Lover II- ML

230. That Loving Feeling

They decided to head home before Fabian's first nap of the day since they knew people were waiting to spend time with him back at the flat.

But he fell asleep in the car on the way and Mapi unlocked his chair to carry him up the stairs while Kaia carried a few of their bags.

Kaia had already texted her parents who had left their hotel to meet them back at the flat; with Fabian's bedding fresh, bottles ready and the flat having been given a brisk but thorough wipe down so it was all clean.

Honestly, Kaia couldn't have thanked her mother enough when she smelt the floor cleaner and knew it had been recently steamed too.

Everything was perfect; and with the emotional support of two people who had dealt with newborns of their own, it gave Mapi and Kaia a blanket of comfort.

Unfortunately, despite wanting to spend as much time as she could with her newborn, Mapi was on the phone to Alejandro and asking when he wanted her to travel either to Madrid to be with the team or straight over to Denmark for match day.

The team only arrived at camp yesterday and the game wasn't for another 36 hours, but Mapi knew the earlier she was there the more she'd re-gel with the others.

"Hey," Kaia slides a coffee over to Mapi at the island, both of them taking a mental rest and letting Matteo and Elinor get to know Fabian in the living room.

Cartoons were already on the TV.

"Hey." Mapi murmurs back, rubbing her eyes as she continues to text back and forth with Felipe since Alejandro had to hangup.

"Bagheera's just come in, Albus won't be far behind." Kaia mentions.

Mapi looks over to the open balcony doors with a smile, sipping her coffee to give her some energy. "Has he seen him yet?"

"No, come on." Kaia nods to the living room. "Lay down for a little bit on the sofa, you look tired."

"So do you." Mapi replies.

"Mm," Kaia plants a kiss on Mapi's lips. "But I'm not the one planning on getting a 9am flight tomorrow morning for Billund, Denmark." She points down to the booking information on Mapi's phone.

"Are you ok with that?" Mapi furrows her eyebrows apologetically. "I can stay longer, I want to stay longer-"

"-if that's when your coach needs you there, then you should go." Kaia encourages. "You'll be gone for two days, it's not that long; and then you'll have an entire month with him before we have to go on international duty again."

"I really don't want to go." Mapi complains quietly, feeling her heart ache just at the thought of leaving Fabian.

The love she had for him was intense.

With Kaia it was an equal love they built over time full of mutual understanding; built off shared experiences and vulnerability, an endless devotion to each other. They both gave each other the same in which they received.

But with Fabian... Mapi knew she was his mother, she was someone he'd look to for love and guidance, support and attention.

It was an unconditional love similar to the one she had for Kaia, but this is one that appeared in an instant the first time Mapi looked into his eyes.

It was terrifying.

"Come on." Kaia repeats softly. "Spend some time with him, watch him and just relax."

The words were almost hypnotic, or maybe Mapi really did just want to lay on the sofa and do nothing but stare at Fabian for the morning.

She followed Kaia into the living room to be met with Matteo knelt at the foot of Fabian's baby bouncer and playing peek-a-boo with him.