You Loved Me Once

“Are you sure that you want to come with me tonight?” Lionel fussed as he adjusted the collar of his shirt, his dark eyes peeking at Alba. It had a been a few days, after their visit to Cassandra and a visit to Alba’s doctor, Lionel had insisted that she take a couple of days off of work to relax a little, and he wanted to offer her the chance to duck out of the birthday party for Gerard and Shakira that he had been asked to attend. It wasn’t much, with most of the season still ahead of them, Luis Enrique had been quick to insist that any celebration was quiet and subdued, but Lionel still wanted to ensure that Alba was certain, even if it was overbearing and overprotective, he merely wanted to keep her safe.

“You’re going to dinner” Alba pointed out, pulling a brush through her blonde hair.

“I know” Lionel mused “But you are…you know and I figured…”

Alba shook her head. “I am going with you, Leo” she mused as she straightened out the dress she wore.

“Are you certain?” Lionel insisted gently.

Alba rolled her eyes before she turned to look at him, her hands gently cupping his cheeks. “You’re really going to be like this for the next 7 and a half months?” she posed softly. She thought that it sweet, since they’d received the news that she was expecting, he’d been protective and sweet, but she wanted him to back off a little, even if she did think that it was cute, they still had an awfully long way to go before they had their baby in their arms.

Lionel shrugged. “Perhaps” he murmured as he turned his head, kissing the inside of her wrist gently.

“Then we’re going to have to talk” Alba replied, her fingertips brushing through his dark hair “I love that you want to be so protective and that you want to look out for me, but 7 and a half months is a very long time and I don’t know that I could put up with that for that long” she explained softly.

Lionel sighed.

“I am going to do everything the leaflets said and I will pick up pregnancy books when we’re a little further in, but right now, I just want to relax and let the news settle in a little. We’ve still got a while to go before we reach the second trimester and I don’t want people guessing before then, something they inevitably will do if you’re buzzing around all of the time. I am fine, Leo, and the second I am not, I will inform you, OK?” she posed softly.

Lionel peeked up at her briefly before he nodded, offering her a small smile before he ducked forwards, kissing the front of her dress gently. “I’m excited, Alba” he murmured “So excited, and I just want to make sure that nothing goes wrong. This is huge” he insisted.

Alba smiled. “I know that” she murmured “And trust me when I say that I am as excited as you are, but for a little while, you’re going to need to keep this to yourself, Leo. I want to make it past 3 months before we even contemplate telling anyone” she noted.

Lionel nodded his head. “You have my word that I will keep it to myself” he noted “But, if someone guesses, I am not going to deny it” he added, offering her an impish grin.

Alba rolled her eyes a little before she tilted his face back up, allowing her to kiss him gently. Lionel grinned at the soft kiss and settled his hands on her hips, pulling her a little closer. “You’re glowing” he fussed gently.

“And that’s an example of the things you’re going to have to not say in front of others people for the next 6 weeks” Alba mused as she pulled away from him.

Lionel smiled and pushed himself to his feet, helping Alba to wrap her coat around her shoulders. “Can’t a man just want to fuss over his beautiful girlfriend?” he mused as he fixed her hair for her.

“He can” Alba commented “But you’re not usually that type of guy and people will think it is odd if you suddenly are” she pointed out with a pointed look.

Lionel rolled his eyes a little before he took her hand. “You’re no fun” he quipped, kissing the side of her head.

~#~
“Can I get you something to drink, Alba?” Gerard grinned as he bounded up to the blonde, offering out a glass of wine. It had been a quiet night, a lot of the team, along with their partners and assorted members of Gerard’s family had spent the evening at the defender’s home, enjoying the quiet dinner party that Shakira had insisted on throwing for their birthday, and Alba had to admit that she had enjoyed herself, even if she had started to get a little tired the longer the party had gone on, she had enjoyed spending time around Lionel’s friends.

Alba, who was sat quietly towards the side of the dining room, shook her head, something which made Gerard lift his eyebrow. “You’re not drinking?” he posed.

“I’ve already had a couple” Alba lied softly, knowing that the defender wouldn’t have paid much attention to her throughout the night “I’ve got an early start tomorrow” she added.

Gerard offered her a little look, but nodded, skittering away to offer the glass to someone else, something which made Alba sigh a little in relief. She felt a little bad for lying, she had been doing it all night when people wandered up to offer her a glass of wine, but she knew that it was the right call. She wanted to wait a little, to be a little further along in the pregnancy before they started telling people, and she knew that Lionel got it, even if his face did light up like a little boy on Christmas when he saw her, she knew she could trust him to keep it to himself for a little while.

“Are you feeling OK?”

Alba, who’d been staring into space, startled a little, her blue eyes peeking up at Lionel who offered her a soft smile.

“You look tired” he mused, taking the seat at her side.

“That’s something your girlfriend always loves to hear” Alba quipped, offering him a playful smile.

Lionel smiled. “You know what I mean” he noted “Do you need anything?” he posed softly.

“I could use a glass of water or something. I know that they don’t know yet, but the amount of glasses of wine I have been offered tonight is ridiculous and I don’t think anyone has offered me a glass of water since dinner was over” she mused.

Lionel smiled gently and stood up, pressing an affectionate kiss to her head. “I will be right back” he enthused softly before he padded away, making his way towards the kitchen.

Alba watched after him for a moment before she felt someone else sit at her side, something which drew her attention to Shakira who grinned at her impishly before she engaged her in conversation. Alba went along her, talking excitedly before Lionel appeared once more, placing the glass of water in her hand before he kissed her temple, excusing himself to join the others who were happily playing video games in the living room.

Shakira watched the argentine away before she flicked her attention to the glass of water in Alba’s hand, her head tilted to one side. “Water?” she posed.

Alba nodded. “I’ve had my fill of wine” she lied gently.

Shakira snorted. “You’ve not touched a drop all night” she pointed out “Leo kept switching your glasses during dinner” she added, referring to the way that Lionel had taken Alba’s full glass and switched it with his own empty one.

“He didn’t do that” Alba noted gently as her cheeks tinted a little pink.

“He did” Shakira pointed out.

Alba shook her head, attempting to protest before Shakira clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening a little.

“Shakira” Alba warned, not missing the squeak that had fallen out of her friend’s mouth “You cannot make a sound. Please?” she insisted.

Shakira took a second, calming herself down, before she peeked at the younger woman. “You’re…?” she posed.

Alba nodded. “Yeah” she mumbled gently “But it’s not been that long and we’d really like to keep this to ourselves. Please, Shakira, you cannot tell anyone, not even Gerard” she insisted softly, her eyes peeking around to ensure that no one was listening to their conversation.

Shakira nodded. “You have my word” she noted gently “But you’re sure, right?” she added.

Alba nodded her head. “7 weeks” she noted softly.

Shakira smiled and took Alba’s hand, squeezing it gently. “You know, if you need a thing, I’d be more than happy to help out. Even if you do just need someone to talk to, you can come and talk to me” she noted quietly.

Alba smiled gently in appreciation of the offer before Gerard appeared, requesting his girlfriend’s presence for the birthday cake.

Shakira offered Alba a secretive grin before she padded away, allowing Lionel to slip back into his spot beside Alba. “You OK?” he posed.

Alba smiled a little and leant into him, pressing a kiss against his cheek gently, wordlessly insisting that she was fine.