Fic fragment
May. 23rd, 2023 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoame “Do you…have a crush on Mebius?”
Zero jumped to his feet, sputtering, furiously trying to manage a denial, but Leo watched him with new understanding. The way he wasn’t comfortable bathing with them all of a sudden. The way he’d changed from constantly wanting physical affection to avoiding it. The way he’d reacted, just like this, to the talk Leo had given him about puberty and sexuality and boundaries.
The way he used to try to sleep close to them on cold nights. The way he used to not understand that he should ask first before touching anyone. The way he ran out of steam right now, dropping to the ground and hugging his knees tightly again, his face burning even under Leo’s patient gaze.
Leo reached over and put a hand on his head. “It’s okay. It’s normal. Liking other boys is part of who you are, and that’s a good thing.”
“I know that,” Zero muttered. “You already told me all of that, before I hit my growth spurts. It’s just…it’s weird, you know? Considering he’s your brother.”
“There are worse people you could have gotten your first crush on,” Leo admitted, watching as Astra came over to sit. He felt a brief moment of annoyance—Astra had figured it out years ago. That was why he’d gone to comfort Zero after the talk, and why he’d been so insistent that Leo never bring up Mebius. Little shit—he should have said something.
Astra, of course, looked at his brother with entirely too much satisfaction in himself. Then he turned to Zero and offered slowly, “My first crush was a boy we used to train with. On another planet.”
Zero looked over, curious, hungry for that moment of similarity between them, a story that was familiar enough to teach him. But Astra gave him an apologetic glance, admitting, “He never figured it out, though. He fell in love with a girl who saved his life. So I never told him.”
Zero felt his heart sink in sympathy. He’d read enough of those fairytales to know that usually, happily ever after went to rescuer and rescued. There usually wasn’t a story where the ones quietly longing from afar got their wish come true.
“You mean Regulos, right?” Leo asked suddenly. Astra nodded.
“Regulos as in our friend Regulos?”
Astra nodded again.
“Regulos who you threw into the well that time? And then you walked away, leaving me to pull him out? While Ron was biting my ankle, trying to ‘help’?”
Zero stared in disbelief, but Astra nodded once more.
“Don’t you think that might be why he didn’t notice?” Leo asked.
Astra shrugged, as if to say it wasn’t his problem.
Zero jumped to his feet, sputtering, furiously trying to manage a denial, but Leo watched him with new understanding. The way he wasn’t comfortable bathing with them all of a sudden. The way he’d changed from constantly wanting physical affection to avoiding it. The way he’d reacted, just like this, to the talk Leo had given him about puberty and sexuality and boundaries.
The way he used to try to sleep close to them on cold nights. The way he used to not understand that he should ask first before touching anyone. The way he ran out of steam right now, dropping to the ground and hugging his knees tightly again, his face burning even under Leo’s patient gaze.
Leo reached over and put a hand on his head. “It’s okay. It’s normal. Liking other boys is part of who you are, and that’s a good thing.”
“I know that,” Zero muttered. “You already told me all of that, before I hit my growth spurts. It’s just…it’s weird, you know? Considering he’s your brother.”
“There are worse people you could have gotten your first crush on,” Leo admitted, watching as Astra came over to sit. He felt a brief moment of annoyance—Astra had figured it out years ago. That was why he’d gone to comfort Zero after the talk, and why he’d been so insistent that Leo never bring up Mebius. Little shit—he should have said something.
Astra, of course, looked at his brother with entirely too much satisfaction in himself. Then he turned to Zero and offered slowly, “My first crush was a boy we used to train with. On another planet.”
Zero looked over, curious, hungry for that moment of similarity between them, a story that was familiar enough to teach him. But Astra gave him an apologetic glance, admitting, “He never figured it out, though. He fell in love with a girl who saved his life. So I never told him.”
Zero felt his heart sink in sympathy. He’d read enough of those fairytales to know that usually, happily ever after went to rescuer and rescued. There usually wasn’t a story where the ones quietly longing from afar got their wish come true.
“You mean Regulos, right?” Leo asked suddenly. Astra nodded.
“Regulos as in our friend Regulos?”
Astra nodded again.
“Regulos who you threw into the well that time? And then you walked away, leaving me to pull him out? While Ron was biting my ankle, trying to ‘help’?”
Zero stared in disbelief, but Astra nodded once more.
“Don’t you think that might be why he didn’t notice?” Leo asked.
Astra shrugged, as if to say it wasn’t his problem.