The Things That You Do

42: I’d Be Happy

“How have you got this much stuff?” Marco quipped as he padded into Alexa’s living room, settling down a pile of her clothes on the floor beside one of the cardboard boxes which littered it.

It had been a little while, after Alexa’s birthday, a couple of weeks had passed, and with her having given notice on her apartment, she had started to pack her things up, something which had led to her enlisting help from Marco and their mother. It had come as a surprise, when Alexa had told her family that she planned on moving in with Lionel, Marco in particular had been shocked, but he was excited for her, even if it did seem a little sudden. He doubted that he had seen his little sister more excited than when she had told him about their plans.

Alexa, who had moved to seal up another box, scoffed a little at his comment before she lifted her head, offering him a small playful glare. “I didn’t ask you here to complain” she pointed out.

“No, you didn’t” Marco replied as he plopped down onto the ground “But seeing as I am helping you to pack up all of your stuff so that you can move in with your boyfriend, you can put up with it. I could easily just leave you to it” he added, flashing her an impish smile as he folded a shirt of hers into the open box.

Alexa rolled her eyes, but didn’t reply, instead returning her attention to a set of photo frames which sat in her lap. Scanning them quickly, she moved to wrap them in some bubble wrap before she settled them neatly into a nearby box, something which made Marco, who had been watching her, shake his head, a small laugh falling out of his mouth. “You have something to say?” Alexa quipped as she returned to her seat, her eyebrow lifted playfully.

Marco shrugged. “It’s just a little strange is all” he quipped “I mean, I know you’ve had boyfriends before, but you’ve never really been ‘moving in together’ serious about someone, and I guess it surprised me a little. Don’t get me wrong, I do kind of like your boyfriend, but I thought you’d want to play things slower. You’ve always been a planner, Alexa, and this is quite sudden” he added, his voice softening slightly. He didn’t want to put doubt in her mind, as far as he was concerned, the idea of Alexa and Lionel moving together was a good one, but he wanted to be sure that she was sure about it, even if he was pretty convinced that she was. He wanted to hear her say the words.

Alexa, who’d moved to pack a few more things, was quiet for a second before she gently reached up, tucking a few loose hairs off of her face. “I know it is” she mused “But it feels like the right thing, Marco, and I am excited about it, really excited” she insisted, a shy smile on her lips.

Marco admired her smile briefly before he nodded, a smirk appearing on his lips. “I can see that” he noted teasingly.

Alexa rolled her eyes slightly, but couldn’t shake the smile from her lips, something which caused Marco chuckle as he mumbled a comment about her being smitten beneath his breath.

Alexa scoffed a little at his comment. “You’re one to talk” she quipped.

Marco cocked an eyebrow. “What?” he posed.

“When you first started dating Isabel, you were worse than me. You’d blush whenever she came up in conversation” Alexa pointed out, her voice warm and teasing.

Marco shook his head, a fond expression on his features. “This is going to sound stupid” he noted “But I knew pretty early on that Isabel was going to be very special. I had a good feeling about her, one that I’d not had about anyone before, and it turned out I was right. I married her, we’ve got three children together, and I am still crazy about her” he fussed gently.

Alexa’s expression softened. “That doesn’t sound stupid” she mused “If anything, it’s really sweet, Marco” she fussed.

Marco let out a small sheepish laugh before he shook his head. “I know it’s still early” he mused after a few seconds, breaking the soft silence which had passed between the two of them “And if you want to hit me for asking this, you can, but do you...do you think that way about him?” he asked, glancing up at her tentatively.

He knew it wasn’t business, whatever happened between Lionel and Alexa was firmly between the two of them, and he didn’t want Alexa to think that he was sticking his nose in, but he was slightly curious. He knew that she had liked him for a while, after they’d first begun to date, Isabel had been quick to explain that Alexa had had feelings for Lionel for a while, and a part of him wanted to know how serious she was about him, even if it was still relatively early days.

Alexa, who’d moved to wrap another picture frame in bubble wrap, stilled momentarily at his question before she quietly shook her head, her cheeks flushing a light shade of pink.

Marco noticed the colour of her cheeks before he shook his head. “I’m sorry for asking” he noted “I didn’t mean to....”

“I think we have something great” Alexa interrupted, offering him a faint smile.

Marco blinked a couple of times, surprised by her interruption, before he tilted his head. “Yeah?” he posed.

“I am not going to start talking about a future” Alexa noted “I mean, we’ve only been a couple for six months, and that’s hardly any time at all, but things between the two of us...it’s pretty great, Marco, and I think we might be onto something. If we are, I’d be pretty happy about it” she added, shyly re-tucking her blonde hair behind her ear.

Marco stared at her for a moment, mulling over her answer, before he nodded, offering her a gentle smile. “I hope it works for you, little sister” he enthused.

Alexa smiled at him gently before the sound of their mother calling her name reached her ears, causing her to excuse herself before she stood up, padding out towards the bedroom. Marco watched her out of the room for a moment before turned back to the packing, wordlessly musing about how happy she looked, a sight he wanted to last for a while to come.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)