeze which brought a blush up on her cheeks.

Adelina eyed the expression on Emilie’s face and let out a small muted sigh. She had seen the look before, Emilie had worn it all of the time around her previous boyfriend, and after him, it made Adelina a little unsure. She didn’t have it in her to pick up the pieces if her daughter got hurt again. “We were going to go to lunch, mama” Emilie mused as she pulled her attention away from Sergio “Sergio and I would be more than happy to have you join us” she added, offering her mother a smile.

Adelina shook her head. “I’d not want to impose on the pair of you. Lunch was clearly supposed to be a date and I’d hate to get in the way of that” she insisted gently.

“We really wouldn’t mind, Mrs Smith” Sergio noted politely “I’d like to get to know Emmy’s family” he added.

Adelina shook her head. “I’ll decline this time, but your father and I would love to have you both over for dinner in the near future. I’ll call you, Emilie, and set something up?” she mused.

Emilie nodded. “I’d love that, mama. It’s been forever since I saw you or papi” she grinned.

Adelina nodded her head and leant towards her daughter, hugging her tightly. “I’ll call” she insisted softly before she padded away, leaving Emilie alone with Sergio.

The defender watched the older woman walk away before he shook his head. “Was it just me, or did you get the vibe that she wasn’t my biggest fan?” he posed as he moved to collect Emilie’s jacket, placing it around her shoulders. He didn’t quite know what it was, but there was something about the way that Adelina had looked at him that unsettled him slightly. He doubted that he was going to be her favourite person.

Emilie shrugged. “I am sure you’re imagining it” she mused as she wrapped her coat around herself “My mother doesn’t tend to do the whole stern kind of thing” she added.

Sergio nodded his head. Somehow, he wasn’t convinced.