^ A sketch I made of Leo, Sam is probably (definitely) hidden inside the pocket of the sweatshirt pictured ^
As it turned out, Leo lied to Sam.
He wanted so badly to fall asleep that night, letting all of his immediate thoughts rest for the time being, but the repetitive images of complete terror and pain on Sam's little face was too much for him. He kept closing his eyes to fall asleep, only to watch the scene of Sam screaming into his palm replay on the same loop every time. It was like a nightmare just sitting there, waiting to happen the moment Leo went unconscious.
After explaining what he could to Elijah, the fake ginger sent him to the guest room to slap Skip awake with only two powerful hits on the shoulder. Leo had never seen such ferocity in such a small being before, but it did the job, because Skip grunted himself awake and sat up in the makeshift bed to rub at his eyes.
Eli explained what Leo told him in half as much detail, mostly just to get the point across that it was Sam all along, and that the information was too great to let Skip sleep through it.
Skip, for the most part, yawned it off until the knowledge filed through the inner workings of his brain, and then went on to startle himself awake to ask Leo countless questions about the interaction, all while mumbling about how he knew something suspicious was going on with Sam from the start.
Eli hit him again and told him to be respectful. He, of all people, knew what it was to be the smallest in the group, and could only imagine how terrifying the whole ordeal was for Sam all along. He wanted to slap himself for not giving Sam the best treatment possible, and for not realizing it sooner.
The three boys remained in the guest room for an hour after the revelation, declaring it a good time to at least try to fall asleep to figure everything out in the morning. Who knew, maybe Sam would come back and give the explanation himself.
But as Leo sauntered off to his bed, closing the door only a bit louder than he intended, he found that attempting to sleep was not doing him any good. Even after rolling around on his bed for the perfect position, or scrolling through his phone for any distractions he could find, it was obvious the rest would only come in the form of eye bags to show the world when morning came in only a few short hours.
Sam paced his room for the hundredth time that night, apparently incapable of doing anything except thinking about the events that occurred.
Sam wanted to believe that everything he was taught had been a lie, and that all humans would be as accepting as his friends, but the death of his parents told him otherwise. Sure, he met three humans capable of understanding that he was worthy of a life to live, but that didn't speak for the whole race. However, that also didn't erase how extraordinary such a feat was, because finding three of the most dangerous predators willing to talk with him and show mercy was something out of his wildest fantasies.
He got to touch them, and be touched in return. That alone was enough to get his mind reeling, desperate for the soft hold he found himself in only hours prior. Now that he had been held by the warm palms of two kind humans, he couldn't get enough of it. Even with his tail wrapped around his waist to mimic the sensation, it wouldn't be enough for his touch deprivation. The only problem now was being able to ask for it again, because just the thought of requesting to be held sent a wave of red onto Sam's cheeks. It was embarrassing that he went so long without being given so much as a hug, let alone being pressed against a soft chest and allowed to sob out his feelings.
Sam missed it already.
But despite how eager he was to go back out, he knew the moment he saw the giants towering over him, he would lose all sense of rationality and bolt for the closest exit. It wasn't his fault in the slightest; the instincts installed in him since birth only broke through at the sight of a human being. Still, the relief that washed over Sam's frame when he realized he was free to go at all times, not to be killed at a later date, was enough to improve his outlook on the bigger species altogether. He was left wondering how his parents might feel about that.
Sam pressed the button of his phone to check the time again, only letting out a deep sigh at the bold 3:14 AM listed out before him. No sleep tonight, it would seem, and none for a very long time if he kept overthinking as per usual.
Outside the walls, Sam could just begin to register the sound of the springs in the bed creak for the millionth time that night. Normally, Leo slept with quiet movements throughout the early morning, only curling up further into his blankets every hour or so. This, however, proved that he was sleeping with a much rougher night than normal, and Sam felt an echo of guilt for being the sole cause of his distress. For all he knew, Leo could've been suffering through nightmares at the moment.
And then Sam's ears picked up on a sigh far too deep to be asleep from the bedroom, and he rushed to his phone to check if what he was thinking was correct.
It was; the activity on Sam's account told him that Leo had been active for the past two hours, and that any chance of nightmares flew out the window for the time being. He felt like a horrible person, being the reason for Leo's troubles, but the only thing he could do was wait it out.
Unless...
Leo kept his eyes pried open at the illumination of his phone screen held directly above him, waiting for the new feed of his social media to refresh for the hundredth time. It was hard enough being forced into a night of no sleep, but the Internet being slow was even worse. Now, it just felt like God was laughing at him from above.
Until Leo got the notification that Sam was typing, and he clicked the bar quicker than humanly possible. He knew it took a while for Sam to type out what he wanted to say (and now it was obvious as to why that was), but he sat with remarkable patience for the boy inside the walls.
MyNameIsSam: hi
Leo almost leapt up in his bed to think of a proper response, but decided to cool himself down in case of an oncoming heart attack. It was fine. Just a normal conversation, like they were used to, and nothing out of the ordinary.
NucLEOnic: hey
NucLEOnic: can't sleep? It's late. Or early I guess lol
MyNameIsSam: no, can u?
NucLEOnic: not really. Still trying to wrap my head around everything.
MyNameIsSam: I'm really sorry
NucLEOnic: ummm why?
MyNameIsSam: bc u can't sleep? That's kinda my fault
NucLEOnic: bruh
NucLEOnic: not ur fault I can't stop thinking about shit. That's on my brain, not u
MyNameIsSam: but if I never showed up, u wouldn't be overthinking
Oh, great. As if having a tiny, three inch tall boy living in his walls wasn't enough, now he had an insecure, tiny, three inch tall boy living in his walls. Leo had his hands full with compliments he was ready to release to try and change Sam's mindset, but thought of something better to fix him.
NucLEOnic: r u ok with coming out?
Sam almost faltered at the text he received, frightened of what it meant for him if he did leave to see Leo at this hour. If he was willing to talk this late, it must've been something too important to wait until the morning. Had Sam done something wrong?
MyNameIsSam: um...why
NucLEOnic: I think it's better to talk face to face. But u don't have to if u don't want to! It's important that ur comfortable ok
Sam figured even if he did do something wrong, it was clear by now that Leo wouldn't be too upset, and any 'talk' they were going to have would result in more communication than anything. He was happy to leave his home and go speak with Leo, if only his legs would stop shaking at the thought of being in such close proximity of a human being yet again.
MyNameIsSam: I want to come out. My body doesn't tho
Sam added a quick "lol" to at least attempt to make the chat more lighthearted. Leo appreciated it.
NucLEOnic: like I said, u don't have to. Take your time. Do what u feel okay with
MyNameIsSam: thank u
Sam took a few more deep breaths, if only to let his moments of peace last a little longer, but he wanted to go out of the walls eventually. It was better to be brave, and to not dwell on what could happen, when it was going to come whether his body liked it or not.
So, with more anxiety than he would ever admit, Sam grabbed his hook and wire and tied it around his waist in case there was any climbing required. While Leo could always just pick him up and transfer him wherever he wanted, he was still in need of a little stability in his life, and knowing that he had the tools was more of a safety net than anything.
Sam pressed his hand against the entrance of his home, pushing it open just wide enough to escape, but left it open in case of an emergency. It was better to be safe than be sorry.
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.
"Um, did you want to talk about something?" Sam asked up to him, unfurling his tail from Leo's thumb when he saw him staring. He might've made Leo uncomfortable by accident, and he didn't want to do so any further.
"Yeah," Leo breathed in response, finally focusing on the topic at hand. "It felt better to say face to face, but my not being able to sleep is not your fault."
"Not directly, but-"
"-Or indirectly," Leo cut Sam off. "Look, this whole thing has me weirded out, sure, but it's not like it's your fault for living here, right? And you didn't intentionally seek out danger or fear, either. So, there's no use in pointing fingers when there isn't anyone to blame."
"I could've tried to leave, though," Sam pressed on, but even his mind began creating reasons as to why it wasn't his fault.
"And then what? Died trying to find somewhere else to live? As much as you want to blame yourself, you can't deny the fact that everything happened because you wanted to keep surviving. I probably would've ended up much worse in your place," Leo pointed out, and kept his hand steady despite his urges to start...well, what could he really do to comfort Sam at that size? Besides the hug from before, which would render him incapable of speech for the most part, the most Leo could do was bring up another hand and touch him with soft fingers. And as he thought before, that sort of thing would never happen without consent in the first place.
"I guess," Sam finally gave in. "I think I'd like to see what would happen with you at my size, though," he laughed.
"Or Skip. Oh, God, can you imagine Eli at that height? He would be a literal handful to deal with every day!"
The two boys took a moment to giggle at the thought of their friend bouncing around the house, climbing furniture with a fishing hook like he was some tiny ninja. Once the moment wore off, Leo took the time to lift Sam a little higher in his hand, only now noticing how weightless he seemed to be in his palm, like that of a pen.
Sam locked eyes with Leo, and felt the need to cry again.
"I'm really, really happy you're here," Leo whispered, the air coming from his mouth whistling around Sam's ears. "And I know you're scared and you have every right to be, but I'm really glad I was able to meet you, Sam."
"I'm just a little wary of things right now," Sam concluded to relieve Leo of his stress. "Not scared, just unsure."
"That's good," Leo nodded. "Me too, to be honest. I don't really...like...I don't know what you are. And I know that sounds super rude and I don't mean it like that, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Right, the big secret. Something Sam was taught to never reveal, no matter what, because if humans knew what he was, they would attempt to get their hands on more. Sam wanted to tell Leo, but figured he should save that for a whole other day. It required a lot of explaining, anyways.
"Maybe...maybe another time, okay?"
"Yeah, of course, bud, take your time."
"Thanks," Sam patted the bottom of the soft flesh beneath him. The second his hand hit Leo's, he didn't want to let go, but figured Leo might find it weird to keep his palm down like an involuntary high five. When he raised his head to gouge Leo's reaction, all he could see was the hyperfixation on his tail, now swinging back and forth in the palm while he kept the facade of being calm. It seemed his tail told another story, and Sam felt another blush creep onto his cheeks for the second time that morning.
"You, um-your tail-it's cool," Leo blurted out of the blue, and Sam laughed at how sudden his exasperation seemed. That, mixed with his overwhelming pride for how well he took care of it, forced his tail to swing harder back and forth.
"Thank you," Sam beamed with great pleasure at being complimented over something he felt he deserved. He did go years without a compliment, to be fair. When he noticed Leo still keeping the same stare as before, Sam scooted closer to the edge of his palm, near the wrist, and brought his tail closer as a result.
"Do you wanna touch it?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Sam realized just how weird it sounded, and he cringed both inside and out at how he worded his question. "I didn't mean...okay, that came out wrong. I mean i work really hard to make sure it's always clean, and soft, and if you wanted you could touch it-"
"Yeah," Leo cut him off again. "Yeah, can I?"
"Of course," Sam brought his tail to his front, turning slightly to the side for Leo to get a better view, as well as to break eye contact with the approaching fingers that threatened to loom over him. As soon as he felt something huge, gentle, and throbbing with heat, Sam cried out a harsh "WAIT" and turned his whole body back around to face Leo once more. "Did you wash your hands?"
Leo, who broke contact as if he had been burnt, let out a deep breath and rolled his eyes at whatever bullshit Sam was up to.
"Yes, dude, like two hours ago before I came into my room."
"And then you touched your phone for two whole hours?" Sam glared at him.
"Well, sure, but-"
"No, you need to wash your hands again. I'm not letting you touch my tail until they are free of every germ in this house."
Leo groaned, flopping his neck back to hit his head against the wooden board behind him.
"I'm not gonna get up at three in the morning just to wash my hands. The bathroom is across the hall and I might wake up Skip and Eli."
"Then you can't touch it." Sam stuck out his jaw to seem a bit more threatening, but only resulted in looking to all the world like a puppy too stubborn to eat it's dinner unless given a treat in the middle.
"I have hand sanitizer in my drawer. Will that work for you, your highness?"
"What is sanitizer?"
Leo stopped to determine whether or not he was serious, before remembering that he was speaking to a kid that lived in the walls all his life, and relented in the attitude he was giving off.
"It's like soap, but you don't need to wash it off, and it smells really good. It kills ninety nine percent of germs, apparently."
"Then put it on twice, and you could touch," Sam said, crossing his arms and waiting.
While Leo was about to explain that that was not how it worked, he decided against it because, technically, even he couldn't figure out a way to explain it to himself. So, with an overdramatized sigh, he leaned over and opened the drawer to his nightstand, pulling out a small bottle of hand sanitizer to squirt into his hands. Twice. It was hard with Sam occupying one hand, but he managed, and rubbed it in about as much as he could before wiping the rest on the index finger of the hand holding his friend.
Sam, for the most part, let go of the icy demeanor and turned back around to show off his tail to Leo.
It didn't take long for the thumb to return, at first only brushing against his tail from top to bottom in soft, swift movements. From there, another finger met up on the opposite end and pinched his tail, not too hard, before pushing in circular motions, from the base to the top. Sam sat quietly to himself, allowing the fingers to brush soft patterns against his fur, and he relaxed into a peaceful bliss as his eyes began to droop.
This was nice. He was getting the sensation of being held by another person, while still feeling safe and content at the touch rubbing against him. The soft motions repeated on a loop, trailing Sam's thoughts into a hazy mix, letting his mind become clouded and a yawn to escape his mouth. Had it lasted for a minute longer, Sam would've been passed on out Leo's hand.
And then an unexpected warmth pressed onto his back, creeping up near his neck, and Sam let out a noise he did not want Leo to hear.
Leo only wanted to touch Sam's back, as gentle as possible, deming it appropriate after being given permission to touch his tail. However, the moment his thumb brushed up from Sam's lower back to the top of his spine, Sam let out something dangerously close to a purr, before jolting back and throwing a hand over his mouth as if to take it back.
"What the hell, man?!"
"I'm sorry!" Leo was quick to explain. "I'm so sorry! I thought it would be okay to touch you since you gave me permission with your tail! I didn't mean to make you upset, I'm so sorry!"
Sam released his tension, glaring up at Leo to make sure it was the truth, before settling back down into his hand and letting his eyes fall.
"Sorry, too," he admitted. "I forgot that happened."
"Wh-you mean purring?"
"Yes," Sam declared. "I haven't really been touched in a while. It happens sometimes. Let's move past it."
While it was obvious Sam was beyond embarrassed, Leo couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
"That's fucking hilarious."
"...it's kind of funny," Sam admitted, trying to hide a smile at the sight of Leo laughing to his heart's content. "But I swear to god, if you so much as think about telling Elijah, I will bite your finger off until it's just a stub."
"I promise!" Leo lifted his free hand to rest at his heart. "Can I suggest something, though?"
"Hm?"
"You looked like you were going to fall asleep. Maybe it's time to at least try going to bed again."
Sam didn't want to go back to his room, he found. The nest wasn't nearly as comfortable as the hand he was currently resting in, and his tail longed for the touch once more.
"Can I stay?" He asked, and Leo's eyes lit up like a star.
"Yes! Yeah, of course, uh..." he looked around, deeming it plausible to lower Sam on the pillow to the side, but was stopped before he could.
"I meant stay like this."
"Oh," Leo let himself soften. "Okay. Yeah, that's okay. I need to get comfortable, too, though."
When Sam motioned for him to do his thing, Leo slid his neck down on the pillow that previously held his back, and allowed himself a solid sleeping position. After he finished shifting around and pulling the blanket up to his chest, he let Sam off right in the center of his heart, letting him settle in before moving his hand back and placing it on top of his back. His fingers itched to rub against his spine, but waited for the go ahead before anything.
"Can you do it again?" Sam whispered into his chest, and Leo struggled to hear. Once he got the green light, though, he pressed his index finger onto Sam's back and trailed it up to his spine, letting it flow at a steady pace back and forth until the soft purr resumed from deep within Sam's throat. This time, though, there was no embarrassment attached, and Sam fell asleep within minutes of resting directly above the heart of his best friend.
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A/N: Here's a long chapter! Hopefully it will hold me off until I'm able to post the next one.
The boys bond a little and Sam slowly grows comfortable in Leo's presence.
As always, make sure to leave a comment (or just say hi!) if you want! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the drawing as well :)!