NOTES:
- I'm still messing around with POVs. I still don't know which I like best but I'm going back to first person for this but there is probably going to be switching of POVS between characters (like unnatural switching. Eg. mid convo) because I want to explain their feels internally but not make their POV the main for the chapter. So for that, apologise if it gets confusing and messy throughout.
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POV: Nerovsky
I was sitting on my boss's very expensive leather couch (located in the living room), huddled on one end of the long piece of furniture, with a blanket cocooned around me and a hot chocolate in my hand. I was alone as Leo got a phone call he needed to attend to, although by the look of distaste that was placed on his face when he saw the ID, I think he'd rather be doing anything else but answering that call.
But I wasn't complaining. I needed the time alone to get myself down from cloud 9. The entire experience from the moment I woke up to the point where we shared a warming moment had been overwhelming and I needed to get all my physiological changes back to homeostasis. It proved to be quite difficult though because my mind kept wandering back to Leo's arms and body heat. Bare body heat.
More importantly, an endless number of questions have been running around my brain. Why did he do what he did? He didn't have to.
Is he always this friendly with his guests or is it just me? If it's just me, does that mean he has a thing for me?
The man who had a mental breakdown in front of him? The broken one?
Also, since when was he NOT straight? That was the only thing that was stopping me from keeping a shred of hope and now he drops that he's not actually straight. And what does he mean he recently just found out?
Was there someone he fell in love with that made him realise? If that's the case, why did he hug me? He should be going for that person.
Unless... it's me?... PPFFTTT nah, that's too much of a stretch. That's your delusions talking Nero.
You're average and that's all you ever wanted. As if some British god would show interest in you. He can have anyone after all. Including the hottest and latest actress... or actor apparently. *groan* why did he have to be queer?
My internal unrest was disrupted when the cushion next to me dipped due to a broody, pissed looking CEO. YOU HAVE THE ENTIRE LOUNGE AND YOU DECIDE TO SIT NEXT TO ME?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET MY HEART TO JUMP OUT? Leo was looking out in front of him contemplatively, not paying any mind to the view presented to him through the large window. He let out an uncharacteristic sigh of agitation and ruffled the hell out of his hair. Ok, that's it. He clearly needs someone to talk to. Gathering up all the courage I had, I shuffle just a tiny bit closer and quietly asked, "Do you... do you want to talk about it?"
Leo was shaken out of his thoughts and brought his attention back to me. He looked at me with the same frown of annoyance, making me believe I've overstepped the boundaries and should've jumped off the building. However, it quickly morphed into a tired smile. "It's been a long time since someone's asked me that."
"I bet my entire allowance it's because you keep an I'm-fine façade so no one can notice your troubles."
The tired smile grew into a more sad one. "Am I that easy to read?"
"Pfft, no way in hell. If anyone ever saw you like this, all the girls (and guys) would probably bare their souls and offer their bodies to make you happier. Now how they would use their body... I'm sure you can figure out where I'm going with this. Anyway, I'm just really observative and you just accidentally let your guard go in front of me. Not that I mind. It's nice knowing my presence is comforting enough to let you do that unconsciously."
Leo was speechless at the sudden revelation so I continued adding on. "Plus, I've shown you my vulnerable sides a couple of times myself. Granted, it was unintentional but regardless, it feels gratifying knowing that you trust me nearly as much as my body trusts you. Now, are you going to answer the initial question? No pressure but it does help."
POV: Leonardo (very short)
I was gobsmacked. I didn't know how to respond. Nero's speech had made me speechless. Why? Because there had not been anyone else who could read me so well, other than myself. Because it was this man who made me realised how comfortable I was around him. Before today, (other than Erwin) I've never lowered my guard down, keeping up my outward appearance. It was just easier to deal with people and situation that way. I had never even wanted to show my unguarded side or express any concerns within my life as I saw it as burdening the other person with unnecessary problems. But here I was, wanting to bare my soul to him and wanting some sort of support. It was... terrifying. It was scary because he could use it against me any time, use it to destroy me. But here I was, wanting to do it anyway because somewhere in my mind, I trusted that he'd never do that. I truly believed that this person could actually help me. There was no hard evidence to back up why. Just pure instinct.
It was scary realising that the emotions I have for Nero were not mere, physical attraction but something more. The attraction went beyond that. It went into an emotional level and that'd only ever happened once before.
POV: Nero
The dark-golden haired man breath hitched in hesitation then released a long exhale. A small smile appears. "Sure. Why not? It seems like my subconscious trusts you enough. Might as well get my conscious mind on the bandwagon."
I beamed at the comment and he continued. "Well... that phone call was from my mother." He shifted his entire COVERED body (he finally wore a shirt) to face me. He put his right arm over the back of the sofa and leaned sideways onto the back cushions. I also shifted to face him, cuddling myself in the blanket and sipping my hot chocolate.
"I see... I'm assuming that's a bad thing?"
"Well, no... just... what is it like with your parents? Your mother?"
"... you really wanna know?"
Leo sent a small nod my way. A melancholic smile grew on my face and I looked down at my lap. "I don't what it was like. I was dropped off at an orphanage at the age of 2 and grew up there till I was of legal age. Never really had parents."
Leo's eyes widened in shock and was clearly about to apologise but I quickly blurted out, "Don't apologise. Really. It wasn't ALL bad. I had friends and kids around me who were like siblings to me. The people who took care of us were the closest things to our parents so it really wasn't all that bad. I don't even mind not being adopted. I know why and it's understandable so I'm not mad at anyone. Plus, the experience has made me a lot more independent." Well, I say that but if that hadn't happened, I probably wouldn't always try to erase the timeline between the ages 14-16 from my mind and growing up in the orphanage would've been the best experience of my time.
Thankfully, Leo didn't give me a look of pity but his eyes were still sad so I quickly put the conversation back on track. "Anyway, enough about me. We're currently here for you. Your mother called. Is it a bad thing?"
"You know, I wouldn't mind talking about you. You have a lot more mystery to your name than mine."
With a warning tone, I said, "Leo."
A small pout appeared. Cute. "Fine. My mother calling isn't a bad thing... actually let me rephrase. It wasn't a bad thing."
"Okay... what changed that?"
"Money."
"Ah. The classic. Do elaborate."
"As you already know. Well, should know. I hope you know. Anyway, as you know, I founded this company from the bottom. My journey began at the age of 20 and after 7 years, I have a successful company that I could call mine. Now before my success, I used to live in an average household in the UK, raised by a single mother after my douchebag father cheated for a younger woman. I don't where he is nor do I care. We soon moved to here and lived our life. Although it was difficult here and there, mother and I were content and happy. We had a good relationship and everything."
"I think I know where this is going."
"Do you still need me to continue then?"
"Well duh. I said I think. Now continue."
"How demanding."
"You're not allowed to say that. You're a CEO who asks for impossible shit to be done."
Leo laughs at that. "Only because I know you guys can pull it off. Now where was I?... Right, so I decided to start up an app, mother was supportive and yada, yada, yada, fast forward to a couple of years later where I have a decent income and the app is pretty big. I've moved out, MegCorp just formed and it's doing pretty alright. Now, this is where things begin to change. Since I have a decent salary now, I start to send money to my mother on a regular basis as appreciation for raising me. She denies it at first but eventually accepts it. She's happy and cries happy tears and everyone is happy. As the company gets bigger, I send her more money. I've apparently sent her so much money, she decided to quit her job and retire. Which is perfectly fine. She deserves a break and have some fun with the rest of her life... right way that is."
"Uh oh."
"Yeah. She reached a point where the money I send her monthly allowance isn't enough. At some point, she kept asking for more. And it's not little. It's absurd amounts like 50K or something."
"Jesus fucking Christ."
"When I asked the first couple of times why, she wouldn't tell me and I let her off the hook because I trusted her. But at one point, I got so sick of it, I demanded it out of her and as a result, she broke down and I had to comfort her. She then said something about helping her friend out and I was reluctant, mainly because I didn't know who this was. It was possible she could be extorted but she said she's fine and I complied. This happened for the next couple of months as well."
"Oh you poor, innocent thing."
"What?"
"Even I can tell she was lying to you and I barely know the woman."
"What? How?"
"No one asks for money on multiple occasions to help out a friend or multiple friends, especially with this kind of absurd amount. People who genuinely mean it are rarer than us Oddity users. Also, she's clearly extorting her son and she knows it for sure, yet she continues to do so."
"Hey, my mother is not a bad-"
"Prove me wrong then. Prove that your mother is one of those kind-hearted people."
Leo was quiet for a moment before mumbling something.
"What?"
"... I said... I can't"
"You can't prove me wrong?"
"No..."
"Why not?"
"Because you're right. Turns out the money was indeed just for her and her selfish needs slash bad habits. Initially, it really was to help out a friend and their business but then their business succeeded and they even paid her back. Yet for some reason, I never saw the light of it."
"Where did the money go then?"
"Buying stuff for herself. Like expensive stuff or travelling. Which I don't mind of course but it's the other things she uses the money on. She blows her money on stupid shit like drinking out, partying, gambling, strippers and even prostitutes. You name it, she's done it. Even worse, she's become a social media influencer out of it. And not the good kind. The Jeffery Star kind."
"Ooft. That must make you feel very uncomfortable. How'd you find out anyway? I doubt she would've confessed."
"I always head entrance to her credit card and her spending's. I just never checked before because I trusted her. When my suspicions were too high, I had to check it out and yeah. That happened."
"Did you talk to her about it?"
"Yeah, I did confront her on it. I was pissed mainly because she lied to me and it seems she couldn't take it and broke down all over again. Saying shite such as I raised into a good person and now that I have time to have some fun, you won't let me. Or sayings things like what she does is none of my business. Like bitch, it's my money. The worst of it though was when she said I was turning into my father. That got me to shut down for a bit. In the end, I had to apologise and two days later, she called asking for more money like nothing ever happened."
"*Sigh* so long story short, you got emotionally blackmailed and manipulated by your mother."
The words were clearly too blunt for Leo because he immediately became defensive. "I did not get emotionally manipulated and-"
"Leo. You did. Just accept it."
He glared at me before finally giving in. "I- yeah. I guess I did. Anyway, mother now doesn't call to check on me anymore. Just to get her allowance and she's off her merry way."
The sad look was too much for me so I did something completely atypical of me. I put down the now empty mug on the floor, open up the blanket, arms wide open and uttered, "come here."
POV: Leo
I stared at his black eyes, completely dumbfounded. That's not what I expected. At all. I was so dumbfounded, I unsurely said, "What?" The other man clearly began freaking out, his face filling with panic. He was lowering his arms and remarked, "Unless you don't want to, that's fi- OOF."
I didn't give him the chance to finish as I practically pounced on him, dragging him down the length of the lounge, arms around his back and my head in the crook of his neck. He stopped breathing for a bit before exhaling out and wrapping his arms and blanket around my back. When he began rubbing my back up and down, the thought, It's warm passed through my mind. I don't ever want to leave.
POV: Nero
HOLY FUCKING SHIT, I INITIATED AN EMBRACE WITH LEO. I AM CURRENTLY CUDDLING THE BOSS IN A BLANKET. I think I can die in peace now. My excitement luckily didn't show on my face as tried to soothe down the other man. Not that it would matter if he did. Not like he can see with him breathing down my neck. Which should not be as arousing as it is. Why is he so warm all the time? Nero, he's a fire user... what kind of fucking question is that? After a couple of minutes of nothing but the sound of our breathing, I carefully asked, "are you feeling better now?"
"Definitely much better. Feels like a huge load has been taken off my shoulder." His lips brushed over my APPARENTLY sensitive neck, causing goosebumps to form all over. The vibrations of his voice also didn't help the situation at all. Nero, if you fucking get hard now, I will call forth Raziel to burn you in Hell's fire. It took my all to avoid that from happening. I shakily replied back with, "That's uh good to hear. Glad I could help."
"Hmm yeah. (DON'T FUCKING HUM AGAINST MY NECK OH MY GOOODDD) I still don't know what to do about it though. I'm at a standstill."
"Well... I do have an idea if you to hear it."
Leo perked up at that and raises his head to meet my eyes. He brought his arms from under me (aww) and brought it to my chest to rest his chin on it. Now he was staring at me with interest and I couldn't help but look back up at the (fancy) ceiling with a red blush resting on my cheeks.
"I do want to hear it actually."
I refused to look at him, feeling his strong gaze on me. "You could not fully heed to her demands."
"Fully heed?"
"She asks for a specific amount every single time, right?"
"Actually, not really. She used but now she just asks for an amount and I just give her something that'll get her off my back for as long as possible."
"Even better. This will still work if she asks for an amount but from next time onwards, start lowering the amount you give her, until you reach a point of zero. I'm not saying to completely cut it off now because she'll have withdrawal symptoms, so slowly start cutting down her allowance slowly."
Even though I was very intently looking the ceiling, I could tell the man laying on top of me was deep in his thoughts.
"Obviously... doing this will probably affect the relationship between you two but at least in the long run, you're stopping or at least reducing her unhealthy habits. She will also most likely start calling you more often but you need to kind of man up and just say so no until the next time you would usually give her the money. You kind of need to get her to understand what she's doing is bad in the long term for her... and you. I still believe she loves you. But she's distracted. So show her you miss her. Show her you need the mother from all those years ago, the one who gives you their unconditional love whenever you need it. It's not like you don't deserve it."
For the nth time today, we were put in peaceful silence, with me comforting the other man and the said man was just... quiet. Not going to lie, I did start panicking which did NOT help my already pulsating heart. Did I say the wrong thing? Was I too blunt? I didn't mean to be insensitive...
Suddenly, there were forearms next to my head and I was face to face with a very handsome man rather than the ceiling. Leo's eyes were fixated onto my pitch black eyes, as if to search for my dark soul and find something. I slowly became more enchanted as I gazed into the golden pool and lips open up slightly in confusion and anticipation. My heart was on the brink of escaping my rib cage and the arms wrapped around Leo tightened unintentionally.
I searched his eyes for anything to get rid of the puzzlement but he was giving way nothing. He was still staring but began bringing his head down lower and lower, at snail pace, closer and closer to my face. No... He isn't... I was paralysed, my breath jerked, I was not breathing and my eyes widened. I have definitely died and god has felt sorry for me and taken me to heaven. It's the only explanation. Once his lips were barely a breath's away from mine, my eyes involuntarily fluttered shut in expectation.