You Loved Me Once

23: We’ve Got A History

“Are you sure that you do actually go home at some point?” Lionel mused as he rested in the door way of Alba’s office, a grin perched on his face. It was late, Alba had always been insistent that he only visit the office when she was alone, but still it amused him slightly to find her sat at her desk even despite the fact that everyone else was long departed, it was a quirk of hers that he’d always liked. She had always been a hard worker, regardless of what she was doing, Alba tended to put everything into it, and he was pleased to see that it hadn’t changed. He was pleased to see that she was still largely the same.

“I do go home” Alba commented “But I like to be thorough. What are you doing here?” she posed, slipping her laptop into her bag.

“I have the night to myself” Lionel shrugged “And I thought, who better to spend it with than my beautiful girlfriend. Are you free?” he posed.

“I am” Alba mused “What exactly did you have in mind?” she added, offering him a small smile. It had become a routine, with them wanting to keep their relationship under wraps for a little, they had grown used to spending the odd evening together, but Alba was pleased with how things were. They’d been together for almost two months and, despite her hesitance, things were good, something which surprised her slightly. She knew Lionel, she knew that being patient wasn’t a strong point of his, but she was pleased by how he was coping. In almost 8 weeks of dating, he had been patient and kind, and she was a little impressed. It merely reaffirmed to her that he meant what he said.

“Your place is closer” Lionel mused “We could pick up something to eat and curl up in front of a film” he suggested.

Alba grinned. “You used to hate movie nights” she mused as she lifted her bag onto her shoulder.

“That’s because you’d always point out all the plot holes” Lionel quipped, moving to take her hand “I can’t remember one film that we managed to get through without you talking through it” he teased.

Alba shook her head. “You’re no better” she mused, a grin on her face “’I don’t think he makes it to the end, Alba’, ‘I’m sure he dies, Alba’” she mimicked with a smirk.

Lionel rolled his eyes. “So, maybe not a film then” he noted as he led her out of her office “What do you suggest instead?” he added. He knew that it was a little clingy, his insistence of spending at least one night a week with Alba, but he enjoyed it, even if it was to do nothing. He found himself a little attached to being around her again.

Alba shrugged. “I don’t know” she mused “But I do know that I need to eat something. I’ve not had anything since lunch and that was hours ago” she insisted.

Lionel nodded. “Then we should find you something to eat” he mused “Just after I do one thing” he added.

“You know, you really don’t have to announce every time you want to kiss me” Alba grinned.

“I’ll remember that” Lionel countered before he placed his spare hand against her cheek, levering her into a soft kiss which had a grin on her face. It had taken her a little while, for a while, she had found herself nervous or unsure when he kissed her, but after 8 weeks, and his sheer persistence, she had to admit that she felt comfortable. His kiss was warm, soft, and familiar, and Alba relished it, even if they did only see one another fleetingly, she enjoyed the moments she got with him.

“We should get out of here” Lionel mumbled as he leant back.

Alba nodded. “We should. It’s your turn to buy dinner” she grinned impishly as she moved across the foyer, pushing the door open.

Lionel shook his head. “Only you’d remember that” he teased, following her out of the door.

Alba offered him another warm grin before she skittered towards his car, something which made him smile. He knew that eventually people would find them out, neither he nor Alba was trying particularly hard to keep things under wraps, but he wanted to enjoy the quiet for a little while. As soon as Alba’s family, or his for that matter, caught wind of the fact that they were together, he knew that they would become involved and he knew that that wasn’t a good thing. As soon as Alba’s father found out, Lionel would have put money on the other man showing up at his door.

~#~
“How is this better than a movie night?” Alba posed as she placed a mug of tea down onto the coffee table ahead Lionel, her eyes fixed on the photo album which he held in his hand. It had been a quiet evening, after they’d picked up something to eat, they’d returned to her apartment where Lionel had quickly located the photo album, and it concerned Alba slightly.

She didn’t know why she had kept it, after their previous relationship had ended, she had tossed almost everything away, not wanting to keep the reminders around, but the album Lionel held in his hand had survived, something which made her nervous. She knew that she couldn’t pretend that it had never happened, they did have a past, but a part of her wanted to keep it in the past. As far as she was concerned, their relationship was a new one and was not related to the previous one.

“I’ve not seen any of these in years” Lionel mused, flipping the book open.

“There’s a reason for that” Alba pointed out, her expression a little hesitant.

Lionel tilted his head, not missing the tone of her face. “Alba?” he posed softly.

“It’s been a long time” Alba muttered, her blue eyes peeking at the first page of pictures hesitantly.

“I can put it away” Lionel offered gently.

Alba shrugged, something which made him sigh, settling the book down on the table ahead of him.

“I don’t know why I kept it” she mumbled softly “I threw everything else away” she added.

“We’ll have to talk about it, Alba” Lionel mumbled softly “Like it or not, we do have a history and it’s going to make things a little more difficult” he added, his hand lightly taking hers which fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

“Things?” Alba muttered, her eyes meeting his briefly.

“Telling people for one” Lionel mused “And then if we get past that, there’ll be a talk about the future we need to have” he added.

Alba sighed. “You’ve thought about this” she murmured.

Lionel nodded. “Of course I have” he enthused “I want this to work, Alba, you know that, and I am happy to go at your pace, but we can’t just pretend that this is something new. It’s not, we’ve got a past, and we can’t pretend that we don’t” he explained gently.

Alba nodded. “You’re not wrong” she murmured.

Lionel smiled and squeezed her hand gently before he pulled it to his lips, kissing the warm skin gently. “I want to make this work, Alba” he insisted.

Alba quirked a small smile.

A large part of her wanted to make it work too.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 and FootieJo for the comments :)