Work Text:
The red suit does not get burned.
“I was wearing this when we reaffirmed our love,” Fiat says to Leo, stowing the suit carefully in the back of their closet.
“And you call me cheesy,” says Leo. “If you ever wear it again, be sure you’re wearing a shirt underneath.”
Fiat pouts. “What if I wear it just for you?”
Leo ponders. “If I’m the only one who will see it.”
Fiat nods.
After Leo gets out of the shower and steps back into the bedroom, wearing a tee shirt and board shorts and rubbing his damp hair with a towel, he sees Fiat across the room:
Wearing the red suit.
With no shirt.
Also no shoes.
While looking outrageously innocent.
Leo stares – up, down, around the room (door closed thank fuck), back down and up again. “Didn’t you get enough last night?” he finally asks.
“When have I ever had enough of you?” says Fiat.
The towel drops from Leo’s suddenly nerveless hand. He approaches Fiat and runs his fingers along the lines of the suit as he had the night before. What is it about touching the suit instead of Fiat’s bare flesh? It’s almost more erotic.
“I hope you never do,” he says, letting his fingers stray under the lapel, skimming along Fiat’s chest.
“I won’t,” Fiat replies. “I’m very sure of it.”
Leo lets his arms encircle Fiat, and his hands run along the suit’s fabric, pressing it against Fiat’s back. Fiat’s breathing deepens; his arms go around Leo’s neck.
“We’re in love,” Leo says wonderingly.
“We’re in love,” Fiat concurs, standing on his toes and nuzzling Leo’s throat.
Leo’s hands sneak beneath the hem of the red suit and find the warm skin of Fiat’s back.
“You can be rough,” Fiat whispers, “although maybe don’t rip the suit.”
The slow, tender strokes of Leo’s hands on Fiat’s back don’t change. “But I want to be gentle,” Leo says quietly.
And that’s so unlike Leo, who’s made it clear from the start that he’s a total alpha guy, exactly the way Fiat likes him. Sure, Leo was shy at first, but he never failed to make it obvious that he wanted badly to love Fiat in every way humanly possible. Leo is outrageously possessive, and Leo owns it. Fiat knows very well that Leo didn’t really mean he wanted to cage Fiat when they talked last night. He understands this part of Leo, the need to possess, protect, and keep something private between them. He doesn’t share. Not this. Fiat’s totally okay with that. It’s incredibly heady to be wanted like that. He wants Leo just as badly and knows his role is to be a hotheaded but sweetly submissive boyfriend. He would do it only for Leo, and, for Leo, he wants to do it.
So he told Leo after their second time that he could be rougher, and Leo took it to heart, never hurting Fiat, but not holding back, either. Fiat has never made a secret of enjoying sex, and he likes when there's laughing and silliness. He knew, before Leo, even with all those other men, that if he ever got to have Leo, it would be different somehow. What he didn’t know was just how different it would be. He can’t even describe it inside his own mind. He only knows that he would die – seriously, die – if Leo ever left him, now. He never again wants anyone else. Nothing compares.
So:
“But I want to be gentle,” Leo says quietly, and Fiat practically swoons right then and there.
* * *
Afternoon bleeds into evening while Leo snores softly in Fiat’s arms. Fiat finds that it’s a nice change to do the holding. He’s always the one being held, so it’s a welcome reversal to hold Leo instead. Of course Leo is absurdly tall and broad-shouldered, but somehow he fits anyway, head on Fiat’s chest, arms and legs sprawled everywhere, loose-limbed in his sleep.
He’s precious, thinks Fiat. Precious to me. He strokes Leo’s hair, which is getting long. Tucks a lock of it behind Leo’s ear, whereupon the lock immediately falls back into Leo’s closed eyes.
Fiat sighs. Earlier, Leo had confessed his unforgivable actions of the previous days and Fiat had told him no, don’t do that, we’re good now. He doesn’t ever want to hear sorry again – he wants the past to stay in the past. If they can both stop being idiots and cowards, and stop hurting each other – then they can just be what they were always meant to be. In love with each other. Forever.
Not that life won’t present new problems, of course it will, but if they can just trust each other and be honest and talk things out, Fiat reasons, they’ll be okay.
The sound of the front door slamming brings Leo out of sleep. He rubs at his eyes, notices where he is, wraps his limbs around Fiat, and rolls them over so that Fiat is once again the one being held. It’s Leo’s default, holding him, so Fiat just goes with it.
“How long was I asleep?” Leo mutters.
Fiat looks at the bedside clock. “An hour or so.”
“What have you been doing?”
“What could I do? A ten-ton weight was suffocating me, I had no choice but to lie here and take it.” He tilts his head back and kisses Leo to show that he’s teasing.
A soft knock sounds on the bedroom door.
“Who is it?” Fiat calls out rudely. Leo taps Fiat’s cheek admonishingly. “Does he have to live here?” Fiat hisses.
“Leon? Come in,” says Leo.
They’ve all been tiptoeing around Leon lately because the happy spark in his eyes is gone, at least for now. He comes into the darkening room and squints. He spots the clothing on the floor.
“Can I just lie down for a bit with you guys?” he asks, so dissimilar from his normal self.
“You realize we’re naked under here, right?” Fiat grouses.
“Leon, give me a couple of minutes to get dressed and we can talk downstairs,” says Leo kindly.
Leon ignores them both and sits cross-legged on the end of the bed. “Mom loved that suit,” he says, looking pointedly at the floor.
“Shut up,” says Fiat. “It’s not ruined.”
“I picked up dinner for all of us.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” demands Fiat. “I’m not being nice to you.”
Leon shrugs. His small smile is indescribably sad. “He kicked all the snark out of me, I think.”
Fiat feels kind of bad now. He wants to say something about how Leon bragging up his boyfriend the other night sure worked out badly, but he can’t. Well, not in front of Leo, who would disapprove. Anyway, he feels truly sorry for Leon. He just wishes Leon didn’t live in their house. Leo’s foot nudges his meaningfully under the covers.
“I’m sorry about Pob,” Fiat says, taking Leo’s hint. “That was shitty.”
“I was waiting,” Leon explains, hands grasping at the blanket he’s sitting on, “for him to tell me that he loves me. I kept telling him that I love him, again and again. And I thought, maybe this thing between us is not so special for him. Or that he just let me take him to bed because he’d never had sex before and wanted to give it a try. He even said, early on, that he didn’t want to be one of my conquests. Am I that much of a slut? Does everyone see me that way?”
“Don’t ask me,” says Fiat. “If you’re one, then I’m one.”
Leon smiles the sad smile again. “That’s why I give you so much shit, Fiat, because we’re a lot alike.”
Fiat huffs. “I know. We’re both in love with your brother.”
Instantly, warningly, Leo’s grip on him tightens, like the constriction of an anaconda. It wasn’t the right thing to say and Fiat wants to bite his own tongue off. He didn’t even mean it, other than to annoy Leon.
Leon says, “He’s just trying to get a rise out of me, Leo. Ignore it.”
“You bring out the meanness in me,” Fiat agrees. “But even though you’re a shit, I’m sorry about Pob, you didn’t deserve that. Plus I’m sorry about being such a bitch to you. You might as well enjoy it, since I’m not going to make a habit of apologizing to you.”
Leon shrugs. “The bitchiness feels like a bit of normalcy after the past day. I don’t mind it, actually.” He swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands. “If you want something to eat, come on down and we can warm it up.” He thoughtfully closes the bedroom door behind him.
“Fiat—“
“Don’t start, please. It was just a stupid thing that popped out of my mouth. I promise I’m ashamed of myself.”
“Good,” says Leo, squeezing him briefly. “Because it’s not like that.”
“I know that, Leo. It’s just, when he jumps into your arms or kisses you on the cheek, I feel like he’s veering into my lane.”
“He does it to be funny. And to needle you. It’s not more than that.”
“Do you know how jealous I was of the two of you when we first met?”
“You were jealous because you wanted a brother. You got two. It worked out.”
Fiat grimaces. “Not quite like that. I got one serious pain in the ass, and one boy who cared about me. I was offended that you didn’t hate Leon on my behalf.”
Leo laughs in his quiet way. “We all had to grow up eventually.”
“Is that what you call what your brother and I do? The way we behave with each other makes me feel so childish. It’s like I can’t stop myself.”
“You’re both getting better. He brought us dinner. See? Growing up. Let’s go and see what he came up with to eat.”
Fiat runs his hand through Leo’s bangs, pushing them aside. “Tomorrow,” he says, “I’m going to cut your hair.”
* * *
They set up their temporary barbershop by the pool in the sunlight. Leo lies on a low chaise lounge and Fiat figures out a clever way to prop Leo’s head on a pillow so that it’s suspended over a large bowl. He has prepared very warm water in a large pitcher, which he sets by the bowl.
“I could have gone to our regular barber,” says Leo, eyes closed, lying back, looking blissful.
“This is something I’m actually good at,” says Fiat, sitting cross-legged on the grass and shielding Leo’s eyes while pouring the warm water through his thick hair. He massages shampoo into Leo’s hair, humming to himself. “Does it feel good? Is your neck supported enough?”
Leo makes a sound of assent, and Fiat continues with the shampoo job.
“You can just lie there while I cut your bangs,” Fiat says when it’s time for the next step. He combs the hair straight over Leo’s forehead and picks up a wicked set of shears. Again he shields Leo’s eyes. Leo’s trust warms Fiat’s heart.
Leon comes around the corner of the house. “Hey, bro, are we suddenly poor? Can’t we afford to pay a professional to do that?”
Fiat squints up at him. “Fuck off. Hey, want a haircut? I’m giving them out for free.”
Leon snorts. “You’d give me a Mohawk, or worse.”
“That’s fair.”
“Leo, I’m taking your advice; I’m off to see Pob and spend time with him while I can, and make him happy. Even if it kills me. Which it probably will, so you may never see me again.”
“I’m proud of you,” says Leo, not opening his eyes.
Fiat looks at Leon again. “Tell him from me what an asshole he is.”
Leon waves that off and walks away.
Once Fiat is finished, he sets everything aside and towels Leo’s hair. “Come here,” he says, scooting over on the grass and setting a dry towel in his own lap. Leo opens his eyes and sees what Fiat has in mind. He looks pleased, rolling off the chaise lounge and onto the grass, settling his head on Fiat’s lap. A tiny smile lifts the corners of his mouth.
It’s more than Fiat can handle, just looking. Leo is so beautiful to him. He leans down to give Leo an upside-down kiss. “You can rest for a while,” he murmurs, putting his hands on Leo’s shoulders and massaging gently. “I promise it’s cut straight. You look good.”
* * *
While Fiat cleans up after lunch at the house four days later, the brothers spend some time talking in the family room. Leo asks after Pob and learns that he will be catching a plane tomorrow.
“How are you feeling?”
Leon shrugs. “It still hurts so much.”
“Are there updates on how long he’ll be gone?”
Leon shakes his head. As much as he’s cried lately, apparently more tears are on the way. Leo opens his arms and his little brother lays his head on Leo’s shoulder and hiccoughs out a few pathetic sobs.
“Will you wait?” Leo asks. “For him?”
“Don’t know,” Leon sniffles. “He insisted that we break up so I can find someone else.”
“Does he think you can’t wait?”
“He doesn’t want me to. I don’t get it. I think he’s afraid of being in love. Otherwise why didn’t he talk to me first? Why did he make decisions for me about what my dreams are? Or maybe he just thinks I’m too horny all the time to not have someone to have sex with.”
Leo says, “That doesn’t sound like you. I’ve never wanted anyone but Fiat so I don’t feel like I’m a good judge of that but I know you’ve always been honest and thoughtful with all your boyfriends and girlfriends. Haven’t you?”
Leon scoffs through the sniffles. “You think I wanted relationships with all those boys and girls I slept with? It was a fun time, Leo, come on. No one was expecting an epic romance out of it. Did you really never want to try sex? Just to see what it was all about?”
Leo shakes his head. “Not with anyone but Fiat, no.”
“Are you judging me for being such a libertine?”
“I don’t judge you and I don’t judge Fiat. No one is required to be like me. I could ask, are you judging me for being so boring that I didn’t feel like bed hopping?”
Leon smiles wanly. “Never. I admired you for it. I wish I could have been like that.”
“No, you don’t.”
“No, I don’t,” Leon agrees. “Pob is like you and I’m like Fiat. The world is all fucked up. How did you fall for the pretty boy and I fall for the prettier boy? Each of whom is exactly not at all like ourselves. Who would have guessed.”
“Maybe you could talk with Fiat. He will understand what you’re going through better. He might know what to say when I don’t.”
“Are you shitting me? He’ll be merciless. He’ll flay me alive. I feel too vulnerable right now for that.”
Leo thinks about that a bit. “Fiat might surprise you. He’s very kind deep down.”
“To you, and Mom and Dad, and now Auntie Fay and his sister, sure. Et cetera. Not to his boyfriend’s dear little baby brother, though.” Leon runs his sleeve across his eyes and sits up straighter, snuffling. “Speaking of that, Mom and Dad are leaving again soon. Dad has to get back to Switzerland in three more weeks. I suppose I could go with Mom after all. She has a design job starting in Florence in less than two months.”
“You wanted to settle down in Thailand,” Leo reminds him.
“Fiat will probably love it if I leave.”
“Your big brother won’t.”
“Don’t you want the house to yourself so you can bang Fiat all the time without worrying if I’m listening at the door?”
Leo sighs deeply. “Sometimes I wonder how you are my brother and why I put up with you.”
“You love me.”
“I do.”
“You love Fiat more.”
“Differently.”
“More.”
“Okay, but still. Anyway, you can move back into the big house. Auntie Jah would love to take care of you. Only if that’s what you want,” he adds quickly.
Just then Fiat strolls in with a giant bowl of freshly popped, salted, and buttered popcorn.
“Will Auntie Jah make popcorn for me, though?” wonders Leon.
“I made this for Leo, you idiot,” says Fiat, but he sits between them – shoving Leon aside to make space – so everyone can reach into the bowl.
* * *
After a movie marathon and more popcorn and far too much soda, Leon says good night and goes upstairs to his bedroom.
“He might move back to the big house,” says Leo. “But don’t say anything, let him make the decision himself. Please.”
Fiat nods against Leo’s shoulder. “Pob took choices away from him. So he needs to have some agency right now. I get it.”
Leo squeezes his shoulder and kisses the top of his head.
They go upstairs hand in hand. They prepare for bed in silence, passing each other as they go to and fro, exchanging a sweet kiss at each pass.
“Mom says that she and Dad are going to have a small party here before Dad goes back to the ambassador’s residence in Bern,” says Leo. “Close family and friends only. To introduce us as a couple.”
Fiat lights up. “Another chance to wear the suit!”
Leo frowns. “You are not wearing that in public again. Ever.”
“But the color is so good on me!”
“You will look beautiful in any color. And you will be fully clothed. Fully. Clothed.”
Fiat salutes. “Yes, sir,” he says like the stuck-up brat he is.
Leo, now in pyjamas, sits on the bed while Fiat inspects the closet for something even remotely as exciting to wear as the red suit – which is sadly tucked away in the back again.
“Fiat,” says Leo.
Fiat stops fondling silk shirts. “Huh?” He looks over his shoulder.
“Come to me,” says Leo.
“In a minute.”
Leo clears his throat. “Did you misunderstand? Come to me,” he commands.
Fiat drops what he’s doing, turns on his heel, marches to the bed and climbs on, stopping only when he’s within hugging distance of Leo.
Who reaches out and pulls Fiat into his arms and against his chest.
“Are you tired of me yet?”
“Never,” whispers Fiat.
“What do you want, love?”
Fiat blushes to the roots of his hair and bites his lips. “A kiss,” he says.
Leo raises one eyebrow questioningly.
“For starters,” Fiat amends.
Fiat gets his kiss and a great deal more. They keep the noise down, but they aren’t into screaming and yelling anyway, so it’s no big deal to be quiet.
In the morning, after he gets up to use the bathroom and brush his teeth, Fiat almost runs right into Leo back in the bedroom. Leo is, naturally, fully dressed, his hair combed, annoyingly bright-eyed and chipper.
“Oops! Oh, while you’re there,” Fiat says, offering his lips. Leo obliges with a long, languid kiss.
Then Leo does something that surprises the hell out of Fiat: he goes to both knees before him.
“Leo? What’s this?”
It’s Leo’s turn to blush. “Am I doing it wrong?”
“Uh, well, if you’re begging, two knees is right.”
“That wasn’t, um…”
“One knee for—“
They stare at each other, Fiat taller for once than Leo. Then Leo raises one leg so that he’s kneeling on only one knee.
“Oh,” says Fiat. “Yes, one knee for, you know, that, two knees for begging.”
Leo looks up from beneath his eyelashes, uncertain. “Am I going to need to beg?”
A laugh is startled out of Fiat. “What? No!” Leo is such a crazy mixture of confidence and lack thereof.
“Okay, that’s good,” Leo says, regaining his composure and pulling a small box from the front pocket of his jeans.
The door bursts open – of course it does – and Leo pokes his head in. “I’m taking Pob to the airport and I left some breakfast on the– oh my god what is going on in here? Are you proposing?. Fucking A, I did not need to see that.” He disappears again before the others have a chance to put in a word, slamming the door shut.
Fiat and Leo both snicker. Fiat kneels in front of Leo, so they’re at nearly the same eye level. “Is it too soon?”
Leo shakes his head. “Why should we wait?”
Fiat nods with enthusiasm. “Let me see!”
Shyly Leo opens the box; inside are two elegant platinum bands.
“Did you pick these out?” Fiat asks, amazed.
“Mom had to help me or I would have come up with something too ordinary for you. Her words.”
They put the rings on each other’s fingers and seal it with a kiss – and wow, they’re engaged. Leo never actually asks the question out loud, and Fiat never actually answers out loud.
Because words aren’t needed: they always knew it would come to this.
Being Fiat, of course, he can’t stay quiet long. “If you don’t plant a smooch on me right now,” he starts, and Leo shuts him up with a loving kiss.