When You Close Your Eyes

Sparing a small yawn into his hand, Lionel pulled the front door closed behind him, his ears doused by the silence that filled the house. It was late, after a late kick off, Lionel hadn’t gotten home until a little before midnight, but he was glad to be home, even if the prospect of spending time with Isabelle and her family unsettled him slightly, he was glad to be home for the night.

Ensuring that he had locked the door, he carefully settled his bag down beside the door before he padded through towards the living room, pausing at the sight of Isabelle who was curled up on the couch, a tub of ice cream settled in her hand as she peeked down at something which was settled in her lap. Tilting his head, he watched her for a couple of seconds before he cleared his throat. “Isa?” he posed quietly.

Isabelle, who’d been flicking through the photo album which sat in her lap, startled at the sound of his voice before she lifted her head, her blue eyes peeking up at him softly. “I didn’t hear you come in” she mused softly.

“I was trying to be quiet” Lionel noted gently “It’s late and I didn’t want to disturb anyone. I thought you’d be safely tucked up in bed by now” he added as he stepped a little further into the room, moving to take the spot on the couch beside her.

Isabelle watched him for a couple of seconds before she shrugged. “I had a little work that I had to get done” she mused softly “And once I was finished with that, I had a real craving for some ice cream so here I am. You not happy to see me?” she quipped, a teasing half smile perched on her lips. She knew that he was surprised, the look on his face as soon as he had stepped into the room confided it, but she hadn’t been able to sleep, her mind buzzing with the conversation that she had had with her mother when they’d headed out to breakfast.

Lionel rolled his eyes a little before he shook his head, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “You know I am” he played along softly “I am just a little surprised to find you awake at nearly midnight, eating ice cream and flicking through one of our photo albums” he added gently, his dark eyes peeking down at the book which sat in her lap.

Isabelle followed the line of his stare before she shook her head, a soft smile pulling at the corner of her lips. “I didn’t want to disturb anyone by putting the TV on so I picked up one of these” she explained softly “Besides, it has been a while since I saw a few these” she added gently.

Lionel admired the small smile on her face briefly before he leant over, carefully slipping the book out of her hands before he flicked it open, scanning a few pages quickly. “When was this one taken?” he posed, pointing to a picture of the two of them. It was a cute one, Isabelle was sat happily between his legs, grinning at the camera whilst he pressed a kiss against her shoulder, and Lionel couldn’t help but smile at the sight of it, even if it did make his stomach twitch a little, he couldn’t help but admire how contented they looked.

Isabelle, who’d been eating another spoonful of ice cream, blinked at the sound of his voice before she peeked down towards the picture, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “I think that was our first vacation together” she mused softly “We spent two weeks away during your summer break and you insisted on taking as many pictures as we could” she added, offering him an impish smile.

Lionel rolled his eyes playfully before he flicked over the page. “Our first Christmas” he quipped, gesturing to a picture of the two of them decorating a tree.

Isabelle nodded. “It was a good one” she quipped “Even if both of our mothers did try and take over, it worked out pretty well” she added, offering him an impish smile.

Lionel chuckled softly before he nodded his head. “It did” he agreed “I mean, I thought at one point that our mothers were going to come to blows, but it was a good day, one of very many” he added, his tone caught between soft and teasing.

Isabelle noted the tone of his voice, but didn’t say anything, instead opting to lift the book out of his lap before she moved to put it back on the shelf. She knew what was coming, the look on his face confided that he wanted to have a conversation about their impending break up, but Isabelle wanted to duck away from it for a little while, even if she knew that it was a conversation that they had to have, she wanted to put it off.

Lionel watched her for a couple of seconds before he pushed himself up to his feet, stepping towards her slightly.

“It’s late” Isabelle mumbled softly, not turning away from the shelf “We really should think about heading up to bed” she babbled gently.

Lionel watched her for a couple more seconds before he shifted his hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Leo…” Isabelle’s words fell away as Lionel ducked into her, pressing a soft kiss against her lips.

Isabelle stilled a little, not quite expecting the kiss, before she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him closer for a couple of seconds before he ducked back, his forehead resting against hers. “I know that you don’t want to talk right now” he mumbled between soft and light kisses “And I am not going to force you to, but I think that we need to, Isa. I don’t want us to do something that we’re going to end up regretting” he added, stealing another kiss.

Isabelle nodded her head in agreement before she carefully shifted her hand, moving to lace her fingers through his before she carefully tugged him towards the stairs. She knew that he had a point, eventually, they were going to have to have another conversation about what it was they both wanted to happen next, but Isabelle wanted to avoid talking for a while, even if it was likely to make things more complicated between the two of them, she simply wanted to lose herself in the moment for a little while.