When We Were

Silently swirling the last of his drink around his glass, Lionel glanced across the room, a faint smile tugging the corner of his mouth upwards as his stare landed on the bride and groom. He was glad that he made it, when he had first gotten the invitation, he had been hopeful that he’d miss the date to be with Argentina at the world cup, but with the team having faltered early, he had been quick to put a call into Jordi, hoping that he could find him a seat. They’d been friends since they were children, Jordi’s mother and his own had been close when they’d been growing up, and whilst they didn’t see one another often, he had still wanted to be there, happy for his friend and for his new wife.

Watching Jordi and Samia for a few moments, he drained the last of his drink from the glass before he placed it back down onto the table. Lifting a hand, he self-consciously adjusted his tie before he heard a noise from the beneath the table, something which caused him to frown a little before he shuffled his seat back slightly, allowing him to lift up the cloth which had been draped over the table to reveal the little boy who sat underneath it. “Hola” he squeaked.

The little boy glanced up at the sound of Lionel’s voice before he placed his finger against his lips. “Shh” he whispered “I’m hiding” he added.

Lionel nodded his head slowly. “Who are you hiding from?” he whispered, playing along.

“My mama” the little boy chirped “We’re playing hide and seek. She said we could play one more time before we had dinner” he added.

Lionel smiled. “This is a good hiding place” he noted quietly “I bet it will take forever for her to find you” he added.

The little boy just grinned, nodding his head enthusiastically.

Lionel laughed quietly before the sound of footsteps reached his ears, causing him to drop the table cloth, nonchalantly fishing his phone out of his pocket. Leaning back in his seat, he feigned scrolling through his texts for a few moments before he heard a laugh, something which caused him to lift his head, his dark eyes landing on the brunette who’d stopped next to the table, an amused expression on her features.

Lionel tilted his head, feeling a vague wave of recognition as he scanned her appearance, before he quirked a small amused smile. “Can I help you with something?” he asked.

The brunette smiled. “I’m really surprised to see you here” she noted.

“You are?” Lionel asked, his smile turning slightly bemused.

“I am” the brunette replied “The last time I went over the guest list with Jordi, he was pretty sure you weren’t going to make it, even after Argentina got knocked out. He thought you’d try and avoid this at all costs” she added.

Lionel just stared at her, his bemused smile fading into a slight frown.

The brunette giggled. “You don’t remember me, do you?” she asked.

Lionel laughed shyly, shaking his head ever so slightly. “I get the feeling I ought to” he noted.

“It’s Ok” the brunette replied “You never really paid much attention to me when we were kids. I am pretty sure that you always thought I was annoying when I tried to hang around with you and Jordi. I know Jordi did” she added, rolling her eyes playfully.

Lionel stared at her thoughtfully, his eyes studying her face for a few long seconds, before they widened a little in recognition, something which made the woman giggle, sheepishly tucking her hair back off of her face. “Emilia” she confirmed “I’m...”

“Jordi’s little sister” Lionel finished for her.

Emilia nodded. “That’s me” she fussed “It’s...”

“Mama!”

Emilia’s voice trailed off as the little boy barreled out from under the table, tossing his arms around her waist. Flinching at the impact, she gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders before she turned him around, smiling sheepishly at Lionel who watched the two of them, a curious expression on his face. Feeling her cheeks warm a little, she turned her attention down towards her son, gently smoothing out a few messy hairs which stuck up on the top of his head. “I think the two of you have already met” she fussed.

“Not officially” Lionel noted “Hola, I’m Leo. I’m a friend of your uncle Jordi” he added, offering his hand out.

He knew that he shouldn’t have been surprised, with the amount of years that he had been away in Barcelona, it was inevitable that the lives of those he’d grown up with had moved on too, but still seeing Emilia with a child had caught him off guard. His memories of her were hazy, but he could still picture her as a slightly awkward little girl, a distant removal from the woman who stood in front of him, her own little boy at her side.

The little boy looked at it for a second before he turned to look at Emilia, wordlessly asking if it was OK.

Emilia smiled softly. “Introduce yourself, baby” she cooed.

The little boy turned around before he took a hesitant step forwards, placing his little hand into Lionel’s. “I’m Luca” he announced quietly.

Lionel shook his hand gently. “It’s good meet you, Luca” he mused.

Luca smiled at Lionel shyly before he turned around, looking up at his mother with a soft pout. “Can we play some more, mama?” he asked.

Emilia laughed, but shook her head, gently adjusting the little waistcoat that he wore. “We’ve got to sit down for dinner now, baby” she mused “And then your papa is coming to take you back to his house so that you can get some sleep” she added.

“I’m not hungry” Luca mumbled.

Emilia smiled. “Not even for the pizza I had Jordi choose for you specially?” she asked.

Luca’s expression softened momentarily.

“If he doesn’t want it, I’ll have it” Lionel quipped, grinning playfully.

Emilia smirked to herself as Luca let out a sound of protest before she glanced at Lionel, mouthing a ‘thank you’ for playing along. Leaning down, she took Luca’s hand into her own before she glanced at the place setting arounds the table, her eyes quickly finding her name placed in front of the seat next to Lionel’s. “Looks like you’re stuck with us, Leo” she announced.

Lionel, who’d been staring at her, blinked. “Hm?” he asked.

“My seat is next to yours” Emilia pointed out, gesturing to the spot next to him.

Lionel followed the gesture, reading the place setting, before he nodded his head, smiling bashfully. “So it is” he breathed.

Emilia rolled her eyes playfully. “Try and sound a little less disappointed, Leo” she quipped sarcastically “I am almost certainly not as annoying as I was when we were kids” she added as she stepped towards the table, helping Luca up into his seat before she took her own.

“I don’t remember you being annoying” Lionel quipped, pouring the two of them a glass of water.

Emilia flashed him a smirk. “You don’t remember me at all” she quipped.