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Part Twelve

   If Leo was quiet, he could hear something in the walls beside him. There was a microscopic creak of a doorway, only noticeable when he strained his ears, but the patter of footsteps broke him out of his trance and brought a smile to his face. He didn't dare move until Sam felt it acceptable, so he kept the same position, staring at this phone while he lay his back against the headboard of his bed.
   The footsteps sounded to the edge of the bed, and then stopped altogether. Leo was keen to figure out if this was Sam trying to catch his attention, or attempting to find the courage to speak up, so he didn't risk it and allowed Sam the time he needed.

   "Leo!"

   There it was. Leo turned off his phone, letting his eyes adjust to the enveloping darkness surrounding them, and looked to the floor to find Sam's tiny body just beside the space in between underneath his bed and the nightstand next to it. The way he leaned over, his form shadowed Sam's entirely, and he held back a wince at the thought of someone doing the same to him.

   Sam, while still terrified to a slight degree, only held his tail between his two hands and wrung it back and forth as if it were a wet rag. He took extreme care of his tail; it was something he was most proud of, so the short hairs that followed it down to the tip brushed against his palms while he rubbed it back and forth.

   It's not too scary, Sam thought to himself, because while Leo was hovering over him like a deadly weapon, the hopeful smile he wore allowed peace to flood over Sam's thoughts for a moment.

   "Hi, Sam," Leo whispered down to him. He only got a squeak of "hi" in response, but it was far better than before.
   "Um, do you want to...like...come up here? You don't have to if you don't want to! Or you could go on the nightstand, because that could work too! Just, Uh...just let me know..." Leo trailed off, looking to the side so as not to stare. The sight of Sam was still incredible, but he wasn't going to be rude about it.
   "I can come on the bed," Sam held back his own stares, and instead traded his fear in for excitement at being able to be touched once again. He couldn't stand even a second longer of solitude, and was beginning to see that his home in the walls wasn't going to do it for him at a time like this.
  
   Leo waited. He tried to let Sam take his time, watching the hook on his belt (?) as if it would move on its own, but when nothing happened, he met Sam's eyes for the first time that night.
   "Do you want me to...like, pick you up?"
   When Sam nodded, his head full of hair bounced around and a stray piece that refused to cooperate fell against the bridge of his nose. The way Leo spoke down to him, not at him like a condescending brat, caused Sam's excitement to raise through the roof.
   Leo was careful in his movements, afraid that any sudden jerks might scare Sam off like a timid mouse, and so he released his hand from the grip on his phone and lowered it to the ground with barely any speed. Once it finally reached its destination, he felt a tickle of Sam's feet crawling towards the center, and it was like he was in awe of finding him all over again. Sam's life was in his hands, no matter which way he looked at it, and Leo felt an overwhelming protective instinct flood through his brain at the mere touch of Sam in his palms.
   Sam, on the other hand, was met with the desire to melt into Leo's palm, cherishing any warmth that radiated off and into his body. Now he knew, for sure, that he would not regret leaving his walls that night.
   When Leo lifted his hand back up, he pressed the edge of his palm against his chest while he resituated his position, sitting up on an extra pillow against the headboard so his back wouldn't ache from looking down at Sam. Once finished, he pulled his hand away from his chest, and found Sam's tail wrapped around his thumb for support. He wanted terribly to reach out with his other thumb and brush against it, to feel the extra appendage without consequence, but it wasn't something he would do without consent. Instead, he was content to stare, only briefly flickering his eyes back to Sam and meeting his gaze.