Delicate

Chapter Twenty Five

"You're not weak, Mila," Leo paused, "they're your parents, and you've grown up with a certain dynamic with them so it's understandable that you're having trouble trying to break free from that. That does not make you weak, just the opposite."

"You really think that?" Milan asked.

"Yes, I do," Leo reassured the other boy, squeezing his hand tighter.

"Thank you," Milan said sincerely.

"Will you tell me what happened today? What led to all this?" Leo asked.

"Yesterday when you, uh, when my mom saw you, she didn't exactly, you know..."

"Like the sight of me," Leo connected the dots.

"Yeah," Milan looked embarrassed, but he continued, "I've only told her we're just friends but she wasn't cool with that. She told me to... to not be friends with you and I sort of lost it at that."

"Milan... I don't want to cause—"

"You did nothing," Milan said sternly, "it's their prejudice, not you."

"Okay. What happened then?"

"I didn't really speak with my parents the entire day after that, and I sneaked out to have lunch with Ben. When I got back, my dad was there too. And my mom told him everything. He was pissed. Very pissed. And we had a fight and it kinda slipped out that I was with Ben and that just made everything worse."

"Crap."

"Yeah. Fuck. So yeah, I packed some shit and told them I was going out and to not wait for me. I'm gonna go to the city to spend the weekend with Ben. I was going to go straight to the bus stop but I... I wanted to see you first," Milan admitted.

"I'm so glad you decided that," Leo said geniunely, "you can stay here too, you know? Roan and Kai won't mind."

"Yeah, it doesn't seem like they would but," Milan paused for a moment, "it's a little weird, because, you know—"

"Kai."

"Mr. Nahar."

"Okay, I get that," Leo nodded, "I'd drive you to your brother's but my car is in the shop again."

"That's okay, I don't mind taking the bus," Milan shook his head, "I wish I could stay with you, though."

"Well, I could come with you..."

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Milan asked, looking at Leo with widened eyes. The other boy nodded in response, "yes, yes! That would be great!"

"Would your brother be cool with that? I don't want to intrude."

"I told him about you today, he wants to meet you," Milan said with a small smile, "I'll still call him to ask him."

"Okay," Leo got up from the bed as he spoke, "you do that. And I'll get you some water till then, cool?"

"Cool. Thank you, Leo."

Leo simply gave him a smile, before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on his lips. He went downstairs to get Milan some water, and also to give Roan and Kai a heads-up. He didn't give them any details, just a vague idea of why he was going and where.

He gave Milan some time to talk to his brother, before going back up to his room. Ben was cool with Leo coming over, so the boy shoved some of his stuff in a bag, and left with Milan. They went to the living room to say bye before heading over to the bus stop.

"Here," Roan threw his car keys at Leo, who caught them just in time.

"You're letting me drive your car?" Leo asked in shock. Roan never let anyone drive his car. Not even Kai. If there was one thing he was extremely possessive about, it was his Mercedes.

"One scratch," Roan repeated, "one scratch and I'll... you know what? Just go before I change my mind."

"Thank you," Leo was still shocked, and Milan just watched the interaction in confusion.

"Wait," Roan walked over to Leo, handing him a fifty, Leo raised his eyebrow at the money, and Roan shrugged, "I keep telling you, gas ain't cheap."

Leo tried to control his smile, and just gave Roan a tight lipped nod before ruffling Maya's hair and leaving out the front door. The two boys got into Roan's car, and Leo looked like he was enchanted. It was his first time on the driver's seat of that car, and he was loving it.

Leo looked at the fuel gauge, which was full. Leo rolled his eyes, remembering what Roan had said as he handed him the money.

"Ready?" Leo asked as he put the key in the ignition.

"Ready to be with you? Always."

***

chapter 30 of delicate is up on patreon :)