I Know I Was for a While

“What time is it?” Camila called from her spot in front bathroom mirror, her hand guiding a hairbrush through her dark hair. It had been a little while, after Barcelona’s triumph against Sevilla in the final of the Copa Del Rey, a couple of weeks had passed, and with Isabel having called a few days previous, Camila was due to meet her for lunch, something which had a knot in the pit of her brunette’s stomach, even if Isabel had been quick to insist that Victor wouldn’t be with her. The idea of spending time with Noah’s mother was still something which made her uncomfortable. She knew that she couldn’t shy away from it, regardless of how awkward things were between her and Noah’s parents, she did still want them to have a relationship with Oscar, but she couldn’t quite shake her nerves, even if Isabel’s insistence that it would just be her had soothed them a little. She still found the familiar knot in the pit of her stomach.

Lionel, who was rested against the frame of the bathroom door, spared a look down at his watch. “A couple of minutes before twelve” he mused “What time did you and Isabel arrange to meet?” he asked, sparing her a look via the mirror.

Camila, who’d moved to pull her hair up into a loose ponytail, shrugged. “I said that me and Oscar would probably get there a little after one” she mused “But I wasn’t overly specific. I guess a part of me was hoping that something would come up so that I could cancel” she added, offering him a half-hearted teasing smile.

Lionel shook his head a little before he stepped further into the room, his arms settling gently around her waist. “It might not be so bad” he mumbled, pressing a soft kiss against the side of her neck.

Camila closed her eyes, relishing the soft feel of his lips against her skin for a second, before she shook her head. “You’re just saying that” she replied.

Lionel smiled gently against her skin. “Would you like me to tell you it’s going to be awful?” he asked, pressing another soft kiss against her skin “Because if that’s what you want...” he trailed off, smiling into the side of her neck.

Camila tried not to smile, but failed, a soft grin pulling at the corner of her lips. “You’re a dork” she muttered.

Lionel shrugged impishly, allowing a couple of seconds of quiet to pass between the two of them, before he tightened his grip on her waist slightly, hugging closer to him. “Isabel seems nice” he mumbled quietly “And with Victor not around, it might be easier. Maybe not a lot easier, but a little, and that’s good, isn’t it?” he asked, catching her eyes in the mirror.

Camila held his stare for a second before she nodded slowly, something which caused Lionel to offer her waist another soft squeeze. “I hope it goes well for you, Mila” he mused, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek. He knew that it was important to her, even despite her original reluctance to talk to Isabel and Victor, he knew that the older couple being around for Oscar was something which mattered to her, and he wanted it to get easier, even if he was sure that it would take them all a little time to get used to the way that things had changed. He didn’t want Isabel and Victor to make things hard on Camila.

Camila smiled a little at the feel of his lips against her cheek before she leant her head back slightly, allowing her to press a quick kiss against his lips. “You’re wonderful” she mumbled between light pecks.

Lionel grinned at her as though he’d thought of a teasing comeback, but opted against saying anything, instead opting to press another soft kiss against her lips before he dropped his hold on her. “I’ll see you when you get home?” he asked.

Camila’s smile softened a little at his use of the word ‘home’ before she nodded. “I’ll see you then” she mused softly as she stepped towards the door, pausing to spare a quick look over her shoulder.

Lionel caught her look before he offered her another reassuring smile, something which made Camila smile back at him before she stepped out of the room.

~#~
Gently rocking Oscar’s pushchair back and forth, Camila spared a look across the table, her dark eyes settled on Isabel who sat opposite her, quietly finishing up the cup of coffee that she’d ordered. It had been quiet, aside from light small talk and Isabel’s cooing over Oscar, the two women had barely said more than two words to one another, and Camila didn’t quite know how to change it, even if she did want things between her and Noah’s parents to become easier. She wasn’t quite sure how to start a conversation that didn’t lead them to talking about her ex-boyfriend.

Checking that Oscar was still napping quietly, she quirked a small smile to herself before she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, something which caused her to pull it out, her eyes rolling as she spotted the text from Lionel, asking her if she needed him to call her to offer her an excuse to leave.

“Leo?”

Camila, who’d moved to tuck the phone back into her pocket, blinked a couple of times at the sound of Isabel’s voice before she looked up, offering the older woman a tight smile. “Yeah” she confirmed.

Isabel smiled gently. “He seemed nice” she mused “I mean, I know I only met him briefly, but he seemed like a nice guy” she fussed.

Camila merely offered her another tight smile, something which made Isabel shake her head, a soft sigh falling out of her mouth. “I know it’s got nothing to do with me” she mused “I mean, after the way that Noah treated you, I’ve got no right to question who you chose to be with, Camila, I just...he’s good for you, isn’t he? He’s good for Oscar?” she asked gently.

She knew that it wasn’t something that Camila wanted to talk about with her, after the way that Victor had spoken to her, Isabel was certain that Camila would have been more than happy to never talk about Lionel with her again, but she wanted to make sure that the brunette was happy, even if the topic of her love life was one which had little to do with her or her husband. She’d always liked the brunette and wanted to make sure that thing were heading in the right direction for her.

Camila hesitated for a second, briefly contemplating telling the older woman that it had nothing to do with her, before she nodded her head, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “He’s wonderful” she mused “He’s been good for me and he’s wonderful with Oscar. He makes me happy, Isabel” she added gently.

Isabel smiled softly. “I’m glad” she mused “I do want to see you happy, Camila, even if it’s not with my son. You deserve something wonderful, and I hope that Leo is that for you. I can’t promise that Victor will keep his thoughts to himself, but for what it is worth...” she trailed off with a soft smile.

Camila offered her look, briefly contemplating asking about Noah and whether or not he’d moved on, before she shook her head, gently returning Isabel’s smile. A small part of her wanted to know, a small part of her itched to know if Noah had found someone like she had found Lionel, but she stopped herself from asking, knowing that whatever the answer was, it wouldn’t change things between the two of them. Her relationship with Noah was over, it wasn’t something which was going to change, and she didn’t want to dwell on it, instead wanting to focus on how well things were going for her and Lionel.