The Things That You Do

Pushing the open drawer ahead of her closed, Alexa quirked a small smile, more than a little relieved that she had finished unpacking her things in Lionel’s bedroom.

It had taken them a while, with both of them having been busy, it had taken a little longer for her to finish packing up her things and moving them into his place than they had been expecting, but they had gotten it done, even if there were still a lot of boxes which needed unpacking. Things were slowly but surely settling into place. It still felt a little strange, the idea that they had moved in together was one which still felt a little odd to her, but she had to admit that she excited by it, even if she did want to remain a little cautious when it came to their relationship. She couldn’t help but be a little excited by the idea that their relationship was progressing as well as it was.

Smiling a little to herself, she readjusted her ponytail before she pushed herself up to her feet, dusting off her jeans.

“Are you done in here?”

Alexa, who had been staring down at her feet, jumped slightly at the sound of Lionel’s voice before she lifted her head, her blue eyes settling on where he stood, resting against the frame of the bedroom door. “You scared me” she mused as she straightened up slightly.

Lionel watched her for a second before he shook his head, offering her a slightly apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to” Lionel replied “I assumed that you’d hear me coming up the stairs” he added.

“I was distracted” Alexa quipped “I was finishing up the unpacking in here” she added triumphantly.

Lionel quirked an amused grin. “You know that there are still boxes all over the rest of the house, right?” he teased.

Alexa scoffed, offering him a small playful glare that made Lionel laugh gently. “I am working on it” she noted.

“I know you are” Lionel replied as he stepped towards her, his arms settling comfortably around her waist “And, whilst you’re making good progress, I think it’s about time you took a break. I was thinking that we could go out and grab some dinner. It’s been a little while since we’ve been out together” he added.

It had been a while, between his schedule with Barcelona and Alexa’s work schedule, the chances for the two of them to go out on a date had been few and far between, and Lionel wanted to take advantage of that night, wanting to take the opportunity to celebrate their moving in together.

Alexa, who’d moved to wrap her arms around his neck, smirked. “Are you asking me out on a date, Lionel?” she poked warmly.

“I was trying to” Lionel retorted, playing along “But if you’d rather just stay here, I am sure that there’s something in the freezer” he teased.

Alexa laughed gently at his joke before she leant forwards, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “Dinner sounds lovely” she mused as she leant over, kissing the other cheek lightly “Give me a little while to get changed?” she added.

Lionel smiled a little at the tender touch of her lips against his cheek before he nodded. “Of course” he noted “Half an hour?” he posed.

Alexa nodded swiftly before she leant into him, sneaking a quick kiss before she pulled away from him, ducking into the wardrobe which stood a little away from them. Lionel stared after her briefly before he padded out of the room, more than a little excited by the prospect of the night which stood ahead of them.

~#~
“So” Lionel mused “How is Poppy coping with her pregnancy?” he added as he sipped on his glass of water, his brown eyes peeking across the table at Alexa who sat ahead of him, skimming over the dessert menu. It had been a good night, with it having been a while since they’d been out on a date, they’d opted to keep things as simple as they could, but Lionel had still had a good time, something he hoped that Alexa shared in. He merely enjoyed spending time with her, and could only hope that she felt the same way about spending time with him.

Alexa, who was reading her menu, shrugged, peeking up at him through her eyelashes. “She and Danny are both pretty excited” she noted “I mean, it’s still pretty early days, and it’s complicated with Danny still living in London, but they seem to be handling things pretty well. I don’t think it will be too much longer before Danny asks her to join him in London” she explained

“You think she’ll go?” Lionel posed, sparing a glance down towards his menu.

Alexa thought for a moment before she nodded. “I think so” she noted “I mean, she’s pretty crazy about Danny and then there’s the baby. I think she’ll hesitate, but she’ll go” she added, a fond smile on her lips.

Lionel glanced at her for a moment, marveling at the soft smile which played on her lips, before he gently reached his hand out, settling it on top of hers which sat on the table as a comfortable silence passed between the two of them.

Smiling softly, Alexa knotted their fingers together before she dropped her stare, scanning the menu quietly. “What are you doing for the holidays?” she mused softly, disrupting the quiet which had passed between the two of them.

Lionel, who’d been tracing circles into her hand with his thumb, lifted his head. “Huh?” he posed.

“Christmas is coming up” Alexa rephrased, not moving her eyes away from the menu “I was just wondering what your plans were” she added.

Lionel blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised by her question, before he shrugged. “I’m not sure” he noted “I mean, it’s still a few weeks away and I haven’t really given it a lot of thought. Do you have plans?” he posed.

Alexa nodded. “Marco and I have agreed that we’ll go over to our mother’s” she mused gently “It’s the first year where my...my papa hasn’t been around and we want to spend it with her. It’s going to be pretty tough on her, not having him around, and we figured that us being there might make things slightly easier” she added, her voice growing slightly heavy.

Lionel offered her hand a soft squeeze, something which made Alexa shake her head, a slightly sad smile on her lips.

Lionel admired her smile for a second before he offered her hand another soft squeeze. “I can be there” he noted “I mean, if you want me to be, I can be. Just say the word” he insisted.

Alexa offered him a slightly shy look, something which made Lionel lift up her hand, pressing a soft kiss against the back of it. “I want to be there” he noted “I mean, I know I have a habit of making a bit of an idiot of myself in front of your mother and brother, but I am sure that I can be on my best behavior. I’ll need to sort something out with my family, but I am sure that it won’t be a problem. I can come with you if you want me to, Alexa” he offered warmly.

“You’d not mind?” Alexa asked shyly “Leo, if you have other plans...”

“I don’t” Lionel interrupted softly “At least, not any that can’t be rearranged. I can fly my parents over for the New Year, I’m sure that they won’t mind” he added, an encouraging smile passing over his lips.

Alexa hesitated for a second before she felt a shy smile creep onto her lips. “That’d be great” she mused “Gracias” she added.

Lionel merely offered her a warm smile before he ducked his head, kissing the back of her hand gently. He wanted to be there, with it being the first Christmas that she had celebrated without her father, he knew that it was likely to be a little tough on her, and he wanted to be there, even if he was still awkward around Marco and Madeline. He wanted to be there for her.