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Part Five

But the fear resided regardless, and any dreams were pushed down his throat the next morning when he was awoken by the deep thuds of single footsteps outside his home. Such a large being was incapable of the warmth and protective energy he craved, and that was proven by the bug he assumed was stuck to the bottom of Leo's sneaker at the moment.

Sam would not be safe in Leo's hands, no matter how much he wanted to be.

And while he sometimes wanted to forget Leo altogether, he couldn't do that either. He was a part of his life more than he wanted to admit, which meant staying in his life, even if that required a bit of wiggle room in terms of friendship. Even if it required something as difficult as a phone call.

MyNameIsSam: we can do that. When?

Leo let out the breath he was holding from the start.
Sam heard it and sighed.

NucLEOnic: rn?

Shit, thought Sam in the heat of the moment. It would take at least thirty minutes to move the phone to a safe location, and even that was pushing his limits.

Sam took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes, and began typing away at an excuse.

MyNameIsSam: can u give me a bit? With my family rn

NucLEOnic: sure :)

Even though his eyes watered at the thought of being with a family at the moment, Sam melted in relief at his excuse working out. Now the only thing left to do was bring the phone to a safe space, and he would be able to talk to Leo. Easier said than done.

The phone was over twice the size of Sam's entire body, not counting the tail that extended to the floor and dragged behind him with a determined permanent laze. Still, with the strength he counted a blessing, the nonhuman was able to lift the phone a centimeter off the ground and huff out the energy it took to carry. The electronic was heavy, sure, but with the brawn of his species, it was possible to drag.

It took twenty six minutes and four seconds to reach a spot outside of Leo's bedroom. Still hidden behind the walls of the hallway leading to the rest of the house, but not in the sight lines of any human looking for the pest that invaded their home and took their things. Perhaps 'Pest' is too strong of a word, but it was how Sam saw himself on a daily basis. It wasn't as if he had anything to disprove the theory, either.

With his little project done and over with, he planted the phone against the side furthest from the outside wall, and leaned against it for a moment to catch his breath. Leo might question him if he responded like the wind was just knocked out of him.

NucLEOnic: u good?

Sam took in one last deep inhale, held it for a few seconds, and released until the sweat stopped dripping from his exposed muscles. Even though the fabric he wore was soft and light, it clung to his skin like a nightmare. Sam wiped his forehead, leaned away from the phone, and pressed the keyboard to begin typing for the last time.

MyNameIsSam: ready. U call first

NucLEOnic: k

Not even five seconds passed before the phone buzzed, thankfully only on vibrate for the time being. Sam was still swift in pressing the green button to answer, paranoid of waking the house of humans before him.

"Hello?"

God, his voice was soft over the phone. In reality, whenever Sam was around long enough to hear Leo speak in person, the velvet timber of his vocals were enough to ring his eardrums. This, though, was something he could get used to.

"Hi," Sam whispered back in response. Though it seemed Leo didn't hear, so he was forced to repeat himself in a much more direct tone.

"Hi," Leo was at a loss for words. He was talking to Sam, the person he had been waiting to speak to for months on end now. It was happening, and Sam was real. There was no denying the other person on the end of the line, not that Leo was willing to admit any doubt he had in the first place. "Um...what's-whats up?"

"What's up?" Sam huffed out loud. "You wanted to call just to ask what was up?"

"Well, also because I've never heard your voice or anything. Don't mock me, kid."

"If it makes you feel any better, it's a surprise for me, too. It's nice to talk to you. Like, actually talk." Sam felt his cheeks turn a shade darker at the compliment he gave, but felt no regrets. In fact, he was uncharacteristically ecstatic now that the jitters of speaking were gone.

"Yeah, I like this a lot more. Why didn't we try it before?"

"Because I'm stubborn and you're respectful?"

"Yep," Leo laughed into his phone. "Seriously, though, tell me about your day."

So Sam did.

And talking to Leo was the best thing he had ever experienced.
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A/N: Leo is too good smh. But hey, one step closer to meeting Sam in person, and finding out just who he was talking to this whole time!
As always, please feel free to drop a comment and let me know what you think! Thank you for reading! :)