Worse Than His Bite

Chapter 3: You come here often?

It was supposed to be an opportunity to prove himself. No longer the pitiful bastard born outside of wedlock, but the legitimate son welcomed by the family.

What a joke.

Body guarding an architect- archaeologist who didn't even take him seriously. 'Leo' that archaeologist had began to call him. Why couldn't he respect that he was instructed to go only by Mr Leopold. It was a name that was supposed to garner respect, not get cut down to a nickname. Rather that than be called by his first name, Leo supposed.

He sat quietly at the kitchen table in the cottage the three men were staying, accompanied only with his own spiteful thoughts for Phineas. The wooden chair groaned uncomfortably as he leaned back into it, his arm lazily draped down the back. For a place bought by a million dollar company for their employee, Leo expected a bit more grandeur. That's how companies like that stayed rich though, by being cheap even when they didn't need to. The oven and stove worked well enough, some of the glasses and plates that came with the house were dirty but he cleaned them up, the furniture was dusty before he cleaned that too. It was fine. Quaint but fine.

He wondered how Mr spoilt city boy was doing. All wrapped up warm in his bed. It was already 7AM and the man hadn't stirred yet, how could someone sleep that long? Leo hadn't slept at all. A restless night. He wanted to look out the window and see a monster. Something to play with. Something to pass the time.

From his seat, he had the perfect view of the window. He'd never seen a forest so dense before. He could see the first row of trees clear and defined, after that it was an incomprehensible blur of nature. Fascinating.

Was something watching him?

Was he watching something?

It was impossible to tell. How thrilling.

"You going to stand there all day?" Leo asked, still focused on the window. "Take a picture it lasts longer."

Heavy footfalls sounded behind him until a chair scraped across the floor. Leo knew he didn't need to make his footsteps so loud. Why did he do it? To make Leo feel safe? He didn't need Seb's pity.

"Are you hungry?" Leo asked. "There's breakfast on the stove, just heat it up if you want."

"I'm fine, thank you." His voice was hoarse and came out quietly. Uh oh, looks like somebody went out on the prowl last night.

"Late night?"

Seb said nothing.

"What got you this time?"

Still nothing.

"Did you eat the city boy?"

"Don't be disgusting."

"Did you fuck him?"

The table split down the middle and collapsed in on itself. Sebastian's fist hovered above it, his knuckles turning white from the tension in his hand. The cabinets and everything else that wasn't drilled to the floor trembled from the bang. The sound echoed off the walls and came straight back to them.

"I apologise." Said Seb.

"That was a little dramatic of you."

There was a flurry of footsteps that came down the stairs. So, Sebastian hadn't ate him as a midnight snack. So far, so good. Phineas poked his head into the kitchen, he was out of breath and white as a sheet. He was wrapped in nothing but tartan pyjama bottoms and a thin blanket.

"What was that?" He yelled.

Leo glanced at his partner. He saw Seb take one glance at Phineas then he didn't look again. He'd never seen his stoic partner reveal quite so much. "What was what?" He asked Phineas.