When We Were

“Ouch!” Lionel flinched away from the tailor who was stood next to him, pinning the material of a new suit jacket in place. He had barely had a moment to get his head around it, almost as soon as he had woken up, he had been ushered out of the door and into Jordi’s waiting car, and before he had truly known what was going on, a jacket had been pulled up over his shoulders, the same jacket which was being pinned together to make sure it fit. He had known that it was coming, from the moment he had touched down a couple of days previous, it had only been a matter of time before he had been ushered off to a suit fitting by Lara, but still he was slightly overwhelmed by it. He kept reminding himself that it was good, that getting things in place early was the right thing to do, but it didn’t stop him from being slightly overawed by it.

“Sorry” The tailor mused “I’m almost finished” he added.

Lionel nodded, scanning his reflection briefly, before he caught sight of Jordi grinning over his shoulder, something which caused him to roll his eyes. “I thought you were busy” he quipped.

Jordi shrugged. “My suit doesn’t have to be as good as yours” he quipped “They pretty much handed me one off the rack. You look like you’re having fun” he added, smirking a little as Lionel flinched again.

Lionel glared at him via the mirror, something which made Jordi chuckle as he lifted his hands defensively. “I just thought you’d want to know that Isaac’s just arrived to drop Luca off” he quipped “I didn’t know if you wanted me to go and greet him or if you wanted to do it yourself. I can do it if you want me too” he added.

It was no secret that there was tension between Lionel and Isaac, it had always been simmering under the surface, and after Isaac had kissed Emilia, it had only grown more obvious, and Jordi wanted to offer him an out, even if he and Isaac didn’t exactly see eye to eye. He didn’t want the presence of Emilia’s ex-boyfriend to spoil the day.

Lionel lifted an eyebrow. “You’re volunteering to go and speak to Isaac?” he prodded, half amused, half curious.

“I know” Jordi quipped playfully “I’m a hero” he added.

“Jordi…”

“He almost broke your nose” Jordi interjected “And he kissed your girlfriend, all in the last year. You’ve got more of a grudge to bear with him than I do right now. I’ll be polite I promise” he added, his voice caught between concerned and playful.

Lionel quirked a small smile. “You’ve never been polite in your life, Moretti” he quipped.

Jordi smirked, briefly contemplating making a playful comment, before he shook his head. “I’ll be right back with Luca” he quipped, padding away from Lionel for a matter of moments before he reappeared, Luca at his side.

Lionel smiled as the little boy appeared in the mirror’s reflection. “Hey, buddy” he quipped “You ready to get this over with?” he asked.

Luca nodded his head. “Can I choose my own tie?” he asked.

“Your mama’s already chosen one for you” Jordi quipped “And we both know how grumpy she’d be if you said that you didn’t want to wear it” he added, playfully rolling his eyes.

Luca smiled. “She’s always grumpy” he quipped.

“True” Jordi agreed with a nod.

“Not true” Lionel argued playfully “You’re just mean to her, Jordi” he quipped.

“It’s the fun part of being a big brother” Jordi quipped “You’ll see when Maisie gets a bit bigger, Luca” he added before one of the shop assistants appeared, Luca’s suit hung over his arm.

Jordi and Lionel watched the little boy walk away Jordi plopped into a chair, watching as the tailor stuck another few pins into the jacket that Lionel wore. “How is Emmy doing?” he asked after a couple of moments.

Lionel tilted his head, a slightly bemused smile on his face. “You didn’t ask her that when you saw here?” he asked.

“Of course I did” Jordi quipped “But you know better than anyone how she can fudge her answers. So, how is she, Leo? She’s not freaking out yet, is she?” he asked.

“If one of us is freaking out, it’s probably me” Lionel replied “Though, that’s not the wording I would use” he added.

Jordi’s eyebrow crept up his forehead slightly. “Do I need to bust out my stern big brother bit?” he asked.

Lionel, who’d moved to carefully slip the jacket off of his shoulders, shook his head firmly as he handed it over to the tailor. “I’m not having second thoughts” he insisted “You know how I feel about her, Jordi, I just…the pace of the planning, the realness of it all, it’s hitting me and it’s all a little overwhelming. I want to marry her, and you know that, I just…I don’t think I was quite ready for how…quickly things would move” he explained carefully.

He didn’t want Jordi to think that there were any second thoughts on his part, he knew how protective he could be of Emilia, and he didn’t want him to think that there was any chance that he could hurt her. As overwhelmed as he felt in the moment, and he had been feeling it since Emilia had shown him the sample of their wedding invitation, the prospect of stopping the planning hadn’t once entered his mind.

Jordi’s expression was dubious for a moment before a grin began to pull up the corner of his mouth. “I was so sure it would be Emmy” he quipped “She’s always been an over thinker, and I thought that planning a wedding would be overwhelming for her, I didn’t see it coming for you” he quipped.

Lionel fixed him with a look, making Jordi laugh. “It is overwhelming” he quipped “I’ve told you that before. A combination of all of the details needing to be perfect and the realisation that you’re going to have a wife, someone that you’re possibly going to be with for the rest of your life, it is a lot, but I promise you, that’s the last thing you’ll be thinking of when she walks down that aisle. You love my sister, and my sister, god, she loves you so freaking much, and that’s what you need to focus on. Everything else is incidental” he insisted softly.

Lionel’s smile was soft, bashful. “So freaking much?” he prodded.

Jordi rolled his eyes, but didn’t hide smile. “She’s never had this before” he confirmed “Someone who just wants to make her happy. She needed that, someone who was honest, and awkward, and shy, and never pretended to be anything but. She needed someone like you, that’s why I set you up, and why I am expecting to be name dropped in the toasts. I am fully expecting a round of applause” he quipped playfully.

Lionel shook his head, smiling happily. “That’s on Em” he quipped.

Jordi rolled his eyes before he stepped closer, patting Lionel’s shoulder gently. “It’s worth it” he quipped “All the stuff now, it’s worth going through if it means that you’ve got each other for the rest of your lives. I don’t regret a thing about the planning me and Sam did, only that we waited for so long” he added before he stepped away, grinning as he spotted Luca wandering back towards them, his suit on.

Lionel stayed behind, but grinned at the sight of the little boy, pulling out his phone to snap a quick picture which when sent to Emilia, the caption reading ‘another step closer’.