The Things That You Do

Sparing a quiet yawn into his hand, Lionel allowed his head to lean forwards slightly, his dark eyes trained on Thalia who laid in her Moses basket, her blue eyes slowly closing as she attempted to drift back to sleep. It was early, with Thalia having woken up at a little past three in the morning in search of a feed, Lionel had been quick to climb out of bed with her, and whilst a small part of him was itching to head back up to bed, another part of him was grateful for the excuse to get up, not quite sure how much more tossing and turning he had left in him.

He knew that he was being silly, with their daughter having only entered the world a few days previous, he knew that there was no need for him and Alexa to immediately jump into the next thing, but still it bugged him, even if it was stupid, He couldn’t seem to shake the idea that she had changed her mind about marrying him from his mind. They hadn’t talked much about it, after she had discovered that she was pregnant for the second time, any talk of them two of them getting married had been firmly pushed to the bottom of their agenda, and he couldn’t help but worry that they wouldn’t get around to it, even if he knew that it was a silly thought. It was a worry that gnawed at him

Resting his head tiredly against the back of the couch, he watched Thalia for a few moments before he gently reached his hand out, his fingertips gently smoothing out the fine blonde hairs which sat on the top of her head. “Papa’s just being silly, isn’t he?” he mumbled “I mean, your mama, she’s in love with me, isn’t she? I’m just being silly” he added.

“Probably”

Lionel, who’d been quietly talking to Thalia, visibly startled at the sound of Alexa’s voice before he turned, sparing a look at her over his shoulder. “What are you doing up?” he posed “I mean, it’s what? Nearly four in the morning. Shouldn’t you be making the most of the fact that I got her before she woke you up?” he asked, offering a look towards Thalia who kicked a little in her sleep.

Alexa followed the line of his stare, admiring their sleeping daughter for a moment, before she shook her head, returning her stare to him. “Zach was stirring” she mused “So I got up to check on him and figured I ought to come and see where you’d gotten to. You’ve been gone for a while” she added as she stepped a little deeper into the room, taking a seat beside him on the couch.

Lionel merely nodded, his stare not moving away from Thalia.

Alexa watched him for a moment, not missing the fact that he was deliberately attempting to avoid her eyes, before she shook her head, moving to settle herself down in his lap, her legs either side of his body. Lionel startled, surprised by her sudden action, before he tilted his head back, looking up at her. “What are you doing?” he posed.

“I’m making you talk to me” Alexa replied with a small shrug “You’ve been weird all day, you’re trying to avoid coming back to bed, and I want to know what it is that’s going on in here that’s got you so...so worked up” she added, prodding the side of his head. She knew that there was something, despite his evasive behavior, she had noticed the change in his mood after his parents had departed, and she wanted to encourage him to tell him what was bothering him, even if he had insisted that it could wait. She wanted him to talk to her.

Lionel sighed, leaning his head against the back of the couch. “It’s just me being stupid” he mumbled “I’ll get over it” he added.

“If it is just you being stupid, then there is no harm in telling me” Alexa retorted with a small smile, her fingers gently playing with the dark hairs at the back of his neck.

Lionel closed his eyes at the feel of her fingers before he let out another soft sigh. “Do you still want to marry me?” he murmured softly, disturbing the brief moment of silence which had settled over the two of them.

Alexa, who’d been contently messing with his hair, stilled slightly at the sound of his question before she leant back slightly, her blue eyes meeting his darker ones. “What?” she breathed.

“I know it’s stupid” Lionel defended quickly “I mean, you’ve spent the last few months carrying our little girl, and the last few days since she arrived have been incredibly hectic, but I guess...I guess I just got into my head. I can’t remember the last time we talked about it and I guess I let that get the better of me. I kind of started to worry that, maybe, we might not get around to it” he babbled, his eyes peeking down towards his lap.

Alexa stared at him for a few seconds, allowing his words to hang in the air around them, before she gently moved her hand, cupping it over his cheek so that she could tilt his head back, bringing his eyes back level with hers. “You’re an idiot. Do you know that?” she posed, her thumb gently brushing against his cheekbone.

Lionel breathed out a feeble laugh, leaning into the palm of her hand. “I don’t think it is the first time that you’ve said that to me” he quipped.

Alexa smiled at the sound of his soft laugh before she tilted her head, pressing a kiss against the cheek which wasn’t covered by her hand. “You’re right” she mumbled “As soon as we became aware that I was pregnant with Lia, any talk of us making it up the aisle seemed to disappear, and I am sorry that it did, but I don’t want you to doubt that I want to do it. I am crazy about you, Leo, I have been for a long time now, and I don’t want you to doubt that. You’re what I want, you’ve been what I wanted for years, and I’m not going to change my mind about it now. I am in love with you, Leo” she insisted, her blue eyes staring into his.

It had surprised her, the idea that he had doubts about them had caught her off guard, but she didn’t want to hesitate in reassuring him that there was nothing for him to be concerned about. She was happy, more than happy with the way things had worked out for the two of them, and she wasn’t about to let it go without a fight, especially since she had waited so long for them to get together in the first place. She wasn’t about to let it slip through her fingers.

Lionel held her stare for a few seconds before he turned his head, pressing a tender kiss against her palm. “You’re going to marry an idiot” he mumbled softly, smiling gently against her skin.

“I’ve known that for a while” Alexa replied “But I’m Ok with it. My idiot’s pretty adorable” she added with a grin.

Lionel looked back up at her. “You know that I love you, right?” he posed.

Alexa nodded. “You’ve said it once or twice” she quipped.

Lionel let out a soft laugh before he placed his hands on her waist, gently moving so that her back was pressed into the cushions with him above her. “I can’t wait, you know” he mumbled “I know we messed around a lot before we got together, more me than you, but I really can’t wait to marry you” he fussed, peppering her face with soft kisses.

Alexa squirmed a little, trying to avoid the soft kisses, before she shook her head. “I’d suggest eloping, but my mother, and Marco, would almost certainly never talk to us again” she mused “He’s been working on a speech for a while and I don’t think he’d forgive me for depriving him of the opportunity to give it. He’s surprisingly keen to give me away” she joked warmly.

Lionel smiled. “Eloping isn’t option” he quipped “But I would like to get it done sooner rather than later. Maybe, in a couple of weeks once things have calmed down a little, we can revisit what we had in place before we found out about Lia and figure out what would need to be done so that we could get it done” he added thoughtfully.

Alexa nodded. “I think that that sounds like a plan” she mused “But right now? We should get back to bed. It’s four in the morning, Lionel” she pointed out.

Lionel let out a small laugh before he leant down towards her, stealing a sweet kiss before he ushered himself up to his feet, feeling more than slightly relieved after their conversation.