Can’t Look Away

“You’re finally back”

Sasha, who’d moved to slip her phone back into the handbag, quirked a grin at the nervous tone of Cassie’s voice before she slipped back into her seat. She had been expecting the invitation eventually. Cassie had been seeing her new boyfriend for a couple of months, and Sasha had known that it would only be a matter of time before she got to meet him, and she found it sweet how nervous Cassie was, even though she had assured her that it would be fine. She how big a deal it was to introduce someone new to the important people in her life.

“I was barely gone for five minutes” Sasha mused “And it was to check on our baby who’s at home with my mother. Besides, Aiden’s not even here yet. I haven’t missed anything” she added.

Cassie glared at her, something which caused Sasha to grin impishly.

Lionel rolled his eyes amusedly before he shifted his hand, gently rubbing Sasha’s back. “Has Arlo driven your mother crazy yet?” he asked.

Sasha shook her head, her smile softening as she turned to look up at him. “She put him down about half an hour ago, and he hasn’t stirred yet” she mused “I warned her that he’d probably get hungry pretty soon, but she assured me that she could handle it. I told her to call if she changed her mind” she added.

Lionel nodded his head. “If she calls again, I’ll take it” he mused “I think Cassie will drop your phone in the water jug if you try and get up again” he added, quirking a teasing smile.

Sasha laughed before she caught sight of Cassie standing up out of the corner of her eye, something which caused her to turn in her chair, her eyes settling on a man who stood a small distance away from them. Quirking a small smile, she watched Cassie lift her hand to wave before the man caught sight of them, something which caused his face to brighten before he padded towards the table. “Cass” he greeted, touching a brief kiss to her lips.

Cassie’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink before she gently turned him around to face Sasha and Lionel. “This is Sasha” she quipped “My best friend, and her fiance, Leo. Guys, this is Aiden” she added.

Sasha let out a slightly bashful laugh, still not entirely used to the word ‘fiance’, before she stood up and offered her hand out towards Aiden. “It’s nice to meet you, Aiden” she said.

Aiden didn’t hesitate in shaking her hand. “You, too” he mused “And, congrats on the engagement. Cassie told me it’s still pretty new” he added.

“Not that new” Lionel chirped as Aiden turned to shake his hand “There’s already a venue chosen, and invitations are in the process of being written” he added, flashing the other man a grin.

Sasha scoffed playfully. “You say that like we didn’t argue about what type of paper to use for the invitations” she played along.

Aiden laughed. “Who won?” he quipped.

Sasha smiled at him, something which made Cassie’s expression relax. She knew the difference between the smile Sasha used when she was being polite, and the real one. “Leo did” she mused “Though, I convinced him that my chosen font was better” she added.

Aiden let out another laugh before Cassie tugged on his arm, guiding him into the empty seat next to her.

Sasha retreated to her seat before she caught Cassie’s eye, offering her a small, reassuring smile that caused the other woman’s cheeks to flush a soft shade of pink.

~#~
“Are you sure that it’s alright?” Cassie asked as Aiden helped her into her coat.

Lionel quirked a soft smile before he nodded his head. “I’ll tell Sasha something came up” he quipped “I mean, she’ll see through it in an instant, but that’s what I will tell her” he added teasingly.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “She used to do this to me all the time to meet up with you” she retorted “She can cut me a little slack” she added.

Lionel laughed. “It’ll be fine” he noted “Besides, I am sure that she’s not going to be disappointed to get back to Arlo early” he said.

“Give your adorable baby a cuddle from his favourite aunt” Cassie mused, pressing a kiss against his cheek.

“Will do” Lionel replied “Night, Cass. It was good to meet you, Aiden” he added.

Aiden offered him a grin and shook his hand before he and Cassie padded away, allowing Lionel to plop back into his seat. It had gone well. Aiden had fitted into their group easily, and Lionel knew that he’d won over Sasha almost as soon as they’d met, and he was happy for Cassie. She valued Sasha’s opinion a lot and it was clear that it meant a lot to her that Sasha liked Aiden.

Loosening the tie that Sasha had made him wear, he moved to pick up his wine glass before he heard someone sit down next to him. “Cassie said goodnight” he quipped.

“I think you’re talking to someone else”

Lionel’s head snapped up at the sound of Olivier’s voice, something which made the other man sigh gently. “I’m not here to start something” he said “I just...I wanted to talk to you, to Sasha. I was having dinner with a client, and I saw the two of you over here. I can go if you really want me to” he added.

Lionel hesitated, but shook his head. “No, it’s OK” he said.

Olivier flashed him a relieved smile before he cleared his throat, his hand smoothing out the tie he wore. “I want to talk about Leila” he said.

“Olivier...”

“I know, alright?” Olivier interrupted “I know she still carries a torch for you. I’m not quite as oblivious as you might think” he added, a rueful smile on his face.

Lionel glanced at him apologetically.

Olivier shook his head, dismissing the apology. “I know she’s done some stuff” he said “To get in the middle of you and Sasha. I know about the kiss, she told me about it. It isn’t an excuse, but we were going through something pretty difficult. We’re getting better now that we’re back on the same page” he added.

“What do you want me to say, Olivier?” Lionel prodded “I’m sorry that you and Leila have gone through rough times, but she’s still tried to get between me and her sister. It’s not something we can just pretend didn’t happen” he added.

“She said she tried to apologise” Olivier retorted.

“To Leo, maybe” Sasha’s voice was quiet, but still it pulled both Olivier and Lionel’s attention round to her “Not to me” she added.

“Sasha...”

“Do you think I want it to be like this?” Sasha asked.

Olivier blinked a couple of times before he exhaled a soft sighed. “I know she’s hurt you” he said “That we’ve hurt you, but you’re still sisters” he added.

Sasha took in a breath before she let it out slowly, her eyes flashing up towards Olivier’s. “I am happy for the two of you” she said “I might have been hurt to begin with, but I have always been happy for you, supportive of you, and all I have ever expected is the same in return. You and I...whatever it was, whatever we were, I let go of because I saw how happy you were, and how happy Leila was with you. Why is it so wrong of me to expect her to make the same compromise?” she asked.

Olivier rubbed his hand over his face. “It’s not” he murmured.

“Then maybe you ought to explain that to her, not me” Sasha said.

Olivier nodded his head before he pushed himself out the chair he’d sat down in. “She misses you” he said softly.

Sasha’s passive expression splintered briefly, moving from angry to sad, before she fixed it again. “She knows how to fix it” she replied “I can’t always be the one doing the work, Olivier, it’s not fair” she added.

Olivier nodded before he shuffled away from the table, allowing Lionel to move closer to Sasha, his hands gently squeezing her arms reassuringly. “You alright?” he asked.

Sasha nodded her head. “I’m fine” she mused “Though, for completely unrelated reasons, I might cry in the taxi on the way home” she added, offering him a wobbly smile.

Lionel exhaled a soft sigh as he gathered her into a soft hug that Sasha was glad to melt into. Inhaling his familiar, comforting scent, she kept herself snuggled against him as her eyes started to burn, a few loose tears seeping into the material of his shirt. Lionel gently pulled her back, wiping the tears off of her cheeks, before he swept their coats into his hand, guiding her to the exit. “We’ll be home soon” he mumbled as he hailed them a taxi.

Sasha just cuddled into his side again, hoping that, eventually, things between her and her sister were figured out one way or another. It hurt her. Leila’s absence, and the gap that seemed to be growing wider between them stung, and it exhausted her. She missed the times when things between them had been easy.