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The thin summer curtains swung lazily from side-to-side just out of the corner of Leon’s eye, being blown gently by the cold breeze from outside his open window; cracked slightly to let the fresh afternoon air inside his usually rather stuffy room.
The breeze was cold- cold enough to warrant a blanket thrown languidly over his legs, but not nearly cold enough for Leon to bundle himself under them. The sun was bright and if you stood outside, you’d be sweating within minutes, but his room was angled perfectly to enjoy a nice breezy afternoon without getting too warm.
At least in theory. In actuality, though, Leon was a walking furnace. And having Luis curled up little-spoon style with his back against his chest wasn't helping the heat much, either.
Luis was like one of those massive dogs that don’t know their size yet still insist on sitting in your lap. He was tall- shockingly taller than Leon- and was probably made up of 95% limbs. At least that was the running joke between them.
Leon never minded, though. Not in a million years.
He’d take holding Luis’ body in an uncomfortably awkward position on the bed any day over cradling him dead.
Which, if you’d seen the state Luis was in almost a whole year ago from now- all the way back in Valdelobos, Spain- you’d think that would have been inevitable.
But by some divine act of God, Luis had survived.
Leon could physically feel his heartbeat when he lay his hands on his chest- As if to confirm to his brain that, yes, Luis is right here- Real and breathing and alive. And also lying curled up in his arms practically snoring the afternoon away.
Leon smiled to himself; afternoons like this had become his favorite routine. In between being the President's personal bodyguard and running around fixing other people's mess, his lunch breaks usually lasted a couple hours at around 3:00 PM. Which, conveniently enough, was the same time Luis would get let out of work.
He usually would wake up at atrociously early hours of the morning (Leon simply does not let him get up before 4:00 AM, no matter what the Lab wants) and sometimes even took the Night Shift if there was nobody else to cover it, warranting the late send-off time.
It worked out pretty perfectly for the both of them. Leon would pick Luis up from the Labs on his lunch break (And, most of the time, Luis would already be at the door like an excitable kid waiting for their parent to pick them up from school- If Luis had a tail, Leon swore it would wag every time he saw him) And would take him home for an afternoon nap not too unsimilar to this one.
The plea deal after bringing Luis home was that he’d join Leon on his missions whenever they occurred. But for whatever reason, Leon was almost never sent on Ops during the summertime. Bioterrorism just conveniently didn’t like popping up whenever it got hot, he supposed.
Which sounded great on paper. But in actuality; Leon hated summer.
He hated it for a long time, in his defense. If he had to trace back where exactly it began; he guessed around the time his gender dysphoria really started to kick in.
The heat meant less clothes, and less clothes meant more dysphoria- He’d try his damndest to cover himself up with light hoodies and bind with whatever fabrics he could find in the old Academy lost-and-found boxes, but to no avail.
Even years after his Testosterone and Military Training had sculpted out his body and offered him more freedom, he still dreaded summer.
He’s heard of people saying that they felt worse in the winter; that the cold weather and dark sky made them tired and depressed. But for Leon, it was the opposite.
The hot sun made him feel constantly sleepy 24/7 and his clothes always seemed to cling to his skin with sweat uncomfortably. He felt groggy no matter how much sleep he’d gotten the night before, and he’d wake up from naps still feeling drained.
The days seemed to last forever, and the fan beside his bed would become his best friend.
The government he was forced to work for called it laziness; Leon called it seasonal depression.
So he slept his summers away. But at least this time he wouldn’t be alone.
Leon felt a little bad- even with Luis curled up in his arms with a small smile on his sleeping figure, the blonde couldn’t help but feel a small pang of guilt thinking about all the ways they could be enjoying their summer together outside of sleeping the days away in bed.
Leon could have taken Luis to the movies. Or the beach. Or to a carnival- something so perfectly cheesy and romantic that his trope-loving knight in shining armor couldn’t refuse.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Luis shuffle down further into his arms. The sleeves of his shirt rolled up his forearms and exposed the soft arm hair underneath, and Leon instinctively did the same. He sighed in relief as he felt the cool air from the window hit his skin.
Looking for more of that relief, Leon shuffled his leg out from underneath the blankets and practically threw it over Luis’ waist; an awkward position to be sure, but all Luis did in response was sigh in his sleep, so Leon was confident he didn’t mind.
Leon began to card his fingers lazily through his lovers hair, admiring how soft it was even without having been washed for a couple days.
He let his mind wander as he closed his eyes and buried his nose against Luis’ skin- taking in the familiar scent of leather and cigarettes.
He wondered what Luis’ summers used to look like before he met Leon. Did he used to go fishing in that lake he had fought Del Lago in? Did he used to run around in those endless woods to hide in the shade from the hot Spanish sun? Did he walk along the mountainside bridges with his Grandfather, borrowing his hat to avoid getting sunburnt? Did he have friends to share the summer with? Did he miss his childhood summers? All questions Leon never found the perfect opportunity to ask.
Leon felt an imaginary sense of jealousy just thinking about it. He never got that classic 80’s kids-on-bikes summer holidays like most other boys his age did- most mornings were spent taking care of his parents after violent hangovers.
He looked back over to Luis. His shoulders rose and fell with his even breathing. He smiled and cuddled him closer;
He never had a person to feel this safe around.
He never had somebody to waste away the summer with.
Not until now. Not until he met Luis.
He turned his head and pressed a warm kiss to Luis’ neck; which, much to his surprise, actually got a response out of him.
“ You should be asleep, cariño”
Leon chuckled sleepily. “And so should you.”
“You’ve got work in thirty minutes,” Leon could practically hear the pout in Luis’ voice as he instinctively snuggled down further into his arms.
“You need the rest more than I do”
“I’ll only sleep if you sleep, too”
There was a pause from Luis. Before he groaned and kicked part of the blanket off of his legs.
“ Fiiiiiiiiiine. Only because I love you, though, Sancho”
“I love you too” Leon had to bite back a smile at his faux-annoyed tone as he pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
Another moment of silence passed over them.
“Hey, Luis?”
“ Hmmmm?”
“You don’t actually mind doing, well… “ Leon waved his hand over the bed, “ This with me, do you? I feel kinda bad I’m not spending our first summer together differently…”
“ Leon,”
Luis took Leon’s hands and brought them over to his lips- and although the blonde couldn’t see it, he could feel his smile as he kissed his palm.
“I don’t care what we do together. Just being with you is more than enough”
Leon was about to open his mouth to object again before Luis added;
“Besides. I like taking these naps with you. It makes me feel like an Abuelo”
Leon threw his head back and laughed at that comment, feeling that familiar glow of relief and appreciation sitting at the bottom of his chest once again.
“I like taking naps with you too, Luis”
“If you like them so much then you should actually go to sleep”
“ Ok Ok I will I will!!!”
“Te amo, Leon”
“I love you too”