The Things That You Do

Resting his weight against the closed front door, Lionel closed his eyes for a moment, his ears filled with the silence which echoed throughout the house. It was late, with Barcelona’s away match had kicked off late, Lionel had spent most of the night travelling to get home, and he was pleased to have made it, especially since it was well past one in the morning. Nothing appealed to him more than the prospect of climbing into bed and falling asleep.

It had been a long few days, between his schedule with Barcelona and his parents having arrived to meet Zachary, he couldn’t quite recall the last quite moment that he had had to himself, and he was keen to make the most of it, even if it was just likely to be a fleeting few minutes before he climbed into bed. He wanted to enjoy the quiet for a moment.

Tilting his head back, he rested it against the door for a few quiet moments before he shuffled forwards, toeing off his shoes.

“You’re back late”

Lionel, who’d been focused on removing his jacket as quietly as he could, visibly jumped at the sound of Alexa’s voice before he whipped around, settling his eyes on where she stood in the doorway, Zachary stirring quietly in her arms. “What are you doing up?” he spluttered in surprise.

“Aren’t you slightly pleased to see me, Leo?” Alexa retorted playfully.

Lionel offered her a playful glare, something which made Alexa smile back at him before she gently shook her head. “Zach woke up about half an hour ago” she mused “And rather than have him disturb your parents who are sleeping upstairs, I bought him down here to give him a feed and a nappy change before we headed back up to bed. We were just on our way back up” she explained, her fingers lightly smoothing out the dark hair on the top of Zachary’s head.

Lionel watched the movement of her fingers for a moment, watching as Zachary stirred a little in his sleep, before he quirked a small smile. “Would you mind me joining you?” he posed, his voice caught between soft and teasing “I mean, I was planning on sleeping in the spare room so that I wouldn’t disturb you when I got in, but seeing as you’re awake...” he trailed off playfully.

Alexa spared him a glance, briefly feigning thought, before she nodded. “I suppose I can spare the space” she quipped teasingly.

Lionel offered her a playful glare, something which made Alexa beam up at him before she pushed herself up onto her toes, sneaking a kiss before she stepped past him, padding up the first couple of steps. “Are you coming or not?” she posed, looking back at him over her shoulder.

Lionel, who’d been contently watching her up the stairs, blinked a couple of times at the sound of her voice before he nodded, padding up the stairs behind her.

~#~
“Is he asleep?”

Alexa, who was quietly scanning the screen of her phone, startled a little at the sound of Lionel’s voice before she lifted her head. “Huh?” she posed.

“Zach” Lionel clarified as he padded into the bedroom, tossing his clothes into the hamper “Did he get back to sleep OK?” he added as he padded towards the bed, sitting down on the side of it.

“He was a little fussy” Alexa replied “But no more so than usual. He’s a pretty good sleeper when he wants to be” she fussed, a fond smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

Lionel admired her smile for a moment, wordlessly fussing about how beautiful it was, before he gently shook his head, turning his attention towards pulling his socks off of his feet. “How are your day with my parents?” he posed, breaking the comfortable silence which had passed between the two of them momentarily.

It wasn’t uncommon, with things feeling rather settled between the two of them, comfortable silences were common between the two of them, and Lionel couldn’t help but admire the ways the silences differed from those which had littered the start of their relationship. Before they had been awkward, the silences had tended to drag and feel uncomfortable, but they didn’t anymore, something which made Lionel smile a little. They had come a long way.

Alexa, who’d moved to climb under the duvet, shrugged. “It was alright” she mused “I mean, they’re more excited to spend time with Zach than they are to see me, but it’s Ok. I feel less nervous around them now” she added.

Lionel, who’d slipped into the bed beside her, smirked. “You’ve never needed to be nervous around them” he pointed out “They love you” he added.

Alexa rolled her eyes playfully before she snuggled a little closer to his body, a tired yawn falling out of her mouth. “You might say that” she mused “But I have seen you around my mother and Marco. You’re not exactly Mr Confident” she quipped as she shifted her hand, patting his chest playfully.

Lionel smiled a little at the feel of her hand before he caught a hold of it, gently pulling it against his lips. “You know” he murmured “I actually have something for you” he added, placing a couple of light kiss against her warm skin.

Alexa frowned. “What?” she posed.

Lionel simply flashed her a small grin before he pushed himself back to his feet, padding across the room towards his dresser. “I had someone pick this up for me a few days ago, but we’ve not exactly had a quiet moment for me to give it to you” he explained as he rooted through a drawer.

Alexa, who was watching him from the bed, tilted her head slightly, a soft yawn tumbling out of her mouth. “Leo, it’s nearly three in the morning” she pointed out.

Lionel nodded his head, acknowledging her statement, before he turned back towards her, a small velvet box clasped in his hand, a sight which made Alexa’s eyes widen slightly. “Leo” she squeaked.

Lionel smirked a little at the sound of surprise in her voice. “I’d love to say I had all this planned out” he quipped “But, given the way that I proposed, I think you’d see through that right away. I just thought...I thought maybe I should give you this” he babbled before he carefully reached out, offering the box out towards her.

Alexa blinked a couple of times before she leant forwards, gently taking the box out of his hand. Sparing him a shy smile, she flipped the box over in her palm a couple of times before she moved to flip its lid open, her eyes softening a little at the sight of the ring which sat inside. “Someone else picked this out, right?” she breathed quietly.

Lionel’s eyes widened. “Why?” he spluttered “Do you hate it? Because if you do, I can return it and we can pick out something which you prefer” he babbled, his voice soft and self-conscious.

Alexa quirked a tearful smile before she shook her head, her hand gently reaching out for his. Taking a couple of seconds to compose herself, she offered him a tearful look before dropped her stare, settling it on the ring. “I don’t hate it” she mused “In fact, I love it. I just...I can’t quite believe that you picked this out” she teased, a snuffly laugh falling out of her mouth.

Lionel marveled at the soft sound before he shook his head, a soft smile appearing on his lips. “I know you” he noted simply.

Alexa sniffled before she shook her head, wiping her eyes softly. “How’d I end up with you?” she mumbled.

Lionel shrugged gently before he knelt down ahead of her, gently slipping the ring onto her finger. “It took a lot of interfering from our friends” he quipped “And just a pinch of me being jealous when Andres appeared, but we got there in the end. We’ve got Zach now, and, eventually, we’re going to start planning a wedding, something I for one am looking forwards to” he added, pressing a soft kiss against the back of her hand.

Alexa smiled a little at the feel of his lips against her skin before she gently moved her other hand, pushing it back through his hair slightly so that he tilted his head up slightly, allowing her to press a soft kiss against his lips. Lionel smiled at the contact, relishing the softness of it, before he pulled back, lightly pressing his forehead against hers. “What was that for?” he quipped.

Alexa shrugged. “I just wanted to kiss you” she quipped “And now I am going to curl up and get some sleep before Zach wakes up again. Buenos noches, Leo” she added before she turned over, cuddling up against her pillow.

Lionel watched her briefly before he slipped into the bed beside her, his arm gently settling around her waist, something which caused Alexa to smile gently. It had taken them a while, for years, she had skirted around him and he had been oblivious to her, but she was glad that they’d gotten there in the end, even if it had taken a few nudges in the right direction. She was more than happy with the way things had panned out between the two of them.