Press that play button bestie 😊
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It's the Aesthetic for me😍
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"Orty barked again in response, and at that moment I heard an eerily familiar male voice behind me. " Excuse me, Orthus, where are the napkins?"
My head whipped around at the sound of the intruder, and Orthus bounded happily towards the voice.
I backed into the kitchen island as a man emerged from the shadows of my living room with a messy peanut butter and jelly sandwich in hand.
My legs nearly gave out from under me when Leo's handsome features came into view and he smiled warmly at me.
"Shit!" I grabbed a roll of paper towels and violently threw them at him, " Don't do that! I almost pissed myself!"
Leo dodged the item easily and took a bite of his sandwich, unbothered. His eyes raked up my frame all the way from my feet to my dripping wet hair.
After some consideration he let out an appreciative grunt, not even trying to hide the fact that he was checking me out. Leo walked past me with twinkling eyes as he continued to chew his sandwich and sat on one of the swivel chairs next to the island.
I let out an exasperated breath and went to pick up the paper towels before slamming them on the counter in front of him. Leo sat there unfazed as I stood beside him, glaring holes into his head. Even Sitting down, he was a good three inches taller than me, not including the height of the stool.
He must have come immediately after his shift was over because he was still in his work clothes, his shirt fully unbuttoned to reveal the white wife beater beneath it.
He had left his shoes, socks and jacket by the door and made himself at home, walking around in my apartment barefooted.
"How did you get in here?" I demanded, with my hand on my hip.
I leaned forward, trying to get him to look at me, but Leo stubbornly turned his head away and reached into his pocket before dropping my spare house key on the counter.
Before I could snatch it up, he quickly grabbed it and stuffed it back into his pants before turning to look down at me. The devilish smirk on his face could have brought me to my knees right then and there.
"Very interesting show today," Leo commented, grabbing a paper towel and wiping some peanut butter off his hands.
"You broke into my apartment." I replied dryly.
"I told you that I was coming by," he responded innocently, "Not my fault you gave me a key."
"You could've at least announced that you were here!" My voice cracked slightly as I raised my voice.
I bit my lip painfully to stop the tears that welled up in my eyes as the stress and anxiety of the day started flooding back into my memory.
Leo studied my face with quiet benevolence, tucking a strand of wet hair behind my ear and sighing.
"My bad, love."
I took a deep breath and with excruciating effort, moved away from his gentle touch.
"Excuse me." I mumbled, hurrying into the guest bathroom and quickly closing the door as the tears started to fall.
I looked in the mirror and my face contorted unattractively as I held back a sob. I turned away from my reflection and sniffed, careful not to make a sound as I wiped at my eyes with my sleeve.
With a press of the button on top of the tank, I flushed the toilet to sell the idea that I had gone to the bathroom. I turned on the sink water, and splashed cold water on my face, checking to make sure that my eyes weren't too puffy.
I wiped my face and hands with the hand towel and shook my head vigorously before heading back out into the hallway to face Leo.
He had taken the liberty of feeding Orthus for me, and knelt next to him on the kitchen floor, petting his back as he ate. A mop was resting on the wall in the hallway, and when he saw me emerge from the bathroom, Leo shooed me away.
"You're getting water all over the floor after I just mopped it up. Go dry off." He waved me off, stood up and shrugged out of his button down.
I stared shamelessly at his defined biceps and watched his muscles ripple as he folded the shirt and placed it on top on the couch cushion. He peered over the couch from behind and looked at the sleeping Clara, before scouring the living room for something.
After he had come across a blanket, he unfolded it and went to drape it over her body, but stopped in his tracks when he saw me in the hallway staring at him.
He raised a brow, "What, do you need help?"
My eyes dropped to his tight wife beater that hugged his defined abdomen and lowered to see the band of his Supreme boxers peeking out from underneath his pants.
Yes.
"No," I blurted, turning and shaking my head, "No I'm good."
I strode back into my room and closed the door behind me, heading straight into my bathroom to grab a towel. I quickly wiped down my arms and legs and towel dried my hair.
Grabbing a hairtie, I pulled my hair up into a messy, damp bun and made my way back into my bedroom to find some underwear.
When I opened my drawer, I stood over the Victoria Secret panties and sports bras as well as the Fenty lingerie sets, blinking. I reached for the Victoria Secret and hesitated as my mind drifted to Leo who was still in the living room outside. I bit my lip before hovering my hand over the lingerie.
Should I? It wasn't like he hadn't seen me in lingerie before.
Besides, it was late and he still had a thirty minute drive to his apartment. I could ask him to stay the night...
Just....relax, Amara. Don't do anything that would piss him off.
I sighed, clearing my thoughts and grabbing the Victoria secret underwear. I considered putting on a pajama set, but instead I pulled on an oversized black tee with A picture of Bob Marley on the back.
Rustling sounds could be heard from the guest bedroom as I opened my room door. When I looked inside, Clara was sleeping in the bed, with the covers pulled neatly over her lithe frame.
Leo was busy rummaging through the guest closet, muttering to himself. He had a pair of grey sweatpants slung over his arm, and he pushed through the rack of clothes vigorously.
He turned to see me standing at the door and frowned, "I left a spare shirt in this closet the last time I was here, where...is it."
Leo trailed off and closed the closet doors slowly, eyeing my shirt.
"Turn around for me."
Yes.
"Huh?" I asked, licking my bottom lip and leaning forward to make sure I heard him correctly.
Leo chuckled and walked towards me in slow calculated, strides. "Your shirt, Amara."
Take it off.
"Turn around so that I can see the back of it." he finished.
Close enough.
"I-oh. Sure thing."
I swiveled on my heels and felt Leo's back tracing the print of the picture on the back of the shirt. I held my breath as the brush of his fingertips left tingles down my spine. His hands inched up to my neck and started kneading the muscles next to my shoulder blades.
I didn't even realize that my muscles were so tense until he started massaging them and my eyes practically rolled back into my head.
Yep. He was incredibly good with his hands.
"Aren't you going to ask me to stay the night?" his soft voice broke through my silent bliss, and my half closed eyes shot open.
I turned and looked at Clara who was laying peacefully in the guest bed, "You would have to sleep on the couch." I said dejectedly.
Leo straightened the large shirt so that the sleeves didn't fall off my shoulder, and then kissed the spot on my shoulder that he had just massaged.
"Would I?"
When I heard the suggestiveness in his voice, I turned my head and was met with a kiss on the jaw.
"I'm gonna need my shirt back," he murmured, lips tickling my skin. He tugged on the hem of the shirt playfully and then brushed passed me, throwing the sweatpants on the counter in the guest bathroom and walking in the direction of the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"
I was left standing in the hallway of the bedroom dumbfounded.
This man.
I looked back at Clara and turned the light off before closing the door and walking towards the kitchen as if in a trance.
"Are you going to make my favorite?" I asked, smiling as I watched him turn on the stove and place the kettle on a burner.
"Always," Leo responded smoothly, opening my china cabinet and pulling out my favorite Floral mug. He dug around in my pile of Teabags before pulling out the Green tea and mint blend that he had given me for earlier this year.
As he worked, I went to go pet Orthus, who had settled himself in his dog bed, next to the window in the living room. He looked so normal laying there curled up in a ball, just like a regular dog.
The kettle started to whistle, and I walked back to the kitchen island, taking a seat in the swivel chair that Leo had previously inhabited. With my elbow on the counter, I rested my chin in my hand as Leo fixed my tea.
His back was facing me, and I had to hold myself back from going up behind him and inching my fingers up his tank top.
Despite him being very...handsy, he didn't appreciate it when I tried to reciprocate. The last time I did, I ended up being yelled at, and then ignored for a few days. Even during work, he was dry to me, and only spoke when he needed me to do something.
All I could do was just appreciate him from a distance. With the few friends that I had, I couldn't afford to lose him.
Leo turned around with my mug in hand, he leaned on the counter and placed the mug down, still gripping the handle. He stared into the murky water absentmindedly.
I reached forward to take the mug from him but he straightened up and pulled it out of my reach.
"Ah," A smirk formed on his face, "I need you to do me a favor, love."
"What?" I asked with a bored expression. I didn't even attempt to grab the mug from him again, the man had a good eight inches on me in height, and his arm reach was ridiculous.
"Let me sleep in your bed tonight."
I choked on my saliva and started coughing violently, hunching over and putting up one finger to signal him to wait.
"What?" I croaked, clearing my throat.
"I didn't stutter." Leo replied calmly. He slid the mug towards me and nodded. "Drink up. You'll need the energy."
With that, Leo strode into the guest bathroom, and after a few moments I heard the shower start to run. I turned back to the mug and picked it up, sipping the hot tea slowly and savoring the warmth that coursed through my body.
He made it exactly how I liked it.
Ten minutes hadn't even passed before Leo emerged from the bathroom with no shirt and his grey sweatpants on. At that time I had finished my tea and was washing out the mug.
I felt a strong hand wrap around both of my wrists while the other turned off the pipe water and grabbed a towel.
Leo handed me the towel and placed his hands on the counter behind me, trapping me in between his arms. I dried my hands off, refusing to face him for fear of going weak in the knees.
"Amara," he called into my right ear, teasingly. He was so close that I could feel the heat radiating off his body.
My resolve quickly gave out when I felt his lips press against my neck. I sighed blissfully, placing my hands on the counter to steady myself and tilting my head.
Leo took the invitation and started sucking and nibbling at the skin below my jawline. He placed his hands on my waist and turned me around, kissing his way around my neck as I moved. I let out a quiet groan when he slowly licked the sensitive area in between my collar bone all the way up to my chin.
Leo trailed his hands down my ass and thighs, gripped both of my legs and hoisted me onto the countertop. He nestled himself in between my legs and continued to kiss on my neck as he took my legs into his arms and picked me up.
I grasped the back of his head and back as he took me to my bedroom and laid me back on the bed. Leo stood over me in reverence, taking in the sight of me on the bed in front of him. I grabbed his white tank and pulled him towards me impatiently, aching to feel his lips on mine.
Before I could kiss him, a loud crash made us both jolt up from the bed. To my right, a brick lay on the floor next to a smattering of glass that came from my bedroom window. On the brick was a small piece of paper tied down by black string.
Leo and I looked at each other and he went to go pick up the brick, removing the paper and reading the note. As he read, his face hardened and he walked to the window, peering outside into the darkness.
"What does it say?" I asked, scooting off of the bed and avoiding the glass shards on the floor to go stand by him.
When Leo didn't respond, I took the paper from his hand and read it myself. Someone had scrawled one word onto the paper in elegant, foreign handwriting.
Αφροδίτη
Leo turned away from the window and grabbed my arm, escorting me away from the broken glass.
"I'm going to go check on things outside, stay here until I come back, ok? Don't step foot outside of this apartment, it might be dangerous. Just...wait for me."
I frowned at him and before I could respond, he stalked outside, not even bothering to put on his shirt or shoes. Orthus stood out in the hallway, watching me intently. The noise must have alerted him as well.
"Be careful!" I called just before Leo slammed the door shut. As soon as he was gone, Orty trotted into my room and I looked out the window, trying to make out what was in the darkness below.
When I didn't see anything I made my way to the front door and snapped my finger, indicating for Orty to follow me. I peeked out of the peephole and when I saw that the coast was clear, I opened the door and pointed in the direction that Leo went.
"Orthus, follow him." I ordered.
Orty barked in response and bolted out the door, I watched as he turned the corner towards the elevator and then closed the door. I grabbed a broom and cleaned up all the glass on the floor, and temporarily patched up the hole in the window with cardboard and tape.
Even after I had cleaned up my room, neither Leo or Orthus had come back, and I started getting worried. I sat on the couch anxiously biting my nails and looking between the clock and door from time to time.
Twenty minutes passed and my eyes started to close. I fought the sleep off as long as I could, but before I knew it I had dozed off, clutching Leo's shirt in my hand like a talisman.
***
Zagreus's P.O.V
I sighed, absentmindedly flipping the knife in my hand and looking out at the woods behind Amara's apartment. Everything looked so small from the rooftop, I could barely make out the line of five bodies laid out in the grass after Orthus had torn them to pieces.
I smirked to myself. Despite refusing being involved in the world of her parents, Amara trained her dog really well, I had to give her credit.
Cerberus was nowhere near as obedient as Orthus. The fact that they were relatives made the comparison almost comical.
I sighed again and sat up on my elbows to take some of the weight off my stomach. I had a huge meal before I came to clean up this clumsy girls mess.
How exhausting.
To think I had taken the time to save her from five perverted Centaurs and didn't even kill all of them as a courtesy, and instead of thanking me, she ran off with my jacket to her targeted apartment to bed an assassin.
"What a pest," I spat, turning to look at the man who was bleeding out beside me.
He had long dreadlocks, dark skin, and his white tank top quickly stained red from his open wound. I watched disdainfully as he clutched his chest in a futile attempt to stop the bloodflow and gasped for air like a fish out of water.
When I threw the knife at him, I pierced his right lung, in hopes that he would choke to death on his own blood.
It was a slap on the wrist compared to what he deserved.
I pushed myself off of my stomach and stood up, stretching out my limbs. What an eventful day.
As I swiveled around, surveying the surrounding area, Orthus's large frame appeared on the roof, emerging from the shadows.
The dog shrunk in size as he padded over to me with a bloody bone in his mouth. He dropped the bone at my feet and plopped down, panting gleefully.
"Is this for me?" I asked, pointing at the bone and then reaching down to pick it up with two fingers.
I studied the bone and looked back to where I had laid the bodies out in the forest floor below, unsurprised to see that they were nowhere to be found.
I rolled my eyes and threw the bone to the side, "No, Orthus you weren't supposed to eat them..." I trailed off when I saw his big pleading eyes.
"...You know what, it's fine. You did a great job, bud."
Orthus barked in response and jumped onto me, I forced a smile and patted him on the head before pointing to the man bleeding out on the roof.
"Take care of that for me please, I'm going to go fix that window."