Work Text:
Work had been slow at Blackthorn lately. There were few cases that his colleagues handled leaving Klein with nothing to do except for paperwork. Kenely was out on patrol, Seeka was on her break today, and it was a Sunday which meant Frye was patrolling the graveyard. So it was only him, Leonard, Royale, and Captain Dunn here today, other than Old Neil and the clerks of course.
He didn’t mind the work of course, no one was breathing down his neck, telling him to get things done, and the conditions were far better than his job back home. He sat at one of the desks in the office, engrossed in his work.
Klein enjoyed the peace of quiet he got.
Suddenly, a voice whispered, breath ghosting against his ear. “Partner~” A hand came to rest on his shoulder.
Klein jolted, whipping his head around to see the offender and frowned, because of course it was Leonard Mitchell. The handsome poet who was terrible at poetry and a self-centred idiot who was obsessed with teasing Klein.
Klein shrugged off the hand on his shoulder. “Good morning, Mr. Mitchell.” The best way to deal with people like him was to act as formal and boring as possible to bore them away!
Unfortunately, it seemed like such words only seemed like a challenge to Leonard.
“Hey, no need to act like a stranger, Klein,” Leonard smiled.
Klein raised an unimpressed eyebrow, wondering what this man was going to bother him with now.
Leonard continued, “We have a new case in Morse Town. A Wild Beyonder, Sequence 9 Sleepless. Nothing serious has happened so far, petty thefts and such all occurring at night. So we’re just doing a preliminary investigation. That means just you and me~”
‘… Are you kidding me?’ Klein internally groaned. “Royale and Captain Dunn are here.”
“Ah, but we do need our darling Seer to do a few divinations,” Leonard smirked. “You seem so uneager. It almost feels like you don’t want to work with me.”
‘Oh really? Gee I couldn’t tell,’ Klein glared at Leonard.
Seeing as Klein really didn’t have much of a choice, he sighed. He could already tell today was going to be filled with annoyances and that stupid poet talking about some secret he was hiding.
Well, every job has its downsides.
“… Fantastic,” Klein said, forcing a polite smile onto his face. Leonard merely smiled wider.
“Hey now partner, don’t act too excited. Come now, the carriage is already here.”
Klein sighed and followed the man out the door. Whatever, he’s dealt with worse coworkers and customers. ‘Surely, this won’t be too bad…’
—————
Leonard’s endless chatter honestly made the journey pass by pretty quickly. Soon enough, they made it to Morse Town.
The citizens looked at the officers with hope and weary. Well, it was the second time they were there in a month and it seemed like cases in the small town started increasing. Fortunately, Leonard was there. That meant Klein could keep his head down and focus while Leonard did all the talking.
“Alright, we’re here under the pretense of officers investigating the recent thefts. You’ll only have to divine the break-ins, I’ll handle the rest,” Leonard spoke.
He led them to the store where the recent break-in occurred. It was an old antique jewelry store. According to the owner, the robbery happened at night. The door handle on the back door was forcefully broken open which lined up with the Sleepless’ enhanced physical capabilities during night.
While Klein looked around, Leonard chatted up the owner and managed to get the owner and the surrounding citizens to vacate the premises.
Seeing that he was alone in the store, Klein thought,‘Alright, I’ll start divining now…’ He pulled out his citrine pendant. He took a deep breath, but froze.
His Danger Intuition shocked him rapidly. ‘Someone’s here, fuck!’
Klein whipped around and began pulling his gun out and saw a man charging at him with a sword. It was too late, he couldn’t get his gun to fire in time before the man slashed.
He lunged to the side, not before sustaining a gash to his side as he slammed into one of the glass cases.
‘Fuck! This fucking hurts!’ Klein cursed. Using one hand, he pushed himself off the glass case and the other had his gun ready.
Suddenly, the man swung again and the sword lit on fire. The man lunged forward again and closed the distance between them.
Klein stepped aside as best he could but the store was too small. He couldn’t even think about shooting again as the man slashed and lunged closer. Small cuts began appearing on his body and they burned, closing the wounds but also singeing his skin.
‘Why is he so fucking fast!?’ Klein attempted to shoot his gun but he couldn’t properly aim like this. The bullet whizzed by the man’s face and only managed to scratch him. The sword was about to come down on him when–
Slam! Suddenly, something crashed into the man’s body hard and he flew across the room, slamming into the wall.
“Klein!” Leonard screamed, a look of horror on his face. Honestly, Klein felt a little pleased that for once, that poet was making a face other than that smug grin. Ah, but, why was everything becoming so blurry?
Leonard was on the thief in seconds. As soon as the man tried to grab his sword, Leonard forcefully yanked it away. A loud snap resounded through the room and the man screamed. But Leonard didn’t spare the man another glance and quickly knocked him out. He quickly put the sword’s sheath on him and put the sword in it before rushing to Klein.
In an instant, he was kneeling in front of Klein.
Klein’s forehead was dripping with blood. His eyes were dazed and everything looked blurry. It was getting hard to think. Everything hurt. It hurt so bad, Klein wanted to die to end all of the pain.
‘… Maybe I am going to die here.’
He felt something being poured on his wound, probably a healing potion. The pain eased slightly but the wound hardly closed.
Leonard looked so terrified and helpless in that moment. Klein could even see tears pooling out from the corner of his eyes.
“Shit, shit…” Leonard was muttering something to himself but Klein could hardly hear anything anymore. “Old Man… What… Help him…”
‘Old Man?’ Klein thought as he felt as if the world started spinning and he began to pass out.
The last thing he heard before he blacked out was, “I’ll do anything, just save him.”
And then the world turned black.
—————
Klein passed out and Leonard gently laid the man on the ground. He internally cursed in his mind. It took him far too long to get in here and help. If the Old Man hadn’t told him…
Would Klein have died?
Leonard watched as the wound on Klein disappeared as if nothing had ever been there.
“You…” Leonard began, but sighed. “Is he fine now?”
“Hmph. Check yourself, boy,” came the response in his head.
Leonard carefully checked Klein’s entire body for wounds. The big one at his side was closed with a large scar in its place, but other smaller cuts and burns were still there. Gently, Leonard treated those with the limited bandages and potions he had.
Klein’s shirt was ruined so Leonard covered the man with his jacket before gently picking him up, one hand under his knees and the other supporting his back.
Then, he heard the sound of people running. An officer from Morse Town appeared at the door. “Sir? A loud noise was heard, is everything–” The man cut himself off as he looked at the scene.
Leonard nearly scowled at the man. It had taken him far too long to get here. But he forced a smile on his face. “Everything has been handled. Please deal with the criminal. One of our guys will return later to handle the report.”
Without leaving room for anything else to be said, Leonard walked out the door.
—————
Klein awoke while they were in the carriage heading back to Tingen, head pounding and his entire body hurt.
Then, he noticed he was laying his head on someone’s shoulder. He jolted away only to be hit with a rush of dizziness.
“Hey, don’t move, you’re injured…” Leonard’s voice was full of worry. “I think it’s about time I changed your bandages anyways.”
‘Oh right, I nearly died,’ Klein thought. His head was still fuzzy as Leonard gently redid the bandages as best as he could in the moving carriage. ‘Wait, what about the giant gash on my side!?’ Klein remembered with alarm.
He looked at his side and saw he was wearing Leonard’s jacket. His clothes must’ve been destroyed when he was attacked. Leonard’s jacket was far too big as it draped over him. He unbuttoned it quickly to reveal nothing but a scar.
His head was still wrapped in bandages and was bleeding, so how did this heal so quickly!? They didn’t have healing potions that great and he was sure that weapon had Beyonder properties. There was no way Leonard could’ve healed him. He looked at Leonard doubtfully.
“… You were going to die,” Leonard whispered.
“What did you do?” Klein asked, on edge.
“There was too much blood, I couldn’t stop it,” Leonard said, getting agitated. “I… I had to make a deal.”
Klein was initially angry and doubtful of the man, fearing the worst. Maybe Leonard had contacted an evil god or was going to harm him. But Leonard’s expression… he looked truly worried.
He also didn’t have faith that Leonard would do something like that.
“Alright…” Klein said.
“It’s a part of my secret,” Leonard said. “Don’t worry, this deal won’t affect you. I made sure of that. Though… I’m not sure what I’ll have to do.”
‘So you blindly made a deal without knowing the conditions!?’ “Why would you do that!?”
“Ah, well, he doesn’t seem to have bad intentions…” Leonard trailed off.
The ‘he’ must’ve been the Old Man he overheard Leonard talking about, but still! Whatever it was that healed him must’ve been powerful! And Leonard, this idiot, made a deal like that so easily!
“It mattered more that you were okay,” Leonard’s voice dropped lower.
‘You hardly know me…’ Klein flicked Leonard’s forehead. “Idiot. You need to be more careful. Especially in the Beyonder world! You can’t be dealing with random entities!” But regardless, he felt his anger at Leonard dissipate. He was an absolute idiot… But he seemed genuinely worried and handled Klein as if he was made of glass.
Now that Klein calmed down, Leonard continued tending to Klein’s wounds. Leonard was actually pretty good at it. He hardly felt any pain as Leonard rebandaged him as Leonard did his best to be as gentle as he could be.
“You got hit in the head pretty hard,” Leonard said. “Rest for a bit, I’ll wake you up when we’re there.” He nudged Klein to lay on his shoulder, and Klein, with his head still pounding, relaxed.
It was warm. Enveloped in Leonard’s jacket and resting on his shoulder, Klein gradually fell asleep once more.
Leonard breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Klein’ breathing even out.
“That’s a smart boy, you should never trust unknown powers,” the Old Man spoke in his head. “This little… crush of yours is going to get you killed one day.”
Leonard ignored him. It was alright. He could bear any cost, as long as Klein was safe.
… He should have been there. He had taken too long and Klein nearly died as a result. If Klein had died…
But right now, Klein was alive. Leonard looked over at Klein’s sleeping face. His face was usually full of expressions ranging from scowls to gentle smiles, but now, he looked so calm. Whatever secrets Klein had, whatever goal he was running to, Leonard would be content to simply follow.
—————
Perhaps Leonard had been too arrogant.
Because despite his promises, he couldn’t stop anything.
The last thing Leonard remembered was slamming into the wall from an attack by Megose and passing out.
What he woke up to, was the ruined remains of Blackthorn Security Company and the corpses of the two people he cared about most.
'No...' His body ached but he crawled over to Klein. Klein's cold, lifeless body. Leonard shook him as if the man was just sleeping. Because this had to be a nightmare. There was no way this was real... “Old Man...” Leonard whispered. “Old Man! Please, you can save him!”
But the voice remained silent. Silent, as Leonard clutched the dead body of the man he loved.
“... It wasn't your fault, kid.”
It was. If he wasn't so useless, if he had stayed conscious during the fight, surely he could've done something to help! Why did it have to be them who died? Captain Dunn, who cared for everyone like a father, and Klein, who was a genius like Ma'am Daly and had two siblings waiting at home...
Leonard didn't have anything like that.
And now, he had even less.
...
He couldn't change anything. He couldn't bring them back, no matter how badly he wanted to believe. But one thing was for certain. He had to get revenge on the bastard who did this to Captain Dunn and Klein.
No matter what, he'd get his revenge.
—————
And months later, he met Klein again.
Leonard had sobbed and felt just as hopeless as the day he woke up to those corpses. He should've felt elated. The one thing he'd always dreamed about had come true. But though Klein was alive, only now had he sought Leonard out. They must've crossed paths so many times, yet...
Well, not that Leonard could blame him.
There was no reason for someone like Klein who now had powerful allies and the assistance of a god to come to Leonard, who had nothing. Leonard, who had failed again and again to save him. Leonard, who couldn't change a thing.
Klein, or the persona he was using, Gehrman Sparrow, somehow became far stronger than he was. There was not a trace of the young scholar from Tingen in the cold stoic face of the strongest adventurer.
But at least they had done it.
Together, they had killed Ince Zangwill.
But Klein turned away from him once more. “A-aren’t you returning to the Church?” Leonard pleaded.
Klein didn’t even turn around as he wore his silk top hat and headed for another exit of the square. After a few steps, he paused and replied to Leonard with his back facing him, “I can’t return anymore…”
“Klein…” Leonard whispered.
Something about the desperation in Leonard’s voice made Klein turn around.
“Please don’t leave me again.” Tears streamed down his poet’s face. He even tried to get up and run after Klein, though the wounds on his body only made him stumble.
Before he could fall, Klein caught him in an instant. “You, what are you doing…” However, despite Leonard’s weakened state, as soon as Klein caught him, Klein felt Leonard’s hands tightly hug him, refusing to let go. “Leonard, I–”
Suddenly, Leonard slumped over. Panicked, Klein nearly shook him before realizing Leonard merely passed out.
… He could have left Leonard there. The Church definitely would’ve nursed him back to health. He could even see the Red Gloves rapidly approaching in the distance. He could’ve easily laid Leonard down on the ground and teleported out of there.
Instead, he teleported them both into a hotel he had rented a little bit away and gently laid Leonard down on the bed.
Leonard’s body was covered in bruises and wounds. Klein didn’t have any health potions on hand, his wound-transfer and paper substitutes made it so he hardly got injured to that point, and his Faceless abilities covered any scars. Leonard’s body was riddled with them, though.
Carefully, Klein sat on the bed next to Leonard’s sleeping figure. He treated Leonard’s wounds, washing them gently and bandaging up.
Soon enough, he deemed Leonard to be healed up enough and began to walk away when a hand shot out and grabbed his own.
“Klein, don’t go,” Leonard whispered. Somehow, he didn’t wake up at all through the process of being bandaged up but woke up as soon as Klein tried to leave.
“… I’m dirty, I have to go shower,” Klein tugged his arm.
Leonard merely gripped harder, hugging Klein’s entire torso and refusing to let go. Exasperated, Klein sighed. Whatever, this was some hotel anyways. He’ll just tip them for the mess. He lay down next to Leonard and felt the other man relax at the fact he wasn’t going to leave.
Laying next to Leonard like this, Klein got a better look at him.
Leonard’s hair was even more messy, as if he couldn’t even be bothered to brush his hair in the mornings anymore. Of course, because he had to be blessed by the gods for his beauty, he still looked gorgeous. But his face had deep eyebags.
Gee, Klein knew they were Sleepless, but it wasn’t this bad in Tingen. ‘Mine and Captain’s deaths must’ve affected you so much…’ Klein felt guilty.
He could stay a little bit longer.
He didn’t really want to leave either.
Klein blearily opened his eyes in the morning and jolted upon seeing Leonard’s face so close to his own.
“You’re still here…” Leonard whispered, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“I told you I would be…” Klein replied. Then, he noticed Leonard had unbuttoned his shirt! “Hey, what did you do!?”
Leonard’s eyes widened. “Wait, no, I didn’t do anything to you!” But his face began flushing red. Then, his face fell a little bit. “You don’t even have any more scars…”
Leonard’s thumb brushed against Klein’s side where he suffered a near-fatal wound back in Tingen. So it turns out Leonard made a deal with Pallez Zoroast to save Klein. When his hand moved to Klein’s chest where his heart had been ripped out, Klein jolted and swatted the hand away and began buttoning up his shirt again.
“The Faceless Sequence makes it so I can remove them,” Klein said.
Leonard flopped back down on the bed. “Klein, I…” Leonard’s voice was suddenly shaky. Klein looked over and saw the man was nearly in tears!
“Wh– Why are you crying!?” Klein said in alarm.
Once more, Leonard wrapped his arms around Klein. “Klein, when you died, I couldn’t help you at all. You died, and I…”
Klein sighed and patted Leonard’s head. This poet really was like a big clingy dog! “Leonard, it wasn’t your fault… Ince Zangwill was a demigod at that time and we were only Sequence 8s.”
“… So you won’t leave anymore?” Leonard asked, eyes full of tears.
“I’ll try not to…” Klein replied. He couldn’t exactly promise anything.
Leonard frowned. “Then at least send me a message whenever you need anything. I don’t want you getting hurt again…”
“Have you forgotten? I’m the fearsome adventurer Gehrman Sparrow.”
“I’ll defect from the Church and join you, then.”
Klein flicked Leonard’s forehead. “Idiot, don’t do that. You can't just throw away your life like that.” 'You are my life,' Leonard thought but said nothing. Klein continued, “I’m bound to get hurt, you know. We’re Beyonders after all. But… I promise that I won’t purposely leave you again.”
Leonard looked at him with hope and hurt in his eyes. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Klein nodded.
For the first time in what had seemed like ages, Leonard smiled. That same silly grin he always wore in Tingen as he burrowed his face into Klein’s stomach.
Klein sighed, exasperated, but he was smiling too.
‘This poet really is a clingy dog…’