I Know I Was for a While

Ruffling his hair a little, Lionel quietly sat at the foot of the bed, his dark eyes settled on Camila who laid behind him, her soft and even breaths still filling the otherwise quiet bedroom. It was early, with Barcelona’s away match that afternoon due to kick off early, the team were scheduled to leave the city on a flight in a couple of hours, and whilst he didn’t have to wake Camila, a small part of him was tempted to, not wanting to miss out on saying goodbye to her before he left.

It had been a while, after Camila’s run-in with Noah, a few weeks had passed, and whilst he knew that seeing the other man had surprised her, he was proud of how she’d handled it, even if he knew that the idea of Noah not wanting to be around for Oscar was something which still got to her. He was proud of how she’d handled seeing him. There was no denying that Noah was still a sore subject for her, after the way he’d ended their relationship and turned his back on her, and on Oscar, Lionel was sure that the other man would always be something that she didn’t want to talk about, and Lionel had little intention of pushing it, knowing precisely how much the other man had hurt her.

Pushing his fingertips back through his hair, he quirked a small smile to himself as he watched her sleep for a few seconds before he pushed himself up to his feet, moving to slip his feet into the pair of trainers that he’d left beside the bed. Leaning over, he tied the laces of his shoes before he padded around the bed, stopping beside where Camila slept. Smiling to himself, he took a couple more seconds to listen to the soothing sound of her breathing before he reached his hand out, lightly brushing her hair off her face.

Camila’s nose wrinkled at the feel of his touch before she allowed her dark eyes to open slowly, a frown pulling at her lips. “What?” she mumbled, curling into her pillow a little more.

Lionel, who’d crouched down beside the bed, smiled at her gently. “Lo siento” he replied “I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just about to leave” he added.

Camila merely let out a quiet grumble in reply, something which made Lionel chuckle before he leant up slightly, pressing a soft kiss against her head. “I’ll leave you to it” he mumbled “I’ve already looked in Oscar and he’s still sleeping. I’ll see you later?” he asked, pressing another kiss against her head.

Camila was quiet for a couple of seconds before she rolled over, looking up at him. “It’s Saturday already?” she asked sleepily.

Lionel breathed out a small laugh before he nodded. “It is” he confirmed “Is that bad news?” he asked.

Camila was quiet for a few seconds before she let out a quiet sigh. “Isabel’s coming today” she noted simply.

Lionel nodded slowly. “You could call your mother” he suggested “If you want someone else here” he added.

Camila scoffed. “I doubt she’d make things easier” she commented with a knowing smile.

Lionel mirrored her smile. “It was just a suggestion” he quipped.

“I’ll be fine” Camila mused before the familiar sound of Lionel’s alarm filled the air.

Lionel offered her a look, wordlessly asking if she was sure, before he leant up, pressing a quick kiss against her lips. “I’ll see you later?” he asked as he stepped away from the bed, hurrying to wrap his jacket around his shoulders.

Camila watched him pull his jacket on and move towards the door before she spoke up. “Leo?” she mused softly.

Lionel stopped in the doorway before he turned, looking at her over his shoulder. “Hm?” he asked.

“I love you” Camila announced, a soft grin on her lips.

Lionel blinked a couple of times, surprised to hear those words, before his expression fell into a soft smile. Shaking his head, he allowed a sheepish laugh to fall out of his mouth before he stepped back towards the bed, something which made Camila smile up at him before she reached up her hand, gently pulling him down into a soft kiss that he reciprocated for a few seconds before he ducked back, mumbling a quiet ‘I love you too’. Offering her another sheepish smile, he took a couple of steps back before he pulled his bag onto his shoulder. “I should...” he trailed off.

Camila grinned at him shyly. “Adios, Leo” she mused.

~#~
“I’m sorry that Oscar’s not up yet” Camila mused as she led Isabel into the living room “He’s teething and that means he’s had a few fussy nights. I’d wake him up but...” she trailed off, offering the older woman the most polite smile that she could muster. She felt awkward, despite the fact that Isabel had visited a few times since the last time Camila had told her to keep her nose out of her relationship with Lionel, she couldn’t shake the knot from the pit of her stomach, but with Oscar having only just settled down for his nap, Camila knew that she couldn’t wake him, even if she did feel uncomfortable around his grandmother. The little boy needed the sleep.

Isabel, who’d moved to shrug her coat off, smiled pleasantly. “It’s OK” she mused “If he’s had a bad night, I’d hate to wake him up. I still remember how grumpy Noah was when he was teething” she added.

Camila’s polite smile faltered a little at the mention of Noah before she shook her head, fixing it quickly. “I was going to make some tea” she mused “Would you like some?” she asked, padding towards the kitchen.

Isabel followed after her. “I’d love some” she mused.

Camila offered her another polite smile before she stepped towards the kettle, flicking it on as a slightly uncomfortable silence settled between them. Shaking her head, she moved to collect two mugs from a nearby cupboard before the sound of Isabel clearing her throat reached her ears, causing her to turn around, her stare landing on the older woman. “Everything OK?” she asked politely.

Isabel nodded. “Everything’s fine” she mused “I just...I was wondering if you’d got any plans for the holidays” she added.

Camila blinked a couple of times, surprised by the question, before she gently shrugged. “It’s not something we’ve really thought about yet” she mused “I mean, Leo’s got a couple of weeks off around Christmas, but we’ve not really thought about what we’re going to do with them. Why?” she asked.

Isabel shrugged. “I just thought I’d ask” she mused “I mean, I know that you’re probably not going to spend the whole day with me and Victor, but we would like to see little Oscar on his first Christmas, even if it is just for a couple of hours. Maybe we could have dinner together” she suggested, her tone caught between tentative and excited. She wasn’t naïve, with things as they were between her family and Camila, she knew that the last thing that the brunette was likely to want was to spend the entirety of Christmas day with her and husband, but still she wanted to suggest that they spent a part of it together, wanting to spend at least a few hours with her grandson on his first Christmas.

Camila was quiet for a few seconds, mulling over the older woman’s offer, before she tentatively shrugged. “Maybe” she mused “I mean, my mother is going to want to spend the day with us, and we’ve not spoken to Leo’s parents yet about they want to do, but maybe it is something we can set up” she added, her voice more than slightly hesitant.

Isabel’s expression flinched slightly at the mention of Lionel’s parents, but if she was going to comment, she didn’t get the chance to, cut off by the soft sound of Oscar’s cries which emanated away from the monitor which sat in the pocket of Camila’s sweatshirt. Camila just about stopped herself from letting out an audible sigh of relief before she stepped past the older woman, mumbling about needing to check on Oscar.

Stepping out of the room, she ducked into the hall before she shook her head to herself, knowing that any time that Noah’s parents spent around her mother, let alone Lionel’s parents, was almost certain to be more than problematic. She wasn’t surprised by Isabel’s request, with it being Oscar’s first Christmas, it was inevitable that his grandparents would want to be involved in it, and whilst Camila wanted them to be involved too, she knew that it wasn’t likely to be easy.