When We Were
Fifty Six: He’s Going To Be So Annoyed
Quirking a small smile to herself, Emilia leant her shoulder against the doorframe, her stare settled on Luca and Lionel who were sat on the couch in front of the television, chatting animatedly about the football highlights which ran on the screen. She had been worried, despite Luca having been clearly been excited about the prospect of their move, she had worried that, after the novelty wore off, he would struggle to adapt, but if anything, he had only grown more excited in the few weeks that had passed since they’d arrived, something which had helped Emilia settle in a little quicker than she had been expecting.
It was where she wanted to be, with the baby on the way, she wanted to be where Lionel was so that they could share the experience, but it had still been overwhelming, even if she had ended up where she wanted to, and seeing Luca, who she’d been worried wouldn’t take to moving at all well, adapt quickly had helped her to relax. He seemed to like everything, from the bedroom that had been decorated to his exact specifications to the football team that Lionel had helped him get into, and Emilia loved seeing him so happy. Even more, she loved watching the bond which was slowly forming between him and Lionel. She had been careful, from the outset of her relationship with Lionel, she had been tentative about him and Luca getting to know one another, but she was glad that they were getting along, even if Luca could be a little shy from time to time. She knew that him getting used to Lionel being around could only be a good thing for them.
“I want to score goals like that” Luca chirped, gesturing to the screen which showed Lionel scoring a goal the previous night.
Lionel, who’d been watching the screen, smiled. “I could show you some time” he noted “I mean, I am no coach, but I could show you how I do it” he added.
“Really?” Luca prodded excitedly “Can we go now?” he added.
“No, you can’t” Emilia interjected, shaking her head gently.
Luca huffed as he looked up at his mother. “Why not, mama?” he prodded.
“Because your papa is on his way over to sit with you while Leo and I go to the doctor” Emilia replied “We’re going to see the baby today” she added, her hand gently brushing over her bump fondly.
Luca’s expression softened a little. “Is baby OK?” he asked quietly.
Emilia nodded as she stepped further into the room, bending over to kiss the top of Luca’s head. “Baby’s fine” she mused “But we need to go and make sure. We’re going to get a nice new picture to show you” she added.
Luca looked at her, a little furrow in his forehead. “Will we know if baby is a boy today?” he asked “I want a brother” he added.
Emilia grinned, something which Lionel mirrored, shaking his head amusedly. It was already well established that Luca wanted a baby brother. “I know you do” she mused “But, you know, baby could be a girl. A little sister wouldn’t be so bad, would it?” she asked.
Luca frowned for a second before he sighed, shaking his head. “I suppose it’d be OK” he mumbled.
Emilia kissed the top of his head again. “You’re going to be a great big brother, either way” she mumbled into his hair “Baby is going to love you, sweetheart” she added.
Luca allowed her to hug him for a few moments before the sound of the doorbell filled the air, causing him to pull back, hurriedly moving out of the room.
Emilia made a move to follow him, but stopped under a combination of Lionel’s hand settling on the small of her back and the sound of Isaac’s voice. Letting out a soft sigh, she allowed Lionel to pull her closer before she quirked a small smile, feeling his lips against the crown of her head. “You OK?” he mumbled into her hair.
Emilia just nodded before Isaac stepped into the room, causing her to gentle pull away from Lionel, greeting him with a small smile which Isaac returned brightly. “Hola, Em” he quipped “Lionel” he added, offering the forward a tight nod.
Lionel’s smile was just as tight. “Isaac” he noted.
“We need to get going” Emilia noted after a couple of seconds of tense silence.
Isaac nodded, his expression softening into a gentle smile as he looked back at Emilia. “Good luck” he noted “I mean, I am sure that everything’s good, but...you know. I hope the appointment is a good one, Em” he added warmly.
Emilia smiled and mumbled a quiet ‘thank you’ before she stepped past him, dropping a kiss on Luca’s head as she headed up stairs to collect her shoes.
Lionel hung back for a second, his stare meeting Isaac’s for a beat, before he trailed after Emilia.
~#~
“I was thinking, maybe Luca would like to come and see me play this weekend”
Emilia, who’d been absentmindedly swinging her feet over the side of the bed, blinked a couple of times at the sound of Lionel’s voice before she looked up, a little frown on her face. “Hm?” she asked.
Lionel’s lips quirked upwards slightly. “We’re playing at home on Saturday” he clarified “And I was thinking of inviting your son to watch. I know he’s not really got a favourite team yet, but I thought he’d enjoy the experience. I realize it means talking to Isaac, but...it’s not a terrible idea, is it?” he asked, his voice caught between amused and tentative.
Emilia shook her head, smiling fondly. “It’s a lovely idea” she mused “I really...I think he’d love that. You can get him tickets?” she asked.
Lionel nodded. “It’s not a problem” he mused “You really think it’s a good idea?” he prodded.
Emilia didn’t hesitate in nodding, still smiling at him, but didn’t have the chance to speak before the door opened, allowing their midwife to step inside. “Emilia, Lionel, it’s a pleasure to see you again” the older woman greeted warmly.
“Hola, Valeria” Emilia replied shyly.
Valeria glanced away from the machine she was checking over to offer Emilia a reassuring look. “This is the fun part” she mused “I mean, after the poking of the blood tests and the discomfort of all the measuring and weighing, this is the good bit. You mentioned your son at our first appointment, I bet he is looking forwards to finding out whether he’s having a brother or sister, isn’t he?” she asked.
Emilia laughed, something which made Lionel smile, seeing her body relax a little. “He’s adamant that he wants a brother” she mused “So much so, I am genuinely concerned that he won’t talk to me if we tell him he’s getting a sister” she added, rolling her eyes playfully.
“He’ll love her” Lionel chirped, gently twining his fingers with Emilia’s as Valeria guided her into laying back “Your mother told me that Jordi was the same when she was pregnant with you and he’s the most doting brother in the world” he added.
Emilia scoffed playfully. “We’re talking about the same Jordi?” she prodded before she flinched, feeling the cool gel on her stomach.
Lionel smirked, squeezing her hand gently. “He adores you, you know that” he noted “I mean, he cried, Emmy. I’ve only seen your brother cry once and it was when he broke his arm” he added.
Emilia rolled her eyes gently, but didn’t retort, cut off by the rapid thumping of a heartbeat which had filled the air. Blinking a couple of times, she turned and glanced up at the screen to her side, her eyes almost instantly growing misty. Lionel was equally transfixed, awed by the sight and sound, before Valeria gently cleared her throat, pulling their attention up towards her. “Did you want to know?” she asked.
Emilia just nodded her head, Lionel squeezed her hand tightly.
“You’re going to have a little girl” Valeria revealed gently.
The couple were silent for a few long seconds before Emilia let out a snuffly laugh, making Lionel laugh gently too. “Luca’s going to be so annoyed” she joked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
Lionel laughed along with her before he lifted her hand to her lips, kissing the back of it gently. “A little girl” he whispered against her skin.
It was where she wanted to be, with the baby on the way, she wanted to be where Lionel was so that they could share the experience, but it had still been overwhelming, even if she had ended up where she wanted to, and seeing Luca, who she’d been worried wouldn’t take to moving at all well, adapt quickly had helped her to relax. He seemed to like everything, from the bedroom that had been decorated to his exact specifications to the football team that Lionel had helped him get into, and Emilia loved seeing him so happy. Even more, she loved watching the bond which was slowly forming between him and Lionel. She had been careful, from the outset of her relationship with Lionel, she had been tentative about him and Luca getting to know one another, but she was glad that they were getting along, even if Luca could be a little shy from time to time. She knew that him getting used to Lionel being around could only be a good thing for them.
“I want to score goals like that” Luca chirped, gesturing to the screen which showed Lionel scoring a goal the previous night.
Lionel, who’d been watching the screen, smiled. “I could show you some time” he noted “I mean, I am no coach, but I could show you how I do it” he added.
“Really?” Luca prodded excitedly “Can we go now?” he added.
“No, you can’t” Emilia interjected, shaking her head gently.
Luca huffed as he looked up at his mother. “Why not, mama?” he prodded.
“Because your papa is on his way over to sit with you while Leo and I go to the doctor” Emilia replied “We’re going to see the baby today” she added, her hand gently brushing over her bump fondly.
Luca’s expression softened a little. “Is baby OK?” he asked quietly.
Emilia nodded as she stepped further into the room, bending over to kiss the top of Luca’s head. “Baby’s fine” she mused “But we need to go and make sure. We’re going to get a nice new picture to show you” she added.
Luca looked at her, a little furrow in his forehead. “Will we know if baby is a boy today?” he asked “I want a brother” he added.
Emilia grinned, something which Lionel mirrored, shaking his head amusedly. It was already well established that Luca wanted a baby brother. “I know you do” she mused “But, you know, baby could be a girl. A little sister wouldn’t be so bad, would it?” she asked.
Luca frowned for a second before he sighed, shaking his head. “I suppose it’d be OK” he mumbled.
Emilia kissed the top of his head again. “You’re going to be a great big brother, either way” she mumbled into his hair “Baby is going to love you, sweetheart” she added.
Luca allowed her to hug him for a few moments before the sound of the doorbell filled the air, causing him to pull back, hurriedly moving out of the room.
Emilia made a move to follow him, but stopped under a combination of Lionel’s hand settling on the small of her back and the sound of Isaac’s voice. Letting out a soft sigh, she allowed Lionel to pull her closer before she quirked a small smile, feeling his lips against the crown of her head. “You OK?” he mumbled into her hair.
Emilia just nodded before Isaac stepped into the room, causing her to gentle pull away from Lionel, greeting him with a small smile which Isaac returned brightly. “Hola, Em” he quipped “Lionel” he added, offering the forward a tight nod.
Lionel’s smile was just as tight. “Isaac” he noted.
“We need to get going” Emilia noted after a couple of seconds of tense silence.
Isaac nodded, his expression softening into a gentle smile as he looked back at Emilia. “Good luck” he noted “I mean, I am sure that everything’s good, but...you know. I hope the appointment is a good one, Em” he added warmly.
Emilia smiled and mumbled a quiet ‘thank you’ before she stepped past him, dropping a kiss on Luca’s head as she headed up stairs to collect her shoes.
Lionel hung back for a second, his stare meeting Isaac’s for a beat, before he trailed after Emilia.
~#~
“I was thinking, maybe Luca would like to come and see me play this weekend”
Emilia, who’d been absentmindedly swinging her feet over the side of the bed, blinked a couple of times at the sound of Lionel’s voice before she looked up, a little frown on her face. “Hm?” she asked.
Lionel’s lips quirked upwards slightly. “We’re playing at home on Saturday” he clarified “And I was thinking of inviting your son to watch. I know he’s not really got a favourite team yet, but I thought he’d enjoy the experience. I realize it means talking to Isaac, but...it’s not a terrible idea, is it?” he asked, his voice caught between amused and tentative.
Emilia shook her head, smiling fondly. “It’s a lovely idea” she mused “I really...I think he’d love that. You can get him tickets?” she asked.
Lionel nodded. “It’s not a problem” he mused “You really think it’s a good idea?” he prodded.
Emilia didn’t hesitate in nodding, still smiling at him, but didn’t have the chance to speak before the door opened, allowing their midwife to step inside. “Emilia, Lionel, it’s a pleasure to see you again” the older woman greeted warmly.
“Hola, Valeria” Emilia replied shyly.
Valeria glanced away from the machine she was checking over to offer Emilia a reassuring look. “This is the fun part” she mused “I mean, after the poking of the blood tests and the discomfort of all the measuring and weighing, this is the good bit. You mentioned your son at our first appointment, I bet he is looking forwards to finding out whether he’s having a brother or sister, isn’t he?” she asked.
Emilia laughed, something which made Lionel smile, seeing her body relax a little. “He’s adamant that he wants a brother” she mused “So much so, I am genuinely concerned that he won’t talk to me if we tell him he’s getting a sister” she added, rolling her eyes playfully.
“He’ll love her” Lionel chirped, gently twining his fingers with Emilia’s as Valeria guided her into laying back “Your mother told me that Jordi was the same when she was pregnant with you and he’s the most doting brother in the world” he added.
Emilia scoffed playfully. “We’re talking about the same Jordi?” she prodded before she flinched, feeling the cool gel on her stomach.
Lionel smirked, squeezing her hand gently. “He adores you, you know that” he noted “I mean, he cried, Emmy. I’ve only seen your brother cry once and it was when he broke his arm” he added.
Emilia rolled her eyes gently, but didn’t retort, cut off by the rapid thumping of a heartbeat which had filled the air. Blinking a couple of times, she turned and glanced up at the screen to her side, her eyes almost instantly growing misty. Lionel was equally transfixed, awed by the sight and sound, before Valeria gently cleared her throat, pulling their attention up towards her. “Did you want to know?” she asked.
Emilia just nodded her head, Lionel squeezed her hand tightly.
“You’re going to have a little girl” Valeria revealed gently.
The couple were silent for a few long seconds before Emilia let out a snuffly laugh, making Lionel laugh gently too. “Luca’s going to be so annoyed” she joked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
Lionel laughed along with her before he lifted her hand to her lips, kissing the back of it gently. “A little girl” he whispered against her skin.
♠ ♠ ♠
Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)