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Despite the gentle sunlight that beat down on Leon’s shoulders, jarring exhaustion still found a way to seep further into his bones as he rose from yet another restless night.
He’d come home late yesterday, Rose having held him up to an ungodly hour, working out his vigorous schedule for next month, even though it was the Chairman who would make all the final decisions despite the Champion’s input, so Leon didn’t really see the point of him being there. However, he knew any act of defiance would lead to another lecture on how he would be absolutely nothing without the generous assistance of one Acacius Rose.
When he’d finally been let go, the man was hardly coherent, practically stumbling into Raihan’s arms the second he walked through the door of their Hammerlocke apartment, shoulders sagging, eyelids drooping, his words a jumble of sleep-drunken syllables.
“What happened to you?” His husband asked, chuckling a little at the way Leon was shuffling, rather than walking, across the sitting-room floor to where Raihan lay on the couch, a trapinch, curled up beside him.
Leon had only looked at the taller man with sad eyes before nestling himself on Raihan’s other side, pressing his head into the soft, dark fabric of his sweater.
The humor fell from the Hammerlocke Gym Leader’s face at Leon’s lack of response, heavy concern taking its place. “Leon, tell me what happened.”
Leon only shook his head, not in the mood for conversation, but Raihan seemed determined to pull it out of him. “ Leon .” He ran his hand soothingly through the Champion’s hair.
Finally, Leon released a defeated breath. “He wants to ship me off to Wyndon again. Then Kalos. Then Kanto. Then Johto.” He could keep listing, but he assumed his husband got the idea.
Raihan’s movements stilled. Silence. And then, “You agreed, didn’t you?”
Leon couldn’t tell if he detected worry or disappointment in the Dragon-Master’s voice, and his brain was too fuzzy to really care at the moment. He nodded.
Raihan let out a sigh. That was definitely disappointment, wasn’t it? “You can’t keep doing this to yourself, Lee. One of these days you have to learn to say no.”
Leon shrugged, saving his panic for when he was more alert and able to process it. “It’s not my place, I’d only make my circumstances worse. The Chairman is already on edge with me after I missed last week’s exhibition match.” He could still hear Rose's bitter snarl in his head.
"You're playing a dangerous game, Leon. Everything you are, I gave to you. Embarrass me again, and I will take it away in a heartbeat." The Chairman had gotten so far up in his face that Leon could practically taste the fine wine and venom on the older man's breath.
“You were running a high fever," Raihan's deep voice cut through the memory, "there was no way I was letting you go-”
“It doesn’t matter. I should have been there. Do you know how much of a schedule inconvenience that was for Lance?”
Raihan rolled his eyes. “What, you were just going to waltz onto the pitch after you hadn’t eaten or slept for three days? Why can’t you ever think of yourself, Leon?”
“Because, as Champion, it’s my duty to serve the people of Galar first.” Leon argued.
"You mean it's your duty to serve the Chairman's purpose first. Arceus, Leon, why can't you see that he's using you?"
Leon didn’t miss how his husband's voice broke a little on the last line.
Raihan looked as though he had something more he wanted to say, but caught sight of the time and seemed to think better of it. “We’ll talk about this more tomorrow." He took one of Leon's smaller hands in his own, "Come on, you must be exhausted.”
Leon didn’t argue, the thought of sleep too enticing. Retreating deeper into himself, He allowed his husband to help him to his feet, leading them both off to bed.
Now, as Leon shifted, reaching out for said husband, confusion clouded his mind when he felt an empty slot where Raihan’s warmth usually lay. Curious, Leon rolled onto his side, blinking open sleep-filled eyes. Squinting through foggy vision, he attempted to read the crimson display on his bedside clock.
Saturday - 7:30a
That was strange...Raihan always slept in on weekends. He never had to be anywhere until noon.
Then it came rushing back to him.
The night before.
The argument.
The clear disappointment in his husband's behavior.
This was what, the fifth time they'd had this dispute in a span of two weeks?
Cold fear washed the man awake and he instantly jolted upwards, his fingers clawing at the bed sheets, twisting deeper into the soft fabric.
He must have severely fucked up this time if Raihan had straight up and left.
A new wave of panic knocked the Champion forward, causing him to double over on himself, gasping for air. His hands began to shake as he felt the inevitable anxiety attack creeping up on him.
Had Raihan left?
Leon looked frantically to the bathroom door, praying, but the white structure stood ajar on it’s hinges, revealing nothing but blank space.
His heart beat faster.
His head spun a little more.
Throwing back the blankets that trapped him, Leon shoved himself from the mattress, forcing his unstable legs to move—one in front of the other—to the exit.
He gripped to the door frame, collapsing against it for balance, his voice strained, still sore from sleep and silence as he called out into the still air.
“Raihan?”
No answer.
No reassurance.
Leon felt as though he couldn’t breathe now, hot tears leaking from his eyes.
Pushing on, he stumbled down the hallway, into the apartment’s kitchen, which connected to the sitting-room.
Both empty.
“Raihan?” He tried again, a final plea, though he already knew there would be no answer to greet him.
He cringed at how helpless he sounded.
This wasn’t him.
He was the Champion. He was supposed to be strong. Yet here he was, falling apart at seven-thirty in the morning.
But could you blame him?
Leon’s gaze swept wildly around the vacant apartment, his surroundings beginning to blur together as he finally gave into the fear.
He fell to his knees, hands fanning out into the carpet to stop him from crumbling completely.
His body was shaking now, and he couldn’t tell if it was his lungs failing him, or the painful sobs that coughed up his throat.
“Of course he left you.” A sickly-satisfied voice purred, though Leon failed to delegate whether or not it was real or imaginary. He was beginning to lose touch with reality. “You could live an eternity over and never deserve him.”
The voice sounded strangely like Rose.
“All you do is hurt him. Can’t you see? You can hardly take care of yourself. What makes you think you could make someone else happy?”
“Please..leave me alone.”
“Leave you alone?” It scoffed. “You’re nothing without me. I own you.”
Leon curled his hands into fists, his nails digging so deeply into his skin, he thought he might have accidentally drawn blood. Inside, his mind replayed the night before, the disappointment that echoed throughout the room. He’d chased off the one person who still cared.
“Please..”
“You agreed, didn’t you?” It was Raihan who haunted him now.
“I had to.”
“Why can’t you ever think of yourself, Leon?”
“I’m sorry.”
“But that’s not good enough, is it?” Rose’s sarcastic taunting returned, circling him with menace. “You’re not good enough. Are you?”
It grabbed him by the shoulder. A face stared him down.
“Are you?”
It restrained him now.
“Are you..?”
Leon tried to struggle, but it’s grip was too strong.
“Are you... Okay? Leon? The fuck happened?!”
Suddenly, Rose faded away and his eyes reopened, fixating on an out-of-focus figure crouching next to him. He knew that voice. He knew that silhouette.
A sense of false relief engulfed him, just in case his savoir wasn’t really there.
“Raihan..?”
Leon could see him clearer now, the panic slowly seeping from his head.
“Hey.” Raihan looked as though he’d just witnessed death, which Leon supposed that’s probably how he appeared right now, “Hey, I’ve got you.” He soothed, pressing his face into Leon’s unkempt hair. “Come back to me; you’re alright.”
“You left.” Leon whispered, pressing himself against his husband’s chest.
“What?”
“You left me.” He repeated.
“Leon..to get groceries, you idiot.”
Leon flinched at the term.
“I’m sorry,” Raihan apologized, realizing that now was not the time for sarcasm, “you’re not an idiot. You’re not. I was only gone for a moment. We were out of eggs and I wanted to make those pancakes you like; I know you had a hard night. I didn’t think you’d be up for at least another hour.”
“You could live an eternity over and never deserve him.”
I really don’t, do I?
“I’m sorry.” Leon responded.
A small rumble of amusement left Raihan’s’ body. “For what? I’m the one who didn’t tell you where I was going.”
“For not taking care of myself. For worrying you. For panicking.”
“No.” Raihan reassured him. “Never apologize for having feelings.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“You deserve the world, Leon.” Raihan gently pulled Leon to his feet. “Now, let's get you back to sleep, okay? Pancakes can wait.”
Leon didn’t protest as the Hammerlocke Gym Leader half-dragged him back down the hall, helping him into bed. He turned as though to give Leon his space, but the Champion reached out to stop him.
“Wait. Can you..can you stay?”
Raihan sent him a soft smile, nudging Leon over to slide in beside him. “Of course.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
A feeling of security returning once more, Leon let himself fall back into the dark.