Rohan scoffed; of course, it turned into a fight. When they had been talking near the end of things. they had fought more than he could remember in the history of their friendship. He didn’t have the energy to fight with him, not now. Leo believed what Leo wanted to believe. There was no changing his mind until he came around to it himself. It stung, knowing he thought so little of him. That thing had devolved into the two of them here… like this. Instead of being happy to see each other again, they looked annoyed and put off by one another.
“No, most people like to go running around uselessly worrying instead of actually owning themselves and their choices.” his exasperation with this man was evident. Rohan turned from him then. Not sure if he wanted to hit Leo or shake him.
His eyes focused on the spot beneath the god’s wood. A place they’d go and read together. Well, Leo did the reading. Rohan was too busy eating a piece of fruit or sharpening a blade. His septa scolded him, asking why he couldn’t be more like Leo.
There is no one like Leo.
It was a simple reply and an honest one. To this day, he’d yet to meet anyone who could make Rohan want to hit them and hug them simultaneously and in equal measure. The sounds of running footfalls pulled him out of his memory. Turning just in time to see the two brothers reunited. Whatever misgivings he and Leo might have. It was pushed to the side at how happy Jon looked to have his brother home. Last four years, he knew how much Jon had missed his brothers. Cassian visited as often as he could. But with Leo, he was gone for so long. Of course, missing and longing for Leo would be more acute.
Rohan stood back, watching the pair in respectful silence. And as Jon’s eyes found Rohan’s, he smiled. “ Your brother has come to take you back home to Widow’s Watch. I told him you are free to go or stay if he liked. But,” He paused and then looked towards Leo, his eyes softening for a moment. His hand lifted, rubbing at his chest above his heart before his gaze went back to Jon. “ I think you should go. Your family needs you, and you need them.” he didn’t want the boy to think he had to choose between staying and going. It wasn’t as if the door would be closed to Jon or to Leo. Always.
“You’ve gotten so tall! Surely this was not the little brother I saw last.” Leo exclaimed, holding Jon at arms length to truly see him. The last time he had seen him was when he had looked into Jon’s room the night he had left. Cas had advised him to leave without saying goodbye, had thought it would be too hard on their youngest brother to have to watch him go, so Leo kept it a secret, running a hand through dark curls like his own before leaving his brothers, one only eight.
Jon was no longer eight now. And Leo realized he had taken so much choice away from him...
Jon’s smile however did not falter, and there was no resentment in his eyes. He had always been the more forgiving of all three of them. He turned to Rohan as Jon went on a tangent of his days here, of all that he’s learned, of the people he has met... And he wondered if he was making a mistake.
But Rohan was not looking at him, instead eyes trained on a spot just beneath a large oak in the woods, once shaded by leaves during their Northern summers, now barren and grey in the winter.
“It is not often I see only one of you here.”
Leo looked up only to find the kind eyes of Winterfell’s maester, book in hand and head tilted in question. He knew what he meant, knew that he was wondering why Rohan was not with him. He could only shrug, turning the page and tracing the words with ink stained fingers.
“He got bored... Went to practice his swords or something of the sort.”
“And you did not wish to go with him?” Leo blanched at the question.
“I am not one for swords.” It was simple. He would prefer to sit under a tree and read. And granted, he preferred if Rohan were in his company, but he didn’t mind doing so alone as well.
“Not everyone is.” The maester replied, glancing up at the leaves as he allowed a comfortable silence to settle between them.
“It is good though. That you and Rohan are of different minds... You complement each other, perhaps that’s why your friendship works.” Leo felt a smile curl at his lips as he shook his head, eyes still trained on the pages.
“Our friendship is powered by Rohan’s sheer will and my inability to say no.” He jested, though when he looked up the maester still regarded him with a quiet smile and a knowing raise of his brow. One that had Leo gulping uncomfortably. As if noting this discomfort, the maester slowly closed the distance between them before resting a hand on Leo’s head.
“You are a smart boy, Leo... You know that it’s alright to care for him.” He felt his heart lodge in his throat before nodding his head rigidly. “Of course I know this. He’s my best friend.” He replied, only to be met with another knowing nod that had his fingers grow numb.
“He’s my best friend.” He repeated, staring unseeingly at the book in front of him.
Jon then stopped talking, and Leo realized it is because Rohan had said his piece, one that had left Leo slightly stunned. He felt his mouth open slightly in surprise before Jon shook him out of his stupor.
“You think I should go home?” His brother repeated, looking at Rohan with a frown before looking up at Leo in question.
Leo glanced between his brother, then Rohan before clearing his throat and resting his hands on Jon’s shoulders. “I... think you should do... what you want to do.” He finally said, shoulders slumping in defeat, gaze finally meeting Rohan’s as he gave his brother’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“It’s clear you were well taken cared of here. And I don’t want to take that away from you.”
If there was one person he would trust his brother with, no matter the differences between them, it was Rohan.
