When You Close Your Eyes

“Isabelle?”

Isabelle, who’d been looking down at her feet, startled a little at the sound of Lionel’s voice before she lifted her head, her tearful blue eyes mirroring his darker ones. It had been a couple of minutes, after the words had fallen out of his mouth, Isabelle’s mind had been whirring, and whilst she felt bad for not saying anything, she couldn’t seem to force words out of her mouth, even if she did want to put him out of his misery, she was simply lost for words.

“I am going to need you to say something, Isa” Lionel pressed, his voice nervous and unsure “I don’t care what it is, I just need you to say anything” he added gently.

Isabelle blinked a couple of times, allowing a couple of loose tears to fall down her cheeks, before she shook her head. “Wh…What did you just say?” she spluttered softly.

Lionel quirked a soft smile before he pushed himself up to his feet. “I asked you to marry me” he mumbled, his fingertips gently brushing the loose tears off of her cheeks “I want to marry you, Isa” he added, his tone warm and affectionate.

Isabelle allowed his words to hang around them for a couple of seconds before she shook her head, a small nervous laugh falling out of her mouth. Lionel smiled a little at the sound, slightly amused that he had left her speechless, before he leant towards her, pressing a gentle kiss against her cheek. “You don’t have to say anything right now” he mumbled, carefully brushing a few more tears off of her cheek “If you want to take some time to think about it, then that’s fine, but if it is to be a no…”

“It’s not a no” Isabelle interrupted softly.

Lionel blinked a couple of times, slightly caught off guard by the interruption, before he tilted his head. “It’s not?” he posed softly.

Isabelle shook her head. “Of course it isn’t” she mused softly, the slightest of smiles pulling at the corner of her lips “But…if this isn’t what you want…”

“It is what I want, Isa” he interjected firmly. He knew what was coming, one look at Isabelle’s face told him what she was going to say, and he wanted to cut her off before she had a chance to say it. The last thing he wanted was for her to doubt that he meant what he was saying.

Isabelle offered him a soft look before she shook her head, her teeth softly chewing on her lip.

Lionel admired the look on her face briefly before he stepped a little closer to her, his hand gently cupping her cheek. “This is what I want, Isabelle” he mused softly, his thumb gently tracing her cheekbone “It’s what I’ve wanted for a long time, and I don’t want you to doubt that for a second. I’m asking you to marry me, Isa, because that is what I want to do, not because of anything or anyone else. I love you, nena” he insisted softly.

Isabelle spared him a soft look, her blue eyes scanning the serious expression on his face, before she sniffled a little, something which made Lionel sigh before he leant into her, pressing a soft kiss against her lips. “This is what I want, Isa” he repeated softly, sneaking another couple of light kisses.

Isabelle held him close for a couple of seconds before she ducked back, her blue eyes peeking into his darker ones. “You’re sure?” she posed softly.

Lionel nodded without hesitation. “Certain” he insisted softly.

Isabelle scanned his expression briefly before she nodded her head softly, something which caused Lionel to tilt his head. “Is that…is that a yes?” he babbled softly.

Isabelle chewed on her lip briefly before she quirked a soft smile. “I…It is” she squeaked softly “I mean, of course it is” she added, sniffling a little.

Lionel allowed her words to hang around them for a few seconds before he stepped towards her, tossing his arms around her waist before he lifted her off of her feet, causing her to let out a small squeak before she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly before he carefully placed her back onto her feet. “It’s a yes?” he posed, his fingertips lightly brushing the loose blonde hair off of her face.

Isabelle watched the movement of his fingers for a second before she nodded her head. “It’s a yes” she confirmed softly “Of course it is a yes” she added, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

Lionel blinked a couple of times, her words ringing in his ears, before he shook his head, carefully moving to pull out the small velvet box that he had stowed in his pocket that morning. Offering her a brief smile, he quickly lifted the ring out of the box before he moved to place it on her finger, something which made Isabelle sniffle a little. “You know” he mumbled softly “Every time I imagined doing this, I never thought you’d cry” he added, a teasing grin on his face.

Isabelle rolled her eyes playfully, something which made his smile widen a little before he leant towards her, pressing a soft kiss against her lips. Isabelle smiled into the kiss softly for a couple of seconds before she carefully ducked back, resting her forehead against his. “You’re sure about this, aren’t you?” she mumbled softly. She knew that he meant what he had said, one look at his face confided it, but still she wanted to hear him say it, even if she was sure that he knew what he wanted, she wanted to hear him say the words.

Lionel quirked a soft smile at her words before he ducked back, nodding his head a little. “I know you worry” he mused softly “I mean, you always have, but I am certain about this, Isa, you have to know that. This is what I want” he insisted gently.

Isabelle offered him a slightly dubious look before she shook her head, something which caused Lionel to shift his hand, gently knotting his fingers with hers. “Come on” he murmured, gently leading her back into their bedroom “If I remember rightly, I’ve got a bottle of champagne somewhere, fiancée” he added with a boyish smile.

Isabelle’s cheeks warmed a little at the sound of the word ‘fiancée’ before she followed after him, a wide grin perched on her face. It had been unexpected, Lionel’s proposal had caught her more than a little off guard, and whilst a small part of her was slightly nervous about it, she was excited about the idea of taking a step forwards in their relationship.