Upon seeing the other man smile, Leo couldn't help but do the same; the guy had a nice smile. And the truth was that it was nice to make that happen, especially after they'd gotten off to a little bit of a rocky start due to Leo's hangover. Leo wasn't usually the one making cute guys - or anyone for that matter - smile; doing so now made Leo want to do it again, an impulse he wasn't used to these days. "Does she live on the commune?" Leo asked. "I don't mean that in a disrespectful or judgmental way, it just...sounds like them." He laughed softly, hoping the guy would know that Leo wasn't making fun of him. "Honestly your parents sound really different, but hey, sometimes opposites attract, right?" Leo mused. "My first boyfriend and I were pretty different. I mean, he was a harpist, and I was a pianist. Not even the same class of instrument, though the harp can be pretty beautiful." Leo laughed because he knew that harpists and pianists weren't necessarily very different; this was a rare Leo joke. And honestly Leo wanted this guy to know what team he played for too, just because he was cute. Again with the smiling, and Leo did the same in response once more. It didn't stop as they continued talking, Leo feeling better that this guy's dad was the appreciative sort. "If that was a gift someone gave me, I know I'd appreciate it," Leo told the other man. "That's so funny," he said when he heard what instruments the other played. "Not only are we both pianists, I'm teaching myself to play the acoustic guitar too. That's...really awesome. You have good taste, though I believe any instrument can be beautiful with the right player." As he looked over at the other, Leo grinned, telling him, "You have a really great smile. Has anyone ever told you that?" Not wanting to be too forward, he said, "I'm sort of the same, can get a feel at least for most instruments pretty easy. I think people like that have a good understanding of melody, you know? Sounds like your mom is a real virtuoso." Leo wondered if that was difficult for the customer to live up to, though he decided not to ask.
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?"
"she doesn't live in the commune, we don't," he answers, correcting himself to specify the fact that he still lives with his family, only to feel embarrassed over doing so immediately - but he doesn't dwell on the embarrassment for long. "but she spends a lot of time with them, down there, and i did too, growing up. i still go down there with her sometimes, especially when they have events or work to do that could do with some extra people on the team," jake smiles; he doesn't take offence over the question, nor does he suspect judgement behind it. he's well aware of the judgement that they face, having even faced it himself due to his mother, or due to his friendships with those in the commune, but the word 'commune' isn't a dirty one to jake. he laughs at the description of leo's own personal experience in an 'opposites attract' kind of relationship, finding it endearing that leo considers a harpist and a pianist to be so different. "yeah, i've been told that opposites do attract," he doesn't have any experience himself, however, so he can't properly comment on it in a personal manner.
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.













