The Things That You Do

63: The Other Thing

Carefully pushing his fingers back through Zachary’s hair, Lionel bounced the baby gently in his arms, trying to soothe him back to sleep before he attempted to settle him down into his car seat. It had been a quiet night, with Zachary proving to be a quiet baby, both Lionel and Alexa had gotten a little more sleep than he had been expecting, and it relieved him slightly, even if he had enjoyed every minute that he had spent with Zachary since he had been born. He had been glad of the opportunity to get a few good hours of sleep.

It still felt strange, the idea that he and Alexa were parents, as well as they idea that they’d gotten engaged, still felt a little surreal to him, but he had little doubt that he would get used to it, even if it did take a few days for everything to settle in. He doubted that he could have been happier with the way things had worked out. It had been sudden, his proposing to Alexa had been impromptu, and whilst he had originally been worried that he had put too much on her too soon, he was pleased that they’d talked, even more so that she’d given him the answer that he had been hoping for.

Carefully smoothing out Zachary’s dark hair, he grinned to himself gently before the sound of Alexa clearing her throat reached his ears, causing him to turn slightly, his dark eyes settling on where she stood in the doorway, a soft smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Are you smiling again?” she posed impishly.

Lionel laughed. “Maybe” he played along “But you’re hardly one to talk. I don’t think I’ve seen you without a smile on your face this morning” he pointed out, his voice more than a little smug.

Alexa, who’d moved to perch on the edge of the bed so that she could slip on her shoes, rolled her eyes amusedly at his comment before she ducked down, moving to tie the lace of her shoe. “I can think of a couple of reasons that I might be smiling” she quipped, peeking up at him through her eyelashes.

Lionel, who’d been quietly trying to settle Zachary, met her stare briefly before he quirked a small boyish smile, something which made Alexa giggle softly, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink. They were giddy, between Zachary’s arrival and their engagement, they had a lot to be smiling about, and neither one of them seemed to be able to help themselves from grinning, something which pleased Alexa, even if she did want to keep the news of their engagement under wraps for a little while. She was pleased that things between them seemed to be alright.

“Your mother’s already texted”

Alexa, who’d moved to tie the lace of her other shoe, looked up at the sound of Lionel’s voice. “Huh?” she posed.

Lionel lifted an eyebrow in amusement that she hadn’t been listening to him, but didn’t comment, instead opting to repeat himself. “Your mother’s already sent me a text this morning” he mused “She’d like to know when she can come over and make a fuss of her cutest grandbaby” he added impishly.

Alexa tilted her head. “She used those words?” she quipped.

“Not exactly” Lionel replied “But I think we both know that he’s the cutest baby. I mean, he’s got all his madre’s good genes” he added warmly.

Alexa scoffed, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink, before she shook her head. “You’re sweet” she mumbled shyly.

Lionel smiled at her sweetly before Zachary let out a soft sound, pulling the attention of his parents down towards him. “I think someone would like to get out of here” he mused, his fingers lightly smoothing out the material of the sleep suit that the little boy wore “Are we good to go?” he posed, sparing a glance towards Alexa who stared down at Zachary, a motherly smile on her face. It was new, the soft smile that appeared on her face whenever she looked at Zachary wasn’t one that he had seen before, but he knew that he adored it. It was clearly a smile that she had reserved for their little boy and he was pleased to see her looking so happy.

Alexa, who’d been quietly watching Zachary, nodded. “Eva came by when you popped out to grab breakfast” she mused “Both me and Zach are good to go, so that means, if you want, you can take us both home. Is that something you want, Leo” she posed with a coy smile.

Lionel feigned thought for a moment before he lifted his spare hand, carefully cupping the back of her neck before he pulled her into a soft kiss, wordlessly telling her that there was nothing he wanted more.

~#~
“I thought you were keeping an eye on Zach”

Alexa, who’d stepped into the bedroom, lifted her head at the sound of Lionel’s voice before she shook it, her blue eyes settling on where he stood in the bathroom doorway, towel drying his hair. it had been a busy afternoon, with Alexa’s relatives having shown up to meet the new arrival, the house had been a hive of activity, and Lionel had been grateful to get a couple of seconds to himself, even if he had enjoyed watching Alexa’s family fuss over their little boy. He had been grateful for the opportunity to slip away and grab a shower.

“I am” Alexa replied “But he’s just spit up on Marco and ruined his vest in the process, so I came to get another one so that I could get him changed” she explained as she padded towards the crib which was set up beside their bed, retrieving a clean set of baby clothes.

Lionel watched her for a moment, a soft smile on his face, before he stepped towards her, settling his arms comfortably around her waist. “You Ok?” he mumbled, pressing a light kiss against her shoulder.

Alexa leant back into him slightly before she nodded, offering him a light smile over her shoulder. “It’s been a pretty great couple of days” she mused “I mean, Zach’s here now, and it’s amazing, and then there’s the other thing...” she trailed off with a grin.

Lionel breathed out a small laugh. “The other thing?” he posed “Is that what you’re calling our engagement?” he posed.

Alexa’s cheeks warmed a little at the word ‘engagement’ before she shrugged, something which made Lionel shake his head before he leant forwards, gently pressing another kiss against her shoulder. “You want to keep it between us for a little while, don’t you?” he murmured.

Alexa spared him a soft look over her shoulder before she nodded, a shy smile on her lips. “I am so happy, Leo” she mused “I mean, it was a surprise that you asked when you did, but I am glad that you did and I have no doubt about my answer, but I don’t think that we should just come out and share the news right now. We’ve just had Zach, it’s been an emotional couple of days, and I don’t think it will do us any harm to take a while to let it settle in. Besides, you’ve not even got me a ring yet” she added light-heartedly, trying to keep the mood buoyant and cheerful. She knew that he was slightly disappointed, the look on his face confided it to her, but she wanted to take their time, even if there was a small part of her that was itching to scream the news from the rooftops. She wanted them to take a couple of days to make sure that they were both certain of what they wanted.

Lionel quirked a feeble smile at her joke before he nodded, something which caused Alexa to lean into him, pressing a couple of quick kisses against his lips. “I love you” she murmured as she leant back, carefully resting her forehead against his.

Lionel’s smile widened a little at those three words before he leant into her, kissing her softly once more. “I’ll get you that ring” he mumbled between light kisses.

Alexa giggled. “I don’t doubt it” she mused.

Lionel marveled at the soft sound of her giggle, noting just how much he adored it, before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached his ears, causing him to lift his head, peeking towards Marco who stood in the doorway. “You two have literally just had a baby” he complained with a playful grimace “Can’t you keep your hands to yourselves for a little while?” he posed.

Alexa scoffed. “No one asked you to watch” she retorted.

Marco rolled his eyes. “Zach’s starting to get a little fussy” he quipped “And thought he’d probably appreciate having his mama or papa around. So, if you two could give it a rest...” he trailed off teasingly.

Alexa spared her older brother a glare before she stepped towards him, following him out of the room.

Lionel chuckled lightly, amused by their interaction, before he followed after them, more than slightly glad to be home.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comments :)