When We Were

Sipping on the glass of juice that had been delivered to their room, Lionel rested his shoulder against the doorframe, his eyes settled on Emilia who was still huddled up beneath the duvet, her soft snuffly snores the only sound which disturbed the silence around the two of them. They didn’t have anywhere to be. Luca was with Isaac, Maisie was with Lionel’s parents, and with an evening flight ahead of them, they had the chance to be lazy for a few hours, something he had little doubt that Emilia would make the most of. The previous day had taken a lot out of her, a combination of the reception’s length and the various emotions that she had gone through had generated a fatigue which had had her asleep almost as soon as her head had hit the pillow, and Lionel had no intention of disturbing her before he had to. After everything, their getting married and all the problems Isaac had tried to cause her, she deserved a lazy morning.

Feeling a little smile at the corner of his mouth, he simply stood and watched her for a moment before the sound of his phone vibrating over his shoulder reached his ears, causing him to let out a soft sigh before he reluctantly left his spot. Shuffling out into the main room, he moved to pick up his phone, pressing it against his ear. “Mama?” he said quietly. Leaning his head back, he listened to his mother as she talked about how Maisie had been overnight before he felt something touch his side, causing him to turn, watching as Emilia cuddled into him.

Quirking a small smile, he wrapped his spare arm around her, keeping up with his mother’s conversation until she hung up the phone, allowing Lionel to deposit his own down onto the coffee table, turning his attention fully to Emilia who grinned up at him sleepily. “What was that about?” she asked.

Lionel gently reached out, the tips of his fingers tracing the line of her jaw. “My mother just wanted to let me know that Maisie had been fine overnight” he mused “She’s going to get her dressed and then take her off to find Marcella and David” he added.

Emilia leant into his touch, smiling sleepily.

Lionel just smiled down at her for a moment, marvelling at her, before her stomach growled, something which made her let out a squeak of laughter. “Sorry” she said “That’s why I got up. I was kind of hoping that my lovely husband might have taken the liberty of ordering some breakfast” she added.

Lionel smirked, nodding towards a scattering of plates which had been left on a sideboard. “Nothing’s hot” he quipped “I didn’t want to wake you up unless I absolutely had to” he added.

Emilia pressed a kiss against his cheek as she stood up. “You’re my favourite husband” she quipped as she wandered over towards the food.

Lionel’s laughter followed her. “Are there other I ought to know about?” he asked.

Emilia, who’d uncovered a bowl of fruit, turned to grin at him, shrugging her shoulders playfully. “You’re still my favourite” she teased.

“Uh huh” Lionel played along, rolling his eyes.

~#~
“Do we have to get up soon?”

Lionel, who had stepped out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair a little, glanced towards where Emilia sat on the bed, clutching the duvet to her chest. “Huh?” he asked.

“I want to see Maisie before we go” Emilia said, readjusting the blanket over her chest “So, do we need to leave soon?” she asked.

Lionel, who’d moved to pull on a pair of shorts, shook his head. “We’ve still got a while before we need to be at the airport” he quipped “And that leaves plenty of time to head over to your parents’ place to say goodbye to Maisie. You don’t have to rush out of bed. I only took a shower because you were asleep” he explained.

Emilia nodded her head slowly before she looked up at him. “I am going to call Isaac” she mused.

Lionel, who’d been pulling a t-shirt over his head, stilled for a second before he turned around. “Why?” he asked.

"I want to say goodbye to Luca before we fly” Emilia said “And that means calling him. I just wanted you to know” she added.

Lionel sunk down onto the side of the bed, shaking his head. “I am not monitoring your calls, Em” he noted “If you want to speak to Luca, you don’t need to announce it to me. He’s your son. It’s not that I don’t want you talking to Isaac, it’s that I hate how he can still get to you. How he keeps trying to get to you” he explained.

They had let it slide at the time, after Isaac had left with Luca, the notion that he had deliberately tried to convince Luca to skip his mother’s wedding had been left behind, but Lionel knew that it had upset Emilia, even if she had headed back into the reception like nothing had happened. The hurt in her eyes when Luca had announced it had been obvious.

Emilia pushed her fingers through her hair, fidgeting slightly in the quiet. “I don’t know what to do” she mumbled “He tried to keep my little boy from my wedding. Why would he want to do that? Why would he wanted to hurt me like that?” she asked, the frustration still evident in her voice despite its softness.

Lionel clambered across the bed, his hands taking a hold of hers. “I could call him every name under the sun” he noted “But I doubt it would do any good. He’s selfish, and he’s jealous, but I don’t want to look at the negatives. Your little boy was there, Emmy, he looked adorable, and he’s in nearly every one of the pictures to prove it. Isaac tried to spoil it, but he couldn’t. It was perfect, Em, and that’s what you ought to think about” he insisted gently.

Emilia’s lips quirked into a dreamy smile. “It was” she mused.

“Yes, it was” Lionel insisted with a beaming grin.

Emilia looked at him. “Thank you” she mused.

Lionel shrugged bashfully. “It’s my job” he mused.

Emilia leant over, pressing a kiss against his cheek before she shuffled to her feet, pulling the sheet off of the bed with her. Wrapping it around herself, she stopped to gather her change of clothes before she disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Lionel sat on the bed behind her. Hearing the door click shut, he allowed his body to slump back against the mattress, not quite sure how he could stop the topic of Isaac always arising in their conversations. He didn’t want to keep talking about him, he didn’t like the way that he still seemed capable of upsetting Emilia, and he knew that it was a problem that they were going to have to figure out, but equally one that could wait until they returned from their honeymoon.