The Things That You Do

“Leo?”

Lionel, who’d quickly dropped his stare down towards his feet, blinked a couple of times at the sound of Alexa’s voice before he tentatively looked up, his eyes quickly spotting the surprised expression which was etched onto her face. He wasn’t surprised to see it, with his proposal hanging heavy in the air between them, he wasn’t at all surprised to see that she looked so shocked, but still it disappointed him slightly. A small part of him had been hoping that she hadn’t quite heard the words that he had let slip out of his mouth.

It had been on his mind, with things going particularly well between the two of them, the prospect of proposing had been in his head for a little while, but he couldn’t quite believe that the words had fallen out of his mouth, even if they had been playing on his mind. He couldn’t quite explain why those words had fallen out of his mouth in that moment.

Swallowing, he met the stare of her blue eyes for a split second before he dropped his stare back towards his feet, a bashful smile appearing on his lips. “I...I...” he spluttered.

Alexa, who’d been watching him, sniffled a little before she shook her head, a teary smile on her face. “Did you just...?” she trailed off, a slightly breathy laugh falling out of her mouth.

Lionel’s smile twitched a little at the sound of her laugh before he lifted his head, offering her a slightly stiff nod. “I...I think I did” he babbled.

Alexa simply nodded her head quietly, something which made Lionel sigh quietly to himself before he took a step forwards. Shuffling forwards, he carefully perched on the side of the bed before he gently reached his hand out, brushing the towel away from the baby’s face. Lightly brushing his fingertip against the baby’s cheek, he quirked a small smile before he shook her head. “I’m not good at picking my moments, am I?” he murmured quietly, breaking the silence which had settled over the two of them.

Alexa, who’d been watching him interact with the baby, startled at the sound of his voice before she tilted her head. “What?” she posed.

“I’m not good with timing” Lionel clarified “I mean, I kissed you for the first time in front of ninety thousand fans and a load of cameras, and I asked you to marry just minutes after you pushed this little guy into the world. It’s clearly something I need to work on” he added, his voice caught between soft and teasing.

Alexa looked up at him softly. “Leo...”

“It’s OK” Lionel interrupted “I know the timing is off, I knew it the moment I said it, and if you want to not talk about it for a while, that’s OK with me. I think we have something else we can be focused on right now” he added, his fingertips lightly smoothing out the dark hair which sat on the top of the baby’s head.

He knew that he had surprised her, from the moment that the words had fallen out of his mouth, her features had held a look which screamed it, and he wanted to offer her the chance to avoid talking about it for a little while, even if he knew that it wasn’t a conversation that they could avoid forever. A part of him wanted to avoid talking about the proposal for a little while.

Alexa watched the movement of his fingers for a moment, smiling gently as the baby let out a soft snuffle, before she leant towards him, gently resting her head against his shoulder. “We have to talk about it eventually” she mumbled sleepily.

Lionel nodded his head gently before he turned, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head. “I know” he mumbled into her hair “But it can wait. Right now, I kind of want to make a fuss of him” he added warmly.

Alexa quirked a tired smile before she carefully shifted her arms, offering the baby out towards him. “You should hold him” she mused.

Lionel offered her a slightly dubious look, wordlessly asking if she was sure, before he carefully stretched his arms out, allowing Alexa to settle the sleeping baby into them. Adjusting his hands, he lightly cradled the baby’s head before he quirked a small, his dark eyes looking back towards Alexa. “He’s perfect” he breathed.

“He is, isn’t he?” Alexa gushed.

Lionel offered her another wide smile before he carefully dipped down, pressing a tender kiss against the top of the baby’s head. “Hola, little one” he mumbled tenderly.

“Have you given any thought to what we should call him?”

Lionel, who was gazing down at the baby, looked up at the sound of Alexa’s voice. “Huh?” he posed.

Alexa smiled warmly. “Were you not listening to me, Lionel?” she quipped.

Lionel smirked playfully. “I was a little distracted” he retorted “I mean, I was just admiring the beautiful little boy we made” he added.

Alexa simply grinned back at him, something which caused him to lean forwards, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek. “We had a couple in mind, didn’t we?” he posed, settling his forehead against her temple.

“We did” Alexa replied “I think we’d narrowed it down to either Zachary or Nicolas” she added.

Lionel was quiet for a moment, mulling over the two names, before he leant up, kissing her temple sweetly. “I like Zachary” he murmured against her skin.

Alexa’s cheeks warmed a little at the feel of his lips against her skin before she carefully pulled away slightly, allowing her to look up at him. “Zachary?” she posed “Are you sure?” she added.

“I am sure” Lionel replied “But if you don’t like it...”

“I think Zachary is perfect” Alexa interrupted softly “Zachary Antonio Messi Sanchez. We could call him Zach for short” she fussed warmly.

Lionel smiled warmly at her fussing before he gently dipped down, pressing another tender kiss against the top of Zachary’s head. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Zach” he murmured quietly before he leant up, pressing a tender kiss against Alexa’s lips.

He knew that they still had to talk, with his proposal still hanging between the two of them, he knew that it wasn’t a conversation that they could simply avoid, but he wanted to put it off, not wanting to spoil the first few minutes that he and Alexa had with their newborn son.