I Know I Was for a While

Quietly closing the front door behind himself, Lionel hesitated for a few seconds, listening for the sound of Camila’s voice. It had been a few hours, after he had gone to training, he had had a couple more things to do before he could head home, but he was glad to be back, even if it had only been a matter of hours. Part of him simply couldn’t wait to be back in the same place as Camila.

He knew that it was a little silly, his desire to be back in the same place as Camila was a little sentimental, but he couldn’t shake it, not that he wanted to. For a little while, he was more than happy to enjoy the idea that they were very newly engaged. He had been expecting it, despite his nerves about asking, he had always had the sense that Camila would say yes when he did work up the nerve to ask, but still he was relieved, even if he hadn’t had many doubts. He had still felt a weight lift off his shoulders when she’d gotten the word ‘yes’ out of her mouth.

Lingering beside the front door, he listened for the sound of voices for a few seconds longer before he turned, moving to slip off his jacket and shoes. Taking a couple of steps forwards, he briefly peeked into the living room, checking for any sign of Camila or Oscar, before the distant sound of Oscar’s laughter filled his ears, something which caused a soft grin to spread across his face before he followed it, stepping into the kitchen where Camila stood babbling happily to Oscar who sat in his highchair, smiling up at her.

Stopping in the doorway, he watched the two of them for a few seconds, before he lightly cleared his throat, something which made Camila lift her head slightly, her warm smile growing just a hint as her eyes landed on him. “Look who’s back, Oscar” she cooed gently “You want to come and say hola?” she added as she leant over, lifting the little boy of his seat.

Oscar, who’d been messing around with one of his toys, grumbled a little as his mother lifted him up before he looked over at Lionel, something which caused his expression to light up before he reached his arms out towards the argentine. “Papa!” he squeaked excitedly.

Lionel, who’d taken half a step towards the two of them, let out a small laugh before he reached forwards, moving to take the little boy out of Camila’s arms. “Hola, Oscar” he mumbled, pressing a light kiss against the top of his head. It wasn’t the first time that Oscar had used the word ‘papa’. Not too long after he’d said the word ‘mama’ for the first time, the little boy had looked up at him and said it, but still it made him laugh a little, still a little in awe that he said it.

Camila watched the two of them with a small smile, marveling at how cute they were together, before she shook her head. “We were wondering where you’d gotten to” she mused “My mother left hours ago” she added playfully.

Lionel, who’d been quietly talking to Oscar, rolled his eyes at her teasing before he shrugged. “I had a couple of things that I needed to get done” he mused “I got back as quickly as I could. Was your mother here for long?” he asked as he stepped across the room, re-settling Oscar down into his highchair.

“She wanted to be” Camila replied “But she had that meeting that she needed to get to, so that restricted the amount of time that she could spend here fussing. She did, however, promise to be back when we were both here. She’s looking forwards to hearing how you did it” she added, her voice caught between soft and teasing.

Lionel, who’d been trying to put a bib on Oscar, quirked a small smile. “I hope I did a good job” he quipped.

“I think you did” Camila replied gently “I mean, there was a fair bit of babbling, but I think...I think it was very you, very us. I loved it” she added, her fingers gently pushing her hair behind her ear.

Lionel watched her, his eyes catching sight of the engagement ring that she wore, before let out a soft laugh. “I’m glad” he mused.

Camila, followed his stare, blushing a little at the sight of her engagement ring, before she flashed him a slightly shy smile. “We’ll have to tell your parents” she mused after a few seconds of quiet “I mean, unless you’ve already told them” she added, her voice slightly teasing.

Lionel shook his head as he sat down in the seat beside Oscar, trying to feed him a spoonful of the lunch that Camila had cooked for him. “I haven’t” he quipped “If I had even mentioned it in front of my mother, she would have blabbed to you, I’m sure of it. She’s not exactly the best at keeping secrets” he added with a grin.

Camila smiled gently, allowing a beat of silence to pass between them, before she shook her head. “They’ll be excited, won’t they?” she asked tentatively.

Lionel didn’t hesitate in nodding, a warm smile quickly flooding his features. “Of course they will be” he insisted.

Camila offered him a slightly dubious look, something which caused Lionel to gently reach out towards her, the fingers of his spare hand gently knotting through hers as he pulled her slightly closer to him. “They’ll be excited, Mila” he mused “They love you, and they adore Oscar, and they’re going to be more than happy about this. Anyone who knows us will be. They’re going to know how much I love you, and hopefully how much you love me, and they’re going to think this is wonderful news, because it is wonderful news, Mila. Isn’t it?” he asked gently.

Camila nodded gently, a slight smile pulling the corner of her mouth upwards. “I think so” she mused.

Lionel grinned up at her before he lightly tugged on her hand, pulling her into a soft kiss that she grinned into for a few seconds before she pulled away, pressing a couple of kisses to his forehead as she mumbled a quiet ‘I love you’. Lionel kept her close for a few seconds, mumbling the same words back to her, before Oscar squeaked out the word ‘papa’, something which made him roll his eyes playfully before he returned his attention to the little boy.

Camila, who’d shuffled a few steps back, watched the two of them with a goofy smile for a few seconds before she shook her head, wordlessly reaffirming to herself that the news of their engagement was good. It had surprised her, despite the conversation that she had had with her mother a few months previous about the idea of Lionel’s proposing, she hadn’t actually been prepared for him to ask, but she was still giddy that he had, even if it had been a surprise. In the moment, when she’d looked down at him, only one word had jumped into her mind.