𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖘, lionel messi

009. we're friends, aren't we?

PARIS
chapter nine

"SO?" LEO RAISED his brow in question, staring up at the Monegasque from the couch, who had just gotten off a phone call.

"So..." Rory trails, bouncing on her tippy-toes, fighting off a smile. "I'm going to be on Drive To Survive!"

She jumps, and Leo yells. "I knew it, eres increíble."

There's a lot of screaming and bouncing as he jumps off the couch and Rory can't help, but immediately fall into his arms. 

"I'm freaking out," Rory confesses, eyes wide and a little frantic, out of breath as her chest heaves up and down against Leo's front, but there's a permanent grin etched on her face. 

"You should be," He nods, grinning at her, "I would be concerned if you weren't. You're going to be on Drive to Survive!"

She squeals again, her cheeks hurting from how hard she was smiling, but she couldn't stop. She was going to star in Netflix's Drive to Survive, not just as a one-time appearance, but as a regular. 

"We must celebrate," Leo insists after a moment, his eyes brightening up. "Oh, I know just - "

"Oh, no, it's okay," She dismisses the idea immediately. "We don't ha-"

"Nonsense," The footballer scoffs, brows scrunching together as his arms tighten their grip around her waist. Rory hadn't noticed that until now. In her moment of utter joy, they'd found themselves enveloped together, and neither of them had let go. Oh.

"We will celebrate," He presses, his lips curling upwards and his auburn eyes twinkling against the dim lights of his living room. Rory could see his lips moving, but her brain was too enraptured by their proximity; the press of his hand searing onto the skin of her waist, the contour of his nose, his freshly groomed beard and - 

"Rory?"

"Yes, sorry." Her cheeks are burning, her neck feels warm and she could only hope there lay no signs in display of her intrusive thoughts as she attempts to blink them away from her head. 

"So? Dinner tonight then?" He quirks a brow again with a mischievous smile that tells her he knows she wasn't listening, and she's embarrassed all over again.

She sighs, resigning. "Only if you're certain. I don't want to intrude on your family time with the children any more than what I've already done."

Aurora can't apologise enough for interrupting what should've been Leo's alone time with his kids. There was a scheduling conflict, Antonella had to make a last-minute business trip overseas and thought it was the perfect time for the boys to be with Leo - and she was right, except that the Monegasque had a flight booked for Paris the next day.

When Leo had phoned her, informing her of the slight change in circumstances Rory didn't miss a beat, insisting that she could cancel. After all, it was his children they were talking about. She could recollect their many conversations over the phone about how much he misses them, and how he hates being away from them, and now that he could finally be with them, she wasn't going to spoil it. No way. 

Leo, however, did not take no for an answer. 

"You don't have to cancel," He pleaded. "We can all have a good time together. The boys would love you." There's a beat of silence as Rory hesitates. She's certain he's only saying it to be nice, but she thinks of how it would seem to her family if she backed out last moment.

"Listen, Rory," He begins gently, sensing her reluctance. "We may not be dating, but we are friends, aren't we? And as my friend, I'd like you to meet my boys."