Can’t Look Away

Letting out a soft sigh, Sasha shifted her weight slightly, trying to make herself comfortable in her spot on the bathroom floor. She had sat in it a few times. Since she and Lionel had started trying, they had taken a few tests, but none of them had come back positive, and whilst they hadn’t expected that they would succeed instantly, they’d both been slightly knocked by the negative results. They had both gotten slightly carried away. Whenever they were alone, Lionel’s hand had developed a habit of resting on her stomach, or tracing patterns against it, and Sasha knew that she talked about it too easily with Cassie who had a habit of teasingly suggesting baby names whenever they saw one another, and it meant that they were too excited to take tests, only to find themselves upset when they came back negative.

Tipping her head forwards, she glanced at her phone which was sat on the floor next to her before she tilted it back again, letting it settle against the wall.

“Sasha?”

Sasha’s head snapped up at the sound of her sister’s voice. “Leila?” she called back, scrambling up to her feet.

“Yeah” Leila mused “Leo let me in on his way out” she added.

Sasha almost ran out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her before Leila stepped into the bedroom.

Leila quirked an eyebrow as she stepped through the door, a slightly amused smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “Did you forget that we had plans?” she quipped, looking her sister up and down.

Sasha glanced down at herself briefly before she looked back up, offering Leila a sheepish grin. “I might need a few minutes to change” she said “And maybe a reminder about what it is we’ve got planned” she added.

“You said you’d help me choose something for Ollie’s birthday” Leila mused “And I promised that I would compensate you for the awkwardness by taking you out to lunch. You were so excited because we’ve not had lunch in forever, which makes it all the more surprising that you’re still in your pyjamas” she added, her voice warm and playful.

“I worked overnight” Sasha replied as she padded towards the wardrobe, pulling out a clean set of clothes “But, I do remember agreeing to help you. I think it was the offer of lunch that won me over” she added, flashing her sister an easy smile. It had taken them a long time, but things between them felt better than they had done in years, and Sasha loved it. She loved having her sister back on her side.

“You’re my baby sister” Leila quipped “I know how to get on your good side” she added.

Sasha laughed gently before she glanced towards the bathroom, her stomach flipping. “Give me a couple of minutes to change?” she prodded.

“I’m not taking you out dressed like that” Leila joked.

Sasha rolled her eyes before she padded into the bathroom. Carefully closing the door behind herself, she moved to shuffle towards the counter, only for Leila to call out to her, asking something about the way the bedroom was decorated. Sighing, she glanced at the counter before she shook her head, knowing that if she looked at it, and saw the word ‘positive’ sprawled across the screen, she’d never be able to hide it from Leila. Shaking her head, she quickly got changed and padded back out of the room, wordlessly hoping that Leila didn’t keep her out all day.

~#~
“Every single time” Lionel grumbled as he padded around the bed, retrieving a pair of Sasha’s socks which had been tossed onto the floor. It was one of her most annoying habits. Sasha’s feet always seemed to be cold, and she normally wore socks until she climbed into bed, but despite his repeated requests for her to throw them into the laundry hamper, she still left them on the floor.

Letting out a slightly frustrated sigh, he picked the socks up and padded into the bathroom, pulling the lid on the hamper open before he tossed them inside. After he’d let the lid fall closed, he turned to make his way out of the door, only to stop when he caught sight of the pregnancy test which sat on the counter. He knew that Sasha had taken one. Before he’d departed for training, she had sleepily informed him that she felt the time was right to take another one, but when he hadn’t received the text that she had promised to send him, he had simply assumed that it was another negative to add to the others.

Feeling the familiar drop in his stomach, he exhaled slowly before he padded towards the counter, turning the test over. When he caught sight of the screen, his breathing stuttered. “What?” he whispered to himself.

“Lionel!”

Lionel couldn’t tear his stare away from the test in front of him. Instead, he listened to Sasha’s footsteps jog up the stairs and approach the bathroom before she spoke again. “I thought I would beat you back” she noted.

Lionel blinked a couple of times before he slowly turned around. “Sasha” he said softly.

Sasha’s forehead creased slightly at the tone of his voice before she spotted the test in his hand, something which caused her to sigh gently. “I didn’t look at it” she whispered “I was in the middle of waiting for the results when Leila showed up, and I knew if I looked at it, she’d hear it in my voice and then she’d start asking questions. It’s negative?” she asked tentatively.

Lionel let out a laugh that was slightly too loud. “You...you didn’t know?” he asked.

Sasha’s forehead creased. “You’re being weird” she said.

Lionel shook his head, unable to stifle his grin as he strode across the room, wrapping her in a tight hug.

Sasha pushed him back, looking up at him in confusion. “Lionel, what is happening right now?” she pressed “You look far too happy” she added.

One of Lionel’s hands squeezed her waist gently whilst the other held the test out to her. “Look at it” he coaxed.

“Why?” Sasha prodded.

“Just look at it” Lionel repeated, pushing the rest into her hand “Please” he added.

Sasha huffed before she obliged, glancing down at the test.

Lionel felt the moment that she realised what it said. Her entire body relaxed against him, her knees going slightly weak, before she slowly turned to look at him, tears already shining in her eyes. He watched her eyes as they scanned over his face before slowly, and beautifully, her entire face brightened with the most wonderful smile he had ever seen. “I...I’m pregnant” she whispered softly.

Lionel grinned and nodded, letting out a gentle laugh when she threw her arms around him, hugging him close. “We’ll double check” he whispered.

“Triple check” Sasha corrected.

“We’ll check as many times as you want” Lionel said gently. He knew that, after what had happened with Alex, she would want to be certain

Sasha pulled out of their hug, looking up at him with a tearful smile that he mirrored. “Go and get another one” she said “I want to know” she added.

Lionel kissed her forehead before he nodded dutifully, almost sprinting out of the bathroom so that they could know for sure as soon as possible.