The Things That You Do

Gently pulling her t-shirt over her head, Alexa spared a small glance towards the bathroom mirror, her blue eyes settling on the slight round bump that she carried on her stomach. It was still small, despite it being obvious to her, she knew that it would be easily masked by her clothes, but still she couldn’t stop the small smile which appeared at the corner of her mouth. She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the idea that she was only a matter of months away from welcoming a baby into the world.

It had been a while, after she and Lionel had visited Eva for the first time, a little over a month had passed, and with them having attended her twelve week scan a few days previous, they were preparing to share the news of her pregnancy with their families, something which she was looking forwards to, even if she was a little nervous about what they had to say. She was pretty confident that the news that they were expecting would be well received.

Gently brushing her hand over her stomach, she smiled a little at the feel of the small bump before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her ears, causing her cheeks to flame a soft shade of pink before she turned, her blue eyes settling on Lionel who stood a little away from her, an amused smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Am I interrupting?” he quipped boyishly, his dark eyes drifting down towards the small bump which she carried.

Alexa followed the line of his stare, sparing her stomach a brief glance, before she shook her head, gently pulling her t-shirt down over her stomach. “I was just finishing getting ready” she noted “You can’t see the bump, can you?” she posed, smoothing out the material slightly.

Lionel, who’d been quietly watching her, shook his head before he looked up at her, offering her a tender smile. “You can’t” he confirmed “But that’s a shame. I kind of like seeing it” he added as he took a step forwards, gently settling his palm against her stomach.

Alexa spared a small look down towards his hand before she shook her head, looking at him over her shoulder. “You didn’t come up here just to fuss, did you?” she posed quietly.

Lionel shook his head gently before he leant forwards, pressing a gentle kiss against her shoulder. “I didn’t” he mumbled “As much as I enjoy fussing, I came up here to tell you that Marco, Isabel and the kids arrived a few minutes ago. I thought that you’d probably want to come down and say hello” he added.

Alexa smiled a little at the feel of his lips against her shoulder before she nodded, tugging herself out of his embrace. “I just need to grab a pair of shoes” she noted as she ducked out of the bathroom, padding through towards the bedroom.

Lionel watched after her for a second before he followed, stopping in the doorway which led into the bedroom. Resting his weight against the doorframe, he watched Alexa for a couple of seconds before he quirked a small grin, something Alexa caught as she looked up at him. Meeting his stare, she tilted her head slightly before she let out a small laugh, something which made his smile widen a fraction. “What are you smiling about?” she quipped.

Lionel shrugged. “I’m just smiling” he quipped “I mean, it might not be obvious to you, but I am pretty happy right now and it means that I am probably going to smile a lot. Would you like me to stop?” he added impishly.

Alexa rolled her eyes gently, but didn’t say anything, something which caused Lionel to step towards her, pressing a gentle kiss against the top of her head. “Are you sure that you want to do this today?” he mumbled into her hair “I mean, I know that we’ve got to tell them eventually, but we can afford to wait a few more weeks if you’d like. It’s not like you’ve got too much of a bump” he added, pressing another light kiss against the top of her head.

He knew that they couldn’t hide it for much longer, with Alexa having reached the second trimester of her pregnancy, it was only a matter of time before she started to show obviously, but he wanted to offer her the chance to postpone sharing the news, even if a large part of him was itching to tell anyone who’d listen. He wanted to ensure that she was as comfortable as she could be.

Alexa, who’d moved to wrap her arms around his waist, held onto him for a few seconds before she nodded, peeking up at him. “I want to tell them” she mused.

Lionel offered her a dubious look, wordlessly asking her if she was sure, before the sound of a knock at the bedroom door filled the air, causing them both to look towards it, their eyes settling on Marco who stood in the doorway, a smirk on his face. “You two know that you have guests downstairs, right?” he quipped “I mean, you invited us to lunch. If you wanted to be alone, maybe you shouldn’t have done” he added teasingly.

Alexa, who’d moved to pull away from Lionel slightly, scoffed at her brother’s joke before she pushed herself up to her feet. “We were just on our way down” she mused.

“Of course you were” Marco teased sarcastically.

Alexa glared at him, something which made him grin before he raised his hands innocently, backing out of the doorway.

“We should get downstairs” Lionel noted.

Alexa nodded as she turned to look at him. “We should” she agreed “You ready?” she added with a small smile.

Lionel admired her smile briefly before he reached his hand out, taking a hold of hers before he led her out of the room.

~#~
“What’ve you done with Lionel?”

Alexa, who was stood beside the sink, startled a little at the sound of her mother’s voice before she lifted her head, offering the older woman a small shrug. It had been a good afternoon, with her entire family around, the house had been busier than usual, and whilst Alexa had enjoyed herself, she was still a little apprehensive, still waiting for the right moment to bring up the news that she was itching to share.

They had been looking for it, since her family had arrived, both she and Lionel had been looking for the right moment to share the news, but they had yet to find it, something which made Alexa slightly nervous. She knew that they couldn’t hide it forever, eventually, someone would catch sight of her small bump or recognize the symptoms of her pregnancy, but she wanted to be the one to tell them. A small part of her was itching to see the looks on their faces when the words ‘we’re having a baby’ fell out of her mouth.

“The last time I saw him, Ariana and Adrian were dragging him off to play a game” Alexa replied, placing the plate down into the dishrack.

Madeline, who’d moved to sit down at the kitchen table, smiled. “They seem to like him” she mused.

“They do” Alexa agreed “And he’s great with them” she added.

Madeline simply nodded, allowing a silence to pass between the two of them. Alexa, who was quietly washing the dishes, allowed the silence to drag on for a few seconds before she shook her head, turning to look at her mother. “Can I tell you something?” she posed.

Madeline, who’d been checking her phone, lifted her head at the sudden sound of Alexa’s voice before she nodded, offering her daughter a warm smile. “You know that you can” she mused “You can tell me anything, sweetheart” she insisted warmly.

Alexa spared a brief glance towards the kitchen doorway, checking that no one else was within earshot, before she turned back towards her mother. “I...I have a little news” she babbled out “I mean, it’s not little news, it’s actually pretty big news, and it’s sort of the reason that me and Leo invited you all over today. We wanted to share it with you all” she added, the pace of her words fast and nervous.

Madeline frowned. “Alexa...”

“I’m pregnant” Alexa blurted out, cutting her mother off.

Madeline blinked a couple of times, surprised by the interruption, before her expression softened. “What?” she breathed.

Alexa shifted a little on the spot. “I...I said that I am pregnant” she repeated quietly “Twelve weeks now” she added.

Madeline was quiet for a few seconds, trying to process what her daughter had said, before she pushed herself up, quickly pulling Alexa into a tight hug. Alexa stilled momentarily, not expecting the hug, before she tossed her arms around her mother, holding onto her tightly. “You’re really pregnant?” Madeline mumbled as she drew away, her eyes settled on the front of Alexa’s t-shirt.

Alexa smiled bashfully. “I have a sonogram somewhere” she noted “I can show it to you if you’d like” she added.

Madeline went to nod, but stopped herself, spotting Lionel out of the corner of her eye. “Lionel?” she quipped.

Lionel, who’d been chatting quietly with Ariana, lifted his head at the sound of his name. “Yes?” he posed.

Madeline grinned at him. “Congratulations” she fussed.

Lionel stared at her for a moment, slightly confused, before he shifted his stare towards Alexa, not missing the bashful smile that she wore. Quirking a small smile of his own, he shook his head before he looked at Madeline once more. “Gracias” he enthused.

“What are we congratulating Leo on?” Marco quipped as he padded into the room, Isabel close behind.

“He and your sister have some news” Madeline replied “Don’t you, Alexandria?” she added with a warm smile.

Alexa’s cheeks warmed a little before she nodded. “W...we do” she babbled gently “Leo and I, w...we’re expecting a baby” she revealed shyly.

“You’re pregnant?” Isabel squeaked.

Alexa simply nodded, something which made Lionel step towards her, placing a reassuring arm around her waist. “Twelve weeks” Lionel mused.

Isabel let out a small squeak in excitement before she stepped forwards, quickly pulling her sister-in-law into a warm hug that Alexa didn’t hesitate to return.

Marco watched them for a moment before he turned towards Lionel, offering his hand out ahead of him. “Congrats” he noted.

“Gracias” Lionel replied, shaking his hand.

Marco spared him a meaningful look, but didn’t say anything, instead opting to step towards Alexa, lifting her off of her feet as he pulled her into a hug. Lionel watched the two of them together, not missing the warmth in Alexa’s laughter, before he shook his head, moving to hug Isabel who waited eagerly at his side. He knew what the look meant, since he and Alexa had started to date, it was a look that Marco had given him more than once, and Lionel knew that it was just Marco’s way of looking out for Alexa, something which made Lionel smile a little, glad that Alexa had people looking out for her.