The Things That You Do

Sipping on his drink, Lionel rested back into his seat, his eyes vaguely staring at the television screen which glowed a little ahead of him. It was early, with Alexa’s alarm having disturbed him a little after eight in the morning, he had yet to fully wake up, but he knew that going back to bed wasn’t an option, even if it was tempting, he knew that Alexa liked that they had breakfast together before they each left for the day.

They had settled into routines, with them having been living together for a couple of months, things had settled down into comfortable patterns, and Lionel was pleased by how quickly they’d settled into living together, even if it did still feel a little strange to them. He was pleased that things had settled down as quickly as they had.

Taking another sip of his drink, he blinked sleepily a couple of times before he felt something bump against his knee, causing him to lift his head, his dark eyes peeking up at Alexa who stood ahead of him, a teasing smile on her face. “I know it is early” she mused “But do you think you can make it through breakfast before you fall asleep?” she posed.

Lionel nodded his head before he offered her a small sleepy smile, something which made Alexa laugh gently before she padded away towards the kitchen, Lionel following close behind. Pulling out a seat, she moved to sit down at the table before she poured herself a glass of juice, quickly moving to sip on it.

Lionel, who’d sat down opposite her, watched her for a couple of seconds before he shifted his foot, gently nudging it against her ankle. “Are you busy today?” he posed as he reached out, settling some food onto his plate.

Alexa, who’d been sipping on her drink, shrugged. “I’ve got a pretty busy morning” she noted “I’ve got a couple of meetings that I need to sit through, but I have the afternoon off, something Poppy is ecstatic about. She’s already decided that we’ve not seen much of each other recently, and that means that we’re going to lunch and then she’s taking me shopping. I think that she wants to start buying things for the baby” she added, taking a bite of the piece of toast which she had placed on her plate.

Lionel nodded. “How far along is she now?” he posed.

“Five months or so” Alexa replied “She had her twenty week scan last week” she added.

“Did they find out the sex?” Lionel posed.

Alexa nodded. “They did” she confirmed “They’re expecting a little boy” she added with a soft smile.

Lionel glanced at her, admiring the fond smile that she wore on her lips, before he gently reached across the table, offering her hand a soft squeeze which caused her cheeks to flush a light shade of pink.

Quirking a small smile, she offered his hand a light squeeze before the sound of her phone vibrating in her pocket reached ears, causing her to let out a small playful scoff before she fished it out, rolling her eyes a little at the time. “That is my cue to get out of here” she mused “I’ll see you when I get home?” she posed as she pushed herself up to her feet.

“Of course” Lionel replied “Give Poppy my congratulations” he added.

Alexa nodded, wordlessly confirming that she would, before she stepped towards him, pressing a soft kiss against his lips before she pulled away, making her way out of the kitchen. Lionel watched her out of the room for a second before he shook his head, smiling subtly to himself.

They hadn’t talked about it, aside from the comments that he had made when Alexa had looked after her nephew, the prospect of the two of them starting a family together hadn’t come up, but he couldn’t help but be a little optimistic that it would be a conversation that they had in the near future, even if they were both keen to be cautious with their relationship. A small part of him was excited about the idea of moving ahead.

~#~
“So, have you and Danny figured out how things are going to work for the next few months?” Alexa posed as she followed Poppy around the shop, watching as her friend surveyed the rails of baby clothes. It had been a good afternoon, with both Alexa and Poppy having been busy, they hadn’t had the chance to spend a lot of time together, but Alexa was glad that Poppy had suggested it, even if they had spent most of the afternoon walking through shops without buying too much. She was glad that she had accepted Poppy’s invitation.

Poppy, who was studying a tiny sweater, nodded without looking up. “I don’t want to move right now” she noted “Moving house is stressful, let alone moving to a new country, and we agreed that it was probably best that we postpone the move until after baba arrives. I am going to stay here, at least until the baby is born, and then, once he’s here, we’ll figure out the next step” she explained, her fingers lightly brushing over the little sweater.

Alexa watched her for a moment, not missing the faint smile which toyed with the corner of her lips, before she shook her head, a bright grin appearing on her face. “Leo sends his congratulations” she mused, breaking the quiet which had settled over the two of them.

Poppy, who’d moved to place the little sweater down into the basket that Alexa carried, smiled. “He does?” she posed.

Alexa simply nodded before she turned, quietly perusing the rail of clothes which stood at her side.

Poppy watched her for a second before she took a step towards her, playfully bumping their shoulders together. “How are things going now that you’re all moved in?” she posed.

Alexa spared her a small look before she shrugged, a soft smile appearing at the mention of Lionel. “It seems to be going really well” she fussed “I mean, we spent time with each other’s families over the holidays, and it seemed to go really well, and we appear to have adapted to living together pretty well. It is still early days, we have only been together for a few months, but it is going well...really well” she added, her voice soft and bashful.

Poppy noticed the bashfulness in her voice, but didn’t comment, instead offering her a warm grin. “I am glad to see you looking so happy” she mused before she padded away slightly, moving to study a few more items of baby clothing.

Alexa watched her for a moment, her eyes gently sweeping over the small bump that her friend carried, before she shook her head, smiling timidly to herself. It was a way off, with her and Lionel having only just moved in together, the chances were that they’d wait a while before they started to think about their next step forwards, but she had to admit that she was looking forwards to it, whatever it was. A small part of her couldn’t wait.