The Things That You Do

03: You Asked Me To

Letting out a quiet groan, Lionel blinked his eyes open, his ears plied with the sound of his phone vibrating in the pocket of his jacket. He knew that it was early, the fact that Alexa was still curled up beside him told him that it couldn’t have been overly late, and he was irked by the sound, even if he knew that he did have to get home in the near future. He had been hoping for a little longer to sleep in. It hadn’t been his intention, when he had followed Alexa out of the wake, he hadn’t been expecting her to ask him to stay for the night, but when she had asked him to, he had known that he couldn’t say no. She needed someone, and with Marco busy taking care of their mother, and Poppy unavailable, he wanted it to be him.

Grumbling quietly to himself, he leant out of the bed slightly before he dipped his hand into his jacket pocket, pulling the phone out. Trying to be as quiet as he could, he pulled the phone up to his face before he scanned the message which filled the screen, letting out a muted groan at its content.

“Leo?”

Lionel startled at the sound of Alexa’s voice before he turned, meeting the stare of her blue eyes which looked up at him sleepily. “Did I wake you?” he asked.

Alexa shrugged, yawning quietly into her hand. “Your phone did” she pointed out.

Lionel, who’d finished replying to the text, offered her a small smile. “I’m sorry about that” he noted.

“Is it important?” Alexa asked as she sat up, resting her back against the headboard.

Lionel shook his head. “Something on my schedule got moved and it means that I have to get going pretty soon, but you should get back to sleep. It’s still early” he explained.

Alexa, who’d moved to pull her blonde hair off of her face, shook her head. “It’s OK” she noted.

Lionel offered her a pointed look, something which made Alexa sighed. “Leo” she complained.

“You didn’t get a lot of sleep, Alexa” Lionel pointed out “You were awake until the early hours and once you did finally fall asleep, you woke up a couple of times. I think you could use a couple more hours” he explained kindly. He didn’t want to tell her what to do, if he knew one thing about Alexa, he knew that she had a tendency to be awfully stubborn when she wanted to be, but he wanted to encourage her to stay in bed. She had struggled to sleep, for most of the night, she had stirred and kicked at her duvet, and he wanted her to look after herself, even if he knew that convincing her to wouldn’t be a straight forward task. He wanted to at least try.

Alexa shook her head. “I’m fine” she dismissed.

“You’re not fine” Lionel countered “You need to get some sleep” he added.

Alexa glanced up at him, briefly contemplating fighting with him, before she allowed a small yawn to fall out of her mouth, something which caused Lionel to lift an eyebrow, wordlessly saying that he had told her so. Alexa admired his expression briefly before she shook her head, sighing in defeat. “Maybe you’re not wrong” she muttered.

Lionel smiled half-heartedly at her before he shuffled off of the bed, pushing himself to his feet. “You should get some sleep, Alexa” he noted softly.

Alexa, who’d moved to lay back down against her pillow, nodded. “I know” she muttered “And I will try. Gracias for staying last night, Leo” she added, offering him a timid smile. It had been an impromptu decision, asking him to stay with her the previous night had been a spur of the moment call, but she was glad that he had opted to stay, even if she knew that there were still a lot of things that they needed to talk about. She had needed him.

Lionel, who’d moved to pull his jacket around his shoulders, shook his head. “It wasn’t a problem” he mused with a kind smile.

Alexa’s cheeks reddened slightly before she shook her head. “You didn’t have to do it” she mumbled “It was...it was sweet of you” she stumbled out.

Lionel shrugged modestly. “You asked me to” he quipped “And so I did. I mean, it’s earned me a few aches and pains because we fell asleep in such an awkward position, but it’s OK” he added, offering her a small playful smile.

Alexa breathed out a timid laugh before she let out another yawn, something which made Lionel’s smile widen a fraction. “Go back to sleep, Alexa” he noted “I’ve got a few things to do after training, but I could come back later. We could go and get something to eat or something” he suggested. He didn’t want to push her, with the loss of her father still so fresh, the last thing he wanted to do was push her into a conversation that she didn’t want to have, but he also didn’t want to let things slip between them again, even if they were awkward around one another. He was glad to be around her, even despite the situation, and he didn’t want to let go of it so easily.

Alexa shook her head. “You don’t have to do that” she noted.

“I know” Lionel replied “But I’d like to” he added.

Alexa shook her head. “Leo...”

“I want to, Alexa” Lionel interrupted “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t. So, you can keep trying to get rid of me, or you can agree with me, and I will come back in a few hours to take you for something to eat. It’s up to you” he added, his voice warm and kind.

Alexa stared up at him, surprised that he had cut her off, before she shook her head. “You’re not making it sound much like a choice” she mumbled with a half-smile.

Lionel admired her grin, noting that he had missed seeing it, before he shrugged. “It’s not really much of one” he quipped “In a few hours, I am going to show up at your mother’s door and I am probably not going to go anywhere until you come to dinner with me” he added.

Alexa glared up at him playfully before she shook her head, letting out a laugh. “You’re an idiot” she mused.

“Perhaps” Lionel shrugged “But I did make you smile” he pointed out triumphantly.

Alexa rolled her eyes slightly, but didn’t shake the smile off of her lips, something which made Lionel smile proudly before his phone gave out another buzz. “I have to go” he noted “But...”

“You will be back” Alexa finished for him, offering him a slightly sarcastic smile.

“I will” Lionel confirmed “I’ll see you later, Alexa” he added before he leant over the bed, hugging her tightly for a few seconds before he pulled back, stepping out of the bedroom.

Alexa glanced after him momentarily before she rested back against the pillow, wordlessly hoping to herself that letting him stick around didn’t backfire on her.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 and FootieJo for the comments :)