When You Close Your Eyes

Wrinkling his nose slightly, Lionel quirked one of his brown eyes open, his ears doused by the sound of his phone which sat on the end table, vibrating irritatingly against the wood. It was early, the fact that Isla had yet to stir confided it was earlier than he was used to being out of bed, but he knew that he couldn’t ignore the message, even if he was more than slightly irked to be awake to early, he knew that he couldn’t pretend that his phone wasn’t making a sound.

Allowing a soft yawn to fall out of his mouth, he leant out of bed to collect the phone before he briefly scanned the message. Deciding that he could wait to reply, he settled the phone back down on the end table before he moved to wrap his arms around Isabelle’s waist, cuddling closer to her.

It had been a long night, after their conversation with Francesca, neither he nor Isabelle had found sleep easy to come by, and he wanted to offer her the opportunity to lay in for a little while, even if he knew that they couldn’t avoid her parents forever, a small part of him wanted to make the most of the quiet which filled their bedroom before they were forced to burst their little bubble.

Isabelle, who’d been contently sleeping, stirred a little at the feeling of his body against hers before she carefully turned over, her sleepy blue eyes peeking up at him. “Buenos dias” she mumbled sleepily.

Lionel smiled a little at the sleepy sound of her voice before he ducked forwards, pressing a soft against her forehead. “Buenos dias” he replied softly, his fingers gently pushing through her knotted blonde hair.

Isabelle snuggled into his touch before she closed her eyes, cuddling a little closer to her pillow. “What time is it?” she mumbled softly.

“It’s about 7:30” Lionel replied softly “And that means we’ve got about half an hour before Isla starts to stir and we have to leave this room” he added, his fingers gently tucking some of her loose blonde hair behind her ear.

Isabelle offered him a soft look, briefly mulling over his words, before she let out a soft sigh, something which caused Lionel to lean a little closer to her, pressing a gentle kiss against her forehead. “You know, we can’t hide away forever” he mumbled softly. He knew that she was nervous, one look at her face confided it, but he wanted to encourage her, even if the chances were that things between them and her parents would be awkward for a while, they couldn’t simply duck out of spending time with them.

Isabelle, who’d moved to trace the pattern of the tattoo on his arm, nodded. “I know that” she agreed softly “But for a little while, I’d like to avoid it. We both know that my mama will have told my papa and I doubt that he’s going to have taken the news well. He didn’t like you when you first met and I doubt he’s going to be too fond of you right now either” she added, her fingers carefully brushing against his arm.

Lionel watched her for a couple of seconds before he shifted his hand, gently moving to knot their fingers together before he pulled her hand to his lips, allowing him to press a gentle kiss against her fingers. “You’re right” he mumbled softly “Your papa, he’s not going to be particularly happy about the idea that we got married without him, but it will pass, Isa, I am sure of it” he added, pressing another kiss to her hand.

Isabelle tilted her head. “You’re sure about that?” she posed softly, her expression slightly dubious.

“I am” Lionel confirmed “I mean, it will take them some time to wrap their heads around it, but when it settles down, I am sure that they’ll be fine. Right now, it stings, their little girl got married without them and that is bound to hurt, but in time, they’ll come around. Besides, we’re still planning on having a bigger wedding, something I am sure that they’ll be itching to be involved with when we get around to planning it” he added, his hand warmly squeezing hers.

He knew that it was going to take some time, the idea that he and Isabelle had eloped was one that had clearly caught Marco and Francesca off guard, but he was confident that they would come around, even if it did take them a while to get used to the idea that their oldest daughter was married, he was sure that they’d eventually come around.

Isabelle allowed his words to hang around them for a couple of seconds before she nodded her head. “My mama has been waiting on planning my wedding since I could walk” she mused softly “Even more so since we got together. I doubt that she’d skip out on the opportunity, even if she is upset with us right now” she added, her tone a little soft and shy.

Lionel noted the tone of her voice before he carefully leant towards her, pressing a gentle kiss against her lips. “I know that we hurt people” he mumbled between soft and light kisses “But if I was given the opportunity, I’d do it again, Isa. Our wedding, to me at least, was perfect, and whilst people are upset right now, I still wouldn’t change it. I love how we did it, Isa” he added, his dark eyes searching her blues. He knew that she was upset, the look on her face confided it, but he wanted her to know that he didn’t regret how things had worked out for a second, even if it had caused a problem. He was more than proud of the way things had worked out for them.

Isabelle mulled his words over briefly before she quirked a soft smile, her fingers gently pushing through his dark hair. “I know you do” she mused softly “And whilst I hate that what we did has caused a problem with my parents, I know that I’d not change it either. It was simple, subtle, and all about the two of us, and I love that. It was all I wanted, Leo, and I’d not change it” she enthused softly before she ducked into him, pressing another kiss against his lips.

Lionel startled slightly, not quite expecting the kiss, before he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close for a couple of seconds before the sound of Isla’s snuffles emanated away from the monitor which stood on the end table, causing Lionel to duck back a little. “Your turn or mine?” he posed softly.

“Mine” Isabelle mused “I’ll go and get her and then we should head downstairs. We can’t hide all day” she added, carefully pushing herself up to her feet before she ducked out of the room.

Lionel watched after her briefly before he moved to rest his head back against his pillow, wordlessly hoping that the day ahead of them wasn’t too bad.