Into the Woods

"exactly," ottilie agreed with leo as he listed the other valid reasons that wouldn't have gotten ottilie so pressed at a question such as the one that was asked of her coworker. ottilie could act like a bitch (the town's favorite word to call her it seemed) but she wasn't genuinely a bad person. "but you just know when it's people being lazy, or difficult. you can tell when they're totally capable and just coming to us for god knows why," she rolled her eyes. it was nice to have someone respond to her complaints with an energy that matched her own; it was nice to feel normal for once, not having her words responded to with a look of disgust and a warning to calm down. "if you're a grumpy old man then so am i," she chuckled. "i totally get you," ottilie didn't read the embarrassment on the other, but she could tell that he was getting a little more real, and she appreciated that he trusted her with the truth - especially when it was so close to her own. "i love helping people who are actually interested, yeah, or proving to asshole guys that girls can actually know what they're talking about," she laughed again. it wasn't funny that men looked down upon ottilie, expecting her to be clueless, or else only into bubblegum pop, but it was always funny when ottilie proved that she knew more than those douche bags. "of course," she smiled and nodded at leo's question. "i guess i play a little of everything," she began, a typical musician answer. "i'm mostly into guitar - acoustic and electric, but mostly electric unless i'm writing a new song and starting on an acoustic, you know? - and i sing, too. they're my main instruments."

"egypt? wow. i don't think i've ever met someone from that far away before," reina said with widened mocha hues. she had been kept insulated from birth, never having left the state since she was born, mostly because she never harbored a desire to. she was content where the universe had placed her, even in spite of all the horror that struck her hometown. "spartan. leonidas. i love it. you just ooze coolness, don't you?" her laugh was light and silvery as she released the pegs and moved to adjust her fingertips on the correct strings so she would strum the right chords for the song. "you never know. you could walk out of here with an all new kind of confidence." she tried to enthuse.

Before he could fall down that rabbit hole of self-loathing, Leo refocused, pushing that thought out of his mind. However, he did say, "I don't know if I 'ooze coolness' though. Maybe like, bitterness or something. Not coolness though." Although Leo laughed at his stupid joke, it sounded hollow even to him, another thing he pushed to the side. "Reina's kind of a unique name too, though...and tell me if I'm wrong and just buying into a stereotype, but something tells me a lot of people on the commune have different names." Leo hoped he hadn't just offended Reina with that comment, but he had a feeling he might be right. Now Leo laughed again, and this time it had a little more feeling behind it. "Yeah, no, I doubt I'll be confident when I leave here. I probably won't feel that way until I master the guitar, which I also don't fully believe I'll do. I'm...not used to this. You know, not being good at an instrument. I usually pick it up quicker than this. Maybe it's because this is the first time I've tried to play something new since - " He paused suddenly before he referred to the accident, stopping himself. "The first time in awhile," he amended, hoping Reina hadn't noticed.

While Leo had the challenge of coming up with a gift based solely off the one vague comment made, Martin had the challenge of loosely describing a sibling he couldn't say he knew too well these days without going into the unnecessary details of his family's dynamic. Outside of the events in January that made this year especially unique for their family, they tended to stick to their own corner of town when not required to show up for a special occasion. It was the best way to avoid any awkward or disappointing discussions about his future after all. "Nice to meet you, I'm Martin." He tackled the easier part of the conversation first while still trying to come up with any kind of adjectives or pleasant tales about his sibling. "And thanks for the help by the way. I know less detailed requests can end up being more of a pain in the ass sometimes." Or at least from their perspective as someone who did not enjoy offering up suggestion after suggestion to a potential customer only to have them turn all of them down.

Yeah, Martin wasn't kidding - this request was still pretty vague even after he clarified it a little. "Ah, okay, well...most of it isn't too helpful, no," Leo admitted, but he was smiling. "But I can work with it. Follow me." As Leo led Martin toward the back of the store where the guitars were, he asked, "So do you not know this person that well? If not, then this is a really nice thing you're doing, putting so much thought into a gift. I guess it's nice either way." When they reached the section with the guitars, Leo said, "We've got electric and acoustic guitars," and then a thought came to him. "I guess I should know how big your budget is before I try to sell you on any of these." Something caught his eye then, and Leo gestured to it and said, "We've also got a ukulele, which is significantly cheaper than most guitars but an underappreciated instrument in my opinion."

while the pair might not have been the best in the eyes of their management, ottilie and leo were extremely compatible when it came to their ability to complain and to harbour an extreme distaste for others inside of them. they'd both been hurt - unbeknownst to the other - and they both shared a cynical nature because of it. ottilie would be the last person in town to rat out a co-worker for rolling their eyes at a customer, that was for sure. "i get it when stores have the dumbest fucking layouts and no signs or indicators of where things are, but we really couldn't make it any easier," her words were truthful, and as horrible as they sounded, as they risked making her sound entirely ableist, she only spoke from the standpoint of somebody who had been asked more pointless questions than she could count from customers who were genuinely able to answer them themselves if they had have taken thirty additional seconds to look around or read something for themselves. ottilie would never hate those who genuinely needed help - especially not when it allowed her to show off with her extensive knowledge, something she loved to do particularly with the men that came into the store and assumed she knew nothing due to her characteristics such as her gender - but unfortunately she had been made to deal with more lazy customers than those actually helpless. "i definitely get it, i really get it," she nodded her head. "gotta pay the rent somehow, though," she reminded them of why they likely kept their jobs.

ottilie had never been regarded as an especially good employee, in all honesty. while she had an extensive knowledge on the wide range of stock they had at key of reason, customer service would never be the girl's strong suit - especially not in a town filled with people who she had fallen out with in the past. it was for that very reason why ottilie didn't take one for the team and step up to the customer while leo was clearly dealing with the consequences of the night before. others who worked alongside of them would have, she thought, but ottilie had never been called a team player - and for very honest reasons. she waited the interaction out, eavesdropping as she pretended to be doing the work of reorganizing a shelf, and once the customer was pointed in the right direction of what they were after in the store, ottie stepped over to her co-worker. "i don't get why customers do that whole thing," she began, complaining. "make a beeline for us to ask us where something is," she elaborated. "we have signs up pointing to where things are for a reason- and i mean, how much of a rush can you be in to get new a pop filter?"

Ben laughed at the surprise in the other and he nodded. "Yes, they did. They let us listen to what they listened to mostly, but I did hear my fair share of classical, but I also listened to a lot of jazz and blues, especially in a place like Chicago where it thrived. Folk music, too. Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel. Rock and roll was seen as hard and rebellious. It still is, but it was even more so when I was growing up. The first half of my life, I spent watching the Vietnam War unfold, but making commentary on it as someone who didn't serve, particularly from an immigrant background, was a bit taboo, and my parents knew the dangers of that. They wanted to keep my siblings and I safe, you know? But kids grow up and make their own decisions about what to do and what to listen to. If you ask me now, I'd tell you the Clash is a brilliant band," he explained. "But you're right, music changes. It's messages change, too. Part of it is conveyed in lyrics, but most of it, in my humble opinion, is conveyed in the sounds," he added, raising his brows with a smile.

As he listened to Leo, he really listened to what was between the words, in the pauses of what he was saying. Ben saw how Leo closed his eyes to get lost in the music, and then how he seemed to let that go when he was brought back to the reality of being in a music instrument store instead of somewhere else. "It sounds to me like you need to figure out where music went for you. I can see it means a lot to you still. Maybe you need to find your voice in a different way. But who's to say better than you?" he asked, leaving the question at Leo's feet like a morning newspaper for him to read and consider later on his own.

Hoping to move passed this, Leo nodded and agreed, "You're totally right. There's a reason why even music without lyrics can make you feel, you know? It's...nice talking to someone who gets it." That was true, though the problem with that was that it meant Ben could really see the way the music flowed through him, including the way he'd lost some intangible part of it when he'd hurt his hand and destroyed his future, the way he felt an aching sense of loss basically every second of every day. It probably helped that he was a therapist too, Leo realized. As he looked at Ben and sighed, Leo decided he wanted to tell him what happened; it just felt like Ben would understand. Taking a deep breath, Leo revealed, "I was going to be a professional pianist. I'm not trying to, like, brag or anything, but...I was great. I felt like playing piano was what I was meant for. I got accepted into Juilliard early, even had them calling me before I applied, and I was sort of nationally known, at least for those in the piano scene. I graduated Juilliard, and everything was on track for my future as a pianist, and then I went camping and fucked it all up." Maybe he shouldn't be swearing in front of a customer, but Leo thought it was appropriate for this story. "I was in an accident," he went on, "and I was lost in the forest for a week. And the worst part was that I hurt my hand, like irreparably injured it. They tried to fix it with surgery, and they were mostly successful, but I lost the nimbleness, the dexterity required to be a truly great pianist, plus I have this awesome tremor now too. And that was so much of my identity that I don't really know who I am anymore, you know?" As if he was just realizing how much he'd said, Leo laughed awkwardly, shaking his head. "Sorry...for a second I thought I was on your couch spilling my guts, and all you wanted when you came in here was to buy a guitar." He felt incredibly stupid, and Leo just sighed.

At least he'd made a sale, and his manager would be happy (Leo just wished they got commission). "You won't regret it," he told Ben. "I'm kind of sad to see it go, but at least it's going to a good home."

It was strawberry season and Jiwon was homesick. It was difficult not to think of home, his family's strawberry farm, childhood memories of picking the very best strawberries for his grandmother, nights spent sneaking boys there where his parents wouldn't think to check. Life was easier in Shrike in many ways. After all, he was around his best friend in the universe and was able to openly be himself, a privilege he did not take for granted. Still, it was difficult not to miss his family at all, especially since it had been a while since their schedules had aligned well enough for his phone call home to not go unanswered. He thought of his mother and worried that she was getting too old to do the field work the way she used to. It was difficult not to feel selfish, like a bad son. Although he was his parents' most precious person, and they told him so often, he knew things about himself that she didn't. Things that would cast doubt on the reverence she held for him. The day had started ordinarily enough, no different than the day before or the one before that. The only difference was his lack of focus had led him to take an ungraceful tumble in front of the mall, just barely breaking his fall and making a mess of things. The yakult he had been holding was on the ground too, its pink contents spilled across the asphalt, his jeans partially soaked, and his knees scraped strawberry red where the denim had ripped against the ground. Like a child, he wanted his mother in that moment. Not for any particular reason other than the fact he missed her desperately anyway and he just knew how much she would have fussed over him if she were here. He didn't know how long he'd been there, just surrendering on the ground, but he grew self conscious when he saw a shadow casting over the sunlit ground. Turning to the person walking by him, he gingerly said, "Nothing to see here. Just a bit of a strawberry-related disaster."

So he was practically storming out of the mall, laser focused on getting to his car and getting the hell out of here, but then something stopped Leo dead in his tracks. There sitting on the ground in front of the mall was someone who looked like they were having an even worse day than him, and for a moment, Leo considered walking by because this wasn't what he really wanted to do right now. But then he sighed because despite his gruff exterior, Leo was apparently a softie inside, and he found that he couldn't just leave this person. Besides, if the roles were reversed, he might have wanted someone to stop. Kneeling down next to the stranger, Leo asked, "Are you alright?" And that was when he really noticed the area, which looked just a bit like a crime scene with all the reddish splatters everywhere. "Uh...what's the deal with all...uh, this?" Leo asked. And then he offered the other something of a smile, feeling bad for him in this moment. "Is there...is there anything I can do to help?" Leo asked.

akito was typically upbeat , sweet , and easy going , but he wasn't necessarily a happy person . of course , he tried with all of his might to be happy , and to live a good life , but he had gone through so much from such a young age ; the horrors akito had endured - most unknown to everyone else in his life , even unknown to his best friend , with details even still kept from his little sister - were unimaginable , unfathomable . he was doing such a good job at carrying on with his life despite what he had gone through - in spite of what he had gone through , even - but even while he had that outwardly upbeat nature , he could deeply connect with somebody like leo , someone more reclusive , someone emotionally scarred much like himself , someone who couldn't always pull the kind of smile onto their face like akito could . despite their differences , akito could connect with leo more than leo might ever know , and the foundation of their friendship was incredibly strong , although surprising .

the state of his friend wasn't a surprise ; akito didn't think of him as an unkempt person , but anyone in shrike heights was likely to have a day - or many - where they were found in such condition . akito considered himself to be close enough to leo to step into his apartment even on such a day , and if anything , he hoped that he could give his friend good reason to brush his hair , put on some clothes , and step out into the fresh air - though even if that plan wasn't one that leo was up for , akito would also understand . he'd been in the very same position all too many times , his own dark , curly hair found just as untameable as leo's appeared to be in the moment . " i waited as long as i could , but i couldn't stay away from you for that long , i just absolutely had to see you , " akito chuckled , flattering him teasingly - though it wasn't only a joke , akito was very fond of leo , after all . he grabbed his board and stepped inside of the place , leaning it next to the door on the inside for safe keeping .

" thanks , " he smiled , though he mentally decided on declining the offer of the coffee . " you look extremely busy , " akito told them , a grin of their own on their face as they took it upon themself to sit down in leo's living room with them . " i mean , from the looks of things , you'll be busy for - what ? one ? two ? - hours detangling that hair of yours , " he smirked , a joke from one head of thick , untameable hair to another . he shook his head after his own comment , as if to gesture that he was returning to seriousness . " i'm not sure , i didn't really have any concrete plans or anything super specific in mind , " he answered . the truth was of course that akito just couldn't stomach alone time , and that he needed to do something - anything - in order to escape the dangerous mindset he found himself falling into . " d'you have any preferences ? anything you're feeling up for ? anything you really don't wanna do ? " while akito was the one roping the other into plans , he didn't want to be bossy , didn't want to be the one calling all of the shots .

Taking a sip of his coffee - and then another sip, and then another because Leo was going to need to wake the fuck up for this - Leo glowered at Akito, playfully though. "This hair takes time, and you know it. Perfection isn't easy." Really though, Akito was kind of right: sometimes it did take Leo an hour or more to truly tame his hair. "Worse case scenario though, I'll just throw a hat on today even though that will mean depriving you, my best friend, of being able to enjoy the glory that is Leonidas Asim Kaur's hair. I think you'll be okay though." Smiling at Akito, Leo said, "Of course you don't have concrete plans." Spending time with Akito was like that a lot: just sort of going with the flow of the day, seeing where it took them and doing whatever they wanted without a plan. But Leo actually liked that, liked not having commitments and just doing what felt right in the moment, so he was okay with this. "Well, I had planned to get high before I had an unplanned guest, so we could always do that first. And then we can head out, maybe get some lunch, and then see where the day takes us. I've been wanting to check out some new music at Tracks, though I have mixed feelings about going to the mall on my day off, so we don't have to do that." After running his fingers through his hair again, Leo added, "If we're going out though, I should probably take a quick shower because it's going to take more than a brush to tame this mess."

paulie doesn't let people in, he doesn't allow himself to grow close to others, nor does he allow them to grow close to him - if he can help it. he doesn't see the point; almost all of the people that paulie has loved have gotten hurt, they've died, and even if he were to grow close to another who doesn't meet the same strange fate that most paulie has bonded with have, he doesn't think it very fair to welcome somebody into a life so full of pain and emotional baggage. it's the life he's grown accustomed to; while it might be sad, paulie's experiences with death have led him to believe that this is the best possible life that he can continue to live. don't let anyone get too close - something that's easier to say than do when he's constantly rostered on to work the same shifts as the same person.

leo is a cool person, as far as paulie knows. he doesn't mind the walls that they have up - having extremely high and sturdy walls himself - and none of leo's behavior has him judging them or wondering more about them - in the nicest way possible. it's not that paulie doesn't think about him, and what his past potentially could have looked like, it's only that paulie doesn't feel the need to know more, like he might with someone more obnoxious or unlike himself. for the most part, it's comfortable to be able to work in silence with leo, but on the other hand, paulie can't help but wonder why the universe - or maybe just their managers - seem to keep on putting them together. he can't remember the last time that he was stuck in quite close proximity to another person, seeing them and being near them so constantly, and that's exactly why leo's words - while surprising that he says any at all - don't come across as strange. "d'you think so?" he asks, not hating the conversation as he has nothing else to do at all. "i mean, what do you wanna know?" he wonders. he isn't shooting leo's idea down at all, but he's also not sure how much they should share, how much matters to the other if they're going to maintain their very casual work relationship.

Nodding, Leo replied, "Yeah, maybe. I mean we work together all the time, like more than anyone else, at least for me. I swear our manager is doing it on purpose." Maybe it was because the two of them actually got work done while they were here together instead of socializing. That was true, whether or not it was the actual reason. "And what I know about you is that your name is Paulie, and you've got good hair," Leo went on, laughing a bit at his last comment, though it was true. "It's always cool when another guy appreciates long hair," he added, running his fingers through his own, not even thinking about it, just an unconscious tick of his. "So what's your story?" Leo asked. "Like what does Paulie do when he's not here at Key of Reason. And how'd you end up working here anyway?" Leo realized then he might be being kind of invasive, so he clarified, "None of these are questions you have to answer. You're just...uh, well honestly my favorite coworker, so I don't know, I guess I'm kind of curious." He smiled softly, a little embarrassed to have admitted that, but it was true.

jake keeps smiling when leo talks about learning the acoustic guitar himself. it's nice to speak to someone so likeminded, someone so receptive, someone who he finds himself connecting with so easily and quickly. it's a rare feeling; even though jake has people in his life who love him dearly, jake feels lonely so easily, just as he feels lost and misunderstood so easily, too. he doesn't feel this way with leo. "that is awesome," he agrees, nodding, his bashful nature not helping him out very much as he feels almost at a loss of words due to leo's charm. the beginning of the interaction and the rocky start is already completely lost on jake. "oh, thank you," there's a lot of surprise in jake's tone, but the smile and the blush on his face allude to the compliment being very welcomed, and received well. "not really..." he answers the question even more bashfully than he was moments before, a sweet, nervous, and quiet laugh following his words. "yeah," it's extremely impressive that leo is similarly gifted. "she's really talented, yeah. i'm a bit of a mama's boy, but really, she is super talented- and not even just musically," jake does have moments of feeling inadequate, particularly in her very grand shadow, but thankfully sunny bryant is also a talented mother, helping jake to not feel those nasty feelings frequently.

"leonidas is a beautiful name," he compliments them, feeling more nervous than he should have as he does. once again, the nervousness comes down to jake's lack of experience with flirting - not that jake is even properly committed to the idea of flirting; he doesn't know what he's doing, he only knows that he wishes to compliment leo. "my mom actually uses jacob more than anyone else does. she might be the only person left who does pull the full name out sometimes, though she also calls me jake and other stuff a lot, too," he smiles at another similarity, of their mothers using the full name they gave to their children. jake notices the shaking of leo's hand, and his stomach immediately drops. he doesn't know why leo's hand shakes like it does, but the comment suggesting the shakes being a recent addition makes jake wonder whether or not the other was attacked, perhaps. either way, because of the killers jake knows what it's like to have life uprooted and deeply changed forever; thankfully they've not hurt him before, but his siblings experiences have been traumatizing enough to do real damage to jake. he's always been a deeply emotional person, and his experiences over the past couple of years have him even more sympathetic and empathetic over leo's mysterious change. "you don't have to apologize to me for anything," he tells leo, his voice soft but his words coming out confidently, proving that he really believes in them. he doesn't know what else to say, but he does know that he wishes for leo's mood to shift back into a much more positive direction. "i think i'll browse for a little longer, if that's okay with you," he suggests gently, not wanting leo to think that he's been scared off, while also not wanting to demand to stay in this space, in case leo wishes to be alone.

"It's, like, super rad that we're both into the same instruments," Leo stated a moment later. "I think the piano just seems like...elegant, even though you can play all sorts of music, not just the classical sort. And guitar - especially the acoustic guitar - seems to hold so much feeling, you know what I mean? At least that's the way I see it." He wondered if Jake would agree. The way that Jake blushed at Leo's compliment made it all worth it, and he was thought about how cute that red tinge on the other's cheeks were. "Well you should have been hearing that from so many people," Leo replied. "I can say it once in awhile if you want so you don't forget it." With as cute as Jake was, Leo liked that he was shy too. The man seemed...soft, but in a good way, not a weak sort of way, more like gentle and kind. Of course, Leo barely knew the guy, but that was the perception he was getting. Still not wanting to freak Jake out, Leo didn't reeled himself in before he could overdo it with the flirting. As he listened to Jake, Leo decided he was going to just ask: "Does it ever get hard, trying to live up to that?" he asked. "I don't really know what it's like. My parents are talented and good at what they do, but it's not music. They're more about art and storytelling and that sort of thing, still a creative pursuit, but...not the same, you know? So I've never really been able to compare myself to them in that way."

It seemed to Leo like Jake was getting a little more confident as they spoke, especially now that they'd been properly introduced. He was surprised by the other's comment, saying, "Really? Uh...thank you," and then he smiled brightly. "You really think so? I don't think anyone has ever said that to me before. Usually they just think it's strange. Actually usually people don't know, at least not these days since I'm no longer in school and subjected to roll calls where the teacher doesn't know my nickname preference. But Leo's happy mood was all but gone now as his hand shook, immediately feeling glum again, and he hated that because he'd really been enjoying this conversation with Jake. But the man was being so sweet and patient with him, tolerating his sudden mood shift, and it seemed like Leo hadn't scared him off; maybe there was time to salvage this still. Even so, Leo couldn't quite shake it off, and he just looked down at the floor, nodding. "Yeah, okay," he said quietly. As Jake walked away, Leo ran his fingers through his hair. Good job, Leonidas, he thought bitterly, shaking his head.

A bit later, Leo was standing behind the counter when he noticed that Jake was still looking around, and he smiled because it seemed he had't scared him off even when he'd given him an out. Leo didn't even know why he cared because he was used to being by himself mostly, and usually that was how he liked it. But he'd felt an immediate spark with Jake, and fuck, it had been nice to feel that again. Maybe it would just be a friendship, maybe it would be nothing, but Leo wanted to see where this interaction would go. So he took a deep breath, hurrying over to where Jake was. "Hey man," Leo greeted him, words coming out in a bit of a rush, as if he were worried that Jake would run off. "I'm sorry about before. The whole...thing with my hand is sort of a touchy subject with me. It...well, it basically ruined my life." He didn't feel like sugarcoating it right now (and rarely did). As he looked at Jake, Leo felt like he wanted to tell him what happened, at least some of it, but as he glanced around the store, Leo decided this wasn't the place. "Do you maybe want to hang out?" he asked Jake before he could second-guess himself. "I just...you seem like a cool guy, plus you're incredibly cute, so I kind of want a second chance to prove I'm not some glum loser. Well...not just glum loser at least." This probably wasn't going well, but Leo didn't know how to turn in the charm; he either was being charming or he wasn't. "What do you say?" he asked, a note of hope to his voice. "I thought maybe you might want to come to my place and bring your guitar, and we could play a little," Leo suggested. "Or we could do it somewhere with more people if you want to, like the park or something."

Ben chuckled and gave Leo a nod. "They did not. They thought it was too loud and noisy, so I'd always just go over to my friends' houses to listen to rock and roll," he said with a smile, remembering his teenage years. "The sixties saw a lot of bands coming up. The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors. Even The Beatles. Music's changed a lot since then, and it'll keep changing, but I kind of like to ride that wave of change and hear what's new. Rock is harder now. You have metal, and punk. It's a phenomenon," he said with a smile. Ben certainly had an appreciation for it all, and definitely loved keeping up with it.

He agreed with Leo. It was hard to learn music by just listening to it, but he'd been doing it for so long now that it almost came naturally. He knew his way around most guitars that he could hear something and mimic it well. "Learning by ear is one thing, but you learned from a young age. I have a feeling you're better at piano than you're letting on," he smiled. Especially if the other was offering a reading lesson on sheet music.

As talk shifted to his piano skills, Leo just shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe better than just okay, yeah,” he admitted, his voice a little sad. There’d been a time when he’d been called a prodigy or a musical genius or something of the sort, and now he…was. Yeah, he was better than “okay,” but that wasn’t good enough for Leo. That was something he definitely didn’t want to discuss though, so Leo just shrugged again.

Leo almost closed his eyes as he listened to Ben, letting himself get lost in the music. It helped that Ben had chosen a good song, but there was something about someone who wasn’t technically perfect that really appealed to Leo. It felt more…authentic. It felt like there was more passion in it for some reason. When they were done and Ben complimented him, Leo just smiled. “I’m fine I guess. But I wasn’t ever going to be a professional singer, not like - “ Leo stopped abruptly; he’d been about to say “not like piano,” but he didn’t want to discuss that. Still, he couldn’t ignore the question. “It used to be,” Leo answered. “There was a time when it was everything, apart from my family and friends I mean. Now it’s just…there.” The truth was that Leo felt like he had lost his music, and it was a loss he felt in his core.

When he heard the other's name, Leo said, "It's nice to meet you, Jake. I'll stick with that since it seems like what you prefer. No one calls me Leonidas either, which is my name. Well my mother does. She says, 'That's the name we gave you, and I'm going to use it.'" He smiled at the memory of his mom, missing her though glad she and his dad weren't in Shrike Heights. But the smile faded when Leo held his hand out to Jake because it began to shake, and Leo closed his hand abruptly. "Sorry," he said, and like a needle popping a balloon, his good mood was gone. "That's why I'm not a pianist anymore. I'm just a guy who plays piano sometimes when he's alone." Feeling a little crestfallen, Leo looked away, running his fingers through his long hair. "Sorry," he apologized again, still not looking at Jake. "You probably want me to ring the book up now, don't you?"

"soft rock. i dig it," she grinned widely as she returned to the couch, offering him a cup of chamomile tea since the box was the nearest and crossing her legs comfortably. "slowly. we can work with that. how about we start with some pink floyd? wish you were here is a crowd favorite, i've found." she sipped her tea languidly before setting it aside and reaching for her own guitar, painted flowers and ivies decorating the body and encroaching the neck. "do you sing much, or do you just prefer playing?" she wondered as she began tuning her guitar carefully.

Get out of your head, idiot, Leo told himself. Reina clearly wasn’t the type of musician who acted superior to those who didn’t know how to play their selected instrument (and Leo had met a lot of people like that), and he knew she wasn’t going to judge him for how little he knew. Looking around, he commented, “Your place is so different than mine.  I’m an only child, and a lot of the decor in the house I grew up in was sort of…ethnic, I guess the word is since my family is from Egypt. I was even born there.” His parents had moved out of Shrike Heights before the killings started (which Leo was thankful for), and they’d sold their house. How Leo lived in an apartment with minimal personal touches. “My place now is sort of…Spartan,” he laughed, adding, “like my name I guess.” Realizing Reina might not know what he meant, he clarified, “Leo is short of Leonidas.” At Reina’s suggestion, Leo nodded. “That sounds alright,” he agreed, “just…please be patient with me.” He was feeling pretty insecure, though he kept telling himself to relax. “I sing a bit,” Leo replied, “so I’m okay with that. But I’m definitely not going to make a career out of it.” Although Leo laughed, he felt a little sad too because at one point, he was going to make a career out of being a pianist. But he didn’t want to think about that now. 

iggy raised their eyebrows as leo held out the box of cereal for them to try some . though they've relied on hand outs for their entire life , even now , still , iggy wasn't used to receiving kindness so easily and so unprompted ; being offered a taste of a brand new cereal was hardly a gesture of great importance , but still , it was enough to leave iggy pleasantly surprised . " only if you're sure , " he wasn't sure if he should have accepted the offer , unsure of all of the rules that he should be following as an employee , but with no manager around to get him in trouble , he was sure it would turn out fine . " but you'll have to pour some into my hand ; i've been touching money , and stuff , and while i don't care what i put in my mouth , i don't wanna contaminate your bag , " iggy had a good immune system , but the same couldn't be said for everyone . " thanks , " he added .

" badass can come in different forms , i still think it fits , " he told him . " what's wrong with a mouthful ? i love a mouthful , " iggy didn't think through the connotations or innuendos that could be fulled from what he had said , but he wasn't upset upon realising it , either . " igor as in ' warrior ' - hey , leo , that's gotta pull from like , lion , right ? in the context of bravery or strength ? it sounds like our names could be pretty similar , " iggy realised , thinking out loud . " but yeah , most people bring up frankenstein when they hear it , which ... it's not so fun constantly being compared to a character that's a laughing stock because of his bad looks and hunchback . igor's not in the book , just in other adaptations like films and plays , but yeah , " iggy shrugged . " i was actually named after this kooky old russian dude who was living in the same shelter as my parents when my mum was pregnant with me ; he was awesome . he used to make my mom tea and soup every day , and apparently i'd kick like crazy each time he fed her - probably just because i was happy to be getting food , you know ? - but he'd tell her it was because i was a strong one , and that i was trying to kick my way out because i was ready to go on to do great things already . "

Nodding his head, Leo agreed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I know I'm not as much of a badass as Leonidas of Greece was. You've heard the legend of the 300 Spartans, right?" Of course, he knew aspects of the story were exaggerated, but what was true was that Leonidas led a small unit of men against an army that vastly outnumbered them. When he heard Iggy's next words, Leo broke into a wide smile, wondering if the cashier knew how it sounded. Though he tried not to, Leo couldn't help but laughed, chuckling softly. "I love a mouthful too," he admitted, grinning still at Iggy. He was down the innuendos too, especially if the one making them was cute. See, if you're a dick all the time, you miss out on conversations like this, Leo told himself, a chastisement he'd made before. "Leo means 'lion,' yeah, but Leonidas means 'son of a lion,' which I guess makes me a lion cub," Leo said with a laugh. "Still a lion though I guess, so yeah, they kind of do go together. To be honest, I kind of like that." It was a nice association, and Leo smiled at Iggy. But then his smile faded, and Leo ran his fingers through his hair in frustration with himself. "Shit, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I bet you get tired of hearing that, and I didn't think about it that way. I'm sorry. You're way cooler than that guy. Handsomer too. So I shouldn't have made the association." Leo genuinely felt guilty now. Listening to Iggy's story, Leo smiled because it was definitely unique. "I love that," Leo told the other. "I love that you were so ready to face the world, that you were brave from the start. Now that I know what Igor means, I definitely think the name suits you." Leo hoped he hadn't totally fucked this up, but what he was saying wasn't just flattery; Leo really believed it.

Benjamin nodded at Leo's question. "I did! I've loved rock and roll, and even punk music for quite a long time, but growing up I wasn't allowed to listen to it much," he chuckled. His parents had been pretty conservative when it came to that kind of thing. "But when I moved to Shrike, I kind of wanted to reinvent parts of myself, and one of the first things I saw was the Stratocaster at a shop window and decided... why not? And went for it. I still don't really know how to read music, but I can learn songs and play by ear," he explained. "What about you? Have you always been a lover of music?" When asked if he had a picture of his guitar, Ben laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm not that vain about it, it's just a hobby! I mean, it is a beautiful instrument, but I'm not carrying a photo of it around," he mused.

When Ben mentioned his profession, Leo paused; he had no idea he'd been talking to a therapist. But it didn't really affect his opinion of Ben, not negatively at least. "You're just full of surprises," he stated with a little smile. "I used to go there, but I...uh, decided I didn't need therapy anymore." He told his parents he still went, but that was a lie and had been for quite some time. "You'd probably need something to unwind, especially after stressful days," Leo responded. He was glad he hadn't made things weird with his comment, moving past it just like Ben had. "That's the cool thing about music," Leo said. "It can transport you. It sounds like a cliché, but it's true. It's one thing I love about it." And it was one thing he missed about playing piano. Resisting to urge to wallow in his loss, Leo just listened as Ben began to play, and he immediately smiled when he recognized the song. And for just a few seconds, Leo sang along, softly, not drawing attention to the two of them, and he was smiling even more brightly when they were finished. "Great song," he told Ben.