Archive of Our Own

It was harsh 'cause I lost what I wanted

I was brave when I kissed you in London

Feel you deep in my bones, you're the current

And I showed no restraint, it was somethin'

I was scared of, 'til you made me love it

If you find yourself out, if there is a right time

Chances are I'll be here, we could share a lifeline

If you feel like fallin', catch me on the way down

Never been less empty, all I feel is free now

-Gracie Abrams, Free Now

Leo can’t regret his decision.

Despite the thing that is blooming inside of his chest, for Bea, for Bil-

Both options are absolutely not allowed for a prince. An orphan girl with eyes of flint, an orphan boy with bruised knuckles because he can’t stop himself from protecting those that he loves.

Both of them are dangerous to a prince that cannot bruise or bleed without risking death. A girl too sharp and a boy too rough for their own good.

And yet- 

Leo yearns. Leo craves them both.

He craves the vulnerability, the way that it felt to sleep by their sides, the way it felt to kiss Bea, the way that it felt to have Billy hold his hand-

The way that when they found out about his illness, they did not look at him as fragile, as something precious as porcelain, but rather as something stubborn. Something strong.

And yet, that is not what can be.

In order to get Billy out of jail, Leo had to trade himself and his future and his freedom and any chance he’s ever had at having friends or something that he truly loves.

But that, he cannot regret.

How could he? Billy is free to go home, to protect Bea and Spike and Jessie. To help them all find a way to get off the streets.

And that’s what matters. Their lives. Their freedoms.

They both have too much to worry about without thinking of him. Without worrying about his ailments and aches.

Now that the underworld and monsters have stopped spreading throughout London, the crown can have its due and its marriage, they can have their lives, and he can have his dreams.

Because dreams are all he’ll ever have- dreams of a life where he can walk without ache, and pull them both in, and kiss them deep-

But in real life, Leo has to be the prince that realm needs. He has to be strong as iron, stiff as steel.

Leo will not be able to walk on a cane during the wedding ceremony, despite the fact that he’s needed one since the day that the Rip shredded through London and that nun tossed him over stone into the makeshift “baptismal font.”

But he’s used to biting down on pain. Used to swallowing his own ache for the sake of the empire and the crown.

It’s not pleasant, of course; it never shall be.

Leo doesn’t want to be a prince. He doesn’t want to offer up his own children to the same gaping maw as is currently swallowing him.

But being with the Irregulars, with Spike and Jessie and Bea and Billy- 

They taught him all that sometimes life isn’t about freedom. It isn’t about luxury. It’s about biting down your own pain, your own grief, and doing what you have to in order to protect the people that you love.

And both Bea and Billy deserve their freedom. Deserve to live happily together, as do Jessie and Spike, especially after all that they have been through with their parents and the workhouse and all the like.

Still- Leo had been selfish enough to admit his feelings for them before heading back to the palace.

Well, he’d admitted his feelings to one of them.

“I’m sorry, Beatrice, but if I don’t go, then they might take Billy again. And if I don’t- I can’t- please-”

There was some sliver of Leo that had been a coward. That had been unable to voice his feelings to Billy, to admit to him just what he’d done to get Billy out of prison, after all of Billy’s speeches about doing anything to protect his friends.

So he’d only been able to admit to Bea the trade he’d made, before leaving, and he knew that it was selfish, not to tell Billy about his feelings for both of them, not to tell him what he’d done, to leave without kissing Bea one last time-

Leo wants to say goodbye before the wedding, before he leaves for the Continent, but since he can’t leave the palace due to the guards and they can’t enter the palace, well-

He won’t be able to say goodbye.

And honestly, that might be a good thing.

Leo knows a thing or two about the way that injuries linger. About the way that they fester.

And he can’t do that to them.

It’s better that there was a sharp goodbye. A quick severing.

Nothing drawn out. Nothing that settled in like an unshakable bruise.

“This was it. You and him and I. All of these feelings. No matter what happens, this was it, and I need you to know that.”

---

It takes approximately six hours for Bea to tell Billy about it all.

She has to make sure that Jessie is alright, tucked away in their little hideaway with Spike, then has to speak to Watson to make sure that the Rip is done and also to commiserate with him over grief, and all the while Billy is himself recovering from his own bruises.

And then she returns to their hideaway to sit him down in their little alcove.

Bea doesn’t reach out easily. She is used to having to hold everything close to the chest, so that they can all survive.

But her heart is bruised and bleeding, from the loss of her mother again, from nearly losing Jessie, from her own reckless decisions with the rip, from the fact that Leo had left, admitting that-

Admitting that-

Bea takes Billy’s hand in hers, and she can feel her hand trembling against his own bruised knuckles.

He has always been rough and tumble, able to take whippings and beatings and keep standing, because he is made of the toughest stuff around.

And yet- his hands are tender beneath their callouses. They have clutched her tight. Held her close. Stroked her hair when she was breathing her way through a breakdown.

She loves Billy deeply, all the way down to her bones. She could not begin to imagine giving him up- it would necessitate carving her own heart out of her chest, and she does not know if she is capable of such an act, any more than she could be capable of letting go of Jessie or Spike.

Bea wants to spend the rest of her life with Billy and the rest of her little, patchwork family, but she also wants to spend the rest of her life with Leo, as well.

And from his own confession, his sins laid out at the altar of her broken heart, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with them, as well.

And yet-

“He said that he fancied us both,” Bea admits, voice quiet, and Billy starts. “Leo. The-” She swallows. “The princeling.”

For a moment, there is the question of how Billy will respond. How will Billy feel about another boy having feelings for him? Will he think of it the same way that so many other fighters do? Or will he feel as so many street rats do- that when you have so little in life, any intimacy, regardless of source, is the greatest source of holiness?

Billy’s voice trembles, this half-heartbroken thing, as he asks: “Then why did he bloody leave?”

And there is her answer. That something in Billy cares for the prince, that he fell for him just as assuredly as Bea did, and the fact that Leo left to marry a princess is wrecking the inside of Billy’s chest just as much as it is Bea’s.

And she tells him it all- about her feelings, about the prince trading himself for Billy, about how much she resents Leo for not telling them the truth, but that she is more furious at him for trading himself away without even asking just because he-

Well, he-

By the time that she gets to the fact a prince fell for both of them and yet told them to stay away, Billy’s fingers are balled up into fists.

“He doesn’t just get to make decisions like that without asking anyone,” Billy bites out.

But Bea knows Billy. She knows the way that he moves, the ways that he loves, hard and harsh and yet tender as can be. 

He knows the fact that the reason why he’s pissed is as much pride as it is ache that someone that he’s genuinely grown to care about traded his freedom for Billy.

And she gets it. She’s not exactly pleased herself at the fact that Leo locked himself back inside of his ivory tower, trading away the freedom and friendship that he had always wished for.

But she does know that she can’t resent Leo for the decision that he made, because he made the exact same choice that Bea would have made for any of her tiny, broken, patchwork family. The choice she did make. Trading the only thing that she’s ever ached for- her mother back- for the lives of those that she loves now.

She gets why a prince would trade the freedom that he has always craved more than anything for Billy, even if there is some part of her that kind of hates Leo for the fact that he gave up so much for the sake.

Leo in a golden cage is preferable to Billy in an iron one, but neither one is right.

Bea knows that it is a greedy desire, to have them both with her, both of them by her side.

But she also knows that that is what would have made both of them happy. What would have been best for all of them.

At least-

The cushioned palace lifestyle is what can keep Leo’s brittle bones and veins safe. What can keep him from bruising himself all over the place like a too-ripe apple dropped too many times.

So she opens her mouth to say that maybe they should listen to Leo, maybe they should let him make the decision that will protect them all-

But Billy, stubborn Billy- the fighter, the brawler, who is willing to do anything and everything to protect the people that he loves- doesn’t seem to see it that way. “There has to be something that we can do,” he says with the same sort of faith that burns people at the stake, “Something that we can do to make sure that he doesn’t have to give up everything just for-” Billy swallows, because she knows that he cannot bear to admit that the prince gave up the freedom that he’d craved more than anything else, just for Billy’s own freedom. “He can’t just fucking- sacrifice himself on the marriage altar.”

The guilt in Billy’s voice is clear, as is the unspoken: he can’t sacrifice himself for me.

But so is the loss- the same ache that has shredded through her with every discovery and ache and drop of knowledge regarding Sherlock Holmes and her mother and Leo.

Bea doesn’t want to think about her mother. She doesn’t want to think about Sherlock Holmes and the Rip and the way that the world tore itself asunder just because of one person’s grief.

She can’t let their feelings wreck Leo, nor can she let Leo’s feelings wreck himself.

“It’s going to take a lot of work,” she says, and there is something in her that doesn’t want to take on all of that weight. Some part of her that has pushed herself beyond belief for so long, because a father abandoned her and her sister to the orphanage and the work house and she had to do everything to keep them all together and alive, her and Jessie and their boys. “I’m not sure if we can get into a bloody palace-”

But this time around: “You have me to share the weight, Bumble,” Billy says, and there is an earnestness to him that Bea has always loved, even when she couldn’t admit it to herself.

Billy is rough and ready to throw down and he has been a pillar of her world for so long, one of the things that kept her upright even when the tides of the world sought to throw her down and grind her against the cobblestones. “I know I’m not all romantic and posh like the princeling, but I’m here to help figure shite out-”

Bea knows that the world has turned upside down on her, and that it might continue to turn upside down, but why not throw some craziness to the wind?

If a prince can fall for two street rats, then why can’t Bea be in love with two boys? Why does she have to choose whether to have her heart beat for a prince or for her best friend, her anchor to the ground?

Bea leans in, grabbing Billy by the neck of his jacket and tugging him in close.

And god, for a moment, the world dissolves away as Billy’s chapped mouth meets hers. As the brightness of his faith settles into her, second only to the heat of his mouth.

Bea kisses her way in, nipping his mouth, and Billy’s lips open to her, soft and pliant beneath her attentions, melting away as if he’s been waiting for this for a long, long time.

And maybe he has. Maybe he has been in love with her for years and she didn’t notice.

But now she sees it. She sees how steady he is, how much he glows, how every strike of his knuckles is like flint in the dark, just as compelling to her as Leo is. How much she couldn’t do anything without her.

“Our little posh princeling isn’t getting away this easily,” Billy says, taking her hand in his, something stubborn in the squeeze of his hand around hers.

And Bea knows that it’s impossible to break into a fucking palace.

But they’ve already done six impossible things this week. Solved a dozen impossible, supernatural crimes.

And this is something that can be done without destabilizing the entire world- or, at least, not destabilizing hers.

It is hard not to be compelled by the faith in Billy’s voice. The stubborn, sharp edge that is willing to bash through anything that it has to, if it means that the people he loves are safe.

By the word our.

But then Billy swallows, some level of uncertainty entering his expression for the first time. “But we don't know if he'd be willing to trade a crown for us,” he says, something raw in his voice.

“He already traded his freedom for you,” Bea points out, “It'll take some work to get him out-” Some is definitely an understatement, she knows that, but she has to believe that there is a chance, because she knows that hope is a terrible, rough-edged creature, but it is still a living one that can become theirs. “But what's one more case?” Bea asks, and there is more life in her voice than she has felt in ages.

And Billy grins, something sharp as shrapnel in his smile.

He's good at blasting his way through obstacles, and she's good at sneaking her way in, and between the two of them and the stubborn edges of both of their souls, well-

If getting themselves and Jessie and Spike off of the streets has been so impossible before, then getting themselves and a prince out of a palace that they can’t even be sure if he’ll be willing to leave has got to be absolutely, truly impossible.

But this time around, they have a few advantages. Allies that they never had before, and connections, and the sort of knowledge that it takes to sneak in and out of places, blending in as they have to.

If they managed to solve all of those cases before, if they managed to take down the fucking Rip, then they can definitely do this, if it means bringing Leo home to where he should be by the end of it all, Bea knows it-

Someone clears their throat and Bea looks up to see Jessie and Spike staring at them, Spike’s eyebrow arched, Jessie smiling.

“We overheard that,” Spike says, “Y’all really don’t know how to be quiet, do you?”

Jessie is smiling, and it’s this small, tucked away thing that Bea knows is going to take awhile to grow back into her usual beam, but god, it’s a start. The sort of start that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to see for a long while. “You two are in love with a prince?”

And Bea has needed to see her sister relieved of ache, of weight, for so long. 

Billy’s hand squeezes Bea’s. “Is that a problem?” Bea asks, and Jessie is the one person in the world that Bea would ever ask that question to sincerely, without the jut of a stubborn chin daring the person to challenge her. Jessie is the one person that Bea would give up the world for- and nearly did.

“Nope,” Jessie says, and there is something bright in her voice. “I think it’s sweet.”

Jessie has always been the more romantic of the two of them. The one more convinced of fairytales and happy endings.

And yet, she was also the one that was the first to snap out of the draw of the Rip. The first to decide that the family that was alive and could still be rescued was worth more than the promise of the dead.

So it means something to hear that she is behind them in this.

“So,” Spike says, “You’re insane to say that we could break into a palace and rescue your prince in his ivory tower, but it’s not like we’ve not done utterly insane things before.”

“Are you sure?” Bea asks, “We’re going to be doing some pretty impossible things.”

Spike laughs. “We’ve been through so much, mate. And Leo- he belongs to us. With us. He’s proven that, over and over. He’s one of us. And wherever we have to go after this, together- we can do it.”

Jessie nods. “This is a family,” she says with the sort of stubbornness that can only be summoned by someone that once looked death in the eyes and said no of behalf of an entire city. There is a certain amount of that steel-lined bone in her usually soft voice as she says: “And he’s ours as much as he is yours.”

Well, then. If that’s settled, then-

Time to get to work.

They’ve got one last case to solve.

---

They go to speak to Dr. John Watson, and as predicted, he has an argument or two to make with the proposition that they sit before him.

And by argument, he is near apoplectic at the idea that they wish to sneak into the palace and steal away with a prince to then sail the sea away with him afterwards.

“You want to kidnap a prince?” He asks, sounding nearly aghast with the idea. Whether for self-preservation or patriotism, Billy can’t be sure, but he doesn’t really care either way. They have put themselves in harm’s way over and over again for Dr. Watson, and they deserve to have their own case listened to.

Sure enough, before Billy can even lodge a protest of his own: “We want to give him a choice if he wants to be kidnapped,” Bea corrects.

“You do understand that if you break the prince out of the palace on the eve of his wedding,” Watson says, “There is nowhere in London that you can go that will leave you and your friends safe.”

“Good thing we’re not asking about London, then,” Bea says, putting her foot down, and god, Billy has always loved her in these moments, when she commands a room with stubbornness and grit alone, when she refuses to sway when the winds of the world try to knock her down. “We want help to get papers and tickets on an ocean liner across the ocean. We don’t need anything fancy, third class will work, but we need out of the country.”

Watson lets out a long-suffering sigh. “You really are insistent on being the most impossible children I’ve ever met, aren’t you?”

Spike grins. “We make a goal out of it, yeah.”

“You are all utterly obstinate,” Watson says, “Intent on making my life a living hell.”

“We’ve lived in hell,” Billy says, “And we want to make sure that Leo doesn’t have to live in one of his own making, too.”

“If I am to get you these tickets,” Watson says, “Why do you insist on going to the palace first? Your prince is getting married soon.”

“You know a thing or two about doing things for the person that you love,” Bea says.

John Watson looks between them all, and for a moment, he looks far too human as he looks at them. There is grief and exhaustion in Watson’s eyes. He is missing the man that he loves, too.

And he looks at them, the children of the man that he loves, no matter how much that man turned his back on him, and he purses his lips. “Alright,” he says, “If you all stop loitering around, I shall see what I can do.”

It’s not much of a promise, and yet, it means the world, because it gives them the sort of fighting chance that none of them had before.

---

And maybe Watson cares about him in his own right, too, because within a couple of weeks- just a few days shy of Leo’s wedding, cutting it real close there- they are summoned to his offices just in time for him to hand them a sheath of papers, tickets and forged identification papers- not just for the four of them, but for a Leo Victorson as well.

“Payment for services rendered as the irregulars,” he says, and Bea shakes his hand for them.

And, well, after that- there are just a couple of people to speak to.

Time to rescue their prince in the tower and escape across the sea, past sea serpents and monsters and into the sort of unknown that could all five of them to not just survive, but actually thrive.

---

When the door to the room opens, Leo’s sister stepping into the room, Leo’s lips press together as his manservant bows to the Princess and leaves. 

Because god, Leo just wants a moment to breathe before he is married off like chattel. He wants a moment to sit and steady himself for the level of ache that he is about to feel, both physically and emotionally.

But at least it’s his sister, likely here to reassure him. He’d prefer to be alone, but she is definitely not the worst of options, especially as he does not have to stand up to greet her. (He normally would, but he’s going to need all of his strength for today’s ceremony.)

Louise seems to sense that something is off, as she frowns when she sees his face.

For a moment, he almost thinks that she’s going to ask about the reason why he has been so morose. The reasons why he has been so sorrowful and lonely lately.

But she assures, “You'll be able to make it, even without your cane,” and he realizes that she has no idea what is actually plaguing his mind, because she never actually paid attention to what he wanted.

Yes, it’s going to be torture, having to keep proper posture while agony licks its way up his leg, but he is a prince now and forever shall be, Prince Leopold, with a chest full of medals, wearing clothing stiffer than armor as he is sent across the English Channel, never to return home, never again to spend a moment in time with Bea and Billy, both captivating, both so free.

But maybe it’s a good thing, really, in the end. He doesn’t have to be a burden on their survival, and in this one act, he can guarantee Billy’s freedom.
Honestly, it’s the best world for everyone involved.

So Leo supposes that he should be thinking about the aisle in front of him that he shall have to cross like Moses performing a miracle in parting the Red Sea, the altar at Westminster Abbey that he shall greet his bride in, standing for hours and hours on top of a leg and back that still has not properly healed-

And god, Leo doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to do it. If he’s going to be able to stand. If he’s going to be able to survive the pressure, if he’s going to emerge hard as a diamond or collapse like a house of cards.

And Leo wishes that he could guarantee that his outside matched the iron of his insides- or, rather, that his insides did not always betray his outsides- but he cannot.

Louise purses her lips. “I’m sure that you’re going to be happy with your wife,” she says, and Leo knows that it’s meant to be reassuring, but there is something in her voice that is unsure beneath the effort that she’s putting in.

And then she twitches forward, as if to kiss his temple, but halts halfway there. Leo is considered an adult, now, ready to marry, and thus such casual affection is not his to have.

The she sighs, says, “I know that you shall do well on the Continent, brother,” then leaves, and that’s it. Leo is finally alone, to stare out the window and to wallow in his misery for a couple of more hours before someone comes and collects him to finally meet his doom.

But then the door opens after her and-

God, is it Daimler?

But no, over Leo’s shoulder he sees that it is a guard and a servant, likely coming to deliver some message from his mother the Queen or even, god forbid, his future in-laws, come to take him away from everything that he’s ever known or loved.

(At least Billy is safe and out of prison, Leo reminds himself. Billy is safe, and with Bea, and that’s all that matters.)

“Would it be possible to have one moment alone before I must swear myself over to a stranger forever?” Leo mutters.

(A prince should not mumble, a tutor’s voice says in the back of his mind, and some part of Leo’s back instinctively straightens, but it’s hard to care about that sort of thing. It’s hard to care about anything, when he’s bracing himself for the bruising and the breaking and the way that he cannot bend, because he is a prince, he is a representative of the monarchy, he is not his own person and never has been, no matter what he wishes for.)

But a familiar voice says, “I’d like to think that we’re not really strangers anymore,” and Leo spins around so fast that his bad leg catches under him, pain shooting up through his knee and hip, through his back.

Leo can’t stop himself from stumbling, from reaching out for something to brace him-

But he doesn’t make it to the nearest piece of furniture before he is caught by familiar strong fingers, healed as his injuries have not yet.

And Leo looks up into the eyes of a guard that is not a guard at all, despite the uniform that he wears, and beyond Billy, he sees Bea in skirts that just barely fail to graze the floor, a servant's bulky uniform that he knows that she wouldn’t be caught dead in if it wasn’t for a case.

(Some part of Leo that learned how to be an assistant detective at their side thinks it's perfect to blend in, isn't it? The one way they would be able to make it this far.)

“What are you two doing here?” Leo demands, but he can’t summon the type of commanding voice that his mother uses, because it’s cracking to see them.

Because never, in his wildest dreams, did he expect to see them both here, faces clear, wearing the uniforms of palace staff.

(He might have wished to see them, might have wished to kiss both of their faces and hold them close and crawl into their ribs where he would never have to leave again, but he knew that would come with consequences, and he would never wish those consequences on them.)

And Bea pulls out a cane.

And Leo’s jaw drops.

Because it’s very clear that this is the sort of thing that was carved for him, but unpracticed but caring hands. A simple ball on top of a stem, the sort of thing that would never fly in the palace, but that would easily get the job done.

“We’re getting you out of here,” Bea says, “We have a cane and servants’ clothes for you to change into, and papers to get us all across the ocean.”

“Spike and Jessie as well?” Leo immediately asks, because there is no way that Bea is going without her sister, Billy without his best friend, and hell, if Leo left the palace, there would be no way that he would leave without them, either. It’s a family, he knows that as well as anyone, as someone whose family never quite loved him beyond using him as a bargaining chip and a prop.

Bea's answering smile, this bright thing, means he definitely said the right thing. “We'll all have to find work when we get there, but Dr. Watson's given us a few names we can get in contact with.”

“So, what do you say, princeling?” Billy says, and there is a confident smirk on his face that says that he knows what Leo wants to say, what he has always wanted to say, because Billy listened to him as much as he listened to Billy. “Want a taste of freedom?”

Leo swallows. “You trust me to go with you? To not be a burden? I am broken, and would only slow you all down, you know that-”

“A wise man once told me that you’re not alone,” Bea says.

“We’re here, ain’t we?” Billy adds, and there is a certain weight to that in his voice. “Bea’s right.”

Leo remembers Jessie and Bea telling them in broken words, after Sherlock Holmes’ funeral, what they’d given up, who they’d given up.

The power of staying. The power of not leaving.

The power of going after the ones that you care about. 

The ones that you might even love-

“You traded your freedom for me, once,” Billy says, and there is that gravel in his voice that Leo has longed to hear for weeks now, “I’m not gonna ask you to do it again.”

And Leo can’t hold himself back anymore. He can’t resist the siren call, no matter how much he knows that it would be better for everyone involved if the did.

God, it took everything that Leo had not to kiss Bea goodbye before when he last said farewell.

And Leopold, First of His Name, is not strong enough to say goodbye again.

So he stumbles forward and pulls Billy into a kiss, hands cupping Billy’s cheeks and tugging him in close.

He is no graceful prince in this moment. Billy literally has to half-catch him, hands gentle but firm under Leo's elbows, in order to stabilize him from falling further.

But that’s okay. God, it’s okay for Billy to be his pillar, because finally, after so many nights of restless dreaming, he can finally taste Billy's stubborn mouth. The twist of his lips. The way that Billy’s mouth tastes like a song, like freedom itself.

The way that despite Billy’s gruff, stone exterior, flowers bloom in his heart, in the tender way that he touches Leo, in the gentle but unwavering way that he makes sure that Leo does not fall.

And there's a tender touch at Leo’s back- a smaller hand pressing gently but firmly against his back, Bea holding him in place just as much as Billy is.

There is pain in Leo’s leg. An agony that can never be fully removed.

But as long as he has both of them here, supporting him, he knows that he can do anything, no matter how reckless it might be.

It is incredible- neither of them have supernatural powers, and yet he has never felt anything as magical as when he is with them.

Perhaps the reason why Leo refused to let himself dream of his moment, of the two of them entering his rooms this soon before the wedding, was because he knew that he would not have the strength to say no if they asked him to leave.

Because god, Leo doesn’t have the strength of his mother. He is no Queen Victoria, sovereign of a nation.

Because Leo can’t think of the nation when he’s kissing Billy, when he’s pulling back and pressing a kiss to Bea’s mouth before he can think to even breathe, when they are here, their bodies warm and solid and alive before him, asking him to leave.

Leo doesn’t answer to a crown. He doesn’t have the strength to bear it.

But he does have the strength to taste the ghosts on Bea’s mouth, the sweet curve of her smile, and finally pull back and say, “Alright, then. I suppose that I cannot say no, can I?”

Bea has to blink for just a moment to pull herself out of the small, hazy smile that she’d been wearing because he kissed her, because he was able to do that to her, just as much as he was able to do it to Billy, too, who is looking at Leo with a small, tucked away but sincere smile that lights his eyes up.

“If you’re coming, then we’ve got to get going quick,” Bea says, “We’ve got a really wee timeline for getting out of here and to the ship in time.”

Leo nods. “What is your plan for sneaking me out of this place?” He trusts her to have one, because when has she ever not had some sort of plan or plot for how to take care of a situation? Even when she’s been at her most reckless in charging in, she always has some sort of plot in place, if not for the sake of herself, then for the sake of those that she loves.

Bea smirks. “Same as sneaking us in.” She hefts the laundry bag that she’d been carrying as part of her “uniform.” “How do you feel about getting out of your wedding suit?”

“I ‘spect he doesn’t mind leaving behind the posh clothing,” Billy says, and there is something glittering in his gaze.

And Billy’s right. Leo doesn't care how he wrinkles his wedding suit, all those epaulets and gold ropes and medals he doesn't deserve, because he's not planning on wearing it. Leo would trade the empire and the crown for them any day, even if it means danger, even if it means giving up the cushioning on his bones, and now that there is a way out, a way to spend the rest of his life with Billy and Bea and Spike and Jessie- how could he ever resist?

Bea has seen him naked, and Leo really doesn’t mind Billy seeing him in his undergarments (in fact, he’d very much like a repeat experience with Billy, getting to touch him, getting to kiss his skin, worship those scars that he’s so ashamed of because that’s Billy, that’s how he survived, and that’s all that matters), so Leo strips down to his undergarments and changes as quickly as he can-

Although he can’t avoid a grimace as his shoulders and back and hips bend, he grits and bears the pain because every lingering movement costs a second that they can’t afford. He knows that warm compresses and heat will make things better, but that speed is of the essence. They brought him a cane and loose clothing that doesn’t press as much against his bruises, and that is more than enough.

Leo can only try to do the same in return, to give them all a chance at starting off a new life as well as possible. He sweeps a few small things into a tiny bag as they go, tucking it away in the pocket of his servant’s uniform.

“You’re gonna be able to make it, mate,” Billy says, leaning in and tousling Leo's curls. “Here, so you can blend in better.”

And Leo can’t help but grin at the touch, at the long line of Billy’s fingers, at the fact that his own love is wanted in return by a boy who once accused him of only wishing to “dabble.”

Apparently, Leo has proven the truth of his intentions, and he couldn’t be happier for it.

And when Billy lets his hand fall, Leo kisses Billy’s scarred knuckles- just a small glimpse at what he’d like to do with all of Billy’s scars, but hopefully enough for now.

But right before they exit out the door and into the unknown, Leo takes one last deep breath before they leave. He knows that he will never be able to come back after spurning alliances and cushions and riches. He knows that he will be facing a life that is harsh, that is rough, that has no guarantees that he will even be able to survive a couple of years with his ailments.

But he trusts them, and more importantly, he loves them, and that’s all that matters.

And now, finally, he can take both of their hands and run.

---

Getting out of the palace is a paranoia-inducing matter, especially considering the fact that someone is supposed to come get Leo in just a couple of hours, but they do it.

Leo can’t use his cane to get out of the palace- too much of a giveaway- but he manages to affect the same proper posture that he was supposed to use during his wedding, while also affecting the downturned gaze of a servant, actually a boon to getting him out without being recognized.

(Though it must be said that since they are moving so close together, Billy is able to return the favor that Leo gave him when the Rip was opening and the world was falling apart, helping brace some of Leo’s weight as they go.)

Then, once out of the palace itself, finally able to breathe, Bea and Billy reveal that they hid a worn-out coat beyond palace walls for him to sling over his servant's uniform so that he can blend in better. Between that and his cane, Leo can pass for a rather decent beggar- which he has now become, he realizes. No turning back, and all that.

And yet, even with his life the way that it is now, no way to get back to the cushioned life he once knew, Leo feels so very much alive, because he has Bea and Billy and a world of possibilities ahead of him- and nothing stopping him from using the cane to take some of the weight off of his leg and finally get some relief, knowing that if he stumbles, he will have people who wish to catch him instead of covering him up. 

---

They make it to the pier just in time, and Leo is overjoyed to see Jessie and Spike already there, bags slung over their shoulders, ready to board the ship.

They both smile when they see him, Jessie calling out, “It’s so nice to finally see you again, Leo-”

Leo can’t help himself- he reaches out and throws his arms around Spike and Jessie’s shoulders.

“Glad to see you, mate. We all want a place to start over, mate,” Spike says, “And Bea cashed all the favors to get us all off the island.”

Then it’s a quick hand over of tickets and what has to be forged papers to the crewmate standing at the front of the ocean liner, already so twitching to get going that he barely glimpses at the faces of the teenagers in front of him.

The five of them quickly make their way down into the belly of the ship, finding their way to the bunked beds that shall be their shared quarters for the journey to a new life. They’re not going to leave the room until they are well on their way into the sea, where no one can catch a wayward prince and drag him back to the golden cage.

(Soon enough, Leo will be nothing more than a mysterious disappearance, yet another prince disappearing from a tower, and he cannot help but enjoy the image. The only responsibilites that he has now are to these four and to himself, not an entire country, and that’s all he could have ever wanted in life.)

It is a quick discussion that establishes that there are only three bunks between them. Leo has never shared a bed in his life save those nights in their cellar, but he has no protest to the fact that he knows that Bea and Jessie are sharing a bed and that he shall likely have to share with either Billy or Spike, no matter how cramped things might be.

But in the meantime, before sleep arrives, they help him sit down on the bottom bunk.

It is automatic instinct for Leo to pull his own small bag out of his pocket so that he’s not sitting on it and it’s not banging against his hip. And while he has it out- well, he might as well open the lip of it just to show the others his contribution.

And there, within, is enough money to start off a life for all of them. Sure, not official royal jewels or identifable medals, but broaches and ivory pins, things that can be sold and the coin hopefully will be enough to buy food. He’s not sure how much it costs, but he wants to show that he won’t be a burden.

“I know it’s not much,” Leo says quietly, “But hopefully this can be a decent enough contribution to the team-”

“Holy shit,” Spike hisses, “We’re gonna be set!”

But Bea clamps a hand down on the bag and immediately moves it under her own coat, tying it tight to her belt where no one else can get to it. “Don’t let anyone know we have that,” she says, tone sharp, “First rule of survival.” Leo swallows, hoping that he didn’t just bollocks everything up so quickly, but then she smiles and leans forward to give him a peck on the cheek. “But thank you, for thinking of setting us off right.”

“I just wanted to contribute-”

“Get it in your head that you’re not a burden, mate,” Billy says, and reaches out to take Leo’s hand. Leo can’t help himself- he has been so deprived of affection that he immediately squeezes back, earning himself a smile from Billy.

“But if it makes you feel good, mate,” Spike says, “That’s definitely gonna be more than enough to get us all a place to stay for at least a bit as we’re all looking for work.”

Jessie nods, and there is something blooming with hope in her smile as she says, “We can all start fresh,” taking Bea and Spike’s hands in hers. 

“Now, as for bunking,” Bea says, all business and easy leadership. “Who’s with who?”

Thinking about it practically, with the ocean beneath the ship, it would be best to sleep with someone bracing him, but he cannot ask for that-

Except Billy is looking at him, his gaze flicking down Leo’s leg, and he asks, “What will help you out with that?”

Leo can’t help his smile, the fact that someone cares, not in the sort of way that implies that he is absolutely fragile on his own, but rather still trying to help alleviate the pain.

“Least jostling possible,” Leo says, “Sleeping next to someone, if that could keep from being moved around too much.”

“You want that now?”

Leo swallows at the idea of Billy or Bea’s bodies against his. They shan’t be getting up to anything untoward with them all stuck so close together for the next couple of weeks until they arrive in America.

But god, he has spent so much of his life at the limits of touch. His own sister couldn’t even hug him or kiss his temple goodbye.

But when he says, "That would be rather nice, yes," Billy instantly moves close to him, and with his usual stiff but tender movements- Leo has a hunch that Billy has just as close a relationship with touch as Leo does, and he will be more than happy to help relieve that ache- he braces the side of Leo's body, moving to take Leo's hand in his.

And the line of Billy’s body against his is absolutely comforting, just as soothing as Bea's fond gaze and Jessie's smile and Spike's uninhibited glee.

Leo doesn’t know what he’ll find in America. What sort of work that he’ll have to do. What sort of short life he might live, if his ailments have their way with wrecking his body.

But he knows that it will happen with all of them by his side, and that is all that matters to Leo in this moment, that he is finally free of the cage.