Just a super duper quick Leolana one I threw together for you, Ally ;) happy birthday, kiddo
~~~~~~~~
The fight with Doctor Blakk was over.
All of Slugterra could feel it. Happy voices filled the streets. Confetti littered sidewalks. Any remaining wanted posters of the Defenders of the 99 Caverns either filled trash bins or fueled bonfires. There was still a lot to do- there always would be. Ghouls still ran wild around the caverns, and not all of Blakk's henchmen had been caught. But it was impossible not to feel joyous and relieved.
The days directly following the fight at the terraportal were filled with time spent in the hospital for the several Defenders injured in the fight, and then even for those who were injured, seemingly endless press releases and interviews and celebrations. The fight was over, but the saviors of Slugterra hadn't exactly gotten solid rest in.
Until tonight.
Leo had triple-checked with Eli- the night was indeed clear. No press conferences. No celebratory parties. No talking about the next steps to cure the remaining ghouls. Everyone was seizing the opportunity to relax and truly take a breather after the pure chaos that had seemed to last for years.
Now, Leo was sitting on the couch in the living room of the hideout. He wore an azure dress shirt, a white tie, and black dress pants. He'd tried to make his hair look a little more fancy, but he gave up when the chocolate brown spikes refused to cooperate. In all honesty, Alana wouldn't care.
Alana. The thought of her made Leo's chest warm up, like the sound of her name lit a fire in him.
He knew how conflicted she'd felt in the days following Blakk's fall. She was thrilled to be victorious, and proud of herself for coming through with the terraportal. But Leo knew the fight she had with Dana bothered her, and that combined with a concussion and dislocated elbow meant that Alana's press conferences and parties had been spent in mild discomfort. Sam and the Boon Docs had really come through, though, so Alana was doing better than the average person would have been.
Not that she was ever anything close to average, Leo thought, a faint smile on his face.
And speaking of...
Leo turned when he heard footsteps behind him. His smile grew and he got to his feet as Alana walked down the staircase.
Her hair was down, framing her face and flowing behind her in a blanket of caramel and cyan. She wore an off-shoulder dress falling just above her knees, the same deep blue as Leo's eyes (and his own dress shirt) with a light blue ribbon around her waist, that same color as the blue in her hair and eyes. Very simple, but anything looked stunning on her.
"You're sure you're okay to go out?" Leo asked for the fifth time that night as she reached the bottom of the staircase. Alana smiled and reached up to the back of her head, her fingers brushing her hair.
"I'm sure. It doesn't even hurt anymore," she assured. "There's just a bump. But I'm still not feeling up for a lot of motion. Or bright lights."
"None of which we'll deal with tonight," Leo promised. "Just a nice dinner to unwind after all the craziness. And it's an easy Mecha ride."
He held out a hand. Alana nodded and took it, and Leo's heart fluttered. When they touched, it was like electricity flowed between them. Alana always felt warm, in a pleasant way. Not searing hot, like the sun could be, but the kind of warmth that soothed muscles and chased away winter chills.
"I know we've each gotten asked this a million times already, but how does it feel? Now that it's over with Blakk?" Alana asked as the two left the hideout, pausing to enjoy the view of Wild Spores' Lumino crystals beginning to dim.
Leo looked down at her, staring into her blue eyes. There was a sight that he would never get over- the look of her smiling, and the way it added an extra light to her eyes.
"Feels great," he said with a shrug. "We can finally focus on some other things."
~~~~~~~~
Dinner was indeed simple and quiet. People gave them sideways glances at the fancy restaurant, but for once seemed to be respecting the privacy of the defenders. Heavens knew they deserved it after their latest victory.
Alana was thrilled when Leo had suggested going out for dinner to her. She wanted an outing that wasn't focused on being in public and having everything centered about the recent battle at Blakk Industries. The whole fight still seemed surreal. Looking back on it, it felt like it hadn't even happened. It had been talked about so much, it felt like talking about a historical battle, like they hadn't really been there, but simply heard about how it all went down.
For that reason, the couple spent dinner purposefully discussing everything except the fall of Blakk. What the gang might do when they began to get more free time, what the latest news was with Sam Gray and a certain artist, and other small bits of gossip and chatting that may have just been white noise, not a true conversation, but it was relaxing nonetheless.
Since the battle, Alana had felt like a spring. Like she had more and more pressure put on her, and she could burst at any second, and the realization of everything that happened would come crashing down on her. It was over, but it wasn't really, because there was still so much to do. It was a storm of conflicting emotions- joy and fear, relief and dread. But when she was with Leo, she didn't feel like she would burst. She felt completely at ease.
After dinner, Alana found herself resting her head om the back of Leo's shoulder as he drove back to the hideout. She'd said that Kord was working on Midnight's air suspension, but the wolf Mecha was fine. She just wanted an excuse to ride with Leo.
The cool night air on her face felt nice. Her hair was flowing back behind her like a river, the edges of her dress billowing in the wind as Leo sped down a forest path, only minutes away from the hideout. Full after the big meal, Alana's eyelids began to droop down.
And just as they closed, she felt Leo suddenly tense, and yell out, "WATCH IT!"
Alana's eyes flew open and she sat up. She could only catch a glimpse of what looked like a stray slug hound in the road before Leo slammed on the brakes to avoid it. Alana felt herself jolt because of the sudden stop, and then she was in the air, with nothing supporting her-
White light flashed around her, and then blue, and she was falling and she had never been so terrified in her life, because she was so sure this was the end-
Alana slammed into the ground, wincing as her eyes opened and the scene faded from her eyes. For a split second, she couldn't breathe. It felt like her fear was choking her. But as soon as it processed that there was solid ground beneath her, her fear ebbed away.
She groaned and sat up, dusting grass from her arms, trying to force away thoughts of the memory. It felt stupid. She wasn't scared of heights, but fear of the sensation of suddenly falling would probably linger.
"Oh no, Alana, are you okay?" Leo called, swinging down from his Mecha and rushing over as Alana got to her feet. "Please tell me you didn't hit your head again- are you crying?"
Alana blinked rapidly, hoping the tears at the edge of her vision wouldn't fall.
"I'm okay, it's okay," she said quickly, straightening out her skirt. "It-it was just, the falling, it felt like-"
A lump formed in her throat. Leo's azure gaze softened. He nodded and took her hand.
"I get it, it's only been a few days. But don't worry. You're here, I'm here. We won, Alana. And you did great," he added with a small smile. "Absolutely great."
Alana nodded, feeling grounded by holding his hand. "Thanks. Let's get back home."
~~~~~~~~~
It looked like the rest of the gang was asleep by the time Leo and Alana got back. All the lights in the hideout were shut off, every bedroom door shut. No staying up late playing Slug Kart tonight- everyone was still exhausted.
Leo and Alana silently walked over to the staircase. This was usually where Alana would go upstairs to shower, and Leo would go to the downstairs bathroom. But the two were still holding hands, and neither seemed like they were going to let go.
"Sorry about the Mecha ride," Leo said. He and Alana were lit up blue by the holoscreen alongside one of the living room's walls. "Other than that, was it a nice night?"
Alana smiled and nodded. "It's okay. It was lovely. We got to take a break and go somewhere nice."
Leo stayed silent for a moment. Then he slowly raised a hand to Alana's cheek, carefully lowering his head down. Their eyes met for a split second, and Leo leaned forward, kissing her.
Alana reached up, putting her arms over Leo's shoulders and leaning forward, kissing him back, and the rest of the hideout, and the rest of Wild Spores, and the rest of the world seemed to fade away. It was just the two of them, standing there at the bottom of the stairwell. Time had slowed to a stop, and all the two could think about was each other.
Alana wasn't sure when they moved, but she didn't realize until she felt the cool stairwell pressing up against her back. Leo's hand stayed at her cheek, his other one tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, then dropping, momentarily grazing her bare shoulder. Shivers ran down her spine, and Alana commonly felt shivers when around dark energy, but they weren't like these. He dropped his hand more, running down her back and stopping at her hip.
It was funny, because Alana knew her dress was between his hand and her skin, but she still felt like wherever he was touching was on fire, in the best way. Her fingers brushed against the collar of his dress shirt, her fingers pressing at the first button, but not making any moves to unbutton it.
The two momentary broke apart, taking quiet breaths. Leo looked down at her and laughed ever so quietly, his face flushed. Alana knew she looked the exact same way, and she knew he probably felt his cheeks growing pink, but neither of them moved.
Alana smiled faintly and rested her forehead on Leo's chest. Leo couldn't keep a smile off his lips, leaning down a bit and resting them on top of Alana's head. The two simply stood there, enjoying the other's embrace in content silence, no longer with thoughts of Blakk and ghouls on their mind-
Just thoughts of each other.
~~~~~~~~~
lolololol this is why I don't write romance
BUT I tried so go me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯