Winner Takes It All

Chapter 12

For once it seemed that fate was on Leo's side. Leo had been hurrying home after a particularly brutal set of seminar classes when in a twist of fate he had bumped into Xavier in Hyde Park. All of a sudden Leo was not in such a hurry to go home and so the two were walking leisurely towards the exit. Leo did not have the energy to convince himself that he was upset over the half hour of forced interaction.

"So you've also never watched Star Wars? Oh my god thank god. Liam is obsessed but I keep telling him the plot is average at best", Leo gushed.

"Maybe I'm going after the wrong brother", Xavier joked.

"Maybe." Leo smirked, but his heart had gone into overdrive.

Surely this was a normal reaction? Maybe he was having a heart attack. Or a stroke.

Xavier rolled his eyes and Leo's breath hitched.

Maybe I have lung cancer, he reasoned. Or pneumonia.

But already his brain was cataloguing all those times he had thought something he shouldn't have or his pulse had begun racing because of something Xavier had said or done.

Fuck. Fuck. How could he have let this happen? When did this happen? He was so God damned stupid. Of course he had to fall for the one person actively trying to date his brother.

Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he could fix this mess.

Xavier was all wrong for him, he was argumentative and stubborn and clearly into his brother and - where was he?

Leo looked around wildly.

"Over here", his sardonic voice called.

Leo spun around searching the path. And then he looked left to the path and spotted a scowling Xavier bobbing up and down in the river.

"Don't say a word." He hissed.

Leo kept a straight face for about half a second before he could no longer hold it in. "Ha!" He exclaimed before bursting into a series of snorts and croaks of laughter. "You - you fell in the river, how did you even fa - fall in?"

"The hill was slippery", Xavier complained, "stop laughing and help me out!"

Leo nodded desperately trying to control his fits of laughter as he stumbled his way down the hill.

"I can't help but notice you took a long while to notice my absence", Xavier grumbled.

"Attention whore", Leo teased before extending his hand. "Here."

Leo caught the glimmer of mischief as Xavier eyed his hand but it was too late, he was already falling head first into the river.

"Ha!" It was Xavier's turn to snort in laughter.

Leo emerged spluttering and glaring. "You didn't."

Xavier smirked and splashed water into his face.

Leo gasped. "I could have swallowed that."

Xavier splashed him a second time.

"Xavier!" Leo shrieked.

Xavier laughed, a full throated laugh that made Leo's heart thud a little faster in his chest, and splashed water in his face.

"That's it!" Leo caterwauled before releasing a war cry and launching his own attack on him.

An old couple walked by and shook their heads disapprovingly.

"The youth today", Heather said.

"Out of control", Arthur agreed.