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After getting back from their excursion (Leo’s words, not Sebastian's), it isn’t strange for Leo to come knocking on Sebastian’s door. It isn’t even unusual for the knock to come in the middle of the night. One of many things that Sebastian has learned about Leo is his inability to sleep most nights. One of the few things Sebastian has learned about himself is his inability to say no to Leovander Lovage recently.
While the knock on his door in the middle of the night is normal enough, what isn’t normal is Leo swaying directly into Sebastian as soon as the door is opened as if the former was leaning all of his weight onto it before it opened. The action sends both men stumbling backwards into the room and leaves Sebastian struggling to get a hold of Leo.
Eventually, Sebastian is able to lower the other to the floor, watching as he sprawls all of his limbs out. Feeling assured that Leo is safe enough at the moment, Sebastian closes the door to his room and takes a breath. He loves Leovander. He would know this to be true even without the way the curse broke. But sometimes, he needs extra patience when dealing with Leo, especially a drunk Leo.
After taking a few more breaths, Sebastian turns around to see Leo still splayed out on the floor, only now he’s humming a little tune. There’s no magic thrumming off of the melody. This is just Leo humming because he wants to.
“What are you doing here, Loveage?” Sebastian asks.
They’re still on a fairly last name basis.
“Grimm,” Leo sings out, elongating the ‘m’ at the end and turning the name into a soft buzzing noise.
Leo makes no further moves to answer Sebastian’s question which draws Sebastian back to the unusualness of the situation.
Leo is in his room at close to one in the morning. Not uncommon.
Leo is drunk. Also still not uncommon, but less so recently.
Leo is not talking Sebastian’s ear off about his night and how he has come to be laid out on Sebastian’s floor. Weird.
Sebastian may have needed to take a few more steadying breaths earlier.
“Would you like to tell me why you’re in my room, drunk in the middle of the night?” Sebastian tries asking more directly.
There is no answer for a long time. Long enough that Sebastian is sure Leo has fallen asleep, but then he starts to laugh.
Leovander Loveage is drunk in Sebastian’s room at nearly one in the morning laughing so hard he shakes where he lays. This is all so odd, Sebastian would be coerced to believe it’s a dream if he wasn’t very certain of his wakefulness.
“It was all for nothing,” Leo says with hints of humor still in his voice.
“What was for nothing?” Sebastian asks.
“I did everything he ever wanted. I came to the Fount, I studied to be a coterie member, I even changed my mind like he wanted me to. But none of it matters.”
The laughing stops, leaving a teary eyed Leo still on the ground. Still smiling ever so slightly. As if his sadness would vanish if he looked happy enough.
“Leovander,” Sebastian starts as he lowers himself onto the ground next to the other man, “what happened?”
“He sold it, Grimm. My mother’s home. He sold it and it’s gone.”
Sebastian only knows Leo’s mother’s house through the stories he has told about it. He knows it is quiet, in the countryside, and a place Leo feels free from the expectations of his father. He knows the place means the world to Leo, possibly more than anything else. He knows that a lot of choices Leo has made over the past six or seven years have only been because of the house. The one he was promised in his inheritance. Sebastian doesn’t know what to say, he rarely does. So he reaches out and wipes some of the tears that have escaped Leo’s eyes away.
“He told you this?” Sebastian asks.
Leo only nods, leaning his face into Sebastian’s hand.
“And he’s not just…” Sebastian trails off.
“Not just what, Grimm? Pulling my leg? Unfortunately, trickery does not run in the family.” Leo says spitefully
Leo sounds small in a way Sebastian has never heard. He’s so used to the loud and boisterous side of the man. It feels odd to miss that part of Leo now.
“I only ever wanted to go home,” Leo whispers.
Sebastian Grimm is not known for having a well of empathy. His cold demeanor protects his heart. Only, now, Sebastian feels his heart cracking down the middle. Even if he wasn’t in love with Leo, he thinks Leo’s quiet sounds of grief would rip him apart.
Instead of saying anything, because what could Sebastian really say, he pulls Leo up and into his body. The position is awkward at first, but Leo eventually ends up in Sebastian’s lap, letting his head fall forward to rest on his shoulder.
The pair sit idly for a long while, simply breathing each other’s air. It’s peaceful, and Sebastian hopes it’s comforting.
“M’tired, Grimm.” Leo finally says.
Sebastian continues to say nothing as he gathers Leo up in his arms, stands, and deposits him onto the bed. It’s a little bit of a fight to get Leo under the covers. And Sebastian doesn’t want to think about the grime that’s probably on Leo’s clothes that are now touching the clean sheets. But it’s too early in the morning for anything to be a problem at that moment.
In the morning, Sebastian will think of something reassuring to say. He’ll think of a 10 step plan to make Leo feel better. He’ll even plot some revenge plan or covert operation to get Leo’s mother’s house back. But now, in this moment, he slips himself under the covers and watches as Leo’s chest rises and falls. As his breathing slowly evens out into sleep, which soon washes over Sebastian as well.