Archive of Our Own ^beta

“ Stay safe, and...”

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Ever since Leon’s mother left on a windy, cloudy morning, the boy knew miracles didn’t happen and wishes didn’t come true.

He knew, because first he wished to see his dad again and then he wished for his mom to come back. Then, months later, he wished they hadn’t left him all alone and lonely.

And then, after a year when he first stepped foot into the observatory as more than just a kid admiring his father, when his life as an astronomer began, he knew miracles didn’t happen, because he realised his wishes wouldn’t come true.

It was almost an attempt to convince himself that his parents would still come home one day. That was the reason he stayed there waiting, slowly pushing doubts into a dark corner of his mind, even though he knew exactly where they were hiding.

Leon thought he might come to believe again, if only he could trick himself into believing.

He never did.

But the lonely life he had in the observatory wasn’t as scary as the real one outside.

So he stayed, between shelves of books, filled with stories of dreams that made him jealous.

He stayed, not believing in miracles or wishes.

Until the day a miracle occurred and made him wish again.

The miracle was quiet and soft like a flower. Her eyes were the colour of skies on sunny days and her hair like clouds during sunrises in spring.

Underneath, she was alone, bleeding all over and hurting.

Leon thought he and Violet were the same.

As Alley’s comet shone upon them, though, he realised they weren’t. Something heavy was weighing on her mind, but although broken and unsure, she was still walking forward.

On that night, as he looked at her, Leon thought maybe it was time to wish upon a star once more.

It has taken Leon some months to get ready for his journey.

Deep down he suspects Le Verrier is at fault for the delay of at least two of them, and he doesn’t quite understand why the old man would want an outcast brat like himself intruding any longer than he already has.

He had been slowly packing clothes and essentials, notebooks, maps. Gathering contacts and information about places he should visit. Le Verrier had insisted on preparing as much as he could beforehand.

Life had got so busy he would’ve forgotten about his own birthday in April hadn’t his roommate reminded him. No matter how many times Leon told Kyle there was no need to buy him a present, he knew there would be one awaiting him on his bed in the evening.

Kyle grinned when Leon failed to hide how much he loved the leather-bound notebook, now sitting on the top of yet another pile of books ready to be packed.

Saying goodbye to Kyle was weird.

Not more than twenty minutes ago, they were still in their room, Kyle making sure Leon had everything he needed.

“Are you certain-”

“Yes, Kyle, I’ve told you so five times already!”

“Aaaah, I know, I know. Sorry,” Kyle sighs and finally stops pacing around the room. Leon glares at him from the bed. “I just…”

“Stop worrying.”

“But Leon!” Kyle grunts and sighs again and scrunches his eyebrows before exhaling and stepping towards the younger one. “Listen, Leon.”

“What?” Leon’s eyes avoid Kyle’s gaze as he kneels down in front of him.

“Don’t be mean to people.”

“Huh? I won’t, I don’t-”

“Don’t fight and don’t get into trouble.”

“…” Kyle ignores the glare directed at him.

“Be careful and if anything happens,” Kyle waits until he knows he has Leon’s full attention before continuing. His hands take hold of Leon’s cheeks protectively. “We’ll always be here. I’ll always be here. Remember that. Okay?”

Leon is ready to push him off and tell him to stop acting like that, but he can’t. Kyle sounds like he doesn’t want Leon to go, and that alone means more to Leon than Kyle could ever imagine.

He swallows his pride and nods, slowly. “Okay.”

Kyle searches his face and nods too, sad and satisfied.

He lets go.

And just when Leon thinks he can now stand up and put on the backpack and walk towards the door with a final goodbye, a pair of arms wraps around him and Kyle holds him tight.

“I’ll miss you.”

Leon suppresses the urge to both shout and cry and slowly hugs him back, because no matter how hard he pretends he’ll be fine, he knows he’ll miss Kyle too.

Their room, their few and mostly one-sided conversations, the flickering candle at night when their assignments took longer than expected. The feeling of having a family, a brother for the first time in a while.

“And write me sometimes.”

“Mhm.”

“And tell me your address so I can write you back.”

“I will.”

“Actually, scratch what I said, write me a lot.”

“If you’ll keep interrupting my research, I won’t give you any address-”

“I know I’ve never told you but you’ve been like a bro-”

“Kyle!”

“Yes, damn, I know. Sorry. Little Leon has grown up and is leaving me.”

Now Leon sighs and somehow manages to get out of the tight grip.

“I’m not going to be gone forever. I’ll still be coming back to bring books and submit reports, you know that, right?”

“I do, but you’ve never been gone for more than a couple of hours,” Kyle whines and Leon knows there’s no point in resisting the incoming hug. It’s going to be the last one for a while, anyway. He holds onto Kyle.

“Have fun, Leon,” Kyle murmurs into his hair after a few moments of silence and presses a kiss on top of his head. Leon’s hands clutch Kyle’s sweater one last time before letting go.

“I’ll see you when I come back,” Leon picks his bag up and walks towards the door.

Kyle nods, waving at his long-time friend.

“Bye, Kyle.”

“Bye-bye, Leon.”

“Are you sure you have everything on you?”

“Yes.”

Le Verrier nods approvingly and walks to the desk in his office, followed by Leon’s stare.

“You’re one of our best, Leon. Without a doubt you’ll do a good job out there.”

“…I’ll try to.”

“I know,” the old man smiles and returns with a letter in his hand. Leon takes it, unsure what to do with it. He looks up questioningly. “It contains instructions for later. Read it when you have time.”

Leon nods and tucks it safely into a side pocket of his backpack.

“I believe this is the last thing I had to give you, and it is almost time for you to go. Are you ready?”

“…” Leon takes a deep breath, thinking of the past few years, feeling the unfamiliar tickling beneath his skin, almost as if his own body was urging him to move. “Yeah,” he manages without his voice shaking.

Le Verrier doesn’t hide a chuckle and walks with Leon to the door.

“Until next time, then.”

“Yes,” Leon says, and after a moment of silence he adds, eyes staring at the ground, “thank you, sir. For…everything.”

A gentle, old hand warms up his back on his way out.

He hears the next words when he’s already left the office.

“Have fun, son,” Le Verrier says loud enough for just the two of them and the nostalgic, melancholic yet proud sound of it makes Leon’s stumble for a step or so.

Without turning back, he walks forward.

“Dear Leon,

In the following months you will see more of the universe than you ever have through a telescope, and find more books than you could have ever imagined.

I hope you love finding rare ones as much as I and your father once did. I am sure you will.

From now on, the entire world is your home, one you have yet to discover.

But remember, dear Leon, the home on top of a mountain will always be waiting for you when you need it.

Stay safe, and…”

Leon’s trembling fingers fold Le Verrier’s handwritten letter with care as he looks at the moon, not fighting back the burn in his eyes.

“…may your journey be a most wonderful one.”

The path to Leon’s first assignment takes him to a small town in the middle of fields. Early autumn weather is still warm and Leon has to admit bathing in pleasant warmth instead of hiding from sharp mountain winds isn’t too bad.

Le Verrier made sure he had a fellow expediter tag along on this mission. It is a boy with hair that reminds Leon of marigolds. Golden under sun, deep honey when walking between piles of books. He joined Leon because his sweetheart lives in that town, he says. He will be staying there for a while.

There is not much they have to do this time. One of the old men living there finally got around to clean up his cellar, and in one of the boxes there lay a book he found suspicious.

It’s too well preserved and the words are strange and too long, he wrote in the letter addressed to the observatory, but the drawings of the sky are nice.

He is happy to invite the two boys in and even offers them a cup of coffee. Leon is not unfamiliar with the bitter drink, although it is not quite his cup of tea. The latter being, incidentally, his preferred beverage. Green for the evenings he stays up, black for the long nights.

He still pretends to like coffee, though. His dad used to tell him it’s not something a kid should be drinking. While the other two are busy discussing a picture on the wall, Leon sneaks two sugar cubes into his cup.

The book truly is beautiful. Whoever owned it knew it was valuable and took care of it in a way that makes Leon feel both proud and a little bit jealous. They pay the old man half of what they intended to, because he threatens to ban them from the town if they dare give him, once chief of this place, a sum that big. You’ll make the folks think I robbed kids, he yells after them.

Leon’s companion drags him away and whispers that he’ll use the rest of the money to buy the old man winter clothes and sneak them into his house later. While running and clutching the book to his chest, Leon remembers he will be departing from here soon.

He’s glad that the sun during lunchtime is so warm, or he thinks he would start feeling sad.

The two share a table outside the local tavern, enjoying their meal.

“Oh, you got allowance from the observatory, right? If you ever run short on money just look for a library or a school. Or a city hall or something. Somewhere with books. Trust me, they are always short on hands there,” the boy blabbers as he steals food from Leon’s plate without showing a single drop of remorse.

Leon has the urge to steal from his plate too, but the other’s wide crooked smile reminds him of Kyle, so he doesn’t.

Leon spends another day there, exploring secret places and reading a book with yellow pages the old man gifted him. Apparently, the letters are too small for him to see at his age, and even though it’s a short and simple story, it’s Leon’s first memory and the tiny tingle of joy in his heart is more than enough.

The train that arrives every three days is scheduled for early morning, and after reassuring the other that yes, he will mail the book back as soon as he finds a post office, Leon parts ways with the boy whose hair reminds him of marigolds.

The next few assignments don’t differ too much from the first one.

They rarely take more than a couple of days, and almost always someone is appointed to show him the way. Leon knows this is all Le Verrier’s doing. It irritates him as much as it makes him feel cared for.

The books he finds are in good condition and he can afford to send them from a post office instead of returning to the observatory each time. He wraps them carefully, twice, and makes sure to tell the window clerk to handle them with care.

Between missions, Leon spends his days discovering second-hand stores and hidden spots with sofas where he can read. Despite what one might think, constant travelling and dealing with book owners does take some toll on him and more than once he’s caught himself dozing off, book closed and the page he was reading long forgotten.

Still, weeks go by peaceful, and aside from some buildings under repair, Leon can barely even believe the war has only ended not that long ago.

He writes down so in his first and long overdue letter to Kyle.

The autumn has yet to bring chills into the city air, so Leon is more than content writing near an open window of his rented room with a thin blanket around his shoulders. The embarrassment of writing to Kyle makes up for the warmth he might be lacking, and Leon feels comfortable just like that, curled up on a chair.

He always eats his dinner early to avoid the chatty evenings of the inn, and the tiredness has caught up enough for Leon to give up his usual sunset stroll. So he takes his time to rest, separated only by a floor from a group of military officials dining downstairs, leading a life so different from his, and write down the last month or two of his life.

Leon has never been one to speak much, but the letter ends up being way longer than he expected.

Almost secretively, with a little bit of bashfulness on his cheeks, Leon notes down the address he’ll be staying at after his next book retrieval, just like Kyle has asked of him.

It feels like admitting he has accepted him as a friend and a brother he cares about.

He’s never folded a letter into an envelope faster.

Winter starts approaching slowly as Leon embarks on his longest assignment yet. Two weeks, eight days of which his group will spend travelling.

There are four of them this time, as the number of books is presumably larger, and because no one is stupid enough to venture onto a snowy mountain alone during this time of year.

Leon is thankful for only one guy being terribly loud on the way, and even more for one of the remaining two who seems older, since he has somehow been able to keep the conversation going in Leon’s place.

The three later end up unexpectedly becoming friends of his. Mountains are familiar to Leon and he saves the life of their third, quiet companion when he slips near a slope midway. That makes even the loud boy quiet for a while, and the older one thanks Leon a thousand times as he clutches a trembling hand tight, not losing sight of the expediter they almost lost even for a second.

From that point on Leon unanimously and wordlessly becomes their leader. It feels like a big responsibility and Leon is proud of it. He guides them to the small institute just below the top of the mountain safely.

During the four days spent there, gathering books and warming up, Leon steps out on the balcony at night and looks at the stars shining brighter than in cities.

Sharp mountain winds blow and for the first time since he left, the thought of his small room back at home leaves Leon’s heart in unbearable pain.

Feeling homesick, he learns, has grown to be more than just about his parents.

The city feels warmer once they return from the mountain.

The group splits, after ensuring their quietest partner’s bones are still all intact. Just to be safe. They board separate trains, while Leon stays for two more days to prepare for his next journey.

Hereon, assignments with no one by his side will increase. Leon cannot figure out how Le Verrier managed to schedule his work in a way that fits so perfectly with what Leon needs, and how he did it through all of Leon’s complaining of I can retrieve that book too, as many as you can give me!

There are always books that don’t need much care, only a new place to rest, and those are reserved for new, young expediters, so they have time to start learning about the world.

Leon thinks he is ready for a new step forward.

He remembers the towns he’s been to and thinks he’s seen it all.

But oh, how wrong he is.

And he couldn’t be happier about it.

A beautiful city.

Leon steps off the train and the first breath of air leaves him speechless.

The view is too wide for him to take it all in. The streets are too long and the buildings too tall and the lights flickering brightly by the road all too enchanting.

He walks to his inn in awe, spinning around at every corner, as if the magic he feels between alleyways would be gone the next day.

He barely sleeps with excitement, thinking of the morning and everything he could see. How many libraries, how many bookstores, how many unknown corners perfect for books to be read he could find.

Next morning, the magic is…gone, yet it isn’t.

Leon discovers that winter mornings in big cities are magical in ways that evenings aren’t.

Fresh air wakes him up, puddles reflect what remains of the falling leaves, his breath changes into small clouds that remind him of warm fluffy bread he saw through a bakery window on his way there.

Leon is infinitely grateful his appointment in the library is scheduled later in the afternoon. This way he can give himself a moment of free time, return to the bakery he passed and grab a chocolate croissant, cross the bridge next to the main avenue. A river passes under it and Leon pretends he’s travelling from one world to another.

Every other corner grants him a second-hand bookshop, a museum, or something of interest. He ends up buying a handful of novels that he knows Kyle will undoubtedly love.

By the time he’s in central library at the appointed time, he has strolled next to the river, found a tea shop that warmed him up, petted two stray cats and ran under a roof to hide from the rain once.

And then he is once again reminded how evenings differ from mornings and he learns how the inside of the library is a world on its own.

Leon has seen numerous libraries, bookshelves, archives and more. They’ve been big, small, something in between, packed or half empty.

None of them could compare.

Not with the neatly organised shelves, not with the balconies on the second and third floor, not with the quiet tables and reading spaces, not with the discreet chandeliers covering everything with a delicate sheen of gold light.

From the bottom of his heart, Leon finds himself wishing for the transcription job to last for a long time.

The library is like a maze.

While he usually has all the maps memorised and follows routes with precision, Leon ends up wandering off on his own will. He discovers books he’s never heard of before. And then behind a corner he spots a table filled with the most beautiful volumes he’s ever seen.

Not able to stop himself, he runs to them and all the surrounding chatter whispered quietly is muted out as he observes the pile in wonder.

Dark covers with golden imprinting, white pages, topics of everything, even about stars. It takes all of Leon’s willpower not to touch them, because he never would, not a book like these, if he wasn’t given permission.

Still, he wants to look and get closer-

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, I-” Leon jumps back at the sudden stern voice. He turns towards the source of it, a tall man with long braided hair followed by a group of officials. The books are probably theirs. “I wasn’t going to touch them-”

“Have your parents not taught you manners?”

Just like that, the spell is broken and Leon’s world turns to black.

He takes a step back as the men recover the books.

He stares at their retreating silhouettes, not really seeing any of them.

He tries thinking of something, anything, and waits until a voice finally reaches him.

“…’cuse me, sir?”

“…”

“Excuse me?”

“Ah?” Leon blinks at the librarian and her long wavy hair. “Yes?”

“I am sorry to interrupt you. Are you perhaps here on behalf of the Shaher observatory?”

“…ah. Yes. I am, yes.”

“Ah, that’s great! I have been looking for you. This place is quite big, you know, it is not uncommon to get lost.”

Leon nods absentmindedly.

“If you are ready to see the documents we have prepared, I could perhaps show you the way?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s fine. We can go. Thank you.”

“Thank you, sir. Follow me, please.”

Leon chases the girl through long, sad and lonely hallways, covered in a painfully yellow light.

The documents awaiting deciphering, a week or two worth of work, are stacked on a table and Leon closes himself off for the next couple of hours, with nothing more than a book, a pen and a candle.

He stays until closing hours.

Later that night, Leon cries himself to sleep.

That’s how his rainy days continue, only existing between his inn bedroom, the road to the library, and a small study inside it.

Thinking about his past and memories he can’t have hurts, so he drowns his thoughts between words instead.

To break this monotony a week later is a letter from Kyle.

Leon almost rips it open because finally something good has happened and, dammit, he can almost hear the annoying voice of that roommate of his spilling out of the paper in his hands.

One rare smile covered by a snort slips on Leon’s face when he reads about a presumable correspondence between Kyle and the Doll he had worked with once. Without an ounce of remorse Leon’s letter begins by him asking if Kyle is aware the girl is way above his league.

Kyle, on the other hand, is asking about his whereabouts. And when they can meet again.

Leon realises it has been almost half a year since he’s last stepped onto observatory grounds. His schedule is still a work in progress, but he tells Kyle he might be there in time for his birthday, in the middle of January.

He still has research to do, an entire desk of books to be read so he can gather information about a rare volume, and his current work is still keeping him tied there for a bit.

I hope I can visit soon, he scribbles and places the final full-stop to his letter.

He doesn’t visit that soon, but it’s not that late either.

Leon spends another wintry month in the room he had grown accustomed to. That one bed, one mirror, the desk - his favourite - and a small cabinet in the corner.

As luck would have it, the library decides to gift the observatory a book Le Verrier has been wanting to add to their collection for a while. It is not by any means rare, but Leon knows it is not a common one either. The library’s conservator had simply deemed it to be safer to store within the observatory, where they had more time and means to keep it from falling apart.

But what that meant to Leon was nothing more than a chance to take a trip home. He couldn’t let the book be damaged any more than it already was. And maybe, he really needed more space in his luggage which Kyle’s birthday presents were taking up. The birthday that would happen during Leon’s visit.

Luck was a wonderful thing.

So wonderful Leon forgot it could also be cruel.

When he arrives, Le Verrier is busy with meetings and Kyle is running errands in a nearby town.

Leon can’t help but feel frustrated. Perhaps, a little lonely. He lies on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The room hasn’t changed at all. Except for a pile of Kyle’s garbage which Leon had nonchalantly removed from his own bed and thrown onto his roommate’s.

Two hours later, everything is still the same and Leon leaves with a sigh so he doesn’t miss the last cableway.

Luck really is a very, extremely capricious lady.

That’s the first thought to pop into Leon’s head when Kyle tackles him as Leon is walking towards the adjacent train station at the foot of the mountain.

“Leon!”

“K-Kyle!? Why-”

“What do you mean why, your letter was so depressing I hurried back when I heard you might be around.”

“Hah?” Leon detaches himself from Kyle, “depressing?”

Now Kyle stares at him incredulous. “You would never say that you can’t wait to come back.”

Leon stares back. His blue eyes blink twice and the sound of home suddenly hits him so hard his forehead bumps into Kyle’s chest. “…I’m fine.”

A chuckle rumbles underneath his ear and a big hand pats his head. “Let’s get dinner, what do you say?”

“So you’ll be coming back again…when?”

“I have to recover a few volumes of unconfirmed conditions. If there are any bad ones, I might have to bring them here myself. Otherwise, maybe another half a year.”

Leon’s eyes stare impassively at Kyle even as he hits the fork attempting to steal food from his plate.

“As much as I love books, I’d rather see you soon,” Kyle manages through intense chewing of a sausage.

“Stop being embarrassing,” Leon gives up on the stealing and lets Kyle take a piece of meat from his plate.

“No!” Kyle grins when Leon kicks his shin lightly. In affection. “I get to say it, do you know how lonely it’s been?”

Leon rolls his eyes, because sure, it must have been so lonely not to have a roommate that participates in conversations as actively as a dying plant. “You have plenty of people to talk to.”

“But no one listens like you, Leon!”

If Kyle whines one more time Leon will kick him hard. But since Leon knows exactly what Kyle means, because Kyle reads him like an open book, because when everyone else avoided him, Kyle stayed, Leon decides it’s okay to give Kyle’s shin not more than another little nudge.

Kyle smiles and stuffs more food in his mouth, happy to have his point proven. Leon sighs, leaning against the window. The stars outside are starting to shine brighter.

Loneliness.

Even when he was little and days went by so much slower, Leon never really felt lonely. He wonders why.

“Do you think dad…” he asks his own reflection and trails off.

Does that mean his father always returned with every new book just so he could see him? He went that much out of his way?

Kyle observes and his expression turns into one of soft sadness. Leon doesn’t see it, because he only turns around once Kyle has already started moving half of his slice of the cake onto Leon’s plate.

If anyone had told Leon he would be handling written possessions of noblemen one day, the boy would have laughed in their face.

Now he is glad that didn’t happen, because he would have to be telling them sorry.

He sits in a private library, waiting for the notes of a late head of the family, a passionate astronomer during his free time. His name does somehow ring a bell; he probably was a donator to the Shaher observatory.

Speaking of which, Leon can still hear Le Verrier’s entertained laugh that played in his head when he received a sudden notice of a certain ‘recommendation’ and ‘one of our greatest students’ and ‘he will undoubtedly do an impeccable job’. Damn old man.

“I apologise for the long wait.” Leon turns towards the maid entering the room. “These are the notes we would like you to take a look at,” she hands him the documents and Leon carefully accepts. “We have managed to put together the rest, but I am afraid some of the contents in here proved to be too difficult for our head secretary to decipher.”

Leon glances through a few pages, words already fitting into place inside his head.

“Sir?”

“It should not take me more than a few hours.”

The maid doesn’t hide her surprise, which morphs into a pleasant smile.

“That would be wonderful, sir. In that case I shall leave you to do your work.”

Leon nods. Anxious feelings slowly fade away, now that he is back into his territory of stars and planets.

“If you need anything, you can call for me anytime. Lastly, as I believe you have been informed, one of our guards will be present while you work. Please do not take this as our family doubting your skills. It is merely protocol we have to follow as a precaution.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Leon tells the bowing maid absentmindedly, already knee-deep into the text in front of him.

“Thank you very much, sir. If there is nothing else, I shall excuse myself. Captain, if you please.”

The noise of her high heels is replaced by a much more confident step, one that closes the door and stops not far behind Leon.

Leon figures it is time for him to begin and forces himself to unglue his eyes from the notes so he can find a chair.

He nods to the guard before beginning.

And he stares.

The man with dark braided hair stares back impassively.

“You may begin.”

Two more seconds pass before Leon turns around without saying anything, sits down, and thanks all the gods that he can shut out his surroundings once he starts doing what he does best.

His last thought before he begins is something along the lines of, maybe this man is bitter because rich mansions are all he’s seen in his life.

And then, ink marks the first line on an empty sheet of paper.

Four hours later, Leon takes a short break and they still haven’t spoken.

It is not the best company Leon could ask for, but he has to admit the other has at least had the decency of not having him interrupted once.

That, or he thinks Leon isn’t worth talking to.

He probably wouldn’t even call the maid if Leon asked him to.

Don’t pick fights, Kyle’s voice warns him.

Leon sighs.

Kyle might be right.

He straightens his back and jumps onto the penultimate page.

Gratitude is all Leon can hear as the maid thanks him for the fifth time, for having returned some memories to the late master’s wife.

Taking into account the generous payment, the amount of kindness is more than Leon is prepared to accept and he hurries towards the exit.

“We will be sure to contact you again in case of need, sir.”

“Ah, yes. I’d be…glad to be of assistance.”

The maid bows yet again before accompanying him to the door.

“I hope you did not mind master Dietfried’s presence.”

“Dietfried?”

“The guard, although that is not quite the correct title. He is the current captain of the Navy. And, if you don’t mind me telling you a secret, I am sure many are jealous of you now.”

Leon’s eyebrow rises before he can stop it. “Does everyone want to know him?”

“Ah! That, sir,” the maid chuckles, “depends if you are friend or foe, I suppose.”

“Huh…”

Unsure of what more to say, Leon keeps quiet.

The maid bids him one final goodbye and he walks hand in hand with the moon away from the mansion.

The melting snow on the roadside and the clear night sky smell of spring when Leon meets Violet again.

He has wandered off the road, which he never, ever does, not when retrieving a book, but the sunset was too sweet and the snowdrops too many and the moonlight peeking through treetops in the forest too bright.

If he had a camera to imprint the scenery onto a piece of paper forever, he would. But he doesn’t, yet. So, Leon tries to remember all the right words for all the right colours, ones he can write in the almost fully filled-in notebook Kyle had gifted him.

The small path beneath his feet is in the middle of nowhere, somewhere between two cities and a general direction he has to follow.

By the time Violet walks up to him, he has been lost in his thoughts and the sight of constellations. Her suitcase makes a gentle clicking sound when she puts it down. Leon thought his heart would be racing, but all he can hear is calm, and silence.

“It’s been a while,” he attempts a small smile.

“It has,” she nods, graceful as ever. Never questioning, nor judging, her voice felt like a soft blanket.

“How have you been?”

“I have been told my job has been going well. I was just on my way to deliver a letter when I saw you looking at the sky.”

“Ah…” Leon looks upwards again. He is reminded of the late night and early morning they spent observing Alley’s comet.

Violet still looks as composed, and as sad and lost as she did when they met. Yet in a way she seems stronger. And Leon, only a little resigned and strangely glad for her, thinks, that she still looks as deeply in love as she did back then.

It’s a love that runs deep and won’t disappear for a long while.

Finding that out is liberating and Leon at last lets himself admit she will forever have his deepest, wholehearted and eternal gratitude. The thankfulness for showing him how to make the first step forward.

“Look at that star,” he points up, hoping to give her something in return, “do you know its name?”

“Yes,” Violet confirms, “I have learned about several constellations, as I promised.”

Leon would be startled, but a straightforward answer like that coming from her isn’t all too surprising. He chuckles. “I guess you don’t need me interrupting your work to explain more about it, then.”

Violet shakes her head. “The destination this letter has to be delivered to is a graveyard beyond that hill. It should not be a problem if I stayed for a short while. Please, tell me about the stars.”

Leon closes his eyes and does.

Leon’s love for mountains becomes apparent in a south-east country.

Late springs and summers in his new temporary workplace are, putting it simply, hot.

T-shirts dampened by sweat have somehow found their way into a corner of Leon’s small room once the laundry basket began overflowing with them.

He sighs and leans his elbows onto the balcony railing, relaxing into it.

It’s not a bad place.

People on the square right below him chatter all day and when he’s lucky he gets to hear street musicians in evenings. The breeze is nice and warm and always accepts the invite to hang inside the room when Leon leaves the balcony door open, which happens more often than not. The sun is bright and burning, but it paints walls into something resembling happiness.

Time passes slower, almost unmoving.

When he rests like this, Leon can picture the scenery in his mind even with his eyes closed.

Another drop of sweat runs down his neck and spine and he shivers.

It’s hot.

Perhaps the wind would be stronger if he went for a walk.

Only after a week of unprecedented laziness, which Leon still completely blames the sun for, did he venture outside to meet the rest of his group. Luckily, he had arrived early and the assignment itself was quite a peculiar one.

Over the past few months, Leon had grown used to travelling alone, occasionally with two or three companions.

This time, there was an entire room full of expediters and astronomers. Some of them he later recognised as fellow observatory students and promptly avoided them. Kyle wasn’t there.

And thankfully, all Leon had to do was to finish his work within three months. How much or when, no one cared about, as long as it would be done by the end of the determined period.

Leon had never worked like that. He had always thrown himself into it, and he was sure his part could be completed in a month if he tried.

Time truly was twisted around there.

Besides, the sun burned and exhaustion was slowly catching up to him. He cursed himself for packing his schedule in an attempt not to miss home.

After that, small piles of books and paper surrounded him, he felt at peace, and started writing with a slow tempo he had never experienced before.

The boy’s head rests in the comfortable nest made of his crossed arms on the bridge.

A river runs down the centre of this city too and Leon wishes it could take him to a lake or somewhere cool on the hottest days. Three weeks have passed and not even rolled-up sleeves or a tight bun his hair is tied into have managed to get Leon used to the warmth.

Sweat still dribbles down his neck and he hates how on windy days locks of messy hair tickle it.

He takes one dangling over his face between his fingers and the idea of cutting them short doesn’t seem all too far-fetched.

“Leon!”

At least the approaching boy has enough energy for both of them.

Leon met him on the first day of work here.

He’s a strange boy, filled with childish innocence and easy-going smiles.

White daffodil, Leon thought when he saw him, or a dandelion in all of its stages of life.

Hair like white gold, or platinum, or a flower both yellow and white. Eyes green, like the grass flowers grow on.

No one really knew who this expediter was, but he always understood when Leon needed company and when peace. Once every few days, the dandelion sneaks behind Leon to hang out. Today is one of those afternoons.

“Hi.”

“Hi-hi!”

“Resting?”

Leon lies his head down again and nods.

He wonders how the other’s elbows don’t bruise from all the times he leans on the bridge too energetically.

“Yeah, it’s hot today too, isn’t it?”

“…you don’t even feel the heat,” Leon manages lazily.

The blond laughs, not denying. “You seemed deep in thought.”

“Mm. I was thinking maybe I could cut my hair a bit.”

“Oooh, a change of style! Nice, Leon, do it, do it!”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

Leon has grown used to the other intruding into his room during afternoons.

He doesn’t pay attention to it anymore. The light-haired boy is nowhere to be found when he doesn’t want to be found, and Leon doesn’t pry. The other doesn’t pry either. When he comes over, he lets Leon work, or they talk about things of no importance. Sometimes they just lie on the floor, both overwhelmed by the heat. It’s a strange friendship of sorts, not too intrusive for either of them.

In late April, Leon receives a package for his birthday. It’s from Kyle. I know you’ve already used up the other one, the note says. Inside the box is a new notebook. Leon chuckles, because Kyle is right. He reads his letter, one from Le Verrier, and one more from his three mountain fellows. He spends a few hours into the night writing answers.

One lazy afternoon, the boy pecks Leon’s lips.

He jumps away as soon as he does, excited to see what Leon’s face looks like.

Leon blinks, then shrugs.

He doesn’t mind.

In May nothing changes, except for the number of times they end up in bed together, and there are days when kisses grow into something much deeper.

It’s hot, comfortable, lazy, and free.

They do what they want, and after two months Leon feels a little more rested.

In the beginning of June, Leon has had enough of the goddamn sun and cuts his hair shorter. Only when he checks it for the second time, he realises it resembles his hair as a kid.

The boy shows up a few days later, grins and blows on Leon’s neck. The laughter caused by Leon’s enraged face echoes inside the room for a while.

A few weeks later their assignment is done, and just as they started, they end, waving each other a casual, friendly and happy goodbye, walking their separate paths.

Trees, fields, houses, mountains, roads - everything seems smaller when travelling by train.

Leon was returning from the sunny country when he thought of Violet’s letters. He remembered the neatly pressed red wax and the initials of the company she works for. CH. Leiden. Somewhere halfway.

On a simple whim, Leon decides stop by, for fun. To see if she is there and greet her. Thank her once more, properly.

He lets the wind blow onto his face through the window and mess his hair. Leon laughs.

The building is giant.

Leon has never thought about it, but the place Violet works at appears to be a good one. He gulps and enters.

Coins, paper, typewriters, smiling clerks, heels, chatter. The noises burst all at once and Leon is lost for a second. He quickly runs to the side, away from the door so he doesn’t block the passage.

Where is he even supposed to go?

He turns around looking for a sign of the Doll department, but fails to find it. Leon even considers leaving; walking between lively people isn’t his favourite hobby.

Then he tells himself he stopped here for one purpose only, and it would be incredibly stupid to walk away when the goal is almost in front of his eyes.

With another deep breath, he quietly runs towards the staircase, hoping to find an office or someplace quieter than the entrance.

And with Leon’s luck being as frivolous as it can be, it goes tragically unwell.

Leon jumps when one of the doors slams open and yelling comes pouring out.

Too distracted by the name on it, Claudia Hodgins it says, he doesn’t quite catch what the argument is about, but that is not what causes a frown to form on his face.

It happens because the one to proudly storm out of the office is the long-braided man - Dietfried, Leon remembers, who only has enough time to slam the door and run downstairs. Not so much as a glance at Leon who stood in his way, although he is not too sure the man would remember him at all, especially not with short hair.

Does he even look where he’s going?

How does he go down the stairs so fast without stumbling?

“Hey, need anything?”

“Huh?”

The voice comes from a lean young man, much taller than Leon. His hair reminds him of Violet, although the pissed off expression on his face couldn’t be further.

“Ah…no, nothing, I was just wondering if Violet Evergarden was here…”

“Violet? No, she’s away for a job.”

“I see.”

“Sorry, but I am a bit busy now. If you need one of our Dolls, you’ll find them over there,” the blond man points towards a less crowded section of the building.

For an unknown reason Leon’s feeling of awkwardness increases when the other doesn’t bother waiting for Leon to leave before opening the office door with as much force as it was closed.

And then the yelling resumes.

“Don’t come barging in-”

“You don’t tell me what to do! The deliveries are late, how many times have I-”

“Benedict, I’m not in the mood right now, leave! …Benedict, what are you- Benedict!”

Something crashes and a pile of papers comes flying out.

“I just finished arranging those!”

“Maybe if you didn’t waste time-”

The door slams again.

“My deepest apologies.”

Leon flinches again. This time, it’s a woman. A beautiful one with black hair that colours Leon’s cheeks pink.

“Please forgive our boss, he has been stressed lately. And I promise you this is how he and our postman get along. They will be okay in a couple of minutes,” she smiles and even if it might be a lie, Leon accepts it. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Ah…” he stumbles over his words, “no, I was just looking for Violet, but I heard she’s away at the moment.”

“Violet? Would you like to request a letter?”

“No, nothing like that. We’ve…” he contemplates not saying more, because why would he? He has no reason to. But the woman in front of him is still kind and smiling and her gentleness alone makes him talk. “We’ve worked together before, in the observatory. I am on my way back and since the train passed through Leiden, I thought of stopping by. But if she’s not here, then…”

“Ah, I see. That’s a pity, though. I’m sure she would have been glad to see you too.”

They share a smile.

Leon has nothing more to say. The silence almost becomes awkward, until a clap of hands interrupts it.

“Ah! I know!”

“Hm?”

“Let’s take a picture!”

“A picture?” Leon’s confusion grows. It must have shown on his face, because the woman chuckles.

“You see, it’s her birthday in a few days. July 11^th. She should be back by then, so we were thinking of giving her a little surprise.” She takes his hand and guides him towards one of the offices. “We’ve been taking pictures of us who work here and places she likes. Some of her clients came by too. If you’d like, I can take one of you and leave her a message.”

No, no, no, no way.

The woman smiles again.

“…okay, I guess.”

“Lovely! Just wait a second, I’ll be right back.”

Leon crashes on a chair as soon as she’s out of the room. He loves pictures, dearly, he loves memories, but not of himself. It’ll be embarrassing at best.

The faces of his parents suddenly come to his mind.

An old, worn-out picture.

The only one he has.

A memory of love.

Perhaps Violet would want to have one too. She deserves many, for sure.

Leon sighs, hoping he’s exhausted enough from his trip to erase the past twenty minutes from memory.

It’s not as bad as he thinks it would be. The woman, Cattleya, takes the picture fast, and promises to send him the one she sneakily snapped without him knowing. When she asks if she should write Violet a message, Leon shakes his head.

“Just tell her thank you.”

Leon returns to the observatory with a short novel worth of reports and a sunburnt nose.

Kyle panics when he sees him so exhausted, snatches the papers from his hands and delivers them to Le Verrier in Leon’s place.

Then he comes back and spends an hour screaming adoringly in Leon’s face about his new haircut.

Leon gets angry, then laughs and laughs until Kyle grows quiet all of a sudden.

“Leon? You’re crying.”

He is, and he doesn’t know why. The laughter morphs into sobs and this time around Kyle’s hands are more than welcome when they wrap around him.

“I’m tired,” the words squeeze out through his throat.

“Ah, Leon…”

Kyle tucks Leon into his own bed, not minding the tears dropping onto the pillow. Instead, he sits on the floor next to him, and talks, just like he’s always done.

He sounds like family, and Leon swears to take at least some breaks in between his assignments. Although he only does so once Kyle reassures him that he has been doing enough. They are all proud of him. They have been since the very beginning.

Leon keeps his promise and stays for a while. Now his neck is cold here on the mountain, even though it’s still summer, and the length of his hair is frustrating. He can’t do much more than tuck it behind his ear. He decides not to cut it again, so he can keep warm in winter. The picture Cattleya sends him gets stored safely in one of his notebooks.

Third time’s a charm, they say.

Leon is prepared to burn whoever invented the saying.

It’s only the end of autumn, but mountain tops are already covered in snow here and there.

Luckily, Leon is used to their cold and ever-changing weather, and the documents he had to retrieve are stored safely in his backpack.

Aside from his freezing fingers that he has learned to ignore, everything has been going smoothly. The climb, the retrieval, the descent.

That is, however, until clouds began gathering and there was not much room for contemplation left; Leon knew he had to leave as fast as he could. So he did.

The side route was steeper and had he not been alone, Leon would have avoided it for others’ safety. The silence was dense as it usually is before storms, and one was going to happen shortly.

Except Leon did not expect it to take on a form like this, and he didn’t know third time’s a charm, because the encounter in Leiden could barely count as a third encounter, was a phrase meant to be seen as sarcastic.

And yet, behind four decrepit wooden walls and something akin to a roof, shattered windows and broken furniture, Leon is trapped with the bossy braid-haired man and a gun in his hands.

“I told you to stand back!”

“Why do you have a gun!?”

“Stand back!”

“Tell me what’s going on-”

“It doesn’t concern you, brat” the man states and, hidden behind the sofa, aims towards the window. Leon tries to stop his entire body from shaking in terror as he crouches nearby.

“What do you mean it doesn’t concern me? You grabbed me, threw me in here and pulled out a gun-”

“Do you even know who you’re talking to?”

The hard voice makes Leon wince. He hides it well. “Dietfried.”

Now the man turns back towards Leon and his brow raises. How Leon hates it, the look on his face. Worn by those who think too high of themselves. “So you do know.”

“Your maid told me,” Leon shrugs.

“Ah, I see. And you don’t know what that means, brat?”

“Leon,” he throws back irritated. He knows Dietfried has heard him.

“Do you or not?”

“What should it mean?”

“It doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t be here.”

“A storm-”

“Can’t you just stay where I told you to be?”

“What-”

“For god’s sake,” Dietfried snaps and turns around fully, “have your parents really not taught you anything?”

“I guess they were gone before they could!”

His voice cracks at the end.

In dead silence, Leon only sees Dietfried’s face harden and he can’t know that Dietfried in that moment saw him as nothing more than another orphan with blue eyes.

Dietfried can’t know that his eyes sharpen, he can’t know how it tears at Leon’s heart. He can’t know how his face morphs yet again when Leon’s falls.

When the other shatters in that little room, Dietfried notices his eyes are a deeper, royal shade of blue, like starry skies at midnight.

Someone entirely different.

Leon doesn’t know that, he only sees the harsh expression shift.

At first, nothing moves. Until Dietfried turns to look at the window, they remain frozen.

“You’re not the only one who has lost someone.”

It’s a mere sentence, spoken in such an unexpectedly neutral tone Leon wakes up a little. Then, when the words dance inside his mind for a few more seconds, he realises what they mean. Not fully, but he puts a few pieces together.

Inhaled air feels like it’s choking him. He feels terribly alone.

Dietfried examines the outside again and walks up to him. This time, Leon doesn’t protest the hand on his back guiding him towards a corner.

“Stay here.”

It should be an order but it sounds like a plea. Leon stays, because he knows the eyes of a heartbroken man. Similar ones often stare back at him in the mirror. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, like he himself doesn’t want be hurt. Exhaustion pulls his limbs towards the ground.

Dietfried returns to his position, not glancing back.

Leon curls in a ball hugging his knees. His little ponytail has come undone, so he spends some time fixing it.

“I can’t know what to do if I don’t know what’s going on,” he whispers at Dietfried. He would’ve listened. He just needed to know there was nothing else he could do.

Dietfried only spares him a glance before returning to whatever was going on outside.

The time only moves forward once Dietfried notices a signal incoming from the nearby forest. One of his men.

A sigh of relief leaves him as he tucks the gun away safely.

“All clear.”

It could mean anything. However, since Dietfried is now standing and preparing to leave, Leon assumes whatever danger has occurred is gone, and he should be getting up too.

What he doesn’t expect, though, is Dietfried speaking to him.

“Is everything intact?”

Leon has already checked the manuscripts in his backpack. They are, so he nods. Dietfried looks him up and down twice, but Leon doesn’t know what to make of it.

The door creaks.

“If a soldier tells you to move, it’s usually for your own safety. Do you understand that?”

The voice reaches Leon’s ears softer than it was probably meant to.

He does, but he can also take care of himself. All he needed was a sentence of explanation. Perhaps military business was not something he could know about. He says nothing.

“Don’t get yourself into trouble.”

“…I know what I’m doing.”

“I know,” the man adds before stepping outside.

A few soldiers run up to him.

Leon vaguely hears them saying something like ‘information about the ambush turned out to be false, sir’ and ‘good thing we were passing by’ and ‘is the guy inside alright?' and 'this path should’ve been closed off,’ and so on, and so on.

Their voices become blurred.

I know.

Leon is busier wondering if it was a smile that he had just heard.

Amongst brilliant greens and a faint smell of flowers, the bright side of early spring is the new-born liveliness blooming in the air. It makes people open their windows, ride their bikes, walk in the parks, drink a coffee outside. And, most importantly, it makes train rides a little less crowded.

Over the past year and a half, Leon has learned to appreciate those. Sometimes you get lucky enough to sit by yourself, and if you don’t, the carriage is never so full the surrounding chattering would prevent you from sleeping.

Leon passes through Leiden again, this time too busy to stop by Violet’s postal company. The owner of a book Leon is interested in lives in a remote village. Fields running by and wind messing his hair, now almost as long as it was, are his favourite things, and after a few stops by bigger cities, the train will be empty enough for Leon to read novels and enjoy his ride to the fullest.

With a little happiness in his heart, he finds his seat and tucks the luggage beneath it.

Twenty minutes to departure and the carriage is only half empty. Leon leans into his chair and enjoys the silence.

“Not quite what I expected from today’s ride.”

Five minutes to departure, a known voice pulls him back to reality.

“…”

Dietfried carries himself with pride for a reason Leon can’t comprehend. It’s just a train.

“If you don’t mind, my seat is over there.” Dietfried pushes himself past Leon and takes up the seat near the window. It is still barely open, the way Leon left it. One of Dietfried’s legs crosses the other and a small briefcase gets placed to the side.

Since Leon has, based on experience, concluded that this man brings disasters along, he keeps his hopes low and wishes for nothing more than the window to remain open. At least, he thinks, better than last time when an old and very much drunk man sitting next to him took his shoes off, fell asleep and never figured out his feet smelled like rotting meat.

“May I offer you something to drink, sirs?”

Leon takes his eyes off the road and blinks.

“Coffee,” the man to his right answers promptly.

“Mhm, one cup of coffee coming up. Would you like sugar or milk?”

“No, thank you.”

The stewardess passes the cup over Leon with a pleasant smile. “Anything for you?”

Half of Leon also wishes for coffee. The other half, the one that only takes coffee with more sugar than water, asks for tea.

As soon as the cup is in his hands, the familiar smell of herbs and flowers relaxes him. He takes a sip and smiles to himself.

The silence is broken again, as Dietfried shifts in his seat for the god knows which time, by the man himself.

“Is something the matter?”

Leon must’ve been glancing over. A tiny sigh leaves him. “No, you just seem more likely to travel in the expensive department.”

“Oh? And why would that be?”

“You keep moving around,” Leon meets his eyes, “aren’t you uncomfortable?”

Amusement akin to joy appears for a moment on Dietfried’s face. He allows himself a chuckle. “I was in Leiden on private business,” he closes his eyes, “and the luxury carriage is likely to be full of acquaintances, who I do not quite feel up to dealing with right now.”

And then the bright emerald eyes stare into Leon’s again.

“Huh…”

“You don’t sound too convinced.” Leon looks at his legs shifting again, then back at him as if to prove his point. To Leon’s surprise, Dietfried leans his head on an arm and there’s that hint of a smile again. “A small price to pay.”

Dietfried couldn’t be further from a human who wouldn’t enjoy attention or people to talk to, but Leon knows everyone has some days just like that. For whatever reason it may be.

“I see,” he comments and his voice sounds a note brighter.

Whether it was a coincidence, a miracle, or the fact that Leon unknowingly kept staring at the scenery and Dietfried must have noticed, it is impossible to tell.

But before he can stop himself, Leon nods off to the pleasant wind and sun, coming from a window now pushed wide open.

The warmth is entirely too pleasant. The train shakes and Leon’s eyes squint open, only as long as it takes for the radiant fields of green to appear in front of him. Wind blows through the window and sunrays kiss the sweet skin of his cheeks. Leon drowns into the softness of his surroundings and falls asleep again.

When he next comes to, the arm beneath his head is not what he thinks of first.

“That book…” his tender, sleepy voice mumbles.

“It’s quite an interesting one.” Dietfried responds quietly. His eyes never leave the pages, just as his shoulder doesn’t deny Leon a pillow.

Leon blinks up at the lean profile of the other’s face, then down again. It’s not a story everyone would pick up. “I’ve been reading it too.”

“I know.” Dietfried’s attempt at hiding laughter from his voice is far from successful. He points at Leon’s side of the small table they share.

Leon follows the direction. Only an empty cup of tea shakes slightly from the uneven rails. His book isn’t there and Dietfried turns another page.

Leon stares at it, unsure what to be angry about first, when he sees it.

“My bookmark-”

Before he can finish, Dietfried picks it up and holds it between two fingers. “Here.” Removed from the place Leon put it in last.

“…you know what those are for?”

“I happened to need one while reading this.”

“So did I!”

“Oh, did you forget the page you were on?”

Hadn’t he just had the best nap of his life, Leon would be glaring. Now, all he manages is a tired frown. “No. Page 128.”

Dietfried’s amused smile turns into a satisfied one. “See?”

“Are you testing me if I remember or something?”

“Presumptuous tone you’re using, brat,” Dietfried flips through pages he’s already read casually.

“Leon.”

“I could make you lose your job, you know?”

Even though Dietfried is certain he has let enough humour transpire through his voice, the absolute dead silence coming from the boy makes him turn his eyes away from the book surprised.

Leon’s mouth is parted slightly, like a wild animal trying to determine if it should run or not.

“…”

The other still doesn’t speak.

“…you know I’m not serious, right?”

“You still look like you could.”

Dietfried’s lips press together and after what seems to be careful consideration, he returns to look at the book.

“…no, I wouldn’t. I’ve seen you work,” he adds and lets you do well go unsaid.

It’s the first thing he’s said so sincerely Leon can’t help but trust the words. The pride in his chest flutters. He looks up at Dietfried again, who is still reading, wondering if he should take the book back.

“I get off in another two hours.”

“Hm?” Two hours, Leon recalls the map, the time it will take them to reach the last big city. Leon’s destination is located an hour of ride further.

“You can rest until then, if you want.”

Rest. The sun is still high enough. The window still open. Leon still hasn’t woken up fully and his eyelids are heavy. It’s nice. The boy closes his eyes.

He forgets his head never left the arm of the man beside him.

A strained mumble is all Leon manages when Dietfried carefully climbs over him to leave the train. His book is back on the table.

“It was a good story. I might ask you to recommend me some more, if we meet again…”

Ah, he’s finished reading it.

“…Leon.” Dietfried smiles and walks away.

During the remaining months of spring Leon’s heart drowns in pools of sadness pouring down. Spring was never meant to be like that.

It is not as if anyone else could have noticed.

Rose petals played beneath light steps of heels and vigorous stomping of boots on every road, laughter filled even rarely visited corners of cities, smiles adorned faces, hair and frivolous skirts danced in the wind. Even daisies kept popping their little white crowned heads up from the gardens.

Life in spring was as full of hopes and wishes as it could ever be, and that was what made it even the more bittersweet.

It has been weeks since any news have been heard about a volume that had to be found. A good portion of the Shaher observatory had been looking for it. The hunt began because of a baseless rumour, a tiny glimmer of hope, and has had them spinning in circles. A book that would be invaluable - to astronomers, at least, but only existed in tiny footnotes of a godforsaken encyclopaedia and in a storage room, presumably.

Leon has been feeling frustrated. He is frustrated. The number of side assignments he has completed while trying to catch wind of anything regarding that cursed volume has long since slipped from his mind.

He wants it to exist. He wants it to be found. It deserves to be read.

The leads are few and far in between.

There are about two almost good things in the middle of his exhaustion.

The first is Kyle’s present for his birthday in April; two notebooks this time. Because Kyle caught a glimpse of the last one and one definitely won’t be enough. Some letters from those that he cares for also arrive and Leon rereads them again and again.

He can’t, however, meet any of them. He could make time, but the days off that he has he spends sleeping. Longer trips are better. They give Leon enough time to find his favourite new spot to read.

Leon remembers his dad and how he always returned with each volume. As melancholy tears his heart apart, the feeling of being loved sews it back together.

Anyone could tell the love they nurtured for books was strong, but a father’s love was just a little bit bigger.

The second almost good thing comes in the shape of nods of acknowledgement and tired smiles whenever Leon passes Dietfried on the street. Not quite strangers, not yet friends. It always happens in Leiden, when Leon is running from one station to another.

Last time the man said he was there on personal business, some private matters. Leon wonders if the evenings when their paths cross are the same. Whatever the answer may be, all Leon knows is the clouds under emerald eyes grow darker each day.

The bothersome prickling beneath Leon’s skin, pinching at his tired eyelids and decreasing hopes, increasingly builds up, until one gloomy rainy night in May it spills over the edge.

They bump into each other and that’s all it takes for the cracks to deepen.

When they fuck for the first time, because that’s all that it is, it is to let their frustrations out. A distraction, only enough for both of them to forget real life. It’s no more than a short night when both forget how to think, and the room doesn’t see them for long.

When they’re done and still too tired to shower, they both get up and dress, passing between them pieces of clothing to their respective owner. The urge to sleep is too strong to spend any more time there in the company of anyone else but alone. Dietfried opens the door for Leon and follows behind him, they bid each other goodbye without much care, spaced out enough not to remember the unpleasant sensation of dreadful life that both know will wake up with them.

When Leon gets out of bed next morning and hurries towards the station, his fingertips hurt. He looks at them and hopes what he scratched were just sheets and not something as embarrassing as someone’s back.

It takes another full month for life to start resembling what it should be.

The search comes to a halt when a document mentioning it is found and has to be deciphered.

Expediters are called upon to the observatory. Until the text gets decoded, they are to work with astronomers and arrange all the materials gathered throughout their expeditions. Le Verrier offers them his kindest smile.

“Even if we never find it, what you all discovered during the past few months has already made the search more than worthwhile. Thank you. You did well.”

They are given the entire summer.

The first night, right after the meeting, as soon as Kyle and Leon enter their room, Leon bursts into tears. Out of equal fatigue and relief, Kyle follows and they bawl their eyes out to each other.

“I thought I’d go insane over the past ten days,” Kyle chokes out, “I ate apples, Leon. I never eat apples.”

Out of all things, out of all the problems Kyle could have picked, he picks the only one that could be no one’s but his. Leon laughs hysterically through his tears for a while.

It’s the most tranquil summer Leon has ever spent. From outside, it probably doesn’t seem as idle as his first few spent at the observatory, but in comparison to the endless running around during last months, it feels like heaven.

The sun is brighter but colder, his hair grows back fully to how it once was, the work is steady but not exhausting. His conversations with Kyle are light-hearted. He has enough time to rest and start missing travelling again.

Comes autumn, Le Verrier asks Leon to retrieve a script.

While he’s on the way, the search for the cursed volume, as he and Kyle have at last officially baptised it, resumes.

The air sharpens and starts smelling of winter early.

Was there any possible outcome to this moment other than this?

Leon’s guess is no, there wasn’t.

Winter has already started resembling the mountain weather and after pursuing dead ends and empty leads for almost two months, Leon from the bottom of his heart believes there was no way he could have got on his train on time.

Waiting in the cold for another hour and a half for the last sleeper train was inevitable.

A snowflake melts on the boy’s nose. His eyelids catch many more. The train is right in front of him, waiting, but Leon has no energy to stand up and walk.

Ten minutes to departure.

He lets his head drop backwards, barely keeping himself on the bench. It’s not as if his outstretched legs were long enough to make anyone trip, so he has no reason to bother.

Whenever the jacket zip touches his lips, Leon’s brow twitches. Wind blows away the cloud of hot air leaving his lungs before it can take any shape.

Five minutes to departure.

All he wants is a long night of sleep. He must hope for at least one of the cabins to be snore-free. The train does pass through Leiden, but Leon only has to get off much later. He wishes he could stop by. The city is beautiful in winter.

Last call.

Leon fights through all the aches in his body and drags his feet inside one of the passenger cars.

Not even half a minute later, the doors close and Leon is forced to find a bed to sleep on before his legs give out from the light shaking of the floor.

The passageway is dark, as it’s already late into the night.

Most cabins appear to be taken. The one where curtains aren’t closed gives Leon a headache. Snoring. He proceeds towards the next carriage.

It’s calmer.

No one is awake and Leon is ready to fall asleep on the corridor.

Then quiet steps approach closer, from the other end. Leon knows he will have to move to make space.

But then Dietfried comes into view, shone upon by the moonlight, troubled. Their eyes meet, he walks up to Leon and Leon’s face lands in his chest. He doesn’t move.

Despite the knot in his throat, breathing is easier.

Leon inhales sharply and Dietfried’s arms move around him, holding him tight and keeping him together.

Without saying anything, Dietfried guides them into a cabin right next to them and closes the curtains.

Bed.

Before Leon gets to ask Dietfried where he can sleep, his eyes catch sight of a bed and Leon is lying on it and god, he wanted nothing more than this.

Dietfried seems to have noticed.

“Is it good?” he asks, and if that voice reaches his ears again nothing will stop Leon from falling asleep right there and then. He answers with a nod.

It takes him a few minutes to gather enough energy for his eyes to open.

Dietfried is still there, taking off clothes until only his pants and shirt are left. Once he is sure the windows are shut, he pulls a sweater over his head. It might not even be his from the way it hangs off his shoulders.

Leon’s eyes follow the man all the way as he walks up to now Leon’s bed, fatigue written all over his face. Weakly, Leon’s hand finds his. Rough skin runs under his thumb and he wonders what it is that makes Dietfried hurt so. He tugs.

Dietfried lies next to him.

Leon has slept in places both broken down and fancy, but nothing could have ever compared to the softness enveloping him now.

Perhaps it’s the bed and blanket after days of walking, perhaps the warmth after waiting in cold. Or maybe it’s nothing more than the warm sweater and a silky shirt, the gentle perfume of dark hair or the kiss on his forehead or arms holding him close.

Leon doesn’t want to move, ever again.

One of his arms finds its way over Dietfried’s thin waist, the other rests between them, fingers twitching over a bow on the shirt.

Both are too tired to sleep yet, but they know they will manage soon.

Dietfried’s fingers are gentle when they brush Leon’s hair off his face. Leon learns he’ll get a kiss on a temple whenever the tip of his nose nudges the other.

“Are you cold?”

Ah, that quiet voice again. Is he? He could be. But how can Leon answer when it really doesn’t matter?

“I don’t know,” he mumbles honestly.

A huff of air brushes his lashes in what Leon assumes is a voiceless laugh. Dietfried moves and now it’s cold, but soon he is back and pulls a coat over their cover.

Leon lets out a sound of approval.

He looks for Dietfried, finding him before the man has had enough time to lie down.

They fall asleep, Leon’s arms trapping the other into the sweetest embrace.

“Leon.”

“…yeah?” No matter how deep Leon’s sleep is, he’s learned the hard truth of waking up when he is required to do so. This time, though, Dietfried is lying on his side with fingers back in Leon’s hair, so it isn’t as bad.

It’s still dark outside.

“We’ll arrive to Leiden soon. I’ll have to get off.”

Dietfried’s murmured voice hides a hint of regret and apology.

Leon nuzzles closer, burying his nose in the braid that shouldn’t be allowed to feel so soft. It smells of snow and cigarettes. His thumb finds a perfect spot on the arch of the man’s waist and rests there, rubbing it calmly.

“How long?”

“It’ll be another ten minutes.”

“Okay,” Leon whispers back. He is too tired to care when he presses a kiss to the arm serving as a pillow.

A shaky breath leaves Dietfried and to Leon it sounds like his heart is in pain.

Not knowing what else to do, he nudges him with the tip of his nose.

Dietfried leans down to press a kiss to his temple.

Leon nudges him again, and this time it lands on his forehead. Then it’s on his cheeks, and when their gazes lock, they meet halfway for no more than a peck of the lips. It’s sweet, and Leon thinks he must be covered in stardust after being granted two more.

The train stars slowing down as the Leiden station approaches.

The bed is lighter for a person while Dietfried puts his uniform back on. The coat gets picked up too. When done, he sits by Leon’s side and the hand plays with his hair for one last time.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Mm,” deep blue eyes force themselves open.

Dietfried carefully runs his fingers over delicate cheeks. Leon waits, because the other looks like he wants to say something. He doesn’t, showing Leon a gentle, sad smile instead. First lights from the station peak through the curtains. Dietfried stands up.

“Hey?”

“What is it?”

“Don’t work too much.”

The look of surprise isn’t one Dietfried wears often, but it makes him look younger. This time, the smile is amused, and he kneels before the bed.

“I won’t. Sleep well, Leon.”

Dietfried walks out, leaving the train as soon as it stops, and Leon falls back asleep with the ghost of one last kiss lingering over his lips.

He wakes up to a scarf that feels way too expensive wrapped loosely around his neck.

Leon gives Kyle his birthday gift. It’s a box of apples and Kyle’s reaction is worth every coin spent on it.

Be it fate or coincidence, Leon’s trips to Leiden increase once Le Verrier appoints him to look for clues of the cursed volume in the area, being amongst one of the most promising ones.

By a series of events Leon isn’t too interested in knowing, Dietfried visits often too. Always on private business, he says, but Leon never asks.

And Dietfried never bothers explaining.

Because why would he, when every other time they spend evenings, or nights if they’re lucky, in his room or another. There are no questions asked or ties binding them together.

Only locked hands, intertwined breaths, bodies fitting into each other’s embrace.

Over next weeks, Dietfried comes to many a realisation.

He finds out he has never known patience until a little thought of the younger’s barely visible grimace tugs a bit too uncomfortably at his stomach.

He finds out he hopes Leon doesn’t realise some of the little bruises over Dietfried aren’t ones Leon made.

The next time he finds out something, is when Leon’s lips are somewhere where they shouldn’t belong as well as they do.

When the rhythmical, gentle movement of his head makes black locks tickle Dietfried’s thighs in a way so unexpected and pleasant the man loses control and buckles his hips up harsher than he intends to.

When he immediately reaches out in apology and Leon’s damp hair and sweaty cheek lean into his hand with all the trust Dietfried doesn’t deserve, night blue eyes looking up as if to wonder what’s wrong.

When he finds himself wanting to return the favour and be careful for the first time.

That’s when Dietfried finds out he hopes Leon knows that all the love bites left are those made by him.

Leon gets used to their meetings being scattered all over the town, sometimes even outside of it.

One morning Leon wakes up and Dietfried is about to leave. He kisses Leon’s temple and tells him the room is booked and paid until afternoon.

Leon nods and his head falls back onto the pillow. Hotels weren’t places he visited often, but he doesn’t complain about a soft bed and a forenoon of rest.

Next time, they meet early and Leon could spend all of the remaining evening smelling the faint hint of tobacco in Dietfried’s hair.

But the other is busy, so Leon entertains himself by staring at the man braiding his hair.

“If you get up now, we’ll still be in time.”

“In time?”

They haven’t made any plans, but Dietfried doing things on a whim is far from surprising.

“To get you a fitted shirt at the tailor.”

“Why would I need one?”

“Because the opera I’m attending tonight has a dress code. I have spare tickets, you can come.”

“Aaah, opera.” Leon pushes himself up on his elbows. He considers the idea for a moment while Dietfried looks at him expectantly. “I don’t think I’ll go.”

“How comes?”

Leon shrugs. “Not too fond of crowds.”

“Hmm,” the other sounds amused, “it’s a private loge, though.”

“Mmm…” Leon doesn’t care much about operas. He’s never heard one. Everyone looks too dressed up and he’s not sure he’ll understand the lyrics. “No, I’m fine. Maybe next time? If you won’t mind informing me that I’m going to see an opera earlier than on the same day.”

Dietfried sighs with no malice. He’s been sounding amused a lot lately and Leon assumes it’s a good thing. “I think I can arrange that.”

Leon smiles and closes his eyes while Dietfried finishes dressing up.

“I’ll be on my way now. And suffer of boredom for the next few hours,” the man is now sitting with his back towards a mirror, legs crossed. An arm is prompting his head up and Leon almost rolls his eyes.

“Why are you going then?”

“Duty.”

“Then I’m not needed there. Doesn’t your family expect you to bring a lady along or something?” Leon yawns and stretches.

And then, unexpectedly, Dietfried laughs, really laughs, and it’s so rare it takes quite some willpower from Leon not to gape or let his chest explode.

“Believe me when I say my family’s expectations of me are a bit more peculiar.”

“…you’re making it sound as if they’re low.”

“Well, I never promised them not to set a building on fire again,” he explains nonchalantly.

Leon stares. “Again?”

Dietfried smirks and Leon chuckles. His melody morphs the other's cocky grin into something else, something dangerously similar to a soft-spoken smile.

“Will you stay here?”

Leon shakes his head. “I’ll leave soon. Ah, can I do that?” The sleeves of Dietfried’s shirt are still unbuttoned and he is just about to fix them when Leon interrupts him. Dietfried has no reason to refuse.

Leon’s fingers fumble with buttons skilfully. Puffy sleeves contrast the shirt tightly tucked into high-waisted pants, making Dietfried’s effortless elegance appear twice as imposing.

“I don’t mind paying for the night.”

“You don’t have to,” the younger shrugs and gets up so he can start putting clothes on, “I wanted to finish a transcription anyway.”

Dietfried smiles. “Okay.”

He would usually tease those standing on their tiptoes reaching for a kiss. He never can with Leon, not once delicate hands hold onto his hips and a face too pure for Dietfried’s world looks up.

Dietfried embraces him, leans down, lets the kiss last longer.

“I’ll see you soon, Leon.”

To Dietfried’s defence, he at least has the decency to look surprised.

“All work is to be conducted in three archives marked on the map. One person will be assigned to each. As you know, the documents used to belong to the Navy’s navigators, so one of our officials will be supervising your tasks. We expect full cooperation as the files cannot be accessed before our men confirm the information they contain is not classified. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” The three astronomers answer in unison. Leon vaguely remembers the other two back from the observatory and decides not to engage with them unless necessary.

The official nods approvingly.

“Now, I must mention one of the archives stores quite a large number of documents. If any of you wants to volunteer, you may do so. Otherwise, you will be assigned in no particular order.”

“I do.” Only after speaking up does Leon realise the guys next to him turned pale. He almost lets disapproval show on his face, but he contains himself.

“Very well. Your name?”

“Leon Stephanotis, sir.”

“Leon Stephanotis. You will be paired with captain Dietfried Bougainvillea and the archive you’ll be working on is located on the north side of the lake. Questions?”

“Not at the moment, sir.”

“Good. As for the rest of you…” Two men in uniforms step forward. “These are the commanders who will be accompanying you during your assignment.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” the two astronomers bow.

“The officers will arrive before you with a ship, since we have to make sure the place is prepared and check at least a portion of the files before your arrival so work can proceed with minimal trouble.

You will be arriving by train a week later, as there are no ships departing at the time. Schedules and tickets will be handed to you after this meeting is over. As for the return, you will be boarding the ship along with the officers.

Now, I believe you have been delivered all additional information already, but are there any questions?”

“None, sir.” As if anyone would ask, Leon mentally rolls his eyes.

“Very well. The staff will contact you later. You’re dismissed.”

The man leaves in a firm pace.

Dietfried walks up to Leon and extends his hand.

“Pleasure to work with you, Leon Stephanotis.”

Leon’s grip is tighter than his smile.

“Likewise, captain Dietfried Bougainvillea.”

“So you really didn’t know?”

“I indeed did not.”

“Don’t they tell you everything?” Leon puts his backpack down next to a wall. They are only staying for a couple of weeks, so he didn’t need many clothes. Instead, half of the bag is filled with pens, ink and paper.

“I was very clear about having time only for urgent matters.”

“You get to arrange three entire houses worth of astronomy and who knows what else, how is that not important?”

While Leon pulls things out of the backpack, Dietfried huffs a smile and stands up from the chair, holding his little lover tight. “I wish I had your passion for work. And I apologise for not telling.”

Even though the other can’t see him from the way he is bending, Leon still raises his brows in a question. “You didn’t know, why would you apologise?”

Dietfried’s nose nudges at his neck. Leon’s arms around the other’s shoulders tighten and he gets swooped up and carried to the table in the middle of what could be a kitchen.

Dietfried must be tired. He usually is when his forehead leans over Leon’s chest like that. Without batting an eye, Leon runs a hand through long hair and picks up a book with the other.

“You’ve already checked these?”

“Yes, apparently we all managed to go through some today.”

Leon hums. “How far are the other two places?”

“About an hour on foot each.”

“Quite a while.”

“Indeed.”

“But what did you have to do before this?” There are enough piles on the table for a couple of hours of work, if Leon is judging correctly.

“Mostly checking the entire attic and cellar to see no volumes were missing.”

“Huh!?” Leon pulls Dietfried’s face up. “I could’ve helped.”

“That was our job, Leon. You need to focus on yours.”

“I can do that perfectly fine,” Leon frowns and kisses Dietfried carefully. “You’ll be tired again.”

And then Dietfried’s rough hands run along Leon’s jaw like feathers, caressing the oh-so-different silky skin. “I’ll sleep at night, starlight.”

No matter how many times Leon hears it, those few letters spoken by Dietfried still cause a loving sting to his eyes.

“Okay.”

It would be pointless to argue now, when night is still hours away. Leon jumps off the table, finishes unpacking and pulls out his writing tools.

“Here.”

“What are these?”

“Novels. Thought you’d like them. So you don’t get too bored while I write.”

“…thank you.”

“I have more if you run out. Anyway, I’ll be starting now.”

“I’m done.”

“Excuse me?”

“I finished.”

Dietfried stops in the middle of turning a page. “You’re already done.”

“Yes.”

“Well,” the man chuckles and puts the book down, “this was fast.”

“Not really, the maps in here are just very well done. I thought it would take me more too.”

“How humble.” Leon groans when his hair looks like a nest after Dietfried ruffles it. “I suppose I should go back to checking then.”

“Eh? You don’t have to, it’s late already.”

“How will you manage then?”

“Dietfried-” Ah, there really was no reasoning with this man, was there. “We have time, it’s not going to be a problem if we continue tomorrow.”

“If you’re saying that because you’re tired from the trip, and I know you are, that is fine. But I am more than used to long hours on missions.”

“So am I, but you don’t have to.”

“I know that.”

Leon’s lips press together hard.

“Leon?”

“Hm?”

Dietfried lands a kiss to his forehead. “I upset you.”

“No, you really didn’t. I just don’t like seeing you tired.”

“See,” a kiss to Leon’s shoulder, “knowing that is enough.”

Leon sighs, knowing he’s fighting a losing battle. “Can we just eat? I’ll make dinner and you can check some files while I cook. And then we both sleep?”

“You’re going to cook?”

“We didn’t always have cooks at the observatory,” he shrugs. Even then only for lunch - making dinner, and even more often midnight snacks and 4am breakfasts were far from unusual.

“…ah, what am I to do with you?”

“Eat dinner and then go to bed.”

Leon walks towards the kitchen, ignoring Dietfried’s chuckle.

It takes them an hour to finish eating, and then Leon spends an additional ten minutes forcibly dragging his lover away from the work desk.

“Did you push our beds together?”

“Yes.”

The mattress isn’t as soft as in some of the hotels Leon has slept at. Well, not that he thought it would be; Dietfried’s love for comfort and pleasure exceeds typical military standards by a long mile. Still, it’s surprisingly comfortable, and the blanket just heavy enough.

Leon curls inside in his most comfortable clothes, turns on a small lamp on the nightstand and picks up a novel he’s been dying to read. It will probably be a while before Dietfried gets out of the shower, even if he isn’t washing his hair.

“New book?”

“I found it a week ago, yeah,” Leon turns a page without looking up.

“Are you liking it?”

Leon glances at Dietfried, who is walking through the moonlit room in a pair of shorts and…a towel around his shoulders.

“…quite a lot.”

The man hums, in the little amused tone of his that can only be heard when he knows Leon’s stare is following him, and the natural elegance in his movements gets replaced by a minutely studied one. Show-off.

Through the routine Leon knows by heart, the way Dietfried’s fingers leave a drawer they shut close, the way his eyes blink slowly when he turns his head, the way he makes sure the t-shirt sliding over his shoulders is as sensual of a gesture it can be - and idle enough for Leon to notice what remains of his nail marks running along the spine - never has Leon thought he might see Dietfried taking pills.

That is a first one.

“Pills?”

“Hm?” Dietfried looks at him. “Ah, these. Help with sleep.”

The bottle gets left alone on the dresser as its owner joins Leon in bed.

“I’ve never seen you take any. I didn’t know you need them.”

At the slight concern transpiring from the other’s words, Dietfried manages a tired smile and puts an arm over Leon’s middle, rubbing the side of his. “Remember the time we met in the mountains?”

Leon takes a second to look down at Dietfried before putting the book away, turning the lamp off and abandoning his sitting position. As if by some twisted law of the universe, they gravitate towards each other. Blue meets emerald. “Yeah.”

“I yelled at you that day. You were crouching in the open, and if anyone had wanted to make you a target, they could have done so.

Yours is not a bad reaction to have, per se. It means you’ve never had to worry about someone shooting your back. Because you never should have to.

But to me, that was all I saw. Most of the times, it’s still all I can see. Alleyways as possible hideouts. Tall buildings as sniping spots. Dead angles as danger. It’s all still there in my mind.

I’m far from the worst case, since the Navy didn’t leave for the front lines as often, but that is what war does, and sometimes it’s hard turning it off.”

Dietfried’s thumb runs over Leon’s cheek calmly, again and again. He waits for the boy to process his words, relaxing once a hand smaller and warmer than his finds its usual spot on Dietfried’s waist.

He hasn’t realised his body was tense, the same way he has never bothered changing into a t-shirt for sleep, until one night Leon said the buttons of his shirt were annoying and his hand easily slid under the hem of Dietfried’s newfound piece of clothing.

It takes Leon a minute to break the silence. “Have you tried talking to someone?” He tiptoes around his words, unsure if it’s something Dietfried is tired of hearing.

“Ah,” the older’s chuckle breaks in half, “the loss of a brother doesn’t go away just like that.”

“No, I- I didn’t mean it like that,” Leon hurries, hand squeezing the shirt beneath, “I just…I can’t imagine how it is.”

Most of Leon’s life had been spent at the observatory. War was there, but it wasn’t, not really. Nothing of notion could be gained from an observatory. Leon’s childhood was, if nothing else, safe.

“And I couldn’t be more thankful for that.” Dietfried cups Leon’s cheeks, staring so sincerely, so seriously into his eyes Leon is afraid he will start crying. “I would never want you to go through that. It’s not what you deserve, Leon, never. If there is one thing that I can be thankful for, it’s that you can still smile like you do.”

Leon holds on tighter as lean fingers run through his hair.

“I am not saying it’s the only reason why I enjoy your company. Far from it,” the corners of his lips quirk upwards and press a kiss to the younger’s forehead, “still it is something I can’t help but be happy to see. A sense of normalcy I haven’t felt in a long time.”

Leon says nothing.

“But don’t let this old man bore you with his stories,” a light-hearted touch of lips lands on Leon’s cheek.

Leon frowns, relaxes, touches Dietfried’s face. “…I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The sight of them makes Dietfried’s heart bloom painfully. He extends an arm, letting Leon lie his head on it.

“Is there anything else I can do?” the latter whispers after a pause.

Dietfried merely pulls him closer and loves him.

Leon’s arms wrap around the other’s head protectively and he plays with his hair for a while, thinking.

“Would you like me to tell you a story?”

“A story? What kind?”

“About a comet.”

“Hmm…” As if Dietfried would ever pass the opportunity to have Leon’s voice lull him to sleep. It was the one thing that helped better than pills. “Okay.”

Leon shifts, pushing himself up on an elbow. There is no hurry in his hand when it begins undoing Dietfried’s braid with ease. Dietfried always leaves it on, because he knows Leon likes doing that.

“I wish I had had a camera so I could show you pictures, but you’ll have to bear with my words.” Soft fingers run over the side of Dietfried’s face. “Let me tell you about Alley’s comet…”

Dietfried listens, to a story of stars far away, until his eyes close and he’s pulled into a world that only exists between pages, read in a melody so sweet he never wants to forget.

“That parting was not a tragedy. For in the land of fairies where time ever flows, their soul, blessed with a new vessel, shall be protected forevermore.”

Behind his eyelids, after a very long time, Gilbert is smiling.

With each day, the space between them gets smaller and smaller. They sit side by side, then Dietfried steals Leon from chairs to his lap when transcribing, then Leon steals Dietfried’s hand when the other is reading.

After a week, during early morning hours Dietfried finds Leon still hanging over a document, looking like he hasn’t slept in days.

“And you’re telling me not to overwork myself?” The laughter startles Leon. His hand twitches and throws a pen on the floor. Leon’s eyes move to it, then to Dietfried. He has no comeback.

“We’re ahead of the schedule, Leon.”

“Pen.”

“No, no pen. Come here,” his hand takes Leon’s and pulls him up and they could be dancing. Fingers entwined, they walk the stairs to their bedroom and Dietfried tucks an exhausted Leon in bed.

He doesn’t, though, join him.

Before questions can be asked, a few notes resonate through the room.

Dietfried pushes the piano cover open and sits in front of it in one fluid motion.

“Since opera is not your thing,” he smirks.

“You can play the piano?”

“Depends for whom.”

In the first days of April, a package arrives.

“From Kyle,” Leon puts it on the desk and unwraps it, “probably for my birthday.”

“…it’s your birthday?”

“No, not today,” Leon starts pulling things out, “April 11^th. It’s here early.”

There are two new notebooks, a letter, and an apple. Leon grins and passes the latter to Dietfried.

“What should I do with this?”

“Vitamins.”

Dietfried splits it in half.

On April 11^th, another present awaits Leon in bed when he wakes up.

It’s from Dietfried. A camera.

Not a single document sees their faces that day. Their teeth are too busy painting constellations onto each other’s skin and eyes too busy loving.

The next workload gets completed in bed. Leon can barely sit and Dietfried is too embarrassed by the fact he can’t lean against the backrest.

Leon still takes a picture of him sleeping.

Ah.

Another line gets crossed out.

What should he tell Kyle?

At least five ideas have already been ditched and Leon still doesn’t know what to say in his letter. Should he comment how excited he was when he read that a book that could be the so-called cursed volume has been found and is currently being analysed?

“What have you been up to?”

“What have I been up to…”

The kitchen-turned-working table in front of him is full of that. Dozens of maps and cardinal directions. If someone dared him to draw an accurate map of the sky without looking, Leon would easily bet all his belongings without hesitation.

He tries again. “Nothing much. I’m on a diet. I’ve been eating too much fried food.”

Leon stares.

It takes his rage twenty-three seconds to get the better of him and curse whatever tiredness made him materialise that word play.

He leaves it all there, opting for a nap in bed before he continues.

When a boisterous laugh coming from Dietfried downstairs suddenly fills the house, he drops the bottle of ink he was holding and decides to burn those words instead, because he doesn’t want anyone stealing the only sound he wants to remember for the rest of his life.

Even with Leon double-checking the notes and all drawers around the house in case they missed something, the pair finishes before the deadline.

That doesn’t stop them from spending the rest of their time in a much more enjoyable manner than packing, which is how they end up running around on their last evening.

It’s surprisingly methodical and organised, the way they don’t crash into each other and the books and notes and files get sorted appropriately.

By the end of it, both want nothing more than to sleep.

“Are you sure you’re staying?”

“Mhm, twenty more minutes.” Leon lifts his head as Dietfried bends down for a kiss. “I just want to check the list once, to be sure. Please.”

Dietfried is sure nothing is missing on the list, because to create it were the two of them. He knows they do things properly. But Leon doesn’t know that yet, so Dietfried lets him.

“Okay. I’ll take a shower and wait upstairs. Don’t be too stubborn,” the affection in his words is sincere as he heads to bed.

Leon crouches in his chair and avoids thinking of their limited time there, not taking more than half an hour to complete the final check.

“How long will the ship take?”

“We depart at seven and should arrive at six in the evening.”

“So if we wake up at six, we have four hours of sleep left.”

“You can sleep more on our way back.”

Leon nods. “Can I use a shower on board? I’m too tired.”

Dietfried pulls him down. “You’re staying in captain’s rooms; you can do whatever you want.”

Thank god Leon hasn’t showered the night before, because by the time he helps carry all the packed boxes on board, he’s covered in sweat again. Even though May is not as hot near this lake, it’s still far from chilly.

They board first, picking up the other two pairs on their way back. Dietfried excuses himself while he looks for the commanders to see their reports, although not before laughing when Leon tiredly dismisses the idea of greeting the two astronomers.

He enters Dietfried’s cabin. Leon’s been on ships before, but he assigns the design of this room to Dietfried’s indulgence in comfort. It’s brighter than he had imagined. Spacious. The windows are big and the door leading to a deck is nothing short of royal.

More importantly, though, the bed looks like it could use a person.

Leon has all the good intentions of showering first, but the moment his head hits the pillow, he’s out.

Half past nine. During over two hours of sleep, the bed had acquired another person who’s been warming Leon up. Dietfried shifts when the shorter one snuggles closer.

“Hey.”

Too comfortable to answer, Dietfried kisses Leon’s brow instead.

“I haven’t showered yet,” Leon whispers.

“Going now?” Dietfried lets go and rolls around.

“Yeah. You’ll be here sleeping?”

“Mm.”

Sometimes, rarely, Dietfried does this. Lies down without a care in the world, without a single thought about how his clothes are lying all over, how his hair is dishevelled. He looks so much younger, and Leon wishes he could watch him be at peace like that every day.

A blow of wind surprises Leon when he comes out of the shower. Dietfried must’ve opened the window. Leon loves it.

The other is sitting in front of a mirror, braiding his hair. Leon steals one of Dietfried’s silky shirts so he doesn’t freeze, jumps on the bed and starts rubbing the towel over his hair. Once it’s damp, he absentmindedly tries mirroring Dietfried’s movements to make a braid.

“Are you fine with eating lunch here?”

“Hm? Yeah, I don’t mind.”

“Good. The staff’s been informed you’ll be having a very urgent meeting regarding the documents with the captain in his cabin and it might take a while. So, unless you want to dine elsewhere, your food will be brought here.”

Leon snorts. “Thanks for asking.”

Dietfried winks as he turns around and stands to get closer. It earns him Leon sticking his tongue out.

“Brat,” Dietfried teases. “Let me do this.”

He sits down, taking Leon’s hair into his own hands. It needs some untangling, but it’s so soft from the shower Dietfried has some doubts he should be touching it.

“Turn your head,” he mutters and begins repeating the motions ingrained in his fingers. He moves the hair forward, so the braid mirrors his own, and takes one of his ribbons from the nightstand to tie it neatly.

He notices Leon watching him as if enchanted, lips parted. Dietfried isn’t so strong of a man to stop himself from stealing a kiss.

“Thank you.”

Another kiss.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah.”

He really does. Leon’s eyes don’t sparkle like that if he doesn’t.

“I cut it one summer, because it was so hot. I’m not sure what to do with it now…”

“Hmm,” Dietfried runs his fingers over it and pushes a few locks away from Leon’s eyes, “I think it suits you like this too,” he says to his ear and the smaller’s hands immediately grab his hips.

“Yeah?”

Dietfried’s hand covers one of Leon’s. “I can braid it for you during summer.”

“I’d like that,” Leon whispers over Dietfried’s lips, eyes locked, the knuckles caressing Dietfried’s cheek ever so gentle.

“Good,” Dietfried guides him to lie down as he settles between his legs. A thumb rubs Leon’s hipbone, questioning.

Fingers sliding into his hair are all the answer he needs.

It’s only when the staff announces lunch has been delivered that they crawl out of each other’s arms.

“Why are you changing into your shirt?”

“We’re going outside, Leon, I’m going to look immaculate.”

Leon decides to take a look around the deck while Dietfried grabs another one of Leon’s books and settles himself at a small table next to the door leading inside.

Fortunately, at the pace they are sailing, wind isn’t an issue.

The expediter smiles as he sees the sun reflecting on water. He breathes in the air and feels chills run down his entire body, in the most pleasant way. He loves this. His work, travelling, sun. Dietfried.

He returns and peaks over the man's shoulder to see what he’s reading. It’s a story Leon is fond of.

Dietfried’s hand pulls him closer by the thigh and Leon gladly indulges. As the man, still sitting in the shade, keeps reading the book, Leon leans on the wall, never leaving his side, bathing in the gentle sun, closing his eyes and feeling the breeze play with his hair.

He doesn’t notice when Dietfried falls asleep. All Leon knows is something soft nudges his hip, and then Leon’s hand moves on instinct and starts caressing a tired face.

Neither knows how long they remain standing like that. When Dietfried wakes up, the hand is still there. He sighs, kisses the hip, and allows himself to feel weightless, sinless for a while longer.

“It’s nice,” Leon whispers, “like this.”

Dietfried moves, arms catching Leon by his back and below his hips and he’s lifted up high. Leon’s hands reach around Dietfried’s neck and he presses a kiss on the top of midnight hair that smells like tobacco. He is so happy it hurts.

Dietfried closes the door behind them, not once letting him go.

“Say, which story was your favourite?”

“Hm? Out of the ones you’ve brought me this time?”

“I guess, yeah.”

“Ah, I liked them all. If I really had to pick one, though…”

“Mm?”

“It would have to be yours.”

Dietfried chuckles when Leon tries hiding his face behind fingers caressing his cheek.

I hope you love finding rare ones as much as I and your father once did. I am sure you will.

Don’t worry, Le Verrier, Leon thinks as he falls in love again, drowning into a sea of emerald, I found one like no other.

A rare story of no one but them.

Their lips touch, the page turns, and another chapter begins.