Work Text:
In Leo's defense, the can of beer he drank while watching the game earlier was to blame. It further deteriorated his brain-to-mouth filter; made him voice the stupidest thoughts. And Nosferatu was on his chest, receiving pets just from him, like old times. And it got Leo thinking, and—
"If we divorce, Nosferatu is staying with me, right?"
Beside him on the bed, Laia froze in the motion of turning the page of her book. She gave him a look so offended that Leo's heart stopped for a moment. Even Nosferatu stopped purring.
"What do you mean, divorce?" And, oops. The last time Leo had made her this angry was when he'd ridden Sandra's motorcycle without proper safety precautions. His argument that the helmet was too ugly didn't move the jury. Laia didn't speak to him for a full 16 minutes.
"I mean, when we get married—"
"But why would we divorce?"
"I don't think we should divorce. I don't want to divorce!"
"Then why—"
"I'm just saying." He gently took her hand, which Nosferatu, naturally, complained about, now that the attention wasn't all on him. "In case this— doesn't work out, for whatever reason... That was how he was abandoned last time, remember?"
Laia's frown deepened, but she seemed to give it some thought. She squeezed his hand once.
"That makes sense. Yeah... In that case"—she returned to her book—"I'm taking Vlad."
Leo's heart stopped.
"What do you mean you're taking Vlad?"
Laia sighed, cool and aloof. "I mean, we're gonna be devastated and in need of comfort from friends, and since Vlad was mine first..." She turned the page.
"I beg your pardon?" Leo was only half-pretending to be offended. "Vlad is my best friend."
"Oh, I apologize. I must have mistaken whose picture restored his humanity."
Always the damn picture. He hmpf-ed.
"Who will I take, then?" Because Sandra was going to stay on Laia's side, of course. Leo would, too, in her place.
Laia smiled, cold. "Noe."
By God. The love of his life was a cruel mistress.
Which reminded him of the leather outfit he'd accidentally got a glimpse of in her part of the closet. He suspected she planned on using it on his upcoming birthday, and he, quite honestly, had never been happier about getting older.
Focus. Deep breaths.
"Laia..."
But she'd already closed the book and turned to him, expression now serious and open.
"Is this on your mind because of— I don't know. Anything I did? Are we not on the same page?"
Leo's heart stuttered, the same familiar pain of not understanding how it was possible to love someone this much.
"Nothing like that, promise."
Laia hesitated, then nodded.
"Okay. Alright." She swallowed, looking at Nosferatu and automatically reaching to pet him. Nosferatu started purring almost immediately. "I suppose... Yes, he would stay with you. And I... could come visit—?"
His chest panged again. "I'd like that."
"No, you wouldn't." Laia smiled so sadly, her voice quavering ever so slightly, that Leo automatically pulled her into a hug. She held him back just as strongly. "Wouldn't... being apart be the whole point?"
"I guess. But I wouldn't want to break up. I never want to break up."
"Me neither!" Laia sounded almost exasperated, and Leo found himself smiling a little. "It hurts to think about."
He kissed the top of her head, letting the scent of flowers, of home, calm his heart. "Yeah."
"Which is why my idea was to always check in with you." She was entering Planner Laia mode, which meant Leo's dick twitched a bit. "To make sure we're communicating, taking care of each other, that we have the same expectations and life goals, and... that we're still making each other happy."
"Easy. You have always and will always make me happy, and my life goal is to be your husband."
"Not the time to be cute, Leo Nolan."
"What happened to this being a free country?" He kissed her forehead again. "We used to be able to speak our truth, or whatever."
Laia smiled a bit, giving him a Look.
"I do mean it," he said, soft.
"So do I."
Unable to resist, he brought her hand to his lips, then placed it on his cheek. "Okay, then. Yes, you still make me happy. Yes, I still feel cared for."
Laia seemed to pay special attention to those words, and it broke his heart a bit. One day, he vowed, he was going to convince her that she showed her love just as much and as warmly as he did.
Leo kissed her hand again before continuing, "And my goals and expectations are still the same. Marriage, two kids, and dying of old age together in our sleep before instantly meeting again in our next life."
"Leo—" She started laughing. He held her trembling body as she hid her face in the crook of his neck, failing to recompose as he added important details, such as building a granny unit for Vlad (...not a bad idea, actually), and making sure the three of them would be roommates in the nursing home.
Eventually, she kissed his neck to interrupt his train of thought — a shockingly successful technique he would never regret indirectly teaching her.
"Okay, so— okay, we're on the same page, then." She nuzzled her smiling face against his neck. "As long as you propose before the end of the year."
"Yes. A thousand times yes."
She laughed again, holding him tighter. Probably sensing Leo's intentions toward his future wife were heading toward the sacrilegious, Nosferatu jumped out of the bed, leaving the room with what Leo swore was a sigh.
Laia made an aw of disappointment. But then, she continued, "So, this is okay, then? We're good?"
He pulled her to sit better on his lap, looked at the face he wanted to see grow old beside his, and kissed her. "More than okay. I like your idea much better than mine."