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Can’t Look Away

The relationship between Lionel and Leila was over before it had started.

It was nothing more than a couple of nights, but with the same circle of friends, when it was over, they had to find a way to exist in one another's lives. There weren’t any lingering feelings, Lionel and Leila hadn’t been together for long enough for them to ever develop, let alone for them to linger after it was all said and done, and so when Leila invites him to her wedding, Lionel has no qualms about accepting the invitation.

Despite his best efforts, though, the prospect of watching Leila get married overwhelms him, and somewhere between the newly-weds’ first kiss and the best man’s speech, he slips away, only to find himself sharing his hiding spot with the bride’s younger sister. Sasha has her reasons for hiding too, most namely her own complicated relationship with the groom, and so she understands what Lionel is hiding from.

A couple of glasses of champagne and a few coy smiles follow, and when Sasha asks Lionel to dinner, he accepts, but what starts out as simple, grows more complicated when other people find out and leaves the two of them questioning whether or not they can overcome the complications, or whether it is even worth it to try.

A/N: Obviously, I don’t own Lionel Messi or anything or anyone else you may recognise, but the plots and OCs are mine.
  1. 01: I Know The Look
  2. 02: Bet You Regret That Now
  3. 03: You Can Already Rule That Out?
  4. 04: You Must Know What It’s Like
  5. 05: We’ve Done This Dance Too Many Times
  6. 06: It Doesn’t Have To Be More Than This
  7. 07: You Know He’s Not My Boyfriend
  8. 08: I Don’t Want To Say Too Much
  9. 09: You Didn’t Hear The Way She Said It
  10. 10: I Could Make You Happy
  11. 11: Why Are You Going To Do That?
  12. 12: It’s Going To Be Stranger For You
  13. 13: Did You Ever Think That Maybe She Wasn’t On The Same Page?
  14. 14: Somehow, She Ended Up With You
  15. 15: Maybe You Should Go
  16. 16: You Have To Say Something
  17. 17: Do You Really Need Me To Ask You?
  18. 18: I Want To Say I’ll Know Better Next Time
  19. 19: I Thought I Would Surprise You
  20. 20: The Only Person You Have To Answer To Is Her
  21. 21: I’m Sure You’ll Make A Good Impression
  22. 22: I Can’t Let Myself Do It If I Am Doing It Alone
  23. 23: That Would Make This Go Better
    Rewritten 12/02
  24. 24: Is There Any Chance We Can Pretend I Didn’t Say It?
  25. 25: Your Heart Was In The Right Place
  26. 26: Do You Still?
  27. 27: You’re Going To Have To Get Used To That
  28. 28: I Talk Too Much When I Am Nervous
  29. 29: This Is A Big Deal For Me
  30. 30: It’s Not My Fault That You Didn’t Look At Your Phone
  31. 31: If You Want Me There, I’ll Be There
  32. 32: You Knew What We Were
  33. 33: Nothing Is Fixed
  34. 34: I Don’t Like That We’re Like This
  35. 35: I Know That’s Easy To Say
  36. 36: You’ve Had One Breakfast With Him
  37. 37: I Need You To Tell Me It’s OK
  38. 38: I Don’t Know What I Would Have Done Without You
  39. 39: I Don’t Think It Now
  40. 40: One Of Us Always Makes A Scene
  41. 41: First & Last
  42. 42: Do You Really Mean It?
  43. 43: I’ll Just Hide In Here With You
  44. 44: I Don’t Want You To See It Like That
  45. 45: Aren’t You Going To Come Closer?
  46. 46: Have You Told Her That?
  47. 47: Unpredictable
  48. 48: I’d Probably Have To Tell Him First
  49. 49: You Look Too Happy
  50. 50: Say It Again
  51. 51: I’m Always Paying Attention To You
  52. 52: Is Someone Going To Tell Me What I Just Saw?
  53. 53: I Can’t Hide This From Her
  54. 54: I Might Not Be Tomorrow
  55. 55: I Would Hate To See You Lose Him
  56. 56: Precaution
  57. 57: She Knew It Was You
  58. 58: It’s Why My Best Friend Loves You
  59. 59: It’s Just A Feeling
  60. 60: Thank You For Trying
  61. 61: It’s Alright If It Is
  62. 62: You Don’t Have To Do It Again
  63. 63: Don’t Act Like You Don’t Love It
  64. 64: I Didn’t Mean To Panic You
  65. 65: I Doubt You’ll Be The Last
  66. 66: I Don’t Expect It To Be Different This Time
  67. 67: Do You Know What My First Thought Was?
  68. 68: Is That Why You’re Still Awake?
  69. 69: Months?
  70. 70: You Found Me
  71. 71: Probably Not
  72. 72: Welcome To The Family
  73. 73: I’m Not As Oblivious As You Might Think
  74. 74: I Know You Think About Asking
  75. 75: It Depends On The Dress
  76. 76: I Am Better Than I Thought I’d Be
  77. 77: I Won’t Let You Take Advantage Of That Again
  78. 78: You Think It Won’t?
  79. 79: You Deserve This
  80. 80: You’ll See Her Again
  81. 81: Just Name The Time And Place
  82. 82: I Planned For So Many Things To Go Wrong
  83. 83: You Almost Did
  84. 84: I Thought We’d Done The Waiting
  85. 85: Anything, Always
  86. 86: It Wasn’t Anything We Hadn’t Already Thought
  87. 87: I Don’t Think It Was The Flowers She Was Excited About
  88. 88: If It Was Up To Me
  89. 89: Can I Show You Instead?
  90. 90: I Feel Like I Can Tell You This Now
  91. 91: No More Waiting
  92. 92: I Figured It Was For Her
  93. 93: I Think You’ll Have To Take Some Credit
  94. Epilogue