Leo ~ [004]

[disruptstatice]

Who: disruptstatice and Somarium
Where: Espoir village -> main city
Style: Either, but prose is love
Status: Opeeen
Note: He's from late PH canon and it's quite spoiler-y, so if you really care about that I'd suggest not tagging this.

Comments

[purethingsonly]

It was the timing more than anything that had made all of this so unbearable. First Elliot and Leo disappeared, and then on top of that, the black rain came and flooded the city, causing so much chaos and destruction. One thing after another. And Ada didn't know which one should worry her more. Sure, the flood came and went, but it had left a lot of destruction in it's wake. But if Elliot and Leo went home... what was waiting for them there? Again she found herself thinking about the state of things when she left and worrying. Maybe she was worrying too much, but... she couldn't help it. She had a bad feeling, not unlike the one she'd had when the rain started.

Was something bad going to happen again? How much more could they take?

The village felt quieter then it had been before. Until out of nowhere, the quiet air was filled with a shrill, deafening scream that made Ada's heart skip a beat. No matter how strange the sound was, the voice was still familiar to her. And she ran. It didn't matter what it was that made him scream, or the fact that she hadn't even considered the fact that she might not be able to do anything in the worst case scenario. Leo came back. But rather than joy, it only made that bad feeling worse; a knot tightening in her chest. And finding him, she didn't feel any better.

Her voice almost fails her.

"...L-Leo..."

She's afraid to say more. Afraid to get too close. But mostly, she's afraid to ask what she knows she should. Right now, she simply can't.

[disruptstatice]

When Leo hears Ada, he has only barely begun to get back up, and he suppresses a sob as he tries to will the tears back. Did she hear..? With how quickly she appeared, she probably did.

Damn.

How long has he been gone anyway? Why is she still here but not Elliot--?

He's so tired of this tight throat and the heartbeat in his ears and his chest aching and everything. So tired of emotions, of worry and despair and anger. He's just tired. He wants this evening to be made undone.

"Ada.."

[purethingsonly]

Tears well up in her eyes as she feels the emotions start to overwhelm. Both his and hers. All of the worries of the past few days, for him and Elliot both, and everyone; all of the rain and the chaos... Ada's tired of holding it all in, and she's tired of being strong. But when she looks at Leo, who seems so weak and broken, something in her falters.

She has to be strong.

With a few hurried steps, she throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around him. He's here. He's alright. Maybe things are bad, but aren't they bad all around? She wants to help someone. She wants to be there for someone. So for that, she can be strong.

"...welcome back." And it doesn't matter if she's crying. She's being strong and holding him close with all her might.

Because he's here and right now he seems to need it more than she does.

[disruptstatice]

This is not what he expects.

Honestly, he's not sure what he did expect. Probably nothing in particular. But if he had thought of things he didn't except, this would be part of that.

And really, he's not the hugging kind of guy. He's not the... physical contact kind of guy. And a hug certainly isn't anything he would have gone for to get some comfort. And... he has no idea what to do about this. No idea at all.

So...

He's just...

Going to... stand here? He's too tired to push her away.

[purethingsonly]

That he doesn't move or react doesn't really surprise her, though that's both because of how he is normally and what he looks like now. She isn't sure he would have allowed this much normally. There was a lot she didn't know when it came to Leo, but she did care about him. Ada worried about him too. Maybe he didn't consider her a friend, much like Elliot wouldn't consider her that way, but she considered them both important friends. Even more so since she came here.

So she just tightened her arms around him and stayed there.

Maybe in some desperate way she wishes it would comfort him a little, and give him a little bit of support.

Ada wanted to have the strength to support others and maybe she didn't just yet, but the desire was there. Her heart was in the right place, and that desire was alive and strong inside of her.

[disruptstatice]

Okay.

Even in this situation, Leo thinks it's going a bit far with the tightening, so he raises his hands and pushes at Ada's shoulders as he tries to move back. He knows why she's doing it, but...

No. He doesn't like it.

[purethingsonly]

Maybe she should have known, but it was hard to think clearly about that when her brain was so filled with different worries and fears.

"S-sorry..." Immediately she's apologizing, because she knows that in the end, it was more for her sake then his. Maybe she really wasn't good at being the strong one, even when it would have been useful.

[disruptstatice]

"..it's okay."

And it is. Just... as long as she doesn't do it again.

He lowers his hands and steps back, gaze flickering to the side behind his bangs, head lowered. And he's tense. What is she going to do now..?

[purethingsonly]

She won't, because she can tell it's upset him at least a little. And she knows he likes his space, it's just... right now, more than usual, he seems so far away.

And maybe she shouldn't but she's worried. She's been worried for days.

"...you disappeared before the flood. Where...?" No. She cut herself off a bit. That wasn't a question to force upon him. "A-are you alright?" She's asked him this a number of times for a number of reasons but right now she has a very good one. Right now it seems like the most important question.

[disruptstatice]

The answer is pretty immediate. "I'm fine."

And it's not a complete lie either; he's fine... physically. Maybe a little bruised, but. Ahem.