When We Were

Allowing his weight to fall backwards, Lionel rested his head against the mattress, quietly listening to the sounds of Emilia padding around their bathroom, getting herself ready for the night which sat ahead of them. It had been months in the making, since they’d rung in the new year, Emilia had made countless trips between Rosario and Barcelona to finalize their wedding plans, and with the big day arranged for the next day, the two families had insisted on having dinner together, something Lionel was in equal parts anticipating and dreading. There was a great sense of excitement from their friends and families, for months, the anticipation had been growing around the big day, but it hadn’t stopped the nerves coming for him and Emilia, something which had them both in agreement that there was nothing they wanted to be doing less than spending the night before their wedding in a room for of relatives that were more than a little too excited.

Letting out a slightly frustrated breath, he draped his arm over his eyes, only pulling it away when Emilia’s soft laughter reached his ears. Blinking a couple of times to allow his eyes to readjust to the light, he looked her up and down before he sat back up. “You look nice” he quipped.

Emilia, who’d moved to collect a necklace from her dressing table, smiled at him via the mirror. “Thank you” she mused “Are you still pouting?” she added.

Lionel shuffled towards the foot of the bed before he stood up, carefully taking the ends of her necklace so that he could fasten it for her. “I wouldn’t call it pouting” he said “I just think that there’s maybe a better use of tonight, one that’s not so overwhelming” he added as he gently dusted her hair off of the back of her neck, allowing him to kiss the exposed skin tenderly.

Emilia ducked her head slightly, trying, and failing, to hide the pink which grew over her cheeks as she smiled bashfully. “I agree” she murmured “But it’s not like we’ve been left with much of a choice. My mother’s already downstairs and everyone else is already heading to your parents’ place. It’s too late to get out of it now” she added.

Lionel smiled lazily against her skin. “I reckon we could get out of a window up here without her seeing us” he quipped.

Emilia smiled, her hands covering his which had settled on her waist. “And what about Maisie?” she asked.

“She’s with her nana” Lionel pointed out “And we’d come back in plenty of time for your mama to whisk you home. We could have a quiet night, just the two of us, before the craziness of tomorrow” he added, his lips leaving a light kiss on the spot where her shoulder and neck met.

Emilia leant her head against his, closing her eyes as she grinned. “Do you really want to start this marriage with your in-laws pissed at you?” she quipped.

Lionel shrugged. “I’m not against the idea” he quipped.

Emilia lifted her head slightly, kissing the top of his gently. “One more night” she mused.

“And tomorrow, too” Lionel pointed out.

“And tomorrow” Emilia agreed “But then you’ve got me to yourself for a whole, uninterrupted, seven day honeymoon. Isaac’s got Luca, my parents have Maisie, and you can work on putting another little one in here” she added, gently guiding one of his hands towards her stomach. It was a conversation which had started to crop up more and more, with Maisie’s second birthday, as well as Luca’s tenth, only a couple of months away, they’d started to warm to the idea of starting to try for another baby, and their honeymoon provided the perfect place to start.

Lionel gently brushed his hand over her stomach, smiling gently at the memory of how she had looked with a baby bump, before a knock at the bedroom door broke the contentment that had filled the room. Letting his arms slip away from her, he let out a sigh as Marcella’s voice called for them through the door, before he pulled his jacket around his shoulders.

Emilia flashed him a small smile before she gently took his hand, squeezing it softly in reassurance.

~#~
Gently pulling the door to behind her, Emilia pressed her phone against her ear, listening to the dial tone as it echoed in the quiet. It hadn’t been as bad as they were anticipating. Yes, their parents had been prepared to make a fuss over the two of them. Yes, Jordi had spent the majority of the party telling embarrassing stories about both her and Lionel from their childhood, much to the amusement of everyone else. But it had still been less overwhelming than she had Lionel had been expecting, something she could see in his smile which had grown more and more real as the night had progressed.

Letting out a sigh, she pulled the phone away and redialled it, listening to it intently before Isaac’s voice finally chirped into her ear. “I’ve called you five times” she announced “Why did it take you so long to answer?” she asked.

Isaac sighed. “I’m sorry” he replied “I was driving and we’ve only just got back home. What did you need, Em?” he asked.

“I just wanted to make sure that you had the timings for tomorrow” Emilia replied. One of her biggest concerns for the next day was that Luca would be spending the preceding night at Isaac’s, meaning the doctor was in charge of making sure that the little boy made it to the ceremony in time.

Isaac let out a laugh. “You’ve texted them to me a hundred times” he quipped “You want him at your parents’ place for ten” he added.

“Ten” Emilia repeated “Not some time around ten. Ten, Isaac” she stressed.

“Emmy, I am capable of being on time every now and again” Isaac replied, laughing.

“You never normally are” Emilia retorted “And I need you to be, Isaac. I’ve got a hundred and one things to be stressing about tomorrow, and I really don’t want to add you to the list. Please, promise me, that you will be at my mother’s front door at ten tomorrow morning” she stressed.

“I promise you, I will be there at ten, Em” Isaac vowed.

“Thank you” Emilia replied “Tell Luca that I love him?” she asked.

“Always do” Isaac replied “Good luck tomorrow” he added, his voice softening a little.

Emilia smiled sadly. “You don’t have to say that” she mumbled.

“I know” Isaac mused “But I want to. I hope he knows how lucky he is” he added before he mumbled a quiet goodbye.

Emilia stared at the phone for a moment, the softness in Isaac’s voice lingering in her ears, before she jumped, surprised as Lionel curved his arm around her waist, pulling her backwards into a soft hug. Relaxing into his grip, she felt him press a soft kiss against her neck before she felt his lips curve into a soft smile. “We’re getting married tomorrow” he cooed excitedly.

Emilia couldn’t not smile. “Yeah, we are” she confirmed.