Chapter Text
By the time Fyllo had finished his share of breakfast, Leona had long since finished hers and had scooted herself back until she was snuggled up against his abdomen. It had been unexpected and caused him to flinch but he’d made no complaint nor any attempt to remove her. She idly wondered if she was overstepping boundaries, hoping it wasn’t the case. The morning sun, in it’s daily journey across the sky, had chased off the majority of the shade that had been available but Fyllo had been seated in just the right position that his shadow could provide all the shade she needed.
Had he asked, that would have been her excuse for moving. In truth, it was only one reason. The other, she couldn’t quite pin down. She didn’t know why, but she WANTED to be close to him. Even as dangerous as she knew it was, she felt perfectly safe. No.. More than safe. For the first time in her life, she felt like her presence was genuinely wanted and she didn’t want to lose it.
The feeling of dread was growing inside and she hated it. She knew this all had to end. Sooner or later she’d be pulled home again and she knew the odds of being able to even figure out HOW she got here were slim at best. Repeating the process would be nigh impossible. Soon this would all just be a memory.
Just my luck. I finally make an actual friend and it’s one I’ll never see again.
She choked back the dread and anger and had regained her composure just in time to see that the mammets had already carted off the dishes and had given Fyllo a small bundle. For now, her worries had made way for curiosity as she leaned forward in an effort to get a better view. “What’s that?”
“Oh.. Well.. It’s.. Ah.. It’s for you, actually.” He stammered a bit. “Give me a moment.” He cupped a hand over Leona as he shifted his position and carefully moved her back to the platform again. Then he finished opening the bundle and plucked the small garment from it’s wrapping. “I.. Um.. I wanted to give you a gift.. A bit of a souvenir, I suppose.” He smiled that awkward smile she’d seen so many times already as he held the garment out to her. “I guessed that you were roughly the same size and build as my sister. The mammets already had her measurements so.. Well.. I hope it fits.”
Leona, dumbfounded, accepted the jacket and looked it over before looking back to Fyllo. “You had this made? For me?”
“It’s nothing much. Just a coat for colder weather. A bit ironic if you think about it. Cold weather wear made on a tropical island.” He laughed a bit, self consciously rubbing the back of his head. “I couldn’t think of anything else that might be useful.”
His smile turned to a worried frown as Leona slowly rolled the coat up and started to sob into it. Panicked, he tried to rub her back with a finger as she cried. “It’s okay! It’s okay! I understand if you don’t want it! I’m not offended! I’m sorry!”
Wiping the tears from her face, Leona shook her head quickly. “Oh no, no, no, no! It’s nothing like that! In fact, I love it!” She tried to force a smile even as she was still visibly shaking. “It’s just that.. No one’s ever given me a gift before.” She hugged the jacket tighter, the stream of tears finally subsiding. “Thank you. I’d give you a hug if I could.”
Fyllo breathed a sigh of relief and carefully picked Leona up again, his soft smile returning. “What makes you think you can’t? I’ve got no objections. Though you should probably try it on to make sure it fits first.”
With a light chuckle, Leona slipped the jacket on. It was thick but surprisingly comfortable, even in the tropical heat. “Perfect fit actually. Maybe a touch long but I’ve always been a bit on the short side.” She coughed before adding, “And not just around you.”
Laughing, himself, Fyllo nodded and gave Leona a soft poke of his finger, “And with the fit confirmed, how about that hug? Hmm?”
“You know damn well I can’t.” She spread her arms as wide as she could to demonstrate her point. “I might be able to hug your finger at best. You’re just too damned big.”
“Is that all? Psh. Luckily for you, I have a solution for that.” He playfully smirked as he brought Leona close, holding her against his chest as he carefully wrapped one arm around, then the other. She hadn’t even had time to register what was going on much less protest before she found herself pinned snugly between his chest and arms. “Maybe you aren’t big enough to hug me but I’m more than big enough to hug you.”
Leona couldn’t crane her neck enough to actually see Fyllo’s face but she was confident by his soft tone that the big dope was smiling that silly lopsided smile of his. She almost felt like crying again as she pressed her head against his skin. Again, she didn’t understand it but she enjoyed the closeness. Comparatively he was astonishingly huge but gentle. Even as he gave her an ever so slight squeeze, it was never too much. Maybe it was his warmth, the soft movement of his breathing, or maybe even the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat. Whatever it was, she liked this feeling and she didn’t want it to end. But it would have to.
“You’re gonna make leaving suck. You know that?”
“Yeah. Well. I wouldn’t be a very good host if my guests were eager to leave now would I?” He smiled, teasingly, as he gently placed her down on his knee. “All that aside, Now that we’ve both got full bellies and no pressing business, What would you like to do with your remaining time here?”
Thinking for a moment, Leona shrugged, seating herself so she could comfortably look up to meet his gaze. “Truthfully, I don’t know.” She rubbed her leg as she mentally reflected on her time on the island. It had only been a couple of days but it felt like a lifetime ago.
“I mean.. In just the last two days I’ve accidentally traveled to an entirely new world, been terrified that I was gonna be eaten alive, met people with fuzzy ears and tails, witnessed honest-to-God magic, become friends with a literal giant, and received this spiffy new jacket. I honestly can’t think of anything that could possibly top all of this.”
Fyllo laughed and gave Leona a gentle tap on the head with a smirk. “I suppose it HAS been a busy couple of days, hasn’t it?”
“Just a little.”
“Well.. How about we just spend the rest of the day relaxing on the beach? Warm sand, blue skies, and the sounds of the waves on the shore?”
Leona scrunched her face up and shook her head. “It sounds nice but I’d rather do without the sand.”
Laughing softly, Fyllo scooped Leona up and got to his feet, making his way toward the beach once again. “Then I’ll relax on the beach and you can relax on me. Deal?”
Blushing, Leona nodded. “Deal.”
She had expected him to head to the camp but instead, he carried her to the opposite side. The same spot where she had happened upon him on her way to the ferry boat two nights before. She felt silly about her reaction then but at the time it had been quite understandable by anyone’s standards.
“Here we are. There’s some good shade for at least a few more hours. There’s no better place to watch the sunset though.” He stopped and turned towards the shoreline so that Leona could get a good view of the ocean, and what a view it was. From the height she was held at, dizzying as it was, she could see the vastness of the sea as it stretched beyond the horizon.
When he thought she’d had her fill of the view, he carefully set her on the ground by one of the palm trees and pointed at her with a smirk. “Stay there. Okay? Let me get comfortable. I’ll call you over when I’m ready for you. Alright?” He raised an eyebrow at her as if questioning her hearing. “I don’t want any more accidents.”
Leona feebly tried to push his hand away with a laugh. “I swear I’ll stay put until told otherwise.”
“Thank you.” He commented back as he got down on his hands and knees, crawling under the palms and shifting to lie down with the slope of the cliff functioning as a backrest. Leona watched with amazement at how deftly he managed to move without disturbing the trees as he got himself settled into position. Finally satisfied, he motioned for her to join him which she was only too happy to oblige.
Just as he’d now done several times before, he gently picked her up and placed her on his chest with a smile. “You know, Leona. You don’t have to wear the coat ALL the time. I’m happy that you like it but aren’t you hot?”
“No. Not really.. It’s actually quite comfortable. I dunno how it’s made but it feels like it keeps cool too.” She smiled back, making herself comfortable. “Besides. I don’t wanna risk being teleported home without it.”
“That’s fair. As long as you’re comfortable.” He smiled with a sigh and a yawn. “We were awake pretty late last night so I don’t know about you but I could use a nap.”
Leona nodded, giggling lightly to herself. “Yeah.. I s’pose you’re right..” She adjusted herself onto her stomach before continuing, “A nap does sound good.” Sprawling a bit, she laid her head down and smiled contentedly to herself. The gentle motion of his breathing and heartbeat beneath her was strangely comforting and would have been enough to lull her to sleep. She startled a bit when she suddenly felt his finger on her back, slowly and gently rubbing from her neck to her pelvis and back. Not that it was much effort on his part but the sensation was enough that she felt her body go limp in relaxation and before she dozed off, she could have sworn she heard him purring.
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BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP.
Leona was only vaguely aware of the loud beeping noise when the world suddenly tilted, sending her tumbling with a surprised squeal. No sooner had she landed on the sand, she found herself scooped up and jerked upwards again. She groaned as her stomach threatened to empty itself in protest.
“Oh Gods! Are you okay?!” She heard the loud, panicked voice but it took her a moment for her brain to catch up and come to terms with what had happened. Holding her head in an effort to stop the world from spinning, she fished around for her pocket and the receiver within. “Yeah.. I think? Sorry.. I guess I had the volume set too loud. Urk.. Maybe don’t pick me up so fast though. I think my stomach is still on the ground.”
Fyllo frowned, his ears flattening back. “I’m sorry Leona. I didn’t mean to dump you on the ground like that.. The noise startled me and I panicked. What WAS that noise anyway?”
She held up the device, pointing to the screen. “It’s my receiver. The alarm is to notify me that the reverse teleportation sequence is starting up.” She brought the electronic down again, tapping the confirmation code to activate the timer. She felt a pang of regret. She needed to go home but a part of her wished she didn’t have to. Forcing a smile, she held the little machine up again, to show Fyllo the timer. “T-minus 5 minutes.”
“So.. This is it then. Time for you to go home.” He almost seemed to whimper and Leona could swear that he was genuinely sad that she was about to leave. She shrugged, giving him an apologetic look as she tucked the receiver back into a coat pocket. “Well.. Yeah.. It’s not like I could stay even if I wanted to. Not to say I wouldn’t like to visit.” She swallowed hard against the lump rising in her throat. “But I HAVE to go home.”
“Oh, I know..” He brought his hand up, bringing her close to his face, and ever so gently pressed his nose to her chest, almost whispering. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to miss you. Even if it was only a couple of days, you’ve been the best friend I’ve ever had. Thank you, Leona.”
Almost on the verge of tears, Leona leaned in, trying her best to hug him as much as she could and patting the bridge of his nose. “I won’t lie. You’ve been the first and only friend I’ve ever had.” She smiled with a subdued chuckle, closing her eyes and resting her head against his nose. “I’ll miss you too, you big sap. Even if you did scare the living hell out of me and accidentally sat on me.”
A light chuckle and gentle nudge with his nose were enough to make her giggle. His expression shifted to that of mock hurt as he retorted. “You are never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope. Never. Or at least not for the next four minutes,” She teased.
“Well then. I guess I have four minutes to make it up to you then!” He smirked softly as he picked her up by the collar of her jacket and repositioned her in his hand. She yelped in surprise, limbs flailing as she briefly found herself suspended in the air. “Ack! Hey! Careful! I still don’t like heights!” She blinked, finally registering his comment. “I.. Wait.. What do you mean?”
“Well. I’m not one to usually do this sort of thing but I have one last thing that I’d like to give you before you leave.” He smiled again, having piqued her interest as he set her down again, cupped in his palm.
“What is it? I dunno if I can take it with me.. We kinda have to travel light for teleportation.”
Fyllo smirked, a soft but playful expression on his face, “Oh. I think you’ll be fine.”
Before she could offer any further protests she found herself pinned against his palm with his puckered lips pressed to her face. Startled at first, she struggled against the oversized kiss, her limbs feebly pushing against his cheeks. Her initial panic melted into a laugh as she turned her head to the side and mockingly complained. “Okay! A giant kiss was NOT on my bingo card today! C’mon! Cut it out! You’re embarrassing me!”
Flustered, she attempted to push herself away again only to confirm that she was indeed stuck until he was good and ready to relinquish his hold. With a sigh and relaxed pat to his cheek, she chuckled. “Okay. Okay. I love you too, you big dope. In a totally platonic way though! Now will you stop?! You seriously need to put me down! I gotta go!”
Reluctantly, he set her down on the sand where she trotted a short distance away in case leaving was just as hazardous as arriving. She could feel the electrical tingle crawling up her spine as the timer hit zero and clicked. For the briefest of moments, nothing happened. Then a flash of blinding white light. She recalled painfully that having her eyes closed was recommended for this part but it had been too late for that. Her ears felt like they’d start bleeding at any moment as a metallic squeal grew louder and louder. She didn’t think returning would be a painful ordeal but here she was wishing it was over.
Just when she thought she might scream from the pain, it was over and the last thing she recalled before passing out was the feeling of the falling rain.