"So how's hero life been treating you?"
Leon sounded normal, spoke amicably, and overall looked his typical beguiling self, minus the black eye of course, and also the little strap around a red nose… and that busted lip of his too, kinda hard to forget that one. But yeah, apart from those little trivial things, he was pretty much the sa as ever.
Which, undoubtedly, was the hardest thing to ignore.
"Loud," I told him, walked with him. "Honestly, a little grueling."
Leon chuckled at that, it was a sympathetic chuckle he gave as he settled himself onto one end of a stray bench, and I the other. It was there that he eyed down again while nodding his head more and more.
"You wear that very well," He remarked, reaching a hand out to unfurl so creases in my robes. "Too well, actually. Better than , I'm envious."
"Ah, yeah, this thing…" I said, flattening the rest of the folds. "Guess it's a better ti now than any to thank you for letting borrow this for a bit."
He held his arm up, shaking his head. "Save the thanks. You aren't borrowing anything for ."
"Excuse you?"
"It's yours, Hero," He lowered that arm, unveiling another smile. "Just do a favor. Try not to eat anything while wearing it, stains aren't that easy to wash off."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, seriously. I had to have it custom-washed, cost a good hundred - "
"No, you're really just gonna give this away to ? This looks expensive, authentic - I'm guessing tailor-made too?"
"Best tailor in the country."
"Exactly," I gaped at him. "Sheesh, how are you so rich?"
He shrugged. "My father's well-connected… maybe a bit too well connected."
It's the way that he said it, the little hint of a grimace at the end that had gaping even wider, pausing to stare just a little closer, seeing an uncanny resemblance within all that charm and grace on his face that I never once placed before.
Now it could be just my imagination, but it also might not be, so…
"Does he have a limp?" I asked. "Uses a cane to get around?"
"Why yes, yes he does, indeed," Leon drew his head back, blinking rapidly in surprise. "How do you know that?"
Small world, even smaller town… I nearly shot up to the roof at this answer, took all I could dig my boots deep into the pavent to stop myself. This went way beyond coincidence.
This is just great. Now what happens? Leon goes ho, his old man finds out I just beat the shit out of his ho, should I expect myself to wake up at the bottom of the ocean with cinder blocks tied to my ankles, or am I good?
I think I'm good. Snitches get stitches, and I don't think Leon was the type to go snitch on .
"Well, you know…" Leon put his arms around the bench, staring up at the holographic evening sky, where the sun between hills, and the horizon sprinkled with a fair few twinkles. "What's a quest without its rewards? It's the least I could give you for taking down a peg. Imposing myself between the two of you was the worst mistake I could have made. But I daresay, you're probably rewarded plenty enough already."
Then he frowned, confusion in his glances left and right, "Speaking of which, why are you not with them? Why are you by yourself to begin with?"
I shrugged, sighing with a small smile. "Hero life. You know how it is."
"Oh, I see now," He said, catching sight of a couple pairs of eyes peeking at us around the bend. "You know, if you don't want them to disturb you. All you gotta do is say so."
"Didn't wanna be rude… y'know, seem ungrateful, conceited, about my newfound fa."
"Rude?" Amused, he gave a scoff. "This coming from the sa guy that rearranged my facial features? Did you know there are threads about our fight already? s too… I never knew I looked that stupid knocked out. That's gonna leave a stain, sadly can't just custom-wash it away either."
I turned to offer my apology, but he beat to the punch, no pun intended, and nonchalantly waved it off before I even got the chance to.
"Oh, this just simply won't do, then," That's when I stood back up, staring down with wide urgent eyes. "Go be with them, be with Ash… you didn't beat just so you could lounge around all day, did you?"
"Of course not."
"Good, then go, give my best to her as well, and good fight by the way, you showed I still have a ways to go..." He walked a few paces away, before stopping to give a glance back once. "Oh, if you need that cleaned and you can't. Just give a call. I gave Ash my number in that letter I gave her… feel free to hit up… I really did an what I said to you back then, you know?"
"You said a lot of things to back then," I called out from the bench, "Which one, specifically? That part where you wanna beat the shit out of ? If so, I'm walking the other way now."
"That having you as a friend would be a great pleasure."
Leon turned away again, a smile showing just so faintly out of sight, and bid a hearty wave goodbye.
He looked so cool walking away like that, that I didn't really wanna spoil his vibe by telling him I threw out that letter a long ti ago. Oh well, just gonna have to make do with detergent, I guess.
In spite of his insistence, and despite my own, I continued to park myself on that bench there - I just wanted to take a short mont to reflect back on this one particular afternoon day, and all the crazy shit that happened within it.
I ca here a clown, witless and hesitant, encountering rivals that I could never hope to rival, now I sit here with robes lined with gold, deterring away a group of admirers with a wave, parting off with both rivals in terms that could be described as sowhat… cordial?
And I suppose if it weren't for them too… I'd be sitting here still ever as witless and hesitant as I once was, so in a way… I guess I'm indebted to them.
To Nick, for having finally get off my ass and do sothing. And to Leon, for giving the reason to act on that sothing. Then there's Amanda that kicked off this whole saga…
I'm not so sure what to say to her as of this mont, but I'm sure that also goes both ways for her - if her flustered face was anything to go by - she was just as clueless as I.
If I were to go and et her now, no doubt her first words would be -
"There you are!"
Not that. Certainly not that, and certainly not that excited.
"I've been looking everywhere, I - didn't I say to et when they're done with you?"
In an instant, I spun my head right in the slightest.
Amanda alone, Amanda without her dewy-eyed crowd, tapping an impatient foot to the ground, with hands on her hips in an air of mild annoyance.
"Well," She tapped faster. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
So much for being clueless, I guess. Smiling, I scooted myself ever so slightly, patting the newly made empty space right beside , "Have a seat."
Her nose high in the air, she pompously took her ti striding forward, settling herself down in a manner befitting high royalty.
"You kept waiting, you know?" She muttered, eyeing with a little pout. "It's not easy walking in heels…"
"Too many people," ca my sorry excuse accompanied by an even sorrier smile. "Hard to talk when there are a million other people vying for your attention… thought I'd wait it out here."
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head and ending up looking in the total opposite direction.
"You could have just told them to buzz off, and they'll go," She said. "You're allowed to do that."
"And so I've heard."
"Seems you're still new to this whole fa thing."
"And so I am."
I looked around, seeing no one else coming to approach us.
"Where's Ash?" I asked.
"Oh yes, she ntioned she was going off to see Sera," Amanda explained. "Sothing about Sera wanting to talk to her about sothing. She was very vague about it. Thought maybe you might know sothing about it."
Going off to see Sera, huh? Interesting…
"Maybe…" I nodded. "We'll see though."
The mont silence seeped its presence in between us, it made itself comfortable and right at ho with the heavy tension that swayed in the air.
At that mont, her gaze slowly, surreptitiously, shifted back towards , only briefly, I caught only a glimpse of her staring before she was looking the other way again.
"You, uh, you," She was starting to fidget, fingers clutching tight the seams of her dress. "You look very nice in that outfit, I forgot to ntion, very handso, you look dashing… I, uh, I like it."
I nearly busted a gut holding back a chuckle, smiling at her, "Is that seriously what you wanted to talk to about in private?"
"No… not, not particularly," She didn't smile back, and her grip on her dress tightened. "I just wanted to say, I've been thinking… maybe, I don't think - you, you like , don't you?"
Where was this going?
"Yes," I said at once.
She still wasn't eting my gaze, but I could see her ears were burning a bright red.
"I… I like you too."
"You made that clear plenty of tis already, you know?" I said, trying to keep the tension from crushing under its growing pressure.
"I know, I just…" She heaved in a breathe. "I just wanted to say it again. Clearly this ti… no subtleties or anything like that, no hiding it. So - I like you."
"I know."
She stiffened that breath. "I love you."
I took her hand, loosening her fingers, and held them between mine. "I know."
Amanda finally turned towards again. Her eyes finding it difficult to et mine, but I made sure they didn't steer, I kept them staring straight, kept my hand in hers.
"The thing is," She continued, exerting all focus to keep her words from fumbling. "I know you love Ash too."
"I do," I told her.
"More..." Her lips went narrow, her voice, soft, a whisper so faint, and yet so loud all the sa anyway. "A lot more…"
I stayed my lips, kept my stare... finding myself reflected back in the brown of her eyes.
"And that's what I want to talk about."
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