The Things That You Do

Letting out a quiet groan, Lionel stirred, his sleepy brown eyes peeking towards the alarm clock which sat on the bedside cabinet, it’s illuminated numbers confiding that it was a little after three in the morning. Blinking a couple of times, he allowed a quiet yawn to fall out of his mouth before he set his head back down against his pillow, his eyes settling on Alexa who was curled up at his side, sleeping happily.

It was something they did often, after Alexa had invited him to stay for the first time, it’d quickly become a habit of theirs, and it was something that Lionel had quickly grown to love, even if it was only a couple of nights a week. He found himself frequently looking forwards to the nights where he fell asleep at Alexa’s side.

Cuddling closer to his pillow, he reached out to tuck a few loose hairs off of her face before he gently leant down, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead before he pulled away, turning over onto his back. Staring up at the ceiling, he blinked sleepily before the sound of a distant ringing caught his ears, causing him to quirk a small frown.

Laying still, he listened to the quiet for a couple of seconds before the ringing echoed again, causing him to carefully sit up. Making sure that he hadn’t disturbed Alexa, he pulled his t-shirt over his head before he slipped out of the bedroom, quietly making his way through the hall towards the front door, the apparent source of the ringing. Stifling a yawn in his hand, he placed his other hand onto the door handle and pulled it open, his dark eyes widening at the sight Madeline who stood outside. “Mrs Sanchez” he spluttered.

Madeline, who’d been staring down at her phone, jumped at the sound of his voice before she looked up, her eyes scanning his appearance in surprise. She knew that she shouldn’t have been overly surprised, with Lionel being Alexa’s boyfriend, it wasn’t overly shocking to find out that he spent the night in her apartment, but still she was caught off guard by his appearance in nothing but his t-shirt and boxers, something which made her cheeks flush a soft shade of pink. “Lionel” she breathed “I...I didn’t expect you to be here” she babbled awkwardly.

Lionel stared at in surprise her for a moment before he cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s three in the morning, Mrs Sanchez” he mumbled “Is there a reason you’re here?” he asked, shifting awkwardly as he tried to end the conversation as quickly as he could.

Madeline nodded quickly. “Isabel’s in labour” she revealed “And Marco has asked me to join them at the hospital, but that means that we need someone to watch Adrian and Ariana. I was hoping that Alexandria wouldn’t mind” she added.

Lionel, who was yawning into his hand, offered her a slightly sleepy look before he nodded. “I’m sure she won’t” he noted “I’ll go and wake her” he added.

Madeline smiled at him pleasantly before she excused herself, musing something about going to collect the twins before she padded back down the corridor. Lionel watched her go before he made his way back towards the bedroom, ducking back inside quietly before he padded towards the bed, rocking Alexa’s shoulder gently. “Alexa” he murmured.

Alexa stirred a little, mumbling something incoherent, but she didn’t wake up, something which made Lionel huff out a small sigh before he rocked her shoulder once more. “Alexa, you need to get up” he mumbled “Your mother is here with Adrian and Ariana” he added.

Alexa let out a small groan before she blinked her eyes open, frowning up at him. “What on earth are you talking about?” she grumbled.

“Your mother” Lionel replied as stepped around the bed, retrieving the pair of shorts which he had left neatly folded on to top of Alexa’s dresser “She’s outside. Apparently, Isabel’s in labour and Marco has invited her to the hospital with them, meaning someone needs to watch the twins” he explained as he pulled on his shorts.

Alexa, who was still laying against her pillow, let out another groan, something which made Lionel shake his head, a slightly crooked smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “Look at it this way” he noted “At least you didn’t open the door to your girlfriend’s mother in your underwear” he pointed out.

Alexa sat up, her head tilted slightly. “What?” she asked.

Lionel shrugged nonchalantly. “I heard the doorbell and I didn’t even think to pull on my shorts” he noted “I just got up and answered it. I think we surprised each other” he added, shaking his head amusedly.

Alexa stared at him for a second before she shook her head, smiling at him amusedly. “You’re lucky” she quipped.

Lionel quirked an eyebrow. “How so?” he quipped.

“You’re lucky that it was my mother” Alexa retorted “Because if it had been Marco, you’d almost certainly still be in the hall listening to him rant about how you’re not to hurt his baby sister” she quipped playfully as she pushed herself to her feet, collecting her dressing gown which was hung on the back of the door.

Lionel watched her for a second, admiring her thoughtfully, before he pushed himself up, moving to press a soft kiss against the back of her neck. “We should invite them over” he mumbled quietly, peppering her warm skin with light kisses.

Alexa closed her eyes at the feel of his lips against her skin, her body leaning back into his. “Who?” she posed.

Lionel nuzzled his nose against her warm skin. “Your mother” he replied “And Marco and Isabel. We should have them over to dinner, do the whole ‘meet the family’ thing” he added. It was something they had avoided, after their vacation, they’d opted to put the prospect of spending time with one and other’s families on the backburner for a while, but he wanted to think about it, even if they would have to wait a while with Marco and Isabel’s new baby on the way. He wanted to show Alexa, and her family, that he was serious about what was going on between the two of them.

Alexa, who’d been contently resting in his embrace, stilled a little at his words before she lifted her head, looking up at his face over her shoulder. “Yeah?” she posed.

“We’ll have to wait a while” Lionel noted “I mean, your sister-in-law is currently in labour with your newest nephew, but in a few weeks, why not? We’ve been together for a while now, and I think it’s about time, no?” he added, a crooked smile on his lips.

Alexa merely stared up at him for a few seconds before she craned her neck, pressing a swift kiss against his lips. Lionel startled at the sudden kiss, but warmed to it quickly, kissing her back warmly for a few seconds before he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. “Alexa, I...” his voice trailed off as the sound of the doorbell filled the air, something which caused Alexa to pull away from him.

“That’s going to be my mother and the twins” she noted “I’ll go and grab the door, but would you mind ducking into the spare room? I think I let a few boxes on the bed in there that will need to be moved so that I can get Adrian and Ariana back to sleep quickly” she explained.

Lionel blinked a couple of times, surprised by how quickly she’d pulled away from him, before he nodded. “Of course” he agreed.

“Gracias” Alexa enthused with a grin before she bounced out of the room, quickly making her way towards the front door.

Lionel listened to her footsteps move away from him before he pushed his hand back through his hair, a soft sigh falling out of his mouth. “Alexa, I love you” he mumbled quietly to himself before he made his way out of the room.