The Things That You Do

Staring up at the ceiling above his head, Lionel breathed out a contented sigh, his ears ringing with the silence which filled the hotel room. It had been a while, with two young children at home, he couldn’t quite remember the last time that he had woken up to a completely silent room, and he was keen to take a moment to enjoy it, even if he did love their usual morning routine. The idea of waking up in a quiet room with just Alexa for company was something he’d been looking forwards to since he’d booked their trip.

It had been a spur of the moment decision, with Thalia only being a few weeks old, he had hesitated more than once when it came to making a reservation, but he had opted to go ahead with it, wanting a couple of days alone with Alexa, something they hadn’t had in a while. It was hard, with two young children around as well as Lionel’s job and their families seemingly always finding an excuse to visit, it was hard for the two of them to take much time for just the two of them, and he wanted to make time, even if it was just a couple of days. He wanted him and Alexa to take a couple of days to just be a couple.

Smiling a little to himself, he allowed his eyes to close before he felt Alexa shift against his side slightly, something which caused him to look down, his smile widening little as she looked up at him, her blue eyes wide and sleepy. “You’re awake” she mumbled sleepily.

Lionel breathed out a small laugh before he nodded. “I had noticed that” he noted.

Alexa rolled her eyes, a soft yawn falling out of her mouth. “Why are you awake?” she mumbled “We don’t have anywhere to be, do we?” she asked as she pushed her hand back through her hair, trying to straighten out a few of its knots.

Lionel watched the movement of her fingers for a moment before he shook his head, moving to take her hand in his. “We don’t” he confirmed “I just woke up and I was making the most of the quiet. It’s been a long time since we were together in a room this quiet” he added.

Alexa, who was quietly messing with his fingers, shook her head. “You make it sound like we don’t spend any time alone together” she mused, a slightly teasing smile on her face.

“We’ve not had a lot of time alone in the last few weeks” Lionel argued softly “Since Lia came along, we’ve both been pretty busy and I just...I guess I’ve missed this” he added, offering her hand a soft squeeze.

He wasn’t surprised by it, with things having been busy for the two of them since Thalia had arrived, he wasn’t surprised by the feeling that they were drifting apart slightly, but still he wanted to fix it, even if things didn’t feel too obviously off between the two of them. He wanted to make sure that it didn’t become a real problem.

Alexa looked at him for a second, allowing his words to hang around the two of them, before she quietly shook her head. “You’re worried?” she asked.

“I’m not worried” Lionel replied “I’m just trying to make sure that we take a little time for just the two of us. I love being with Zach and Lia, you know how much I adore them, and how much I like having our friends and families around too, but I also really like being with you and that’s not something we’ve gotten to do a lot since our little girl came along. We’re fine, Alexa, but I am just trying to make sure that it stays that way” he explained, gently squeezing her hand once more before he lifted it up slightly, allowing him to press a soft kiss against the back of it.

Alexa smiled gently at the feel of his lips against her skin before she leant up slightly, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “You know” she mumbled, scattering a couple of soft kisses over his skin “It kind of sounds like you like having me around” she quipped, her voice warm and playful.

She knew that he was worried, the conversation that they’d had after Thalia had been born about the prospect of the two of them eventually getting married had been enough to show her that, but she wanted to lighten the mood slightly, wanting him to know that, from her point of view, there wasn’t anything to be worried about. They were good together, even if moments alone were few and far between, they both still adored being together, and Alexa didn’t have any concerns about them. As far as she was concerned, things for them and their little family couldn’t have gotten much better.

Lionel laughed softly before he turned onto his side, his hand gently settling on her hip. “I might like it” he quipped playfully, his thumb gently tracing circles against her skin.

Alexa arched an eyebrow. “Might?” she quipped.

“You can be pretty fun” Lionel played along, shrugging nonchalantly.

Alexa glared up at him for a couple of seconds before she let out a soft giggle, something which made Lionel smile before he shifted his weight slightly, leaving over her so that he could press a soft kiss against her lips. Alexa stilled slightly, surprised by the soft kiss, but she warmed to it quickly, kissing him back enthusiastically for a few seconds before she pulled away, grinning up at him warmly. “You’re in love with me” she quipped teasingly.

“You think so?” Lionel retorted between playful kisses.

Alexa nodded. “It took you some time to realize it” she quipped “I mean, you very nearly messed it up, but here we are. We’ve been together for ages, we’ve got two adorable little babies and someday, hopefully soon, we’re going to be married. I know it’s not perfect, we’ve both had our moments and I am sure that there’ll be more ahead of us, but honestly? I’m pretty glad that you realized that missing out on us would be a pretty big mistake. I kind of like where we are” she added, her voice softening slightly.

Lionel, who’d moved to rest against his pillow once more, was quiet for a few seconds before he carefully lifted his hand, placing it against her cheek before he turned her to look at him. Offering her a small smile, he leant towards her and pressed their lips together, wordlessly expressing just how glad he was that he’d figured out his feelings before he’d missed his shot with her.

He knew that he had made mistakes with her, after she’d told him how she felt, he knew that he’d hurt her in his hesitation and uncertainty about what it was he felt, but he’d gotten there in the end, even if he had come too close to letting her slip by, and he was pleased that he’d figured it out. He adored her, the more he thought about it, the surer he got that he probably had done for some time, and he wanted to make sure that things between them kept going in the way that they were.