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He still visited her hospital room sometimes, always on accident. The battle against the King of Despair and the week after had been a constant treadmill of people to help, businesses to rebuild, and problems that slinked in the cracks that Libra had to manage. After he became a blubbering mess after the final confrontation, he thought that he had gotten over the void by his side, the abyss between his fingers, the white noise in his ears.
But even when he settled into his usual routine again, knowing that the White he knew was gone, he still walked into the hospital expecting her to be sitting on her bed, looking through his camera.
It was the third day he had walked in to crisp, undisturbed sheets and a pristine room waiting for the next patient.
Leo looked hard at the empty space where she used to lie, and soon turned around and walked away. Of course he would zone out and walk back there. Part of him wished that the Second Collapse had destroyed that room so he couldn’t visit it again. It was just his luck that a skyscraper collapsed on the other side of the hospital.
This crazy town couldn’t even give him that.
His footsteps echoed off the pristine floors, resounding with the sounds of screaming, crying, and pleading with the doctor to give them at least one more sedative. All of it was white noise to him. In a city like this, the hospital was always crowded no matter what day it was. And after landing in here countless times, he was used to it.
Before he turned into the lobby, he paused, looking further down the hallway. Leo was never one to visit members of Libra frequently, at least in his mind. Hospital visits to him meant seeing White…and whoever else had winded up there.
Would Klaus be weirded out if he visited again? He still hadn’t been released from the hospital due to his injuries…which made visiting him a good excuse the past couple days Leo wandered into White’s old room.
This was the third day, though.
Klaus was going to think he was a weirdo.
Well…Klaus was a nice guy. Once you saw through the teeth…his menacing look…the fact that he was a fucking giant…
But he was still a gentleman underneath all that. A gentleman that could kill him.
Well, Leo thought it was cute in a weird way, but it didn’t change the fact that Klaus’ pinky finger could probably strangle him. Big hands…
He should probably stop thinking.
Leo tried to take a step towards the lobby, but stopped himself. Shit. It’s only been minutes and the nurses would probably know why he had wandered in. They all knew him from his visits with White, and yesterday they had been giving him knowing looks that made his stomach bubble up and threaten to spill out onto the floor.
A third time would be worse. Between the knowing nurses and a boss who didn’t know enough, he knew what his only option was.
He directed that foot towards the rest of the hallway, where a wall of crumbled rocks made up the end. His footsteps tapped quickly on the floor like it was someone tapping their finger on a desk.
One hand around the doorknob, one swift movement into the room, and two eyes surprised to see him.
“Leonardo,” Klaus spoke from his bed, setting down a half-finished book on his lap. His hair was a mess, glasses slightly askew from a bend in the nose-piece (Gilbert had yet to acquire replacements during the city repairs), and instead of wearing his usual formal attire he was stuck in a basic, loose fitting shirt the nurses could easily slip off if his bandages needed changing. The rest of his body was hidden underneath soft hospital sheets that only just covered his body.
Leo guessed that normal patients didn’t come in that size.
“Hello Mr. Klaus. How are you doing today?” Leo spoke awkwardly as he shuffled inside, feeling more than a little odd after coming there for the third day in a row.
“A little better than yesterday. Unfortunately, I’m still not able to return to work,” Klaus stuck a bookmark – a simple black rectangle with plenty of bends along the top, well used – into the book and shut it, setting it on the table beside his bed, “Is everything fine at Libra? You’ve been coming here often lately. If there’s anything wrong, then you can confide in me.”
Great, he pointed it out.
“N-No! E-Everything’s fine at Libra. I’ve just been in the neighborhood lately, so it’s just natural to check. Especially since you helped so much in the fight…I don’t think anyone else would have done so much for Black…” Leo paused. If anyone else had gone to fight the King of Despair…then they would have tried to kill him along with Black.
He felt some swelling in his chest, remembering Black and White. He ignored it.
“I appreciate this, Leonardo,” Klaus gestured for him to come closer, “I’ve been told that Black has left the city?”
Leo walked towards Klaus and slumped into a chair placed near the bed – one of the stiff ones that the nurses used, “Yea. He left last night. How did you know?”
“Steven told me.”
“Ah…” Leo hadn’t seen much of Black since the fight, as Black was busy getting his own life back together. He had seen Black off before he left the city…but even then it was a little awkward trying to dance around the subject that Leo had been trying to avoid. He wasn’t able to save White.
Leo took in a deep breath. Don’t think about it. You already got your chance to let it all out. Be strong for everyone.
“Leonardo,” the voice broke Leo out of his trance, and he looked up to see Klaus holding a different book in his hands – spine well-worn and pages frayed in the corners, “Do you read often?”
“Uh…just the paper. Why?” Leo looked down at the spine. He couldn’t gather anything from the title of what it was about. He figured that Klaus was more of a non-fiction person, but it didn’t sound like one of those. Never Let Me Go…was that some sort of romance novel? No, it couldn’t be. Klaus wouldn’t read those…but that title wasn’t doing him any favors.
“Would you like to read while you’re here?” Klaus offered him the book.
Leo took it with an awkward laugh, “Am I interrupting you that much?”
“Not at all,” Klaus firmly shook his head, “But reading can take your mind off of things for a while. I find it quite soothing.”
Leo looked at the book with a raised eyebrow, trying to decide whether Klaus was being truthful or trying to politely ask him to stop interrupting his reading time at the hospital. But then again…Klaus was a gentleman through and through. Even if he was annoyed, he would never admit it.
He took in a deep breath, grinning at Klaus, “Alright…I’ll try it. Thank you.”
Leo settled into the uncomfortable chair, flipping to the first page as Klaus picked up his book again. Eventually, two pages turned into twenty pages. Twenty to fifty. Fifty to one hundred. One hundred to a small break when a nurse came in to usher him out as visiting hours were over. Then it was home to one hundred fifty.
And by the time he returned to Klaus’ hospital room the next afternoon, the book was finished.
Leo walked into the room, immediately storming up to Klaus’ bed and setting the book down on his lap, “They deserved better!”
Klaus chuckled knowingly as he picked up the book again to set on the table beside him, “I had the same reaction when I first read that one. Honestly, I still feel the same whenever I read it again.”
“I just wanted Kathy to live happily!”
“It would be best if she could…” Klaus fetched another book from the pile, “But with the systems in place, it would be impossible from the start. It’s one of my favorites. Here.” Klaus handed Leo another book – this time titled A Breathe of Life.
Leo swiped it and grumbled as he sat down in the stiff chair, “I swear, if this has a bad ending, I’m not going to be happy.”
Klaus just laughed as he picked up his own book.
And this book turned into two. Into three. Into four. Until suddenly this became routine for Leo to come to Klaus’ room to read another book and finish it by night. It was comfortable to sit in silence with Klaus save for the occasional flip of a page.
“I’ve never really read this much before,” Leo mused in a break between chapters, gently setting down the open book in his lap.
Klaus flipped a page, “I find it relaxing.”
“And I thought prosfair what was relaxed you, Mr. Klaus.”
“Prosfair is a match between minds,” Leo swore he saw the flash of Klaus’ aura burn just thinking about it, “I enjoy it, but I am supposed to relax during recovery. And caring for plants would not be the best from a bed.”
“Hm…I’ve always been more of a pictures person,” Leo turned his head to look out the window, “I used to just take pictures around town. Go out with my camera and show my sister what I found when I got back. It was nice to just lay back and find things. Though, it’s a little too easy in this city to find interesting things.”
“You still carry around your camera, though.”
“Yea! I try and send some pictures to my sister, and I used to come here and show – ”
“Hm?”
Leo fell silent, instead picking up his book to get lost in the words again. He ignored a long gaze from Klaus. Instead, he read one line from the text over and over again like it would get him back into the story. Instead of seeing the characters play out a scene, he saw White’s smile as she flipped through his camera.
Klaus said nothing, instead, hesitantly looking back at his book to flip another page.
The next afternoon, Leo was beginning to feel the consequences of sitting in the worst hospital chair in the building for hours on end.
“Leonardo, why are you lying on the floor?”
“Back hurts.”
“Did something happen today?”
“Nothing. I just woke up this way.”
“Did you sleep in the wrong position?”
“I think it’s the damn chair.”
“Oh.”
“Geez, I was thinking of going to the movies tonight, too.”
“Movies?”
Leonardo hissed as he sat up from the floor so he could see Klaus, “Yea. They finally repaired the drive in movies. Well, more like cleared out a place to park next to a concrete wall. But it’s open again.”
Klaus was silent for a second before slowly raising an eyebrow, “You have a car?”
Leo couldn’t help but snort at the very idea, “Of course not. People can just sit nearby and watch. It just involves sitting on concrete for a while.”
“Ah. I don’t think I’ve ever attended one.”
“I used to go alone a lot. With these eyes,” he opened them a little, casting a faint blue glow across the pristine floors, “It’s hard not to get overwhelmed. You just see everything at once no matter what. Like sometimes I look at the street and every single detail just comes out. But on film, all the details are dulled down. You just see what’s on the film, and the tiny details aren’t there. It’s…nice to see things like other people again.” He shut his eyes and smiled sadly. Honestly, it felt so stupid now that he said it out loud. People have tried to kill him for these eyes – the eyes that Michella sacrificed hers for – and he just complained about them.
Klaus listened quietly, setting down his book and nodding with the whisper of a smile on his face. Leo slowly drifted off, feeling that he had spoken a little too much before he plopped back on the ground.
“Leonardo.”
“Yea?”
“You’re welcome to lie on the bed if you’d be more comfortable.”
“What?” Leo was immediately on his feet, book in one hand as he nervously waved off the idea, “Klaus, you’re still recovering! You shouldn’t get out of bed.”
“I’m set to be released tomorrow. I’m sure I will be fine with sharing.”
“S…Sharing?” Leo froze up, barely believing it when Klaus shifted a little to the side, leaving a nice Leo-sized space for him to lie down in, “Wouldn’t you be uncomfortable?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“But…” Leo took another look at the tantalizing space, looking at how much more comfortable it looked compared to his apartment mattress, “Alright.”
He felt just plain awkward, shuffling up to Klaus’ bed. Klaus seemed to think nothing of it, now flipping the pages of his book to where he left off. Was he acting like that because he really didn’t care, or because he didn’t want Leo to feel uncomfortable? Honestly, it could be one way or the other for his boss.
Leo slid beside Klaus, resting his head on one of the pillows and resting over the covers – he felt like he’d overheat if he were underneath. Immediately he felt Klaus’ warmth from his right side. It was comforting. He slowly lifted his book up and began to read where he left off without the stinging pain of his back interrupting every word. Honestly, it was the first time he felt so comfortable while reading. Before, the story just distracted him from the discomfort from the chair. Now, there was nothing to keep him from just melting away.
He didn’t know when he fell asleep.
But when he woke up, he was being gently shaken awake. An arm protectively around him, holding him close to a strong support below his cheek. The hand was gently stirring him as if he were a fragile doll, and soon he began to hear a soft voice calling his name. Leo…Leo…Leonardo. Leo couldn’t help but smile into the strength beneath him and press into it, as if he would become one with it.
His eyes opened a crack, casting pale blue light on a white shirt. He traced the creases of it up to a strong face with warm eyes, looking down on him with a gentle gaze. It was Klaus. In his delirium, he wanted to say something stupid. Say something about how nice it was on his chest. How handsome he looked up close. Maybe something about how those pointed teeth looked cute rather than scary.
But most of all, Leo wanted to talk more about the books they had read.
That is, until he realized what the fuck was going on.
“Um…visiting hours are over.”
The words were spoken by a timid nurse standing beside the bed, looking at Leo, who had curled up on the chest of his boss, who had an arm around him the entire time while reading. When the nurse came in to shoo out the visitor, Klaus had tried to stir him awake in the gentlest way possible. And when Leo finally snapped out of the euphoric land between sleeping and waking, he was embarrassed out of his fucking mind.
“S-Shit! I’m so sorry, Mr. Klaus!” Leo exclaimed, practically jumping from the bed with the book in his arms. The nurse nearly jumped out of her skin, practically speechless from nerves. Leo looked at Klaus, who only looked at him with a steady gaze and a slight shade of red peeking behind his sideburns.
Leo fucked up.
He ran.
Ran until he was in his apartment and locked up tight incase Klaus sent anyone from Libra over to beat him half to death for snuggling up to their boss. Of all the things he had done while sleeping…it had to be that! Leo admitted it was nice…and Klaus was definitely far from bad looking, but Klaus was his boss! A boss who probably wouldn’t admit how uncomfortable it was because that’s how good of a guy he was! Klaus had done so much and all he got was a hospital and an employee who took his books and snuggled next to him…and not to mention almost said the stupidest but true shit of his life…
Wait. Took his books?
Leo huffed, looking down to the book still in his hands.
Shit.
He had to give that back, didn’t he?
Visiting hours had already ended. Which just left tomorrow before Klaus would probably leave the hospital and kick him out of Libra so an employee wouldn’t be ogling him.
Great. Tomorrow afternoon, then.
But when he went in the afternoon holding the book, there was an empty room.
“Shit…” Leo whispered under his breath, heart beating loud in his chest as he wondered who would be the one to fire him. He held the book tightly in his fist, as if somehow that would make everything better. He didn’t even realize the point in bringing the stupid book in the first place. Maybe Klaus would rather him keep it than see him again. Serves him right.
But still, he hated how it was so easy to come back to the room. How routine it became. Even with what happened the previous day, Leo felt it was natural to take the book and go. It even felt odd that he hadn’t finished it. Idiot, always coming back when no one would wait for him.
Just like with White.
His eyes slowly opened as he took in a familiar sight played out in different angles.
Crisp, undisturbed sheets. Curtains that were carefully drawn to keep the light from getting in. A smell the reeked of disinfectant and cleaning supplies to get rid of any trace Klaus could have left.
No trace at all. Just like there was no trace of White.
Leo’s mouth became a hard line, trying to fight against the similarities. Klaus wasn’t gone like White was, but just seeing another room empty of its inhabitants made him think of her again. Whatever void Klaus had filled in their brief meetings was creeping up again. Alone again. And alone forever, if Klaus decided to do something about it.
Without thinking, Leo walked down the hall to where White’s room was still untouched, undisturbed.
Did nurses even come in here? He wished that they would admit someone in this room so he would be forced out of here. But when he walked in, nobody stopped him. Nobody cared because nobody was in the room. White had vanished into nobody. All because he couldn’t help her.
Leo twitched, trying to hold in his emotions again despite everything beginning to crumble. He didn’t know how long he stood there, trying to not become a pathetic mess again. But it wouldn’t stop.
“Leo.”
A voice called out from the doorway, and Leo patched the damn up before it flooded. He turned his head to see Klaus, looking at him with an expression he didn’t recognize on Klaus’ face. Worry? Pity? He couldn’t tell.
Either way, he was afraid. Klaus already looked scary enough to him – even if it hid a nice looking guy – but the fact that Klaus could potentially fire him just took that up to eleven.
“Mr. Klaus, there you are,” Leo spoke shakily, holding out the borrowed book, “Here. I accidentally took this.”
Klaus ignored the book, “Are you alright?”
“No, actually. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. It wasn’t right of me to do that…”
“It was fine.”
“What? No it wasn’t!”
“Was…it improper of me to hold you like that?”
“N-No! You were completely fine! I-It was me that - ”
“Did you like being held like that?”
Leo was taken aback, feeling his cheeks burn, “I’m not answering that.” He didn’t want to lie…but he didn’t want to say it either.
Klaus only smiled shyly before turning a little serious, “Alright…but I wasn’t talking about yesterday. Are you okay? Not about what happened yesterday. Just…about other things.”
“Yes,” Leo’s answer was too quick, too precise, too much like he was in denial. He was.
Leo remembered his eyes were open. He quickly shut them and gave an embarrassed smile.
Klaus looked at him with hard eyes behind his glasses, staring as if it would somehow give him the answer. Leo felt uncomfortable, like those eyes would discover anything even if they were normal. Klaus took in a deep breath, and Leo readied himself for disaster.
“Leo…would you like to go to a movie?”
When did he start calling him Leo? Wait…a movie?
“W-What?”
“I’m told they’re playing a film in a couple hours.”
“Y-You…wait! You’re not going to fire me?” Leo exclaimed, flat out dropping the book. He jumped, rushing to pick it up.
“No?” Klaus honestly looked confused – a rare expression for him, “Why would you think that?”
“But…yesterday…”
“I didn’t mind. Did…you mind?”
Leo saw another rare expression on Klaus’ face. Hesitance.
Leo slowly shook his head, “No.”
Klaus smiled, “I’m happy to hear that. Let’s go.” He turned and walked out of White’s abandoned room. Leo remained for another second, taking another good look around the crisp sheets, spotless floor, and drawn curtains. He took in a deep breath. Just bury it deep inside, Leo.
He walked out the room to find Klaus patiently waiting for him.
“Ready?” Klaus asked. Leo nodded.
Walking through the city felt strange for Leo, especially when it was nearly a two hour walk from the hospital to the drive in movie theater. He usually traveled by scooter or by bus if the distance was too far. Honestly, Leo expected for Klaus to just call Gilbert to give them a ride. But despite that, walking beside Klaus was comfortable. The first hour or so was silent aside from a gentle pull out of the way of a monster on the run or someone too tall to notice that Leo was in front of them. Sometimes Leo had to pull Klaus in the right direction. It was increasingly obvious that Klaus had never been to the movies before.
“Are you okay?” Leo broke the silence as they got closer to the movies, “You only just got out of the hospital.”
“I’m fine,” Klaus answered, stopping as they waited to cross at an intersection, “The hospital tends to keep me longer. Unfortunately, there was a period where I was in and out for the wrong reasons.”
“What?”
“There were times I was released to rest, only for a blood breed sighting to cross Libra’s network.”
“Oh…that really isn’t good. The nurses must remember you, then.”
“Yes. They’re all kind…” he drifted off, gently pulling Leo out of the way of a serpentine monster and allowing his hand to linger around Leo’s shoulders, “Though, I’m told that they remember you as well.”
“W-Well…I did come there a lot…”
“Leo…you miss her, don’t you?”
Leo took in a deep breath, feeling ice wash over his skin. He was silent for a while, letting the typical noises of the city fill in the gap. Klaus was silent as well, gently leading him along with the hand on his shoulder.
“Yea…” Leo answered, barely audible over the sound of a car revving its engine, “I do.”
“Whenever you need to talk…I’m here for you, Leo,” Klaus lowered his hand to embrace Leo’s.
Leo held Klaus’ hand as best he could, using the touch as leverage to keep himself from thinking too much, “I’m fine. It’s just hard to forget…that’s all.”
“Sometimes forgetting isn’t the best strategy.”
He flinched, only remembering his failure, his stupidity for letting White put that contraption on him, his stupidity for not understanding White’s situation sooner, his idiocy for thinking that everything would be fine, “Sometimes it is, Klaus.”
They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Leo initially flinched, wondering what Klaus’ reaction would be…but instead he heard the echoes of a movie. And when he looked up, Klaus’ head was turned towards a glow to the left of them.
“We’re a little late,” Klaus sighed, leading Leo along to a concrete wall already crowded with people, “I’m sorry.”
Despite his mood, Leo couldn’t help but weak laugh, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Sometimes they start early if it gets dark enough.” They found an unpopulated part of the wall, and Klaus helped Leo get up to the wall. Just as they settled down, Leo heard the familiar lines.
”We’re twins, believe me!”
Leo froze.
It was the same movie.
He imagined looking over to see White crying beside him, like when they saw the movie together. Only this time it was Klaus. Only this time he wasn’t crying. Leo reached up to touch his face, already feeling tears. Why was he crying? White wasn’t there anymore. Why couldn’t he just accept it and move on? People died every day in this city. Hundreds died the same day White did. And it was his fault anyway. If he had only figured it out sooner, if he had talked to her earlier, if he could have seen what was inside Black with his eyes…then she would be still sitting beside him, crying at the movie beside him.
In seconds, he was embraced, face pressed into a warm chest.
“Leo…” he felt Klaus rubbing comforting circles on his back, “What do you need me to do?”
“W-What? Nothing…” Leo lied between his tears, voice partially muffled by Klaus’ chest, “I-I just…” Leo fell silent, trying to reel the tears back in as he slowly pulled away, holding up the book he had been carrying.
“C-Can we talk? I didn’t get to finish this and…” Leo stopped himself, looking down to the ground, “No…not about that. But…can we still talk? I’ve seen this movie before…it’s fine.”
Klaus nodded, giving Leo another long hug before stepping down, holding out a hand to help Leo down, “Anything you say.”