I Know I Was for a While

Taking a sip from the glass of water that he’d poured for himself, Lionel allowed his eyes to close, listening to the quiet which filled the house. It was late, after Barcelona’s away match, he had arrived back home at a little after midnight, but he had yet to venture upstairs, even if a large part of him was itching to climb into bed. He hadn’t quite worked up the nerve to run the risk of disturbing Camila who had grumbled at him more than once for waking her up in the middle of the night.

Tapping his fingers against the side of his glass, he took another small sip from it before the sound a light tapping disturbed the quiet, something which caused him to still slightly before he picked his head up, settling his stare on Camila who stood across the room, a sleepy Oscar balanced on her hip. “I thought you’d probably be back” she mused “How come you’re not upstairs?” she added, gently adjusting Oscar in her arms.

Lionel blinked a couple of times, surprised to see the two of them, before he shook his head, a slight smile tugging at the corner of lips. “I was building up to it” he noted “But I know how annoyed you get when I wake you up in the middle of the night, so I was trying to build up the courage. What are you two doing up?” he asked as he stepped towards her, his fingertips gently smoothing out the messy dark hair which sat on the top of Oscar’s head.

Oscar shifted slightly before he offered his arms out towards Lionel, sleepily mumbling the word ‘papa’, something which caused the argentine to breathe out a soft laugh before he leant forwards, carefully lifting the little boy into his arms.

Camila watched the two of them for a second, a soft, doting smile on her face, before she shook her head, moving to pour herself a glass of juice. “He’s having one of his fussier nights” she mused “I mean, I settled him down at about normal time, but he’s woken up two or three times since then. I think he’s probably just a little overexcited, he often is when he’s seen either of his grandmothers” she added, quirking another soft smile as Oscar cuddled into Lionel slightly, his doe brown eyes blinking tiredly.

Lionel, who’d been watching Oscar too, looked up at the sound of Camila’s voice. “How were they?” he asked “The grandmothers. Was it OK?” he added.

Camila paused for a second before she nodded her head, her fingers gently pushing her messy hair off of her face. “My mother was fine” she mused “I mean, you know how she’s been since you...since this” she added, sparing a quick glance down towards her engagement ring.

Lionel followed the glance before he nodded, a grin quickly brightening his features. “She’s excited” he commented.

“She is” Camila agreed “And she makes sure I know how excited she is whenever she visits. She’s always bringing wedding magazines and making suggestions, and whilst I know we’ve not really sat down and talked about it, I kind of love it. She’s already talking about dates” she fussed, a sheepish blush spreading across her cheeks.

Lionel grinned at the sight of the blush on her cheeks, but didn’t comment on it, instead opting to shift his weight slightly, trying to soothe Oscar who had started to grumble quietly. “How was Isabel?” he asked, his voice gentle and tentative.

“Isabell was...she was fine” Camila stumbled out “I mean, she wasn’t here for very long, but we had...we had a decent conversation about the state of things between us and I think things might get a little better. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am not going to get my hopes up too much, but maybe it is a start?” she added, her voice more than a little uncertain.

Lionel tilted his head slightly, not missing the uncertainty that was clear in her voice, before he gently shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe” he quipped, an encouraging smile lighting up his features “I hope it is, Mila” he added.

He was dubious, from the moment that he had met Isabel and Victor, it had been clear to him that they had very little intention of even attempting to warm to the idea of him and Camila being together, but whilst he didn’t quite believe that Isabel would have had a sudden change of heart, he wanted it to be true for Camila, knowing just how much easier it would make things on her and Oscar.

Camila admired his smile for a moment, noting just how much she liked seeing it, before Oscar let out a small sound, his head falling sleepily onto Lionel’s shoulder, something which made the argentine laugh gently before he shifted again, carefully bouncing the little boy. “I think someone would like to head back up to his bed” he mused gently.

“I can take him” Camila noted.

“I think I can handle it” Lionel replied with a small grin “Why don’t you head back up to bed? I’ll be with you shortly” he added before he stepped out of the room, making his way up the stairs.

Camila hesitated for a split second before she followed after him, stopping in the doorway of the nursery. Leaning her weight against the doorway, she watched as Lionel gently settled Oscar down into his crib before she shook her head to herself, a soft smile quickly lighting up her face. She had seen it countless times, since Oscar had arrived a little over a year previous, she had seen him and Lionel together more times than she could count, but she doubted that she would ever get tired of it. They were more than adorable together.

Biting down on her lip gently, she smiled at the two of them for a few more seconds before she turned to step out of the doorway, hesitating for a split second as she felt her stomach do a small turn. Allowing a momentary frown to fill her face, she shook her head gently before she felt a hand against her back, something which caused her to look up, grinning at Lionel who smiled down at her. “Ready for bed?” he quipped.

Camila nodded, just about stifling a soft yawn into her hand. “Absolutely” she enthused.

Lionel dipped down, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head, before he stepped into their bedroom, Camila following close behind.