When You Close Your Eyes

Resting back into the seat she sat in, Isabelle spared a soft yawn, her blue eyes peeking down towards Isla who was sleeping happily in her arms. It had been a long night, since they’d arrived home, Isla had proven to be a little fussy, but Isabelle didn’t mind, even if she did find herself more than a little tired, she enjoyed spending time with the little girl. Making sure that she didn’t disturb Isla, she carefully rested her head against the back of the chair before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her, causing her to startle slightly.

“I didn’t mean to scare you” Lionel quipped, stepping a little further into the room “I was just wondering where the two of you had gotten to. She woke up again?” he added, gently moving to lift Isla into his arms.

Isabelle watched him with the infant for a couple of seconds before she nodded her head, another soft yawn falling out of her mouth. “She’s been up for about half an hour now” she mused softly “She was a little hungry and she needed a nappy change, but she’s been settled for a little while now” she added, her fingertips gently moving to straighten out the sleepsuit the little girl wore.

Lionel nodded his head softly before he carefully stepped around the kitchen table, moving to take the vacated seat at Isabelle’s side. “You know, I’ve got her” he mused softly, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over the two of them “If you wanted to, you could head back upstairs” he added, offering her a soft look.

It had been a couple of days, after Isla had arrived, 2 days had passed, but between the newborn, and their families who were still very keen to fuss over the new addition, neither Isabelle or Lionel had had a second to themselves, something he was keen to offer to her.

Isabelle briefly contemplated his offer before she shook her head. “I’m OK” she noted softly “Besides, you’re due at training in a little while and I doubt that your madre is going to love being left alone with our screaming newborn whilst you’re gone” she added, offering him a slightly impish smile.

Lionel offered her a slightly dubious look, wordlessly asking her if she was sure, before he nodded his head. “I should only be gone for a couple of hours” he mused softly “But, if I can, I’ll try and get back quicker. I know you’re still not too fond of being left alone with both sets of parents” he added teasingly, his fingers gently adjusting the small hat which sat on the top of Isla’s head.

Isabelle rolled her eyes a little before she shook her head. “Your parents are due to leave tonight, aren’t they?” she posed softly.

“They are” Lionel confirmed “And yours?” he added, offering a soft look towards her before he shifted his hand, gently knotting their fingers together.

Isabelle spared a soft look down towards their hands before she peeked up at them. “I think their flight is this afternoon” she mused softly “Why, you trying to get rid of them?” she added, offering him a playful smile.

Lionel chuckled a little before he shook his head. “Of course not” he noted softly “But, as much as I love our parents, it will be nice to have the house to ourselves for a little while. Isla was born days ago and I am pretty confident that the last time we were really alone was at the hospital. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that they love her, but it will be nice for it to be just the three of us, won’t it?” he posed softly, his thumb skimming over the back of her hand.

He knew that they were excited, from the moment that Isabelle had announced that she was expecting, it had been inevitable that their parents would want to make a fuss, and whilst Lionel was glad that they were excited, a small part of him was looking forwards to having Isabelle and Isla to himself.

Isabelle watched the movement of his thumb for a couple of seconds before she quirked a soft smile. “It does sound pretty good” she mused softly.

Lionel offered her a brief smile before he carefully leant towards her, sneaking a quick kiss before Isla let out a soft whimper, causing him to duck back a little, his dark eyes peeking down towards the baby who stirred sleepily in his arms. “I think she’s about to wake up” he mused softly.

Isabelle nodded her head a little before she carefully leant towards him, lifting Isla out of his arms and into hers. “I’ve got her” she mused softly “I’ll see you when you get home?” she added, peeking up at him softly.

Lionel admired the expression on her face for a moment before he leant towards her, sneaking a couple of quick kisses before he pulled himself away, “I’ll see you then, mi amor” he enthused before he ducked out of the room, a warm grin playing at the corner of his mouth.

~#~
Quietly pushing the door of the changing room open, Lionel stepped inside before he padded towards his locker, settling his bag down on the floor before he sat down, moving to pulling his training kit out. It had been a tough morning, as silly as it was, Lionel had been reluctant to leave Isla, but he knew that he couldn’t avoid it, even if a small part of him did want to put it off for a little longer, he knew that he couldn’t duck out on returning to training.

Sparing a soft sigh, he toed off his shoes before he moved to pull off his shirt, quickly replacing it with his training shirt.

“Aren’t you even going to show us a picture?”

Lionel, who’d been working at changing into his shorts, jumped a little at the sound of Luis’ voice before he lifted his head, offering the Uruguayan a look. “What?” he squeaked.

“The baby” Luis clarified “Your baby?” he added, offering the argentine a small teasing smile.

“Isabelle gave birth a couple of days ago, didn’t she?” Neymar contributed, earning a few murmurs in agreement.

Lionel blinked a couple of times, slightly caught off guard, before he nodded his head, a small smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. “She did” he confirmed softly “She gave birth to our little girl a couple of days ago” he added brightly.

“A girl?” Ivan posed.

Lionel grinned brightly before he moved to pull his phone out of his bag, quickly finding a picture of Isla before he handed it over to the group. “Her name is Isla” he enthused brightly.

The group admired the picture which lit up the screen of his phone before Gerard lifted his hand, patting the argentine on the shoulder. “She’s a beautiful little girl, hombre” he quipped “Are you sure that she’s yours?” he added teasingly, earning a few snickers.

Lionel rolled his eyes playfully before he moved to take the phone back, padding back towards his locker.

Gerard watched him briefly before he stepped towards the smaller man, offering his shoulder another pat. “Seriously, she’s beautiful, Leo” he mused sincerely.

Lionel smiled brightly. “She is” he agreed softly.

Gerard admired the bright grin on Lionel’s face briefly before he shook his head. “How’s it going so far?” he posed quietly. He didn’t want to pry, if Isabelle and Lionel were struggling, it was between the two of them, but still Gerard wanted to check in. The last thing he wanted was to watch things fall apart so soon after Isla had arrived.

Lionel, who’d moved to pull on his boots, thought for a second before he lifted his head, looking up at the taller man. “It’s still a little strange” he noted “I mean, me and Isa, we’ve got a baby now, and that’s taking some getting used to, but right now…right now it seems to be going great” he added, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He knew that it was early, Isla was only a matter of days old, but he was pleased with how things were going, even if he and Isabelle were still adapting to the idea of having Isla around, he was proud of how well things seemed to be working.

“It’s going well?” Gerard posed.

“It’s been a hectic couple of days” Lionel admitted “With both of ours parents around, we’ve not had a lot of time, just the three of us, but I am optimistic, Gerard” he added, his voice warm and happy.

Gerard smiled a little at the tone of his voice before he patted his shoulder once more. “I’m glad to hear it” he enthused “And, when you and Isabelle are ready to let other people meet the new addition, let me know. I am sure that Shakira would love to meet her” he added brightly.

“I’ll let you know” Lionel replied softly “But for a little while, I think we’d just like to get used to it being the three of us” he added gently.

Gerard offered him a nod, mumbling something about him having been the same, before he padded away, leaving Lionel to finish getting changed. Finishing lacing up his boots, Lionel moved to pull his phone out of his bag before he shook his head. It was going to take a little getting used to, the phrase ‘the three of us’ still felt unfamiliar to him, but he was sure that he would get used to saying it, even if it did take him a little longer, he was sure that he would eventually grow used to the idea that his little family had grown.