You Loved Me Once

“They really said that they’d come to our wedding?” Lionel posed as he padded around the table, setting out two plates. It was a little late, after he’d made it back from Bilbao, it was approaching almost 9 at night, but still Alba had insisted that they eat together, something which had become a small habit of theirs.

It was busy, with Barcelona playing in the Copa Del Rey, Lionel found himself playing two matches a week and that, along with training and other commitments, had limited the time that he and Alba had had to themselves, something he knew irked his girlfriend. It wasn’t new, Alba had been keenly aware of his schedule when they’d gotten back together, but still she endeavored to ensure that they spent time together, even if it did mean eating a little later than she was used to. She merely wanted to ensure that they spent time with one another.

“They did” Alba noted as she placed food onto their plates “They insisted that they still didn’t like you first, but they agreed to come and that is really all I could have asked for” she added.

Lionel nodded. “I’m glad that they said that, nena” he mused as he moved to take his seat “I know you are not on the best of terms, but I know you’d not have felt right doing it without them there” he added, offering her a small smile. He knew she would never admit it, if there was one thing that Alba was good at, it was pretending that things didn’t bother her, but he knew it meant a lot to her that her parents had agreed to be at their wedding, even if they did still insist that they weren’t keen on him, he was merely glad that they were putting Alba’s happiness first for a change.

Alba nodded her head gently before she flicked her eyes down to her plate, pushing the food around quietly.

“Have you given any more thought to a date?” Lionel posed gently.

“I want to wait a couple of months” Alba confirmed gently “I want to take a little time to enjoy being engaged before we actually get married, but I don’t want to wait too long. What about you?” she posed, her blue eyes peeking up at him gently.

“I think that that sounds nice” Lionel mused softly “It’s nearly February now and the season ends in May. What about the end of May?” he posed softly.

“A spring wedding” Alba enthused gently, a small grin on her face.

“Do you want to do it Barcelona?” Lionel posed, admiring the small smile on her face. It had been a while, with the idea of telling her parents hanging over her head, Alba had seemed a little uncertain, but he was pleased to see the grin back on her face. It was something he’d been hoping to see more of since he’d propose.

“Do you?” Alba countered between mouthfuls of food.

Lionel offered her a small shrug. “I’d do it any time and any place, Alba” he mused softly “I don’t care about locations or guest lists merely that it is me and you, but I know you had some pretty specific ideas before. I was merely wondering if they’d changed” he posed softly, his expression a little uncertain. He didn’t want to bring it up, with the idea of their engagement having just settled in, the last thing he wanted to do was talk about the end of their previous relationship, but he knew it couldn’t be ignored entirely. Alba had planned a wedding before, she had planned their wedding before, and he wanted to know what to expect. He wanted to know if she still wanted the same things.

Alba, who’d been picking at the food on her plate, shook her head. “I don’t want the big wedding anymore” she murmured gently.

“You don’t?” Lionel pressed.

Alba shook her head. “After all the calls I had to make to tell them that things weren’t going ahead, I don’t” she murmured softly.

“Alba” Lionel sighed as he stretched a hand across the table, gently squeezing hers.

“I am not suggesting that you’re going to do it again” Alba noted softly, her eyes watching their hands softly “But I don’t want a big wedding anymore. I don’t want a lot of guests, just a few, I want it to be small” she insisted quietly.

Lionel thought about arguing, but opted against it, merely bringing her hand to his lips. “We can do this any way you want” he insisted quietly “If you want a smaller wedding, then OK. We could have our close families and a few friends. I know Eva and Oscar would never forgive us for not inviting them” he mused with a half-hearted smile.

Alba nodded. “I’ll probably ask her to be my maid of honor. I think she’d freak out if I didn’t” she mused.

“She definitely would” Lionel insisted, kissing her hand softly.

“You don’t mind it being smaller, do you?” Alba posed softly “It’s just, after last time…”

“I get it” Lionel interrupted gently “And I’m a little glad that you want something small. I love your aunts and uncles, but there are far too many of them” he teased with a warm smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Alba smiled at him gently before she pushed herself to her feet, moving to press a kiss against his cheek. “I am going to check on Bella” she murmured softly “Why don’t you set up a film or something?” she posed as she pressed a kiss to his other cheek.

“That sounds like a plan” he enthused softly, pecking her lips.

Alba offered him a warm smile before she stepped out of the room, leaving him sat quietly in his seat, watching after her for a moment. It wasn’t a surprise, even if they had been dating for over year, he shouldn’t have been surprised that Alba still had a little bit of doubt about them, but still it hurt him to hear her say it. He knew that he couldn’t take it back, what had happened, had happened and there was nothing he could do to change it, but he hated that it still worried Alba and that there was little to nothing he could do to stop it.