#the inevitable end | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lightsburnbrite · 1 year

Text

The Inevitable End: Part 13/Final

Leon was getting ready to leave the training center when he felt his phone alert in his pocket. For the last week, he kept his phone on him at all times, even handing it to the coach during sessions. Lilli was past her due date and while all Leon really wanted to do was to wait by her side he knew that wasn't feasible and it would drive her crazy. He nearly dropped it as he pulled it out, catching it with his right hand just as it tumbled out of his left.

The screen lit up to reveal a message from an unknown number:

please come home as soon as you can

Naturally, Leon's mind went to Lilli and started jumping to all sorts of conclusions about what she might need. Pushing the ignition button, he silently lamented that when Lilli moved, she moved further away from Säbener Straße and it would now take him at lease 20 minutes to get home. Once he pulled into the garage and parked, he opted to take the steps, two at a time, to their apartment.

Leon all but threw the front door open "Lil? Babe? What's wrong?"

He froze when Marissa walked out to meet him.

"I'll explain later," Marissa held her hand up so she could finish speaking. "Her water broke."

Leon's eyes went wide. "What? Where is she?"

Marissa almost rolled her eyes. "She's packing a bag for the hospital."

"Babe," Leon called out as he walked back towards their bedroom. "You have a bag packed already! They said to go in as soon as your water broke."

Marissa followed Leon. "Lilli, just take your bag and go. Once you get checked out, if you need anything I'll bring it to you."

It only took Leon a second to realize that both he and Marissa recognized this as a stall tactic on her part because Lilli's anxiety was kicking in to full gear. They both ushered her to the car, Leon opening the door for her while Marissa placed her bag on the back seat.

"Wait," Lilli stopped Leon from closing the door. "Marissa, I want you there too."

Immediately, Marissa nodded. "Of course, babe. I follow you guys there."

While Lilli was guided to a wheelchair and taken back to the delivery room, Leon was given a clipboard with some simple paperwork to fill out. When he was taken back, Lilli had already changed into a hospital gown and was in the process of having several monitors hooked up to her.

"What's all this for?" Leon spoke to the woman who had introduced herself as Nikola, Lilli's labor and delivery nurse, as a plastic tube was being placed around Lilli's face.

"Standard procedure, mostly." The nurse addressed Leon while she continued to get Lilli set up. "Fetal heart rate monitor, IV for fluids. We'll get her all set with a catheter once she's been given the epidural and this is a nasal cannula which will give her a mix of oxygen and nitrous oxide for her anxiety."

Everyone attending to Lilli was pleasant and seemed like they knew what they were doing but that didn't stop Leon from feeling helpless. As soon as there was space, he moved next to her and held her hand. He had been focusing all his attention on Lilli, speaking quiet words of encouragement to her, so he didn't even realize how far along she was until the midwife was asking him if he wanted to watch.

Leon initially hesitated, feeling somewhat squeamish, but Marissa took over his spot next to Lilli and nudged him forward, insisting he'd regret it if he didn't.

"Lilli? Lilli, I want you to listen to me." Through closed eyes, Lilli felt Marissa squeeze her hand as Nikola spoke. "You're both doing great. Everything went according to plan and all of your vitals are strong. Congratulations, Mama, you did it!"

With her eyes still closed, Liili felt Leon's lips on her forehead. "I'm so proud of you, baby. I'm going to move your bed up, they're bringing him over so you can hold him."

Suddenly, Lilli found herself sobbing as she held her son against her chest. There was the relief that he was safe and seemingly healthy, her own sense of relief that she had made it, the absolute joy of finally getting to meet the little person that had been growing inside of her for the last nine months, and the sheer terror that she and Leon were now responsible for keeping this seemingly fragile being alive.

Once she had settled, the midwife talked Lilli through how to initiate feeding. Apparently their son latched on like a champ, Lilli didn't hear much else because the past two hours caught up with her and the fatigue hit like a wall.

"Ok." Nikola smiled. "You both did great. We're going to take him to get cleaned up and check some vitals but we'll bring him right back. Why don't you take this opportunity to get some sleep."

Leon expected to be able to talk with Lilli for at least a little bit but it was as though Lilli took the midwife's suggestion to heart and she was out within a few minutes. Laughing to himself, Leon brushed a few hairs out of her face and kissed her forehead before he sat back down in his chair. Looking over to Marissa, he smiled politely. "I'm a little surprised to see you again."

"Yeah," Marissa gave a little nod. "We've been in touch for about a month. I've been doing a lot of soul searching, and therapy, and I realized I harbored some jealousy. We've always had this weird dynamic where I've always been more," Marissa paused to make air quotes with her fingers, "successful with relationships. So here I am, a guy I liked just broke up with me, and then there's Lilli just so completely happy. I had to stop and ask myself why my first reaction was to be jealous of my best friend instead of being happy for her."

Leon just nodded.

Marissa smiled and shrugged. "It wasn't until she wasn't there for me to share a joke with or just to talk to…I realized what a huge part of my life she was and I wanted her back."

When Leon laughed, she gave a frown, prompting him to explain.

"We went to something at her father's house and eventually her brother pulled me aside and said something along the lines of if we stayed together, I'd cost her her title, the only thing she has left of her mother and if I really loved her, I'd let her go." Leon grimaced thinking about it. "So, stupid me, I listened to him and broke up with her around the same time that you did only to have the same revelation."

Marissa's eyes widened.

"Right." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So she had a pretty shit few months. We had this weird back and forth where we obviously wanted to get back together but we were both too wary and stubborn to fully go for it. We had a drunken hookup after Serge's birthday party, which is probably the best thing that has ever happened because that's how Koen came about, and that was the shove that we both needed to fully commit to each other."

He was silent for a moment before clearing his throat. "I'm glad you two are on good terms again. You're the closest thing she has to family here."

"That's a really neat name, by the way." Marissa glanced over at Lilli before looking back to Leon. "I don't think I've heard it before."

As soon as his son was mentioned, Leon beamed. "It's apparently the diminutive version of Konrad, which is my father's name. Lil thought Alexander went nicely with it."

"Ok!" Nikola came bustling back through the door with a nurse following behind her. She was pushing a plastic bassinet on wheels while the nurse carried a small, empty wash basin. "He's all cleaned up and I brought some things to give Mama a sponge bath once she's awake. Would the proud father like to hold him now?"

The midwife showed Leon how to hold his newborn son so that his head and neck were properly supported. "Now, just like with Mama, skin to skin contact with fathers helps you both bond."

It took a split second but Leon got the hint to remove his shirt and soon he was holding Koen for the first time.

It took Lilli a good six months to really settle in to being a mother. Leon watched her second guess herself on everything from if she was holding him too much or too little, if she was swaddling him the right way to if he was meeting the appropriate milestones. Leon understood why she did this but he wished there was a way that he could help her see the caring and dedicated mother that he saw. Once Koen started regularly sleeping through the night, Leon noticed Lilli really embracing her new role in life.

Leon woke up and immediately realized he had slept later than usual. The team was given the day off and Lilli must have turned the alarm off when she got up with Koen. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head with a yawn before he stood and went in search of a pair of pajama pants and a t shirt he could throw on.

"Ow."

Once Leon heard Lilli's voice, he went in search of her.

"Ow!" Lilli spoke through laughter. "Sir, you have got to stop doing that."

Walking into the living room, Leon found Lilli sitting in the wingback chair nursing Koen in a beam of the morning sunlight. Whenever he watched, Leon always had such mixed emotions. On one hand, he was so proud of Lilli and it made his heart swell to see her being so maternal. On the other hand, even though he knew it was irrational, he was a bit jealous that Koen had access to her breasts while his had been limited. When Lilli's eyes met Leon's, she smiled.

"He's teething." She slightly rolled her eyes. "So I get a nice little bite every now and then."

Leaning in, Leon kissed Lilli before placing a hand on Koen's head. "Listen, little man, you be good to your Mama. Ok?"

Lilli leaned her head back and closed her eyes, sighing as she waited for Koen to finish.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Leon rested the back of his hand on her cheek. "Can I make you something?"

Looking back up at him, she smiled. "Something with eggs?"

"Anything you want." Leon continued to smile at her, stroking her hair.

"What?" Lilli laughed now. "What's got you all smiley?"

With a shrug, Leon let his hand fall to his side. "I guess it's just me being thankful you decided to tell me you were pregnant. I mean, we were broken up, you could have just disappeared and I wouldn't have known."

Lilli shook her head but Leon continued.

"I knew I loved you, I knew I was in love with you but-" He gently stroked Koen's head. "I love being your partner, I love being a father…I didn't know how much I needed this in my life."

Leon frowned when Lilli pulled a face.

When Lilli winced, Leon's eyes widened, thinking he had said the wrong thing. "Sorry, he just bit my boob."

Covering his face with his hand, Leon laughed. "That's my boy."

"Ok, but seriously," Lilli looked back up at Leon and made certain to hold his gaze. "Love of my life, father of my baby, when are you going to ask me to marry you?"

Leon smiled as he kissed the back of her hand. "Fair question. How about I handle breakfast first?"

Once Koen had finished, Lilli got him settled for his morning nap before returning to the kitchen. Leon's back was to her as he worked at the range.

"What's this?" Lilli noticed a little red leather box with gold foil accents sitting on the kitchen island that wasn't there before.

Leon acted like he didn't hear her at first and instead waited for Lilli's curiosity to get the best of her. He waited for the slight pop that indicated the box had been opened before he turned around.

Pressing her lips together, Lilli attempted to conceal her smile. "How long have you had this?"

"Oh," Leon shrugged. "About six months."

Lilli beamed now as he slipped the rose gold band on her ring finger. She held her hand out to admire it, the morning sunlight catching the white pave diamonds that went down the sides of the band. What really kept her attention was the pink, pear shaped diamond in the middle. "It's pink!"

"It took me a little while to find the perfect ring for you." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and rested his hand on the back of her neck before leaning in to give her a kiss. "I didn't know what I was looking for but I knew I'd know it when I saw it. Then I wanted to give us time to settle in with Koen, just so we could focus on him."

Lilli continued to gaze back at him, her eyes threatening to tear up at any moment.

"I love you, Lil. I love our perfect little family." Leon leaned in and kissed her again. "And I can't wait to call you my wife."

#leon goretzka #football fanfic #football imagine #football fluff #the inevitable end

10 notes · View notes