~^ A drawing of Elijah, my favorite fake ginger :) ^~
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Leo didn't fall asleep the rest of the morning.
He planned to, of course, but as his thumb brushed from the wild hairs on Sam's head down to the tip of his tail, Leo found himself lost in his thoughts once more. Still, he chose to look at the positives in his situation, and watched Sam rise and fall under his breathing chest for the remainder of the sunrise.
It was incredible how relaxed Sam became around him after only a night of talking to each other. Leo wanted to say it was out of his own gentle nature and ability to communicate his feelings towards the other, but he knew that was not what ultimately led Sam to trust him. If that were the case, Sam might've come out sooner, before the traps were set.
No, the only believable reason the human could think of was that Sam was desperate. Whether that be for a friend, or just someone to know of his existence, Leo was unsure, but it seemed to be a mixture of both when he thought deeper about it. After all, it was Sam who messaged Leo first all those months ago, and who had apparently been watching Leo for even longer.
A tiny person living in his house. Watching him from the walls as he lived his life, totally unaware of the amazing little guy beside him all along. If he had just looked in the corner of his eye for a moment in the past, would he be able to see him? And, when caught, how would Sam react? It wouldn't be the same as their first impression (Thank God for that), but Leo imagined Sam would remain quite scared regardless. That thought ached his heart once more, just picturing his face full of tears, begging for his life.
How could someone even think about hurting Sam? Sure, he was a cute little creature of unknown origins, but he was also a fun soul to be around in general. Leo didn't become his friend because he was tiny, he became his friend because Sam was one of the most thoughtful individuals he ever had the opportunity to meet. And now that he was sitting on his chest, purring in his sleep, Leo couldn't deny a wave of leaking adoration for his best friend.
He had loads of time to think about it, and with that time came the simple revelation that no matter what Sam was, or how he went about their friendship after this, Leo would be there to protect and love him as if he were a younger brother. To Leo, Sam was nothing short of family, even if they'd only known each other for less than a year.
He smiled at that, letting his eyes close against the harsh rays of sunlight drifting through his blinds. Leo always wanted a little brother, and Sam was about as little as they came.
Leo knew he needed sleep if the day kept approaching the way it was, but he couldn't get out of his thoughts long enough to drift into unconsciousness. Especially not with the fear that he might roll around in his bed after falling asleep, effectively crushing the tiny boy underneath him.
No, Leo was content to stay awake as long as he needed to, and he could always take a nap later if he was desperate. It wasn't his first all nighter, and it certainly would not be his last.
It was 8:03 AM before Leo finally heard any resemblance of life shuffling around in the morning. A toilet flushed, and then footsteps made their way closer to his room before he could react. Leo, who's eyes felt like rubber and sandpaper all at once, was far too sluggish to have an actual conversation this early.
He should've taken Elijah for the early bird type, especially when the flock of ginger hair appeared in his doorway and peaked in to see whether or not Leo had awoken. It was a slim chance, but overall possible, seeing him lying in his bed and staring up at the ceiling as if it were the most interesting thing he could find in the room. Atop Leo's chest, a hand caved over something small and thin, the thumb petting up and down like it was out of his control, and Elijah had a guess as to what it was.
He skipped his way over with soft padding of his socked feet, only stopping when he reached the edge of the bed and crooked his neck to see the tiny boy- Sam -lying on Leo's chest like it was usual.
Leo finally moved his gaze to fall upon Elijah, who was grinning like a madman at the sight.
"Good morning," Eli whispered, but it was still far too loud for how early it was.
"'Morning," Leo slurred back.
"Looks like you worked things out?"
Leo huffed out some air and motioned with his chin to the thumb that was still stroking Sam's tail.
"Yeah," he breathed. "Don't wanna wake him up yet. He needs sleep"
"Gotcha," Eli saluted and took that as his cue to leave. The moment he stood, he swung back around and asked "Can I use whatever shit you have to make breakfast?"
"Just don't touch my grapes," Leo said in response and closed his eyes to signify the end of the conversation. Elijah left just as swift as he came.
The next time a voice was heard, it was paired with heavier footsteps and a growl in the tone that led Leo to believe Skip had been woken up. With Sam still fast asleep on his chest, Leo decided it was for the best that he stayed put and just listened in on the conversation outside his bedroom.
"Sleeping beauty is up!" Eli sang out with confidence, until Leo heard something resembling a smack and then a slight yelp of surprise. "Hitting a defenseless minor?! I'm calling the authorities."
"Go ahead, I'll tell 'em you slapped me awake last night," Skip's strong voice flew through the air and bounced off the walls. "Where's Leo?"
"Oh, get this," Elijah sounded a bit farther away, as if he cupped a hand around his mouth to whisper. "He fell asleep with Sam last night. They're still sleeping right now."
Leo wanted to laugh at the connotation that he could actually fall asleep last night, but decided he was too exhausted to even move.
"Damn," Skip whispered back. Leo heard a chair groan and could only assume Skip sat down to consume whatever breakfast Elijah planned out for them.
"It's all sort of unreal, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Skip said. "But I knew something was up with Sam from the start."
"Oh, please. You thought he was a predator, not three inches tall, and don't even try to convince me that you predicted the tail."
"No, I didn't. And I'm still beyond confused at this whole situation. I woke up this morning thinking it was all a dream, you know."
"Yeah," Elijah picked at a full plate of food. "Me too. But I'm sort of happy it's not."
"Why's that?"
"Because this explains so much that I was worried about for so long, I guess. And I prayed that Sam would turn out as cool as he was online, because I had suspicions just like you. I'm glad he's still Sam," Eli explained, voice getting higher in pitch by the second.
"Minus the few inches," Skip pointed out, and Eli laughed at that.
After their conversation, Leo tuned out the rest of whatever gibberish they were speaking about, because he couldn't focus for much longer without passing out. As it turned out, that happened to be the exact moment he felt a shift on his thumb.
When Sam first came into consciousness, all he felt was warmth. His usual nest only provided a sliver of the heat he was feeling at the moment, and he wouldn't give it away for anything.
Until he remembered the events of the last twenty four hours, and his eyes shot open where he lay. On a huge chest, the giant rolling hills of fabric and skin underneath, and an enormous cave of fingers surrounded him.
Sam felt utter panic for a second, and then the relaxing loll of something pressing into his back, forcing more guttural noises from his throat that he couldn't control. He was being touched, even after falling asleep, but he didn't mind it anymore.
Was there something wrong with him?
When Sam forced his eyes to follow up to the face of the human, he was only met with bagged eyes and something resembling a cloud in Leo's gaze. His friend looked completely exhausted, and there was no doubt in his mind that it was Sam's fault. As much as he wanted to go back to sleep, Sam figured getting up would most benefit Leo's health, and so he squirmed his way out of his grip and onto his knees.
"Hey," Leo murmured.
"Hi, Leo."
"Get enough sleep?"
"Way more than you, it looks like," Sam brought his tail up to his hands and wrung it out of anxiety, waiting for Leo to admit that he wanted Sam to leave so he could go to sleep. Instead, Leo's palm curled under Sam's feet and swept him up, earning a quiet humph escape his lips while he watched Leo's immense form rise up to the sky.
In reality, all Leo was doing was sitting up to bring Sam to the living room with everyone else, but failed to mention doing so out of his dazed confusion. He swung his feet off the floor and winced at the cold hard wood meeting bare skin, but shook it off and stood with Sam still cupped in his hand.
"Um, where are we going?"
Leo had to stop dead in his tracks to remember what the word was called, before uttering a simple "dining room" and continuing on his way.
"Wait, Leo, stop!"
When the human took notice of the fear in his voice, he went to lean against his door frame and looked down at Sam with an eyebrow raised.
"I need a second to breath if I'm gonna be out and about in a room full of humans," Sam hissed out, because he knew the only way to get into Leo's mind while he was this tired was to aim aggression at him.
"'K," Leo responded, closing his eyes and leaning his head further until his neck looked about ready to snap.
Maybe it was better to be in the room with Elijah and Skip if this was how Leo was going to act. It was dangerous enough being in the nearby vicinity of a human being, but being held by one while it was too exhausted to form a sentence was another story entirely.
Besides, his friends were respectful the last he saw of them. Eli Might have gone a bit overboard in terms of excitement, but was still gentle and aware of his fears nonetheless. Skip, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much at all about their size difference, and Sam couldn't help but appreciate that just as much. It was like there was nothing to differentiate between both of them, like he was just as human and an equal member of their friend group. Sam needed that sort of stability if he wanted to keep this going.
So, he took a much needed deep breath, and called back up to Leo to keep going.
Both Elijah and Skip were well aware of Leo's entrance to the dining room, but neither of them were keen on showing it. It was common knowledge amongst them both that if Leo came, Sam would be with him, and might also be scared out of his mind like he was before.
Elijah could work with it, and Skip could find a way to bounce off Eli's energy until Sam trusted him enough.
So when Leo walked into the room, one hand cupped to his chest and the other reaching for the chair so as not to fall over, both boys avoided staring and pretended to take interest in the plates in front of them.
"Hey," Leo announced, putting his hand on the table palm up for Sam to crawl out. Neither Skip nor Eli even dared to look in his direction.
"Hi," Skip grunted, picking up his fork, because it was much more interesting than the tiny person in front of them.
"Get anymore sleep?" Eli asked them, reaching over to grab a napkin from the center of the table, even though he stopped eating ages ago.
"He didn't," A new voice piped up from the table, only a pitch higher than Elijah's. "Leo stayed up all night."
When Sam spoke, both Eli and Skip turned to each other with raised eyebrows, Eli's grin just barely contained. If Sam was talking this early in the morning, there was good news ahead. However, no matter how excited they were over the new and improved little guy, it was necessary to keep a calm and maintained demeanor so as not to scare him off.
"I slept a little bit," Leo muttered, but his speech was too slurred to believe.
"How much is a little bit?" Skip prodded, taking his eyes off the fork but still not making eye contact with Sam.
"Like...like ten minutes..."
There was a clunk heard as Leo's head fell into his hands, only seconds away from crushing Sam underneath him. He was nodding off, but too stubborn to fall asleep in the presence of all three guests in the house. Not only that, it would be too embarrassing to fall asleep as soon as he grumbled on about being called out for doing the opposite.
Sam, now acquainted with too much of Leo's antics to feel safe with him at the moment, broke away from his best friend and turned to the closest member at the table; Elijah.
Eli specifically turned his head upwards, keeping a bouncing leg under the table to avoid tapping his fingers at the sight of Sam almost directly underneath his chin.
"Um, Eli?"
"Mhm?" He responded like nothing was out of the ordinary.
"A-are you okay?"
"I'm okay, Sam. A little nervous with the elephant in the room."
"Okay...um, me too."
It seemed Sam was much more relaxed around Leo, but there was still improvement shown evident in the trust Sam gave to Elijah as he stood underneath him. Even sitting down, the human's chest took up his vision, seeming to tower over every molecule in his body that told him to run away. But they were his friends, and he wasn't going to run from something he found detrimental to the friend group.
"Do you want breakfast?"
The sudden question caught him off guard, and Sam startled in the process of twisting his neck to watch Skip, who spoke out of nowhere. He...was he wearing eyeliner again? At Ten in the morning?
"N-no, I don't eat breakfast normally."
"Why not?" Elijah broke into the conversation once more. Now that the two of them had their eyes on him, Sam had to admit it was terrifying. As if he was back to being in Leo's hands, about to be slaughtered like a rat.
"I dont...I don't get the chance..."
The stuttering and slight pauses in Sam's speech led Elijah to believe he was scared again, and so he backed off from the prodding question and decided to change to subject.
"We have food if you want some. It's not good to skip breakfast," He brought his plate closer to Sam; it was still full of toast and some brand of jam he found in the cabinets, but there was no protein as far as Elijah knew in the vegan household. Still, it must've been better than anything Sam had ever had before, because his eyes lit up like fireworks at the sight of the food in front of him.
"I'm sure he doesn't want your leftovers," Skip called out, also well aware of Sam's fear and doing his own work to attempt to fix it.
Leo lay slumped against the back of his chair, out of conversation and consciousness as a whole.
"It's not-not a problem," Sam stuttered again, coming closer to the plate and touching the brim of it. "Can I really have this?"
"Yeah, dude, go for it. I'll just finish what you can't eat."
"Assuming he can't finish it all for himself?" Skip raised an eyebrow, aware of what he was doing while the rest of them were clueless.
"He's...he's like the size of a baby carrot, Skip. Why would he finish it all?"
Sam nodded along, beyond confused as to why Skip assumed he would be able to eat that much.
"Wooow," Skip leaned back in his chair, resting his arms in a folded pattern across his chest. "No retorts to being called a baby carrot, Sam?"
Ah, so that's what he was after. A way to make Sam comfortable by allowing him to tease Elijah like they usually did. Sam had to admit, it was a well-thought out plan, but didn't know how he felt about falling so easily into Skip's trap. He would find a way out without anyone's help.
"I...um, I think I'm more concerned with that fact that nobody's mentioning your eyeliner," Sam returned Skip's way, and backed up from Elijah when he heard a violent snort coming from behind.
Eli had to rush out of his seat to throw away the napkin he snorted into without making a scene.
Where Sam expected anger, or even fury at his insult, all he got from Skip was a firm smile to accompany the relaxed position in his chair. Sam didn't do much else except smile back, because although he was happy with the way things were turning out, there was still work that needed to be done.
And with the help of his friends, Sam would do it right.
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A/N: Sorry for the late update! I recently got a second job, so new chapters will come a bit more slow than normal, but will still be up as soon as I can get them written!
The boys are getting along, Leo suffers from sleep deprivation, and Sam learns what it's like to have breakfast (even though he doesn't actually eat anything in this chapter).
Please let me know what you all think of the new update (or just simply say hello!) in the comments! Thank you for reading :)!