Chapter Text
It’s everything. There are no words to describe the pleasure and affirmation; Will feels Strohl’s hand on his cheek to guide him upwards into something even warmer, cautious communication as they kiss. Will thinks he might pass out from lack of breath just by how this steals the air from his lungs with bliss.
They part with an audible noise and suddenly Will flushes so hard he feels red from head to toe.
“Meep,” is an approximate description of the noise he lets out in a squeak. He pulls back on instinct, and Strohl lurches forward before careening back onto the bed, hands covering his face.
“I cannot believe I did that,” he groans. “I’m an absolute moron.”
Will, still perched on Strohl’s lap, feels like maybe keeling over himself right now. “Did- did you not like it?” he stammers, suddenly uneasy.
“I’m the one who kissed you,” Strohl points out.
“I know, but—” Will clenches a fist on the bed. “I probably just… made you feel like you have to.” He doesn’t want to say I tilted my head and closed my eyes like a lovesick idiot, so hopefully that will suffice.
Strohl’s fingers shutter open to let through a grey gaze. “Will,” he says, “I only kissed you because I wanted to. And I let myself believe that you did, too.”
“But I did,” Will insists. “I do, I mean. I mean, I wanted it then, and now, um, I mean, I-I wouldn’t be opposed.”
“…Really, now.”
“R-really.”
Strohl slowly sits up, hands finding the bedspread to push himself upright. It’s as he shifts his legs that Will finally loses his balance, sliding backwards only for familiar hands to grab him before he can hit his head.
“Whoa,” Strohl says, all traces of interest in his expression gone to show only concern. “Glad I caught you.”
I hope you always do, Will thinks, only making him flush harder. “M-me too,” he mumbles instead.
With Strohl’s help, he moves to sit on the bed next to him, where Will immediately leans up against him, shoulder to shoulder. Now that he’s not staring Strohl in the face, he feels less flushed, and more able to contend with the fact that he just did that.
He told Strohl how he feels. And he can only come to the conclusion that Strohl still feels the same.
It makes his heart feel five sizes too big for his chest. Perhaps just the right size to be held in a pair of familiar hands. “Strohl,” he says, only to feel a hand trace over his arm, up to his shoulder, and Will accepts the gentle directive look at me with all the trust he has for Strohl. Those grey eyes are so warm, an embrace all their own.
“Leon,” Strohl says. “Call me Leon. I-if you wish.”
“Leon,” Will echoes, tasting it. So called, Leon smiles, radiant as daybreak.
Will finds himself under attack by another fit of shyness, and so buries his face in Leon’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?” Leon asks, concerned.
“Nothing,” Will mumbles, and it’s true. “Just… nervous, I think. I-I’ve felt this way for so long, I don’t know what to do now that it’s… real.”
“Funny,” Leon says. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
Will feels himself blush again, but in defiance he raises his head, meeting Leon’s eyes. “This is from you,” he says, pressing his cheek to Leon’s shoulder so he can feel how slack, how relaxed Will is. “You’re… the only one who can make me feel calm like this. Not even by myself.” You make me feel so safe, he’s too shy to say.
“Is that so,” Leon says slowly. A soft flush grows in his face.
“It’s true,” Will insists. “I’m so glad… that you’re by my side.”
Something in Leon’s expression cracks. “Will,” he breathes before wrapping his arms around Will again, shifting to bring them closer together. “I could never belong anywhere that isn’t at your side.”
“I feel the same way,” Will whispers, close enough to Leon’s ear he’s sure he’ll hear it.
Leon holds him tighter. “You’re infinitely precious to me,” he says, voice quiet. “I’ve been… worried for you. So I can only be glad that you can express this to me, even if I don’t — I don’t feel worthy of it.”
“How could you not be?” Will whispers. “You’ve stood by me when no one else would. You’ve seen me at my weakest and didn’t look away, only extending a hand in l-love.” The word is heavy, but Will pushes on. “You’ve shielded me when the whole world wanted me gone.”
“I always will,” Leon says, and Will’s heart feels full, fit to burst. “It’s all I can do.”
“It’s everything,” Will insists. “You… make me feel secure. Safe. It’s why I fell in love with you.”
Leon pulls them apart only to catch Will’s chin in his hand. “And you,” he says, eyes shadowed with a hint of want, “are the brightest light I’ve ever known. Your brilliance outshines the sun itself. You showed me hope in a world I had given up on, and brought love into my life when I had resigned myself to cold emptiness. You gave me a reason to live again, and that’s why I fell in love with you.” He stills, as if suddenly aware of their shrinking distance, then bites his lower lip. “May I kiss you?”
Will feels himself break into a grin. “Yes.”
Leon pulls Will’s lips to his. It’s an eager kiss on both sides, warmth and breath and a tongue against Will’s lip that he parts in response instinctively and Leon ventures forth only for Will to suck his tongue playfully, at which Leon rears back, red as a beet.
“O-oh,” Will says, face collapsing into a frown. “Was that too much?”
Leon swallows. “Maybe,” he says, voice cracking. “Not that I disliked it, far from it. Just-” His gaze keeps straying from Will’s face. “You’re very… rather, I… can’t quite keep myself focused.”
“Oh,” Will says, then adds, “Oh.” To his own surprise, he giggles. Despite his sweaty palms and racing heartbeat, he can’t help but feel good.
He feels… alive, in a way he hasn’t, for so long.
“You’re kinda distracting yourself,” Will says without thinking. Leon goes a shade of red that must be reflected on Will’s own face the moment the words leave his mouth. “I-in a good way, I mean. Only good.”
Leon groans. “You should look in a mirror sometime,” he says. “Hell. You’re perfect, you know that? I just-” Here he bites his lip again. “That there’s nothing stopping me from showing you what I’d like to do to you is… frightening.”
Will makes a few interesting noises he isn’t sure he could replicate if he tried. He buries his face in Leon’s shoulder again, pleasantly overwhelmed.
“Did I… come off too strong?” Leon says, voice coated in worry. “I’m sorry, I-I don’t wish to scare you.”
“No, w-well, maybe,” Will mumbles. “It’s just… embarrassing.”
There’s a pause. “I suppose that’s natural,” Leon says eventually. “I admit to feeling the same, honestly. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, of course.”
That certainly inspires a few feelings in Will. He mumbles something unintelligible, pressing closer to Leon. Finally, he takes a breath, then whispers, “Can we just… stay like this, for a bit?”
“Of course. Whatever you wish.”
Strohl stays with him until he falls asleep; Will wakes to the sunrise and turns on his side to meet Leon’s gaze from the other bed.
“Good morning,” he says. “You’re up early.”
“That’s my line,” Will replies. “You’re usually a late riser.”
“True,” Leon admits. “I didn’t realize you got up so early, though.”
“Well, it is kind of early even for me,” Will says. “I just fell asleep early last night, I guess.”
To Will’s delight, Leon blushes. “Perhaps we woke early for the same reason, then.”
“Oh?”
“You fell asleep when I was still on your bed,” Leon explains. “I tucked you in, but couldn’t bring myself to leave. Watching you sleep was… very calming. Such that I soon found myself joining you, in my own bed.”
Will’s heart dances. “You could’ve stayed,” he says, feeling heat creep into his face. “I wouldn’t have minded.”
“That would be entirely improper,” Leon points out, even as his blush increases. “Social mandates aside, I hadn’t received your consent.”
“It doesn’t have to be that,” Will reasons. “We can just cuddle.”
Leon’s face goes through several expressions in rapid succession. “That— I suppose you’re right. But firstly, I do still require your consent, even for cuddling. And secondly… imagine if Hulkenberg walked in. Not that I have any qualms about being associated with you, of course, but rather I would fear for my safety in that scenario.”
Will nods; it’s a reasonable line of logic. “Then we should tell the others we’re together. That should solve it.”
“Will—” Leon purses his lips. “Are you… certain, then? You don’t have to indulge me in courtship if you don’t wish to. In fact, I would much prefer if you only did because you wanted to.”
“Oh,” Will says. “I thought… you were intending to court me. I-is it supposed to be the other way around?”
That takes a second to process. “I don’t think it matters which way it goes, honestly,” Leon admits. “But if you would prefer…” He sits up, and Will follows suit. “Will, I would very much like to court you. Would you do me the honor of allowing me to do so?”
Will breaks into a grin. “Yes,” he says. “I would like nothing more!”
“In that case, allow me,” he says, standing up and reaching out a hand. “May I have your hand?”
Will obliges, and Leon kneels, pressing his lips to Will’s palm. “A bit out of order, perhaps, but that should rectify it,” Leon says, standing back up.
Will can only beam. “Sit next to me?”
“Gladly.” Leon takes a seat next to Will, and their shoulders brush as Will moves closer. Leon’s expression, still serious, softens. “You seem so much happier today,” he says softly. “It’s beautiful to see.”
Will blushes. “How could I not be?” he says shyly. “The first thing I saw waking up was you.”
Leon’s expression melts. He’s taking Will’s chin in his hand again before Will can process; his heart races as Leon speaks it into being. “May I kiss you, again?” Will just nods eagerly.
It’s soft again, gentle and warm, until Leon’s hand strays to his cheek and down his neck. Will leans into it until fingers brush against scales, edging his shirt down — and the way it’s the same, exactly equal no matter what part of Will he touches, is overwhelming. Will pulls away.
“What’s wrong?” Leon asks, brow creased. Will blinks and is suddenly aware of tears breaking against his lashes, hot and wet as one paints a path down his cheek. “Tell me, please.”
“N-nothing,” Will says; he’s not sure of its accuracy. “Just, you, you’re… You touched me, and it felt… good.”
Leon’s expression softens. “Do you… not like your scales?” he asks gently. “Should I not touch them?”
“It’s okay,” Will says truthfully. “I… don’t know if I should like them.”
“They’re yours to like,” Leon says. “No one owns them except you.”
Oh.
Will blinks away the last of his tears. “Okay,” he says. “Then, I… I think I do like them. F-feel free to touch them.”
Leon bites his lower lip. “I’ll strive to be responsible with that permission,” he says finally. Will giggles.
“Kiss me again?” Will asks.
“Gladly.”
They kiss and embrace for a while longer, lingering in the sensation of each other’s warmth until a knock on the door drives them apart; Hulkenberg had grown concerned at Will’s absence from his usual routine. Onward he heads to the rest of it, a smile still on his lips.
They tell the others all at once; everyone except Hulkenberg apparently had every expectation of things turning out this way. Congratulations were issued while Hulkenberg was still in shock. They were nearly able to make their escape before she spoke.
“Strohl,” Hulkenberg had said, voice low.
“Yes, Hulkenberg?”
“I trust I need not explain what you face if you mistreat His Highness.”
“…Yes, there’s no need at all.”
There wasn’t much to say after that. Will finds himself in the Sunshade Row square, pulling his novel out on instinct; he leafs through it, but is too distracted to immerse himself in it. He sets it down on his lap, and lets his mind wander.
I wonder where Leon is now…
Leon always seems to find Will when he needs him most. It’s comforting, almost alarmingly so in the context of their budding romance. Leon does so much for him, and…
What has Will ever done for him?
His lips crease in a frown. To wonder what he’s done for the man courting him and find no answer — it shall not stand.
“Leon?”
“Yes, Will?” Leon looks up from his maintenance, that gentle smile already present. “Have you need of me?”
You could say that. “It’s nothing big,” Will admits. “I wanted your opinion on something.”
“Well, I certainly have time,” Leon admits. “Let me clean up here.”
Will fidgets restlessly as Leon packs up his kit, trying to hide his nerves with all too much awareness that he probably isn’t succeeding. He leads them below the gauntlet runner’s deck, towards the living space he’d managed to convince Eupha and Junah away from specifically for this.
“Sit down,” Will instructs. “Um, please.”
Leon spares him a raised eyebrow before complying, something about the expression driving Will’s feet faster out of the room to fetch his gift. He barely has to step back inside for the scent of redgrass-roasted bidou to reach Leon, as evidenced by the latter’s immediate attentiveness.
“I wanted to try making it again,” Will says, placing the plate in front of Leon, who meets Will’s eyes as he speaks. There’s something nice about being prioritized. “By myself, following the recipe Fabienne told me — I-I wrote it down, of course. Um, I figured you were the best to tell me if I did well.”
“A wise decision,” Leon says seriously, getting a giggle from Will. “May I?”
“Oh, please, dig in.”
Will shyly slips into the seat next to Leon as the clemar does just that. He’s never particularly liked seeing other people eat, but finds watching Leon to be the exception. Seeing him happy and enjoying himself is simply… reassuring.
He’s so comforted that before he knows it, he’s saying, “I-I lied. I didn’t make this because I wanted your opinion, um, I just made it for you. To eat something nice.” Will curls inwards a little, glancing down.
Leon pauses to swallow before speaking. “Why would you worry about that?” he asks. “I’m flattered.” A hand nudges Will’s arm and he finds Leon meeting his gaze once more. “To be clear, I’m not mad — I would barely call it a lie.”
…Yeah, that’s fair. And yet something about asking for Leon’s presence for no reason other than to have it feels… improper. “I should’ve been honest,” he says anyway. “I was just… nervous, I think.”
Leon suddenly sits up straight. “Will,” he says quietly. “Is this a date?”
Will feels his cheeks flush and has to resist the urge to bury his face in his hands. “Only if you want it to be,” he mumbles.
There’s warm breath on his forehead and then a familiar hand pulls him close by the shoulder and a less familiar, but no less beloved pair of lips press to his head. Will feels himself relax without even thinking about it, a tiny shiver of happiness tracing his back. “I would love that,” is Leon’s response.
Will feels himself smile. “I-I’m glad,” he says. “Um. Not that I don’t like being hugged by you,” he stammers, “but shouldn’t you finish your food before it gets cold?”
Leon pulls his head away, hand still on Will’s shoulder. “True enough,” he says. He frowns in thought before gently tugging Will closer — such that Will allows himself to lean into Leon’s side with a happy sigh. “How’s that?”
“Perfect,” Will says.
“Suitable, then,” Leon hums. Will is too embarrassed by the prospect of Leon’s potential responses to ask for clarification, so the clemar resumes eating. The dish was already more than half finished, so it’s not long before Leon sets his fork down with a pleased sigh. He nudges Will’s chin with his thumb, drawing his gaze back for them to meet each other’s eyes. “Would you like… a taste?”
Will blinks rapidly. “Huh?”
Leon flushes. “Well. If we kissed…”
“Oh.” Will feels himself flush as well. “Um, yes please.”
There’s a soft chuckle before Leon makes good on his offer, soft lips taking in Will’s with a lingering spice that’s all too attractive on Leon’s tongue rather than in a meal of its own. Will seeks it happily, allowing Leon to shift him into a more comfortable posture as he curls his tongue around Leon’s gentle explorations. His eyes flutter closed before he knows it, simply basking in the sensation.
Will’s hands end up on Leon’s chest; the clemar reciprocates with fingers brushing against the back of Will’s neck, dipping past the collar of his shirt to brush against scales. A shiver breaks the trance Will is in just as surely as it breaks their kiss.
Leon blinks, some of the colour in his cheeks retreating. “Was that too much?” he asks.
“No, I don’t think so,” Will says honestly. Still, he pulls away, brushing his fingers over his lips. “Just… it’s new. Different. And…” He blushes further. “M-my scales can be jagged. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Leon bites his lower lip in some kind of concentration, and the sight is oddly warm to Will. He doesn’t break eye contact. “I can be careful,” Leon says finally. “It just seems a shame to make you go without affection just because you’re different.”
“No,” Will says, the strength in his voice surprising him. “I would never make you uncomfortable just to suit my own wants.”
“I’d hardly call this ‘uncomfortable,’” Leon mutters, before moving closer. “Listen, Will. I want to give you affection. If anything, your scales feel… um, nice.”
Not as nice as your touch feels on them, I bet. “S-so long as you’re sure.”
“I am.” Leon fixes him with a serious look. “May I feel them again?”
Will feels himself flush even harder just before Leon seems to realise the implications of his own words and turn a similar shade. “W-well, I mean to say, of course if you don’t want to—”
“G-go ahead,” Will mumbles. It’s easier, somehow, to tilt his head forward and tug at his collar with one gloved hand, than it is to give verbal assent. It’s even easier than that to relax as Leon’s hand returns, gently stroking the scales on the back of his neck along the way they overlap, rough callouses on hard scales and two warmths meeting in a loving embrace.
It’s almost a shame for Leon’s hand to pull away if it weren’t for how it slides across his jaw to tilt his chin up, gazes meeting. Leon’s eyes, usually so grey and clear, are dark with something Will responds to instinctively by closing his own.
There’s a whisper of something under Leon’s breath before they kiss again, Leon guiding Will’s head up and back so he can curl his other arm around Will’s shoulders. Gentle petting Will hastily reciprocates by reaching his hands around Leon’s chest, feeling warm skin under the layers of clothing. Leon pulls him closer roughly and traces his hand down his neck—
“Geez, this is the COMMON area for a reason! Get a room!”
Gallica’s voice breaks them out of their stupor and a scarlet Leon pulls away, leaving Will with a pit of disappointment before mortification fills it in. The fairy has her hands on her hips, all the glower of a woman ten times her size.
“We weren’t—” Leon protests. “I mean, we— we were just—”
Gallica sighs. “I don’t wanna hear it. Can you just quit mashing face while I get Junah’s notebook?”
“O-of course.”
“…sorry,” Will mumbles, eyes to the floor. He feels two gazes alight on him; only Leon’s lingers.
That very same night, Will finds himself awake in a cold sweat, memories of whatever dream he’d been having slipping away as fast as water through a spread palm. Something about torn flesh — no, biting through — no, no. A bolt of magla like ice spearing through his chest. He shivers and clutches his hand to his scar.
The sound of shifting blankets meets his ears; Leon must still be awake in the next bunk over. Will bites his lip, and tries to close his eyes only for them to open in the next breath. He can’t go to sleep like this.
He slides out of his bunk, feet on the rungs with the ease of practice. “Leon?” he murmurs.
“I’m here,” Leon responds without even a heartbeat’s hesitation. “Can’t sleep?”
“Can I get in your bunk with you?”
On this one, Leon hesitates. “If you wish.”
Leon rolls onto his side to make room for Will as he crawls in, the bunk comfortably warm with the scent of Leon around him. Will settles down, and their foreheads brush together, the lack of space drawing intimacy both natural and unavoidable.
“What’s the matter?” Leon whispers.
“Bad dream,” Will mumbles back. “Don’t remember.”
“Couldn’t fall back asleep, then?”
“…Yeah.”
Leon brushes Will’s bangs out of his face, fingers trailing down the side of his face to brush against the scales at the base of his jaw. For the first time, Will doesn’t tense at the feeling of skin on scales, and in the dark, he thinks he can see Leon recognise it with a lifted brow.
“I have dreams,” Will says suddenly. “Not tonight, but. Recently. Where I… turn into a dragon. Sometimes it’s nice. Sometimes…” He pauses; there’s not many words that can hold the breadth of experiences they are besides nice. Will swallows. “Sometimes it’s scary.”
“Do you think that might be what’s happening to you?” Leon asks gently.
“I-I don’t know,” Will admits. “I… have a tail, now. A little one. It’s getting longer each day, but besides that, the scales are the only changes.” He pauses. “Leon?”
Leon blinks, focusing again. “Sorry. That, um. Is it difficult?”
“It’s weird, but…” Will breathes out. “Kinda euphoric.”
“So long as you like it,” Leon says. “Whatever shape you take is still lovely for the person who owns it.”
Will feels himself blush. “Leon,” he says softly.
“Yes, Will?”
“I’m afraid, still,” he admits. “That… my body isn’t the only thing that’s going to change. That I’ll lose my mind, and be… a beast. And, and,” he adds, “I’m scared that part of me wants that. Wants to be something other than… a person, who’s tied down, by the things I love.” Will squeezes his eyes shut. “I know it’s not what I want, but I- I can’t help but think, it might be nice.”
“Will,” Leon murmurs. “It wouldn’t matter to me if you changed like that. I would still love you.”
Maybe. I’m starting to believe it, when you look at me like this. “Th-that’s not the issue,” Will protests. “I… don’t want it to be so. For myself, of course, but also… because I couldn’t bear betraying you all. That’s the most important part.”
Leon sighs. “You’re always thinking of others, even when you’re suffering this much,” he murmurs. “Your selflessness is one of the many things I love about you. But you should prioritise yourself more.” He pauses. “This will sound selfish, but… if not for yourself, then at least for me. I don’t wish to see you in pain, no matter what that means.”
Will can’t help a smile. “Really?” he finds himself asking. “Even if I ended up abandoning the throne, and leaving the country in chaos?”
“Of course,” Leon says without hesitating. “You’re the one who saved me, not the grand ideals of peace and justice I clung to all those years. Losing them would be painful, but not nearly as painful as losing you.”
It’s hot in the bunk, but Will finds he doesn’t mind. “As if anything I did could compare to how you saved me,” he whispers. A thrill of excitement strikes his spine as Leon shivers, eyes widening. “The first and only person to reach out to me, when the whole world wanted me gone. The only person who’s never failed to protect me, my whole life.”
“Will,” Leon breathes, black pupils indistinguishable from grey in the darkness. “You can’t just — say that, here, like this.”
Will presses closer. “Can’t I?”
A hand seizes the back of his head and Leon is suddenly crowding close, lips stealing the breath from Will’s lungs as the clemar sucks it down greedily. Will leans into the kiss, eyes fluttering closed, and when Leon brushes his fingers down Will’s neck it’s skin against scales and Will loves it, leans into it and lets Leon pull him into his chest and break their kiss only to press more across his cheek.
“Th-that tickles,” Will giggles, and Leon growls softly in response in a way that sends a lance of heat through Will’s stomach and pulls a soft whine from his throat. Leon stills, suddenly rigid, and slowly pulls away, and Will feels himself deflate. “Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Leon says, the scarlet of his cheeks visible even in the darkness. “I— I don’t think we should go any further. I would… struggle, to contain myself, and it’s not time, yet.”
“But I’m…” Will pauses, when he realises; he isn’t ready. A surge of affection rises in his chest; Leon knows him better than himself, sometimes. “You’re right. Sorry if I was… too provocative.”
A wheeze of a laugh escapes Leon. “You have no idea,” he murmurs, “how tempting you are, without even doing anything.”
Will makes a few interesting sounds not unlike from the day they’d confessed. Leon just chuckles and brushes their noses together, giving rise to a flutter of happiness in Will’s stomach. “Feel better?” Leon asks.
“Yes,” Will answers without hesitation. “I think… so long as we’re together, it’ll all work out. You, me, and the rest of us.” His smile falters. “So long as nothing tears us apart.”
“Still worried about your changes?” Leon asks.
“You know me so well,” Will says with a smile. “It’s just — I’ll have to be tied down, as the king. You know?” He bites his lip for a moment before speaking again. “Travelling with all of you… I-I haven’t had a very happy life, but the difference between our journey, and everything else, is everything. I don’t want to-” and it’s only as he speaks it into being that he realises it, “-to become a symbol, a sleeping statue again.”
Maybe that’s the allure of being a dragon. They’re not stationary, they’re wanderers, predators, gatherers, individuals. Not part of any monolith or institution. Ancient and unknowable but just as alive and hungry as the rest of us.
“I see,” Leon says. “Well, you’ll be the king. You can decide what to do.”
Will shakes his head, smiling. “I can’t just do whatever I want. I’ll have a whole country to be responsible for.”
“Well, there’s no reason you can’t find a way to be the king and be free,” Leon says matter-of-factly. “We’ll make our own way.”
“You make me sound like a pragmatist,” Will jokes.
“Will.” The sudden seriousness in Leon’s tone stops him. “I mean it. Your happiness — I couldn’t bear to watch it fall from your fingers.”
“I think,” Will says, voice small, “that as long as I have you, I’ll be okay.”
“And I, you,” Leon murmurs. “There’s no reason we should stop at mere satisfaction, though. So long as things can be better, we’ll strive to make it so.”
“That, I can do,” Will says. “With you by my side. I love you,” he adds, breaking eye contact from shyness, but meaning it with his whole being. “I love you, Leon.”
“I love you, Will,” Leon returns.
“Kiss me again?”
“Ah… if you insist. I suppose I still have enough presence of mind to restrain myself.”
They fall asleep like that, lips still warm with each other’s breath, and wake to find themselves tangled together.